Stereotypes, Conformity, And Discrimination - 1742 Words

Prejudices and Discrimination in American History X Abstract Stereotyping, prejudice, conformity, and discrimination are well portrayed in the movie American History X. The negative attitude held by Derek towards to black people is greatly influenced and learned from his father who was a racist. Derek also transfers these prejudice attitudes towards his younger brother Danny as he grows up seeing the racism practiced in his family and his brother. Although these attitudes are based on propaganda, the two brothers conform to them and even join the Nazi group that holds similar ethnocentrism beliefs. This affirms and fuels the supremacist attitude, but unfortunately, it also leads to negative consequences in their lives. Derek murders an†¦show more content†¦In this paper, the prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping will be analyzed in reference to American History X. Analysis The theme of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination in American History X is well conveyed b y the actions and attitudes of most of the main characters towards the minority groups and most specifically, the people of color. The main character in the movie is Derek Vinyard, and his white supremacist nature is highly influenced by his father views toward the people of color. The movie is full of terrible and dark scenes as well as violence, most of which is practiced by Derek based on propaganda. Derek’s father influenced Derek’s view of the black people since he was a kid by talking about the black communication in a negative view (American History X, 1998). As a result, Derek’s mind created a bad, negative image of the blacks in the United States. After a black addicted guy caused the death of his father, Derek hate for the black people became reaffirmed, and he became a member of the Neo-Nazi. The Neo-Nazi members held an ethnocentrism thought against the black people as they came from different cultural origins. This helped to build their prejudice, r acism, and discrimination against them. Ethnocentrism refers to the belief that one’s culture and values are superior to that of other people. This exemplifies the white supremacist belief of the Neo-Nazi led by Derek. For instance, aShow MoreRelatedSocial Psychological Concepts in the Movie Mean Girls Essay760 Words   |  4 Pagessocial-psychological principals depicted in Mean Girls are prejudice, discrimination, and conformity. According to Social Psychology and Human Nature textbook, written by Baumeister and Bushman, prejudice is a negative feeling toward an individual bases solely on his or her membership in a particular group. Discrimination is unequal treatment of different people based on the groups or categories to which they belong. Lastly, conformity is defined as getting along with the crowd. In the movie, theRead MoreRemember The Titans Film Analysis1202 Words   |  5 Pageseach other but in the end become good friend in spite of the segregation. This paper will analyze this film through the social psychological principles of racism, conformity and stereotypes. The first social phycological principle that was shown a lot throughout the movie was racism. Racism which is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one s own race is superior. One of the most discreet scenes that showed racismRead MoreGood and Bad Discrimination1173 Words   |  5 PagesRunning Head: Good And Bad Discrimination Good And Bad Discrimination Theresa Branch Robert Morris University Professor Anderson Argument Research When the word discrimination is brought up there is an automatic negative response, due to the fact that most have this idea that there is only bad discrimination. This comes from people using stereotypes and being prejudice which creates detrimental situations. However, when a person discriminates it does not mean they are trying to beRead MorePositive And Negative Impacts Of Social Psychology1404 Words   |  6 Pagesstress and headaches while trying to overcompensate. Another form of social influence is a direct form of social pressure known as conformity. Conformity is defined as â€Å"action in accordance with customs, rules, prevailing opinion, and conventional behavior† (Neufeldt, 1991). When most people hear conformity, they automatically relate it with a negative connotation. Conformity has truly played a major role in establishing societies throughout history. A strong society is based on people’s willingness toRead MorePSY 301 Week 5 Final Paper Social Psychology Bringing It All Together618 Words   |  3 Pagesdo we make about other people? a. Attributions: internal, external, explanatory style b. Attitudes and behavior c. Prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination 3. Influencing Others: Persuasion – How do we use the power of persuasion? a. Persuasion techniques b. Characteristics of the persuader, message, audience 4. Influencing Others: Obedience and Conformity – What factors lead us to conform and become obedient? a. Aggressive behavior and aggression cues b. Prosocial behavior c. RelationshipRead MoreThe 1964 Civil Rights Act1173 Words   |  5 PagesTitle IIV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act forbids the discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, or religion by employers. So why it is that sex segregation is so rampant in the workplace still? Segregation is defined as the characteristic on which groups are sorted symbolized dominant or subordinate status and become the bases for differential treatment. It provides rewards for the dominating group in society and makes the minority group stay below. This processRead MorePrejudice1230 Words   |  5 Pages prejudice and discrimination * Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination often overlap. * Prejudice