The Monument Of The Statue Of Liberty - 1989 Words

Entry 1. The Statue of Liberty In 1865 when the American Civil War was close to the end, a French historian Edouard de Laboulaye suggested that France should create and give to the United States a statue that would symbolize the nation’s success in building a viable democracy. However, because of the lock of money, the work on the statue didn’t start until the end of 1875. The creator of the statue is the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi who created the statue out of sheets of hammered copper and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the creator of Eiffel Tower created the statue’s steel frame. The female form represented by the sculpture is based on Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. The statue was given to the United States and was†¦show more content†¦Moreover, Thomas Edison created the first industrial research laboratory. Not only was Edison a great innovator, but he also was a successful manufacturer and businessman. Entry 3. Andrew Carnegie Born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland, Andrew Carnegie was the second son of Will and Margaret Carnegie. His father was handloom weavers while his mother worked for a local shoemaker. In 1848, the Carnegie family came to America hoping for better economic opportunities and established in Pennsylvania and this is when Andrew Carnegie formal education ended because his family had no money for education. He then got his first job as a bobbin boy at a cotton factory, earning $1.20 a week. After this he had quite a few different job one of which was at the railroad where he made got money and that’s when he was able to make some investments in coal, iron and oil companies and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars. In 1865, Carnegie left the railroad job and he continued his ascent in the business world. But because the railroad industry experienced a rapid growth during that time in the United Stated, Carnegie made an investment in the railroad business and by the age of 30th he was the richest person. In the early 1870s, he started working in the steel business, and very soon he became one of the most important people in the field. Despite of his success in 1901, he sold his steel company to banker John Pierpont Morgan for $480 million. Carnegie then dedicatedShow MoreRelatedThe Statue Of Liberty, The Washington Monument901 Words   |  4 Pages Monuments preserve a memory that serves as a reminder of a significant event or person. The Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, Bunker Hill Monument— these structures honor and immortalize remarkable occurrences in history, people, or concepts; and when it is time to construct a monument, many aspects of the established memorial need to be planned. 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(Statue of Liberty National Monument)(Immigration) In 1865, Edvouvard de Laboulaye, of France, thought of the idea to build the Statue of Liberty while he was on a visitRead MoreThe Flag : The Stars And Stripes, American Flag, By Yasmin Sabina Khan859 Words   |  4 Pagesthat specify objects that represent beliefs, values, or tradition that make that country unique. As the United States of America has many such as, Statue of Liberty and the American Flag. Yasmin Sabina Khan shows in her book Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty† why the Statue of Liberty was built, how each part of the statue describes everything and how it represents U.S today. 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Business Strategy Strategic Risk Mangement

Question: Discuss about the Business Strategy for Strategic Risk Mangement. Answer: Introduction: Resources and core competences of a company signify the strength of a company. It is based on the availability of the resources and core competencies that a company successfully competes in the competitive market (Greene, Brush and Brown 2015). The discussion is based on the case study of Rocket Internet, a Berlin based start up incubator and venture capital firm. Resources of an organization are the assets and other things available to an organization that helps in the production process. The resources include human resource, capital or monetary resources and raw material used for production. Importance of the availability of different resources depends on the nature and type of the organization (Hansen and Rocha 2016). In case of a software company, human resource is the most important resource because the complete functionality of the organization depends on the ability of the human working for the organization. If the situation of Rocket Internet has to be considered, the primary resource of the company is the Human Capital. The three brothers act as the basic infrastructure of the Company. All the ventures of the Company are carried on with the ability of these owners. Other resources of the company might include the machinery and other equipment required for carrying out the business activities (Skarzynski and Gibson 2013). Computers, internet network and other technological supports are the raw materials required by the company to achieve their target (Frigo and Anderson 2012). Therefore, it can be said that the major resource of the Company is Human Capital that include the three brothers and others working for the Company. Core competencies of a company or organization are its unique features and capabilities that provide a competitive advantage to the company (Greene, Brush and Brown 2015). It is based on the particular core competency, that a company is able to fight the increasing competition in the market. Core competencies typically consists of fundamental knowledge, ability of the person and their expertise in a specific subject area (Frigo and Anderson 2012). It is on the basis of the core competencies, a company can reach out a global market and cannot be replicated easily by other competitors. In the case study, it can be said that the core competency of the business firm is their ability to copy other resources in the fastest possible time and reach it out far and wide around the globe. Rocket Internet has been successfully imitate the online shopping version of eBay and created a German version of it; later, sold it for $50m to eBay. Owner of the company, The Samwer Brothers have became experts in spotting and promising business models. The company had acquired several other business ventures of imitating the original idea and had been successful in their business (Kashi and Friedrich 2013). Therefore, the successful ideas of imitating successful business ventures that the Brothers come up with can be considered as the core competency of their business. References: Frigo, M. and Anderson, R.J., 2012.Strategic Risk Mangement: The New Core Competency. John Wiley Sons Limited. Greene, P.G., Brush, C.G. and Brown, T.E., 2015. Resources in small firms: an exploratory study.Journal of Small Business Strategy,8(2), pp.25-40. Hansen, M.A. and Rocha, R.S., 2016. The Globalisation Strategy of an Internet Company. Kashi, K. and Friedrich, V., 2013, January. Managers Core Competencies: Applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process Method in Human Resources. InProceedings of the 9th European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance, Reading: Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited(pp. 384-393). Skarzynski, P. and Gibson, R., 2013.Innovation to the core: A blueprint for transforming the way your company innovates. Harvard Business Press.

Research Strategies

Question: Write an essay on the Case Study and Critical Analysis of "Research Strategies Beyond the Differences."? Answer: The work of Dan Remenyi has showed that every community like physical, scientific and social science requires a logical and analytical outlook, and they are materially similar. Moreover, the work that has been done by Dan Ramenyi highlighted that the theoretical knowledge incorporated with some stigma of values results in positive outcomes in all these field of expertise. Dan Ramenyi also showed valid evidence and comparison while stating his argument. He showed that the effort, analysis and experimental approach required similar advancement and intensity in the case of life science, physical science and social science related studies. Moreover, all these streams have a record of more than three hundred years of research history. However, the research works and findings related to life science and physical science studies have achieved more mass attention and acclamation (Ramenyi, 2002). On the other hand, the Business and Management studies related to the social sciences of study ha ve obtained very less acknowledgement from the ordinary people. The achievement of social science studies have failed to draw the attention of the majority of the people, but it has solved more daunting and challenging tasks in the past according to the analysis of Dan Remenyi (Kratochwill, 2013). In the research paper, Dan Remenyi has tried to make people aware of the achievement of the social science. However, he maintained modesty and does not criticize the biases and peoples favouritism towards the stream of life science and physical sciences. He tried to convince people and establish the fact that human intellect is the primary factor in determining the achievements of social science, physical science and life science while considering them as an individual aspect (Ostrom et al. 2010). Moreover, he clarified the idea that the research process associated with these three branches of science has similar interesting and analytical thoughts and approaches to the world and the environment. On the other hand, Dan Remenyi has also provided insight into these three distinct fields. He proposed that the results and outcomes that are achieved from the research works related to these areas are acquired by proper application of ideas, analysis and observation (Ramenyi, 2002). From th is statement, it was clear that he does not want to criticize any branch of study rather he wanted to spread awareness among the common people about the achievement and contribution of social science towards the current society and the world. On the other hand, he tried to highlight the attractive side of social science and promoted the idea of Business and Management studies as the central focal point (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2010). He also attempted to improve the quality of statements and academic works related to social science. Adding to this, he also tried to remove the fear of social researchers and scientist on repetition or redundancy related factors of social science and Business and Management Studie (Ramenyi, 2002). Dan Remenyi also emphasized on making the research work and related questions more interesting so that it can draw more attention and acknowledgement from the common people. The primary concern of the researcher is to increase the acceptance of social science among the common mass and at the same time try to make some revolutionary changes in this field of the study. Hence, he tried to make a thesis, and he want to test it considering the feedback from the common people and the general population of our society. He also added that a thesis is not about the application of substantial and costly instruments rather its success totally depends on the prospect of its results and outcomes (Ramenyi, 2002). He also stated that the thesis work should be made in such a way that it can change the mindset of the common people and also contribute heavily to the welfare of the society. It can be stated that the work of Dan Remenyi is highly focused on lifting the morals of the social science worke rs and social science researchers. In this growing competitive world, people are only praising the life science and physical science researchers, whereas Dan Remenyi wanted to break this social dogma and bring a change in the society (Rafols et al. 2012). Moreover, he wanted to sharpen the concept of quantitative tool and analysis process to improve the research work and explore certain types of research questions in case of social science. He also tried to improve the quality of research questionnaires that might help to acquire a standard and accurate result in Business and Management studies. Hence, his work emphasized more on research survey and quantitative techniques and rejected interpretive methodologies concerning social science and Business and management research works (Myers, 2013). Further, Dan Remenyi has showed various common aspects of research studies and methods related to the field of social science, life science and physical science. He has conveyed that all the research works require a proper testing approach (Ramenyi, 2002). Moreover, the research work related to these fields is solely based on the result and data interpretations and forming a convincing argument. In a word, Remenyi tried to convey that the success and achievement of the research paper and theses related to these field of studies require a similar approach regarding the material and quality of the work. Hence, by conveying this Remenyi wanted to draw a single line of similarity between the research and analytical approach between these three fields of studies. Hence, by doing this, he was almost successful in inflicting a sense of acknowledgement towards the social science and tried to break the ignorant attitude and biasedness of the common mass (Adam, 2014). All the arguments stated by Dan Ramenyi have highlighted immensely on the fact that the research work based on natural, physical, scientific or social aspect have no basic differences. Moreover, all these research works are based on presenting and highlighting a positive outcome and values towards the theoretical knowledge (Ramenyi, 2002). Hence, he was successful in convincing people that the social scientists have an equal role in the society similar to a physical science or life science scientists in imposing knowledge and enlighten the community and the people. References Adam, F., 2014.Introduction(pp. 1-3). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Kratochwill, T.R. ed., 2013.Single subject research: Strategies for evaluating change. Academic Press. Myers, M.D., 2013.Qualitative research in business and management. Sage. Ostrom, A.L., Bitner, M.J., Brown, S.W., Burkhard, K.A., Goul, M., Smith-Daniels, V., Demirkan, H. and Rabinovich, E., 2010. Moving forward and making a difference: research priorities for the science of service.Journal of Service Research. Rafols, I., Leydesdorff, L., OHare, A., Nightingale, P. and Stirling, A., 2012. How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research: A comparison between innovation studies and business management.Research Policy,41(7), pp.1262-1282. Remenyi, D., 2002. Research StrategiesBeyond the Differences.Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods,1(1), pp.38-41. Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. eds., 2010.Sage handbook of mixed methods in social behavioral research. Sage.

