Challenges Facing Public Schools Essay

The fundamental purpose of education is to gain knowledge, inculcate the forms of proper conduct and acquire technical competency, (Oak, 2010). These skills and abilities are considered important in our world so as to have socio-economic growth and development individually and in the community. Goel (2007) observes that it is because education is so important that the US Department of Education aims to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Thus in countries such as the US, children who may not be able to afford the cost of schooling can access education in public educational institutions subsidized by the government. Though noble, the concept of public education unfortunately has a number of fundamental challenges that must be investigated for lasting solutions. These challenges are highlighted below, their problem statements and the arising hypotheses: Problem Statement 1 One of the greatest concerns in public schools is violence. Lede (2010) notes that violence in public schools is a growing concern of parents, teachers, school administrators, politicians and community leaders. Lede (2010) continues to observe that â€Å"many communities in the United States of America are faced with the dilemma of how to protect the integrity of the education by eliminating violent behavior among the school’s constituency and the environment where learning takes place. † What are the determinants of violence in public schools? What is the effect of parental involvement and violence in public schools? Is there any relationship between poor teacher training and violence in public schools? Hypothesis Economic and social issues are affiliated with violence in public schools. Parental socialization at the home front influences students’ propensity to violence in public schools. Teacher training does not impact on the existence of violence in public schools. Importance of the statements and hypothesis in the research The statements and hypotheses in this research would assist the researcher in investigating the problem of violence in public schools and begin to explore solutions that address the root cause of the problem and not the symptoms of the problem Problem statement 2  Another one of the core challenges faced by public educational institutions is that of insufficient funds. By virtue of the fact that public schools depend on the government to meet their budgets, more often than not, the schools find themselves without enough money to carry out their activities. What is the effect of lack of sufficient funding on the quality education in public schools? What is the effect of programme prioritization on budget management in public schools? What are other sources of funding that can be explored to ensure constant funding of public schools programmes? Hypothesis Lack of sufficient funds compromises on the quality education offered in public schools. Budget rationalization can be successfully achieved through programme prioritisation of the programmes at public schools. Diversification of the sources of funding to meet budgetary needs at public schools has ensured sustainability of the schools’ programmes. Importance of the statements and hypothesis in the research A research on this issue would ensure that sustainable solutions to budgetary constraints are met that translate to operational efficiency (Maguad, 2007) and a high quality of education is constantly high in public schools. Problem statement 3 Public institutions of learning are faced by the problem of low or no parental involvement. Since many of the students in public schools come from middle and working classes in which both parents have to earn a living to sustain the families, it is rare that the parents find time to be actively involved in their children’s school life. What is the effect of parental involvement on student achievement in public schools? What is the correlation between parental aspirations and expectations for their children and student achievement in public schools? Do parents give away the right to educate their children when they place them in public schools? Hypothesis A student’s performance is influenced by his/her parents’ interest and participation in his school work. Parental aspiration and expectation for children determines the achievements of the children in school. Parents of children in public schools forfeit any right to determine what or how their children are educated. Importance of the statements and hypothesis in the research The research would find out whether parents have an active role to play in their children’s well being for assured achievement in school. The issue of parental involvement could also form the basis of understanding other challenges facing public schools such as student violence (Alliance for the Separation of School & State, 2008). In conclusion, public educational institutions experience many challenges ranging from budgetary constraints, student violence and low parental involvement. Much research needs to be done to establish why these problems exist in the first place and lasting solutions for these institutions.

Winston Doomed to Fail?

A Character Doomed to Fail Failure, a concept most people are familiar of, often refers to the inability to perform a particular action or finish a certain task. In the novel 1 984 by George Orwell, the protagonist Winston Smith dreams to overthrow â€Å"The Party† and live In â€Å"the place without darkness†. However, he suffered the fate of being tortured and brainwashed eventually. Many readers perceive Winston as a tragic hero who valiantly tries but fails to rebel against the â€Å"Big Brother†.However, in fact, Winston Smith's fate was set the moment he wrote his rebellious speech on the journal. Winston is doomed to be unsuccessful due to his weak willpower, unrecognized planning style, and indulgent nature. Winston is a weak and contemptible person in nature; hence his downfall is inevitable. In a research essay composed by University of Chicago students entitled, â€Å"Firm Willpower†, the authors claim that â€Å"self-control is a battle that i nvolves strengthening willpower to withstand immediate pain or resist immediate pleasure† (Iris 1).Therefore, they state that the amount of physical pain one can stand Is directly affected by an individual's willpower. The fact that Winston cannot tan physical pain at all proves that he Is a weak coward who cannot achieve anything. When the thought police finally get to Winston, his reaction Is â€Å"one thing alone matter(s): to keep still, to keep still and not give them an excuse to hit you! † (Book 2, Chapter 10) Instead of thinking of a plan to escape or to rescue his lover Julia, Winston sticks to the thought of avoiding getting hit.His inner thoughts reveal that he himself is a weak and contemptible man with no physical courage at all. Moreover, Winston shallow and weak personality can be further exemplified when e is under torture in the Ministry of Love. Winston proclaims: â€Å"Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world w as so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there were no heroes, no heroes, he thought over and over as he writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at his disabled left arm† (Book 3, Chapter 2).Winston not only cannot stand one blow, but also thinks that everybody else Is Like him. Winston cowardly action towards torture proves that he Is a man with a weak will and lack courage required. In comparison, â€Å"Big Brothers is made up tit thousands of thought police and inner Party members who can torture thought criminals all day to break their will. Confronting such powerful enemy, Winston, a weak man who cannot stand any physical pain, really does not stand a chance. In 1984, Winston always wants to overthrow the party but has no realistic plan in doing so.In the first book. Winston sneaks inside an ordinary shop and buys a journal. However, neither buying the Journal nor writing on the Journal contributes to the downfall of â€Å"Big Brother†. Winston simply wri tes on the journal to express his anger towards â€Å"Big Brother†, but in nature, such action only Increases the chance of getting caught. Through Winston actions, we can conclude that he is not an organized person and has no plans against â€Å"Big Brother†. HIS rebellious acts are only to satisfy his emotions. In addition, Winston also takes unnecessary risks In his rebellious journey.In Book 1, Orwell states: â€Å"But there was a fraction of a second KNEW! -? that O'Brien was thinking the same thing as himself†. Even though Winston had only one look of O'Brien, he is determined that O'Brien can be trusted even Hough there is no evidence that O'Brien is wroth trusting. This action proves that although Winston is desperate in bringing down the â€Å"Big Brother†, he has no viable plan other than to trust complete strangers. He has proven himself to be a disorganized individual who has rebellious nature.In contrast, the â€Å"Big Brother† runs a totalitarian society and is highly organized. In researcher Michael Lindsay dissertation â€Å"Contradictions in a Totalitarian Society', he mentions that â€Å"in a totalitarian society, there is no question of policy, no room for disagreement, no alternatives; governments only need to administers the maintenance of the ideology' (Michael 1). In order for the â€Å"Big Brother† to maintain this ideology, the ruler needs to have highly organized system and individuals to follow each and every task.In the novel, Ocean's society has reached the level of brainwashing. In order for anyone to conquer such a vast and complicated system, the individual will need a highly-organized plan and a sophisticated mind to carry through. Winston possesses neither of these traits; therefore he was doomed to fail. Other than Winston weak characteristic and his lack of planning, the main cause that contributes to Winston downfall is his indulgence. Winston lacks the ability to control himself from anything addictive in life.This personal flaw makes Winston lost in his cause to the destruction of â€Å"Big Brother†. In the novel, Winston constantly drinks and smokes to distract himself instead of focusing on a plan to take down â€Å"Big Brother†. Winston dream is to have a love affair: â€Å"Almost as swiftly as he had imagined it, she had torn her clothes off, and when she flung them aside it was with hat same magnificent gesture by which a whole civilization seemed to be annihilated† (Book 2, Chapter 1).His illegal love affair with Julia does no good to his objective of bringing down â€Å"Big Brother†. The only result that the love affair accomplishes is Winston lust for women and his sexual desires. Winston cannot resist women, wine and his bad, compulsive habits. These actions prove that Winston is an indulgent man instead of a persistent one. According to PhD student Roy F. Bandmaster's dissertation â€Å"The Strength Model of Self-cont rol†, â€Å"self – control is a entrap function of the self and an important key to success in life† (Roy 2).Winston constantly gets distracted by the outside world and cannot restrain himself from his own desires. Without his ability to control himself, Winston dream of changing the world is a lost course from the beginning. In the novel 1984, Winston Smith's goal of overthrowing the totalitarian society is doomed to fail because of this protagonist's lack of courage, unrecognized planning system, and indulgence. George Rowel's characterization of Winston failure is exemplified further through the dangers of a totalitarian society.

