Monday, September 30, 2019

Communication Clashes and Aircraft Crashes Essay

One of the most dangerous conflicts and errors man could ever have is flying a large aircraft with airy heads and angry mouths. This happened in one of the flights of the Korean Airlines particularly the Korean Airlines flight 2033, an Airbus A300 which happened four years ago. Piloted by Captain Barry Woods, a Canadian national and co-piloted by a Korean national Chung Chan Kuy. The clashed between the two started when the Airbus was approaching a rain slicked airport when Co-pilot Chung asked Captain Woods to â€Å"go around† because he is hesitant to land the craft due to insufficient distance of Runway 6 of Cheju Airport in South Korea. The captain did not mind his Co-pilot’s concern regarding the runway and told his Co-pilot to get off while flying the through a tropical storm with up to 30 mph gusting winds. On the runway, Co pilot Chung pulled the plane off when the plane has touched the ground that made the Pilot Woods furious about what Chung has done and instructed the cockpit crew to open the cockpit window and get their evacuation slides. Being in the matter of life and death situation made these two pilots unmindful of whatever positions they have. They even forgot to follow the standard operating procedures, protocols or guidelines that the cockpit crew should follow during emergency situations. In this incident, the Co-pilot insubordinates his superior by not following the captain’s call or decision making them clash putting their passengers’ life at risk. The Co-pilot’s action in this situation drifted the pilot’s decision in landing the craft safely and made it more dangerous for the lives of their passengers because of unethical insubordination the Co-pilot has caused. Chung might have thought that landing the craft in a slippery and short runway would led to accidental landing so he decided to pull off the plane without his captain’s orders causing them to argue on this matter. Imagining the situation while on board a beleaguered airbus, the cockpit crew might have been hesitant to land the aircraft due to the raging storm and miscalculated the runway making the two pilots disagree whether to land or abort the landing. Being board on a troubled plane triggered uncontrollable conflicts or disagreements because of the tensed and uneasy situation. In whatever situation man would be, crew or staff, especially those on board the plane or ship maybe, the staff should have the instinct to be calm in whatever situation they might be and practice the standard operating procedures or protocols that they had undergone during trainings and execute the emergency procedures effectively and efficiently to avoid further accidents and they should always follow instructions given by their superiors no matter what happen because they were trained to do so. References Fatal Words – Communication Clashes and Aircraft Crashes, (1994), Steven Cushing, University of Chicago Press http://www. airdisaster. com/cvr/kal2033. shtml http://www. airfleets. net/vcrash/crash_report_Korean%20Air_HL7296. htm http://www. planecrashinfo. cpm/1994/1994-50. htm

Sunday, September 29, 2019

“Don’t worry, it’s a 20 minute drive!” – Creative Writing

It's 8. 40 and we've just got off the plane. It was the longest flight of our lives. With a three hour delay while we were stuck on the plane and then the luggage getting lost. My suitcase managed to get on a flight to Miami and my mums' to Barcelona! Sometimes I wonder, do the suitcases just sprout legs and go someplace they've never been before? We were tired and hungry. We had been awake for almost 20 hours at a stretch and were desperate to flop on to a soft bed and sleep! As we hurriedly looked around for a taxi to get us to our hotel, a tall, tanned lady walked up to my dad and asked him if he wanted to rent a car. Typically, my dad thought it was a good idea. You may not know this, but my family and I, have all experienced my dad's driving in a foreign city, and believe me it is no where close to good. So, amidst out cries of protest, my adamant dad marched up to the rent-a-car counter and asked for a people carrier. After standing around for another half hour, the lady showed us to a lift and told us our car would be waiting downstairs. We found that we had a bright green people carrier to drive around New York for the week that we were there. After moaning and groaning we all got in the car, and my dad ad started driving to the exit of the parking lot when he suddenly braked and started reversing back to the lift where the lady was still standing and waving. He had forgotten to ask for directions. He sat back in his seat mumbling about â€Å"turn right at the light, then take a U turn and head back east on the thru way. At exit 443 take a right and follow signs to the†¦ or was it turn right then left and then take a U turn? † My mum was already furious with my dad for agreeing to the idea of the car. Tight lipped, in her â€Å"this is so annoying† voice she asked my dad if he was sure of where he was going. Obviously no man likes to dmit he's not sure so in his very false voice he assured my mum that he was positive about where we were going and that the lady had told him its only a â€Å"20 minute drive† and â€Å"not to worry†. The lady couldn't have been more wrong. She obviously misjudged my dad and may have over-estimated him when she saw his international driving license. â€Å"Wroom, Wrooom†, the vehicle, startedas though we were about to begin a race. It was warmed up and all set to embark on the race against time. Our course was unknown and we had one of the slowest drivers of all time. Taking it at 5Km an hour, we took 20 minutes alone to get ut of the three-storey parking lot. How long was it going to take us to get to the hotel? When we eventually got on the road, my younger brother said he needed the toilet. As usual my mum taking charge asked my brother to wait 20 minutes while we got to the hotel, while giving my dad a very wary look. I think, having a mothers instinct she knew that stopping anywhere would just prolong this dreaded journey and we would all end up traipsing to bathroom and making an even bigger mess of ourselves. Luckily, my dad made a good guess and we turned on to the right road. It was usually my brother managed to get s to our planned destination, because my dad's sense of direction is as good as any bird that flies into a window. Tired of directing my dad during previous escapades like this, my brother had flat out refused to do any sort of map reading. After much driving on a straight, dimly lit road there was finally a lonesome turning to the right, which my dad decided to take. Obviously, our good luck had to run out at some point, and this was the time. We were on a nameless bridge which we later found out was the Brooklyn Bridge. It was now when my mother began panicking. We had been driving for 25 minutes already and there was still no ign of getting to Manhattan Island. While my mum was muttering to herself about how we wouldn't make it to the hotel in time and that they would cancel our booking, my dad just said that being on the bridge gave us a view of the beautiful city of New York at night. All we had left now was to â€Å"follow the signs and arrows. † The average person might ask, how difficult could it be to follow signs? Obviously, this hadn't had the experience of a lifetime: A car journey with my dad. So, driving along the Brooklyn Bridge, my brothers and I were taking my dads advice and were enjoying the view, when we made a very unexpected stop. We had just come to a tollbooth. Now, having arrived a mere hour ago we hadn't had the chance to acquire any spare change, so my dad had to reach into his secret money belt which was tucked under his shirt, and he pulled out 50 dollars. The man taking our money gave my dad a very shocked look as he gave back 48 dollars and 50 cents. Luckily, my dad had thought that it was a good idea to ask the man how to get to Manhattan Island. He told us to take the second exit on the left and then follow the signs. We did just that. Or we thought we did. I think it was because we weren't accustomed to the American accent; either that or the guy was trying to lead us into Harlem on purpose. Harlem is supposedly the most dangerous neighborhood in New York. At hearing the news, my mum became really hysterical; she kept yelling useless opinions like: â€Å"I told you not to get the car! Now were all going to get shot! Why do you have to put all our lives at stake? † My dad just raised his eyebrows and carried on driving. My brother was complaining that he was really desperate for the bathroom, and that just got my mum started again with things like: â€Å"Look at what you've done! We can't even stop any where because we're in HARLEM nd his bladders going to burst, and†¦. and†¦. † At this point I just blocked my mum out. Before we knew it, thanks to the well-lit signboard pointing us out of Harlem we were back on the Brooklyn Bridge. My mum calmed down, but only very slightly. Anything was appreciated at this time, because it was nearly 11. 30 and my brothers and I were dying with tiredness. My dad just kept driving. He was wide-awake. How? I don't know, but I had a fealing it may have had something to do with the 3 cups of coffee he had on the plane. Shockingly, we ended up at another tollbooth and asked directions. Again. After about 10 minutes of nodding, ointing and looking at the map, we were finally on our way. It was like Christmas come early when we reached a turn off. We were finally getting of the bridge! Suddenly, all our sleepiness left us. We were back to a wide-awake state and were all excited to finally be going somewhere. What seemed like 10 minutes later, we were getting out of the dreaded people carrier and were walking in to the hotel. The first thing my brother did was make a beeline for the bathroom. It seems amazing, that how ever many bad experiences we have with driving cars in foreign, and sometimes in not so foreign countries my dad never gives up.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Managing Workplace Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Managing Workplace Diversity - Essay Example However what happens is something that is totally out of the related contexts. People get harassed by a number of issues – gender based, racial, age wise or any other. However, for the sake of discussion regarding this paper, an important aspect of race has been pinpointed and the same has been elaborated upon within the workplace dimensions in the changing business scenarios of present times. The workplace diversity discussions therefore would be the prime objective here as these will be linked in close association with how the element of race is propagated, used, misused and later on philosophically handled for restoring the sanity of the organization. Definition of Workplace Diversity It is first and foremost to define what workplace diversity basically entails within it. ... Within a workplace realm, it is mandatory for the employers to bring about a culture that easily accepts people from different groups, communities and societies so to speak. This is because it will set a good precedent for the company under consideration, and give it the required mileage as and when needed. It will also tell the organization where it has to beef up on its diversity related aspects when there is a dire need to set things right, and bring about an iota of difference within the related ranks. Issues Surrounding Workplace Diversity Workplace diversity does have a number of issues that are brought under its aegis. When the employees are being shabbily treated due to their family or ancestral backgrounds, there is the important discussion of race which is brought to the fore (Cable & Yu, 2011). When there are impending issues due to age aspects of the employees, the age factor is given consideration and when there are gender related biases happening at the workplace, the e lement of gender is given more significance than can be thought of. What is absolutely abysmal is the view that all such problems are brought to the fore in one context or the other, whereby they hamper the smooth communication and interaction mechanisms which take place within an organization and create significant issues within the diversity that has thus been created all this while. In fact, this workplace diversity takes the backseat and the eventual beating at the hands of those employees who have evil or ulterior motives right from the very beginning. The communication domains within the organization are important because if the racial discriminatory aspects come to the fore, these could bring about serious anomalies within the organization. If the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Media policy in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media policy in Europe - Essay Example During the war in Rome, it got affected by monetary crisis that led by the war led to hoarding of money, by the idle money being taken out of circulation, which caused price deflation in commodities as well as land values. Repayment of Rome loans from Asia got threatened thus causing creditors in Rome to experience a liquidity crisis as well as, trouble in repaying their loans while others were bankrupt. Basing on the acknowledged advantages of society, opinionated also cultural pluralism, multiplicity, as well as, variety in the media can be the enviable trimmings in themselves. Hardt and Antonio (2002) states that the constitutive imprecision of pluralism as a communal assessment that provides a suitable ideological suppleness in a manner that it is capable of suggestive of intransigent issues in one phase of the contest also progressive issues in the subsequent issue. Correspondingly, in the media policy the affirmative significance of pluralism together with the diversity that ha s been subjugated in point of view for variety, as well as, unsuited agendas serves at no cost contest to the public check obligations (Kofman & Gillian, 2003). The definitional along with the discursive authority flocks around the borders of opinionated debates, and also portray in the techniques of the media guiding principle in the European Union. At the same time, as the European congress time after time try to uphold the agenda of media pluralism towards the commission’s ideas to plan on a political, as well as, the cultural definitions being repeated due to the failure of the industry groups and the commission. Media union has been established to become a broad technology that involves internet; this has been intermingled with the old media such as television. This technological development transcends to the societal, intellectual, financial, as well as, industrial reforms. This union only occurs in numerous channels; nevertheless the most important idea is based on the union of the types of media knowledge in the public furthermore within the media industry surroundings (Mann 1970). Commonly, the thought of a fresh media an example being computers disagreeing with the old media an example being a television, as well as, a print media. Away from each other, the technical union and the study examine the manner audiences may be associated and understand some of these technologies. This type of union is defined as the cultural associations contained by the media (Maloutas & Pantelidou 2004). One may identify the four scopes by which media techniques in Europe can be compared through the formulation of media markets, amid exacting prominence on the powerful or even non powerful formulation of an accumulation distribution force down. The opinionated exactness within three scales, as well as, the personality of the relations between media associated with political parties or even more widely to the extent to which the media system portrays the fundament al political separations in society culture. The establishment and formulation of journalistic expertise, degree, as well as, the nature of the governing interaction in the media system (Sarikakis 2004). The dissimilarity in newspaper readership between the Northern and Southern Europe may be recognized, it is possible to associate these dissimilarities to the pop up of the emergence of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Ethical Cse Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Ethical Cse Study - Essay Example Therefore it would be better for Jerry McCall to keep away from giving the patient any possible supply of Valium as it is a case of transgression on his part. It would not be any different if the medication requested is for the control of high blood pressure. The case remains the same more or less. This is because then again it is one form of medication that is required to be given by Jerry McCall or any other office assistant at Dr. Williams’ office (Hobkirk, 2011). Jerry McCall would in such a situation ask for advice from Dr. Williams because Dr. Williams would be the best person to seek suggestions from. The patient who is undergoing high blood pressure would then have to ask for assistance from Dr. Williams and would not rely on Jerry McCall’s help and assistance. Jerry McCall will not be protected from a lawsuit under the doctrine of respondent superior in case a patient has an adverse reaction whilst having a flight. Jerry McCall would have to face charges because he is the one who administered medication to the patient. This would also call for charges against Dr. Williams because it is his office that eventually gave the medication to the patient. Even though the medication was ill-advised and uncalled for, the role of Jerry McCall is all the more important (Weber, 2000). This is because he must not provide medication to individuals (patients) as he is unqualified for the post. Since he is an office assistant, he should only stick to what he has been hired for. The lawsuit would therefore be imposed on Jerry McCall and Dr. Williams for their negligence and in putting up with a situation that they could have avoided to begin with. My advice to Jerry McCall would be to make sure that he performs his job to the best of his abilities and not to interfere within the work domains of Dr. Williams. Through this mannerism, he will

