Management Case Study Essay

The case study below takes place at the Sir Charles Wilberforce Hospital’s cafeteria, which is experiencing problems with the change management. Due to the new management undertaken by Keith Davis, there was a major issue of inadequate communication channels, as Keith told his employees what to do rather than consult them, especially with the decision-making. The best alternative to rectify this problem is for Keith to adapt to a consultative management style, in order for employees to take ownership in their workplace through expressing their opinions and feel more valued, however still allowing Keith to still make the final decision. Another major issue addressed in the Cafeteria was the amount of unmotivated staff. As employees feel unsatisfied with their work, the best solution to this issue is Goal Setting. Through employees setting strategic goals they will increase their motivation through achievement of these goals which will lead them to set more challenging ones. Lastly, the third major issue recognised was Keith’s poor leadership skills which made it difficult for employees to fulfil expectations and find enjoyment in the workplace. The best alternative solution for this problem is to retrain Keith’s leadership abilities so he is able to adopt all the qualities needed to become a better leader in his managing role. Although this may be an expensive method, the new leadership qualities Keith will learn will make a happier work environment for his employees and build a better employer/employee relationship. 3. Problem identification Poor communication channels Keith focuses on top down communication channels, providing a one way communication which is from him to his employees, rather than two-way which provides his employees to communicate ideas with him. This negatively impacts the hospital as the Keith is unable to discuss problems or ask questions amongst employees to see if there are any problems going on amongst the workers and therefore leading to job dissatisfaction employees. Although Keith tried to soothe Julia when the issue between her and Madison was brought to his attention, he did not follow it up or treat it as an importance. Lack of staff motivation Prior to Keith’s managing, Anne’s original foundations of self-satisfaction and close family ties seemed to motivate the employees at Sir Charles Wilberforce hospital. Keith’s changes were made to become more efficient, employees were left struggling to gain satisfaction and motivation in order for themselves to achieve their hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954). In this hierarchy of needs Maslow developed, employees have five needs, physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualisation, once they fulfil one of their needs they can graduate to the next one to fulfil it and so on. Without fulfilling the social needs of forming social ties or self-actualisation of gaining enough experience within the kitchen to become a supervisor, it became unknown to the employees of what they are capable of and decreased their enticements to complete tasks and feel satisfied. Insufficient leadership abilities Keith lacks major leadership qualities, as the organisational layout he uses is to tell employees what to do, depriving them of guidance and support. The Hersey Situations leadership model suggests that leadership focuses on follower’s readiness (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2001). This theory suggests that at Sir Charles Wilberforce, if the employees feel they are unable to complete a task Keith should give those clear and specific instructions. If they are willing and confident Keith needs to provide them display high task orientation, and if employees feel able but are unwilling Keith would need to use a supportive approach. Lack of teamwork The teamwork environment of delegating tasks amongst of employees was not addressed by Keith. He believed that employees needed to finish work on time, plan menus monthly and take on cleaning responsibilities, whereas, the use of team work would have provided a better suited time managed system. Through having each employee assist with cleaning duties, planning menus, helping out another if time was short as well as assisting each other to get all food out and made the kitchen would be less chaotic. This would have assisted with issues if someone was ill, allowing more than one person to prepare greater portions of meals. 4. Statement of Major Problems The three major problems that are brought to the attention at Sir Charles Wilberforce Hospital are: Inadequate communication channels Unmotivated staff Insufficient leadership abilities The poor communication channel Keith utilises is top-down communication from Keith to his employees. As this is a workplace that depends on seeking ideas from others and support from each other, two way communications between Keith and his employees is necessary. This will allow employees to feel part of the decision making and feel they can share their ideas to improve the workplace. Following this Keith must then improve his leadership skills, putting his employees first and assisting them with any help and support they need in order to achieve a positive workplace. This may involve Keith revising the organisation’s culture, or distinguishing the strength and weakness of each employee so he knows how to assist each of them. Once Keith’s leadership abilities are improved, staff motivation must be identified and given, in order for employees to become productive within the kitchen and gain job satisfaction, increasing their abilities and allowing them to feel the want to work. 5. Generation and Evaluation of Alternative Solutions Inadequate communication channels Regular work meetings Set regular meetings within the kitchen, in order to concerns amongst employees to be discussed as we as evaluation on how the business is going and openly discuss ways to improve or maintain it. Advantages Allows for feedback Employees can listen to each person’s idea and encourages discussion openly Evaluate the earnings to the previous week and that time the previous year, allowing each person to suggest ways to improve or maintain their profit margins. Disadvantages Some employees may not attend May be time consuming to discuss all ideas Consultative management style Implement a Consultative management style in order to increase two-way and open communication between Keith and the employees. Advantages Allows employees to feel ownership in decision making Allows employees to share their ideas and opinions Gives confidence to employees Disadvantages Employees may feel held back to express their opinions because they do not feel comfortable Employees may feel offended if their ideas are not taken into consideration Time consuming Unmotivated staff Goal setting Implement setting goals, which involve employees setting goals that motivate them to improve their capabilities. Advantages Gives self-satisfaction Increases productivity and performance levels Disadvantages Time consuming to distinguish appropriate and achievable goals Goals ay appear as unattainable and lead to employees to give up Job design Mr Dev can alter the job design to assist in identifying and correcting any deficiencies that affect performance and motivation. Advantages Job enlargement, can be used to increase motivation by giving employee’s more and varied tasks so the employee is motivation to try new tasks Job rotation allows an employee to work in different departments or jobs in an organization to gain better insight into operations motivating the employee to increase his/her skills and knowledge about other jobs. Disadvantages Job enrichment may lead the employee transferred too much responsibility in the kitchen and independence in the planning and control aspects of the job which may suppress motivation levels Reward and Recognition Evaluating each employee to identify which people are performing to their maximum, and rewarding them financially or non-financially for their hard work, therefore motivating other employees to improve their work standards. Advantages Employees will increase performance to obtain more rewards Will produce higher standards amongst the employees Self- enrichment Disadvantages Expensive to keep purchasing rewards and reassess each employee to recognise After a while employees may feel that rewards may not motivate them anymore Keith may not want to undertake the idea of rewarding and recognising employees Insufficient leadership abilities Retrain Keith Retraining programs for Keith within the company or externally will allow Keith to develop better leadership qualities and create a happier workplace. Advantages Positively effects employees to feel trust and support from Keith Keith can evaluate themselves as to what skills are expected to lead the employees Disadvantages May take a while for Keith to learn and adapt to these skills May be expensive Dismiss Keith Dismissing Keith will demolish the issue of poor leadership abilities and will allow the business to replace him with a more experienced manager. Advantages Re-appoint a new manager who possess all correct leadership skills Employees are in a happier environment where they can get the support they need More time appropriate and efficient than retraining Disadvantages May be hard to find a replacement Employees may find it hard to adapt to a new manager and may be resistant to give them a chance due to their bad experience with Keith 6. Recommendation Consultative management style A Consultative management style is the recommended alternative for Keith to address to his employees. The type of management style used by Keith at this point is autocratic, which involves him making decisions for the hospital kitchen unilaterally. Although regular meetings are a good alternative by providing mediation and assistant towards employees, the consultative management style involves a permanent change to the organisation. The consultative style would involve Keith discussing ideas of possible changes to be made within the kitchen, as well as employees being able to give their opinions and ideas. By implementing a consultative management style, employees at the cafeteria will be able to perform to their optimum level, concentrating on increasing common sense approach for Keith to meet the needs and wants of the employees, as well as making employees realise their own abilities and capabilities in performing tasks, (McClelland, 1987). Similarly to regular meetings, the consultative approach gives open communication, however unlike meetings the consultative approach is more permanent in the workplace and is used daily, for example in decision making, gaining assistance with a task or getting support with a concern. This will benefit the kitchen, as the employees will respond more positively to any changes to feel more a part of the workplace and a sense of belonging. Keith will benefit from this style, as he will be given a broader range of ideas as well as maintain his authority to make the final decision. Goal Setting Setting goals is the preferred alternative for Keith to use within the kitchen. Despite the fact being rewarded motivates someone to maintain if not improve performance to be rewarded again, goal setting gives motivation. Goal setting enables employees to measure their processes and work performance. This enables employees to gain feedback on their results, unlike rewards and recognition which just motivates employees to try harder to gain another reward rather than possessing the want to gain the self-satisfaction that they have improved. Edward Locke’s theory of goal setting outlines that in setting specific and challenging goals it enables process and outcome improvement (Locke ; Latham, 1990). Similarly, job design suggests a different form of motivating to increase their skills of different tasks, however it also does hold the ability to measure the improvement that setting goals do. If goal setting is adapted by Keith, his employees would be able to achieve towards a higher performance, as well as motivating them to set higher goals with increasingly difficult tasks, once they have been achieved. Through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, this can assist in setting goals with Locke and Latham’s theory. Maslow theory suggests that ‘although no need is every fully satisfied, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates an individual to satisfy that need’ (Robbins, Bergmann, Stagg and Coulter, 2012, p559). This suggests that in identifying each need, physiological safety social esteem and self-actualisation, employees at sir Charles Wilberforce can pinpoint what tasks they need to complete in order to graduate to the next level. For example one of the employees may find that they feel they don’t belong, in order to achieve this level they can set a goal to form relations with other employees on a professional basis. Once this goal is achieved they can move on to develop their esteem needs. Retraining Keith Although, retraining Keith may be considered a time consuming process, compared to the alternative of dismissing Keith, it appears to be a more logical approach. Through retraining, Keith is able to gain leadership skills that he may not be aware are essential skills he needs in order to be a manager. This will transform him from telling his employees what to do, to instead assisting and guiding them through changes. Despite the expenses of this method, it may also be difficult for Keith to cooperate as well as understand the concept of these skills however unlike dismissing, he will be able to improve and allow for a happier work. The trait theory suggests that it is impossible to identify and isolate characteristics from leaders from non-leaders. However there are seven traits associated with leadership, these being ‘drive, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job-relevant knowledge and extraversion’, (Robbins, 2012, p605). Eventually with the retraining, Keith may possess these seven leadership abilities to involve his employees in decision making process and form a trust bond.

