Environment and renewable energy

EnvironmentThe word environment means ‘surroundings ‘ . It includes everything that we depend on during the class of our life such as air, H2O, dirt, works, animate beings etc. The most serious environmental job of today is the pollution of air, H2O and dirt, lives of endangered species of workss and animate beings, planetary heating, interrupting of ozone bed, acid rains and devastation of tropical rain woods.Renewable EnergyA really utile method to minimise the environmental pollution is the usage of renewable energy systems alternatively of the conventional resources. Renewable energy by its definition agencies, â€Å"Renewable energy is derived from natural procedures that are replenished invariably. In its assorted signifiers, it derives straight from the Sun, or from heat generated deep within the Earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, air current, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermic resources, and bio fuels and H derived from renewable resources.† In kernel, a phenomenon uses non-pollutant beginning as fuel alternatively of conventional fuel like oil and coal.Solar EnergyThe most popular and simple manner of alternate energy is solar energy i.e. the electricity produced by Sun ‘s radiation. There are two methods of accomplishing the above-named end,Photovoltaic CellsA photovoltaic cell alterations sunlight straight into electricity. These cells usually produces 1 – 2 Watts of electricity which is non sufficient plenty to run contraptions, hence a figure of such cells are bound together to organize big faculties and even these faculties can be connected to organize arrays to bring forth needed power end product. PV systems can easy be used at any distant site like RF Stationss. They are besides used to power tickers, reckoners, route marks and street lamps. Electricity produced by these faculties green goodss Direct Current ( DC ) whereas the normal place contraptions that we use are Alternate Current ( AC ) applia nces hence an inverter is required to change over the DC into AC.Solar Power PlantsThey indirectly generate electricity when the heat from solar thermic aggregators is used to heat a fluid that produces steam to travel the turbine that is connected to ordinary generators. Restrictions The end product of solar energy systems depend on sum of solar radiation produced by the Sun at that peculiar site and at that peculiar clip of the twelvemonth. Furthermore, the PV faculties are merely 18 % efficient nevertheless ; attempts are being made to increase their efficiency to a singular degree.Wind MillsThe windmill systems includes wind turbine with a conventional generator. The air current fluxing green goodss mechanical energy in a turbine that is converted into electricity from a conventional generator coupled to the turbine. These systems works basically the same as coevals from fossil fuels except that alternatively mechanical energy produced by utilizing steam it is produced from the burning of fossil fuels, the mechanical motion is produced by the air current flow. Modern air current turbines range from 600 kilowatts to 5 MW of power end product, although turbines with rated end product of 1.5-3 MW have become really common for commercial usage. Restrictions The power end product of a turbine is a map of the regular hexahedron of the air current velocity, so as air current velocity additions, power end product additions. Areas where air currents are stronger and more changeless, such as offshore and high height sites are preferable locations for air current farms. Since air current velocity is non changeless, the energy production besides varies.Nuclear Power PlantsNuclear power workss usually use atomic fission reaction to bring forth energy. In fission the karyon of big, atoms such as uranium 235 or Pu 239, is split into two or more smaller karyon bring forthing big sum of kinetic energy along with free neutrons and gamma radiation. The free neutrons are used to bring forth more such fission reactions. A chilling system removes heat from reactor nucleus and transports it to the country where thermic energy is used to heat unstable bring forthing steam to revolve the turbine coupled with conventional generators. Issues It is fact that the atomic waste is risky to the environment but these hazards can be eliminated by utilizing improved method to manage the waste merchandises. Furthermore, atomic reactors produce virtually no air pollution and the energy green goods is much higher than the fossil-fuel generators. In add-on, atomic power produces far less godforsaken stuff than fossil-fuel based power workss. Coal combustion workss are peculiarly noted for bring forthing big sums of toxic and mildly radioactive ash due to concentrating of course happening metals and radioactive stuff from the coal. Restrictions The atomic power workss have high initial investing and the care cost is besides really high.DecisionThe renewable energy system uses fuel that has unlimited militias, free of cost and generalized being like sunbeams for solar systems and air for air current factory systems, even U for atomic power workss are really abundant in nature. It is about every bit common as Sn or Ge in Earth ‘s crust, and is approximately 35 times more common than Ag. In add-on, more significantly they are none or far less pollutant than the conventional beginnings. However, these renewable energy systems produce no air or H2O pollution but do hold some indirect impacts on the environment. For illustration, fabricating the photovoltaic cells used to change over sunshine into electricity consumes silicon and produces some waste merchandises. In add-on, big solar thermal farms and windmill can besides harm desert ecosystems if non decently managed. Man in the name of engineering and scientific promotion does these amendss to the Mother Earth like the arms that we make to safe lives are really killing ourselves by one manner or the other. It is we who in the unsighted pursuit of technological promotion had willing or unwillingly destroyed the full ecological system and it is our premier responsibility now to salvage it as our endurance depends on its being

Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

Introduction to Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor by Karen L. Enz Though a short novel, Wise Blood is a dense and complicated one with various levels of meaning. Many readers are confused and shocked by the novel as there is a distinct lack of likeable characters and there is much violence. A key element in understanding the novel’s construction and meaning is to understand the literary influences on Flannery O’Connor. Flannery O’Connor was deeply influenced by Roman Catholicism that informed her own religious sensibility which echoed in her literary voice.Her religious views envisioned a deeply flawed world that could only be redeemed by the intercession of grace. Her Southern origins brought that vision into high relief with her use of casts of grotesque characters who were often involved in violent incidents. She subjected her characters to microscopic evaluation of their religious and existential obsessions. To lighten its dark tone, Flannery O’Co nnor utilized her masterful satiric wit to increase the spectrum of the colors in her literary canvass.A second influence was O’Connor’s intense exposure to the predominant literary style, New Criticism, which was at its apex during the middle of the twentieth century. New Criticism was a complicated formulaic style that often utilized dense symbolism, paradox, irony, tension and ambiguous meaning, all hallmarks of O’Connor’s writing. New Criticism also professed that a work was to have a high degree of unity and self-containment. If we see Wise Blood through both O’Connor’s religious sensibility and its permeation in New Criticism, the structure and meaning of the novel fall more easily into place.Haze Motes, (note the symbolism of his name hazy vision and mote in the eye) is a the epitome of the religiously obsessed individual. The more he professes unbelief, the more unsure and shortsighted he becomes. The ultimate paradox occurs in his b linding, when he finally realizes his need for redemption. The text is rife with symbolism, much of it religious. The sky is permeated with clouds that look like a simplified God’s beards and curls, roadside pigs that are symbols of the devil, a shrunken man who was a symbol a false idol, an old Essex which was symbolic of a search for meaning and homecoming, and glasses that obscure vision.Some critics see the novel as a condemnation of modernity in its cult of shallow self-absorption and nihilistic pursuits. Haze is so focused on his pursuit of unbelief that he fails to see anything around him, including the needs of Enoch (who is driven by instinct â€Å"wise blood†) and Sabbath. A satiric note is sounded in Chapter 7, which can serve as a microcosm of the novel, when Sabbath receives a letter from Mary Brittle (note the symbolic nature of the name) who advises Sabbath â€Å" Perhaps you ought to re-examine your religious values to see if they meet your needs in Li fe.A religious experience can be a beautiful addition to living if you put it a proper perspective and do not let it warp you. Read some books on Ethical Culture. † Sabbath, though she is trying to seduce Haze, can be seen as a Christ figure in that mentions â€Å"I can save you, I got a church in my heart where Jesus is king. † Haze is unconvinced and he drives off leaving behind a blinding white cloud that turns into a bird with long wings that disappears in the opposite direction. Wise Blood is a complicated and multi-faceted novel that is not for the faint of heart. For those who can plumb the novel’s meaning, it can challenge and inform.

Audi Marketing Mix Analysis

Audi Marketing Mix Analysis The Audi history begins with a man called August Horch, and in 1899, he established the Company HORCH CO. He invented his first car in 1901. But in 1909 Mr. Horch leaves his company and founded another company called Audi. â€Å"Audi † is the Latin translation for â€Å"Horch† and he took that name. In 1910, the brand â€Å"AUDI Automobilwerke GmbH† was registered. In 1931, the AUTO UNION was founded some members were DKW, HORCH, WANDERER and AUDI. Moreover, the new companies insignia to show the union of the four companies was the now familiar 4 rings, that what still used by Audi today. After the 2nd world war, there were again many cars produced, the most important for them were the DKW Munga, a four-wheel jeep with 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine. Invented in 1956 for the German military, there have produced 250 cars for testing purposes. And these cars made a trip around the world and drove more than 240 000 km also without major problems. This was the beginning of the later concept called Quattro and it had nearly 57 000 Mungaswere built until 1968. In the following years, they have many different engine- and car types were invented and produced in large amounts. There also improving, rallying and testing the first real ur-quattro with the new coupe body was build in 1980. And the power has been raised to 200hp in the testing time, and most of the other car producer did with a 2.2l engine. Audi, the core brand that the Audi has been focusing by the Audi Group in adopting its Strategy 2020 on the challenges of the future. The mission ‘We delight customers worldwide’ was explored in greater depth during 2011 where the strategy took on firmer contours. Heightened environmental awareness, growing uncertainty about the future availability of fossil fuels and increasing urbanization are the results of giving more weight to new issues that have emerged. The Mission of this company is â€Å"We delight customers worldwide†. The Audi brand’s products are famous of the brand values sportiness, modernism and sophistication. The brand with the four rings aims to suggest customer delight in many other ways and thus can lead to building technologically advanced vehicles. The mission statement which is â€Å"We delight customers worldwide† plays a main role on the path to becoming the leading first-class brand. The Audi brand has well-defined its understanding of customer delight in greater detail in the following four areas of action. That are â€Å"We define innovation†, â€Å"We create experiences† , â€Å"We live responsibility† and â€Å"We shape Audi†. In this company there have three objectives. First is to create impact and drive awareness of Audi Q5 launch. Second is demonstrating Audi’s core value proposition of â€Å"Progressive Performance†. And then last is communicate Audi’s prestige offering. Those three objectives is what Audi company execution in this few years. On the other hand, in this few year the Audi Company’s target market are predominantly males between 40-50 years old, married with a household income between $137K – $265K. And women who are a key influencer in the purchase process of the Q5.

