Management and Negotiating Conflict Style Essay Example for Free

Management and Negotiating Conflict Style Essay 1. Hastings had a reputation of being hard headed, and not being able to take criticism. He used the autocratic style to push for his ways of doing things. They said he would sometimes embarrass employees, and roll his eyes at them. And when they had an idea he might call their ideas â€Å"dumb ideas†. He was so bad at this he actually established the nickname â€Å"Animal†. Hastings was young when he developed Pure Software, after establishing it he realized he didn’t like the man he had become or the business he had created. He sold Pure for $750 million and changed his ways when he moved on to his new company Netflix. At Netflix Hastings was a new man; he changed his use of communications in sending and receiving messages in many ways. At Netflix, Hastings was much more kind and open to new ideas. He changed his way of talking to employees and you can tell by the rise in stock and Hastings being named Businessperson of the year in 2010. 2. He changed his use of feedback by listening to his employees and thier ideas, and when he didn’t understand he would say, â€Å" help me understand your idea, tell me why this will work.† Instead of just rolling his eyes and acting high and mighty like he did and his previous company Pure. 3. Hastings coaching style at Pure was poor; he wanted to change that when he created Netflix. He defiantly improved his coaching guidelines in the following ways; He started giving praise and recognition, not criticizing, and giving specific and descriptive feedback. 4. I feel Hastings used two different styles one at Pure and one at Netflix. I feel the style he used at Pure was more of a Forcing Conflict style. When I read the case I got the impression that Hastings didn’t care what his Pure employees thought about him it was more of a I win you Lose attitude which is what the Forcing Conflict Style is all about. With Netflix on the other hand I feel like he went for more of the Negotiating Conflict Style the more I win some, you win some. He cared more about his employees and how they felt. That is just my opinion but I guess if I had to pick just one style he used in both of them I would pick the Forcing Conflict Style because Hastings still ran a tight ship and at the end of the day he was always going to end up a winner. 5. The Conflict  management style used by Netflix was Collaborating Conflict Style. It is the best solution agreeable to all parties. Joining forces with Epix was a good deal for both of them. That’s why I feel the Collaborating Approach was the style used. 6. I am currently a Netflix user; I have been for many years. They are getting better and better every year. I really have no complaints, they have every show that I like to watch, and it is always very quick for me. I think the price is fair, and they let you watch it on every device you own. I as a customer have absolutely no complaints. 7. I think the Group Level of Analysis was used. This level focuses on the relationship between the leaders and the collective group of followers. They focus on how a leader contributes to group effectiveness. Hastings used the Management paradigm by being concerned with stability, and finding out the best way to get the job done. He was able to lead through others, and create favorable conditions for success. He was a very successful leader too; there is no good manager that is not a good leader as well.

Impact of Art on Fashion

Impact of Art on Fashion Fashion and art are two disciplines that revolve around the same sphere, which is creativity. The two worlds share a bridge that links the two together. Art in its own aspect has followed humanity through its times and the world of fashion has also been synonymous to it. The two mediums share a close relationship. Fashion has its deep roots set in self expressionism, a means to show the world our personality by way of body adornment and clothing. Art as well tends to articulate the thoughts of the artist across to the spectator, by the colours that have been used to the mood that the artwork brings about. These elements could say a lot about the artist and his personality, just as much as a dark makeup and ripped jeans could say in context to self expressionism in fashion. The dissertation is a study on the influence on art on fashion and how fashion impacts art. It generates from the Period of Rococo, all the way into the modern world, and showcases the significance of art and fashion in the development and harmonious existence of the two subjects. Research Approach Research is defined by Saunders as: the systematic collection and interpretation of information with a clear purpose, to find things out. (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2003). It is with this theory in mind that I approach my study. Research Methodology In order to tackle the objective I have of how art influences fashion, I will use both Primary and secondary data. Primary Data Is the data which is collected by the researcher himself, by means of observations, interviews and surveys. It is data which has not been published. I will formulate the primary data by way of interviews conducted with artists and fashion designers as well as current fashion design students. Secondary Data Is data that has already been published and already exists in literary sources. They can be in the form of Books, Journals, Public Records, documentaries etc. Secondary data will be gathered by means of books written on fashion and art and design. News paper archives, scholarly journals and magazines will also be sourced. Web pages and blogs discussing art and fashion will also be consulted. Literature Review Art and its influence on fashion, has a very broad spectrum. Art in its own aspect can vary from fine arts to performing arts, from paintings and sculptures to Broadway musicals. When you consider fashion it can deal with an innumerable amount of things, varying from clothing to footwear and jewellery to beauty, hair and makeup. In order to make this study more feasible I limited my scope to Paintings and Womens clothing. I will survey the most relevant and significant literature in relation to my topic. When conducting my literature review I considered literary sources pertaining to the fundamentals of art and fashion. I looked into the history of the two subjects by way of published books and museum explorations. I also looked into books published on how art influences fashion and fashions impact on art. My literary investigation also explores the online world. I used search engines with terms such as Art and fashion and art movements for instance Op-Art and Art deco to generate articles written on the subjects. I went through online archives of news papers and online journals to find any articles written on either fashion or art. Fashion depicted in Paintings The links between art and fashion go back at least to the Renaissance (Boucher, 1988, p. 191). Italian artists during the renaissance period were highly influenced by fashion. Artists of the stature of Jacopo Bellini, Antonio del Pollaiuolo and above all Antonio Pisanello, were not only depicting fashions in their paintings, but also creating costume models and designing textile patterns and embroidery. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 5) The 16th Century brought about a new era in world of fashion and art, Alice Macrell states in her book that: The 16th century was the great age of travel and exploration, with a quest for knowledge that included the costume and customs of other nations. This had tremendous results for fashion, as the first printed costume books appeared in the second half of the century, heralding a new visual source (Mackrell, 1997, pp. 14-17) Fashion and art continued in unity from the 16th century to the 17th Century. The interaction of art and fashion continued apace in the 17th century. In France the artists more closely associated with fashion engraving during the reign o King Louis XIII (1610-43) were Jacques Callot, Jean de Saint-Igny and Abraham Bosse. Callots most illuminating, illustrations of fashion were his twelve etchings in the series La Noblesse de Lorraine (1624) in which he observed most perceptively the fashionable dress of dames and seigneurs of his native region. (Gaudriault, 1988, p. 8 and 29) Artists in Europe during the 17th century were finding inspiration in clothing. The Flemish Baroque artist known as Rubens was producing costume studies for his subject paintings and portraits. He then compiled a vast compilation of drawings known as the Costume Book. Anthony van Dyke was Rubens assistant. He was the son of a cloth and silk merchant and was known for his sumptuous costume Van Dyke must have acutely been aware o the power of dress. (Gordenker, 2001, p. 3) The bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar worked in England as an Etcher, engraver and illustrator. He engaged in costume studies specializing in womens Fashions. His best known series of womens costumes is the four seasons. The British Museum which holds one of the four etchings of the Seasons says; Hollars virtuosity as an etcher is apparent from the variety of fabric and furs, he captures in the womans garments. (Winter an Etching, www.britishmuseum.org). Figures 1 2 below show the full length etching of summer and winter sketched by Wenceslaus Hollar. Alice Mackrell in her book Art and Fashion (2005) gives her view on Paintings held at Museums. Figure 3 below shows the Painting of Madame de Pompadour by Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais. Descending the long staircase in the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery, London, into the lower galleries that housed the exhibition Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress, ones attention showed straight ahead her ravishing portrait painted by Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais [Refer Figure 3 for the painting] Madame de Pompadour seated in her boudoir at her tambour frame, engaged in embroidery work yet surrounded by her books and a portfolio of engravings reminding the viewer of her intellectual and artistic achievements, wears a gown of naturalistic light green leaves and salmon pink flowers, trimmed at the elbows with three rows of large four striking bows of matching striped silk at her elbows with three rows of large engagà ©antes (cuffs with two or three ruffles) made of fine French needle lace. This garment epitomizes the Rococo taste serpentine curves, three-dimensional ornamentation and clear, delicate colours. