Writing about cultural practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing about cultural practices - Essay Example Among friends or acquaintances, before parting, they sometimes shake hands as gesture of saying good-bye. For people who have had some misunderstanding, a handshake would mean that everything is ok with them already and that the conflict has been resolved (Kissell , par 6). This social norm of shaking hands has persisted because it is an international norm which is accepted by all races. The handshake has been a mutual sign of goodwill and peace (Haymond , par 1). It is a socially acceptable way of greeting other people in public rather than kissing or hugging. The handshake was believed to have originated as a way of showing that one’s right hand was not carrying any weapon; thus, if two men met and they both show their empty right hands, that means that there exists a level of trust between them (Kissell , par 3). Kissell goes on further to state that the shaking of the hands was supposed to remove any hidden weapon that may be kept in the sleeves. In today’s modern world, the handshake is very difficult to avoid. Some even consider it an insult if the handshake is not accepted (Kissell , par 2). For example, if a person is trying to make amends with another person and he offers his hand and the other person refuses to shake his hand, this would convey the message that one is not accepting the other person’s apology. The norm of shaking hands should be abolished because the world today is exposed to numerous sources of infection and the handshake is one of the most common ways of spreading infection. The handshake makes every person susceptible to be infected (Potty , par 4). Viruses such as AH1N1, Swine flu or Avian flu can easily be transmitted through a hand shake. Although frequent hand washing is always advised, one cannot avoid touching door knobs, grocery carts, elevator buttons, escalator railings, train handrails or money. It has also been a common practice to cover one’s mouth with

Extreme Sports Essay Example for Free

Extreme Sports Essay It is quite common these days for sport players in many countries to get injured during they are playing sports. People reckon this phenomenon is especially true when people play some relatively more violent and extreme sports. Although those sports court the excitement and challenge the utmost of human being which certainly cannot be brought by other common sport, but, still some conservative people advocate to ban this kind of sport. Those people who assert to ban dangerous sport in publics, the first thing they have to do is to define what sorts of sports are dangerous. Clearly, people divide the sport according to their tendency to lead people injury. But dilemma has occurred here. We all know that there is no definite safe or dangerous sports. Even the safest sports , you can name it, be it running or swimming, they all can induce danger or even pose a threat to peoples life. Sport player may involve in incidents or they can be drowned, this is not limited to those who are unable to swimming, but also evident among those who are good at swimming, they may die because of exhaustion or careless or even be attacked by shark when they swimming in sea. So, the so called safe sports do take peoples lives. Opposing, if in a extreme sport such as skiing, if the player have been correctly educated and trained, with proper protective equipment and play with cautions, then the danger will minimize to the least, even safer than the so called safe sports. To sum up, there is not really dangerous sports if we have put necessary protective equipment, or the proper training and the education has been set in. meanwhile, even the non-dangerous sport also brings bad results if we are careless. So, probably, no sport is really dangerous, the real danger is careless and unsecure equipment. Thus, governments’ role here is not to ban the dangerous sport, but to provide the proper guide to let the player enjoy the sport and in the mean time knows how to play safely.

The History of Film Essay examples -- Informative, Film

A major change that has occurred in the development of film is the linearity of narrative. The history of film spans over one hundred years ago, with classical narrative emerging in Hollywood around the nineteen thirties. The classical narrative period had a strong emphasis on linearity and coherence, where characters where goal centred and consistent in personality and action. In the nineteen sixties a change began to emerge in Hollywood, with Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) breaking the editing rules, and narrative coherence, with the introduction of jump cuts. This film among others greatly contributed to the outburst of non-linear narratives, a narrative technique wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order. In the twenty-first century a range of independent films with a variety of non-linear narratives have been getting mainstream release. Within this essay I will briefly explain the different types of narratives and the reasons for their popularity. The directorial intent for many non-linear narratives can be to evoke mood, maintain suspense, indicate the malleability of memory, signify dream, and above all to provide visual pleasure. The involvement that a spectator can feel from a non-linear narrative can offer both a sense of pleasure and relation. The fact that it is up to the viewer to keep up, put things together, and make sense of the narrative provides a sense of satisfaction, and can become the reason they are watching the film. Removing the chronological order of a story and rearranging its components can make a it more compelling than if the scenes progressed in chronological order. An advantage of non-linear narrative is its ability to involuntarily feed the viewer information. This means that th... ...d anthology. Abstract series acts independently or semi-independently of the conventional relationship of narrative time, space, and causality whilst anthology, or multi-strand narrative, consist of a series of short stories which originally appear to be detached, yet turn out to share the same world in which the events occur. Dissimilar to other narrative structures, anthology shifts from a central character to a multi-character narrative where characters shift in and out of prominence. This type of narrative assists in maintaining suspense throughout the entire film. An ostentatious example of an anthological narrative is Love Actually (Richard Curtis 2003). The romantic comedy delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are discovered to be interlinked as the film progresses.

Should Government Attempt to Control Human Population Growth?

Human population grows, and it has been calculated that by the year 2050 there will be over 9 billion people in the world. As a result of that the amount of land per person will have dropped to less than one square inch. It is clear that population growth must stop in some close future due to various factors (Issitt, 1). Shortage in food and water, limited energy, pollution, death of plants and animals, and many more other shortages can be count as those factors. Controlling population growth is essential for each person in the world as it might cause many dangerous situations. Each person has to know how exactly dangerous is overpopulation. Government has to stop this growth somehow by educating families about family planning, help women to get better financial progress, make a law to protect ecosystem and prevent illegal immigrants’ growth. Population growing is very dangerous especially for developing countries. Governments of those countries do not have easy job, and many of them use very drastically moves. China is one of them, where many kids have been killed, mostly girls. It is necessary to do something to stop population growth, but many people argue how, and what tools should be used to stop this growing. To decrease population government has to educate families about family planning. â€Å"According to the United Nations (UN), the human population has been growing at a rate of over 1. 2 percent, approximately 70 million persons each year. In the early twenty-first century, Africa had the highest birth rates in the world due to the infrequent use of contraceptive techniques† (Issitt, 1). This means that promoting contraception techniques would drop this rate down. When couples are given the opportunity to see how their large families are affecting resources and the environment around the world, government can begin to solve the problem by increasing the availability of birth control. However, this might not be that easy and even government give this opportunity couples really will have to use it. There have to be provided control over family size. China as one of the biggest counties in the world deals with the problem of overpopulation. According to Karin Evans â€Å"One –Child-Policy† was established in China in 1980 where government â€Å"wedged a foot into the bedroom door of every household in China ‘Use whatever means you must to reduce the population, but do it’ came the edict† (98)†. The government believes that by making this policy will help to decrease population growth. Also the China â€Å"leadership believed that fever mouths to feed meant a better chance at prosperity for more people. A rising standard of living meant better odds for political stability and a place for China in the world hierarchy† states Karin Evans in â€Å"The One-Child, Maybe-One-More Policy† (97). China is one of the countries where birth control and family planning was not provided to people as supposed to be. Instead of that government allowed the family planning workers to watch women if they are not pregnant. There were also given to them permissions but if women became pregnant without it, they were sent to do abortion. Micah Issitt states in his article â€Å"Counterpoint: Controlling Population Growth is Essential† that â€Å"Contraception is absolutely necessary for effective population control and must be fully integrated into society if there is to be any hope of reversing these population growth trends† (4). Both of the author shows how important can be contraception and family planning, as it could prevent things that happened in China. What was happening in China is very awful and sad. It is not understandable how government, who stands for people protection, can in the same time go against it. Many women in China follow very old method, such as women should stay home and take care of kids and house. What if the government let them work and success? To stop overpopulation government can help women to get better financial progress. This will cause that many women will have to delay having kids. If the government invests in women, give them opportunity to expand financially, educationally and socially, women will take an advantage of this. It will give ladies opportunity to control their life, they will be able to make the decision when to have kids, or even have them at all. When women see that opportunity given by government help them get out of poverty, they will work harder to save more money. If they see that those savings works, they will want to save even more. Those savings comes from their thinking that it will give better future for their kids. However, in China not everywhere One Child Policy works. There are some â€Å"regions [where] rural peoples who needed more hands to work the land were allowed to have more than one child without penalty. In sparsely populated rural areas the policy was two-child policy, even a three-child policy, if a family could show sufficient economic need for another child, or if the area wasn’t closely monitored† (Evans 104). That means if any regions in China need more hands to work, government allowed parents to have more children. Anyhow, there was also kind of law, that parents should have a boy, because it will take care of his parents when they will be old. In addition, girls were not allowed to get a life. In that time, a lot of girls were killed, not only after they were born, but also in some point of their mother pregnancy. Government must be aware of that it cannot take over people’s lives, tell them how many kids they can have, if they can have boys or girls. Rather than that they should invest in women, and help them develop financially. Women knowledge about growing population and economical development should be put in the first place as soon we might have lack of basic supplies and our ecosystem will be destroyed. Population growth has big impact on our environment. According to the Carrying Capacity Network, the US will lose its ability to export food by about 2030 if current growth trends continue. This would cost us about $40 billion in annual income. If the US population continues to explode, the global economy will eventually have a serious problem with supply and demand as a result of our enormous per capita consumption of materials (Reynolds). Hinrichsen and Robey in their post in site www. actionbioscience. rg state that soon there will not be enough food as the population growth faster than is able to produce supplies. Fresh water, oceans, seas, forests will notice shortages. This is all caused by people, who need more water, who need more fishes that live in rivers, seas and oceans, who need more wood to produce supplies that are necessary to live. Issitt mentions: The earth is not equipped to handle the growing human population. Only 13 percent of the earth is classified as arable l and, and this small percentage is divided between agricultural territory, human settlements and land set aside for preserving ecosystems. There is simply insufficient space to accommodate both a growing human population and the variety of species that depend on the same environmental resources. (2) That means if population will grow, we will not have enough space to build houses as well as place where we can produce food. Government should not allow getting out from water that many fishes. Soon people will have to fight to get food. It is important that government should take care more about our ecosystem as well as all people. People cannot live without water, but if water is not clear, they cannot live also. Dirty water will cause that people will be having serious health problems or even they will be dying. According to Issitt: Population growth increases the potential for direct conflict between humans and other species. Humans kill animals and plants for a variety of reasons, such as for food or resources believed to have pharmaceutical benefits, for sport, and because certain animals and plants are considered dangerous. In each case, a larger population of humans means a larger population of those who want to hunt and kill animals or harvest plants from the environment. Again, population growth means more pressure on other species. (3) In other words people will need more food to live which at the end will destroy their environment, and ecosystem will not be able to suffer all species in the world. Government should have control over that as well as over the illegal immigration. Illegal immigration starts to become serious population problem for USA and government should take care of that. We are already getting short in resources such as water, food, housing, etc. and by adding more people to US population will affect that America will be even more in shortage of this goods. Government has to think how to stop both illegal and legal immigrants grow. It will be easier to deal with number of people that want to come legally here, as there have been already cut numbers of green card lottery winners. However, it will not be that easy to deal with those who come illegally here. Many of those, whom are already here illegally, have also children who are citizens. According to Jack Martin â€Å"The United States experienced record levels of immigration in the 1990s. Fifteen million immigrants settled in the U. S. legally and illegally during the decade. Factor in their children and the generally higher fertility rates among immigrant groups, and this single factor accounts, conservatively, for more than half the astounding 35 million increase in U. S. population in the 1990s†. He also states that overpopulation causes that school are overload, health care system is going down and transportation is failing. Government has to take his position in this matter as this problem will not solve itself. Government is big and powerful institution, that can, and even must, help to decrease population growth. However, we cannot forget about ourselves. Maybe we are not that powerful and big as government, but we can help a lot. One of the things that we can do is to learn that if we cannot support our kids, we should not have them. Nobody wants their kids suffer from having not enough food, water. It might be difficult for people to understand this; however, to save what is still available to us, we have to make decision. Government must find out best solution, which will work for environment and for people together.

