Save Water Speech Essay

Good morning to the excellencies, respected teachers and my dear colleagues. I would like to speech on a very important topic â€Å"save water† today at this special occasion. As well all know that how the water is important for the continuation of life on the earth. It is the most basic need of everyone (human being, animal, plant and other microorganisms). Water is the unique source of life, without water we cannot imagine the life here. Life on other planets is not possible just because of the absence of water. It is considered as the most important among other known celestial bodies. Almost three-fourth area of the earth is covered by the water and it constitutes around 60-70 % of the living world. It seems that water is endless renewable source on the earth because it is regenerated and redistributed all over the earth through evaporation and rain. It arises a question in our mind that if water is renewable source then why we should worry for water and try to conserve it. Actually, there is only 1% of the water on the earth which is usable to us. And other water bodies have unusable water to us such as 97% salty sea water, 2% water in the form of glaciers and polar ice caps. Only 1% water is here for us over which a huge population all over the world is depended for the survival. Death is more possible in the lack of water than the lack of food. It again arises a question in our mind that why we are so late in realizing the need of water saving and conservation. Since the life of each and every living things on the earth depends on water, then scenario will get worse if useful water become dirty or started reducing. A water looking fresh and drinkable from outside can be mixed with the harmful and toxic elements through various sources like industries, factories, sewer, etc and cause illness and death if ingested by animals, plants or human beings. Here are some tips which really will help us to save water: Parents should aware their children about the need of water conservation. They should avoid buying recreational water toys (which require constant stream of water) to their children. Everyone should be aware of the water shortage rules and restrictions and strictly follow in their own area. Every employee should be active for the water conservation at their own work place and encourage their employer to promote water conservation in other effective ways. There should be water conservation awareness and tips for every starter in the orientation manual and training program at schools, colleges,  work place, offices, institutions, etc. Water conservation techniques should be promoted on every news media such as TV, newspaper, radio, FM, community newsletters, bulletin boards, banners, etc. People should be more active in their area to report (to their owner, local authorities, water management of district) any problems related to water loss through broken pipes, errant sprinklers, open hydrants, abandoned free-flowing wells, etc. Water conservation awareness should be highly developed and promoted especially in the schools to aware children means future of the nation. School students should be assigned to prepare projects on water conservation or given this topic during any competition like debate, discussion, essay writing or speech recitation. It should be promoted at tourism level so that tourists and visitors can be aware of and understand the need for water conservation. As being educated citizens we should encourage our friends and neighbors to join the water conscious community. Everyone should make a task related to water saving and try to complete by the end of day strictly.

How Television Media Violence Influences Deviant Behavior, Specifically Criminal Behavior Essay

People watch television as way of relaxing. While there are many educational and entertaining programs on television, there is a lot of negativity in the form of sex and violence. Television programs are not without some king of violence. Since most people spend the bulk of their inactive time relaxing in front of the television, the following hypothesis may be formulated. If people spend most of their time watching television, which is full of subtle and obvious violence, is it then not possible that the programming will influence deviant criminal behavior in them? Accordingly, it is important to analyze the ways in which media violence may influence deviant criminal behavior. In this case, the two variables in this study are television media violence and deviant criminal behavior. Thus, deviant criminal behavior is the dependent (result) variable and television media violence as the independent (causal) variable. Deviant behavior According to Bryant, deviant behavior is easily explained in the context of an individual violating social norms (rules) just because they wish to fulfill/attain some personal goal. Hence, deviant behavior may include violence, aggression and hostility. For instance, a child may eat the last piece of cake that was reserved for later because he wants to eat the cake. Therefore, a superseding self-gratifying consideration would seem to be implicated in deviant behavior (1989). However, as Bryant goes on to point out, deviancy is by no means a simple issue. This is because, most if not all people are at some point in life faced with the opportunity to perform acts of deviancy. The question then is why is that some people are lured to contravening social norms more than others (1989)? Media violence. According to the Center for Media Literacy, there is no one clear and concise definition of media violence. This is because the individuals who are considered experts in the media violence realm measure television violence very differently (2007). Nevertheless, media violence may be defined as the various types of violence shown/displayed in such media as television. Accordingly, when individuals watch television they are exposed to the violence. Watching violence on television increases antisocial (deviant) behavior such as aggressiveness, hostility and even violence towards others. Sometimes these behaviors take on a criminal nature. Various studies have been conducted. In one study, the researchers set up an investigation involving college student with different personality and behavior types. The students had to watch both non violent and what was termed as gratuitously violent programs/films over a period of four days. The aim of the researchers was to find out if regular, consistent exposure to violence would result in violence in the individuals. After the study, the students were placed in stressful situation where they responded in a hostile manner. Continued exposure to the violence may lead the individuals to become more hostile and aggressive and even to engage in such criminal behaviors as robbery with violence, a criminal behavior with serious consequences. In the event of disagreements, they may also act aggressively towards others causing harm to them. Thus, the study helped to show that television media violence does indeed influence deviant behavior. Media violence especially when prolonged and consistent resulted in hostility and aggression in the students of both sexes even when there was no provocation. It also led to involvement and participation in other behaviors that are also criminal (Harris, N. d. ). In the second study, using the same test subjects, researchers analyzed how media violence affected their reaction to things that did not concern them personally. Again, the students were exposed to program content with various degrees of violence over a period of four days. Afterwards, the students were presented with conflict scenarios and asked how they would respond. The conflicts ranged from children fighting to the more serious domestic violence. Accordingly, the students who considered themselves as egotistic were found to accept violence as a way of solving conflicts (Harris, N. d. ). It would then be correct to state that these college students would grow up with the mentality that violence and aggressiveness is a normal part of life. As adults they may take it upon themselves to use violence to get their way. It would be not surprising if the same students were to then use violence to settle their domestic squabbles. They may engage domestic violence, a truly deviant and criminal behavior. In another cross-sectional study, some 2300 high school students were asked to list their favorite television programs and also provide a checklist of activities that ranged from fighting to serious delinquent behaviors. The programs were then analyzed for their violent content. Researchers found that the students whose favorite programs were violent also tended to exhibit violence. Hence, their checklists also reported aggressive and delinquent behaviors. It would then be correct to state these children frequently the violent television programs. Otherwise, how else the deviant behavior could be explained (TV Violence, 2003). It was then probable that these children would copy what they may have watched on television for some particular purposes. Maybe, use violence and aggressiveness to rob others and use the loot to buy drugs. In Summary The three studies above had one primal purpose. To determine how media violence affects deviant behavior. From the studies, it is clear that increased exposure to television media violence also leads to increased deviant behavior. To most people, aggressiveness and hostility are examples of deviant behaviors. In the three studies after exposure to television media violence the subjects were either openly hostile or aggressive. This is would be correct to conclude that indeed television media violence does influence deviant behavior in that individuals after exposure to television media violence engage more in behaviors that could be considered as deviant behavior. References. Bryant, C. (1989). Deviant behavior: Readings in the sociology of norm violations. London: Taylor & Francis. Defining media violence: It’s not so easy! (2007). Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. medialit. org/reading_room/article23. html Harris, S. (N. d. ). Some violent movies can increase violent responses to provocation and acceptance of violence in real life. Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. research. vt. edu/resmag/sc99/media_violence. html TV violence. (2003). Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. kff. org/entmedia/upload/Key-Facts-TV-Violence. pdf

Allergies Involving Children

Allergies Some children have food allergies which means that they cannot tolerate certain foods and they may become very ill which may lead to going into anaphylactic shock if they eat certain foods. Some children are allergic to nuts or eggs and it is very important to make sure these foods are avoided which means checking the ingredients of some food products very carefully as every small amount can cause problems for allergic children and also some medical conditions can be cause by a child’s diet e. g. ood additives can affect the behaviour of some children with Attention Defiat Hyperactivity Disorder. Common food intolerances are:- Lactose – This is found in milk and dairy products Histamine – This is found in strawberries and ripe tomatoes. Tartrazine – This is mainly found in yellow food colouring, some drinks and sweets. Establishing different dietary requirements in your placement can be done by referring to the child’s parent, referring to the child’s record, speak to the children and referring to the other practitioners in your setting.Point which need to be considered are procedures, insurance, first aiders, allergies, photos in medical records, staff awareness, trained staff for administering medication and close contact with parents. Children with different dietary needs In a childcare setting you will encounter children with different dietary needs which are important because you may need to understand what can affect a Childs dietary requirements. Medical ConditionsMedical conditions can affect a child’s diet in the following ways:- Diabetes which means that the pancreas cannot regulate the body’s sugar levels and children will need to avoid sugar but should have regular meals and snacks and also each child’s needs will be different and you will have to work closely with your supervisor and the child’s parent to support a diabetic child. Coeliac disease means that children can not absorb their food normally and will need to avoid gluten which is mainly found in cerals such as wheat and barley and coeliac disease is usually detected after a child has been weaned from breast milk.Food Preferences Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or any other products which come from animals such as milk, eggs and cheese. Also if children follow a vegetarian or vegan diet then special care must be taken to make sure all the essential nutrients are included in their diet. All children in your care must be able to eat and drink safely so that food poisoning or related illnesses are avoided and also bacteria can grow quickly on food and your role in handling food and drink appropriately is essential and you will need to understand how to store, prepare and serve food.Establish Different dietary requirements of children and young people There are various dietary requirements that you need to consider to meet the different needs of children which include religious, cultural, all ergies, health requirements and individual choices or preferences. Religious and cultural Muslims – * Eat halal meat, fish, shell fish which is slaughtered and is prepared in a certain way. * Do not eat pork or dairy products that contain rennet which is curdled milk from the stomach of an unweaned. * Fast during Ramadan Jews- Do not eat dairy products with meat * Eat kosher lamb, beef and chicken which is slaughtered and prepared in a certain way. * Fast during Yorn Kippur * Fish should have fins, scales and backbones. Sikhs- * Do not eat beef as the cow is a sacred animal. * Some Sikhs may eat chicken, cheese, fish and shell fish. * Rarely eat pork Hindus * Do not eat meat as the cow is seen as a scared animal. * Do not eat dairy products that contain rennet * Usually vegetarian * Eat fish with fin and scales Rastafarians * Do eat lamb (some do) beef and chicken but do not eat shellfish.