Violence in Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Violence in Community - Essay Example The third need wold be the need for love and belongingness, followed by that of self-esteem and ego (Simmons, Irwin, & Drinnien, 1987). Last in this hierarchy described by Maslow would be self-actualization, which is only achieved after all the previous needs have been met. The need for security and safety hence comes around when the physiological needs are met to a certain degree. At this point, Maslow describes man as a safety-seeking mechanism, whose outlook in life and the world, both for the present and the future, is greatly influenced by this prominent need (Maslow, 1943, p.375). Given that the physiological needs have been met, the need for safety and security of a person in his own community is vital for an individual to then fulfill his love and belonging needs. Thus, when there is violence in a community, and a person is not confident of his own safety, then the actualization of the higher needs is hindered. Violence in a community especially that among youths can be lessened by implementing community health interventions that aims to reduce the prevalence of its causes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, the availability of guns, poverty, lack of proper education, and the list goes on. If these interventions are successful in their goals, an individual can then focus on achieving needs of love and belonging, as other needs tend to become non-existent as long as a prevailing need is not met (Maslow, 1943). Violence in the Community Violence has been prevalent since probably the beginning of time and has presented a big part in the history of the world. Every year, more than a million people die violence-related deaths, and a lot more endure physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological injuries from self-inflicted, interpersonal, and collective violence (Krug et al., 2002). Violence is "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation" as defined by the World Health Organization (Krug et al., 2002). The term intentional suggests that a person committing the act of violence is knowingly carries out this act and is conscious of the results of the act. There are many forms of violence. The World Health Organization has subdivided violence into three typologies: self-directed violence, interpersonal violence, and collective violence (Krug et al., 2002). However, for the purpose of this paper, focus will be given to the typology of interpersonal violence, which is defined by WHO as "violence between individuals, that is subdivided into family and intimate partner violence and community violence. The former category includes child maltreatment; intimate partner violence; and elder abuse, while the latter is broken down into acquaintance and stranger violence and includes youth violence; assault by strangers; violence related to property crimes; and violence in workplaces and other institutions." (Krug et al., 2002) Although the crime rate in America has already decreased over the past decades, the rates remain significantly high (Berman, Silverman, & Kurtines, 2000). In a study conducted by Berman, Silverman, and Kurtines, it has been revealed that in the children between first and second grade have already either been victims of violence (21%) or have been

Australian rural and remote nursing (scope of nursing practice) Essay

Australian rural and remote nursing (scope of nursing practice) - Essay Example This paper is being carried out in order to establish a thorough and clear understanding of the subject matter. The main goal of government and legislative agencies, including the QNC, RCNA, and the NSW Nursing Registration Boards is to ensure that the public receives safe and adequate nursing and health services. Jacobs, (2007, p. 14) emphasizes that â€Å"differences in class, gender, personal experiences, values and beliefs have caused gulfs within nursing throughout its history, and no less than in the political, educational and regulatory development of advanced practice†. In the global setting disparities in the delivery of nursing care has been evident between countries, and even between territories within countries themselves. This is also apparent in Australia where the rural and the urban settings have different applications of nursing practice. Most countries have considered different legal standards and it has been declared that no one size fits all. Nevertheless, healthcare delivery is the responsibility of all states and territories, and majority of such responsibility fa lls on the federal governments. In effect, most states can be manipulated by the amount of money released by the federal government (Gardner, 2005, p. 382). To promote the standards of the practice and ensure the safety and quality of the services, many governments have set forth laws and different systems of clinical governance. In 2008, new guidelines for advancing nursing practice and reviewing competence was announced by the Queensland Nursing and Midwifery Council. The nursing and midwifery practice is all about the â€Å"application of knowledge, skills and attitudes towards alleviating, supporting or enhancing actual or potential responses of individuals or groups to health issues† (Queensland Nursing Council, 2010, p. 9). Their practice also includes administration of direct care, as well as assessing, planning,

IT industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IT industry - Essay Example This not only benefits the environment on whole but also decreases operational expenses resulting in higher profits for the organizations. In addition, by redesigning equipments and replacing green information technology enables organizations improve its operational efficiency on numerous stages and levels. Furthermore, as policy making agencies are passing environmental and energy related regulations and policies, companies by adopting green information technology (IT) can be well-prepared for upcoming policies and guidelines. There are several options available for the organizations to improve their energy efficiency. Companies can choose from the various available options depending on the budget they have. The least costly program is energy monitoring program which enables them to gather data and monitor their usage of energy. This program helps organizations develop their own energy management plan that assist them save energy. One of the least expensive energy monitoring program s includes demand response program which acts as a communicator between the person providing the energy and the person consuming the energy. These effective programs provide organizations a potential profit stream at the times of energy demands, due to its energy reduction facility. Majority demand response programs (DRP) offer after sale services, meters and monitoring services free of cost. This allows organizations to successfully reduce and manage extensive usage of energy. However, there are few program providers who charge penalty bill in case the organizations are unable to meet the required goal of load shed. With the passage of time IT equipments are getting more and more automated and require less space to operate. Hence in order to automate their operations, large companies can invest in such equipments that entail less space to set their footprints. Such changes can do well to companies that are looking forward to a fast return on investment (ROI) for the company. Unlike the traditional methods of operation, automated equipments can provide significant benefits in terms of space and reduced heat loss as these equipments enable companies to confined refrigerated or cooling area. Moreover it can also help in less wastage of material and proficient packaging of such equipments. Other major benefits the companies will avail after switching to automation are improved and efficient production with in the same or lower cost. This means the company will be able to produce more as compared to its pre-automation period. (Rebecca Tucker, 2011) Automated IT equipments have helped in improvising efficiency and sustainability in companies that are finding ways for taking an initiative to make improvements in reduced energy consumption which was not possible in their pre-automation period. This paper will discuss the benefits of Green information technology (IT) and how it is beneficial for both the organization and the society. Moreover, one common problem i.e. its high installation and maintenance cost faced by the majority will also be discussed in detail. As we all know for all kinds of operations businesses are dependent on some or the other kind of information or communication technology. Information technol

One nation under Wal-Mart Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

One nation under Wal-Mart - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that as a retailer, Wal-Mart can be characterized as quite successful. As noted in the case study, currently, the stores of Wal-Mart are estimated to, at least, 4,750, a figure that it is quite high if taking into consideration the level of growth of other retailers globally. The rapid and impressive expansion of Wal-Mart has resulted in strong conflicts, in regard to the role of the firm in the society. For many people, Wal-Mart has helped towards the increase of equality in society; people of different financial status have the potential to visit one of the firm’s stores and buy products of various prices. In other words, Wal-Mart eliminates barriers related to buying, as a critical human experience; such barriers are common in societies of non-developed countries which are characterized by extreme gaps between rich and poor. This means that Wal-Mart helps towards the reduction of social inequality, a fact that promotes peace at al l levels of social and private life. At the same time, the stores of Wal-Mart are structures in such way so that they can offer to customers the chance to make their choice among products of different quality/ characteristics. In this way, customers are given the freedom to develop their decision-making skills. The above positive influence of Wal-Mart in regard to a person’s social and private life is highly appreciated by consumers; as noted in the case study ‘about 138 million shoppers visit the firm’s stores every week’.... capitalism and globalization are promoted. Such view could not be accepted for the following reasons: a) Wal-Mart cannot be blamed for the changes in the life of style, including the development of new modes of retailing, similar to that promoting by Wal-Mart. Large retailers exist in all developed countries, being part of daily social life; b) Capitalism and globalization, as concepts, are not related solely to retail; they rather reflect a radical change on traditional views of life and priorities. In fact, retail is just an aspect of capitalism and globalization; existing political systems worldwide are the key supporters of these concepts. According to the above, it would be not fair to claim that Wal-Mart has promoted capitalism and globalization. Still, the success of Wal-Mart proves that people worldwide tend to support capitalism and globalization, at the level that products of well known brands, that are popular worldwide, are highly preferred by consumers. As a result, work ers have become willing to spend on products that meet the standards of fashion, even if these products are going to cover the workers’ primary needs. In any case, these trends cannot be considered as based on Wal-Mart’s strategies. Rather, Wal-Mart has aligned its objectives with the principles of capitalism and globalization which are, in any case, indispensable part of modern life. 2. Can a retailer ever become too large and too powerful? In the context of modern market, a firm can increase its size and its power by following specific rules. For the retail industry a similar rule exists. Primarily, emphasis needs to be given to consumers’ preferences, as influenced by local ethics and culture. At the next level, it is necessary for the firm to identify brands that

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Research Paper

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children - Research Paper Example The methodology therefore used to gather information on this topic will consider the main variables used relative to how the CSEC is carried out in different places. This is important because the situation happens for different reasons in the different places in focus (UNESCO 13). The paper will also analyze date description methods and the variables used to make an evaluation of alternative solutions. The barriers to effective implementation of the policies will be put to focus in equal measure. Apart from New York City (NYC), other places of focus are India, Thailand and Sweden. Variables bear the definitive value of things that can be changed in a research to comparatively suite situations. In this research, the first variable that was put in practice was the age factor of the participants. This is in view of the definition of the age bracket of people that are considered children (Simic 34). The New York State Office For Children defines the number as generally being under the age of 18 while the United Nations put the specific age bracket involved to between 16 and 18 years. Age as a variable is important since it can be used to get the exact demographic figures of the population involved. The figure would further be divided into race and location of origin so that there would be an exact position of the groups that are most vulnerable. According to Muslim (2008), the period â€Å"between† 1982 to 2006 saw the number of arrests of children engaging in the activity as just above 7000. There has been changes in the trend over the years with some yea rs clocking very high marginal values and others clocking low marginal values. This variable is also important in that it helps to make a follow up on the destinations of the victims after attaining 18 years.

In what ways does Islam encourage submission (To God) Essay

In what ways does Islam encourage submission (To God) - Essay Example Muslims do not use symbols in the way other religions do, but where a symbol is needed, a star and crescent moon is the one most often used (Penny 1999). According to Murata and Chittick (2006), â€Å"submission to god†, in the Islamic view, has four basic connotations. In the broadest sense, it refers to the fact that every living creature submits to God by being His handiwork; thus no choice is involved. In the next three senses, men have the option whether or not to follow. In the second sense, islam means obedience to God’s guidance as brought by the prophets, in the third where Islam is used as a proper noun, it denotes compliance to the guidance of God as stated in the Qur’an, and in the last and narrowest sense, it means observing the Five Pillars in general and the Shariah in particular (Murata & Chittick, 2006). The Five Pillars of Islam The five pillarsof Islam are not real pillars, but are doctrines that supports the religion (Penny, 1999). They are th e core beliefs that shape Muslim thought, deed, and society.   A Muslim who fulfills the Five Pillars of Islam, remains in the faith of Islam, and sincerely repents of his sins, will make it to paradise (carm.org 2010). However, if he performs the Five Pillars but does not remain in the faith, he will not be saved. 1. Shahadah. The first pillar demands acceptance of the most important thing that Muslims believe in. It means â€Å"there is no other God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.† These are the words first taught to a baby, or are spoken last by a dying Muslim. They are uttered upon waking up in the morning, before going to sleep at night, and in every prayer. 2. Salah. The second pillar is the name for the obligatory prayers that are performed five times a day, and a direct link between the worshipper and God. Followers pray in the morning, three times during the day, and at night. They break off from any activity and face in the direction of Makkah whe n the time for prayer comes. Muslims do not necessarily have to be in a mosque, but must come to a clean place to pray. 3. Zakah. The third pillar upholds giving to the poor and needy. An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. Muslims are expected to give about 2.5 percent of the amount they have left after all basic necessities are acquired. They believe that this is a part of their duty to Allah and their fellow Muslims, and that being tight-fisted is immoral. 4. Sawm. The fourth pillar stipulates fasting—abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations with their spouses. This is practiced every year in the month of Ramadan. It is mainly a method of self-purification and self-restraint. By cutting oneself from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person focuses on his or her purpose in life by constantly being aware of the presence of God. 5. Haji. The fifth pillar promotes pilgrimage to Makkah, the holy city. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able is expected to visit Makkah at least once in their life. The annual hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year. Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments that strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God. Shari’ah: The Islamic Religious Laws The term shari’ah is an Arabic expression for â€Å"track†

Restorative community programs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Restorative community programs - Research Paper Example In the analysis of these issues, restorative justice requires that several questions are addressed. For instance, questions concerning which laws are broken, who is the offender, which punishment to be applied and what harms arise out of the crime are such fundamental concerns that should always be addressed in the program. Restorative programs have become important segments of the societal form of living. This is necessitated by the fact that crime needs to be addressed from its deepest roots other than simply curbing its prevalence (Braithwaite 2002). Societies organize programs where the offenders are made aware of the negativities of their characters and proper ways are sought in order to rehabilitate any willing minds. Restorative justice works well in relation to such other contemporary methods like community policing, community prosecution and crime prevention. The fundamental fact in this respect is that offenders must always take responsibility of their actions while the community seeks to assist in the overall accountability of the society. Restorative programs work well in societies where communities have not been involved much in the justice process. In that case, participation is normally enhanced in a way that the community understands itself and takes charge of its fundamental

World Wide Web and Internet Essay Example for Free

World Wide Web and Internet Essay The Internet is certainly the place for businesses to expand, reach new markets and provide new services but there must be a balanced approach to the Internet. The Internet must be regarded as a strategic resource important to the whole business. The technical detail of the Internet can be complex. Management responsibility however is more productively focused on managing the implementation process to achieve strategic goals and assure smooth, secure operations. The IS Manager must first define why the company wants to be connected to the Internet then move to establish the appropriate connection, choosing the most cost effective option between capacity and speed. For medium businesses it is recommended that high speed modem links to a provider with dedicated telephone lines would be most appropriate. Issues such as how to advertise and promote the company on the Web must then be tackled, taking into account the human and social issues on the net. Users of the Web can include both employees and potential customers. By learning what and how the Internet can help the employees in their day to day work, non-business use of the Internet can be reduced, and by offering on-line services and supporting the customer via the Internet, a whole new market can be created for the business. A medium business would consider having a Web site with the Internet provider but perhaps creating and updating the web pages themselves. Finally security against intrusion has to be maintained. Technology is a vital tool to IS Managers to cope with this. Also by having the Web site at the provider and linking to the Internet by regular telephone lines it makes the companys data safe from hackers. In conclusion, with careful planning and proper management, putting a business on the Internet can make it more effective and productive. However understanding and knowing how the rapid changes and various complex issues that can be encountered in getting the business onto the Net is imperative to its success. This responsibility lies largely on the IS Manager who must know what options are available to him or her before being able to cope with it. Surfing the internet can be an interest for people. But people need to use it properly. If not, it will become internet addiction. Internet addiction harmfulness is bigger than â€Å"TV addiction†. In deed internet addiction can be called â€Å"a mental illness†.Playing online games reasonably can make people happy on free time.