Economics Of Healthcare In The Uk Essays - , Term Papers

Economics Of Healthcare In The Uk Economics & The Welfare State Essay Healthcare Good health is an important factor to an individual's welfare. It is an essential prerequisite for the enjoyment of life. For this reason the importance of healthcare to governments is great and vast amounts of resources are allocated to healthcare, for example in the UK healthcare equates for 6% of GNP. Some argue that Healthcare is a social issue rather than economic but the allocation of scarce resources and the inelastic demand for healthcare lends it self to economic analysis. Equitable allocation of a commodity is one in which everyone receives a minimum standard and quantity. So in terms of full equality in the society everyone should consume the commodity equally. In healthcare this argument becomes complicated, should everyone receive a minimum standard of healthcare? Or should everyone get the best healthcare available? The truth is that hospital buildings, doctors and medical equipment all take up resources. The best standard of healthcare could only be given if all of the government's resources were allocated to the provision of health. This would be a foolish thing to do, as other commodities would not be produced which may be detrimental to health and other aspects of life. Healthcare is different from all other products in that the (supplier) doctor knows more about it than the (consumer) patient. Consumers can distinguish between two types of product and choose the one, which gives them greatest utility but with health care the patient is not educated enough about medicine to choose between two treatments and must therefore go with what the doctor recommends. This imbalance of knowledge gives the healthcare industry suppliers monopoly power. A healthcare supplier could lower the standard of service and not fear loss of customers. A doctor may also recommend a treatment that is costly and therefore will bring in higher profit for himself without the average person knowing any better. Economics

Free Essays on Advertising Ethics

â€Å"Prozac can help†.(Vol.344) Prozac may be good for some people but for others it may not be the drug they need, and because of ads like that they feel the need to pressure their physician for a prescription for it. Can it really help put sunny days back into a miserable life? America has allowed direct to consumer advertising for over a decade now but to date there have been no claims that anyone has been hurt by it. In television ads the companies are prepared to pay the cost that it takes to tel... Free Essays on Advertising Ethics Free Essays on Advertising Ethics The age of advertising today is not what it used to be years ago. Pharmaceutical companies are spending on average billions of dollars to market their drugs directly to the consumers. With this comes a potential harm to some consumers due to the fact that they feel like they are free to ask for anything that may stop the symptoms they have. Should the FDA take a stand in putting a stop to how certain drugs are marketed, or just continue to let it get out of control? Who should be able to control the prescriptions: the patient or the doctor? Take the drug Prozac for our first example: it’s in rock lyrics, magazines, books and billboards. I don’t think there are too many people who have not heard of it or that in some point of their lives were not on it. Many parents are turning to their children’s doctor to put them on it because of problems they may be having at home. In an article from The Economist I found that it is illegal in Europe to advertise prescription drugs. They are allowed to market they’re over the counter drugs but an advertisement for a prescription drug can only be found in medical journals. It was felt that advertising prescriptions filled the heads of consumers and it could undermine the doctor’s authority. Lilly Pharmaceutical company did a two page spread on Prozac that had one page with a dark rainy sky with the words â€Å"Depression Hurts† and on the other side was a bright sunny sky with the words â€Å"Prozac can help†.(Vol.344) Prozac may be good for some people but for others it may not be the drug they need, and because of ads like that they feel the need to pressure their physician for a prescription for it. Can it really help put sunny days back into a miserable life? America has allowed direct to consumer advertising for over a decade now but to date there have been no claims that anyone has been hurt by it. In television ads the companies are prepared to pay the cost that it takes to tel...

Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Science - Essay Example eaning and inference that the researchers draw upon can be easily verified, computed, and weighed as a function of how greatly they relate back to the concepts that the author(s) is attempting to get across to the reader. In this way, this particular student has chosen the following paper to analyze as a function of how well the scientific and mathematical information related within it help to reinforce or weaken the arguments that the authors make: â€Å"Neurotoxicity of Penicillium crustosum secondary metabolites: Tremorgenic activity of orally administered penitrem A and thomitrem A and E in mice†. For purposes of analysis, one can quickly infer that the authors of this particular article have performed due diligence with reference to the use of mathematics and scientific research as a means to prove their point. Firstly, the introduction relates to the reader/researcher that the authors are highly familiar with the area of focus and the preceding literature and studies which have been performed. In this way, the authors are able to draw a firm line of understanding and scientific advancement based upon the research that has preceded this particular study. Although this is a nice touch to note, it should be further noted that the authors rely heavily on the results of three specific studies to set the background for their analysis. As such, the rigor of the study is called into question somewhat. I found that this lack of inclusion of other studies and resources significantly weakened the baseline from which the reader enters the research from. Furthermore, had a more rigid an alysis of prior and existing scholarship been performed, the starting point for the reader would be advanced and a need to accept some of the results printed within the study would have been reduced; thereby allowing the reader or researcher to focus on the most important points of the research that has been presented. To the author’s credit, the study does pay careful attention

Development and Strategy Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development and Strategy Project - Essay Example The project manager should first define the project and then work on building the projects work plan. For instance in this situation, the project is to set up a factory which deals in uPVC products and the company deals with both domestic and European markets. Since this project is a complex project, the project manager needs to gather the business requirements, help in designing the management system and also prepare tender documentation. The project manager also faces the challenge of appointment contractors, tender options and criteria and procedure for selecting contractors for tendering (Marsh 2007). Criteria and procedure for selecting contractors for tendering The procedure of contractor selection is a decision- making process, which involves a wide range decision criterion. The procedure may also include many decision-making parties. The decision will also be affected by the estimated value of the project. As for this case the project is a crucial project and contractor selec tion should be selected with a lot of caution. As the project manager getting the general information about the contractors, is a crucial move in this section since he, or she can investigate and assess the abilities of the contractors to carry out a job given to them. So as, to get the information required concerning the contractors, the contractors have to apply for the job and by doing so, they have to present the necessary information pertaining them. The project manager has an obligation of advertising the job opportunities, and states the different job categories that are available and state the qualifications of each post such as work experience. The posts may be such as manager and assistance manager. The project manager may select the contractors by interviewing them (Damster 2004). Appointments of contractors This is the section where the project manager appoints the contractors who have qualified to get the job. The contractor and the project manager must sign a contract form to show that they both have the same agreement according to the terms of the job. The appointment letter includes details of the contractor and the employer. The contractor details include a contact number, e-mail address, address, name, license card and eventually the contract service such as plumber specialist. The employer details include company name, address of the company, contacts, e-mail, and the acting agent and for this are the project managers. The appointment letter also includes the contractor’s insurance cover. The project manager must also include the mode of payment service whereby, there is inclusion of the terms of payment such as net 7 days or 30 days. Payment details must also be included whereby one states the mode of payment in which he or she will be using. Finally, the contractor and the agent of the company must sign at the end so that to show that they have all agreed on the terms stated on that agreement paper (Cohen 2008). Tender options A ten der is a structured invitation to sellers of property for the supply of goods and services. In tender options, there are two types of the tender which include open-tender and closed-tender. In an open-tender option, the offer to supply the goods and services may be accepted at any time during the tender period while in closed-tender option is where by the offer will only be considered when the tender period expires. As the project manage

1-Pilot & Non-pilot Protection of Transmission Lines Essay

1-Pilot & Non-pilot Protection of Transmission Lines - Essay Example This is of course in addition to today’s independent systems. It is important to note that the emphasis in this paper is not on the pilot scheme to be used but rather on whether a pilot system would be necessary. This follows the realization that a typical pilot terminal would cost $150K more compared with a non-pilot terminal. The question in this case is why would someone spend so much on a pilot scheme rather than just take up a non-pilot system which is less costly? The answers to this question serve as the justifications for the pilot scheme. Taylor (1927) says that the pilot scheme come in with additional benefits such as improved resistive coverage, high speed reclosing, and improved sustainability compared with the non-pilot system. In addition, the pilot scheme comes with alternatives to protection including fall back strategies, extensions to Zone 1, and inverse time over current. The pilot system also provides extended considerations mainly used in the determination of the system’s redundancy usually dependent on a number of factors including security, reliability, and dependability. The pilot system is also preferred because of its free interactions with the regulatory issues (Taylor, 1927). The protection of a transmission line has been a unique concept in the sense that, the system’s zone limit will have to separate geographical locations. This is contrary to the concepts in other systems such as buses, capacitors, and transformers. The idea behind the transmission line protection system is the alignment of the system elements and the input devices in one location and provides room for the instantaneous configuration of tripping. With the pilot scheme, this is usually done with very little coordination problems (Kim, 1996). Following the alignment of the system elements and input sources, all terminals will be