Business Process Engineering for Transparent Workflow Weaving

This paper is a scholarly review of the article titled Implicit BPM: A Business Process Platform for Transparent Workflow Weaving. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of workflow weaving with regard to integration of business management processes into organization’s applications.   The paper will also look at the relevancy of the conclusion of the article under review, to the business process management, as well as drawing comparisons between the ideas of other articles within the context of the focus topic with ideas advocated by the main article being reviewed.   Integration of the business process or workflow into existing organization’s application can be a costly affair to implement due to the limited interoperability capabilities of the organizations applications. This is occasioned by isolated nature of applications development that is not considerate of integration of business activities into one seamless platform for greater efficiency and performance. The under review therefore, put fort or suggest a concept of reducing the cost of integrating business process or workflow with the existing applications. To look at how this is achieved, we review relevant aspects or framework of the concept that leads to achievement of the set objective of the article. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The article opines that building business systems from scratch is no longer feasible and tenable considering the major business workflow overhaul required in order to implement an entirely new system. The integration process on the other hand requires combination of different innovations and designs that that again requires considerable amount of funds to implement. This assertion is true considering that any business activity implemented by an organization must first by affordable by the organization and secondly will improve the revenue bottom line of the implementing organization. For these reasons, many organizations tend to view business process integration project as a costly affair that may take time before the organization break even on the cost of the project. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014)   The article suggests a technique that will ease the process of integrating the business process with the organization’s applications. The Aspect oriented programming abbreviated as (AOP) technique suggested is viable option of resolving limitations due to generic nature of the integration process as well as the transparency limitations associated with the process of workflow and organizations integration. To further simplify the process of integration, the articles suggest a black-box approach to implement the Aspect Oriented Programming rather than a clear-box approach. The former approach indeed doesn’t require much detailed knowledge of the code internals of the program. It uses a wrapping technique that focus on simplest form of integration that is cost effective as opposed to detailed integration approach.   The authors of the article postulates that the workflow weaving technique they are proposing enables the integration of the business process in a transparent manner in that the technique does not require fundamental changes in the organizations applications and at the same time it can bring together a myriad of heterogeneous web applications into one platform as an integrated end product. Analyzing the concept it is easy to see that when an integration technique doesn’t require extensive changes, then the process is likely to be cost effective in manner that encourages business or organizations to adapt this technique when aiming to integrate their workflow or business processes. The article uses the example of two sample applications one of The Pet Store which is built on Java EE platform and a generic accounting application that manages the books and clients for an organization. The two applications which have been implemented using Model View Controller, MVC framework are i ntegrated together for seamless processing of the business workflow. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The resultant outcome of the fusing is an innovation that combines purchasing and accounting process in one platform. For example, from the Pet Store MVC application home page the user can search fro an item he or she intends to purchase. If the item is found or located, the same is added to the shopping cart where the client can proceed to checkout.   Once the payment as been confirmed, the accounting application also running on MVC approach is triggered and the book balance for the company is updated accordingly. The accounting application will then adjust stock and register the client. On its home page the accountant can be able to see the updated processes in the system thus making work easier for him or her.   This is an example of how the business process has been integrated into one interrelated platform for seamless running of the organizations activities. (Trkman et al., 2015) In isolated applications say with different purchasing application as well as the accounting ap plication, each business activity would have been handled separately. For example, when the item was searched and purchased by the client or the customer the accountant would have to physically look for the sales report to know which items were sold and the prices. The accountant would then proceed to include or update his system on actual book balance and number of items remaining probably to ensure the same is replenished. This is a tedious process that is simplified by integrated business processes. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The MVC approach utilized by this innovation allows black-box modeling approach that provide for codes injection at strategic points of the web application framework. Although the outcome is a generic model that lacks a distinct brand, it serves the purposes of integrating the organizations workflow. To provide better correspondence between the software i.e. the programs and the designs, the hardware material the innovation used in the example above uses the crosscutting interface. Analysis of this interface reveals a flexible approach that enables the integrated applications to work together while at the same time creating a contract between the intercepted system and the platform. This further make the process of integration easier and simple which can make business sense to organizations aiming to integrate their business processes.   In order to eliminate the need of having Aspect Oriented Program (AOP) expert at the IT department, the article proposed use of Domain Specific Language (DSL) in the integration process that inhibit the inherent complexities associated with AOP approach or technology. With DSL technology the organization will avoid dealing with underlying AOP framework. The use of DSL therefore reduces the amount of resources needed for implementation of this integrated business processes model. The fact that the organizations will have this advantage makes this innovation appealing to the business. (Seethamraju, 2012) The cost associated with employing different experts for the integrated innovation coupled by the benefits it brings to the organization is likely to make business sense to the management of the organizations. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The article has also implemented the business process management approach in order to realize the proposed innovation. The innovation has two separate parts the front –end and the back-end parts which are connected via web mechanism that not only makes the combination flexible but also scalable. With the front-end having interception and reflection components among other features, the innovation is capable of drawing up various relationships such as when a client initiates a search of a particular item the integrated system can be able to provide him or her with other similar items to the one being searched by the client. In effect what this means is that the client will have various options of similar product. (Seethamraju, 2012) This is a striking feature for any business which can make the idea of business process integration a worthwhile venture to invest on when you analyze it from business perspective. The back-end part of the innovation is the support part where the who le innovation gets various interpretations of command, coordination, and repository among other support features. To repository feature of this innovation is another plus for the innovation in businesswise as well as the general functioning of the innovation. This feature allows the innovation to keep memory of the actions or commands in the system for easier retrieval when the same action pattern is repeated. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) One important feature of any innovation is the scalability option. With the web standard approach connection between the front-end and back-end that gives this innovation its scalability or extensibility feature, the innovation would be easier to be adopted by a growing organization. Growth and development is part of every organization. It will not be commercially viable to invest in an innovation that will require major changes when the organization expands or grows. At the back of every business decision is the financial benefit an investment has on business either directly or indirectly. This innovation sufficiently answers this question in that apart form streamlining the business process it can be scaled without major financial implications should the implementing organization expand. It worth noting that this is one of the challenges associated with the integration of the business workflow. With this feature it will be easier for the organization to buy into this innovation. (M ondà ©jar et al., 2014)   In its conclusion the article reiterate the importance of integrating business processes with the existing organization application into one system as well as acknowledging the cost implication of the process. This is relevant observation in business process management in that there is no evidence of an existence of business entity that is interested in making loses. The cost implication is always a fundamental question in every business decision and business processes integration is not an exception. The web platform of this innovation which enables it to enjoy various platforms such as cloud computing which comes with web applications platforms will further underline the issue of cost factor in this innovation. Comparing the ideas of this article with ideas of other similar article within the context of the topic under discussion; business processes management, a number of similarities and differences are noted. The book by Radelf Peterson titled â€Å"Using BPEL processes in Web Sphere Business Integration Server Foundation† postulates the same idea as the main article under review in that, they both focus on utilizing web based approaches that enables the innovation utilize the cloud computing. (Petrson, 2004) On the other El-Halwagi in his article have a solution which is not web based. This involves developing a BPM program from the scratch that overhauls the business process and applications. (El-Halwagi, 2006) It is suitable for startups which do not have existing application in place yet. As noted before in this review the cost-benefit analysis is always an important question to any business entity. The solutions with such wholesale changes would the make business case for new entities looking to launch operations for the first time. Systemic process improvement advocated by Mutafelija and Stromberg, is also in tandem with the ideas of the article under review. According to this book business process management should always have capabilities fo r continuous improvement. (Mutafelija and Stromberg, 2003) The web design of the innovation proposed by the main article under review and the fact that it uses black-box approach where only strategic interceptions are made, enable this innovation to be open to continuous improvement and scalability as noted by Mustafelija and Stromberg. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) In conclusion, that the use of web designs in this innovation among other features enables it to have desirable capabilities that will make organizations consider integrating their business processes without finding it challenging with the cost of the implementation of the program. The scalability feature of the proposed innovation is also on of the important aspect that breaths live to its implementation.   Al-Mashari, M. (2011). Business process management ? major challenges. Business Process Management Journal, 8(5). El-Halwagi, M. (2006). Process Integration. Burlington: Elsevier. Harmon, P. (2009). Business Process Change. New York: Elsevier. Mahmoodzadeh, E., Jalalinia, S. and Nekui Yazdi, F. (2009). A business process outsourcing framework based on business process management and knowledge management. Business Process Management Journal, 15(6), pp.845-864. Marjanovic, O. and Freeze, R. (2012). Knowledge-Intensive Business Process: Deriving a Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Business Process Management and Knowledge Management Integration. Knowledge and Process Management, 19(4), pp.180-188. Mondà ©jar, R., Garcà ­a-Là ³pez, P., Pairot, C. and Brull, E. (2014). Implicit BPM: A Business Process Platform for Transparent Workflow Weaving. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp.168-183. Mutafelija, B. and Stromberg, H. (2003). Systematic process improvement using ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI. Boston: Artech House. Petrson, R. (2004). Using BPEL processes in WebSphere Business Integration Server Foundation. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: IBM, International Technical Support Organization, pp.7-23. Seethamraju, R. (2012). Business process management: a missing link in business education. Business Process Management Journal, 18(3), pp.532-547. Trkman, P., Mertens, W., Viaene, S. and Gemmel, P. (2015). From business process management to customer process management. Business Process Management Journal, 21(2), pp.250-266. Wysocki, R. (2004). Project management process improvement. Boston: Artech House.

What were the origins of African-American slavery Essay

What were the origins of African-American slavery - Essay Example However, these were not actually the first slave. This is because slave trade had long started before the 16th century i.e. during the Triangular trade or transatlantic trade, which involved the Americans, Europeans and the Africans. In the transatlantic trade, slave traders delivered slaves captured in war from Africa to work in the South America in exchange for sugar and tobacco. After the first batch of slaves in 1641, the colony of Massachusetts made slavery legal and then Virginia followed suit in the year 1660. Slavery intensified in the 17th and 18th century being enforced further in 1787 when U.S constitution was drafted to prohibit congress from meddling with slave trade before 1808 (Berlin, 2003). After the American Revolution War 1775-83, Americans began associating enslavement and oppression of Africans to the manner in which they were manhandled by the British. The slaves had no right to vacation, wages, owning property and marriage. This led to call for slavery ban, acknowledgement of slaves as three-fifth of a person for taxation purposes and recognition of slave as person held under service. Mostly in 1800’s slavery in North America was viewed as oppression amongst many, however, people of South America did not conquer with this opinion. This is because they relied heavily on slave labor and abolition of slavery would amount to loss of much of their wealth (Franklin, 2000). Despite the above progress, South faced Economic crisis in late 18th century as a result continued slavery in contrast to the North America. This was in the European industrialization period and there was high demand for cotton, South America cash crop. Moreover, the invention of the mechanical cotton gin in 1793 required more manpower. Consequently, the south continued slave trade to counter the huge labor demand and to meet their export demands. However, between

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Essay - 4

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information - Essay Example In order to assess what information and data is required; it is customary that data gathering methods as well as the criteria for gathering such data shall be outlined also. Once the required information is gathered, next phase will involve a systematic dissemination of data and information among the management as well as the operational staff in order to keep them informed about what potential changes may be introduced as a result of the expansion. Further, this report will also provide an appropriate information system diagram to visually present the flow of information besides providing a detailed description of at least three performance measures which should allow the management of hotel to practically judge the success and failure of the proposed expansion plan. This report will therefore attempt to explore all the above mentioned areas and will provide an analysis of how this can be achieved and what resources and requirements will make it possible to achieve the intended objectives. Having defined this, next step shall be to identify the data required to perform such type of analysis. It is therefore assumed that both the qualitative as well as quantitative data will be required to complete this project. Most important sources of data will be internal and a temporal analysis of available data is required to assess as to whether the customers, historically, requested for such services. Further, external sources of data will be required to assess as to what the market is charging for providing such facilities and what may be the costs involved in constructing and maintaining such facilities. This data will be required because it will allow the management to assess the commercial viability of the projects and will provide them a critical insight into how to design the facilities in a manner so that cost of maintenance remains low while at the same time offering high quality services. Some of the methods to collect the data will include survey of

