Im Not Scared Essay

â€Å"Poverty is the mother of crime. † (Marcus Aurelius) Contrary to the chrome yellow of the boundless wheat fields is the darkness of poverty in which the hamlet of Acqua Traverse is wreathed. Niccolo Ammanity consummately describes the pervasive poverty of the place â€Å"forgotten by God and man† throughout this enthralling novel â€Å"I’m not scared†. The villagers do not only fall victim to poverty, but also to the subsequent fears with which they are afflicted after committing the crime – kidnapping a boy of a wealthy family and holding him to ransom. Fears are correspondingly intertwined with the villagers; they play a tremendous role in the adults’ actions and motivations and become one of the primary themes of this novel. The most palpable fear of the adults in the novel is the fear of being apprehended and incarcerated as they have done such a sordid deed – kidnapping a boy. Therefore, extreme poverty and the yearning to get out of the current life from which the kidnap springs from can be deemed as the roots of the most significant fear in â€Å"I’m Not Scared†. In 1978 Acqua Traverse was so small that it was practically non-existent. † This statement of Michele, to some extent, depicts the penury which the villagers undergo. Apart from the formidable palace of the Scardaccione family, there are four drab little houses. The situation of Michele’s family is illustrative of the appalling poverty of the hamlet. To exemplify this, his father has to leave the house quite often to seek emplo yment in the North and that is where he meets Sergio – head of the â€Å"culprits†. The villagers have been so disenchanted with their quality of life of Acqua Traverse that they later allow their voraciousness for materials to override their sense of morality and societal values. All in all, the most significant fear – fear of being brought to justice – arises out of the extreme poverty that the villagers are confronting. The degree of fear amongst the villagers varies throughout the novel; sometimes fears appear vaguely, sometimes discernibly. Interestingly, the volatility of fear seems to parallel the intensity of the story; when fear reaches its peak, the novel enthrallingly absorbs the readers in its flow of events. Fears appeared from the first few pages of the novel: â€Å"At Acqua Traverse the grown-ups didn’t leave the houses till six in the evening. They shut themselves up indoors with the blinds drawn. † This suggests the villagers have already kidnapped Filippo and are striving to remain aloof from the outside world in the daytime and from justice, that is, they are aware that the deed they just did is morally erroneous. This awareness is metaphorically expressed through the rigors of the drought which the villagers are experiencing. The sun took away your breath, your strength, your desire to play, everything. And it was just unbearable at night. â€Å"Furthermore, the villagers’ fear that the poverty of Acqua Traverse has foreclosed the future of their children takes the form of maternal affection. â€Å"Mama curled up beside me and whispered in my ear, ‘when you grow up you must go away from here and never come back. ’ Even Mama – a passive pa rticipant in the kidnap – realizes the depraved things the adults are conspiring and does not want this trauma to afflict her children. There are some other less significant fears throughout the novel such as Papa’s fear towards the old man Sergio, Felice’s fear of the ferocity of Mama when she spares no effort to protect Michele, to name but a few. Fear reaches its climax when the helicopters comb the hamlet and its periphery for the boy. The villagers acknowledge they are on the verge of being apprehended by the police. â€Å"The grown-ups stayed at Salvatore’s house all evening†¦ They were shouting so loud that they woke us up. We had grown used to all sorts of things. Nocturnal meetings, noise, raised voices, broken plates, but now they were shouting too much. † Hence, it can be observed that notwithstanding the unceasing fluctuations of their degree, fears are omnipresent in every nook and cranny of Acqua Traverse. Dorothy Thompson once said: â€Å"The most destructive element in the human mind is fear. Fear creates aggressiveness. † Not only do fears render the villagers of Acqua Traverse more belligerent and inhumane, they also divest the villagers of their ability to think and act in a rational demeanor as an ordinary person normally does. Papa made the scissors sign with his fingers. ‘Two ears we’ll cut off. Two. ’ Papa who always treats his children with paternal affection and tenderness now turns out to be a vicious man ready to do harm to a child when the deal is not reached. The readers no longer see Papa saying â€Å"Don’t you kiss me, you’re all dirty. If you want to kiss your father, youà ¢â‚¬â„¢ve got to wash first†. A ruthless’ bogeyman’ that ‘comes out and takes the children away and sells them to gypsies’ appears in lieu (although at the end of the novel Papa somehow strives to redeem the physiological trauma he has caused to Michele). Perhaps Michele hopes that all these things are merely in a moment of aberration; unfortunately, after falling victim to poverty and its subsequent fears as mentioned above, the villagers have drastically turned into different people from whom they used to be. By way of contrast, Michele’s ways to overcome fears and to perceive surrounding things are seemingly rather constructive and far from naive. As the story intensifies, Michele’s fears are heightened and his innocence simultaneously irretrievably crumbles away; nonetheless, he succeeds in dealing with these fears more precociously and rationally, unlike the adults. To recapitulate, fear serves as one of the primary themes of the novel ‘I’m not Scared’; it originates in the indigence that the villagers of Acqua Traverse are going through and its degree varies throughout the story paralleling the intensity of the plot. Fears are also employed by Niccolo Ammanity to delineate the villagers’ state of mind and to bear stark contrast to the protagonist of the novel, Michele. The dubiously mundane life at Acqua Travers is none but a veneer; at night that veneer breaks and reveals a world of criminals, of inconceivably horrendous deeds, of ruptures of relationships and faiths and of inhumanity. And prevail in that world, fears †¦ Residual vestiges of affection and loyalty evaporates when ‘evil gleam’ => loyalty irrevocably and irreparably crumbles away => Michele opts for Filippo, for his sense of morality and justice in lieu of his father. Michele’s loyalty to his family manifests itself in a variety of ways: sister (take charge of his sister: hand in hand. We went home), submissiveness towards his mom, irately protect his mom when she is assaulted by Felice. His loyalty initially coerced him into unceasingly seeking palatable grounds for his parents not involving in the kidnap of Filippo. => his brother

Functional Area Plan: Production and Operations Essay

Part 1: Production and Operations Manager Composition The ultimate goal for the company is to foster growth and expansion by becoming the foremost provider in quality products and customer service. In order to reach this goal and experience 100% growth over the next five years, the Production and Operations department (â€Å"Productions†) must streamline its manufacturing and restructure inventory processes. At present, the current facility operates at maximum capacity. Adding second and third shifts will enable the company to meet consumer demand and to provide the right product for the right price. Duties and Responsibilities Operations management generally entails the maintenance and control of activities within an organization in producing its goods and services, (Foster & Ogden, 2008). As plastic is both versatile and economical, Productions recommend its continued use in the manufacturing of the special ball-bearing sliding mechanism. Another concern is the reduction of downtime. Productions will work hard to cultivate the talent within so there is necessary support for completion of all projects. Over the past few years, great strides have been made to optimize the efficiency of the units while continuing safe operation of all equipment. This includes having only highly skilled technicians to oversee product development in areas of plastic injection molding, thermoforming and paper conversion. Such expertise is imperative because these three functions are commonly selected for flexibility in the process of manufacturing plastic products, (â€Å"R&d engineering plastic,† 2009). Further, as Productions is responsible for the manufacturing of its signature coffee cup, it should remain abreast of any industrial changes to the raw materials or equipment used in making the product. Training and New Equipment In addition to the purchase of raw materials needed to manufacture the cup, there is sufficient capital to invest in new state-of-the-art equipment. The new software and technologies will enable greater efficiency and inventory control. Training of the new technologies and/or software tools and equipment will be mandatory. As permissible, there will be on-the-job training for qualifying workers to perform the heavier tasks to avoid delays in production due to absenteeism. Productions will recommend that potential managers attend webinars and related workshops sponsored by the Productions and Operations Management Society (POMS), to remain alert of new trends and innovations in this specific area of interest. Collaboration With Other Departments Besides the traditional overseeing of day-to-day operations, improving manufacturing activities through customer service falls within this scope as well (operations management, 2009). The Marketing Department (â€Å"Marketing†) has presented its strategies to draw new customers and double production figures. Through its core values of continuous improvement and accountability, Productions will accommodate Marketing by insisting on quality, but not at the expense of safety. This will require changes to its inspection procedure so that shoddy merchandise is not released. Based on data from Marketing’s research, there is strong reason to believe profits will continue. However, an independent report from Accounting and Finance (â€Å"Accounting†) indicates a new facility is not cost-efficient at this time. This notion has been shelved in favor of adding second and third shifts. Warehouse space will be acquired to house and inventory the raw materials. This will lead to several job openings in shipping and receiving. Other positions include quality assurance inspectors to examine the finished products as well as equipment maintenance. Productions will work closely with Human Resources (â€Å"HR†) to ascertain whether it will be apropos to hire a department liaison to handle internal customer-related issues. Code of Ethics All employees are expected to engage lawfully and professionally as they perform their duties at all times. Employees are not given authorization to engage fellow employees or customers in any illegal or unethical acts or behaviors. Any violations or suspicious activity must be reported promptly. A failure to comply may result in suspension or termination, (U.S. Bank code, 2011). Part 2: Production and Operations Manager Executive Summary Through high quality customer service and innovative products, the Productions and Operations Functional area is committed to superior product development. By hiring experienced technicians and providing on-the-job training of qualified workers, it will accommodate the company’s goals for excellence. A second and third shift will eliminate the need for unnecessary overtime. Webinar training and coaching sessions will likewise keep all workers abreast of current trends and changes in the industry.

