Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Strategic Management and Marketing for the Luxury Goods Vivienne Assignment

Strategic Management and Marketing for the Luxury Goods Vivienne Westwood - Assignment Example In such context, Luxury Goods Company Vivienne Westwood has been selected sample organization in the paper and study will conduct marketing audit in order to help the sample organization to decide marketing strategy. McDonald and Wilson (2011) suggested that organizations should use both strategic and tactical marketing plan in order design marketing strategy. According to these scholars, strategic marketing includes situational analysis, customer segmentation, and macro environmental audit while tactical marketing plan includes implementation marketing strategies. The paper will follow the mentioned approach while doing marketing audit for Vivienne Westwood. Before going to the main discussion, the study will analyze the business situation and macro environment for Vivienne Westwood in order to create background for marketing audit. Situational Analysis There is no doubt that primary operational hub for Vivienne Westwood is UK and therefore the study will concentrate on macro enviro nmental parameters of UK which can influence business dimensions of Vivienne Westwood. ... ion in UK (British Fashion Council, 2012) The above diagram is showing the rise of luxury consumption expenditure in UK while the following diagram will depict the structure of designer and luxury fashion industry in UK. Figure 2: Industry Structure (British Fashion Council, 2012) It is evident from the diagram that retail luxury clothing and footwear are the primary revenue generating option for designers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Mulberry etc. In such context, PEST (Political, economic, social and technological) analysis can be done in order to understand macro environmental aspects of UK. Political Government of UK follows trade policy as directed in NATO or North Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, in recent years the UK government has taken steps as budget cuts (more than 20%) in entertainment, fashion and sports sector which negatively affected growth of fashion and designer merchandises manufacturing sector (British Fashion Council, 201 2). The government has also reduced corporate tax to 23% and such reduction would bound to increase operating margin for fashion retailers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry and others. Economic Spending capacity of people is being negatively affected by the trailing effect of Economic recession started in 2008 and Sovereign debt crisis. For example, the industry growth has been dipped by almost 0.2% in recent years (Marketline, 2012). However, British Fashion Council (2012) reported that economic slowdown might have increased cost of manufacturing for luxury retailers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry and others but it has hardly any impact on luxury consumption in UK. This divergence occurs due to the fact that generally affluent class purchases luxury products and

Monday, October 28, 2019

How far does Pentheus Essay Example for Free

How far does Pentheus Essay At the beginning of the play I think I would be inclined to agree that Pentheus deserves his punishment but by the end after we are shown the way that Dionysus reacts to him and how his punishment is completed, I would probably say he does not deserve the punishment he was given. In my opinion it was vile and unnecessary but the ancient Greeks took the Gods will very seriously and the fact that a King was not welcoming to a new god, seemingly insulted them and thus forced Dionysus to exact revenge upon him. At the start when Pentheus enters he declares that he has heard rumours that this new god is driving the women to leave their homes and have criminal actions. He says his worshippers are frolicking and satisfying the lusts of men. He is basing these blames purely on rumour and even calls Dionysus a parvenu god. He is not respecting the new god and even though he knows the gods can punish humans, he still refuses to worship him; he even states that he will leave him out of his worship when he goes to sleep. He calls him some foreigner and disrespects him by saying he is a wizard conjuror and had fragrant golden curls, not meaning to compliment him but insult him. Here perhaps he does deserve his punishment because he is disrespectful and unkind to the new god because he is a cynical ruler. Cadmus and Tiresias encourage Pentheus to allow Dionysuss worship into the city but here will listen to none of it and he is rude to both of them (which again, is not expected of a king but his pride and arrogance overpowers his respect for his elders). He has absolutely no piety towards Dionysus and insults him once he is brought (in disguise) to Pentheus. He is given many warnings by Dionysus but Pentheus chooses not to hear then and ignores him, he is spoken to in riddles but Pentheus once again shows no understanding and Pentheus even goes as far as mocking Zeus and this makes us pity him because he does not understand what is going on. In this instance I do not believe he deserves his punishment. He doesnt believe in Dionysus and his obsession with order proves his downfall, in spite of the warnings he is given. Later in the play Dionysus has the upper hand by hypnotising Pentheus and forcing him to see a bull and trying to tie it up. Here we begin to feel sorry for Pentheus and think that it is cruel of Dionysus to trick him. There is a contrast between the rage and frustration of Pentheus and the calmness of Dionysus. A herald comes and tells Pentheus about the worship of the Bacchants and Dionysus is quick to trick him to witness it himself, he is lured like a child and is easily persuaded by Dionysus because he is still hypnotised by him. Because he becomes so child-like and vulnerable our pity for him increases because he is unable to control his actions from here on. I do not believe he deserves his fate now because he is lured by Dionysus charm and he has put all of his trust into the gods hands. We feel sorry for Pentheus here and because he is more innocent here (is persuaded to dress up as a bacchant) and does not deserve this cruel punishment Dionysus has planned for him. Dionysus now becomes the cruel one and plays with Pentheus vulnerable state and mentions sick jokes towards his death by saying you shall ride home in your mothers arms. Which is terrible dramatic irony and we are forced to feel compassionate towards Pentheus because we know exactly what is going to happen to him. Because it is his mother that is going to kill him, I believe he does not deserve to be killed like this, but by his mother killing him it forces us to take more pity on Pentheus and Agave and I do not believe he deserves his punishment like this. It just proves the malice of Dionysus and how far he will go to induce punishment on the city of Thebes in order to be worshipped. So Pentheus deserves his punishment because he was unwilling to accept a new god and refused to worship someone he did not believe in and this resulted in his death but he did not deserve the way in which he was punished because it was his mother who was forced to do it and he was brutally ripped apart while in a child-like state of mind and under Dionysus control. So we feel sympathy towards him and I do not believe he deserved his punishment

Saturday, October 26, 2019

McKays America Essay -- essays research papers

McKay's America 1)†America† is written in a Public voice. McKay writes this poem as though it is meant to be heard by all. However, there are some parts in â€Å"America† where it takes a more personal approach. For example, when McKay states â€Å"Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.† and also when he mentions how he gazes into the days ahead. I find in those sections of the poem McKay takes a more personal approach because of the specifics mentioned solely about her. The public approaches McKay makes in â€Å"America† are the parts where she is vaguer and the poem can relate to anyone. Specifically, the ending that focuses on the touch of time and priceless treasures can be construed by anyone to mean what they want. 2) McKay does not mention his heritage in â€Å"America† or his background because it is unnecessary. Anyone who has experienced America can relate to McKay’s poem. He seems as though he may have a better interpretation, because he has experienced other cultures. 3) In the poem â€Å"America† written in the traditional form it has a huge impact. The traditional form focuses on the nations popular heroes. This is America. Had this poem been written in a different format it is possible it wouldn’t have as deep of an impact. P.1051 1-3 1) â€Å"The Shrine Whose Shape I Am† tells the reader that the author is possibly a white Christian. The poem conveys that the author is Jewish and possibly white because it mentions many biblical ter...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Cultural Awareness Essay

The world as humans know it is getting smaller and smaller due to globalization and technological improvements. The two has made it possible for people from various cultural, racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to communicate, work together and travel from one country to another half a world away easily. When people meet, they also bring their cultural background with them. This makes it essential for people to have cultural awareness and understand cultural diversity. Cultural awareness is the recognition and acceptance that people are all shaped by each one’s own unique and specific cultural backgrounds (Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing [CCDA], 2006). Cultural awareness is the sensitivity and respect for cultural diversity or the fact that people from various cultures have different values, beliefs and traditions. Different histories and traditions result in culturally-prescribed particulars on how people should perceive and relate with other people. A person is culturally aware when he or she celebrates the world’s colorful cultural richness and assortment instead of discriminating against other cultures, especially against minorities. Cultural awareness is being able to see through the lens of another culture and the openness to understand another culture instead of simply labeling it weird or â€Å"wrong† in view of one’s own culture. Having cultural awareness is essential in facing the technology-dependent world’s unseen cultural challenges. One technological development that has been very beneficial for people is the Internet. Through the Internet, people can communicate and share information regardless of time and distance. It has even allowed for the existence of virtual classrooms or online education wherein one can share classes without any physical meeting. Technology has brought people closer; however, the fact the no one can see and determine the race or background of other people lays a hidden trap. Without knowing that they are talking to someone from another cultural background, people can easily alienate others and be called a racist because of their insensitivity to another. Being culturally aware, having the capacity to understand and appreciate the rich cultural diversity, is thus essential for the success of this computer-mediated communication because it increases one’s sensitivity to the non-physical and non-vocal communication styles of people. Cultural awareness keeps one from making generalizations and informs one about appropriate communication styles (CCDA, 2006). Finally, cultural awareness generally promotes an atmosphere of respect for everyone regardless of culture. References Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing. (2006). Cultural awareness. Retrieved March 13, 2009 from http://www. culturaldiversity. com. au/Default. aspx? tabid=81

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Product Design and Process Selection †Services Essay

1. Identify the operations management problems that Dr. Barr is having at the clinic. Dr, Barr is experiencing several operations problems due to a change in what customers are requesting compared to the services the clinic was designed to offer. The increase in specialized services and the addition of grooming requires a different layout. Not only have the space requirements changed but some non-contact services are being performed in contact areas. Customers are requesting a mix of services but the clinic has not thought about service â€Å"packages†. Finally, the staff is not trained for the new service mix. 2. How would you define the â€Å"service bundle† currently being offered? How is this different from the initial purpose of the clinic? Customers are now requesting a bundle of grooming, examining, and sometimes minor surgical services. The business was originally designed to offer examining and surgical services. Not only do the new demands require additional services but also customers see these as a package. The clinic needs to offer the demanded bundle more seamlessly. 3.Identify the high-contact and low-contact segments of the operation. How should each be managed? The high contact segments include reception and customer waiting. The low contact segments are examining, surgery, and grooming. However, grooming is currently being performed in a high contact area. High contact segments must be performed while the customer is present and in contact. Low contact segments can be performed while the customer is not there, and do not need customer contact. In fact, as the grooming operations demonstrate, customer contact with low contact segments can decrease performance. 4.What should Dr. Barr have done differently to avoid the problems she is currently experiencing? What should she do now? Dr. Barr should have studied the impact of a change in the mix of services offered before she started accepting a significantly different mix. Now she needs to either reject business that is outside of her original plans (probably not what she wants to do) or redesign the clinic to better handle the current mix. The redesign should include a new facilities layout, employee training, and probably attention to the service â€Å"packages† offered.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Organisational Obstacles and Challenges