Powerful Women In Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Powerful Women In Politics - Essay Example   A list developed by the Forbes Magazine in 2011 ranked some of the powerful women in the world today, depending on how much influence they have. This list included female politicians considered powerful. Among all the women politicians, the influence and power of Angela Merkel in world politics supersedes the others. Her influence and power is manifest in the fact that she is responsible for Germany, which is the world’s largest economy, as well as the European Union economy (Goudreau 2011, para. 2). Merkel is the first woman to hold the position of a chancellor in Germany, apart from being the head of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union party. She has held this political office in Germany since 2005 and re-elected in 2009. Merkel is also responsible for overseeing the operations of the Eurozone, ensuring stability, and unification of the members, as well as overseeing operations of the European Union. This makes Germany the only country among the top world largest economies to be headed by a female (Gedmin 2013).The USA secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is ranked among the top world’s powerful female politician, because of her political position, achievements, and influence in the world politics. She holds the fourth position after the president of the U.S.A and serves as a world ambassador of the world’s largest economy. Hillary Clinton is among the few women in the U.S.A. who have attempted to run for the presidency in the country.   ... This makes Germany the only country among the top world largest economies to be headed by a female (Gedmin 2013). The USA secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is ranked among the top world’s powerful female politician, because of her political position, achievements, and influence in the world politics. She holds the fourth position after the president of the U.S.A and serves as a world ambassador of the world’s largest economy. Hillary Clinton is among the few women in the U.S.A. who have attempted to run for presidency in the country. She is popular in the U.S.A and across the globe for advocating for women issues and education, as well as development, which are among the top interests and policies of the U.S.A (Goudreau 2011). The first female president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, is among world’s powerful female politicians, given her political influence. Previously, she served as the Minister for Energy and Chief of Staff, where she made a big achievement, sa ving 24 million people in the country from utter poverty. Today, she is faced with a larger responsibility ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, which are to be hosted by Brazil (Goudreau 2011). Although Rousseff owns her success to the former Brazilian president, most analysts have credited her for economic reforms in the country, especially her concern for low-income families (Torregrosa 2010). On the other hand, Michelle Bachelet, the first female president of Chile is popular for advocating for women rights, thus, breaking down the barrier for females in the country. She was given the responsibility of heading the UN agency of UN Women, because of her

Case. Hawaiian Punch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case. Hawaiian Punch - Essay Example In the end, Hoedebeck pinpoints the three problem areas which Hawaiian Punch needs to assess. First, how can its distribution networks be organized and utilized in order to bring about the maximum sales for the company? How should innovation be managed in order for them to fit and embody the previous image of Hawaiian Punch? Lastly, what is the best advertising tactics that it can employ in order to raise awareness of the newly introduced variants as well as boost brand sales? The analysis of the internal and external environment of Hawaiian Punch can be best conducted through the use of the strategic management tool SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It should be noted that strengths and weaknesses represents the internal factors in the business organization under consideration while the opportunities and threats is a survey of the external environment. Strengths. The main strength of the Hawaiian Punch is its strong brand equity. Because of the quality of its products, 94% of all Americans are aware of the brand and its classic Fruit Juicy Red. It has also been able to create a specific image in the minds of the consumer as â€Å"fun childhood consumption experiences, unique and refreshing taste, vitamin C content, and Punchy Mascot.† Aside from this, Hawaiian Punch has also been able to establish a wide network of distributors both from the retail and trade sectors. The product has also been recognized by these distributors as fast moving. Weaknesses. Even though Hawaiian Punch generally has very high brand awareness in the market, this is almost exclusive in the Fruit Juicy Red flavor. Newer and more innovative ones are not really popular in the market. This discrepancy can be attributed to the weak advertising efforts of the company as well as the differences in the products being

Character notebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Character notebook - Essay Example The play proceeds with humor as the two characters express their potentials. The play takes place in the 21st century, probably 1904. The play is set in a bar in Paris know as Lapin Agile. Various economic activities are incorporated in the play. Such include business as presented by Sagot and Freddy. In his play, Steve Martin involves history. The play is also populated with an amusingly incontinent barfly by Gatons character and a wise server Germaine. The â€Å"Theory of Relativity† gives a circumstance of scientific argument. The play explains the similarity of the creative process involved in great leaps of imagination in art and science. Every new incidence and character brings in new information. Every time a character comes on stage, they portray who they are, and their stand in the society. In my case, I consider my character Germaine. Initially, Germaine was in a relationship with Picasso. However, she is termed as an understanding woman. She had learnt the character of Picasso and just pursued him sexually. Germaine uses that opportunity to feel powerful. The play begins while she is in the bar where she not only works as a attendant, but she is now in love with the bar owner-Freddy. Section 4: Character Autobiography: It is important that â€Å"you† know who â€Å"you† are as a character. Think of your own life and what you know about yourself that makes you as a person unique. Now, consider what makes your character unique. What does the playwright tell you about the character? What details must be added? If your character is historical, what other information might be necessary? Every character is important in a play. They pass out a certain message or trait that cannot be evident in any other character. The character traits can be established o three bases, what other characters say about her, what she says about herself and

Business Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Communication - Assignment Example Thank you for your letter dated 20 March, 2013 regarding to the quality issue of kiwi fruits, we regret for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard and thank you for allowing us to examine your issues. We had started taking corrective actions after receiving your earlier phone call. At the time of packing, we cross checked and found that the products were up tothe standard. Also, we are sure that the problem might have occurred during the transit, as we did not receive any issues before that. Please let me know,when is the consignment required by you,after getting the confirmation from your side, we will make the arrangements to deliver the product to you within two days by using the special express delivery methods. In order to avoid causing inconvenience to others, the management has planned to place two containers near the external back door which is to be used as an ashtray and rubbish bin from 15 March, 2013 onwards. Any feedbacks from our staff members are invited on or before 13 March, 2013 in this regard, so it will enable us to consider the facts before implementing them. We observed from your letter that you had purchased Del Mar Cellular Window Shades C1116 on June 2009 as well as onAugust 2009. From your mail, we have understood that you are not unable to locate the invoice for the purchases made on August 2009,on which you are facing the issues. As per the norms of the company, we can only guarantee the services only when you produce the invoice copy. For this, you can either search for the invoice copy in your premises. Else you can obtain the duplicate copy of your purchase by going to Cellini’s store. If you are able to locate the invoice copy, then we can personally guarantee that our warranty services will be free of cost or else our concern person will visit your place and verify for the barcodes which available on the product; if it is ours then we will definitely rectify the

Real Estate in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Real Estate in America - Essay Example According to the expert analysis the wide involvement of real estate in equally the 1984-88 booms plus the 1988-92 bust in innovative England has been well acknowledged. A theatrical rise in housing prices fueled customer expenditure, building employment prolonged additional than 50 percent, and in general employment enlargement was concerted in "inhabitants serving organization." (Browne, Lynn F., 2002) According to the expert reports and analysis, 72 percent of all bank lend throughout the explosion was collateralized through real estate, and real estate loans accounted for other than 90 percent of Bank of New England's losses. Advanced situation rates, lower rents, and senior capitalization rates (distinct below) led to pointed declines in profitable real estate values. Analogous real estate association in the financial cycle had been recognized earlier in Texas and was experiential afterward in California, Alaska, and Hawaii of America. If we analyzed then we come to know that the latter was dangerous to Primo's policy to swim through the big fish, since considerable deals now need the backing of real estate titans. "There are trillions of dollars of assets stand for by New York association that spend crosswise all asset classes," says Primo (Case, Karl E., 2005, 83-92). If we analyzed the marketing effor... But flouting into the real estate asset advisory trade was chiefly challenging. Moreover, the country was mired in a depression, the real estate market was firm hit, and no recognized white-owned organization in the U.S. was willing to take a possibility on two fairly unknown black men in such unfortunate marketplace conditions (Clayton, Jim. 2005, 341-63). Subsequent to lots of failed attempts to get hold of startup capital from U.S. firms, Primo and Carter determined to look overseas. They logical that they knew the U.S. market improved than some European companies so race would be less of a issue and that it was a good time for a overseas firm to buy into the American marketplace since real estate prices was miserable. Consequently they approached Chesterton worldwide, a 200-year-old, London-based real estate corporation. Moreover, Primo and Carter used Chesterton's early investment to wrap operating expenses awaiting they got their primary big break in 1993, when the state of Connecticut gave them $100 million of the state's retirement fund finance to straight, which they located more often than not in real estate investment properties (Miles, Mike, and Nancy Tolleson. 2003). According to the expert analysis, Trilogy gives Capri retail real estate securities asset funds that are deal in the public markets at a time when shareholder attention in real estate securities is growing. Primo approximation the market for real estate securities at almost $300 billion and rising, and he vows to take advantage of on that enlargement. Conclusion In synopsis, profitable real estate is a important part of the nation's collection of assets. The market nowadays is as strong as it is ever been, through no clear signs of overbuilding. While commercial real estate markets stay

Keeping the Family Tradition Alive Essay Example for Free

Keeping the Family Tradition Alive Essay I started keeping my family tradition of canning alive last summer. My family has canned for years and there is nothing better than opening up something I have canned on my own and thinking of the people who shared this tradition with me. Traditions are very important to keep going in families around the world. Traditions are very broad anything from what people do on holidays to cooking. My family tradition is very important to me. I knew last year that if I didn’t learn some of my family’s secret recipes while my grandmother and mom are still with us than there would be a chance that my family would never be able to taste the wonderful flavors my family has put together over the years and my family has looked so forward to the taste that we have grown to love. Before I begin canning, I must gather all the materials that I need to get started. The first step is the selection of the tomatoes. I pick all of my tomatoes from my own garden they are so much better than anything from the grocery store. Last year I used better boy tomatoes and roma tomatoes. The roma tomatoes are great to use because they have fewer seeds, thicker, meatier walls and less water. And that means thicker sauce in less cooking time! Also, I don’t want mushy, bruised or rotten tomatoes. Next I remove the tomato skins this is very important. Nothing worse than eating spaghetti and having to chew on a piece of skin left behind. Here’s a trick my grandma taught me: put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute. Then I plunge them into a waiting bowl of ice water. This makes the skins slide right off of the tomatoes. If the skins are left on then they become tough and chewy in the sauce, not very pleasant. Now I must remove the seeds and water. After peeling the skins off the tomatoes, I cut the tomatoes in half. I remove the seeds and excess water. I call it the squeeze of the seeds. It is just like it sounds: wash hands then squeeze each tomato and I use my thumb or a spoon to scoop and shake out most of the seeds. I do leave some of the seeds because that is my preference. I toss the squeezed tomatoes into a colander or drainer while I work on the others. By draining the water off now, I end up with a thicker spaghetti sauce in less cooking time. The next step I must do is to get the lids and jars sanitized. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, especially if it has a â€Å"sanitize† cycle. I get that going while I’m preparing everything else, so it’s done by the time I’m ready to fill the jars. While the jars and lids are being sanitized I begin getting that spaghetti sauce going. I take my onions, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaves, green peppers, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and my burgundy and place them all in the pot first. After I get the onions and pepper a little tender I add all the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook down the tomatoes until the sauce is my desired thickness. I usually let my sauce cook for about two hours. The last step I call canning time. While my sauce is simmering I get my water bath canner ready. I go ahead and feel the water up and get it boiling. I start a small pot of water boiling to put the lids in so that the lids can sanitize and helps the lids seal. When the sauce is ready I place the jar funnel on the jar and I fill them to within ? inch of the top and set the lid and hand ’tighten the ring on. I place the jars in the water bath and cook for about 20mins. I then use the jar grabber and pull the jars out one at a time and let them cool draft-free place. Once the jars are cool, I check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. I press down in the center gently with my finger. If it pops up and down then it is not sealed. If it don’t seal than I just replace the lid and do the canning time again. Now that all the steps are complete, I listen to all the little pings going on telling me that my hard work has paid off. I am so glad that I have learned the family tradition of canning. My grandmother has gotten older and doesn’t can anymore. Out of all my family it is just my mom, Aunt Susan, and myself left doing the canning. It was a nice reward to my sole a few weeks ago when I had my grandmother over for dinner. I had canned some beets and decided that was the day to open them. When my grandmother tried them she said, â€Å"These taste just like mine. † To hear her say that meant so much to me. I couldn’t image not having the taste of what I grew up with because they don’t sell it in the grocery store. This is why I am keeping my family tradition going and teaching my girls. We never know when our love ones are not going to be here anymore. If I can’t have my family with me I at least want to be able to remember them by creating what they have thought me. If people have something in their family that is done by others and would not want to miss it after that person is gone than learn how that special someone does it. I did that’s why I will always have that special connection with canning and my family.

