Stem Cell Research Ethical Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stem Cell Research Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example The functionalities of stem cells allow the body to repair itself internally as they can divide through mitosis so as to replenish other cells. While dividing, stem cells can either remain as it is, that is a stem cell, or can develop into any other body cell such as nerve cell, white blood cell, red blood cell, or muscle cell. It is there unique qualities – as unspecialized cells as well as ones that can be induced to be specialized to perform certain functions – that they have attracted such attention and research from the scientific community. However, the extent to which these cells can be induced under particular conditions is arguable especially due to its association with ethical concerns. While many characteristics can be induced upon the cells by exposing it to different conditions without any harm, the fact that there is a potential danger from such exposition takes over progressive research on the subject. Also, several stem cell experiments on human embryoni c cells for IVF (in vitro fertilization) and somatic cells presents ethical concerns which is seen by many as ‘tinkering’. It is important to consider that science has forwarded and developed as a result of research. Since its early days, the various researches conducted by scientists and theorists have played a central roles in the advancement of scientific knowledge. However, this fact does not ignore the moral and ethical responsibilities of a scientific researcher while she or he is on his path to conduct experiments. Most stem cell research experiments are looked upon as essential discoveries that can lead to a transformation of the modern world. More researcher in the field can provide answers to several of the scientific questions and can also resolve problems associated with human reproduction. The debate revolving around embryonic stem cells is its position on the value of life which may considers an embryo as a person or otherwise. Since embryo is considered to be an early form

Video game console and Nintendo Essay Example for Free

Video game console and Nintendo Essay In the world of video games, Nintendo has been a household name for nearly three decades. After all, it was one of the pioneers of home video game consoles with the Nintendo Entertainment System in the early 1980s. It continued as the market leader with its Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 systems. But in the mid-1990s, all that began to change. Along came Sony with its Playstation and Playstation 2, and Microsoft introduced the xBox. Before long, Nintendo was reduced to a fraction of its former glory, running a distant third in a highly competitive market. What happened? In certain respects, Nintendo fell prey to the industry model that it had created. More advanced technology led to the creation of more powerful gaming consoles, which in turn paved the road for more sophisticated games with more realistic graphics. As each new generation of product hit the market, Nintendo found that it could not keep up with more technologically advanced rivals. While more than 120 million Sony PS2s became fixtures in homes, apartments, and dorm rooms around the world, Nintendo moved just slightly more than 20 million GameCubes. As the most recent generation of gaming platforms from the gaming industry’s â€Å"big three† came to market, many industry insiders figured Nintendo was destined to continue its downward path. Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s xBox 360 were so advanced that it looked like Nintendo was due for another drubbing. Oh what a difference a couple of years makes. For Nintendo, everything is now coming up Super Mario Bros. â€Å"flowers. † Last year, revenues and profits were up by 73 percent and 67 percent, respectively. In the last couple of years, during a time in which the Nikkei Stock Average fell nearly 25 percent, Nintendo’s stock price tripled. In fact, Nintendo’s stock price rose so high during 2007 that its market capitalization exceeded that of the Sony Corporation. On that measure alone, Nintendo became the second largest corporation in Japan, trailing only Toyota Motor Company. How did this struggling number three player go from product loser to product leader in such a short time? FROM PRODUCT LOSER TO PRODUCT LEADER Most people probably don’t know that Nintendo was founded way back in 1889. Obviously, Nintendo did not make video games back then. It began as a playing cards manufacturer. But it also found success in hotels, packaged foods, and toys. When it came time to revive itself as a veteran in the video game industry, Nintendo did something that it had done time and time again. It focused on customers to find true opportunities. For the video game industry, â€Å"the customer† typically means one of two groups: the 18 to 35-year old hard-core gamers and the children/teenagers. The industry earns most of its revenue and profits from these core consumers who spend a great deal of time and money enhancing their virtual skills. Over the years, as hardware became more sophisticated and games more realistic, these tech junkies were all the more pleased. In the process, Nintendo watched its revenues slide and its rivals strengthen. It realized that it could not compete against technologically superior products. So when it set out to develop the Wii console, it didn’t even try. Instead, it focused on something the others were ignoring. It set its sites on the masses. â€Å"Nintendo took a step back from the technology arms race and chose to focus on the fun of playing rather than cold tech specs,† said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo of America. â€Å"We took a more intuitive approach and developed something that could be fun for every member of the family. † 298 Part Three | Designing a Customer Driven Strategy and Mix placed on a separate scale. The light bulb went on as Sawano thought about the possibility of tracking a user’s shifting weight on a game pad as they shimmied and twisted their way through virtual worlds. That game pad is now called the Balance Board and lies at the heart (or rather the foot) of the Wii Fit’s portfolio of exercise applications. Users can do aerobic, strength training, balancing, and yoga exercises all in realistic virtual settings. â€Å"It is now possible to go beyond the fingertip controls of past games and now use your whole body,† Sawano told a crowd of game developers. The Wii Fit also facilitates exercise programs as it tracks and analyzes individual performance over time as well as keeping track of stats like weight and body-mass index. Perhaps the most promising part of the Wii Fit is not that it continues to broaden an ever-growing market segment. In addition, the Balance Board component has the potential to be integrated into a nearly limitless number of applications. Already, Nintendo has developed ski jump and slalom games. It’s only a matter of time before Nintendo develops a Balance Board version for just about every sport imaginable. Releasing hit after hit, Nintendo has vaulted to the top of the Wall Street Journal’s latest Asia 200 survey. Placing first in the â€Å"Innovative in Responding to Customer Needs† category, the company placed second overall, trailing only Toyota. For a company that hadn’t placed in the top 10 since 2002, the sudden turnaround is a telling demonstration of consumer confidence. For the Wii, this meant that Nintendo had to do more with less. The Wii boasts a humble combination of low-powered processors and a standard optical disc drive. Compared to the powerful, state-of-the-art chips and high definition lasers contained in the PS3 and xBox 360, the Wii’s graphics are out right scrawny. But at the core of the Wii’s broad appeal lies a revolutionary motion-sensing wireless technology that forces the once sedentary gamer to get up off the couch and get into the game. The Wii controller resembles a television remote. This feature was no accident as Wii designers correctly speculated that the familiarity of a TV remote would be more inviting than the more typical and complex video game controllers. The Wii’s basic software also allows users to custom design avatars from a seemingly infinite combination of characteristics. With this configuration, users play tennis, go bowling, and hit the links by swinging the controller like a racket, ball or golf club, all with characters resembling themselves. The Wii met with immediate and drastic success. Entering the market after the release of the xBox 360 and the PS3, Wii consoles flew off the shelves. Not only did the Wii’s contain an enticing combination of features, it also had a cost advantage. Microsoft and Sony had priced their offerings in the stratosphere. And even at $599 for the top and most popular PS3 model, Sony was still losing hundreds of dollars on each unit that it sold! Nintendo’s low-tech approach allowed it to earn a hefty profit and be the low-price leader at only $250. With such a favorable benefit-to-cost ratio, the Wii easily won the launch phase, outselling each of the two competing consoles by nearly two-to-one in the first few months . 9 Chapter CXXXX 43550 Page 298 08/15/08 MD SECURING THE FUTURE Although the success of the Wii has largely been attributed to attracting non-traditional gamers, hardcore gamers have hardly been absent. In fact, many of the industry faithful saw the Wii as a relatively cheap second gaming platform—as a nice diversion from more graphic-intensive games. The Wii also has the nostalgic advantage of appealing to the gaming elite with characters they grew up with, such as those from the Mario and Zelda franchises. But developers and executives at Nintendo are not content to sit back and risk having hardcore gamers lose interest. Part of Nintendo’s future strategy includes games focused on more serious gamers. CEO Satoru Iwata shocked the industry last year when he announced that Nintendo would soon add games from two Sony allies: Capcom’s Monster Hunter series and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The release of these titles will do more than appeal to traditional gamers. It will elevate the Wii’s image from that of a machine with little firepower to one that will run the industry’s most advanced games. Said one game industry analyst at a tradeshow sneak preview, â€Å"It’s symbolic. I didn’t think the Wii could handle this type of game. Everyone in the room today saw that it can. † As Nintendo has successfully attracted an untapped audience of gamers over the past few years, it has done more than revive its business. It has transformed a market. The competitors that once trounced Nintendo now find that they must play catch-up. Both Sony and Microsoft are now developing easierto-play games that depart from their usual fast-action fare. Game publishers, including powerhouses such as Electronic Arts Inc. , have started putting more resources into developing games for the Wii. And even small, independent shops are getting into the action as Nintendo’s download channel reduces barriers to entry. All this is causing an already huge $30 billion industry to swell. NOT JUST A FAD Although the Wii was an instant smash hit, many analysts wondered whether or not its appeal would hold up. That speculation began to subside when retailers were still having trouble keeping the Wii in stock more than a year after it was introduced. In its first 18 months, Nintendo moved more than 24 million Wiis. Even though the xBox 360 had been on the market a full year longer, it had sold only 19 million units. And Sony, once the undisputed industry champ, placed only 12 million PS3s. Nintendo’s willingness to reinvent what a video gaming system can mean continues to drive Wii sales. For example, the Wii can scan weather, news, and Web sites through a wireless Internet connection. Through the Wii Shop Channel, an iTunesstyle store, customers can download classic Nintendo games as well as games from independent developers. But in its pursuit to break gaming boundaries, Nintendo has also relentlessly pursued new applications for the basic motionsensing technology. A plastic rifle contraption allows users to realistically play shooting gallery games. Snapping the Wii controller into a steering wheel has made driving games all the more electrifying. And tiny in-controller speakers add touches like the sound of an arrow being shot while the TV makes the â€Å"thwack† of that arrow hitting its target. But perhaps one of the greatest strokes of creative genius in Nintendo’s continuing stream of new applications is the Wii Fit, an add-on device targeted directly at women wanting to lose weight or keep in shape. The idea for the Wii Fit came to Takao Sawano, general manager of development for Nintendo, as he watched sumo wrestlers being weighed in for a television match. The tubby athletes were so heavy that they had to have each foot Company Cases Chapter 9 | New-Product Development and Product Life-Cycle Strategies 21 299 Chapter 3. In which stage of the product life-cycle is the Wii? Based on that stage, is Nintendo employing good marketing mix strategies? Simon Jeffery, president and COO of Sega of America, summarizes why Nintendo has been successful and why the rest of the industry must keep up. The fundamental interface in games has always been a controller, and Nintendo is bringing opportunities to developers to think about how interactions use motion. That has opened doors of creativity throughout the video game business. Nintendo’s success is about creative leadership and the willingness to do things differently. As long as Nintendo can stay focused on these elements that have returned it to its throne, it will reign for a long time to come. 4. Develop a strategy for the Wii’s next product life-cycle phase. 5. Discuss the potential threats to Nintendo’s future success. What will help Nintendo avoid a premature decline for the Wii? Sources: Robert Levine, â€Å"Fast 50 2008: Nintendo,† Fast Company, February 19, 2008, accessed online at www. fastcompany. com; Yukari Iwatani Kane, â€Å"Nintendo Captures Top Spot in Japan For Innovation,† Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2008, accessed online at www. wsj. com; Yukari Iwatani Kane, â€Å"Nintendo is Ahead of the Game, But Sustaining May Be Hard,† Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2008, p.C3; Yukari Iwatani Kane, â€Å"Wii Sales Help Nintendo Net Rise 48 Percent,† Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2008, p. B8; Kenji Hall, â€Å"Nintendo: Calling All Players,† BusinessWeek, October 10, 2007, accessed online at www. businessweek. com; Brian Caulfield, â€Å"Nintendo’s Sumo-Inspired Hit,† Forbes, February 21, 2008, accessed online at www. forbes. com. Questions for Discussion 1. Was Nintendo just lucky, or does the Wii’s success have strategic merit? 2. Has Nintendo put the â€Å"fad† question to rest? State a case as to why the Wii is or is not here to stay. 9 Chapter CXXXX 43550 Page 299 08/15/08 MD.

Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia in The Crucible Essay

The Crucible Effectively Demonstrates the Development of Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia. Discuss this with Reference to the Play and the Time in Which it is Written. 'The Crucible' was written in 1952 by Arthur Miller and was first performed in 1953. It is about a village called Salem in America, set in the 17th century, where a suspicion of witchcraft and association with the Devil has arisen. This theme of accusation and paranoia is comparable with the period of McCarthyism in the United States of America, where many people were accused of communism and anti-Americanism. The play was written at about the same time as the events in the 1950s and in many ways reflects the villagers' anxiety towards their situation. The community of Salem is a strongly religious one and the villagers all attend the Christian church. The minister is the most important person in the village, as he holds a high position in their religion, therefore he is expected to give a good example. The village is surrounded by forest and the nearest town is a few miles away. This creates a strong bond in the community as each individual has to work hard in order to endure the trials of being part of an isolated society. The playwright shows the setting and era in the style of the characters' speech - it is in the fashion of late 17th century American, when the play is set. The Caribbean slave, Tituba, also has her speech modified to suit the Barbados dialect: "My Betty be hearty soon?" is the opening line of the play. The first act starts in the house of Reverend Parris, where Parris is praying, in a confused state, for his unconscious daughter. Tituba, his slave, enters and the ensuing 'conversation' reveals that... ... has an easier job creating the right effect for each scene, so it is more believable for the audience and they have a better understanding of it. The Crucible demonstrates how easily people can be manipulated by belief, and how belief in something can effectively blind people, making them think irrationally. The characters are plausible and consistent, and the audience can see how they develop throughout the play. All the events are believable (if not probable) and the language used is convincing as 17th century American. The audience can empathise with the characters, particularly with John Proctor, as they see early on the problems he has and understand the dilemma he faces in Act IV. I think the play should be thought of not as a piece of drama, but as a piece of literature illustrating how people's trust can be exploited to an individual's advantage.

Costco Case Study Essay

Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman in Seattle Washington founded Costco Wholesale in 1993. Costco merged with Price Club, and doubled their market share in the wholesale industry. They became an immediate leader in the industry. Costco’s sales model is to sell a wide variety of products for low prices at a high volume. These brand-name products are sold at a discounted price to their members. Customers of Costco must pay a membership fee in order to purchase their merchandise. Their focus is on customer satisfaction and a guaranteed low price for its members. They have managed to maintain a large customer base using this balance where both small business and personal needs can be met simultaneous. Problem Statement Costco could increase their shareholders return on investment by making changes to their business model. They are currently doing favorably with their customers and employees, but need to maximizing their potential and increase revenue. Costco seeks to increase more of the market share in the industry from Sam’s Club, their largest competitor. This can be accomplished by continuing with their growth strategy to open more warehouses, increase their membership, and to upgrading their merchandising techniques to motivate members to shop more often. Analysis * Costco currently has 429 warehouses US; 82 warehouses in Canada; and 81 warehouses internationally * They have realized an increase in comparable warehouse sales of 7% in the US and 16% internationally * 14.2% increase in net sales * Costco currently employs 92,000 full-time employees and 72,000 part-time employees * Members include: Gold star 25,000; business 6,300; business add-on primary4,000; and additional card holders 28,700 * The gross margin has increased by 10.69% as a percent of net sales Alternatives * Costco can increase revenue by raising membership fees * Revenues can also be increased by removing the 15% on product markups * Reducing the number of employees receiving health benefits will increase revenue Recommendation The recommendation for Costco is to implement changes in their wages for their employees, benefits packages, and raising membership fees. Implementation The recommended changes can be gradually implemented throughout the company. The increase in membership fees would be the easiest to do first. Negotiating new rates for employee benefits will help reduce these costs associated with providing insurance. Costco can pay their employees less to be more competitive with the wages of Sam’s Club. Summary Costco’s current growth strategy is to open warehouses, execute merchandising techniques to increase customer shopping, and to increase their membership. These efforts are an attempt to increase their shareholders return on investment. Costco has focused more on customer satisfaction and pleasing their employees. They have managed to increase their revenues annually without building many stores as Wal-Mart. Costco has 417 US warehouses while Wal-Mart has 3,800. Wal-Mart has been aggressive in pursuing international acquisition by increasing the human spirit South Africa and the UK. Strategy to attract more members relies on the members doing a larger percent of their shopping with Costco. Chief Executive Officer Craig Jelinek has been keeping prices low and adding more service areas, such as vision centers, to increase store visits. (Townsend, 2012) They want to reward these members by allowing them the opportunity to purchase big-ticket items at a low price. The members will be motivated to return on a weekly or monthly basis in order to have the opportunity to purchase these limited deals. Costco has been using the term â€Å"treasure hunt† for years to explain why up to a fifth of its stock is limited-quantity items that are in the store for as little as a week. (Gibson, 2011) This strategy has shown some increases, but will need modifications. Strengths Costco currently has about 64 million cardholders and members. The company has managed to provide great customer service, which has resulted in members renewing their subscriptions. Employees receive an array of benefits within a month of their starting date. The generous benefits package that employees receive help build loyalty to the company and its mission to their customers. Members are taken care of by the employees, and employees are taken care of by the organization. This is fostered a positive environment that has landed Costco several awards. Costco provides their customers with one-time opportunities to purchase products and services that may not be available at other warehouses. The merchandise sold to Costco’s members has value to be of high quality and low price. They continue to be dominant in the retail wholesaler market because of the selection and quality of the merchandise offered. Weaknesses Costco faces the burden of finding adequate merchandise in the current financial crisis. Consumers are not buying large ticket items due to a decrease disposable income. The demand for large volume purchases has decreased with the increase of single-parent families. The high-volume low price model has continued to work, but the economic recession has slowed its growth. Costco’s employees make a higher wage than Sam’s employees do. These employees also benefit from a multitude of costly benefits. These expenses have caused the company to accrue less revenue. It will be difficult to maintain their profit margin under the circumstances. Any decline in membership renewals would decrease revenues. The plan to increase warehouses may infringe on their current stores. The expenses associated with building the warehouse could negatively affect their sales in such tough economic times. Although they are behind Sam’s Club in number of facilities, this is not the best time to expand. Opportunities Costco has the potential to continue to expand on their diverse offerings. By refining their business model, Costco have the opportunity to ride the broader economic trends to bigger profits and take customers from their rivals. Consumers are being more selective among the discounters such as Costco and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has seen an increase in competition from Costco for market share. Despite efforts by rival Sam’s Club, a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to improve merchandise in its warehouse clubs, Costco continues to notch higher revenue out of fewer stores in the U.S. (Zimmerman, 2011) Providing value to its members could result in Costco stealing Sam’s Club’s customers. There are still opportunities for Costco to expand the number of warehouses. This is a major part of their growth strategy to assist in building a larger customer base. There are reasonable expansion ideas that will help Costco. They can increase their brand internationally through expansion and by becoming a leader in social responsibility. Threats A major threat for Costco is potential for continued economic downturns. Customers are being more selective with their disposable income, and have chosen to downsize. Smaller quantities products have become more attractive due to these bad economic times. Costco must continue to market to the more affluent customers. The presence of price competition amongst customers and vendors will require Costco to carefully negotiate reasonable prices for the merchandise. Costco has to walk a fine line between absorbing the costs and passing them to customers because of its positioning as a warehouse club that, while catering to generally higher-end consumers, does have a reputation for offering decent prices. Competing internationally, poses the threat of economic instability abroad. Costco does not have a global presence and Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club and BJ’s will always pose a threat to Costco. Solution Our recommendation to the Costco management would be to implement an increase in the membership fees. â€Å"While the increased fees could add 20 cents to 25 cents to earnings per share over the next two years as memberships are renewed, Janney analyst David Strasser expects roughly half of the fee increase will be used to hold down prices†(Wohl, 2011). Costco employee’s compensation should be adjusted competitively to their competitors. The number of employees receiving benefits reduced to relieve expenses. We recommend that Costco increased to 15% placed on the product markups to 20%. Implementing these recommendations will result in an increase in company revenue and the shareholders return on investment. Implementation * A 10% increase in membership fees will begin in the next quarter * Increased the product mark up from 15% to 20% * Adjust the employee compensation to 10% of the market value * Increased revenue will be added to the shareholders return on investment References Gibson, E. (2011, July 09). Stores find success by focusing on the bargain hunt. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-07-09-stores-bar gain-hunt_n.htm Talley, K. (2011, May 26). Costco feels inflation’s effect.WSJ. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576344900721794900.html Townsend, M. (2012, October 10). Costco profit tops estimates as low prices drive traffic. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-10/costco-profit-tops-analysts-estimates-as-prices-drive-traffic Wohl, J. (2011). Costco raises membership fees; profit misses view. Reuters, Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/us-costco-idUSTRE7942D620111005 Zimmerman, A. (2011, September 02). Costco ceo to step down. WSJ. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903895904576544883964721042.html

Understanding Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Lifelong Learning

Form 2Assessment front sheet and feedback record PTLLS Level 3/4 Unit No:| | Learner name:| | Enrolment number:| | Date issued:| | Date submitted:| | I confirm that the evidence for this unit is authentic and a true representation of my own work. Learner signature:| | Date:| | Feedback: Continue on a separate sheet if necessary, see overleaf Tutor/Assessor/Marker and IQA’s signatures (IQA if sampled) must appear on the following page. Learners do not complete this box| Feedback: Continued from previous page) | Marker/Tutor/Assessor name:| | Grade| | Date| | Resubmission date (if referred):| | Grade| | Date| | IQA’s name (if sampled)| | | Date| | Understanding inclusive learning and teaching in lifelong learning I have delivered a teaching session covering for a colleague on sick leave. It was the first time I had worked with the group within which there was an ESOL learner, a learner with dyslexia, a learner who receives learning support and a learner with disruptive te ndencies.I am writing a journal entry for my professional development file which is presented according to the stages of the teaching cycle (See: Figure 1A The teaching cycle, Wilson, 2008, p15). This text is an analysis of the learning and teaching strategies used with an evaluation of the effectiveness of your approaches to learning and teaching in meeting the needs of learners. Also, this text is an analysis of how I selected resources to meet the needs of learners with an explanation of how I created assessment opportunities that met the needs of learners.It has been a great challenge to deliver a unique teaching session to these learners for the first time. To ensure teaching to be effective, I have followed the teaching cycle mentioned earlier as follows: the Identify need stage; the Design stage; the Implement stage and the Evaluation stage. * The Identify need stage: Before the session day, I have gathered as much information as accessible, related to the all group of learne rs (i. e. umber of students, general behaviour of the group, etc. ), the programme’s progression (In this instance, based on an existing standardisation I have found out what had been taught previously and what I had had to teach. ). During the session, I started by introducing myself to the group with an explanation of the reasons why I was standing in front of them. This enabled the learners to acknowledge me as their teacher and get ready for the session.Then, I did a diagnostic assessment through an ice-breaker to ascertain the learners had prior knowledge of the subject to be taken, to identify their preferred learning styles, to let them to choose a colour (The colour was used as font for a power point presentation and prints on pastry paper to help the dyslexic learner. ) and to enable them introduce each other. I skipped the information, advice and guidance (IAG) procedures because the course is standardised and the group has attended few sessions with my colleague in the past. The Design stage This stage was important because â€Å"To fail to plan is to plan to fail† (Petty 2004: 422). I did not need to create a scheme of work because my colleague was expected to return back to teach the next sessions. I prepared a session plan to reflect how I would create an inclusive teaching session. I created hand-outs (In this instance, I used on side of coloured pastel paper to suit the dyslexic learner) and power-point presentation which promote all aspects of society, equality and diversity.I had a contingency plan in case anything has gone wrong. Having taken into account the fact that their learning needs, learning styles and learning goals were quite different, I planned for a differentiated delivery to address individual differences. I included small group work to suit kinaesthetic learners and weak learners (In this instance it is about the ESOL learner and the learner who receives learning support), discussion to suit auditory learners and simulation to suit visual learners. * The Implement stageAfter discussion with the learners, we agreed and established ground rules to promote good behaviour and respect for everyone in the group. Soon after the ice-breaker activity, I used another activity to negotiate with the learners, ground rules which banned disruptive tendencies expressively. Each rule of the ground rules was written by one learner on a single A4 paper visible during the session. Like the other learners of the group, the learner with disruptive tendencies felt included with the opportunity to take ownership, then, followed the rules.I avoided favouritism and positive discrimination. I ensured to comply with the Equality Act (2010) and to include all learners in the session. The ESOL learner was allocated extra time to complete tasks. The learner who receives learning support had the opportunity to work collectively with other learners of the group. To meet the needs of the dyslexic learner, the chosen colour of the group was used on hand-outs and as the power-point slides’ font.