The Working Outline for Research Paper on Euthanasia

WORKING OUTLINE I. Introduction A. Euthanasia is defined as a â€Å"good and painless death† B. Active Euthanasia, Passive Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide or Mercy Killing are the different kinds of euthanasia that most people consider to be immoral C. The reasons of people in favor of euthanasia bases on the situation of the patients 1. The patient’s inability to afford expensive medication 2. The patient requesting to end his life 3. Families who could not bear the pain of seeing their loved ones suffer D. THESIS: Among the factors that affect the decisions of people engaging in euthanasia, poverty, specifically the inability to afford medical services and medicines, is the greatest. II. The different cases of euthanasia presents the contrasting views of society A. Most physicians feel painful in maintaining their vegetative patients’ medications despite the fact of them knowing that these persons could no longer survive and even if they would survive, would not have a worthy life. B. The Philippines being a Christian country prohibits euthanasia because it sees it as a form of suicide, but gives an exception to those people who are emotionally distressed due to expensive medications. III. The depressing economic crisis and the high budget coverage of health care expenses lead states to consider the acceptance of euthanasia. A. Health care expenses for patients with terminal illnesses are currently covering the largest percentage of cost in the economic budgets of foreign countries 1. USA 2. Germany 3. Tasmanian Parliament B. The Philippines is a third world country whose major issues are poverty. 1. Families/patients stop medication against their will because of unaffordable medical services. 2. The Philippine government due to lack of budget is not able to pay for the health care expenses of its citizens. C. Money and financial needs are stressors for terminally ill patients and their families, not only in the current dispiriting situation but also in the future even if the patient dies. IV. Conclusion

MGM625-0903A-01 Applied Finance for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Essay - 2

MGM625-0903A-01 Applied Finance for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Individual Project 2 - Essay Example difference between the current assets and the current liabilities, in other words, the assets set aside by the company in order to run the day to day operations (Samuels et al, 2000). The working capitals for the three years are computed as follows: The working capital of the firm is sufficiently higher than the current liabilities and it has remained almost steady for the three years, with a slight decrease in 2003. In case Superior Living is planning on entering new projects and investments, it will be essential to increase the current level of working capital. The current ratio of the company is the ratio of the current assets to the current liabilities. It indicates the liquidity position of the firm and its ability to cover the current liabilities with the liquid assets. The quick ratio is computed as the ratio of the ready cash assets (current assets – inventories – prepaid expenses) to the current liabilities. The liquidity ratios for Superior Living are computed as follows: It is evident that the current ratio is around 2 for the three years, indicating the strong liquidity position of the company. It is interesting to note that the inventories form a large portion of the current assets and they cannot be readily liquefied. The quick ratio is around 0.55 which is much lower than the ideal 1:1, indicating that the short term cash needs in case of solvency will not be met (Burks and Wilks, 2007). Hence the company needs to improve the cash assets. The short-term (due within a year) and long-term debts (due in more than one year) of the Superior Living are listed in the table below. The debt to equity or the gearing ratio is computed as the ratio of the long-term debt to the equity (Samuels et al, 2000). The values are tabulated below: The gearing ratio of the company is very low (2% - 3%) over the three years. Though the long-term debt has increased by $400,000 over the three years, the debt to equity ratio has not increased. The company is not

Exchange of the Products in a Physical Form and Sale or Purchase of Literature review

Exchange of the Products in a Physical Form and Sale or Purchase of Foreign Currency - Literature review Example Two major factors are said to be the litmus test of market efficiency: the magnitude of statistical dependence between consecutive movements in exchange rates and the profitability of trading regulations. Research pertaining to the first issue on common statistical mechanisms like runs analysis and serial correlation analysis is to decide on the magnitude of reliance between successive exchange rate changes. (Jacque 1997:110). One hypothesis demonstrates that the past exchange rates include useful data in projecting future exchange rates since the data only spreads slowly among market participants, thus contradicting the market efficiency hypothesis. Poole in his empirical study has established substantial serial dependence in the currency price-rates of change by employing tests of serial correlation, filter rules and variance-time function. Pool attributed his research findings of serial reliance on transaction and inventory-carrying costs. Dooley and Shafer (1976) found a substant ial serial correlation in exchange rate series, thus doubting the Market Efficiency theory and a contrario, offering empirical proof for the Price Dynamics theory of exchange rate behaviour. Giddy and Dufey (1975) in their research study of the comparative projecting correctness of five models, proved that the behaviour of spot exchange rates is best illustrated as following a random walk, an outcome clearly dependable with the weak form of market efficiency. Some research studies have revealed that certain trading methodologies are able to make optimistic surplus revenues.

Who is the real monster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Who is the real monster - Essay Example rrified by what he has done, and abandons the so-called monster to his fate, wandering alone in the world looking at first for acceptance, but as time goes on, increasingly looking for revenge for all the pain and suffering that he is forced to endure. This paper analyzes Mary Shelley’s depiction of the scientist and his creature, showing how a number of key metaphors and similes, along with the conscious exploitation of extreme settings, reveal Doctor Frankenstein to be the real monster. The novel uses an interesting structure of some introductory letters at the beginning, and concluding letters at the end from a ship’s captain, Mr Walton, to frame the main story. The first main character to appear is â€Å"a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature† (letter IV) and the second is â€Å"a human being...not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European† (Letter IV). The perspective is of a neutral observer, the captain of a ship stranded in the far north. These descriptions reveal the standard prejudices of the time, in which Europeans considered themselves superior to other races, and through their history of slavery and colonialism treated other nations as â€Å"savages.† The ship’s captain is very impressed with Doctor Frankenstein’s highly civilized character but it is interesting that he also uses the word â€Å"creature† when de scribing him: â€Å"How can I see so noble a creature destroyed by misery... He is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated...† (letter IV). This introduction sets up an expectation that the strange guest on the ship is a good man, who will have an inspiring tale to tell, and that there is something wild and dangerous about the giant figure fleeing into the ice. When the Doctor is taken into the ship, the perspective changes to become his perspective and the main part of the book which follows consists of Doctor Frankenstein’s

Truth-in-Sentencing Laws in the US Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Truth-in-Sentencing Laws in the US - Term Paper Example Truth in sentencing laws was enacted in the U.S. to reduce the chances of early release from incarceration. Schmallenger (2011) points out that the law requires criminals to serve a substantial portion of the prison sentence imposed by the court before they can be allowed to leave the prison peripheries. The question that many ask relate to whether this kind of law is capable of deterring crime or not? Proponents of the law argue that truth in sentencing can help deter crime in a big way. Firstly, it is argued that locking offenders in prisons for a substantial period of time enhances public safety by deterring crime (Owens, 2010). This is because it prevents the offenders from engaging in criminal acts through incapacitation as they are locked. The locking incapacitates them as they are denied the freedom to move out and engage in criminal activities. This helps in deterring crime a great deal. Incarceration of offenders also prevents inmates from coordinating criminal activities wi th others who have not put in prison. Research shows that one means that criminals use to organize their criminal activities is through communication. This implies that denying a criminal the freedom to communicate and organize criminal acts is one way of addressing the issue of crime. This element has been made possible since the enactment of the truth in sentencing by ensuring that criminals are kept in prison for quite some time until they reform, thereby deterring crime. Truth in sentencing is not only meant to keep inmates in prison but also acts as a rehabilitation measure where inmates are being educated and counseled so as to become good people once they complete their sentences. This helps a great deal in deterring crime. Similarly, truth in sentencing deters would-be-offenders from engaging in criminal activities. This is because, they are aware that engaging in criminal activities may land them in jail where they would spend a substantial portion of their lives in prison, which no one would want. This helps in deterring crime (Owens, 2010). Truth in sentencing also deters crime due to the fact that it creates certainty of the punishment that one receives as a result of being incarcerated.  

A letter to local representative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A letter to local representative - Assignment Example Many residents are opting to go and work in other neighboring towns instead. This therefore means that there is a growing concern that the town needs to regain its lost glory and that is why I am in support for the creation of a National Park in the area. Establishing a national park in the area comes with its benefits especially that the town is on a mission to re-establish itself. Conservation of biodiversity remains the central or rather the starting point of the entire building process in the town. Generally, high biodiversity levels will ensure that the ecosystems in the town remain resilient and healthy. This therefore means that with the conservation in the area, the ecosystems in the area will continue to generate nutrient cycling, water and air in the town and climate regulation within Millinocket town. With this in place, the town officials will be giving the town an effective platform for establishing a national park in the area. Establishing a national park in the town will be vital in safeguarding the town’s economy, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic values. Alternatively, it will provide intrinsic value of ecosystems and species in the area. The creation of a national park in the area will help in protecting a wide range of art facts and Aboriginal heritage places. Alternatively, it will provide both cultural and spiritual places especially for the residents in the town. In doing this, the national park in the area will give the public an opportunity to access and even enjoy the spectacular and diverse natural areas while at the same time protect some of the future generations to enjoy. Currently, the town is facing various challenges in terms of its economic and social values. The only option that remains in saving Millinocket town from further downfall is by establishing a national park in the area. Intact natural areas

Innovation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Innovation - Assignment Example Consequently, innovation was a prerogative of commercial organizations that used their employee talent to bring out new products and ideas that they could market for profit (Pearce, 2012). In this document, a review of the literature on open innovation is presented followed by experience of the author of this paper, who participated in a project at openIDEO, an open innovation platform. The term Open Innovation was first introduced by Chesbrough who indicated that open innovation "is a paradigm shift in approach of organizations that need to consider external and internal ideas along with external and internal path to develop a collaborative approach and advance knowledge in the field by introducing practical and innovative approaches to problem solving" (Chesbrough, 2003, p. 17). Open innovation creates a mutually beneficial relationship since both the firm that sponsors open innovation projects and individuals or smaller firms that participate, gain through generation of designs, and present ideas that meet the requirements (Chesbrough, and Eichenholz, 2013). Open innovation is different from outsourcing where existing products are given out on contractual manufacturing and vendors must produce the components as per specifications (Terwiesch, 2008). In open innovation forum, the administrator presents a problem and participants must offer their answers. A diversi ty of opinions is needed and the firm may examine several alternatives from among the solutions offered, pick up an idea that appears most suitable, and place the selected idea for refinement (Levine and Prietula, 2013). While open innovation is a good concept, certain problems are apparent. Some of the main problems are legal issues and the lack of privacy and confidentiality in the forum. Another problem is that requirements for the project and details of the selected design are available for even rival firms.

