Saturday, August 22, 2020

Household Behavior and Demand Essay Example for Free

Family unit Behavior and Demand Essay Family unit conduct is one of the any essential ideas in financial matters which affects advertise patterns. Family request, for example, can be viewed as identified with customer decisions as far as which items are for the most part purchased in the market and which items need more supplies regarding thing creation and its relating portion. One of the numerous basic highlights of family request is its comparing impact on what is being given in the market and, all the more critically, the amounts or stock that is being dispensed in the market. It appears to be very clear that the amounts of specific items in the marketâ€for occurrence, in a specific territory or a certain supermarketâ€are designed by the current interest and the anticipated requests a sooner or later, state inside a casing of half a month time. Family conduct, for its impacts on showcase patterns to be acknowledged and comprehended, must be taken from a general and aggregate point of view since a solitary explicit family conduct can't totally be considered as the exact and sole measure in deciding the general family conduct valid for all o most examples with respect to advertise patterns. For instance, it has been seen that Chinese individuals depend generally on the costs of items in figuring out which ones are the best purchases. Paul French notes that â€Å"for commonsense Chinese customers, value remains the base line† which means that â€Å"win on cost and you win† (French, 2007). Consequently, with regards to Chinese families, makers of specific merchandise ought to incredibly consider the way that Chinese families will undoubtedly favor merchandise which are moderately lower in cost when contrasted with different items in the market all together remain on the opposition. To have the option to deal with the value record of a specific item in the market intends to have the option to win the market rivalry if the Chinese family conduct is the essential premise to be utilized. The observation seems sufficiently straightforward: family conduct decides family unit request which, in outcome, influences an enormous part of certain market patterns. In this way, to break down a particular market pattern for a particular item involves the investigation and comprehension of specific patterns in family unit request brought about by family conduct. A current family unit request, say, for breakfast grains can be viewed the aggregate family conduct regarding oat utilization for as far back as a half year for the territory of Chicago, for instance. Given a moderately high utilization rate for breakfast oats with the cost not surpassing $4 per box among families, organizations delivering breakfast oats may have the relating choice to design their item as indicated by the current interest. In spite of the fact that it may not basically be the situation that organizations will forfeit costs of their items so as to fulfill the need for the estimation of the items, having the option to change item costs in understanding to the current market costs will in all likelihood lead to positive outcomes with respect to the organizations since advertise request is met. Very despite what might be expected, there are as yet other related elements which impede the accomplishment of bringing costs agreeing down to the spending plan and salary of family units which decide their ability to purchase and expend certain items. All the more as of late, a few moment noodle partnerships in China experience issues in bringing down the costs of their items due to heightening costs in wheat and other ranch products (Zhu, 2007). With costs in moment noodlesâ€a famous item among people with pitiful budgetâ€soaring, even the family request or ease moment noodles may barely stop organizations from bringing down the costs of their merchandise just to fulfill the current need in the market. With respect to families, appropriate designation of pay can be one cure so as to control superfluous spending in order to have the option to apportion financial plan on products which the family units regard as a desperate piece of their salary spending. For this situation, family conduct and request seems, by all accounts, to be designed by the current market patterns which is the inverse or converse instance of what has been given before. Thus, it is likewise conceivable to have a family conduct or purchaser decision that depends on existing business sector inclines separated from the likelihood that market patterns may likewise be founded on existing buyer decision and family unit conduct. Assigning pay to expand utility is one family unit conduct that decides purchaser decision over the long haul. For example, there is the perception that â€Å"household use designs are influenced by the portion of family unit pay accumulating to women† (Hopkins, Levin, Haddad, 1994). Given this observation, the selections of purchasers over a huge swath of items contending in the market isn't just influenced by outside components controlled by organizations yet additionally by inside components growing from family unit utilization examples of specific products comparable to the household’s spending assignment. As far as pay and replacement impacts, the adjustments in the costs of specific merchandise are proposed to change the requests for such products. Changes in relative costs just as changes in the buying influence of the cash salary can enormously modify the current requests for, state, a morning meal grain. Regardless of whether the costs for breakfast grains continue as before for a given period, modifications in the pay will result to an equivalent change in the spending imperative (Hamermesh, 1977). Then again, if the cost of breakfast oats changes, the spending requirement will change in like manner. One solid route in further understanding the circumstance is that so as to boost the utility with the diminished spending limitation, the family unit will in general have moves in their examples of utilization. For example, with the spending limitation emerging from the diminishing in the money’s buying influence, family units will in general expand the utility of cash by expanding the isolation of acquisition of products dependent on ease inclination. A guide to this is when family units buy merchandise with moderately lower costs given a financial plan of $20 which results to more acquisition of different products while then again families buying merchandise with generally more significant expenses will result to lesser expansion of the utility or lesser products bought with the $20 spending plan. Thus, wage rates likewise share a critical part in deciding family unit conduct and request just as shopper decision. It has been seen that the paces of wages of specific gatherings of individuals have comparing suggestions on the buying intensity of family units. To show up at the perception that the compensation of a family is diminished compares to the perception that the buying limit of a similar family relatively, if not altogether, diminishes. A higher compensation, at that point, will mean a higher ability to buy products in the market. In the bigger plan, a gathering of families with a high pace of compensation will in all probability have higher buying limit along these lines actuating the family conduct of expanded spending expecting the family has lesser propensities to spare their salary. Essentially, a specific market request will be summoned so that a specific decent, for example, will encounter an expansion popular which requires a relating increment in products being provided. Accordingly, it very well may be noticed that the general rate in family unit request will moderately build given the expansion in compensation. Then again, loan fees may extraordinarily adjust or move the persevering interest from family units towards a specific decent. For example, a higher financing costs for bought credits by family units will absolutely result to a higher genuine expense of procurement in the satisfaction of all installments made for the advance. It is very clear that an expansion of 2% in loan fees from 4% to 6% will definitely correspondingly affect the genuine expense of the great bought. Generally, higher loan fees mean greater expense of buys, diminished family unit spending given a fixed pace of wages, and a lesser spending on different products which result to a relating decline in the interest for those different merchandise. The cost of relaxation additionally has a critical job in appreciating the examples in family request and purchaser decisions. For example, more significant expenses in the expense of plane ventures would involve that the buyer will select the carrier supplier with the least expense. A decrease in the inclination for carriers with similarly higher aircraft costs will undoubtedly be felt accepting that a given arrangement of purchasers have fixed pay. Spending imperatives in a domain of expanding costs in recreation empower one to see the family unit interest for existing relaxation. In fact, it has been seen that few market patterns can be seen and broke down utilizing the recognitions on family conduct and interest for specific merchandise and items. The interrelationships existing between the market pattern and the family conduct is clear despite the fact that sooner or later a few exemptions would need to be made. Fundamental to this comprehension is the view that there might be real spending requirements and that costs of products may really move even without the nearness of the move, for example, a decrease or slope in the interest from family units. In any case, there are numerous cases wherein family unit conduct has its suggestions on the current market patterns. References French, P. (2007). At the point when the Best Buy Is No Buy. The Wall Street Journal(August 7). Hamermesh, D. S. (1977). A Note on Income and Substitution Effects in Search Unemployment. The Economic Journal, 87(346), 312. Hopkins, J. , Levin, C. , Haddad, L. (1994). Womens Income and Household Expenditure Patterns: Gender or Flow? Proof from Niger. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 76(5), 1219. Zhu,

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available Spoken word and slam poetry have become increasingly popular in the last few years. They have captured readers’ attention for their rawness and beauty and for ascribing the dramatization of a play to poetry. When performed by the author, it can feel almost cathartic to those watching: we carry our own feelings into the venue, and they are washed away and replaced by the feelings of those declaiming on stage. Our grief and love and life become suddenly more vivid, more worthy of attention. That’s the beauty of poetry in itself: for a moment we become what we are reading, even if we have never felt those emotions before. And after all, what better way to read poetry than by listening to it? Button Poetry has been a great propeller of slam poetry, especially because it gives voice to many authors of colour and LGBTQA+ authors, which also means that, more and more, poetry encapsulates broader experiences and life stories. On YouTube, you can find several videos of Button Poetry authors live on stage, and those acts have been made available in audio form on Spotify and other audio providers for a while, but now they’re also releasing complete poetry collections as audiobooks read by the author, recorded in a studio. The titles available so far are: Nothing Is Okay by Rachel Wiley From the same author of   Fat Girl Finishing School,  this book speaks of the relationship we build with our own bodies as we grow up, and includes subjects like feminism, queerness, and rape. Wiley is a fat-positive activist, and her live performances are emotional; many of her poems start off as a recollection of all the things fat girls grew up hearing from others, and how much it has shaped the way they see themselves, and their bodies. Its also an unapologetic love letter to all the things we were told not to love about ourselves. Helium by Rudy Francisco This collection of poems is the authors debut, and the main themes are race, class, and gender. Francisco performs many of his poems as if he is about to hit the punchline of a joke, but the subjects he speaks of are only funny because theyre so true. You can find many of his live performances on YouTube. Depression Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benain You probably know Benain through the video of her poem  Explaining My Depression to My Mother. In it, she acts out a deeply troubled conversation, and the poem is a desperate cry from a daughter who struggles so much with understanding the causes of her depression as her mother does. The book explores mental health, family relationships, and love. A Love Song, A Dead Rattle, A Battle Cry by  Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre This book is a compilation of poems, essays, and lyrics, and it touches various themes like justice, love, and personal reflection. Guantes poetry is a spark which leads us to question the way we live as a community, and the daily tasks our society demands of us. You can check his live performances on YouTube as well. The audiobooks are available for purchase on Button Poetrys site, or you can get them via Audible and iTunes. If you’re looking for other poetry audiobooks, here are six more Book Riot has chosen for you. Sign up for Audiobooks to receive the latest from the audiobooks world.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Capital Punishment Should Be Supported For The Welfare Of...

