In "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, what does the villanelle style do for the rhythm of the poem?

The villanelle is a poetic form that consists of nineteen lines: five tercets (or groups of three lines) and one quatrain (or a group of four lines).  The first line of the initial tercet is then repeated as the final line of the second and fourth tercets as well as the penultimate line of the quatrain.  The third line of the initial tercet is also repeated as the final line of the third and fifth tercets as well as the final line of the quatrain and poem.  You'll notice, as well, that these two lines that recur again and again also include an end rhyme: that is, their final words -- "night" and "light" -- rhyme with one another. 

In terms of rhythm, the poem is written in iambic pentameter (five feet per line, and each foot contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, for a total of ten syllables per line).  Because of the repetition of these lines, as dictated by the villanelle form, as well as the regular meter, the poem maintains a fairly consistent rhythm, lending it a mood of inevitability, as though it is plodding toward an end that it cannot escape.  This plodding rhythm and mood is appropriate given the subject matter -- death -- which is certainly inevitable.  Although we might be able to hold it off for a while, as the speaker asks his father to do, it comes, as surely as Thomas's next end rhyme, as surely as the repeated lines.

Why is the bank manager annoyed with the narrator in "My Financial Career" by Stephen Leacock?

The bank manager is obviously annoyed because the narrator causes so much trouble about opening what is a very small account. The narrator, presumably Stephen Leacock himself, only wants to deposit fifty-six dollars and then another fifty dollars a month. Leacock claims to be totally ignorant about banking matters. He should have gone directly to one of the tellers, or else to one of the clerks. Instead he asks to see the manager and gets conducted into that man's private office because it is assumed that he is there on a very important matter. The manager himself assumes that Leacock is an operative from Pinkerton's, a famous private-detective agency which was heavily involved in protecting banks in Leacock's day. (Ben Price, the detective in O. Henry's short story "A Retrieved Reformation," evidently worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.) The manager feels alarmed by Leacock's mysterious manner.

 “You are one of Pinkerton’s men, I presume,” he said.

When Leacock tells him he is not a detective but simply wants to open an account, we read:

The manager looked relieved, but still serious; he concluded now that I was a son of Baron Rothschild, or a young Gould.

Sir Nathan Rothschild (1840-1915) was a member of the enormously powerful Rothschild banking family in Europe. Jay Gould (1838-1892), one of the American "robber barons," was among the richest men of his era. He made his fortune in railroad development. Leacock is obviously young, so the manager might take him for a junior member of the Rothschild or Gould family. When the manager finds out that the narrator is only bringing fifty-six dollars to his imposing institution, he shows his annoyance by his body language and tone of voice.

The manager got up and opened the door. He called to the accountant.

"Mr. Montgomery," he said, unkindly loud, "this gentleman is opening an account; he will deposit fifty-six dollars. Good morning."

"Good morning," I said, and stepped into the safe.

"Come out," said the manager coldly, and showed me the other way.

Leacock is so befuddled after his embarrassing interview with the bank manager that he causes more trouble when he is turned over to one of the clerks. The narrator ends up depositing his fifty-six dollars and then inadvertently writing a check to withdraw the entire amount. At the end of the story he tells us:

Since then I bank no more. I keep my money in cash in my trousers pocket, and my savings in silver dollars in a sock.

What relevance does Social Exchange Theory have to Corporate Social Responsibility?

Social Exchange Theory is a complex theory that describes how people interact and relate with others in economic and social settings. Simplified, the theory states that people make choices based on their perception of the cost and reward of each interaction in which they are involved.

Social Corporate Responsibility is the idea that companies should not simply exploit resources and labor to maximize their profits; instead, they should actively take a role in promoting and...

Social Exchange Theory is a complex theory that describes how people interact and relate with others in economic and social settings. Simplified, the theory states that people make choices based on their perception of the cost and reward of each interaction in which they are involved.