Keinan Abdi Warsame (K’Naan) an Unsung Hero!

Courage is being able to have the mental strength along with the ability to understand that you have a moral obligation to face your fears, danger and with stand any difficulties in life no matter how they are presented to you. My historian with courage is K’naan who is a poet, singer, songwriter, rapper and an instrumentalist. His birth name is Keinan Abdi Warsame and he was born on February 1, 1978 in Mogadishu, Somalia. In 1991 he experienced the beginning of the Somali Civil War. He had to witness his family members and friends fall victim to the war.K’naan had also played a short role in the war by participating in the gun violence. He felt (like many others) if you don’t participate, you will die. He has faced need death, from being shot at and walking through bomb mined fields. His mother was able to legally flee with him and his siblings to Canada, only to continue witnessing the minor life styles of the war that was brought over sees. He felt that he had to do something about this dire situation and began to rap to express this need. In 1999 he challenged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in regards to its failed aid missions to Africa (in particularly Somalia).In 2010 his song â€Å"Waving Flag† became the anthem for FIFA World Cup game and video game, which was extremely important for him because it was held in Africa. He has been joined by many artists from around the world in issues varying from the wars in Africa, the Haitian earthquake of 2009, and child abduction/slavery through his song â€Å"Fatima†. In 2011 he was given a special recognition from former President Bill Clinton for his global ambassador work. You have the power to stop someone from being hurt or to show them that they are thought of.

Accounting Study Essay Example for Free (#2)

Accounting Study Essay ? a) The ethical issue is the corporate reporting department is not recording the late entries and reporting incorrect numbers on purpose. b) Troy Normand is acting immorally because as a manager he is not making sure that the numbers are being recorded correctly. c) I would have done what a manager supposed to do and make sure the numbers and late entries are being recorded correctly. d) The major stakeholders are the employees. 1) Relevance- accounting information must be capable of making a difference in a decision. Predictive value, confirmatory value, and materiality help make up relevance. 2) Faithful representation- that the numbers and descriptions match what really existed or already happened. Completeness, neutrality, free from error help make up faithful representation. 3) Understandability- decision makers vary widely in the types of decisions they make, how they make decisions, the information they already possess or can obtain from other sources, and their ability to process the information. The quality of information that lets reasonably informed users see its significance. 4) Comparability- Information that is measured and reported in a similar manner for different companies is considered comparable. Enables users to identify the real similarities and differences in economic events between companies. 5) Consistency- is presented when a company applies the same accounting treatment to similar events, from period to period. Through such application, the company shows consistent use o f accounting standards. 1) If I want to buy shares in Pepsi Co I will sacrifice faithful representation for a gain from relevance. I can check the predictive value,  confirmatory value, and materiality of the company for the future value. 2) If I am choosing between two companies General Motors and Toyota I sacrifice relevance and chose consistency to see which company shows consistent use of accounting standards from period to period, to help me make my decision. 3) I am looking to invest in either Toyota or General Motors I sacrifice consistency and gain from using comparability. I can see the differences in the similar companies in a similar manner. 4) If I own shares in General Electric and I see that General Electric issues a three month report that shows interim earnings have declined significantly. I will sacrifice relevance and gain from understandability because of the information and sell my shares. C c) The Decision Usefulness criterion should be used to evaluate trade-offs between information characteristics. a) Realized or realizable, earned. A company realizes revenue when it exchanges products, merchandise, or other assets for cash or claims to cash. Revenue is realizable when the assets received or held are readily convertible into cash or claims to cash. A company delays recognition of revenues until earned. Revenues are considered earned when the company substantially accomplishes what it must do to entitle to the benefits represented by the revenues. B 1) Revenue is realized because it exchanges products for a claim to cash. 2) Revenue is realizable because of the claims to cash and the publication of the magazine every month. 3) Revenue is earned because the company accomplished what it must do to be entitled to the benefits. Accounting Study. (2016, Oct 18).

Introduction to the lab report on controlling barley powdery mildew Essay

Introduction to the lab report on controlling barley powdery mildew - Essay Example Cultural methods of control: Cultural methods of control of powdery mildew aim to ensure the eradication of inoculums from volunteer cereals and crop debris by disposing them and ensuring the removal of suitable conditions for disease development. Thus volunteer cereals which carry the inoculums through winter are uprooted and removed, and the cleistothecia inhabiting the crop residue too is eradicated by disposing off the crop residue. Other cultural practices used for control of powdery mildew in barley are application of larger quantities of nitrogen fertilizers, crop rotation and late sowing of the crop (Brooks, 1970). Chemical Control: Chemical agents used for control of powdery mildew in barley include azole fungicides and morpholine based fungicides. Systemic treatment of seed with azole fungicide was able to control the disease development on the saplings for a few weeks. Later if the disease appeared the same was applied on the leaves. However, with years of usage the E. gra minis has developed tolerance for this fungicide, thereby limiting their use and efficiency (Brown, 2002). Morpholine based fungicides are now used for chemical control of powdery mildew. ... The first pathway involves resistance imparted by recessive alleles at Mlo locus. It further requires two more host genes namely, Ror1 and Ror2 (Buschages et al., 1997). The resistance resulting as a consequence of this pathway is able to protect barley plant from all powdery mildew strains tested as yet. The other pathway involves collaborative action of multiple race specific resistance genes collectively known as R gene e.g. Mla, Mlg, Mlk etc (Jorgensen, 1994). Resistance imparted by the Mlo locus: Durable resistance The term durable resistance is indicative of the fact that resistance acquired by the plant is and will remain effective against all known and yet to appear varieties of the pathogen. This is the significance of the Mlo allele and the disease resistance imparted by it. Moreover the Mlo mutant allele renders the barley plant resistant exclusively to powdery mildew pathogen and has no effect on the activity of any other disease causing organism. Wild type Mlo allele enc odes a cell membrane receptor protein (Mlo protein) and is the dominant allele. It is the recessive and non functional allele which is responsible for powdery mildew resistance (Buschages et al., 1997). It has been reported that Mlo protein is imperative for the successful colonization of the pathogen in absence of which the fungal spores are unable to penetrate the epidermal cell layer of the host (Buschages et al., 1997). This is unlike the mechanism of resistance development by most resistant imparting genes, i.e. hypersensitivity (Shirasu and Schulze-Lefert, 2000). The first mutant at Mlo locus was introduced in 1942 the mutation caused by application of X-rays, and ever since improvements have been continuously done with

Auditing HIH disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Auditing HIH disaster - Essay Example In spite of major events which took place in succession in the HIH, some thing was lurking behind. By January 1999, the HIH acquired FAI insurance for A$ 300 million which later turned out be worth onlyA$100 million though the external audit of Arthur Andersen for the year 2000 did not make any issue of it. On the other hand the company was lauded to be worth A$ 939 million. Soon after in September, it sold half of its profitable retail general insurance business for cash liquidity and as a result its share prices fell down from A$ 1.05 to A$ 0.45 when the company announced losses. Yet the regulatory authority did not think fit to inspect the accounts as it relied on the external audit report had painted a healthy picture. This was followed by the resignation of the CEO founder of the company for 30+ years, with a compensation of A$ 5 million in December 2000. As the company had not filled its December statements, when they became overdue by February 2001, the regulator APRA was conc erned for the first time. Meanwhile on 27 February Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) took the initiative by suspending HIH's share trading soon followed by the APRA's fire fighting act of transferring the company's risk portfolio to other insurance companies to the extent possible. On 15 March 2001 HIH declared provisional liquidation with Government agencies covering some of its obligations which might cost the tax payer about A$ 1 billion to bail out policy holders. On 16 March, finally APRA started inspection of the HIH affairs. Government of Australia lost no time to set up an independent Royal Commission by August 2001 as already announced in May 2001 to investigate into the failure of the company. It took 6 months for the liquidator to arrive at the losses as between A$ 3.6 billion and A$ 5.3 billion. It has been stated that not only the settlement of policies and the company's creditors could not be made in full but also it would take ten years for disburs ement which might be in the ratio of 1: 0.5. This was how the second largest Australian insurer's corporate bubble burst representing the biggest collapse in the corporate history of Australia to date. The whole imbroglio was attributed to poor management by under pricing of policies and overestimation of its assets mostly non tangible rather than frauds. Soon after the company's fall, the premium market shot up steeply. While the APRA conceded that it was because of not provisioning the company with sufficient capital to cover its risks for quite a number of years that this had happened, the Australian Prime Minister had to rebut the public accusations that political donations siphoned off the company's resources. (Sungard Banc ware Erisk). Actually the company had indulged in acquisition spree of more than 200 subsidiaries which only made the company's size unwieldy in an already overcrowded and competitive insurance market though the acquisitions accounted for 26% premium growth per annum for a decade. Most controversial of all was the acquisition of FAI insurance for A$ 300 million which was worth hardly A$ 100 million and that too the company had borrowed money for the settlement. Rodney Adler the major stock holder of FAI who also became a member of HIH Board however clarified "that the purchase price of his company was too high by stating that the price was set, by definition,

The Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Developing Manager - Assignment Example This therefore means that they are all important, with the main goal being the identification of weaknesses and working on them. The following discussion will focus majorly on managerial skills and leadership characteristics that bring success in the hospitality industry. Question 1.1 Compare and contrast 3 different management styles that are used in an international hotel of your choice For the purpose of this discussion, the Hilton Hotel has been selected for analysis and completion of the assignment. The three main management styles in the hospitality industry are direct authoritative, pacesetters, and democratic affiliative. In the former category, the manager sets very high standards, and ensures that the performance is consistent (Cousins, Foskett, & Gillespie, 2000, 110). They do not tolerate non-performing members. Pacesetters make personal high standards within the organization. They are hard-working and hence motivate the rest of the employees to emulate them. Finally, the democratic affiliative managers ensure they involve others in making decisions, before they can set the standards. All the three are related in the sense that they are aimed at setting high standards within the international hotels. Managerial styles play a significant role in the international hotels (Cousins, Foskett, & Gillespie, 2000, 124). ... Managers understand that they do not have all the answers, hence involve other members. The other comparison is that the managers are the final decision makers. This is especially when the committee fails to agree on which direction should be followed to achieve certain goals. This owes to the fact that the managers have the duty to ensure that the hotels remain functional. They have the right of making any informed decisions, since they will be responsible for failing to act. Thirdly, the three types of managers are the main people behind the mission, vision and goals of the institution. They have articulated them, prompting them to make decisions, and proposals that are in line with what the hotel intends to achieve. For this reason, any activity taking place within the business has to be aligned with the set objectives. Fourthly, the three types of managers have the responsibility of maintaining discipline within the staff members. They reward and punish those who perform exceptio nally, and those who fail to adhere with the rules and regulations respectively. For instance, they may reward employees through promotion, increased wages and salaries, and creating an opportunity for them to add more skills and knowledge. On the other hand, non-compliant employees may be punished through sacking, especially when they are involved in gross misconduct. This is done with an aim of ensuring that all the staff members adhere to the set rules and regulations. This also ensures that the relationship between the customers and the hotel is enhanced. In addition to that, the reputation of the hotel is upheld, which is imperative in a competitive environment. Another major comparison between the three is that the managers set the organization culture. The latter

Marketing Strategy Individual Assignment in one of the Business Essay

Marketing Strategy Individual Assignment in one of the Business Planning assignment parts - Essay Example The objective of the company is to serve the people with healthy food and provide its customers with a healthy lifestyle. The company’s priority is to provide the customers with excellent food. Goal and objective of the organization includes, The mission of Crazy Food plc is to provide its valued customers high quality food and prompt service in a courteous and friendly manner. The mission of the organization can be achieved with the above set goals and objectives. In order to provide prompt service, the company aims to reduce the customers waiting time by 10minutes, involve organic food and use products which are low in fats and cholesterol. The products of the company would include the processed food and the ready to eat food products. The first brand of the company will be the confectionery brand by the name Crazy bite. Crazy Bite is a brand that have different favored sweets bar which will be available in different shapes and designed. It is one of the confectionary products of crispy in nature and coated with chocolate. The company provides a high class product as well as customer service. Unlike other food processing and ready to eat organization, Crazy food aims to provide its customers with the top quality of food products, which includes organic food at a large quantity at a reasonable price. The organization has adopted the low cost differentiation strategy as the prices charged are relatively low as compare to its competitors and aims to be the cost leader in the food processing industry and it differentiates its product by offering organic food products in the category of chips and dark chocolates along with others. Potential partners would be those health care centers or also those stores which keep healthy products. One of the most effective partners would be the organic food centers. People nowadays prefer organic and healthy food and thus they would

Fashion leg wear Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fashion leg wear - Research Paper Example These socks were split-toes, meaning they were suitable for wearing with slippers. The socks were woolen because wool was the material for the earliest hosiery known. The socks were up to ankle-length and were not as long as stockings (Rachel, par.1). People used wool and mixed wool in the production of the earliest forms of hosiery. Originally, stockings worn by men were brighter in color than those belonging to the women were. Men put on decorated stockings under their short to add glamor to their look. The decoration of socks and shorts was a common practice among boy scouts and soldiers after winning a war. As a show of their pride, when the men returned from war, they ripped their shorts and added colorful stockings to their look. Women, on the other hand, wore dull colored stockings that were invisible for the better part of the 19th century. Women’s stockings were invisible due to the very long skirts worn at the time. The main purpose of stockings during this period was to provide warmth and prevent frostbites (All about shoes 32). The invention of the machine used for knitting in 1589 was an improvement from hand woven stockings. The device improved both the rate and quality of hosiery made. The machine mainly made stockings from wool and cotton. It is also important to note that men wore most of the earliest forms of hosiery. Therefore, the stockings knitted by the machines were for men. Women were not in the picture up to later in the century (Rachel par. 2). Early into the 20th century, hosiery production shifted from the use of wool to use of cotton. Knitting machines were very useful in the making of stockings, especially those made from cotton. A type of cotton that was well polished, known as Lisle was also very common in the knitting of stockings. In both the 19th and early 20th century, men and women wore stockings to provide warmth. The

Wiki level English proof Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wiki level English proof - Essay Example gic" So far, the Daogame has successfully held three investment fair, about 20 of 60 pocketgame development teams received support from Daogame investment & trading conference and got over 48 million financial support from investor. The closed matrix mode is used in time cost management and CP quality management by Daogame investment & trading conference as a leader in pocket game industry. Moreover, Daogame investment & trading conference aim at high quality service pocket game developer and investor. 1. Oydcapital aim at TMT investment project that include pocket game, mobile Internet, e-commerce. They explore value of potential and creative idea. All members of fund management team were graduated from Tsinghua and Peking University. They have a great experience overses in the relative industry. With its operational experience and accumulated in the Sino-US trade both rich industry resources and connections to make up for insufficient investment in the company, as they seek opportunities for cooperation, customer follow-up financing and mergers and acquisitions or listing opportunities. Currently, Oydcapital have invested in 20 of 50 pocket game company. Such as EGLS (3billion sold to Dragon pipe manufacture co.Ltd), Lexun, Meituan.com. 2. Newmargin Ltd. is one of the largest investment company in China was established at 21 of July 1991. In the Chinese market Newmargin produce investment mode by many years’ development and exploration. Newmargin has over 400 clients, most of them coming from IT industry. such as Sina(one of largest web portal in China), UC, Xiaomi, Vancl, Kugou(popular online music platform in China), Thunder etc. Around 50-60 organizations were listed in market by Newmargin support. 3. China Renaissance K2 Ventures is one of the angle investor in technic area. Their clients include jumei.com, Centaur.cn, zhaogang.com, meilele.com, mojichina, Meet you, lmbang, breadtrip, Airline

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Political Science - Essay Example According to Tocqueville, the political masses which he called associations had a greater common good because they were not based on self-interest; rather, they were based on the goal of social, economic and even cultural good. These associations were therefore effective to prevent tyranny of the majority because they would put effective checks and balances (Neitzsch, 7). Baldwin conquers with the views of Tocqueville about associations being in a better position to fight against tyranny of the majority. He also argues that when people come together and join hands for the common good of fighting tyranny, the course is better and less selfish compared to only an individual fighting it. According to him, there is strength in numbers (Field, 120). Du Bois on the other hand rejects the notion and idea of tyranny of the majority and instead just wants individuals to focus on equal politics and democracy and forget about the division between the minority and the majority. Du Bois was an activist for the black movement and his main aim was to bring about equality between the races. This ideology was what he based his notion of tyranny on and hence the advocacy of equality (Gooding-Williams,