As a child meanders through a green field, she feels the warmth of the sun and the whisper of the wind. Everything is so innocent and clean. She’s a little lost now, but it’s okay because there is a man not so far away that might be able to help her. She trusts him as he leads her on a path of destruction. He rapes her while breaking her fragile bones, but it s okay because he reunites her with the same green field, still barefoot the body lies there until discovered by the authorities a few years later. Some might than say the man found guilty does not deserve to be put on death row because it is very inhumane and unjust of America to treat its citizens like that, I disagree. Capital Punishment should be strongly supported in order to promote the welfare of others. At a young age we are taught about the morals of life. Those who are not taught, slowly develop understanding and a sense of acknowledgment which comes from within. At age 5 we are able to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. Adults know not to kill because it is not only against the law, it is morally our responsibility to take care of others rather than harm them. You rob someone of a life that they have yet not lived. Murderers are thieves who hurt and steal uncreated memories. The death penalty in the US is supported by 32 states which some might call â€Å"barbarian† and â€Å"inhumane†. It is impossible to promote safety when the consequences are blinded by people who don t believe in punishment. Life inShow MoreRelatedThe Death Penalty Is The Practice Of Executing People As Punishment For A Specific Crime Essay1146 Words   |  5 Pages2D 7A:Capital punishment is the practice of executing people as punishment for a specific crime. Throughout history, peo ple have been put to death for serious criminals. Methods of execution have included such practices as injection, shooting and other forms. 2C According to Amnesty International (2007), ninety eight countries have abolished capital punishment. This proportion accounts for most of countires in the world. The death penalty is the most controversial penal practice in the modern worldRead MorePersuasive Essay On The Death Penalty1130 Words   |  5 Pageslegal system for centuries; it became a necessary punishment to dangerous crimes and a way to liberate the community from dangerous criminals. However, now this type of punishment is seen as crime against humanistic values by many, and is questionable in the legal system. It has resulted in a range of inconsistency with the laws on this issue. Nations including China, the US, Iran, Belarus, and others keep the death penalty as an option, while others like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and almostRead MoreThe Creation Of The U.s. Constitution1330 Words   |  6 PagesConstitution had to focus on achievable goals rather than their own political interests. The political process can be conflictual but the process matters. It is essential to implementing decisions in our government, which provides order and our general welfare. Some confl icts that can be seen in the creation of the Constitution are political theories and economic interests. Those compromises made were decisions in balancing majority rule versus minority rights, allocating power between large and small statesRead MoreEssay on Christian Believe About the Sanctity of Human Life1309 Words   |  6 Pagesbut God has the authority to end life or prevent new life. Exodus 20:13, â€Å"you shall not murder†, is an important biblical passage to the ‘sanctity of human life.’ It tells Christians initially that euthanasia, abortion and capital punishment are wrong although it is more complicated than that. Abortion is not mentioned in the Bible but the passage above does convey that it is wrong and you are sinning. In Luke 1:41 it shows Christians that Elizabeth’s baby wasRead MoreEssay on Juvenile Death Penalty3656 Words   |  15 Pagesdiscovering about puberty, maturity, right and wrong and future life goals. On the other hand, a man of 25 has matured, lived long enough to have made both good and bad judgments and has already been in the process of achieving those life goals they once thought of as a teenager. In a given situation, is it ethical to hold these two age groups, with mentalities that are worlds apart, to the same standards and punishments in the justice system? Until Roper v. Simmons in 2005, the justice system did justRead MoreA Critical Analysis Of Adam Smiths The Wealth Of Nations1372 Words   |  6 Pagescenturies and the formation of joint-stock companies allowed the development of mercantilism, a state-dominated commercial system that primarily attempted to use commerce to strengthen state power. Factors such the Protestant Reformation, which supported a more positive view of wealt h, the rise of scientific reasoning, and corresponding population increases influenced the desire for new economic systems. Drawing on Enlightenment thought—individual human beings came to replace God at the center ofRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Week 8 Jose1344 Words   |  6 Pagesyear 1998 Josà © involved himself in a fatal scuffle. He and four other adolescents, among whom two of them were newest migrants from the state Mexico had been passing time while taking alcohol. The youngsters began roughing each other up and this spiraled into a severe clash, with the two immigrants sort of being the targets of the rest of the group. The cranium of one of them was crushed severally after being hit constantly. The other remaining immigrant managed to get away by scaling a fence andRead MoreTheories of State: Plato and Kautilya2779 Words   |  12 PagesBertrand Russell identifies three groups in the ten books that constitute the Republic – The first five that constitute his views on the Utopia, sixth and the seventh books that talk about the Philosophers and the final three books that deal with the other imperfect forms of Governments. In this project, the focus is mainly on his take on the Ideal State- Plato’s Utopia. Plato’s Utopia- The Three Classes In a State, Plato talks about the Guardians and the Commoners. The guardians are again divided asRead MoreBio Ethics Essay3296 Words   |  14 Pagesof killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance. The attitude and motivations of the pregnant woman are hence taken into account and this would determine the ethics of an abortion. Abortion in this light is related to whether the personRead MoreImpact Of Globalization On The Welfare State4694 Words   |  19 Pagesremark their markets to involve wide surround of the globe, transfrontier flows of capital, technology and trade have boomed ( Spar et al., 2005). When the effects of globalization on the welfare state mentions, it can be said that globalization has a terrible impa ct on the welfare and that is caused poverty in the state. Because, in a globalized economy, the governments may remain weak and worthless. On the other hand, to generating the productivity and scale for which globalization is mostly lauded

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Ku Klux Klan. Cody Weber Honors American History Essay

The Ku Klux Klan Cody Weber Honors American History Period 8 The Ku Klux Klan took a stand against equal rights for African Americans in a negative and racial manner by assaulting and abusing them. By doing this, the KKK wanted to make them feel like a lesser race. The KKK was founded in 1865 by six college students in the small town of Pulaski, Tennessee. The fore fathers of the Klan were John Lester, James Crowe, John Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard Reed, and Frank McCord. These men were Confederate veterans, were well-educated, and came from wealthy families. The Klan was originally created by these men as a social organization with fun in mind. This group spread through rural areas and small towns but it didn’t flourish in urban areas because urban areas weren’t suffering the small hardships as the rural towns were. They wanted to create a social group to defy the laws being passed by the U.S. government to give African American the same rights as white people. As word of this group spread, different towns created different divisions that all followed a supreme leader or Grand Wizard. All the groups gathered for a meeting to decide who would be the Grand Wizard. Nathan Bedford Forrest, former Confederate general, was elected Gr and Wizard. During this time period the Ku Klux Klan was extremely powerful and influential. The Klan killed African Americans as a way to stop the new amendments that the government was trying to pass. This was the beginning