Dtmf Based Water Controller Essay Example for Free

Dtmf Based Water Controller Essay Along with these problems there is no facility for protection from unauthorized user access to the system switching. Why use Intelligent Water Pump? 1)Manual switching is not beneficial in if user is far away from switching station. 2)Timer based switching circuits are beneficial if duration of load operation is fixed. But most of the cases it is not fixed. 3)General remote switching facility provides the efficient solution for these problem. But it is also affected with the parameter range of operation. Intelligent Water Pump provides the exact solution for these problems. It uses the intelligence of microcontroller along with the powerful peripherals. It uses GSM network which is now a days available in most of the places. It also provides password protection facility to protect the system from unauthorized use. It not on provides the remote switching of the system but also provides the status of system electricity to the user. The system provides instant access along with uncommon voice interaction facility. Operation: . GSM network:- GSM stands for ‘Global System for Mobile Communication’ It provides the network service for communication to both user controller side mobile phone. 2. User side mobile phone:- User sends the accessing commands to the Pump control unit using his mobile phone. User’s mobile phone also plays the received voice feedback messages from Pump control system. 3. Controller side mobile phone:- Controller use this mobile phone to detect p resence of call users commands( in the form of DTMF code) from headset output. Also voice feedback messages are put on the Mic i/p of this mobile. 4. Ring detector:- When user make the call , at that time the presence of ring on receiver mobile phone is detected by this circuit to inform the controller that user wants to access the system. 5. DTMF decoder:- When user enters the choice,the decoder IC8870 decodes the choice equivalent binary no. are available on it’s o/p(Q1 to Q4). Whenever new code comes ,the DTMF decoder will pulse low (STB pin) informing microcontroller that codes are available please take them. 5. Speech circuit:- All the voice messages required to inform the user about controlling action are stored in the voice rom(IC APR 9600). As per the trigger and control i/p from microcontroller, speech circuit put respective voice message on the mic i/p of controller side mobile phone. 6.  µController:- Microcontroller(89S52) keeps co-ordination among all peripherals. Whenever call is detected it takes controlling action according to user’s choice and plays respective voice messages for user’s acknowledgment. It also provides controlling signal for switching circuit as per electricity status user choice. . Switching Circuit :- It is basically a driver circuit which provides the making and breaking of ac mains to the water pump as per signal from controller. It consist of electromechanical relay and relay driver(IC2803) to drive it. 8. Water Pump:- Water Pump is a load which is to be controlled by intelligence of microcontroller based system. 9. AC mains detector:- This block detects the presence of AC mains. Controller check the status of this block before providing ON switching signal to the Water pump. Also availability of electricity can be judged from this block. 10. Power Supply:- It provides necessary power to system components as per requirement for their operation. It provides the regulated power supply along with Battery Backup facility. Block diagram of Intelligent Water Pump [pic] User Side Mobile GSM Network Controller Side Mobile Mobile Ring Detector DTMF Decoder Speech Circuit Power Supply To All Blocks  µ C O N T R O L L E R Water Pump AC mains Detector Switching Circuit Mic i/p Headset

Sports Health System: Yin Yang and Balance

Sports Health System: Yin Yang and Balance Keywords: Yin and yang, balance perspective, health, sports system, analytic. Abstract. Traditional sports health is an integral part of Chinese culture, Chinese civilization is accompanied by a process to produce, to grow up. It has self-cultivation, physical fitness and longevity effect. Unfortunately, despite thousands of years of traditional sports health practice, the formation of a rich health ideas, but these traditional sports health mind, like scattered pearls scattered in the literature and practice of traditional sports health, without to pick up a bunch of dressed form traditional sports regimen thought a monograph system. Based on this, the present study the history of ideas as a starting point for a study of traditional sports and health aspects of the history of ideas, aimed at the formation of traditional sports and health history of ideas monographs, traditional sports for the rich theory of health and promote the further development of traditional sports health theoretical system of scientific value. We life philosophy, yin and yang sports co ncept of yin and yang as the number concept of yin and yang concept of information four angles, analyzes the theory of Yin and Yang. Introduction Traditional Chinese yin-yang theory contains rich philosophical implication, comprising: a split into two views, the universal point of view, the unity of views. Yin and yang philosophy is characterized by: emphasis on complementary and symbiotic, the pursuit of harmony and balance. Advocating complementary symbiosis, harmony and balance of yin and yang theory of building a harmonious society for our valuable intellectual resources and useful lessons: between people, between people and society, between man and nature, and even countries, ethnic and between peoples are complementary symbiotic relationship of yin and yang, should mutual benefits and common development. The idea is a guide to action and ideological confusion is bound to make the practice a loss or misguided actions. In contrast the current traditional sports health field, it is the people in the Traditional Health ideological confusion, leading to reality indiscriminate white, as long as something about the health of the people will not and will pack the reception, it will make the name of those traditional sports health charlatan trick in reality is often successful in academia, scholars and no history of Traditional Sports Regimen systematic theoretical thinking salvage and through her. However, the traditional PE idea is the lifeblood of traditional sports health, domination and influence the development of traditional sports of health. Thus, carding, research, history and traditional sports health science ideological construct, helps to clarify the reality to help people confused thinking about the health of the traditional sports, traditional sports to establish a correct conce pt of health, scientific fitness, consciously resist and Identification in reality those charlatans traditional Sports regimen trick, governance, health rectify the current traditional sports market cohabitation phenomenon, thus contributing to the establishment of an orderly, healthy, traditional sports health science market, promote the traditional sports health science and sustainable development and promote socialism with Chinese characteristics and the construction of spiritual civilization development. Based on the current health status of the field of traditional sports, the present study the history of ideas as a fulcrum, traditional sports health research through the system, so as to promote the traditional health, science and sustainable development of sports as well as deep understanding of the experience of the essence of traditional sports fitness regimen are It has important significance. The concept is a reflection of the nature of things. Study of a thing, we must first clearly reflect the concept of the object attributes, in order to accurately grasp the thing. Thought History Traditional Sports Regimen study we must first grasp and understand the concept of traditional health, and traditional sports. Traditional health is in constant interaction theory and practice, the prevention of diseases, conservation practices and life longevity. Traditional health practice activities cover a wide range, almost covered in human clothing, food, shelter, and all aspects of the line. Traditional sports health, meaning from the point of view, consists of two parts, traditional sports and health. Refers to traditional sports originated in the land of China, is still circulating in some sports. Figure.1 Yin-Yang The Proposed Methodology Yin and Yang theory.In ancient China, the meaning is that yin and yang support or oppose sunshine, sunshine toward the side of the male, the female is carrying a sunshine side. Later, with the yin and yang refers to two state two opposing air or gas. Traditional yin and yang said, has three meanings: First, yin and yang strength, everything from sexual intercourse. The second refers to different physical properties, such as support or oppose, light and shade, the actual situation, rigid, positive and negative, up and down movement, bump and so on. Third means different things, such as heaven and earth, sun and moon, male and female, dorsal and ventral, etc., as well as advance and retreat, gain and loss, success and failure, changes, life and death, growth and decline, and so on. Because of yin and yang, meaning very broad, so it is everywhere. In short, the meaning of yin and yang contains very extensive, refers both to the yin and yang of two different strengths, but also refers to different physical properties and opposite things. It can be up and down, inside and outside, day and night, in time, on the spring and autumn, summer and winter, the weight of the severity of the state of motion of the space on behalf of the movement, advance and retreat, lifting, heaven and earth, of all things, there are two different yin and yang Attributes. In traditional Chinese culture, the two actually become the yin and yang symbol, representing the opposite but complementary sides. Universal perspective.In the doctrine of yin and yang, yin and yang properties universal as Yin and yang properties is not limited to a particular thing, but generally exists in a variety of things and phenomena of nature and human society, among representatives of the two opposite but complementary to each other. Yin and yang theory that, regardless of the sun and the moon celestial run, day and night alternate seasons, climate, cold and heat, or the human tissue structure and functional status, and other things or phenomena, are opposite and complementary in development and change, and that everything can according to certain properties, or belong to a female, or a home in the sun and thus, the properties of the yin and yang of things universal significance. Therefore, in traditional Chinese philosophy, phenomena and laws of motion of all things, can be summarized with a yin and yang to the yin and yang is a fundamental law of nature, growth and development of all things, the root causes of the decline of the change is to change the motion of matter master. Life Philosophy.During ancient human cognition of things, and gradually we realize that all things are there are two conflicting aspects can be divided into two: one with a universal movement, change, light, floating up, warm, clear light and other attributes that positive things; and those generally have a stationary, stable, supple, dark, settlement, cold, muddy and other attributes, namely negative things. The one thing the two sides against each other, and a look into two, which is epistemological progress; to apply this knowledge sublimation observe everything, which is epistemological leap that the philosophy of dialectical outlook. The medical use of the human form into the outer yang, yin inside, for the sun, under the shade, the sun is back, abdomen, yin; the internal organs into the dirty yin, yang organs; divided into the yin ; then in the physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment and other aspects of yin and yang theory as the key link, filled with a divided mind II con structed dialectical mode. Yin and Yang as the concept of number is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine theory of yin and yang, occupies a prominent place in Chinese culture, it has been widely used in physiology, pathology, diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and other aspects. Yin and yang Movement View. The origin of life is movement, that movement of yin and yang, it is an important concept of motion systems important points of yin and yang theory of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine is epistemological. According to sports concept, promoted yang, yin reduced; Yang day, night is yin; Yang spring and summer, autumn and winter Yin, day and night, four oclock this yin and yang, yin and yang are reflected in the motion the process of change and status. Traditional Health. It should be noted that not all the traditional sports are the traditional means of health, with a blend of the relationship between them. Traditional sports are a major source of the traditional cultural health of the formation and development of the primary means of traditional health derived from traditional sports, but not all traditional sports. Only those with a slow, even as the leading form of physical activity, focusing internally and externally, to restore his health, improve quality of life and the pursuit of longevity as the leading feature of traditional sports events in order to become an important means of conventional regimen. In addition, the cultural property should be attributed to traditional sports sports category, rather than the traditional home health category. Given the traditional sports and traditional health of this relationship, we study the history of traditional sports health care thought impossible to traditional sports content are included in the category of traditional health, traditional health lessons of traditional sports, there is a culture of its own screening process. From the perspective of modern disciplines, traditional sports health is an interdisciplinary, involving traditional health science, exercise physiology, sports science and other disciplines, is an emerging interdisciplinary subject. Unlike traditional sports Health sports. As we all know, in addition to enhance physical fitness sports, culture Willpower and other functions, it also has a strong confrontational and competitive nature. Health Thought. Health roots of traditional sports culture is the traditional thinking in interactive and traditional culture, the traditional health formed his own ideas trajectory. It has become a heritage in the heart practitioners, practitioners and rooted in the ideas of having a sense of cultural stable structure, dominates the behavior of health practitioners. However, due to many reasons, these shining light of the wisdom of traditional sports health thought so far have not been the academic attention they deserve. With the continuous development of the times, the scientific concept of fitness urgently calling us to seek wisdom from a fitness regimen of traditional sports. French thinker Pascal once said, man is a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed do not need the whole universe to take up arms to destroy him; breath , a drop of water is enough to cause him the doom, however, even if the universe were to crush him, man would still be better than that which killed him something much more noble; because he knew himself to death, and the universe he has the advantage over, and this universe is unknown. Type health preservation is a simple fitness philosophy of ancient people in the long life practice gradually formed. Its basic connotation is strong outside the body, resting in the spirit, body and spirit were raised to accommodate in the exercise of its principles, blood circulation for the purpose of exercise and fitness inner mechanism. Traditional sports regimen in ancient philosophy on the basis of absorbing, construct his own philosophical theory of yin and yang theory, five elements theory, the formation of its own cultural characteristics, it is a way of life of the Chinese nation. Research literature in this regard can be studied, and the theory provides us with an explanatory power of the framework and documentation material. However, the literature most remain in the general level of theoretical interpretation, mechanically apply some ancient data to the traditional health said doubting its mysterious, practical significance needs to be strengthened, so that the lack of research results more convincing and credible . With the era of progress, science and technology, peoples traditional sports health ideology are constantly updated in a timely manner reasonably absorb some of the methods of modern science and technology to guide the practice of traditional sports health, enhance the scientific nature of traditional sports of health. Therefore, I believe that these scientific and technological development with the times and constantly walked Traditional Sports Regimen in new ideas, in this study should be given in a timely manner to extract and upgrade traditional sports as a new health ideas, in order to better serve the traditional health practice. At present, the academic study of traditional sports regimen thought mostly scattered. The main performance is: some simply move the traditional Chinese philosophy and culture of some ideas, from the traditional health practice; some even a little experience is their practice, did not rise to the level of theory. This makes the traditional health ideological theory and practice of separation, leading to traditional health thought realistic outcome is neither able to establish the system, we can not give full play to the interaction between theory and practice. Such research out of traditional sports regimen idea is not a system of thought. Therefore, I believe that the current situation of the traditional health research idea provides both for space research and some creative literature, but also to study the construction of the traditional sports regimen thought to provide a lesson, a warning not to repeat the academic author thought studies physical health has been in the past. Conclusion We need to study traditional sports disciplines with health theory and methods of modern physiology, modern medicine. We analyzed by studying the theory of traditional sports and health literature and the history of ideas using the general research methods to explore the historical trajectory of Chinese traditional sports regimen thought development and construction of the theoretical framework. Help people establish a correct concept of health of traditional sports, traditional sports health practices conducted science. Sports health system contribute to help people establish a correct concept of traditional sports health, guide people to identify traditional sports health exercises and compose scientific merits of reasonable health traditional sportive physical therapy, scientific fitness. By helping people to establish a correct concept of traditional sports health, help purify the current confusion of traditional sports health market, a healthy regimen of traditional sports marke t, and promote the healthy development of traditional sports and health. Traditional sports regimen ideas are not static, but with the development of the times constantly updated. With the development of modern medicine, physiology, traditional sports and health thinking constantly being challenged and updated. We promptly absorb the latest achievements of contemporary academia, traditional sports health research, enriching the traditional sports health ideology. References 1. Chandran, Avinash, et al. Time Trends in Incidence and Severity of Injury Among Collegiate Soccer Players in the United States NCAA Injury Surveillance System, 1990-1996 and 2004-2009. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 44.12 (2016): 3237-3242. 2. King, Laurie A., et al. Instrumenting the balance error scoring system for use with patients reporting persistent balance problems after mild traumatic brain injury. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 95.2 (2014): 353-359. 3. Bergeron, Michael F. The National Youth Sports Health Safety Institute: a healthy and sustainable approach to youth sports. Current sports medicine reports 14.3 (2015): 153-154. 4. Holt, Nicholas L., ed. Positive youth development through sport. Routledge, 2016. 5. Garcia, Grant H., et al. Depression symptomatology and anterior cruciate ligament injury: incidence and effect on functional outcome-a prospective cohort study. The American journal of sports medicine 44.3 (2016): 572-579.

Stephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage Essay -- Stephen Crane Red Badge

Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When reading the Red Badge of Courage, it is necessary to understand the symbolism that Stephen Crane has created throughout the whole book. Without understanding the true intent of color use, this book loses a meaningful interpretation that is needed to truly understand the main character, his feelings and actions. Crane uses very distinct colors in his text to represent various elements that the main character, Henry or â€Å"the youth†, is feeling along his adventure of enlisting into battle. Red, yellow and gray are the main color's Crane uses consistently in the majority of the chapters to describe Henry’s inner conflicts and feelings. The color purple is mentioned very briefly but reflects Henry’s feelings in a powerful manner. Certain colors dominate throughout the book and there is a change of domination as Henry matures into a real soldier.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The color yellow, when mentioned in the text, represents Henry feeling like a coward and knowing his actions were cowardly. Crane uses the color yellow more in the beginning as Henry was just learning to become a soldier. As the book goes on and Henry matures, the color yellow is not mentioned as often. The color yellow appears in the first chapter when Henry’s mother states that enlisting is a bad idea. He feels his mother’s words were putting a â€Å"yellow light upon the color of his ambitions.† This is a significant statement because at this point in the book, Henry’s cowardice has not yet emerged and his only visions of battle are of him becoming a brave, heroic soldier. Henry’s feelings switch from confidence to cowardice as he runs away from his very first battle. When he looks back at the battlefield with shame, he can see nothing but yellow fog. Crane intended this yellow fog to represent Henry’s feelings of cowar dice after running from his first opportunity of battle. The color yellow appears again in chapter nineteen, as Henry is about to face another battle. The guns that are fired are described as having a yellow flame. This image brings the reader back to the fact that Henry still has cowardice feelings about-facing this battle even though his actions may be contradicting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The color red takes on various contexts in this book and is often used when there is some reference to battle, war, and rage. Unlike the color yellow, Crane used the color red... ...nded that war brings about horrible situations and leaves the few surviving with lost loved ones and terrifying memories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The color purple is mentioned only a few times but reflects Henry’s feelings at the beginning and the end of the book. This color signifies royalty and honor. In chapter two, when Henry still believes that in the end all the men will be honorable brave hero’s the uniforms are described as being a deep purple. Not till the end of the book in chapter 24 does Crane again use the color purple when he mentions that the â€Å"fellows marched now in wide purple and gold† to show once again that royalty is present and all that had survived are being now being honored.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the text of the Red Badge of Courage Crane uses but a few specific colors and has significant meaning for each one of them. In order to truly understand and feel what the main characters are feeling, more importantly Henry, it is extremely important for the reader to comprehend what each color signifies and how it relates to the feelings of Henry and the other characters. Without this type of understanding one can not fully appreciate Cranes writing in the Red Badge of Courage.

The Pc Industry Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper I will discuss the industry structure and the behavior of firms in the Personal Computer Industry. The personal computer industry has five leaders: Compaq Computer Corporation (CCC), Dell Computer Corporation, International Business Machines (IBM), Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). The PC industry, as discussed in the paper, is comprised only of home/business use machines, not mainframes, databases, or any kind of servers or super-computers. The PC industry is a fast-growing, consumer-based oligopoly. I will prove the latter through the use of industry characteristics and firm behaviors by giving an overview of each leading firm and their behaviors', then by combining them into an industry analysis. The companies will be addressed from top leader to bottom. Company Overviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Compaq Computer Corporation,(CCC) is the current industry leader. CCC boasts a 1999 market share of 12.8%. However, this figure has declined slightly from its 1998 share of 13.4%. The dip is due to Dell Computer Corp.'s heavy presence in the small PC market, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). Compaq has a wide range of PC products from smaller, less expensive machines to more costly, high-tech systems. CCC has been most successful with their smaller machines, targeted to the home/family segment, because they are able to sell large quantities. However, Compaq has been unsuccessful in retaining customers because most of them were pleased with their smaller machines and did not upgrade to CCC's more expensive, high-tech systems,(Hamblen 1-2). Customer retention has been a problem for the forty billion-dollar company, (Hamblen 1-2). It is my assessment that Compaq does still remain the leader because their products are very easy to buy for the uneducated consumer. You may simply walk into the WIZ or BEST BUY and there are five or so Compaq machines all competitively priced with a good range of attributes, usually not the best that a veteran user would require. For instance CCC's newest product, the iPac, is a very simple-to-use, inexpensive machine. It is supposed to satisfy business workers' needs for a useful computer at low cost,(Wildstrom 1-2). Another problem in CCC's not-to-distant future is their distribution costs. With the use of the Internet, competitors have been able to ... ...pr. 2000). This will lower costs and possibly increase the bottom line for the computer giant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like IBM, Hewlett-Packard made one mistake and cost itself billions of dollars in revenues. HP is a large electronics conglomerate. HP manufactures everything from calculators to top-secret government appliances. For HP the PC market is one of many. Originally Hewlett-Packard was the standard in computer electronics; however, this is not reality today. HP's reputation declined through the `80s and early `90s because of poor quality management. To regain the respect they had lost the marketing and engineering departments at HP worked their fingers to the bone to create a new image for the company. This was very effective; today HP owns a modest 6.2% of the PC market and a very healthy reputation for quality PC's and peripherals, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). HP has had some growth in the past few years but has failed to match the industry growth rates. The company's years of poor quality put a considerable hurt on their future growth; while HP was busy filling in t he hole it dug for itself, industry leaders like Compaq and Dell were basking in their success.