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Observe behavior - you as a researcher (Psychology) Essay

Observe behavior - you as a researcher (Psychology) - Essay Example A study of college students stress found that stress is self-imposed surprisingly often (Weiten & Lloyd 65). Further enhancing available research that links college activities to self-imposed stress, this researcher noted a particular instance in which a student manifested not only outward indications of self-imposed stress, rather the student began to exhibit behavior toward self-fulfilling prophecy in which the students unrealistic expectations about academic performance caused her negative assertions to become reality. In an attempt to justify a hypothetical linkage between self-imposed stress and self-fulfilling prophecy, this researcher engaged the student to become an It became a crucial determining factor to this case study to witness how the participant functioned in an academic environment and for this researcher to observe behaviors which could be linked to self-imposed stress and self-fulfilling prophecy. The subject was observed frantically reinforcing her impending failure to an upcoming class examination, exclaiming on several occasions that she was "stupid" and could not manage to secure an acceptable understanding of her curriculums material. This researcher allowed the subject to openly express her misgivings with her academic performance and twice witnessed the subject toss her study materials in frustration. Further forward in the subjects study session, the student publicly refused to continue studying because she perceived the activity as a "useless effort" and that she was "doomed to work at a car wash for the rest of her life" and would never attain her degree. As part of our association, it was commonplace for this researcher to offer study assistance by quizzing the subject on her study material. After reviewing the information, this researcher was able to conclude that the subject comprehended

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Discuss the argument that the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 19th Essay

Discuss the argument that the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 19th Centurry was an act of Genocide carried out by the British Empire as a means of religous and c - Essay Example This was only in a time period between 1845 and 1852. Although the famine was caused by the bacteria phytophthora infestans, it had various social political dimensions. Even though most of the damage was done on crops, the damage that was caused on the Irish population remains to be some of the most memorable events in the Irish people. The great famine still remains a major topic of debate in the life of the people. The scar of the famine remains in the minds of most Irish people more that one century later. It still remains to spark memories of the suffering and agony that the people of Ireland had to go thro ugh in the hands of their masters who were the Britons. It still remains them of the long walk to acquire their current social status and equity to the Britons. But the role that was played by this great famine in shaping the identity of the Irish people is still evident even today through the imprint shown by the modern consciousness which equate horror of famine devastation with other tragedies that continue to occur in the developing world. This is because the nature of the Irish nation dependant on the foreign nations was the sole cause of the devastation since the foreign nation had the power to manipulate the famine and control the nation. This is the same fate that holds the developing nation to the control of the foreign nation. (Bluett, 2004) In this case the Irish people dependant and exploitation by Britain can be directly attributed to the devastating effects of the famine. Their reliance on the British government was the main factor that led to their exploitation. There is evident of hidden agenda in the way Britain foreign relief was used to mask the indirect cultural and religious cleansing that was being carried out on Irish people at the time. The only alternative that the Irish people had was either to live as slave or

Monday, September 23, 2019

The dilemma of managing continuous change in performance management Research Paper

The dilemma of managing continuous change in performance management - Research Paper Example The paper tells that in recent times, change in business environment has been inevitable as business strive to remain relevant and competitive. Bradford and Warner note that the need for change in business environment has been brought about by technological advancements, increased customers and shareholder’s expectations, new initiatives, competition, and the need to increase demand among other factors. Therefore, in order to meet the new challenges and attain the organizational goals and objectives, organizations have introduced several changes. However, introduction of change, whether small or big, to organizational functions and processes have often proved intimidating to some managers and have sometime not yielded the intended outcomes. This has resulted to adopting of change management strategies by managers in order to manage change successfully. According to Bradford and Burke, change management can be defined as the application of a set of principles, skills, processes , and tools for managing people and processes within an organization in order to transition or shift the organization from its current state to the desired or intended future state. Several researches have shown that in the modern competitive environment, it takes more than the known management strategies to realize organization’s full potential Bradford and Warner. There is need for managers to welcome change and manage it effectively in order to achieve organizational success in the long- run. Continuous management of change is critical in performance management. Louis (2004, p. 46) explains that the essence of managing change in the organizations is to improve performance and ultimately achieve organizational goals and objectives. As such, continuous management of change is related to performance management. Performance management refers to activities and processes that ensure that goals are met consistently in a manner that is efficient and effective (Aubrey, 2004, p. 95) . The focus of performance management is in regard to processes, departments, organization, and employees and aims at facilitating overall performance of the organization through attainment of organizational goals and objectives Bradford and Warner (2010, p. 18). 1.1 Purpose of the Study The purpose of this research is to foster an understanding of the dilemma of managing continuous change in performance management. The research purports to get deep insights on the dilemmas of managing continuous change and how they impact on performance management. 1.2 Problem Statement In the face of challenging business environment brought about by increased customers and shareholder’s expectations, technological developments, and competition, management are supposed to make continuous changes in their organizations in order to stay remain relevant and be successful (Bradford and Burke, 2005, p. 22). In the process of managing continuous change in order to improve the performance of organi zation, managers are faced with dilemma. The dilemma is on whether the intended change can lead to improved performance or

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Organisation business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Organisation business - Essay Example Emotional intelligence is largely promoted and touted to be the key to success in contemporary times, since it is all about retaining balance of self and reacting intelligently rather than emotionally, to any given situation at the work place. The power of emotional intelligence and its impact on employees’ work performance has been discussed and widely debated over the years (Homans, 1950; Rothlisberger & Dickson, 1939). However the relationship between the two has been recognized and acknowledged by researchers and organizations alike, only recently (Ashkanasy, Zerbe & Hartel, 2005). It has often been observed that not all employees are equally skilled at team work, and successful in leading or dealing with other employees. The concept of emotional intelligence can be used by managers, to unravel the mystery behind the failure of apparently intelligent employees with great credentials and strong academic and cognitive skills to perform at work (Murphy, 2006). It has been est ablished through various research that there is a direct relationship between emotional intelligence and the failure of employees at managerial positions to perform adequately at work (Lombardo, Ruderman, & McCauley, 1988, 199-216). The interest and literature on the concept of emotional intelligence is growing, with fair amount of evidence about its impact on job performance. The same can be utilized by the management while hiring, so that the right kind of employees with higher emotional intelligence can be hired for managerial positions. Although there is mounting evidence regarding the significance and relevance of ‘emotional intelligence’ on employees’ job performance, there are fair amount of criticisms of the concept, as well (Matthews, Zeidner, & Roberts, 2002; Landy, 2005, 411-424; Locke, 2005, 425-431). The same has been discussed in the subsequent sections. Definitions of emotional intelligence: According to Wharam (2009, 11), Emotional Intelligence is : â€Å"The potential to be aware of and use one's own emotions in communication with oneself and others and to manage and motivate oneself and others through understanding emotions† According to Jones (2006, 412) Emotional Intelligence entails the use of insight and balance of self, in decision making. It helps individuals in attending to problems or critical organizations situations an intelligent way; establish and improve better contacts and relationships within the organizations; help in motivating people around them skill-fully; manage themselves effectively in stressful situations by staying calm and focused and create positive emotions such as hope and compassion while dealing in stressful environment, thus encouraging people to develop a positive vision and attitudes. According to Salovey et al., (2004, 31): Emotional intelligence refers to "the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth". The key characteristics of Emotional intelligence as observed from the above definitions include: awareness of self; ability to manage and control one's emotions; the ability to use such self-control and direct it towards attainment of organizational goals; identify the emotions of other employees at work and motivate them - alternatively

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Obesity in the UK Essay Example for Free

Obesity in the UK Essay Obesity levels in the Untied Kingdom have reached an all time high with one in every four adults suffering from obesity. Childhood obesity has also drastically increased with 25 percent of boys and 33 percent of girls aged between two and 19 years being overweight or obese. There is little sign of this upward trend in obesity stopping, and it will have a significant impact on the state of the country. It will negatively affect the UKs economy and more importantly negatively affect the health of the UKs 63 million people. With obesity becoming this prevalent in our society is it not time we address this issue? I think it is, and one of the best ways in my opinion is to introduce a tax on fizzy drinks and fast food. This may sounds rather drastic when first heard but consider the  £5.1billion spent every year by the NHS to treat those with obesity related medical conditions. Now consider the 2535 branches of Burger King, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut located all around Scotland and England, consider the number of products those branches sell and the amount of money that could be raised through taxes upon those products. That money could be spent on our NHS which is being crippled under the weight of budget cuts and the cost obesity is having certainly isnt helping the load. These taxes could also deter many from the promise of quick, cheap food from these outlets and could send them in the direction of healthier options. The recommendations in favour of taxing these food are quite reasonable, such as recommendation of taxes of twenty percent on sugary drinks for at least a year being put forth. Other initiatives are already in place to help tackle the UKs weight problem such as the Change 4 Life initiative run by the NHS which offers free nutritional advice to those who want it. The problem is though, that as much good as these schemes are doing they aren’t working well enough. The obesity levels in this country are still rising and we need more action to stop it. We need to have more healthy eating schemes in place around the country in places such as schools, at the work place and even at hospitals. People need to understand the risks of junk food and the major health effects it can have causing obesity, and with obesity comes a vast array of other negative  health effects which include heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, joint problems, psychological difficulties and diabetes. There have been other recommendations on ways to tackle obesity with ideas like banning the advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt before 9pm, this can help with the problems of childhood obesity as children would be less likely to have seen these advertisements meaning they were less likely to be influenced by them. Another change that could drastically tip the scales towards healthier eating is giving local councils the power to limit the number of fast food outlets near schools and leisure centres limiting the availability of these types of food to young children. There are also plans for the government to spend  £300 million on weight management programmes, that may sound like a large amount but it is far less than the cost obesity is having on the pockets of the NHS. Taxation on tobacco products has already been proven to help reduce the number of smoking related deaths and the amount of money collected in taxes from tobacco products in 2012 ( £12.1bn) far outweighs the cost smoking related illnesses have on the NHS annually ( £5bn) so surely the idea of taxing fatty and sugary foods is not too drastic. Especially when there are around 35,000 obesity related deaths each year. Other ways to tackle obesity have to do with activities rather than food. Along with the increase in junk food intake by people in the UK there has also been a large lack of exercise or sporting activity. Most people nowadays have jobs that involve sitting at a desk for long periods of the day, this combined with the fact that most people commute to work by car or bus rather than walking equals to a lot of sitting down during the day. After work most people just want to relax and so often sit down on the sofa with a cup of tea and watch television rather than do something active. This problem is hard to tackle but if initiatives at the work place are introduced which include things like sporting clubs offered free by the workplace or other incentives to walk to work rather than drive this can serious help with the daily inactivity. The workplace can also help by removing vending machines that give out junk food and replace them with one  that give out a healthy snack. Finally one more thing the government can do to help with this problem is to subsidise the cost of healthy foods in shops. This will be useful as one of the main reasons people eat unhealthy food is because it is often cheaper than most healthier products. If the healthier products are cheaper than other choices then people are more likely to eat healthily. Or instead of subsidising the food the government could give out food vouchers to those struggling for money to give them discounts on the healthier products in shops. This combined with taxation on the fattier foods can completely change the perception of healthy food in this country and we can begin on the road to eradicating the problem of obesity in the UK. By Rajan Gill 11E