Phillis Wheatley Essay

The exotic daughter of Africa whose poetry inspired a cause of freedom and social justice in a different land while using the traditional religious view of her heritage. Whose words and symbolism still resonate through the world as reminders of a dream of equality and freedom from monarchal tyranny. This exemplary figure of true patriotism is Phillis Wheatley an African woman born along the Gambia River in Africa to the Fulani tribe (Shields 473). In two of her finest works â€Å"To his Excellency General Washington† and â€Å"Liberty and Peace† Phillis Wheatley uses the African tradition of solar worship to justify the American Revolution. Phillis Wheatley was born around 1753 to a Fulani woman who either practiced an ancient tribal form of solar worship or was a devout Muslim. Wheatley had only one fond memory of her life in Africa and that memory is of her mother performing a ritual every morning to the sun. ‘â€Å"before the sun at his rising† and then â€Å"prostrating herself† in the direction of the risen sun,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Shields 473). The theory that Phillis Wheatley’s mother was a Muslim is plausible because the rising sun is in the direction of Mecca. Also, the word of Islam had spread to this part of Africa and the number of Muslims in western Africa was growing during that time period. However, the theory that Phillis Wheatley’s mother is Muslim is discredited through the use of sun allusions in Wheatley’s poetry. â€Å"Her mother’s solar worship surely is the source of her exaltation of the sun, which she names in her poems nine times as Aurora; as Apollo, seven; as Phoebus, twelve, and as Sol, twice,† (Shields). This shows the love and admiration that Phillis Wheatley had for the sun; a love that was instilled in her by her mother when Wheatley was a small child watching her mother praise Apollo. â€Å"To his Excellency General Washington† was published in April of 1776 by Phillis Wheatley in Boston Massachusetts. This poem to George Washington commemorates him for his efforts to promote freedom. This was the first written work to be published that supported him in his endeavor to free the young country (Williams). In the opening lines of the poem Phillis Wheatley uses a muse, a device of neoclassicism, which exposes the inspiration for her literary work. The muse of this poem is the celestial choir which can be interpreted as the sun god because in line one she writes, â€Å"Celestial choir! enthron’d in realms of light,† (CITATION POETRY FOR STUDENTS). â€Å"Enthron’d in realms of light† means that light surrounds the celestial choir which must come from the sun. In lines nine through twelve Wheatley explains a sun goddess that aides the American cause, â€Å"The Goddess comes, she moves divinely fair/†¦Wherever shines this native of the skies/ Unnumber’d charms and recent graces rise,† (CITATION POETRY FOR STUDENTS). This native of the skies shines wherever she roams; she is the female embodiment of the sun god. . She understands the validity of the American cause because she is fair and just that is why she supports America. The goddess shines on America and with this divine light comes unnumbered charms and graces that fall upon the young nation. She helps America by protecting them in the ultimate struggle they have at hand against the British. The theme of the poem is expressed in lines thirty one through thirty two, â€Å"And so may you, whoever dares disgrace/ This land of freedom’s heaven-defended race,† (CITATION POETRY FOR STUDENTS). The theme of this poem is simply freedom; freedom for the common man, woman and child, and that no person should be subject to any form of oppression or tyranny. The message of freedom is exemplified in these lines because America is being defended by the solar goddess. She promotes the continuation of the belief that every man is entitled freedom by birth. Therefore, these lines show that America is justified by heaven to fight the British. This heavenly protection serves as defense and as a means of dissuading any advances on America. The first line shows the warning to all that may want to pose a threat to America because it is a land of freedom that is divinely protected by the sun goddess. So, these two lines show that America is a land of freedom and that it is defende d by the sun goddess against all that transgress against America’s boundaries. After the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris of 1783 was signed, Phillis Wheatley wrote â€Å"Liberty and Peace†; a poem that celebrated the new countries independence (Shields 489-490). The poem was published in 1784 and praised the defeat of Britannia by America, which has just been established as a sovereign state (Doak 86). It was also one of her last notable works because during that same year she passed away (O’Neale). The overall theme and message of the poem is that America is noble and just for fighting for its independence and that she is and will always be divinely protected. Britain is considered a menace and dictator for holding the colonies back for becoming their own separate country (Jamison). In â€Å"Liberty and Peace† on line sixty four Phillis Wheatley explains how her ancestral sun god is on the side of America and that it is the reason why America defeated the British. The line reads, â€Å"And Heavenly Freedom spread her gold Ray,† (O’Neale). This line shows that the golden ray of heaven will be spread by heavenly freedom. The golden ray was graced upon America by the female embodiment of the sun god. This ray of freedom will spread to any land where America spreads its sails. America being able to spread its ray of freedom is shown in lines sixty two through sixty three of â€Å"Liberty and Peace†, â€Å"Where e’er Columbia spreads her swelling Sails/ To every Realm shall Peace her Charms display,† (O’Neale). This quote illustrates that the golden ray placed upon America by the sun goddess will spread to other lands by heavenly freedom. That any land America encounters will be instilled with the American virtues of p eace and freedom. Phillis Wheatley is a true American patriot for the American quest of peace and freedom from the British menace. She uses her ancestral tradition of solar worship to justify the American cause and to support the troops in their enormous endeavor. In â€Å"To his Excellency General Washington† Phillis Wheatley illustrates a sun goddess that aides on the side of the Americans during the revolutionary war. Wheatley goes on to further explain that American people are a group of people that are divinely protected because they exemplify a spirit of freedom that has never been seen in the world to date. In â€Å"Liberty and Peace† Phillis Wheatley shows that the values and beliefs that are at the core of America are protected by the sun god; that is the reason why America was able to triumph over the British. It was able to because it was fighting for freedom and the sun god protects and defends the righteous in all their endeavors. America will also inspire every land she touches to fight for freedom and equality because America is heavenly defended and her virtues are protected by the sun god. It is clear to see the instances of solar allusions in Phillis Wheatley’s work. She uses her mother’s religion of solar worship to show the validity of the American cause in the Revolutionary War. Phillis Wheatley supported and whole-heartedly believed in the American Revolution due to the fact that in â€Å"To his Excellency General Washington† and â€Å"Liberty and Peace she uses her tradition of solar worship to support America.