Impact of the Appreciation of the New Zealand Dollar on SMEs

Impact of the Appreciation of the New Zealand Dollar on SMEs APPRECIATION OF NZ$: ITS IMPACT ON SME’s New Zealand has been considered as a distinguished economy. It is primarily because the economy faced the challenges of international economic depression and was victorious in the same. According to a report by Forbes in the year 2014, the country holds a strong rank among the safe-haven economies in the world. New Zealand’s economy has been a dynamic one (Colombo, 2014). It has experienced appreciation and depreciation of its dollar on a consequent basis. Even in the 1990s and early 2000s New Zealand’s economy acknowledged higher appreciation of its dollar due to higher interest rates which fascinated large number of capital investors (Brash, 2000; Fallow, 2013). But since 2009, the economy is emerged very strongly but this has resulted in rising level of concerns among varied sectors and industries in New Zealand (Fallow, 2013). SME which implies â€Å"Small and Medium Enterprises† play a very crucial role in the economic development of any economy across the globe (Fink and Kraus, 2009). New Zealand is no different as its economy to a large extent is supported by performance of SMEs. But defining SME is a critical job because there is not universally accepted definition. Each economy has a different definition of a SME (Abdullah and Bakar, 2000). SMEs in New Zealand are defined by the New Zealand governing bodies as those organizational set ups which operate with 20 or less number of workers / employee (Ministry of Economic Development, 2011). Most of these units are generally controlled and handled by their owners themselves. One third of New Zealand’s GDP (gross domestic product) comprises of inputs from this sector (Waikato Times, 2014). This sector has also aided in provision of employment which is evident from the fact that one third of New Zealand’s entire population is absorbed f or varied jobs (Waikato Times, 2014). Another startling fact about SME in New Zealand is that it comprises of approximately 97 % of trade and commerce through 460,000 SME set ups (Ministry of Economic Development, 2011; Waikato Times, 2014). SMEs in New Zealand have resorted to extensive internationalization. These organizations are not supported by subsidies from New Zealand’s government. But yet they have undertaken this route to overcome competitive pressures created due to presence of cheap Chinese products in domestic markets (Jaeger, 2007). Thus to gain long term sustainability these organizations have internationalized their operations. Most of the SMEs who have opted to internationalize have resorted to a unique business strategy and model of their own. This is primarily because these SMEs aim to gain competitive advantage through internalization by optimally using various available and accessible opportunities (Jaeger, 2007). These SMEs mainly focus on geographic diversity of markets and effectively of distribution channels. The markets of chosen not on basis of any technical analysis but based on SME entrepreneur’s individual choices and their understanding of market feasibility. The internationa lization adopted by SMEs in New Zealand is termed as Bricolage model. The model is depicted in diagram below. Figure 1 The Bricolage Model Source: Jaeger, 2007 USD that is United States Dollar is considered as a point of reference in the world economy (Bloomberg, 2013). No governing body or international organization has declared USD as a ruling currency (Amadeo, 2014). But yet the appreciation and depreciation of currency across world is measured against this dollar primarily because it is considered as a governing intercontinental currency in. As a matter of fact in many countries even outside America, USD is used as their formal currency. Further approximately 85 % of foreign exchange trading entail use of dollars (Amadeo, 2014). Currency depreciation against USD implies a stronger dollar which makes imports expensive for local organizations (Gwartney et al, 2014). This is mainly because dollar becomes more costly. This in turn implies more money draining out of a nation and thus negatively affecting domestic economy. Currency appreciation is a more favourable option for economies but only in the long run. Currency appreciation means det eriorating USD in comparison to domestic currency. It is mainly because domestic currency appreciation implies a stronger economy and making imports cheaper. But it also implies increased prices of exports which makes domestic economy’s products expensive in international markets. Alternatively, with cheaper imports, domestic products within local markets face stiff price competition. Though a strong appreciation of currency indicates a stable and strong economy but its pitfalls cannot be negated. In 2011-12, New Zealand’s economy experienced an augmentation of 7 % in NZ $ on a Trade Weighted Index (TWI) Basis (Tarrant, 2012). One of the major reasons behind this is economy’s potential to overcome financial spur created by varied banks across the globe (Tarrant, 2012). Some of the other reasons this currency appreciation are depreciation of US dollars, strong and optimistic credit ratings for New Zealand’s economy by international organizations, stability in international monetary markets, benevolent economic conditions, accelerating interest rates and a centre of attention for capital investments (PwC, 2014; Headey and Fan, 2008). Another reason put forward for this is slackening of economic and monetary policies by various economies (Bernanke, 2010). In this most of the central banks provide for quantitative leverage of either float newly produced currency which results in increased risk exposure at international forum (Tarrant, 2012). The appreciation of NZ $ has benefitted the economy by helping the same to control its inflationary rates and trend thus enhancing economy’s stability. New Zealand with its far sighted strategic planning has been able to overcome negative impacts of such financial spur. But this too have had its side effects in form of raising medium term interest rates (International Monetary Fund, 2010). These rising rates have made it costly for SMEs to procure bank investments and thus discoursing entrepreneurs to a large extent. Out of all the negative impacts, the worst affected due to New Zealand’s money appreciation are trade sectors, exports business and import-competing manufacturers (Tarrant, 2012). One of the major impacts of appreciation of NZ $ was evident from restricted export activities. Price responsive markets strongly reacted to such currency appreciation which was apparent in form of declining New Zealand exports (Deakins et al, 2013). As a result of this export earnings decline, many companies were forced to withdraw from international markets. This depicted a negative impact on New Zealand’s economy and SMEs. But interestingly companies having strategic approach which catered at developing strong associations with banks and providing adequate time and resources were seemed to be successful. Another impact of appreciation of NZ $ was visible in form of declining product prices which affected manufacturers and traders to a large extent. Considering the case of dairy in New Zealand, the prices of dairy products fell steeply. Dairy farmers were affected to a large extent mainly because such a price decline meant lower income (Shanghai Daily, 2014). But the situation got managed due to high export demands of New Zealand’s dairy products in China, primarily at higher prices owing to its categorization as a lavish product (Teague, 2014). With imports becoming cheap, the import-competing organizations are having a tough time in sustaining market pressures. A major chunk of New Zealand’s import is from China. Thus with currency appreciation, Chinese products which are as it is lower priced are easily spreading their tentacles within the economy. Domestic manufacturers are failing to perform primarily because people in New Zealand are offered with large number of cheaper substitutes. This has resulted in a change in disbursements pattern of its population. (Tarrant, 2012) There has been a dearth of research related to appreciation of NZ $ and its impact on SMEs. In such a scenario it is essential to study such relationships between the two to understand the dynamics of New Zealand’s markets both at national and international frontier. Therefore this study will be interesting along with being useful. This study will provide with an insight to the various SME organizations with regards to sound strategic planning so that they can benefit from such NZ $ appreciation. References Abdullah,M. and Bakar, M. (2000). Small and Medium Enterprises in Asian Pacific Countries: Roles and issues. New York: Nova Publishers Amadeo, K. (2014). World Currency: Why Dollar is the World Currency?. Available at http://useconomy.about.com/od/glossary/g/global_currency.htm [Accessed Sept 24, 2014] Bernanke, B. (2010). The economic outlook and monetary policy. In Speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, (Vol. 27), Wyoming. Bloomberg (2013). Bloomberg Indexes Unveils Dynamic U.S. Dollar Benchmark. Bloomberg Finance LP Brash, (2000). The fall of the New Zealand dollar: why has it happened, and what does it mean? Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletien, Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 22-27 Colombo, J. (2014). 12 Reasons Why New Zealands Economic Bubble Will End InDisaster. Available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2014/04/17/12-reasons-hy-new-zealands-economic-bubble-will-end-in-disaster/ [Accessed Sept 18, 2014] Deakins, D., Battisti, M., Perry, M. and Crick, D. (2013).Understanding Internationalisation Behaviour. New Zealand Centre for Small and Medium Enterprise Research. New Zealand Fallow, B. (2013). Strong NZ dollar only part of the story. New Zealand Herald. Dated 7th Feb, Auckland. Fink and Kraus, S. (2009). The Management ofSmall and Medium Enterprises. USA: Routledge Gwartney, J., Stroup, R., Sobel, R. and Macpherson, D. (2014). Economics: Private And Public Choice. USA: Cengage Learning Headey, D. and Fan, S. (2008). Anatomy of a crisis: the causes and consequences of surging food prices.Agricultural Economics,Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 375-391. International Monetary Fund (2010). New Zealand: 2010 Article IV Consultation Staff Report; and Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion. International Monetary Fund Jaeger, S. (2007). How SMEs engage in the global economy – cases from New Zealand. In Oxford Business Economics Conference, UK: Oxford University. Ministry of Economic Development (2011). SMEs in New Zealand: Structure and Dynamics. New Zealand Government, New Zealand. PwC (2014). The rise and rise of the NZ dollar exchange rate – implications for the New Zealand economy. Available at http://www.pwc.co.nz/news-releases/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-nz-dollar-exchange-rate/ [Accessed Sept 18, 2014] Shanghai Daily (2014). Dairy prices, currency appreciation trouble New Zealand producers. Shanghai Daily, dated !9th Aug, Shanghai Tarrant, A. (2012). High NZ$ keeping inflation in check, but detrimental to NZ economy, as global central banks print, RBNZ says; ‘Global easing may continue’. JDJL Limited, dated 8th Mar, Auckland. Teague, S. (2014). New Zealand dollar caught between safe-haven and EM status. EuroMoney, dated 3rd Sept, UK. Waikato Times (2014). SMEs still backbone of NZ business. Available at http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/10198006/SMEs-still-backbone-of-NZ-business [Accessed Sept 25, 2014]

Human Resources Challenges Essay -- Business Management

Introduction Some of the challenges that organizations' human resource department face are, operations, policies and procedures and selecting highly qualified candidates. Management depends on human resource department to select candidates through recruitment, interviewing and application screening. I will discuss a few methods that human resources departments use to select potential candidates through credit reports and social media. Credit Reports Organizations have been using traditional recruitment methods, placing help wanted ads in newspapers to look for potential candidates. Human resource department application selection process requires candidates to go through an interview, background check and credit investigation. The reason organizations do a credit investigation is to make sure candidates are creditable and trustworthy. By conducting a credit investigation human resource department can compare information on a candidate’s profile to make sure it coincides with information on their credit report. A good credit report would consist of no judgments, bankruptcy; pass due payments or any repossession. Base on the application process, this would be the ideal candidate for the job. Organizations will not hire candidates if their credit report, reported any negative blemishes. Organizations would be afraid if candidates had a lot of blemishes on their report, it would cause issue for the company, especially i f their job required a candidate to handle money transactions. Organizations view candidates as if they were having trouble handling their personal money affairs, they could not be trust to handle the organizations reasonability’s. Human resource department would not hire a highly qualified candidate wit... ...ponsibilities within an organization, the challenges they are face with is recruiting the right candidate for the position. It requires application screening, interviewing, background, and possible credit investigations. However there are many recruitment tools human resource departments can use to recruit candidates, social media, been the most popular. With so many challenges human resources face it is important to make sure they hire highly qualified candidates. Works Cited Fairley, J.. (2010, November). EMPLOYERS FACE CHALLENGES IN SCREENING CANDIDATES. Workforce Management, 89(11), 7. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 2188682971). Sheehan, P.. (2010, October). Social recruiting targets job candidates. Long-Term Living, 59(10), 31. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 2176149381).

Fantasy Voyage from Femoral Vein to Right Lobe of the Lung

HS 130 Unit 4 Assignment Fantasy Voyage and Battle of the Lung Hello everyone and welcome aboard! I am S Y. with Voyage Health. Today, we will embark together in my mini-sub and we shall travel through the body of this young lady named Lola. In this journey we will enter her body through the femoral vein and travel all the way to her lung. Alert! Alert! An alert just came and we are in for a surprise. Bacteria have invaded Lola’s lower lobe of her right lung and we shall report the invasion and document all we see. Let’s proceed.We are being injected into the femoral vein close to the groin area. The femoral vein runs parallel with the femoral artery through the upper thigh and pelvic region of the body. (Yahoo Health, 2013) Being one of the larger veins in the body, the femoral vein returns blood into the leg to the heart through the iliac vein. Before we get to the iliac vein, we pass through the inguinal ligament that forms a band going from anterior superior iliac s pine to the pubis ligament. The role of the inguinal ligament is to protect the tissue movement between the trunk and the lower extremities. Yahoo Health, 2013) From the inguinal ligament, going north, we see the external iliac vein which is a continuation of the femoral vein just above the inguinal ligament. Starting at the groin area, the external iliac vein goes along the pelvic area. When it intersects with the internal iliac vein , we will navigate East into the common iliac vein that functions to drain the perineal regions. The iliac veins are joined together to form inferior vena cava. The inferior vena cava, also know as posterior vena cava, is a vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower body to the heart. (Yahoo Health, 2013).It runs behind the abdominal cavity and alongside the right vertebrae column of the spine and it carries blood from the lower body to the heart. (Yahoo Health, 2013) From here we can already see the heart. Isn’t it fantastic? We are so close to the pump that keeps the human body alive. Once we enter it, we will experience first hand the intricate operation of this marvelous mechanism. Next stop. Right atrium. One of the four chambers of the heart, the right atrium lets deoxygenated blood to pass through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle and from there to the lung to oxygenate.The tricuspid valve, also known as right atrioventricular valve is located between the two chambers and it looks like flaps that blocks blood flowing back into the atrium. (Yahoo Health, 2013) The right ventricle of the heart has the mission to pump the blood into the pulmonary artery via the pulmonary valve and pulmonary trunk right into the lungs. Ready to go through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery? Here we go! Weeeee†¦.. We are steps away from the most magnificent oxygen factory you have ever seen. Short and wide, the pulmonary artery begins at the base of the right ventricle and with a considerable size of 1 . inches in diameter and 2. 0 inches in length. Interesting fact: the pulmonary artery is one of the only arteries that carry deoxygenated blood. The other artery is the umbilical artery in the fetus. This is just something I remembered from an Anatomy class I used to take in college. The main pulmonary artery extends from the right ventricle of the heart and branches into left and right pulmonary arteries. The left and right pulmonary arteries extend to the left lung and right lungs. (Bailey, Regina 2013) Now just relax and sit back. Enjoy the ride to the lung!Going through the Finally, as promised, welcome the most amazing oxygen factory of the human body! The lung. Divided in two, the lung has 5 chambers, 3 on the right side and 2 on the left side. In the right side of the lung, we see the right superior lobe or the apex located right under the collarbone. The right middle lobe right below and what would be the name of the 3rd chamber? Right, the right inferior or lower lobe, als o called the base can anyone guesses why? Because it is broad and it rest on the diaphragm right around the 7th rib. Thibodeau, GA & Patton, KT, 2008) Our earlier alert lets us know that nasty bacteria have affected the right lower lobe of the lung. We need to watch carefully what is happening and record everything. The body gives an alarm each time something foreign enters it and tries to fight it. Alarm system? Yes. The immune system is our alarm system. The 2 types of immunity are specific and non-specific. The non-specific immunity, also called innate immunity confers general protection from any irritant or abnormal substance that threatens the internal environment. Thibodeau, GA & Patton, KT, 2008) For example, the skin and the mucus membrane are non-specific barriers to prevent bacterium from entering the body. A non-specific response is inflammatory response and it is most common immune response. Specific immunity, as the name says, provides specific protection against certai n types of invading bacteria or toxic materials. (Thibodeau, GA & Patton, KT, 2008) Also called adaptive immunity, specific immunity may be classified as â€Å"natural† or â€Å"artificial†. Natural immunity is non-deliberate exposure to disease agents and it can be active or passive.An example of passive natural immunity is the immunity given to the fetus by the mother. Artificial immunity is deliberate exposure to disease agents and one example is vaccine for polio. Afterwards, the person who has received the vaccine will have active artificial immunity. In Lola’s case, her non-specific immunity kicked in when the bacteria invaded the lung. The white blood cells, monocytes and macrophages are in action These are natural killer cells that fight inflammation. Most likely, Lola will develop fever and the neutrophils are first to come in during inflammatory process.After the body starts to recover and the fever subdues, the lymphocytes will activate and create ant ibodies. That means that Lola will have specific immunity once this event is registered into the memory cells. Seems that Lola will be on her way to recovery soon and we documented the Battle of the Lung. Shall we continue our journey? The pathway out is through the nose and even though it might seem gross, we will see some very interesting things on the way out. Let’s proceed! Seat belts on, please! We are passing through the alveolar membrane into the alveoli. Can you see the structure?They look like grapes and they are as many as 10 times larger than the entire surface area of the body. Together, the alveoli can cover 100 square meters. (Thibodeau, GA & Patton, KT, 2008) Leaving the grape shaped alveoli behind we move to the bronchioles and then into the bronchi straight into the trachea. The trachea is like the trunk of a tree upside down holding on each side the lungs and it is formed of 15-20 C-shaped rings of cartilage that protect the windpipe. It extends from the bro nchi all the way up to the larynx in the neck over a length of approx. 4. 5 inches.From there, we move to the nasopharinx passing right behind the vocal cords, palatine tonsil, and lingual tonsil. Watch out! The uvula! Phew, that was a close one†¦.. We are in the nasopharinx now and we can already see the light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, at the end of the nose. We can see the frontal, maxillary, sphenoidal and ethmoidal sinuses that help draining of the nose. Floating through the nasal septum into the external nostrils, we are at our final destination. Let’s stop for a moment and take a deep breath. We got to admit the human body is quit fantastic.I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I did. And hopefully, Lola will recover from that bacterium soon. Thank you for your spirit of adventure. This is S Y. with Voyage Health. References Yahoo Health, Femoral Vein (2013). Retrieved from http://health. yahoo. net/human-body-maps/femoral-vein Yahoo Health, Ingui nal Ligament (2013). Retrieved from http://health. yahoo. net/human-body-maps/inguinal-ligament Yahoo Health, Inferior Vena Cava (2013), Retrieved from http://health. yahoo. net/human-body-maps/inferior-vena-cava Yahoo Health, Triscupid Valve(2013), Retrieved from ttp://health. yahoo. net/human-body-maps/tricuspid-valve Bailey Regina (2013), Pulmonary Artery, about. com guide. Article retrieved from http://biology. about. com/od/anatomy/ss/pulmonary_artery. htm Thibodeau, G. A. & Patton, K. T. (2008)Structure and Function of the Body, Chapter 14, The Respiratory System, 13th Edition, St. Louis, MO;Mosby Elsevier, Thibodeau, G. A. & Patton, K. T. (2008)Structure and Function of the Body, Chapter 13, The Immune System, 13th Edition, St. Louis, MO;Mosby Elsevier.