Friday, September 20, 2019

Emerging Issues In Tourism Tourism Essay

Emerging Issues In Tourism Tourism Essay As one of the largest industries, tourism has had an average annual increase of 6.6 per cent over the last half century, with international travel rising continuously and alternative tourism having a main role in this transaction. Nature-based tourism and ecotourism, with accepted definitions through tourism industry will be discussed in this report. Uniqueness and differences of ecotourism from mass tourism will be explained and benefits of ecotourism will be referred as well. An ecotourism destination; Galapagos Islands will be briefly introduced and the strategies being implemented in the specific destination will be indentified. Ecotourism is significant, special nowadays for the environment, the culture and also for the economy. So, what is the future of ecotourism? Will the efficient use of the natural resources and heritage of Galapagos Islands be a sufficient factor to maintain the importance of ecotourism? The future will be discussed as well. Tourism is a complex sector with many challenges and chances at the same time. Α attempt to define tourism and to describe its scope fully must consider the various groups that participate in and are affected by the tourist, such as the tourist, the host community, the government and the businesses providing the product. Charles R. Goeldner defined tourism (2009): Tourism may be defined as the processes, activities and outcomes arising from the relationships and the interactions among tourists, tourism suppliers, host governments, host communities, and surrounding environments, that are involved in the attracting and hosting of visitors. Tourism as an industry deserves significant criticism, not least because in many cases it contributes to the decline of natural areas. A form of tourism inspired by the natural history of an area is ecotourism. Travelling to locations full of natural resources for enjoyment, which at the same time protects the fauna, flora and the ecosystem , as well as the people. Below a more formal definition of ecotourism and nature-based tourism is delivered by Goodwin (1996: 288): Nature-based tourism encompasses all forms of tourism-mass tourism, adventure tourism, low impact tourism, ecotourism- which we use natural resources in a wild or undeveloped form- including species, habitat, landscape, scenery and salt and fresh-water features. Nature tourism is travel for the purpose of enjoying undeveloped natural areas of wildlife. Ecotourism is low impact tourism which contributes to the maintenance of species and habitats either directly through a contribution to conservation and/or indirectly by providing revenue to the local community sufficient for local people to value, and therefore protect their wildlife heritage area as a source of income. Furthermore, someone could say that ecotourism is an educational travelling that provides great knowledge to its participants. The practices of ecotourism are mentioned below: Green Tourism, Alternative Tourism, Endemic Tourism, Wildlife Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Geotourism, Nature-based Tourism, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism. 1.2 The importance and the role of the sustainable tourism in eco tourism. Sustainability is generally an ambition of tourism to have the lowest impact in economy, environment and culture as well. Sustainable development has been proposed as a model for a structural change within society. Sustainable tourism is an extension of the new emphasis on sustainable development (Sadler: 1992). One of the first strategies on tourism and sustainability emerged from the Globe 90 conference in British Columbia, Canada. At this conference representatives from the tourism industry, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academe discussed the importance of the environment in sustaining the tourism industry, and how poorly tourism developments, that attract the visitors, destroy the quality of the natural and human environment. To Tourism Concern (1992), sustainable tourism is: Tourism and associated infrastructures that, both now and in the future; operate within natural capacities for the regeneration and future productivity of natural resources; recognize the contribution that people and communities, customs and lifestyles, make to the tourism experience; accept that these people must have an equitable share in the economic benefits of tourism; are guided by the wishes of local people and communities in the host areas. Eco tourism is a small, though growing industry. There is much faith in the work that eco tourists do and they face a lot of problems and challenges in achieving a sustainable development. Sustainable tourism includes specific practices such as the carrying capacity, the visitor impact management, the visitor activity and the limits of acceptable change that are used in protected areas. It is essential to note, here, that if these strategies are implemented successfully sustainable tourism will provide historical development and will increase the environmental awareness. Sustainable development and eco tourism are two terms that match together and try to create a guideline for successful tourism in the eco destinations. 1.3 The importance of ecotourism The principles ecotourism serves are defined by many sociologists the last years and acknowledge the importance of ecotourism. Firstly, ecotourism minimizes the negative impact to the environment and to the local people. Ecotourism provides a big amount of environmental and cultural awareness to both visitors and hosts. The support of human rights is another principle important to mention. Ecotourism provides direct benefits in economy of the local people and improves the sensitivity of the locals for the environment, culture and heritage. Ecotourism provides benefits to both hosts and local people. Ecotourism generates foreign exchange for the country and injects capital and new money into the local economy. Ecotourism often takes travelers to undiscovered areas where nature still exists with no transformation at all. It gives to the visitor the advantage of education and discovering new places that are far away from the usual trends. Educational ecotourism offers to the tourists the privilege of being aware of the danger they may cost to the environment, in order to protect it. Resorts and hotels around the world started to go green by reducing their energy use and investing their money to eco friendly products. Ecotourism also protects the threatened wildlife of the ecosystems by bringing local and worldwide awareness. As ecotourism works in a location, it respects the peoples culture and values. It provides a chance for relaxation and exploration and evaluation of self. 2.0 Emerging Issues of ecotourism of Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 2.1 Brief Introduction of Galapagos Islands An eco destination that features inspiring stories about destinations and provides great travelling experiences. The Galapagos Archipelago is a cluster of some 13 volcanic islands and associated islets and rocks located just under the equator, about 600 miles (1000km) west of Ecuador in South America. The oldest of the islands are about 4 million years old and the youngest are still in the process of being formed. These Islands that tourists visit on Galapagos cruises are considered to be one of the most active volcanic areas in the world. About 95% of the islands are part of the Galapagos National Park system, with the remainder being inhabited by about 14,000 people in four major communities (Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo, Puerto Villamil and Floreana). The Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station jointly operate the islands. The Park Service provides rangers and guides, and is responsible for overseeing the many tourists who visit each year. The Darwin Station conducts scientific research and conservation programs. It is currently breeding and releasing captive tortoises and iguanas. This group of 13 mayor islands and dozens of smaller islets and rocks all the result of volcanic activity certainly appear to be out of this world. They are, in fact, an unpredicted wilderness, filled with extraordinary populations of unique species, which have developed apart from humans and their dominating influence. In an effort to preserve the islands as they were centuries ago, the Galapagos have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. An eco tourism destination with rich heritage and great experiences to offer. 2.2 Presentation and evaluation of ecotourism strategies implemented by Galapagos Islands Ecotourism was already practiced since the 1960s in the islands, with two Ecuadorian inbound tour operators based in Quito, working together with an American outbound operator. The number of vessels was small, two cruise boats, twelve passengers 39 sailing vessel and a sixty-passenger luxury liner. At the same time the companies worked very closely with the Darwin station and the National Park. During the 1970s tourism infrastructure grew slowly, but from 1974 to 1980 it had a boom that almost double folded the amount of visitors. The foreign owned floating hotels represents the major activity and they are the strong economic and political influence for the islands. The principles or guidelines for Ecotourism projects in the Islands began to develop in the international arena in the 1990s. Internet search engines were used to identify ecotourism cruise operations in the Galapagos Islands using the search times ecotourism and Galapagos Islands. Adventure tours and nature tours were not used as search terms. As of November 1, 2009, fifteen company websites identified themselves as ecotours in the Galapagos Islands. That showed a big movement through internet for the development of tourism in Galapagos Islands. Education of the local population and visitors in the natural history of the Galapagos is a goal of the Station and the Park and programs are conducted in the Islands and on the mainland. An intensive course for naturalist guides, which is required to supervise visitors to Park sites, is conducted annually. Educated bilingual naturalist guides and auxiliary guides are taken place at Galapagos Islands, offering valuable information and help to visitors.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Comparison Between Grapes Of W :: essays research papers

People who feel trapped often do desperate things that affect themselves and others. “Fifth Business'; and “The Grapes of Wrath'; are two novels that both consist of trapped characters that are affected physically, emotionally, and socially. These elements are the very foundation of entrapment, which lead to the downfall of the characters. Mary from the novel “Fifth Business'; and Grampa from “The Grapes of Wrath'; are two characters that have a fatal flaw in their lives and characteristics that lead to their destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary and Grampa are the two characters that can be portrayed as being physically trapped. Mary is physically trapped by her own actions. When she meets a tramp in the gravel pit, she allows him to make love to her. This event causes her husband Amasa to resign from his job as a Baptist Minister due to shame and disgrace. After this happening Amasa keeps her tied in a harness so she cannot get out of the house. Mary’s actions affect and ruin her family life. Later in the story it is mentioned that she is in a small hospital behind bars and often under sedation due to her abusive behavior towards Dunstan Ramsay. Dunstan is the one who has cared most for her during her life; however, she considers him her worst enemy for keeping her son away from her. Her physical entrapment due to her behavior and actions, eventually lead to her death. Grampa is also physically trapped, because of his old age. His inability to move around freely has an impact on his lifestyle. Grampa is always trapped in his household and in the vehicle the family is travelling in to get to California. When he does not wish to travel, he is drugged and is forced to go on the journey. Now the entrapment can be seen in the truck; he is physically unable to do anything and ultimately dies. He is not able to go anywhere and is restricted to visit places due to his old age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emotional entrapment is one of the major factors in the destruction of the characters. Mary is emotionally trapped in the past. Even years after her son ran away, she still feels that he is a little boy. Her emotional condition ultimately drives her insane. Her insanity changes her thoughts and ideas. This can be seen when she blames Dunstan for keeping her son away from her.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