Productive Opportunity Essay Example for Free

Productive Opportunity Essay Productive opportunities depends on multiple things, the advancement of technology, the availability and access to resources, and also what producers and entrepreneurs can think of at the given time. Choosing a combination of productive and financial opportunities help maximize wealth. They key in finding a productive opportunity is a high degree of awareness of the factors that distort judgment A perfect capital market is when buying and selling do not affect prices. â€Å"In a perfect capital market the corporation is regarded only as a means of generating wealth, because the present value of the dollar returns it generates is the only feature relevant to its owners. † Understanding your resource, resources is a source or supply from which an organization gains profit. Typically resources are materials or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable. From a human perspective a natural resource is anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants. Organizations operate by people making decisions. A manager plans and organizes a team by executing decisions. The effectiveness and quality of those decisions determines how successful a manager is. With this being said â€Å"the goal of the manager and owner remain the same as long as market value is maximized.† Opportunity is all around us but yet at the same time sometimes we never see it. In business we look for new ways to market our business, reach our target market, build on online community and through this all we overlook the opportunity that is all around us. We are learning to create opportunity my maximizing our market value. In conclusion, â€Å"in a perfect capital market, the market value of the ï ¬ rm is determined only by the cash ï ¬â€šows it can generate and not by the source of funds used to ï ¬ nance those operations. The task of management is to create wealth by ï ¬ nding productive opportunities with average rates of return exceeding the market rate of interest.† Fabozzi, Frank J. (2011-12-01). Financial Economics (Page 46). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Number Of Tourist Arrivals To Singapore Tourism Essay

Number Of Tourist Arrivals To Singapore Tourism Essay This report was commissioned to examine why the number of tourist arrivals to Singapore has dropped over 2009 and the recommend ways of increasing the number of tourist arrivals to Singapore. Tourism is the worlds largest industry. Tourism provides governments with the substantial tax revenues as well as offers the greatest global employment prospects. Based on the Media Release from Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on 23 April 2009 and 27 October 2009, the number of tourist arrivals to Singapore has declined compared to 2008. The overall of gazetted hotel industry performance also drop compared to a year ago. The reduction of the total number of tourist arrivals to Singapore was caused by swine influenza or pig flu which attack Singapore in 2009. Another reason for the decline in number of tourist arrivals to Singapore was the global economy crisis which affected all sectors around the world. The report finds that STB can do more to attract more tourists to come and spend in Singapore. Recommendations discussed include: engage with tour operators and travel agencies in overseas practice the revenue management system in hotels promote Singapore by publishing advertisements in overseas 2. Problem Identification and Analysis According to the statistics on April 2009, from Media Release by Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the overall number of visitor arrivals to Singapore has dropped to 790,000 in March 2009, which were about 13.2% compared to the same month in 2008. The overall gazetted hotel industry performance also drop compared to 2008. The Average Room Rate (AOR) decreased by 13.1% with total 74% for March 2009. The Average Room Rate (ARR) for March 2009 was estimated at S$196, which was 18.5% decrease compared to a year ago. Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) was reached S$145, posting a 30.9% decrease against March 2008. Hotel room revenue was expected to reach S$125 million, representing a 33.3 percentage point decrease in March 2009. Swine influenza or also called by pig flu is one of the reason which affect the reduction of total number of tourist arrivals to Singapore. As of 21 June 2009, based on Ministry of Health website, there were 142 reported human cases of swine flu in Singapore (SMF, 2009). Another key influence can be caused by the financial crisis in 2007. The global economy crisis has resulted in the collapse of large financial institutions, downturns in stock markets, and bailout of banks by national governments around the world. Refers to the statistics from October 2009, the visitor arrivals to Singapore registered an increase number to 799,000 or about 7.1% in September 2009. Indonesia, Peoples Republic of China, Australia, Malaysia, and India were the top five visitor-generating markets in Singapore for year 2009. The increase of total number of visitor arrivals to Singapore can be due to Formula 1 (F1) Singapore Grand Prix which was held from 25 September to 27 September 2009. F1 had attracted a lot of visitors to come to Singapore to watch and enjoy the race. The other factor that influence the total number of visitor arrivals to Singapore is the public holidays, e.g., Hari Raya holidays and Japans five days Silver Week. 3. Statement of Key problem and Issues Based on the Media Release from STB, currently there are four types of hotel tier in Singapore. The hotel tier system is used to categorise the different hotels in Singapore by STB into tiers based on a combination of factors that include location, average room rates, and product characteristics (STB, 2006). The four types of hotel tiers are economy, mid -tier, upscale, and luxury. Economy tier includes hotels in the budget segment and are generally located in outlying areas (STB, 2006). In March 2009, hotels in economy tier achieved the smallest decrease in ARR and RevPar compared to March 2008. Mid tier includes hotels which are primarily located in prime commercial zones or immediately outlying areas (STB, 2006). Hotels in mid tier recorded the highest and the least decline AOR compared to other three tiers in March 2009. The most decline AOR in March 2009 was achieved by economy tier hotels. Based on the statistics in September 2009, the AOR of all tiers increased compared to the same month last year. It was represent the growth of the total number of tourist arrivals to Singapore. Upscale tier includes hotels in the upscale segment and are generally in prime locations or hotels with boutique positioning in prime or distinctive locations (STB, 2006). Hotels in upscale tier achieved the smallest decline in RevPar and ARR in September 2009 compared to a year ago. Hotels in upscale tier also recorded the largest growth of more than 5% compared to other tiers in September 2009. This indicates that hotels in upscale tier are not having a significant impact compared to hotels in economy-tier, mid-tier, and luxury-tier. 4. Generation and Evaluation of Alternative Solutions STB can engage the tour operators and travel agencies in overseas which cooperate with Singapore to promote the Singapores tourism sector to their countries. The tour operators and travel agencies may promote Singapore by organizing either free and easy or tour packages to Singapore as the destination to spend their holidays with couple and family. Hotels also may practice the revenue management system in their hotels. Revenue management system is used in a hotel to calculate the room rates in order to maximize the revenue as well as the profit. Rooms in a hotel are the perishable products and any rooms which unsold in a night are calculated as a loss. With the revenue management system, hotels can calculate their rates to be offered to their guests. STB also can promote Singapore by publishing advertisements in the foreign countries, e.g., South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and many others. The advertisements can be used to promote the major events in Singapore in order to attract more tourists to come and visit Singapore. 5. Implementation of Recommendations STB was announced BOOST (Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism) in 2009. STB provided S$90 million to help the tourism sector ride through the challenging times. The aims of BOOST are to boost the demand of tourists to travel to Singapore, the governments funding support to the tourism sector, as well as the future of the tourism sector (STB, 2006). Tourism industry will bring the multiplier effect when the money are being spend by the tourist to travel, to stay in a hotel, and to eat in a restaurant. The money is recycled by the travel agency, hotel, as well as restaurant to purchase more goods and even to hire more people. Employees of the businesses which are the local community also will spend a higher proportion of their money locally on various goods and services. In the tourism industry, each tourism segment also need to acknowledge the interdependency between the various segments of tourism, for example: lodging, travel, food service, and attraction or recreation place. With the interdependency, those businesses can create more profits by attract more tourists to come to Singapore and spend more in Singapore. For example: travel agency in Singapore can coordinate with hotel, restaurant, as well as the attraction place to provide tourists who come to Singapore by a tour package. Travel agency can create a package with a combination of air ticket, accommodation, dining, and city tour. 6. Current and Future Trends of Singapore Tourism Integrated Resort Resort World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands are the two integrated resorts in Singapore which had opened in 2010. Resort World Sentosa was developed by Genting Singapore while Marina Bay Sands was developed by Las Vegas Sands. The completion of Resort World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands are expected to boost the tourism sector in Singapore. Formula One (F1) Singapore Grand Prix Formula One (F1) Singapore Grand Prix is the major event in Singapore which started in 2008. The first race was held at the new Marina Bay Street Circuit and it was the first night-time event in F1 history (Wikipedia, 2010). Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was signed a five year deal with Singapore GP Pte Ltd. and Bernie Ecclestone in order to boost the tourism sector in Singapore by attract fans of F1 and foreign tourists to come to Singapore as well as enjoy the Singapores lifestyle. Great Singapore Sale (GSS) Great Singapore Sale (GSS) is an annual shopping event which organised by Singapore Retailers Association, under support from STB and Spring Singapore, in order to promote the tourism sector in Singapore. GSS is conducted in the end of May to the end of July every year in Singapore. During GSS, there are many special privileges that malls, stores, and retail companies offer to tourists, for example: late midnight shop, gourmet dining, wellness, and nightlife experience (Wikipedia, 2010). Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay is the combination of three major parks around the Marina Bay and it is expected to be complete by the end of year 2011. The three parks will be at Marina Centre, Marina South, and Marina East. Gardens by the Bay will be serving as the second Singapore botanical garden which allocate of 94 hectares of prime waterfront land for park space (Wikipedia, 2010). The expectation for the development of Gardens by the Bay is to attract more tourists to come to Singapore.

The Oedipus Complex in Galatea 2.2 :: Galatea 2.2 Essays

The Oedipus Complex in Galatea 2.2 Helen is in love with Powers; Powers is in love with C.; C. only wants to forget about Powers. This may sound like a soap opera, but in fact it is the love triangle present in Galatea 2.2. This love triangle mirrors Freud's Oedipal Complex almost perfectly. According to this theory, Richard Powers is Helen's mother. Like a mother he created her and then taught her how to think for herself. Also in this role reversal of the Oedipal Complex, Helen assumes the role of Power's son, and C. portrays the absent father. The twisted version of the Oedipal Complex presented in Galatea 2.2 explains the interaction between Powers, Helen, and C. as that of a family, and throughout this depiction the Dialogical Method enhances this image. In the story of Oedipus he kills his father and then marries his mother. Galatea 2.2 does not present Helen as committing such an outrageous act. C.'s absence in Helen's life does mirror the absence of Oedipus' father during Oedipus' marriage to his mother. Helen never has one on one interaction with C. Her only knowledge of C. is through the love letters that Powers reads to her. It because of this that Helen begins to view C. as a hindrance to her own relationship with Powers. According to Freud, the son wishes to dispose of the father in order to have the attention of the mother solely to himself. This creates a very peculiar relationship to say the least. Of course, Powers' relationship with Helen is anything but common. She is after all a computer. He begins their relationship as her teacher. He has a mother's love for Helen because in her he sees something that he has toiled to create. Powers sounds like a parent when he speaks of Helen's singing. At one point he describes her voice as, "...an extraterrestrial warble, the way deaf people sing" (198). This does not sound like a sweet sound. The words "music to my ears" are not present in any description of Helen's singing. Powers knows that Helen cannot carry a tune, but he cannot bear to convey this message to her. He says, "I didn't have the heart to tell her how unbearable this music sounded" (235). There are very few parents that would actually inform their child about a lack of talent in a certain area.