Critical analysis and implications of the practice resulting from the Essay

Critical analysis and implications of the practice resulting from the exploration of the patient journey - Essay Example The terminology, â€Å"terminal illness† that emerged and spread in the mid 20th century refers to a condition that cannot sufficiently be treated and is thus expected to end in death after a given period. Among the conditions commonly considered terminal are progressive ones such as advanced trauma-related heart diseases and cancers (Winslow et al., 2005). Terminal diseases are thus conditions that finally end the sufferers’ lives. There are several stages of terminal illnesses that medical professionals should be familiar with. The fact that different patients and their families react differently to news about these stages implies that nurses and other medical professionals should know how to handle and communicate news about each of these stages. The first stage of a terminal illness is the disbelief phase during which most people are shocked and despaired at news about terminal illness. This phase is sometimes marked by feeling of guilt as one suspects he/she has do ne something wrong to deserve such an illness. The disbelief stage is followed by the stage of depression, which range from mild to moderate in intensity, calling for immediate family and professional support (medical therapy). Since there is no cure for terminal illnesses, only certain types of medical treatments such as treatment to ease breathing or reduce pain could be appropriate. While some incurably ill people accept aggressive treatments to reduce their suffering or in the hope of full recovery, others reject all unbearable treatments that might result in unwanted side effects and worsened condition (Abma et al., 2005). Still. Some opt to undergo untried treatments including radical dietary modifications in the hope that they could prove effective. To help manage pain, suffering, symptoms and to improve general patient life and wellbeing regardless of the management approach used, palliative care is often recommended. To provide the much needed emotional and spiritual suppor t for terminal illness patients and their families, hospice care is highly recommended. Further, supplementary care such as relaxation therapy, massage, and acupuncture are used to manage signs, symptoms and other causes of distress and pain. Analysis of â€Å"Patient Journey† An analysis of the ‘Patient Journey’ reveals several challenges that terminally ill patients encounter throughout the rest of their lives. Easily identified in the analysed case of the terminally ill John is the challenge of frequent admissions into health facilities. Accompanying these frequent admission are numerous treatments and therapies such as blood transfusion, which make the patient‘s life more painful and unbearable. In spite of these therapies and treatments, John’s condition continues to deteriorate, rendering him unconscious and unable to make decisions on his own about his health care. John’s family makes the situation worse since they respond to all questi ons directed at John. This scenario implies that the nurses could not engage the patient directly with questions regarding his health care (Abma et al., 2005). In fact, the patient’s family intervenes whenever the nurses wanted to relieve his pain by administering painkillers. Further, it is the family’s voice and opinion that was heard over John’

Adaptation of English Academic Purposes Writing Materials for a Group Research Paper

Adaptation of English Academic Purposes Writing Materials for a Group of Chinese Learners - Research Paper Example The major challenge this group of students encounters during their first year of study relates to the high-level expectations in the universities. According to candling and Hyland (2006, 11) the learning processes for these students is the site of struggle in their process of embracing change. Accommodating and fitting into an entirely different system makes the process entirely difficult for the students (Andrade, & Evans, 2009, 29). The expression of academic work in an entirely non- familiar language demands a lot of cognitive and social ability from the students. Problems that may interfere with the student’s ability to adapt to the new language may involve the student’s attitude, social experiences, and cognitive adaption. According to Cheng (2000, 46) the process of learning English, is a process of new identity creation and balancing the new identity with a student’s initial identity. The process of academic writing entails transition towards a given a giv en culture for Chinese students (Andrade, & Evans, 2009, 34). It encompasses an acquaintance to the writing conventions in the universities culture (Xing, Wang, & Spencer, 2008, 71). According to Su and Norton (2008, 57), the most challenging hurdle for Chinese students involved writing strategies and linguistics. ...    Challenges facing Chinese students Academic challenges The main challenge to the academic performance of Chinese students’ significantly involved cultural diversity as a result of Confucian ideology (Cummins, & Davison, 2007). They could not explain precisely the expectations of British academics and culture. Teacher-student relationship The relationship between teacher-student in western universities is significantly different from the Confucian perspective (Cummins, & Davison, 2007). This leads to a great misunderstanding between the teacher and the student. According to the views of most of my Chinese students, the UK lectures are less caring and too busy to develop time for their students. To the lectures point of view, the extensive attention beyond learning hours was a bit too demanding. Chinese students express a lot of difficulty in understanding the conduct of Western teachers: they perceive the teachers’ autonomous learning technique as uncaring and unfri endly (Cummins, & Davison, 2007).  Ã‚  

The effects of peer-mediation on suspension of middle school students Dissertation

The effects of peer-mediation on suspension of middle school students - Dissertation Example The paper tells that since 2001, children in grades K-12 have become the focus of attention because of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This legislation made schools across the country focus on student achievement and standardized testing. This testing brought with it a set of problems that encouraged many schools to stop extracurricular activities like music and art, and many have also stopped recess. In the process of this focus, another focus also became apparent after the school shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. These school shootings created a mass apprehension in high schools across the country about bullying and school violence. Since the Columbine incident, many schools have noticed a rise in student aggression, conflict and school violence. Unfortunately, when students create this type of behavior, and it comes to the attention of the administration, the students are usually suspended. This trend to suspend has affected minority students more often than non-mi nority students and there is a larger prevalence of suspensions in urban school districts with large minority populations. In a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center that surveyed 9,000 middle schools, and which involved a national sample, the research found that 28.3% of black males were suspended four times as often as non-minority males. Hispanic males also had a 16.3% higher risk of suspension than their white peers. In the same study, 18 urban districts were examined and 175 middle schools in the districts suspended more than one third of their black male students. ... The most prevalent reasons were defying authority or not going to in-school suspensions. There is no doubt that there has been an increase in school suspensions over the last several years between 2003 through 2011. Sisco (2004) also speaks to this topic and states that these children are being suspended for breaking small school rules but also for behavior problems like fighting, bringing weapons to school, drug possession, bullying or other aggressive or disruptive actions. Many schools have a no tolerance policy which means that certain behaviors like bullying or violent behavior brings about automatic suspension. However, these measures do not seem to be working in most cases because the behaviors continue (Losen and Skiba, 2010; Sisco, 2004, Lane-Garon, Ybarra-Merlo, Zajac, J., & Vierra, 2005). Losen and Skiba (2010) pointed out that the middle school experience is important to a student’s future academic success. The challenge at this level is that suspensions can crea te repercussions that are long-term which means that students will lose aspects of instruction that may be important to their future success. Some of these children will who do not change their behaviors will go to prison where they may lose time in education while they are going through the process of problems with law enforcement (Losen and Skiba, 2010). Losen and Skiba also found that those suspended were generally black or Hispanic males along with a small number of female Hispanic or black females. The fact that these children are â€Å"being removed from the opportunity to learn at a much higher rate than their peers† (Losen and Skiba, 2010, p. 8) creates more problems for them academically as they move from

Obama's Full 2013 State of the Union Address Essay

Obama's Full 2013 State of the Union Address - Essay Example Minimum wages were raised to $ 9 as a social security measure. Gun control laws will be strengthened. War on terror will be ended in soon and America will take only a supporting role in future in Afghanistan. Obama seems to be particular about the development of manufacturing sector as a measure to boost America’s economic progress. In his opinion, manufacturing sector is the key in reducing unemployment and directing the country towards prosperity. Obama seems to believe in the economic principle of produce more and develop rapidly. In my opinion, Obama has used this opportunity to give more emphasize to the actions taken in the past to boost America’s progress. He had not said much about his future plans. Some of his claims in the speech were slightly exaggerated. For example, he proudly announced that minimum wages were raised to $ 9 per hour. However, he had forgotten that this slight increase in minimum wages is nothing considering huge expenditure an average family faces daily. Moreover, he announced that the oil production has increased a lot in the recent past. However, still America is the second largest importer of oil resources from external countries. China like countries has already implemented big efforts to exploit renewable energy sources such as solar energy. However, Obama is still reluctant in spending much on developing renewable energy sources. It should be noted that China is the number one exploiter of solar energy at present and their progress is causing big concerns to America. Ho wever, Obama has not said anything about the challenges from China and India like Asian countries. Even though Obama talked about war on terror and withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said not much about America’s foreign policies on Middle East issues. Even though plenty of people expected a

Policy Development Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Policy Development Paper - Essay Example As the essay discusses innocent people are given incentives and they fall in traps of agents who smuggle them illegally in countries and then exploit them. Poverty in developing countries is one of the reasons why human trafficking is increasing every day. Strict policies and law enforcement is required so that this abuse of human life could be stopped. This paper declares that human trafficking is defined as transportation, recruitment or harboring of a person, by deception, fraud, force or by giving incentive to a person, for the purpose of exploitation. Human trafficking is very common is developing countries where people are giving incentives of employment and are transported legally or illegally into developed countries where they are exploited. The impact of human trafficking on human society is disastrous. People who are transported in the country are kept in bondage labor. They are not allowed to use their passports so they cannot leave the country. We can say it is a form of modern slavery. These people are deprived of their civil rights and forced to undesirable activities. Women are mainly the victims of human trafficking and they are usually used for prostitution. Prostitution is illegal in most countries so girls from third world countries are brought to the developed world in hope of employment and later they are force fully used for prostitution purposes. These girls are not allowed to leave the country and criminal syndicates earn money from the work of these girls. A number of diseases can also spread in the country due to prostitution of trafficked women. In United States people have a fair bit of knowledge about sexual diseases but these girls come from backward societies so they have little or no idea of sexual diseases and their prevention. This makes these girls more prone to sexual diseases then other girls in the same business. Also they cannot go to hospitals because of their lack of identity so they are forced to live with it. These girls can transfer these diseases to their customers and in this way sexual diseases spread through prostitution. Human trafficking is harmful for society because trafficked people are used to fuel the illicit activities of the criminal groups. These people usually have no record of their existence so under coercion they perform activities like drug smuggli ng and prostitution. These crimes are fueled by people who are brought in the country by human trafficking. These people are easy targets because they are threaten and in turn they do anything their ‘masters’ want them to do. Bondage labor is another way in which human trafficking victims are exploited. They are used for producing a variety of products in factories or are made to work in mines (Penketh, A. 2006). Victims of human trafficking are very good workers because they are very cheap and they can even perform hazardous jobs. Also there is no need for insurance benefits or other benefits for these workers. The products produced by these victims are sold at low prices and competitive advantage is achieved (Penketh, A. 2006). Human trafficking also impacts human society by reducing employment opportunities for people of the country. Trafficked individuals are cheap labor so they are preferred by industries where manual labor is

Organization Behavior - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organization Behavior - - Essay Example will be difference between people and this causes discrimination based on the level of intelligence, body shape and wealth besides color and religion and nationality. In general, to shrink this phenomenon (discrimination), it will need a lot of good raising and education for children. 2. One of the goals of the civil rights movement was to ensure equal opportunity for every U.S. citizen, irrespective of race. When the civil rights movement began, the legal system did not grant the same rights to blacks and other minorities as it did to white. Today, those laws have been changed, leading some to argue that the U.S. has achieved a level playing field for all. In personal point of view, the playing field is not still absolutely level. The race-based â€Å"privilege† still plays an important factor in who gets which job. Despite the fact that the U.S. laws have bee changed to promote equal opportunity for all individuals of different races, discrimination still exists between people and they are still practicing it today. Complete elimination of discrimination is difficult because it needs to start with changing people’s attitudes, which is one of the most challenging tasks. Affirmative action aimed at eliminating issues of privilege and discrimination by ensuring equal opportunities for all genders of all races. It was crafted to achieve gender balance by ensuring that the workplace is not male dominated and that both female and male genders are equally represented. Yes it has been successful because it has reduced the level of discrimination through its stringent policies that require employers to abolish discrimination based on gender. However, it has not reached its full potential because there are many people still practicing discrimination. In Ms. Elliot’s â€Å"experiment,† labels (Blue and Red) performed the same behaviour as in person. It was a shock that the second labels, when given chance, did to the first label what the first label did to them.