Social Corporate Responsibility is the idea that companies should not simply exploit resources and labor to maximize their profits; instead, they should actively take a role in promoting and aiding worthwhile social causes.

How do these two concepts work together? Companies that make an effort to be socially responsible are more likely to value their employees and reward them appropriately. Likewise, according to Social Exchange Theory, employees who receive the reward of good working conditions, pay, benefits, etc. are motivated to invest more effort in their jobs (in this sense, their effort is the "cost" part of the equation).

Many employees also feel a sense of personal satisfaction when working for a company that behaves in a socially responsible manner. Even though this personal satisfaction is not financial, it is still a reward that can help cultivate a positive culture within a business.  

What do you think are the top two advantages and the top two disadvantages of federalism?

Advantage 1: Federalism allows countries to stay together if they have regions that are very different from one another.  If a country has very different regions and does not have federalism, all of the regions have to obey the same laws and many regions will be unhappy.  With federalism, the people of different regions can have much more autonomy and will be more likely to coexist peacefully.

Advantage 2: Federalism allows states or provinces to...

Advantage 1: Federalism allows countries to stay together if they have regions that are very different from one another.  If a country has very different regions and does not have federalism, all of the regions have to obey the same laws and many regions will be unhappy.  With federalism, the people of different regions can have much more autonomy and will be more likely to coexist peacefully.

Advantage 2: Federalism allows states or provinces to be “laboratories of democracy.”  What this means is that the various states can experiment with different approaches to problems.  Let us say that various states of the US want to try to improve education in different ways.  It would be possible to take many different approaches and see which ones work and which do not.  If there is no federalism, the whole country will have to try the same approach to education and we can only test out one approach at a time.

Disadvantage 1: With federalism, not all people have the same rights.  In the United States, women have more of a right to an abortion in some states than in others.  We can argue that this is wrong.  Either abortion is a right that all American women should have or it is an evil thing that should not be legal anywhere.  With federalism, we let some states have laws that, at least arguably, infringe on the rights of their citizens.  This leaves us with a situation where not all of the people in the same country have the same rights.

Disadvantage 2: With different states having so much power, businesses can play states off against one another.  They can tell State A that they will go to State B unless State A gives them subsidies.  This forces states to engage in bidding wars, giving away taxpayer money to try to lure businesses.  This is, arguably, wasteful and wrong.

In "The Luncheon," how did the lady react when the narrator ordered only mutton chops?

When the narrator ordered only mutton chops, the lady is incredulous, and she criticizes him for ordering such a filling dish. She claims she never ate anything as heavy as chops, as it would overload her stomach. For his part, the narrator only orders the mutton because it is the cheapest dish on the menu. Because he is a struggling writer at the time, the narrator knows he can't indulge himself if he wants to...

When the narrator ordered only mutton chops, the lady is incredulous, and she criticizes him for ordering such a filling dish. She claims she never ate anything as heavy as chops, as it would overload her stomach. For his part, the narrator only orders the mutton because it is the cheapest dish on the menu. Because he is a struggling writer at the time, the narrator knows he can't indulge himself if he wants to be able to afford the bill.

When his dish arrives, the lady once again lectures the narrator about eating such a "heavy luncheon." In truth, the narrator only orders one mutton chop. For her part, despite professing she never eats a large luncheon, the lady has salmon, caviar, asparagus, a peach, ice-cream, and coffee for her meal.

To add insult to injury, just as she chooses a ripe peach from the basket the waiter brings over, the lady lectures the narrator about eating meat. Seemingly oblivious to the expense the narrator incurs on her behalf, the lady again lectures her host as they leave the restaurant. The narrator knows he will be penniless for the month, but tells us his revenge came later. Years after the luncheon, the narrator discovers the lady now weighs twenty-one stone (almost three-hundred pounds).

In Sherman Alexie's "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," how is Jackson alienated from the community? How does he respond?