Consumer perception between international and local brands - A western Dissertation

Consumer perception between international and local brands - A western vs asian perspective - Dissertation Example Managers face challenges because of lack of synthesis between managerial concepts of brand identity and socio-cultural conception of inter-group dynamics, which may result in ill-fitted brand identities is a given sociopolitical context. Singapore is one of the top shopping destinations in Asia and hence attracts numerous international brands. These brands operate in a highly competitive environment trying to attract the attention of consumers as well as gain recognition against other international brands. This is because Singapore is a multicultural city compromising of Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians, and with one in four resident being a non-Singaporean (SEDB, 2009). Consumer companies have been trying to tap into the opportunities presented by Singapore’s strengths and unique positioning. 1.2 Rationale for Research Studies have been conducted by different researchers on the subject such on attitude towards foreign and local brands – uniqueness theory to diffe rentiate themselves from others (Kashi, 2013), consumer ethnocentrism (Rice & Wongtada, 2007) and on the influence of animosity (Fullerton et al, 2007). Researches on this subject have been conducted but most of the researches have been conducted in developed countries. No such study has been found that focuses on the Asian countries. This research aims to go deeper and compare local and international brands in Singapore to identify local consumers brand perception. Singapore has been chosen as the focus of this study because of her ability to attract a wide range of international brands. Besides, Singapore is a useful setting because it is strongly influenced by both eastern and western traditions. In fact this can serve as a guideline for other Asian nations as they adopt western habits and consumption patterns. However, there is a tendency in Singapore to support the home grown design talents to the extent that domestic fashion brands have been gaining international exposure with government support (The Straits Times, 2012). Renowned local brands that originated in Singapore include Raoul and TWG. This significantly shows that Singapore brands do have the ability to compete with international brands such as T.M. Lewin. Therefore, this research expands into Singaporean’s reaction and attitude towards branding and how they perceive the established international brands against renowned local brands in various sectors. This research emphasizes on how Singaporeans come about having a particular opinion towards brands and what factors may influence consumer’s choice of brand. Customers globally have developed enhanced ability to select local and foreign brands even in developing countries. Business environments being competitive, it has become imperative for sellers of both domestic and foreign goods to explore customer purchase behavior. 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives With the aim to explore Singaporean consumers’ attitude and perception t owards brands, the objectives of the research are: To identify what factors can affect consumer’s attitude to brands Identifying models to assess consumers attitude towards branding To find out the different perceptions between international and local brands Comparing the attitude towards

Discuss how evidence-based practice is applied in your practice Assignment

Discuss how evidence-based practice is applied in your practice setting and describe the desired patient outcome achieved through this approach - Assignment Example To start with, evidence based practice has led to the adoption of the best methods of releasing results to patients and their relatives. The inter-professional staff members in the Oncology department have different levels of education and preparation leading to some differences in managing some problems. For instance, at first any oncology staff in the department could release results to patients (Love & Rodrigue, 2013). But with time, the department realized that bad news released to patients by most doctors who had fewer interactions with the patients made them suffer psychologically and in most cases succumbed to malignancies too soon. On realizing this, most of the staff have attended some sessions in order to improve their techniques of handling patients. Consequently, better methods of releasing results have been introduced. Currently, dispatching results is often done by nurses who have much positive interaction with patients and also those who have time to explain to them on best treatment practices to be undertaken. Love and Rodrigue (2013), suggests that this has minimized the occurrence of early deaths in the unit by a large margin. EBR has also been employed in radiation treatments (Love & Rodrigue, 2013). Initially, the oncology department did not emphasis much on testing sensitivity of a patient to chemotherapy, but largely relied on the standard operating procedures for different stages of cancer. Later, the head of the department suggested on using tumor markers to determine individualized based sensitivity or resistance to chemotherapy to help manage cancer patients better. Upon adopting the above strategies, treatment methods such as selecting drugs were largely based on individual sensitivity and the analysis of tumor markers. This led to better response of patients to chemotherapy in the hospital and the practice was widely borrowed by neighboring hospitals. With time, it was discovered that some patients, especially those in

Hedda Gabler Essay Example for Free

Hedda Gabler Essay Throughout the years people have developed an image of how a particular gender should act. In the play Hedda Gabler, the characters that are involved challenge and conform the gender stereotypes through verbal and non-verbal text. The author â€Å"Henrik Ibsen† has displayed characters such as Hedda Gabler and Julianne Tesman to challenge their stereotypical gender behaviors. Hedda Gabler, the play’s main character, challenges the common gender stereotype of a woman by portraying Gabbler as a person who has a thirst for being free. Gablers father, General Gabler is one of the main influences of her behavior challenging her feminine role. An example is ‘Tesman- â€Å"My old morning shoes, my slippers look! †¦ I missed them dreadfully. Now you should see them†. Hedda- â€Å"No thanks, it really doesn’t interest me†. This portrays Gabler showing no affection to Jorgen Tesman’s slippers. The way Hedda is not interested in Tesman’s slippers shows her little care for affection towards Tesman. This challenges the common gender stereotype because women are stereotyped to be affectionate and sensitive. Hedda Gabler is furthered portrayed by having masculine traits by non-verbal aspects of her character by having a pistol, Hedda-â€Å"[lifting the pistol and aiming] I’m going to shoot you, sir!† Brack- â€Å"No, no, no! Don’t stand there aiming that at me.† This quote represents the gun symbolically representing her masculinity and at this point, Hedda using it empowers her and used to gain some sought of power over Brack. The gun seen as a non verbal aspect of the play clearly representing Hedda Gabbler in a masculine way challenging the common stereotype of her gender. The gun, a phallic symbol, is Hedda projecting her masculinity. The way she always shows the gun, aiming it at Brack and talking about the gun to Tesman alarming him. Brack towards the end of the play blackmails Hedda about the death of lovburg and to avoid he being publically disgraced must tend to the will of Brack, â€Å"Brack-â€Å" Willingly every single evening, Miss Tesman. We shall have a very pleasant time here you and I† Hedda – â€Å"Yes that is what you are looking forward to isn’t, Mr. Brack? You as the only cock in the yard.† Hedda then kills herself representing her making sure Brack does not get the upper hand over her and gets the ultimate freedom from men trying to dominate her. Hedda Gabler also shown to hate thought of pregnancy rejecting the common gender stereotype. This is shown through a conversation between Julie Tesman and Hedda Gabler: Tesman – â€Å"Yes but have you noticed how plumped she’s grown, and how well she is? How much she has filled out on her travels?† Hedda – â€Å"I’m exactly the same as I was when I went away.† This quote represents that Hedda resents the idea of her being pregnant and will avoid the topic completely. Through this Hedda further rebels against her gender stereotype by not wanting to have kids which all women at that time where expected to have. She further rebels against this concept by ultimately her death by suicide. Through killing herself it shows the ultimate rejection of society’s expectation for a female and projects Hedda’s resent to conform. Julie Tesman is a character in the play that conforms to the female gender stereotype. Julie Tesman portrays this in the paly by constantly asking Tesman if Hedda is pregnant â€Å"Yes but have you noticed how plumped she’s grown, and how well she is? How much she has filled out on her travels?† which is important because she believes she should be. The fact that Julie Tesman serves Jorgen Tesman implements that she works for men a common female gender stereotype that women work for men. The fact that Julie Tesman will sacrifice everything for Jorgen shows her as mother figure toward Jorgen. Julie is seen as a mother figure, which shows that she is conforming to a female gender stereotype. In the play Hedda gabbler the author has created characters that challenge and conform to the common gender stereotypes. Hedda gabbler through being portrayed as masculine and always not wanting to be controlled sows how she challenges the female gender stereotype. Julie Tesman portrayed as a caring, old mother figure conforms to a female gender stereotype because of her show of affection, fragility and seen as a mother figure. Through the use of verbal and non-verbal aspects the author has projected these two characters to conform and the other to rebel against the common gender stereotype.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Prevention Strategies