Corporate Governance Assignment Essays

Corporate Governance Assignment Essays Corporate Governance Assignment Essay Corporate Governance Assignment Essay The company host an annual general meeting to which all stakeholders are given due notice Of. Also, in accordance with the banks by-laws, three directors retire from the board annually and may offer themselves for re- election at the banks annual general meeting. The company also issues an annual report and quarterly financial statements to stakeholders and the general public. Pursuant to the mandate to ensure that the interests of the various stakeholders are considered the board of directors meets, at a minimum, on a quarterly basis while the Executive Sub-committee of the Board, comprising seven Board members, meets monthly for the remaining months. (Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited 2014) 3. 4. Responsibility 3: To ensure compliance with the law The board of directors of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited is committed to proper standards of corporate governance and maintaining these standards at the highest level. Continuous monitoring of the banks systems and procedures is done to ensure that standards are in keeping with the best practice as determined by the principles of corporate governance. The bank is also guided by the Recommendations for a Code of Corporate Governance issued by the Guyana Securities Council, and Supervision Guideline No. 8 on Corporate Governance issued by the Bank of Guyana under the authority of the Financial Institutions Act 1995. In addition the Bank is compliant with Supervision Guideline 10 on the public Disclosure of Information. (Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited 2014) 3. 5. Responsibility 4: To review and guide corporate strategy As stated in the banks Annual report of 2014 Of critical importance to the board of directors is the responsibility to approve and view the banks strategic plan and within this context, to approve annual budgets, including capital expenditure. The board retains the responsibility for reviewing and approving credit applications above a specified limit. In keeping with the expectation of the board of directors the performance of each Management Officer is also assessed against all key performance areas which among other things may include financial targets. The performance of all management officers is reviewed by the Board of Directors on an annual basis. Additionally, taking into account the increasing need for risk assessment, the board of directors has established a risk management committee, known as the other risks committee. 3. 6. Responsibility 5: To select, compensate, and monitor key executives As stated in the annual report of 2014, the managing director and management team are appointed by the board of directors. Each management officer has a written mandate and is required to execute the stated functions as outlined therein. The managing directors responsibilities and authorities are documented and approved by the board of directors. 3. 7. Responsibility 6: To monitor governance practices Monitoring of governance practice involves continuous review of the internal structure of the company, monitoring and disclosure of corporate governance practices on a regular basis, self-assessment by boards oftener performance as well as performance reviews of individual board members and the CEO/ Chairman. COED 2004) At Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, the board of directors approves the organizational structure for the Bank which ensures a reporting structure with prudent and effective controls. The board of director s comprises nine directors including one executive director. Of the eight non-executive directors, five are independent. Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited adheres to the recommendations of the Supervision Guideline No. 8 on Corporate Governance issued by the Bank of Guyana under the authority of the Financial Institutions Act 1995 regarding its board structure. The board is comprised of an executive director and a majority of independent directors. Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited 2014) Further, as suggested in the COED principles of Corporate Governance 2004, with single tier board systems, the objectivity of the board and its independence from management may be strengthened by the separation of the role of chief executive and chairman, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited chairman is a non-executive director. The managing director of Bank (Guyana) Limited is the only executive director on the board. Additionally, in the annual report of the bank a statement of the banks corporate governance practice is made public. 3. 8. Responsibility 7: To ensure integrity of accounting and financial systems Several committees have been set up by Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited to ensure integrity of accounting and financial systems. These committees are: 3. 8. 1. The audit committee The audit committee of the board meets at least quarterly to review the ann.s system of internal control, financial reporting process, audit and examination process, and compliance with Statutory and regulatory laws. When necessary, the Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing the independence, competence and qualifications of the External Auditors. 3. 8. 2. The compensation committee The compensation, which meets at minimum once per year, is responsible for formalizing the banks remuneration policy for staff. 38. 3. The other risks The other risks committee, which meets quarterly, is responsible for reviewing policies and procedures and ensuring that the Bank is not exposed o unnecessary risks with respect to its operations. 3. 9. Responsibility 8: Corporate Social Responsibility Every board has a duty to formulate the companys strategy, recognizing the risks involved, and part of that process involves determining how the company will behave, in other words, establishing how social responsibility will be exercised throughout the organization. (Trickier 2012, p. 235) At Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited the need to be a good corporate citizen and perform its corporate social responsibility is understood and mirrored in the companys vision which establishes the bank wishes to set a standard of excellence for social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility activities of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited are conducted under its power to make a difference program. The Power to Make a Difference programmer aims to enhance the quality of life of disadvantaged persons; support healthcare programmed and disability awareness initiatives; provide opportunities for young people to realize their truest potential through sport, education and the arts; build community spirit and, in essence, help to correct some of society ills. (Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited 2014) 4. Recommendations It was found that Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited in its governance aims to be a good corporate citizen by complying with rules and regulation stipulated at a national level and also meeting international standards of corporate governance. However, there are areas that could stand improvement and as such the following recommendations are made: 1 ) The chairman of the board of directors should be an independent non-executive director.

The Great Gatsby & Hollow Men essays

The Great Gatsby & Hollow Men essays The Great Gatsby has been one of the classic novels of the twentieth century. It creates a unique society that makes the story such a masterpiece. Another magnificent work that relates to The Great Gatsby is T.S. Eliots The Hollow Man. The lines in the poem portray the story so vividly that it should have been an epigraph for the novel. The poems references to hollow and stuffed men, can describe different characters in The Great Gatsby. The hollowness of men represents ruthless barbarians with no respect for humans and no understanding of love. However, the stuffed men seem to be educated, wealthy, and respectful. The differences in these types of men can be seen through the events of the novel. Another aspect of the poem that represents the novel is the idea of the paralyzed force. This force symbolizes freedom and uniqueness. It also is captivating and serves as authority. So, the similarities between The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men remarkably show the hollow and stuffed chara cteristic of the people in Gatsbys secret society. The first similarity between the two pieces of work is the hollowness in mankind referred to by the poem. In the novel there are two main characters that depict such hollowness. The antagonistic character of Tom Buchanan represents the ruthless and careless American whose dream is to use women and acquire money. In addition he has no respect towards others, which creates pain for people around him. An example of this is when Myrtle repeatedly uttered his wifes name, which was Daisy. Tom took this as an insult and viciously punched her in the nose. He never took into consideration that hitting a woman is uncivilized. Another quality he has is to flaunt his wealth in other peoples faces. This can be seen when he takes Nick around his colossal house. Tom wants others to feel jealous of his riches, when he is actually jealous of the others around him. Th...

Examples of Gapping in English Grammar

Examples of Gapping in English Grammar A construction in which part of a sentence is omitted rather than repeated. The missing grammatical unit is called a gap. The term gapping was coined by linguist John R. Ross in his dissertation, Constraints on Variables in Syntax (1967), and discussed in his article Gapping and the Order of Constituents, in Progress in Linguistics, edited by M. Bierwisch and K. E. Heidolph (Mouton, 1970). Examples and Observations: The cars were old-fashioned; the buses, too.(Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)Arnaud was his closest friend; Peter, his oldest.(James Salter, Light Years. Random House, 1975)Forwards and BackwardsGapping ... describe[s] a transformation which creates gaps in a sentence after a conjunction by deleting a verb which would otherwise reappear, e.g. Caroline plays the flute and Louise (plays) the piano. Gapping can work forwards, as above, or backwards as in the deletion of the first mention of the word. According to Ross the direction of the gapping depends on the constituent branching in the deep structure, and provides insight into the underlying word order of a language.(Hadumod Bussmann, Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. Taylor Francis, 1996)Verb DeletionConsider the pattern in (154):a. John likes coffee and Susan likes tea.b. John likes coffee and Susan -   tea.(154) illustrates a pattern known as gapping. Gapping is an o peration which deletes a constituent in one sentence under identity with a constituent of the same type in a preceding sentence. More particularly, gapping in (154b) deletes the second verb of two co-ordinated clauses; this is possible because the deleted verb is identical to the verb of the first sentence. In (154b) the verb is gapped but, crucially, its NP [Noun Phrase] complement is left behind.(Liliane M. V. Haegeman and Jacqueline Guà ©ron, English Grammar: A Generative Perspective. Wiley-Blackwell, 1999) Gapping in Written EnglishCertainly, some constructions are overwhelmingly found in written language. An example is the English Gapping construction, as in John ate an apple and Mary a peach, where an implicit ate is omitted from the second clause, understood as Mary ate a peach. Tao and Meyer (2006) found, after an extensive search of corpora, that gapping is confined to writing rather than speech. In the Elia Kazan movie The Last Tycoon, a powerful film director rejects a scene in which a French actress is given the line Nor I you, on the grounds that this is unnatural speech. But his colleague, with earthier instincts, comments on this line with Those foreign women really have class. This rings true. The gapping construction is classy, and restricted to quite elevated registers, though it is not lacking entirely from spoken English.(James R. Hurford, The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution. Oxford University Press, 2012)

Analysis of Griffith's Movies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Griffith's Movies - Essay Example This paper is about the movie directed by D.W Griffith and actress included Mary Pickford which was made in 1912. This movie was made in their early movie careers. The story of the movie starts with a Dying Mom’s wish and how this wish affects everybody’s life. In the beginning, it looks like that the movie is not coming up to the standard of the story line of the movie. Pickford is portrayed as a charming young lady. This short movie is a very good example of the human nature and it seems like the director has observed human nature very closely and efficiently. Mary Pickford is shown in the early movie as a girl that belongs to wear a New York hat. Other than its historical importance, this movie proves to be a very good source of entertaining the audience. While watching this movie the Modern audience should keep in mind that â€Å"The New York Hat† was made according to the norms and the general practices that were being observed at the time when it was made. At the beginning of the movie Mary is successful in gaining the sympathies of the audience. Because she is a young girl whose loving mother dies leaving her all alone, all that is left in this world for her is her father who is not only miser but also fails to prove himself as the protector of the girl. When in this situation she receives a hat as a gift from her pastor it means a lot to her and she develops a special place in her heart for that gift. It also shows that she is so lonely that such a small gesture makes her feel important and wanted. This captivates the minds of the audience as the story unfolds. The girl who is already frustrated by the behavior of her selfish father gets further annoyed when the whole town starts talking nonsense about the words that were exchanged between the pastor & the girl. Upon hearing these rumors the father becomes angry and tears the innocent gift given to her by the pastor. At this point of the movie this incident provokes the audience and they are so appalled by her father’s behavior that all they want is the justice for the innocent and badly hurt young girl. The modern audience especially feels that such a selfish father should be brought to justice and punished for this unnecessary and unprovoked act. At this point the steps taken by the pastor to protect the young girl appear to be very naive and appropriate according to the situation. The question is that whether or not the people of the town will understand his friendly behavior towards the young girl as nothing more than an innocent friendship. Despite the fact that the mother, knowing the nature of her husband, has written a letter to the pastor to take care of her young daughter, the town does not approve of this relationship. It must also be kept in mind that the age of the young girl is not clear at this point although at some points she looks like a 16 year old but in some other scenes she appears younger than 16. The general opinion of the people is that girl being so young is supposed to be naive, however, the pastor being the elder party should have been more careful while communicating with the girl. The movie fails to answer the question that whether the pastor was romantically involved in the girl or was he just trying to help her. So the questions raised in the mind of the audience are not satisfied when the movie ends they go back home wondering about the intentions of