Robert Frost Essay -- essays research papers

He thought he kept the universe alone,† to most people the thoughts of being alone are very frightening. It is human nature to search for companionship. In the poem â€Å"The Most of It,† Robert Frost uses a wealth of strong imagery to tell a story of a person who has lost his loved one to death and has to suffer the feeling of loneliness and emptiness created by it. Frost uses the setting of a lake surrounded by a forest to convey a feeling of peace and of being alone to the reader. A man is sitting on the edge of the lake, crying out for someone, his echo being his only company. After time, a buck swam across the lake and appeared on the shore and abruptly runs into the brush, away from sight. Although the man only caught a glimpse of the deer for a short moment, it was long enough for him to feel that he was no longer alone, but had something there, even though it was not tangible. The clues given to the reader that someone has passed on are the words â€Å"wakeâ₠¬  and three lines down, the word â€Å"morning.† A wake can be many things; one is that it is a vigil that is held in honor of a person who has recently died. â€Å"Morning† can be taken as â€Å"mourning† and be seen as Frost grieving for a loved one. One also develops the impression that Frost is mourning a great loss, such as a sould mate, because of the line, â€Å"He would cry out on life, that what it wants/ is not its own love back in copy speech/but counter-love.† That quote shows the reader that the man was alone, so alone, that he â€Å"c...

Alt Options for Conception

The ere is also a reoccurred called intrauterine insemination; which is basically artificial inseam nation and is used to treat infertility and help a woman reproduce. Both of these procedures shoo w enormous progress in helping couples who cannot conceive naturally to build a family, b UT most importantly to ensure that more lives are being created. â€Å"A conception conundrum emphasized the negatives of donor insemination a ND not the positives. My husband and I happily turned to donor insemination to conceive our children. Our two teenage daughters have never struggled with identity issues.Our older k knows several halfpennies, and are all bright, inquisitive, lovely kids. There are many positive outcomes to artificial donor insemination, and my family is proof of that. † (Walters 6). Naturally and normally, an egg and sperm fertilize inside a woman's body wit hoot the help of a medical procedure. When natural conception takes place, the fertilize De egg attaches to the li ning of the womb and continues to grow, and 9 months later a baby is b Ron. However if a woman has been struggling to become pregnant, she has other options. IV f or instance is a form f assisted reproductive technology.This meaning that special medical techno sues are used to help a woman become pregnant. Assisted reproductive technology is used on lye after all other less expensive and less invasive techniques have failed. According to The Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority, there are rough holy 5 steps to IV. Step 1 is usually to prescribe fertility medications to stimulate egg g production. A woman wants or desires more than one egg considering some eggs will not d evolve or fertilize after retrieval. Doctors will check hormone levels through blood tests, and do occasional transnational ultrasounds to examine the ovaries.Step 2 requires a minor surge kcal procedure, to retrieve eggs by using ultrasound imaging to guide a hollow needle through t he pelvic cavity in able t o remove the eggs. Medication is used to reduce pain or discomfort. Set p 3 is the step in which the male is asked to produce a sample of his sperm so that it can be pr prepared to be combined with the eggs. Step 4 is the process in IV called insemination, where e the sperm and eggs are combined and stored in a laboratory in attempts to be fertilized. If the ere is a lower arability of fertilization, CICS or internationalism sperm injection, may be us De.Through the procedure of CICS a single sperm is injected directly into the egg in an attempt to be fertilized. From then on out the eggs are monitored to confirm that fertilization is taking place. After this step is completed, the fertilized eggs are considered embryos. The last step in IV is where the embryos are transferred into the woman's uterus three to five days following their fertilization. A small tube ( a catheter) is inserted into the uterus to transfer the embryos. HTH s procedure is happily completely painless for wome n, although few may experience some cramping.If all of the steps of the procedure are successful, implantation usually occurs around d six to ten days following egg retrieval. Just like most medical procedures, there are possible risks. Fertility medication ins can have some side effects including mood swings, hot flashes, headaches, abdominal pains, bloating, and hot flashes. Although its rare, fertility medications may cause OCHS, (ovarian hyperventilation syndrome). Symptoms of OCHS may include feelings of being bloated or abed minimal pains. Keep in mind that these are small risks, and rarely take effect.Marie, a middle aged woman shares with the world her experience with IV a ND it's success on Corticosteroid. Org. â€Å"It's horribly commercialese, but if it wasn't w e wouldn't have it. There is a whole medical/ commercial infrastructure that seems to determine that no matter what the cause of infertility, IV is nearly always the answer. This makes sense for many patients, bu t the incentive structures for largesse provision of just one type of treatment may crowd out others. † Marie had underwent the IV process, and it was all and all success.However, IV doesn't assure women of a 100% success rate. ‘The first IV cycle showed me to be a poor responder, and after producing only two follicles, the cycle was canceled. I was crushed. I had been infertile, but now I was sterile as well. † cycle showed me to be a poor responder, and after producing only two follicles, the cycle was canceled. Was crushed.. It only takes one, they said, ye ah right, some women make 20 eggs and I couldn't understand why wasn't able to make 1 [ Sic]. † (Toucans& Montgomery 1022). IV isn't the only medical advancement we've had to help women conceive.W hen it isn't necessarily the woman's ‘fault† that she can't become impregnated, the o there cause to look at is a man's low sperm count. If a man's sperm count falls in a low range, Into routine In semination may be considered. II_J is both cheaper and less invasive than IV F, and is usually tried prior to IV. Intrauterine insemination (III) is a fertility treatment which I involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus to facilitate fertilization. The goal of XIII is to in crease the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the e chance of fertilization.In other words, XIII provides the sperm an upper hand, by giving TA head start, but a sperm is still required to reach and fertilize the egg on its own; which is why if the woman is also struggling to conceive, this method isn't most effective. With both Inviter fertilization and Intrauterine Insemination, we have seen a d aromatic increase of pregnancies in women who would otherwise not be able to conceive eve. Inviter fertilization is a way of creating pregnancies, while a less expensive and invasion eve yet less effective procedure called intrauterine insemination is a way of upping a man' sp erm count.