Forrest Gump and Three Flowers †Creative Writing Essay

Forrest Gump and Three Flowers – Creative Writing Essay Free Online Research Papers Forrest Gump and Three Flowers Creative Writing Essay You know what? I just finished watching Forrest Gump. That is my†¦ to be honest, I forget, the times that I watched this movie, I only know that I’ve watched it many times, at least six. Each time when I watch it, I would have different feelings, but one thing I have never changed before and it also won’t be changed in future- courage, no matter how many times I watch it. Usually the audiences would think that Gump is not a smart person, actually someone even consider that he is an idiot. Because he doesn’t know the consequence of each event, but he uses all his heart and soul when he faces the challenge. That’s courage. I think Forrest Gump might touch me. Picking the pen is such a hard behavior to me. The moment you decide write something on the white paper, that means you might need to face the real yourself, you might try to cover something ugly, but not reveal everything honestly. I don’t know what I want to say just like Forrest Gump doesn’t know what he wants to do in his life. However, I love the feeling that the pen guides my mind, the pen nib would lead me to somewhere. The pen nib’s liquidity likes the skater’s slides on the ice, so fre e. I believe this pen; this lucky pen would bring me to a fortunate place, even though I don’t know where it is as well. Yes. I think I don’t know where I am now, but my mind like a flipping backward calendar, invoke my three good roommates. June, it is a graduation month; thousands of students leave their schools at this time. School? What is it? It’s a place where only learn the textbook knowledge? No, definitely not, but I used to think about it. Since I have memory, when I met my elder relatives, they always asked my marks in school and the rank in my grade. If I spoke out a number can make them satisfied, then they would also be excited like they got it from school and treat you so well, like you were their own daughter, usually the number should be as small as possible. If I could not say a good number, they would consider that you had begun to lose the entering university chance. The family pressure caused some of my relatives graduated from world- famous universities like Harvard, Cambridge and Chicago University in my family. Being with them, the only thing I needed to do, and I might do well is study, study again and again. I tried not to let them disappointed with me, so my marks kept in a high level in my class. My parents might be the admiring people when my school had parents meeting. My life was so common. Got up, go to school, go home, do my homework and then go to bed. Everyday, I redo the same actions, but I didn’t tired of it, because study was my life’s center. When I graduated from primary school, Dad made a big decision to me: send me to a private school. God! Why he must send me to there? Don’t I study in public school bad? As I heard it I felt so shock like seeing snow in summer. However he thought I could get a better education from there. So I left my dear friends who have studied together for six years. I left a familiar surrounding and changed into a completely unknown school. September is still a humid hot month to my hometown, the acrimony sun glared on your body, like lash whipped on your skin, the cicada’s yelling from the tree, which made reluctantly going to school. The classroom didn’t familiar any more, the new face made me urged wanting to go home and escaped from this closing teaching environment. I felt that I was abandoned in a drain well by my parents. Nobody could hear my help. The night before I came to school, I asked my parents. â€Å"Daddy, Mummy, if I go to school tomorrow, you probably see me once a week.† â€Å"Yes, but we will miss you so much.† Dad said. â€Å"Daddy, I am scared. If the new school’s teachers and students don’t like me, or my mark is too low, what can I do?† â€Å"My sweetheart, don’t avoid growing up. This is a perfect chance to expand your eyesight. You can meet many peers from different places and you can learn many things from your teachers and friends. It’s impossible to spend all your life with your primary classmates.† Daddy comforted me. â€Å"If I can’t adopt the new school, can I quit studying there?† The moment I burst out this sentence, I knew that I had spoken a wrong sentence. Because Daddy scowled and shouted, â€Å"I don’t care whether you like there or not, you must study there well. I spend so much money on you, how can you make me disappointed? You’re so disobeying and rebellious.† Under this helpless situation, I had no choice, but went to my new school. Thousands of questions still around my mind: could I keep studying well at there? Are there many outstanding students? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Research Papers on Forrest Gump and Three Flowers - Creative Writing EssayPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyStandardized TestingHip-Hop is ArtHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayCapital PunishmentEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThe Spring and AutumnHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseThe Hockey Game

How to Write and Submit an Excellent Precis

How to Write and Submit an Excellent Precis How to Write a Precis Flawlessly Numerous academic assignments can be quite a big challenge for students who prefer avoiding too complex tasks. Often, students who have no interest in dedicated learning and personal skills’ constant improvement, face many problems once dealing with academic assignments. Still, no matter what reason is, every student needs to submit his academic papers on time. Writing a precis is probably one of the most difficult tasks for students. This academic assignment requires a proper structure and planning thus make sure to discover all the tips and guides on how to perform a precis mentioned in this article. The Definition of a Precis When dealing with a precis, it is great to know in advance what the kind of task you are dealing with and how to write it properly. In fact, a precis is a short summary. If translating the word â€Å"precis† from French, it will be â€Å"cut brief†. The precis is an outline of a published work, like dissertation or article. The student needs to provide a summary of the read text but without paraphrasing it. This task requires summing up ideas of the checked literature work and making some conclusions. Be aware, a precis is an important and separate work, thus it never remains a simple paraphrasing. Besides, a precis does not require mentioning all the details presented in an analyzed literature work. You need to sum up the main ideas and discover the structure of a checked article or dissertation. Remember, that a precis needs an objective view, thus there is no need to provide your personal opinion. This academic task requires essential points, clear structure, and precise revealing of the main ideas presented in work. You can find many precis samples online, and complete your task flawlessly. Make sure to check the main tips of critical precis presented below. Remember to summarize the main ideas presented in the analyzed paper and never try to provide your personal opinion. How to Start Performing a Precis Writing a precis is quite a complex process, which requires an ability to think critically, distinguish the main ideas from the entire content, and to provide an objective point of view. Here are some tips you can use for your precis performing: Read the analyzed article carefully and list the main ideas. Try to figure out what the author wanted to tell in his work. Check the evidence provided by the author. Restate the thesis provided by the author in your own words. Your opinions must be on-point and precise. Write a few sentences for each section. A precis is a short summary, thus it should not be too long. Re-read the article and make sure it is in accord with your summary. Check whether you have covered the main ideas. Make sure you use a logical structure. Check the accuracy of the written text. Check it for a few times to submit a flawless precis. Make sure to provide in your paper an analysis of the author’s tone and the way he used to communicate with the audience. The Main Features of a Good Precis A precis is quite a difficult work, but it can be performed perfectly if you know the main features of a good precis: Clear and precise text. No paraphrased sentences, but only own words used. Logical order of the provided text. Great title of the paper. Lack of any irrelevant details. Lack of any outside information. How to Write a Rhetorical Precis Rhetorical precis is a greatly structured piece of writing, which requires summing up the main ideas. It should be a brief summary, with the outlined main ideas and points. Make sure to check a needed format and stick to your writing plan. Follow the next useful tips and guides: Mention the name of the author, the title of the article, and the date of publishing. Explain the way the author proves the main arguments of the paper. State the main purpose of the author’s work. Reveal the way the author tries to communicate with the audience. When writing a precis, try to put all the ideas together, and catch the readers’ attention. Make a precis short and precise. Use your own words and an objective point of view. When writing a good precis, the student needs to provide a summary of the read text, article or dissertation, but without paraphrasing it. This complex academic task requires summing up ideas of the checked literature work and making some conclusions. A precis is an important and separate work, thus it never remains a simple paraphrasing. Besides, a precis does not require mentioning all the details presented in an analyzed literature work. You need to sum up the main ideas and discover the structure of a checked article or dissertation. Remember, that you must provide only an objective view, thus there is no need to tell your personal opinion. This task requires essential points, clear structure, and precise revealing of the main ideas presented in work.