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais, Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame The colours on her dress characterize the Rococo taste Another one of the great artists who represented womens fashions in his paintings is Thomas Gainsborough, Mackrell yet again states: The English artist whose work most conjures up fashionable ladies in their silks and gauzes indeed whose portraiture not only captured a living likeness, but also epitomized the English elegance of Rococo fashion, is Thomas Gainsborough. He was very much aware of Rococo art and fashion. (ibid, p.8). The Rococo movement was followed by the Neo-Classical movement. Neo-Classicism was all that the Rococo period was not about. Artist Joseph Marie Vien belonged to this era. Contemporaries looked to Vien to Inspire women to abandon their Rococo capriciousness for classical simplicity. Neo classicism became the dominant movement in the fine and decorative arts, architecture and fashion in Europe from the late 18th century, as knowledge grew ever more widespread about the archaeological discoveries extending from southern Italy to Egypt and the Near East. (ibid. pp. 33 and 35) The literary movement of Romanticism followed Neo-Classicism. Romanticism was the cult of personality. The celebration of individual character and social status took on a fresh aspect in the form of a new kind of fashionable society portraiture. The Romantic sense of mission had a powerful influence on artists in exploring the self. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 46) Romanticism was a new movement, but it did not completely break away from the trends that were evident during the Neo-Classical era. Romantics frequently sought to make classicism a living experience rather than a dead ideal, and aspects of Neo-classicism a living experience rather than a dead ideal, and aspects of Neo-classicismhave been seen as a hybrid version of Romantic classicism. (Baudelaire, 1992, p. 53) Aestheticism then followed the Period of Romanticism. An artist during this period of time who incorporated fashion in his art was an American painter by the name of James Abbott McNeill Whistler. The book Art and Fashion (2005) asserts: Whistler was someone who assimilated the fashions of his time as an integral component of his art, such as the craze for everything Japanese that was sweeping Paris and LondonHe appreciated beauty and styling women, and concentrated on them in his portraiture, painting images of beauty that could be appreciated on their aesthetic merit alone. (Mackrell, 2005, pp. 84 and 85) The beauty of aestheticism was followed by Realism. Artists tried to depict a sense of reality through their paintings. Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French critic during this period. He identified the concepts of realism as: Romantic individualism, with an art that reflected its own epoch and, in its demands or a modern style Realism continued the aims of the Romantics (Rubin, 1980, p. 49) Édouard Manet, was a friend of Baudelaire and a painter. For Manet dress represented the outward aspect of modern life, that transient envelope that both veils and reveals its unchanging essence. (Mauner, 2000). According to The French taste for Spanish painting: Manet admired and sought to emulate, in order to better depict the realities of life, including fashion. (Tinterow Lacambre, 2003, p. 51) Impressionism was then followed after Realism, Following the lead of Manet, they shared a commitment of vision, in which their depiction of dress was a salient sign of their determination to be modern. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) Impressionists linked contemporary life with fashion in their works of art. According to R L Herbert: Fashion and art shared certain featuresand for the Impressionists there was an underlying association of contemporary life with fashion. (Herbert, 1988, p. 198) At the end of the 19th Century, new appeared to be the high thrill word. Articles in newspapers and magazines referred to the new woman, the new fiction the new journalism and the new art, the key date for the new art was 1884, this was founded in Belgium and the term Art Nouveau was coined by supporters of this avant-garde group. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) According to the Victoria and Albert Museum: Art Nouveau was the first concerted attempt to create a modern international style based on decoration. (Greenhalg, 2000) On the chapter of Art Nouveau and Art Deco Mackrell affirms the meaning of Art Nouveau: Art Nouveau was an essentially urban creation of sophisticated artists and designers, and reflected a diversity of trends. The natural world was the single most important source. Nature was widely used to achieve a modern look, so much so, that in Art Nouveau circles, nature and modernity cam to mean almost the same thing. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 112) Paul Poiret was a couturier who emerged during the early years of the 20th century, Poiret marked the beginning of a new era, not only in fashion but in illustration too, heralding the birth of the style which is known today as Art Deco. (Robinson, 1976, p. 38) Poiret was also known for his knack of linking the fashion world with art. Having an affinity with painters he [Poiret] was the first couturier to relate fashion successfully to the arts. (ibid. p. 116) Sonia Delaunay was a painter designer and printmaker during the 1920s. She was an advocate of Orphism. Sonia Delaunay made a significant impact on how art and fashion could overlap and influence each other. (ibid. p. 130) The early 1920s brought about the Surrealist movement. The term surrealism was coined in 1917 by the French prose writer, poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire. Surrealists gave positive expression to their views. They reacted with a review of values at every level of society, inspired by psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud. (ibid. p. 135) Surrealism touched fashion in a way that no previous art movements had. Fashion and its instruments were at the heart of the Surrealist metaphor, touching on the imagery of woman and the correlation between the world of real objects and the life of objects in mind. (Martin, 1990) Two Fashion designers who were greatly influenced by surrealism arts was Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel. They found a new and exciting canvas on which to articulate their ideas, by translating Surrealist art into clothing. Surrealism was the leading and most controversial movement in literature and the arts between the two World Wars. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 135) Salvador Dali was known as the father of Surrealism. He and Elsa Schiaparelli forged together to make a new avenue in fashion. Dali and Schiaparelli also collaborated on two of the most iconic dresses of the 1930s, the organza dress with painted lobster was one of them (ibid. p.144) Figure 4 5. The literature review I conducted shows that there is an existance between fashion and art. It concludes that artists and painters alike have been influenced by the fashion world. Fashion designers have also been inspired by the works of artists and their paintings. The literature review is only subjected to paintings and womens wear clothing. It does not explore other works of art like sculptures. When it comes to the world of fashion, the review only deals with aspects of clothing and has not explored the influece that art might have on different articles of fashion, such as foowear and jewellery. The Influence of Art on Fashion The two worlds of art and fashion go a long way into history, almost as far as the Renaissance. Art in its own aspect has followed humanity through its times. The world of fashion has also been synonymous to it. A web article on the rise of Social conscience in art inspired fashion acknowledges that Art can be a means of reconstructing experiences, communicating emotions or echoing sentiments of individuals or the masses. (The Rise of Social Conscience in Art Inspired Fashion) Fashion too shares a place in evoking emotions and making statements. In these aspects it is obvious that Art and Fashion share many common links. The article also states that The desire to express the need for a higher social conscience is driving the union between revolutionary art and clothing. (ibid) Since it is now clear that there are links between Art and Fashion, I would like to first look at these two subjects individually. Art Art plays a major role in peoples lives. It helps us be creative and gives us a platform to express ourselves. It is a big part of our lives that sometimes we stop to acknowledge the part it plays. Just think about the house you live in the jewellery you adorn, the cover of a novel, these are all a part of art. Two currents of thought run through our ideas about art. In one, first considered by