Organisational Obstacles and Challenges Introduction Many corporations are looking for talented and competent employees who can produce the best results. Such workers should also be ready to learn new skills and concepts in order to make their companies successful. Employers are currently focusing on the best traits and values whenever recruiting new workers. This practice explains why various researchers have identified several competencies that can make corporations profitable.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organisational Obstacles and Challenges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employers expect every job applicant to possess certain values such as passion, discipline, ethics, creativity, competence, determination, and curiosity. Individuals with such traits will be ready to promote the best practices and strategies. The above values will make it easier for individuals to look for new skills and lessons in an attempt to make their companies successful. These concepts will become critical in the future. Globalisation is forcing many corporations to hire individuals who can deal with organisational obstacles and challenges. Comparing and Contrasting the Articles According to Fernandez-Araoz, many companies hire individuals who have attended the best colleges. However, managers who lack the required technological and competitive skills cannot compete in the global market. New leaders should have the best skills in order to adapt to every new challenge. Employers should focus on certain aspects such as motivation, engagement, and curiosity. Whenever identifying new talents, ‘it is appropriate to look for motivation because it ensures individuals do not focus on their personal goals’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 8). According to the author, employees should possess four unique qualities. These qualities include ‘insight, engagement, curiosity, and determination’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 8). The best managers an d employees will eventually improve the level of collaboration and team leadership. The practice will also promote the concept of change leadership. Change leadership is the capacity to align a corporation and transform it in order to become successful. Interviewers should assess the above abilities and competencies in order to get the right individuals who can provide the best results (Fernandez-Araoz 2014). Good employees should be passionate about their jobs. They should also be happy and ready to serve their respective customers. The article also explains why employers should hire individuals who can learn new values and skills. This approach will ensure every corporation emerges successful.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Employers should be able to retain their talented workers. This ‘strategy is necessary because every competitor is working hard to get talented employees’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 9). Employers should ensure every worker portrays a strong connection and engagement with his or her occupation and workmates. The workers should also be ready to overcome setbacks and problems. Some factors such as experience, desire, experience, performance, and intelligence will ensure every firm hires the right people (Fernandez-Araoz 2014). The above practice will make it easier for employers to get the right talents. The article â€Å"Minds Viewed Globally† explains why individuals should embrace five specific minds in order to become competent employees. The ‘first mind is associated with discipline’ (Gardner 2008, p. 3). Every disciplined employee will work steadily in order to achieve the greatest goals. A disciplined mind will focus on the best practices and ideas. A good employee should also possess a synthesising mind. This person will be ready to collect information from various sources and combin e it in a proper manner. This mind will also become relevant in the coming years because more people are using different technological resources. The ‘individual will produce quality ideas and concepts that can be understood by the other employees’ (Gardner 2008, p. 5). An employee with a creative mind will be ready to achieve the best objectives. This person will always be eager to break new grounds. A creative mind is capable of identifying new values and questions that can make a difference. The individual will also present quality answers in order to make his or her corporation successful. A creative mind will always be ready to deal with the issues and challenges affecting the targeted company. An individual with a creative mind will always be a step ahead in an attempt to achieve the greatest potentials. Persons with respectful minds possess another powerful value known as respect (Gardner 8). Respectful persons will address every challenge affecting their groups or teams. Respectful persons will always understand others and promote teamwork. Every ethical person will focus on the issues affecting his or her working environment. Such individuals will present the best ideas in order to deal with the problems affecting their teams. The ‘ethical mind will examine how human beings can serve others without focusing on their personal gains’ (Gardner 2008, p. 9).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organisational Obstacles and Challenges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ethical workers will always work hard in an attempt to improve the conditions encountered by others. These five minds will produce the best results. Individuals possessing these five minds will ensure their companies are on the right track. The companies will embrace the best strategies in order to get the targeted goals and potentials. The author of this article believes that such minds will ensure every e mployee deals with the obstacles affecting his or her company. Such workers will also be ready to focus on new skills that will make them more productive and resourceful. The practice will produce the best results within a short period (Gardner 12). The article Howard Gardner goes further to explain why different corporations will be hiring ‘disciplined, resourceful, creative, and ethical workers in the future’ (Gardner 2014, p. 18). This approach will ensure every employee promotes the best ideas and concepts. This idea supports the current use of modern technologies and resources to deal with various organisational challenges. Conclusion The above two articles encourage workers and managers to focus on the best talents in order to remain productive. The first article by Fernandez-Araoz supports some unique values such as passion, commitment, engagement, and curiosity. These values can promote the best organisational practices. The second article by Garner identifies f ive minds that will become meaningful in the coming years. That being the case, employers will always expect their workers to have discipline. Employees should also promote specific values such as creativity, competence, determination, curiosity, and engagement. Readers should examine these two articles differently and carefully in order to identify the best competencies that can make their businesses successful. List of References Fernandez-Araoz, C. 2014, ‘21st Century Talent Spotting’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 1-11.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gardner, H. 2008, ‘Minds Viewed Globally: A Personal Introduction: An Overview of the Five Minds for the Future’, Harvard Business Press, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-20.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Amygdala activity essays

Amygdala activity essays Review of "Amygdala activity at correlated with long-term, free recall of emotional information" This article reviewed an experiment that tested the role of the amygdala in emotional memory. To be specific it hypothesized that if the amygdaloid complex (AC) was primarily involved with the formation of long-term memory during emotionally arousing situations, then the PET analysis would reveal AC activity related to retention of the relative emotional, but not relatively neutral, films. The experiment used eight right-handed male subjects between 20 and 24 years old. While at first it was not clearly stated why the subjects used were all the same, but women, left-handed people, and subjects of differing ages were purposely omitted in favor of right-handed males of a specific age for use as a control. These subjects were shown two videos, one with emotionally neutral film clips (N) and one with emotionally arousing film clips (E). Each video contained 12 clips. The subjects were asked to rank each film on the basis of emotionality from 0 (being the lowest) to 10 (being the highest.) The videos were also ranked on how well the subject understood each film on a scale from 0 to 10. The E and N films did not differ in their level of understandability. The films were ordered in such a way that it would maximize the chances of detecting glucose differences between E and N sessions. Since positron emission tomography was used, this was a good idea because most of the measured activity would relfect the first 15-20 minutes of tracer reuptake. Three weeks after the experiment, the subjects were asked to recall as many film clips as possible from both film sessions. As expected the E films were ranked significantly higher than the N films. The subjects could also recall more E films than N films when asked three weeks after the experiment. The scientific paper presents simple, but effect, graphs showing the discrepancies b ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Sing Joy to the World in Spanish

Sing Joy to the World in Spanish For a joyful lift to your holidays, heres a Spanish-language version of Joy to the World, the classic Christmas carol. The hymn was originally written in English by Isaac Watts. A literal translation and translation notes are provided for Spanish students. Regocijad! Jess naci  ¡Regocijad! Jesà ºs nacià ³, del mundo Salvador;y cada corazà ³n tornad a recibir al Rey,a recibir al Rey. Venid a recibir al Rey.  ¡Regocijad! Él reinar; cantemos en unià ³n;y en la tierra y en el mar loor resonar,loor resonar, y gran loor resonar. Ya la maldad vencida es; la tierra paz tendr.La bendicià ³n del Salvador quità ³ la maldicià ³n,quità ³ la maldicià ³n; Jesà ºs quità ³ la maldicià ³n.  ¡Glorias a Dios cantemos hoy! Seà ±or de Israel,la libertad tà º le dars y tà º sers su Dios,y tà º sers su Dios, Seà ±or, y tà º sers su Dios. Translation of Spanish Lyrics Rejoice! Jesus was born, Savior of the world;and each heart turn to receive the King,to receive the King. Come to receive the King. Rejoice! He will reign; let us sing in unison;and in the the land and in the sea praise will echo,praise will echo, and great praise will echo. The evil now is conquered; the earth will have peace.The Saviors blessing removed the curse,removed the curse. Jesus removed the curse. Today we sing glories to God! Lord of Israel,You will give her liberty and You will be her God,and You will be her God, Lord, and You will be her God. Grammar and Vocabulary Notes Regocijad: This is the familiar second-person plural imperative form (the vosotros form) of regocijar, which means to rejoice. It isnt a particularly common verb. In everyday conversation, youre unlikely to hear familiar plural imperative forms of verbs much outside of Spain, as in Latin American the formal you (ustedes) is used even in informal contexts. Nacià ³: This is the third-person plural preterite of nacer, which has no one-word equivalent in English, meaning to be born. Nacer is conjugated the same way as conocer. Del mundo Salvador: In everyday speech or writing, youd be much more likely to say Salvador del mundo for Savior of the world. In music, however, theres considerably more latitude with word order to get the desired rhythm. Tornad: Like regocijad, this is a plural-you command. Tornar typically means to convert or to turn into, and it is used most frequently in a religious context. As you may have noticed, the vosotros imperative form of the verb is made simply by changing the final r of the infinitive to a d. And this is always true - there are no irregular verbs for this form. Al: Al is one of only two contractions in Spanish, shortening a and el. The a here is the personal a, used because the direct object is el Rey, a person. (The other contraction is del, for de and el.) Venid: From the verb venir. Cantemos: From the verb cantar (to sing). This is the first-personal plural imperative form. En unià ³n: Although this phrase could be translated as in union, in unison is used because of the context of choral singing. Loor: This word is rare enough you wont find it in smaller dictionaries. It means praise. Resonar: Resonar means to resound or, more poetically, to echo or to ring. Gran: Gran is an example of apocopation, the shortening or clipping of certain adjectives when they immediately precede a noun. Although some adjectives are shortened only before masculine nouns, the singular grande is shortened whether masculine or feminine. Its meaning also changes from large to great. La maldad vencida es: This is another case of poetic word order. In everyday speech, youd more likely say, La maldad es vencida, evil is overcome. This sentence is in the passive voice, not directly stating what overcomes evil. Bendicià ³n: Blessing (ben- good, -dicià ³n saying, from the verb decir). Quità ³: Past tense of quitar, to remove. Maldicià ³n: Curse (mal- bad) Seà ±or: Although this word is often used as a courtesy title meaning the equivalent of Mr., it can also mean Lord. La libertad tà º le dars: This and the remainder of the song is an example of personification. The pronoun le usually isnt used to refer to things, only to people. But here it refers to Israel, which has been personified. Le is an indirect pronoun; the direct pronoun here is libertad, that which is being given.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Improving Patient Care Model For Inpatient Units At Moffick Hospital Research Proposal