Theoretical Paradigms Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Paradigms Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Theoretical paradigms allow sociologists to analyze effectively virtually any dimension of society.   It is a set of fundamental assumptions that guides thinking and research.   Two among the three paradigms in sociology that I want to compare and contrast in terms of their strengths and weaknesses of their explanatory value for social inequalities are the Conflict Approach and Functionalism Approach. The Conflict Approach is a theoretical framework based on the assumption that society is a complex system characterized by inequality and conflict that generate social change. This approach complements the functional approach by highlighting not integration but social division.   This approach strength is that it guides sociologists to investigate how factors such as social class, race, ethnicity, sex, and age are linked to unequal distribution of money, power, education, and social prestige.  Ã‚   Therefore, rather than identifying how social structure promotes the operation of society as a whole, this approach focuses on how these patterns benefit some people while being harmful to others.   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, the functionalism Approach is a framework for building theory based on the assumption that society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability. The functional approach strength is that, it makes two assertions.   The first holds that society is composed of social structures, meaning relatively stable patterns of social behavior.   Social structures range from broad patterns, including the family and religious systems, to face-to-face behavior like waving hello.   The second is that each social structure has a social function, or consequences for the operation of society as a whole (Marx, 1984).   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, the functionalism approach has long been influential in sociology.   The positivist root in this approach is the tendency to see the social world as stable and orderly.   The job of sociologists, from this point of view, is to employ scientific research to learn how society works. Despite its strong influence on the discipline of sociology, however, recent decades have revealed the weaknesses of this approach.   By assuming that society operates more or less â€Å"naturally,† critics point out, the functionalism approach tends to overlook how social patterns vary form place to place and change over time.   Thus, the notion that any particular arrangement is natural seems hazardous at best.   By focusing attention on societal unity, critics point out, functionalism tends to overlook divisions based on social class, race, ethnicity, and gender, and to downplay how such division can generate tension and conflict. In addition to its weaknesses, functionalism emphasis on stability and tends to minimize important processes of social change.   Further, by emphasizing social integration, the functionalism approach tends to pay less attention to divisions based on social class, race, ethnicity, and gender and to downplay how such divisions often generate tension and conflict.   Overall, then, this approach takes a conservative stance toward society. The conflict approach, on the other hand, has developed rapidly in recent decades.   Yet, like functionalism, it has a number of weaknesses.   One, this approach highlights power struggles, it gives little attention to social unity based on functional interdependence and shared values.   Another, the conflict approach advocates explicitly political goals in its drive for a more egalitarian society, thereby giving up claim to scientific objectivity.   Supporters of this approach counter that all social approaches have political consequences, albeit different ones. An additional weakness, which applies equally to both the functionalism and conflict approach, is that they paint society with broad strokes, describing our lives as a composite of â€Å"family,† â€Å"social class,† â€Å"gender,† â€Å"ethnic group,† â€Å"race,† and so on. Hence, both functionalism and conflict approach share a macro-level orientation, meaning a concern with large-scale patterns that characterize society as a whole.   They take in the big picture, as one might investigate a city from the vantage point of a helicopter high above the ground, noting how highways facilitate traffic flow from one place to another or the striking contrasts between rich and poor neighborhoods. These approaches limit their attention to large-scale structures and processes while overlooking the details of everyday life (such as the interactions that occur in a particular bar on a particular day at a particular hour).   Macro-level orientation takes various forms: those who adopt a conflict approach see large-scale social patterns in terms of how they impose themselves on the behavior of individuals.   That is, they try to describe characteristics of society as a whole in ways that illuminate patterns of interaction among individuals. Those who adopt a functionalism approach ask how the large-scale patterns of society as a whole contribute to the integration of society. Conflict sociologists find that the distribution of people among position (or statuses) affects decisions even as â€Å"personal† as the choice of a marriage partner.   Tepperman Curtis (2004) use two characteristics of society—heterogeneity and inequality—to predict rates of intermarriage (that is, the frequency of marriage involving people from different racial, ethnic, or religious groups).     Ã‚  Heterogeneity refers to the level of sameness or differentiation within a population:   heterogeneity is high if a population is divided into many different racial, ethnic, or religious groups; it is low if most of the people are the same in these respects. Inequality refers to the distribution of valued resources such as wealth or education.   In a society with high inequality, such resources are concentrated in the hands of the few, while the majority has very little left to divide among themselves; inequality is lower when these resources are divided more evenly among people in a society.   According to Tepperman Curtis, higher rates of heterogeneity and inequality encourage people to interact with people different from themselves, and this interaction in turn increases the rate of intermarriage.    It follows that higher rates of heterogeneity and inequality generally promote rather than discourage intergroup relations of all kinds.   The behavior is predicted from the structure of the society itself rather than from the beliefs and attitudes of individuals.   The level of integration of a society is a consequence of the distribution of people among social positions (that is, of the amount of heterogeneity and inequality). The functionalists take a different perspective on the large-scale integration of society.   These sociologists see society as composed of specialized institutions: patterned behaviors and status/role relationships that fulfill basic societal needs.   For example, economic institutions are responsible for mobilizing scarce resources in order to produce and distribute goods and services that people need.   Dissimilar institutions are held together in an ordered whole because each is assigned the task of satisfying a particular societal need; each contributes to the overall functional integration of the society itself.   Without families, for example, new generation would not be socialized to the dominant values and norms of the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a conclusion, both the Conflict Approach and Functionalism Approach envision society in abstract terms, which sometimes seem quite distant from our everyday experience. References Marx, K. (1984).   Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy. T. B.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bottomore, Trans.     McGraw-Hill, New York. Tepperman, L. Curtis, J. (2004).   Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. Oxford   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press, Canada.

Market Research Report Energy and Sports Drink Market Growth in Asia Essay Example for Free

Market Research Report Energy and Sports Drink Market Growth in Asia Essay The changing consumer preferences, demand for functional beverages, increasing awareness towards healthy lifestyles and growing urban population in Asia would be the major factors that would drive the market in coming years. An increasing awareness towards healthy lifestyles has led to a transition in the taste and preferences of people in Asia. The young urban population has been the target customer for energy and sports drink brands in this region. The energy and sports drinks are majorly consumed by professional sports people, gym goers and by working professionals and students that require a special beverage in order to boost their energy and stay active. â€Å"The increasing participation of the health conscious people in sports and fitness activities has greatly impacted the growth trend of sports and energy drink market in Asia. The young population aged 25-35 years represents a potential group of customers for the energy and sports drink manufacturers in the region. † – According to the research report ‘Asia Energy and Sports Drink Market Outlook to 2017’ by Ken Research. The increasing media exposure towards sporting events on television has captured the attention of people, which in turn has encouraged the youth to adopt sports as a profession or as a hobby. This has impelled the growth of sports drinks in Asian countries over the last few years. Sports drinks market in Asia is dominated by famous brands such as Gatorade, Powerade and Pocari Sweat. Red Bull majorly has dominated the energy drink market in the region. Red Bull has effectively maintained a strong distribution channel in various countries in Asia such as in India, China, Japan, Thailand and in South Korea. The energy and sports drink market is anticipated to be driven by the growing trend of health and fitness is expected to create significant demand in Asian countries. The consumer expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages is expected to surge in the region owing to the rise in disposable incomes of the people. The rising awareness about fitness and health benefits among the people in the region will encourage more people to join fitness and sports clubs which will drive the demand and consumption of energy and sports drink in the coming years. The report provides detailed overview on the energy and sports drink market in Asia and help reader to identify the ongoing trends in the key segments of the industry and anticipated growth in future depending upon changing industry dynamics in coming years. The report will aid industry consultants, food and beverage service companies and marketing companies and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in future. For More Details Please Click On Following Link: http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/asia-energy-and-sports-drink-market-research-report/429-104. html http://www. kenresearch. com/press/news-asia-energy-and-sports-drink-market/211. html Related Links: http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/japan-energy-and-sports-drink-market-research-report/432-104.html http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/south-korea-energy-and-sports-drink-market-research-report/433-104. Html http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/india-energy-and-sports-drink-market-research-report/431-104. html http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/thailand-energy-and-sports-market-research-report/434-104. html http://www. kenresearch. com/agriculture-food-beverages/beverages/china-energy-and-sports-drink-market-research-report/430-104. html.