Famous Christmas Quotes

Famous Christmas Quotes There is something about Christmas that makes everyone feel spirited, happy, and excited. Christmas brings out the child within. The festive air is contagious; even the most despairing soul cannot help but feel enthused by the vibrancy of the season. Famous Christmas Quotes Happy holidays! Enjoy your eggnog while you read these famous Christmas quotes. Deborah WhippLike snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance each beautiful, unique and too soon gone. Mary Ellen ChaseChristmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. John Greenleaf WhittierFor somehow, not only at Christmas, but all the long year through,The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. Charles DickensI will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. Janice MaeditereChristmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. W. J. CameronChristmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority. Henry Wadsworth LongfellowI heard the bells on Christmas Day; their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men! Shirley TempleI stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. Walter Scott, Sr.Heap on the wood! the wind is chill;But let it whistle as it will,Well keep our Christmas merry still. Helen KellerThe only blind person at Christmas time is he who has not Christmas in his heart. Norman Vincent PealeChristmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. Alexander SmithChristmas is the day that holds all time together. Hamilton Wright MabiBlessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. Christina G. RossettiLove came down at Christmas; love all lovely, love divine; love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign. Calvin CoolidgeChristmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

10 Popular Types Free Printable Graph Paper

10 Popular Types Free Printable Graph Paper SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Do you need to print out some graph paper for an assignment, a project, or just for fun? Are you curious about the different types and what they're used for? Then you've come to the right place to browse and print out whatever graph paper you need! What Is Graph Paper? In the most basic sense, graph paper is paper that comes pre-printed with faint lines that make up a grid. There are all different ways to accomplish this, but the most common is a grid made of squares composed of parallel horizontal and vertical lines. You’re probably already familiar with ruled paper- paper that comes pre-printed with horizontal lines that you can use to write on neatly. Graph paper provides assistance in a similar way, but with a grid that anchors your work to two dimensions rather than just one. You’ll most likely need graph paper for math and math-based work. For example, as a beginning student, you can use it for visual representations of numbers when learning multiplication or addition. Later in school, you’ll find it’s much easier to use grid paper to graph geometric figures on a XY-plane than blank or ruled paper. Finally, of course, any schematic, drawing, or design that needs to be to-scale and precise is easier to do on grid paper. However, you can also use graph paper for fun. It's perfect for creating complex designs for interior design, quilting, beading, embroidery, and knitting. It's also an excellent tool for games that feature maps or strategic divisions of space: for instance, most role-playing games use graph paper to show where characters are in relation to terrain, each other, and enemies. This complex textile design uses graph paper to figure out how to create a repeating pattern. Download Free Graph Paper Depending on your project, you’ll need a different kind of grid on your graph paper. I've created 10 printable graph paper PDFs (with alternate JPG versions) to meet your needs. Quad-Ruled Graph Paper Here are several versions of the most standard kind of graph paper- the kind that is made up of squares. Use this paper for math projects like graphing lines or functions, for science projects like creating charts of experiment results, or for developing creative symmetrical or repeating designs. â…› inch squares: JPG Version | PDF Version  ¼ inch squares (most common size): JPG version | PDF version  ½ inch squares: JPG version | PDF version Quad-Ruled Graph Paper with XY-Coordinates If you’re doing a lot of coordinate geometry, save yourself some time with graph paper that already has an XY-axis on it! Full-page coordinate grid: JPG version | PDF version Half-page coordinate grids: JPG version | PDF version Multi-Line Graph Paper This graph paper features a standard  ¼ inch quad grid overlaid with slightly heavier lines in intervals of 4 or 5 squares. Use it to learn skip-counting when first discovering numbers, or use it to easily create bar graphs and other kinds of visual data representation  ¼ inch minor lines, with major lines every 4 squares: JPG version | PDF version  ¼ inch minor lines, with major lines every 5 squares: JPG version | PDF version Dot Paper Dot paper is graph paper that only marks the corners of the grid squares and leaves out their sides. Use it for charts and designs, particularly if you’d like a less visually cluttered result. Because the paper only has dots, any lines you draw won't have to compete with the pre-printed lines that standard quad paper has.  ¼ inch spaced dots: JPG version | PDF version  ½ inch spaced dots: JPG version | PDF version Isometric (Triangle Grid) Paper In this kind of graph paper, instead of squares, the grid is made up out of equilateral triangles. Use it to create 3-dimensional drawings for designs like woodworking plans, interior space planning, or graphing on an XYZ-axis. Draw your vertical lines normally, and then draw any horizontal lines using the sides of the triangles. Because the grid creates angled cubes, your drawings are instantly in 3D.  ¼ inch isometric graph paper: JPG version | PDF version Here's a cool example of what you can do with isometric paper.(Image: tygerbaer2013 via Deviant Art) Expert Tips for Using Graph Paper in Math If you're using graph paper to learn math, let me share a few ideas for how to get the most productive use out of this tool. For Beginner Students For younger students, you can use graph paper to help with concepts like: The number line. Drawing a number line on graph paper automatically correctly spaces each segment. You can use the cross-lines to represent units, fives, tens, or hundreds. Addition and subtraction. Use different color pencils to add or remove squares from a whole. Alternatively, you can use a number line to show that addition and subtraction are ways or moving up or down on it. Multiplication and division. Use rectangular shapes to demonstrate how 3x8 yields the same result as 4x6 by graphing 3 rows of 8, then graphing 4 rows of six, and then counting the resulting squares. Fractions. Divide a rectangle into a variety of equal parts with colored pencils to show how many equal parts can make up a whole. Mapping an environment. Connect our 3D world to 2D space by making a map of the room you’re in, or of your street. For More Advanced Learning As you continue in school, graph paper should become one of the many tools in your problem-solving arsenal. Automatically use graph paper. Remember that you may find it easier to solve problems with graph paper even if they don’t explicitly say to use it. For example, many geometry problems are easier to figure out when you see them represented visually. Graph paper makes the best scratch paper. Use grid paper as your math scratch paper- it will force you to be neater and more precise when organizing proofs, reducing formulas, and so on. What's Next? Learning coordinate geometry and struggling with some of the concepts? Use our guides to the four graph quadrants and completing the square to help fill in some of the gaps. What graph-related math do you need to know for the SAT/ACT? Find out with our articles about coordinate geometry in the SAT and ACT.

Trading System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trading System - Research Paper Example Similarly the fund would not wait for the market to bottom out before taking a decision on going long and that it would go long once market moves down somewhere between the peak and the bottom. Either strategies would imply that the fund is not looking for excessive and speculative gains; nevertheless it does maintain inherent profit booking targets. The trading system explained below is based on trading rules that were tested for profits results based on this risk philosophy. Financial theory, taught in finance textbooks the globe over, normally exposes a student of finance to the concepts like the efficient market hypothesis and the economically rational individual. Bubbles and crashes seem to defy these two seminal concepts with an awkwardness equivalent to the awkwardness one would attach to those things on earth that defy gravity. Nevertheless such extreme stock market movements are a reality. Bubbles make investing decisions arduous as stock prices tend to deviate by substantial margins from their fundamental valuations. Investors relying on past company results and technical analysis are equally defeated in such situations as is the EMH.In fact, investors always act on the basis that they have an applicable construct to explain stock price movements and tend to input all available information collected under such constructs in their investment decisions (Poole 2000). Finance research has also held varying opinions on this issue. For instance, Bierm ann (1995) supports the idea that market prices are determined from backward looking investors than by those that indulge in predictions of all sorts. Others have, for example elaborated on the use of price to earnings ratios to determine excess market valuations. Some technical work has set to rest in a convincing manner the phenomenon of bubbles and bursts. For instance, Graham (1973) describes in details why markets fluctuate and how to deal with the violent fluctuations .Graham discusses five basic points to read into cross sectional view of market bubbles. Most of these points concern factors like growth and earnings and their impact on price movements and price levels. Graham (1973), in fact, provides a much better viewpoint on gauging market bubbles through an adaptive expectations model.The Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) states that current prices always 'fully reflect' available information, so that the only reason prices change between time t and time t+1 is the arriva l of new information. The EMH requires that only two necessary conditions be met. First, the market must be aware of all available information .The type of information available is determined by the strength of the EMH being tested. In a Weak Form EMH, current prices entirely reflect all that can be known from the study of historical prices and trading volumes. If the Weak Form is valid, technical analysis becomes ineffective. Any information contained in past prices has been analyzed and acted on by the market, so that shares are neither under-valued nor over-valued. In a Semi- Strong EMH, current prices efficiently adjust to information that is publicly available. If this form of the hypothesis holds true,