of mice and men Essay -- essays research papers

Does Steinbeck reflect a desperate society or does he offer some hope and optimism in his novel "Of Mice and Men" In Steinbeck's novel " Of Mice and Men" there are many different characters each expressing there own opinion on whether they are living in a desperate society or that there is indeed some hope and optimism in the world around them. At the time the book was set, which is in the 1930's great American depression, many people were unemployed and jobs were hard to come by. Steinbeck's novel centres around the exploits and happenings of a few men, and one women, at the time of this great depression. Steinbeck shows how the most unusual friendships can be created in the mist of this depression and sadness. Such as the strong friendship between Lennie and George. Which in the end, drove George to kill Lennie for his own good. Some characters such as Lennie show how many people at this time had dreams of owning there own piece of land and being able to retire in peace with no one to tell them what to do. This reflects the view of optimism and hope in the book. However some characte rs such as Crooks see the world around them as desperate and solitary. Crooks believes that no ones dream will come true and that nothing will ever get better, this is shown in the line, " Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land." (page 106) He also says that Lennie's dream will always stay as a dream and will never come true. The novel " Of Mice and Men" on the whole gives many views of hope and optimism and many views of the characters in the book living in a desperate society. I believe that the book balances itself out and that there are equal amounts of each view. The book being as equally optimistic as it is pessimistic. I will discuss how Steinbeck shows these views through his selection of characters and scene settings over the next few paragraphs. At the time the book Of Mice and Men is set many people in America and other countries had a very pessimistic outlook on life. The book reflects this view in its character opinions and scene settings. From 1929 to 1939 there were failed businesses, harsh poverty and many people were in long term unemployment. Many people made the migration to California looking for work. Most travelled alone, however, in the case of Lennie and George t... ...9) Curley,Slim or Carlson do not seem to show any dreams in the book and this could be counted as optamistic and hopeful in nothing will ever get worse or it coould be counted as a symbol of a desperate society in that nothing will ever get better. Curley's wife has two dreams. These being that she wants to talk to otheres, most probably women as she has lacked talking to another woman for a long time, this is shown in the line, "passion of communication" (page ??). Curley's wifes other dream is to be a star in Hollywood. Her dreams are mainly optamistic in that she believes in themm fully. This is shown in the line, "Maybe I will" (page ??). This is when she is talking to Lennie about her dream of being a movie star and she says that maybe she will be a movie star yet. This shows great optamism and hope in Curley's wife's character. The surroundings in Of Mice and Men are constant throughout. This shows how although the characters change dramaticly throught the course of the book nature always stays the same. Many thing which are at the start of the book such as, " of mice and men Essay -- essays research papers Does Steinbeck reflect a desperate society or does he offer some hope and optimism in his novel "Of Mice and Men" In Steinbeck's novel " Of Mice and Men" there are many different characters each expressing there own opinion on whether they are living in a desperate society or that there is indeed some hope and optimism in the world around them. At the time the book was set, which is in the 1930's great American depression, many people were unemployed and jobs were hard to come by. Steinbeck's novel centres around the exploits and happenings of a few men, and one women, at the time of this great depression. Steinbeck shows how the most unusual friendships can be created in the mist of this depression and sadness. Such as the strong friendship between Lennie and George. Which in the end, drove George to kill Lennie for his own good. Some characters such as Lennie show how many people at this time had dreams of owning there own piece of land and being able to retire in peace with no one to tell them what to do. This reflects the view of optimism and hope in the book. However some characte rs such as Crooks see the world around them as desperate and solitary. Crooks believes that no ones dream will come true and that nothing will ever get better, this is shown in the line, " Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land." (page 106) He also says that Lennie's dream will always stay as a dream and will never come true. The novel " Of Mice and Men" on the whole gives many views of hope and optimism and many views of the characters in the book living in a desperate society. I believe that the book balances itself out and that there are equal amounts of each view. The book being as equally optimistic as it is pessimistic. I will discuss how Steinbeck shows these views through his selection of characters and scene settings over the next few paragraphs. At the time the book Of Mice and Men is set many people in America and other countries had a very pessimistic outlook on life. The book reflects this view in its character opinions and scene settings. From 1929 to 1939 there were failed businesses, harsh poverty and many people were in long term unemployment. Many people made the migration to California looking for work. Most travelled alone, however, in the case of Lennie and George t... ...9) Curley,Slim or Carlson do not seem to show any dreams in the book and this could be counted as optamistic and hopeful in nothing will ever get worse or it coould be counted as a symbol of a desperate society in that nothing will ever get better. Curley's wife has two dreams. These being that she wants to talk to otheres, most probably women as she has lacked talking to another woman for a long time, this is shown in the line, "passion of communication" (page ??). Curley's wifes other dream is to be a star in Hollywood. Her dreams are mainly optamistic in that she believes in themm fully. This is shown in the line, "Maybe I will" (page ??). This is when she is talking to Lennie about her dream of being a movie star and she says that maybe she will be a movie star yet. This shows great optamism and hope in Curley's wife's character. The surroundings in Of Mice and Men are constant throughout. This shows how although the characters change dramaticly throught the course of the book nature always stays the same. Many thing which are at the start of the book such as, "

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Political Corruption Essay -- Ethical Issues, Public Tolerance

Political corruption is a serious problem limiting development in emerging economies. Many scholars have identified corruption as the new enemy of democratization, blaming it for limiting political and socio-economic development of most developing nations (Bardhan P.,1997; Seligson M., 2002, Canache D. and Allison M., 2005). Although no one can really measure â€Å"corruption† due to its discrete nature and the different discourses defining it, citizen’s perception of corruption can give us an idea of its direction. Manny current approaches to the study of corruption take into consideration the importance of corruption perception indexes (Johnston 2005, Acemoglu D. and Robinson J. 2001, Canache D. and Allison M., 2005), and the availability of democratic channels such as regular popular elections, freedom of the press, civic society organizations, private property rights and individual rights (O’Donell G, 1994). Corruption index reports such as Transparency Inte rnational, LatinoBarometro, Freedom House) show extensive public awareness of mass corruption in developing countries (TI, 2011; LB 2009; FH 2010). Awareness of corruption does not seem to trigger any major demands to fight corruption seriously. The question leading this literature review is why citizens, after accurately perceiving corruption and perceiving it as wrong, fail to adjust their opinions of, or simply ignore, the leaders or democratic institutions that govern them? The question of public tolerance of political corruption has assessed from different approaches. Some scholars, for instance, focus on the direct link between citizens and organization/leaders based on clientelism, nepotism, cronyism, and other informal ways of wealth redistribution (Kurer, O. 1993, R... ...ing the social construction of the â€Å"sense of ownership† of public institutions can lead us to the understanding of civil society’s sense of entitlement accountability. We have seen, for instance, how reviving civil society’s sense of entitlement to the public wealth have driven leaders in and out of power. Most of the South American leftist regimes depend on this â€Å"sense† of ownership/entitlement to win election and to stay in power. However, few of these countries show serious interest in institutionalizing the citizen-government relationship, especially if it threatens their stay in government. Further research, nonetheless, should help us understand how remittance, language and expectation of leaving the country contribute to the creation of a passive/inactive civil society. Researchers of both corruption and democratic theory should consider these approaches. Political Corruption Essay -- Ethical Issues, Public Tolerance Political corruption is a serious problem limiting development in emerging economies. Many scholars have identified corruption as the new enemy of democratization, blaming it for limiting political and socio-economic development of most developing nations (Bardhan P.,1997; Seligson M., 2002, Canache D. and Allison M., 2005). Although no one can really measure â€Å"corruption† due to its discrete nature and the different discourses defining it, citizen’s perception of corruption can give us an idea of its direction. Manny current approaches to the study of corruption take into consideration the importance of corruption perception indexes (Johnston 2005, Acemoglu D. and Robinson J. 2001, Canache D. and Allison M., 2005), and the availability of democratic channels such as regular popular elections, freedom of the press, civic society organizations, private property rights and individual rights (O’Donell G, 1994). Corruption index reports such as Transparency Inte rnational, LatinoBarometro, Freedom House) show extensive public awareness of mass corruption in developing countries (TI, 2011; LB 2009; FH 2010). Awareness of corruption does not seem to trigger any major demands to fight corruption seriously. The question leading this literature review is why citizens, after accurately perceiving corruption and perceiving it as wrong, fail to adjust their opinions of, or simply ignore, the leaders or democratic institutions that govern them? The question of public tolerance of political corruption has assessed from different approaches. Some scholars, for instance, focus on the direct link between citizens and organization/leaders based on clientelism, nepotism, cronyism, and other informal ways of wealth redistribution (Kurer, O. 1993, R... ...ing the social construction of the â€Å"sense of ownership† of public institutions can lead us to the understanding of civil society’s sense of entitlement accountability. We have seen, for instance, how reviving civil society’s sense of entitlement to the public wealth have driven leaders in and out of power. Most of the South American leftist regimes depend on this â€Å"sense† of ownership/entitlement to win election and to stay in power. However, few of these countries show serious interest in institutionalizing the citizen-government relationship, especially if it threatens their stay in government. Further research, nonetheless, should help us understand how remittance, language and expectation of leaving the country contribute to the creation of a passive/inactive civil society. Researchers of both corruption and democratic theory should consider these approaches.