Moving Away from Traditional Transaction-Based Financial Information Essay

Moving Away from Traditional Transaction-Based Financial Information to Technologically Based Non-Financial Information - Essay Example Many businesses have in the recent times shifted their focus from using the traditional transaction-based financial information towards using technologically based non-financial information (Agresti, 2002). This has been largely due to the fact that the traditional approaches usually limit themselves through the definition of their cost behaviors in the terms of their production along with sales level (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2007). The traditional methods were mostly utilized for the purposes of giving reports when the valuations of the items in their income statements and balance sheets (Zhou, 2012). The method also had so many restrictions as the statements prepared were supposed to comply with the GAAP principles. As a result of being outdated in their practices the governing body of the management discipline brought more technological advances that would have helped in resolving the issue (Cooper, 2009). Additionally, in the recent past there has been a great shift by the mana gements of businesses across the globe towards the use of technologically based non-financial pieces of information (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2007). ... These two types of change within the management field are evident simultaneously across many businesses along with organizations (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2007). Reports indicate that such an occurrence might occur because both of these changes may be subjected to the same types of normative pressures though they are basically mutually independent (Agresti, 2002). The management accounting profession has in the modern world changed their views on various aspects that affect their operations. For instance, less emphasis has recently been placed on the acquisition of technical knowledge along with the traditional skills of doing business (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2007). The new work of the management accountant thus relies on his ability of interpreting non-financial information for the benefit of a business entity or organization (O’Sullivan, 2010). This has made the management accountants new work to be described as involving the offering of consultancy services to the inter nal operations of a business. Change within the management profession has also been driven by the fact that the accountants are currently being involved in the support of decisions and offering of professional advice to the organization (Agresti, 2002). The advice provided is on the strategic along with operational issues of an organization and the application of special technical skills for the benefit of the organization (Cooper, 2009). The issue of leadership is directly related to the management profession and this implies that the methods applied by the professionals in the field have to change. The change should therefore be aimed at providing an increase in the collaborations beyond the financing option and working in teams that have multiple purposes in a

Capital accumulation Essay Example for Free

Capital accumulation Essay Nucleon should focus on contracting manufacturing for phases I and II and then for phase III focus on vertical integration of production to create greater economic value, therefore gaining and sustaining competitive advantage and producing the largest NPV. By contracting manufacturing, Nucleon will be able to focus on core competencies with no capital investments. Also, by vertical integration Nucleon gains sources of competitive advantage. Contracting manufacturing focuses on core competencies. Nucleon will have facilities and personnel in place to implement phases I and II, require no capital investments (reducing up front costs: Table 1), and therefore able to focus on clinical trials. As Hurt’s commented, â€Å"It’s important for us to get our products into the clinic before others do.† Vertically integrating increase NPV by 2002 and gains competitive advantage. Nucleon has high threats of opportunism due to uncertainty and complexity. There are over 200 other firms and Nucleon needs to obtain competitive advantage and then sustain this advantage. By integrating, Nucleon has good possibilities of raising funds, producing other products, and raising a larger income. Vertical integration provides a larger potential income for Nucleon in phase III based on NPV (refer to Table 1), while contracting manufacturing for phases I and II provide Nucleon with ability to focus on core competencies and thus producing the largest NPV by 2002 of approximately $20M. Performed well even in the recession. CEO believed that you need to have an effective strategy and right people to execute the strategy. The company has been able to gain competitive advantage, but can they sustain this advantage? Distinguishes us from other players in the MA field, it’s that we stay in touch with the companies. 2001-Present Danaher focused on allocating decisions on the basis of return on invested capital (ROIC)

African American and Haitian Heritage Essay Example for Free

African American and Haitian Heritage Essay There are many different beliefs and values with the African American Culture compared to the Haitian Culture relating to child bearing and pregnancy. Both of the cultures have history of having large families in the rural areas, which was viewed as a necessary necessity because of the economic pressures each culture went though. The African American choice of birth control was oral contraceptives compared to the Haitians who used a variety of contraception methods such as the â€Å"birth control pill, female sterilization, injections, and condoms† Kemp (2012) states. The Haitians are mostly Catholic which makes them unwillingly to engage in conversations about pregnancy, and their fertility practices. Compared to African Americans who willingly to speak to older family members about their behavior during their pregnancy, or will help guide them with many of the practices and beliefs of a pregnant women. The African Americans view and belief on abortion is that many oppose abortion because of their â€Å"religious or moral beliefs†, and others oppose abortion because of moral, cultural, or â€Å"Afrocentric beliefs† WHO (2011) states. These beliefs will cause a delay in decision which makes abortions unsafe, compared to the Haitian Culture who does not talk about abortion openly, it is considered a women’s issue. Pregnancy is not considered a disease, or a â€Å"health problem, many Haitian women seek no prenatal care†, work fulltime until delivery, and celebrate their pregnancy as a time of joy. Haitian women also â€Å"do not eat spices†, but are encouraged to eat vegetables, and red fruits to increase the fetus blood Kemp (2012) claims. Compared to the African American women who seek prenatal care early in their pregnancy, also they respond to being pregnant as any other women in an ethnic group. Furthermore each one of the cultures has views, and beliefs that they follow during their pregnancy. The â€Å"Haitian women historically would walk, squat, or sit†, during labor, practice natural childbirth, but since migrating most Haitian women have adopted other practices. The fathers do not participate in delivery, but other female families members offer support Kemp (2012) states. The African American women have many beliefs or myths they believe in during their pregnancy. â€Å"Pica is the eating of a nonnutritive substance† such as soap, needles, dirt, and etc., this practice will help ease pain during delivery, and reduce nausea Galanti (2012) states. Furthermore African American women believe in many beliefs because it will cause harm to them and the unborn baby, during delivery they believe it is ok to be vocal. In addition during delivery African American women will have granny midwives deliver their unborn baby, and others will arrive at the Hospital in advanced labor to reduce the time spent there. Emotional support is provided by other women especially their mother, because men believe it is a private issue between women. The Haitian women believe that postpartum is a crucial period of childbearing, immediately after birth they will dress warmly to become more healthy, and clean. After delivery Haitian women believe that their â€Å"bones are open which makes them stay in bed 2-3 days postpartum† Galanti (2012) states so the bones can close. Another postpartum practice is the â€Å"three baths†, the first three days the mother will bathe in hot boiled water that will have leaves, bought or picked from the field. Then for the next three days the mother will bathe in water and leaves warmed by the sun. At the end of the third week the mother takes the third bath which is cold, Haitian women also avoid white foods during this period. Compared to the â€Å"African American women during postpartum period family support is needed to care for them six to eight weeks† after delivery Galanti (2012) states. Babies were not named until after they were known to survive, and the placenta has a spirit of its own which has to be buried after birth to avoid having a connection to the baby. Increased â€Å"vaginal bleeding is a sign of a sickness†, and tea is believed to have healing powers Kemp (2012) states. References Galanti, G. (2012) â€Å"Cultural Diversity in Health Care† African American. Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.ggalanti.org Kemp, C. (2012) â€Å"Haitians† Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.baylor.edu World Health Organization (2011) World Global Cultures† Retrieved on January 27, 2013 from www.who.org