Aristotle (384 BC.), Art is concerned as mimesis (imitation), the representation of appearances, and gives us pleasure through the accuracy and skill with which it represents the real world. The other view derived from the Greek philosopher Plato (427 BC.), holds that the artist is inspired by the Muses, or by God or the inner impulses, or by the collective unconscious)to express that which is beyond appearances, inner feelings, eternal truths or the essence of the age. (Definition of Art, Hutchinson Encyclopedia) The two philosophers Aristotle and Plato have defined art as Representational and Non Representational art. Non Representational art is more commonly referred to as Abstract art. Representational art is a style of realistic painting which depicts recognisable objects or figures. Whereas abstract art has no clear images and dont form a clear identity, and must be interpreted by the observer of the artwork. Examples of representational art include still life, portraits and landscapes to name a few. Non representational art came about during the modern world at the beginning of the 20th Century. The Abstract movement was formed and Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothkos were works of art which to the beholder had no objective meaning, unless scrutinized. Like most subjects art too has fundamentals that it uses. Such as line, shape, form, space, texture and colour. Artists manipulate these elements, mix them in with principles of design and compose a piece of art. (Mitler Ragans, 1992). The elements of art serve as a base, on which the artist can build their forte on. An artist cannot create art without making the use of at least one or more of these elements. Art is also governed by its own principles. These principles help govern how artists organise the visual elements by giving them guide lines. The principles of art include balance, variety, harmony, emphasis, proportion, movement and rhythm. (Mitler Ragans, 1992) There are many products that we can classify as art. It solely depends on the individual. What I call art may not fall into the context of art for you. It is subjective, and is open to many interpretations. There is no definite limit to what can or cannot be called art; in the end it is up to the audience. Art communicates with people across different cultures. It ranges from sculpture to painting to Shakespeare novels and Mozarts Classic compositions to Todays graphically improvised Anime cartoons and play station games. These are all the work of master craftsmen in their own accord. In other words they would simply be called Artists and what they create would be classified as works of art. The musician Frank Zappa believed that Anything can be music but it doesnt become music until someone wills it to be music, and the audience listening to it decides to perceive it as music. Most people cant deal with that abstraction, or dont want to (Definition Of Art, 2005) I want to go into the depths of Paintings and how it influences us and Fashion. My main focus will be on Paintings from the New Modern Age. Paintings have been in existence since the pre historic times. It is a continuous form of creativity which flows throughout history and culture and into todays world. Paintings in history have had its influence mainly on the existing culture of its time. Like African, Indian, Japanese and Islamic art all have a strong link to its culture. Since the religion of Islam prohibits the remaking of any form of a living creature, Islamic art does not possess any form of Human life in it. Its main art form is Arabesque, the use of calligraphic motifs and Mosaic art Paintings have a history of their own. From the cave paintings of the Stone Age to the art of the Renaissance period and into Modern art. As William Dobell says A sincere artist is not one who makes faithful attempts to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in it-self a living thing. (Dobell, 2009) I will give a brief synopsis on the Artistic movements through history to Today, starting from the period of the Renaissance. The Renaissance Artists during this period wanted art that showed joy in human beauty and lifes pleasures. The paintings were more lifelike and brought in a sense of realism. They studied the art of perception, the artists painted in a way that showed differences from points of focus, resulting in painting with depth. The two famous painters from this time were Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. A famous quote by Michelangelo was that The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection this is because he was a devout Christian and the church was his greatest patron. Rococo Period of Art (1700 1750) Rococo art is known for its light, ornamental and elaborate style of art. The main focus on paintings was of surface decoration and consisted mainly of light delicate colours. Portrait paintings was famous during this period, and one of the women painted often during this period was Madame de Pompadour. Neoclassicism (1750 1830) Then came about the 1800s this was thought to be an age of change. It was also during this time that the french reveloution took place. No single art style was in place Fashion Fashion is a specialized form of body adornment. It has been around ever since man was put down on earth. It has its own history and evolution through times. Explorers and travellers were among the first to document and comment on the body adornment and dress styles that they encountered around the world. Some returned from their travels with drawings and examples of clothing, sparking off a desire not only for the artefacts themselves but also for an understanding of them. Eventually the study of clothing came to be an accepted part of anthropology The study of human beings. (Jones, 2002) Fashion relates not only to clothing but also its accessories like jewellery, hairstyle, footwear and even body art. I intend on looking into the aspect of fashion in relation to clothing. To find out what fashion is and who make fashion be called fashion. For as long as time, individuals have used clothing as a means of non verbal communication. It is known to be a form of free speech. It is a language of signs and symbols and iconography. (Jones, 2002) It helps individuals to make a statement through what they wear and express individual identity, and since it is visual it is very easy for the onlooker to comprehend the image we are portraying through what we adorn. Cultural theorists and clothing analysts have focused on four practical functions of dress: utility, modesty, immodesty and adornment. (Jones, 2002) George Sproles suggested four additional elements which are: symbolic differentiation, social affiliation, psychological self enhancement and modernism. (George, 1979) Brief outlines of these elements are given below. Utility Clothing to be functional has to be practical. It is used to give us protectiveness in the environment that we are in. The human body temperature needs to be kept at a mean temperature to make sure of blood circulation and comfort. Dress reformers have put utility above other aesthetic considerations. The American Publisher Amelia Jenks Bloomer was worried about the impracticality of the crinoline that women used. She then brought about the concept of wearing trousers called bloomers, which eradicated the impracticality of the crinoline. (Jones, 2002) With the story of the bloomers in mind, people today choose clothes with comfort and durability in mind. Modesty Clothing acts as an aid to our nakedness. They help cover our body and can act as a guard to our modesty. We are often self conscious about our image, when it comes to revealing more of our body. When we grow older we try to hide our flaws, and seek clothing as our cover. Our culture plays a big role in modesty; it varies through individuals and societies over time. Immodesty Women have often been symbolized as passive sexual objects. Clothing can be used to enhance this attractiveness according to the wearer. A psychoanalytic approach, based on the writings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have been used by fashion theorists to explain the unconscious process underlying changes in fashion. (Jones, 2002) Adornment Young women in particular, often attempt to measure up to the ideals of beauty. In relation they use adornment to enrich their physical appearance, and bring out their individuality. The use of adornments could be as excessive as the user wants it to be. Such as how high can your shoe heels be, and how much make up could we layer on our face. These are all choices made on an individual level, in order to fit into a group or to make a statement. Symbolic Differentiation We as human beings often feel the need to identify who we are to society. Be it a doctor, lawyer, nun or pop artist. We use clothing to help satisfy this need. Clothing helps differentiate and help recognize who we are. It distinguishes the levels of social standing and helps in recognizing religious associations and professions. Social affiliation As opposed to differentiation, when it comes to social affiliation, we tend to dress to fit into a particular group or part of society. Clothing can sometimes be used as a revolt against fashion and its current trends as well. Like the punks who can be noted by their torn clothes, coloured hair and the dramatic use of safety pins. The Goths, who also dress in a similar fashion, have led to a more feminised version in Japan called the Gothic Lolita. These groups in time tend to form their own fashions and people treat them as modern trends. And try to adopt these elements into their wardrobe as well. Psychological self enhancement We as individuals try to stand out on our own and show our personality. For