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Prevention Strategies Until the 1990s, STDs were commonly known as venereal diseases: Veneris is the Latin genitive form of the name Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Social disease was another euphemism. Public health officials originally introduced the term sexually transmitted infection, which clinicians are increasingly using alongside the term sexually transmitted disease in order to distinguish it from the former. According to the Ethiopian Aids Resource Center FAQ, Sometimes the terms STI and STD are used interchangeably. This can be confusing and not always accurate, so it helps first to understand the difference between infection and disease. Infection simply means that a germ-virus, bacteria, or parasite-that can cause disease or sickness is present inside a persons body. An infected person does not necessarily have any symptoms or signs that the virus or bacteria is actually hurting his or her body; they do not necessarily feel sick. A disease means that the infection is actually causing the in fected person to feel sick, or to notice something is wrong. For this reason, the term STI which refers to infection with any germ that can cause an STD, even if the infected person has no symptoms-is a much broader term than STD. The distinction being made, however, is closer to that between a colonization snd an infection, rather than between an infection and a disease. Specifically, the term STD refers only to infections that are causing symptoms. Because most of the time people do not know that they are infected with an STD until they start showing symptoms of disease, most people use the term STD, even though the term STI is also appropriate in many cases. Moreover, the term sexually transmissible disease is sometimes used since it is less restrictive in consideration of other factors or means of transmission. For instance, meningitis is transmissible by means of sexual contact but is not labeled as an STI because sexual contact is not the primary vector for the pathogens that cause meningitis. This discrepancy is addressed by the probability of infection by means other than sexual contact. In general, an STI is an infection that has a negligible probability of transmission by means other than sexual contact, but has a realistic means of transmission by sexual contact (more sophisticated means-blood transfusion, sharing of hypodermic needles-are not taken into account). Thus, one may presume that, if a person is infected with an STI, e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, it was transmitted to him/her by means of sexual contact. The diseases on this list are most commonly transmitted solely by sexual activity. Many infectious diseases, including the common cold, influenza, pneumonia, and most others that are transmitted person-to-person can also be transmitted during sexual contact, if one person is infected, due to the close contact involved. However, even though these diseases may be transmitted during sex, they are not considered STDs. Primary STD Bacterial Chancroid Granuloma inguinale or (Klebsiella granulomati) Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) Syphilis (Treponema pallidum) Fungal Tinea cruris, jock itch, may be sexually transmitted. Candidiasis, yeast infection Viral Viral hepatitis (Hepatitis B virus)-saliva, venereal fluids. (Note: Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E are transmitted via the fecal-oral route; Hepatitis C (liver cancer) is rarely sexually transmittable and the route of transmission of Hepatitis D (only if infected with B) is uncertain, but may include sexual transmission.) Herpes simplex (Herpes simplex virus 1, 2) skin and mucosal, transmissible with or without visible blisters HIV/ AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)- venereal flu. HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)- skin and mucosal contact. High risk types of HPV are known to cause most types of cervical cancer, as well as well as anal, penile and genital warts.. Molluscum contagiosum (molluscum contagiosum virus MCV)-close contact Parasites Crab louse, colloquially known as crabs or pubic lice (Phthirius pubis) Scabies (Sarcoptes scabi) Protozoal Trichomoniasis (Trichomonas vaginalis) Sexually transmissible enteric infections Bacterial Shigella Campylobacter Salmonella Viral Hepatitis A Protozoan (parasitic) Giardia Cryptosporidiosis Above pathogens are transmitted by sexual practices that promote anal-oral contamination (fecal-oral). Sharing sex toys without washing or multiple partnered barebacking can promote anal-anal contamination. Although the bacterial pathogens may coexist with or cause proctitis, they usually produce symptoms (diarrhea, fever, bloating, nausea, and abdominal pain) suggesting disease more proximal in the GI tract. These diseases can cause various forms of cancer long term, malnutrition, and weight loss. For immuno-compromised individuals (such as with HIV), these infections can often cause severe weight loss, weakness, and death. Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV positive patients presenting with diarrhea. Pathophysiology Many STDs are (more easily) transmitted through the mucous membranes of the penis, vulva, rectum, urinary tract and (less often-depending on type of infection) the mouth, throat, respiratory tract and eyes. The visible membrane covering the head of the penis is a mucous membrane, though it produces no mucus (similar to the lips of the mouth). Mucous membranes differ from skin in that they allow certain pathogens into the body. Pathogens are also able to pass through breaks or abrasions of the skin, even minute ones. The shaft of the penis is particularly susceptible due to the friction caused during penetrative sex. The primary sources of infection in ascending order are venereal fluids, saliva, mucosal or skin (particularly the penis), infections may also be transmitted from feces, urine and sweat. The amount required to cause infection varies with each pathogen but is always less than you can see with the naked eye. This is one reason that the probability of transmitting many infections is far higher from sex than by more casual means of transmission, such as non-sexual contact-touching, hugging, shaking hands-but it is not the only reason. Although mucous membranes exist in the mouth as in the genitals, many STIs seem to be easier to transmit through oral sex than through deep kissing. According to a safe sex chart, many infections that are easily transmitted from the mouth to the genitals or from the genitals to the mouth, are much harder to transmit from one mouth to another. With HIV, genital fluids happen to contain much more of the pathogen than saliva. Some infections labeled as STIs can be transmitted by direct skin contact. Herpes simplex and HPV are both examples. KSHV, on the other hand, may be transmitted by deep-kissing but also when saliva is used as a sexual lubricant. Depending on the STD, a person may still be able to spread the infection if no signs of disease are present. For example, a person is much more likely to spread herpes infection when blisters are present (STD) than when they are absent (STI). However, a person can spread HIV infection (STI) at any time, even if he/she has not developed symptoms of AIDS (STD). All sexual behaviors that involve contact with the bodily fluids of another person should be considered to contain some risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Most attention has focused on controlling HIV, which causes AIDS, but each STD presents a different situation. As may be noted from the name, sexually transmitted diseases are transmitted from one person to another by certain sexual activities rather than being actually caused by those sexual activities. Bacteria, funia, protozoa or viruses are still the causative agents. It is not possible to catch any sexually transmitted disease from a sexual activity with a person who is not carrying a disease; conversely, a person who has an STD got it from contact (sexual or otherwise) with someone who had it, or his/her bodily fluids. Some STDs such as HIV can be transmitted from mother to child either during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Although the likelihood of transmitting various diseases by various sexual activities varies a great deal, in general, all sexual activities between two (or more) people should be considered as being a two-way route for the transmission of STDs, i.e., giving or receiving are both risky although receiving carries a higher risk. Healthcare professionals suggest safer sex, such as the use of condoms, as the most reliable way of decreasing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases during sexual activity, but safer sex should by no means be considered an absolute safeguard. The transfer of and exposure to bodily fluids, such as blood transfusions and other blood products, sharing injection needles, needle-stick injuries (when medical staff are inadvertently jabbed or pricked with needles during medical procedures), sharing tattoo needles, and childbirth are other avenues of transmission. These different means put certain groups, such as medical workers, and haemophiliacs and drug users, particularly at risk. Recent epidemiological studies have investigated the networks that are defined by sexual relationships between individuals, and discovered that the properties of sexual networks are crucial to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. In particular, assortative mixing between people with large numbers of sexual partners seems to be an important factor. It is possible to be an asymptomatic carrier of sexually transmitted diseases. In particular, sexually transmitted diseases in women often cause the serious condition of pelvic inflammatory disease. Prevention Main article: Safe sex Prevention is key in addressing incurable STIs, such as HIV herpes. The most effective way to prevent sexual transmission of STIs is to avoid contact of body parts or fluids which can lead to transfer with an infected partner. No contact minimizes risk. Not all sexual activities involve contact: cybersex, phonesex or masturbation from a distance are methods of avoiding contact. Proper use of condoms reduces contact and risk. Although a condom is effective in limiting exposure, some disease transmission may occur even with a condom. Ideally, both partners should get tested for STIs before initiating sexual contact, or before resuming contact if a partner engaged in contact with someone else. Many infections are not detectable immediately after exposure, so enough time must be allowed between possible exposures and testing for the tests to be accurate. Certain STIs, particularly certain persistent viruses like HPV, may be impossible to detect with current medical procedures. Many diseases that establish permanent infections can so occupy the immune system that other diseases become more easily transmitted. The innate immune system led by defensins against HIV can prevent transmission of HIV when viral counts are very low, but if busy with other viruses or overwhelmed, HIV can establish itself. Certain viral STIs also greatly increase the risk of death for HIV infected patients. Vaccines Vaccines are available that protect against some viral STIs, such as Hepatitis B and some types of HPV. Vaccination before initiation of sexual contact is advised to assure maximal protection. Condoms Condoms only provide protection when used properly as a barrier, and only to and from the area that it covers. Uncovered areas are still susceptible to many STDs. In the case of HIV, sexual transmission routes almost always involve the penis, as HIV cannot spread through unbroken skin, thus properly shielding the insertive penis with a properly worn condom from the vagina and anus effectively stops HIV transmission. An infected fluid to broken skin borne direct transmission of HIV would not be considered sexually transmitted, but can still theoretically occur during sexual contact, this can be avoided simply by not engaging in sexual contact when having open bleeding wounds. Other STDs, even viral infections, can be prevented with the use of latex condoms as a barrier. Some microorganisms and viruses are small enough to pass through the pores in natural skin condoms, but are still too large to pass through latex condoms. Proper usage entails: Not putting the condom on too tight at the end, and leaving 1.5 cm (3/4 inch) room at the tip for ejaculation. Putting the condom on snug can and often does lead to failure. Wearing a condom too loose can defeat the barrier. Avoiding inverting, spilling a condom once worn, whether it has ejaculate in it or not, even for a second. Avoiding condoms made of substances other than latex or polyurethane, as they dont protect against HIV. Avoiding the use of oil based lubricants (or anything with oil in it) with latex condoms, as oil can eat holes into them. Using flavored condoms for oral sex only, as the sugar in the flavoring can lead to yeast infections if used to penetrate. Not following the first five guidelines above perpetuates the common misconception that condoms arent tested or designed properly. In order to best protect oneself and the partner from STIs, the old condom and its contents should be assumed to be still infectious. Therefore the old condom must be properly disposed of. A new condom should be used for each act of intercourse, as multiple usage increases the chance of breakage, defeating the primary purpose as a barrier

Features of Exploitation Strategy

Features of Exploitation Strategy 1.1 Exploitation Strategy Exploitation analysis and activities go on for the entire life of the project, taking advantage of every progress-step and achievement. The exploitation approach of the project has been structured in a recurrent cycle in which every step enables refining to define a list of activities implementing exploitation. The sequence consists of the following items: Identification of exploitable results Every identified project outcome is rated to check its eligibility for exploitation: resulting items are listed and classified by means of typology (product, process, method, data etc.) to understand the ways in which they can be shared, delivered and accessed. For each result, the level of protection is defined, although it can be specialized during next steps of analysis, to allow IPR to be different for the various involved stakeholders. Results are also given a priority that represents their importance among the exploitation activities. Identification of stakeholders Exploitable results are associated with the groups of stakeholders identified by the project (education, technical developers, industries, public communities, authorities, policy makers, etc.). The match between the results and groups of stakeholders identifies different sets of results: this step of the exploitation definition process considers the opportunity to group them in subsets to handle them together or because of their dependencies. Therefore, exploitation deals with these collections of bundles with common features: specific purpose: the common aim of the result set type of business: the area of activity of the stakeholders that can be addressed required resources: elements needed to make the bundle sustainable Association with actions This is the conclusion of each cycle of the process. The purpose is to establish the concrete activities that implement exploitation. The actions are defined in relation to the results of the previous steps concerning stakeholders and bundles: each exploitable result is associated with one or more bundles related to a set or a single stakeholder group. The actions are grouped in a set of focuses that depict specific areas of activities: technology development, knowledge building, educational training, standards development, services development, IPR protection, policy making etc. As in the preceding steps, the definition of these actions can be refined and updated during the life of the project. 1.2 Exploitable Results To identify the exploitable results of each partner and the current state of these results a table was constructed with these results, the state of this results and the possible audience.ÂÂ   The results are presented in Table 2.1 collects the exploitable results identified by the partners at this stage of the project (Month 12). The description of each result is based on partners contribution and should be considered from a preliminary perspective to draft the initial version of the Exploitation Report. Next versions of this report will include further description of each result if required. Table 1: Exploitable results of COMPINNOVA and their state up to month 12 A/A Exploitable Result Description Classification Involved Partners Stakeholders Actions M6-M12 1 Bulk catalyst development Process and product SUN Scientific community, powder material industries, investors Experiments, evidence of proper bulk pellet catalyst development 2 Thin film catalyst development Process and product NTUA Scientific community, powder material industries, investors Experiments, evidence of proper thin film catalyst development 3 Use of the Lorentz force activation for redox process Process and method NTUA Scientific community, powder material industries, investors Experiments, first evidence of activation of surfaces and redox process 4 Integrated bench plant for hydrogen production Process and system NTUA Scientific community, energy producers and users, industries, Governments, investors Initial evidence of hydrogen production, initial market analysis, initial contacts with Public Power Corporation (Greece) 5 Integrated bench plant for hydrocarbon production Process and system SUN Scientific community, energy producers and users, industries, Governments, investors Experiments, initial contacts with ENEA (Italy) 6 Multiscale modeling and explanation of the process of hydrogen production Simulation and modeling IPSAS Scientific community Qualitative analysis of the electro-magneto-chemical process 7 Powder manufacturing as precursor for catalyst manufacturing Process and product NTUA Scientific community, powder material industries, investors Experiments, publication of the method for powder production (see 2nd dissemination report) 1.3 Exploitation Management EXIS acts as Exploitation Manager heading the Exploitation Committee (EC) with representatives from NTUA, SUN, CRANFIELD, FU SAV. The Exploitation Committee supervises the management of IPR and coordinates the definition of the exploitation plan. Specifically, the HELENIC-REF EC shall: Coordinate and implement exploitation activities; Propose IPR and exploitation strategies and (eventual) associated updates to the Consortium Agreement (CA); Contribute to proper exploitation of the results by supporting all Partners Monitor the use of resources for exploitation issues. The Exploitation Activities are in close relation with Dissemination Activities (as they are -or will be- presented in Deliverables D4.14-D4.18) in order to achieve a sustained impact. The approach of HELENIC-REF for achieving a sustained impact is presented in the following Figure 2.2. Figure 2.2: HELENIC-REF approach for sustained impact 1.4 IPR Management The management of IPR is strictly ruled by the Consortium Agreement (CA) which includes all provisions related to the management of IPR including ownership, protection and publication of knowledge, access rights to knowledge and pre-existing know-how as well as questions of confidentiality, liability and dispute settlement. In the CA, the Partners have identified the background knowledge included and excluded. The CA regulates the ownership of results (Section 8 of the CA) The knowledge acquired during the project shall be considered as a property of the contractor generating it, and in this sense the originator is entitled to use and to license such right without any financial compensation to the other contributors. If the features of a joint invention are such that it is not possible to separate them, the contributors could agree that they may jointly apply to obtain and/or maintain the relevant rights and shall make effort to reach appropriate agreements to do so. The CA also regulates the transfer of results ownership (Section 8.2 of the CA) Each Signatory Party may transfer ownership of its own Foreground following the procedures of the Grant Agreement Article 30. Each Signatory Party may identify specific third parties it intends to transfer the ownership of its Foreground to in Attachment (3) to the CA. The other Signatory Parties hereby waive their right to prior notice and their right to object a transfer to listed third parties per the Grant Agreement Article 30.1 The transferring Party shall, however, at the time of the transfer, inform the other Parties of such transfer and shall ensure that the rights of the other Parties will not be affected by such transfer. Any addition after the signature of the CA requires a decision of the Project Steering Committee (PSC). Status of IPR (M12) As the project reaches its first year, the results from the ongoing research about proving the ability of Hydrogen production and the reduction of water with Lorentz forces are promising. The results once fully verified, can subject to publications or even patents. The project may deliver additional results by the end of the project that the partnership may wish to exploit. In this case the Consortium (headed by the Exploitation Manager) will discuss use of such results on a case-by-case basis. For the management of knowledge, the consortium and the Exploitation Manager are regularly monitor and evaluate possibilities of IPR. The consortium has already defined future activities to discuss and evaluate raising questions. According to the initial plan, at the next general meetings these discussions will take place. At all upcoming meetings as session will be devoted to IPR and exploitation issues to further specify the plans of the consortium. Any third parties that may involve in exploitation will sign a non-disclosure agreement.