33.In your opinion what are the pros and cons of Police Collective Assignment - 1

33.In your opinion what are the pros and cons of Police Collective Bargaining. Explain - Assignment Example The results of the routine preventive patrol were as follows: change of frequency of patrols was hardly noticed by citizens, resident and commercial crimes were not affected by any given level of police patrols, the experimental beats did not show significant differences in crime report rates, level of police patrols did not affect fear of crime, and there were no variations in citizen satisfaction with the police (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). These findings depict an aspect of paying no attention to police forces by the citizens. In other words, it appears that the citizens are either used to the police to an extent that they cannot notice patrol variations, or that crime rates remain the same with or without the police presence. Resource allocation to police forces does not seem to influence public perception to security, crime, and police forces. In the context of the assessed situation by Kansas City, police forces appear to be seen as a daily routine. The safety, crime rate, and security concerns remained the same across the three beats of experiments that were held in Kansas (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). This offers an insight into the public-police relations in Kansas

Malcolm X (in the text, he calls himself Detroit Red) Essay

Malcolm X (in the text, he calls himself Detroit Red) - Essay Example This is the real situation for most hustlers. They would pass as executives or people high on the corporate lane. Beneath these lives they live, they are illiterate. Although he had little formal education, Malcolm X spent his time in prison trying to educate himself using the dictionary. Then with time, he was able to make simple logical grammatical sentences which came in handy when writing letters. His efforts also paid off because he started understanding books when he read them. Although the prison authorities were aware of the letters that Malcolm wrote, they did not say anything to him about them. He believes that during that time, the white man knew he was the devil. During the time, there was widespread knowledge that the white man was responsible in a way for the black man’s condition. Malcolm X was filled with the desire to use his writing skills to educate about Allah and Islam. His desire to learn more led to his dedicated study of the dictionary. From this he taught himself to read and write. This expressly shows how someone can achieve their desires with dedication and a little investment in time (Benson and Cosgrove,

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example With this emerged various schools of thoughts which promoted specific theories of brain functioning and psyche. One of them is functionalism. Functionalism Functionalism in philosophy of mind is a school of thought that states: â€Å"†¦a physical or abstract entity is identified by its causal or operational role† (Floridi). It is a doctrine that negates the idea of internal causes and constitutions of various mental states. It rejects the idea of unseen and abstract, even structural causes for these states and believes that every mental state has a separate and distinctive function or role in its respective system. As far as the origin of this doctrine is concerned, its roots lie back to Greek civilization. The concept of soul projected by Aristotle seems to offer the elementary base for functionalism whose antecedent goes back to Hobbes’s idea of human mind as a mere ‘calculating machine’. However, this particular school had got fame in the last quart er of twentieth century. Moreover, functionalism is not merely restricted to the philosophy only; it is rather involved in almost every natural and physical field of science including psychology, sociology, even education. Functionalism in Psychology Psychology emerged as a science in the late 19th century and functionalism proved to be an important mile stone in its wider acceptance and visionary exposure. It rose as a protest against structuralism and added various functional aspects of human brain along with the structural ones that shapes the humanistic behavior. According to Coon, it is â€Å"†¦concerned with how behaviour and mental abilities help people adapt to their environments†, and in this way it defines the function of various psychological and mental states Invalid source specified.. Functionalism offers an alternative to behaviourism and identity theory of mind: one regards every mental activity as a particular behaviour formed as a habit through continuou s practice; the other divides them into types that are further correlated to the physical events occurring within the brain. Functionalism projects that every mental activity that takes place in the mind performs a particular function in the physical systems. These mental states are realized on multiple levels each of which offers a complete separate system. Thus, human mind behaves like a computational machine which directs external behaviours of the man (Jaworski). Putnam’s Philosophy of Mind Hilary Putnam was an American computer expert, mathematician and philosopher who had caught special attention in philosophy of mind in around 1960’s when he had put forward his hypothesis of ‘multiple realizability’ (Figure 1). He argues that all living beings can feel pain, yet their reasons of pain are not the same. With the help of the example of animals, he further elaborates that every creature cannot have the same brain structure, and therefore same mental eve nts (like pain, emotions, desires, sensations, etc.) cannot happen in everyone. Thus, he tries to imply that mental realizability differs from creature to creature as a result of which feelings and sensations differ, and this is so because each sensation is due to a physical property that differs. Figure 1 Putnam’s Philosophy of Multiple Realizability Moreover, he has also put forward the first formulation of this functionalist theory in the form of ‘machine-state functionalism’. It was based on the analogy between human mind and the Turing machine that can calculate any

Human Management Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Management - Thesis Example It is a UK based organisation, but has focused on engaging a considerable proportion of its entire human resources from the international environment which has perpetually increased the diversity of the workforce engaged and thus increased the risk of conflicts owing to the varied range of individualities (BG Group Plc, 2012). With due consideration to this fact, BG Group can be identified to possess the ability towards implementing effective governance in order to operate its business functions successfully worldwide mitigating the consequences of conflicts (BG Group Plc, 2012). The concept of conflict management is often described as the process of dealing with conflict situations that may occur within the workplace with efficiency mitigating its negative consequences that may have a significant impact on the sustainability of an organisation. The role of conflict management, in this regards, considers the proper identification of the various causes giving rise to conflicts which i nclude scarce resources, adversity as well as faulty communication among others delivering importance not only towards the organisational interests, but also towards the benefits of the employees (Eunson, 2012). It is in this context that various models had been developed in order to frame the notion of conflict management and thus suggest a comprehensive pattern to the organisations for resolving such issues. Blake and Mouton Model can be regarded as such a framework which renders an unambiguous understanding of the conflicts arising within the organisational sphere and also suggests the required measures to resolve the issues (Verma, 1998). The aim of the paper is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical perspective presented by Blake and Mouton Model of conflicts management. The understanding will further be related with the different conflicts that were faced by BG Group in its current operations. Moreover, the overall discussion will be based on the conflicts that were faced by the BG Group which will further be continued with effective recommendations and strategic action plan referring to the theoretical understanding of the concept. Theoretical Perspective: Blake and Mouton Model of Conflict Management The term ‘conflict’ is characteristically described as a strong competition or struggle between various people or individuals with differing values, objectives, ideas and beliefs. Conflict is often observed to result in terms of non-productive consequences which might have had a long-term impact or can last for only a short period of time. It can also be defined as a condition in which more than one party possesses mismatched objectives and also differs in terms of their behaviour as well as their perceptions. The various sources of conflict generally include structural, role and resources conflict. Structural conflict is observed to fundamentally arise from perplexities in managing the need of the diverse organisational s ub-units. In the similar context, role conflict is generally caused by misinterpretation regarding

Organizational Training and Development; Core Values in McDonalds USA Essay

Organizational Training and Development; Core Values in McDonalds USA - Essay Example The employees who are recruited are of high integrity and are always ready to follow the code of ethics of the organization thus making it possible for the company to be ranked in position five. The training functions support the organizational strategies. For example, through training, the employee’s performance is improved thus the McDonald’s USA, LLC business goals are achieved. Time and money which are limited resources have to be effectively allocated so training is conducted thus targets and objective of the company are achieved. Since problems in the McDonald’s USA, LLC are unpredictable, training is conducted when the need arises and this is done beyond classrooms, instead, work experience and web-based training is conducted (Noe 2013). The use of job experience and web-based training helps McDonald’s USA, LLC to solve problems quickly. Through the use of knowledge-based, McDonald’s use mentoring programs, chat rooms, and job experience to make sure that the company succeeds in its business practices. Since McDonald’s USA, LLC Company does not use classroom mode of training, like its competitors, it has achieved a competitive position in the industry. Rather McDonald’s USA, LLC usually use knowledge developed through job experience. Interactions in the company are allowed where one can gather information from one department to another between the employees thus making it impossible for other companies to imitate McDonald’s strategies. The use of knowledge developed through job experience and interactions between the employees provide a competitive advantage of the company where it makes it impossible for other companies to imitate thus remaining in the market for a long period without strong competitors.

Human Management Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Management - Thesis Example It is a UK based organisation, but has focused on engaging a considerable proportion of its entire human resources from the international environment which has perpetually increased the diversity of the workforce engaged and thus increased the risk of conflicts owing to the varied range of individualities (BG Group Plc, 2012). With due consideration to this fact, BG Group can be identified to possess the ability towards implementing effective governance in order to operate its business functions successfully worldwide mitigating the consequences of conflicts (BG Group Plc, 2012). The concept of conflict management is often described as the process of dealing with conflict situations that may occur within the workplace with efficiency mitigating its negative consequences that may have a significant impact on the sustainability of an organisation. The role of conflict management, in this regards, considers the proper identification of the various causes giving rise to conflicts which i nclude scarce resources, adversity as well as faulty communication among others delivering importance not only towards the organisational interests, but also towards the benefits of the employees (Eunson, 2012). It is in this context that various models had been developed in order to frame the notion of conflict management and thus suggest a comprehensive pattern to the organisations for resolving such issues. Blake and Mouton Model can be regarded as such a framework which renders an unambiguous understanding of the conflicts arising within the organisational sphere and also suggests the required measures to resolve the issues (Verma, 1998). The aim of the paper is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical perspective presented by Blake and Mouton Model of conflicts management. The understanding will further be related with the different conflicts that were faced by BG Group in its current operations. Moreover, the overall discussion will be based on the conflicts that were faced by the BG Group which will further be continued with effective recommendations and strategic action plan referring to the theoretical understanding of the concept. Theoretical Perspective: Blake and Mouton Model of Conflict Management The term ‘conflict’ is characteristically described as a strong competition or struggle between various people or individuals with differing values, objectives, ideas and beliefs. Conflict is often observed to result in terms of non-productive consequences which might have had a long-term impact or can last for only a short period of time. It can also be defined as a condition in which more than one party possesses mismatched objectives and also differs in terms of their behaviour as well as their perceptions. The various sources of conflict generally include structural, role and resources conflict. Structural conflict is observed to fundamentally arise from perplexities in managing the need of the diverse organisational s ub-units. In the similar context, role conflict is generally caused by misinterpretation regarding

Case Study He Said, She Said Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

He Said, She Said - Case Study Example Presentation of the Key Facts It seems that Marie and Lenny have lived together for some time without Mike. The reason this seems this way is because Marie wants Mike to have a hands off approach in matters with Lenny. She is Mike’s fiancee but she does not allow him to have any real interaction about the discipline with Lenny. Lenny does whatever he pleases and in this particular instance, he defies his curfew. There could be many things going on with him until these wee hours of the morning. Marie does not seem to want to punish Lenny in any real way and this makes Mike very concerned with their relationship. As an example, in the present situation, Marie did not approach Lenny for the reason he was out until 2:45 am, but rather told him she was worried and that he should call if he is going to be out late. Her conflict style with Lenny seems to be very passive and one that seems to avoid conflict (Bragg, 2010). It seems that Marie does not want to make Lenny angry because h e is her child and the relationship with him is more important than discipline. Also, Lenny tells his mother he will do whatever she wants around the house as long as she allows him to stay out late. Mike on the other hand, sees where the situation is going and knows that Lenny needs discipline. He has a more assertive style but he seems to not show it because Marie will not let him.