this reason you will hardly find two people dressed alike from head to toe. Because as individuals we have our own tastes and styles of putting things together. So we adorn ourselves in different manners even if we shop at the same store, and buy the same clothes the way we look once we have accessorised ourselves would differ, just like no two people are alike. It is now evident that fashion indeed, does affect our life greatly. According to Linda Watson, dressing is our forth bodily function. Dressing is the fourth bodily function after breathing, eating and sleeping and excluding a couple of delicious optional extras one of the fundamental pleasures of the human body is to clothe it. Which makes fashion its closest relation pretty important. (Watson, 1999) Fashion is a form of art which will forever be changing throughout the decades, and the change is brought about by trends which are signalled out through Fashion design and its designers. Fashion Design Fashion design is a form of art. It falls into the category of applied arts. Applied arts unlike fine arts is the application of design together with aesthetics to produce objects of use. it is ruled by the principle that form follows function. Fashion designing is the creativity of deigning clothing. Like many forms of design and art fashion design too has its elements. The main elements are silhouette, line, and texture. The uses of these elements are called principle; they are repetition, rhythm, graduation, radiation, contrast, harmony, balance and proportion (Jones, 2002) Fashion is divided into two seasons, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Designers design accordingly to the two seasons. The clothing they produce for each season is called a collection. Fashion collections always have certain similarities, an invisible thread which ties up all the pieces of the collection together. A look into the above mentioned elements and principles will help us to understand how fashion design works. Silhouette In simple terms Silhouette is basically the outline of a form. Fashion Silhouette is the overall outline a garment produces. As garments are three dimentional the Silhouette changes when it is moving. So designers have to keep this in mind when they design the clothing. The Silhouette of a garment is what first catches the eye. Because of distance it is what is first noticed before the detailing of the clothing comes to view. For this reason Silhouette is one of the most important elements in design. When designers produce a collection they keep in mind that it cannot have too many different Silhouettes. Too many variations will weaken the impact and the overall message that the designers are creating will be lost. Silhouettes have changed throughout times and have gone to extremes of being bulky and voluminous to flat and skinny. I will look at this later during the historical analysis if fashion. Line The most common use of line in fashion is in the seaming of the pattern pieces and in fastenings. Vertical seam lines create an effect of length and elegance because they lead the eye up and down the body. Horizontal lines tend to be shorter in span and therefore draw attention to the width of the body. Lines across the body can make the figure appear shorter and wider. (Jones, 2002) Lines in a garment give us different views of perception. Lines can be used effectively to enhance or hide features of the body. It helps give the garment direction and flow. Texture Texture in fashion design relates to the surface feel of the fabric. The way a fabric behaves is very important in design. As it will set the overall look of the garment and how the garment will sit on the body and move with flexibility. Colour is also important when it comes to creating a good impression with the garment. Fashion design gives us a unique sense of luxury. As it offers to us not just forms of adornment by way of clothing, but it also gives us a feeling of belonging and self enhancement. As the clothing we wear and who they are made by speak tremendously about our personality. The inspirational source behind the clothing we choose does impact us to a certain degree. In the next chapter I will give an in-depth analysis on how Fashion design has been influenced by artistic movements and paintings. Gianni Versace was a designer who was obsessed with the past. He was frequent in visiting museums and obsessed with their artworks. He studied the Byzantine art at the Metropolitan Museum of arts and was inspired by the metal found in byzantine art. Which he then put to use, by creating a metal neck cocktail top. Yves St. Laurent, from 1965-1966, made dresses which bore the artistic works of Abstract Painter Piet Mondrian. The welding of art and fashion, however found its most vivid expression in the Mondrian Dresses of Yves St. Laurent. His dresses came to be known as the Mondrian Dress and was called the Dress of Tomorrow (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 147) Figure 7. The romance between fashion and the Surrealist movement began in the early 20s when the movement broke away from the written word to embrace objects. The appeal of Surrealism to the fashion industry is instantly obvious in their use of ordinary everyday objects and weird landscapes that transferred easily to fabric printing, jewellery, hats, couture etc, allowing designers the freedom to create art pieces, and this fascination worked both ways as what covered the body had always been important to the Surrealist philosophy, in the way that it allowed the imagination to wonder what lay underneath, and this translated easily into wearable garments. (Martin, 1990)

Effect of DDT on the Environment

Effect of DDT on the Environment Effect of DDT to This Environment Pesticides became a bad forebode in agriculture since mid-twentieth century. In agriculture, pesticides are an important element to control the major vector-borne diseases such as malaria and visceral leishmaniasis. There are 4 major groups of pesticides: insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides and fungicides. Although pesticides are vital to protect the crop and also human health in the whole world, but due to their detrimental effects on natural ecosystems more deaths are cause by the pesticide poisoning than infectious diseases. Hence, we should focus more on the short and long term harms of pesticides on the environment. Most of the pesticides are highly toxic and will have immediate adverse effects on human health and also wildlife. Besides that, pesticides which spray on the plant at ground will easily contaminate the soil, water and air. The chronic consequences cause by pesticide including neurotoxic, carcinogenic, immunotoxic, hormonal and reproductive effects. One of the hig hly problematic pesticides is the insecticide dichlorodiphenlytrichoroethane also known as DDT. 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl)ethane is the scientific name of DDT and the chemical formula is C14H9Cl5. DDT is build up by 14 carbon, 9 hydrogen and 5 chlorine atoms (Figure 1). Figure 1. Molecular structure of DDT. In its nature form, DDT is crystalline powder with odorless to slightly fragrant in white color. The melting point is at 108.5ËÅ ¡C, and boiling point at 185ËÅ ¡C. DDT is highly insoluble in water but is soluble in most organic solvents. This molecule is lipophilic and partitions readily into the fat of all living organisms. Biomagnification and bioaccumulation in the food web make this molecule become more negative impact to the organisms. When the DDT break down the product will be 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD or TDE) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene)(DDE). These two compounds are actually also present everywhere in the environment and are more persistent than the parent compound (Ritter, Solomon, Forget, 1996). DDT is an organochlorine insecticide and is considered a persistent organic pollutant (POP) (PAN Germany for PAN International, 2009). According to Turusov et al. (2002), in year 1874, DDT was first synthesized but until year 1943 its insecticidal properties just discovered and in 1943 large-scale industrial production are started. DDT is contributed to worldwide use and widely accepted by people because of its low price and effectiveness to control malaria and typhus during and immediately after World War II. In order to control the agriculture and forest pests, much more DDT was used after 1945. About 400,000 tons of DDTs were used yearly in this world at 1960s, and 70 – 80% was used for agriculture (Turusov et al., 2002). DDT is a persistent, widespread environmental contaminant that causes significant anatomical, behavioral abnormalities and physiological in humans and also wildlife (Iwaniuk, et al., 2006). In January 1970, the first country – Sweden had banned the use of DDT. In the same year, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R) was prohibited all DDT and DDT-based products for use as pesticides because of their destruction and persistence effect by bioaccumulation and the carcinogenicity. The production and use of DDT in agriculture were banned too in 1981, but the use for public health purposed was still allowed. In year 1972, most uses of DDT were banned in other countries. The use of DDT has been banned in 34 countries and severely restricted in 34 other countries. Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Mozambique, Lebanon, Switzerland, Norway, and USA are the countries that have banned DDT. The countries that have severely restricted its use include Thailand, Israel, Panama, Kenya, Mexico, Belize, India, Ecuador and the EU (Ritter, Solomon, Forget, 1996). DDT is not very strong toxic like most of the organochlorine insecticides, but this chemical is widely use and spread (Ritter, Solomon, Forget, 1996). In Turusov et al. (2001) study showed that the process of biodegradation of this chemical is very slow and it will persists for a long time in the environment. DDT will likely to accumulate in the food chain and in the tissues of living organisms. When expose to DDT and digest it, this molecule will store in all the tissues, especially in fat. Bioaccumulation occurred by accumulate the DDT from small concentration to high concentration in the food web. Due to it widespread, uncontrolled, and intensive use, this chemical has resulted in worldwide pollution. In the body of all birds and fishes analyzed in the study of Turusov et al. (2001), DDT residues are found even in those living in desert areas or in the depths of the oceans. Human are most likely to be exposed to DDT from the food they eat. Almost all the meat, fish, and dairy products are contaminating with DDT. Hence, by eating, breathing or touching the products which contaminated with DDT, this chemical will easily absorbed into our body. After ingested, DDT will convert into several breakdown products called metabolites that included DDE and stored in the fatty tissues. For the pregnant women, DDT and DDE can be passed to the fetus by breast feeding (Centers for Disease Control and Preventation, 2009). If human expose to high concentration of DDT, the symptoms like vomiting, tremors or shakiness, and seizures will occur. Besides that, DDT also considered a possible human carcinogen. Birds usually played a major role in creating awareness of pollution problems. Birds are most probably believed to expose to DDT by ingestion (Enrlich, et al. 1988). The pesticide can be swallowing by the birds directly or the birds eat the contaminated prey. Besides that, they may also ingest pesticide residues off feathers while preening, or they may drink or bathe in contaminated water. When the birds expose to aerially spread DDT, the chemical will absorbed through the skin or inhaled into the body (Edwards, 2004). DDT and DDE are persistent as they tend to concentrate as they move through the food chain (Figure 2). In the marine communities, the contaminated planktons are eaten by small fishes, and then bigger fishes will consume small fishes. DDTs are passing from a small concentration in planktons to bigger fish. DDT will store in the fatty acid of fishes, when fish-eating birds consume the fish, all the bio accumulated DDT will pass into the bird’s body. Most of the DD T from numerous fishes ends up in the body of few birds. Bioaccumulation of DDT in birds high on food chains occurs not only because there is usually reduced biomass at each step in those chains, but also because predatory birds tend to live a long time. DDT take in only a little per day, but when they keep most of what they get and they live many days (Deinlein, n.d.). Figure 2. Bioaccumulation of DDT. DDT with high concentration does not usually kill the bird outright. However, DDT and its relatives will alter the bird’s calcium metabolism in a way that results in thin eggshells (Edwards, 2004). Since the eggshells are too thin and are unable to support the weight of the embryo of bird, heavily DDT-infested Brown Pelicans and Bald Eagles tend to find omelets in their nests. DDT resulted in the decimation of the Brown Pelican populations in much of North America and the extermination the Peregrine Falcon in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Shell-thinning caused lesser declines in populations of Golden and Bald Eagles and White Pelicans, among others (Enrlich, et al. 1988). Fortunately, the scientists are able to figure out the cause of the breeding failures in time, and the use of DDT was banned almost completely in the US at 1972. The Arctic, polar bears also become one of the victims of DDT. Chemical pollutants are carried towards the Arctic Ocean by the great continental rivers of Russia and Canada. DDT that in the sea are wafted northwards by the currents. Even the DDT molecule in the air will be carry by winds to the Arctic, where they condense in the cold and fall to the ground in snow or hail. The most direct and effective way to bring DDT that will cause an effect to polar bear and its offspring is biomagnification. DDTs are biomagnify as they move up the food chain from the small plankton to polar bear. As polar bear is the carnivores, it accumulates the most concentrated amounts of them. Before the hibernation, polar bear will consume large amount of fish to store as fat. DDT which accumulates in the fish will then store in the fatty tissues. When the polar bear start to use the fat during hibernation, DDT is being release and causes the death. In addition, DDT will also reduce the polar bear capacity to bread and lower their immune system (Polar bears: Walking on thin ice, 2006). The available epidemiologic and scientific data indicate that the presence and persistence of DDT and its metabolites worldwide are still problems of great relevance to public health. It has been debated at the United Nations Environment Program whether DDT should have been totally banned together with 11 other persistent organic pollutants. However, the total ban of DDT was sharply criticized in South Africa. This is because, a temporary total ban on the use of DDT for indoor spraying resulted in a sudden increase in malaria. Now, 11 countries in Africa, 7 in Asia, and 5 in Latin America still use DDT for vector disease control (Turusov et al., 2002). There is a general consensus that limited and strictly controlled use of DDT should be allowed for public health purposes, in particular where other effective, safe, and affordable alternatives are not available, and the benefits are clearly far superior to possible risks. In conclusion, to solve the problem of DDT an efficient pestici des that do not have the negative properties of DDT and its metabolites should be sought with the goal of replacing DDT completely. References Centers for Disease Control and Preventation (CDC), (2009). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/pdf/DDT_FactSheet.pdf Deinlein, M. (n.d.). Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. When it comes to pesticides, birds are sitting ducks. Retrieved from http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/fact_sheets/fxsht8.pdf Edwards, J. G. (2004). DDT: A case study in scientific fraud. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 9, 3, 83-88. Ehrlich, P. R., Dobkin, D. S., Wheye, D. (1988). DDT and birds. Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/DDT_and_Birds.html Iwaniuk, A. N., Koperski, D. T., Cheng, K. M., Elliott, J. E., Smith, L. K., †¦, Wylie, D. R. W. (2006). The effects of environmental exposure to DDT on the brain of a songbird: Changes in structures associated with mating and song. Behavioural BrainResearch, 173, 1-10. Polar bears: Walking on thin ice. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/polar-bears-walking-on-thin-ice-523207.html Ritter, L., Solomon, K. R., Forget, J. (1996). Persistent organic pollutants. Retrieved from http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/ritter/en/ritteren.pdf Turusov, V., Rakitsky, V. Tomatis, L. (2002). DIchlorodiphenytrichloroethane (DDT): Ubiquity, persistence, and risks. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110, 2, 125-128.

battle for the muddy mississippi :: essays research papers

Battle for the Muddy Mississippi "Take Cover!" This phrase was used daily as the citizens of Vicksburg scattered from the raining of mortars by Union guns. Vicksburg, Mississippi is a city in the heartland of the deep South. It sits on high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Yazoo River. Settled in 1790, Vicksburg was and is an important shipping and trading center (Leonard 40). During the Civil War, Vicksburg was a key factor in the control of the entire Mississippi River. After the surrender of Natchez, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, the Union wanted Vicksburg. The city wouldn't go easy. "Mississippians don't know, and refuse to learn how to surrender†¦"(Ward 420). Confederates fortified it with guns and field artillery to keep the city out of the Union's hands. The Union knew it wasn't going to be easy. In the siege of Vicksburg, Farragut tried to take the city, Grant took over, and he seized the city. General Farragut, a Union general, reaches Vicksburg on May 26, 1862. His ships fired 20 shots and continued down stream. The following day Farragut returned and bombarded the city for 12 hours (Miles 194). The civilians left to live in the country until things calmed down (Foote 395). Van Dorn, leader of defense for Vicksburg, sent the "Arkansas" to Vicksburg. The "Arkansas" destroyed three warships for an estimated loss of $3,000,000 (Foote 386). The ship was later grounded and her own crew destroyed her (Miles 224). The process of trying to run past Vicksburg's guns became too difficult. The Union tried to build canals to bypass the city. Farragut started a canal across a peninsula north of Vicksburg that would return to the river 10 miles past the city but his attempts failed (Miles 202). He finally withdrew from Vicksburg and headed south to Baton Rouge (Miles 229). In October of 1862 the commander of Tennessee was brought in to clear the Confederates off the ir turf. Ulysses S. Grant replaced Farragut to finish what he started. Gen. Pemberton was brought in to lead in Vicksburg's defenses. Gen. Pemberton found many of the defenses inadequate and replaces cannon, rebuilds forts, and placed them in more effective locations (Miles 283). Major Sam Lockett was chief engineer under Pemberton. He worked on the layout of the forts. The main forts protected the entrances of the 6 main roads entering the city.