An Analysis of Rappaccinis Daughter: Nathaniel Hawthornes Most Complex Short Story :: Rappaccinis Daughter Essays

An Analysis of Rappaccini's Daughter: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Most Complex Short Story Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on the forth of July in Salem, Massachusetts. He writes of the sentimental affection for the town of his birth - he described his feeling "to the deep and aged roots which my family has struck into the soil" (DLB 144). Hawthorne's work is unique because of the combination of these three ideas: "love of his ancestral soil, a strong sense of the richness of the American past, and that moral quality of the human heart" (DLB 145). Because he loved life and his background and where he was from and enabled him to be a better writer. Interestingly to me, Hawthorne attended college and when he graduated he moved back home with his mother (his father died when he was only four). He had started writing some in college and soon published his first work after graduation. He said this was a lonely and difficult time for him because he earned little money, but did learn a lot. The first thing he published was Fanshawe (1828). Soon after he did, he learned that publication of his work was a mistake and he wanted all copies destroyed. He disposed of all the ones that he could get his hands on and asked his family and friends to do the same. A fire at the local bookstore destroyed all of the rest of the unsold copies. This must have been a sad time for him. To be able to actually write something and publish it and then deliberately trash all of them. On the ninth day of July in 1842, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody. He wanted to marry her long before this time, but was not making very much money and was afraid he would not be able to support. He did slow down writing for a while and worked at a farm to try to earn some money so he could have the money that he wanted. He learned fast that manual labor left little energy for anything else (DLB 153). Edgar Allan Poe described Hawthorne as a man of "truest genius". Others said he was a "truly American literary voice".

Blending Face-to-Face and Distance Learning Methods in Adult and Career-Technical Education :: Learning Adult Education Essays

Blending Face-to-Face and Distance Learning Methods in Adult and Career-Technical Education Strengths and Limitations of the Two Methods In theory, the advantages of face-to-face and distance learning methods complement each other (Leung and Tran 2000). In classroom learning, face-to-face contact both in and out of class can help motivate and involve students; active learning can engage students in thinking and interaction through questioning, discussion, small-group presentation, role play, and case studies. In distance learning via ICT, technology makes material available anytime and anywhere; multimedia (e.g., video and audio) can engage multiple brain channels; graphics can help understanding of complex concepts; interactive activities can involve students in dynamic learning through a cycle of questions/answers/feedback; discussion and work groups allow students to evaluate their performance against that of peers. It is important to note, however, that those two sets of complementary advantages are sometimes only theoretical (Cutshall 2002; McKavanagh et al. 2002). In practice, both face-to-face and ICT distance programs often rely on transmissionist, teacher-centered provision of information rather than on interactive, student-centered construction of knowledge; students may end up receiving passively both online and in the classroom. Nevertheless, two themes clearly emerge as the most frequently cited strengths: the personal contact allowed by face-to-face classroom learning and the flexibility allowed by distance learning. An interesting wrinkle is that different distance learning methods can offer different combinations of personal contact and flexibility (Cutshall 2002; McKavanagh et al. 2002; Miller and Webster 1997; Perraton 1991; Zirkle 2002). In synchronous distance methods (e.g., satellite TV, audioconferencing, videoconferencing, live Internet chat), learners and/or instructors are all engaged in the activity at the same time, restricting flexibility; flexibility is further restricted by methods like audioconferencing or videoconferencing in which participants must be at a physical location with necessary technology and hook-ups. However, asynchronous methods allow learners and instructors to participate at different times. Learners can listen to audiotapes, view videotapes, check e-mail, log on to a threaded discussion, or visit webpages anytime; the necessary technology is widely—although not universally—available. The ultimate in flexibility is the "anytime anywhere" availabili ty of a web-based course or course components. It may be surprising that studies examining the connection between learning style and success among distance learning students yield mixed results. Aragon, Johnson, and Shaik (2000) found no correlation between learning style preference and course grade among online adult students in advanced technology education, in spite of differences in learning style preferences between online and face-to-face students enrolled in the program. Blending Face-to-Face and Distance Learning Methods in Adult and Career-Technical Education :: Learning Adult Education Essays Blending Face-to-Face and Distance Learning Methods in Adult and Career-Technical Education Strengths and Limitations of the Two Methods In theory, the advantages of face-to-face and distance learning methods complement each other (Leung and Tran 2000). In classroom learning, face-to-face contact both in and out of class can help motivate and involve students; active learning can engage students in thinking and interaction through questioning, discussion, small-group presentation, role play, and case studies. In distance learning via ICT, technology makes material available anytime and anywhere; multimedia (e.g., video and audio) can engage multiple brain channels; graphics can help understanding of complex concepts; interactive activities can involve students in dynamic learning through a cycle of questions/answers/feedback; discussion and work groups allow students to evaluate their performance against that of peers. It is important to note, however, that those two sets of complementary advantages are sometimes only theoretical (Cutshall 2002; McKavanagh et al. 2002). In practice, both face-to-face and ICT distance programs often rely on transmissionist, teacher-centered provision of information rather than on interactive, student-centered construction of knowledge; students may end up receiving passively both online and in the classroom. Nevertheless, two themes clearly emerge as the most frequently cited strengths: the personal contact allowed by face-to-face classroom learning and the flexibility allowed by distance learning. An interesting wrinkle is that different distance learning methods can offer different combinations of personal contact and flexibility (Cutshall 2002; McKavanagh et al. 2002; Miller and Webster 1997; Perraton 1991; Zirkle 2002). In synchronous distance methods (e.g., satellite TV, audioconferencing, videoconferencing, live Internet chat), learners and/or instructors are all engaged in the activity at the same time, restricting flexibility; flexibility is further restricted by methods like audioconferencing or videoconferencing in which participants must be at a physical location with necessary technology and hook-ups. However, asynchronous methods allow learners and instructors to participate at different times. Learners can listen to audiotapes, view videotapes, check e-mail, log on to a threaded discussion, or visit webpages anytime; the necessary technology is widely—although not universally—available. The ultimate in flexibility is the "anytime anywhere" availabili ty of a web-based course or course components. It may be surprising that studies examining the connection between learning style and success among distance learning students yield mixed results. Aragon, Johnson, and Shaik (2000) found no correlation between learning style preference and course grade among online adult students in advanced technology education, in spite of differences in learning style preferences between online and face-to-face students enrolled in the program.

Managing Change Essay

You are required to write an essay supported with reference to the academic literature that answers the following question: †¢ You have recently been appointed to your first management post following graduation. You are keenly aware that as part of your management role you will be responsible for managing change and anticipate drawing on your BM 6105 studies to help you achieve success in this area. Based on the theoretical perspectives covered during your module studies, what do you believe to be the critical factors that promote effective strategic change outcomes? You need to:†¢ Develop your answer into a paper that both discusses your chosen factors for success and justifies their selection. †¢ Identify and research two organisations that have undergone a significant change process. BM 6105 Assignment Key questions you need to ask 1. Who are you in this report? 2. What ‘theoretical perspectives’ do you need to examine in the essay? 3. How can you define ‘effective strategic change’ based on what you have covered in your module? 4. What are the 4 critical factor areas which you could focus upon in your essay? How many critical factors should be in your report? 5. What 3 areas of the module do you need to review to answer your assignment? 6. How can you ‘identify two organisations that have undergone a significant change process’? 1. Who are you in this report? You are a recently appointed manager . As such, you need to integrate practical aspects into your discussion. 2. What ‘theoretical perspectives’ do you need to examine in the essay? You need to define ‘strategic change’ You need to discuss theories underpinning the four critical factors 3. How can you define ‘effective strategic change’ based on what you have  covered in your module? Examine chapters 1 and 2. Then argue for what you perceive (believe) to be effective strategic change. You should also read and integrate some of the articles listed at the end of these chapters within your discussion. 5. What 3 areas of the module do you need to review to answer your assignment? Your module follows the core text book. It is important that you read Parts ONE, TWO and THREE of the text book BEFORE you attempt to write your essay. – Part One – The context and meaning of change (chp 1- 2) – Part Two – Changing Organisations (Chp 3 -6) – Part Three – Strategies for Managing Change (Chp 7-9) 4. What are the 4 critical factor areas which you could focus upon in your essay? How many critical factors should be in your report? i) Organisational structure and design – Chp 3 ii) Culture – Chp 4 iii) Politics and Conflict – Chp 5 iv) Leadership – Chp 6 At Least TWO factors should be in your report †¢ How can you ‘identify two organisations that have undergone a significant change? – You need to give supportive evidence comprising of actual organisational change, which have occurred as a result of any of the critical factors discussed in your essay. – These examples can be case studies which you have already discussed or are available from text books – Examples could also be obtained from online news sources such as Financial Times, The Economist, BBC etc. BM 6105 Assignment layout 1. Suggest a title for this essay. 2. What different headings/sections will your essay have? 3. What sort of language will be used in each section? Can you use â€Å"I†? 1. Suggest a title for this report. An essay on effective strategic change in organisations: an analysis of critical factors Examining Critical Factors for promoting effective strategic change outcomes 2. What different headings/sections will your essay have? 1. Introduction 2. Defining organisational change 3. Critical factors and organisational change 4. Effective strategic change 5. Conclusion 3. What sort of language will be used in each section? Introduction †¢ In this essay there will be†¦ †¢ This essay will†¦ †¢ This essay is going to†¦ †¢ This essay has been undertaken to†¦ N.B. You cannot use â€Å"I†. You can use tables, figures, numbering for Sections in your essay. 2