Improving Patient Care Model For Inpatient Units At Moffick Hospital - Research Proposal Example The oncology department was established following its expansion in the year 2000. The facility attracts international patients due to its well qualified and specialist surgeons and clinicians. The hospital has Inpatient Department, which includes an Intensive Care Unit, Oncology/Medical Surgical Unit, and Telemetry Unit. The staff capacity includes 30 permanent specialty surgeons, 30 semi-permanent specialty surgeons, 150 clinicians and 155 nurses. Various unfavorable situations within the operations of the hospital contributed to poor patient satisfaction. Moffit Hospital being an academic institution, a research facility, as well as a specialist hospital provision of quality health care, needs to be prioritized. Currently, the reputation of the hospital seems to be more unpleasant contrary to its previous glory. In order to regain the best reputation in the region, Moffit Hospital management looks forward to ensuring delivery of quality service in addition to patient safety. In order to boost patient satisfaction, the hospital intends to reduce the duration that patients wait to be treated. With the new mission and vision statements; it will be the responsibility of personnel in the top-level management of departments, the medical staff of the hospital and all the employees to work collectively to ensure the patients get better services (McLaughlin et al 2012). The change initiative at Moffit Hospital under the new mission and vision statements follow the model of excellence in leadership. The core areas identified include integrity and teamwork. The framework established aims to be results oriented with the focus on engaging stakeholders, managing challenges of change and growth from the experience of the past and those of well-experienced employees.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Record Keeping in the Learning Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Record Keeping in the Learning Sector - Essay Example He points out that "without records, we have no way of knowing what we are doing."(18). Record-keeping has always been an important part of the teacher's work; it would be easy, in concern about recording each child's progress in the National Curriculum, to forget the need for long-term records and for records which give their own input to work and the corresponding output from the children. There are many reasons for keeping records besides those of recording progress in the National Curriculum. An important reason for record-keeping is continuity. If teachers should happen to have a long illness or leave their present school in mid-year, all that they have learned about their children will be lost, and appropriate records are needed so that someone else can take up where they left off. Records may help the teachers to match work to individual children and help them to overcome learning problems. Something a child does once may not appear to be significant, but if it happens several times, it may give them important clues to the nature of a difficulty. They may not notice this if they do not keep appropriate records. It would be difficult to keep this kind of record for every child all the time, but they can do it for a small number who have problems. Important items from a child's background noted over a period may help the teacher to understand his or her difficulties and put them in a better position to help. For example, a child who has changed schools number of times may be insecure and need in filling gaps in learning. A child who has a handicapped sibling may find it difficult to cope with the extra attention that the sibling needs from his or her parents. Background information of this kind is sensitive and the teacher or head may need to ask the parent concerned if he or she minds having it recorded so that teachers are aware of any difficulties. School records or records to be passed on need to contain only what might be described as considered records. Teacher's own day to day notes may contain comments about individual children and the success or otherwise of particular pieces of work, recorded for their benefit alone. These notes will form the basis of their final records. Teacher will also need records of each individual child. It is helpful to keep these records in a loose leaf file with a page for each child. They can then add material and put this into a longer term record when each page is full. Their file should include a check list for each child of the Attainment Statements from the National Curriculum arranged so that they can tick off items as they are achieved. Historically one of the standard methods of keeping records was for the class teacher to maintain a weekly record book and to contribute to a cumulative record and termly or yearly report for the parents. This was quite a feasible approach for a teacher who used a class-based teaching approach. What this technique also created, however, was belief that because the teacher had planned and taught the material the children had, by implication, learnt it. With the onset of the comprehensive principle and the development of mixed ability classes, a wider range of ability in the children being taught exposed serious limitations in the approach. It is an essential aspect of record-keeping that staff and

The Common Cold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Common Cold - Essay Example Aching may also occur in the affected parts of the body during the disease. Typically, three to five days are taken by this disease in the normal human body. However, it has been observed by many studies that approximately three weeks are taken by residual coughing in the patient. In this regard, the most common of all the human diseases is the common cold. In light of a number of studies and researches, it has been analyzed that an average rate or two to four infections occur in the adults per year. Whereas, school-aged children are affected by this viral disease at a higher extent, that is, twelve times per year. In some populations, it is common to have more than three infections of the common cold in a person during a whole year. However, a higher risk is taken by children and their parents, as schools are found to be high in density in most of the countries. Secondly, as we mentioned above, it is a viral disease; therefore, family members are transmitted to this disease very easily and efficiently by the common cold bacterias. The upper respiratory tract infections is belonging the disease of common cold. However, influenza is found to be different from the common cold, as respiratory tract is infected more severely during influenza, as compared to the common cold disease. ... However, when it becomes complicated, it results in the form of pneumonia, which can even take the life of a patient. In this regard, sometimes, people relate the common cold disease with pneumonia and influenza, due to non-availability of valid and updated scientific research in specific areas. Contrary to popular belief, it has been found by a number of scientists that very young and elderly people are more likely to be at risk due to new strains of this virus in the human body. However, the occurring of death is quite rare in this disease, and death is suffered in only one out of one million subjects related to the disease of common cold. The vulnerability of this cold disease has been found most common in the young children, who go to school and socialize with their classmates and other staff of the school. Secondly, patients are also found to having common cold who have been into any kind of surgery. In these cases, the death rate was around one case out of fifty thousand cases. However, it is very important to know that chimps were used to carry out these kinds of experiments. Nevertheless, scientists believe that the humans will react with these experiments similarly, as compared to the experimented chimps. Therefore, we may say that the occurrence of the disease of viral and infectious common cold can be related to the animals. Causes A number of viruses are considered as primary causes and factors of the common cold in the human body. Mainly, corona viruses, coxsackie viruses, rhinoviruses, etc. are some of the main viruses that cause the common cold, and the upper inspiratory system is infected and affected in the outcomes of the disease. Scientists have found and described hundreds of viruses that cause

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Rights of the Accused Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rights of the Accused - Essay Example The chief controversy regarding â€Å"due process of law† rests on the Supreme Court’s application of the clause within the Fourteenth Amendment to pertain to guarantees contained in the Bill of Rights to states via the process of â€Å"incorporation† (Ramen, 2001). As such, the application of â€Å"liberty† relates to liberties and procedures outlined within the Bill of Rights, plus other rights, liberties, and conditions that may not necessarily be found within the Bill of Rights (Shea, 2011).   The â€Å"due process† clause guarantees that individuals accused of perpetrating crimes should be awarded a fair trial (Holmes & Ramen, 2012). The rights entail right to a jury trial, a presumption of innocence the prosecutors expected to prove guilt â€Å"beyond reasonable doubt (the utmost standard of attestation that exists within the legal system), the right to be indicted by a grand jury (5th), the right to counsel (6th), the right to a speedy and public trial, safeguard from brutal and extraordinary punishment (8th), the right against self-incrimination (5th) and protection from double-jeopardy (5th). Other â€Å"due process† guarantees encompass the right of the accused persons to face their accusers (6th), and the right to become aware of the charges against the defendant (6th) (Wilson, 2009).   The principle of the 4th Amendment is to refuse the Federal Government the power to conduct arbitrary searches and seizure of property. The Fifth Amendment demands that a citizen cannot be accused of a serious crime devoid of a grand jury investigation, besides outlawing double jeopardy (Ramen, 2001).

Media appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media appraisal - Essay Example By combing these methods the author has an original approach to her research and this makes it very interesting to criticise. The paper shows how the role of popular music in society has been studied traditionally and challenges some classical methodologies while also proposing new ones. It is the combination of these points which makes this article good to study in terms of research methodology analysis. The study is of popular music in the lives of young people. It positions itself with cultural and social studies. Its aim is to approach the study of the role of popular music in a slightly different way from other researchers on this subject. Initially the author states that few studies work directly with the people who use and consumer music. The study therefore aims to change this by asking people directly what their experience of music is, instead of making theories that do not in interact with reality. The author emphasises the need to concentrate on the real experiences which people have, or say they have, in relation to music. Related to this is the aim to explore what the author refers to as the ‘everydayness’ of music. Rather than focusing on the cultural significance of music through issues such as identity construction, the paper aims to explore the possibility that these issues of music consumption are in fact less important than the more mundane and routine uses of music in everyday life, as a background noise whose meanings are irrelevant. She focuses on the ‘fallacy of meaningfulness’, arguing that music doesn’t necessarily have to be significant or used to define a particular group or consumed by a particular ethnic group or social class. The methodology used by the author involves the use of unstructured informal discussions with three groups of GCSE sociology students, around fifteen years old. Three groups of four to five students were involved in one discussion, all on the same day. There were fewer boys than girls in all

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Rights of the Accused Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rights of the Accused - Essay Example The chief controversy regarding â€Å"due process of law† rests on the Supreme Court’s application of the clause within the Fourteenth Amendment to pertain to guarantees contained in the Bill of Rights to states via the process of â€Å"incorporation† (Ramen, 2001). As such, the application of â€Å"liberty† relates to liberties and procedures outlined within the Bill of Rights, plus other rights, liberties, and conditions that may not necessarily be found within the Bill of Rights (Shea, 2011).   The â€Å"due process† clause guarantees that individuals accused of perpetrating crimes should be awarded a fair trial (Holmes & Ramen, 2012). The rights entail right to a jury trial, a presumption of innocence the prosecutors expected to prove guilt â€Å"beyond reasonable doubt (the utmost standard of attestation that exists within the legal system), the right to be indicted by a grand jury (5th), the right to counsel (6th), the right to a speedy and public trial, safeguard from brutal and extraordinary punishment (8th), the right against self-incrimination (5th) and protection from double-jeopardy (5th). Other â€Å"due process† guarantees encompass the right of the accused persons to face their accusers (6th), and the right to become aware of the charges against the defendant (6th) (Wilson, 2009).   The principle of the 4th Amendment is to refuse the Federal Government the power to conduct arbitrary searches and seizure of property. The Fifth Amendment demands that a citizen cannot be accused of a serious crime devoid of a grand jury investigation, besides outlawing double jeopardy (Ramen, 2001).