Essay examples --

Since the mid-1990s, the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral bodies have asserted authority for the administration of war-torn territories and shouldered the responsibility of placing them on the trajectory of political change (Knoll 2008: 2). In 1995, right after Dayton Peace Agreement, the UN assumed responsibility in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Chesterman 2004: 2). In 1999, following NATO’s armed intervention in Kosovo, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 establishing the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (Brabandere 2009: 37). Just a few months later, a transitional administration was created with effective sovereignty over East Timor until independence (UNTAET). These expanding mandates continued a trend that began with the operations in Namibia in 1989 and Cambodia in 1993, where the United Nations exercised varying degrees of civilian authority in addition to supervising elections (Chesterman 2004: 2). However, although the UN had assumed responsibility in 68 countries since 1948, the missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, and East Timor are commonly seen as unique in the history of the United Nations (Chesterman 2004; Doyle 2001; Chopra 1998; Wolfrum 2005; Stahn 2008). First, international administrations of these countries represent the most comprehensive missions ever deployed by the United Nations. Second, these cases also represent clear examples of democratic regime-building efforts on the part of international administrators. In the three cases, democratic regime-building has been an explicit goal, and international administrators have sought to oversee and involve themselves in a full process of regime change (Tansey 2009). Lastly, the three cases also display variation on both independent a... ...lack of interviews or surveys represents a limitation in this respect. These gathering-data techniques could enormously supplement the present paper in addition to primary documents, academic literature and non-academic materials published by think-tanks and NGOs. Second, following Przeworski et. al. (2000) and Mainwaring et. al. (2001), the present paper it leaves out substantive results such as social equality and economic development. Nevertheless, although these caveats are significant and may serve as the impetus for further research they do not overshadow the modest endeavor of the present paper. As Mainwaring et. al. (2000) suggests, by applying a trichotomous scale with a modest information demand, the number of coding errors significantly would be reduced and thus achieve greater reliability than would be possible under a more demanding measurement scale.

Theme of Guilt in Hamlet & Fifth Business

There is one human emotion that can paralyse us, lead us to lie both to ourselves and others, to commit actions that we don’t endure, and to cripple any rational thought processes. It is self perpetuating if allowed to get out of control. Its side effects are anger, aggressiveness, fear or reclusiveness. Its symptoms are irrational behaviour, lying, anguish, and lack of self-esteem. It is the strong emotion that can affect our conscience, like an acid drop it corrodes the soul within and in extreme conditions it demolishes one’s life, it is better known as guilt. Guilt is a reoccurring theme in Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, that is demonstrated by various characters including, Dunstable Ramsay, Paul Dempster, Hamlet and Claudius and this essay shall compare the theme of guilt between the two literatures. In the novel Fifth Business, guilt is a plague that has spread throughout the lives of Dunstan Ramsay, and Paul Dempster; both characters are drenched with guilt that was a result of a tragic incident caused by Percy Staunton Boyd when he threw the snowball and it â€Å"hit Mrs. Dempster on the back of the head. † (Davies, 2). Dunstan experiences guilt early on in his childhood, realizing it is him who ultimately caused the premature labour of Paul, â€Å"Nevertheless this conversation reheated my strong sense of guilt and responsibility about Paul. † (Davies, 136). As the guilt overtakes his life, Dunny compares what he is feeling to what dying feels like and questions whether that would be better than dealing with this overwhelming guilt: â€Å"Ah, if dying were all there was to it! Hell and torment at once, but at least you know where you stand. It is living with these guilty secrets that exacts the price† (Davies, 19). Born prematurely, Paul Dempster was convicted of being guilty as he was responsible for robbing his mother of her sanity, as explained to him by his father, Amasa Dempster, â€Å"My father always told me it was my birth that robbed her of her sanity. So as a child I had to carry the weight of my mother’s madness as something that was my own doing. † (Davies, 148). Moreover Paul was forced to feel the guilt at a young age, causing him to become frustrated, and that is when he decides to escape from Deptford and runs away with Le grand Cirque forain des St. Vite (Davies, 148), â€Å"‘He was my only teacher till I ran away with a circus. † (Davies, 265). Equivalently in the play Hamlet, the theme of guilt was developed through Hamlet and his most hateful enemy, King Claudius. Hamlet experiences guilt when he recognizes that he has not yet avenged his father’s death and in Act I Scene ii Hamlet reveals that he is upset and disappointed with himself, as he has not taken any actions to attain revenge from Claudius, the murderer of his father. Hamlet then calls himself, â€Å"a peasant slave† and questions, â€Å"What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? What would he do, Had he motive and cue for passion That I have? † (Shakespeare, II, ii, 529. 38-541). Furthermore, Hamlet later decides to relief his overwhelming guilt by commanding the actors to re-enact his father’s death through The Murder of Gonzago, (Shakespeare, III, ii, 284), in order to confirm that the ghost was being truthful and Claudius did kill his father, â€Å"May be the devil, and the devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to da mn me. I’ll have grounds More relative than this. The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king. † (Shakespeare, II, ii, 561- 567). Eagerly wanting the throne Claudius murdered his brother, King Hamlet by poisoning him when he was sleeping in the garden, â€Å"He poisons him i’ th’ garden for‘s estate. † (Shakespeare, III, ii, 246); his crime was soon revealed by the intelligent Hamlet, when he ordered the actors to create a play outlining the murder of King Hamlet, â€Å"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue. †(Shakespeare, III, ii, 190-191). Claudius provoked and disturbed from the play, orders for it to be stopped, â€Å"Give o’er the play. † (Shakespeare, III, ii, 253) and leaves the scene, â€Å"The king rises. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 250) as his dirty crime is now evident. Devoured with the guilt of killing his brother, Claudius confesses and prays to God, hoping that it will cost him less time in Purgatory, â€Å"Oh, my offence is rank. It smells to heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon ’t, A brotherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s murder. Pray can I not. Though inclination be as sharp as will, My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, And, like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall first begin, And both neglect. † (Shakespeare, III, ii, 37-44). Silent yet deadly, its side effects are anger, aggressiveness or fear and reclusiveness. Its symptoms are irrational behaviour, lying, anguish, and lack of self-esteem. It is the strong emotion that can affect our conscience, like an acid drop it corrodes the soul within and in extreme conditions it demolishes one’s life, it is better known as guilt. The theme of guilt is an important reoccurring phenomenon in Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as demonstrated by a number of characters including, Dunstable Ramsay, Paul Dempster, Hamlet, and Claudius, and this essay compared the theme of guilt between the two literatures.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-five