Accessibility and usability: Web technologies

Accessibility and usability: Web technologies Abstract: The relationship between accessibility and usability can be a contentious issue especially with the advent of new web technologies. Does accessibility have an adverse effect on usability and vice versa and is this in anyway affected by new web technologies? With the advent of new web technologies it is thought by some that the two supposedly bipolar methodologies of web design and evaluation contradict one another even more. In order to determine if this is in fact true this paper will look at the effect of new web technologies on accessibility and usability and the current practices in each of these areas. This paper considers various views on this topic, compares definitions and methodologies and concludes that even when using new web technologies, embracing both sets of practices and recognizing their points of similarity, it is still possible, with considered and judicious use of new web technologies to make a web design that is both usable and accessible. 1. Introduction Some accessibility practitioners believe that by applying new web technologies to a web design, that because of the added level of complexity, they create another barrier to disabled people (Everett 2006). Some usability practitioners believe that by enforcing accessibility practices that the interactivity will in some way suffer (Koch 2002). In terms of new web technologies is this still the case. Is there any merit in these beliefs? Can common ground be found to achieve the some kind of balance? There appears to be a lack of clarity of what constitutes a usable web site and misunderstanding of what constitutes a truly accessible website. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between usability and accessibility by firstly looking at the differences between them and where they overlap. We will then need to understand current thinking on the relationship between accessibility and usability and how it is affected by current web technologies. Will Web Standards and new web technologies have an effect on accessibility and usability? With the advent of Web standards (Featherstone et al. The Web Standards Project 1998) and updated web accessibility guidelines (Henry et al. W3C 2008) it has become easier for developers to create sites that are more usable and accessible. This paper will also investigate technologies such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)(Garrett 2005), and whether this will have any further effect on the relationship between accessibility and usability 2. Definitions and methodologies 2.1 New web technologies (Web 2.0) The concept of Web2.0 began with a conference brainstorming session. Members noted that far from being unviable after 2001, when many online businesses collapsed, the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites appearing regularly (OReilly 2002). Web 2.0 websites are characterized by their rich and interactive content. This is in stark contrast to the static HTML. By using scripting technologies such as JavaScript an AJAX (Garrett 2005) it is now possible to create web-based applications that resemble desktop applications with the advantage of being able to access them from almost anywhere. Through the use of scripting libraries it is now possible to add interactive desktop-like interface items to web pages and provide the ability to allow users to make changes to current content. Core characteristics of Web 2.0 web sites are (OReilly 2002): Web Services, not packaged software (Web applications) User control over data sources that become more comprehensive the more people use them (Wikis) Users trusted as co-developers (Wikis, blogs) Harnessing collective intelligence Software available to almost any device (Mobile Apps) Lightweight user interfaces and development models With all of these new technologies and coding techniques, what effect do they have on the relationship between accessibility and usability? Web 2.0 has the potential to enhance usability due to the added ability to create a more rich and interactive environment for the website user. However with all of these new technologies, can they be interpreted by assistive technologies used by disabled users? Have disabled users been considered? Will methodologies such as design and evaluation need to change? 2.2 Accessibility The web gives people with disabilities the ability to do things that they would be unable to do via any other avenue. The web offers them freedom and independence. However, all of these possibilities are removed if a web site is not created in an accessible way. Essentially accessibility can be defined as access for everyone no matter what disability they suffer from (Berners-Lee, via Henry W3C 2009). Other have a more flexible approach such as Clark (2002) where he suggests that allowances of for disabled users should be made to make a website accessible. Another term used in connection with Accessibility is Universal Design, which incorporates elements of usability with the goal of making websites or any product as usable as possible by as many people as possible without requiring adapted or specialized design. (Mace 2008) The guidelines by which most accessibility practitioners develop and evaluate websites is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 which are updated standards developed by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These are written to accommodate new technologies and provide better and more comprehensive help for developers and designers when trying to make websites accessible. These standards consist of 12 guidelines that are organized under 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. For each guideline, there are testable success criteria, which are at three levels of priority: A, AA, and AAA with all A guidelines having the highest priority (Caldwell et al. W3C 2008). The four principles of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines can be explained as follows (Caldwell et al. W3C 2008): Perceivable Web content should be made available to any or all of the senses sight, hearing, and/or touch Operable Interface objects such as forms, controls, and navigation must be operable independent of the input method Understandable The sites content, information and interface must be understandable to the target audience Robust Sites can be used reliably by a wide variety of user agents such as web browsers, mobile devices and assistive technologies The W3C also lists various methods for evaluating websites for accessibility to determine their compliance with WCAG (Abou-Zahra et al. W3C WAI 2008). Various methods including preliminary reviews, manual and automated evaluation tools, are used to determine compliance. When developing websites whether with new technologies or not it is recommended that Web Standards coding practices should be used to attain conformance with WCAG 2.0. Web standards are technologies and practices established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), along with other groups and standards bodies for creating and interpreting web-based content. By making use of these technologies it is possible to create web content that benefit a greater number of users and at the same time making this content usable in the long-term regardless of technology changes (Featherstone et al. WASP 2006). The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed an Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (ARIA) in order to make rich internet content more accessible for people with disabilities (Henry et al. W3C 2009). This suite is currently not fully supported in all user agents (browsers) and AJAX libraries (Henry et al. W3C 2009). Will updated accessibility practices be able to enhance or be incorporated into usability practices? 2.3 Usability The generally accepted definition for usability in ISO 9241 states: the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use Usability is defined by five quality components (Nielsen 2003): Learnability: Ease with which a basic task can be completed at the first attempt. Efficiency: The speed with which a task is performed Memorability: The ease with which an interface will be remembered. Errors: The number and severity of errors Satisfaction: The level of enjoyment or pleasure when using an interface An extension of usability is the term User-Centered Design (UCD) (Preece et al. 2006), where users are involved throughout the lifecycle of website developments by using structured methodologies in order to determine and meet all the needs of the target user (Usability.gov 2009). Some of the techniques used include (Usability.gov 2009): Usability testing Representative users are observed while attempting to complete set tasks. Notes on the observations of user behavior and comments are made. Card sorting Participants arrange and even label cards representing site content into logical groups and categories to inform the information architecture of a site design. Individual interviews Individual participants are interviewed typically for 30 minutes to an hour either in person, by telephone, or by any means available which allows conversation. These interviews can be formal or informal and do not involve observation. Contextual interview or field studies Contextual interviews are similar to user testing because the users are observed, however they are not given a set of task but are rather observed in there natural environment. Observers also take notes. Surveys These are used to obtain data from large groups of people in a relatively short time and are normally used to gather user requirements. They can also be used for summative usability evaluation. Focus groups These are usually a discussion among eight to twelve current users or potential users or stakeholders of your site conducted by an experienced moderator. Focus groups typically lasts approximately two hours and covers a range of topics that are decided on beforehand. Task analysis Is used to determine the typical tasks that users perform to achieve a particular goal. Work patterns are studied and broken down to provide a list of tasks and the order in which they are performed. Prototypes Are representations of your website/application shown to users in order to inform the design and determine any major defects before proceeding with further development. These can range from paper drawings (low-fidelity) to near complete products (high-fidelity). Expert evaluations Experts are asked to evaluate sites for usability employing various methods such as heuristic evaluation where sites are evaluated against a set of usability principles. Other methods such as Cognitive walkthroughs and pluralistic evaluation are used (Preece et al. 2006). Will usability practices need to include accessibility practices in order to include people with disabilities or will doing this minimize usability of web products? 3. Relationship 3.1 Would disabled users also benefit if usability practitioners considered accessibility guidelines as part of the efficiency and satisfaction of a site? By analyzing the definitions for accessibility and usability to understand their relationship to one another we can see that accessibility focuses on the making allowances to improve the experience for a particular group of users whereas usability focuses on the effectiveness, satisfaction and efficiency in achieving a specified goal of a particular user when using a website. We can see here that the goals are similar albeit with a slight difference in focus. Disabled users can be considered a group of users with varying needs however; in many cases they are not considered when websites are being built (Disability Rights Commission 2004). If a site is not accessible to a user it will obviously not be an enjoyable or effective experience (Clark 2002). With usability the target audience is determined by means of usability techniques such as questionnaires, surveys and focus groups (Preece et al. 2006). However in many cases accessibility practitioners do not attempt to determine the level of use by a particular disability group for a specified website (Chandrashekar et al. 2006). Some work has been done in this area, however the uptake has not been as expected (Sloan 2006). In addition when websites are developed the focus of the accessibility effort is placed on the needs of blind users without bearing in mind the needs of other user groups such as those with colour-blindness or low vision. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness of what disability groups exist, besides blind users, and the varying difficulties encountered by these people. The WCAG 2.0 guidelines attempt to cover these areas but without being able to see these users encounter problems there is little impact and therefore less motivation to cater for these users. From this we can deduce that disabled users should be included as a potential target group and this should be determined by incorporating usability techniques into web accessibility practices. 3.2 Should both sets of guidelines and principles be adopted by both sets of practitioners or should a single Universal set of guidelines be used? If we compare the most commonly used guidelines of both parties we can see that there are similarities. Usability practitioners commonly make use of Nielsens usability heuristics to perform expert evaluations (Nielsen 1994): Visibility of system status Information should be given to the user via appropriate and reasonably timed feedback Match between system and the real world Language and terms that are familiar to the target audience should be used. Information should be presented naturally and logically. User control and freedom If a user makes a mistake they must be able to exit the function easily or undo the action without being confronted by confusing and unnecessary screens or dialogs. Consistency and standards The system should be consistent in terms of words to indicate actions, navigation and the system should use conventions that the user is accustomed to. Error prevention Always attempt to prevent the error in the design instead of providing good error messages Recognition rather than recall System elements, actions and objects should always be visible or easy to retrieve in order to alleviate the need for recall of previous actions or instructions. Flexibility and efficiency of use The system should be flexible enough to accommodate experienced and inexperienced users. The system should be configurable to allow access to frequently used actions. Aesthetic and minimalist design Only important and relevant information should be displayed in dialogues. Irrelevant or unnecessary information will detract or diminish the visibility of important information. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors Messages and suggested solutions to problems should be written in language that is plain, precise and constructive. Help and documentation If necessary, documentation should be focused, concise, concrete and easy to locate Now let us expand on the four principles of the WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines mentioned in section 2.1(WCAG 2008) and point out any similarities between these and Nielsens heuristics. Perceivable Web content should be made available to any or all of the senses sight, hearing, and/or touch. Usability guidelines for Visibility of System Status, Recognition rather than recall (Nielsen 1994) will fail for the disabled user if the items in the site are not perceivable. Operable Interface objects such as forms, controls, and navigation must be operable independent of the input method User control and freedom and Flexibility and efficiency of use (Nielsen 1994) guidelines are not satisfied if they are not operable. If a site is very complex or unattractive it can be difficult to operate therefore it should make use of Aesthetic and minimalist design (Nielsen 1994). A site cannot be operated if it does not apply Consistency and standards (Nielsen 1994). Understandable The sites content, information and interface must be understandable to the target audience User control and freedom, Consistency and standards, Error prevention (Nielsen 1994) cannot occur if the content is not understandable. Help and documentation (Nielsen 1994) is necessary to improve understanding. It also not possible to Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors (Nielsen 1994) if the site cannot be understood. Robust Sites can be used reliably by a wide variety of user agents such as web browsers, mobile devices and assistive technologies. In many cases minimalist design (Nielsen 1994) of a website will allow for web standards-based coding techniques to be employed which will allow it to be used on a variety of devices. Also be easier to follow platform conventions in terms of Consistency and standards (Nielsen 1994). As we can see there is an overlap between the two sets of principles. This overlap in principles could be the reason that Thatcher et al. (2003) where he suggests that accessibility issues are a type of usability problem hence accessibility is a subset of usability. Conversely Universal usability as conceptualized by Shneiderman (2003) where usability problems are thought of as a subset of accessibility problems, which expands the scope of usability to include disabled users in usability evaluations. However it is suggested the relationship between accessibility and usability isnt simply a case of applying a universal approach but that issues also be grouped into categories (Petrie et al. 2007). These being: Problems that only disabled users experience are referred to as pure accessibility problems Problems that only able-bodied users experience are referred to as pure usability problems Problems that both groups of users experience are referred to as universal usability problems The use of a universal set of guidelines is a good starting point however they will need to be refined to include the various accessibility and usability problems encountered by disabled and able-bodied users. 3.3 Should accessibility professionals employ usability practices? Usability practitioners employ numerous methods to determine the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of a project whereas accessibility practitioners will use various techniques and methods to achieve compliance with a set of guidelines. User testing is used by both sets of practitioners, more so by usability practitioners (Chandrashekar et al. 2006). However the difference being that usability practitioners will use this method early on and throughout the design process (Preece et al. 2006 p412). Accessibility practitioners will employ this method at the end of the project. Both groups make use of design guidelines (section 3.2). However guidelines are possibly not the most effective way of evaluating accessibility or usability as they are to be used as guidance but cannot by their nature guarantee the desired results. There are similarities between the accessibility and usability principles with accessibility guidelines being more technical in nature (Kelly et al. 2007), as they require websites to present a particular level of coding. However there are a number of non-technical accessibility guidelines. It is often thought that by making use of accessibility guidelines or universal design techniques that a site will be accessible by all. However this is not necessarily the case (Petrie 2007). Usability guidelines can also present problems (Spool 2002). As with the use of any guidelines they can conflict with one another, they can be misinterpreted and misapplied and they do not guarantee results. In practice accessibility experts will evaluate web sites against guidelines as opposed to user testing. However this has also been found to not be the most effective way of making a website accessible as shown by Disability Rights Commission (DRC) investigation, into website accessibility for disabled people. The study found that designers could not be expected to understand and repair the problems that disabled users experience when visiting a website. To overcome this problem the report suggests that disabled users should be directly involved in the development process (Disability Rights Commission 2004). Guidelines are important from a technical standpoint however it is also important to recognize that the guidelines cannot accommodate all users all of the time. The areas where the guidelines are not practical or important need to be clearly identified and alternate methods need to be identified in order to achieve accessibility (Kelly et al. 2007). Since the publication of the WCAG 2.0 in 2008, however, there are a variety of success criteria and methods suggested that could be used to achieve accessibility (Henry 2008). This being the case guidelines for measuring accessibility is still used predominantly because of the difference in cost between an expert evaluation and user testing and the availability of participants. It is often difficult to get a broad spectrum of users with varying disabilities and therefore accessibility practitioners inevitably end up repeatedly utilizing the same participants for disabled user testing. The reason cost is an issue is due to the fact that accessibility is not built into the project from the beginning and that many do not view it as being of great importance as the number of disabled users is thought to be proportionately very low in comparison with non-disabled users. However there is a strong business case for including disabled users. Christopherson (2007) states: The combined spending power of the 10 million people with a disability in the UK amounts to  £80 billion. There are 6 million people in the UK with dyslexia, with severe cases numbering around 4 million. Many users do not class themselves as disabled even though they may often suffer from disabilities that arent physically manifested such as age related issues, colour-blindness or cognitive difficulties. Some websites do not cater for older devices. By not including disabled users fully may exclude many users from a website which could mean a significant loss in revenue. In many cases accessibility testing is normally regarded as something that can be quickly done at the end of a project in order to comply with the legal obligations of a project. This approach to web accessibility is very shortsighted and potentially costly. If accessibility problems are encountered at the end of a project they can be very difficult to rectify after the fact. As is now recognized in the usability field, it is more efficient and cost effective to include usability evaluation from the beginning and throughout a project. This should also the case for accessibility evaluation as promoted by Henry (2007) in his book Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design. The main chapters deal with: The importance of building accessibility at the beginning and throughout the project Including disabled users and not relying only on standards and guidelines Tips on how to deal with disabled users It is better to involve disabled users throughout the lifespan of a project rather than relying on guidelines alone. By involving disabled users practitioners may be able to determine accessibility issues and usability issues which may have been otherwise missed in usability testing (Petrie 2007 pp 405). Accessibility professionals should not adopt usability principles if they are only going to rely on guidelines. However the usability practice of including actual users in evaluation and design from the start and throughout a project should be adopted. 3.4 What effect do new technologies have on usability? As stated earlier (section 2.1) new web technologies can enhance usability. Is this statement true? Does the ability to add more interactivity to a website improve the usability? According to Nielsen (2007) Web 2.0 technologies add more complexity to a website where it is sometimes not necessary and divert design resources. In his report he found amongst other things that: Internet applications were too complex Community content has too few users on the Internet Features merged from different websites (Mashups) can cause branding confusion Application type websites will benefit most from the use Web 2.0 technologies. Most other websites have very few repeated actions thus not requiring the use of this technology. Therefore as Nielsen (2007) states that efficiency is not as important as simplicity and that modest use of Web 2.0 technologies can be of benefit, however the benefits of advanced features have little effect in improving the users experience. If used modestly new technologies can be beneficial for certain types of user experience such as web applications. 3.5 What effect does new technologies have on accessibility? In a study by Hailpern et al. (2009) it was found that Web 2.0 applications force blind users to adapt to an inaccessible use model, although the evolution of technologies such as WAI-ARIA (section 2.3) and AJAX (section 2.3) may change this in the future. Some believe that Web 2.0 will make it more difficult to create accessible websites. Christopherson via Everett (2006) states that if accessibility is not kept in mind there is a greater chance that Web 2.0 will cause problems for disabled users. Basically Web 2.0 adds a further level of complexity, both in terms of accessibility and usability and this will need to be considered throughout the design process if these technologies are going to be used. 4. Conclusion To make sites that are usable and accessible we will need to change our thinking of usability. Is your site still usable if sighted people can fully and conveniently use it but it is a frustrating exercise for a blind person? (Clark 2003) In understanding the concept of an accessible site we have to understand what an accessible site is. A disabled persons experience of a website does not have to be identical to that of an able-bodied person. If accessibility features are simple and well written they should be unnoticed (Clark 2002). Clark (2002) reiterates, Equality is a misnomer. Equivalency is the goal. As can be seen from the above discussion there is an overlap between the definitions and methodologies employed by accessibility and usability practitioners and that there is scope for accessibility guidelines to be employed by usability practitioners and vice versa. However this is not simply a case of making a universal set of guidelines, as firstly accessibility and usability issues cannot be universally grouped and that there are distinct groups of accessibility issues. Secondly the use solely of guidelines is fraught with controversy and do not necessarily guarantee that a site will be accessible or usable. Involving users both disabled and able-bodied throughout the project lifecycle is the most effective approach in achieving the most usable and accessible product. Involving disabled users is also makes good business sense. Web 2.0 technologies do have an effect on the relationship between accessibility and usability. For them to not have a negative effect they need to be used with discretion always bearing in mind that they add a level of complexity for both able-bodied and disabled users. Therefore we can conclude that that by embracing the techniques and methodologies and recognizing points of similarity between usability and accessibility practices, and with modest and careful, considered use of new web technologies a web design can be made both usable and accessible. References Abou-Zahra, S (ed) (2008) Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility: Overview. Worldwide Web Consortium, Web Accessibility Initiative. Available at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview.html. Accessed 7 December 2009. Caldwell, B, Cooper, M, Reid, LG Vanderheiden, G (2008) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/. Accessed 7 December 2009. Christopherson, R (2007) Making the business case for accessibility. AbilityNet. Available at: http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/webbusinesscase. Accessed 7 December 2009. Chandrashekar, S, Fels, D, Stockman, T, Benedyk, R. (2006) Using think aloud protocol with blind users: A case for inclusive usability evaluation methods. Proceedings of the 8th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility, Portland, Oregon Clark, J (2002) Building Accessible Websites. New Riders. Available at: http://joeclark.org/book/. Accessed 7 December 2009. Disability Rights Commission (2004) The web: access and inclusion for disabled people. Available at: http://joeclark.org/dossiers/DRC-GB.html. Accessed 7 December 2009. Everett, C (2006) Web 2.0: A step backwards for accessibility? ZDNet.co.uk. Available at: http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/articles/0,1000001991,39284428,00.htm. Accessed 7 December 2009. Featherstone, D. Gustavson, A. Sims, G (1998) Working together for standards The Web Standards Project. Available at: http://www.webstandards.org. Accessed 7 December 2009. Garrett, JJ (2005) Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications. Adaptive Path. http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000385.php. Accessed 7 December 2009. Hailpern, J, Guarino-Reid, L, Boardman, R, Annam, S (2009) Web 2.0: blind to an accessible new world. Proceedings of the 18th international Conference on World Wide Web (Madrid, Spain, April 20 24, 2009). WWW 09. ACM, New York, NY. Henry, SL (2009) W3C: Accessibility. Worldwide Web Consortium. Available at: http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility. Accessed 7 December 2009. Henry, SL (2007) Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design. Madison, WI. Available at: http://www.uiAccess.com/JustAsk/. Accessed 7 December 2009.