Monday, September 16, 2019

LGUs Warned For Late Class Suspension Announcement Essay

MANILA, Philippines — Malacaà ±ang told local government units (LGUs) that the late announcement of class suspension in some areas on Tuesday should be the last time it should happen, reminding LGUs of their responsibility to announce class suspension as early as possible. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also asked the public to be more patient with LGUs because of the new system that transferred to the LGUs the responsibility of ordering the suspension of classes which was previously the function of the Department of Education (DepEd)â€Å"We are giving them a little more time to cope with the new system and we hope that this will be the last time,† Valte said. She said it would be up to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to impose sanctions on LGUs that failed to announce class suspension on time during inclement weather. According to Valte, local governments should make the announcement as early as 4:30 a.m. â€Å"We will be asking for a little bit of your patience because it is a new system and our LGUs would also need to get used to that system, but again we would like to remind them as well as a reminder from the DILG that the responsibility of suspending classes in your locality is now with your local chief executives,† she said. Valte said the responsibility of announcing class suspension was given to the local governments because the DepEd, which used to announce the suspension of classes, also gets information from LGUs whether or not to have class suspension in their respective areas. Valte said they had noticed the numerous complaints aired by the public in various media outfits on the late class suspension yesterday. She said DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo has vowed to remind LGUs of the new protocol.Valte said President Aquino is continuing to monitor the weather and flood situation, particularly in Metro Manila and nearby areas. Classes were suspended in most parts of the metropolis yesterday due to heavy rains which caused flooding in major thoroughfares. Valte, however, said there was no suspension of work in government offices. Based on the DepEd Order, Signal No. 1 will permit the suspension of classes in public and private pre-school and kindergarten classes in the affected areas while Signal No. 2 allows for the suspension of elementary and secondary classes. At Signal No. 3, classes in all levels are cancelled. LGU officials are supposed to announce cancellation of classes not later than 4:30 a.m. for whole-day cancellation and 11 a.m. for afternoon class suspension. Meanwhile, two dams in Luzon reached their critical water level due to continuous intense rains over the watershed areas yesterday, the state weather bureau said. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) hydrologist Max Peralta said one spillway gate of Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan had been releasing excess water since yesterday morning. As of 11 a.m. yesterday, Ipo Dam’s level reached 100.75 meters, or 0.11 meters lower than its spilling level of 100.86 meters. â€Å"Before 10 a.m., two gates were opened. Only one gate remains opened due to less rains over the area,† Peralta said â€Å"Water released from the Ipo dam is at 48 cubic meters per second. This is quite minimal and may not flood the downstream communities near the Angat River,† he explained. Likewise, water level in La Mesa Dam in Quezon City remained critical at 79.52 meters, as of 11 a.m. yesterday. This was 0.63 meters short of the 80.15-meter spilling level Dam authorities have already issued a red alert for possible flash floods among communities near the Tullahan River. Communities that may likely be affected by flooding are Fairview, Forest Hills, Quirino Highway, Papri, Goodwill, Sta. Quiteria, and San Bartolome in Quezon City, Barangay Ligon along North Luzon Expressway in Valenzuela and Malabon.â€Å"We have recorded continuous rains over the watershed area until Tuesday noon. From 12 noon last Monday to 12 noon on Tuesday, 108 mm rains have been recorded, which is considered intense rains,† Peralta said. Meanwhile in Malolos, Bulacan, Liz Mungcal, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) chief, reported to Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado, that at around 7 a.m. yesterday, the Ipo dam began releasing water at 109 cms per second. Mungcal said as a result the Bustos Dam released 120 cms at around 9 am. Also yesterday, adding that this amount of water released was safe and tolerable and would not be felt by the community. PAGASA-Weather Branch assistant chief Rene Patient said light to moderate rains will continue to affect Western Luzon today, Wednesday. â€Å"Rains will be scattered and light to moderate as the low pressure area (LPA) continues to move away from the country. Improving weather condition can be expected this Wednesday but Bataan, Zambales, Cavite, Mindoro, Batangas, and Metro Manila will still experience scattered rains,† Paciente explained. â€Å"We have experienced moderate to heavy rains early morning on Tuesday until the afternoon, but we can expect that light to moderate rains will prevail on Tuesday evening. Rains will continue to subside until Wednesday,† he added. The LPA was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 60 km northwest of Ambulong, Batangas or 50 km west-southwest of Manila yesterday morning.Paciente pointed out that the heavy rains were caused by the LPA, â€Å"packing more rains than winds. â€Å"Because it does not have enough wind to enhance the southwest monsoon, it was just the LPA that brought rains over Luzon,† he pointed out. He cited that from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. yesterday, rain monitoring stations recorded the highest rainfall in Infanta, Quezon at 48 mm, followed by San Jose, Mindoro (42 mm), Casiguran, Aurora (39 mm), Tanay, Rizal (25 mm), Science Garden in Quezon City (21 mm), and Baler, Aurora (20 mm).He said rains measuring 7.5 mm or above is considered heavy rains. A yellow warning signal was issued in Metro Manila on Tuesday that alerts authorities and residents of continuous light rains. The Quezon City government also suspended classes in the afternoon in the grade school and high school levels of both private and public schools. Greg Banacia, chief of the city’s Public Affairs and Information Service Office (Paiso), said that the city government has coordinated closely with the Division of City Schools and the 142 barangay disaster risk reduction coordination committee in recommending the suspension of classes throughout the city. However, some parents raised howls of protest, complaining that the city government and the barangay officials should have made the announcement much earlier. With the announcement being issued in the afternoon, the parents said their children would now have to wade on flooded streets and faced the risk of being afflicted with flu and similar diseases. â€Å"The rains were strong from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Classes should have been suspended the whole day. Now our children are soaking wet and may get sick,’’ one of the parents complained. Another parent who was passing by Quirino Elementary School in the city’s third district said she decided to let her four schoolchildren go home because of the strong rains and flooded streets. â€Å"I do not want to take the risk what with all the news of live electric wires falling onto innocent passers-by and having them electrocuted. I do not want that to happen to my children,’’ the parent said. Yesterday’s heavy rains also forced the cancellation of six domestic’s flight. The Media Affairs Division (MAD) of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport recorded three turn-around flight services out of Manila because of the weather disturbance, as of 12 noon yesterday; the MAD had recorded flight cancellations between Manila and Naga City as well as Mani la and Busuanga in Palawan. The management of Cebu Pacific cancelled a turn-around flight between Manila and Naga and a flight between Manila and Busuanga. At the same time, Air Philippines also cancelled a turn-around flight between Manila and Naga, with both airline companies citing bad weather as the cause of the cancellations. Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DoH) warned against the possible upsurge of leptospirosis as floods inundated parts of Metro Manila yesterday. Leptospirosis is an illness brought about by animal urine that enters the body through the eyes, nose, mouth and open wounds. Leptospirosis is characterized by flu, headache, red eyes, jaundice, and difficulty in urinating that may lead to acute kidney failure. Dialysis is usually given to those who are suffering from acute kidney failure. â€Å"Those who were exposed to contaminated flood waters get sick of leptospirosis one to two weeks later,† DoH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag said. â€Å"Leptospirosis outbreaks after floods occur within a month and may continue for several months,† he added. According to the Disease Surveillance Report of the DoH, leptospirosis cases from January 1 to May 26 reached 1,728 which are 211.35 percent higher than cases recorded in the same period last year, 555. Cases were highest in Northern Mindanao and Western Visayas. There were 75deaths reported within the said period. â€Å"Ages of cases ranged from less than two months to 93 years old. Majority of the cases reported were males. Most of the cases belonged to the 21 to 30 years age group,† The surveillance said. â€Å"Leptospirosis has low case fatality rate. However, it changes with advancing age and may reach 20 percent more in patients with jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and kidney damage who have not been treated with renal dialysis,† the report added. Leptospirosis without complications can be treated with antibiotics for a week. Afternoon classes yesterday in Marikina City, Pasig City, Pateros and Taguig City, in both public and private elementary and high schools, have been suspended by local officials due to the continuous rains. In Marikina City, Paul Sison, chief of the city’s Public Information Office (PIO), said Mayor Del De Guzman ordered the suspension of afternoon classes in both public and private schools in pre-school, elementary and high schools in Marikina City, due to the prevailing bad weather. However, the suspension of classes in the college level was left by the local city government to the discretion of school officials. According to the PIO, there are a total of 17 public elementary schools 14 public high schools in the city. Private elementary schools numbered 50 while there are 29 private high schools in the city. The local city government added that despite the continuous rains, the water level at the Marikina River as of 9:15 a.m. Tuesday remained normal. According to the PIO, the water level at the river was 13.9 meters above sea level based on the data gathered from the alarm gauge located at Barangay Sto. Nià ±o. Meanwhile in Pasig City, classes in both elementary and high school levels were also suspended by the local city government due to rains. In Pateros and Taguig City, the schools division superintendent of public schools in both areas also declared the suspension of classes in both public elementary and high schools for the afternoon shift. Acting Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta declared the suspension of afternoon classes in most areas brought by flooding that submerged all low-lying areas of the city yesterday. Oreta announced the suspension of classes in 16 elementary schools and two high schools in at least 14 barangays at 10 a.m. He likewise directed the local Disaster Risk and Reduction Unit to prepare for possible evacuation of families living along danger zones such as in West Riverside, Tullahan River, and Dona Juana Riverside all in Barangay Potrero.In Rizal province, the rains prompted local officials to suspend classes in schools in their respective localities yesterday. In Cainta, Mayor Ramon Ilagan ordered the suspension of afternoon classes from preparatory to high school levels for both public and private schools yesterday. The ACEM Montessori School located at Karangalan Village in Cainta suspended classes ahead of the local government’s announcement since the streets outside the school are flood-prone during heavy downpour. In Antipolo City, Mayor Danilo Leyble ordered the suspension of classes from preparatory up to high school, both private and public before noon yesterday due to heavy rains.Reli Bernardo, information officer of the Rizal provincial government, said flood-prone localities have been monitored for possible evacuation or assistance by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council upon the directive of Rizal Governor Casimiro â€Å"Jun† Ynares, III. The local disaster management teams of the respective localities have yet to receive reports of untoward incidents as a result of the heavy rains. Meanwhile, heavy rains that spawned floods in Metro Manila forced the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to suspend work in all trial courts, the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals starting at 1 p.mCourt Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said the suspension of work was based on a directive issued by Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio. The SC suspended its work starting at 3 p.m. According to Marquez, a 2010 administrative order issued by the SC â€Å"grants executive judges of trial courts outside Metro Manila to suspend work for their employees in the absence of an announcement from the national or local government and under certain circumstances so long as it is in line with existing rules and procedure. â€Å"He said judges have been instructed to report to the SC immediately any damage that may be wrought by the bad weather on court offices, equipment and records, and injuries that may be incurred by court officials and employees. The Senate was also forced to suspend work due to the heavy rains yesterday. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile issued the order allowing employees of the upper chamber to go home early so as to avoid being trapped by floods that inundated most parts of the metropolis. Though there were no scheduled public committee hearings, Enrile advised those with transactions at the Senate to postpone their plans. The Senate also closed public assistance center yesterday. Last year, the Senate was also forced to temporarily stop work due to typhoon Pedring. —with reports from Ellalyn B. De Vera, Freddie C. Velez, Chito A. Chavez, Jenny F. Manongdo, Francis T. Wakefield, Ed Mahilum, Anjo Perez, Rey G. Panaligan, Hannah L. Torregoza, and Nel B. Andrade URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/364509/lgus-warned-for-late-class-suspension-announcement#.URubrWphJpx

Evaluation Criteria and Information Technology Essay

 · Imagine you are a company controller.  · Identify the internal control reporting options.  · Create criteria against which the options may be evaluated. Include internal controls for IT. Run for a low level or uncontested office within the student government association in your sophomore year. Getting into the bottom rung easily can help you climb the ladder more your later years. Future employers are likely to never know who small your school was, but will love seeing that experience on your resume. This pack comprises ACC 544 Week 6 Reporting Options, Evaluation Criteria, and Information Technology Controls Business – Accounting  · Imagine you are a company controller.  · Identify the internal control reporting options.  · Create criteria against which the options may be evaluated. Include internal controls for IT. Run for a low level or uncontested office within the student government association in your sophomore year. Getting into the bottom rung easily can help you climb the ladder more your later years. Future employers are likely to never know who small your school was, but will love seeing that experience on your resume. This pack comprises ACC 544 Week 6 Reporting Options, Evaluation Criteria, and Information Technology Controls Business – Accounting  · Imagine you are a company controller.  · Identify the internal control reporting options.  · Create criteria against which the options may be evaluated. Include internal controls for IT. Run for a low level or uncontested office within the student government association in your sophomore year. Getting into the bottom rung easily can help you climb the ladder more your later †¦ To download this tutorial follow the link – https://bitly.com/12BvwtK Run for a low level or uncontested office within the student government association in your sophomore year. Getting into the bottom rung easily can help you climb the ladder more your later years. Future employers are likely to never know who small your school was, but will love seeing that experience on your resume. Business – Accounting  · Imagine you are a company controller.  · Identify the internal control reporting options.  · Create criteria against which the options may be evaluated. Include internal controls for IT.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Dante’s Inferno

Dante Algheri’s poem, the Inferno, attempts to perfect the concept of Divine Justice. Main Christian religious ideals and Dante’s political views and past encompass the concept of Divine Justice. Dante, born in 1265 in Florence, Italy, belonged to a family intensely involved in the political scene at a time of upheaval and unrest. Dante augmented his political standing by holding several public offices at a time of political unrest, and further, exiled from Florence. Dante’s political beliefs and past reflect the essence and spirit of divine justice in the Inferno. At the opening of Canto III, inscribed at the gate of Hell, reveals it as a place constructed by Divine Justice, Omnipotence, and Love. â€Å"Through me the way into the suffering city†¦ Justice urged on my high artificer; my maker was divine authority, the highest wisdom, and the primal love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (21). This inscription sets a religious tone, and implies that justice would be substantiated by strict doctrinal Christian values. While The Inferno, a strongly religious poem influenced by Christian morality, Dante incorporates his political ideals in his attempt to define Justice. Dante places numerous political figures through out the different levels of Hell. Farinata, the leader of the Gibellines in Florence, the party that opposed Dante’s Guelphs resides in the sixth level of Hell. Another Guelph, Brunetto Latini, Dante’s teacher at his university and a sodomite, resides in the seventh circle of Hell. Also, in the Seventh circle of Hell, Dante reveals his disdain for Florence, when he talks to three Florentine souls, expressing that arrogance reigns the damned city, â€Å"Newcomers to the city and quick gains have brought excess and arrogance to you, o Florence† (147). Dante reveals the corrupt political nature of Florence by placing numerous Florentine souls in Hell. More importantly, Dante reveals the epitome of injustice through the corruption and turmoil of Florence. While religion, a guiding force behind Dante’s vision of divine justice, Dante’s political views came to contradict important Christian doctrine and the Catholic Church. In the Eighth circle of Hell, Dante expresses his greatest criticism of the Catholic Church by placing Pope Nicholas III. Dante shows the Pope no pity, â€Å"stay as you are, for you are rightly punished,† (173) and further scorns all corrupt churchmen, â€Å"I’d utter words much heavier than these, because your avarice afflicts the world: it tramples on the good, lifts up the wicked. (173) Dante suggests a key factor to achieving justice, a separate but equal Church and state. In the ninth circle of Hell, Dante places the still living, Florentine souls Bocca defli Abata and Fra Alberigo, as traitors against their guests. Dante illustrates the worthiness of their punishment and the corruption they have caused in Florence, Ah, Genoese, a people strange to every constraint of custom, full o f all corruption, why have you not been driven from the world? For the foulest sprit of Romagna, I found one of you such that, for his acts, in soul he bathes already in Cocytus and up above appears alive, in body. (309) Dante expresses the intensity of the corruption in Florence, and demonstrates this by placing two Florentian souls in one of the worst levels of Hell. More importantly, by placing these souls in Hell prior to their physical death, Dante greatly contradicts orthodox Christian doctrine. More contradictory, in the absolute lowest level of Hell, Dante places Brutus and Cassius, who murdered Julius Caesar, next to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ. Dante equalizes both Caesar and Christ as benefactors. Just as Christ represents the perfect manifestation of religion, Caesar embodies the perfect manifestation of secular government. While Judas should clearly experience harsher punishment, based on Christian morality, he only experiences a slightly worse punishment than Brutus and Caissus. Clearly, Dante’s vision of morality unites both politics and religion. Dante’s political past with Florence immensely influences his writing in The Inferno. Dante repeatedly places Florentine souls in Hell, and further elaborates his political views and ideals, most notably, his view of a separate but equal Church and state. In the final level of hell Dante patently unites his political and religious views of moral justice by showing Lucifer and three greatest sinners of all time—Judas, the betrayer of Christ, and Cassius and Brutus, the betrayers of Julius Caesar. The incorporation of political ideals with religious ones encompasses Dante’s view of divine morality. Dante’s Inferno Using support from the piece, do you believe the penalties suit the crime? Yes , I believe it, because i believe in the rule â€Å"eye for an eye†, and i believe to and in the story explained me that God created hell to satisfy His need for justice suggests that He would apply the same sense of justice to the assignment of punishments. and one the line that Dante's Inferno used come from the inscription found above the gates of hell. It speaks of enduring suffering eternally, and warns the condemned to â€Å"abandon every hope† (canto III. ). The condemned are warned not to hold out hope for anything, including the hand of God Himself. The correlation that Dante establishes between the sins a soul commits on earth and their punishment in hell is impossible to overlook. The wrathful attack one another (canto VII), the gluttonous are forced to eat excrement (canto VI). The inscription over the gates of hell in canto III clearly states that God, or the Divine Authority, was urged on by His sens of justice to create hell (canto III. -5) God created hell to punish sinners, and the applicability of hell's specific punishments reinforce the idea that God made it for a definite purpose. What are some differences between Upper and Lower Hell? Hell is divided into two parts: the upper hell consisting of 5 circles and the lower hell composed of 4 circles. The Wretched of the lower hell are held â€Å"in anger† by God and not the upper hell. The upper hell has to do with sins of incontinence, which is dropped by a temptation. The Wretched of the upper hell have lost â€Å"control â€Å", that's mean with no resistance for his dedication to the fervor of passion, not a true evil inside, which excludes them from the â€Å"wrath. † The lower Hell is when a sin is planned that is, for the human act whose purpose is to affect another human being, with physical damage to the person or his things, or fraud that is also object of physical or moral harm. What are some differences between Dante's perspective of Hell and yours? The Dante's perspective of hell is depicted as a â€Å"funnel† made up of 9 concentric circles, beginning the journey through the largest of them as you go shrinking circles will, hell is divided into nine concentric circles, as below comes more cruelty is present. for me in general idea God created hell for the sinners and all that was committed here on earth will pay, but about 9 circles, I do not think, because I think there are many thousands of sin and between sin and other sin there is no difference, everything is paid in life, and that's why God created hell, the only salvation is Jesus Christ.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Coyote Blue Chapter 25~26