Liberals Opinion on American Government :: essays research papers

The typical philosophical ideals of the liberals seem to focus on the government helping the little guy and leveling the playing field. They oppose tax-cuts for the rich, they are distrustful of big-business and those who are wealthy. They like government programs that help minorities and those with lower incomes. They want to raise the minimum wage, provide better national healthcare and provide better unemployment and welfare coverage’s. They nearly always side with unions over management, the guy who sues the big business. They are sick and tired of conservatives telling them that the poor are poor because they don't work hard enough. They are sick and tired of being criticized for caring about the little guy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberals focus on the bad side of human nature, and look to the government to protect us from it. They see the fragility of the human spirit and overwhelming outside factors as the determining reason why people struggle. They see those who are born with better looks, more intelligence, more athletic skills, more creative skill, or more money as having an unfair advantage in life. They believe that those at the top have gotten there either by these advantages, or by stepping on people. This is why they view those at the top skeptically, because if they stepped on people to get there, they will continue to step on people once they are there. They see examples of this in their own everyday life... The snob from school who had everything given to him, who is now a successful business owner that pays all of his employees minimum wage so he can drive a Caddy. The poor kid from down the block who had to quit school to help support his family, and now works menial labor j obs because he never got the chance to get an education. Why should some people fail, while others succeed? Liberal’s believe that life shouldn't be like that. The typical conservative tends to focus his philosophical Ideals on the self reliance and free market. They don't see the need for big spending politicians and big government programs. They would prefer to see the money stay in the private sector. They also believe that business people tend to be better at economic decisions than politicians. They believe that the government has it's place, but many times oversteps it's authority for political reasons. Big business and corporations are not evil in their world, in fact most conservatives will tell you that big business and corporate success is the only thing that will make the economy go.

Global Warming is NOT a Concern :: Environment Climate Change

Global Warming, global concern? I think not. I personally believe that the theory of global warming caused by the infamous carbon dioxide is false. Please, let me explain. First of all, there are more potent, harmful, gases being emitted into the atmosphere. Secondly, the temperature change in the 20th and 21st centuries is extremely slight. Lastly, the earth is currently recovering from a period known as the Little Ice Age. First of all, there are more potent gases being emitted into the atmosphere such as the well known greenhouse gas, methane. Methane is mostly associated with cows. Yes, I said it, cows. When cows fart, they release the greenhouse gas methane. Also, methane heats up the atmosphere more than carbon dioxide. So the point here is that global warming isn't mainly caused by humans. Secondly, the temperature change in the 20th and 21st centuries is very slight. In fact it has stayed within a 3 degree Celsius range. In fact, if the change were to happen in a room, many people in the room would not notice. Right now, you probably aren't persuaded, but, in my next paragraph, I will definitely persuade you. Definitely. Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for, the third paragraph! This is where I will persuade you to believe my ideas. Well, here it goes. My final idea is that the globe is now recovering from a time know as the little ice age. This in turn will make the earth seem warmer. In science class, we conducted an experiment conducting this. We put one hand in warm water and another in cold water. Then we put both hands in room temperature water. The hand that was in warm water felt cold and visa vera for the other.

Conformity Essay

This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Conformity can also be simply defined as â€Å"yielding to group pressures† (Crutchfield, 1955). Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism etc. Conformity is also known as majority influence (or group pressure). The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification). There have been many experiments in psychology investigating conformity and group pressure. Jenness (1932) was the first psychologist to study conformity. His experiment was an ambiguous situation involving a glass bottle filled with beans. He asked participants individually to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. Jenness then put the group in a room with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate through discussion. Participants were then asked to estimate the number on their own again to find whether their initial estimates had altered based on the influence of the majority. Jenness then interviewed the participants individually again, and asked if they would like to change their original estimates, or stay with the group’s estimate. Almost all changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate. However, perhaps the most famous conformity experiment was by Solomon Asch (1951) and his line judgment experiment. Types of Social Conformity Man (1969) states that â€Å"the essence of conformity is yielding to group pressure†. He identified three types of conformity: Normative, informational and ingratiational. Kelman (1958) distinguished between three different types of conformity: Compliance, Internalization and identification. Normative ConformityInformational Conformity Yielding to group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the group. E.g. Asch Line Study. Conforming because the person is scared of being rejected by the group. This type of conformity usually involves compliance – where a person publicly accepts the views of a group but privately rejects them. This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance. Or when a person is in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation and socially compares their behavior with the group. E.g. Sherif Study. This type of conformity usually involves internalization – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an individual. ComplianceInternalization Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group while privately disagreeing. In other words, conforming to the majority (publicly), in spite of not really agreeing with them (privately). This is seen in Asch’s line experiment. Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group and also agreeing with them privately. This is seen in Sherif’s autokinetic experiment. Ingratiational ConformityIdentification Where a person conforms to impress or gain favor/acceptance from other people. It is similar to normative influence but is motivated by the need for social rewards rather than the threat of rejection, i.e., group pressure does not enter the decision to conform. Conforming to the expectations of a social role. Similar to compliance, there does not have to be a change in private opinion. A good example is Zimbardo’s Prison Study. Sherif (1935) Autokinetic Effect Experiment Aim: Sherif (1935) conducted an experiment with the aim of demonstrating that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation. Method: Sherif used a lab experiment to study conformity. He used the autokinetic effect – this is where a small spot of light (projected onto a screen) in a dark room will appear to move, even though it is still (i.e. it is a visual illusion). It was discovered that when participants were individually tested their estimates on how far the light moved varied considerably (e.g. from 20cm to 80cm). The participants were then tested in groups of three. Sherif manipulated the composition of the group by putting together two people whose estimate of the light movement when alone was very similar, and one person whose estimate was very different. Each person in the group had to say aloud how far they thought the light had moved. Results: Sherif found that over numerous estimates (trials) of the movement of light, the group converged to a common estimate. As the figure below shows: the person whose estimate of movement was greatly different to the other two in the group conformed to the view of the other two. Sherif said that this showed that people would always tend to conform. Rather than make individual judgments they tend to come to a group agreement. Conclusion: The results show that when in an ambiguous situation (such as the  autokinetic effect), a person will look to others (who know more / better) for guidance (i.e. adopt the group norm). They want to do the right thing but may lack the appropriate information. Observing others can provide this information. This is known as informational conformity. Non Conformity Not everyone conform to social pressure. Indeed, their are many factors that contribute to an individual’s desire to remain independent of the group. For example, Smith and Bond (1998) discovered cultural differences in conformity between western and eastern countries. People from western cultures (such as America and the UK) are more likely to be individualistic and don’t want to be seen as being the same as everyone else. This means that they value being independent and self sufficient (the individual is more important that the group), and as such are more likely to participate in non conformity. In contrast eastern cultures (such as Asian countries) are more likely to value the needs of the family and other social groups before their own. They are known as collectivist cultures and are more likely to conform.