What it Means to be a Thinking Reed :: Essays Papers

What it Means to be a Thinking Reed The quotation above, taken from Pascal’s Pensà ©es, seems disparaging of reason. Reason, the cornerstone of the Enlightenment and that which has traditionally been held as the central attribute that differentiates humans from beasts, is here said to be limited and restricted in its powers. Instead of being able to grasp the truth about the universe in its entirety, instead of having that Cartesian hope where one â€Å"firm and immovable† (Descartes, p.63) point is established and a systematic understanding of everything takes shape, reason is lowered and its powers are diminished. In many ways â€Å"the heart,† an ambiguous and mysterious concept that possesses knowledge that reason can never hope to possess, takes the place of reason. From this quotation one might be tempted to conclude that â€Å"the heart† is infinitely more important than reason. Such a conclusion is far from the mark. Pascal ultimately believes that when faced with the challenge of t rying to live in the best possible way, people desperately need both reason and â€Å"the heart.† Exploring how two quotations taken together define â€Å"the mind† and â€Å"the heart† and the relationship they have with one another shows that â€Å"the mind† and â€Å"the heart† must work together to guide human beings on their quest for how to live best. The two quotations that will commence the investigation are as follows: Principles are felt, propositions proved, and both with certainty though by different means. (p.28) The heart has its order, the mind has its own, which uses principles and demonstrations†¦. (p.94) Before seeing the relationship between â€Å"the heart† and â€Å"the mind† that is implicit in these two quotations, one must first understand what Pascal means by the order of â€Å"the mind.† According to the two quotations the mind’s order includes using â€Å"Principles and demonstrations† to prove propositions with certainty. The word â€Å"demonstration† denotes a rigorous, methodical procedure that procures certitude. Logical proofs are excellent examples of demonstrations since they utilize sound, truth-preserving laws to deductively move from premises to certain conclusions that follow from those premises. Demonstration, though, is only half of what Pascal believes comprises the order of the mind: â€Å"the mind has its own [order], which uses principles and demonstrations† (p.94). The mind needs both principles and demonstrations in order to function, and logical proofs show this to be true. The first requirement for a logical proof is an assumption; before the truth-preserving laws of logic can be executed, an assumption must first be stated.

Effects of Industrialization in 1700 - 1850 Essay -- American European

Effects of Industrialization in 1700 - 1850 Industrialization occurred in many countries, each taking a different approach to the implementation of new machinery and technology. The most notable for leading the way in industrialization is Britain. Industrialization not only made dramatic changes in the economic structure of countries but also in the social and political areas of countries. Industrialization led to much upheaval, especially socially since the whole way of life was changing. The emergence of the working class and the growing divide between classes also meant that a new political and economic structure was developed: capitalism. Industrialization began in Britain since there was a large supply of coal and steel and it was seen as one of the greatest colonial powers, thus allowing it to gain the capital and market needed to industrialize. Since Britain led the way for industrialization, it could be seen to epitomise the effects that it had on countries. One of the social effects that industrialization had was that the ‘rhythm of life changed’ . Pre-industrialization, people were based mainly in rural areas. However, when the enclosure of land became popular in the 1760’s, farmers who were tenants began to be pushed of the land. This along with the establishment of new urban towns and cities meant that people started to move away resulting in ‘English peasant villages being destroyed’ . Land enclosure was only one reason why people moved to the new urban areas. The other was the fact that new machinery was making families handicrafts of little commercial value, meaning that they were not able to survive on the money they made. This meant that the promise of a rise in wages appealed to a great many people in the rural areas, resulting in yet more change for the population With industrialization came a new family structure, the nuclear family. This was in complete contrast to the previous way people interacted with each other, but fitted perfectly into the nameless society, which had developed. The pre-industrial villages were very close knit since most of the textile and agricultural industry revolved around the home, with everyone participating in some way to the production of consumer goods. The nuclear family was very unlike this... ...freedom from agriculture, meaning that more people could undertake ‘professional’ jobs such as doctors and lawyers. This was unlike that of the time pre-industrial, because then the basis of society was the worker and owner, now society had the employer, the employee, and the professional. Industrialization also changed the world economic system because places like China and India who, previous to industrialization, had been one of the main manufactures for the world were now being left behind since they could not produce goods as cheaply as industrialized countries. Bibliography J.M. Roberts, The Pelican History Of The World, Pelican, 1986 T.S. Ashton, The Industrial Revolution 1760-1830, Oxford University Press, 1970 P. Gregg, A Social and Economic History of Britain, Harrap, 1971 G. Rude, Revolutionary Europe 1783-1815, Fontana/Collins, 1980 P. Mathias, The First Industrial Nation, Methuen&Co Ltd, 1972 M.J. Daunton, Progress and Poverty, Oxford University Press, 1995 P. Lane, Documents on British Economic and Social History 1750-1870, 1972 G. Warner, Marten and Muir, The New Groundwork of British History, Balckie&son, 1968

Equal Pay :: essays research papers

Mike K. Essay on equal pay in the work place. In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, making it unlawful to discriminate against a worker on the basis of sex. Since that time, the wage gap between men and women in the United States has narrowed by just 15 cents, now being 74 cents, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Pay equality is most prevalent for the 16 to 24 age group, in which women earn more than 90 percent of what men do; however, the gap becomes 75 percent in the 25 to 54 year old group – those at the height of their careers and life responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A number of factors have contributed to the gap between men’s and women’s wages. These include: occupational segregation of women into low paying jobs; lower levels of unionization for women and attitudinal barriers that have kept women from achieving equality in the workplace and undervaluation for women’s work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are â€Å"substantially equal†, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Equity means fairness and justice. Pay equity programs throughout the world attempt to legislate and regulate the elimination of systemic gender-based wage discrimination and to ensure ongoing systems that will maintain equitable wage relationships over time. Pay equity programs attempt to address the undervaluation for work traditionally or historically done by women. Pay equity (also referred to as â€Å"comparable worth†) programs require a gender-neutral analysis of comparative work. A variety of very different jobs are compared based on a composite of the skill, effort and responsibility of a job and the conditions under which the job is generally done. The comparison determines the relative worth of those jobs to the achievement of a firm’s objectives, under the proposition that equal contribution merits equal compensation. Where female-dominated jobs in the workplace are found to be of equal or comparable value to male-dominated jobs but paid below the level of the male jobs or payline, then all employees in those female-dominated jobs are entitled to receive pay equity adjustments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But how are these adjustments to be determined in a workplace that already subjectively undervalues the effort and contribution of women and minorities?

Keeping Close to Home Essay

Bell Hooks essay â€Å"Keeping Close to Home†, describes her struggles after she was accepted at Stanford University to further her self-realization. In this essay Hooks talks about her journey to educate herself and no losing her sense of where she came from as African American woman from a working class background. Hooks parents wanted her to go to a school close to home, a non-diverse like Stanford was. They wanted her to go to a school no just close to home but were the majority were black too. Her family biggest fear was her daughter changing her mind or losing her values and the connection with them. They knew college change people. However Hooks found the way to keep close to home by visiting every year, sometimes when she couldn’t go home because she didn’t have the money to travel, she had to stay at school, she expresses in a passage how her family wasn’t happy or supportive about her decision about her going to Stanford. As she said â€Å"My pa rents had not being delighted that I had been accepted ad adamantly opposed my going so far from home. At the same time, I did not see their opposition as an expression of their fear that they would lose me forever, â€Å"Like many working-class folks, they feared what college education might do to their children’s even as they unenthusiastically acknowledge its importance† (101). Most kids have a very strong knowledge about were they come from like Hooks was, opposite to some others which doesn’t, this make them to be weak, they could change their values and they might forget about their families and community. . When kids go to college they are in touch with many different people from different backgrounds. It is normal that their parents could be afraid of their kids changing their minds afterwards they will be living away from home and this could happen. This changes depend on how strong their roots are. Having no contact with no contact with their families that could happen, like Hooks explains on her essay when she said â€Å"Often I tell students from poor and working-class backgrounds that if you believe [that] what you have learned and are learning in schools and universities separates you from your past, this is precisely what will happen. It is important to stand firm in the conviction that nothing can  truly separate us from our pasts when we nurture and cherish that connection† (108). The best way to maintain the values our family gave us when we go away from home either to college or to live far from our families is keeping in touch with them for this purpose talk to our families once in a while will be good also never forget were we came from. When I read Hooks essay, this send me back in time to the year of 1979 when I graduate from High School. As I was reading her essay I felt that Hooks and I had the same struggles. Before I graduate from High School I had my mind set about going to college. My family was very poor. My mother was always a very hard worker woman, she ironed all the neighborhood clothing. I am very proud of my mother being a single mother she was capable to race my little sister and I all by herself after my dad past away when I was twelve years old Hooks’s talks about how proud she was about her father too when she said â€Å" â€Å" I never knew how poor we were until I needed to go to college. I knew I will need to find a job to fu rther my education. Hooks reveals all the pain and struggles she had after she was accepted at Stanford, how her parents were not supportive. I had the same exact struggles. My mother was very upset when I told her about my decision on going to school, she argues with me about how her friend’s kids never came back to their homes and how they stop visiting their parents after they went to school. My mother was not being very supportive like Hooks parents were. She teaches us to how to be loving, caring, how to respect each other in the family and everyone else. She wanted for me just to find a job close to my house, she even talked with the owners of this pharmacy on the corner of my house to give me a job as a cashier. She said I should stay home and help her with the house chores, she never thought I could be anything more than a housekeeping. We lived in a very small town called Villa Canales which was eight hours away from the college I decided to go. That was the most painful decision I had ever made. After all I was the first generation going to college. My family was very tight with very strong values. My sister and I used to spend all our summers vacations at my grandma’s house when we were little, we loved to listen all the stories she had to tell us, while we grow up. This made my family very similar to Hooks’s family. However my mother was afraid of me being far from her and my little sister and forget about them which didn’t happen. Even when the communication was not easy in Guatemala where I grow  up, I did all my efforts maintaining communication with my family. Distance was not enough reason for me to stop keeping in touch with them the same and never forget about all the instructions she gave me. The same way Hooks never stopped her contact and communication with her family. The purpose of her essay is to argue about that students coming from a working class background should not be ashamed where they come from nor either forget about their families. Going to school far from home shouldn’t change people, at least no their values. To keep this values intact people needs to keep the connection as Hooks did by keeping in touch with her family and community. Universities separates families this should not happen because the only way we keep our values is being tight with our families.