is the feelings we have about particular groups. * Prejudice is a negative prejudgement of a group and its individual members. * Prejudice biases us against others based on the person’s group. * Prejudice is a combination of feelings, inclinations to act and beliefs. * Prejudice is complex and include a component of patronizing affection. * Stereotypes are the cognitiveRead MoreThe Expectations And Birth Of A Child1030 Words   |  5 PagesFollowing birth, the newborn is then assigned a gender, i.e., male or female. His or her, he or she, and similar pronouns or lexicon then attribute to what may or, may not, become a life of inner-conflict in the quest for identification or societal conformity to such an assigned gender. For hundreds of years and continuing to this day, society has taught us that boys get dirty, play sports and are more aggressive. In contrast, girls play with dolls, wear dresses and have tea parties. This is furtherRead MoreHe Conformity s Judgement Is Based On What Gender They Are Essay1576 Words   |  7 Pageshe Conformity In Grease The behavior towards people’s judgement is based on what gender they are can be summarized in one movie Grease. Grease made 159 million dollars in the year 1978 alone, but the movie itself shows the double standards on gender with two main a groups of teenage high school students. The testosterone filled group of males known as T- Birds and the Barbie pink female group known as The Pink ladies, make up the popular crew in their school. If you aren’t part of these two groupsRead MoreSocial Identity And Collective Identity1239 Words   |  5 Pagesrecognizes stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice; it also leads to ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism refers when an individual arbitrates people by reflecting on one owns cultural standards, such as when terrorism and horrific crime occurs when a community or a religion feels preferable over the other. Stereotypical thinking is a belief about idiosyncrasy thinking that it associates with the members of particular group, such as Americans are perceived as knowledgeable and productive, such stereotypes within

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Reducing The Risk For...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Reducing the Risk for Intimate Partner Violence amongst Trauma Survivors with PTSD and Depression Disorder Symptoms Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a depressive disorder are conditions that may last a lifetime for individuals who have undergone significant life changing events. One life changing event in particular, includes violence amongst intimate partners. Individuals who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and later develop symptoms of depression and or PTSD have an increased risk for future IPV occurrences. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown positive results in improving symptoms of PTSD and depressive disorder, but the use of CBT has not been explored in regards to reducing the risk of IPV prevalence amongst these individuals. Level One Heading The incidence of intimate partner violence is quite common amongst individuals in the United States. As a result, PTSD and depressive disorder have been consequences associated with this issue, further adding to numerous public health issues that our society is facing. Intimate partner violence not only affects the victim, but the families and society as well. Therefore, efforts must be made to decrease the prevalence of IPV, as well as assisting those individuals who have been victimized in this issue. Past research has associated PTSD with individuals with sexual abuse, but not specific to IPV. One example in particular, included research done amongst womenShow MoreRelatedDomestic Violence : An Reliable Support System2103 Words   |  9 Pagesthe ones who are creating the problems. One of the prominent issues that can potentially occur within families involves domestic violence, with the victim usually being a woman. With most family matters, those who are looking from the outside are usually hesitant in intervening with those types of personal issues. In order to reduce the occurrence of domestic violence, there must be assistance and training provided for all of the parties involved. This includes providing assistance to the victimRead MoreComparing Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Domestic Violence and Women Victims of Rape2123 Words   |  9 Pagesin Domestic Violence and Raped Women Victims Abstract The present research will evaluate treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A group of victims of domestic violence (DV) and rape with persistent PTSD will be recruited and submitted to a 6 month therapy. There will be a 3 X 2 independent groups factorial design where the independent groups are going to be women with PTSD (domestic violence and rape victims) and treatments; one group of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and theRead MoreUse of CBT to Treat Victims of Domestic Violence Essay2249 Words   |  9 PagesWomen will continue to suffer from domestic violence unless there is some sort of intervention to help them. When dealing with this population, it is essential to create a safe environment where the woman can talk freely about the abuse without any retaliation from the abuser. When someone comes into a therapeutic session, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and care. This in turn will create a sense of hope that a different type of life can be possi ble. Also, knowing that there is a supportRead MoreViolence: The Double Whammy Effect2147 Words   |  9 Pages Violence: The Double Whammy Effect Introduction______________________________________________________ Statement Of The Problem/Context I have been intwined