Teaching in Urban Districts Free Essays

The main form of interaction that goes on in schools is between the teachers and the students. Some of the students are difficult or unruly and they present many difficulties for the teachers as the teachers cannot then organize the class and provide the level of quality education that they are capable of. Disruptive students require more attention from teachers and this stops teachers from giving adequate attention to the rest of the class. We will write a custom essay sample on Teaching in Urban Districts or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are many behavioral problems with students, but there is no method of dealing with such students in United States. Even the solution that can be achieved through disciplinary action has to be determined by the local school board, and then those decisions will have to be implemented by the teachers and the principal. One of the methods through which this can be done is the student parent handbook which is distributed to the students for giving to parents. This may give details of actions that would be taken by the teachers and the principal of the school, if the student does not live up to the expectations of the school and in the class. Other schools even give full details of the punishment that the student may be given when there is any infraction by the student of the rules of the school. (Teachers’ Relationships) At the same time, all punishments that are given are felt to be the responsibility of the teacher, by the student and the families of the students. This brings us to the next level as we have to determine the type of punishment that can be given to the students. The limits of this range from verbal warnings to in-school suspensions, and when the student crosses limits of behavior, then the general recommendation is an out of school suspension. At the same time, some students are repeat offenders, and their punishment increases with the number of times they have caused an offense. The system of punishing students and still retaining them in the same school has now been questioned by some educationists, who have suggested that alternative schools be set up for them. This will permit the ordinary schools on teaching of students who have a lot of desire to learn. Another group has suggested that punishments start earlier, from primary school, and the punishments should be clarified with a clear system. The problem is that the parents are not aware of all these systems of the school, as they only go through the written material that they receive from schools and even that in a cursory manner. These do not make them respond and thus the parents’ point of view remains unknown. The parents meet and talk to the school authorities only during formal occasions like school open houses and teacher conferences, and at these occasions, most participants are reserved. It is possible for both teachers and parents to set up other meetings, but that action is taken only when the concerned student has problems regarding progress. Even during the process of their training, teachers do not receive much training regarding interaction with parents. As is well known, training for becoming teachers takes place in colleges of education based in universities. The individuals who want to become teachers join up courses for both academic learning as also for courses in education. The combination is expected to teach them both the methods of teaching as also the contents that they desire to teach the students. On joining up for the first time, the students are expected to undergo a period of teaching students. There are some individuals who feel that a teacher who is still in the learning process should be left alone with students, others take the view that it may be better if they are supported by an experienced teacher during the first few weeks of teaching that they undertake. (Teachers’ Relationships) (1) The teacher also faces different challenges and those depend on the environment where they start teaching. Schools in urban areas are not individual schools, but are part of a large bureaucracy that is not able to act fast in response to the needs of the schools. These schools generally do not have many resources, and even the buildings are in poor condition in many cases. From outside the school, the environment within the school may be affected by gang activity, drug availability and usage on a large scale and there being a lack of community structure. Students who are coming to the school are burdened not only with educational requirements, but also carry the burden of poverty, hunger and poor housing. There is a feeling among the parents, teachers, principals and students that the school they are concerned with is something special and separate. This can be said to be the tone, climate or ethos of the school, and those seem to be related to all activities that are connected with the school. (NCREL Monograph: Building Collaborative Cultures) This is a unique quality, a special school culture. This has an effect on the way they act, on how they dress, or even what they are continuously talking about or what they will never talk of. It also determines whether they seek help from others or they do not seek help. This culture of the school is built up of different norms, values, beliefs and assumptions and rituals. These are built up over time as teachers, students, parents and administrators have worked together, or dealt with crises and developed their own unstated expectations for interactions and methods of working together. On the other side there are some schools which remain as isolated places for working and there the teachers are left alone. They work alone in their rooms, and have little interaction with their colleagues. They keep the problems that they face to themselves. When one sees these schools, the teachers are islands – they feel a gulf of separation from each other, seldom talk to other teachers, or share their points of view in terms of the profession or even solving their problems. (NCREL Monograph: Building Collaborative Cultures) The urban districts have schools which have had a much longer period of development than new schools which have come up in the suburban areas. This makes their cultural situation much more rigid, and any teacher has to adapt to them. After their graduation from college and getting the necessary qualifications required to become a teacher, most of the teachers still end up working in isolation. The teachers do not get enough time to work along with other teachers, and this is happening even now when there are a lot of efforts being made to get greater involvement of the teachers. There are new efforts to improve the general quality of individuals who join as teachers. The effort is through a compulsory renewal of certificates needed for teaching, creating programs where the teachers will all have mentors and general improvement of their salaries and working conditions. The process of improvement and this is through decisions taken at the school itself. It becomes the responsibility of the teachers in the schools to have a plan for improvement of the school. That will set up objectives for the school and give the teachers a greater say in the methods of running the school. It is possible to have new methods of instruction like teaching in teams, cooperative learning and individualized instruction through the use of computers. There are also other ways through which the performance of teachers can be evaluated. The implementation of these methods encourages the teachers to help their students achieve new state level standards that have been set up. (Teachers’ Relationships) It is clear that schools where there is not enough satisfaction for the teachers will ultimately result in their leaving the school. It is not correct to say that low incentives are the main reason for their departure. In the city schools the teachers end up getting a salary less than they get in the schools of the suburbs, but that is not the main reason why they leave the school. There are many teachers who leave the school as they feel that they have not been getting enough support from the school administration. Within the school there are many intrusions during the time given for teaching in the class, there are a lot of problems of discipline of the students, and the teachers do not get a say as to how the school will be run. (Why Do High-Poverty Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers? ) The degree of autonomy that is available to teachers in schools varies to a large extent. There are schools where the teachers have had the greatest role in development of the curricula and also helped the new teachers understand the curricula. On the other side, there are many schools where the teachers had to work with books that had been purchased and teach from them. There are a lot of differences within the teachers themselves which make the entire process even more difficult. A team of teachers from one district selected new mathematics and science curricula, but other teachers found that this curriculum of science was too difficult for the students. Teachers in another school were given a time of half a day for setting out the grade level objectives, but the teachers found the time to be too short and this was done only once. The teachers were not able to make plans that satisfied their desires. The involvement and satisfaction is different from school to school. The only matter that teachers seem to agree on is regarding their opinion of conditions which are suitable for teaching. The teachers are in favor of more flexible schedules, increase in resources for teaching and more assistance for teachers. There was also a difference in accountability and teachers in low income areas are generally ones to face the greatest demand for accountability and the greatest challenges. Certainly the level demanded from them was higher than was demanded from teachers in middle and high income areas. (2) We are facing a failure to ensure that classrooms in the country are filled with quality teachers, and this is more acute as the situation is the worst in disadvantaged schools. In general people say that the lack of teachers is the reason for this shortage. Why Do High-Poverty Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers? ) The reasons for this shortage are ascribed to recent retirements of a large number of teachers and also due to a large increase in enrolment of students. This makes it even more difficult for schools in poor districts to get an adequate number of trained teachers. These school districts are in the urban areas and as a result of this shortage, these schools end up with a large number of under-qualified teachers. This lack of sufficient teachers is felt to be the main reason for the lack of proper education and building of careers of the students from these schools, and these students are in general from poor communities. All these factors are known to the authorities and they have tried to respond by the supply of an increase in the number of teachers to these schools. This has resulted in a lot of efforts to recruit new teachers in these schools, during the recent years. The greatest stress is on schools which are in disadvantaged settings. On further analysis of the data, it is seen that the staffing problems in these schools is not due to a lack of teachers, and what one is trying to say is that they are not suffering from a lack of adequately qualified teachers. The data clearly shows that the problems in staffing of the schools come from a ‘revolving door’ that exists in these schools. This means that teachers join and then leave these schools within a short period, and the reason for their leaving the school is not retirement. The data shows that public schools in high poverty area, in urban communities leave about a fifth of their teachers every year! Why Do High-Poverty Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers? ) These results show that the entire staff of the school could be lost within a very short period. The reason for the departure of these teachers is also in part due to the lack of involvement of the parents in the teaching process. Most of the residents in these areas are African American and Latino. The parents from these groups feel that the faculty in the local elementary school is biased against them. This is the reason that the parents state as being the cause for their non-participation in the school activities. Why Urban Parents Resist Involvement in their Children’s Elementary Education) The parents clearly mention that they would work only with teachers who respect and value their children. This causes great difficulty for experienced teachers as they are aware of the value of the participation by parents. Help from the parents was thought to be essential for good education, and this was taken for granted by teachers. Teachers felt parents supported their efforts and expectations for education of children. Today the situation in the cities has changed due to different family arrangement and socio-cultural differences between the teachers and the students with their families. The differences between them arise as the students and their families suffer from poverty, racism, language and cultural differences. The parents feel that the system has been prepared for the education of children from middle class and white families. This is bound to happen as the family has to feel that they have an important role in the education of their children. When the parents are from the middle class, then the parents feel that they have a duty in assisting the school for education of their children. On the other hand when the family is from the low income group, then the parents feel that it is the responsibility of the school to educate children. The thoughts of the parents regarding their own responsibility also make the parents visit the school and participate in all activities of the school. Of course to an extent, it also depends on the attitude of the school and some schools make the parents feel comfortable and at home in the school. Teachers in the urban centers often are not aware of the ethnicities and culture of the students they teach, and they have to learn this to be able to reverse the resistance of the family to involvement with school education. In many cities there have been changes over the years. Many of the cities were dominated by industry earlier, but due to development, the industries are no longer functioning from those cities. With the close of the factories, there were closure of supporting activities like restaurants and department stores. The population of the cities also declined from 100,000 earlier to about 60,000 now. Why Urban Parents Resist Involvement in their Children’s Elementary Education) While the population has dropped, there was a growth in different races in the city – African American and Latinos. The main school is located where the downtown area used to be. Within a range of one block are high rise public housing buildings which are home to four hundred families. Ninety-five percent of the children living there are from the two communities mentioned earlier. This means that the school will have to interact with these communities. The change in situation had led the city school district to have total integration of its elementary schools. Thus the elementary school serving the public housing building has now got all low-income and colored children. As a solution, the district had to send the children on a bus to the affluent elementary school situated on the hill which has a middle class neighborhood. (Why Urban Parents Resist Involvement in their Children’s Elementary Education) The school may have better facilities, but will the parents like it? The number of teachers from the minorities is falling. In 1974, 12. 5% of all full time teachers were African American, and today the number is down to 11 percent. This makes it possible that some students complete school without coming in touch with a minority community teacher. The minorities certainly have better career choices now, but even in teaching they feel that get low salaries and occupational prestige. (Increasing Minority Participation in the Teaching Profession) Thus teaching as a profession is not being liked. (3) It is clear that teaching in urban areas is not liked as it considered difficult to teach there. The schools have wide racial diversity among the students, little supply of materials required to teach, high demands from the bureaucrats that have to be met, low involvement of the parents in the school, and finally, low salaries. These are the reasons why suburban schools find it easier to get teachers as they are able to provide more resources, greater flexibility in the areas of teaching, and finally, better pay. (Teachers’ Relationships) The solution to the problem is not that city schools recruit more teachers, which they have to do as they do not have enough teachers now. They have to find ways and means to stop the teachers from leaving the profession. It is very important that the teacher’s ability to employ positive behavior intervention and support in the classroom is taken up. When the teacher has defects in terms of skills, the results will appear in the poor results from students who are concerned with the teacher. (Strengthening Emotional Support Services) The schools have to make sure that all students are taught by qualified teachers and this is what makes them worry about retaining the teachers on their roles. How to cite Teaching in Urban Districts, Papers