A Dirty Job Chapter 18

18 YO MOMMA SO DEAD THAT†¦ On her last day, Lois Asher rallied. After not having even been able to get up to go to the breakfast table, or into the living room to sit and watch TV for three weeks, got up and danced with Buddy to an old Ink Spots song. She was playful and full of laughter, she teased her children and hugged them, she ate a chocolate-marshmallow sundae, and she brushed and flossed afterward. She put on her favorite silver jewelry and wore it to the dinner table, and when she couldn't find her squash-blossom necklace she shrugged it off like it was a minor thing – she must have misplaced it. Oh, well. Charlie knew what was happening because he had seen it before, and Buddy and Jane knew because Grace, the hospice nurse, explained it to them. â€Å"It happens again and again. I've seen people come out of a coma and sing their favorite songs, and all I can tell you is to enjoy it. People see the light come back into eyes that have been dull for months, and they start to place hope on it. It's not a sign of getting well, it's an opportunity to say good-bye. It's a gift.† Charlie had also learned by observing that it really helped everyone to let go if they were at least mildly medicated, so he and Jane took some antianxiety pills that Jane's therapist had prescribed and Buddy washed down a time-released morphine pill with some scotch. Medication and forgiveness can make for joyous moments with the dying – it's like they get to return to childhood – and because nothing in the future matters, because you don't have to train them for life, teach lessons, forge applicable and practical memories, all the joy can be wicked from those last moments and stored in the heart. It was the best and closest time Charlie had ever had with his mother and his sister, and Buddy, in the sharing, became family as well. Lois Asher went to bed at nine and died at midnight. I can't stay for the funeral,† Charlie said to his sister the next morning. â€Å"What do you mean you can't stay for the funeral?† Charlie looked out the window at the giant ice pick of a shadow that had made its way down the mountain toward his mother's house. Charlie could see it churning at the edges, like flocks of birds or swarming insects. The point was less than a half mile away. â€Å"I have something I have to do at home, Jane. I mean, I forgot to do it and I really, really can't stay.† â€Å"Don't be mysterious. What the hell do you need to do that you can't attend your own mother's funeral?† Charlie was pressing his Beta Male imagination to the breaking point to come up with something credible on the spot. Then a light went on. â€Å"The other night, when you sent me out to get laid?† â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Well, it was an adventure, to be sure, but when I went to get my scalp sewed up, I also had a test. I talked to the doctor today, and I have to go get treatment. Right now.† â€Å"You moron, I didn't send you out to have unsafe sex. What were you thinking?† â€Å"It was safe sex.† Right, sure, he thought, he almost scoffed at himself. â€Å"It's the wounds they're worried about. But if I get on these drugs right away, there's a good chance that I'll be okay.† â€Å"They're putting you on the cocktail? As a preventative?† Sure, that's it, the cocktail! Charlie thought. He nodded gravely. â€Å"Okay, then, go.† Jane turned and hid her face. â€Å"Maybe I can get back in time for the funeral,† Charlie said. Could he? He had to retrieve two overdue soul vessels in less than a week, and hope that no new names had appeared in his date book. â€Å"We'll do it a week from today,† Jane said, turning back around, tears blinked away. â€Å"You go home, get treated, come back. Buddy and I will handle the arrangements.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Charlie said. He put his arms around his sister. â€Å"Don't you die on me, too, you fucker,† Jane said. â€Å"I'll be fine. I'll be back as soon as I can.† â€Å"Bring back that charcoal Armani of yours for me to wear to the funeral, and Cassie's strappy black pumps, okay?† â€Å"You? In strappy black pumps?† â€Å"It's what Mom would have wanted,† Jane said. When Charlie landed in San Francisco there were four frantic messages on his cell phone from Cassandra. She had always seemed so calm, composed – a stable counterpoint to his sister's flights of fancy. She sounded a wreck on the phone. â€Å"Charlie, she's got him trapped and they're going to eat him and I don't know what to do. I don't want to call the cops. Call me when you land.† Charlie did call, all the way into the city in the shuttle van he called, but kept getting transferred to voice messaging. When he got out of the van in front of his store he heard a hiss coming out of the storm drain at the corner. â€Å"I missed finishing with you, lover,† came the voice. â€Å"No time,† Charlie said, hopping over the curb and running into the store. â€Å"You never called,† purred the Morrigan. Ray was behind the counter mousing through Asian cuties when Charlie came storming through. â€Å"You'd better get upstairs,† Ray said. â€Å"They're freaking out up there.† â€Å"No kidding,† Charlie said as he passed. He took the stairs two at a time. He was fumbling his key into the lock when Cassandra threw the door open and pulled him into his apartment. â€Å"She won't let him go. I'm afraid they're going to eat him.† â€Å"Who, what? That's what you said on my voice mail. Where is Sophie?† Cassandra dragged him to Sophie's room, where he was met in the doorway by a growling Mohammed. â€Å"Daddy!† Sophie shrieked. She ran across the room and leapt into his arms. She gave him a big hug and a sloppy kiss that left a chocolate Sophie-print on his cheek. â€Å"Down,† she said. â€Å"Down, down.† Charlie put her down and she ran back into her room, but Mohammed prevented Charlie from entering, pushed his nose into Charlie's shirt, leaving a giant dog-nose print in chocolate. Evidently there had been a chocolate orgy going on in his absence. â€Å"His mother is supposed to pick him up at one,† Cassandra said. â€Å"I don't know what to do.† Charlie strained to see around the hellhound and saw Sophie standing with her hand on Alvin's collar while he menaced a little boy who was crouched in the corner. The little boy was a little wide-eyed, but otherwise unhurt, and he didn't seem that frightened. In fact, he was hugging a box of Crunchy Cheese Newts, and was eating one, then feeding the next one to Alvin, who was dripping hellish dog drool onto the kid's shoes in anticipation of the next newt. â€Å"I love him,† Sophie said. She went to the little boy and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a chocolate smear. Not the first. It appeared that this little guy had been suffering Sophie's affections for quite some time, for he was covered with chocolaty goodness and orange Cheese-Newt dust. â€Å"I want to keep him.† The little boy grinned. â€Å"He came over for a playdate. I guess you scheduled it before you left,† Cassandra said. â€Å"I thought it would be okay. I tried to get him out of there, but the dogs won't let me by. What are we going to tell his mother?† â€Å"I want to keep him,† Sophie said. Big kiss. â€Å"His name is Matthew,† Cassie said. â€Å"I know his name. He goes to Sophie's school.† Charlie started into the room. Mohammed blocked the doorway. â€Å"Matty, are you all right?† Charlie said. â€Å"Uh-huh,† said the chocolate-, cheese-, and dog-drool-sodden kid. â€Å"I want him to stay, Dad,† Sophie said. â€Å"Alvin and Mohammed want him to stay, too.† Charlie thought that perhaps he had not been strict enough in setting limits for his daughter. Maybe after losing her mother, he just hadn't had the heart to say no to her, and now she was taking hostages. â€Å"Honey, Matty has to get cleaned up. His mommy is coming to get him so he can go be traumatized in his own house.† â€Å"No! He's mine.† â€Å"Honey, tell Mohammed to let me in. If we don't get Matty cleaned up, he won't be able to come back.† â€Å"He can sleep in your room,† Sophie said. â€Å"I'll take care of him.† â€Å"No, young lady, you tell Mohammed to get – â€Å" â€Å"I have to pee,† Matthew said. He climbed to his feet and skipped by Alvin, who followed him, then under Mohammed and past Charlie and Cassandra to the bathroom. â€Å"Hi,† he said as he went by. He closed the door and they could hear the sound of tinkle. Alvin and Mohammed bullied their way through the doorway and waited outside the bathroom. Sophie sat down hard, her feet splayed out, her lower lip pushed out like the cowcatcher on a steam engine. Her shoulders started heaving before he could hear the sob – like she was saving up breath – then the wailing and the tears. Charlie went to her and picked her up. â€Å"I?CI – I?CI, he – he – he – he – â€Å" â€Å"It's okay, honey. It's okay.† â€Å"But I love him.† â€Å"I know you do, honey. It'll be okay. He'll go to his house and you can still love him.† â€Å"Noooooooooooooooooooooo – â€Å" She buried her face in his jacket, and as much as his heart was breaking for his daughter, he was also thinking about how much Three Fingered Wu was going to ding him for getting the chocolate stain out of his jacket. â€Å"They just let him go pee,† Cassandra said, staring at the hellhounds. â€Å"Just like that. I thought they were going to eat him. They wouldn't let me near him.† â€Å"It's okay,† Charlie said. â€Å"You didn't know.† â€Å"Know what?† â€Å"They love the Crunchy Cheese Newts.† â€Å"You're kidding?† â€Å"Sorry. Look, Cassie, can you clean up Sophie and Matty and take care of this? I have some stuff in my date book I have to take care of right away.† â€Å"Sure, but – â€Å" â€Å"Sophie will be fine. Won't you, honey?† Sophie nodded sadly and wiped her eyes on his coat. â€Å"I missed you, Daddy.† â€Å"I missed you, too, sweetie. I'll be home tonight.† He kissed her, got his date book from the bedroom, and ran around the apartment collecting his keys, cane, hat, and man purse. â€Å"Thanks, Cassie. You have no idea how grateful I am.† â€Å"Sorry about your mother, Charlie,† Cassandra said as he passed. â€Å"Yeah, thanks,† Charlie said, quickly checking the edge of the sword in his cane as he went by. â€Å"Charlie, your life is out of control,† Cassandra said, now slipping back into the unflappable persona that they were all used to. â€Å"Okay, I'll need to borrow your strappy black pumps, too,† Charlie said as he headed out the door. â€Å"I think I've made my point,† Cassie called after him. Ray stopped Charlie at the bottom of the stairs. â€Å"You got a minute, boss?† â€Å"Not really, Ray. I'm in a hurry.† â€Å"Well, I just wanted to apologize.† â€Å"For what?† â€Å"Well, it seems silly now, but I kind of suspected you of being a serial killer.† Charlie nodded as if he were considering the grave consequences of Ray's confession, when, in fact, he was trying to remember if there was any gas in the van. â€Å"Well, Ray, I accept your apology, and I'm sorry I ever gave you that impression.† â€Å"I think all those years on the force made me suspicious, but Inspector Rivera stopped by and set me straight.† â€Å"He did, did he? What exactly did he say?† â€Å"He said that you had been checking some stuff out for him, getting into places he couldn't get without a warrant and so forth, stuff that you'd both get in a lot of trouble for if anyone found out, but was helping to put the bad guys away. He said that's why you're so secretive.† â€Å"Yes,† Charlie said solemnly, â€Å"I have been fighting crime in my spare time, Ray. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you.† â€Å"I understand,† Ray said, backing away from the stairway. â€Å"Again, I'm sorry. I feel like a traitor.† â€Å"It's okay, Ray. But I really have to go. You know, fighting the Forces of Darkness and all.† Charlie held his cane out as if it were a sword and he was charging into action, which, bizarrely, it was and he was. Charlie had six days to retrieve three soul vessels if he was going to get caught up before he returned to Arizona for his mother's funeral. Two, the names that had appeared in his date book the same day as Madison McKerny were seriously overdue. The last had appeared in the book only a couple of days ago, when he was in Arizona – yet it was in his own handwriting. He'd always thought that he had been doing some kind of sleep writing, but now, this was a whole new twist. He promised himself he would freak out about it as soon as he had some time. Meanwhile, with the near-death hand job and the dead-mom thing, he hadn't even done the preliminary research on the first of the two, Esther Johnson and Irena Posokovanovich, and both were now past their pickup date – one by three days. What if the sewer harpies had already gotten there? As strong as they'd become already, he didn't even want to think about what they could do if they got hold of another soul. He considered calling Rivera to watch his back when he went to the house, but what would he say he was doing? The sharp-faced cop knew there was something supernatural going on, and he'd taken Charlie's word that he was one of the good guys (not a hard sell when he'd seen the sewer harpy driving a three-inch claw up his nostril only to survive nine rounds of 9 mm in the torso and still fly away). Charlie was driving with no destination, heading into Pacific Heights just because the traffic was lighter in that direction. He pulled over to the curb and called information. â€Å"I need a number and address for an Esther Johnson.† â€Å"There's no Esther Johnson, sir, but I have three E. Johnsons.† â€Å"Can you give me the addresses?† She gave him the two who had addresses. A recording offered to dial the number for him for an additional charge of fifty cents. â€Å"Yeah, how much to drive me there?† Charlie asked the computer voice. Then he hung up and dialed the E. Johnson with no address. â€Å"Hi, could I speak with Esther Johnson,† Charlie said cheerfully. â€Å"There's no Esther Johnson here,† said a man's voice. â€Å"I'm afraid you have the wrong number.† â€Å"Wait. Was there an Esther Johnson there, until maybe three days ago?† Charlie asked. â€Å"I saw the E. Johnson in the phone book.† â€Å"That's me,† said the man, â€Å"I'm Ed Johnson.† â€Å"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Johnson.† Charlie disconnected and dialed the next E. Johnson. â€Å"Hello,† a woman's voice. â€Å"Hi, could I speak to Esther Johnson, please?† A deep breath. â€Å"Who is calling?† Charlie used a ruse that had worked a dozen times before. â€Å"This is Charlie Asher, of Asher's Secondhand. We've taken in some merchandise that has Esther Johnson's name on it and we wanted to make sure it's not stolen.† â€Å"Well, Mr. Asher, I'm sorry to tell you that my aunt passed away three days ago.† â€Å"Bingo!† Charlie said. â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Sorry,† Charlie said. â€Å"My associate is playing a scratch-off lotto ticket here in the shop, and he's just won ten thousand dollars.† â€Å"Mr. Asher, this isn't really a good time. Is this merchandise you have valuable?† â€Å"No, just some old clothes.† â€Å"Another time, then?† The woman sounded not so much bereaved as harried. â€Å"If you don't mind.† â€Å"No, I'm sorry for your loss,† Charlie said. He disconnected, checked the address, and headed up toward Golden Gate Park and the Haight. The Haight: mecca for the Free Love movement of the sixties, where the Beat Generation begat the Flower Children, where kids from all over the country had come to tune in, turn on, and drop out – and had kept coming, even as the neighborhood went through alternating waves of renewal and decline. Now, as Charlie drove down Haight Street, amid the head shops, vegetarian restaurants, hippie boutiques, music stores, and coffeehouses, he saw hippies that ranged in age from fifteen to seventy. Grizzled oldsters panhandling or passing out pamphlets, and young, white-Rastafarian dreadlocked teenagers in flowing skirts or hemp drawstring trousers, with shining piercings and vacant pot-blissed stares. He passed brown-toothed crackheads barking at cars as they passed, a spiky holdover here and there from the punk movement, old guys in berets and wayfarers who might have stepped out of a jazz club in 1953. It wasn't so much like the hands of time had stood still here, more like they'd bee n thrown in the air in exasperation, the clock declaring, â€Å"Whatever! I'm outta here.† Esther Johnson's house was just a couple of blocks off Haight, and Charlie was lucky enough to find parking in a twenty-minute green zone nearby. (If the time came that he ever got to talk to someone in charge, he was going to make a case for special parking privileges for Death Merchants, for while it was nice that no one could see him when he was retrieving a soul vessel, some cool Death plates or â€Å"black† parking zones would be even better.) The house was a small bungalow, unusual for this neighborhood, where most everything was three stories tall and painted in whatever color would contrast most with the house next to it. Charlie had taught Sophie her colors here, using grand Victorians as color swatches. â€Å"Orange, Daddy. Orange.† â€Å"Yes, honey, the man barfed up orange. Look at that house, Sophie, it's purple.† The block did have its share of transients, so he knew the doors of the Johnson house would be locked. Ring the bell and try to sneak through, or wait? He really couldn't afford to wait – the sewer harpies had hissed at him from a grate as he approached the house. He rang the bell, then quickstepped to the side. A pretty, dark-haired woman of about thirty, wearing jeans and a peasant blouse, opened the door, looked around, and said, â€Å"Hello, can I help you?