Rhetorical Definition and Examples Syllepsis

Rhetorical Definition and Examples Syllepsis Syllepsis is a rhetorical term for a kind of ellipsis in which one word (usually a verb) is understood differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governs. Adjective: sylleptic. As Bernard Dupriez points out in A Dictionary of Literary Devices (1991), There is little agreement among rhetoricians on the difference between syllepsis and zeugma, and Brian Vickers notes that even the Oxford English Dictionary confuses syllepsis and zeugma (Classical Rhetoric in English Poetry, 1989). In contemporary rhetoric, the two terms are commonly used interchangeably to refer to a figure of speech in which the same word is applied to two others in different senses. EtymologyFrom the Greek, a taking Examples E.B. WhiteWhen I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes.Dave BarryWe consumers like names that reflect what the company does. We know, for example, that International Business Machines makes business machines, and Ford Motors makes Fords, and Sara Lee makes us fat.Anthony LaneAna... first meets Christian Grey at Grey House, which is home to Grey Enterprises, in Seattle... Ana, ushered into his presence, stumbles first over the threshold and then over her words.Robert HutchinsonVegetarianism is harmless enough, though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness.Sue TownsendI searched for a sign that she had witnessed more of Mrs. Urquharts scandalous behavior, but her face was its usual mask of Max Factor foundation and disappointment with life.Charles DickinsMiss Bolo rose from the table considerably agitated, and went straight home in a flood of tears, and a sedan chair.Ambrose BiercePiano, n. A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the audience. James ThurberI finally told Ross, late in the summer, that I was losing weight, my grip, and possibly my mind.Margaret AtwoodYou most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality.Tyler HiltonYou took my hand and breath away.Mick Jagger and Keith RichardsShe blew my nose and then she blew my mind.Dorothy ParkerIts a small apartment. Ive barely enough room to lay my hat and a few friends. Observations Maxwell NurnbergZeugma, syllepsis- even dictionaries and linguists find it difficult to agree on which is which. They agree only that what is generally involved is a verb (or some other part of speech) that is doing double duty. In one case theres a syntactical problem; in the other, a verb has two or more objects yoked together, objects that are not compatible, since for each the verb is used in a different sense; for example, He took his hat and his departure.Kuang-ming WuSignificantly, zeugma or syllepsis is word-yoking often because it is meaning-yoking. In opening the door and heart to the homeless boy, for instance, opening the heart opens the door, for it is the heart that opens or closes the door; to open yokes the heart inside with the door outside. To open performs a zeugma-activity. Or is it syllepsis? In any case, metaphor performs both functions . . .. Metaphor is a zeugma(-syllepsis) yoking two matters under one word (verb), yoking old and alien, past and future. Pronunciation: si-LEP-sis

Financial Statment Analyasys Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Statment Analyasys - Case Study Example was established in the year 1980 for retail sale of â€Å"natural and organic foods† (Edgar Online 1). It became the first grocer enterprise to receive national organic certification among grocers. The organization’s history has been based on its mission of quality products towards high health standards and supports national movements for natural and organic foods. The organization floated its initial public offer in the year 1992 and currently operates more than 300 stores globally. Most of its stores have many years of existence in the market, with an average of ten years in their respective locations. Most of the stores are in the United States but subsidiaries exist in Canada and the United Kingdom. Retail in natural and organic foods is the organization’s core operation. Focus on social responsibility such as environmental consciousness and the need to improve health through quality product, despite nature of competition, are the most interesting features of the organization. I preferred the company to others because of its prominence in the industry. 2. The purpose of the ‘management discussion and analysis section’ is to offer the management’s position on its organization’s financial features on a times series scale. ... The section also explains existence of competition, describes the entity’s products, and offers a summary of financial data over the past three accounting periods. Its clear and outlined organization is the most interesting thing and it communicates high prospects and stability of the entity. 3. Ernst & Young LLP is the organization’s independent auditor. 4. The auditor’s opinion validates reported information by the management. The auditor’s opinion, in the form, approved the company’s statement to be a fair representation of the company’s financial position. The opinion is unqualified because it offers no reservation on reliability of the financial statements. 5. The company did not change its auditors. 6. The 10-K includes certification statement required by Sarbanes-Oxley and John Mackey signed the certification. The certification qualifies the report’s compliance with sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Security Exchange Act and that the report is a fair representation of the organization’s financial position and operational outcomes and means the management’s adoption of the financial statements. 7. The lowest stock price for the last financial year was $ 60.39 while the highest price was $ 100.5. The following table summarized trend in data for the period ended 2012. Graph 1: Stock daily closing stock prices 8. The stock prices had a generally decreasing trend with a level of volatility, politics is a major factor as the nation headed for presidential elections in November 2012, and the management did not associate the decline with economic factors. 9. The industry identifies positive prospects based on accounting rations such as revenue growth, return on equity, and long-term

Compare and contrast aspects of psychodynamic and cognitive Essay

Compare and contrast aspects of psychodynamic and cognitive theoretical approaches to counselling - Essay Example Traumatic memories of childhood are recorded in the unconscious mind and these are reminded in the individual until it becomes a cause of sickness and emotional disorders in adulthood. The belief that psychological factors can cause some sickness or malfunctioning became a popular concept during the time of Freud. Freud became phenomenal when he first announced the science of psychoanalysis. It was new then but his patients were healed and freed of their illnesses because of his precise diagnosis. Although his theory focused more on the sexual libido and the oedipal complex, they were at first unopposed and became the basis for treatment of many illnesses. Stress or anxiety, according to Freud, was a primary cause of sickness in man. Riley says that these unconscious events of the pasts were discovered through â€Å"techniques such as free association, the interpretation of dreams, thoughts and feelings emerging through reveries on the couch and nothing slips of the tongue (known as ‘Freudian slips’), misreadings and the forgetting of names† (Riley, p. 5). ... Stress can mean anxiety, arousal, fear, or burnout. This particular phenomenon causes maladies like mental illness, cancer, cardiovascular disease, but also common cold. There is a relational link between arousal and stress to metabolic rate. When we are active, or involved in sports, our metabolic rate rises, along with gross measures of the heart and respiratory rates. When stress is experienced, metabolic rate also rises. Ways to determine if an organism is activated or aroused include physiological measure, where the â€Å"organism’s overt behaviour may be used as basis for evaluation† (Pargman, 2006, p. 3). We can measure or observe the physiological component. We have the nervous system which is composed of the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The central nervous system is comprised of the brain, spinal cord and its branches. The automatic nervous system is composed of the head, pelvic, and sympathetic divisions. The three divisions of the autonomic nervous system are in counterbalancing act. They have some control on the vital functions of the body. The central nervous system on the other hand interferes in cases of emergency – it sends impulses to the autonomic system as soon as it perceives danger. The perception of fear in particular situations can provide thoughts. For example, a musician may think that he/she will not be able to perform well; she becomes afraid. This will send impulses to the brain. Anxiety may come in and the performance will be greatly affected. There are theoretical perspectives in determining stress causality, these are: psychoanalytic orientations, learning orientations, sociological orientations, and personological orientations (Pargman, 2006, p. 30). Freud called traumatic anxiety the excess libido

Hunger Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hunger - Term Paper Example Animals that have lesions in ventromedial hypothalamus become obese. Further studies revealed that even though these hypothalamic centers are crucial in managing hunger and satiety, they are not absolutely responsible for the hunger behavior. Environmental factors considerably affect hunger or food intake. Pregastric Factors are also crucial here. Visual appearance of food and taste or odor of food influence hunger and food intake. Learned aversions and preferences also affect food intake. Psychological factors like  sadness, fear, anxiety, depression, happiness and social interactions can also influence food intake. Gastrointestinal and Postabsorptive factors also control hunger and eating behavior. The amount of gastrointestinal fill is a key factor that describes the behavior of digestive tract. A full intestine or a full stomach brings satiety. This is through the vagus nerve that sends the information back to the hypothalamus. Apart from that, the enteric hormone cholecystokin in is set to stimulate satiety. When nutrients like amino acids and glucose are properly absorbed, their levels rise in blood. This also makes the hormone levels increase in concentration in blood. Concentrations of hormones like insulin, glucagons and cholecystokinin increase. These changes influence the feeling of hunger and satiety. Obesity is considered genetic to a certain extent. Not every obesity case is caused by genetics. Overeating and lack of exercise can cause obesity. There are several other factors that cause obesity. However, the chief culprit of obesity is genetics. Relation between genetics and obesity has been proved by a research performed on twins who were brought up in different places. The research analyzed the influence of environmental factors and genetic factors that influence obesity. Studies brought the results that genetic factors account for more than forty percent of obesity reasons in children and adults. Even though genetic factors are not