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

T. J. Maxx breach Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

T. J. Maxx breach - Research Paper Example Due to the TJX breach not only TJX had to suffer but also different banks had to pay the penalty by reissuing the cards to their customers. Gifford (2009, p 65) states that the protocol in WEP was insecure as it was not encrypted properly. TJX Co. did not apply the obfuscation and encryption policies to protect the consumer data. The security software purchased by TJX was not implemented correctly by the IT department of TJX Co. weak firewall rules are also a major characteristic of the cyber security incident. TJX had to pay around $80 -$100 million as a cost of settlement. Hence, it is important to secure data instead to pay penalties (Matwyshyn, 2009, p.9). According to Matwyshyn (2009, p.10), risk management is an important factor which should be implemented in order to prevent recurrence. This made the attack more vulnerable in nature as it did not have to undergo any type of hindrance. A chief information security officer should be allocated who has information of where the customer data is stored and moreover which of the third parties have access to it. Matwyshyn (2009, p.11) suggests that the external reports of the breach should be given importance. for example if a customer gets access to other customer’s data on a website and reports to the company then it should be checked instead of ignoring the issue. There should be regular monitoring of the customer data and its screening should also be done on regular basis. This helps keeping an eye on the usage of data and to remain up to date. The access to data by the employees should also be limited. According to Ballad, Ballad and Banks (2010, p.110) privileges and access to databases should be given only to the people related to information security of the organization. There should be an eye kept on the employees who want to access data, harm it or use it for some other purposes

Monday, October 14, 2019

Lack of Responsibility Kills Essay Example for Free

Lack of Responsibility Kills Essay When it comes to the battle between obesity among Americans and fast food chain companies, fast food falls hard for the one to blame. For many years, big food companies have been constantly under attack from health advocates and consumers for the contribution of growing waistlines, chronic diseases and lack of exercise in the United States. Of course, it is easy to blame fast food corporations given the ubiquity, proximity convenience and low cost of food options available. But who really is the one to point the finger at? We, the consumers, are fully responsible for what enters our mouths. No individual should sue any restaurant company from getting fat from eating their food. A decline in physical activity and a rise in more sedentary lifestyles have made it more difficult to balance food intake with energy spending in the last generation, leading to overweight people. It wouldnt be such a big deal if the problem were simply aesthetic. But excess weight takes a terrible toll on the human body, significantly increasing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, gall-bladder disease, osteoarthritis and many forms of cancer. The total medical tab for illnesses related to obesity is $117 billion a year. According to the Surgeon General, and the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in March, poor diet and physical inactivity could soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. And again, Americans recognize the problem but do not seem to want to change. In the TIME/ABC poll they rated obesity alongside heart disease, cancer, AIDS and drug abuse as among the nations most pressing public health problems. Consumers attitude toward fast food has changed since there is a wide assortment of factors at work ranging from fewer sit-down meals, much more snacking, more latchkey kids who make their own food decisions without supervision. Consumers, as well as parents (kids are also falling victim to the obesity rates), need to engage in personal responsibility when it comes to consuming an abundant amount of fast food instead of putting the obesity blame on fast food franchises. Obesity and fast food chains were never an issue back in the day; Americans seem to have taken advantage of the easy availability and cheap prices of many unhealthy foods. The human lifestyle and diet 4,000 years ago seem to have changed dramatically over the years where our ancestors ate and drank in the healthiest way possible as nomadic hunter-gatherers. 50%-80% of food came from plants, and 20%-50% came from animals (The World is Fat 18). Chronic disease, diabetics, obesity, heart disease and even cancer were unknown. In the 1950s, less than 100 million Americans were overweight and obese individuals. People used to have to do daily activities that were extensive just to live their everyday lives like cooking food from scratch, walking most places and doing most things by hand rather than using technological machines to do it for them. Food wasnt easy to get if you were poor. Walking somewhere was still common regardless of appliances such as dishwashers and ovens, and in 1960, only about 13.3 percent of people in America were obese, according to the University of Iowa Hospitals Clinics. And things havent been moving in a promising direction. Just two decades ago, the incidence of overweight in adults was well under 50%, while the rate for kids was only a third what it is today. From 1996 to 2001, 2 million teenagers and young adults joined the ranks of the obese. People are clearly worried. A TIME/ABC News poll released June 2004 shows that 58% of Americans would like to lose weight, nearly twice the percentage that felt that way in 1951. But only 27% say they are trying to slim down and two-thirds of those arent following any specific plan to do so. Americans love and strive for flavor and bigger portioned sized foods that’s fast and easy to attain, that is where fast food corporations come in place. Americans now are taking advantage of the big ger, cheaper and faster foods that it has become a national problem. So, where do we draw the line between self-control and responsible business practice? For the past 10 years, McDonald’s and other fast foods chains have been victimized with numerous lawsuits because they either â€Å"got consumers fat, hypnotized kids or bribed with deals and promos† (Fast Food 19). In 2003, the United States district court for the Southern District of New York responded to a complaint filed against McDonald’s by a class of obese costumers (Fast Food 18). In 2011, sixty-four year old Martin Kessman filed a lawsuit against the fast food company, White Castle and was seeking unspecified financial damages against the fast-food chain, claiming that his local White Castle is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act because the seating could not accommodate a customer of his size, keep in mind this man ate at White Castle on a regular basis. These frivolous and unnecessary lawsuits against corporations show the ignorance of many irresponsible Americans who cannot control their eating habits. It is not right to sue a fast food company based on the fact that consumers knowingly and voluntarily consumed the foods from McDonald’s knowing that the foods McDonald’s serves were in fact high in cholesterol, fat, salt and sugar. Consumers voluntarily spend over $100 billion annually on fast food per year. (Fast Food 8). The famous documentary, Supersize Me, shows Morgan Spurlock consuming McDonalds every day, 3 days a week. This of course led him to gain a significant amount of weight and develop some health complications. Spurlock makes his point by a way of exaggeration, he tells us something that we already know, fast food is bad. Of course it will be bad because he ONLY consumed fast food and nothing else, he did not eat anything healthy and did not exercise, all of this was done voluntarily. Should consumers eat fast food on a daily or even a weekly basis? The answer is simply no. Today Americans eat an extra 300 calories per day than in 1985 (Buzzle). When this trend occurs we get overweight Americans, and that is exactly what we are dealing with. 500 million Americans are now obese and an additional 6 or 7 million are â€Å"morbidly obese† (Chew on This 209). With this ridiculous amount of unhealthy people, you would think there would be a solution. And there is, lawsuits. Americans decide to turn to their lawyers for their ignorance and blame corporations for something that is obviously done by their own will. Consumers are too ignorant and blind to understand what it’s their mouth. We cannot deny that people are eating more and are getting fat, but that does not prove that fast food franchises are the culprit. Kids today are suffering severely and falling victim to obesity because of many unhealthy diets that are being practiced in their own home. Parents bring home the importance of food safety, quality and nutrition. When this habit continues to occur it leads to kids becoming teens who make poor choices who in turn leads to obese adults and a lifetime of health problems. Children in the United States are gaining more weight than ever before. They’re eating too much high-fat, high-sugar food and are spending less time be ing physically active. In 1989-1996 kids caloric intake became 80-230 extra calories per day (Food Inc. 225). The diets of American children don’t meet nutritional recommendations. In 1997, American children obtained about 50% of their calories from added fat and sugar while 1% of them resemble portions of food pyramid (Fast Food 29). At this early age kids can show early signs of health problems and of course obesity. A quarter of kids age 5-10 show premature warning signs for heart disease such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure with unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity and obesity (Food Inc. 229). Weight problems that develop during childhood can lead to weight-related illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. So, is parent’s lack of responsibility for their children’s food habits the one to blame? Of course, one thing kids will unfortunately experience is variety. With all the fast food chains serving the same stuff no matter where in the US. Parents with obese kids are struggling with a horde of problems when it comes to their childs weight. They range from a lack of education about nutritional food, not knowing how to cook and limited money to buy healthier food, to longer working hours and marketing campaigns for junk food aimed at kids. But the more sedentary and lazy lives children now have are also creating huge problems. Type 2 diabetics actually increased in children when a study conducted in Cincinnati should that type 2 diabetics went up tenfold from 1982 to 1994. 75% of junior school children preferred to stay at home than go to their nearby park (Child obesity: Why do parents let their kids get fat). Watching TV was one of the most popular activities, with 89% saying it was how they liked best to spend their time away from school, according to researchers Lightspeed. In July, scientists from University of Montreal claimed that by the age of ten, toddlers had added inches to their waistlines each week they spen d an extra hour in front of the television. Parents need to, from the start, control the eating and overall lifestyle of their children. It is dangerous for the future of the children to get used to such a risky addiction. Not only are we and our children eating more, but we are also exercising less. Lack of exercise is another factor to lack of responsibility. Fewer American adults today work in jobs that require physical labor. People drive to work in cars, rather than walking or biking; they take elevators instead of stairs; they use vacuum cleaners rather than brooms; and they cut the lawn with riding rather than push mowers. All of these simple changes reduce the amount of energy used to perform the tasks of daily living. A typical office worker today walks only about 3000 to 5000 steps in their daily activities. In contrast, in the Amish community where driving automobiles and using electrical appliances and other modern conveniences are not allowed, a typical adult takes 14000 to 18000 steps a day. The overall incidence of obesity in the group is only 4%. With 46.9% of the population meeting Physical Guidelines for aerobic/cardio physical activity (Exercise and Physical Activity). The problem for individuals is that willpower is not enough. We live in an environment where theres food every half mile. Its tasty, cheap, convenient, and you can eat it with one hand. We, the consumers, need not only to cut back on calories and fast food, we need to get active in any possible way we can to increase our health. Although simpler sounding on words then it is to actually pursue, exercise is Americans biggest challenge. Imagine a 7-year-old boy named John who, his whole has been given to-go fast food meals as his daily dinner at home. John has always been overweight for his age. As John has entered his teen’s years, he has become a hectic straight A student who studies constantly but never has time to make his own meals at home. John drives to local fast food joints and spends about $70 per week on his in-between-studies meals. Although, he has never worried about the way he looked and no matter what it has never occurred to him to want to change his eating habits, he continues to eat fast food on a regular basis. He consumes about 1,200 calories more than he is suppose to. Now being a grown adult with a settled job and cozy suburban home, he continues to eat unhealthy. No exercise is ever incorporated into his daily routines. He enters a McDonalds and stares blankly at the menu and clearly sees the sign that McDonalds has introduced a new Premium Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken Strips but John chooses to ignore it because he thinks going to McDonald’s for a salad is like asking a prostitute for a hug. It just doesn’t make sense. He orders a Big Mac meal that costs him around $9.25 and around 1,130 calories (including drink), this does not bother John because this simple meal tastes great and satisfies his hunger and appetite (keep in mind John ate this meal in-between lunch and dinner so he has eaten more calories with breakfast, lunch and dinner). Oh, and why not make it supersized for 2 dollars more, he won’t be hungry till 2 hours later. John continues this routine for about two more months; he feels extremely tired and out of breathe just walking down the stairs of his home. He also has major pains in his hips and knees only to think this is due to age. As the shortness of breath and joint pains begin to intensify, John finally decides to go to the doctor to get a check-up. His result, John is morbidly obese and has developed osteoarthritis, which is the reason for the joint pains. He also has a respiratory problem that causes his shortness of breath. John is outraged at how he could develop such a health problem. He blames McDonalds for giving him such a horrible and negative effect on his health. He plans to sue the fast food company. Does John win his case? No, he does not. With his irresponsible lack of a healthy diet or exercise, he does not have a fair case against McDonald’s. His overweight and health i ssues are due to his irresponsible lack of awareness to his body and his lifestyle. McDonald’s is not the one to blame; he had the choice to eat unhealthy. No one is forcing him to consume fattening foods. The real culprits in his obesity problems (as well as many other obese Americans) are lack of personal responsibility and its henchmen, gluttony and sloth. What really causes obesity besides the overconsumption of food? Genetics is one factor. Some common forms of obesity are probably the result of variations within a large number of heritable genes between families. Obesity risk is 2-3x higher for a person with a history of obesity as oppose to someone with no family history. Genetic studies have shown that the â€Å"particular set of weight-regulating genes that a person has is by far the most important factor in determining how much that person will weigh† (The Real Cause of Obesity). The heritability of obesity, which shows how, many genes is a factor to obesity versus other factors is the same as the heritability of height. Also, many psychological disorders can lead to obesity as well. The basis of eating disorders and obesity usually lies with mixtures of psychosocial and environmental attributes. Individuals who suffer from psychological disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, and eating disorders) may have a tough time managing control of their consumption of food, exercising an adequate amount, and maintaining a healthy weight. Those with weight problems can use food as a relieving mechanism, particularly when they are sad, anxious, stressed, lonely, and frustrated. In many obese individuals there appears to be a random cycle of mood disturbance, overeating, and weight gain. When they feel distressed, they turn to food to help them feel better which in turn leads to obesity (Psychological Risk Factors of Obesity). The culprits responsible for Americas progressively expanding waistline have little to do with the usual suspects popularized by the media. Many Americans believe Fast Food is the main culprits for obesity because of the clever tactics and unknown ingredients they use to get costumers to buy and their food and make them wanting more later. Fast food companies outnumber actual restaurants because it is affordable, easy to attain, big portioned and delicious. With the United States being the most obese nation, it has also become the nation that craves flavor and variety. Many turn away from greens because of its unappealing taste and lack of flavor. Fast Food companies produce food with flavor and hunger satisfying taste. Many become angry because of the effective advertising done on TV, ads, giveaways and deals. But what really angers consumers most are the chemicals they put in their food that makes it so delicious and irresistible. Polyfluoroalkyl phosphate pesters, PAPs, are chemicals that line fast-food packaging to make it grease- and waterproof, this leads to a number of health problems including cancer and liver disease. Dimethylpolysiloxane, a type of silicone, is added as an anti-foaming agent to McDonald’s chicken nuggets. This is the same ingredient that is used in breast implants and silly putty. Sodium Phosphate, which acts like a foam agent to many types of meat, is constantly used in many fast food joints. Dyes (red and yellow) behavioral attributes. Along with the mystery chemicals that go into fast food for its flavor, companies also supersize or increase the portions of their meals. During 1970s, marketing director of McDonalds corporations, David Wallerstein, determined that consumers would by more of a food item if sold in larger sizes and costs weren’t high. Portions increased from since 1980s to about 5x larger, which includes the drinks and side orders (Buzzle). A supersized coke, big mac and fries takes about 7 hours to burn with walking, now imagine people actually eating this without any exercise. We’ve been supersizing what we eat and that’s what consumers can’t get enough of. Many blame fast food for numerous health problems as well; asthma, strokes, type 2 diabetics, cancer, and cardio vascular disease. I myself have fallen victim to fast food, for example when I go on road trips with the family, we have no time to sit down and have a proper breakfast since we have to get on the road right away. We stop by a McDonalds because their breakfast is cheap and quick since we can eat it in the car. Also, it is no coincidence that fast food chains are everywhere where there are colleges and schools as well. College educated people or not poorly educated Americans are the most rapid growth in BMI between 1970 and 1990 (Fast Food 20). Obesity in college students in 1970 increased to 163% with many students claiming that with so much hectic studying and no time to eat, fast food is close by and quick to eat. So, it is no joke as to why people would blame fast food for their health troubles, since it is easy to attain and delicious but with many deadly ingredients. Personal responsibility is all it takes to decrease obesity. We live in a supersized world but as they say bigger is not always better. Fast food companies should not be blamed for obesity and instead be blamed on the consumers for lack of self-control. Fast food may look delicious but if people are aware of the health problems that are in the food, why do some continue to consume it regularly. Many need to take responsibility for their actions instead of taking it out on the companies by filing ridiculous lawsuits. No one forces us to eat a burger. It is not fast food that kills it is lack of responsibility that kills.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Parental Punishment And Accountability For Child Misbehavior Young People Essay