in the cycle of violence since a very young age. Unfortunately the cycle of violence has lived up to it’s name. As a child not only was I physically and emotionally abused, I also witnessed my parents abusive marriage. Choosing to repress the events, believing that if they weren’t brought up they couldn’tRead MoreIntervention Paper4463 Words   |  18 PagesUnited States several million children experience some extreme traumatic event. Some of these events include natural disasters, death of a loved one, vehicle accidents, physical and/or sexual abuse and witnessing domestic violence. Children are increasingly exposed to violence in society. Many of these children may develop some form of psychological problems that can significantly impair their emotional, academic, and social functioning. Research has noted that many of these children will becomeRead MoreThe Effects Of Parental Depression On Children1901 Words   |  8 Pagesto use corporal punishment as a form of discipline. Maternal depression is a hugely significant risk factor for child abuse and neglect. (Fields, 2009) Low-income depressed mothers may also be less likely than their non-depressed peers to access public ass istance. (Zajicek, 2012) The two factors most strongly associated with maternal depression, in turn, are intimate-partner violence or domestic violence, and mothers’ health and well-being. Children of depressed mothers are more likely than other childrenRead MoreIntimate Partner Violence : An Appropriate Theory, Assessment, And Intervention Essay2414 Words   |  10 PagesOver the past two decades, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has received increased attention due to the undeniable ripple effects it has on families. Particularly, children who witness dynamics often seen in abusive relationships may be harmful and can have destructive effects on the development of a child(s). Protecting these silent victims from the long-term effects is important as it may lead to abusive relationships in the future. In this paper, I plan to address the direct and indirect abuseRead MoreChild Abuse and Neglect3425 Words   |  14 Pagesserious life-long developmental, social, emotional and other significant problems. This paper will address risk factors that are associated with abuse and neglect, who is at risk for being abused, as well as some traits of the abuser. This paper will incorporate child development across the lifespan, as well as some information about how abuse and neglect affects a child’s language, cognitive, social/emotional, motor and adaptive skills, as well as physical health. Effective parenting techniques andRead MoreSexual Addiction2325 Words   |  10 Pagespsychologists and other specialists as to whether the phenomenon represents an actual addiction or even a psychological/psychiatric condition at all. Components of the sexual addiction model draw an analogy between hyper sexuality and substance addiction or behavioral problems like gambling addiction, recommending 12-step and other addiction-based methods of treatment. Other explanatory models of hyper sexuality include sexual compulsivity and sexual impulsivity. Sexologists have not reached any consensus regardingRead MoreThe Use Of Creative Art For A Social Work Setting With Clients With The Skills And Tools Necessary Properly4769 Words   |  20 Pagesclients with the skills and tools necessary properly process and utilize the environment around them. However, instances occur when effective communication on behalf of the client is not possible. In this type of situation, the use adaption of art therapy in a social work setting with clients who have limited verbalization skills and lack the ability to adequately express their emotions due to a disability or traumatic event will become necessary. A lack of effective communication is often observed

Transnational Social Movement Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Transnational Social Movement. Answer: Slavery has been a social disease for many centuries and has been practiced in the Western and colonial world without any restraint and mercy. People in power have discriminated poor people on the basis of the race and color of the skin which was the main foundation of the concept of slavery. Slaves were brought from African countries and were sold to feudal lords to work in their houses and fields and help to build their capitalist empire without getting any payment or even proper food in return (Cutter 2017). These practices continued for centuries before there were anti-slavery movements which proved to be a beacon of hope for a huge number of slaves all around the world. The following discussion is about the Abolitionist Movement which was an anti-slavery movement which happened few decades before the civil war in America. The goal of the Abolitionist Movement was to liberate slaves from the shackles of slavery and racial discrimination with immediate effect (Mason 2017). The Abolitionist Movement was different from other anti-slavery movements as it advocated the immediate liberation of slaves which was in contradiction with other modern anti-slavery point of view which stated that there should be gradual removal of slave culture and there were other free-soil activists which said that slavery should be abolished in some states and it should be restricted to grow in the further West (Pariseau 2017).The Radical Abolitionist Movement was started due to the religious reasons of the Second Great Awakening which convinced people for liberation of slaves on the grounds of religion. The ideas of Abolitionist Movement became popular in the Northern Part of the country and politics began to happen on those grounds. This lead to regional hostility between the Northern and The Southern States which lead to the o utbreak of Civil War (Price 2017). From