Chapter 13 & 14 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 13 & 14 - Assignment Example The company has been developing new product according to taste and preference and food habits of different geographic segment. But the main aim is to standardize its products globally. This is why the company successfully adopted the concept of think global, act local. Quality of the product ensures its shorter supply chain to get fresh raw food and vegetable products. The company currently has more than 24,500 outlets across the globe and high availability of its product through its worldwide presence enforces the demand and also brand recognition (MacDonald, 2009, p.15). Though the company faces completion from regional players in different regional market but it has segmented brand as premium food and service brand. McDonalds adapts ‘glocal’ i.e. an integrated mix of global and local for its global workforce. All restaurants of this brand consist of local workforce who better understand the demand of the local customers. Physical evidence of this brand is represented by its single message in all the restaurants in the world. Structure and environment of the restaurants, processing of foods and the way of service of the employees in the restores are similar in all McDonald restaurants. High focus on customer service along with the product quality has made it a leading food service brand in the world. The Ritz-Carlton is one of the leading hotel brands in the world. It is recognized for its premium quality of service especially the employees try their best to help in anticipated needs or desire. Service quality is the only area where the leading brands compete with each other. Ritz Carlton provides high quality of training program to its employees to provide best quality service to the customers. This brand always tries to provide unique service quality so that it can drive for future retention of the customers. Key differences are employees training programs, importance on customer satisfaction and service values. Mayo Clinic

The Tools and Techniques of Change Management Assignment

The Tools and Techniques of Change Management - Assignment Example The ability to accept a change is important for both individuals and organizations. For both brick-and-mortar and virtual organizations a human resources manager, who is in the unique position of ensuring the agility of the organization’s human capital, faces a lot of important issues which must be given consideration in order to achieve the strategic goals of the company. The important issues needed to be addressed are planned and unplanned change, global and economic change, political, legal, and social change, the role of human resources in virtual organizations and e-commerce, and the role of technology on the function of human resources. (Hughes 2007) The most vital issue facing human resources managers is the ability to gain strategic partnership. Gaining strategic partnership requires adding value to the organization through forecasting, planning, and adapting to the above changes and taking a proactive attitude in managing change. In both brick-and-mortar and virtual organizations, human resources are part of their strategic plans. Included in these plans are both planned and unplanned changes. Strategic leadership needs an understanding of when change is required in an organization. A strategic leader must be proactive instead of reactive. Thus, human resources should create a strategically managed vision for current and future conditions. In virtual organizations, change is a must if they want to succeed in a global, complex, and vague environment.  

Chapter 13 & 14 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 13 & 14 - Assignment Example The company has been developing new product according to taste and preference and food habits of different geographic segment. But the main aim is to standardize its products globally. This is why the company successfully adopted the concept of think global, act local. Quality of the product ensures its shorter supply chain to get fresh raw food and vegetable products. The company currently has more than 24,500 outlets across the globe and high availability of its product through its worldwide presence enforces the demand and also brand recognition (MacDonald, 2009, p.15). Though the company faces completion from regional players in different regional market but it has segmented brand as premium food and service brand. McDonalds adapts ‘glocal’ i.e. an integrated mix of global and local for its global workforce. All restaurants of this brand consist of local workforce who better understand the demand of the local customers. Physical evidence of this brand is represented by its single message in all the restaurants in the world. Structure and environment of the restaurants, processing of foods and the way of service of the employees in the restores are similar in all McDonald restaurants. High focus on customer service along with the product quality has made it a leading food service brand in the world. The Ritz-Carlton is one of the leading hotel brands in the world. It is recognized for its premium quality of service especially the employees try their best to help in anticipated needs or desire. Service quality is the only area where the leading brands compete with each other. Ritz Carlton provides high quality of training program to its employees to provide best quality service to the customers. This brand always tries to provide unique service quality so that it can drive for future retention of the customers. Key differences are employees training programs, importance on customer satisfaction and service values. Mayo Clinic

Iraq War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Iraq War - Essay Example charter. As U.S.A and its coalition governments are signatory's to the UN Charter, this move led to the 'Prohibition of Aggression' and hence is considered illegal. By performing such action, the U.S.A totally stained the credibility of the U.N. by diverting from its resolutions. One major concern of the U.S.A and its allies was that Iraq possessed 'weapons of mass destruction' (WMD). This worry was due to Iraq's refusal to allow a UN inspection on its WMD facilities in 1998, in spite of the fact that this was an obligation under the 1991 armistice. This was proved to be wrong much later when enough damage was done. According to a report carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it was categorically stated that Iraq did not possess any nuclear weapons. However, just the fact that the U.S.A were wrong in believing that Iraq did indeed possess WMDs which could be a potential threat to them shows that why preventative wars are immoral. Another justification for invading Iraq was based on its alleged links with terrorism and Al-Qaeda. This too was an assumption not based on any solid evidence. According to a CIA report it was indicated that the Iraqis had been deliberately avoiding any actions against the U.S. Also, in spite of the then U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld believed that Iraq was backing international terrorism, according to the State Department's annual study report, there were no serious threats of terrorism by the government of Iraq. If this was the real cause, then countries like Iran and Syria are suspected of doing the same, but they are not the objects of U.S.A.'s invasion threats. The question here is not whether Iraq is directly linked to terrorism or not, but to find out to what extent is it linked to terrorism if at all. The belief that Iraq posed a military threat to U.S had been proved wrong much long ago when it was reported that Iraq neither possessed the launchers for their missiles nor the engine to power them (UNSCOM, 1992). There was absolutely no evidence if Iraq possessed Scud missiles and launchers after the Gulf War. With its neighboring countries like Israel having a much sophisticated defense system in place, Iraq was in no way a military threat. It is also believed that the use of force must have high prospects of success. USA's motive to invade Iraq also aimed at establishing peace in the Middle East. Bush administration on April 9, 2003 stated that there were 30,000 Iraqi casualties, though according to a national survey by The Lancet, there are about 654,965 Iraqi deaths from March 2003 to July 2006. A storm was provoked by the shocking admittance by British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the Iraq war caused by U.S.A was a 'disaster'. Though he said that this disaster was not a cause of some accident in the planning, but due to existence of a deliberate strategy to create a situation in which the minority that supports war overpowers the majority that presses for peace. He went on to say that the violence in Iraq was continually on the rise and led to a disturbed Middle East. According to the former SAS officer Peter Tinley, who played an active role in the devising and execution of the Iraq war plan for Australia publicly stated that the 'nation's involvement had been a strategic and moral blunder.' He went on to say

The Crucible the Importance of a Good Name Essay Example for Free

The Crucible the Importance of a Good Name Essay The Crucible there are many themes floating around. One of the most notable themes is the importance of a good name. To several of the characters the only matter of importance seems to be their name and what it seems to be associated with. Amongst this dialog we find that because the hysterical environment of Salem causes persecution of calumny became a common fear of a good, respectable name to be tarnished. Early in the play we are introduced with our first couple of victims due to the infamous fear. Our first encounter is with Abigail when Reverend Parris questions her about as to why Elizabeth Proctor had fired her Abigail responds â€Å"My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! † We can see here that she believes that Goody Proctor is trying to spoil her name due to the belief that she had been having an affair with John. As the play continues it is evident how she accuses other people of witchcraft so that her name is in the light and she is absolved from partaking in the witchcraft herself. Though it seems that Abigail’s only worry is her name, she is very dissembling. We later find out that her name seems to only be the light of her worries. Her main motive is to rid John of Elizabeth so that she can freely be with John. Her uncle, Reverend Parris, is naive to her hidden motives for false accusations. It isn’t much longer in the story when we find Abigail’s uncle, Reverend Parris is also sporting this same worry when we read a conversation between him and a trusted villager Thomas Putnam. Due to Betty, Parris’s Daughter who has fallen ill, and the village is suddenly buzzing with slander of witchcraft. In a conversation with Thomas Putnam it is apparent how this affects Parris. â€Å"Thomas, Thomas, I pray you, leap not to witchcraft. I know that you-least of all, Thomas, would ever wish so disastrous a charge laid upon me. We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house. † This shows that Reverend Parris is almost more caught up in what people think of him rather than how daughter, Betty Parris, is doing or rather how the Doctor, who has found nothing to cure her, will solve her illness. Parris is now continuously accusing his least faithful parishioners with having a contract with the devil. One of which is John Proctor, the man Abigail is having an affair with. John Proctor is known as a rebel in this story. Though a good Christian he rarely makes it into Parris’ Sunday Masses because he is working in the field and he doesn’t want to hear of Parris’ weekly ranting of the devil and hell. It is because of this reputation his wife is among the accused of witchcraft. When he tries to defend her he reluctantly admits to lechery. John Proctor was very reluctant to admit this because he wanted his name to stay respected. When judge Danforth doesn’t believe him they ask his wife Elizabeth if this is true. Unknowing that he had confessed and trying to respect his wishes of keeping a good name she says that she doesn’t believe that he had ever had an affair with Abigail Parris. When Abigail turns on Marry Warren, Marry Warren turns on John Proctor calling him the Devil’s Man. This causes his arrest and accusation of Witchcraft. Proctor’s importance of a good name is most portrayed in the last act, Act V, when he is begged to save himself by signing a confession sheet. He finally refuses to sign it saying that â€Å"Because it is my Name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to Lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! † John Proctor is the epitome of wanting to preserve his name. He willingly dies to preserve his name. In the story of The Crucible, Arthur Miller is able to illustrate the importance of a good name through many of the characters. We were easily able to convey this theme and build off of it. Since many of the characters’ main objective was too keep their name in good light we were able to better understand the reasons behind their actions, helping us receive a better understanding of the story.