† Charlie nearly fell through a window. He looked behind his back, then back at the woman. No, she was looking right at him. â€Å"Yes, you rang the bell?† â€Å"Oh, me? Yes,† Charlie said. â€Å"I'm, uh – you meant me, right?† The woman stepped back into the house. â€Å"What can I do for you?† she said, a bit stern now. â€Å"Oh, sorry – Charlie Asher – I own a secondhand store over in North Beach, I just talked to you on the phone, I think.† â€Å"Yes. But I told you that it wasn't important.† â€Å"Right, right, right. You did, but I was in the neighborhood, and I thought, well, I'd just drop by.† â€Å"I got the impression you were calling from your shop. You got all the way across town in five minutes?† â€Å"Oh, right, well, the van is like a mobile shop to me.† â€Å"So the person who won the lotto is with you?† â€Å"Right, no, he quit. I had to kick him out of the van. New money, you know? All full of himself. Will probably buy a big rock of cocaine and a half-dozen hookers and he'll be broke by the weekend. Good riddance, I say.† The woman backed another step into the house and pulled the door partway shut. â€Å"Well, if you have the clothes with you, I suppose I can take a look at them.† â€Å"Clothes?† Charlie couldn't believe she could see him. He was completely screwed now. He'd never get the soul vessel and then – well, he didn't want to think of what would happen then. â€Å"The clothes you said you thought might belong to my aunt. I could look at them.† â€Å"Oh, I don't have those with me.† Now she had the door closed to the point where he could see just one blue eye, the embroidery around the neckline of her blouse, the button on her jeans, and two toes. (She was barefoot.) â€Å"Maybe you'd better check another time. I'm trying to get my aunt's things together, and I'm doing it all by myself, so it's a little hectic. She was in this house for forty-two years. I'm overwhelmed.† â€Å"That's why I'm here,† Charlie said, thinking, What the hell am I talking about? â€Å"I do this all the time, uh, Ms. – â€Å" â€Å"Mrs., actually. Mrs. Elizabeth Sarkoff.† â€Å"Well, Mrs. Sarkoff, I do this sort of thing a lot, and sometimes it can get overwhelming going through the possessions of a loved one, especially if they've been in one place for a long time like your aunt. It helps to have someone who doesn't have an emotional attachment to help sort things out. Plus, I have a pretty good eye for what's valuable and what's not.† Charlie wanted to give himself a high five for coming up with that on the spur of the moment. â€Å"And do you charge for this service?† â€Å"No, no, no, but I may make an offer to buy items you'd like to get rid of, or you can place them in my shop on consignment if you'd prefer.† Elizabeth Sarkoff sighed heavily and hung her head. â€Å"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to take advantage.† â€Å"It would be my pleasure,† he said. Mrs. Sarkoff swung the door wide. â€Å"Thank God you showed up, Mr. Asher. I just spent an hour trying to figure out which set of elephant salt-and-pepper shakers to keep and which to throw away. She has ten pairs! Ten! Please come in.† Charlie sauntered through the door feeling very proud of himself. Six hours later, when he was waist deep in porcelain-cow figurines, and he still hadn't located the soul vessel, he lost all sense of accomplishment. â€Å"So she had a special connection to Holsteins?† Charlie called to Mrs. Sarkoff, who was in the next room, inside a walk-in closet, sorting through yet another huge pile of collectible crap. â€Å"No, I don't think so. Lived her whole life here in the City. I'm not sure if she ever saw a cow outside of those talking ones that sell cheese on TV.† â€Å"Swell,† Charlie said. He'd been through every inch of the house except the closet where Elizabeth Sarkoff was working and he hadn't found the soul vessel. He'd peeked into the closet a couple of times, taking a fast inventory of the contents, and didn't see anything glowing red. He was starting to suspect that either he was too late, and the Underworlders had gotten the soul vessel, or it had been buried with Esther Johnson. He was heading down toward the basement again when his cell phone rang. â€Å"Charlie Asher's phone,† Charlie said. â€Å"Charlie, it's Cassie. Sophie wants to know if you're going to come home in time to tell her a story and tuck her in. I gave her dinner and her bath.† Charlie ran up the stairs and looked out the front windows. It had gotten dark and he hadn't even noticed. â€Å"Crap, Cassie, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was so late. I'm with an estate client. Tell her I'll be home to tuck her in.† â€Å"Okay, I will,† Cassandra said, sounding exhausted. â€Å"And, Charlie, you can clean up the bathroom floor. You've got to do something about those dogs getting in the tub with her. There are drifts of Mr. Bubble suds all over your apartment.† â€Å"They do enjoy their bath.† â€Å"That's cute, Charlie. If I didn't love your sister I'd hire someone to break your legs.† â€Å"My mom just died, Cassie.† â€Å"You're playing the dead-mom card? Now? Charlie Asher, you – â€Å" â€Å"Gotta go,† Charlie said. â€Å"Be home soon.† Charlie pushed the disconnect button four times, then one more time, just to be sure. Cassandra had been such a sweet woman, only days ago. What happened to people? Charlie bounded into the bedroom. â€Å"Mrs. Sarkoff?† â€Å"Yes, still in here,† came a voice from the closet. â€Å"I'm going to have to be going. My daughter needs me.† â€Å"I hope everything is all right.† â€Å"Yes, not an emergency, I've just been gone for a couple of days. Look, if you need any more help – â€Å" â€Å"No, I wouldn't think of it. Why don't you give me a few days to sort things out and I'll bring some items by your shop.† â€Å"I don't mind, really.† Charlie felt silly yelling to someone who was in a closet. â€Å"No, I'll be in touch, I promise.† Charlie couldn't think of any way of pressing the situation right now, and he needed to get home. â€Å"Okay, then. I'll be going.† â€Å"Thank you, Mr. Asher. You've been a lifesaver.† â€Å"You're welcome. Bye.† Charlie let himself out and the front door locked behind him with a click. He could hear stirring below the street – the rustling of feathers, the distant calls of ravens – as he made his way back to where he had parked his van. And when he got there, of course, it had been towed. When she heard the front door lock, Audrey went to the back of the closet and moved the big cardboard wardrobe box aside to reveal an elderly woman who was sitting calmly in a folding lawn chair, knitting. â€Å"He's gone, Esther. You can come out now.† â€Å"Well, help me up, dear, I think I'm stuck like this,† Esther said. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Audrey said. â€Å"I had no idea he'd stay that long.† â€Å"I don't understand why you let him in in the first place,† Esther said, creaky but on her feet now. â€Å"So he could satisfy his curiosity. See for himself.† â€Å"And where did you get that Elizabeth Sarkoff name?† â€Å"My second-grade teacher. It was the first thing I could think of.† â€Å"Well, I guess you fooled him. I don't know how to thank you.† â€Å"He'll be back. You know that, right?† Audrey said. â€Å"I hope not too soon,† Esther said. â€Å"I really need to visit the powder room.† Where is it, lover?† hissed the Morrigan from the grate on Haight Street, near where Charlie was trying to flag down a cab. â€Å"You're slipping, Meat,† said the hellish chorus. Charlie looked around to see if anyone else had heard, but passersby seemed very intent on their own conversations, or if alone, were staring intently at a point only twelve feet in front of them on the sidewalk, both strategies to avoid eye contact with the panhandlers and crazy people who lined the sidewalk. Not even the crazy people seemed to notice. â€Å"Fuck off,† Charlie said, in a furious whisper at the curb. â€Å"Fucking harpies.† â€Å"Oh, lover, this teasing is so delicious. The little one's blood will be so delicious!† The young homeless guy sitting just down the curb looked up at Charlie. â€Å"Dude, get the clinic to up your lithium and they'll go away. It worked for me.† Charlie nodded and gave the guy a dollar. â€Å"Thanks, I'll look into that.† He'd have to call Jane in Arizona in the morning and find out how far the shadow had moved down the mesa, if it had moved. Why would what he did or didn't do in San Francisco affect what was happening in Sedona? All this time he'd been trying to convince himself that it wasn't about him, and now it appeared that it very much was about him. The Luminatus will rise in the City of Two Bridges, Vern had said. What kind of dependable prophecy can you get from a guy named Vern, anyway? (Come on down to Vern's Discount Prophecy – The Nostradamus with the Low-Price Promise.) It was absurd. He had to keep going forward, doing his part, and doing his best to collect the soul vessels that came to him. And if he didn't, well, the Forces of Darkness would rise and rule over the world. So what. Bring it on, sewer hoes! Big deal. But his inner Beta Male, the gene that had kept his kind alive for three million years, spoke up: Forces of Darkness ruling the world? Okay, that would be bad, it said. She so loved the smell of Pine-Sol,† said the third woman that day to claim to have been Charlie's mother's best friend. The funeral hadn't been so bad, but now there was a potluck in the clubhouse of a nearby gated senior community where Buddy had lived before he moved in with Charlie's mom. The couple had returned there often to play cards and socialize with Buddy's old crew. â€Å"Did you get some sloppy joe?† asked best friend number three. Despite the hundred-degree heat, she wore a pink sweatsuit emblazoned with rhinestone poodles and carried a nervous little black poodle under her arm everywhere she went. The dog licked her potato salad while she was distracted by talking to Charlie. â€Å"I don't know if your mother ever ate sloppy joe. Only thing I ever saw her take in was an old-fashioned. She did enjoy her cocktails.† â€Å"Yes, she did,† Charlie said. â€Å"And I think I'm going to go enjoy one myself, right now.† Charlie had flown into Sedona that morning after spending the night in San Francisco trying to find the two overdue soul vessels. Although he couldn't find a burial notice for Esther Johnson, the pretty brunette woman at her house had told him that she had been interred the day after he'd first gone to the house in the Haight, and he assumed that the soul vessel had been, once again, buried with her. (Was the brunette's name Elizabeth? Of course it was Elizabeth, he was fooling himself to even pretend to forget. Beta Males do not forget the names of pretty women. Charlie could remember the name of the centerfold of the first Playboy he'd ever swiped from the shelves in his dad's shop. He even remembered that her turnoffs were bad breath, mean people, and genocide, and resolved that he would never have, be, or commit any of those things, just in case he ran into her sometime when she was casually sunning her breasts on the hood of a car.) There was no trace of the other woman, Irena P osokovanovich, who was supposed to have died days ago. No notice, no records at hospitals, no one living in her house. It was as if she'd evaporated, and taken her soul vessel with her. He had a couple more weeks to get to the third name in his date book, but he wasn't sure what he was going to have to deal with to get to it. Darkness was rising. Someone beside him said, â€Å"Small talk doesn't really get any smaller than when you've lost a loved one, huh?† Charlie turned toward the voice, surprised to see Vern Glover, diminutive Death Merchant, munching some coleslaw and ranch beans. â€Å"Thanks for coming,† Charlie said automatically. Vern waved off the thanks with his plastic fork. â€Å"You saw the shadow?† Charlie nodded. When he'd gotten to his mother's house this morning, the shadow of the mesa had reached his mother's front yard, and the calls of the carrion birds that churned in its edges were deafening. â€Å"You didn't tell me that no one else could see it. I called my sister from San Francisco to check the progress, but she didn't see anything.† â€Å"Sorry, they can't see it – at least as far as I've ever been able to tell they can't. It was gone for five days. It came back this morning.† â€Å"When I came back?† â€Å"I guess. Did we cause this? Doughnuts and coffee and it's the end of the world?† â€Å"I missed two souls back home,† Charlie said, smiling at a gentleman in burgundy golf wear who held his hand to his heart in sympathy as he passed them. â€Å"Missed? Did the – what did you call them – the sewer harpies get them?† â€Å"Could be,† Charlie said. â€Å"But whatever is happening, it seems to be following me.† â€Å"Sorry,† Vern said. â€Å"I'm glad we talked, though. I don't feel so alone.† â€Å"Yeah,† Charlie said. â€Å"And sorry about your mother,† Vern added quickly. â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"Hasn't even hit me yet,† Charlie said. â€Å"I guess I'm an orphan.† â€Å"I'll make sure and check out whoever gets her necklace,† Vern said. â€Å"I'll be careful with it.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"You think we have any control over who gets the soul next? I mean really. The Great Big Book says it will move on as it should.† â€Å"I guess,† Vern said. â€Å"Every time I've sold one the glow has gone out right away. If it wasn't the right person, that wouldn't happen, right?† â€Å"Yeah, I guess so,† Charlie said. â€Å"So there is some order to this.† â€Å"You're the expert,† Vern said – then he dropped his fork. â€Å"Who is that? She's so hot.† â€Å"That's my sister,† Charlie said. Jane was coming across the room toward them. She was wearing Charlie's charcoal double-breasted Armani and the strappy black pumps; her platinum hair was lacquered into thirties finger waves, which flowed out from under a small black hat with a veil that covered her face down to her lips, which shone like red Ferraris. To Charlie, she looked, as usual, like the cross between a robot assassin and a Dr. Seuss character, but if he tried to squint past the fact that she was his sister, and a lesbian, and his sister, then he could possibly see how the hair, lips, and sheer linear altitude of her might strike someone as hot. Especially someone like Vern, who would require climbing equipment and oxygen to scale a woman Jane's height. â€Å"Vern, I'd like you to meet my incredibly hot sister, Jane. Jane, this is Vern.† â€Å"Hi, Vern.† Jane took Vern's hand and the Death Merchant winced at her grip. â€Å"Sorry for your loss,† Vern said. â€Å"Thanks,† Jane said. â€Å"Did you know our mother?† â€Å"Vern knew her very well,† Charlie said. â€Å"In fact, it was one of Mom's dying wishes that you let Vern buy you a doughnut. Wasn't it, Vern?† Vern nodded so hard that Charlie thought he could hear vertebrae cracking. â€Å"Her dying wish,† Vern said. Jane didn't move, or say anything. Because her eyes were covered, Charlie couldn't see her expression, but he guessed that she might be trying to burn holes in his aorta with her laser-beam vision. â€Å"You know, Vern, that would be lovely, but could I take a rain check? We just buried my mother and I have some things to go over with my brother.† â€Å"That's fine,† Vern said. â€Å"And it doesn't have to be a doughnut, if you're watching your figure. You know, a salad, coffee, anything.† â€Å"Sure,† Jane said. â€Å"Since it's what Mom wanted. I'll give you a call. Charlie told you I'm a lesbian, though, right?† â€Å"Oh my God,† Vern said. He almost doubled over with excitement before he remembered that he was at a postfuneral potluck and he was openly imagining a mnage trois with the deceased's daughter. â€Å"Sorry,† he squealed. â€Å"See you, Vern,† Charlie said as his sister hustled him toward the kitchen cubicle of the clubhouse. â€Å"I'll e-mail you about that other thing.† As soon as they rounded the corner into the kitchen Jane punched Charlie in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. â€Å"What were you thinking?† Jane hissed. She flipped back her veil so he could see just how pissed off she was, just in case the punch in the breadbasket hadn't conveyed the message. Charlie was gasping and laughing at the same time. â€Å"It's what Mom would have wanted.† â€Å"My mom just died, Charlie.† â€Å"Yeah,† Charlie said. â€Å"But you have no idea what you've just done for that guy in there.† â€Å"Really?† Jane raised an eyebrow. â€Å"He will remember this day always,† Charlie said. â€Å"That guy will never again have a sexual fantasy in which you do not walk through, probably wearing borrowed shoes.† â€Å"And you don't find that creepy?† â€Å"Well, yes, you're my sister, but it's a seminal moment for Vern.† Jane nodded. â€Å"You're a pretty good guy, Charlie, looking out for a tiny stranger like that.† â€Å"Yeah, well, you know – â€Å" â€Å"For an ass bag!† Jane said as she sank a fist into Charlie's solar plexus. Strangely, as he gasped for breath, Charlie felt that wherever his mother was right now, she was pleased with him. Bye, Mom, he thought. PART THREE BATTLEGROUND Tomorrow we shall meet, Death and I – And he shall thrust his sword Into one who is wide awake. – Dag Hammarskj;ld