The interpretation of images

The interpretation of images Does the person (or people) who produce a work (image, film, artwork etc.) ultimately control its meaning and interpretation? The relationship between a person and/or people controlling a piece of work, and thus its meaning, are closely inter-related. Photographers, for example, hold multiple theories. One photographer may concur with the notion of inter-relation, whilst another may hold an idea contradictory – theories that support a negative interpretation of, in this case, an image. Throughout this essay I will be looking into different photographers views on meanings of a piece of work and authorship. I will be doing this by comparing the photographers’ views, concluding the questions answer s and then explaining my opinion and summarising the essay. I believe most photographers agree that they have full control of the meaning or interpretation of an image, when we look at an image and read then read the concept behind it we are led to believe that, that is the intended meaning of that piece of work. However, sometimes when we are looking into contradicting and deceiving images that is when the public eye notice that the concept may not be what the photographer intended to show through his photographs. It is common practice for photographers to use various methods to analyse the meaning and interpretation of an image. They have a choice as to the method employed, which can give results ranging from the qualitative, to the quantitative. Kevin Carter’s Pulitzer Prize, given for an award-winning image of a malnourished Sudanese child, is one particular example of how the intended meaning of an image can actually be interpreted. The image signified no celebration – a child barely surviving, and a vulture eager for carrion. However, this image which epitomised Sudan’s famine would go on to win Kevin Carter fame, from previous hopes of a career built on hounding the news, free-lancing in war-ravaged countries, and waiting anxiously for assignments amid dire finances; he would stay in the line of fire for that one great image. The photograph was sold to ‘The New York Times’ where it appeared on 26 March 1993, as a ‘metaphor for Africa’s despair’. Overnight, hundreds contacted the newspaper to ask if the child has survived. As a result, the newspaper ran an unusual special editors’ note explaining to the public that the girl did have enough strength to get away from the vulture, but that her ultimate fate was unknown. Journalists within Sudan were requested not to touch victims of famine due to the risk of disease transmission. Despite this, Carter came under aggressive criticism for not helping the girl. The‘St. Petersburg Times’in Florida wrote â€Å"The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene.’’[1] The approach that public opinion doomed on Carter was not only that of taking the image instead of immediately chasing the vulture away, but also the element that he did not help the small girl afterwards who clearly needed help. Then again, as Carter explained later that he left her in such a weak condition to continue the march by herself towards the feeding centre. Kevin Carter committed suicide two years after receiving the Pulitzer Prize. We are led to believe that Kevin Carter’s suicide note is as followed: â€Å"Im really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist depressed without phone money for rent money for child support money for debts money!!! I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners I have gone to joinKenif I am that lucky.†[6] Joanne Cauciella Bonica, Massapequa, New York expressed her feelings to the world by saying â€Å"It is ironic that Kevin Carter won the Pulitzer for a photograph which to me is a photograph of his own soul and exemplifies his own life. Kevin is that small child huddled up against the world, and the vulture is what we could call ‘the angel of death’. I just wish someone would have chased that evil from his life. Im sure that little child surrendered to death just as Kevin did. Both must have suffered significantly.†[7] This is a prime example of whether the photographer, the producer of the image, has ultimate control over the meaning and interpretation of their work. An analysis into Kevin Carter’s ‘vulture stalking a child’ image reveals that his intentions were only to show a bird spreading its wings. On the contrary, the result was much more haunting – on the most basic level, it is interpreted as an image of a predator and its prey, by the viewers. Following such observations and information requests to The New York Times, the viewers altered the meaning of the image, from one that should have shown a vulture spreading its wings, to one which displays a cruel, heart-breaking, and cultural issues image. â€Å"He heard a soft, high-pitched sobbing and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding centre. As he crouched to photograph her, a vulture landed in sight. Trying careful not to disturb the bird, he positioned himself for the best possible image. He later then said he waited patiently for about 20 minutes, hoping the vulture would spread its wings. However it did not, and after he took his photographs, he claimed to chase the bird away, yet still watched as the little girl continued her struggle to the feeding centre.†[2] Therefore, when we look back at the question, does the person (or people) who produce a work (image, film, artwork etc.) ultimately control its meaning and interpretation? We can look at this question in many different ways when we begin to deconstruct the image bit by bit, so we can observe many different individual parts of this image to interpret. When we look at this image whole, what we are pushed to believe that the image is representing a malnourished Sudanese child that is crying for help, you could say the image is showing awareness of what is happening in different areas of the world. However, if we were to deconstruct this image, the concept of the photograph is completely changed to a wild animal looking for its pray to pounce on. Which then relates to wildlife/documentary photography. Then again, if we were to deconstruct the image the other way around we would see a raising awareness image of the people of Sudan needing help, instead of the journalist photography that Kevin Carter is so highly known for. ‘’The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guidelines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.’’[3] When looking into the rules of thirds we frame the photograph and imagine it divided into 9 individual parts of the image, as a photographer when using the rule of thirds properly we try to position the main parts of the photograph near the lines and intersections of the grid. Therefore, when we look at Kevin Carters image using this method, we see that the vulture and child meet the criteria of the rule of thirds rules, the main aspects of the image line up with the main centre lines of the grid. This could be known as a perfect picture, if you will. However, we are told that Carter’s intentions of this image was to take a picture of the bird ‘spreading its wings’ and flying away. Carter must have been set up in a position where if he did take the image it would be seen as a perfect image, then again because this was the image he produced instead, this one turned out to be ‘The perfect image in photography rules.’ Stephen Bull Discourses are infamously tricky to evaluate. Ever since the 1970’s this idea of disclosure has perfected, absorbed and if you will replaced the theory of ideology. Its use in the analysis of photographs, ideology generally devises from the writings of the French philosopher Michel Foucault. However in summary of Foucault’s work the definition of disclosure is known as ‘a groups statements which structure the way a thing is thought, and the way we act on the basis of that thinking,’[4]. All of the elements around a certain photographs or photographic practice’ are its wide-ranging perspective that is produced and then how it is thought about. Therefore to illustrate this idea, it is useful to scrutinise thoroughly many different theories such as Martin Parr’s conservative ‘Midsummer Madness’ party has been expressed through a number of discourses, the originally meaning has been re-interpreted, sometimes subtly, other times significantly in its process. The cost of Living conservative Midsummer Madness is part of the documentary discourse – where ‘things as they are’ are shown. Many writers such as John Tagg would have been more likely to argue that the arranging of the photographs in this particular imagery is within the disclosure of documentary, which produces the idea that they portray the reality of the middle class consumerism in the 1980’s in Britain. Then again Parr’s work is involved in a development of the discourse documentary where the photographer allows more of a personal, independent viewpoint throughout their image of choice. (Bull, 2010). Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright Many images produce meanings, however meanings of a piece of work do not are not, strictly speaking, fully interpreted in the work itself, this is where the producer of the piece of work has placed its individual elements for the viewer to uncover them. The meanings and interpretations of work are based besides the image itself and the producer of the image. Then again, images have what we call the ‘dominant’ better known as a shared meaning. The image can also be interpreted and seen in many ways that do not adapt to its originally meaning. However, it is important to realise that not all work of arts and media productions do not speak to all viewers the same, rather, a piece of art speaks to specific viewers who are drawn into the image when being viewed. For example, style, content, the world it builds and the issues it raises. When a viewer is interested in a photograph they say the image speaks to them, perhaps because they can relate to it or know of someone who they can relate it to. ‘Just as viewers create meaning from images, images also construct audiences.’[5] Normally most images we view have some sort of concept behind them that their producers have tried to show throughout the image this could be a small or large aspect of the image. For example, advertisers look into audience research to ensure that the product they are advertising to sell is directly focused at the right age group or gender for the best selling point. Artists, graphic designers, filmmakers and many other people in this industry use images that the viewer will read interpret to their satisfaction. (Sturken, Cartwright, 2001). To conclude, does the person (or people) who produce a work (image, film, artwork etc.) ultimately control its meaning and interpretation? After looking into different online and library book resources such as ‘Stephen Bull PHOTOGRAPHY’ who expresses how an individual photograph is thought about and portrayed, I have found that all the recourses I have read through have one thing in common, the theory of a viewer creates meaning from images and the image creates the audience. Even though I have mentioned throughout my essay that the producer of the work attempts to show the meaning he intends to give throughout his/her image/images the main aspect in my opinion is the viewer and their opinion of the image and how they are drawn into it, how they interpret the image and relate to it. I believe from the research I have found that the person/people who produce the work do not have full control of the image. The producer attempts to show meaning throughout the image/images, process but how it is seen is the main element of this question. In summary, if the producer had full control there would be no need to have a research team in all advertisement of artist, graphic design and photography industries. The producer would not need to look into his target audience or age category, he/she would just take the picture and broadcast it. However this is something that is vital throughout the photographic industry. We direct our work to a specific audience to what the images concept illustrates. Therefore, â€Å"the audience will change the images interpretation†[8]. Bibliography Kevin Carter. (2011). Manic Street Preachers. Available: http://www.learningfromlyrics.org/KevinCarter.html. Last accessed 09/03/2015. Kevin Carter. (2011). Manic Street Preachers. Everything must go. 7 (4), 34. Pete Williams. (1999). Rule of Thirds. Available: http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/rule-of-thirds. Last accessed 11/03/2015. Stephen Bull (2010). PHOTOGRAPHY. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 43. Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright. (2001). Viewers Make Meaning. In: Practices of looking. United States, New York: Oxford University Press. 45. Macleod Scott. (12 December 1994). The life and death of Kevin Carter. Available: http://content.time.com/time. Last accessed 20/03/2015. Joanne Cauciella Bonica. (10th august 2005). The ultimate in the unfair. Available: http://flatrock.org.nz/. Last accessed 20/03/2015. Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright. (2001).Practices of looking. New York: Oxford University Press. 45.

The Wright Brothers: Great Innovators of Flight Essay example -- Wilbu

Throughout history, mankind has been fascinated with the concept of flight. It was not until the turn of the 20th Century that the dream of flying among the birds became a reality. On December 17, 1905, Wilbur and Orville Wright flew on the first flying machine that was heavier than air. The Wright brothers made a legacy for themselves and are remembered as some of the greatest innovators of their time. In this report, I will give a brief biographic account of the early adulthood, pre-flight business endeavors, and the events that led up to the innovation that evolved into modern aeronautics. Wilbur, the eldest, was born near Millville, Indiana in 1867. Orville was born Dayton, Ohio, in 1871. During their childhood, the Wright brothers were inseparable. According to The Wright Brothers by Russell Freedman, Wilbur Wright once said, â€Å"From the time we were little children, my brother Orville and myself lived together, played together, worked together and, in fact, thought together.† Even as adults, they shared everything from a joint bank account and their flight experiments. To the surprise of the public, despite being good students, neither of the Wright Brothers finished high school nor received any special education in the fields of science and engineering. However, they always were handy with tools and had well-developed problem solving skills. Even as adults, the wright brothers enjoyed playing with mechanical toys and devices. There curiosity with mechanical devices with encouraged by their parents, Milton Wright and Susan Koerner. In 1878, after the father returned from a business trip, Milton Wright gave his sons a toy called a Pà ©naud helicopter. This toy was made of cork, bamboo, and thin paper and ... ...mproved versions of the original Flyer. The inventions and discoveries of the Wright brothers have become the foundation of modern aeronautics. The invention of the airplane has improved over sea travel and is one of the fastest modes of travel. Today, thousands of people fly on commercial airlines in order to travel long distances in extremely short periods of time. Furthermore, airplanes have become an important form of technology used to turn the tides of war. The Wright brothers reached for the sky and flew beyond expectations. Works Cited Old, Wendie. To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers Freedman, Russell. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane Wikipedia The Wright Brothers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers The Smithsonian The Wright Brothers http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/

Crossing Over With John Edwards :: Media Television Paranormal Essays

Crossing Over With John Edwards The article that I have picked is from Entertainment Weekly. This article goes into detail about skeptics whose websites debunk all things paranormal. The skeptics focus on John Edwards, a medium, also known as a cold reader (http://skeptics.com.au). In the article, John Edwards is described as having a show named "Crossing Over With John Edwards," a Sci Fi Channel seance that has recently been reincarnated as a nationwide syndicated series. During this hour long show, John Edwards surrounds himself with an audience and picks out people at random. After saying a name out loud, he then finds that person and focuses his attention towards that one individual. Then he starts firing certain questions to this individual only wanting a yes or a no answer. Once he starts to get yes answers, he knows that he is on the right path to getting the individual to believe anything he says. John Edwards has claimed that he can communicate with the dead, but the web skeptics in the next few paragraphs think otherwise. One web skeptic from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (http://csicop.org) describes the technique that explains John Edwards abilities to communicate with the dead and also have the ability to uncover personal details about the dead people, sight unseen. This technique is called "The Art of Cold Reading." One reading by Edward performed on Larry King Live is being dissected on the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (http://csicop.org.) site by Joe Nickell. Now Joe Nickell goes onto describing how John Edwards incorporates "The Art of Cold Reading" into his act. For example, John Edwards poses questions like "Im getting an older male who is there on the other side," in away that is correct but it has a wide scope, it could mean that he is a friend, brother, uncle, father, grandfather take your pick(E.Weekly, Sept. 21,2001, 86). An Australian skeptics website (http://skeptics.com.au), says that the scenario on the Larry King Live show was true, but the lady that called in actually wanted to communicate with her mother. But John Edwards persistant questionings about the gentlemen figure won out because she was so busy wondering who this gentlemen was that she actually forgot she wanted to communicate with her mother. Now cold readers often focus on their "after death communication" by rapid-firing through a number of different possibilities.