Research proposal

Research proposal Introduction The research proposal you are about to read is constructed in order to describe the research project I will execute. I will execute this research project in order to finalize the educational program ICT in Business at Leiden University. In this proposal I will give the objective and explain the methodology of this research. First, I will start with an introduction of the topic and the theoretical background. The research will be hosted and supervised by Getronics Consulting and will be executed at the Business Unit Innovative Technology (BUIT). The time span of this research will be 24 weeks. Industry This research will be focused on the Dutch ICT consultancy industry. This industry suits my interests and the knowledge I gained during the educational program ICT in Business. Getronics Consulting Getronics Consulting is an ICT Consultancy firm which operates in various markets like financial, industrial, educational, public and healthcare. Getronics Consulting advises companies on their ICT-strategy and executes ICT reorganizations based on knowledge about current ICT-architectures. They streamline and integrate people, process and technology in order to create a reliable ICT-architecture which is accessible anywhere at any time. Getronics Consulting has already 20 years experience in IT Service Management and has a working force of 1400 experienced professionals. The ambition Getronics Consulting wants to be known as the opinion leader in the area of leading standards and advanced information and communication technologies. Business and ICT-trends are translated into concrete and usable products and services. They state that every business process needs another ICT approach and call themselves architects of the invisible. The approach In their approach in improving ICT-services, they consider all aspects of the organization: people, products, partners and processes. From that perspective, Getronics Consulting offers support in setting up and optimizing ICT organizations. The philosophy is to enable employees to do their work more efficient. Business Unit Innovative Technology The Business Unit Innovative Technology (BUIT) is a competence center in the field of Web Content Management and (collaboration) portals. The customer base includes diverse organizations throughout the Netherlands varying from government, energy, media and logistical service providers. The tools used by BUIT are SDL Tridion and Microsoft SharePoint. The execution of successful ICT projects is based on the collaboration between People, Process and Technology. These technologies used by BUIT support the customer needs in various ways and are part of Enterprise Content Management (ECM). Enterprise Content Management The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), also known as the ECM association defines ECM as: The strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organizations unstructured information, wherever that information exists (AIIM, 2008, What is ECM?, para.1.). The solutions offered by BUIT are within the manage category. This category has five traditional application areas (Kampffmeyer, 2004): Document Management (DM) Collaboration Web Content Management (WCM) Record Management (RM) Workflow/business process management (BPM) BUIT has the focus on two application areas: collaboration and WCM. The customer needs are supported with different solutions (Tridion SharePoint) around the latter mentioned application areas. The approach Getronics Consulting brought structure into the approach of their projects. They based this approach on the experiences of projects executed in the past. These experiences are bundled into best practices which are based on the eBusiness Development Cycle. The eBusiness Development Cycle consists of six phases. I will elaborate on these phases to give an explanation of the most important activities. Strategy Knowing the mission, vision and goals of the customer is important in order to determine in what direction that organization wants to move. A clear business case is delivered which describes the added-value of the desired solution. Secondly, a conceptual blueprint is created. This blueprint will describe the building blocks of the system in a functional as well as a technical manner. A flexible and modular architecture is the fundamental idea which enables functionalities to be added in the future with minimal adaptations. This blueprint will also function as a starting point of the second phase. Preparation During this phase, several analyses will be done. First, together with the customer, the sources of information which need to be opened up are identified. In other words, what kind of business content does the customer have and for what purpose. Secondly, a prioritized list of the desired functionalities is created. This document will describe the need-to-haves and the nice-to-haves. Also, a scan of the infrastructure is performed in order to compare the current infrastructure with the desired infrastructure. This scan will identify possible technical bottlenecks. After these analyses, the organization itself will be analyzed in order to get a general picture and to see how the new solution would fit in. The main purpose is to define which processes, responsibilities and tasks are related to the helpdesk, technical management and functional- or application management. Finally, all he information gained from the analyses will be the input of the project plan. This plan will be created based on the project management methodology Price2. Design During the design phase, several designs will be expanded in detail. These designs are the basic foundation of what should be built during realization. The designs to be delivered are: infrastructural design, graphical design, functional design and technical design. Acceptation criteria will be written down by the customer. These criteria will be used at a later stage in order to test if the delivered product matches the customers criteria. Every implementation needs its acceptation. Acceptation within the organization is a crucial factor of the success of an implementation. Therefore, an integration plan is created which describes the tasks, responsibilities and processes in such a way the customer understands how they should deal with them. Realization The designs of the latter phase are approved and BUIT will start with the implementation of the infrastructure and the development of custom components. External functionalities and connections will also be realized. Finally, all the realized functionalities will be tested according to the acceptation criteria before the actual implementation takes place. Implementation During this phase, existing content will be migrated to the new system according to the migration plan. The users of these new functionalities will be trained properly. Also, the implemented system will be tested in order see how it performs and what kind of influence it has on the environment. The users are the last ones testing the system. Again, this is based on the acceptation criteria. During this test, the users will investigate the usability and user interfaces of the system. Bugs, found during the tests will be fixed and last but not least: the system will go live including the communication to the end-users. Maintenance The maintenance phase is the operational situation after implementation of the complete system. The emphasis of this phase lies on proper documentation in order to simplify and support future developments and decisions. If necessary, backup- and monitoring processes can be arranged. In the end, an evaluation of the project and its output will be executed. Customer needs The customer requests received by BUIT are especially about online collaboration and the publication of business information (Web Content Management). Today, these processes are supported by internet technologies. The following sections will elaborate on these customer needs. Web Content Management Customers have the need to maintain business information in an easy and intuitive way and make it accessible for those who are authorized to see the content. Information should not be scattered around the organization accessible via different platforms, but via one central platform. Organizational members should also be able to add content to this platform. Adding and maintaining information is one thing, finding the information is another important feature. Organizations have the need to find information via one central search engine which mines different business information sources. Some information is confidential and should only be accessible via the intranet. Organizations can also have the need to share information with the outside world. Think about jobs, news etc. Collaboration Collaboration, essential for improving productivity, becomes more and more important as global market opportunities and competition increase (Soriano, Lizcano, CaÃÆ'Â ±as, Reyes, Hierro, 2007). Today, there are all kinds of collaboration platforms available. BUIT is specialized in Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft SharePoint is an enterprise platform which supports organizations with collaboration. SharePoint enables people to access diverse resources of information via one platform regardless the devices they have available (Microsoft, 2009). Interest in new technologies BUIT notices the emergence of new technologies and is interested in how these new tools are able to support their current and near-future customer needs. With these new technologies I refer to Web 2.0 technologies. BUITs assumptions about Web 2.0 are not rare. Some researchers come up with statements which add even more question marks. According to Tedennick (2006) Web 2.0 technologies have the advantage of adaptability to the business environment and responsiveness to changing business information needs. He argues that Web 2.0 technologies may offer real benefits in business environments where information plays a vital role. Bughin and Manyika (2007) say that Web 2.0 technologies rely on user collaboration. For BUIT, this raises a couple of questions. What should we do with Web 2.0? Should we embrace Web 2.0, if yes, why? And what are the benefits of Web 2.0 when supporting our customers needs? Web 2.0 Nowadays, new technologies emerged under the label Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is a label coined by OReilly (2005) to describe new patterns which emerged due to the changes occurred by the use of internet. These patterns do not describe the technology but describe the way people share information, contribute to collective knowledge, collaborate and interact with each other. Although this explanation is not about technologies, technologies play a significant role in Web 2.0. As Shah et al. (2005) state in their essay about Web 2.0: The technologies behind Web 2.0 provide a richer user experience and make use of information in unique ways (Introduction, para.1). Theoretical background Like many researchers and organization the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) has also his own opinions about Web 2.0. They state that: Many organizations see value in using Web 2.0 tools or social software within their organizations for improved collaboration and innovation, and this is then often referred to as Enterprise 2.0 (AIIM, 2008, What is Web 2.0?, para.2). The AIIM (2008) defines Enterprise 2.0 as: a system of web-based technologies that provide rapid and agile collaboration, information sharing, emergence and integration capabilities in the extended enterprise (What is Web 2.0?, para.1). An important link with this study is that Web 2.0 seems to improve collaboration (AIIM, 2008). Organizations, mainly located in the US are planning to maintain and increase investments in technologies which encourages collaboration (Bughin Manyika, 2007). Unfortunately, the literature gives no evidence about the Dutch interests and investments in Web 2.0. Tredinnick (2006) has the most interesting statements regarding the interests of BUIT. He claims that The key to Web 2.0 is harnessing the ways in which users use information to add value to information (either through direct or indirect user-participation) in creating the information sources that they use (p.232). This is in relation with the current customer needs. As you could read in chapter 2, in the most abstract form, customers have the need to publish information and enable the access to multiple sources of information. Another conclusion of Tredinnick (2006) suggests a benefit for the customer needs: Web 2.0 technologies also allow a far greater degree of collaboration in the creation of content. (p.233) Not only Tedinnick talks about Web 2.0 benefits regarding collaboration. Soriano et al. (2007) says that: Enterprise 2.0 provides enterprises with new models and tools for emergent collaboration and co-creation (Introduction, para.1). Clearly, Web 2.0 has a relation to customer needs regarding WCM and collaboration. Unfortunately, we do not know which elements of Web 2.0 offer what kind of benefits. It would be interesting to know which specific Web 2.0 patterns can offer benefits in supporting the customer needs described in chapter 2. Web 2.0 design patterns OReilly described his ideas about Web 2.0 through seven design patterns: 1) the web as a platform; 2) harnessing collective intelligence; 3) data is the next Intel inside; 4) end of the software release cycle; 5) lightweight programming models; 6) software above the level of a single device and, 7) rich user experience. The web as platform The internet can be seen as a platform through which the users are connected and collaborating with each other. The platform can be seen as the core which binds the elements of Web 2.0 together. Facebook implemented the pattern: the web as a platform. Facebook, an online social network enables people to connect with each other and share and access information. Their mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (Facebook, 2010). Facebook (2010) also provides the programmatic interfaces that make it easy, quick, and efficient to share and access information. Harnessing Collective Intelligence Today, the web connects 1.7 billion users with each other (Internet World Stats, 2010). The web enables these users to add content to the web and collaborate with each other. This means users are collectively participating. They bring structure to information by tagging the information (OReilly, 2005). Arguing about topics in their blogs (short for Web Log) and sharing their knowledge trough online encyclopedia like Wikipedia (OReilly, 2005). Data is the next Intel inside The web is all about finding, sharing and enriching information. Amazon, the online store for books and electronics gets his information about books from ISBN registry provider R.R. Bowker. Amazon and its users enrich this information by adding covers, previews, comments and reviews about the books. The ISBN registry is also available to the competitors of Amazon, but the value added by amazon and their users is hard to copy by competitors. The enriched information is therefore Amazons Intel inside. End