Molecular Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Molecular Biology - Essay Example For monoclonal antibody, mice are immunised with purified protein. Mouse splenocytes are collected after the immunisation process and fused with myeloma cells. To obtain monoclonal antibodies individual B cells are fused to myeloma cells and isolated by serial dilution resulting to a fusion product or hybridoma cell line of which can produce one specific antibody for extended periods of time by tissue culture. These hybridomas can be screened and best clones cultured in standard tissue culture facilities. The hybridoma cell line obtained for a given antibody was injected into the peritoneal cavity of mice where it grew and simultaneously produces the antibodies. Ascetic fluid containing the antibodies was harvested from the peritoneal cavity after a period of time. One fusion may produce 1000hybridomas therefore one must choose the most appropriate. This might be the highest infinity mAb but could be the most stable, the least cross reacting, the highest specificity depending on what is required. The advantage of using monoclonal antibodies is that they are monospecific, they tend to reduce cross reactivity and useful in diagnostics such as tissue typing. They are highly reproducible, can use relatively impure antigens to immunise animas, theoretically have limitless supply and can manufacture using recombinant DNA technology plus phage display libraries to produce fully human antibodies of any specificity. Labelling antibodies is useful as it enables detection of antibodies. Currently, the most commonly used are fluorescent labels, enzyme labels, chemiluminescent labels and radioactive labels. These are sometimes amplified using Avidin-Biotin Conjugate system. Some common fluorescent labels include, Fluorescein isothiocyanate, DAPI, Phycoerithrin and Texas red. When using enzyme labels, an enzyme is covalently attached to the

Assessing Strategies Toward a Goal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assessing Strategies Toward a Goal - Coursework Example I aimed at helping my uncle to make certain important decisions in general. I found balance-sheet approach very apt in this regard. â€Å"Balance sheets deal with the acceptability and unacceptability of both benefits and costs.† (Egan, 2010: 373) I focused on utilizing â€Å"empathetic thought patterns† (Egan, 2010: 374) and â€Å"active listening skills† (Egan, 374) to examine my uncle through the critical question answer session. The main problem he was facing about budgeting was fund allocation. I suggested the strategy of long term savings and addressing the long term liabilities to be most important. I asked my uncle, â€Å"What are the benefits of choosing such a strategy for you and the other significant ones?† Also, I asked, â€Å"To what degree are these benefits acceptable?† (Egan, 2010: 373) In answering my questions, my uncle expressed his concern about his children’s higher education. Also, by getting rid from the long term liab ilities like mortgage and debts, my uncle could obtain more financial security for his family. Thus I discovered that he was worried about the financial requirements of his children’s higher education. This was a plus for my uncle. However, he did not have a proper investment policy and was prone to neglect the existing liabilities. This was, of course, a minus point. Finally, I helped my uncle to set two most important goals.

Literary Analysis of Stephen Kings the Stand Essay Example for Free

Literary Analysis of Stephen Kings the Stand Essay People behave strangely when more than ninety-nine percent of the population is dead. They behave even more strangely when they’re the prize of a cosmic struggle. In Stephen King’s fantasy/horror, The Stand, a plague created by the military decimates the modern world. The humans that survived the plague are now the commodity of the personifications of good and evil, the troops in an epically proportioned conflict. The book begins with the spread and origin of the plague and the toll it takes on civilization and the population. Its spread through the nation, and then throughout the world, brings chaos in martial law, with horrible atrocities being committed by many of those still alive and in power. Military brutality is rampant, and all human rights are being ignored or even deliberately violated; civilization and society are disintegrating in the face of mass death. Meanwhile, the survivors are struggling to endure the psychological burden of being alone and tending to the dead and dying. They begin to find each other, but are plagued by horrible nightmares, the embodiment of their worst fears come to haunt them in their dreamland. These begin to be counterbalanced by dreams of a benevolent old woman, and all of the living and still-functioning coalesce around these two figures. A society forms around each: one of death, in Las Vegas around Flagg, and one of life, in Boulder, Colorado, around Mother Abagail. As powers converge and events unfold, the future fate of humanity is decided. The Walkin’ Dude; the dark man; the man with no face; him; Randall Flagg. The purest embodiment of evil, not only is he privy to an occasional demonic countenance, he is even sometimes allegorically referenced to the Devil. He is depicted as sowing death and discord with his very presence, showing them to be integral parts of his nature: â€Å"when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines. The grass yellows up and dies where he spits. [. . . ]. His name is Legion. [. . . ]. He can call the wolves and live in the crows. He’s the king of nowhere† (939). The dark man is terror personified, and even those that are loyal to him feel a primeval fear and animal loathing of him. However, evil is a relative thing, and can only be named as such if there is a foil to it. In this case, it is Mother Abagail. She is the safety and comfort of a mother’s arms, the warmth and love of a good home: she is human in a way Flagg is not and therefore subject to the weakness of humanity. Wise and kind though she may be, she is understandably bitter about her fate to â€Å"go away with strangers from all the things you love best and die in a strange land with the work not yet finished† (607). Eventually, she offends God with the sin of Pride, and must go on a pilgrimage out into the desert (a very appropriate biblical parallel) to â€Å"get right with God† (940), a pursuit which, in the end, results in her demise. However, the divine wisdom she gained on this pilgrimage, she put to use in her ordering of the journey of the four to the West, resulting in the end of Flagg’s reign and freedom for the people of the aptly-named Free Zone. One-hundred-and-eight years old, Mother Abagail is both an icon of vitality and frailty: she represents the dual, paradoxical, and precarious nature of good present in both people and civilization as a whole. Mother Abagail’s final action was to send a quest: she began the group of people at her deathbed – namely Stu Redman, Glen Bateman, Ralph Brentner, and Larry Underwood – on a perilous journey West, to destroy Flagg. Of these four characters (though they are obviously the primary focus of the end part of the novel) Ralph is probably the least important, him and Glen being fairly minor characters that rarely if ever are given voice by King. Stu, however, is the leader of both this group and the entire Free Zone, and also the first major character we are introduced to and the story’s primary protagonist. Through his eyes, we see the progenitor of the disease weave his car into a gas station and open Pandora’s Box to the world, the struggle of a dying government to contain what is already far beyond its reach, and the eventual convergence of people and regrouping of society. He is the sturdy, masculine, and conventionally established image of new strength and hope arising from tragedy. Throughout the story, he serves as a voice of reason and calm diplomacy: he is a man who understands the world and people of it. Often, Stu is characterized as â€Å"[a] man who doesn’t talk much† (598) r â€Å"a man of few words† (402), and as being extremely perceptive and intelligent; he is quite skillful at inferring people’s thoughts through his distinctive silent observation. He is a stoic, strong character that embodies the spirit necessary to thrive and survive in this strange new world. Glen Bateman is a sociologist, an invaluable asset to the construction of a new society. Though in and of himself a rather minor main character, he plays a hugely important role throughout the novel as the vessel of Stephen King. When a point is to be made about the ramifications of the superflu or ensuing human behaviors, it is almost always done through Glen. Though often cynical (â€Å"[i]f you want to short-circuit the democratic process, just ask a sociologist†) (749), he provides analyses such as these: â€Å"Man may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number and is always trying to get back home† (458) – ones that are incredibly valuable and insightful, and provide a unique but accurate viewpoint on the â€Å"big picture†. Glen provides an opportunity for King to force-feed readers the main ideas they may not have understood or picked up on for themselves. Larry is a tortured soul. A rising musician in the West, he gets involved with illegal drugs, loses the means to pay for them, and so flees to the East, joining his mother in New York. He is constantly haunted by the condemnations of a woman he slept with and deserted: â€Å"You ain’t no nice guy! † (106) and the words of a friend of his from back West: â€Å"[t]here’s something in you that’s like biting on tinfoil† (817). Without fail, these two phrases always accompany a Larry Underwood attack of conscience, most heavily when those he considers to be under his care meet an unfortunate fate. A defining moment for him occurs when the woman he has been traveling with dies of pill overdose, and he is left alone; he traverses the northeast U. S. on foot, too terrified by the thought of wrecking with nobody to help him to use the motorcycle he had been before. As he fights the terror and psychological torment of solitude, slowly unraveling, he meets others along the way, and begins to find the strength and good within himself to lead and help and heal. After he has grudgingly taken on and essentially begun to head a group of twenty or so people, Judge Farris, an extremely intelligent old man that is traveling with him, calls him â€Å"all the things the civics books tell us the good citizens should be: [. . . ]. They make the best leaders in a democracy because they are unlikely to fall in love with power† (728). Larry is the redemption that only comes through great suffering and turmoil. The Stand mostly takes place in a desolate, dead America of the 1990’s. It’s a place that is both promising in its opportunity and foreboding in its vast emptiness. As the resultant of a non-cataclysmic apocalypse, there is very little damage to the infrastructure of the nation: â€Å"All the machinery is just sitting there, waiting for someone to come along [. . . ] and start it up again† (406). Several characters note consistently the dangers inherent in having all the old tools lying around; the temptation to resurrect the old, destructive ways is greatly increased by the sheer ease with which it could be done. The empty, devoid-of-life landscape, coupled with the only temporarily dormant tools adds a new dimension of danger to the already unpleasant situation of those that survived the plague. King prefers to make his characters the masters of their own fates. Each is presented with his or her own choice, where, in that one and usually only instant, they are completely aware of the ramifications of their actions, which power they are aligning themselves with, and the consequences of doing so. Some manage to abstain from the allure of evil, while others succumb to it hopelessly: â€Å"For just a moment part of his mind cried Harold! Stop! so strongly that he was shaken to his heels [. . . ]. For that moment it seemed he could put the bitter drink away, pour it out of the cup, and refill it with whatever there was for him in this world. . . . ] but maybe it was already too late† (663). Typically, those that fall are those that are particularly sad or lonely or felt themselves to be outcasts in the now-dead world. The pain nurtures a destructive hate in their hearts, a pain that the dark man can speak to and win over. Evil is innately destructive, while good is natural ly an assembling force. King describes evil as only capable of destroying, and therefore only able to cannibalize itself; nothing constructed by one of evil will endure: things fall apart, the centre does not hold. Good being the complement to evil, it of course has a congruously opposite structure: though the edges may tatter and fray, the center is strong because it is based on the people and what they wish to uphold in their deepest selves. Stephen King’s Stand is an all-encompassing work: it contains elements of social and religious commentary, supernatural creatures, romance, murder, insanity, loneliness, family, etc. These elements comprise a work detailing the human experience, viewed through the distorted lens of group and individual psychological shock.