Essay --

Unethical business practices have been an issue over the past decade, from Enron to Wall Street. Pilot Flying J recently was prosecuted for defrauding many of their clients. The scandal extended all the way to the senior management. The scandal was driven by greed and could have easily been prevented by applying one or all of the following five systems: written contracts, external auditors, compliance officers, handbook training, and moles. Pilot Flying J only had informal verbal agreements with their partners; they did not have firm contracts. When combined with the complexities needed to calculate the constantly varying average cost of fuel and the sophistication needed to interpret these numbers, PFJ had some flexibility to fudge the numbers if inclined. Due to constantly varying fuel prices the average cost of the fuel was constantly changing, leading to relatively significant changes in the amount of the rebates. Since their clients complained about being cheated due to the varying rebates, PFJ decided to manually change the rebates so that they are more consistent. This manual change often reduced ones rebate. This reasoning illustrates the senior management’s lack of ethics. PFJ and their clients had somewhat of a rough verbal contract. Verbal contracts are just as enforceable as written contracts on paper, but it is not as easy to enforce them in the real world. Written contracts between Pilot Fly ing J and their customers would have forced PFJ to become more accountable to their customers. A written contract should have been made between PFJ and their customers that stated the discount rate and all of the other factors that went into the relationship. PFJ was not transparent in their inner workings, often ... ...to ensure that they are both doing their duty. Neither of these options for placing a mole within ones organization would be difficult or time consuming. Either option would be a valid way to ensure that nothing illicit is going on inside the business. Although having a mole in one’s organization can be seen as borderline illegal and unethical, if having a mole prevents fraud on a significant scale, then it is considered justifiable. By following any of the aforementioned ways to enact systems that create a lawful work place PFJ could have prevented this scandal from happening. All PFJ had to do was spend a little time reiterating their daily rules and procedures. These systems were probably not in place because the executives were the ones that were committing the fraudulent activities. Greed has cost Pilot Flying J $85 billion dollars and their good name.

Child Devlopment Essay

Cognitive Development consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory, all these are featured in the boy I observed, Aaron King who was the little boy I chose to observe. He is a four year-old preschooler at the above named learning center. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other fourteen kids in his classroom, sang the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on and so forth. The teacher taught the kids about â€Å"Me† book which described the parts of the body, however, she asked Aaron to touch his hands, elbows & cheek which he did correctly. After singing the clapping song and some other songs, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. He also made a ship with legos, I asked him why he made a ship, and he told me that he would like to be an architect. Aaron amongst others was able to write their names and figure out pictures on the paper. For example, the letter Bb for ball and drew a line to join the letter to the picture of ball. He was able to do that for all the alphabetic letters to compliment individual pictures on the paper. Soon, Aaron stood up to go to the library; as he got to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was, another boy ran towards him and pushed him together with the book that he just picked – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He staggered, but he immediately got control of himself while he looked so surprised that he was pushed without doing anything. He reported the matter to the teacher â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † then the teacher told Josiah to say sorry to Aaron which he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly. In summary, Cognitive Development is a very important outcome of learning for preschoolers as they always have their brain developed through creative arts. This consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory; all these are featured in the boy I observed. Acting drama is acting another character by putting on the costumes – for example, acting as a professional doctor or a lawyer or a nurse can be an eye opener to the preschoolers on what profession they may aspire to be in the near future; Aaron wants to be an architect, he says he likes to put up beautiful buildings. A good imaginative skill is very important for preschoolers to become smart; similarly, sequencing – doing things in an orderly manner is also a good learning skill. Ultimately, Aaron Kingsland has all these qualities. Child Development 201 A Preschool Language & Literacy Development Observation Child’s Name: Aaron Kingsland (An imaginary name) Date: October 7th, 2011 Time: 9:00am – 11:30am. Observer’s Name: —————————————- Location:Early Creativity Learning Center Classroom LANGUAGE & LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION OF A PRESCHOOLER – 4 YEARS OLD. My observation of language and literacy in a preschool classroom for children of four and five years old was interesting. Aaron Kingsland (four years old) was the preschooler at the above named learning center whom I chose to observe. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. The kids in the classroom were seventeen in number – eight girls and nine boys. I observed Aaron in particular in the class for two and half hours from the beginning of the circle time till the end. The primary language used by the teacher was English; Aaron also speaks same language as well as the whole class. Language is said to be a means of communicating ideas, & feelings. There are four basic developmentally appropriate practices and clear language outcomes in the preschool classroom I observed. They are Literacy Development, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Emotional Developments. Literacy is a very important developmental appropriate practice. The four basic skills which young children need are Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading. These were ultimately displayed by Aaron in the circle time activities performed that morning. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other seventeen kids in his classroom, started to sing the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. } If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } If you are happy and you know it, stamp your feet †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦} Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, nod your head †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, do all three †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. } Thrice. While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on. After singing, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. All the Children talked and cooperated with one another in friendly manner. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. Soon, Aaron went to the library and sat close to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was hanging. He picked a book – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He went to report a boy who pushed him on his way to the library to his teacher, he said†¦ â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † The teacher took an appropriate action by telling Josiah to say sorry to Aaron and he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly and studiously. In summary, Language and Literacy development is the use of words to communicate ideas, listen and comprehend others’ ideas. Reading, talking and expressing what they do and following directions go a long way for preschoolers Through reading, Aaron amongst other peers has book knowledge, comprehension and appreciation of what he read. More importantly, literacy goes a long way in our society and even in the world.

How does Williamson show the use and abuse of power in “The Club”? Essay

David Williamson exposes the use and abuse of power in his play The Club, which offers â€Å"a look at the power behind the big men of the sporting world†. Through the use of dramatic and language techniques such as dramatic irony, mise en scene and simile. Williamson suggest that manipulation of power can destroy friendships, organisations and affects one’s passion. In particular the abuse of power is shown to backfire on Jock, Gerry and Ted this suggest that individuals and groups should not abuse their power but instead follows Laurie’s example and use power selflessly. The committee members’ passion for the game leads them to use and abuse their power to form an ideal team to win the premiership, however their actions go against the club’s values and negatively affect the club. Ted’s passion for the game is displayed by the line, â€Å"I’ve seen every game we’ve played since I was six†, and his detailed description of Laurie’s first kick with jargon like ‘long low pass’ and ‘blind turn’, which reveal his commitment towards the sport and the club. However, as the president, Ted only cares about winning and loses sight of the team. This is shown when Geoff Hayward is purchased without consulting Laurie (the coach) and the team members. Ted’s abuse of power is emphasised by Laurie’s angry tone when he is criticising Ted for trying to tell him how to coach, and by his dismissal in the line â€Å"I don’t appreciate interference from amateurs†, which co nnotes Ted’s status as a newcomer trying to run the club. Although Ted is motivated by his passion for the game, his abuse of power to show authority over the team makes the club suffer. In the text, Williamson shows factionalism through the portrayal of characters working against each other and manipulating one another. Jock and Gerry’s abuse of power is displayed with dramatic irony as they are shown to be plotting behind the player backs and scheming for Ted and Laurie to get fired. Gerry says to Laurie that he wants Ted out â€Å"as much as you do†, appearing sympathetic, but the audience also sees Gerry talking to Ted about how they are going to force Laurie to resign after the season. Gerry uses  and abuses his power to get the ideal team that he and Jock want. Also, Jock’s abuse of power is evident by Laurie’s accusation that Jock only supported the committee’s traditional approach to recruiting players to stop Laurie from succeeding, claiming that â€Å"the reason why you wouldn’t let the club buy players was to stop me winning a flag.† Williamson uses diction and tone to bring out Jock’s scheming and manipulation toward Laurie so he can achieve and accomplish his own hidden agenda, which is to undermine Laurie. Laurie’s selfless acts upon others show how moral he is, and show his loyalty to the club, he shows that he doesn’t abuse his power and uses his power selflessly. This is shown through the use of language of disagreement, where Laurie tries to defend Danny’s position when â€Å"Danny was getting thrashed. I thought you mightn’t have noticed†, a quote from Ted which emphasises how badly ‘thrashed’ Danny was. Because of this, Ted wanted to ‘shift him’ but Laurie disagreed with the fact that anyone on the team besides Danny could take Wilson (one of the best footballer). This shows Laurie’s morality in terms of how he thinks of others, that he knows that Danny ‘was desperate to keep on trying’. This shows Laurie’s human aspect and therefore shows his loyalty to the club. Another abuse of power to be measured is Jock’s human aspect. Jock is loyal to the club, but is based on selfish and violent acts; he wants everything to be good for him, so that his name can be on top of the club. He is also a non-secretive person, and because of this, he shows that he doesn’t care what he does, and therefore emphasises he only cares for himself and is self-motivated. In the play, The Club displays how characters take advantage of their status with their power of being talent. This is shown when the club receives a new player from Tasmania, which also changes the traditions of having their â€Å"local boys† playing for the game. Williamson exposes how players such as Geoff Hayward take advantage of their power and use their power to receive a better income and take advantage of the club. Geoff Hayward abuses his power also on Jock by telling his problems, however Geoff is lying to Jock and Jock believes everything in what he is saying. This is seen with the line delivery, and tone of â€Å" I get the feeling that something is worrying you Geoff†, in my own interpretation jock is gesturing to Geoff in a way that  offers to help by listening, but jokes facial expression would be that he thinks he is better for suspecting something is wrong. Geoff uses his power to abuse jock by fooling him in to a trick and making him believe in the unthinkable. In conclusion David Williamson highlights how the abuse of power that can take away one’s passion for the game, and loose in what they stood for like ted. Also that people use their power to gain respect and only use it for their own motives such as Jock and Gerry as they just wanted their ideal team. However, like Laurie he uses his power selfless and liked to use his power for what they believe is right. The Club explores how power can be used positively and negatively and the message behind it is to show the corruption behind the sporting world.