Eddard Lord Arryn's death was a great sadness for all of us, my lord,† Grand Maester Pycelle said. â€Å"I would be more than happy to tell you what I can of the manner of his passing. Do be seated. Would you care for refreshments? Some dates, perhaps? I have some very fine persimmons as well. Wine no longer agrees with my digestion, I fear, but I can offer you a cup of iced milk, sweetened with honey. I find it most refreshing in this heat.† There was no denying the heat; Ned could feel the silk tunic clinging to his chest. Thick, moist air covered the city like a damp woolen blanket, and the riverside had grown unruly as the poor fled their hot, airless warrens to jostle for sleeping places near the water, where the only breath of wind was to be found. â€Å"That would be most kind,† Ned said, seating himself. Pycelle lifted a tiny silver bell with thumb and forefinger and tinkled it gently. A slender young serving girl hurried into the solar. â€Å"Iced milk for the King's Hand and myself, if you would be so kind, child. Well sweetened.† As the girl went to fetch their drinks, the Grand Maester knotted his fingers together and rested his hands on his stomach. â€Å"The smallfolk say that the last year of summer is always the hottest. It is not so, yet ofttimes it feels that way, does it not? On days like this, I envy you northerners your summer snows.† The heavy jeweled chain around the old man's neck chinked softly as he shifted in his seat. â€Å"To be sure, King Maekar's summer was hotter than this one, and near as long. There were fools, even in the Citadel, who took that to mean that the Great Summer had come at last, the summer that never ends, but in the seventh year it broke suddenly, and we had a short autumn and a terrible long winter. Still, the heat was fierce while it lasted. Oldtown steamed and sweltered by day and came alive only by night. We would walk in the gardens by the river and argue about the gods. I remember the smells of those nights, my lord—perfume and sweat, melons ripe to b ursting, peaches and pomegranates, nightshade and moonbloom. I was a young man then, still forging my chain. The heat did not exhaust me as it does now.† Pycelle's eyes were so heavily lidded he looked half-asleep. â€Å"My pardons, Lord Eddard. You did not come to hear foolish meanderings of a summer forgotten before your father was born. Forgive an old man his wanderings, if you would. Minds are like swords, I do fear. The old ones go to rust. Ah, and here is our milk.† The serving girl placed the tray between them, and Pycelle gave her a smile. â€Å"Sweet child.† He lifted a cup, tasted, nodded. â€Å"Thank you. You may go.† When the girl had taken her leave, Pycelle peered at Ned through pale, rheumy eyes. â€Å"Now where were we? Oh, yes. You asked about Lord Arryn . . . â€Å" â€Å"I did.† Ned sipped politely at the iced milk. It was pleasantly cold, but oversweet to his taste. â€Å"If truth be told, the Hand had not seemed quite himself for some time,† Pycelle said. â€Å"We had sat together on council many a year, he and I, and the signs were there to read, but I put them down to the great burdens he had borne so faithfully for so long. Those broad shoulders were weighed down by all the cares of the realm, and more besides. His son was ever sickly, and his lady wife so anxious that she would scarcely let the boy out of her sight. It was enough to weary even a strong man, and the Lord Jon was not young. Small wonder if he seemed melancholy and tired. Or so I thought at the time. Yet now I am less certain.† He gave a ponderous shake of his head. â€Å"What can you tell me of his final illness?† The Grand Maester spread his hands in a gesture of helpless sorrow. â€Å"He came to me one day asking after a certain book, as hale and healthy as ever, though it did seem to me that something was troubling him deeply. The next morning he was twisted over in pain, too sick to rise from bed. Maester Colemon thought it was a chill on the stomach. The weather had been hot, and the Hand often iced his wine, which can upset the digestion. When Lord Jon continued to weaken, I went to him myself, but the gods did not grant me the power to save him.† â€Å"I have heard that you sent Maester Colemon away.† The Grand Maester's nod was as slow and deliberate as a glacier. â€Å"I did, and I fear the Lady Lysa will never forgive me that. Maybe I was wrong, but at the time I thought it best. Maester Colemon is like a son to me, and I yield to none in my esteem for his abilities, but he is young, and the young ofttimes do not comprehend the frailty of an older body. He was purging Lord Arryn with wasting potions and pepper juice, and I feared he might kill him.† â€Å"Did Lord Arryn say anything to you during his final hours?† Pycelle wrinkled his brow. â€Å"In the last stage of his fever, the Hand called out the name Robert several times, but whether he was asking for his son or for the king I could not say. Lady Lysa would not permit the boy to enter the sickroom, for fear that he too might be taken ill. The king did come, and he sat beside the bed for hours, talking and joking of times long past in hopes of raising Lord Jon's spirits. His love was fierce to see.† â€Å"Was there nothing else? No final words?† â€Å"When I saw that all hope had fled, I gave the Hand the milk of the poppy, so he should not suffer. Just before he closed his eyes for the last time, he whispered something to the king and his lady wife, a blessing for his son. The seed is strong, he said. At the end, his speech was too slurred to comprehend. Death did not come until the next morning, but Lord Jon was at peace after that. He never spoke again.† Ned took another swallow of milk, trying not to gag on the sweetness of it. â€Å"Did it seem to you that there was anything unnatural about Lord Arryn's death?† â€Å"Unnatural?† The aged maester's voice was thin as a whisper. â€Å"No, I could not say so. Sad, for a certainty. Yet in its own way, death is the most natural thing of all, Lord Eddard. Jon Arryn rests easy now, his burdens lifted at last.† â€Å"This illness that took him,† said Ned. â€Å"Had you ever seen its like before, in other men?† â€Å"Near forty years I have been Grand Maester of the Seven Kingdoms,† Pycelle replied. â€Å"Under our good King Robert, and Aerys Targaryen before him, and his father Jaehaerys the Second before him, and even for a few short months under Jaehaerys's father, Aegon the Fortunate, the Fifth of His Name. I have seen more of illness than I care to remember, my lord. I will tell you this: Every case is different, and every case is alike. Lord Jon's death was no stranger than any other.† â€Å"His wife thought otherwise.† The Grand Maester nodded. â€Å"I recall now, the widow is sister to your own noble wife. If an old man may be forgiven his blunt speech, let me say that grief can derange even the strongest and most disciplined of minds, and the Lady Lysa was never that. Since her last stillbirth, she has seen enemies in every shadow, and the death of her lord husband left her shattered and lost.† â€Å"So you are quite certain that Jon Arryn died of a sudden illness?† â€Å"I am,† Pycelle replied gravely. â€Å"If not illness, my good lord, what else could it be?† â€Å"Poison,† Ned suggested quietly. Pycelle's sleepy eyes flicked open. The aged maester shifted uncomfortably in his seat. â€Å"A disturbing thought. We are not the Free Cities, where such things are common. Grand Maester Aethelmure wrote that all men carry murder in their hearts, yet even so, the poisoner is beneath contempt.† He fell silent for a moment, his eyes lost in thought. â€Å"What you suggest is possible, my lord, yet I do not think it likely. Every hedge maester knows the common poisons, and Lord Arryn displayed none of the signs. And the Hand was loved by all. What sort of monster in man's flesh would dare to murder such a noble lord?† â€Å"I have heard it said that poison is a woman's weapon.† Pycelle stroked his beard thoughtfully. â€Å"It is said. Women, cravens . . . and eunuchs.† He cleared his throat and spat a thick glob of phelm onto the rushes. Above them, a raven cawed loudly in the rookery. â€Å"The Lord Varys was born a slave in Lys, did you know? Put not your trust in spiders, my lord.† That was scarcely anything Ned needed to be told; there was something about Varys that made his flesh crawl. â€Å"I will remember that, Maester. And I thank you for your help. I have taken enough of your time.† He stood. Grand Maester Pycelle pushed himself up from his chair slowly and escorted Ned to the door. â€Å"I hope I have helped in some small way to put your mind at ease. If there is any other service I might perform, you need only ask.† â€Å"One thing,† Ned told him. â€Å"I should be curious to examine the book that you lent Jon the day before he fell ill.† â€Å"I fear you would find it of little interest,† Pycelle said. â€Å"It was a ponderous tome by Grand Maester Malleon on the lineages of the great houses.