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Essay -- Biology Microbiology

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Abstract: Isolation and characterization of microorganisms is a practice that aids in Increasing ones knowledge of a laboratory setting and it helps improve on Using sterile technique. Isolates of soil microbes can be categorized and Characterized based on a number of criteria ranging from gram-staining Which is done for this project to enumeration which is quantitative description Based on the amount of microbial colonies available. The Antimicrobial Activity of three different microbes were also tested and results were obtained For two out of three of the microbes. Two out of three of the tested microbes Exhibited antimicrobial activity towards the bacteria E. Coli and B. Mycoides And the results were recorded. Microbes produce various antibiotics and by Isolating different microbes the antibodies can be tested for. Introduction: This lab focuses on the isolation and characterization of an unknown organisms expressing interesting properties in relation to Antimicrobial Activity. At the conclusion of this laboratory experience The researcher would be required to describe the isolates obtained from the soil macroscopic and microscopic appearance, Perform the gram stain of the microorganisms in question and to discriminate the organisms from other microbes that could be contained in the soil and to finally make certain that the organisms have not been exposed to outside sources and be isolated in a pure culture. The researcher must first isolate the microbe and try to grow the organism in a pure culture to commence with testing the organism. The isolation of Microbes in a laboratory and clinical settings are of the up most importance and due to the isolation of different microbes from each other various procedures become open for the researcher to use like six fold dilutions that allow for the quarantined m icrobe to be reduced down in number to ensure that the test are being run are being tested on just a single type of organism. But before dilutions can occur the microbe must first be liberated from the soil and streaked onto an Agar plate to grow. There are various methods that can be used once the organism has grown onto the agar plate to ensure that the sample collected would o... ...actors due to the large or small amount of colonies present on my agar plated media. This could be accounted for by stating that there was a very large amount of microbes present in the soil and the dilutions did not dilute enough of the microorganism out or human error could also account for Not having any statistically significant plates to use. The bacterium that I replated was obtained from the YPD 10-3 media and it gave rise to bacterium 1 & 3, The other bacterium that I obtained came from LB 10-5 . The two bacterium from the YPD plate varied in color the bacterium that I refer to as one had a reddish color had a circular form a raised elevation and a entire margin, The bacterium that I refer to as 3 Had a grey appearance a circular form a raised elevation and the margin appeared to be entire. The bacterium that I obtained from the LB media had a white appearance had a circular form a faintly raised elevation and the margin was entire. References: -Microbiology Laboratory Manual -http://www.talron.co.il/index.php?module=pagemaster&page user op=view page&PAGE id=8&MMN position=9:2 -http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/img/assests/6840/95762_YPD_Agar_17119_83055_ 1777 .pdf