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 17~18

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Jonathan Livingston Reaper Amy wore an oversized, tattered â€Å"I'M WITH STUPID† nightshirt and Local Motion flip-flops. Her hair was completely flat on one side and splayed out into an improbable sunburst of spikes on the other, making it appear that she was getting hit in the side of the head by a tiny hurricane, which she wasn't. She was, however, performing the longest sustained yawn Clay had ever seen. â€Å"Ooo ahe-e, I aya oa a,† she said in yawnspeak, a language – not unlike Hawaiian – known for its paucity of consonants. (You go ahead, I'm okay, she was saying.) She gestured for Clay to continue. Clay cued the tape and fiddled with the audio. A whale tail in a field of blue passed by on the monitor. â€Å"There's someone outside, Captain.† â€Å"Does he have my sandwich with him?† Amy stopped yawning and scooted forward on the stool she was perched upon behind Clay. When the whale tail came down, Clay stopped the tape and looked back at her. â€Å"Well?† â€Å"Play it again.† He did. â€Å"Can we get a feeling for direction?† Amy asked. â€Å"That housing has stereo microphones, right? What if we move the speakers far apart – can we get a sense where it's coming from?† Clay shook his head. â€Å"The mikes are right next to each other. You have to separate them by at least a meter to get any spatial information. All I can tell you is that it's in the water and it's not particularly loud. In fact, if I hadn't been using the rebreather, I'd never have heard it. You're the audio person. What can you tell me?† He ran it back and played it again. â€Å"It's human speech.† Clay looked at her as if to say, Uh-huh, I woke you up because I needed the obvious pointed out. â€Å"And it's military.† â€Å"Why do you think it's military?† Now Amy gave Clay the same look that he had just finished giving her.† ‘Captain'?† â€Å"Oh, right,† said Clay. â€Å"Speaker in the water? Divers with underwater communications? What do you think?† â€Å"Didn't sound like it. Did it sound like it was coming from small speakers to you?† â€Å"Nope.† Clay played it again. â€Å"Sandwich?† he said. â€Å"Sandwich?† â€Å"The Old Broad said that someone called her claiming to be a whale and asked her to tell Nate to bring him a sandwich.† Amy squeezed Clay's shoulder. â€Å"He's gone, Clay. I know you don't believe what I saw happened, but it certainly wasn't about a sandwich conspiracy.† â€Å"I'm not saying that, Amy. Damn it. I'm not saying this had anything to do with Nate's† – he was going to say drowning and stopped himself – â€Å"accident. But it might have to do with the lab getting wrecked, the tapes getting stolen, and someone trying to mess with the Old Broad. Someone is fucking with us, Amy, and it might be whoever is recorded on this tape.† â€Å"And there's no way the camera could have pulled a signal out of the air, something on the same frequency or something? A mobile phone or something?† â€Å"Through a half-inch of powder-coated aluminum housing and a hundred feet of water? No, that signal came in through the mike. That I'm sure of.† Amy nodded and looked at the paused picture on the screen. â€Å"So you're looking for two things: someone military and someone who has an interest in Nate's work.† â€Å"No one – † Clay stopped himself again, remembering what he'd said to Nate when the lab had been wrecked. That no one cared about their work. But obviously someone did. â€Å"Tarwater?† Amy shrugged. â€Å"He's military. Maybe. Leave the tape out. I'll run a spectrograph on the audio in the morning, see if I can tell if it's coming through some kind of amplifier. I've got nothing left tonight – I'm beat.† â€Å"Thanks,† Clay said. â€Å"You get some rest, kiddo. I'm going to hit it, too. I'll be heading down to the harbor first thing.† † ‘Kay.† â€Å"Oh, and hey, the ‘kiddo' thing, I didn't mean – ; Amy threw her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. â€Å"You big mook. Don't worry, we'll get through this.† She turned and started out the door. â€Å"Amy?† She paused in the doorway. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Can I ask you a†¦ personal question, kinda?† â€Å"Shoot.† â€Å"The shirt – who's stupid?† She looked down at her shirt, then back at him and grinned. â€Å"Always seems to apply, Clay. No matter where I am or who I'm with, the smoke clears and the shirt is true. You gotta hang on to truth when you find it.† â€Å"I like truth,† Clay said. â€Å"Night, Clay.† â€Å"Night, kiddo.† The next day the weather was blown out, with whitecaps frosting the entire channel across to Lanai and the coconut palms whipping overhead like epileptic dust mops. Clay drove by the harbor in his truck, noting that the cabin cruiser that Cliff Hyland's group had been using was parked in its slip. Then he turned around and caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye as he drove past the hundred-year-old Pioneer Inn – Captain Tarwater's navy whites standing out against the green shiplap. He parked his truck by the giant banyan tree next door and humped it over to the restaurant. When Clay came up to the table, the hostess was just seating Cliff Hyland, Tarwater, and one of their grad students, a young blond woman with a raccoon sunburn and straw-dry hair. â€Å"Hey, Cliff,† Clay said. â€Å"You got a minute?† â€Å"Clay, how you doing?† Hyland took off his sunglasses and stood to shake hands. â€Å"Please, join us.† Clay looked at Tarwater, and the naval officer nodded. â€Å"Sorry to hear about your partner,† he said. Then he looked back down at his menu. The young woman sitting with them was watching the dynamic between the three men as if she might write a paper on it. â€Å"Just a second,† Clay said. â€Å"If I could talk to you outside.† Now Tarwater glanced up and gave Cliff Hyland an almost imperceptible shake of the head. â€Å"Sure, Clay,† Cliff said, â€Å"let's walk.† He looked to the junior researcher. â€Å"When she comes, coffee, Portuguese sausage, eggs over easy, whole wheat.† The girl nodded. Hyland followed Clay out to the front of the hotel, which overlooked the harbor fueling station and the Carthaginian, a steel-hulled replica of a whaling brig, now used as a floating museum. They stood side by side, watching the harbor, each with a foot propped on the seawall. â€Å"What's up, Clay?† â€Å"What are you guys working on, Cliff?† â€Å"You know I can't talk about that. I signed a nondisclosure thing.† â€Å"You got divers in the water, people with underwater coms?† â€Å"Don't be silly, Clay. You've seen my crew. Except for Tarwater, they're just kids. What's this about?† â€Å"Somebody's fucking with us, Cliff. They sank my boat, tore up the office, took Nate's papers and tapes. They're even messing with one of our benefactors. I'm not even sure they don't have something to do with Nate's –  » â€Å"And you think it's me?† Hyland took his foot off the seawall and turned to Clay. â€Å"Nate was my friend, too. I've known you guys, what? Twenty-two, twenty-three years? You can't think I'd do anything like that.† â€Å"I'm not saying you personally. What are you and Tarwater working on, Cliff? What would Nate know that would interfere with what you're doing?† Hyland stared at his feet. Scratched his beard. â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"You don't know? You know what we're doing – figure it out. Listen, I know you guys are using a big towable sonar rig, right? What's Tarwater looking at? Some new kind of active sonar? If it didn't have a hinky element, he wouldn't be here on site. Mines?† â€Å"Damn it, Clay, I can't tell you! I can tell you that if I thought it was going to hurt the animals, or anyone in the field for that matter, I wouldn't be doing the work.† â€Å"Remember the navy's Pacific Biological Ocean Science Program? Were you in on that?† â€Å"No. Birds, wasn't it?† â€Å"Yeah, seabirds. The navy came to a bunch of field biologists with a ton of money – wanted seabirds tagged and tracked, behavior recorded, population information, habitat, everything. Everyone thought the heavens had opened up and started raining money. Thought the navy was doing some sort of secret impact study to preserve the birds. Do you know what the study was actually for?† â€Å"No, that was before my time, Clay.† â€Å"They wanted to use the birds as delivery systems for biological weapons. Wanted to make sure they could predict that they'd fly to the enemy. Probably fifty scientists helped in that study.† â€Å"But it didn't happen, Clay, did it? I mean, the data was valuable scientifically, but the weapons project didn't pan out.† â€Å"As far as we know. That's the point. How would we know, until a seagull drops fucking anthrax on us?† Cliff Hyland had aged a couple of years in the few minutes they'd been standing there. â€Å"I promise, Clay, if there's any indication that Tarwater or the navy or any of the spooky guys that come around from time to time are involved with trying to sabotage you guys, I'll call you in an instant. I promise you. But I can't tell you what I'm working on, or why. I don't exactly have funding coming out my ears. If I lose this, I'm teaching freshmen about dolphin jaws. I'm not ready for that. I need to be in the field.† Clay looked at him sideways and saw that there was real concern, maybe even a spark of desperation in Hyland's eyes. â€Å"You know, your funding might be a little easier to come by if you weren't based in Iowa. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's no ocean in Iowa.