the advent of Abolitionist Movement in 1830 it continued till 1870, continuously urging for immediate liberation of slaves from their bondages and end the racial discrimination. These goals of Abolitionist Movement made it different from the broader ideas of slavery abolition extending to more of the Western countries which led to the civil war after 1840s. Although the feelings and goals of the Abolitionist Movement was strong at the time of American Revolution, but it did not take form of a militant crusade which it further evolved in 1830s (Reilly 2017). It has been observed that most of the northern states have been affected by many religious and evangelical movements which gave a spiritual guidance to the society. These movements gave much emphasis on the will of God and the correct way of living which deepened the effect of the Abolitionist Movement in the minds of people. It stressed on the moral imperatives and discarded the sinful practices which were been executed in t he slave society and by the slave owners (Robertson 2017). Popular newspapers like Liberator which was owned by some African-Americans published number of articles in support of the Abolitionist Movement which played a vital role in reaching the hearts and minds of the people making them to join the crusade against slavery with will and courage. There were many American Anti-Slavery Societies which were found in the light of the Abolitionist Movement which preached that slavery is a sin and it must be abolished with immediate effect (Stoskopf and Bermudez 2017). These societies received a huge response in terms of financial and moral support in the Northern States and found more than hundred branches in the territory. These societies made posters and banners denouncing the practice of slavery and filled the streets with it widely and openly protesting, taking the Abolitionist Movement forward. All these activities created a hostile environment in the Northern and Southern states and provoked violent mobs which destroyed public property and burnt mailbags which contained the banners of the movement (Vos 2017). The U.S. House of Representatives passed a gag rule in which the anti-slavery petitions were not entertained and banned their considerations. Later on a leader of the Abolitionist Movement was murdered which led many Northern state citizens to vote for the anti-slavery politicians and brought prominent converts into the limelight. But with gradual integration of anti-slavery politicians in the movement, the leaders of Abolitionist Movement came into conflict with each other (Robertson 2017). Some of the leaders and their followers believed that the entire American society has been corrupted with the practice of slavery; there is a need of radical spiritual change in the values of Americans to make this Abolitionist Movement successful. To add to this moral suasion som e leaders broadened the scope of the movement by including the agenda of equal rights for women and to denounce the corrupt studious practices of the church. There is a debate on the change in values of Americans in all the states due to the Abolitionist Movement but few historians believe that the most affected area was the Northern State where maximum influence was observed (Stoskopf and Bermudez 2017).The patrons of Abolitionist Movement had a deep impact of the religious practices of the American people which was ambiguous to the Methodists and Baptists. They also found many anti-slavery free churches in many states which was a sign of victory for the Abolitionist Movement. By the latter half of the 1850s it was observed that there was a change in stance for the black people in the political arena and the racial discrimination was subsumed. Many of the contributors of Abolitionist Movement became supports of the Republican Party and proved to become military champions during the civil war (Reilly 2017). This movement got split in 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution was passed abolishing slavery. This made the e xistence of American Anti-Slavery Society meaningless. But only political equality for the African-Americans was achieved and rests of the goals of Abolitionist Movement were still not fulfilled which kept the leaders of the movement from ending and dissolving it (Pariseau 2017). When the Fifteenth Amendment was passed which extended the male suffrage to the African-Americans the only the Abolitionist Movement considered its mission to be completed. References Cutter, M.J., 2017.The Illustrated Slave: Empathy, Graphic Narrative, and the Visual Culture of the Transatlantic Abolition Movement, 1800-1852. University of Georgia Press. Mason, M., 2017. An Illuminating but Not Entirely Novel Window on Abolitionism.Reviews in American History,45(2), pp.259-262. Pariseau, J.A., 2017. The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition. Price, G.R., 2017. AAST 262.01: Abolitionism-The First Civil Rights Movement. Reilly, K., 2017. Anti-Slavery Movements in British North America and the Transnational life of Obedient Servant Samuel Ringgold Ward.Mount Royal Undergraduate Humanities Review (MRUHR),4. Robertson, S.M., 2017. Marketing Social Justice: Lessons from our Abolitionist Predecessors.Moving the Social,57, pp.21-36. Stoskopf, A. and Bermudez, A., 2017. The sounds of silence: American history textbook representations of non-violence and the Abolition Movement.Journal of Peace Education,14(1), pp.92-113. Vos, J., 2017. BEYOND EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN SLAVERY AND INTO THE PRESENT-Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition, Edited by Martin A. Klein. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield, 2014. Pp. xxv+ 450. $85.00, hardback (ISBN 978-0-8108-5966-1).The Journal of African History,58(1), pp.149-151.