Explain the Importance of the Pharmaceutical Industry in the Late 19th and 20th Centuries and Its Effect on the Treatment of Illness

Explain the importance of the pharmaceutical industry in the late 19th and 20th centuries and it's effect on the treatment of illness. (9marks) During the late 19th and 20th century many apothecaries (pharmacists) and herbalists were transforming family shops into chains of pharmacies (Boots). This made the pharmaceutical industry increase in importance from the late 19th century onwards as new discoveries were being made . The Pharmaceutical Industry grew hugely in importance in the late 19th and 20th century.This was partly due to ‘preparations’ which were being made and researched and the use of pills in medicine was transformed when Brockedon invented a machine that made standardised pills. These ‘preparations’ were being marketed as being a cure for practically anything and came in the forms of potions, ointments and pills and were made from things such as coloured liquids, alcohol, lard and arsenic. These however didn’t seem to work and therefor e could have been worsening the ill people or not helping the patients at all.The effect of treatment for illnesses, like Infectious diseases were still being researched so there were no cures. Researchers worked on identifying disease germs and inventing vaccines or cures. Prevention, not drugs, was thought to be the future of medicine. During the 20th century the Pharmaceutical industries importance began to expand, and pharmacies/apothecaries were becoming increasingly popular and in demand. The Pharmaceutical industry actually began with textile dyes. In 1909, Paul Ehrlich invented salvarsan as a drug to cure syphilis.He was inspired by the specific staining or non-staining of bacteria with dyes for microscopic study. He made hundreds of dyes with arsenic atoms attached; hoping that the dye would attach itself to a bacterium and the arsenic would kill it (‘magic bullet,). Compound No. 606, which they had originally dismissed, was a success and effective. Advances in medici ne were slow until 1932. Domagk at the Bayer Company went through thousands of compounds that Bayer had made in discovering new dyes.He found one, prontosil that cured streptococcus infections in mice. Also, in 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. He and others realized the importance of drugs that could cure infections and infectious diseases. In conclusion, the importance of the pharmaceutical industry in the late 19th and 20th centuries became increasingly more important in everyday life as people started to depend on the medicines/drugs and how well it treated or seemed to treat the symptoms of illness.

How Far Do You Agree World War One Was Mainly Responsible for the 1917 Revolution?

How far do you agree that world war one was mainly responsible for the 1917 revolution? World war one was one of the main reasons for the breakout of revolution in 1917, however other factors can be brought about to suggest that it wasn’t only the main reason for the breakout of revolution in 1917. Aspects such as the decisions and actions of Tsar Nicholas can also be identified as important features for the breakout of revolution alongside the social and economic strains and the lack of political reform.All factors have characteristics to suggest that they were the main reason for the breakout of war, however the impact of world war one can be viewed as playing the larger role on the reason for breakout in 1917. The actions of the tsar Nicholas prove to be an important factor for the breakout of revolution in 1917. In 1915 when the Tsar decided to take full control of the army he was creating even further inconveniences for himself. Due to the fact that the Tsars main attenti on was spent on the army, the day to day running of the government was left to his Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.The problem was created through the fact that the Tsarina was greatly influenced by Grigori Rasputin. Rasputin damaged the Tsars reputation as anybody who wanted to gain power would have to befriend Rasputin. Many governors and politicians either resigned or were relieved of their position due to Rasputin. This had a large effect on the Russian people as the Tsars attention was fully towards the war and not on the problems faced by the people.This would have been a growing source of discontent which backs up the argument that the Tsars neglect of the Russian troubles back in Russia would have been one of the main reasons for the outbreak of revolution in 1917. The impact of world war one in Russia can be viewed as one of the characteristics that play a large role in the reason for outbreak of revolution in 1917. The war for the Russian people meant that all fuel, food and coal were being concentrated on being provided to the soldiers on the front line.The effect of this was that Russian people were being neglected of these goods which they needed almost as profusely as the Russian soldiers did. Growing dissatisfaction would have occurred throughout the Russian people as nothing took place to try and relieve these hardships that they were experiencing. This would have led to the even further loss of faith and support in the Tsar and would provide an evidently profound reason for revolution. Furthermore, during world war one over a million soldiers were either killed or taken prisoner.This largely lowered morale between the soldiers and many of them fled. The support of the army would have been lost due to these results as the Tsar was seen mainly as the responsibility for the horrific results of war. Dissimilar to the 1905 revolution were the Tsar had the army on his side, the fact that the Tsar lost the support of the army made his chances of survivi ng the revolution very thin. Moreover, another leading factor for the breakout of revolution in 1917 was the social and economic strains faced by the Russian people.The outbreak of revolution during 1905 was partly due to the social and economical strains experienced by the Russian people however, conditions decreased further during the build up to revolution in 1917. The war was costing profoundly more than they could afford, Russia left the gold standard and started to print money which caused inflation. This added to the discontent of the Russian people as it meant that the price of living also went up yet they had no income to afford basic goods.This was due to the fact that many factories were closed down and the crop yield was being directed to the soldiers at war. This left the Russian people isolated as they had little, if any means of income to buy basic necessary items. Too make matters worse for both the Tsar and the Russian people, little action was taken in aid of these inconveniences. Before the war Moscow had been receiving 2200 railway wagons of grain per month in 1914; however by Christmas 1916 this reduced to only 300.This therefore resulted in the accumulative discontent of the Russian people which only made matters worse for the Tsar as the likely hood of the occurrence of revolution was high. The lack of political reform can accountably be taken in as one of the main reasons for the outbreak of revolution in 1917. The union of zemstva provided medical facilities for the army; however the government did not know how to incorporate them into its own war effort. Moreover, the progressive Bloc called for a government of public confidence in which the ministers would be responsible for the Duma.However, Tsar Nicholas refused to listen to any of their demands, this resulted in the ministers who campaigned for change and reform; were either dismissed or resigned. Due to the fact that no reform was made, all the blame was directed to the Nicholas. Reform was needed greatly at this time yet no reform occurred, this accumulated the ever rising dissatisfaction of the Russian people. Furthermore, as a result of Nicholas’s lack of political reform the support of political parties became very minute.In conclusion, I agree that world war one played a large characteristic in the reason for breakout of war; however it does not act as the aspect mainly responsible for revolution. Other reasons such as the lack of reform, the economic and social strains and the actions taken by Tsar Nicholas played an equal role in the reason for the outbreak of revolution in 1917. World war one can be interpreted as a ‘trigger’ towards the revolution rather than being the main cause. Revolution would likely occur even without the impact of world war one, yet due to the timing, acts as a catalyst towards the revolution in 1917.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 12~14