of the software release cycle Normally, software is released when totally finished and tested. When this is not the case, it gets labeled as Beta which indicates that the software is not totally finished and needs some testing. In the world of Web 2.0, users are the testers and provide the vendor with feedback, or even help improve the software by co-development. This beta version gets updated regularly but never becomes a final version. Vendors use real time monitoring to track user behavior in order to make changes in their software (OReilly, 2005). Lightweight programming models This pattern could also be explained by Web Services and RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Web Services are protocols which make it easier for different systems to communicate with one another automatically in order to pass information or conduct transactions. For example, a retailer and supplier use Web Services to communicate over the internet and update each others inventory systems (Bughin Manyika, How Business Are Using Web 2.0: A McKinsey Global Survey, 2007).These Web Services are lightweight and could be used to pull or push information between systems. RSS enables users to aggregate information from various sources. Users can subscribe to websites and blogs or other information sources. The content gets separated from its design and can be used anywhere. Software above the level of a single device In the Web 1.0 paradigm, the web was only accessible via a single device. Nowadays, the web is accessible via a wide range of devices e.g.: mobile phones, televisions, game consoles, MP3-playes, PDAs etc. These devices are connected to the platform which enables users to stay in touch virtually anywhere at any time. Rich user experience Last but not the least the rich user experience pattern is about the richness of an internet application. These applications are also called: Rich Internet Application (RIA). A RIA is an internet application, viewed via the web browser where the user experiences a richer environment which is comparable to a desktop application. Research objective The objective of this research is to investigate the benefits of Web 2.0 regarding WCM and Collaboration activities. In other words, what is the benefit for an organization to have Web 2.0 support their Web Content Management and collaboration activities? In order to see the benefits I will need to compare the old situation with the new Web 2.0 situation. With the old situation I refer to how the WCM and Collaboration activities are supported today. The new situation refers to a situation where an organization implemented one or more Web 2.0 design patterns in order to support their activities. Measuring the difference between the two situations requires a measurement instrument. Having the validation in mind, this should be the same instrument for both the situations in order to make a valid comparison. Therefore, I will use the conceptual framework described in chapter 5. The first step of this research is to find out which processes are demanding what kind of information properties and with what degree (e.g. high accuracy of information). The second step is to look at new technologies referred to as Web 2.0 and investigate how they support WCM and Collaboration. The focus is on the level of information properties. So, how do Web 2.0 design patterns perform regarding the demanded information properties. It could be that a design pattern causes information to be better accessible. Managerial relevance This research will be relevant because ICT Consultancy companies like Getronics Consulting gain insight in the benefits Web 2.0 might offer when supporting their customers processes related to Web Content Management and Collaboration. Due to the abstract approach of this research, near-future processes which require certain information properties could be matched with Web 2.0 design patterns. Academic relevance Nowadays, Web 2.0 is a hot research topic. Researchers are trying to find out how businesses are using Web 2.0 (Bughin Manyika, How Business Are Using Web 2.0: A McKinsey Global Survey, 2007); what impact Web 2.0 has on enterprise applications (Adobe, 2007) and Web 2.0 Business A pointer to the intranets of the future? (Tredinnick, 2006). The survey done by Bughin and Manyika tells us that the corporate world has a clear interest in Web 2.0 technologies. Respondents of their survey say they are using Web 2.0 technologies to: communicate with customers and business partners; help manage knowledge internally; share and gather ideas and for automation and collaboration. (Tredinnick, 2006) explored the application of Web 2.0 technologies to business intranets, and their potential use in managing and developing business information and knowledge assets. The latter mentioned authors lack to describe information properties required by the processes of the organizations and how Web 2.0 affected these properties. New knowledge could be created by finding out which and how Web 2.0 patterns affect the information properties. Another issue from the latter mentioned papers is that they mainly surveyed the US and only some European countries like: Germany, France and the U.K. Since this research will be executed inside the Netherlands based on organizational needs from Dutch companies, new knowledge could be created. Information requirements Organizations have all kind of processes which need to be supported. Today, many of those processes are supported with IT solutions. Davenport (1993) defines a business process as: A structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market (p. 5). In short, the core of a process could be explained as: Figure 1: Core principle of a process. Depending on what kind of activity needs to be supported, emphasis is placed on different requirements of information (Davis, 1982). One business process could require high accuracy of information while another process would require less accurate but timelier information. When these requirements or properties of information are known, a suitable solution for supporting the business process could be selected. But how do we analyze which information requirements are demanded? Conceptual framework Wang and Strong (1996) conducted research in order to develop a hierarchical framework for organizing data quality dimensions. This framework contains several information requirements grouped into four categories. Wang and Strong (1996) conclude that the framework could be useful as a checklist during data requirement analysis (p. 23). This particular statement is interesting since one objective of this research is to analyze which requirements of information are demanded by WCM and Collaboration activities. As you may have noticed, the words data and information are used interchangeably. The word data is a Latin noun, datum, meaning something that is given (Bovee et al., 2002). For information the definition that information is, or contains, input or pieces of information (data) organized to some purpose will be used (Davenport Prusak, Stonie, as cited in Bovee et al., 2002 ,p4). Therefore, data and information will be treated synonymously throughout this proposal. The perspective from which the requirements of information will be measured is an organizational perspective. Other researchers (Bovee et al, 2002 and Katerattanakul Siau, 1999) used this model to measure the quality of information based on a user perspective. Within the context of this research, the organization can also be seen as the user who requires information to be: e.g. accurate or timely. Again, this framework proves to be a relevant tool required by this research. The framework contains 15 requirements grouped into 4 categories. Wang and Strong (1996) stated that this framework provides a basis for deciding which aspects of data quality to use in any research study (p. 22). Regarding this statement, I will have to determine the relevance of each information requirement. For the case studies (proposed in chapter 7) the data quality metrics: accuracy, relevancy, timeliness, interpretability and accessibility will be used. The latter metrics are the most commonly used metrics according to the reviewed literature (Bovee et al., 2002 and Kahn et al., 2002 and Lee et al., 2001 and Griffiths, 2005). Figure 2: A conceptual framework of data quality (Wang Strong, 1996) Research questions Main research question What is the benefit for an organization to have Web 2.0 support their WCM and Collaboration activities? Sub questions Some sub questions are posed in order to answer the main research question. These sub questions will gain more insight about the separate components of the main research question. Which properties of information are important regarding the processes which are currently supported by WCM and Collaboration? Which properties of information are offered by each Web 2.0 design pattern? How do the information properties offered by Web 2.0 patterns match with the information properties demanded by WCM and Collaboration activities? Research methodology Obviously, the main research question as well as the sub-questions cannot be answered without justified sources of evidence. You can imagine that a certain starting point is needed. Therefore, the methodology for this research will be an explanatory multiple-case study within Getronics Consulting and KPN. Herriott Firestone (as cited by Yin, 2003, p.46) say that the evidence from multiple cases is often considered more compelling, and the overall study is therefore regarded as being more robust. According to Yin (2003) a case study is best used when asking questions such as how and why. Since the sub-questions one and two are not how or why questions, these questions are operationalized. The data collection methods will be face-to-face interviews, documentation and archival records (system data). Case description As stated in the introduction, two case studies will be conducted within two different companies. First the Knowledge Sharing Expertise Building project within Getronics Consulting will be studied. Secondly, the social media platform KPN1 Connect within KPN will be studied. Knowledge Sharing Expertise Building (KSEB) Getronics Consulting recently initiated the KSEB project. Getronics Consulting has the need to capture and preserve knowledge gained by its employees. When an employee is working on a project and wants to know more about a particular subject, he should be able to find the right colleague(s) with the right expertise for addressing this particular subject. The KSEB platform will consist of different portals: Personal; Communities; and Knowledge Base. The personal portal will contain a public profile and a blog with posts. The communities portal will contain a community wiki and a community team site. News, a forum and shared documents will be present on the team site. The last portal, the knowledge base will contain a category site with documents. KPN1 Connect The project KPN1 Connect is initiated because of a specific need. KPN had the need to foster communication between all employees across the entire organization. They wanted communication to happen in an organic manner rather than a horizontal/vertical manner which is based on the employees hierarchical status. Therefore, a social media platform was launched earlier this year. This platform is an extension to their original intranet and enables employees to communicate with one another via weblogs (blogs) and short (micro blog) messages. Employees have their own profile which contains: name; function; professional expertise; professional interests; hobbies; and product expertise. In short, they can post blogs; short messages; photos; videos and reactions based on content posted by others. The platform also recommends other employees based on the content of the employees profile. And, last but not least, a sophisticated search function enables employee to find other employees and content posted by others. Case studies propositions The propositions of a case study are important in order to direct the attention into the right direction within the scope of the study (Yin, 2003). For both the case studies the same propositions are posed. The propositions are: Getronics Consulting is using Knowledge Sharing Expertise Building in order to support WCM and Collaboration activities. KPN is using KPN1 Connect in order to support Collaboration activities. Getronics Consulting implemented at least one Web 2.0 design pattern into Knowledge Sharing Expertise Building. KPN implemented at least one Web 2.0 design pattern into KPN1 Connect. Web 2.0 design patterns have an effect on the properties of information. Operational questions With the case studies I hope to answer the sub-questions stated in chapter 6. The following table presents how the sub-questions will be operationalized in a larger set of questions, and how they will be answered by each method. Question q1 will be answered with three operational questions. By answering the first, evidence should point out which processes the company wants to support and why with the use of this particular system. The second question is about the analysis of the content. The analysis should indicate what kind of information is stored and processed by the system, and how this information is tagged and related with each other. The purpose of the third question is to investigate what kinds of properties of information are demanded by the organization. This is regarding the processes and the kind of content stored and processed by the system. Question q2 will be answered with two operational questions. The first question will explore what kind of Web 2.0 design patterns are implemented and with what intentions. The second question will measure how the implemented Web 2.0 design patterns score according to the properties of information. Analyzing the results During the case studies, the data quality will be measured twice. First according to what the organization is demanding. For example: organization x has the activity of publishing content and ranks the accuracy of the information most important. Secondly the data quality is measured according to what the Web 2.0 design pattern can offer. For example: design pattern rich user experience causes information to be better interpretable. By analyzing both results the last sub-question will be answered: (q3) How do the information properties offered by Web 2.0 patterns match with the information properties demanded by WCM and Collaboration activities? References Adobe. (2007). The Impact of Web 2.0 on Enterprise Applications A strategy to improve business performance through software that works the way people work. CIO Custom Solution Group. AIIM. (2008). AIIM What is Web 2.0? Retrieved April 13, 2010, from AIIM: http://www.aiim.org/What-is-Web-2.0.aspx AIIM. (2008, Januari). What is ECM? Retrieved April 2010, from AIIM: http://www.aiim.org/What-is-ECM-Enterprise-Content-Management.aspx Baarde, B., Goede, M. d. (1995). Methoden en Technieken (2nd ed.). Houten: Educatieve Partners Nederland BV. Bouman, E. (2008). SmarTEST: slim testen van informatiesystemen. Den Haag: Sdu Uitgevers bv. Bovee, M., Srivasta