History of Architecture in Puerto Rico Essay

Puerto Rico was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. He named the place San Juan Baustista and sooner or later the people called it Boriquen Tierra del alto senor or the Land of the Noble Lord. Juan Ponce de Leon became the country’s first governor . Upon his arrival, he constituted a colony in Caparra until such time that Caparra had to be moved to a nearby location with a sound environment. The name Caparra was changed to Puerto Rico which means Rich Port because its harbor is among the best in the world (Everyculture. com, n. d. . Antilles has a series of islands closely situated together with extends more than one thousand miles from Florida all the way to Venezuela or South America. There is the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico together with Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Haiti form part of the Greater Antilles. Puerto Rico is the smallest island in the easternmost part of Greater Antilles with a roughly rectangular shape (Solboricua. com,1998). The element, design and architecture of a particular place is as much important as everything else. It is architecture that gives meaning to the place. Good architecture is a reflection of a country’s triumphs and adventures. Architecture at its best light makes the outline of the country. Buildings, cathedrals and homes scream out the personality of the nation and the people . A simple architecture can turn a piece of art into a masterpiece but great architecture breathes life into anything thereby enabling it to achieve a harmonious blend with the society. It is evident in the country’s architecture that Puerto Rico has a substantial amount of Spanish influence during the course of time. The condensed, twisting cobblestone can be similarly compared with Andalusia of Spain. San Juan, otherwise known as La Ciudad Amurallada which is the capital city was founded in 1521. San Juan has a classic example of Spanish architecture, it is home to hundreds of reminiscent historical events. It has more than four hundred years of history stored inside a military threshold. The landmarks of the San Felipe del Morro are considered as one of Puerto Rico’s most prized treasures. After the commonwealth renovation, San Juan was turned into one of the most amazing tourist spot in the world. The city was built using Spanish plans which was organized to make intersecting and perpendicular streets and plazas all over the city. Spanish architecture was brought back in the country during the American occupation. The families belonging to the elites built fortresses and castles that resemble Art Deco structures (Everyculture. com, n. d. ). Puerto Rico has been the home of 16th and 19th century architecture. This country has been the home of classical, contemporary and medieval architecture. Gothic architecture can be seen as well in the San Juan church which was built in the 16th century. The El Morro Fortress is considered an international site. This is a six-level fortress that was built in 1540 and was finished in 1589. The name San Felipe del Morro was adopted in honor of King Phillip II. This building is filled with dungeons and tunnels. It is now under the administration of the National Park Service. Along side the El Morro is the San Cristobal Fort. This ancient structure provided one of the largest defense in the history of America. Like the El Morro, it also contains mazes and tunnels which are built to stand on its own if ever the others would fall. Another architectural wonder in Puerto Rico was the Plaza del Mercado which was an old market that had been revived and turned into a piece of tourist spot. The government allocated a substantial amount of their budget in order to restore their heritage (The Puerto Rico Channel, 2009). The part of Old San Juan is the home of breathtaking tourist attractions. Every year, more and more people go to Puerto Rico rather than any place in the Caribbean. This is the perfect place to see if people want to get a picture of the Old World. There are several plazas such as the Plaza de San Jose. In the center of it stands the statue of Ponce de Leon made entirely of bronze. Plaza del Quinto Centenario has Christopher Columbus’ statue about forty feet made in ceramic and granite which can be interpreted to mean as a symbolism of American roots. It was the work of one of the country’s top artist, Jaime Suarez. Another interesting site would be the Plaza de Armas which has four statues each over a hundred years old, symbolizing the four seasons. Plaza de Colon otherwise known as Columbus Square contains tablets made in bronze in order to remember the significant aspects of his life. The Plaza de la Rogativa’s main attraction was the sculpture of the procession of a pious lady. This piece of art signifies an important event which happened in that same place in 1797. In that year, a British troop lead by Sir Ambercrombie sailed onto the coast of San Juan bay with the plan of attacking the city and taking control. The plan failed so they resulted in alternate plan of blocking the port of the city in the hopes of starving the residents until they come into a point of surrender. The whole town grew desperate so the governor told the people to call for divine assistance. In response, all the women in town gathered and formed a procession carrying bells and torches. When the British heard the bell and saw all the lights, they thought that reinforcements came to the aid of the people so they left ( Puerto Rico, 2009). It is a wonderful thing that Puerto Rico imbibed the rich culture of Spain during its colonization but as good as it may be, the country also has its own pure and uninfluenced Puerto Rican architecture. An example would be its very own Caribe Hotel. Its colors, structure and striking murals reflect its own rich culture and not Spain’s. The main feature of of this hotel is that it was once a part of the medieval fort that the Spanish explorers used (The Puerto Rico Channel, 2009). The beauty of this country is that it never runs out of sights that stand out during the course of time. A person can look every direction and see pieces of architecture lying all over the country such as fortresses, parks, churches and buildings. La Fortaleza was built as a defense against attacks of the Indians. This structure was the very first among the several military concentration camps that were constructed along side the San Juan Bay. The original structure underwent changes because of the passing of the time so in the late 1800’s, this building was reconstructed. Puerto Rico also has its very own Madrid in the heart of San Juan city, it is called Alcadia. When it comes to churches, Puerto Rico has a handful. The San Juan Cathedral, the second oldest cathedral in the west was built in 1521. The very first building was made of wood but it got destroyed by a hurricane two times, once in 1540 and again in 1598. The Cathedral standing today was the result of efforts to restore the structure that once was in order to preserve the its heritage. In the church lies the tomb of the country’s first ever governor Ponce de Leon. The San Jose Church was the first ever church and monastery of Saint Thomas Aquinas which was constructed by the Dominicans in the memory of Saint Thomas de Aquinas and also to serve not only as a refuge but a sanctuary as well. Puerto Rico is a country blessed with museums. The Pablo Casals Museum is considered a Spanish legacy . It contains artifacts, memorabilia and library full of tapes of festivals and concerts. Casa de los Dones or the House of the Two Foyers is Puerto Rico’s home of the Indians located at the streets of San Juan. It is full of archaeological exhibits. The Asilo de Beneficencia was built to help poor people. It was constructed during the 1800’s . The place now offers exhibits everyday, it is called the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. Puerto Rico’s White House called the Casa Blanca was the former residence of Governor Ponce de Leon and his children’s children for over two hundred years. After the military took over, they used it as home for the commanders. The White House today holds over several rooms each designed with a different period associated with the history of the house (Puerto Rico, 2009). Many art lovers and scholars firmly believe that architecture greatly contributes to the pillar of success of any nation. Puerto Rico is a classic example that architecture gives life to the nation. Through a country’s architecture, its history can be fully appreciated. Somebody once said that the present can never be understood without knowing the past. In the same way, the value of Puerto Rico’s deep and rich culture can never be fully appreciated without the beaming architectural structures of the fortresses, cathedrals and museums. These architectural pieces holds in time all that the country went through, from the time when the island was first discovered until the Spanish colonization and the modernization. Every memory that the country holds dear are steps away from each other. Taking a look and examining the historical landmarks all over Puerto Rico enables any person to take a trip down the country’s very own memory lane. The country itself is a living memorabilia of everything that went through its nation and this fact can be greatly attributed to its architecture.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Joshua and Balthasar rode into Kabul at a time of night when only cutthroats and whores were about (the whores offering the â€Å"cutthroat discount† after midnight to promote business). The old wizard had fallen asleep to the rhythm of his camel's loping gait, an act that nearly baffled Joshua as much as the whole demon business, as he spent most of his time on camelback trying not to upchuck – seasickness of the desert, they call it. Joshua flicked the old man's leg with the loose end of his camel's bridle, and the magus came awake snorting. â€Å"What is it? Are we there?† â€Å"Can you control the demon, old man? Are we close enough for you to regain control?† Balthasar closed his eyes and Joshua thought that he might be going to sleep again, except his hands began to tremble with some unseen effort. After a few seconds he opened his eyes again. â€Å"I can't tell.† â€Å"Well, you could tell that he was out.† â€Å"That was like a wave of pain in my soul. I'm not in intimate contact with the demon at all times. We are probably too far away still.† â€Å"Horses,† Joshua said. â€Å"They'll be faster. Let's go wake up the stable master.† Joshua led them through the streets to the stable where we had boarded our camels when we came to town to heal the blinded bandit. There were no lamps burning inside, but a half-naked whore posed seductively in the doorway. â€Å"Special for cutthroats,† she said in Latin. â€Å"Two for one, but no refunds if the old man can't do the business.† It had been so long since he'd heard the language that it took Joshua a second to respond. â€Å"Thank you, but we're not cutthroats,† Joshua said. He stepped past her and pounded on the door. She ran a fingernail down his back as he waited. â€Å"What are you? Maybe there's another special.† Joshua didn't even look back. â€Å"He's a two-hundred-and-sixty-year-old wizard and I'm either the Messiah or a hopeless faker.† â€Å"Uh, yeah, I think there is a special rate for fakers, but the wizard has to pay full price.† Joshua could hear stirring inside of the stable master's house and a voice calling for him to hold his horses, which is what stable masters always say when they make you wait. Joshua turned to the whore and touched her gently on the forehead. â€Å"Go, and sin no more,† he said in Latin. â€Å"Right, and what do I do for a living then, shovel shit?† Just then the stable master threw open the door. He was short and bowlegged and wore a long mustache that made him look like a dried-up catfish. â€Å"What is so important that my wife couldn't handle it?† â€Å"Your wife?† The whore ran her nail across the back of Joshua's neck as she passed him and stepped into the house. â€Å"Missed your chance,† she said. â€Å"Woman, what are you doing out here anyway?† asked the stable master. Joy scurried out onto the landing and pulled a short, broad-bladed black dagger from the folds of her robe. The ends of the rope ladder were swaying in front of her as the monster descended. â€Å"No, Joy,† I said, reaching out to pull her back into the cave. â€Å"You can't hurt it.† â€Å"Don't be so sure.† She turned and grinned at me, then ran the dagger twice over the thick ropes on one side leaving it attached by only a few fibers, then she reached up a few rungs and sliced most of the way through the other side of the ladder. I couldn't believe how easily she'd cut through the rope. She stepped back into the passageway and held the blade up so it caught the starlight. â€Å"Glass,† she said, â€Å"from a volcano. It's a thousand times sharper than any edge on an iron blade.† She put the dagger away and pulled me back into the passageway, just far enough so we could see the entrance and the landing. I could hear the monster coming closer, then a huge clawed foot appeared in silhouette in the entrance, then the other foot. We held our breath as the monster reached the cut section of the ladder. Nearly a whole massive thigh was visible now, and one of his talonlike hands was reaching down for a new hold when the ladder snapped. Suddenly the monster hung sideways, swinging from his hold on a single rope in front of the entrance. He looked right at us, the fury in his yellow eyes replaced for a moment by confusion. His leathery bat ears rose in curiosity, and he said, â€Å"Hey?† Then the second rope snapped and he plunged out of our view. We ran out to the landing and looked over the edge. It was at least a thousand feet to the floor of the valley. We could only see several hundred feet down in the dark, but it was several hundred feet of cliff face that was conspicuously monsterless. â€Å"Nice,† I said to Joy. â€Å"We need to go. Now.† â€Å"You don't think that did it?† â€Å"Did you hear anything hit bottom?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Neither did I,† she said. â€Å"We had better get going.† We'd left the water skins at the top of the plateau and Joy wanted to grab some from the kitchen but I dragged her toward the front entrance by the collar. â€Å"We need to get as far away from here as we can. Dying of thirst is the least of my worries.† Once we were in the main area of the fortress there was enough light to negotiate the hallways without a lamp, which was good, because I wouldn't let Joy stop to light one. As we rounded the stairway to the third level Joy jerked me back, almost off my feet, and I turned around as mad as a cat. â€Å"What? Let's get out of here!† I screamed at her. â€Å"No, this is the last level with windows. I'm not going through the front door not knowing if that thing is outside it.† â€Å"Don't be ridiculous, it would take a man on a fast horse a half hour to make it around from the other side.† â€Å"But what if it didn't fall all the way? What if it climbed back up?† â€Å"That would take hours. Come on, Joy. We could be miles away from here by the time he gets here from the other side.† â€Å"No!† She swept my feet out from under me and I landed flat on my back on the stone floor. By the time I was on my feet again she had run through the front chamber and was hanging out the window. As I approached her she held her finger to her lips. â€Å"It's down there, waiting.† I pulled her aside and looked down. Sure enough, the beast was looming in front of the iron door, waiting to grab the edge in its claws and rip it open as soon as we threw the bolts. â€Å"Maybe it can't get in,† I whispered. â€Å"It couldn't get through the other iron door.† â€Å"You didn't understand the symbols all over that room, did you?† I shook my head. â€Å"They were containment symbols – to contain a djinn, or a demon. The front door doesn't have any on it. It won't hold him back.