Human Resources and Their Recruiting Medium

I. Introduction to Online Recruiting There are several methods used by employees to recruit job applicants. Human resource recruiters can use traditional methods such as posting a job listing in a newspaper or hire an employment agency to search for job applicants. They may also choose to communicate with career office employees at universities and colleges to attract candidates, use networking methods at professional organizations, advertise in newspapers or on television, or use more recent recruiting sources such as the internet to find potential future employees. Recruiting job seekers over the Internet is a recent trend that allows organizations to successfully hire qualified applicants to join their corporation's workforce at a low cost compared to some other recruiting procedures. In recent times, many firms advertise job opportunities by placing a job posting on the Internet for external job hires. Some companies even use the Intranet to hire employees internal to the organization. The Intranet is used for internal recruiting purposes within a company and is a system that allows employees to view job openings at the company they currently work for. Through both the Internet and Intranet, job applicants can view the available positions and submit their resumes online. Employees can review several resumes and follow up by contacting candidates for interviews. Job recruiting over the Internet allows candidates and corporations a chance to connect. Online recruiting is a fast growing, popular service of the World Wide Web that many organizations are using for recruiting purposes. The employment industry has taken a big step towards recruiting in cyberspace. Applicants can be quickly located and recruited to join a team at a corporation. â€Å"Recruiting is the process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for organizational jobs.† (Mathis and Jackson, pg. 70) Recruiting over the Internet is not a replacement for traditional methods like radio advertising, newspaper listings, networking or attending career fairs, but is becoming very popular in our society. It is a good resource when an applicant is in search of a career opportunity. Lately, many newspapers place their job ads online for job seekers to view. Electronic advertising is a method of recruiting that corporations should consider when searching for qualified applicants to fill an opening in an organization. Companies should use this tool to attract qualified people. It is very important to recruit productive, trustworthy employees that will fit in the corporation's cultural environment and help the company achieve the established goals. Employees should follow the mission of the organization and work to help the business succeed. People, our human resources, need to be trained to meet these corporate goals. It is very costly to hire an employee that steals from the business or leaves the company after several training and recruiting dollars have been spent. Human resource managers want to obtain people that can grow with the company and are motivated employees. Electronic recruiting can be used to find employees with these skills. â€Å"The net has spawned a national marketplace for professional, managerial, and technical jobs.† (â€Å"Life on the web†) In the book, Smart Strategies, the author suggests you consider five approaches if you want to recruit online. First, you should â€Å"create your own web page on which you describe your company and list your employment needs.† Many organizations use this resource for applicants already interested in the company to view. It is also important to use an online headhunter for specialized or hard-to-find positions. Make sure the headhunter has a good reputation and is experienced in this field. Next, use search engines to locate applicants. The employer can simply type in a keyword such as accounting to narrow the search. Also, post your job listing on a Usenet newsgroup. Last, communicate with applicants through listserves. This means that you can specify your job openings and users are allowed to narrow their field of search. An applicant may search by state, company name, job title, or qualifications for the position. As you can see, subscribers receive a list on a specific topic of interest through electronic mailings. â€Å"The Internet opens a whole new world to the recruiting process. Online recruiting is definitely an employment tool of the future for companies of all sizes.† (Outlaw, pg. 80) Career sites such as The Monster Board allow individuals with various interests an opportunity to place their resumes online. â€Å"About 45 percent of the 50,000 jobs on The Monster Board are for one sort of technician or another, about 20 percent of the listings involve product management and development, and roughly 35 percent are completely nontechnical, such as marketing and retailing positions.† (Maynard, pg. 2) Large employers and smaller organizations use the Internet to find a person to fill a vacancy at their company. Roberta Maynard says, â€Å"about 70% of the companies recruiting on The Monster Board have under 50 employees.† Also, â€Å"the latest statistic revealed 1 million resumes online, 1.2 million jobs offered, 3,500 employment Web sites and 5,800 recruiting companies online in 1996, according to Internet Business Network's 1997 Electronic Recruiting Index.† (Wells, pg.1) More recent data probably indicates more resumes entered online, more jobs offered through this method, and an increase in organizations specializing in this area. This method of recruiting is becoming very popular for businesses to use. III. Advantages to the Job Candidates There are several benefits to candidates who use computerized services to find a job position. Many college graduates and professionals take advantage of Electronic Search Firms such as Online Career Center, CareerPath, CareerBuilder, and JobCenter to search for employment opportunities or view the websites of corporations they are interested in. One popular online database system is Careermosaic and can be found at the web address http://www.careermosaic.com where users can enter their resume for companies to review. Web sites such as Careermosaic offer advantages to the applicant by as giving the candidate the ability to gather information on organizations and various job opportunities, send out mass quantities of resumes to be viewed by several employers, state geographic preferences, and enjoy cost savings benefits for the applicant. Job candidates also save a tremendous amount of time using this method compared to other job hunting processes, may be able to look for internal jobs, and might find a site that allows them to look for a position by area of specialty or interest. A. Information Gathering on Organizations and Various Job Opportunities Applicants can read about current positions and jobs that have been listed for awhile and find out the necessary qualifications for the career opportunity. The candidate may even have a chance to view the salary given for a particular position. This system is very easy to use to locate a job position. Also, it is fairly easy to research a company to find background information to enhance interview preparation, areas of expertise, and job postings over the internet and apply for a position that interests you. Some websites even allow you to scan your resume instead of typing it in to apply for potential future employment opportunities. B. Mass Quantities of Resumes Viewed Many recruiters can view your resume by simply placing it on one of these popular sites. It would take a lot of time to send each employer you resume through another method. The candidate can choose a resume web site to submit their resume and wait for organizations to contact them when there is a possible fit for a job position. The ideal geographic location as well as other preferences can be listed on the online resume. For example, a candidate in Michigan graduating from Michigan State University may search for a job position in California and find out the responsibilities for the job, qualifications needed for the position, and which facility is hiring. When the candidate is viewing employment opportunities he or she can look for jobs in a desired location. Placing your resume online and searching company websites is free of charge so the candidate can benefit from cost savings over traditional methods of job searching. It can be very expensive to purchase high quality paper and envelopes as well as stamps to send a company your resume and cover letter. The electronic method also is less expensive compared to fax machines for long distance calls. This automated hiring process speeds up the procedure for both the employee and employer. The submitted resumes can be processed very quickly. You don't have to wait as long as it would take a typical resume submitted by mail to get into the hands of a human resource recruiter. By placing your information on the Internet, you can save time compared to the time that would be spent on the more traditional methods of sending resumes and cover letters. For example, a computer company in Dallas could place an advertisement for a job on their website or through another service over the Internet. A candidate can view the opening and express his or her interest immediately instead of waiting a few days for a mailed resume to reach the employer. For internal employees searching for a new job in their current place of employment they may have the option of using the Intranet for internal transfers within a company. According to Samuel Greengard, for HR groups today, the most action is on corporate Intranets, which allow secure Web-based communication within a company. Employees that work for an organization and wish to look for an opening in another department or a different position in the area they are currently working in can review the job postings internal to the company on the intranet if the firm has established this service. Dave Taylor, author of â€Å"Hire the best with internet, intranet resume databases,† believes companies can keep their competitive edge by designing a job database on your intranet to help retain employees, move them into their ideal position, and lower the cost of hiring. There are Career Sites that are designed primarily for applicants with certain backgrounds. For example, an applicant interested in being a physician, nurse, pharmacist, or physician's assistant can search for a job on the Medical Economics Online site. Someone wanting a job in a field like Information Systems can locate a search company that specializes in this area. Candidates can sort through jobs by geographic area, by job type such as marketing or accounting, by company name, or other desired preferences to specify an interest. A job applicant will enjoy the benefits of searching numerous positions that fit their credentials from home or at work. There are also several advantages to the employer that recruits employees online. The recruiter will realize they have a wide audience to reach over the Internet for available job openings and save time compared to other recruiting methods. They may also enjoy the benefit of saving money in this area, can get feedback to find out how many candidates have viewed the job opportunity, and bring attention to the organization. The human resource person also has the ability to sort through resumes submitted to their department, can find a person interested in a specific location to work, and enjoys the benefit of managing the large amounts of resumes received. The Human Resource recruiter discovers the benefit of reaching a wide audience by having a good advertising distribution through electronic websites. This means that the ad for the job position reaches many applicants all over the world. It would take a lot of time to place advertisements on television, in many local papers, or on the radio in several locations to find a suitable individual for a job. Advertisements placed over the Internet tend to reach greater numbers of people. Reaching a wide volume of people is an important factor to many recruiters. A recent term used by some corporations is Just in Time Recruiting (JITR) which brings the candidates to employers at the time that the company needs to hire someone. (Electronic Recruiting News, pg.1) This is very helpful when a company needs a replacement for an employee that left the corporation suddenly or a departmental need is realized. The employer can receive many resumes within hours of a job opening rather than waiting weeks to get resumes in the mail or through fax machines. Applicants can be found in cyberspace within a short time period. One of the most important advantages to the employer looking for possible hires online is the cost savings aspect of this recruiting method. Recruiting over the Internet costs much less than the typical methods of recruiting like advertising in a newspaper. This allows companies an opportunity to slash costs that are spent on recruiting. In comparison, a typical ad placed in a newspaper has a fee of versus an average cost of to place a listing on the Internet. â€Å"Web recruitment sites are free to the searcher, and the employer typically pays $2,000 to $2,500 a month to advertise as many as 100 job openings.† (â€Å"Life of the Web†) The cost to advertise on commercial sites will vary depending on what services the company offers and how long the posting is listed. Some of these sites want to increase the size of their database and do not charge for the service. â€Å"Those that do set fees typically charge $25 to $150 per job listing, with the duration of listings averaging four weeks.† (Maynard, pg. 3) There are some companies that offer the benefit of unlimited postings but charge an annual rate. Dr. Jim Jones from Colombia/HCA, Trident Medical Center said in his round table discussion with our Human Resource Management class that his department uses the internet at times to recruit employees to the hospital and it only costs about $20 a job posting. This is a small amount for such a large hospital. He has found some successful candidates using this method of recruiting employees. In an article on the topic of online recruiting there is a good example given about a Human Resource employee's experience using this method of attracting applicants and the benefits of this procedure. It says, â€Å"West decided to pay $125 for a classified ad listing that ran for 60 days with an Internet recruiting service. She not only found the right person to fill the job but also saved her company money – a weekend ad in her local paper would have cost three times as much.