Parental Punishment And Accountability For Child Misbehavior Young People Essay Introduction The concept of parental liability laws in other words, taking a harsher stance toward parents for a juveniles crime has created its share of controversy. On the other hands, advocates claimed that parents did have the proper influence over children, and should be responsible if parents dont know where their children are, or what they are doing, they are accountable for the childrens illegal acts (Tyler et al, 2000). However, those who point out that child doesnt learn to be held accountable if they commit crimes and even the strictest parenting dont prevent a teenager from doing something stupid or reckless. Others point out that by punishing parents for what children do, the root cause of the crime isnt uncovered (Tyler et al, 2000).These arguments simply dont hold water. Parental accountability is very important when it comes to raising a child. Certainly teenagers (and adolescents) will get into mischief. But if parents are unwilling to take responsibility for learning what thei r children are up to (or where their children are), they need to be punished if their children misbehave, or even if they break the law. Parental Influence on Children Though parental liability laws are creating a great deal of controversy, there is little doubt that parents exert a huge influence on children and their behaviour. One research proves that alcoholics were likely to have parents who were alcoholics, while domestic abusers were likely abused themselves as children. Academic and research literature contains a wealth of information tying parental influence to childrens behaviour. In the area of peer influence, for example, Chen et al (2007) note that, in a study among California and Wisconsin high school students, it was found that parental influence on peer affiliation still is significant even as parental involvement in adolescents lives diminishes. But it isnt only growing teens that respond to parental influences. Infants, even very young infants, respond to parental stress and react to it (Molfese et al, 2010). In fact, it has been revealed that parental stress and/or reaction can actually have an impact on vocabulary and cognitive development (Molfese et al, 2010). On the other side weve seen literature extolling the positive benefits of tools such as parental training on the success of children. For example, Sheely-Moore and Bratton (2010) discussed how a family-oriented, strengths-based approach toward working with lower-income African American families helped raise childrens grades while lowering school discipline problems. The authors in this study pointed to the need of positive parental involvement on childrens academic achievement and socio-economic development, though pointed out that parental involvement can be difficult for those who live in poverty (Sheely-Moore and Bratton, 2010). Furthermore, it has been proven that parental influence also has an influence on driving among their teenage offspring (Crawford-Faucker, 2009). According to the National Young Driver Survey (involving 5,665 students in grades 9 through 11) parenting styles had a definite impact on choices the young drivers made (Crawford-Faucker, 2009). The authoritative parenting style combining emotional support with clear rules and monitoring had a definite (and positive) influence on driving-related behaviours and other attitudes among adolescents (Crawford-Faucker, 2009). These teens had a lower crash risk, experienced fewer crashes as passengers and were twice as likely to wear seat belts as a driver (or passenger) then were teens with uninvolved parents (Crawford-Faucker, 2009). Furthermore, this group reported less alcohol use (Crawford-Faucker, 2009). But harsh verbal and physical discipline isnt necessary the way to go, either. McKee et al (2007) studied harsh verbal and physical discipline and child problem behaviours in a sample of 2,582 parents and their fifth and sixth grade children. The findings indicated that the harsh discipline was associated with child behaviour problems, with one dimension of positive parenting parental warmth helping to buffer children from the more detrimental influences of the harsher physical discipline (McKee et al, 2007). In this section that parents have a huge influence on their kids, whether those kids are tiny, helpless infants or defiant teenagers. Children tend to mimic their parents, for better or for worse. Some years ago, the organization Partnership for a Drug-Free America aired a series of advertisements showing a father breaking into his sons room, drug paraphernalia in his hands. Where did you get this? the father thunders. Where did you get this and how do you know about it?I know about it by watching you! the son cries out. I watched you do it! The point of the commercial, of course, is that children will take their cues from their parents. If parents act in a responsible manner and own up to a mistake or problem situation, children will take that same cue. If, however, parents are carelessness and put the blame on other people for their own mistakes, children will do the same things. Discussion The issue we need to address here, however, is that this is not necessarily a black or white scenario. Tyler et al (2000) point out that the parental liability laws, in which parents are charged with the crime committed by their offspring, could end up penalizing the poor. In a poor family, both parents might be working leaving their children to their own devices, simply because they cant afford child care. Furthermore, if a child is delinquent, poor people (at least, in theory) may not be able to afford counselling to find out the problem. Few people want their children to be delinquent (especially lower-income people). But then again, even among poor families, we find out that not all children are delinquent. What is the difference between the well-behaved children of poorer families and those who act out? One word: Parenting. Even if there isnt a male role model in the house, many times, the matriarch of the family takes a strict stance among her offspring, raising Cain if the offspring get into trouble. Furthermore, there are resources for parents of lower income families to find help for their children if there are issues. Though going through governmental red tape can be a hassle to find a counsellor, a community agency or even religious organization official can be of great help in an area such as this. The point here is that there is really no excuse for the parent not to get help if the child acts out.What about if the childs mother is little more than a child herself? If this is a situation of a teenage mother who doesnt know how to parent, the situation changes a little, but not a whole lot. The teen mother still needs to be penalized, and then needs to be mandated to attend parenting classes. Failure to do so is the teen moms choice and if the teen mom doesnt attend classes, this tells the law enforcement officials that her defiance could be passed on to her children. Poverty isnt a good thing and it makes things very difficult, especially as it pertains to the parent-child relationship. But to use that excuse not to charge parents for a childs conduct is passing on responsibility. Such a situation may serve as a wake-up call for not only the child, but the parent who is involved with the childs upbringing. Conclusion Parenting is not an easy job and there is nothing more frustrating than hearing from the school or from the police that ones child is in trouble. Furthermore, there are those who point to the fact that trying to manage an unruly team is tough, and its not the parents responsibility if the teen gets into trouble.But this isnt true. Weve shown, through the literature, that parents have influence on their teenagers, even if their teenagers dont seem to be listening to them. Parents who keep lecturing to their kids about the evils of drugs and alcohol abuse are likely to have kids who grow up disdaining both of those substances. However, if kids see their parents freely addicted in alcohol (or drugs), the kids will ask themselves why not? and go ahead do the same thing. Parental liability laws arent meant to be malicious, nor are they meant to beat up on parents. What they are trying to do is to help parents teach their kids some responsibility. Even parents in poverty stricken families have a choice as to how they raise their kids. If they make the wrong choice, and the kids break laws as a result, the parents need to be held responsible.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Cultural Concepts of Leisure Essay examples -- Leisure Culture Cultura