Lady Macbeth Letter Essay Example for Free

Lady Macbeth Letter Essay I have just finished reading a letter hand written from my husband Macbeth. He has informed me about a mysterious prediction that was made to him by three not mortal beings. The letter tells of how his prediction says he would be King of Scotland, and before this Thane of Cawdor. The foresight that he would be Cawdor was not incorrect – so why not to be king? My wonderful husband could become king and I, Queen of Scotland. Macbeth would be a noble king, far more worthy than Duncan. King Duncan is not fit to be called a man let alone king of a country grand as Scotland. My courageous Macbeth was the reason the war against the barbaric Norwegians was won, not Duncan. The only problem is by the time Duncan’s reign on the throne has ended, when the wretch is dead and buried, I too and Macbeth shall most likely be old and feeble – if not dead ourselves. I must find a way to put an end to Duncan, I cannot risk losing an opportunity as grand as this for Macbeth and myself. Perhaps murder is the only options, I could not commit such a thing myself, I have not the strength nor the willpower but Macbeth? The trouble would be convincing him, Duncan has such high opinions of my love and Macbeth returns the favour equally as well; but he loves me and I am sure I can convince him. Maybe when I show him what this could mean for us and use my feminine charm on him he’ll be convinced. I am not deceiving him, the eventual result is for his benefit, how I miss him so much already, he’s such a wonderful man and would make such a worthy king. I can hardly wait for him to return, it’ll be so wonderful. He was a born ruler, my true love; we shall be King and Queen Macbeth of Scotland. I do not care that ‘God’ chose King Duncan I will give my husband his crown and we shall rule. Even if I have to call down the evil spirits and take my emotions away, I want to feel like a man and kill him without remorse. I must go now and decide how he shall die, farewell.

Macbeth: Dark, Evil, and Tragic Essays -- Macbeth Character Analysis

â€Å"Macbeth†- A revered play written in the 16th century by the famous playwright: William Shakespeare. The theme of â€Å"Macbeth† is centred on how power and the thirst for it can corrupt a person and lead to their insanity. Power-hungry and manipulating Lady Macbeth, with the help of the prophecies of the three malevolent witches, persuades the eponymous Macbeth to kill his king, so that she can be the queen. But unfortunately, for her, her plans do not ultimately run smoothly. Both Macbeth’s guilty conscience and his wife’s insanity give them away and eventually lead to their down fall. The purpose of this essay is to discuss to what extent Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a truly evil character throughout the play. From her very opening scene Shakespeare depicts Lady Macbeth as being cold and full of evilness. In act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth is introduced reading a letter from Macbeth. Already the audience can see she has evil plans. â€Å"Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valour of my tongue.† (Act 1 scene 5) This exhibits that she wants Macbeth to come back home so she can persuade him to do the evil deed. Later in the scene, Lady Macbeth is afraid that Macbeth is too weak and too compassionate to be a murderer, therefore she asks the gods to replace all her goodness and femininity with cold haunted evilness. This is clear when she calls the evil spirits; â€Å"...Unsex me here, Make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage to remorse... Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall...† (Act 1 scene 5) So that she can poison her husband’s mind. The audience’s first impression of her is as a remorseless, cold evil wife. This prepares the audience for the evilness sh... ...5 scene 5). Power has watered down all his love and kindness. Shakespeare portrayed Lady Macbeth as evil and in the end was driven to death by her own guilt because ultimately she was a human and not a complete monster. Lady Macbeth is thought of being a truly evil character because of the way Shakespeare portrays her character. Her malevolent influence on Macbeth, her trying to hide her humanity to help her have more power over her husband, then her trying very hard to hide her guilt are all examples of the evil she had done. Her dark and sinister nature gradually gave way to insanity and a suicide. Lady Macbeth’s character is a proof that power and thirst for it can lead to insanity and a person’s ultimate down fall. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

Meaning of Slavery Essay -- literary Analysis, Ayn Rand’s Anthem

As a teenager, I have come across recent discoveries of myself and the world, the thirst to gain more knowledge, new responsibilities, and orders from elders. It is the overwhelming combination of these things that occasionally hit me with the feeling of being enslaved, chained to the world, my home, and my family. These expectations and dictations are restrictions, but they do not represent true slavery. True slavery controls every aspect of a man; the dictator must enslave the man’s body and destroy his mind. This effort to completely subdue humanity is exemplified by the leaders and society of Ayn Rand’s Anthem. In this novel, the leaders try to suppress the actions, emotions, and thoughts of the people in an attempt to destroy both mind and body. Anyone can instruct another person to act in a certain way, but a dictator forces action upon others making it impossible to follow one’s passion. The leaders in Anthem governed the citizens’ lives; they gave each person a job and selected his or her mates. Equality 7-2521, the main character of the novel, wanted to grow in his knowledge of the earth and the Scholars’ inventions. In order to do this, Equality needed to become a Scholar himself. His life’s work depended on his vocation assignment, for in his society, â€Å"You shall do that which the Council of Vocations shall prescribe for you† (pg. 22). When the Council of Vocations declared him as a Street Sweeper, it prohibited him to study science and to create inventions. Equality loved the â€Å"Science of Things†, but he was unable to follow his passion because of the law (pg. 23-26). The leaders of this world controlled the mating process too. Producing offspring can only be done at one time, the â€Å"Time of Mating†. â€Å"T... ...dependently did not change when Equality became older. When he discovered the hidden tunnel with International 4-8818, Equality made the decision to explore the unknown by himself, a thought that is rarely imagined in a society where there is â€Å"no transgression blacker than to do or think alone† (pg31/17). The laws regarding the separation of a person from the other people gave the leaders the authority to enforce the uniformity of thoughts. Through thoughts, emotions, and actions and Any Rand’s Anthem shows that dictators must control every part of a man to ultimately defeat him. It is nothing but laws, leaders, and society that destroy the man. The laws are established to support the destruction, the leaders enforce it, and the society allows it. How can we allow the enslavement of an individual? How can we allow the obliteration of a mind and body?

Competetive Nucleophiles Essay

Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to compare the relative nucleophilicities of chloride ions and bromide ions in two different reactions. One reaction involved n-butyl alcohol and the other involved t-pentyl alcohol. We performed the reactions and compared the percentages of alkyl chloride and alkyl bromide in the product. To perform this experiment, we used methods including heating reaction mixture under reflux, extraction using a separatory funnel, drying with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and refractometry. Experiment Scheme: First, we prepared the solvent-nucleophile medium. We combined 44mL 7.7M sulfuric acid with 4.75g ammonium chloride and 8.75g ammonium bromide, and we heated the mixture with stirring to dissolve the salts. We put 17mL into a separatory funnel for use in the second reaction, and placed the rest into a reflux apparatus for our first reaction. We performed the first reaction of the competitive nucleophiles with 1-Butanol. We added 2.5mL of 1-butanol to the solvent-nucleophile medium in the reflux apparatus with a boiling stone and heated the mixture under reflux for 75 minutes. After reflux was completed, we allowed it to cool in an ice bath, and transferred the solution to a clean separatory funnel. The different phases separated, and we drained the lower aqueous layer. We added 5mL water to organic layer, mixed and collected the lower organic layer. We extracted the organic layer with 5mL sodium bicarbonate, drained organic layer and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. We decanted the alkyl halide solution and set it aside to be analyzed by refractometry. We performed the second reaction of competitive nucleophiles with 2-methyl-2-butanol. We measured 2.5mL of 2-methyl-2-butanol into the separatory funnel containing 17mL of the solvent-nucleophile medium. We swirled the mixture, venting occasionally until pressure equalized, then shook it vigorously with occasional venting for 2 minutes. We then allowed phases to separate. We drained the lower aqueous layer and poured the top organic layer into a small beaker containing 0.5g sodium bicarbonate. When bubbling stopped and clear liquid was obtained, we decanted the alkyl halide and began analysis by refractometry of the products from both reactions. By refractometry, we measured the refractive index of the products and used Equation 1 and 2 to calculate the percentages of each product (Pavia, Lampman, Kriz, and Engel, Organic Chemistry Laboratory Manual p. 47-50). Reaction 1 (Pavia, Lampman, Kriz, and Engel, Organic Chemistry Laboratory Manual p. 47-50) Discussion: In this experiment we used 2 nucleophiles, the bromide ion and the chloride ion. We performed 2 reactions with these nucleophiles in equimolar concentrations, and they competed with each other for the substrate. Normally, alcohols do not react well in nucleophilic substitution reactions because the hydroxide ion (a strong base) would need to be displaced, and it is not a good leaving group. For that reason, the substitution reaction must take place in acidic solution; the alcohol must first be protonated because water is a stable molecule and a better leaving group. After protonation, the substrate reacts by either the SN1 or SN2 mechanism. 1-Butanol will react by the SN2 mechanism because it is a primary alcohol while 2-methyl-2-butanol will react by the SN1 mechanism because it is a tertiary alcohol. In Reaction 1, the major product was the alkyl bromide and the minor product was the alkyl chloride because bromine is more reactive; bromide is a stronger nucleophile. In Reaction 2, there essentially was no major product because the alkyl bromide and alkyl chloride formed in nearly equal amounts; the product was racemic. This is because it followed the SN1 reaction mechanism. The rate determining step is the loss of the H2O molecule forming a carbocation, and this step does not require a nucleophile (Pavia, Lampman, Kriz, and Engel, Organic Chemistry Laboratory Manual p. 47-50). Important methods used in this experiment included heating reaction mixture under reflux, extraction using a separatory funnel, drying with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and refractometry. When heating under reflux, we used a condenser attached to the flask that we were heating. Under reflux, our system could heat the mixture to boiling and vapors condensed and drop back into the flask. We can heat our mixture for a long time at boiling point without losing any product. In refractometry, we measured the refractive index of our product mixture, which is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the media of interest. We can use our measured values with the standard values to calculate the percentages of alkyl chloride and alkyl bromide. Sources of error could include the extraction process and the reading of the refractive index values. During extraction, it is possible that the phases may not have completely separated or the reactants did not fully react to form products, so some of the reactants could possibly enter into our final mixture. When finding refractive index values, it is possible to have some error when reading the value. Overall, error did not have a huge effect on our results. We could improve the procedure by being very careful to remove the entire aqueous layer during extraction so none gets into our final product for refractometry testing. In conclusion, the experiment turned out well. Our results align with the expected results. We expected that the alkyl bromide will be the major product of Reaction 1 because it followed the SN2 mechanism, and we expected that the product from Reaction 2 would be a racemic mixture because it followed the SN1 mechanism. Questions: Bromide is a stronger nucleophile because the chlorine is more electronegative than bromine, so it holds electrons in closer. Bromine is less electronegative and has more electrons, and it is able to share unpaired electrons much more easily than chlorine. References ChemSpider Chemical Database. Royal Society of Chemistry, 4 July 2012. Web. Accessed 11 Sept. 2012. Sigma-Aldrich. Sigma-Aldrich. 2012. Web. Accessed 11 Sept. 2012. Pavia, Lampman, Kriz, and Engel. Organic Chemistry Laboratory Manual. Cengage Learning: Mason, OH, 2009. Print.