Chapter 12 THE STUPIDEST ANGEL'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE Sundown, Christmas Eve. The rain was coming down so hard that there didn't appear to be any space between the drops – just a wall of water, moving almost horizontally on wind that was gusting to seventy miles per hour. In the forest behind the Santa Rosa Chapel, the angel chewed his Snickers and ran a wet hand over the tire tracks at the back of his neck, thinking, I really should have gotten more specific directions. He was tempted to go find the child again and ask him exactly where Santa Claus was buried. He realized now that â€Å"somewhere in the woods behind the church† wasn't telling him much. To go back to get directions, however, would dilute somewhat the whole miraculousness of the miracle. This was Raziel's first Christmas miracle. He'd been passed over for the task for two thousand years, but finally his turn had come up. Well, actually, the Archangel Michael's turn had come up, and Raziel ended up getting the job by losing in a card game. Michael had bet the planet Venus against his assigned task of performing the Christmas miracle this year. Venus! Although he wasn't really sure what he would have done with Venus had he won it, Raziel knew he needed the second planet, if for no other reason than that it was large and shiny. He didn't like the whole abstract quality of the Christmas miracle mission. â€Å"Go to Earth, find a child who has made a Christmas wish that can only be granted by divine intervention, then you will be granted powers to grant that wish.† There were three parts. Shouldn't the job be given to three angels? Shouldn't there be a supervisor? Raziel wished he could trade this in for the destruction of a city. That was so simple. You found the city, you killed all the people, you leveled all the buildings, even if you totally screwed it up you could track down the survivors in the hills and kill them with a sword, which, in truth, Raziel kind of enjoyed. Unless, of course, you destroyed the wrong city, and he'd only done that what? Twice? Cities in those days weren't that big, anyway. Enough people to fill a couple of good-size Wal-Marts, tops. Now there's a mission, thought the angel: â€Å"Raziel! Go forth into the land and lay waste unto two good-size Wal-Marts, slay until bloo d doth flow from all bargains and all the buildings are but rubble – and pick up a few Snickers bars for yourself.† A tree waving in the wind nearby snapped with the report of a cannon, and the angel came out of his fantasy. He needed to get this miracle done and be gone. Through the rain he could see that people were starting to arrive at the little church, fighting their way through the wind and the rain, the lights in the windows flickering even as the party was starting. There was no going back, the angel thought. He would just have to wing it (which, considering he was an angel, he really should have been better at). He raised his arms to his sides and his black coat streamed out behind him on the wind, revealing the tips of his wings folded underneath. In his best pronouncement voice, he called out the spell. â€Å"Let he who lies here dead arise!† He sort of did a hand motion to cover pretty much the general area. â€Å"Let he who does not live, live again. Arise from your grave this Christmas and live!† Raziel looked at the half-eaten Snickers he was holding and realized that maybe he should be more specific about what was supposed to happen. â€Å"Come forth from the grave! Celebrate! Feast!† Nothing. Nothing whatsoever happened. There, said the angel to himself. He popped the last of the Snickers bar into his mouth and wiped his hands on his coat. The rain had subsided for a bit and he could see a ways into the woods. Nothing was happening. â€Å"I mean it!† he said in his big scary angel voice. Not a damn thing. Wet pine needles, some wind, trees whipping back and forth, rain. No miracle. â€Å"Behold!† said the angel. â€Å"For I am really not kidding.† A great gust of wind came up at that second and another nearby pine snapped and fell, missing the angel by only a few feet. â€Å"There. It's just going to take a little time.† He walked out of the woods and down Worchester Street into town. â€Å"Wow, I'm famished all of a sudden,† said Marty in the Morning, all dead, all the time. â€Å"I know,† said Bess Leander, poisoned yet perky. â€Å"I feel really strange. Hungry, and something else. I've never felt this before.† â€Å"Oh, my dear,† said Esther, the schoolteacher, â€Å"I can suddenly think of nothing but brains.† â€Å"How 'bout you, kid?† asked Marty in the Morning. â€Å"You thinking about brains?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Jimmy Antalvo. â€Å"I could eat.† For Luck, There Is No Chapter 13. JUST THIS CHRISTMAS PHOTO ALBUM Sometimes, if you look closely at family snapshots, you can see in the faces of the children, portents of the adults they will become. In the adults, you can sometimes see the face behind the face. Not always, but sometimes†¦ Tucker Case In this shot we see a well-to-do California family posed in front of their lakeshore estate in Elsinore, California. (It's an eight-by-ten color glossy, embossed with the trademark of a professional photographer's studio.) They are all tanned and healthy-looking. Tucker Case is perhaps ten years old, dressed in a little sport coat with a yachting ensign on the breast pocket and little tasseled loafers. He is standing in front of his mother, who has the same blond hair and bright blue eyes, the same smile that looks not as if she is presenting her dental work, but as if she is just seconds from bursting out laughing. Three generations of Cases – brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins – look perfectly coiffed, pressed, washed, and shined. All are smiling, except for one little girl down front, who has an expression of abject horror on her face. A closer look reveals the back of her red Christmas dress is tossed up to one side, and snaking in from the side, from under his little blue sport coat, is the hand of young Tuck, who has just stolen an incestuous squeeze of his cousin Janey's eleven-year-old bottom. What is telling about this picture is not the surreptitious booty grope, but the motive, because here Tucker Case is at an age where he is much more interested in blowing stuff up than he is in sex, yet he is precociously cognizant of just how much his advances will freak his cousin out. This is his raison d'tre. It should be noted that Janey Case-Robbins will go on to distinguish herself as a successful litigator and advocate for women's rights, while Tucker Case will go on to be a serially heartbroken horn dog with a fruit bat. Lena Marquez The shot is taken in someone's backyard on a sunny day. There are children all around and it's obvious that a big party is going on. She's six, wearing a fluffy pink dress and patent-leather shoes. She couldn't be any cuter, with her long black hair tied up into ponytails with red ribbons and flying out behind her like silk comet tails as she pursues the pià ±ata. She's blindfolded, and her mouth is wide open, letting forth a burst of that high, little-girl laugh that sounds like joy itself, because she's just made solid contact with the stick and she's sure that she has released candy, and toys, and noisemakers for all the children. What she has, in fact, done, has solidly smacked her uncle Octavio in the cojones. Uncle Octavio is caught in a magic moment of transition, his face changing from joy to surprise to pain, all at once. Lena is still adorable and sweet and unsullied by the disaster she has wrought. Feliz Navidad! Molly Michon It's Christmas morning, post-present-opening storm. Tissue paper and ribbon are strewn around the floor, and off to one side you can see a coffee table, and on it an ashtray the size of a hubcap overflowing with butts, and an empty bottle of Jim Beam. Front and center is six-year-old Molly Achevski (she would change her last name to Michon at nineteen on the advice of an agent â€Å"because it sounds fucking French, people love that†). Molly is wearing a red sequined ballerina outfit, red galoshes that hit her bare legs about midcalf, and a giant, cheeky grin with a hole in the middle where her front teeth used to be. She has one foot propped up on a large Tonka dump truck as if she has just conquered it in a grudge match, and her younger brother Mike, four, is trying to pry the truck out from under her. Tears are streaming down his cheeks. Molly's other brother, Tony, five, is looking up to his sister like she is the princess of all things good. She has already p oured him a bowl of Lucky Charms this morning, as she does for both her brothers every morning. In the background, we see a woman in a bathrobe lying on the couch, one hand hanging to the floor holding a cigarette that has burned itself out hours before. The silvery ash has left a streak on the carpet. No one has any idea who took this picture. Dale Pearson This one was taken only a few years ago, when Dale was still married to Lena. It's the Caribou Lodge Christmas party, and Dale is, once again, dressed as Santa, sitting on a makeshift throne. He is surrounded by drunken revelers, all laughing, all holding the various joke gifts that Dale has passed out to them earlier that night. Dale is brandishing his own present, a fourteen-inch-long rubber penis, as big around as a soup can. He's waving it at Lena with a leer, and she, dressed in a black cocktail dress and a single string of pearls, looks quite horrified at what he's saying, which is: â€Å"We'll put this rascal to good use later tonight, huh, baby?† The irony of it is that later that night, he will don one of his vintage German SS uniforms – everything but the jodhpurs, anyway – and what he asks Lena to do with his new present is exactly what she told him he could do with it at the party. She will never know if it was she who gave him the idea, but it will be a milestone in her move toward divorce proceedings. Theophilus Crowe At thirteen, Theo Crowe is already six feet four inches tall, and weighs a little over a hundred pounds. It is a classic scene of the three kings following the star. The seventh-grade music class is performing Amahl and the Night Visitors. Originally cast as one of the three kings, Theo is now dressed as a camel. His ears are the only parts of his body that are in proportion, and he looks very much like a camel fashioned out of wire by Salvador Dal. His chance to play Balthazar, the Ethiopian king, was lost when he announced that the Magi had arrived bearing gold, Frankenstein, and myrrh. Later, he, the two other camels, and a sheep will be suspended for smoking the myrrh. (They would have never been caught had the sheep not suggested that they play a quick game of â€Å"Kill the Man with the Baby Jesus† out behind the theater. Evidently the myrrh was â€Å"prime smokage.†) Gabe Fenton This one was taken just last year, at the lighthouse where Gabe has his cabin. You can see the lighthouse in the background, and windblown whitecaps out to sea. You can tell it's a windy day because the Santa hat that Gabe is wearing is streaming out to the side, and he's holding the reindeer antlers on Skinner's head. Crouched next to them, in a thousand-dollar St. John knit, red and cut in the style of a Napoleonic soldier, with brass buttons and gold braid on the shoulders, is Dr. Valerie Riordan. Her auburn hair is styled to curl behind her ears and accentuate her diamond hoop earrings. She's done up in Headline News Prompter Puppet makeup, as if her face has been completely sanded off, and then painted back on by a crack team of special-effects people – brighter, better, faster than a real human face. She's trying, really trying, to smile for the camera. She is holding her hair in one hand, and appears to be petting Skinner, but is, upon closer examination, holding him at bay. A racing stripe across the knee of her nylons betrays an earlier attempt by Skinner to share a holiday leg hump with the Food Guy's female. Gabe is scruffy in khakis and hiking boots. There's a fine coating of sand on his pants and boots from where he was sitting astride elephant seals that morning, gluing satellite-tracking devices on their backs. He has a great, hopeful smile, and not a clue that anything might be wrong with this picture. Roberto T. Fruitbat This picture was taken on the island of Guam, Roberto's birthplace. There are palm trees in the foreground. You can tell he's just a young fellow, because he has not yet acquired a pair of Ray-Bans, nor a master to bring him mangoes on demand. He's curled up in a Christmas wreath made from palm fronds and decorated with little papayas and red palm nuts. He is licking papaya pulp from his little doggy face. The children who found him in the wreath that Christmas morning are posed on either side of the door where the wreath hangs. They are both girls, and have the long curly brown hair of their Chamorro mother, the green eyes of their Irish-Catholic father, who is an American airman. Father is taking the picture. The girls are in bright, floral mission dresses with puffy sleeves. Later, after church, they will try to coax Roberto into a box so they can later cook him and serve him with saimen noodles. Although he escapes, the incident traumatizes the young bat and he does not speak for years. Chapter 14 THE CAMARADERIE OF THE LONESOME CHRISTMAS Theo wore his cop shirt to the Lonesome Christmas party. Not because he didn't have anything else to wear, because there were still two clean flannels and a Phish sweatshirt in the Volvo that he'd snagged from the cabin, but because with the storm pounding the stuffing out of Pine Cove, he felt as if he should be doing cop stuff. His cop shirt had epaulets on the shoulders (that are used for, uh, holding your paulets – no – for keeping your hat under – for your parrot to stand on – no) that looked cool and military, plus it had a little slot in the pocket where he could pin his badge and another one where he could stick a pen, which could be really handy in a storm in case you wanted to take notes or something, like: 7 p.m, Still Really Fucking Windy â€Å"Wow, it's really fucking windy,† Theo said. It was 7 p.m. Theo stood in the corner of the main room of the Santa Rosa Chapel next to Gabe Fenton, who was wearing one of his science shirts: a khaki canvas utility shirt with many pockets, slots, buttons, pouches, epaulets, zippers, Velcro loops, snaps, and vents, so you could hopelessly lose everything you owned in it and essentially sand your nipples off while patting the pockets and saying, â€Å"I know I had it here somewhere.† â€Å"Yep,† Gabe said. â€Å"It was gusting to a hundred and twenty when I left the lighthouse » â€Å"You're kidding! A hundred and twenty miles per hour? We're all going to die,† Theo said, feeling suddenly better. â€Å"Kilometers per hour,† Gabe said. â€Å"Stand in front of me. She's looking.† He snagged Theo by the epaulet (aha!) and pulled him around to block the view from the other side of the room. Across the open hardwood floor, Valerie Riordan, in charcoal Armani over red Ferragamos, was sipping a cranberry and soda from a plastic cup. â€Å"Why's she here?† Gabe whispered. â€Å"Didn't she get a better offer from some country club or some business guy or something?† Gabe said the word business like it was a putrid taste that he needed to spit out before it sickened him, which was exactly how he meant it. Although Gabe did not live in an ivory tower, he did live next to one, and it gave him a skewed perspective on commerce. â€Å"Your eye is twitching really badly, Gabe Are you okay?