Saturday, April 25, 2020

The Unemployment Rate Essay Example For Students

The Unemployment Rate Essay The Unemployment Rate Essay Introduction The unemployment rate became a hot topic in the past few months when it rose to 3.5 per cent, a recent high for almost 10 years. The jobless rate was higher than the 3.2 per cent unemployment rate recorded in the May to July period. The underemployment rate in the June to August period rose to 2. We will write a custom essay on The Unemployment Rate specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now 5 per cent from 2.3 per cent in the May to July period. Until recently, most workers who lost their jobs were from the manufacturing sector. They were middle-aged factory workers with few skills and little education. But in recent months a large number of employees have been laid off in the retail and restaurant businesses. Unemployment has spilled over to the service sector from manufacturing sector. Hong Kong is facing a prolonged economic downturn. The high unemployment rate has raised many social and economic problems. For example, the number of people who commit suicide is increased. It is because more people had lost their jobs for a long time. It is a serious threat to the lives of the poor. The unemployed people may also feel that it is unmeaningful to live. As a result, they will commit suicide to solve the problem. Moreover, the high unemployment rate results in the increase of the rate of crime. There was an unemployed man who stole rice because he was too hungry and he did not have money to even buy food! We can know how serious the unemployment rate is. By the way, higher unemployment rate causes lower purchasing power of people. A lot of kinds of business are affected. Many people lose confidence in economics of Hong Kong. They do not believe unemployment will be improved. Some say that the Government should provide immediate assistance for the jobless. Some also say unemployment is due to the attraction of cheap labor across the border. The Government can no longer play the role of a bystander. All of these above show the influence of the unemployment. In spite of how many people who have talked about the topic of unemployment, everyone will be concerned about this topic. The following sections will analyze this hot topic. Reasons for unemployment in Hong Kong 1. Faster growth in total labor supply relative to that of total employment In 1993 and 1994, the increase in Hong Kong labor force is 2.9% and 3.5% respectively. At the end of 1993, the total labour supply is 2 970 000. Change in the total labour supply is determined by the population growth, total employment and the emigration condition. If the population growth and the total employment is stable, the extra labour supply will increase the total labour supply. This extra labour supply are mostly from the influx of illegal immigrants from China, imported labour ( 30,000 ), hiring of expatriates ( net increase is 40,000 from 1992 to 1994 ) and the returnees from overseas. Thus, the supply of labour is greater than the demand and gives pressure on employment. From March to May of 1995, the total labour supply had risen 4.4% but the total employment had just increased 3. 6%, so this aggravated the unemployment rate. However, this is just a superficial reason. The following reasons can explain the reason of unemployment in a deeper way. 2. Change in the economic structure The economic structure in Hong Kong has changed from labour intensive to high technology and large capital intensive. Also, it changes from manufacturing oriented to service oriented industries. Therefore, the manufacturing factories move to China for cheap labour. From 1988 to 1994, there are 60,000 jobs lost each year. Of the total employment of different sectors, the portion of the manufacturing industries drops from 27.4% in 1990 to 17% in 1994. Many labour are released from the manufacturing industries. Though there are a great demand of labour in the service sector, many of the unemployed still cannot find their job because of job matching problem. .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .postImageUrl , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:hover , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:visited , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:active { border:0!important; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:active , .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9 .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc5ad4f7a3d6a7cacd0b3cb7a69175ef9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: GMOs Essay They do not have the skills demanded in the job market, so there are both a lot of vacancies of jobs and a lot of unemployed labour. This kind of unemployment is called the structural unemployment which is a kind of involuntary unemployment. 3. China Policy Recently, the Chinese government tries to control the economy by macro policy such as implementing the contractionary monetary policy , inflation control policy. This leads to the slow down in the Chinese economy. The flow in of the Chinese capital to Hong Kong for speculation and investment reduce. This affects Hong Kongs economic growth simultaneously. In . The Unemployment Rate Essay Example For Students The Unemployment Rate Essay The Unemployment Rate Essay Introduction The unemployment rate became a hot topic in the past few months when it rose to 3.5 per cent, a recent high for almost 10 years. The jobless rate was higher than the 3.2 per cent unemployment rate recorded in the May to July period. The underemployment rate in the June to August period rose to 2. We will write a custom essay on The Unemployment Rate specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now 5 per cent from 2.3 per cent in the May to July period. Until recently, most workers who lost their jobs were from the manufacturing sector. They were middle-aged factory workers with few skills and little education. But in recent months a large number of employees have been laid off in the retail and restaurant businesses. Unemployment has spilled over to the service sector from manufacturing sector. Hong Kong is facing a prolonged economic downturn. The high unemployment rate has raised many social and economic problems. For example, the number of people who commit suicide is increased. It is because more people had lost their jobs for a long time. It is a serious threat to the lives of the poor. The unemployed people may also feel that it is unmeaningful to live. As a result, they will commit suicide to solve the problem. Moreover, the high unemployment rate results in the increase of the rate of crime. There was an unemployed man who stole rice because he was too hungry and he did not have money to even buy food! We can know how serious the unemployment rate is. By the way, higher unemployment rate causes lower purchasing power of people. A lot of kinds of business are affected. Many people lose confidence in economics of Hong Kong. They do not believe unemployment will be improved. Some say that the Government should provide immediate assistance for the jobless. Some also say unemployment is due to the attraction of cheap labor across the border. The Government can no longer play the role of a bystander. All of these above show the influence of the unemployment. In spite of how many people who have talked about the topic of unemployment, everyone will be concerned about this topic. The following sections will analyze this hot topic. Reasons for unemployment in Hong Kong 1. Faster growth in total labor supply relative to that of total employment In 1993 and 1994, the increase in Hong Kong labor force is 2.9% and 3.5% respectively. At the end of 1993, the total labour supply is 2 970 000. Change in the total labour supply is determined by the population growth, total employment and the emigration condition. If the population growth and the total employment is stable, the extra labour supply will increase the total labour supply. This extra labour supply are mostly from the influx of illegal immigrants from China, imported labour ( 30,000 ), hiring of expatriates ( net increase is 40,000 from 1992 to 1994 ) and the returnees from overseas. Thus, the supply of labour is greater than the demand and gives pressure on employment. From March to May of 1995, the total labour supply had risen 4.4% but the total employment had just increased 3. 6%, so this aggravated the unemployment rate. However, this is just a superficial reason. The following reasons can explain the reason of unemployment in a deeper way. 2. Change in the economic structure The economic structure in Hong Kong has changed from labour intensive to high technology and large capital intensive. Also, it changes from manufacturing oriented to service oriented industries. Therefore, the manufacturing factories move to China for cheap labour. From 1988 to 1994, there are 60,000 jobs lost each year. Of the total employment of different sectors, the portion of the manufacturing industries drops from 27.4% in 1990 to 17% in 1994. Many labour are released from the manufacturing industries. Though there are a great demand of labour in the service sector, many of the unemployed still cannot find their job because of job matching problem. .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .postImageUrl , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:hover , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:visited , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:active { border:0!important; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:active , .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7 .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc8c5abc12dbb8f05fd2e04f52e07dcf7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Christopher Columbus Essay They do not have the skills demanded in the job market, so there are both a lot of vacancies of jobs and a lot of unemployed labour. This kind of unemployment is called the structural unemployment which is a kind of involuntary unemployment. 3. China Policy Recently, the Chinese government tries to control the economy by macro policy such as implementing the contractionary monetary policy , inflation control policy. This leads to the slow down in the Chinese economy. The flow in of the Chinese capital to Hong Kong for speculation and investment reduce. This affects Hong Kongs economic growth simultaneously. In .