Menelaus and Helen In ‘The Trojan War’ Essay

Menelaus and Helen are the main characters of the poem, hence, its title. This draws the readers’ attention mostly to the characters rather than to the Trojan myth. The title could have been, ‘The Trojan War’, but rather than doing this, Brooke focused mostly on the main characters, for the poem is more about them, than about the actual happening of the Trojan War. The perspective, and of whose point of view the poem has been written, does not change. It is always from Menelaus point of view of what is happening. Both in part one which describes the scene of the Trojan War, and how Helen has been captured by Paris and is token away from Menelaus, and in part two, which talks about the future, and supposition of how Menelaus and Helen would be years after, it is all Menelaus’ point of view, and not Brookes. The effects of this are that we only have the point of view of one of the main characters, so we do not know how the others felt about the same situation, because Brooke just describes Menelaus’ thoughts and not Helens. It is distinct in the poem that the persona is not Brooke, and that Brooke is simply writing as if he knew what Menelaus thought. This can be told because Brooke writes, â€Å"Menelaus broke To Priam’s palace†, and not â€Å"I broke into Priam’s palace†. The speaker clearly indicates what took Menelaus to this action, his reasons, his feelings, and sensations; Brooke refers to Menelaus’ actions, the scene, as if it were a fact, he does not at any moment of the poem, show his opinion. He is not biased; he simply tells what happens when Helen is captured, as if he were an observer. In the second stanza, it is not Brook’s thoughts, but Menelaus’ feelings towards Helen. It is very clear that Brooke does nto put himself as if he were Menelaus, â€Å"He had not remembered that she was so fair†, he just describes his thoughts as if he knew what Menelaus though about Helen. In the second part of the poem, Brooke analyses the scene and gives his opinion, â€Å"perfect knight†, in the third stanza he continues analyzing, he writes about Menelaus thoughts. So there is a clear distinction between the writer and the persona, we can tell whether or not the character and voice is in the poem or not. Brooke does not only state the facts, he is writing as if he could read Menelaus’ mind and thoughts about his future with Helen, he then goes back to telling the facts and what actually happened when they got old, relating the facts, being omniscient and analyzing what happens, this enriches our comprehension about what is going on. The poem does not have a formal structure. Although we can depict some rhymes at the end of lines, they do not follow a regular pattern. There is also some sense of symmetry, for the stanzas are reasonably the same length. The poem is divided into two parts, the firs one which is a myth and the second one which is the reality. The theme is first presented by a description of the scene, the capturing of Helen by Paris, then, the feelings of Menelaus towards Helen and their lives, following a vision and analysis of the result of the capturing and how Menelaus imagined his future would be, finally, a report on how their lives actually turned out to be. Brooke narrates the scene, he describes Menelaus’ thoughts and therefore does not use speeches in his poem. When there is use of speeches, we know exactly what are on the characters mind, but he does not use them, and we still understand the thoughts of Menelaus because the author does not write of his point of view, but as he were thinking like Menelaus. There are connotations such as when Brooke relates Helens voice as being golden. In this case his intentions are not to say that her voice is made of gold, but this suggests that she has a soft voice, which gives an impression that she is a delicate and elegant woman. Brooke does not literally mean that Helens voice is gold. Brooke does not need to tell the readers that Helen is a feminine woman, because, by saying that her voice is golden, that is already noticed by who reads the poem.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 10~14