Youth Homelessness in Australia

A homeless person is without a conventional home and lacks most of the economic and social supports that a home normally affords. She/he is often cut off from the support of relatives and friends, she/he has few independent resources and often has no immediate means and in some cases little prospect of self support. She/he is in danger of falling below the poverty line, at least from time to time. There are many causes for youth homelessness. Some youths become homeless because they ran away from an abusive parent or caretaker. They will feel upset/depressed or angry and end up running away. Some youths become homeless because they become involved in drugs and they get kicked out and have nowhere to go. They will still have an addiction to drugs and will struggle to pay for things. Some youths become homeless because they have a mental disorder or illness that isn’t treated properly by his/her family. These youths will often not want help and end up being alone and without help There are many myths about homeless youths and many of them are incorrect. The myth that homeless people are older men is wrong, about half those who are homelessness are between 12 and 34. (In Victoria). That all young homeless youths are male – nationally, 55 percent of homeless youths are female. Another myth is that the youths choose to be homeless. This is incorrect as they would probably prefer to be in a warm house, without having to worry about food, drugs, money or abuse. Youth off the streets could get their message across much easier if they publicised more and showed how they are transforming/helping young people’s lives. Have fundraisers where people know they are helping the youths, have banners, try and get a day all about youths off the streets every year where it’s a big deal and business will donate, advertising around streets, on the television, pamphlets and news segment to get people’s attention and help.

Police Ethics and Deviance Assignment

Running head: POLICE ETHICS AND DEVIANCE ASSIGNMENT Police Ethics and Deviance Assignment Axia College Police Ethics and Deviance Assignment Police officers live by a specific code of ethics that helps them to their chosen profession in the noblest means possible. The problem is that officers are human and as humans, they sometimes give in to temptation and bad judgment while trying to fulfill the completion of those duties. A few of the deviant behaviors that officers succumb to are corruption, misconduct, and brutality. Some officers will partake in the items previously listed in the name of doing the â€Å"right thing†. This has been given the name â€Å"The Dirty Harry† syndrome, after the movie of the same name (Dempsey & Frost, 2005). Regardless of the goodwill behind it, any abnormal behavior by a person sworn to uphold the law cannot and will not be tolerated. Ethics can be described as what one does that is considered right and wrong to society and people. Ethics helps one make decisions and behave in specific ways that will not bring shame and disgrace to one’s self. A police officer’s code of ethics has to be higher than the people they are protecting and serving. T. O’Connor (2005) cites the following Law Enforcement Code of Ethics: |The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics | |As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the | |innocent against deception; the weak against oppression or intimidation; and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to| |respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or | |ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in my thought and deed in both | |personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever| |I see or hear of a confidential nature or that i s confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless | |revelation is necessary in the performance of my duties. |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my | |decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and | |appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill-will, never employing unnecessary force or violence, and never accepting | |gratuities. | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I| |am true to the ethics of police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself | |before God to my chosen profession — law enforcement. (para. 12) | As one can see, it is very specific about the treatment of others and how an officer is expected to act while working in the public trust (O’Connor, 2006). This code ethics provides an outline for the officers and takes away any gray areas that may cause some confusion and wrong choices by the officers. One of the first items of the code deals with an officer’s duty to protect and not deceive. Unfortunately, some officers do not apply this part to their working lives or they choose to forget it. This will lead an officer to the darker side of police work such as, corruption and misconduct by the officer. In Los Angeles, for example, corruption presents itself in many forms, such as financial kick-backs, drug-dealing, obstruction of justice, and theft (Staff, 2009). These acts will degrade an officer’s identity and create an air of mistrust amongst those they are supposed to help. Not to mention, they are against the law the police officers have sworn to uphold. This will lead to the officers answering for their actions and being reviewed by other officers, whose duty is to weed out the corrupt officers. Even lesser types of corruption, like taking gratuities and â€Å"cooping†, will compromise an officer’s integrity and effect how they do their job. By taking gifts they will show favoritism to those individuals giving them the gifts. Cooping is the term for when officers rest, sleep or just are negligent in doing their job. That is why it is very important that officer’s followed the code of ethics and remain above the public in everything they do. Misconduct is also something that an officer can do that will tarnish the whole department. Misconduct is what an officer does when they break departmental rules and regulations that guide police behavior. This is not a misuse of authority, but of how an officer acts in regard to the force. This type of deviant behavior shows the police force in a bad light and paints a negative picture of the police and what they do. Some of the types of misconduct are using police property for personal use, unsafe use of police property, failure to write reports, and improper searching of suspects. This is only a small collection of the many types of misconduct, but all are damaging to the character of the officer (Stevens, 2005). Police brutality is probably one of the most egregious of all the deviant behaviors that has been listed previously. It is the use of excessive force against suspects, civilians, and offenders (Dempsey & Frost, 2005, p. 308). This type of deviant behavior has been present since the inception of police work. These acts of aggression are direct infringements of constitutional rights against people who officers are supposed to protect and help. The needed trust in the police officer by the public is broken and is difficult to try to repair. Even if citizen oversight committees are formed and officers are punished for their actions, public trust usually is not restored. Police brutality usually goes hand-in-hand with perjury by the officer committing the brutality. An officer is more likely to lie under oath instead of risking punishment from the court and their department (O’Connor, 2005) Thankfully, most police officers follow the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Only a small fraction of â€Å"rogue† officers use the influence of the position to gain power and monetary gain. What needs to be done is to have more honest officers stand up and police their own. Only then will society be able to purge this nefarious aspect from its policing expectations and create a culture free from deceit and wrongdoings by those charged with protecting others. References Dempsey, J. S. , & Frost, L. S. (2005). Police and the law. In (Ed. ), An introduction to policing (pp. 250-290). Retrieved from Axia CJS 210. O’Connor, T. (2006). Topics in police ethics. Manuscript submitted for publication. Retrieved February 19, 2010, from http://www. apsu. edu/oconnort/3300/3300lect04. htm O’Connor, T. R. (2005). Police deviance and ethics. Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://policecrimes. com/police_deviance. html Staff (2009, July). In the news: police corruption. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles. latimes. com/keyword/police-corruption Stevens, M. (2005). Police deviance and ethics (Masters Thesis, California State University – Fresno, 2005). Retrieved from http://faculty. ncwc. edu/mstevens/205/205lect11. htm

God and the Philosopher Essay

Abstract Philosophers are known to be great thinkers.   The discipline itself is concerned with ethics, what things exist and their essential natures, knowledge, and logic.   Typically, when one is asked about his or her beliefs, the subject of God comes up. Whether or not God exist is the biggest and most ultimate question that people have ever asked. The topic of God is important to the philosopher.   He enjoys the contemplation of the subject. â€Å"Proofs of the existence of God† developed over the past 2,400 years by different philosophers. It is the foundation of most introductions to philosophy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Does God exist?   The existence of God can be compared to space.   We know that space does not have an ending.   God â€Å"has no beginning and no end.   He is eternal† (Cameron, 465).   Some people don’t believe in anything that is not visible to the eye (Cameron, 471). The link to God for most philosophers is the world.   Thomas Aquinas, a theologian, â€Å"specialized in the philosophical analysis of the nature of God and God’s relation to the world† (McCarty, 196). He refers to Aristotle as â€Å"The Philosopher†; â€Å"Aquinas uses Aristotle’s emphasis on the importance of empirical evidence to offer the creation of the world as proof for the existence of God as its cause† (McCarty, 197).   He saw the creation of the world as proof for the existence of God.   â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.   Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Big Bang Theory tries to disprove the Genesis account of creation by stating that the universe was formed from an explosion.   Usually an explosion produces disorder and chaos, not trees, flowers, and animals (Cameron, 418).   Also, in order for an explosion to occur, there must be something present to explode and a means to cause the explosion.   â€Å"You cannot create something out of nothing† (Cameron, 419).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Proofs of the existence of God† is a set of arguments that were developed over the past 2,400 years by different philosophers.   The purpose was to demonstrate that â€Å"there is, or exists, an infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent creator of the universe who goes by the name of God† (Wolff, 364).   The first and â€Å"philosophically weakest† proof is the Argument from Design.   William Paley presented his argument in his book â€Å"Natural Theology†.   He noted that man-made objects were designed to serve a purpose by its maker.    We can compare this to the creations of nature, like the human eye or the brain.   They are sophisticated and cannot be duplicated.   The conclusion is only God must be the â€Å"all-powerful Maker† (Wolff, 366).   The second proof is the Cosmological Argument, which is offered by thirteenth-century Christian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas.   His first argument is that some things move in the world.   Secondly, there must be a first movement to precede other movements.   A â€Å"first mover† must exist.   That â€Å"necessary being is God† (Wolff, 373). The final proof and â€Å"the most famous, the most mystifying, the most outrageous and irritating philosophical argument of all time† is the Ontological Argument (Wolff, 378).   Saint Anselm writes about this proof in his philosophical work the â€Å"Proslogion†.   The concept of the existence of God was based on the idea of the perfect being.   Nothing greater than God is inconceivable (Wolff, 370).   Some philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, have defended this proof over the past nine centuries.   On the other hand, it has also been rejected by other philosophers, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, and claimed as invalid because it cannot be proven. In addition to the Cosmological Argument, Aquinas argues his case using five proofs of his own (McCarty, 197).   The first proof is motion.   As with the Cosmological Argument, a â€Å"first mover† must exist to cause motion.   His second proof is causation.   â€Å"The natural world holds together through a tight chain of cause-and-effect relationships† (McCarty, 198).   For example, rain causes vegetation to grow.   The third proof is necessity/possibility. Aquinas argued that all events either have to be necessary or possible.   â€Å"A Necessary Being must exist that actualizes the possibility of the world as we know it† (McCarty, 199). The fourth proof is gradation. Some natural beings are more advanced than others.   Humans are at the top of the evolutionary chain.  Ã‚   â€Å"God has given him dominion (authority) over all the animals (Genesis 1:28) â€Å" (Cameron, 427).   This leads into the final proof of governance.   Humans are intellectually superior to animals and have priority over them (Cameron, 427). This is part of God’s Order (McCarty, 200). Most arguments for the existence of God start with some fact about the world and all of its components and activities (Morris, 243).   The topic of God is important because He is the backbone of any philosophical discussion. The Bible states that God is holy (Psalm 99:9).   Webster’s definition of holy is â€Å"sanctified†, which means to be free from sin. Ethics is a big part of philosophy. It embraces right conduct and good life.   â€Å"Ethical conduct is behavior that respects and nurtures truth, beauty, goodness, and unity, in our own lives, and in the lives of people we deal with day to day† (Morris, 111).   Good people struggle daily to resist temptations and pressures that they would not consider to be proper behavior.   â€Å"A good person is a person who shoots at the target of human happiness and flourishing for other people as well as himself† (Morris, 101).   On the other hand, there are people that don’t think about the consequences of their behavior. They act to satisfy their own selfish needs (Morris, 111). Philosophers view the concept of morality as a set of many rules (Morris, 112).   The Bible lists many of them.   Exodus 20 in the Old Testament lists The Ten Commandments.   The book of Leviticus contains many rules for work, worshipping God, and cleanliness. Another aspect of morality is The Golden Rule.   It states: â€Å"So in everything, do to others what you would have the do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets† (Matthew 7:12). In other words, treats others, as you would like to be treated.   â€Å"It captures the main attitude of an ethical person regarding the impact of his actions on others† (Morris, 114). In conclusion, the existence of God is a link for philosophers to the world. The topic of God is important when discussing ethics, morality, and nature to twentieth century philosophers as well as thirteenth-century ones. References Cameron, Kirk, & Comfort, Ray. (2004). The School of Biblical Evangelism.   Gainesville:   Bridge-Logos Publishers. International Bible Society. (1984). The Holy Bible.   Grand Rapids:   Zondervan Publishing House. McCarty, Marietta. (2006). Little Big Minds:   Sharing Philosophy With Kids.   New York:   The Penguin Group. Morris, Tom. (1999). Philosophy For Dummies.   New York:   Wiley Publishing Company. Wolff, Robert Paul. (2000).   About Philosophy (8th).  Ã‚   Upper Saddle River:   Prentice Hall.   