† â€Å"So why isn't he coming in?† â€Å"Why chase us when we will come right to him?† Just then the monster looked up and I threw myself back from the window. â€Å"I don't think he saw me,† I whispered, spraying Joy with spit. Then the monster began to whistle. It was a happy tune, lighthearted, something like you might whistle while you were polishing the bleached skull of your latest victim. â€Å"I'm not stalking anyone or anything,† the monster said, much louder than would have been required had he been talking to himself. â€Å"Nope, not me. Just standing here for a second. Oh well, no one is here, I guess I'll be on my way.† He began to whistle again and we could hear footsteps getting quieter along with the whistling. They weren't moving away, they were just getting quieter. Joy and I looked out the window to see the huge beast doing an exaggerated pantomime of walking, just as his whistle fizzled. â€Å"What?† I shouted down, angry now. â€Å"Did you think we wouldn't look?† The monster shrugged. â€Å"It was worth a try. I figured I wasn't dealing with a genius when you opened the door in the first place.† â€Å"What'd he say? What'd he say?† Joy chanted behind me. â€Å"He said he doesn't think you're very smart.† â€Å"Tell him that I'm not the one who has spent all these years locked in the dark playing with myself.† I pulled back from the window and looked at Joy. â€Å"Do you think he could fit though this window?† She eyed the window. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Then I'm not going to tell him. It might make him angry.† Joy pushed me aside, stepped up on the windowsill, turned around and faced me, then pulled up her robe and peed backward out the window. Her balance was amazing. From the growling below, I gathered that her accuracy wasn't bad either. She finished and jumped down. I looked out the window at the monster, who was shaking urine from its ears like a wet dog. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, â€Å"language problem. I didn't know how to translate.† The monster growled and the muscles in its shoulders tensed beneath the scales, then it let loose with a punch that sent its fist completely through the iron skin of the door. â€Å"Run,† Joy said. â€Å"Where?† â€Å"The passage to the cliff.† â€Å"You cut the ladder.† â€Å"Just run.† She pulled me along behind her, guiding us through the dark as she had before. â€Å"Duck,† she shouted, just a second after I realized that we'd entered the smaller passageway by using the sensitive stone-ceiling-sensing nerves in my forehead. We made it halfway down the passageway to the cliff when I heard the monster hit and curse. There was a pause, then a horrible grinding noise so intense that we had to shield our ears from the assault. Then came the smell of burning flesh. Dawn broke just as Joshua and Balthasar rode into the canyon entrance to the fortress. â€Å"How about now?† Joshua asked. â€Å"Do you feel the demon now?† Balthasar shook his head balefully. â€Å"We're too late.† He pointed to where the great round door had once stood. Now it was a pile of bent and broken pieces hanging on what was left of the huge hinges. â€Å"What in the name of Satan have you done?† Joshua said. He jumped off his horse and ran into the fortress, leaving the old man to follow as best he could. The noise in the narrow passageway was so intense that I cut pieces of cloth from my sleeves with Joy's dagger and stuffed them in our ears. Then I lit one of the fire sticks to see what the monster was doing. Joy and I stood there, gaped-jawed, watching as the beast worried away at the stone of the passage, his claws moving in a blur of speed, throwing smoke and dust and stone shards into the air as he went, his scales burning from the friction and growing back as fast as they burned away. He hadn't come far, perhaps five feet toward us, but eventually he would widen the passage enough and pull us out like a badger digging termites out of the nest. I could see now how the fortress had been built without tool marks. The creature moved so quickly – literally wearing away the walls with his claws and scales – that the stone was polished as it was cut. We had already made two ascents up what was left of the ladder to the top of the plateau, only to have the monster come around and chase us back down it before we could get to the road. The second time he pulled the ladder up, then returned to the interior of the fortress to resume his hellish digging. â€Å"I'll jump before I'll let that thing get me,† I said to Joy. She looked over the edge of the cliff into the endless darkness below. â€Å"You do that,† she said. â€Å"Let me know how it goes.† â€Å"I will, but first I'll pray.† And I did. I prayed so hard that beads of sweat popped out on my forehead and ran over my tightly closed eyes. I prayed so hard that even the constant screeching of the monster's scales against the stone was drowned out. For a moment there, I was sure that it was just me and God. As was his habit with me, God remained quiet, and I suddenly realized how frustrated Joshua must have been, asking always for a path to follow, a course of action, and being answered by nothing but silence. When I opened my eyes again dawn had broken over the cliff and light was streaming into the passageway. By full daylight the demon was even scarier. There was blood and gore all over him from the massacre of the girls, and even as he relentlessly wore away at the stone, flies buzzed around him, but as each tried to light on him it died instantly and fell to the floor. The stench of rotting flesh and burning scales was almost overwhelming, and that alone nearly sent me over the side of the cliff. The beast was only three or four cubits out of reach from us, and every few minutes he would rear back, then throw his claw forward to try and grab at us. Joy and I huddled on the landing over the cliff face, looking for any purchase, any handhold that would get us away from the beast: up, down, or sideways across the cliff face. The fear of heights had suddenly become very minor. I was beginning to be able to feel the breeze from the monster's talons as he lunged into the narrow opening at us when I heard Balthasar's deep bass shout from behind the beast. The monster filled the whole opening so I couldn't see behind it, but he turned around and his spade-tipped tail whipped around us, nearly lacerating our skin as it passed. Joy drew the glass knife from her robe and slashed at the tail, nicking the scales but apparently not causing the monster enough trouble to turn around. â€Å"Balthasar will tame you, you son of a shit-eating lizard!† Joy screamed. Just then something came shooting through the opening and we ducked out of the way as it sailed into space and fell out of sight to the canyon floor, screeching like a falcon on the dive. â€Å"What was that?† Joy was trying to squint into infinity to see what the monster had thrown. â€Å"That was Balthasar,† I said. â€Å"Oops,† said Joy. Joshua yanked the great spade-tipped tail and the demon swung around with a ferocious snarl. Joshua held on to the tail even as the demon's claws whistled by his face. â€Å"What is your name, demon?† Joshua said. â€Å"You won't live long enough to say it,† said the demon. He raised his claw again to strike. Joshua yanked his tail and the demon froze. â€Å"No. That's not right. What is your name?† â€Å"My name is Catch,† said the demon, dropping his arm to his side in surrender. â€Å"I know you. You're the kid, aren't you? They used to talk about you in the old days.† â€Å"Time for you to go home,† Joshua said. â€Å"Can't I eat those two outside on the ledge first?† â€Å"No. Satan awaits you.† â€Å"They are really irritating. She peed on me.† â€Å"No.† â€Å"I'd be doing you a favor.† â€Å"You don't want to hurt them now, do you?† The demon laid his ears back and bowed his enormous head. â€Å"No. I don't want to hurt them.† â€Å"You're not angry anymore,† Joshua said. The monster shook his head, he was already bent nearly double in the narrow passage, but now he prostrated himself before Joshua and covered his eyes with his claws. â€Å"Well, I'm still angry!† Balthasar screamed. Joshua turned to see the old man covered with blood and dirt, his clothes torn from where his broken bones had ripped through them on impact. He was healed now, only minutes after the fall, but not much better for having made the trip. â€Å"You survived that fall?† â€Å"I told you, as long as the demon is on earth, I'm immortal. But that was a first, he's never been able to hurt me before.† â€Å"He won't again.† â€Å"You have control over him? Because I don't.† Joshua turned around and put his hand on the demon's head. â€Å"This evil creature once beheld the face of God. This monster once served in heaven, obtained beauty, lived in grace, walked in light. Now he is the instrument of suffering. He is hideous of aspect and twisted in nature.† â€Å"Hey, watch it,† said the demon. â€Å"What I was going to say is that you can't blame him for what he is. He has never had what you or any other human has had. He has never had free will.† â€Å"That is so sad,† said the demon. â€Å"One moment, Catch, I will let you taste that which you have never known. For one moment I will grant you free will.† The demon sobbed. Joshua took his hand from the demon's head, then dropped his tail and walked out of the narrow passageway into the fortress hall. Balthasar stood beside him, waiting for the demon to emerge from the passageway. â€Å"Are you really able to do that? Give him free will?† â€Å"We'll see, won't we?† Catch crawled out of the passageway and stood up, now just ducking his head. Great viscous tears rolled down his scaled cheeks, over his jaws, and dripped to the stone floor, where they sizzled like acid. â€Å"Thank you,† he growled. â€Å"Free will,† Balthasar said. â€Å"How does that make you feel?† The demon snatched up the old man like a rag doll and tucked him under his arm. â€Å"It makes me feel like throwing you off the fucking cliff again.† â€Å"No,† said Joshua. He leapt forward and touched the demon's chest. In that instant the air popped as the vacuum where the demon had stood was filled. Balthasar fell to the floor and groaned. â€Å"Well, that free will thing wasn't such a great idea,† said Balthasar. â€Å"Sorry. Compassion got the better of me.† â€Å"I don't feel well,† the magus said. He sat down hard on the floor and let out a long dry rasp of breath. Joy and I came out of the passage to find Joshua bent over Balthasar, who was actively aging as we looked on. â€Å"He's two hundred and sixty years old,† Joshua said. â€Å"With Catch gone, his age is catching up.† The wizard's skin had gone ashen and the whites of his eyes were yellow. Joy sat on the floor and gently cradled the old man's head in her lap. â€Å"Where's the monster?† I asked. â€Å"Back in hell,† Joshua said. â€Å"Help me get Balthasar to his bed. I'll explain later.† We carried Balthasar to his bedchamber, where Joy tried to pour some broth into him, but he fell asleep with the bowl at his lips. â€Å"Can you help him?† I asked no one in particular. Joy shook her head. â€Å"He's not sick. He's just old.† â€Å"It is written, ‘To every thing there is a season,'† Joshua said. â€Å"I can't change the seasons. Balthasar's time has come round at last.† Then he looked at Joy and raised his eyebrows. â€Å"You peed on the demon?† â€Å"He had no right to complain. Before I came here I knew a man in Hunan who'd pay good money for that.† Balthasar lingered for ten more days, toward the end looking more like a skeleton wrapped in old leather than a man. In his last days he begged Joshua to forgive him his vanity and he called us to his bedside over and over to tell us the same things, as he would forget what he'd told us only a few hours before. â€Å"You will find Gaspar in the Temple of the Celestial Buddha, in the mountains to the east. There is a map in the library. Gaspar will teach you. He is truly a wise man, not a charlatan like me. He will help you become the man you need to be to do what you must do, Joshua. And Biff, well, you might not turn out terrible. It's cold where you are going. Buy furs along the way, and trade the camels for the woolly ones with two humps.† â€Å"He's delirious,† I said. Joy said, â€Å"No, there really are woolly camels with two humps.† â€Å"Oh, sorry.† â€Å"Joshua,† Balthasar called. â€Å"If nothing else, remember the three jewels.† Then the old man closed his eyes and stopped breathing. â€Å"He dead?† I asked. Joshua put his ear to the old man's heart. â€Å"He's dead.† â€Å"What was that about three jewels?† â€Å"The three jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility. Balthasar said compassion leads to courage, moderation leads to generosity, and humility leads to leadership.† â€Å"Sounds wonky,† I said. â€Å"Compassion,† Joshua whispered, nodding toward Joy, who was silently crying over Balthasar. I put my arm around her shoulders and she turned and sobbed into my chest. â€Å"What will I do now? Balthasar is dead. All of my friends are dead. And you two are leaving.† â€Å"Come with us,† Joshua said. â€Å"Uh, sure, come with us.† But Joy did not come with us. We stayed in Balthasar's fortress for another six months, waiting for winter to pass before we went into the high mountains to the east. I cleaned the blood from the girls' quarters while Joy helped Joshua to translate some of Balthasar's ancient texts. The three of us shared our meals, and occasionally Joy and I would have a tumble for old times' sake, but it felt as if the life had gone out of the place. When it came time for us to leave, Joy told us of her decision. â€Å"I can't go with you to find Gaspar. Women are not allowed in the monastery, and I have no desire to live in the backwater village nearby. Balthasar has left me much gold, and everything in the library, but it does me no good out here in the mountains. I will not stay in this tomb with only the ghosts of my friends for company. Soon Ahmad will come, as he does every spring, and I will have him help me take the treasure and the scrolls to Kabul, where I will buy a large house and hire servants and I will have them bring me young boys to corrupt.† â€Å"I wish I had a plan,† I said. â€Å"Me too,† said Josh. The three of us celebrated Joshua's eighteenth birthday with the traditional Chinese food, then the next morning Joshua and I packed up the camels and prepared to head east. â€Å"Are you sure you'll be all right until Ahmad comes?† Joshua asked Joy. â€Å"Don't worry about me, you go learn to be a Messiah.† She kissed him hard on the lips. He squirmed to get loose from her and he was still blushing as he climbed onto his camel. â€Å"And you,† she said to me, â€Å"you will come to see me in Kabul on your way back to Israel or I will put such a curse on you as you'll never be free of it.† She took the little ying-yang vial full of poison and antidote from around her neck and put it around mine. It might have seemed a strange gift to anyone else, but I was the sorceress's apprentice and it seemed perfect to me. She tucked the black glass knife into my sash. â€Å"No matter how long it takes, come back and see me. I promise I won't paint you blue again.† I promised her and we kissed and I climbed on my camel and Joshua and I rode off. I tried not to look back, once again, to another woman who had stolen my heart. We rode a half a furlong apart, each of us considering the past and future of our lives, who we had been and who we were going to be, and it was a couple of hours before I caught up with Joshua and broke the silence. I thought of how Joy had taught me to read and speak Chinese, to mix potions and poisons, to cheat at gambling, to perform slight of hand, and where and how to properly touch a woman. All of it without expecting anything in return. â€Å"Are all women stronger and better than me?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. It was another day before we spoke again. Part III Compassion Torah! Torah! Torah! WAR CRY OF THE KAMIKAZE RABBIS