CHAPTER 25 Wheels, Deals, and the Persistance of Visions Las Vegas Calliope sat in her car shivering and watching. She was parked up the street from a Vegas Harley-Davidson shop where she had once gone with Lonnie on a delivery for the Guild. The street was deserted, and dark except for the odd glow of neon in the window of a closed pawnshop. Litter danced in dust devils of desert wind that had grown cold through the night. Calliope curled up in the driver's seat and tried to cover herself with one of Grubb's blankets. The smell that came off the blanket, a mix of sour milk and sweet baby, made her sad, and even though she had stopped breastfeeding months ago, her breasts ached for her son. She caught some motion out of the corner of her eye: two figures coming out of an alley onto the sidewalk: men. They were walking toward the car. Calliope slid down in the driver's seat. The mother instinct, the feeling of righteous invincibility that had filled her when she had come here, was leaking away. Right now she was not protecting her child; she was afraid for herself. As the men approached she saw that they were young toughs, swaggering with their own willingness to violence, even as they staggered from the effect of some drink or drug. She slid farther down in the seat, and when their shadows fell across the car's hood she twisted down and covered herself with Grubb's blanket. She heard their footsteps scrape and stop at the car, heard their voices above her. â€Å"Check out this motherfucker.† â€Å"Some tall dollars here – there's a grand in tires on this thing.† â€Å"Pop the hood.† Calliope heard someone trying to open the door. â€Å"Locked.† â€Å"Hang on a minute, I saw a brick back a ways.† Footsteps away. The car rocked with the continued yanking at the door handle. Calliope could hear the keys swinging in the ignition. The second man was coming back. Her breath caught. She waited for the crash. Sweat trickled down her forehead and dripped onto the gearshift knob. â€Å"No man, not the windshield. You can't drive it with a broken windshield.† â€Å"Oh, right.† Calliope braced herself for the impact of the brick, then something in her mind screamed NO! Her feet were still on the pedals. She pushed the clutch and gas to the floor, reached out from under the blanket, and turned the key. The Z roared to life, thundered, then screamed as she kept the gas to the floor. She sat up and glanced at the two startled men, who were cowering a few feet away. Instantly their surprise turned to anger and the taller of the two raised the brick. Calliope popped the clutch and fought to keep the car straight as the tires burned off on the asphalt. She heard a loud crack behind her and felt splinters of glass hit her from behind. She power-shifted through three gears, turning over the tires and kicking the car sideways with each slam of the shifter. By the time she backed off the gas the speedometer was threatening 110. There was a thumping coming from the engine and a high-pitched wailing coming from somewhere. She looked into the rearview mirror to see the hole in the back window and, behind it, flashing red and blue police lights. She hesitated only long enough to throw Grubb's blanket off her shoulders, then slammed the Z into third, floored it, and said a quick prayer to Kali the Destroyer. -=*=- If Lonnie Ray Inman had ever made the connection that whenever he read the words American Standard, spelled out in cornflower blue against white porcelain, he felt a sudden urge to urinate, he might have understood why Grubb, upon seeing white plastic bundles piled haphazardly on the motel-room floor, crawled doggedly to, and whizzed gleefully on, twenty thousand dollars' worth of methamphetamine. To Grubb, the bundles looked like Pampers, a fine and private place to pee. â€Å"Jesus Christ, Cheryl,† Lonnie yelled. â€Å"He crawled out of his diaper. Can't you keep an eye on him for a fucking minute?† â€Å"Fuck you. You watch him, stud. He's your kid.† Cheryl threw a pillow at Lonnie as she stormed naked into the bathroom. â€Å"You were the one that said you'd make a good mother. Throw me a towel.† Cheryl stood in front of the mirror working her jaw back and forth. â€Å"Get your own towel. I think you fucked up my jaw.† â€Å"I did? I didn't do shit.† â€Å"That's the problem, isn't it?† Cheryl had been lolling Lonnie's limpness around in her mouth for an hour, trying to get a reaction out of him, when she heard a sharp crack in her right ear and felt a painful grating in the back of her jaw. Lonnie grabbed a towel off the rack and went to where Grubb was happily splashing away on the drugs. Lonnie picked up the baby and put him on the bed, then went back to clean off the packages. â€Å"Oh, Christ. Cheryl, clean up the kid, will you?† â€Å"Fuck off.† Lonnie stormed into the bathroom and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back until she was staring up at him. He spoke to her through gritted teeth. â€Å"You clean up the kid now or I'll snap your fucking neck. You understand?† He yanked her head back further. â€Å"I've got to turn this shit early in the morning and then ride to South Dakota, and I need to get some fucking sleep. If I have to kill you to get it I will. You understand?† He relaxed his grip on her hair and she nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. He dragged her out of the bathroom and threw her on the bed with Grubb, then threw the towel in her face. â€Å"Now clean up the kid.† Lonnie took another towel and wiped each of the packages before packing them into Grubb's diaper bag. Cheryl rolled Grubb over and dried his bottom. â€Å"Last time I take a vacation with you,† she said. â€Å"No gambling, no shows, no fucking. I said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked at him. â€Å"No fu-† The word caught in her throat. He was aiming his pistol at her head. -=*=- Until he saw the orange 280Z rocket by him, the cop thought that the worst thing he was going to have to deal with on this shift was not smoking. He was wearing a patch on his left shoulder that was supposed to feed nicotine into his blood to keep him from craving cigarettes, but the urge to smoke was still there, so he fought it by eating donuts. He'd gained ten pounds in a week, and he was musing over the idea of inventing a donut patch when the sports car roared by him. Out of habit, he butted a half-eaten cruller in the ashtray, hit the lights and siren, and pulled out in pursuit. The Z already had about eight blocks on him and he estimated it was doing about a hundred. He was reaching for the radio to call ahead for help when a black Mercedes pulled out from a side street in front of him. He slammed on the brakes and threw the cruiser sideways, bringing it to a stop not ten feet from impact. The Mercedes was at a dead stop, blocking both lanes. The cop watched the Z's taillights fade in the distance on the other side. He killed the siren and switched the radio to the public address system. â€Å"Get out of the car, now!† He waited but no one got out of the car. In fact, he couldn't see a driver at all, yet the Mercedes was still running. He considered calling for backup, then decided to handle it himself. He stepped out of the cruiser with his gun drawn, careful to stay behind the car door. â€Å"You, in the Mercedes, get out slowly.† He saw something move in the car, but it didn't look like a person. Holding his revolver at ready, he shined his flashlight at the car. Movement, but no driver. He saw three possibilities. The driver was unconscious, or was waiting to peel away when he moved away from the cruiser, or was lying in wait with a shotgun to blow his head off. He decided it would be safest to assume the last, and without further warning he crept to a spot just under the open driver's-side window. He heard a scratching sound just above his head and came up, gun first, to catch a glimpse of the back end of the skunk just as it sprayed him in the face. As he wiped his eyes he heard laughing and the Mercedes pulling away. -=*=- Clyde, owner of Clyde's Cash for Your Car, said, â€Å"No offense, chief, but you don't see many Indians in Mercedes.† He kicked a tire and bent down to look at the lines of the paint job for signs of bodywork, keeping a hand on his head to steady his toupee. â€Å"Looks clean.† â€Å"It's a good car,† Coyote said. Clyde narrowed his eyes and smiled. Clyde had seen a little too much sun in his sixty years and this sly smile, what he used to call his ;gotcha; look, made him look like an old Chinese woman. â€Å"And you have the title, right, chief?† â€Å"Title?† â€Å"That's what I thought.† Clyde stepped up to Coyote, his head about level with the trickster's sternum. â€Å"Are you a policeman, or are you working in the service of any law-enforcement agency?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Well then, let's do some business.† Clyde grinned. â€Å"Now, you and I know that we could fry eggs on this car, am I right? Of course I am. And you're not from around here, or you'd have your own connections and wouldn't be here, am I right? Of course I am. And you don't want to take this car out on the interstate where the state patrol would spot it as hot in a second? No, you don't.† He paused for effect, just to make sure everyone knew he was in control. â€Å"I'll give you five thousand dollars for it.† â€Å"Not enough,† said Coyote. â€Å"Look, this car has a machine that tells you where you are.† Clyde glanced inside the Mercedes at the navigation system, then shrugged. â€Å"Chief, you see all these cars?† Clyde gestured to a dozen cars on his lot. Coyote looked around and nodded. â€Å"Well, all these cars got something that'll tell you where you're at. I call them windows. You look out of 'em. Now, do you want to sell a car?† â€Å"Six thousand,† Coyote said. Clyde crossed his arms and waited, tapped his foot, smiled into the night sky. â€Å"Five,† Coyote said. â€Å"I'll be right back with your money, chief. Can I have my boy give you a lift somewhere?† â€Å"Sure,† Coyote said. Clyde went into his office, a mobile home whose entire side functioned as Clyde's sign. In a moment he returned with a stack of hundreds. He counted them into Coyote's hand. A greasy teenager pulled up in an old Chevy. â€Å"This is Clyde junior,† Clyde said. â€Å"He'll take you wherever you need to go.† â€Å"It's a good car,† Coyote said. He handed the keys to Clyde and climbed into the Chevy. As they pulled away Coyote dug into his medicine pouch and pulled out a small plastic box that had once been on Sam's key ring. He pushed the red button once, and a chirping sound came from under the hood of the Mercedes to signal that the alarm was armed. -=*=- Kiro Yashamoto stood in the corner of the treatment room watching two doctors battle for a man's life. One doctor was young, white, and wore a stethoscope around his neck. He was fighting death with electronic monitors, oxygen, a battery of injected drugs, and a degree from Michigan State. The other doctor was an old Indian man, as wrinkled and weathered as the patient, who fought with prayers, songs, and by blowing on the patient through a mouthful of charcoal. He held no degree, but had been called to healing by the trumpeting of a white elk in the Spirit World. Despite the difference in their methods, the two worked as a team. Kiro could see that they respected each other, and he wished that his children were here to see these two cultures working together not for profit, but out of a common compassion. Alas, he had left them outside in the clinic's small waiting room, and neither of the doctors would allow more people in here. A tall, lanky Indian man dressed in denim stood in the corner opposite Kiro. His hair was cut short and shot with gray. Kiro guessed he was in his sixties, but it was hard to tell with these people. He saw Kiro watching and quietly crossed the room. â€Å"My name is Harlan Hunts Alone,† he said, extending his hand. â€Å"How do you do,† Kiro said. He took Harlan's hand and bowed slightly, then caught himself in the inappropriate gesture and felt embarrassed. Harlan patted Kiro's shoulder. â€Å"Pokey is my brother. I wanted to thank you for bringing him here. The doctor said he would have died without your help.