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 31~32

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Booty and the Beasts The second time Amy came out of the bedroom, she was dressed in her familiar hiking shorts, flip-flops, and a WHALES ARE OUR PALS T-shirt. â€Å"Better?† â€Å"I don't feel any better, if that's what you're asking.† Nate sat at the table with a can of grapefruit juice and a pint of vodka in front of him. â€Å"I mean, are you more comfortable now that I'm dressed? Because I can be naked again in a flash –  » â€Å"You want a drink?† Nate needed to forget the whole naked encounter as quickly as possible. Applying alcohol seemed like the most efficient method at this point. â€Å"Sure,† she said. She pulled a glass out of one of the kitchen cubbies, the clear door folding back like the protective cover of a frog's eye. â€Å"You want a glass?† Nate had been sipping alternately from the juice can and the vodka bottle until he had enough room in the can to pour in some vodka. â€Å"Yeah. I don't like reaching into the cupboards.† â€Å"You're kind of squeamish for a biologist, but I guess it does take some getting used to.† Amy set the glasses in front of him and let him mix the drinks. There was no ice. â€Å"You adjust.† â€Å"You seem to have adjusted. When did they take you? You must have been really young.† â€Å"Me? No, I was born here. I've always been here. That's why I was perfect to work for you guys. The Colonel has been teaching me cetacean biology for years.† It occurred to Nate that he had seen a few human children around and hadn't really thought about growing up in Gooville. Someone had to teach them. Why not the infamous Colonel? â€Å"I should have known. When you were trying to locate the whale by listening for it that last day. I should have known.† â€Å"Correction, when I did locate the whale by listening for it, for which you still owe me dinner.† â€Å"I think this is one of those all-bets-are-off situations, Amy. You were a spy.† â€Å"Nate, before you get too angry, you need to remember the alternative to my spying and finding out what you were working on in detail. That would have been to just kill you. It would have been much easier.† â€Å"You and Ryder act like you did me a favor. Like you saved me from some great danger. The only danger I was in was from you in the first place. So stop trying to impress me with the quality of your mercy. You did it all – tore up the lab, sank Clay's boat, all of it – didn't you?† â€Å"No, not directly. Poynter and Poe tore up the lab. The whaley boys sank Clay's boat. I took the negatives out of the packet at the photo lab. I kept them informed, and I made sure you were where they needed you to be, that's all. I never wanted to hurt you, Nate. Never.† â€Å"I wish I could believe that. Then you show up here like that, trying to convince me that this is a great place to live right after Ryder has given me the speech.† He drained his glass, poured himself another drink, this one with just a splash of grapefruit juice over the top. â€Å"What are you talking about? I haven't seen Ryder since I've been back. I just got in a few hours ago.† â€Å"Well, then it's always been a part of the plan: Let Amy lure the biologist into staying.† â€Å"Nate, look at me.† She took his chin in her hand and looked him right in the eye. â€Å"I came here of my own free will, without any instructions from Ryder or anyone else. In fact, no one knows where I am, except maybe the Goo – you can never be sure about that. I came here to see you, with all the masks and the role-playing out of the way.† Nate pulled away from her. â€Å"And you didn't think I'd be mad? And what was with the whole ‘Look how luscious I am' act?† She looked down. Hurt, Nate thought. Or acting hurt. If she cried, it wouldn't matter. He'd be useless. â€Å"I knew you'd be mad, but I thought you might be able to get over it. I was just trying to be floozish. I'm sorry if I'm not very good at it. It's not a skill you get to use a lot in an undersea city. Truth be told, the dating pool is sort of shallow here in Gooville. I was just trying to be sexy. I never said I was a good floozy.† Nate reached over and patted her hand. â€Å"No, you're a fine floozy. That's not what I was saying. I wasn't questioning your†¦ uh, floozishness. I was just questioning its sincerity.† â€Å"Well, it's sincere. I really do like you. I really did come here to see you, to be with you.† â€Å"Really?† What was the biological analog for this? A black widow spider male falling for one of her lines, knowing innately where it was going. Knowing right down to his very DNA that she was going to kill and eat him right after they mated, but he would worry about after. So time and again Mr. Black Widow passed his dumb-ass, sex-enslaved genes on to the next generation of dumb-ass, sex-enslaved males who would fall for the same trick. Spinning a little conversation: Interesting name, Black Widow. How'd you come about that? Tell me all about yourself. Me? Nah, I'm a simple guy. I'm doomed by my male nature to follow my little spider libido into oblivion. Let's talk about you. Love the red hourglass on your butt. â€Å"Really,† Amy said. There were tears welling in her eyes, and she lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently. â€Å"Amy, I don't want to stay here. I'm not – I want – I'm too old for you, even if you weren't a lying, destructive, evil – ; â€Å"Okay.† She held his hand to her cheek. â€Å"What do you mean, ‘okay'?† â€Å"You don't have to stay. But can I stay with you tonight?† He pulled his hand back from her, but she held his gaze. â€Å"I need to be way more drunk for this,† he said. â€Å"Me, too.† She went over to the scary fridge thing. â€Å"Do you have more vodka?† â€Å"There's another bottle over there in that thing – that other thing that I'm afraid of.† He caught himself watching her bottom while she found the bottle. â€Å"You said ‘okay. You mean you know a way out?† â€Å"Shut up and drink. You gonna drink or you gonna talk?† â€Å"This isn't healthy,† Nate observed. â€Å"Thank you, Dr. Insight,† Amy said. â€Å"Pour me one.† â€Å"Nice red hourglass.† â€Å"What?† Back at his bungalow at Papa Lani, Clay sat on the bed with his head in his hands while Clair rubbed the knots out of his shoulders. He'd told her the Old Broad's story, and she'd listened quietly, asking a few questions as he went along. â€Å"So do you believe her?† Clair asked. â€Å"I don't even know what I'm admitting to believing. But I believe she thinks she's telling the truth. She offered us a boat, Clair. A ship. She offered to buy us a research vessel, hire a crew, pay them.† â€Å"What for?† â€Å"To find Nate and her husband, James.† â€Å"I thought she was broke.† â€Å"She's not broke. She's loaded. I mean, the ship will be a used one, but it's a ship. It will still run in the millions. She wants me to find one – and a crew.† â€Å"And could you find Nate if you had a ship?† â€Å"Where do I look? She thinks he's on an island somewhere, some secret place where these things live. Hell, if she's telling the truth, they could be from outer space. If she's not†¦ well, I can't just run a ship around the world stopping at islands and asking them if they happen to have seen people crawling out of a whale's butt.† â€Å"Technically, baby, whales don't have butts. You have to walk upright to have booty. This is why we are the dominant species on the planet, because we have booty.† â€Å"You know what I mean.† â€Å"It's an important point.† She slid into his lap, her arms around his neck. Clay smiled despite his anxiety. â€Å"Technically, man is not the dominant species. There's at least a thousand pounds of termites for every person on earth.† â€Å"Well, you can have my termites, thanks.† â€Å"So man isn't really dominant, whether it's brains or booty.† â€Å"Baby, I wasn't saying that man was the dominant species, I was saying that we are the dominant species. Wo-man.† â€Å"Because you have booty?† She wiggled on his lap by way of an answer, then leaned her forehead against his, looked in his eyes. â€Å"Good point,† Clay said. â€Å"What about this ship? You going to let the Old Broad buy it for you? You going to go look for Nate?† â€Å"Where do I start?† â€Å"Follow one of these signals. Find whatever is making it and follow them.† â€Å"We'd need location for that.† â€Å"How do you do that?† â€Å"We'd need to have someone working the old sonar grid the navy put down all over the oceans during the Cold War to track submarines. I know people at Newport who do it, but we'd have to tell them what we're doing.† â€Å"You couldn't just say you were trying to find a certain whale?† â€Å"I suppose we could.† â€Å"And if you have your ship and that information, you can follow the whale, or the ship, or whatever it is to its source.† â€Å"My ship?† â€Å"Roll over, I'll rub your back.† But Clay wasn't moving. He was thinking. â€Å"I still don't know where to start.† â€Å"Who has the booty? Turn over, Captain.† Clay slipped off his aloha shirt and rolled over onto his stomach. â€Å"My ship,† he said. Nate was suddenly cold, and when he opened his eyes, he was pretty sure that his head was going to explode. â€Å"I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode,† he said. And someone rudely jostled his bed. â€Å"Come on, party animal, the Colonel sent for you. We need to go.† He peeked between the fingers he was using to hold the pieces of his head together and saw the menacing but amused face of Cielle Nuà ±ez. It wasn't what – who – he expected, and he did a quick sweep of the bed with one leg to confirm that he was alone. â€Å"I drank,† Nate said. â€Å"I saw the bottles on the table. You drank a lot.† â€Å"I didn't get a knob so just anyone could use it anytime they want.† â€Å"I noticed your knob. It looks out of place.† About that time Nate realized that he was naked, and Nuà ±ez was standing over his naked body, and he was going to have to let the pieces of his head go where they may if he was going to cover himself. He felt for a sheet, pulled it up as he sat up and threw his legs off the bed. â€Å"I'm going to need a moment.† â€Å"Hurry.† â€Å"I have to pee.† â€Å"That will be fine.† â€Å"And throw up.† â€Å"Also fine.† â€Å"Okay. You go away now.† â€Å"Brush your teeth.† And she left the room. Nate looked around the room for signs of Amy, but there were none. He didn't remember where her clothes were, but the last time he'd seen them, he was pretty sure they weren't on her. He stumbled into the bathroom and looked into the basin, mother of pearl with its little siphon fixtures and the green sphincter drain. Seeing that pretty much did it for him, and he heaved into the sink. â€Å"Hi,† Amy said, poking her head out of the retracting shower door. Nate tried to say something – something about trapdoor spiders, in keeping with an arachnid theme he was developing with regard to Amy – but it came out more bubbly and moist than he intended. â€Å"You go ahead,† Amy said. â€Å"I'll be in here.