10 Coconut Telegraph Jefferson Pardee dialed the island communications center and asked them to connect him to a friend of his in the governor's office on Yap. While he waited for the connection, he looked down from his office above the Food Store on the Truk public market: women selling bananas, coconuts, and banana leaf bundles of taro out of plywood sheds; children with bandannas on their faces against the rising street dust; drunk men languishing red-eyed in the shade. Across the street lay a stand of coconut palms and the vibrant blue-green water of the lagoon dotted with outboards and floating pieces of Styrofoam coolers. Another day in paradise, Pardee thought. Pardee had been out here for thirty years now. He'd come fresh out of Northwestern School of Journalism full of passion to save the world, to help those less fortunate than himself, and to avoid the draft. After his two years in the Peace Corps were up – his main achievement was teaching the islanders to boil water – he'd stayed. First he worked for the budding island governments, helping to write the charters, the constitutions, and the re-quests for aid from the United States. That work finished, he found himself afraid to go home. He'd gone to fat on breadfruit and beer and become accustomed to dollar whores, fifty-cent taxis, and a two-hour workday. The idea of returning to the States, where he would have to live up to his potential or face being called a failure, terrified him. He wrote and received a grant to start the Truk Star. It was the last significant thing that he'd done for twenty-five years. Covering the news in Truk was akin to taking a penguin census in the Mojave Desert. Still, deep inside, he hoped that something would happen so that he could flex his atrophied journalistic muscles. Something he could get passionate about. Why couldn't the United States nuke a nearby island? The French did it in Polynesia all the time. But no, the United States nukes one little atoll in Micronesia (Bikini) and they go away, saying, â€Å"Well, I guess that ought to do for twenty-five thousand years or so.† Wimps. Then again, maybe there was something going on out on Alualu. Something clandestine and dirty. Jefferson Pardee had lost his ambition, but he still had hope. â€Å"Go ahead,† the operator said. â€Å"Ignatho, how you doing, man?† Ignatho Malongo, governor's assistant for outer island affairs, was not in the mood to chat. It was lunchtime and he was out of cigarettes and betel nut and no one had come to relieve him on the radio so he could leave. His office was in a bright blue corrugated steel shed tucked behind the offices of the governor. It housed a military-style steel desk, a shortwave radio, a new IBM computer, and a wastebasket full of tractor-feed paper stained with red betel nut spit under a sign that emphatically declared NO SPITTING. He was round, brown, and wore only a loincloth, a Casio watch, and a Bic pen on a string around his neck. He was sweating into a puddle that darkened the concrete floor around his desk. â€Å"Pardee, what do you need?† â€Å"I was wondering if you've heard anything going on out on Alualu?† â€Å"Just the same. Occasionally the doctor radios for supplies to be sent out on the Micro Trader. They're not officially in Yap state, so they don't go through my office. Why?† â€Å"You hear any rumors, maybe from the Micro Trader crew?† â€Å"Like what? The Shark People don't have contact with anyone since I can remember. Just that Dr. Curtis.† Pardee didn't want to be in the business of starting rumors. More than once he'd had to track down a story to find out that it had started with a drunken lie he'd told in a bar that had circulated through the islands, changed enough to sound credible, and landed back on his desk. Still, Malongo wasn't giving anything today. â€Å"I hear they have a new aircraft out there. A Learjet.† Malongo laughed. â€Å"Where did you hear that?† â€Å"I've heard it twice now. A couple of months ago from a guy who said he was going out there to fly it for them and just now from another pilot on his way.† â€Å"Maybe they're starting a new airline. Be serious, Jeff. Are you that desperate for a story? I've got some grants you can write if you need the work.† Pardee was a little embarrassed. Still, he had no doubt that Tucker Case had been contacted by Dr. Curtis. Something was up. He said, â€Å"Well, maybe you can ask the guys on the Trader to keep an eye out. Ask around and call me if you hear anything.† Suddenly Pardee had a flash of motivational inspiration. â€Å"If someone's buying jet airplanes, there might be some untapped government money out there that you guys don't know about.† He could almost hear Malongo snap to attention. Malongo was thinking air conditioner, laser printer, a new chair. â€Å"Look, I'll ask out at the airport. If someone's flying a jet off of Alualu, then they have to use the radio, right?† â€Å"I suppose,† Pardee said. â€Å"I'll call you.† Malongo hung up. Pardee sighed. â€Å"And once again,† he said to himself, â€Å"we lead with the ‘Pig Thief Still at Large' story.† A half hour later the phone rang. The phone never rang. Pardee picked it up and could tell by the clicking that he was being connected off-island. Ignatho Malongo came on the line. He sounded like he was in a better mood. Pardee guessed that he was in a state of foreign aid arousal. â€Å"Jeff, the Trader is in the harbor. Some of the crew was having lunch at the marina and I asked them about your Learjet.† Malongo was smoking a Benson & Hedges and chewing a big cud of betel nut. He was in a better mood now. â€Å"And?† â€Å"No one's seen it, but they did see some Japanese on the island the last time they were there.† â€Å"Japanese? Tourists?† â€Å"They were carrying machine guns.† â€Å"No shit.† â€Å"Do you think this means there's some military money coming our way?† Malongo was thinking air-conditioning, a case of Spam, a ticket to Hawaii to go shopping. Pardee scratched his two-day growth of beard. â€Å"Probably the crew off of a tuna boat. They've been threatening to shoot some of the islanders off Ulithi if they keep stealing their net floats. I'll check with the Australian Navy, see if they know about a Japanese boat fishing those waters. Meantime, I owe you a bag of betel nut.† Malongo laughed. â€Å"You owe me about ten bags by now. How you going to pay if you never leave that shithole of an island?† â€Å"You'll see me soon enough.† Pardee hung up. 11 Paging the Goddess The Shark men had been beating drums and marching with bamboo rifles since dawn, while the Shark women prepared the feast for the appearance of the High Priestess. In her bed chamber the High Priestess was doing her nails. The Sorcerer entered through a beaded curtain, moved up behind her, and cupped her naked breasts. Without looking up, she said, â€Å"You know, I used to get a pretty good buzz doing this in my studio apartment. Close the windows and let the fumes build up. Want a whiff?† She held the polish bottle out behind her. He shook his head. He was in his mid-fifties, tall, thin, with short gray hair and ice blue eyes. He wore a green lab coat over Bermuda shorts. â€Å"Missionary Air just radioed. Their Beech is broken. They're waiting for a part from the States and won't have it fixed for a month. Our pilot's stuck on Truk.† The High Priestess fired a glare over her shoulder and he could feel himself going to slime, changing, melting into the lowest form of sea slug. She could do that to him. Her breasts felt like chilled river rocks in his hands. He stepped away. â€Å"It's all right,† he said. â€Å"I've sent him a message to fly to Yap. He can catch the Micro Trader there tomorrow and he'll be here two days later.† She was not impressed. â€Å"Don't you think it might be a good idea for me to meet this one before he gets here? It took long enough to find him.† The Sorcerer had backed all the way to the beaded curtain. â€Å"You were the one that didn't want any more military types.† â€Å"Because it worked so well last time. It's bad enough I have to be surrounded by ninjas. I don't like it.† The Sorcerer couldn't believe anyone could walk that slowly and still express so much; it was positively symphonic. He said, â€Å"They're not ninjas. They're just guards. This will all be over soon and you can live in a palace in France if you want.† He held his arms out to receive her embrace. She turned on a red spiked heel and quickstepped back to the vanity. â€Å"We'll talk about this later. I have to go on in an hour.† Feeling stupid, he dropped his arms and backed through the beaded curtain. In the distance the Shark People began the chant to call forth the Priestess of the Sky. 12 Friendly Advice Tuck was sweating through a slow-motion dream rerun of the crash. The end of the runway was coming up too quickly. Meadow Malackovitch was bouncing off of various consoles in the cockpit. Someone in the copilot seat was screaming at him, calling him a â€Å"fuckin' mook.† He turned to see who it was and was awakened by a knock on the door. â€Å"Mr. Case. Message for you.† â€Å"Just a second.† Tucker scrambled in the darkness until he found his khakis on the floor, shook them to evict any insect visitors, then pulled them on and stumbled to the door. Rindi, the driver-rapper, stood outside holding a slip of paper. â€Å"This just come for you from the telecom center.† He reached past Tuck and clicked the light switch. A bare bulb went on over the desk. Tuck took the note, dug in his pants pocket for a tip, and came up with a dollar, but Rindi had already shuffled off. The note, on waxy fax paper, was covered with greasy fingerprints. Tuck guessed it had probably passed through a dozen hands before getting to him. He unfolded it and read. To: Tucker Case c/o Paradise Hotel From: Dr. Sebastian Curtis Mr. Case, I deeply regret that my wife will not be able to meet you on Truk as planned. We have reserved a seat for you on tomorrow's Air Micronesia flight to Yap, where we have arranged transport aboard the supply ship, Micro Trader, to Alualu. Your plane will arrive at 11:00 A.M. and the Micro Trader is scheduled to sail at noon, so it will be necessary for you to take a taxi to the dock as soon as you clear customs. I apologize for the inconvenience and would ask that you refrain from discussing the purpose of your visit with the crew of the Micro Trader – or with anyone else, for that matter. It would be unfortunate if this research reached the FAA before it had been thoroughly investigated. Rumors travel quickly in these islands. I look forward to discussing the intricacies of the particular strain of sta-phylococci with you. Sincerely, Sebastian Curtis, M.D. Staphylococci? Germs? He wants to discuss germs? Tuck couldn't have been more confused if the message had been in Eskimo. He folded it and looked again at the fingerprints. That was it. He knew that other people would be reading the note. The germ thing was just a red herring to confuse nosy natives. The bit about the FAA obviously referred to Tuck's revoked pilot's license. In a way, it was a threat. Maybe he ought to find out a little more about this doctor before he went running out to this remote island. Maybe the reporter, Pardee, knew something. Tuck dressed quickly and went down to the desk, where Rindi was listening to a transistor radio with a speaker that sounded like it had been fashioned from wax paper. Someone was singing a Garth Brooks song in nasal Trukese accompanied by an accordion. â€Å"It sounds like someone's hurting animals.† Tuck grinned. Rindi did not smile. â€Å"You going out?† Rindi was eager to get into Tuck's room and go through his luggage. â€Å"I need to find that reporter, Jefferson Pardee.† Rindi looked as if he was going to spit. He said, â€Å"He at Yumi Bar all the time. That way.† He pointed up the road toward town. â€Å"You need ride?† â€Å"How far is it?† â€Å"Maybe a mile. How long you be gone?† Rindi wanted to take his time, make sure he didn't miss any of Tuck's valuables. â€Å"I'm not sure. Do you lock the door at midnight or something?† â€Å"No, I come get you if you drunk.† â€Å"I'll be fine. I'll be checking out in the morning. Can I get an eight o'clock wake-up call?† â€Å"No. No phone in room.† â€Å"How about a wake-up knock?† â€Å"No problem.† â€Å"Thanks.† Tucker went out the front door and was nearly thrown back by the thickness of the air. The temperature had dropped to the mid-80s, but it felt as if it had gotten more humid. Everything dripped. The air carried the scent of rotting flowers. Tuck set off down the road and was soaked with sweat by the time he reached a rusted metal Quonset hut with a hand-painted sign that read YUMI BAR. The dirt parking lot was filled with Japanese beaters parked freestyle. A skeletal dog with open running sores, a crossbreed of dingo and sewer rat, cowered in the half-light coming through the door and looked at him as if pleading to be run over. Tuck's stomach lurched. He made a wide path around the dog, who looked down and resumed concen-tration on its suffering. â€Å"Hey, kid, you're not going in there, are you?† Tuck looked up. There was a cigarette glowing in the dark at the corner of the building. Tuck could just make out the form of a man standing there. He wore some kind of uniform – Tuck could see the silhouette of a captain's hat. Anywhere else Tuck might have ignored a voice in the dark, but the accent was American, and out here he was drawn to the familiarity of it. He'd heard it before. He said, â€Å"I thought I'd get a beer. I'm looking for an American named Pardee.† The guy in the dark blew out a long stream of cigarette smoke. â€Å"He's in there. But you don't want to go in there right now. Wait a few minutes.† Tuck was about to ask why when two men came crashing through the door and landed in the dirt at his feet. They were islanders, both screaming incomprehensibly as they punched and gouged at one another. The one on the top held a bush knife, a short machete, which he drew back and slammed into the other man's head, severing an ear. Blood sprayed on the dust. A stream of shouting natives spilled out of the bar, waving beer bottles and kicking at the fighters. Earless leaped to his feet and backed off to get a running attack at Bush Knife, who was rising to his feet. Earless hit him with a flying tackle as Bush Knife hacked at his ribs. A pickup truck full of policemen pulled into the parking lot and the crowd scattered into the dark and back into the bar, leaving the fighters rolling in the dirt. Six policemen stood over the fighters, slamming them with riot batons until they both lay still. The police threw the fighters into the bed of their truck, climbed in after them, and drove off. Tuck stood stunned. He'd never seen violence that sudden and raw in his life. Ten more seconds and he would have been in the middle of it instead of backpedaling across the parking lot. â€Å"Should be okay to go in now,† said the voice from the dark. Tuck looked up, but he couldn't even see the cigarette glowing now. â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"You sure it's okay?† â€Å"Watch your ass, kid,† said the voice, and this time it seemed to come from above him. Tucker spun around, nearly wrenching his neck, but he couldn't see anyone. He shook off the confusion and headed into the bar. The skeletal dog crawled from under a truck, seized the severed ear from the dust, and slunk into the shadows. â€Å"Good dog,† said the voice out of the dark. The dog growled, ready to protect its prize. A young man, perhaps twenty-four, dark and sharp-featured, dressed in a gray flight suit, stepped out of the shadows and bent to the dog, who lowered its head in submission. The young man reached out as if to pet the dog, then grabbed its head and quickly snapped its neck. â€Å"Now, that's better, ain't it, ya little mook?† The bar was as dingy inside as it was out. Yellow bug bulbs gave off just enough light to navigate around drunken islanders and a beat-up pool table. An old Wurlitzer bounced American country western songs off the metal walls. A khaki-wrapped hulk, Jefferson Pardee, sweated over a Budweiser at the bar. Tucker slid in next to him. Pardee looked up with red-rimmed eyes. â€Å"You just missed all the excitement.† â€Å"No, I saw it. I was outside.† Pardee signaled for two more beers. â€Å"I thought I told you not to go out at night.† â€Å"I'm leaving for Yap in the morning and I need to ask you some questions.† Pardee grinned like a child given a surprise favor. â€Å"I'm at your service, Mr. Tucker.† Tuck weighed his need for information against the ignominy of telling Pardee about the crash. He pulled the crumpled fax paper from his pants pocket and set it on the bar before the reporter. Pardee lit a cigarette as he read. He finished reading and handed the fax back to Tucker. â€Å"It's not unusual to have changes in travel plans out here. But what's this about bacteria? I thought you were a pilot.† Tucker took Pardee though the crash and the mysterious invitation from the doctor, including Jake's theories about drug smuggling. â€Å"I think the bacteria stuff was just to throw off anyone who got hold of the fax.† â€Å"You're right there. But it's not drugs. There aren't any drugs produced in these islands except kava and betel nut, and nobody wants those except the islanders. Oh, they grow a little pot here and there, but it's consumed here by the gangsta wanna-bes.† â€Å"Gangsta wanna-bes?† Tuck asked. â€Å"A few of the islanders have satellite TV. The people who look like them on TV are gangsta rappers. The old rundown buildings they see in the hood look like the buildings here. Except here they're new and run-down. It's a Coke and a smile and baby formula their babies can't digest. It's packaged junk food shipped here without expiration dates.† â€Å"What in the hell are you talking about, Pardee?