Cultural Concepts of Leisure Modern American culture seems to have the need for discrepancy between leisure and work more than any other culture in the world. We really forget the possibility that other meanings besides our own might exist. I would like to explore the different meanings that leisure has for people of other cultural backgrounds and compare them with those of European descent. It is important to keep in mind that there is no way of regarding any culture in which the results can be taken as truth about the culture in its entirety. Values and ideals vary from person to person and from community to community. There are, however, commonalties found spread throughout the body of a culture and these can be very meaningful. The western concept of leisure in most cases contains some notion of the need to get away from pressures, to have time for one's self, in order to do exactly what one would be doing were they not required to work. This is one concept which has not been found in some other cultures. In fact it was quite an offensive idea to the Indo-Canadian women interviewed for the Journal of Leisure research. These women had arrived in Canada in 1903 and made themselves homes here despite difficulty posed by extreme discrimination against Asian immigrants at the time. There were ten women interviewed for this study. Although it provides a strictly female view this research provides valuable insight into the cultural perception of leisure in India. Before conducting their interviews, researchers Susan C. Tirone and Susan M. Shaw sought advice from a professor from the Indo-Canadian community, familiar with qualitative research methods. She explained that using terms like leisure, hobbies and recreat ion would pr... ...ople tend to be so perplexed about wasting time and about making the most of the time when they don't have to work that they drive themselves to exhaustion in an attempt to make "good use" of their leisure time. This is because of the extent to which we differentiate between the two. The majority of us are completely absorbed in the system of consumerism; We work in order to have money, we have money in order to buy things to amuse ourselves with. We now see leisure as if it were something we must get as much as possible of in the time allotted, and we gain little or no rejuvenation and replenishment from it as a result. There is evidence everywhere of the possibility of a world in which the line between work and leisure is much much thinner and it is becoming a very critical issue and we have a lot to gain by considering the views of other cultures in this matter.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 1-2