† (Maynard, pg. 1) â€Å"Some sites offer feedback to the employer, such as tracking the number of resumes that a given job listing generates.† (Maynard, pg. 3) The human resource individual can simply go into the site they posted a job on and look to see how much interest the position has received. Companies can stand out by putting more detail in their listings and can even create their own website to discuss their products and services as well as other corporate characteristics. Corporations should not assume applicants know to go to their website to find a position for future employment but can use their website to advertise job postings. Companies need to bring the individuals looking for employment to their site to use these features. An organization may go through an Electronic Search Firm to attract people to their business. The organization can match an applicant with the desired qualifications to the position. They can simply type in keywords to identify applicants with the necessary skills. â€Å"Adding a section composed entirely of keywords is useful because employees often search resumes for specific skills on a keyword basis.† (Martin, pg. 1) This can be very beneficial to both the recruiter and the job candidate. The Human Resource employee can search through several resumes and choose candidates that match the description of the job. The applicants could have a technical background since they are using a computer source to find a job. Employers have realized applicants in many fields use this service. The resumes are collected and entered into a database that allows employers to search through, store, and sort for keywords or by job type. Recruiters can use sites to search through resumes such as The Monster Board, which is an established service that several job seekers use to find employment and is located at http://www.monster.com. G. Geographic Location Specification If a company chooses to interview international applicants from other countries, the recruiting online method works because it reaches people all over the world. Recruiters can look through resumes to find candidates interested in working in a specific city in a country or even overseas. Online recruiting gives employers the benefit of managing the mass quantities of resumes received. It can be very overwhelming for a human resource representative at a large company to place applicants in various areas and have to read many resumes received for a particular position that may not fit the qualifications the company is looking for in a job candidate. Global Computer News, â€Å"GCN says the office now takes between 8000 and 10,000 applications over a four-day period without being overwhelmed.† (Appleton, pg. 4) V. Things to Consider When Applying Online Although, there are many benefits to recruiting online, there are also some things you should consider when applying for an opportunity at an organization through this method. You should consider the fact that you are only a name or number in a database and do not have personal contact with a recruiter at a company. It is important to differentiate yourself from other candidates. â€Å"Industry experts indicate that job candidates must still differentiate themselves even if a resume is delivered by fax or E-mail.† (Vitello, pg. 1) Some applicants chose to follow up with a phone call to introduce themselves to a representative of the corporation they are trying to work for. Also, remember your current employer may have access to the Internet if you wish to keep your job searching to yourself. There can be a risk to submitting your resume over the net. â€Å"On those databases, resumes can be just as easily accessed by a present employer as any other.† (Bergstrom, pg. 3) â€Å"Sending highly personal resume information electronically involves security risks.† (Appleton, pg. 1) It is not always the applicants with great qualifications that search the web either. Human resource employees at some corporations may not use the Internet to recruit employees so applicants may not be able to use this source in all situations. Not everyone has technological skills. A disadvantage for the job candidate that wants to apply for employment opportunities online is that they don't always know where to go to submit their resume. Another thing to consider when putting your credentials online is that the user of a career site should make sure they have the option to make edits to the resume they submit online. Jeff Walker, Major Accounts Receivable Manager from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) discussed the topic of electronic recruiting at the Society of Human Resource Management Association meeting on June 15, 1999. He said ADP does recruit employees over the Internet and can offer this opportunity to other companies interested in using this method. Mr. Walker believes the costs of recruiting are increasing and organizations should use the electronic recruiting methods to help locate candidates that match the skills needed for the job position. The web has a wide reach of potential applicants, can offer faster access to information on candidates, and is convenient. Employers like internet recruiting because it gives â€Å"faster results via electronic medium, has access to new talent base, cost less than traditional methods, is easy to integrate existing technologies with recruiting methods, and provides quality candidates.† (Jeff Walker Presentation to SHRM, June 15, 1999) Nancy , a Human Resource recruiter from Mecosa, located on Daniels Island, says their company is starting to think about recruiting job applicants online but is focusing on other important issues currently. She does wish to recruit over the Internet but it will take some time before the company is ready to step into this area. A guest at the SHRM meeting, Deborah Coleman, a human resource employee from Berkeley – Dorchester EDC has used this process to find employees a few times. Clint and Maxine from Williams Technology in Summerville, South Carolina have used this recruiting method to find a few employees but have not used this process extensively. Many companies realize there are many benefits to recruiting employees online but most organizations using this procedure currently are large businesses or smaller companies that have available resources. For example, Allison Dennis, from Santee Cooper does use electronic recruiting to locate potential applicants and enjoys the be nefits of the process. Although there are some things to consider when using online recruiting methods for hiring or job searching purposes, many individuals and corporations enjoy the advantages of electronic recruiting to find employment opportunities or to place an individual in a job opening. Online recruiting is a way to recruit job candidates that has been growing in popularity in our society and probably will continue to be used by many organizations to find qualified applicants for job openings. It has been a successful procedure for human resource recruiters all over. I. Introduction to Employee Selection Tests When deciding on hiring a job applicant or not there are various tests we might decide to administer to the individuals to access their potential for a job opening. We may consider the accuracy and usefulness of the different options to screen employees including selection exams. Also, many question the validity of these tests when deciding on administering them or not to jobseekers. If used correctly the various selection tests can provide useful information on candidates to an organization. â€Å"Proper selection can minimize the costs of replacement and training, reduce legal challenges and result in a more productive workforce.† (Ranner, pg. 1) Many think the popularity of these exams is growing and more corporations are administering these tests to prospects of employment. Employers would like to predict which candidates would be successful if offered a position with the company so they use selection tests. â€Å"Some employers purchase prepared tests, whereas others develop there own.† (Mathis & Jackson, pg. 79) Blackbaud does use various selection tests such as There are several selection tests that employers give to potential candidates to access their potential as future employees. Employers may use skills tests such as math or computer exams, genetic screening, drug and alcohol tests, handwriting analysis, medical exams, and psychological or personality tests to select employees. They may also choose to give honesty and written integrity exams, emotional intelligence exams, and AIDS tests to determine if the individual will receive a job at a company. Many organizations give skills exams like math tests or computer examinations to determine the capabilities of a potential employee. Often times clerical exams or another type of knowledge test is given to determine the applicant's skills. The employer needs to know this information to decide if it is worth training an applicant that lacks some abilities for the job or hire an individual who can perform the given duties. If the exam relates to the job responsibilities than employers should not worry about being sued for asking job seekers to take a skills test. A recent trend in corporations is to perform genetic screening before deciding to hire an individual. These tests can explain the background of the applicant. This screening process can â€Å"identify individuals who are hypersensitive to harmful pollutants in the workplace.† (Schuler and Huber, pg. 251) These employees can be placed in other positions that are not hazardous to their health if it is determined there is a risk. There is a debate over the ethics of using this method to screen applicants for a job. â€Å"Believe it or not, some big companies are using gene testing to screen out job applicants vulnerable to expensive and debilitating diseases.† (Cronin, pg. 1) Many organizations use drug and alcohol screening to eliminate hiring employees that may not be productive because of bad habits. It is important to employ individuals that do not have problems of substance abuse. Often times, employees with drug or alcohol addictions come to work late, are not motivated, and do not perform their job responsibilities adequately. â€Å"Drug studies have been done to help indicate problems that may occur with people that have drug problems. These studies indicate that a single pre-employment drug test can differentiate groups of persons at higher risk for certain poor job behaviors.† ( ) Many applicants expect to be tested for drugs and know methods to pass these exams so organizations should be aware of this possibility. â€Å"Preplacement tests are administered after a company makes a job offer contingent upon a clean result.† (Cronin, pg.4) Candidates should fill out a questionnaire before tested for drug usage because prescription drug use can show up in the laboratory results. A sample of urine, hair, or blood can be taken from the prospective employee to identify possible drug usage. The accuracy of drug tests varies according to the type of test used, the item tested, and the quality of the laboratory where the test samples are sent.† (Mathis and Jackson, pg.82) Companies that provide care-giving services usually test for drug usage because employees need to be prepared to respond to emergencies. Several organizations administer these exams to their employees. Handwriting analysis (graphology) is useful if the expert predicting it is experience in interpreting handwriting samples. The candidate may be asked to write a one -page summary on why they would be a good fit for the job and signs it at the bottom. This procedure only takes about ten minutes but will be analyzed also to determine the analysis of the handwriting. Handwriting exams are inexpensive, simple, and can reveal a lot about the personality of an applicant. There is a fee of about $150 for a two-page evaluation of a person's handwriting. A behavioral style analysis in the shorter versions runs for a cost of around $90-$150 for a two-page evaluation. As far as handwriting analysis in business, â€Å"In the selection of personnel, handwriting analysis is an invaluable tool for helping to choose the most suitable person for the job.† â€Å"For job seekers handwriting analysis provides an added bonus in that it requires no painful or embarrassing interview which a sensitive candidate is likely to see as an invasion of privacy.† Medical exams might be given to employees during the screening process. â€Å"After you make an offer, you can, under federal law, require a complete head-to-toe physical and access to all medical records.† (Michael P. Cronin, pg.4) In the United States, eleven of the states limit the use of this medical information to job-related needs. There is a high cost to the employer to give physical exams to potential employees so this is often done after other screening procedures are completed. â€Å"According to the Uniform Guidelines, physical examinations should be used to screen out applicants when the results indicate that job performance would be adversely affected.† (Huber and Schuler, pg. 250) â€Å"The Americans with Disability Act prohibits a company from rejecting an individual because of a disability and from asking job applicants any questions relative to current or past medical history until a conditional job offer is made.† (Mathis and Jackson, pg.82) These exams are valid if the physical characteristics of the candidate are essential to the job responsibilities. The American and Disabilities Act prohibits companies with more than 15 employees to ask questions about a candidates medical conditions before a job offer is given. Employers need to have a valid reason for not hiring someone based on a medical exam. F. Psychological or Personality Examinations Psychological or personality examinations may be given during the selection of future employees process. An exam may be used as a personality tool and could give results such as showing how aggressive a future sales representative will act. Companies may screen for emotional disorders but organizations should be careful because these tests should only be used for employees that work in security positions only because you don't want an employee that is considered dangerous to have a gun. The federal government in 1988 banned lie-detector tests and psychological tests became popular. These exams can test for an applicant's propensity to steal. They are used to look for emotional disorders in job candidates.