† â€Å"It was nothing,† Kiro said. â€Å"Just the same,† Harlan smiled. The medicine man stopped singing and Harlan quickly turned to him. â€Å"He's gone,† the medicine man said. The white doctor looked at the monitor. A steady blip played across the screen. â€Å"He's fine. His blood pressure's coming up.† â€Å"Not dead,† said the medicine man. â€Å"Gone.† Pokey began mumbling, then speaking. Kiro could not hear what he was saying through the oxygen mask. â€Å"That's not Crow. What is that?† asked the white doctor. â€Å"Navaho,† said the medicine man. â€Å"He doesn't speak Navaho,† Harlan said. â€Å"He doesn't even speak Crow.† â€Å"He doesn't here,† the medicine man said. â€Å"He's not here.† On a stone wall: carvings of dead gods and the shadow of a man with the head of a dog. Pokey looks, but there is no figure casting the shadow. He turns to run. â€Å"Stop,† the shadow says. Pokey stops but does not look back. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"Tell him there is death where he goes.† â€Å"Tell who?† â€Å"The trickster. Tell him. And tell him I am coming back.† â€Å"Who are you?† The shade and the wall are gone. Ahead lie prairies. Pokey runs, calls, â€Å"Old Man Coyote!† â€Å"What? I'm busy. Twice in a few days is too much. Don't talk to me for another forty years.† â€Å"A shadow said to tell you that there is death where you are going.† â€Å"A shadow?† â€Å"A man with the head of a dog. I thought it was you playing a trick on me.† â€Å"Nope. So he said that there is death where I am going. He ought to know. Anything else?† â€Å"He said to tell you that he is coming back.† â€Å"Well, no shit. You have to go, old man. You're dying again.† â€Å"I am?† â€Å"Yeah. Didn't you drink that Kool-Aid I left you?† â€Å"There was no water. Who was-â€Å" â€Å"Go now.† -=*=- The green line went flat. The monitor screeched out an alarm. â€Å"We're losing him,† the doctor said. He grabbed a syringe, filled it with epinephrine, and drove it into Pokey's chest. The medicine man began to sing a death song. CHAPTER 26 Hang with a Horse Thief, Wake Up Walking Las Vegas Minty Fresh was staring at nothing and thinking ;Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; when the girl behind the desk grabbed his arm, startling him. â€Å"Are you all right?† she said. â€Å"Fine, what is it?† â€Å"God, on the phone, for you.† â€Å"Thank you.† Minty picked up the phone and tried to drive ;Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; out of his head. â€Å"M.F. here,† he said. â€Å"Your Indian is back in the building, main entrance. Keep an eye on him.† â€Å"Right.† Minty hung up. He checked his watch and realized that he must have been staring for ten minutes before the call. Why couldn't he shake that song? He hadn't heard it since his grandmother had taken him to see Song of the South when he was a child. Grandma had heard the Uncle Remus stories of Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit from her own grandmother, who had been a slave. She said that the stories came with the slaves from West Africa. There, Br'er Rabbit was known as Esau, the trickster. Maybe it was the Indian talking about tricking people that had set it off. Since the Indian had come into the casino, Minty had felt uneasy. It was as if the Indian could look into his soul and see secrets that he himself did not know. He looked up to see the Indian coming through the lobby. Minty smiled. â€Å"Mr. Coyote, you're back.† â€Å"How do you know my name?† Minty was spun by the question. He felt his shell of cool detachment cracking and dropping off like old paint. â€Å"I†¦ I don't know†¦.† â€Å"It's okay,† Coyote said. â€Å"I want everyone to know my name. Not like you. You carry your name like a man with a knife hidden in his boot. You should wear your name like a red bow tie.† â€Å"I'll try to remember that,† Minty said, trying to sound patronizing. If the casino knew his real name they'd have him greeting people in clown shoes and a purple wig within the hour. A red bow tie indeed. Coyote fanned a handful of hundreds and waved them under Minty's nose. â€Å"Did you save my place at the table?† â€Å"I'm sure we can find you a suitable place. Follow me.† Minty led Coyote to an out-of-the-way crap table where only a few players were gathered. One of them, a lanky middle-aged man in a cowboy hat and jeans, turned and looked Coyote up and down, then scoffed and turned to the stickman, shaking his head in disgust. â€Å"Prairie niggers,† he said under his breath. Minty moved up behind the cowboy and bent over until his mouth was even with the cowboy's ear. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† The cowboy spun around and stumbled back against the table, his eyes wide. â€Å"Nothin',† he said. Minty remained crouched over, his face almost touching the cowboy's. â€Å"Is there a problem, sir?† â€Å"No. No problem,† the cowboy said. He turned and scraped his chips off the table and quickly walked away. Minty stood slowly and caught the stickman glaring at him. A wave of embarrassment burned over him. That sort of direct intimidation was completely out of line: bad form, bad judgment. He imagined that there would be a call from God waiting for him when he returned to the desk. He turned to Coyote, who was staring down the front of a cocktail waitress's dress. Minty said, â€Å"Can we get you something to drink?† â€Å"Umbrellas and swords, lots of them.† â€Å"Very good.† Minty nodded to the cocktail waitress. â€Å"Mai tai, extra fruit.† Coyote handed his cash to the dealer. â€Å"Black ones.† The dealer counted the money and handed it to the supervisor. â€Å"Changing five thousand.† The other players looked up at Coyote, then Minty, then quickly looked down to avoid eye contact. A pair of fresh-faced newlyweds stood at the head of the table, exchanging kisses and whispers. The stickman pushed the dice to the woman, who giggled as she picked them up. â€Å"That's my lucky girl,† her husband said, kissing her ear. â€Å"New shooter coming out,† the stickman said. â€Å"Is she lucky?† Coyote asked. â€Å"She's made me the luckiest man in the world,† the young husband said. The girl blushed and buried her face in her husband's shoulder. Minty found that he was irritated by the couple's fawning and wondered why. He saw it ten times a day: newlyweds at the tables acting like they were the first to discover love, glued together for a few days of starry-eyed public foreplay between bouts in a hotel bed. And they'd be back in twenty years, separating when they hit the door, her locking onto a slot machine while he played blackjack and dreamed of sneaking off to a jiggle show. Minty wanted to warn them that time would make hypocrites of them. One day you'll wake up and find that you're married to a husband and a father, a wife and a mother, and you'll wonder whatever happened to the lover that you swapped spit and sweetness with over a crap table. But why did it matter? It never had before. It's this Indian, Minty thought. He's making me lose it. Coyote placed all his chips on the pass line. â€Å"Are you lucky?† he said to the bride. She smiled and nodded. Her husband placed a two-dollar chip on the pass line. â€Å"Go ahead, honey.† He held her shoulders, bracing her against the weight of the dice, and the girl let fly. â€Å"Two! Snake eyes! No pass!† The stickman raked in the bets. Coyote dove over the table and caught the woman by the throat, riding her to the floor. The husband stepped aside as the light of his life went down. â€Å"You are not lucky!† Coyote screeched. â€Å"You lost all my money! You are not lucky!† The girl clawed at his face with lace-gloved hands. Minty Fresh caught Coyote by the back of the neck and pulled him off the girl with one hand, waving away the security jesters who had appeared with the other. â€Å"I've got this handled.† He nodded to the girl on the floor and the jesters helped her to her feet. Minty dragged Coyote away from the table. â€Å"She lied. She lied.† â€Å"Perhaps you'd like to rest for a while,† Minty said, as if he was taking Coyote's hat rather than dragging him across the floor. â€Å"Can we get you something to eat? The dining room is closed, but our snack bar is open.† Minty was acutely aware that he was in the process of losing his job. He should have turned the Indian over to security. After years as the officer of order, he was falling apart. â€Å"I need to get more money,† Coyote said, calming down now. Minty set Coyote on his feet, keeping a restraining hand on the trickster's neck. â€Å"You're sharing a room with Mr. Hunter, aren't you? I'll have the bellman take you up to the room.† Coyote thought for a moment. â€Å"No, my money is at another hotel and I don't have a car.† â€Å"That's not a problem, sir. I'll call around a limo and drive you myself.† Minty steered Coyote out a side exit of the casino and walked him to the valet booth, where he ordered a limo from the attendant. In a moment a stretch Lincoln pulled up to the curb and an eager squire held the door while Coyote climbed in. Minty adjusted the seat before climbing in; still, his knees were up around the wheel. As he drove he tried to form some sort of rationalization for his mistakes – something to wash him clean with the management. Perhaps the Indian would lose enough money to justify the lapses of judgment. â€Å"Where are you staying, sir?† â€Å"The Frontier.† Minty nodded and pulled out onto the strip. â€Å"Call Camelot,† he said. A series of beeps sounded in the car and a woman's voice came on the speaker. â€Å"Camelot.† â€Å"Desk, please.† â€Å"Thank you.† A series of clicks and a different voice. â€Å"Camelot, reservations.† â€Å"This is M.F.,† Minty said. â€Å"I'm taking a customer to the Frontier. I'll return in a few minutes.† â€Å"Very good, sir. There's a message for you from upstairs. Do you want me to put you through?† â€Å"No. Thank you.† There was no sense in rushing to the mailbox if you knew there was a letter bomb waiting for you. â€Å"Off,† Minty said. There was a click. Coyote was hanging on the back of the seat, looking down at the cellular phone. â€Å"You can talk to machines?† â€Å"Just this one. Voice activated so you can keep your hands on the wheel.† â€Å"I can talk to animals. Can you take other forms?† Minty smiled. The Indian was a nut case, but at least he was an amusing nut case. â€Å"Actually,† he said. â€Å"This is another form. In real life I'm a short Jewish woman.† â€Å"I wouldn't have known,† Coyote said. â€Å"It must be the sunglasses.† He looked at the dashboard. â€Å"Does this car tell you where you are?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Ha! Mine is better.† â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Follow that car,† Coyote said, pointing ahead to a 280Z with a shattered back window turning off the strip. For a second, Minty was tempted to follow the car, then he caught himself. â€Å"I can't do that, sir.† What was it about this Indian that he could twist the world? If he wasn't fired when he got back to the casino, Minty decided he would hire a hooker to rub his temples and tell him that everything was okay until he believed it or ran out of money, whichever came first. Maybe the Indian was right about people wanting to be tricked. â€Å"I need cigarettes,† Coyote said. â€Å"We have complimentary cigarettes at the casino, sir.† â€Å"No. I need some now. At that store.† Coyote pointed to a minimart across the strip. â€Å"As you wish,† Minty said. He pulled the limo into the minimart and turned off the engine. Coyote said, â€Å"I'm out of money until we go to my motel.† â€Å"Allow me, sir,† Minty opened the car door and unfolded himself onto the curb. â€Å"I'll pay you back.† â€Å"Not necessary, sir. Camelot will take care of it.† â€Å"Salems,† Coyote said. â€Å"A carton.† Minty closed the door and walked into the minimart. He found the cigarettes, then grabbed a package of Twinkies off the shelf for himself. He checked the date on the Twinkies: July 1956. Good. They had another thirty years of guaranteed freshness. He fell in line behind a drunk man who was waving a gas card at the clerk. â€Å"Look, man, it's this simple. You charge my card for forty bucks' worth of gas and give me twenty in cash. You get a hundred-percent profit.† Minty listened to the clerk try to explain why this couldn't be done and smiled in sympathy, as if to say, â€Å"They lose their money, then they lose their minds.