† â€Å"Still, I should like to see it.† The old man opened the door. â€Å"As you wish. I have it here somewhere. When I find it, I shall have it sent to your chambers straightaway.† â€Å"You have been most courteous,† Ned told him. Then, almost as an afterthought, he said, â€Å"One last question, if you would be so kind. You mentioned that the king was at Lord Arryn's bedside when he died. I wonder, was the queen with him?† â€Å"Why, no,† Pycelle said. â€Å"She and the children were making the journey to Casterly Rock, in company with her father. Lord Tywin had brought a retinue to the city for the tourney on Prince Joffrey's name day, no doubt hoping to see his son Jaime win the champion's crown. In that he was sadly disappointed. It fell to me to send the queen word of Lord Arryn's sudden death. Never have I sent off a bird with a heavier heart.† â€Å"Dark wings, dark words,† Ned murmured. It was a proverb Old Nan had taught him as a boy. â€Å"So the fishwives say,† Grand Maester Pycelle agreed, â€Å"but we know it is not always so. When Maester Luwin's bird brought the word about your Bran, the message lifted every true heart in the castle, did it not?† â€Å"As you say, Maester.† â€Å"The gods are merciful.† Pycelle bowed his head. â€Å"Come to me as often as you like, Lord Eddard. I am here to serve.† Yes, Ned thought as the door swung shut, but whom? On the way back to his chambers, he came upon his daughter Arya on the winding steps of the Tower of the Hand, windmilling her arms as she struggled to balance on one leg. The rough stone had scuffed her bare feet. Ned stopped and looked at her. â€Å"Arya, what are you doing?† â€Å"Syrio says a water dancer can stand on one toe for hours.† Her hands flailed at the air to steady herself. Ned had to smile. â€Å"Which toe?† he teased. â€Å"Any toe,† Arya said, exasperated with the question. She hopped from her right leg to her left, swaying dangerously before she regained her balance. â€Å"Must you do your standing here?† he asked. â€Å"It's a long hard fall down these steps.† â€Å"Syrio says a water dancer never falls.† She lowered her leg to stand on two feet. â€Å"Father, will Bran come and live with us now?† â€Å"Not for a long time, sweet one,† he told her. â€Å"He needs to win his strength back.† Arya bit her lip. â€Å"What will Bran do when he's of age?† Ned knelt beside her. â€Å"He has years to find that answer, Arya. For now, it is enough to know that he will live.† The night the bird had come from Winterfell, Eddard Stark had taken the girls to the castle godswood, an acre of elm and alder and black cottonwood overlooking the river. The heart tree there was a great oak, its ancient limbs overgrown with smokeberry vines; they knelt before it to offer their thanksgiving, as if it had been a weirwood. Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling up in the grass under Ned's cloak. All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay. â€Å"I dreamed of Bran,† Sansa had whispered to him. â€Å"I saw him smiling.† â€Å"He was going to be a knight,† Arya was saying now. â€Å"A knight of the Kingsguard. Can he still be a knight?† â€Å"No,† Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. â€Å"Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king's council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the SunsetSea, or enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon.† But he will never run beside his wolf again, he thought with a sadness too deep for words, or lie with a woman, or hold his own son in his arms. Arya cocked her head to one side. â€Å"Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?† â€Å"You,† Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, â€Å"will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.† Arya screwed up her face. â€Å"No,† she said, â€Å"that's Sansa.† She folded up her right leg and resumed her balancing. Ned sighed and left her there. Inside his chambers, he stripped off his sweat-stained silks and sluiced cold water over his head from the basin beside the bed. Alyn entered as he was drying his face. â€Å"My lord,† he said, â€Å"Lord Baelish is without and begs audience.† â€Å"Escort him to my solar,† Ned said, reaching for a fresh tunic, the lightest linen he could find. â€Å"I'll see him at once.† Littlefinger was perched on the window seat when Ned entered, watching the knights of the Kingsguard practice at swords in the yard below. â€Å"If only old Selmy's mind were as nimble as his blade,† he said wistfully, â€Å"our council meetings would be a good deal livelier.† â€Å"Ser Barristan is as valiant and honorable as any man in King's Landing.† Ned had come to have a deep respect for the aged, white-haired Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. â€Å"And as tiresome,† Littlefinger added, â€Å"though I daresay he should do well in the tourney. Last year he unhorsed the Hound, and it was only four years ago that he was champion.† The question of who might win the tourney interested Eddard Stark not in the least. â€Å"Is there a reason for this visit, Lord Petyr, or are you here simply to enjoy the view from my window?† Littlefinger smiled. â€Å"I promised Cat I would help you in your inquiries, and so I have.† That took Ned aback. Promise or no promise, he could not find it in him to trust Lord Petyr Baelish, who struck him as too clever by half. â€Å"You have something for me?† â€Å"Someone,† Littlefinger corrected. â€Å"Four someones, if truth be told. Had you thought to question the Hand's servants?† Ned frowned. â€Å"Would that I could. Lady Arryn took her household back to the Eyrie.† Lysa had done him no favor in that regard. All those who had stood closest to her husband had gone with her when she fled: Jon's maester, his steward, the captain of his guard, his knights and retainers. â€Å"Most of her household,† Littlefinger said, â€Å"not all. A few remain. A pregnant kitchen girl hastily wed to one of Lord Renly's grooms, a stablehand who joined the City Watch, a potboy discharged from service for theft, and Lord Arryn's squire.† â€Å"His squire?† Ned was pleasantly surprised. A man's squire often knew a great deal of his comings and goings. â€Å"Ser Hugh of the Vale,† Littlefinger named him. â€Å"The king knighted the boy after Lord Arryn's death.† â€Å"I shall send for him,† Ned said. â€Å"And the others.† Littlefinger winced. â€Å"My lord, step over here to the window, if you would be so kind.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Come, and I'll show you, my lord.† Frowning, Ned crossed to the window. Petyr Baelish made a casual gesture. â€Å"There, across the yard, at the door of the armory, do you see the boy squatting by the steps honing a sword with an oilstone?† â€Å"What of him?† â€Å"He reports to Varys. The Spider has taken a great interest in you and all your doings.† He shifted in the window seat. â€Å"Now glance at the wall. Farther west, above the stables. The guardsman leaning on the ramparts?† Ned saw the man. â€Å"Another of the eunuch's whisperers?† â€Å"No, this one belongs to the queen. Notice that he enjoys a fine view of the door to this tower, the better to note who calls on you. There are others, many unknown even to me. The Red Keep is full of eyes. Why do you think I hid Cat in a brothel?† Eddard Stark had no taste for these intrigues. â€Å"Seven hells,† he swore. It did seem as though the man on the walls was watching him. Suddenly uncomfortable, Ned moved away from the window. â€Å"Is everyone someone's informer in this cursed city?† â€Å"Scarcely,† said Littlefinger. He counted on the fingers on his hand. â€Å"Why, there's me, you, the king . . . although, come to think on it, the king tells the queen much too much, and I'm less than certain about you.† He stood up. â€Å"Is there a man in your service that you trust utterly and completely?† â€Å"Yes,† said Ned. â€Å"In that case, I have a delightful palace in Valyria that I would dearly love to sell you,† Littlefinger said with a mocking smile. â€Å"The wiser answer was no, my lord, but be that as it may. Send this paragon of yours to Ser Hugh and the others. Your own comings and goings will be noted, but even Varys the Spider cannot watch every man in your service every hour of the day.† He started for the door. â€Å"Lord Petyr,† Ned called after him. â€Å"I . . . am grateful for your help. Perhaps I was wrong to distrust you.† Littlefinger fingered his small pointed beard. â€Å"You are slow to learn, Lord Eddard. Distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you climbed down off your horse.†