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Health and Fitness analysis Essays

Health and Fitness analysis Essays Health and Fitness analysis Essay Health and Fitness analysis Essay Since disease and immobility leads too often to death in elder people, staying active helps a person live a longer life. Its never too late to start exercising. By being physically active, elderly people have a better chance to continue the things they love to do and allow them to stay Independent as they continue to age. In addition, the right kind of regular exercise can reduce the chance of heart disease, diabetes, and falls. The hardest part about beginning a regular fitness plan for the elderly or really any person at any age is getting started. Once started, the benefits of exercise will be noticed, including improved sleep and self- esteem. Exercise and physical activity can Improve or maintain your strength and fitness, make It easier to do the things you want to do, help your balance and walking, help with feelings of depression or anxiety and improve your mood, maintain your thinking skills (cognitive function) as you get older, prevent or treat diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, breast and colon cancer, and osteoporosis (Exercise and age, 2012). Not only does exercise make most people feel better, perform physical tasks better and reduce the risk of disability due to arthritis, It now appears that exercise, specifically, resistance training, actually rejuvenates muscle tissue In healthy senior citizens (Exercise reverses aging, 2012). A study done by the Arthritis Foundation have suggested that dysfunction of mitochondria, the ? ¦powerhouse?o of the cell, is involved in the loss of muscle mass and functional impairment commonly seen in older people. Studies have shown that in older adults, there is a decline in mitochondrial function with age. A group of 25 healthy older men and women (average age of 70 years) had muscle issue samples taken and compared to the gene profile from muscle samples taken from 26 younger healthy men and women (average age 21 years). Fourteen of the older adults completed six months of twice-weekly resistance training and the results were then compared to the younger adults. The older adults were relatively active (golfing, walking, gardening, tennis, cycling three or more times a week but were not competitive athletes) and healthy; the younger adults were relatively Inactive or participated In modest recreational activities, and none were athletes. These Inclusion criteria allowed the Investigators to study the effect of aging with subjects selected to be matched for activity level and not merely the effect of inactivity. None of participants took medication or had diseases that could alter mitochondrial function. The resistance training was done on standard gym equipment. The twice- weekly sessions ran an hour in length and involved 30 contractions of each muscle group Involved. Strength was tested based on knee extension, and tissue samples were taken from thigh muscles (Exercise reverses aging, 2012). Results In the rent study snowed Tanat multinational satisfaction was ten most common a ?catheter?o to emerge from the gene expression profile. Exercise resulted in a reversal of the genetic profile back to levels similar to those seen in the younger adults. Furthermore, the resistance training increased the older group?was muscle strength. Before exercise training, the older adults were 59% weaker than the younger adults; but after training, the strength of the older adults improved by about 50%, such that they were only 38% weaker than the young adults. This study gives people one more reason to get physically active. Not only will it help attain or maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of disability due to arthritis, this study now shows that it may actually reverse the biologic aging that takes place in muscle cells (Exercise reverses aging, 2012). Being physically fit after age 60 helps you live longer, regardless of your bodys fat content. In my opinion, I think fitness is an important part to know when studying human aging because of all the benefits it has on aging. Knowing what can help the elderly feel better about themselves is very important. Keeping them motivated and active will keep them feeling better and at a rower risk of disease and immobility. If a person is planning on going too field working with older adults it is important to keep some type of physical activity available for them. I think if more older adults knew about the awesome benefits staying active has, they would be more willing to exercise and stay mobile. If I get into a field working with older adults for example a nursing home I think I would incorporate my findings into providing a better physical activity program to meet the requirements of each individual. There are many physical and emotional problems that can occur during aging. The more active you are the more chance you have of keeping on top of these problems and not having them affect you in your later years in life. Many of the physical and emotional problems of aging include depression, hip and Joint problems, arthritis, heart problems, breathing problems, and lack of mobility or flexibility. During the aging process starting some type of fitness program should first require a visit to your doctor so that you can make sure that whatever activity you are planning to add to your lifestyle is doctor approved. You want to be sure that your physical condition is going to allow you to safely incorporate fitness onto your lifestyle and the aging of your body.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story

Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story By Michael Students like stories. Teachers know that stories keep their interest. But plot, emotion, character, conflict and theme the tools of a fiction writer can be power tools for educators as well. Having an attitude in class Learning theorists have taught that students learn when they feel the need to; that in a sense, they create their own learning. Because emotion and character come from who we are, a lesson with a story motivates students to learn. When a problem is part of a story when it involves people finding a solution feels more urgent. When a California textbook talks about California earthquakes, California students pay attention. When two geological plates slip past each other and the earth quakes under the ocean, thats interesting to some students. But when it causes a tsunami and destroys peoples homes, that introduces conflict, plot, and emotion. Students remember information better in a story form. It helps me remember that Napoleons 1812 invasion of Russia was unsuccessful when I imagine how he must have felt afterwards. For one thing, he must have felt cold which helps me remember the invasion ended in winter. Even math teachers need plot, emotion, and story. Children can understand a word problem better when there is a story line to it. I may not remember the exact answer to a mathematical word problem about John preparing dinner in the kitchen, but I might remember or estimate whether John ends up with too much or too little. Will John get his fill with two cups of food, or must he squeeze by on only half a cup? When the plot (and a hungry boy) depend on the answer, children are more likely to want to understand it. The story makes the problem more interesting to the student. If the teacher or textbook takes no attitude toward the subject, students may not bother to take one either, or even pay any attention. The lecturer ends up sounding like a washing machine, and students can tell he or she is probably not trying very hard. Using emotion to get into college I remember new vocabulary words because I categorize them according to how they make me feel. I may not know the exact definition of equanimity but I know its a happy word. Im not sure I can define opprobrium either, but I know its not a happy word. I didnt learn either word from a dictionary but from my reading, where I have gathered their general meaning by repeatedly seeing them either in happy or unhappy contexts. This technique of finding emotion is at the center of the strategy I teach for taking standardized college entrance exams such as the SAT. It works because many verbal test questions are little stories, with plot and emotion. 14. Though many Americans in late 1864 viewed Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation with opprobrium, they greeted the capture of Atlanta with _______________. a. indifference b. elation c. derision d. trepidation As long as I have the feeling that opprobrium is not a happy word, I can answer that question correctly even if I hardly understand anything else. I dont have to know the history of the American Civil War, the role of President Abraham Lincoln, what the Emancipation Proclamation was, or even what, who, or where Atlanta is. I just need to imagine a crowd of Americans in 1864 hearing the latest news. The key to understanding this class of question is the conjunctive adverb though, which always tells us that the second clause carries a different emotion than the first clause. Now I know that the answer in the second clause must be a happy word, because the first clause has an unhappy word. So to answer the question correctly, I simply need to choose the happy word from the list. Again, I dont need to be able to define any of the words in the list, only to recognize whether they are happy words or not. To make the process simple, I mentally translate the question into: Though the first thingamabob was [not happy], the second thingamabob was __________. a. not happy b. happy c. not happy d. not happy I could use the same simplification technique with the conjunction but, as in The first thingamabob was [attractive, safe, whatever], but the second thingamabob was [the opposite]. The construction not only but tells us the opposite of though, that the second clause is giving us more of the same emotion as in the first clause: Not only was the thingamabob [useful], but it was [very useful, essential]. I use the slang word thingamabob to mean that it doesnt even matter what the thing actually is. What matters is the emotion in the clauses. It may sound like a vague technique, but by using it, I have achieved almost perfect scores on similar test sections in the PSAT, SAT, and GRE. Why tell stories? History is one of my favorite subjects. Even in elementary school, I would read ahead in my history book it had stories, after all. But at an earlier point in my life, I didnt appreciate history. History can be boring when teachers dont relate facts to human nature. I remember asking a teacher why we needed to study it. I wondered why we needed to learn about events that happened to other people long ago. My teacher explained that the stories of others can help us when were in similar situations. I read about a doctor who never expected to use what he had learned in his History of Medicine class, until he found himself in a prison camp without modern tools and treatments. In times of prosperity, we can draw lessons from other prosperous societies. When hard times come, its useful to know how other generations weathered hard times before us. A story is not just a way to make a lesson more interesting. A story can be the lesson itself. In December 1948, Israeli troops found the main road blocked to the central Egyptian garrison in the Negev desert. But Israeli general Yigael Yadin, an archaeologist by training, knew where a second road was. It had been abandoned thousands of years before, but with a little work, his troops made it through because their general knew old stories. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†Awoken or Awakened?50 Plain-Language Substitutions for Wordy Phrases

Friday, February 14, 2020

An Investigation of Career Barriers for Female Television News Anchor Dissertation - 2