† â€Å"They buy into the advertising bullshit that Americans have become immune to. It's like the entire Micronesian crescent is one big cargo cult. They buy the worst of American culture.† â€Å"Are you saying I'm the worst America has to offer?† Pardee patted his shoulder and leaned in close. Tuck could smell the sour beer sweat coming off the big man. â€Å"No, that's not what I'm saying. I don't know what's going on out on Alualu, but I'm sure it's no big deal. Evil tends to grow in proportion to the profit potential, and there's just nothing out there that's worth a shit. Go to your island, kid. And get in touch with me when you figure out what's going on. In the meantime, I'll do some checking.† Tuck shook the reporter's hand. â€Å"I will.† He threw some money on the bar and started to leave. Pardee called to him as he reached the door. â€Å"One more thing. I checked around. I heard that there's some armed men on Alualu. And there was another pilot that came through here a few months ago. Nobody's seen him. Be careful, Tucker.† â€Å"And you weren't going to tell me that?† â€Å"I had to be sure that you weren't part of it.† 13 Out of the Frying Pan Tuck's first thought of the new morning was I've got to catch a plane. His second was, My dick's broke. It happens that way. One has a â€Å"private† irritation – hemorrhoids, menstrual cramps, swollen prostate, yeast infection, venereal disease, bladder infection – and no matter how hard the mind tries to escape the gravity of the affliction, it is inexorably pulled back into a doomed orbit of circular thought. Anything that distracts from the irritation is an irritation. Life is an irritation. Inside Tuck's head sounded like this: I have to catch a plane. I'm pissing fire. I need a shower. Check the stitches. No water. It looks infected. Probably lep-rosy. I hate this place. I'm sure it's infected. When does the water come on? It's going to turn black and fall off. Whoever heard of a place with satellite TV but no running water? I'll never fly again. I'm thirty years old and I have no job. And no dick. And who in the hell was that guy in the parking lot last night? I smell like rancid goat meat. Probably the infection. Gangrene. I can't believe there's no running water. I'm going to die. Die, die, die. Not a pleasant place to be: inside Tuck's head. Outside Tuck's head the shower came on; brown, tepid water ran down his body in gutless streams; pipes shuddered and trumpeted as if trying to extrude a vibrating moose. The soap, a brown minibar made from local copra, lathered like slate and smelled of hibiscus flowers and suffering dog. Tuck dried himself on a translucent swath of balding terry cloth and slipped into his clothes, three days saturated with tropical travel funk. He shouldered his pack, noticing that the zippered pockets had been tampered with and not giving a good goddamn, then trudged down to the front desk. Rindi was sleeping on the desk. Tuck woke him, made sure that the room had been paid by the doctor as promised, then stood in the tropical sun and waited as Rindi brought the car around. It seemed like a very long ride to the airport. Rindi ran over a chicken, then got out and fought an old woman who claimed the chicken, each tugging on a leg, testing the tensile strength of poultry to its limit before Rindi busted a kung fu move that secured his dinner and left the old woman sitting in the dust with a sacred chicken foot in her hand. (The old woman was from the island of Tonoas, where magic chickens were once called up by a sorcerer to level a mountain for a temple, the Hall of the Magic Chickens.) At the airport Tuck gave Rindi a dollar for the cab ride, which was twice the going rate, and waved off the bloody handshake the aspiring gangsta offered. â€Å"Keep the peace, home boy,† Tuck said. 14 Espionage and Intrigue Yap was cleaner than Truk and hotter, if that was possible. Here the beat-up taxis actually had radio antennas to identify them. The roads were paved as well. The airport, another tin roof over concrete pylons, was filled with natives: men in loincloths and topless women in hand-woven wraparound skirts. Tuck caught a cab at the airport and told the driver to take him to the dock. The driver spat out the window and said, â€Å"The ship gone.† â€Å"It can't be gone.† What had moments ago been a pleasant drunk from four airline martinis turned instantly to a headache. â€Å"Maybe it was another ship that left.† The driver smiled. His teeth were black, his lips bright red. â€Å"Ship gone. You want to go to town?† â€Å"How much?† Tuck asked, as if he had a choice. â€Å"Fourteen dollar.† â€Å"Fourteen dollars? It's only fifty cents on Truk!† â€Å"Okay, fifty cents,† the driver said. â€Å"That's your counteroffer?† Tuck asked. He was thinking about what Pardee had said about these islanders absorbing the worst of American culture. This was his chance to help, if only in a small way. â€Å"That's the most helpless bargaining I've ever heard. How do you ever expect your country to get out of the Third World with that weak shit?† â€Å"Sorry,† the driver said. â€Å"One dollar.† â€Å"Seventy-five cents,† Tuck said. â€Å"You find another taxi,† the driver said, digging in his fiscal heels. â€Å"That's better,† said Tuck. â€Å"A dollar it is. And there's another one in it for you if you don't run over any chickens.† The driver put the car in gear and started off. They passed though several miles of jungle before breaking into a brightly lit, surprisingly modern-looking town with concrete streets. Occasionally, they passed a tin house with stone wheels leaning against the walls. The stones ranged from the size of a small tire to seven feet in diameter and were covered with varying degrees of green moss. â€Å"What are those millstone-looking things?† Tuck asked the driver. â€Å"Fei,† the driver said. â€Å"Stone money. Very valuable.† â€Å"No shit, money?† Tuck looked at a piece of fei standing in a yard as they passed. It was five feet tall and nearly two feet thick. â€Å"What do your pay phones look like?† Tuck asked with a grin. The driver didn't find it funny. He let Tucker out at the dock, which was suspiciously shipless. Tuck saw a bearded, red-faced white man sitting in the shade of a forklift, smoking a cigarette. â€Å"G'day,† the man said. He was about thirty. In good shape. â€Å"Impela my tribe?† â€Å"Huh?† Tuck said. â€Å"American, then?† Tuck nodded. â€Å"You Australian?† â€Å"Royal Navy,† the man said. He pulled a hat from behind him and tapped on it. â€Å"Join me?† He motioned for Tuck to sit next to him on the concrete. Tuck dragged his pack into the shade, dropped it, and extended his hand to the Australian. â€Å"Tucker Case.† The Australian took his hand and nearly crushed it. â€Å"Commander Brion Frick. Have a seat, mate. Looks like you been on the piss for a fortnight, if you don't mind my saying.† He handed Tucker a business card. It bore the seal of the Royal Australian Navy, Frick's name and rank, and the designation NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Tuck looked again at the scruffy Australian, then back at the card. â€Å"Naval Intelligence, huh? What do you do?† â€Å"I'm a spy, mate. You know, secret stuff. Very hush-hush.† Tuck wondered just how secret a spy could be who had his status printed on a business card. â€Å"Espionage, huh?† â€Å"Well, right now we're watching the Yapese Navy don't make a move.† â€Å"Yap has a navy?† â€Å"Only one patrol boat, and she's broken right now. Yapese put gas in the diesel engine. But you can't be too careful, lest the little buggers get it in their mind to launch a surprise attack. That's her over there.† He nodded down the wharf. Tuck spotted a rusted boat designed like a Chinese junk with the word YAP stenciled on the side in flaking orange Rust-Oleum. A half-dozen Yapese, thin brown men with high cheekbones and potbellies, were lounging on the deck in loincloths, drinking beer. Tuck said, â€Å"I guess an attack would be a surprise.† â€Å"Ain't as easy a job as it looks. Yapese can lull you into a false sense of security. They might sit there without moving for two, three weeks, then just when you start to relax, wham, they make their move.† â€Å"Right,† Tucker said. The only damage the patrol boat looked capable of inflicting was a case of tetanus for the crew. A mile past the Yapese Navy waves crashed on the reef, just a line of white against the turquoise sea. Cottony clouds rose out of the sea into shining columns. Tuck scanned the horizon for a ship. â€Å"Is the Micro Trader in yet?† â€Å"Been in and gone,† Frick said. â€Å"She'll be back around in six weeks or so.† â€Å"Dammit,† Tuck said. â€Å"I can't fucking believe it. I need to get to Alualu.† â€Å"Why'd you want to go out there?† â€Å"I'm a pilot. I'm supposed to be flying for a missionary out there.† â€Å"Boys and I were out there in the patrol boat last week. Godforsaken place.† Tuck lit up at the mention of the patrol boat. Maybe he could catch a ride. â€Å"You have a patrol boat?† â€Å"Seventy-footer. Some of the boys are out with it now, tuna fishin' with the CIA. Don't mention it, though. Secret, you know.† â€Å"What's the CIA doing down here?† Frick raised a blond eyebrow. â€Å"Keepin' an eye on the Yapese Navy.† â€Å"I thought you were doing that.† â€Å"Well, I am, ain't I? And when they come back, it's my turn to go fishin'. Lovely, us bein' allies and all. Cuts the work in half. Want to suck some piss?† â€Å"Pardon?† Tuck wasn't ready for any kind of bizarre native customs. â€Å"Drink some beers, mate. If you keep an eye on the Yappies, I'll run down to the store and grab some beers.† â€Å"Sounds good.† Tuck was ready to take the edge off his headache. Besides, there was still a chance for a ride out to the island. Frick put his hat on Tuck's head. â€Å"Right then. By the power invested in me by the Australian Royal Navy, et cetera, et cetera, I hearby deputize you as official intelligence officer until I get back. Do you swear?† â€Å"Swear what?† â€Å"Just swear.† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"There it is.† Frick started walking off. â€Å"What do I do if they make a move?† â€Å"How the bloody hell should I know?† Tuck watched the Yapese Navy for an hour before they all stood up and left the boat. He was pretty sure that this did not constitute a defense emergency, but just in case he decided to walk up the street to see what had happened to Frick. The pack felt even heavier now, and he guessed that it was the responsibility for Australian people that weighed him down. (A woman had once offered Tucker a goldfish in a bowl, and Tuck had graciously declined it on the basis that it was too much responsibility and would probably die anyway. He felt the same way about the Australians.) The concrete streets of Colonia were bleached white and stained with three-foot red strips of betel nut spit on either side and lined with thick jungle vegetation. Off the streets Tuck could see tin hovels, children playing in the mud, women passing the hottest part of the day combing lice from each other's hair in the shade of a tin-roofed porch. The women wore wraparound skirts, black with brightly colored stripes, and went topless. All but the youngest of them were enormously fat by Western standards, and Tuck felt his idealized picture of the beautiful island girls fade to a lice-infested, rotund reality. Still, there was something in their gentle grooming and in the quiet concentration of the children that made him feel sad and a little lonely. If only he could run into a woman he could talk to. A Western woman – she wouldn't have to know he was a eunuch. He broke out of the jungle into the open street of Colonia's main â€Å"business district.† On one side was a marina with a restaurant and bar (or so the sign said), on the other a two-story, stucco minimall of shops and snack bars. Around it, in the shade of the modern portico, stood perhaps a hundred Yapese, mostly women, some young men in bright blue loincloths, all shirtless. The islanders all had bright red lips and teeth from chewing betel nut. Even the little children were chewing the narcotic cud and spitting periodically into the street. Tuck walked in among them, hoping to find someone to ask about Frick's whereabouts, but none made eye contact. The women and girls turned their backs to him. The men just looked away or pretended to pay attention to sprinkling powdered coral on to a split green betel nut before beginning a chew. He went into a surprisingly modern grocery store and was relieved to see that the prices were in American dollars, the signs in English. He picked up a quart of bottled water and took it to the checkout counter, where a woman in a lavalava and a blue polyester smock rang up his purchase and held out her hand for the money. â€Å"Do you know where I can find Commander Brion Frick?† Tuck asked her. She took his money, turned to the cash drawer, and turned back to him with his change without uttering a word. Tuck repeated his question and the woman turned away from him. Finally he left, thinking, She must not speak English. He ran into Frick coming out of the store. The spy had a six-pack tucked under his arm. â€Å"I was looking for you,† Tuck said. â€Å"The Yapese Navy took off.† â€Å"You could have asked inside. They knew where I was.† â€Å"I did. The woman wouldn't talk to me.† â€Å"Not allowed to,† Frick said. â€Å"It's bad manners to make eye contact. Yapese women aren't allowed to talk to a man unless he's a relative. If a woman and a man are seen speaking in public, they're considered married on the spot. Shame too. Ever seen so many bare titties in all your life? Tough grabbin' a snog if you can't talk to them.† Tucker didn't want to talk about it. â€Å"You were supposed to come back to the wharf.† Frick looked affronted. â€Å"I was on my way. Didn't think you'd desert your post. I hope you're a better pilot than you are a spy. Letting them sneak off like that.† â€Å"Look, Frick, I need to get to Alualu right away. Can you take me in your patrol boat?† â€Å"Love to, mate, but we've got a mission as soon as the boys get back from fishin'. We've got to tow the Yapese patrol boat down to Darwin for repairs. Won't be back for a fortnight at least.† â€Å"Doesn't it make more sense to leave it broken? I mean, in the interest of watching them?† The spy raised an eyebrow. â€Å"What threat are they with a broken boat?† â€Å"Exactly,† Tuck said. â€Å"You obviously don't know a wit about maintaining job security. Mis-sionary Air might take you out, but I hear their plane is down for a while. Fishing boats are all Chinese. Buggers wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. You might charter a dingy, but I doubt that you'll find anyone willing to take you across four hundred kilometers of open sea in an out-board. There's fellows do it off Perth, but the West Coast is full of loonies anyway. Get yourself a room and wait. We'll take you out when we get back.† â€Å"I don't know if I can wait that long.† Tuck stood up. â€Å"Where should I go to charter a boat?† Frick pointed to a large Mobil oil tank at the edge of the harbor. â€Å"Try heading down to the fueling station. Should be able to find someone down there who needs the gas money.† â€Å"Thanks, Frick, I appreciate it.† Tucker shook the spy's hand. â€Å"No worries, mate. You watch yourself out there. I hear that doctor's a bedbug.† â€Å"Good to know.† He waved over his shoulder as he walked down to the edge of the harbor. A group of women chewing betel nut in the shade of a hibiscus tree turned away from him as he passed. He walked along the bank and looked into the cloudy green water at the harbor's edge. Tiny multicolored fish darted in and out of the shallows, feeding on some kind of shrimp. Brown mud skippers, their eyes atop their heads like a frog's, walked on their pectoral fins across a small mudflat that had formed around the roots of a mangrove tree. Tucker stopped and watched them. They were fish, yet they spent most of their time on land. It was as if they had evolved to a certain point, then just couldn't make a decision to leave the water, grow into mammals, and finally invent personal stereos. For sixty million years they had been hanging out on the mudflats, looking at each other with periscope eyes and goofy froggy grins and say-ing: â€Å"What do you want do?† â€Å"I don't know. What do you want to do?† â€Å"I don't know. Want to go up on the land or stay in the water?† â€Å"I don't know. Let's hang out on the mudflat a little longer.† Tuck completely understood. Although if he had been a mud skipper, after a couple of million years of dragging himself around the mudflat, he would have lost his patience and yelled, â€Å"Hey, can I get some feet over here!†, thus moving evolution along. He was enjoying the superiority of the Monday morning quarterback (And in a world created in six days, what day but Monday could it be?), feeling a little smarter, a little more worldly than the mud skippers, when it occurred to him that he had no idea how to proceed. He could find the telecom center, if there was one, and contact the doctor, but then what would he do? Sit for two weeks on Yap until the Australians returned? Maybe they were wrong. Maybe there was a privately owned plane on the island. What about a dingy? How bad could it be. The sea looked calm enough. That's it, take to the sea. Or perhaps he should just stay on Yap and find a sympathetic woman to take his mind off the problem. It had always worked before, not to pos-itive results, but it had worked, dammit. Women made him feel better. He ached for a Mary Jean Cosmetics consultant. A cool, thin, married woman, armored in pantyhose and a bulletproof bouffant. A sweet, shocked, backsliding Born Again on a one-time sin quest to remind her of why re-demption was so so good. Mud skipper thinking. He was reeling with the heat and the lack of possibilities when he saw her, up ahead, walking by the water's edge, her back to him: a thin blonde in a flowered dress with a swing to her walk like a welcome home parade.