Jackson is alienated from the community for many reasons. The first is that he is a Spokane Indian, an Interior Salish, who lives far from where he grew up. He went to Seattle twenty-three years ago, and, after flunking out of college and working some blue-collar jobs, he finds himself homeless, addicted to alcohol, and suffering from an undefined mental illness. His life involves wandering around the streets of Seattle and hanging out with other...

Jackson is alienated from the community for many reasons. The first is that he is a Spokane Indian, an Interior Salish, who lives far from where he grew up. He went to Seattle twenty-three years ago, and, after flunking out of college and working some blue-collar jobs, he finds himself homeless, addicted to alcohol, and suffering from an undefined mental illness. His life involves wandering around the streets of Seattle and hanging out with other displaced Indians from other tribes.

In addition, he is alienated from his heritage. He finds powwow regalia that he believes once belonged to his grandmother now hanging in a pawn shop. Someone robbed her of her regalia 50 years before, which is symbolic of the way in which he feels disconnected from his grandmother and from his heritage. The fact that the regalia is now in a pawn shop shows how his heritage has been degraded and disrespected.

Jackson responds to his alienation mainly through passivity—drinking and being aimless. However, as the story goes on, he is motivated to find the money to buy back his grandmother's regalia, a sign that he is taking a more active route to connecting with his past and his heritage.

How can I conduct a secondary data collection to investigate recent aging trends in the United States? What trends are currently taking place? How...

Secondary data is data that has already been gathered by researchers and published in resources. In contrast, primary data is data we collect ourselves through our own research studies. We can find secondary data by locating censuses or technical reports published on government department and organization websites or in databases. We can also find secondary data in reference books, trade journals, literature review articles, and scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed journals; such scholarly articles report results of studies other scholars have already conducted. Beyond government and organization websites, such resources can be found in research institutions, university libraries, and university library search engines and databases ("Tips for Collecting, Reviewing, and Analyzing Secondary Data," PQDL: Program Quality Digital Library).

Secondary data on elderly consumer trends is extremely useful for marketing research since the market is guided by consumer trends, and the elderly make up 11% of the total US population. In addition, "The elderly are not poor," as stated by Charles Schewe in his own research article ("Buying and Consumer Behavior of the Elderly Findings From Behavioral Research," Advances in Consumer Research). Only 6% of the elderly population can be considered poor; the majority of the elderly have incomes below 7% of the national income average. Therefore, very lucrative niches can be created based on the consumer interests of the elderly (Schewe).

Some things we know about the consumer trends of the elderly are that they prefer leisurely activities; therefore, they invest a lot of their time and money in the travel and entertainment industries (Schewe). The AARP reports seeing a steady increase in elderly travelers. As the elderly population increases, so does the number of elderly travelers. By 2009, 12% of all trips taken in the US were taken by people 65 years or older, and the total number of trips taken was 45.5 billion ("How the Travel Patterns of Older Adults Are Changing," AARP Public Policy Institute).

Other elderly consumer trends valuable to the research marketer concern preferences for generic brands, brand loyalty, store loyalty, and needs for specialty goods and services. A Progressive Grocer study conducted in Baltimore found that 71% of the elderly ranked "generic items as good as other brands," and 70% ranked them as being of "better value" than name brands (as cited in Schewe). More research needs to be conducted on the consumer trends of the elderly. Currently, one of the most recent studies we have on brand loyalty was conducted by Jeffrey Towle and Claude Martin in 1976, who found that only 8.4% were brand loyal, leaving tons of room open for marketers to develop new brands of interest to the elderly (as cited in Schewe). Similarly, a study conducted by Progressive Grocer in 1979 found that 80% of the elderly are store loyal, preferring to shop at "their 'regular' store" (as cited in Schewe). Betsy Gelb also reports interesting data in her 1978 study on the preference of the elderly for their own senior-citizen clothing departments and package carry-out services (as cited in Schewe).