An Investigation of Career Barriers for Female Television News Anchor in Nigeria - Dissertation Example Nigerian Female TV Anchor-persons 13 2.2. Barriers for Electronic Media Women 14 2.2.1. Cultural Bias 14 2.2.2. Gender Role Conflict 14 2.2.3. Physical Appearance 15 2.2.4. Ageism 15 2.2.5. Sexual Harassment 16 2.3. Theories of Social Stereotyping 16 CHAPTER III 19 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19 3.1. Research Design 19 3.2. Data Collection Procedure 20 3.2.1. Interview 20 3.2.2. Questionnaire 21 3.3. Sampling Technique 22 3.3.1. Sampling for the Interview 22 3.3.2. Sampling for the Questionnaire 23 3.4. Ethical Considerations 23 3.5. Validity of the Data 24 3.6. Reliability of the Data 24 3.7. Approach to Data Presentation and Analysis 24 3.8. Limitations of the Study 25 CHAPTER IV 26 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 26 4.1. Interviews 26 4.2. Questionnaires 27 4.2.1. Question 1 27 4.2.2. Question 2 28 4.2.3. Question 3 30 4.2.4. Question 4 31 4.2.5. Question 5 32 4.2.6. Question 6 32 4.2.7. Question 7 33 4.2.8. Question 8 35 4.2.9. Question 9 36 4.2.10. Question 10 37 CHAPTER V 39 CONCLUSION 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX B 45 List of Tables Table 4.2.1 Responses to Professional Women 28 Table 4.2.2 Realization of the Productive Role of Women 29 Table 4.2.3 Conservativeness of the Role of Women as a Maid 30 Table 4.2.4 Suitability of Media for Females 31 Table 4.2.5 Suitability of News Anchor-ship for Females 32 Table 4.2.6 Acceptance of Media Women by the Society 33 Table 4.2.7 Influence of Ageism on Female Media Career 34 Table 4.2.8 Matrimonial Opportunities for media Women 35 Table 4.2.9 Possibility of Substitution of Female Newscasters by Males 35 Table 4.2.10 Permission to Adopt TV Profession 36 List of Illustrations Figure 4.1 Categorization of Female Interviewees 26 Figure 4.2.1 Responses to Professional Women 28 Figure 4.2.2 Realization of the Productive Role of Women 29 Figure 4.2.3 Conservativeness of the Role of Women as a Maid 30 Figure 4.2.4 Suitability of Media for Females 31 Figure 4.2.5 Suitability of News Anchor-ship for Females 32 Figure 4.2.6 Acceptance of Media Women by the Society 33 Figure 4.2.7 Influence of Ageism on Female Media Career 34 Figure 4.2.8 Matrimonial Opportunities for media Women 35 Figure 4.2.9 Possibility of Substitution of Female Newscasters by Males 36 Figure 4.2.10 Permission to Adopt TV Profession 37 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Women have always been suppressed and exploited in this world. Though this tendency has lessened to a greater degree in some of the developed countries, yet the condition in the under developed and developing countries have never changed. The societies, where men are domineering, condemn women as weak and a mere ‘bit of fluff’. To them, the place of a woman is within the four boundaries of a house where she is to serve male in various ways: mother, wife, sister, daughter, maid, etc. whatever the role is assigned to her, she is under the dominant male who is her lord and master. The condition in Nigeria is not much different. Though the doors of progress and technology have bee n opened to them, yet there are still so many hindrances which are blocking the women’s ways to independent success. This paper aims at exploration of such certain social, physical and suppressing factors which are deterring the female in Nigeria from progressing as T.V. news-casters. The paper also focuses at discovering the barriers in professional/career development of female news anchors that are already in the television news industry. 1.1. Background The Federal Republic of Nigeria is

Saturday, February 1, 2020

What Constitutes Coercion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What Constitutes Coercion - Essay Example Legally in the law, coercion is a duress crime. This action is used to force the victim as leverage to act in a desired manner. Coercion involves actual psychological harm, physical injury or pain infliction in order to promote the credibility of threats. This threat of continuous harm may result in the person being coerced to cooperate and remain obedient. Coercion becomes torture when it is extremely applied, for instance, infliction of severe pain in a person until the desired response is got from the victim. Â  Coercion involves various levels. The strongest form of coercion entails killing a victim. Another level of coercion is threatening to take the life of a person unless the person remains obedient. Threats of robbing, beating, or incarcerate makes another level of coercion. Some of the strong forms of coercion include the threat of force, force or even deadly force on people. Government law enforcing agencies such as police operates with various levels of coercion. For instance, threatening to apply force to a criminal in order to get a confession is police work, but actual torture is police misconduct. As a police force, criminals may be compelled to give a testimony and in the process, some threat of force may be used. This remains police work as long as the deadly force is not applied to the victim. Any subsequent torture or force on the victim who has already confessed or not is considered police misconduct. In cases where police successfully retrieve information from a crimi nal by use of force or intimidation, then we can proudly say, the means justifies the end. At that level, coercion is acceptable especially if the case was a matter of national security. However, the level of the acceptable coercion needs to be measured in terms of seriousness to avoid cases where a victim ends up dead in the process of interrogation by a law enforcement agency.

Friday, January 24, 2020

Right To Die :: essays research papers fc

In John A. Robertson's essay, "Cruzan: No Rights Violated," he argues that the decision made by the Missouri Supreme Court to deny Nancy Beth Cruzan's parents' request to have their daughter's artificial nutrition and hydration tube removed was not a violation of Nancy Beth Cruzan's right to refuse treatment because she had not personally refused treatment. Robertson also claims that keeping Cruzan alive with this particular medical treatment does not alienate her constitutional rights, or her parents'. Robertson states that, " A permanently vegetative patient does not have interests that can be harmed," simply because he/she cannot feel pain and doesn't know his/her present condition. Robertson then goes on to say that simply assuming that one would decline treatment in that situation because of his/her prior beliefs is not enough evidence to maintain that the directive was, in fact, released by the said person, and to relieve their self from a state law that orders such a treatment, the person must have released a directive against that particular treatment. If one were to argue that an incompetent patient has the right to have their medical treatment decided by another person on the presumption that it follows with the patient's previous beliefs, Robertson would declare that the patient is much different than they were before and does not reserve a constitutional right to be managed in the same way they would have been. In placing the right to decide Nancy's treatment in her parents' hands, her parents would be acting in their own interests according to Robertson, and in choosing to stop medical treatment of their daughter, they would be denying their child medical care deemed necessary by the state, which is illegal. With this in mind, Robertson says that the Supreme Court should not extend a family's privacy to include the refusal of necessary treatment when the [above] treatment is not causing harm to the child. Next Robertson says that if a person wants to refuse treatment while incompetent, it is their obligation to make a directive before becoming incompetent in order to refuse treatment on the principle of that particular directive, and that requiring this is "not an undue burden on persons who wish to issue directives against medical care when incompetent." If "clear evidence" does not exist in a past directive, Robertson says that providing the treatment does not alienate a person's right to regulate his/her own care because of the lack of evidence.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Bag of Bones EPILOGUE