† And the door clicked shut like a frightened clam. When Nate had finished reviewing the contents of his stomach, he rinsed his face and the sink, emptied his bladder into the thing on which he would not sit, then leaned against the sink and moaned for a second while he gathered his thoughts. A head popped out of the shower. â€Å"So, that went well.† â€Å"The water's not running.† â€Å"I'm not showering, I'm hiding. I didn't want Nuà ±ez to see me. The Colonel shouldn't know I've been here. I'll leave after you go. Brush your teeth.† And then she was back in her shell. He brushed, rinsed, repeated, then said, â€Å"Okay.† Out she came, grabbed him by the hair, kissed him hard. â€Å"Nice night,† she said. The shower clicked shut, Amy inside. â€Å"I'm too old for this.† â€Å"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that. Not now, later. Go. She's waiting.† CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO The Replicator Versus the Imitator Nuà ±ez bought him a large cup of coffee at a cafe where whaley boys stood around pouring down lattes the size of fire extinguishers and exchanging clicks and whistles at an irritating volume. â€Å"If ever there was a creature that didn't need caffeine,† Nate said. Nuà ±ez kept him moving, while he kept trying to stop to lean on things. â€Å"Don't ever drink with them,† Nuà ±ez said. â€Å"Especially the males. You know their sense of humor. You're as likely as not to get a wet willy in the ear, and it's a real wet willy.† â€Å"I may have to hurl again.† â€Å"Don't destroy yourself out of spite, Nate. Just accept things how they are.† He wasn't trying to destroy himself, and he wasn't spiteful. He was just confused, hungover, and kind of in love, or something remotely like love, except that the pain was more localized in his temples rather than being the overall, life-ruining pain it usually caused him. â€Å"Can we stop in at the Lollipop Guild and get a couple aspirins?† â€Å"You're late already.† In the corridors she handed him off to a pair of killer whaley boys. â€Å"You should be honored, you know?† Nuà ±ez said. â€Å"He doesn't meet with many people.† â€Å"You can take my appointment if you want.† The Colonel had a goo recliner waiting for him when he walked through the iris door. Nate sat in it and held his coffee cup like a security blanket against his chest. â€Å"Well, can you see now that life wouldn't be so bad here?† Nate's mind raced. Amy said the Colonel didn't know, but maybe the Goo knew, but the Colonel was tapped in to the Goo, so did he know? Or had he sent her in the first place and this was all a scam, just like when he'd sent her to Hawaii to spy on him? She'd fooled him for a month there, why couldn't she be fooling him now? He wanted to trust her. But what was Ryder getting at? â€Å"What's different, Growl? When I saw you nine hours ago, I was a prisoner, and I'm a prisoner now.† Ryder seemed surprised. He wiped the lock of gray hair out of his eyes furiously, as if it had caused him to make some sort of mistake. â€Å"Right, nine hours. So you've had some time to think.† He didn't sound sure. â€Å"I got drunk and passed out. In the clear, lightning-bug light of day, Colonel, I still want to go home.† â€Å"You know, time† – Ryder patted the living chair he was sitting in as if he were petting a dog, sending waves of blush through the pink Goo outward from where he touched. Nate shivered at the sight of it – â€Å"time is different down here, it's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Relative?† Nate offered. â€Å"It's on a different scale.† â€Å"What do you want from me, Colonel? What can I possibly offer you that I get the special treatment of being spared and granted multiple audiences with the†¦ the grand pooh-bah?† Nate was going to say â€Å"with the alpha whacko,† but he thought of Amy and realized that something had changed. He no longer felt like he had nothing to lose. Rider swiped at his hair and clutched at the flesh of his chair with the other hand. He began rocking slightly. â€Å"I want someone to tell me I'm thinking clearly, I guess. I dream things that the Goo knows, and I think it knows things that I dream, but I'm not sure. I'm overwhelmed.† â€Å"You might have thought about that before you declared yourself wizard.† â€Å"You think I chose this? I didn't choose this, Nate. The Goo chose me. I don't know how many people have been brought down here over the years, but I was the first biologist. I was the first one who had some idea how the Goo worked. It had the whaley boys bring me to a place like this, where there was raw, unformed animal, and it never let me leave. I've tried to make things better for people in Gooville, but – † Ryder's eyes rolled up in his head as if he were starting to have a seizure, but then he was back again. â€Å"Did you see the electricity on the whale ships? I did that. But it's not – It's different now than it has been.† Nate suddenly felt bad for the older man. Ryder was behaving like an early Alzheimer's patient who is realizing that he's losing recognition of his grandchildren's faces. â€Å"Tell me,† Nate said. Ryder nodded, swallowed hard, pressed on – hardly the picture of the powerful leader he'd appeared the night before. â€Å"I think that after the Goo found its safe haven here under the sea, it needed to have more information, more DNA sequences to make sure it could protect itself. It produced a minute bacterium that could spread throughout the oceans, be part of the great world ecosystem but could pass genetic information back to the source. We call the bacteria SAR-11. It's a thousand times smaller than normal bacteria, but it's in every liter of seawater on the planet. That worked fine to transmit information back to the Goo for three billion years – everything that could be known was in the sea. Then something happened.† â€Å"Animals left the water?† â€Å"Exactly. Until then, everything there was to know – every piece of information that could be known – was transmitted through DNA, replicators, in creatures that lived in the seas. The Goo knew everything. Mind you, it might take a million years to learn how to make an arthropod's segmented shell. It might take two million years to learn to make a gill or, say, twenty million to make an eye, but it had its safe niche, so it had the time – it didn't have anywhere it needed to be. Evolution doesn't really have a destination. It's just dicking around with possibilities. The Goo is the same way. But when life left the water, the Goo got a blind spot.† â€Å"I'm having a little trouble seeing the immediacy of your story, Colonel. I mean, why, beyond the obvious that I'm sitting inside this thing, is this supposed to be urgent?† â€Å"Because four hundred million years later, the land creatures came back into the water – sophisticated land animals.† â€Å"Early whales?† â€Å"Yes, when mammals came back to the sea, they brought something that even the dinosaurs – the reptiles and amphibians that had come back to the water – didn't have. Something the Goo didn't know. Knowledge that didn't replicate itself through DNA. It replicated through imitation, learned knowledge, not passed on. Memes.† Nate knew about memes, the information equivalent of a gene. A gene existed to replicate itself and required a vehicle, an organism, in which to do it. It was the same with memes, except a meme could replicate itself across vehicles, across brains. A tune you couldn't get out of your head, a recipe, a bad joke, the Mona Lisa – all were memes of sort. They were a fun model to think about, and computers had made the idea of a self-replicating piece of information more manifest with computer viruses, but what did that have to do with – But then it hit him. Why he'd learned about memes in the first place. â€Å"The song,† Nate said. â€Å"Humpback song is a meme.† â€Å"Of course. The first culture, the first exposure the Goo had to something it didn't understand. What, maybe fifteen million years ago it found out it wasn't the only game in town. Three billion years is a long time to get used to living in what you think is your private house only to suddenly find out that someone moved into an apartment above you while you were sleeping. â€Å"For a long time the Goo didn't perceive that genes and memes were at odds. Whales were the first carriers. Big brains because they need to imitate complex behaviors, remember complex tasks, and because they could get the high-protein food to build the brains the memes needed. But the Goo came to terms with the whales. They're an elegant mix of genes and memes, absolute kings of their realm. Huge, efficient feeders, immune from any predation except from each other. â€Å"But then something started killing whales. Killing them in alarming numbers. And it was something from the surface world. It wasn't something the Goo could find out about from its ocean-borne nervous system, so that's when I think it created the whale ships, or a version of them. Late seventeen or early eighteen hundreds, I'd guess. Then, I think when it had somehow gotten back enough samples of human DNA, it made the whaley boys. To stay camouflaged but to watch, to bring people back here so it could learn, watch us. I may have been the final link that started the war.† â€Å"What war? There's a war?† Nate had a quick vision of the paranoid megalomaniacs that the Colonel said he'd considered for pseudonyms, Captain Nemo and Colonel Kurtz, both complete bedbugs. â€Å"The war between memes and genes. Between an organism that specializes in the replication of gene machines – the Goo – and one that specializes in the replication of meme machines – us, human beings. I brought electrical and computer technology here. I brought the Goo the theoretical knowledge of memes and genes and how they work. Where the Goo is now and where it was before I came is the difference between being able to drive one and being able to build a car from lumps of raw steel. It's realizing the threat. It's going to figure it out.† Ryder looked at Nate expectantly. Nate looked at him as if he wasn't getting the point. When he'd studied under Ryder, the man had been so cogent, so clear. Grumpy, but clear. â€Å"Okay,† Nate said slowly, hoping Ryder would jump in, â€Å"so you need me to†¦ uh†¦?† â€Å"Help me figure out a way to kill it.† â€Å"Didn't see that coming.† â€Å"We're at war with the Goo, and we have to find a way to kill it before it knows what's happening.† â€Å"Then don't you think you should keep your voice down?† â€Å"No, it doesn't communicate that way.† The Colonel looked perturbed at Nate's comment. â€Å"So you want me to figure out how to kill your god? â€Å"Yes, before it wipes out the human race in one fell swoop.† â€Å"Which would be bad.† â€Å"And we have to kill it without killing everyone in Gooville.† â€Å"Oh, we can do that,† Nate said, completely confident, the way he'd seen hostage negotiators in cop movies tell the bank robbers that their demands were being met and the helicopter was on the way. â€Å"But I'm going to need some time.† The strangest thing was, as Nate left the Colonel's chamber after being in direct contact with the Goo for only a few minutes, his hangover was completely gone.