† The clerk rolled his eyes as if to say, â€Å"This might take a while.† Minty looked outside to check on his passenger and saw the limo backing away from the curb. He tossed the cigarettes and Twinkies on the counter and ran out, losing his glasses as he ducked to get through the doors. He reached the street as the limo accelerated out of reach, then stopped and stared down the strip, watching the Lincoln's taillights until they blended into a million other lights. Acid panic rose in his throat, then subsided, replaced by the resolved calm of the doomed. He turned and walked slowly back to the minimart to find his glasses. As he reached the door, the drunk, his gas card still in hand, stumbled through and Minty caught him by the shoulders to avoid a collision. The drunk looked up, then tore himself away and stepped back. â€Å"Jesus Christ, boy! What happened to your eyes? You been sittin' too close to the TV?† Minty raised his hand to cover his golden eyes, then dropped it and shrugged. â€Å"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,† he said with a grin. -=*=- Dawn was starting to break and the sky was turning from red to blue. Coyote sat in the limo, which was parked a block behind Calliope's orange Z, which was parked a block away from Nardonne's Harley-Davidson Shop. Lonnie's bike was parked outside. â€Å"Call Sam,† Coyote said. Nothing happened. He pounded on the car phone. â€Å"I said, call Sam.† Nothing happened. â€Å"Call Sam's room,† Coyote said to the phone. Nothing happened and the trickster yipped with anger. â€Å"Call Sam's room or I'll rip your cord off.† He picked up the receiver and beat it on the dashboard, then he saw a sticker with the casino's logo stuck to the receiver. â€Å"Call Camelot,† he said. The phone lit up and beeped through some numbers. The phone rang once and a woman answered. â€Å"Camelot.† â€Å"I want to talk to Sam.† â€Å"Do you have a last name, sir?† â€Å"No, just Coyote.† â€Å"I'm sorry, sir, we have no guest listed under Coyote.† â€Å"Not me, I'm here. His name is Hunter.† â€Å"We have no Coyote Hunter. There's a Samuel Hunter.† â€Å"That's him.† â€Å"One minute while I connect you.† â€Å"I'll bet you're ugly in person.† â€Å"What?† Sam's sleepy voice came over the phone. â€Å"Sam, I found the girl.† â€Å"Where? Where are you? What time is it? Who's ugly?† â€Å"Morning. You have to come here. I'm at a place called Nardonne's Harley-Davidson Shop. The girl is here, and the motorcycle with her picture on it is parked outside.† â€Å"Give me directions. I'll be there in a few minutes. Keep Calliope there. I have to check out and get the car.† â€Å"Take a cab.† â€Å"You didn't take my car?† â€Å"No, this car is better. You can talk to the phone. Your car is gone. I sold it.† â€Å"You what?† â€Å"Take a cab. I'm in a big black car. Off.† The phone clicked, cutting Sam off in the middle of a tirade. Coyote didn't know whether the girl had a phone in her car, but he decided to try. â€Å"Call the girl,† he said to the phone. The phone beeped through the numbers. â€Å"This is Carla,† a sexy woman's voice said. â€Å"Would you like this on your phone bill or your credit card?† â€Å"Phone bill,† Coyote said. â€Å"If you like leather, press one,† Carla said. â€Å"Twins, press two. For California blondes, press three. Big bottoms, press-† Coyote picked up the handset and pressed three. Another sexy voice came on, â€Å"Hi, I'm Brandy, who are you?† â€Å"Coyote.† â€Å"Would you like to know what I'm wearing, Coyote?† â€Å"No, I have to tell the girl to stay here until Sam comes.† â€Å"We'll take as long as Sam needs. Is Sam getting hard?† â€Å"No, he's pissed off about his car.† There was a pause and the sound of her lighting a cigarette. Brandy said, â€Å"Okay. Let's start over.† -=*=- Minty waited for the second limo at the pay phone outside the minimart. He flipped through his address book until he found the detective's number, then dialed. The phone rang twice, then there was the sound of the receiver rattling and falling. Finally a sleepy, hostile man's voice said, â€Å"What?† Minty said, â€Å"Jake, this is M.F., at Camelot.† â€Å"Fuck that. This is harassment. It's†¦ it's five thirty in the morning. You said I could have all the time I needed to pay.† â€Å"I'm not calling about that, Jake. I need a favor. One of the limos has been stolen.† â€Å"Why call me at home? You guys have Lo-Jack beacons in those limos, don't you? Call the station. They'll track it and have it back in half an hour.† â€Å"I can't call the station, Jake. This is delicate. I need to get it back without bringing the police into it.† â€Å"You're fucked. The Lo-Jack trackers are installed in the cruisers.† â€Å"Can you put one in one of our limos? Just until I find the stolen one.† â€Å"No way. The tracking system takes hours to install.† â€Å"Jake, I need a favor. Just a favor. I haven't mentioned what you owe us.† â€Å"This strong-arm shit isn't your style, M.F.† â€Å"But you can get use of a unit with the Lo-Jack tracker in it?† â€Å"Meet me at the station in a half hour.† â€Å"What's the range on the tracker?† â€Å"About a mile, depending on the terrain. Farther in the desert. You're not going to be able to cover much area with only one car.† â€Å"Then make it fifteen minutes. And Jake-â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"Thank you.† Minty hung up. So much for the police, he thought. Now if I can get it back before the casino finds out. If not, I guess it's time to go shopping for a red bow tie. -=*=- Calliope was sure she could do it: if Grubb was trapped under a Chrysler she could lift the car and pull him out. You heard about it all the time: Hundred-Pound Mom Lifts Two-Ton Car to Save Trapped Tot. It seemed to happen often enough that it should be part of Lamaze training. â€Å"Okay, now breathe, focus, grab the bumper†¦ now lift!† Yep, she could do it – a Chrysler on each arm if she had to. She wasn't so sure about getting Grubb back from Lonnie. Maybe if that other woman wasn't with him, being so hostile and negative. She was feeling a little better now that the sun was coming up. She'd been shivering since the punks had broken her back window, from nerves and the cold. And she didn't have enough gas money to leave the Z running with the heater on while she waited for Lonnie to come out of the Harley shop. She might not have enough to make it home as it was. Besides, something was wrong with the car; she'd tached it too high while running from the police and something had given way in clatter and smoke. As she watched, Lonnie came through the front door of the shop carrying Grubb's diaper bag. Calliope swallowed hard, trying to push down her fear – fear of failure. She got out of the Z. The woman followed Lonnie holding Grubb in her arms. Calliope ran toward them, then stopped when she saw the woman's face. It was like one painful purple bruise with eyes. â€Å"Lonnie,† Calliope called. Lonnie and the woman turned. Grubb saw his mother and reached out. Lonnie pushed down Grubb's hand. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"I came to get Grubb. You shouldn't have taken him.† â€Å"Talk to the judge. He's mine half the time.† He was right. Calliope had gone to Social Services once before when Lonnie took Grubb on a road trip. Her caseworker told her that the law couldn't do anything to help. â€Å"You don't want him. You just want to hurt me.† Lonnie laughed, threw his head back, and shook with laughter. For all the times he had postured and threatened and screamed and pounded, he had never really scared her. She was scared now. â€Å"You shouldn't take him on a run like this, Lonnie. What if you get busted?† â€Å"Run? What run? We're just on a little family camping trip, aren't we, Cheryl?† The woman tucked her face behind Grubb. â€Å"Give him to me, please,† Calliope pleaded. Lonnie climbed onto his bike grinning and hit the starter. The bike fired up and Lonnie shouted over the engine, â€Å"Go home. I'll bring him back in a few days.† Cheryl climbed on behind him and he dropped the bike into gear. â€Å"No!† Calliope started to run after them. Lonnie gunned the bike and roared off. She shuffled to a stop and saw Grubb reaching out over Cheryl's shoulder. Her eyes blurred with tears. She turned and ran to her car, wiped her eyes, and saw the limo parked down the street. Someone was sitting in it, just watching her. â€Å"What are you looking at?† she screamed. -=*=- Sam made the chambermaid help him search the hotel room for his wallet for fifteen minutes before giving up and leaving her with a promise of a tip on the credit card. He was thinking This is like being stuck in some Kafkaesque Roadrunner cartoon when the taxi from the Acme Cab Company pulled up, the driver wearing a fez. Animated by Hieronymus Bosch, Sam thought. In the cab, he said, â€Å"Do you know a Harley-Davidson shop called Nardonne's?† â€Å"Bad part of town. Cost you double.† â€Å"It's broad daylight.† â€Å"Oh, it is. My shift is over. Sorry.† â€Å"Okay, double,† Sam said. Why quibble? He couldn't pay the guy anyway. When they pulled in behind the limo, Sam said, â€Å"Wait here, I'll get your money.† He got out and looked down the street to the Harley shop, then went up to the limo and pounded on the blacked-out window. The window whirred down. Coyote grinned. â€Å"Where is she?† â€Å"Took off. Just now.† â€Å"Why didn't you stop her?† â€Å"She didn't want to be stopped. We'll find her – she's following the biker, and we know where he's going.† The cabdriver beeped his horn. â€Å"Give me my wallet,† Sam said. Coyote handed the wallet out the window. Sam rifled through it and came up empty. â€Å"There's no money left.† â€Å"Nope,† Coyote said. The cabdriver leaned on the horn. Sam signaled for him to wait, ran around to the other side of the limo, and got in. â€Å"Go,† Sam said. â€Å"What about the cabdriver?† â€Å"Fuck him.† â€Å"That's the spirit.† Coyote started the limo and peeled away. He checked the rearview mirror. â€Å"He's not following.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"He's talking to his radio. Got a smoke?† Sam dug a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, tapped one out, and lit it. â€Å"Where's my car?† â€Å"I sold it.† â€Å"You can't sell it without the title.† â€Å"I got a good deal, five thousand.† â€Å"Are you nuts? Five thousand wouldn't buy the stereo.† â€Å"I needed to win my money back. I won a lot of money on the machine you put the cards in, but a shaman with a stick won it back from me.† Sam butted his cigarette in the ashtray and hung his head in his hands, trying to let it all sink in. â€Å"So you sold my car for five grand?† â€Å"Yep.† Coyote snatched the mashed cigarette and relit it. â€Å"And where is that money?† â€Å"The shaman had strong cheating medicine.† â€Å"That's the kind of thinking that got Manhattan sold for a box of beads.† â€Å"So they still tell that story? It was one of my best tricks. They gave us many beads for that island. They didn't know that you can't own land.† Sam sighed and slouched in his seat, thinking he should be angry, or worried about his car, but strangely he was more concerned with catching Calliope. They were on the highway now. Sam glanced at the speedometer. â€Å"Slow down to the speed limit. We don't need cop trouble. I'm assuming you stole this car.† â€Å"I counted coup: stealing a tethered horse.† â€Å"Tell me,† Sam said. Coyote told the story of Minty and the limo, turning it into a fable full of danger and magic, making himself the hero. He was coming to the part about the car phone when it rang. Sam reached for the answer button and pulled back his hand in disgust. â€Å"What's this gunk all over the phone? It looks like-â€Å" â€Å"I'm not to that part of the story yet.† â€Å"Then you answer it.† â€Å"Speak,† Coyote said, and the phone lit up and clicked. â€Å"Is that you, Brandy?† A very deep, calm voice came over the speakerphone, â€Å"I want the car back, now. Pull over and stop. I'm a couple of minutes behind you. The police are-â€Å" â€Å"Off,† Coyote said. The phone hung up. Coyote turned to Sam. â€Å"This is a good car. You can talk to the phone. Her name is Brandy. She's very friendly.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Sam said. â€Å"That wasn't her.† â€Å"Pull off at the next exit.†