It snowed for Christmas a polite six inches of powder that made the carollers working the streets of Sanford look like they belonged in It's a Wonderful Life. By the time I came back from checking Kyra for the third time, it was quarter past one on the morning of the twenty-sixth, and the snow had stopped. A late moon, plump but pale, was peeking through the unravelling fluff of clouds. I was Christmasing with Frank again, and we were the last two up. The kids, Ki included, were dead to the world, sleeping off the annual bacchanal of food and presents. Frank was on his third Scotch it had been a three-Scotch story if there ever was one, I guess but I'd barely drunk the top off my first one. I think I might have gotten into the bottle quite heavily if not for Ki. On the days when I have her I usually don't drink so much as a glass of beer. And to have her three days in a row . . . but shit, kemo sabe, if you can't spend Christmas with your kid, what the hell is Christmas for? ‘Are you all right?' Frank asked when I sat down again and took another little token sip from my glass. I grinned at that. Not is she all right but are you all right. Well, nobody ever said Frank was stupid. ‘You should've seen me when the Department of Human Services let me have her for a weekend in October. I must have checked on her a dozen times before I went to bed . . . and then I kept checking. Getting up and peeking in on her, listening to her breathe. I didn't sleep a wink Friday night, caught maybe three hours on Saturday. So this is a big improvement. But if you ever blab any of what I've told you, Frank -if they ever hear about me filling up that bathtub before the storm knocked the gennie out I can kiss my chances of adopting her goodbye. I'll probably have to fill out a form in triplicate before they even let me attend her high-school graduation.' I hadn't meant to tell Frank the bathtub part, but once I started talking, almost everything spilled out. I suppose it had to spill to someone if I was ever to get on with my life. I'd assumed that John Storrow would be the one on the other side of the confessional when the time came, but John didn't want to talk about any of those events except as they bore on our ongoing legal business, which nowadays is all about Kyra Elizabeth Devore. ‘I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry. How goes the adoption battle?' ‘Slow. I've come to loathe the State of Maine court system, and DHS as well. You take the people who work in those bureaucracies one by one and they're mostly fine, but when you put them together . . . ‘ ‘Bad, huh?' ‘I sometimes feel like a character in Bleak House. That's the one where Dickens says that in court nobody wins but the lawyers. John tells me to be patient and count my blessings, that we're making amazing progress considering that I'm that most untrustworthy of creatures, an unmarried white male of middle age, but Ki's been in two foster-home situations since Mattie died, and ‘ ‘Doesn't she have kin in one of those neighboring towns?' ‘Mattie's aunt. She didn't want anything to do with Ki when Mattie was alive and has even less interest now. Especially since ‘ ‘ since Ki's not going to be rich.' ‘Yeah.' ‘The Whitmore woman was lying about Devore's will.' ‘Absolutely. He left everything to a foundation that's supposed to foster global computer literacy. With due respect to the numbercrunchers of the world, I can't imagine a colder charity.' ‘How is John?' ‘Pretty well mended, but he's never going to get the use of his right arm back entirely. He damned near died of blood-loss.' Frank had led me away from the entwined subjects of Ki and custody quite well for a man deep into his third Scotch, and I was willing enough to go. I could hardly bear to think of her long days and longer nights in those homes where the Department of Human Services stores away children like knickknacks nobody wants. Ki didn't live in those places but only existed in them, pale and listless, like a well-fed rabbit kept in a cage. Each time she saw my car turning in or pulling up she came alive, waving her arms and dancing like Snoopy on his doghouse. Our weekend in October had been wonderful (despite my obsessive need to check her every half hour or so after she was asleep), and the Christmas holiday had been even better. Her emphatic desire to be with me was helping in court more than anything else . . . yet the wheels still turned slowly. Maybe in the spring, Mike, John told me. He was a new John these days, pale and serious. The slightly arrogant eager beaver who had wanted nothing more than to go head to head with Mr. Maxwell ‘Big Bucks' Devore was no longer in evidence. John had learned something about mortality on the twenty-first of July, and something about the world's idiot cruelty, as well. The man who had taught himself to shake with his left hand instead of his right was no longer interested in partying 'til he puked. He was seeing a girl in Philly, the daughter of one of his mother's friends. I had no idea if it was serious or not, Ki's ‘Unca John' is closemouthed about that part of his life, but when a young man is of his own accord seeing the daughter of one of his mother's friends, it usually is. Maybe in the spring: it was his mantra that late fall and early winter. What am I doing wrong? I asked him once this was just after Thanksgiving and another setback. Nothing, he replied. Single-parent adoptions are always slow, and when the putative adopter is a man, it's worse. At that point in the conversation John made an ugly little gesture, poking the index finger of his left hand in and out of his loosely cupped right fist. That's blatant sex discrimination, John. Yeah, but usually it's justified. Blame it on every twisted asshole who ever decided he had a right to take off some little kid's pants, if you want,' blame it on the bureaucracy, if you want,' hell, blame it on cosmic rays if you want. It's a slow process, but you're going to win in the end. You've got a clean record, you've got Kyra saying ‘I want to be with Mike' to every judge and DHS worker she sees, you've got enough money to keep after them no matter how much they squirm and no matter how many forms they throw at you . . . and most of all, buddy, you've got me. I had something else, too what Ki had whispered in my ear as I paused to catch my breath on the steps. I'd never told John about that, and it was one of the few things I didn't tell Frank, either. Mattie says I'm your little guy now, she had whispered. Mattie says you'll take care of me. I was trying to as much as the fucking slowpokes at Human Services would let me but the waiting was hard. Frank picked up the Scotch and tilted it in my direction. I shook my head. Ki had her heart set on snowman-making, and I wanted to be able to face the glare of early sun on fresh snow without a headache. ‘Frank, how much of this do you actually believe?' He poured for himself, then just sat for a time, looking down at the table and thinking. When he raised his head again there was a smile on his face. It was so much like Jo's that it broke my heart. And when he spoke, he juiced his ordinarily faint Boston brogue. ‘Sure and I'm a half-drunk Irishman who just finished listenin to the granddaddy of all ghost stories on Christmas night,' he said. ‘I believe all of it, you silly git.' I laughed and so did he. We did it mostly through the nose, as men are apt to do when up late, maybe in their cups a little, and don't want to wake the house. ‘Come on how much really?' ‘All of it,' he repeated, dropping the brogue. ‘Because Jo believed it. And because of her.' He nodded his head in the direction of the stairs so I'd know which her he meant. ‘She's like no other little girl I've ever seen. She's sweet enough, but there's something in her eyes. At first I thought it was losing her mother the way she did, but that's not it. There's more, isn't there?' ‘Yes,' I said. ‘It's in you, too. It's touched you both.' I thought of the baying thing which Jo had managed to hold back while I poured the lye into that rotted roll of canvas. An Outsider, she had called it. I hadn't gotten a clear look at it, and probably that was good. Probably that was very good. ‘Mike?' Frank looked concerned. ‘You're shivering.' ‘I'm okay,' I said. ‘Really.' ‘What's it like in the house now?' he asked. I was still living in Sara Laughs. I procrastinated until early November, then put the Derry house up for sale. ‘Quiet.' ‘Totally quiet?' I nodded, but that wasn't completely true. On a couple of occasions I had awakened with a sensation Mattie had once mentioned that there was someone in bed with me. But not a dangerous presence. On a couple of occasions I have smelled (or thought I have) Red perfume. And sometimes, even when the air is perfectly still, Bunter's bell will shiver out a few notes. It's as if something lonely wants to say hello. Frank glanced at the clock, then back at me, almost apologetically. ‘I've got a few more questions okay?' ‘If you can't stay up until the wee hours on Boxing Day morning,' I said, ‘I guess you never can. Fire away.' ‘What did you tell the police?' ‘I didn't have to tell them much of anything. Footman talked enough to suit them too much to suit Norris Ridgewick. Footman said that he and Osgood it was Osgood driving the car, Devore's pet broker did the drive-by because Devore had made threats about what would happen to them if they didn't. The State cops also found a copy of a wire-transfer among Devore's effects at Warrington's. Two million dollars to an account in the Grand Caymans. The name scribbled on the copy is Randolph Footman. Randolph is George's middle name. Mr. Footman is now residing in Shawshank State Prison.' ‘What about Rogette?' ‘Well, Whitmore was her mother's maiden name, but I think it's safe to say that Rogette's heart belonged to Daddy. She had leukemia, was diagnosed in 1996. In people her age she was only fifty-seven when she died, by the way it's fatal in two cases out of every three, but she was doing the chemo. Hence the wig.' ‘Why did she try to kill Kyra? I don't understand that. If you broke Sara Tidwell's hold on this earthly plane of ours when you dissolved her bones, the curse should have . . . why are you looking at me that way?' ‘You'd understand if you'd ever met Devore,' I said. ‘This is the man who lit the whole fucking TR on fire as a way of saying goodbye when he headed west to sunny California. I thought of him the second I pulled the wig off, thought they'd swapped identities somehow. Then I thought Oh no, it's her all right, it's Rogette, she's just lost her hair somehow.' ‘And you were right. The chemo.' ‘I was also wrong. I know more about ghosts than I did, Frank. Maybe the most important thing is that what you see first, what you think first . . . that's what's usually true. It was him that day. Devore. He came back at the end. I'm sure of it. At the end it wasn't about Sara, not for him. At the end it wasn't even about Kyra. At the end it was about Scooter Larribee's sled.' Silence between us. For a few moments it was so deep that I could actually hear the house breathing. You can hear that, you know. If you really listen. That's something else I know now. ‘Christ,' he said at last. ‘I don't think Devore came east from California to kill her,' I said. ‘That wasn't the original plan.' ‘Then what was? Get to know his granddaughter? Mend his fences?' ‘God, no. You still don't understand what he was.' ‘Tell me, then.' ‘A human monster. He came back to buy her, but Mattie wouldn't sell. Then, when Sara got hold of him, he began to plan Ki's death. I suspect that Sara never found a more willing tool.' ‘How many did she kill in all?' Frank asked. ‘I don't know for sure. I don't think I want to. Based on Jo's notes and clippings, I'd say that there were perhaps four other . . . directed murders, shall we call them? . . . in the years between 1901 and 1998. All children, all K-names, all closely related to the men who killed her.' ‘My God.' ‘I don't think God had much to do with it . . . but she made them pay, all right.' ‘You're sorry for her, aren't you?' ‘Yes. I would have torn her apart before I let her put so much as a finger on Ki, but of course I am. She was raped and murdered. Her child was drowned while she herself lay dying. My God, aren't you sorry for her?' ‘I suppose