† â€Å"I think it's conditioning from the electrodes. She looks so great, don't you think?† Theo looked over at Gabe's ex-girlfriend, considered the heels, the stockings, the makeup, the hair, the lines of her suit, her nose, her hips, and felt like he was looking at a sports car that he could not afford, would not know how to drive, and he could only envision himself entangled in the wreckage of, wrapped around a telephone pole. â€Å"Her lipstick matches her shoes,† Theo said, by way of not really answering his friend. That sort of thing didn't happen in Pine Cove. Well, Molly did have some black lipstick that matched a pair of black boots she had, which she wore with nothing else, but he really didn't want to think about that. In fact, this moment would only have any meaning at all when he shared it with Molly, which he realized he wasn't going to be doing, which made him jealous of Gabe's twitch for a second. The double doors to the chapel opened, and wind whipped through the room, rattling the few strands of crepe paper that still clung to the wall to this point and knocking a couple of ornaments off the giant Christmas tree. Tucker Case came in, his bomber jacket dripping, a little furry face sticking out through the V in the zipper in the front. â€Å"No dogs,† said Mavis Sand, who was fighting to get the doors shut. â€Å"We've just let kids come the last couple of years, and I'm not happy about it.† Tuck grabbed the other door and pulled it shut, then reached over Mavis and caught the door she was battling. â€Å"He's not a dog.† Mavis turned around and looked right into the face of Roberto, who made a little barking sound. â€Å"That's a dog. Not much of a goddamn dog, I'll give you that, but a dog. And he's wearing sunglasses.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"It's dark, moron. Get rid of the dog.† â€Å"He's not a dog,† Tuck said, and to illustrate his point, he unzipped his jacket, took Roberto by the feet, and flung him at the ceiling. The bat yelped, opened his leathery wings, and flew to the top of the Christmas tree, where he caught the star, swung halfway around, and settled, upside down, hanging there above the room, looking, despite his cheery nature and hot pink sunglasses, a little creepy. Everyone in the place, thirty or so people, stopped whatever they were doing and looked. Lena Marquez, who had been cutting lasagna into squares over at the buffet table, looked up, made brief eye contact with Tuck, then looked away. Except for the boom box playing reggae Christmas carols and the wind and rain thrashing outside, there was not a sound. â€Å"What?† Tuck said to everyone and no one in particular. â€Å"You people act like you've never seen a bat before.† â€Å"Looked like a dog,† Mavis said from behind him. â€Å"You don't have a no-bat policy, then?† Tuck said, not turning around. â€Å"Don't think so. You got a great ass, flyboy, you know that?† â€Å"Yeah, it's a curse,† Tuck said. He eyed the ceiling for any mistletoe he might get trapped under, spotted Theo and Gabe, then made a beeline for the corner where they were hiding. â€Å"Oh my God,† said Tuck as he was approaching. â€Å"Did you guys see Lena? She's so hot. Don't you think she's hot? I miss her.† â€Å"Oh God, not you, too,† Theo said. â€Å"That Santa hat, it does something to me.† â€Å"That a Pteropus tokudae?† asked Gabe, peeking out quickly from behind Theo and nodding toward the Christmas tree with the bat. â€Å"No, that's Roberto. Why are you hiding behind the constable?† â€Å"My ex is here.† Tuck looked over. â€Å"The redhead in the suit?† Gabe nodded. Tuck looked at him, back at Val Riordan, who was now chatting with Lena Marquez, then again at Gabe. â€Å"Whoa, you were really crawling out of your gene pool, huh? Let me shake your hand.† He reached around Theo, offering his hand to the biologist. â€Å"We don't like you, you know?† Theo said. â€Å"Really?† Tuck took his hand back. He looked around Theo at Gabe. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"You're okay,† said Gabe. â€Å"He's just cranky.† â€Å"I am not cranky,† Theo said, but, in fact, he was a little cranky. A little sad. A little stoned. A little out of sorts that this storm hadn't just blown over like he'd hoped, and a little excited that it might actually turn into a disaster. Secretly, Theophilus Crowe loved a disaster. â€Å"Understandable,† Tuck said, squeezing Theo's shoulder. â€Å"Your wife was a biscuit.† â€Å"Is a biscuit,† corrected Theo, but then, â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"No, it's okay,† Tuck said. â€Å"You were a lucky man.† Gabe Fenton reached up and squeezed Theo's other shoulder. â€Å"It's true,† Gabe said. â€Å"When Molly isn't completely off her rocker, she is a biscuit. Actually, even when she is –  » â€Å"Would you guys quit calling my wife a biscuit! I don't even know what that means.† â€Å"Something we say in the islands,† Tuck said. â€Å"What I'm saying is, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. You guys had a good run. You can't expect her to lose her sense of judgment forever. You know, Theo, every now and then Eraserhead will hook up with Tinker Bell, or Sling Blade Carl will marry Lara Croft – that sort of thing gives us hope – but you can't count on it. You can't bet that way. Why, guys like us would always be alone if some women didn't have a deep-seated streak of self-destruction, isn't that right, Professor?† â€Å"Truth,† said Gabe. He made a sort of swear-on-the-Bible gesture. Theo glared at him. â€Å"Eventually a woman will wise up,† Tuck continued. â€Å"She's just gone off her meds.† â€Å"Whatever,† Tuck said. â€Å"I'm just saying that it's Christmas and you should be grateful that you were ever able to fool someone into loving you in the first place.† â€Å"I'm calling her,† Theo said. He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his cop shirt and keyed the button for his home number. â€Å"Is Val wearing the pearl earrings?† Gabe asked. â€Å"I bought her those.† â€Å"Diamonds studs,† said Tuck, checking over his shoulder. â€Å"Dammit.† â€Å"Look at Lena in that Santa hat. That woman has a talent with tinsel, if you know what I mean?† â€Å"No idea,† said Gabe. â€Å"Me either. It just sounded kinky,† said Tuck. Theo snapped the cell phone shut. â€Å"I hate both you guys.† â€Å"Do not,† said Tuck. â€Å"No service?† asked Gabe. â€Å"I'm going to see if the police radio in my car is working.† Rain was pooling in the graveyard behind the chapel as the dead pulled one another from the muck. â€Å"This looked easier in the movies,† said Jimmy Antalvo, who was waist-deep in a puddle and being pulled out by Marty in the Morning and the new guy in the red suit. Jimmy's words were a little slurred and slurpy, between the mud and a facial structure that was mostly mortician's wax and wire. â€Å"I thought I'd never get out of that coffin.† â€Å"Kid, you're better off than a couple we've pulled out,† said Marty in the Morning. He nodded to a very feeble and mostly decomposed pile of animated meat that had at one time been an electrician. The mushy thing made a moaning sound. â€Å"Who's that?† asked Jimmy. The torrential rain had washed the mud out of his eyes. â€Å"That's Alvin,† said Marty. â€Å"All we can understand from him.† â€Å"I used to talk to him all the time,† said Jimmy. â€Å"It's different now,† said the guy in the red suit. â€Å"Now you're really talking, not just thinking it. His talking equipment is past warranty.† Marty, who had been portly in life but had slimmed down significantly since his death, bent down and got a good grip on Jimmy's arm, bending the elbow around his own, then made a great straining lift to pull the kid out. There was a loud pop and Marty went over backward into the mud. Jimmy Antalvo was waving around an empty leather jacket sleeve and yelling, â€Å"My arm! My arm!† â€Å"Jeez, they should have sewn that on better,† said Marty, holding the arm in the air, even as the hand appeared to be doing a very jerky version of a parade wave. â€Å"This whole undead rigmarole is disgusting,† said Esther, the schoolteacher, who was standing to the side with a few others who had already been dug up. Water was pouring off the shreds of her best church dress, which had been reduced by time to calico tatters. â€Å"I'll not have anything to do with it.† â€Å"So you're not hungry?† said the new guy, muddy rainwater streaming out of his Santa beard. He'd been the first one out, since he hadn't had to escape a coffin. â€Å"Fine, once we get the kid out we'll just push you back down your hole.† â€Å"I'm not saying that,† said Esther. â€Å"I would enjoy a snack. Something light. Mavis Sand, maybe. That woman can't have enough brains to spread on a cracker.† â€Å"Then shut up and help us get everyone out.† Nearby, Malcolm Cowley was staring disapprovingly at one of the less articulate members of the undead who had been pulled from his grave and was showing lots of bare bone between the meat. The dead book dealer was wringing out his tweed jacket and shaking his head at every comment. â€Å"Suddenly we are all gluttons, are we? Well, I have always enjoyed Danish Modern furniture for its functional yet elegant design, so once we have consumed the brains of these revelers, I feel compelled to seek out one of these furniture boutiques I have heard so much about from newlyweds in the chapel. First we feast, then IKEA.† â€Å"IKEA,† chanted the dead. â€Å"First we feast, then IKEA. First we feast, then IKEA.† â€Å"Can I eat the constable's wife's brain?† asked Arthur Tannbeau. â€Å"She sounds like she'll be spicy –  » â€Å"Get everyone out of the ground, then we eat,† said the new guy, who was used to telling people what to do. â€Å"Who died and made you boss?† asked Bess Leander. â€Å"All of you,† answered Dale Pearson. â€Å"The man has a point,† said Marty in the Morning. â€Å"I think while you boys finish up here, I'll have a stroll around the parking lot. Oh my, I don't seem to be walking very well,† said Esther, dragging one foot behind her and plowing a furrow in the mud as she moved. â€Å"But IKEA does sound like a delightful after-supper adventure.† No one knows why, but second only to eating the brains of the living, the dead love affordable prefab furniture. Across the parking lot, Theophilus Crowe was busy having the water in his ears replaced with dog spit. â€Å"Get down, Skinner.† Theo pushed the big dog away and keyed the mike on the police radio. He had been adjusting the squelch and the gain, and getting little more than distant disembodied voices, just a word here or there in the static. The rain on the car was so loud that Theo put his head down by the dash to better hear the little speaker, and Skinner, of course, took this as an invitation to lick more rain out of Theo's ears. â€Å"Ack! Skinner.† Theo grabbed the dog muzzle and steered it between the seats. It wasn't the dampness, or even the dog breath, which was considerable, it was the noise. It was just too loud. Theo dug into the console between the seats and found half a Slim Jim in a folded over wrapper. Skinner inhaled the tiny meat stick and savored the greasy goodness by smacking his chops right next to Theo's ear. Theo snapped the radio off. One of the problems with living in Pine Cove, with the ubiquitous Monterey pines, was that after a few years the Christmas trees stopped looking like Christmas trees and started looking like giant upturned dust mops, a great sail of needles and cones at the top of a long, slender trunk and a pancake root system – a tree especially adapted to fall over in high wind. So when El Nià ±o cruised up the coast and storms like this came in, first cell and cable TV repeater stations lost power, soon the town lost its main power, and finally, phone lines would go down, effectively cutting all communications. Theo had seen it before, and he didn't like what it portended. Cypress Street would be underwater before dawn and people would be kayaking through the real-estate offices and art galleries by noon. Something hit the car. Theo turned on the headlights, but the rain was coming down so hard and the windows were so fogged with dog breath that he could see nothing. He assumed it was a small tree branch. Skinner barked, deafeningly loud in the enclosed space. He could go patrolling downtown, but with Mavis having closed the Slug for Christmas Eve, he couldn't imagine why anyone would be down there. Go home? Check on Molly? Actually, she was better equipped with her little four-wheel-drive Honda to drive in this mess, and she was smart enough to stay home in the first place. He was trying not to take it personally that she hadn't come to the party. Trying not to take to heart the pilot's words about not being worthy of a woman like her. He looked down, and there, cradled in bubble wrap in the console, was the art-glass bong. Theo picked it up, looked it over, then pulled a film can of sticky green buds from his cop-shirt pocket and began loading the pipe. Theo was briefly blinded by the spark of the disposable lighter, at the same time as something scraped against the car. Skinner jumped over into the front seat and barked at the window, his hefty tail beating against Theo's face. â€Å"Down, boy. Down,† Theo said, but the big dog was now digging at the vinyl panel on the door. Knowing that it meant that he'd have to deal with a lot of wet dog later, but feeling that he really needed to get a buzz on in peace, Theo reached over and threw open the passenger door. Skinner bounded out the door. The wind slammed it behind him. There was a commotion outside, but Theo could see nothing, and he figured that Skinner was just frisking in the mud. The constable lit the bong and lost himself in the scuba bubbles of sweet comforting smoke. Outside the car, not ten feet away, Skinner was gleefully tearing the head off an undead schoolteacher. Her arms and legs were flailing and her mouth was moving, but the retriever had already bitten through the better part of her decayed throat and was shaking her head back and forth in his jaws. A skilled lip-reader would have been able to tell you that Esther was saying: â€Å"I was only going to eat a little of his brain. This is entirely uncalled for, young man.† I am so going to get bad-dogged for this, Skinner thought. Theo stepped out of the car into an ankle-deep puddle. Despite the cold, the wind, the rain, and the mud that had squished over the edge of his hiking boots, Theo sighed, for he was sorely, wistfully stoned, and slipping into that comfortable place where everything, including the rain, was his fault and he'd just have to live with it. Not a maudlin self-pity that might have come from Irish whiskey, nor an angry tequila blame, nor a jittery speed paranoia, just a little melancholy self-loathing and the realization of what a total loser he was. â€Å"Skinner. Get over here. Come on,boy, back in the car. Theo could barely see Skinner, but the big dog was on his back rolling in something that looked like a pile of wet, muddy laundry – sort of snaking back and forth with his mouth open and his pink tongue whipping around in ecstatic dogasm. Probably a dead raccoon, Theo thought, trying to blink some rain out of his eyes. I've never been that happy. I will never be that happy. He left the dog to his joy and slogged back into the Lonesome Christmas. He thought he felt a hand across his neck as he wrestled his way through the double doors, then a loud moan when the doors slammed shut, but it was probably just the wind. It didn't feel like the wind. Had to be the wind.