PART ONE SATURDAY NIGHT Like one that on that lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on, And no more turns his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 1 THE BREEZE The Breeze blew into San Junipero in the shotgun seat of Billy Winston's Pinto wagon. The Pinto lurched dangerously from shoulder to centerline, the result of Billy trying to roll a joint one-handed while balancing a Coors tallboy and bopping to the Bob Marley song that crackled through the stereo. â€Å"We be jammin' now, mon!† Billy said, toasting The Breeze with a slosh of the Coors. The Breeze shook his head balefully. â€Å"Keep the can down, watch the road, let me roll the doobie,† he said. â€Å"Sorry, Breeze,† Billy said. â€Å"I'm just stoked that we're on the road.† Billy's admiration for The Breeze was boundless. The Breeze was truly cool, a party renaissance man. He spent his days at the beach and his nights in a cloud of sinsemilla. The Breeze could smoke all night, polish off a bottle of tequila, maintain well enough to drive the forty miles back to Pine Cove without arousing the suspicion of a single cop, and be on the beach by nine the next morning acting as if the term hangover were too abstract to be considered. On Billy Winston's private list of personal heroes The Breeze ranked second only to David Bowie. The Breeze twisted the joint, lit it, and handed it to Billy for the first hit. â€Å"What are we celebrating?† Billy croaked, trying to hold in the smoke. The Breeze held up a finger to mark the question, while he dug the Dionysian Book of Days: An Occasion for Every Party from the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt. He flipped through the pages until he found the correct date. â€Å"Nambian Independence Day,† he announced. â€Å"Bitchin',† Billy said. â€Å"Party down for Nambian Independence.† â€Å"It says,† The Breeze continued, â€Å"that the Nambians celebrate their independence by roasting and eating a whole giraffe and drinking a mixture of fermented guava juice and the extract of certain tree frogs that are thought to have magical powers. At the height of the celebration, all the boys who have come of age are circumcised with a sharp stone.† â€Å"Maybe we can circumcise a few Techies tonight if it gets boring,† Billy said. Techies was the term The Breeze used to refer to the male students of San Junipero Technical College. For the most part, they were ultraconservative, crew-cut youths who were perfectly satisfied with their role as bulk stock to be turned into tools for industrial America by the rigid curricular lathe of San Junipero Tech. To The Breeze, the Techies' way of thinking was so foreign that he couldn't even muster a healthy loathing for them. They were simply nonentities. On the other hand, the coeds of S.J. Tech occupied a special place in The Breeze's heart. In fact, finding a few moments of blissful escape between the legs of a nubile coed was the only reason he was subjecting himself to a forty-mile sojourn in the company of Billy Winston. Billy Winston was tall, painfully thin, ugly, smelled bad, and had a particular talent for saying the wrong thing in almost any situation. On top of it all, The Breeze suspected that Billy was gay. The idea had been reinforced one night when he dropped in on Billy at his job as night desk clerk at the Rooms-R-Us motel and found him leafing through a Playgirl magazine. In Breeze's business one got used to running across the skeletons in people's closets. If Billy's skeleton wore women's underwear, it didn't really matter. Homosexuality on Billy Winston was like acne on a leper. The up side of Billy Winston was that he had a car that ran and would take The Breeze anywhere he wanted to go. The Breeze's van was currently being held by some Big Sur growers as collateral against the forty pounds of sinsemilla buds he had stashed in a suitcase at his trailer. â€Å"The way I see it,† said Billy, â€Å"we hit the Mad Bull first. Do a pitcher of margaritas at Jose's, dance a little at the Nuked Whale, and if we don't find any nookie, we head back home for a nightcap at the Slug.† â€Å"Let's hit the Whale first and see what's shakin',† The Breeze said. The Nuked Whale was San Junipero's premier college dance club. If The Breeze was going to find a coed to cuddle, it would be at the Whale. He had no intention of making the drive with Billy back to Pine Cove for a nightcap at the Head of the Slug. Closing up the Slug was tantamount to having a losing night, and The Breeze was through with being a loser. Tomorrow when he sold the forty pounds of grass he would pocket twenty grand. After twenty years blowing up and down the coast, living on nickle-dime deals to make rent, The Breeze was, at last, stepping into the winners' circle, and there was no room for a loser like Billy Winston. Billy parked the Pinto in a yellow zone a block away from the Nuked Whale. From the sidewalk they could hear the throbbing rhythms of the latest techno-pop dance music. The unlikely pair covered the block in a few seconds, Billy striding ahead while The Breeze brought up the rear with a laid-back shuffle. As Billy slipped under the neon whale tail and into the club, the doorman – a fresh-faced slab of muscle and crew cut – caught him by the arm. â€Å"Let's see some I.D.† Billy flashed an expired driver's license as Breeze caught up to him and began digging into the pocket of his Day-Glo green surf shorts for his wallet. The doorman raised a hand in dismissal. â€Å"That's okay, buddy, with that hairline you don't need any.† The Breeze ran his hand over his forehead self-consciously. Last month he had turned forty, a dubious achievement for a man who had once vowed never to trust anyone over thirty. Billy reached around him and slapped two dollar bills into the doorman's hand. â€Å"Here,† he said, â€Å"buy yourself a night with an Inflate-A-Date.† â€Å"What!† The doorman vaulted off his stool and puffed himself up for combat, but Billy had already scampered away into the crowded club. The Breeze stepped in front of the doorman and raised his hands in surrender. â€Å"Cut him some slack, man. He's got problems.† â€Å"He's going to have some problems,† the doorman bristled. â€Å"No, really,† The Breeze continued, wishing that Billy had spared him the loyal gesture and therefore the responsibility of pacifying this collegiate cave man. â€Å"He's on medication. Psychological problems.† The doorman was unsure. â€Å"If this guy is dangerous, get him out of here.† â€Å"Not dangerous, just a little squirrelly – he's bipolar Oedipal,† The Breeze said with uncharacteristic pomposity. â€Å"Oh,† the doorman said, as if it had all become clear. â€Å"Well, keep him in line or you're both out.† â€Å"No problem.† The Breeze turned and joined Billy at the bar amid a crunch of beer-drinking students. Billy handed him a Heineken. Billy said, â€Å"What did you say to that asshole to calm him down?† â€Å"I told him you wanted to fuck your mom and kill your dad.† â€Å"Cool. Thanks, Breeze.† â€Å"No charge.† The Breeze tipped his beer in salute. Things were not going well for him. Somehow he had been snared into this male-bonding bullshit with Billy Winston, when all he wanted to do was ditch him and get laid. The Breeze turned and leaned back, scanning the club for a likely candidate. He had set his sights on a homely but tight-assed little blond in leather pants when Billy broke his concentration. â€Å"You got any blow, man?† Billy had shouted to be heard over the music, but his timing was off; the song had ended. Everyone at the bar turned toward The Breeze and waited, as if the next few words he spoke would reveal the true meaning of life, the winning numbers in the state lottery, and the unlisted phone number of God. The Breeze grabbed Billy by the front of the shirt and hustled him to the back of the club, where a group of Techies were pounding a pinball machine, oblivious to anything but buzzers and bells. Billy looked like a frightened child who had been dragged from a movie theater for shouting out the ending. â€Å"First,† The Breeze hissed, waving a trembling finger under Billy's nose to enumerate his point, â€Å"first, I do not use or sell cocaine.† This was half true. He did not sell since he had done six months in Soledad for dealing – and would go up for five years if he was busted again. He used it only when it was offered or when he needed bait when trolling for women. Tonight he was holding a gram. â€Å"Second, if I did use, I wouldn't want it announced to everybody in San Junipero.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Breeze.† Billy tried to look small and weak. â€Å"Third,† The Breeze shook three stubby fingers in Billy's face, â€Å"we have an agreement. If one of us scores, the other one gets cut loose. Well, I think I found someone, so cut loose.† Billy started to shuffle toward the door, head down, his lower lip hanging, like the bloated victim of a lynch mob. After a few steps he turned. â€Å"If you need a ride – if things don't work out – I'll be at the Mad Bull.† The Breeze, as he watched the injured Billy skulk away, felt a twinge of remorse. Forget it, he thought, Billy had it coming. After the deal tomorrow he wouldn't need Billy or any of the quarter-ounce-a-week buyers of his ilk. The Breeze was eager for the time when he could afford to be without friends. He strutted across the dance floor toward the blond in the leather pants. Having wafted through most of his forty years as a single man, The Breeze had come to recognize the importance of the pickup line. At best, it should be original, charming, concise but lyrical – a catalyst to invoke curiosity and lust. Knowing this, he approached his quarry with the calm of a well-armed man. â€Å"Yo, babe,† he said, â€Å"I've got a gram of prime Peruvian marching powder. You want to go for a walk?† â€Å"Pardon me?† the girl said, somewhere between astonishment and disgust. The Breeze noticed that she had a wide-eyed, fawnlike look – Bambi with too much mascara. He gave her his best surfer-boy smile. â€Å"I was wondering if you'd like to powder your nose.† â€Å"You're old enough to be my father,† she said. The Breeze was staggered by the rejection. As the girl escaped onto the crowded dance floor, he fell back to the bar to consider strategy. Go on to the next one? Everybody gets tubed now and then; you just have to climb back on the board and wait for the next wave. He scanned the dance floor looking for a chance at the wild ride. Nothing but sorority girls with absolutely perfect hair. No chance. His fantasy of jumping one and using her until her perfect hair was tangled into a hopeless knot at the back of her head had been relegated long ago to the realm of fairy tales and free money. The energy in San Junipero was all wrong. It didn't matter – he'd be a rich man tomorrow. Best to catch a ride back to Pine Cove. With luck he could get to the Head of the Slug Saloon before last call and pick up one of the standby bitches who still valued good company and didn't require a hundred bucks worth of blow to get upside down with you. As he stepped into the street a chill wind bit at his bare legs and swept through his thin shirt. Thumbing the forty miles back to Pine Cove was going to suck, big time. Maybe Billy was still at the Mad Bull? No, The Breeze told himself, there are worse things than freezing your ass off. He shrugged off the cold and fell into a steady stride toward the highway, his new fluorescent yellow deck shoes squeaking with every step. They rubbed his little toe when he walked. After five blocks he felt the blister break and go raw. He cursed himself for becoming another slave to fashion. Half a mile outside of San Junipero the streetlights ended. Darkness added to The Breeze's list of mounting aggravations. Without trees and buildings to break its momentum, the cold Pacific wind increased and whipped his clothes around him like torn battle flags. Blood from his damaged toe was beginning to spot the canvas of his deck shoe. A mile out of town The Breeze abandoned the dancing, smiling, and tipping of a ghost-hat that was supposed to charm drivers into stopping to give a ride to a poor, lost surfer. Now he trudged, head down in the dark, his back to traffic, a single frozen thumb thrust into the air beaconing, then changing into a middle finger of defiance as each car passed without slowing. â€Å"Fuck you! You heartless assholes!† His throat was sore from screaming. He tried to think of the money – sweet, liberating cash, crispy and green – but again and again he was brought back to the cold, the pain in his feet, and the increasingly dismal chance of getting a ride home. It was late, and the traffic was thinning to a car every five minutes or so. Hopelessness circled in his mind like a vulture. He considered doing the cocaine, but the idea of entering a too-fast jangle on a lonely, dark road and crashing into a paranoid, teeth-chattering shiver seemed somewhat insane. Think about the money. The money. It was all Billy Winston's fault. And the guys in Big Sur; they didn't have to take his van. It wasn't like he had ever ripped anyone off on a big deal before. It wasn't like he was a bad guy. Hadn't he let Robert move into his trailer, rent free, when his old lady threw him out? Didn't he help Robert put a new head gasket in his truck? Hadn't he always played square – let people try the product before buying? Didn't he advance his regulars a quarter-ounce until payday? In a business that was supposed to be fast and loose, wasn't he a pillar of virtue? Right as rain? Straight as an arrow†¦. A car pulled up twenty yards behind him and hit the brights. He didn't turn. Years of experience told him that anyone using that approach was only offering a ride to one place, the Iron-bar Hotel. The Breeze walked on, as if he didn't notice the car. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his surf shorts, as if fighting the cold, found the cocaine and slipped it into his mouth, paper and all. Instantly his tongue went numb. He raised his hands in surrender and turned, expecting to see the flashing reds and blues of a county sheriff cruiser. But it wasn't a cop. It was just two guys in an old Chevy, playing games. He could make out their figures past the headlights. The Breeze swallowed the paper the cocaine had been wrapped in. Taken by a burning anger, fueled by blow and blood-lust, he stormed toward the Chevy. â€Å"C'mon out, you fucking clowns.† Someone crawled out of the passenger side. It looked like a child – no, thicker – a dwarf. The Breeze blew on. â€Å"Bring a tire iron, you little shit. You'll need it.