I am. Mike, do you know who the other boy was? The crying boy? Was he the one who died of blood-poisoning?' ‘Most of Jo's notes concerned that part of it it's where she got started. Royce Merrill knew the story well. The crying boy was Reg Tidwell, Junior. You have to understand that by September of 1901, when the Red-Tops played their last show in Castle County, almost everyone on the TR knew that Sara and her boy had been murdered, and almost everyone had a good idea of who'd done it. ‘Reg Tidwell spent a lot of that August hounding the County Sheriff, Nehemiah Bannerman. At first it was to find them alive Tidwell wanted a search mounted and then it was to find their bodies, and then it was to find their killers . . . because once he accepted that they were dead, he never doubted that they'd been murdered. ‘Bannerman was sympathetic at first. Everyone seemed sympathetic at first. The Red-Top crowd had been treated wonderfully during their time on the TR that was what infuriated Jared the most and I think you can forgive Son Tidwell for making a crucial mistake.' ‘What mistake was that?' Why, he got the idea that Mars was heaven, I thought. The TR must have seemed like heaven to them, right up until Sara and Kito went for a stroll, the boy carrying his berry-bucket, and never came back. It must have seemed that they'd finally found a place where they could be black people and still be allowed to breathe. ‘Thinking they'd be treated like regular folks when things went wrong, just because they'd been treated that way when things were right. Instead, the TR clubbed together against them. No one who had an idea of what Jared and his prot? ¦g? ¦s had done condoned it, exactly, but when the chips were down . . . ‘ ‘You protect your own, you wash your dirty laundry with the door closed,' Frank murmured, and finished his drink. ‘Yeah. By the time the Red-Tops played the Castle County Fair, their little community down by the lake had begun to break up this is all according to Jo's notes, you understand; there's not a whisper of it in any of the town histories. ‘By Labor Day the active harassment had started so Royce told Jo. It got a little uglier every day a little scarier but Son Tidwell flat didn't want to go, not until he found out what had happened to his sister and nephew. He apparently kept the blood family there in the meadow even after the others had taken off for friendlier locations. ‘Then someone laid the trap. There was a clearing in the woods about a mile east of what's now called Tidwell's Meadow; it had a big birch cross in the middle of it. Jo had a picture of it in her studio. That was where the black community had their services after the doors of the local churches were closed to them. The boy Junior used to go up there a lot to pray or just to sit and meditate. There were plenty of folks in the township who knew his routine. Someone put a leghold trap on the little path through the woods that the boy used. Covered it with leaves and needles.' ‘Jesus,' Frank said. He sounded ill. ‘Probably it wasn't Jared Devore or his logger-boys who set it, either they didn't want any more to do with Sara and Son's people after the murders, they kept right clear of them. It might not even have been a friend of those boys. By then they didn't have that many friends. But that didn't change the fact that those folks down by the lake were getting out of their place, scratching at things better left alone, refusing to take no for an answer. So someone set the trap. I don't think there was any intent to actually kill the boy, but to maim him? Maybe see him with his foot off, condemned to a lifetime crutch? I think they may have gotten that far in their imagining. ‘In any case it worked. The boy stepped in the trap . . . and for quite awhile they didn't find him. The pain must have been excruciating. Then the blood-poisoning. He died. Son gave up. He had other kids to think about, not to mention the people who'd stuck with him. They packed up their clothes and their guitars and left. Jo traced some of them to North Carolina, where many of the descendants still live. And during the fires of 1933, the ones young Max Devore set, the cabins burned flat' ‘I don't understand why the bodies of Sara and her son weren't found,' Frank said. ‘I understand that what you smelled the putrescence wasn't there in any physical sense. But surely at the time . . . if this path you call The Street was so popular . . . ‘ ‘Devore and the others didn't bury them where I found them, not to begin with. They would have started by dragging the bodies deeper into the woods maybe up to where the north wing of Sara Laughs stands now. They covered them with brush and came back that night. Must have been that night; to leave them any longer would have drawn every carnivore in the woods. They took them someplace else and buried them in that roll of canvas. Jo didn't know where, but my guess is Bowie Ridge, where they'd spent most of the summer cutting. Hell, Bowie Ridge is still pretty isolated. They put the bodies somewhere; we might as well say there.' ‘Then how . . . why . . . ‘ ‘Draper Finney wasn't the only one haunted by what they did, Frank they all were. Literally haunted. With the possible exception of Jared Devore, I suppose. He lived another ten years and apparently never missed a meal. But the boys had bad dreams, they drank too much, they fought too much, they argued . . . bristled if anyone so much as mentioned the Red-Tops . . . ‘ ‘Might as well have gone around wearing signs reading KICK US, WE'RE GUILTY,' Frank commented. ‘Yes. It probably didn't help that most of the TR was giving them the silent treatment. Then Finney died in the quarry committed suicide in the quarry, I think and Jared's logger-boys got an idea. Came down with it like a cold. Only it was more like a compulsion. Their idea was that if they dug up the bodies and reburied them where it happened, things'd go back to normal for them.' ‘Did Jared go along with the idea?' ‘According to Jo's notes, by then they never went near him. They reburied the bag of bones without Jared Devore's help where I eventually dug it up. In the late fall or early winter of 1902, I think.' ‘She wanted to be back, didn't she? Sara. Back where she could really work on them.' ‘And on the whole township. Yes. Jo thought so, too. Enough so she didn't want to go back to Sara Laughs once she found some of this stuff out. Especially when she guessed she was pregnant. When we started trying to have a baby and I suggested the name Kia, how that must have scared her! And I never saw.' ‘Sara thought she could use you to kill Kyra if Devore played out before he could get the job done he was old and in bad health, after all. Jo gambled that you'd save her instead. That's what you think, isn't it?' ‘Yes.' ‘And she was right.' ‘I couldn't have done it alone. From the night I dreamed about Sara singing, Jo was with me every step of the way. Sara couldn't make her quit.' ‘No, she wasn't a quitter,' Frank agreed, and wiped at one eye. ‘What do you know about your twice-great-aunt? The one that married Auster?' ‘Bridget Noonan Auster,' I said. ‘Bridey, to her friends. I asked my mother and she swears up and down she knows nothing, that Jo never asked her about Bridey, but I think she might be lying. The young woman was definitely the black sheep of the family I can tell just by the sound of Mom's voice when the name comes up. I have no idea how she met Benton Auster. Let's say he was down in the Prout's Neck part of the world visiting friends and started flirting with her at a clambake. That's as likely as anything else. This was in 1884. She was eighteen, he was twenty-three. They got married, one of those hurry-up jobs. Harry, the one who actually drowned Kito Tidwell, came along six months later.' ‘So he was barely seventeen when it happened,' Frank said. ‘Great God.' ‘And by then his mother had gotten religion. His terror over what she'd think if she ever found out was part of the reason he did what he did. Any other questions, Frank? Because I'm really starting to fade.' For several moments he said nothing I had begun to think he was done when he said, ‘Two others. Do you mind?' ‘I guess it's too late to back out now. What are they?' ‘The Shape you spoke of. The Outsider. That troubles me.' I said nothing. It troubled me, too. ‘Do you think there's a chance it might come back?' ‘It always does,' I said. ‘At the risk of sounding pompous, the Outsider eventually comes back for all of us, doesn't it? Because we're all bags of bones. And the Outsider . . . Frank, the Outsider wants what's in the bag.' He mulled this over, then swallowed the rest of his Scotch at a gulp. ‘You had one other question?' ‘Yes,' he said. ‘Have you started writing again?' I went upstairs a few minutes later, checked Ki, brushed my teeth, checked Ki again, then climbed into bed. From where I lay I was able to look out the window at the pale moon shining on the snow. Have you started writing again? No. Other than a rather lengthy essay on how I spent my summer vacation which I may show to Kyra in some later year, there's been nothing. I know that Harold is nervous, and sooner or later I suppose I'll have to call him and tell him what he already guesses: the machine which ran so sweet for so long has stopped. It isn't broken this memoir came out with nary a gasp or missed heartbeat but the machine has stopped, just the same. There's gas in the tank, the sparkplugs spark and the battery bats, but the wordygurdy stands there quiet in the middle of my head. I've put a tarp over it. It's served me well, you see, and I don't like to think of it getting dusty. Some of it has to do with the way Mattie died. It occurred to me at some point this fall that I had written similar deaths in at least two of my books, and popular fiction is heaped with other examples of the same thing. Have you set up a moral dilemma you don't know how to solve? Is the protagonist sexually attracted to a woman who is much too young for him, shall we say? Need a quick fix? Easiest thing in the world. ‘When the story starts going sour, bring on the man with the gun.' Raymond Chandler said that, or something like it close enough for government work, kemo sabe. Murder is the worst kind of pornography, murder is let me do what I want taken to its final extreme. I believe that even make-believe murders should be taken seriously; maybe that's another idea I got last summer. Perhaps I got it while Mattie was struggling in my arms, gushing blood from her smashed head and dying blind, still crying out for her daughter as she left this earth. To think I might have written such a hellishly convenient death in a book, ever, sickens me. Or maybe I just wish there'd been a little more time. I remember telling Ki it's best not to leave love letters around; what I thought but didn't say was that they can come back to haunt you. I am haunted anyway . . . but I will not willingly haunt myself, and when I closed my book of dreams I did so of my own free will. I think I could have poured lye over those dreams as well, but from that I stayed my hand. I've seen things I never expected to see and felt things I never expected to feel not the least of them what I felt and still feel for the child sleeping down the hall from me. She's my little guy now, I'm her big guy, and that's the important thing. Nothing else seems to matter half so much. Thomas Hardy, who supposedly said that the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones, stopped writing novels himself after finishing Jude the Obscure and while he was at the height of his narrative genius. He went on writing poetry for another twenty years, and when someone asked him why he'd quit fiction he said he couldn't understand why he had trucked with it so long in the first place. In retrospect it seemed silly to him, he said. Pointless. I know exactly what he meant. In the time between now and whenever the Outsider remembers me and decides to come back, there must be other things to do, things that mean more than those shadows. I think I could go back to clanking chains behind the Ghost House wall, but I have no interest in doing so. I've lost my taste for spooks. I like to imagine Mattie would think of Bartleby in Melville's story. I've put down my scrivener's pen. These days I prefer not to.