† Hyland smiled at the old dig. â€Å"Thanks for pointing that out, Clay.† Clay extended his hand. â€Å"You promise you'll let me know?† â€Å"Absolutely.† Clay left feeling totally spent. The great head of steam he'd built up through a night of fitful sleep had wilted into exhaustion and confusion. He got in his truck and sat while sweat rolled down his neck. He watched tourists in aloha wear mill around under the great banyan tree like gift-wrapped zombies. Cliff Hyland's eggs were still steaming when he returned to the table. Tarwater looked up from his own breakfast and moved his snow-white hat away from Hyland's plate, as if the rumpled scientist might splash yolk over the gold anchors in a fit of disorganized eating. â€Å"Everything all right?† The young woman at the table fidgeted and tried to look invisible. â€Å"Clay's still a little shaken up. Understandably. He and Nathan Quinn have been working together a long time.† â€Å"Lucky they made it this long without self-destructing,† Tarwater said. â€Å"Slipshod as they run that operation. You see that kid that works for them? Not worth grinding up for chum.† Cliff Hyland dropped his fork in his plate. â€Å"Nathan Quinn was one of the most intuitively brilliant biologists in the field. And Clay Demodocus may very well be the best underwater photographer in the world, certainly when it comes to cetaceans. You have no right.† â€Å"The world turns, Doc. Yesterday's alphas are today's betas. Losers lose. Isn't that what you biologists teach?† Cliff Hyland came very close to burying a fork in Tarwater's tanned forehead, but instead he slowly climbed to his feet. â€Å"I need to use the restroom. Excuse me.† As he walked away, Hyland could hear Tarwater lecturing the junior researcher on how the strong survive. Cliff dug his mobile phone out of the pocket of his safari shirt and began scrolling through the numbers. Clay was just dozing off in the driver's seat when his mobile trilled. Without looking at the display, he figured it was Clair checking up on him. â€Å"Go, baby.† â€Å"Clay, it's Cliff Hyland.† â€Å"Cliff? What's up?† â€Å"You've got to keep this under your hat, Clay. It's my ass.† â€Å"I got you. What is it, Cliff?† â€Å"It's a torpedo range. We're doing site studies for a torpedo test range.† â€Å"Not in the sanctuary?† â€Å"Right in the middle of the sanctuary.† â€Å"Jeepers, Cliff, that's terrible. I don't know if my hat is big enough to hold that.† â€Å"You gave me your word, Clay. What's with ‘jeepers'? Who says ‘jeepers'?† â€Å"Amy does. She's a little eccentric. Tell me more. Does the navy have divers in the water?† CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Heinous Fuckery Most Foul â€Å"Jeepers,† said Amy. She was at Quinn's computer. Streamers of digital videotape were festooned across her lap and over the desk. â€Å"Oh, that's heinous fuckery most foul,† said Kona. He was perched on the high stool behind Amy and actually appeared to be trying to learn something when Clay came in. â€Å"They've been simulating explosions on the lee of Kahoolawe with a big towable array of underwater speakers, measuring the levels. The speaker array is what's in that big case we've seen on their boat.† â€Å"We have a couple of explosions on the singer tapes, but distant,† Amy said. â€Å"Nate thought it might be naval exercises out at sea.† â€Å"Speaking of tapes?† Clay picked up a strand of tape. â€Å"This isn't my rebreather footage, is it?† â€Å"I'm sorry, Clay. I didn't get the video, but I pulled the audio off before this happened. Want to see the spectrograph?† Kona asked, â€Å"You think those voices in the water be navy divers?† Clay looked at Amy, raised an eyebrow. â€Å"He wanted to learn.† â€Å"Cliff says there're no divers in the water, that his operation is it, militarily, in the sanctuary anyway. But he might not even know.† Amy wadded up the videotape and chucked the resulting bird's nest into the wastebasket. â€Å"How can they do that, Clay? How can they put a torpedo range in the middle of the humpback sanctuary? It's not like people won't notice.† â€Å"Yeah, she's a big ocean. Why here?† Kona said. â€Å"I have no idea. Maybe they don't want there to be any mistake about whose waters they're blowing up ordnance in. If they blow them up in between a bunch of American islands, maybe there can't be any misinterpretation about what they're doing.† â€Å"Lost now,† Kona said. â€Å"Does not compute. Danger. Danger. Control room needs herb.† The Rastafarian had affected an accent that seemed an excellent approximation of how a stoned robot might sound. â€Å"Submarine warfare is all about hide and seek with other submarines,† Clay said. â€Å"The crews are autonomous when they're underwater. They make decisions on whether they're being attacked and whether to defend. Maybe if the navy just shot torpedoes off in the middle of the open sea, someone might misinterpret the action as an attack. It's damn unlikely that a Russian sub is going to be cruising up to Wailea for brunch and misinterpret an attack.† â€Å"They can't do that,† Amy said. â€Å"They can't let them set off high explosives around the mothers and calves. It's just insane.† â€Å"They'll go deep and say it doesn't bother them. The navy will guarantee they won't blow up anything shallower than, say, four hundred feet. The humpbacks don't dive that deep in this channel.† â€Å"Yes they do,† Amy said. â€Å"No they don't,† Clay said. â€Å"Yes they do.† â€Å"There's no data on that, Amy. That's specifically what Cliff Hyland asked me about. He wanted to know if we were doing any research on the depth of humpback dives. Said that it would be the only thing the navy would care about.† Amy stood up and shoved the wheeled desk chair away. It bounced off Kona's shins, causing him to wince. â€Å"Ease on up, sistah.† â€Å"Amy, this wasn't my idea,† Clay said. â€Å"I'm just telling you what Hyland told me.† â€Å"Fine,† Amy said. She pushed her way past Clay and headed for the door. â€Å"Where are you going?† â€Å"Somewhere else.† She let the screen door slam behind her. Clay turned to Kona, who appeared to be studying the ceiling with great concentration. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You makin' up that submarine war story?† â€Å"Kind of. I read a Tom Clancy book once. Look, Kona, I'm not supposed to know stuff. Nate knew stuff. I just take the pictures.† â€Å"You think the navy sink your boat? Maybe make something bad happen to Nate?† â€Å"The boat, maybe. I don't think they could have had anything to do with Nate. That was just bad luck.† â€Å"The Snowy Biscuit – all this getting under her skin.† â€Å"Mine, too.† â€Å"I'll go put the calm on her.† â€Å"Thanks,† Clay said. He walked to the other side of the office, slumped in his chair, and pulled his editing tools up on the giant monitor. A half hour later he heard a tiny voice coming through the screen door. â€Å"Sorry,† Amy said. â€Å"It's okay.† She stepped into the room and stood there, not looking as glazed as he would have expected if Kona had put the calm on her in an herbal way. â€Å"Sorry about your tape, too. The camera was making crunching noises on playback, so I sort of rushed taking it out.† â€Å"Not a problem. It was your big rescue scene. It just made me look like an amateur. I got most of it on the hard drive, I think.† â€Å"You did?† She stepped over to the monitor. â€Å"That it?† Frame stopped, the whale tail from the edge, black marks barely visible. â€Å"Just going through it to see if there's anything else the audio picked up. The camera was running the whole time you were saving my bacon.† â€Å"Why don't you let it rest and let me take you out to lunch.† â€Å"It's ten-thirty.† â€Å"What, you're Mr. Rigid Schedule all of a sudden? Come out to lunch with me. I feel bad.† â€Å"Don't feel bad, Amy. It's a huge loss. I†¦ I'm not dealing well myself. You know, to keep this work going, we'll be needing some academic juice.† Amy just stared at the frozen image of the whale tail, and then she caught herself. â€Å"What? Oh, you'll get someone. You put the word out, you'll have Ph.D.'s knocking the door down to work with you.† â€Å"I was thinking about you.† â€Å"Me? I'm crap. I don't even have a bona fide hair color. Ink on my master's isn't even dry. You read my resume.† â€Å"Actually, I didn't.† â€Å"You didn't?† â€Å"You seemed intelligent. You were willing to work for nothing.† â€Å"Nate read it, though, right?† â€Å"I told him you were good. And if it's any consolation, he thought the world of you.† â€Å"That's how you hire? I'm smart and I'm cheap – that's it? What kind of standards do you guys have?† â€Å"Have you met Kona?† She looked back at the monitor, then at Clay again. â€Å"I feel so used. Honored, but used. Look, I'm thrilled you want to keep me on, but I'm not going to bring you funding or legitimacy.† â€Å"I'll worry about that.† â€Å"Worry about it after lunch. Come on, I'll buy.† â€Å"You're poor. Besides, I'm meeting Clair for lunch at one.† â€Å"Okay. Can I borrow Nate's – uh, the green truck?† â€Å"Keys are on the counter.† Clay waved over his shoulder toward the kitchen. Amy took the keys, then started out the door, caught herself, then ran back, and threw her arms around the photographer. â€Å"I really appreciate your asking me to stay.† â€Å"Go. Take Kona with you. Feed him. Hose him off.† â€Å"Nope, if you're not coming, I'm going solo. Tell Clair hi for me.† â€Å"Go.† He looked back at the computer, looked past the window at the brilliant Maui sun, then shut the computer down, feeling very much as if nothing he did mattered or would ever matter again.