Black House Chapter One

1 RIGHT HERE AND NOW, as an old friend used to say, we are in the fluid present, where clear-sightedness never guarantees perfect vision. Here: about two hundred feet, the height of a gliding eagle, above Wisconsin's far western edge, where the vagaries of the Mississippi River declare a natural border. Now: an early Friday morning in mid-July a few years into both a new century and a new millennium, their wayward courses so hidden that a blind man has a better chance of seeing what lies ahead than you or I. Right here and now, the hour is just past six A.M., and the sun stands low in the cloudless eastern sky, a fat, confident yellow-white ball advancing as ever for the first time toward the future and leaving in its wake the steadily accumulating past, which darkens as it recedes, making blind men of us all. Below, the early sun touches the river's wide, soft ripples with molten highlights. Sunlight glints from the tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad running between the riverbank and the backs of the shabby two-story houses along County Road Oo, known as Nailhouse Row, the lowest point of the comfortable-looking little town extending uphill and eastward beneath us. At this moment in the Coulee Country, life seems to be holding its breath. The motionless air around us carries such remarkable purity and sweetness that you might imagine a man could smell a radish pulled out of the ground a mile away. Moving toward the sun, we glide away from the river and over the shining tracks, the backyards and roofs of Nailhouse Row, then a line of Harley-Davidson motorcycles tilted on their kickstands. These unprepossessing little houses were built, early in the century recently vanished, for the metal pourers, mold makers, and crate men employed by the Pederson Nail factory. On the grounds that working stiffs would be unlikely to complain about the flaws in their subsidized accommodations, they were constructed as cheaply as possible. (Pederson Nail, which had suffered multiple hemorrhages during the fifties, finally bled to death in 1963.) The waiting Harleys suggest that the factory hands have been replaced by a motorcycle gang. The uniformly ferocious appearance of the Harleys' owners, wild-haired, bushy-bearded, swag-bellied men sporting earrings, black leather jackets, and less than the full complement of teeth, would seem to support this assumption. Like most assumptions, this one emb odies an uneasy half-truth. The current residents of Nailhouse Row, whom suspicious locals dubbed the Thunder Five soon after they took over the houses along the river, cannot so easily be categorized. They have skilled jobs in the Kingsland Brewing Company, located just out of town to the south and one block east of the Mississippi. If we look to our right, we can see â€Å"the world's largest six-pack,† storage tanks painted over with gigantic Kingsland Old-Time Lager labels. The men who live on Nailhouse Row met one another on the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois, where all but one were undergraduates majoring in English or philosophy. (The exception was a resident in surgery at the UI-UC university hospital.) They get an ironic pleasure from being called the Thunder Five: the name strikes them as sweetly cartoonish. What they call themselves is â€Å"the Hegelian Scum.† These gentlemen form an interesting crew, and we will make their acquaintance later on. For now, we have time only to note the hand-painted posters taped to the fronts of several houses, two lamp poles, and a couple of abandoned buildings. The posters say: FISHERMAN, YOU BETTER PRAY TO YOUR STINKING GOD WE DON'T CATCH YOU FIRST! REMEMBER AMY! From Nailhouse Row, Chase Street runs steeply uphill between listing buildings with worn, unpainted facades the color of fog: the old Nelson Hotel, where a few impoverished residents lie sleeping, a blank-faced tavern, a tired shoe store displaying Red Wing workboots behind its filmy picture window, a few other dim buildings that bear no indication of their function and seem oddly dreamlike and vaporous. These structures have the air of failed resurrections, of having been rescued from the dark westward territory although they were still dead. In a way, that is precisely what happened to them. An ocher horizontal stripe, ten feet above the sidewalk on the facade of the Nelson Hotel and two feet from the rising ground on the opposed, ashen faces of the last two buildings, represents the high-water mark left behind by the flood of 1965, when the Mississippi rolled over its banks, drowned the railroad tracks and Nailhouse Row, and mounted nearly to the top of Chase Street. Where Chase rises above the flood line and levels out, it widens and undergoes a transformation into the main street of French Landing, the town beneath us. The Agincourt Theater, the Taproom Bar & Grille, the First Farmer State Bank, the Samuel Stutz Photography Studio (which does a steady business in graduation photos, wedding pictures, and children's portraits) and shops, not the ghostly relics of shops, line its blunt sidewalks: Benton's Rexall drugstore, Reliable Hardware, Saturday Night Video, Regal Clothing, Schmitt's Allsorts Emporium, stores selling electronic equipment, magazines and greeting cards, toys, and athletic clothing featuring the logos of the Brewers, the Twins, the Packers, the Vikings, and the University of Wisconsin. After a few blocks, the name of the street changes to Lyall Road, and the buildings separate and shrink into one-story wooden structures fronted with signs advertising insurance offices and travel agencies; after that, the street becomes a highway that glides eastward past a 7-Eleven, the Reinhold T. Grauerhammer VFW Hall, a big farm-implement dealership known locally as Goltz's, and into a landscape of flat, unbroken fields. If we rise another hundred feet into the immaculate air and scan what lies beneath and ahead, we see kettle moraines, coulees, blunted hills furry with pines, loam-rich valleys invisible from ground level until you have come upon them, meandering rivers, miles-long patchwork fields, and little towns one of them, Centralia, no more than a scattering of buildings around the intersection of two narrow highways, 35 and 93. Directly below us, French Landing looks as though it had been evacuated in the middle of the night. No one moves along the sidewalks or bends to insert a key into one of the locks of the shop fronts along Chase Street. The angled spaces before the shops are empty of the cars and pickup trucks that will begin to appear, first by ones and twos, then in a mannerly little stream, an hour or two later. No lights burn behind the windows in the commercial buildings or the unpretentious houses lining the surrounding streets. A block north of Chase on Sumner Street, four matching red-brick buildings of two stories each house, in west-east order, the French Landing Public Library; the offices of Patrick J. Skarda, M.D., the local general practitioner, and Bell & Holland, a two-man law firm now run by Garland Bell and Julius Holland, the sons of its founders; the Heartfield & Son Funeral Home, now owned by a vast, funereal empire centered in St. Louis; and the French Landing Post Office. Separated from these by a wide driveway into a good-sized parking lot at the rear, the building at the end of the block, where Sumner intersects with Third Street, is also of red brick and two stories high but longer than its immediate neighbors. Unpainted iron bars block the rear second-floor windows, and two of the four vehicles in the parking lot are patrol cars with light bars across their tops and the letters FLPD on their sides. The presence of police cars and barred windows seems incongruous in this rural fastness what sort of crime can happen here? Nothing serious, surely; surely nothing worse than a little shoplifting, drunken driving, and an occasional bar fight. As if in testimony to the peacefulness and regularity of small-town life, a red van with the words LA RIVIERE HERALD on its side panels drifts slowly down Third Street, pausing at nearly all of the mailbox stands for its driver to insert copies of the day's newspaper, wrapped in a blue plastic bag, into gray metal cylinders bearing the same words. When the van turns onto Sumner, where the buildings have mail slots instead of boxes, the route man simply throws the wrapped papers at the front doors. Blue parcels thwack against the doors of the police station, the funeral home, and the office buildings. The post office does not get a paper. What do you know, lights are burning behind the front downstairs windows of the police station. The door opens. A tall, dark-haired young man in a pale blue short-sleeved uniform shirt, a Sam Browne belt, and navy trousers steps outside. The wide belt and the gold badge on Bobby Dulac's chest gleam in the fresh sunlight, and everything he is wearing, including the 9mm pistol strapped to his hip, seems as newly made as Bobby Dulac himself. He watches the red van turn left onto Second Street, and frowns at the rolled newspaper. He nudges it with the tip of a black, highly polished shoe, bending over just far enough to suggest that he is trying to read the headlines through the plastic. Evidently this technique does not work all that well. Still frowning, Bobby tilts all the way over and picks up the newspaper with unexpected delicacy, the way a mother cat picks up a kitten in need of relocation. Holding it a little distance away from his body, he gives a quick glance up and down Sumner Street, about-faces smartly, and steps back into the station. We, who in our curiosity have been steadily descending toward the interesting spectacle presented by Officer Dulac, go inside behind him. A gray corridor leads past a blank door and a bulletin board with very little on it to two sets of metal stairs, one going down to a small locker room, shower stalls, and a firing range, the other upward to an interrogation room and two facing rows of cells, none presently occupied. Somewhere near, a radio talk show is playing at a level that seems too loud for a peaceful morning. Bobby Dulac opens the unmarked door and enters, with us on his shiny heels, the ready room he has just left. A rank of filing cabinets stands against the wall to our right, beside them a beat-up wooden table on which sit neat stacks of papers in folders and a transistor radio, the source of the discordant noise. From the nearby studio of KDCU-AM, Your Talk Voice in the Coulee Country, the entertainingly rabid George Rathbun has settled into Badger Barrage, his popular morning broadcast. Good old George sounds too loud for the occasion no matter how low you dial the volume; the guy is just flat-out noisy that's part of his appeal. Set in the middle of the wall directly opposite us is a closed door with a dark pebble-glass window on which has been painted DALE GILBERTSON, CHIEF OF POLICE. Dale will not be in for another half hour or so. Two metal desks sit at right angles to each other in the corner to our left, and from the one that faces us, Tom Lund, a fair-haired officer of roughly his partner's age but without his appearance of having been struck gleaming from the mint five minutes before, regards the bag tweezed between two fingers of Bobby Dulac's right hand. â€Å"All right,† Lund says. â€Å"Okay. The latest installment.† â€Å"You thought maybe the Thunder Five was paying us another social call? Here. I don't want to read the damn thing.† Not deigning to look at the newspaper, Bobby sends the new day's issue of the La Riviere Herald sailing in a flat, fast arc across ten feet of wooden floor with an athletic snap of his wrist, spins rightward, takes a long stride, and positions himself in front of the wooden table a moment before Tom Lund fields his throw. Bobby glares at the two names and various details scrawled on the long chalkboard hanging on the wall behind the table. He is not pleased, Bobby Dulac; he looks as though he might burst out of his uniform through the sheer force of his anger. Fat and happy in the KDCU studio, George Rathbun yells, â€Å"Caller, gimme a break, willya, and get your prescription fixed! Are we talking about the same game here? Caller â€Å" â€Å"Maybe Wendell got some sense and decided to lay off,† Tom Lund says. â€Å"Wendell,† Bobby says. Because Lund can see only the sleek, dark back of his head, the little sneering thing he does with his lip wastes motion, but he does it anyway. â€Å"Caller, let me ask you this one question, and in all sincerity, I want you to be honest with me. Did you actually see last night's game?† â€Å"I didn't know Wendell was a big buddy of yours,† Bobby says. â€Å"I didn't know you ever got as far south as La Riviere. Here I was thinking your idea of a big night out was a pitcher of beer and trying to break one hundred at the Arden Bowl-A-Drome, and now I find out you hang out with newspaper reporters in college towns. Probably get down and dirty with the Wisconsin Rat, too, that guy on KWLA. Do you pick up a lot of punk babes that way?† The caller says he missed the first inning on account of he had to pick up his kid after a special counseling session at Mount Hebron, but he sure saw everything after that. â€Å"Did I say Wendell Green was a friend of mine?† asks Tom Lund. Over Bobby's left shoulder he can see the first of the names on the chalkboard. His gaze helplessly focuses on it. â€Å"It's just, I met him after the Kinderling case, and the guy didn't seem so bad. Actually, I kind of liked him. Actually, I wound up feeling sorry for him. He wanted to do an interview with Hollywood, and Hollywood turned him down flat.† Well, naturally he saw the extra innings, the hapless caller says, that's how he knows Pokey Reese was safe. â€Å"And as for the Wisconsin Rat, I wouldn't know him if I saw him, and I think that so-called music he plays sounds like the worst bunch of crap I ever heard in my life. How did that scrawny pasty-face creep get a radio show in the first place? On the college station? What does that tell you about our wonderful UW?CLa Riviere, Bobby? What does it say about our whole society? Oh, I forgot, you like that shit.† â€Å"No, I like 311 and Korn, and you're so out of it you can't tell the difference between Jonathan Davis and Dee Dee Ramone, but forget about that, all right?† Slowly, Bobby Dulac turns around and smiles at his partner. â€Å"Stop stalling.† His smile is none too pleasant. â€Å"I'm stalling?† Tom Lund widens his eyes in a parody of wounded innocence. â€Å"Gee, was it me who fired the paper across the room? No, I guess not.† â€Å"If you never laid eyes on the Wisconsin Rat, how come you know what he looks like?† â€Å"Same way I know he has funny-colored hair and a pierced nose. Same way I know he wears a beat-to-shit black leather jacket day in, day out, rain or shine.† Bobby waited. â€Å"By the way he sounds. People's voices are full of information. A guy says, Looks like it'll turn out to be a nice day, he tells you his whole life story. Want to know something else about Rat Boy? He hasn't been to the dentist in six, seven years. His teeth look like shit.† From within KDCU's ugly cement-block structure next to the brewery on Peninsula Drive, via the radio Dale Gilbertson donated to the station house long before either Tom Lund or Bobby Dulac first put on their uniforms, comes good old dependable George Rathbun's patented bellow of genial outrage, a passionate, inclusive uproar that for a hundred miles around causes breakfasting farmers to smile across their tables at their wives and passing truckers to laugh out loud: â€Å"I swear, caller, and this goes for my last last caller, too, and every single one of you out there, I love you dearly, that is the honest truth, I love you like my momma loved her turnip patch, but sometimes you people DRIVE ME CRAZY! Oh, boy. Top of the eleventh inning, two outs! Six?Cseven, Reds! Men on second and third. Batter lines to short center field, Reese takes off from third, good throw to the plate, clean tag, clean tag. A BLIND MAN COULDA MADE THAT CALL!† â€Å"Hey, I thought it was a good tag, and I only heard it on the radio,† says Tom Lund. Both men are stalling, and they know it. â€Å"In fact,† shouts the hands-down most popular Talk Voice of the Coulee Country, â€Å"let me go out on a limb here, boys and girls, let me make the following recommendation, okay? Let's replace every umpire at Miller Park, hey, every umpire in the National League, with BLIND MEN! You know what, my friends? I guarantee a sixty to seventy percent improvement in the accuracy of their calls. GIVE THE JOB TO THOSE WHO CAN HANDLE IT THE BLIND!† Mirth suffuses Tom Lund's bland face. That George Rathbun, man, he's a hoot. Bobby says, â€Å"Come on, okay?† Grinning, Lund pulls the folded newspaper out of its wrapper and flattens it on his desk. His face hardens; without altering its shape, his grin turns stony. â€Å"Oh, no. Oh, hell.† â€Å"What?† Lund utters a shapeless groan and shakes his head. â€Å"Jesus. I don't even want to know.† Bobby rams his hands into his pockets, then pulls himself perfectly upright, jerks his right hand free, and clamps it over his eyes. â€Å"I'm a blind guy, all right? Make me an umpire I don't wanna be a cop anymore.† Lund says nothing. â€Å"It's a headline? Like a banner headline? How bad is it?† Bobby pulls his hand away from his eyes and holds it suspended in midair. â€Å"Well,† Lund tells him, â€Å"it looks like Wendell didn't get some sense, after all, and he sure as hell didn't decide to lay off. I can't believe I said I liked the dipshit.† â€Å"Wake up,† Bobby says. â€Å"Nobody ever told you law enforcement officers and journalists are on opposite sides of the fence?† Tom Lund's ample torso tilts over his desk. A thick lateral crease like a scar divides his forehead, and his stolid cheeks burn crimson. He aims a finger at Bobby Dulac. â€Å"This is one thing that really gets me about you, Bobby. How long have you been here? Five, six months? Dale hired me four years ago, and when him and Hollywood put the cuffs on Mr. Thornberg Kinderling, which was the biggest case in this county for maybe thirty years, I can't claim any credit, but at least I pulled my weight. I helped put some of the pieces together.† â€Å"One of the pieces,† Bobby says. â€Å"I reminded Dale about the girl bartender at the Taproom, and Dale told Hollywood, and Hollywood talked to the girl, and that was a big, big piece. It helped get him. So don't you talk to me that way.† Bobby Dulac assumes a look of completely hypothetical contrition. â€Å"Sorry, Tom. I guess I'm kind of wound up and beat to shit at the same time.