† â€Å"Wrong,† said the dwarf, the voice was low and gravely. The Breeze pulled up and squinted into the headlights. It wasn't a dwarf, it was a big dude, a giant. Huge, getting bigger as it moved toward him. Too fast. The Breeze turned and started to run. He got three steps before the jaws clamped over his head and shoulders, crunching through his bones as if they were peppermint sticks. When the Chevy pulled back onto the highway, the only thing left of The Breeze was a single fluorescent-yellow deck shoe. It would be a fleeting mystery to passers-by for two days until a hungry crow carried it away. No one would notice that there was still a foot inside. PART TWO SUNDAY All mystical experience is coincidence; and vice versa, of course. – Tom Stoppard, Jumpers 2 PINE COVE The village of Pine Cove lay in a coastal pine forest just south of the great Big Sur wilderness area, on a small natural harbor. The village was established in the 1880s by a dairy farmer from Ohio who found verdant hills around the cove provided perfect fodder for his cows. The settlement, such as it was – two families and a hundred cows – went nameless until the 1890s, when the whalers came to town and christened it Harpooner's Cove. With a cove to shelter their small whaling boats and the hills from which they could sight the migrating gray whales far out to sea, the whalers prospered and the village grew. For thirty years a greasy haze of death blew overhead from the five-hundred-gallon rendering pots where thousands of whales were boiled down to oil. When the whale population dwindled and electricity and kerosene became an alternative to whale oil, the whalers abandoned Harpooner's Cove, leaving behind mountains of whale bone and the rusting hulks of their rendering kettles. To this day many of the town's driveways are lined with the bleached arches of whale ribs, and even now, when the great gray whales pass, they rise out of the water a bit and cast a suspicious eye toward the little cove, as if expecting the slaughter to begin again. After the whalers left, the village survived on cattle ranching and the mining of mercury, which had been discovered in the nearby hills. The mercury ran out about the same time the coastal highway was completed through Big Sur, and Harpooner's Cove became a tourist town. Passers-through who wanted a little piece of California's burgeoning tourist industry but didn't want to deal with the stress of life in San Francisco or Los Angeles, stopped and built motels, souvenir shops, restaurants, and real estate offices. The hills around Pine Cove were subdivided. Pine forests and pastures became ocean-view lots, sold for a song to tourists from California's central valley who wanted to retire on the coast. Again the village grew, populated by retirees and young couples who eschewed the hustle of the city to raise their children in a quiet coastal town. Harpooner's Cove became a village of the newly wed and the nearly dead. In the 1960s the young, environmentally conscious residents decided that the name Harpooner's Cove hearkened back to a time of shame for the village and that the name Pine Cove was more appropriate to the quaint, bucolic image the town had come to depend on. And so, with the stroke of a pen and the posting of a sign – WELCOME TO PINE COVE, GATEWAY TO BIG SUR – history was whitewashed. The business district was confined to an eight-block section of Cypress Street, which ran parallel to the coast highway. Most of the buildings on Cypress sported facades of English Tudor half-timbering, which made Pine Cove an anomaly among the coastal communities of California with their predominantly Spanish-Moorish architecture. A few of the original structures still stood, and these, with their raw timbers and feel of the Old West, were a thorn in the side of the Chamber of Commerce, who played on the village's English look to promote tourism. In a half-assed attempt at thematic consistency, several pseudo-authentic, Ole English restaurants opened along Cypress Street to lure tourists with the promise of tasteless English cuisine. (There had even been an attempt by one entrepreneur to establish an authentic English pizza place, but the enterprise was abandoned with the realization that boiled pizza lost most of its character.) Pine Cove's locals avoided patronage of these restaurants with the duplicity of a Hindu cattle rancher: willing to reap the profits without sampling the product. Locals dined at the few, out-of-the-way cafes that were content with carving a niche out of the hometown market with good food and service rather than gouging an eye out of the swollen skull of the tourist market with overpriced, pretentious charm. The shops along Cypress Street were functional only in that they moved money from the pockets of the tourists into the local economy. From the standpoint of the villagers, there was nothing of practical use for sale in any of the stores. For the tourist, immersed in the oblivion of vacation spending, Cypress Street provided a bonanza of curious gifts to prove to the folks back home that they had been somewhere. Somewhere where they had obviously forgotten that soon they would return home to a mortgage, dental bills, and an American Express bill that would descend at the end of the month like a financial Angel of Death. And they bought. They bought effigies of whales and sea otters carved in wood, cast in plastic, brass, or pewter, stamped on key chains, printed on postcards, posters, book covers, and condoms. They bought all sorts of useless junk imprinted with: Pine Cove, Gateway to Big Sur, from bookmarks to bath soap. Over the years it became a challenge to the Pine Cove shopowners to come up with an item so tacky that it would not sell. Gus Brine, owner of the local general store, suggested once at a Chamber of Commerce meeting that the merchants, without compromising their high standards, might put cow manure into jars, imprint the label with Pine Cove, Gateway to Big Sur, and market it as authentic gray whale feces. As often happens with matters of money, the irony of Brine's suggestion was lost, a motion was carried, a plan was laid, and if it had not been for a lack of volunteers to do the actual packaging, the shelves of Cypress Street would have displayed numbered, limited-edition jars of Genuine Whale Waste. The residents of Pine Cove went about their work of fleecing the tourists with a slow, methodical resolve that involved more waiting than activity. Life, in general, was slow in Pine Cove. Even the wind that came in off the Pacific each evening crept slowly through the trees, allowing the villagers ample time to bring in wood and stoke their fires against the damp cold. In the morning, down on Cypress Street, the Open signs flipped with a languid disregard for the times posted on the doors. Some shops opened early, some late, and some not at all, especially if it was a nice day for a walk on the beach. It was as if the villagers, having found their little bit of peace, were waiting for something to happen. And it did. Around midnight on the night that The Breeze disappeared, every dog in Pine Cove began barking. During the following fifteen minutes, shoes were thrown, threats were made, and the sheriff was called and called again. Wives were beaten, pistols were loaded, pillows were pounded, and Mrs. Feldstein's thirty-two cats simultaneously coughed up hairballs on her porch. Blood pressure went up, aspirin was opened, and Milo Tobin, the town's evil developer, looked out the front window to see his young neighbor, Rosa Cruz, in the nude, chasing twin Pomeranians around her front yard. The strain was too much for his chain-smoker's heart, and he flopped on the floor like a fish and died. On another hill, Van Williams, the tree surgeon, had reached the limit of his patience with his neighbors, a family of born-again dog breeders whose six Labrador retrievers barked all night long with or without supernatural provocation. With his professional-model chain saw he dropped a hundred-foot Monterey pine tree on their new Dodge Evangeline van. A few minutes later, a family of raccoons who normally roamed the streets of Pine Cove breaking into garbage cans, were taken, temporarily, with a strange sapience and ignored their normal activities to steal the stereo out of the ruined van and install it in their den that lay in the trunk of a hollow tree. An hour after the cacophony began, it stopped. The dogs had delivered their message, and as it goes in cases where dogs warn of coming earthquakes, tornadoes, or volcanic eruptions, the message was completely misconstrued. What was left the next morning was a very sleepy, grumpy village brimming with lawsuits and insurance claims, but without a single clue that something was coming. At six that morning a cadre of old men gathered outside the general store to discuss the events of the night before, never once letting their ignorance of what had happened interfere with a good bull session. A new, four-wheel-drive pickup pulled into the small parking lot, and Augustus Brine crawled out, jangling his huge key ring as if it were a talisman of power sent down by the janitor god. He was a big man, sixty years old, white haired and bearded, with shoulders like a mountain gorilla. People alternately compared him to Santa Claus and the Norse god Odin. â€Å"Morning, boys,† Brine grumbled to the old men, who gathered behind him as he unlocked the door and let them into the dark interior of Brine's Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines. As he switched on the lights and started brewing the first two pots of his special, secret, dark-roast coffee, Brine was assaulted by a salvo of questions. â€Å"Gus, did you hear the dogs last night?† â€Å"We heard a tree went down on your hill. You hear anything about it?† â€Å"Can you brew some decaf? Doctor says I've got to cut the caffeine.† â€Å"Bill thinks it was a bitch in heat started the barking, but it was all over town.† â€Å"Did you get any sleep? I couldn't get back to sleep.† Brine raised a big paw to signal that he was going to speak, and the old men fell silent. It was like that every morning: Brine arrived in the middle of a discussion and was immediately elected to the role of expert and mediator. â€Å"Gentlemen, the coffee's on. In regard to the events of last night, I must claim ignorance.† â€Å"You mean it didn't wake you up?† Jim Whatley asked from under the brim of a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap. â€Å"I retired early last night with two lovely teenage bottles of cabernet, Jim. Anything that happened after that did so without my knowledge or consent.† Jim was miffed with Brine's detachment. â€Å"Well, every goddamn dog in town started barking last night like the end of the world was coming.† â€Å"Dogs bark,† Brine stated. He left off the â€Å"big deal† – it was understood from his tone. â€Å"Not every dog in town. Not all at once. George thinks it's supernatural or something.† Brine raised a white eyebrow toward George Peters, who stood by the coffee machine sporting a dazzling denture grin. â€Å"And what, George, leads you to the conclusion that the cause of this disturbance was supernatural?† â€Å"Woke up with a hard-on for the first time in twenty years. It got me right up. I thought I'd rolled over on the flashlight I keep by the bed for midnight emergencies.† â€Å"How were the batteries, Georgie?† someone interjected. â€Å"I tried to wake up the wife. Whacked her on the leg with it just to get her attention. I told her the bear was charging and I have one bullet left.† â€Å"And?† Brine filled the pause. â€Å"She told me to put some ice on it to make the swelling go down.† â€Å"Well,† Brine said, stroking his beard, â€Å"that certainly sounds like a supernatural experience to me.† He turned to the rest of the group and announced his judgment. â€Å"Gents, I agree with George. As with Lazarus rising from the dead, this unexplained erection is hard evidence of the supernatural at work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have cash customers to attend to.† The last remark was not meant as a dig toward the old men, whom Brine allowed to drink coffee all day free of charge. Augustus Brine had long ago won their loyalty, and it would have been absurd for any one of them to think of going anywhere else to purchase wine, or cheese, or bait, or gasoline, even though Brine's prices were a good thirty percent higher than the Thrifty-Mart down the street. Could the pimple-faced clerks at the Thrifty-Mart give advice on which bait was best for rock cod, a recipe for an elegant dill sauce for that same fish, recommend a fine wine to complement the meal, and at the same time ask after the well-being of every family member for three generations by name? They could not! And therein lay the secret of Augustus Brine's ability to run a successful business based entirely on the patronage of locals in an economy catering to tourists. Brine made his way to the counter, where an attractive woman in a waitress apron awaited, impatiently worrying a five-dollar bill. â€Å"Five dollars worth of unleaded, Gus.† She thrust the bill at Brine. â€Å"Rough night, Jenny?† â€Å"Does it show?† Jenny made a show of fixing her shoulder-length auburn hair and smoothing her apron. â€Å"A safe assumption, only,† Brine said with a smile that revealed teeth permanently stained by years of coffee and pipe smoke. â€Å"The boys tell me there was a citywide disturbance last night.† â€Å"Oh, the dogs. I thought it was just my neighborhood. I didn't get to sleep until four in the morning, then the phone rang and woke me up.† â€Å"I heard about you and Robert splitting up,† Brine said. â€Å"Did someone send out a newsletter or something? We've only been separated a few days.† Irritation put an unattractive rasp in her voice. â€Å"It's a small town,† Brine said softly. â€Å"I wasn't trying to be nosy.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Gus. It's just the lack of sleep. I'm so tired I was hallucinating on the way down here. I thought I heard Wayne Newton singing ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.'† â€Å"Maybe you did.† â€Å"The music was coming from a pine tree. I'm telling you, I've been a basket case all week.† Brine reached across the counter and patted her hand. â€Å"The only constant in this life is change, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Give yourself a break.† Just then Vance McNally, the local ambulance driver, burst through the door. The radio on his belt made a sizzling sound as if he'd just stepped out of a deep fryer. â€Å"Guess who vapor locked last night?† he said, obviously hoping that no one would know. Everyone turned and waited for his announcement. Vance basked in their attention for a moment to confirm his self-importance. â€Å"Milo Tobin,† he said, finally. â€Å"The evil developer?† George asked. â€Å"That's him. Sometime around midnight. We just bagged him,† Vance said to the group. Then to Brine, â€Å"Can I get a pack of Marlboros?† The old men searched each other's faces for the right reaction to Vance's news. Each was waiting for another to say what they were all thinking, which was, â€Å"It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy,† or even, â€Å"Good riddance,† but as they were all aware that Vance's next rude announcement could be about them, they tried to think of something nice to say. You don't park in the handicapped space lest the forces of irony give you a reason to, and you don't speak ill of the dead unless you want to get bagged next. Jenny saved them. â€Å"He sure kept that Chrysler of his clean, didn't he?† â€Å"Sure did.† â€Å"The thing sparkled.† â€Å"He kept it like new, he did.† Vance smiled at the discomfort he had caused. â€Å"See you boys later.† He turned to leave and bumped straight into the little man standing behind him. â€Å"Excuse me, fella,† Vance said. No one had seen him come in or had heard the bell over the door. He was an Arab, dark, with a long, hooked nose and old; his skin hung around his piercing gray-blue eyes in folds. He wore a wrinkled, gray flannel suit that was at least two sizes too big. A red stocking cap rode high on the back of his bald head. His rumpled appearance combined with this diminutive size made him look like a ventriloquist's dummy that had spent a long time in a small suitcase. The little man brandished a craggy hand under Vance's nose and let loose with a string of angry Arabic that swirled through the air like blue on a Damascus blade. Vance backed out the door, jumped into his ambulance, and motored away. Everyone stood stunned by the ferocity of the little man's anger. Had they really seen blue swirls? Were the Arab's teeth really filed to points? Were, for that moment, his eyes glowing white-hot? It would never be discussed. Augustus Brine was the first to recover. â€Å"Can I help you with something, sir?† The unnatural light in the Arab's eyes dimmed, and in a humble, obsequious manner he said, â€Å"Excuse me, please, but could I trouble you for a small quantity of salt?†