Role of Women in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Role of Women in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist, Desdemona, is the main female character. Secondly, there is the ancient’s wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly, there is the girlfriend of Michael Cassio, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the drama. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women.    At the outset of the play Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. This is the initial reference to the role of women in the play – the role of wife. In response to the noise and Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed. Iago’s bawdy references to the senator’s daughter present a second role of women – that of illicit lover. With Roderigo’s help, he gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. The father’s attitude is that life without his Desdemona will be much worse than before:    It is too true an evil: gone she is;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And what's to come of my despised time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is nought but bitterness. (1.1)    Here is seen another role or function of women in the drama – that of comforter for the aged. Brabantio is the old father, and he hates to lose the comforting services of his Desdemona. The daughter’s husband Othello expresses his sentiments to Iago regarding his relationship with the senator’s daughter, saying    that I love the gentle Desdemona,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would not my unhoused free condition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Put into circumscriptio... ...y true!† and accuses him of lying:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You told a lie, an odious, damned lie;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She false with Cassio! (5.2)    Then she accuses him of causing murder: â€Å"And your reports have set the murder on.† Emilia’s stunning interrogation and conviction of her own husband as the evil mastermind behind the crime results in Iago’s killing her. Despondent Othello, grief-stricken by remorse for the tragic mistake he has made, stabs himself and dies on the bed next to his wife.    Thus it is seen that the roles of women are many and varied – and are key to the successful development of the story.    WORKS CITED    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.         

Essay for kirklands class Essay

I believe that the state should not by itself have the power to declare war on another nation or country without the consent of the national government. the reason behind why I think this is because I believe that the government itself has enough power to keep the branches and there paper works in order and to do what is needed and expected of them to do nothing easel over that or under. I also believe that we south Carolinians if we do not like what north Korea is doing we should just stay out of it unless north Korea brings us into it and the reason I think this is because, us south Carolinians declaring war on north Korea just because we don’t like what they are doing is pretty stupid to me. I believe we are smart enough to figure it out without declaring war on a country or a nation. If south Carolina is having problems maintaining their drinking water supplies, and if the government has attempted numerous times to correct the problem, but has repeatedly failed, I believe that the government should problem get help form a nether government or help from whoever can fix this problem because we need water and without water we will die. I believe that the national government should beagle to take action because it is a life or death situation so yes I think that the government of South Carolina also known as the local government should be able to get help from the national government and take the measures needed to fix this problem. I believe that the local government should try to figure it out before getting help from the national government, and if the national government can’t fix it then I think that the national government should beagle to ask another government for help to fix this life or death situation. But if they need to shut down the factory then they should do it because if the south Carolinians don’t have any water they could die and they need water because water was made to keep us alive just like food was made to keep us alive without water you can’t take a shower either and so everyone would stink. If the local chemical factory is causing this problem then they need to shut the chemical  factory down and move it to a different area so it can’t cause anymore problems to our water systems and we would need to move it to a place where it can’t contaminate anything that could herm us or bother us like were its not close to a farm food supplies or water supplies.

A Dirty Job Chapter 18

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