† What he thinks is: So you got a couple years on me and you once gave Dale this crappy little bit of information, so what, I'm a better cop than you'll ever be. How heroic were you last night, anyhow? At 11:15 the previous night, Armand â€Å"Beezer† St. Pierre and his fellow travelers in the Thunder Five had roared up from Nailhouse Row to surge into the police station and demand of its three occupants, each of whom had worked an eighteen-hour shift, exact details of the progress they were making on the issue that most concerned them all. What the hell was going on here? What about the third one, huh, what about Irma Freneau? Had they found her yet? Did these clowns have anything, or were they still just blowing smoke? You need help? Beezer roared, Then deputize us, we'll give you all the goddamn help you need and then some. A giant named Mouse had strolled smirking up to Bobby Dulac and kept on strolling, jumbo belly to six-pack belly, until Bobby was backed up against a filing cabinet, whereupon the giant Mouse had mysteriously inquired, in a cloud of beer and marijuana, whether Bobby had ever dipped into the works of a gentleman named Jacques Derrida. When Bobby replied that he had never heard of the gentleman, Mouse said, â€Å"No shit, Sherlock,† and stepped aside to glare at the names on the chalkboard. Half an hour later, Beezer, Mouse, and their companions were sent away unsatisfied, undeputized, but pacified, and Dale Gilbertson said he had to go home and get some sleep, but Tom ought to remain, just in case. The regular night men had both found excuses not to come in. Bobby said he would stay, too, no problem, Chief, which is why we find these two men in the station so early in the morning. â€Å"Give it to me,† says Bobby Dulac. Lund picks up the paper, turns it around, and holds it out for Bobby to see: FISHERMAN STILL AT LARGE IN FRENCH LANDING AREA, reads the headline over an article that takes up three columns on the top left-hand side of the front page. The columns of type have been printed against a background of pale blue, and a black border separates them from the remainder of the page. Beneath the head, in smaller print, runs the line Identity of Psycho Killer Baffles Police. Underneath the subhead, a line in even smaller print attributes the article to Wendell Green, with the support of the editorial staff. â€Å"The Fisherman,† Bobby says. â€Å"Right from the start, your friend has his thumb up his butt. The Fisherman, the Fisherman, the Fisherman. If I all of a sudden turned into a fifty-foot ape and started stomping on buildings, would you call me King Kong?† Lund lowers the newspaper and smiles. â€Å"Okay,† Bobby allows, â€Å"bad example. Say I held up a couple banks. Would you call me John Dillinger?† â€Å"Well,† says Lund, smiling even more broadly, â€Å"they say Dillinger's tool was so humongous, they put it in a jar in the Smithsonian. So . . .† â€Å"Read me the first sentence,† Bobby says. Tom Lund looks down and reads: † ? ®As the police in French Landing fail to discover any leads to the identity of the fiendish double murderer and sex criminal this reporter has dubbed â€Å"the Fisherman,† the grim specters of fear, despair, and suspicion run increasingly rampant through the streets of that little town, and from there out into the farms and villages throughout French County, darkening by their touch every portion of the Coulee Country.' â€Å" â€Å"Just what we need,† Bobby says. â€Å"Jee-zus!† And in an instant has crossed the room and is leaning over Tom Lund's shoulder, reading the Herald's front page with his hand resting on the butt of his Glock, as if ready to drill a hole in the article right here and now. † ? ®Our traditions of trust and good neighborliness, our habit of extending warmth and generosity to all [writes Wendell Green, editorializing like crazy], are eroding daily under the corrosive onslaught of these dread emotions. Fear, despair, and suspicion are poisonous to the soul of communities large and small, for they turn neighbor against neighbor and make a mockery of civility. † ? ®Two children have been foully murdered and their remains partially consumed. Now a third child has disappeared. Eight-year-old Amy St. Pierre and seven-year-old Johnny Irkenham fell victim to the passions of a monster in human form. Neither will know the happiness of adolescence or the satisfactions of adulthood. Their grieving parents will never know the grandchildren they would have cherished. The parents of Amy and Johnny's playmates shelter their children within the safety of their own homes, as do parents whose children never knew the deceased. As a result, summer playgroups and other programs for young children have been canceled in virtually every township and municipality in French County. † ? ®With the disappearance of ten-year-old Irma Freneau seven days after the death of Amy St. Pierre and only three after that of Johnny Irkenham, public patience has grown dangerously thin. As this correspondent has already reported, Merlin Graasheimer, fifty-two, an unemployed farm laborer of no fixed abode, was set upon and beaten by an unidentified group of men in a Grainger side street late Tuesday evening. Another such episode occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, when Elvar Praetorious, thirty-six, a Swedish tourist traveling alone, was assaulted by three men, again unidentified, while asleep in La Riviere's Leif Eriksson Park. Graasheimer and Praetorious required only routine medical attention, but future incidents of vigilantism will almost certainly end more seriously.' â€Å" Tom Lund looks down at the next paragraph, which describes the Freneau girl's abrupt disappearance from a Chase Street sidewalk, and pushes himself away from his desk. Bobby Dulac reads silently for a time, then says, â€Å"You gotta hear this shit, Tom. This is how he winds up: † ? ®When will the Fisherman strike again? † ? ®For he will strike again, my friends, make no mistake. † ? ®And when will French Landing's chief of police, Dale Gilbertson, do his duty and rescue the citizens of this county from the obscene savagery of the Fisherman and the understandable violence produced by his own inaction?' â€Å" Bobby Dulac stamps to the middle of the room. His color has heightened. He inhales, then exhales a magnificent quantity of oxygen. â€Å"How about the next time the Fisherman strikes,† Bobby says, â€Å"how about he goes right up Wendell Green's flabby rear end?† â€Å"I'm with you,† says Tom Lund. â€Å"Can you believe that shinola? ? ®Understandable violence'? He's telling people it's okay to mess with anyone who looks suspicious!† Bobby levels an index finger at Lund. â€Å"I personally am going to nail this guy. That is a promise. I'll bring him down, alive or dead.† In case Lund may have missed the point, he repeats, â€Å"Personally.† Wisely choosing not to speak the words that first come to his mind, Tom Lund nods his head. The finger is still pointing. He says, â€Å"If you want some help with that, maybe you should talk to Hollywood. Dale didn't have no luck, but could be you'd do better.† Bobby waves this notion away. â€Å"No need. Dale and me . . . and you, too, of course, we got it covered. But I personally am going to get this guy. That is a guarantee.† He pauses for a second. â€Å"Besides, Hollywood retired when he moved here, or did you forget?† â€Å"Hollywood's too young to retire,† Lund says. â€Å"Even in cop years, the guy is practically a baby. So you must be the next thing to a fetus.† And on their cackle of shared laughter, we float away and out of the ready room and back into the sky, where we glide one block farther north, to Queen Street. Moving a few blocks east we find, beneath us, a low, rambling structure branching out from a central hub that occupies, with its wide, rising breadth of lawn dotted here and there with tall oaks and maples, the whole of a block lined with bushy hedges in need of a good trim. Obviously an institution of some kind, the structure at first resembles a progressive elementary school in which the various wings represent classrooms without walls, the square central hub the dining room and administrative offices. When we drift downward, we hear George Rathbun's genial bellow rising toward us from several windows. The big glass front door swings open, and a trim woman in cat's-eye glasses comes out into the bright morning, holding a poster in one hand and a roll of tape in the other. She immediately turns around and, with quick, efficient gestures, fixes the poster to the door. Sunlight reflects from a smoky gemstone the size of a hazelnut on the third finger of her right hand. While she takes a moment to admire her work, we can peer over her crisp shoulder and see that the poster announces, in a cheerful burst of hand-drawn balloons, that TODAY IS STRAWBERRY FEST!!!; when the woman walks back inside, we take in the presence, in the portion of the entry visible just beneath the giddy poster, of two or three folded wheelchairs. Beyond the wheelchairs, the woman, whose chestnut hair has been pinned back into an architectural whorl, strides on her high-heeled pumps through a pleasant lobby with blond wooden chairs and matching tables strewn artfully with magazines, marches past a kind of unmanned guardpost or reception desk before a handsome fieldstone wall, and vanishes, with the trace of a skip, through a burnished door marked WILLIAM MAXTON, DIRECTOR. What kind of school is this? Why is it open for business, why is it putting on festivals, in the middle of July? We could call it a graduate school, for those who reside here have graduated from every stage of their existences but the last, which they live out, day after day, under the careless stewardship of Mr. William â€Å"Chipper† Maxton, Director. This is the Maxton Elder Care Facility, once in a more innocent time, and before the cosmetic renovations done in the mid-eighties known as the Maxton Nursing Home, which was owned and managed by its founder, Herbert Maxton, Chipper's father. Herbert was a decent if wishy-washy man who, it is safe to say, would be appalled by some of the things the sole fruit of his loins gets up to. Chipper never wanted to take over â€Å"the family playpen,† as he calls it, with its freight of â€Å"gummers,† â€Å"zombies,† â€Å"bed wetters,† and â€Å"droolies,† and after getting an accounting degree at UW?CLa Riviere (with hard-earned minors in promiscuity, gambling, and beer drinking), our boy accepted a positio n with the Madison, Wisconsin, office of the Internal Revenue Service, largely for the purpose of learning how to steal from the government undetected. Five years with the IRS taught him much that was useful, but when his subsequent career as a freelancer failed to match his ambitions, he yielded to his father's increasingly frail entreaties and threw in his lot with the undead and the droolies. With a certain grim relish, Chipper acknowledged that despite a woeful shortage of glamour, his father's business would at least provide him with the opportunity to steal from the clients and the government alike. Let us flow in through the big glass doors, cross the handsome lobby (noting, as we do so, the mingled odors of air freshener and ammonia that pervade even the public areas of all such institutions), pass through the door bearing Chipper's name, and find out what that well-arranged young woman is doing here so early. Beyond Chipper's door lies a windowless cubicle equipped with a desk, a coatrack, and a small bookshelf crowded with computer printouts, pamphlets, and flyers. A door stands open beside the desk. Through the opening, we see a much larger office, paneled in the same burnished wood as the director's door and containing leather chairs, a glass-topped coffee table, and an oatmeal-colored sofa. At its far end looms a vast desk untidily heaped with papers and so deeply polished it seems nearly to glow. Our young woman, whose name is Rebecca Vilas, sits perched on the edge of this desk, her legs crossed in a particularly architectural fashion. One knee folds over the other, and the calves form two nicely molded, roughly parallel lines running down to the triangular tips of the black high-heeled pumps, one of which points to four o'clock and the other to six. Rebecca Vilas, we gather, has arranged herself to be seen, has struck a pose intended to be appreciated, though certainly not by us. Behind the cat's-eye glasses, her eyes look skeptical and amused, but we cannot see what has aroused these emotions. We assume that she is Chipper's secretary, and this assumption, too, expresses only half of the truth: as the ease and irony of her attitude imply, Ms. Vilas's duties have long extended beyond the purely secretarial. (We might speculate about the source of that nice ring she is wearing; as long as our minds are in the gutter, we will be right on the money.) We float through the open door, follow the direction of Rebecca's increasingly impatient gaze, and find ourselves staring at the sturdy, khaki-clad rump of her kneeling employer, who has thrust his head and shoulders into a good-sized safe, in which we glimpse stacks of record books and a number of manila envelopes apparently stuffed with currency. A few bills flop out of these envelopes as Chipper pulls them from the safe. â€Å"You did the sign, the poster thing?† he asks without turning around. â€Å"Aye, aye,† says Rebecca Vilas. â€Å"And a splendid day it is we shall be havin' for the great occasion, too, as is only roight and proper.† Her Irish accent is surprisingly good, if a bit generic. She has never been anywhere more exotic than Atlantic City, where Chipper used his frequent-flier miles to escort her for five enchanted days two years before. She learned the accent from old movies. â€Å"I hate Strawberry Fest,† Chipper says, dredging the last of the envelopes from the safe. â€Å"The zombies' wives and children mill around all afternoon, cranking them up so we have to sedate them into comas just to get some peace. And if you want to know the truth, I hate balloons.† He dumps the money onto the carpet and begins to sort the bills into stacks of various denominations. â€Å"Only Oi was wonderin', in me simple country manner,† says Rebecca, â€Å"why Oi should be requested to appear at the crack o' dawn on the grand day.† â€Å"Know what else I hate? The whole music thing. Singing zombies and that stupid deejay. Symphonic Stan with his big-band records, whoo boy, talk about thrills.† â€Å"I assume,† Rebecca says, dropping the stage-Irish accent, â€Å"you want me to do something with that money before the action begins.† â€Å"Time for another journey to Miller.† An account under a fictitious name in the State Provident Bank in Miller, forty miles away, receives regular deposits of cash skimmed from patients' funds intended to pay for extra goods and services. Chipper turns around on his knees with his hands full of money and looks up at Rebecca. He sinks back down to his heels and lets his hands fall into his lap. â€Å"Boy, do you have great legs. Legs like that, you ought to be famous.† â€Å"I thought you'd never notice,† Rebecca says. Chipper Maxton is forty-two years old. He has good teeth, all his hair, a wide, sincere face, and narrow brown eyes that always look a little damp. He also has two kids, Trey, nine, and Ashley, seven and recently diagnosed with ADD, a matter Chipper figures is going to cost him maybe two thousand a year in pills alone. And of course he has a wife, his life's partner, Marion, thirty-nine years of age, five foot five, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 190 pounds. In addition to these blessings, as of last night Chipper owes his bookie $13,000, the result of an unwise investment in the Brewers game George Rathbun is still bellowing about. He has noticed, oh, yes he has, Chipper has noticed Ms. Vilas's splendidly cantilevered legs. â€Å"Before you go over there,† he says, â€Å"I was thinking we could kind of stretch out on the sofa and fool around.† â€Å"Ah,† Rebecca says. â€Å"Fool around how, exactly?† â€Å"Gobble, gobble, gobble,† Chipper says, grinning like a satyr. â€Å"You romantic devil, you,† says Rebecca, a remark that utterly escapes her employer. Chipper thinks he actually is being romantic. She slides elegantly down from her perch, and Chipper pushes himself inelegantly upright and closes the safe door with his foot. Eyes shining damply, he takes a couple of thuggish, strutting strides across the carpet, wraps one arm around Rebecca Vilas's slender waist and with the other slides the fat manila envelopes onto the desk. He is yanking at his belt even before he begins to pull Rebecca toward the sofa. â€Å"So can I see him?† says clever Rebecca, who understands exactly how to turn her lover's brains to porridge . . . . . . and before Chipper obliges her, we do the sensible thing and float out into the lobby, which is still empty. A corridor to the left of the reception desk takes us to two large, blond, glass-inset doors marked DAISY and BLUEBELL, the names of the wings to which they give entrance. Far down the gray length of Bluebell, a man in baggy coveralls dribbles ash from his cigarette onto the tiles over which he is dragging, with exquisite slowness, a filthy mop. We move into Daisy. The functional parts of Maxton's are a great deal less attractive than the public areas. Numbered doors line both sides of the corridor. Hand-lettered cards in plastic holders beneath the numerals give the names of the residents. Four doors along, a desk at which a burly male attendant in an unclean white uniform sits dozing upright faces the entrances to the men's and women's bathrooms at Maxton's, only the most expensive rooms, those on the other side of the lobby, in Asphodel, provide anything but a sink. Dirty mop-swirls harden and dry all up and down the tiled floor, which stretches out before us to improbable length. Here, too, the walls and air seem the same shade of gray. If we look closely at the edges of the hallway, at the juncture of the walls and the ceiling, we see spiderwebs, old stains, accumulations of grime. Pine-Sol, ammonia, urine, and worse scent the atmosphere. As an elderly lady in Bluebell wing likes to say, when you live with a bunch of people who are old an d incontinent, you never get far from the smell of caca. The rooms themselves vary according to the conditions and capacities of their inhabitants. Since nearly everyone is asleep, we can glance into a few of these quarters. Here in D10, a single room two doors past the dozing aide, old Alice Weathers lies (snoring gently, dreaming of dancing in perfect partnership with Fred Astaire across a white marble floor) surrounded by so much of her former life that she must navigate past the chairs and end tables to maneuver from the door to her bed. Alice still possesses even more of her wits than she does her old furniture, and she cleans her room herself, immaculately. Next door in D12, two old farmers named Thorvaldson and Jesperson, who have not spoken to each other in years, sleep, separated by a thin curtain, in a bright clutter of family photographs and grandchildren's drawings. Farther down the hallway, D18 presents a spectacle completely opposite to the clean, crowded jumble of D10, just as its inhabitant, a man known as Charles Burnside, could be considered the polar opposite of Alice Weathers. In D18, there are no end tables, hutches, overstuffed chairs, gilded mirrors, lamps, woven rugs, or velvet curtains: this barren room contains only a metal bed, a plastic chair, and a chest of drawers. No photographs of children and grandchildren stand atop the chest, and no crayon drawings of blocky houses and stick figures decorate the walls. Mr. Burnside has no interest in housekeeping, and a thin layer of dust covers the floor, the windowsill, and the chest's bare top. D18 is bereft of history, empty of personality; it seems as brutal and soulless as a prison cell. A powerful smell of excrement contaminates the air. For all the entertainment offered by Chipper Maxton and all the charm of Alice Weathers, it is Charles Burnside, â€Å"Burny,† we have most come to see.