The Good Earth Essays - The Good Earth, O-Lan, Wang Lung, Sons, Wang

The Good Earth In the critically acclaimed novel The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck depicts a humble farmer and his obedient wife O-lan. The Nobel Prize winning classic, set in late eighteenth century China, begins with Wang Lung going to the "Great House of Hwang"(49) to collect the wife that was betrothed to him by his father. Wang Lung lived with his father, wife, and five children, one of whom is mentally retarded. Although Wang Lung supplied all the physical needs for his family and upheld all the family traditions, he showed a strong insensitivity through his extra marital affairs. The story continues to portray the trials and tribulations of their life in a time when a persons livelihood came from the earth. From the earth, Wang Lung receives wealth, food, and prosperity. The earth also brought him dispair through natural disasters, but the earth remained his sole source of innerpeace. Wang Lung was sometimes caring and sometimes insensitive, but he always followed tradition. Wang Lung was a caring and compassionate man with a strong sense of family and adaptation to simple life. For example, Wang Lung showed extreme respect and appreciation for his wife in a time when women were considered to be no more then slaves. In the early chapters of the novel when Wang Lung was poor, he gave O-lan four silver pieces so she may return to the House of Hwang in grand style. He also offered to pay five thousand silver pieces for her recovery after he discovered she had a "fire in her vitals"(170). He then spent the rest of her days by her death bed and bought her the best quality coffin. Furthermore, Wang Lung had a special relationship with his first daughter, Poor Fool, his mentally retarded offspring. Poor Fool did not speak and did nothing more Pagliei 2 then twiddle a piece of cloth in the sun. Although Wang Lung had servants and slaves, he personally took care of his daughter after O-lan died. He also yelled at his love Lotus when she called Poor Fool an idiot: Now I will not hear my children cursed, no and not by anyone...For he was most angry of all that Lotus dared to curse this child of his and call her idiot, and a load of fresh pain for the girl fell upon his heart, so that for a day and two days he would not go near Lotus, but he played with the children and he went into the town and he bought a circle of barley candy for his poor fool and he comforted himself with her baby pleasure in the sweet sticky stuff.(212) His affection for Poor Fool was genuine and he was comforted when she was happy; "Well, and that poor fool of mine brings me more comfort then all the others put together" (234). Another example of Wang Lung's caring is the time and love he put into his land. When his life was in shambles and nothing else made sense, he found innerpeace, tranquillity and understanding about the events in his life when he was out tending to his land. When he had extra money, he did not want pearls, concubines, or rubies, "If I had the gold and the silver and the jewels, I would buy land with it, good land, and I would bring forth harvests from the land" (124). Wang Lung's caring nature was the foundation for a stable family. Although it was rarely displayed, Wang Lung's heartlessness and sheer cruelty deeply scarred the most beloved members in his family. For instance, Wang Lung's Pagliei 3 infatuation with Lotus temporarily blinds his true love for O-lan. Instead of the caring husband O-lan grew to love he was mean and he assaulted her with insults about her lack of beauty and highlighted her extremely large features: He saw for the first time that her hair was rough and brown and unoiled and that her face was flat and coarse-skinned, and her features too large altogether and without any sort of beauty or light. Her eyebrows were scattered and her hairs too few, and her lips too wide and her hands and feet were large and spreading...I would

Concord

Concord Although watching a movie may be entertaining, reading the story may sometimes be more enjoyable. The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a good example of how reading a story might be more interesting, rather than watching the movie. Things such as the author's language and his detailed description of every scene enhance the entertainment you get from reading the story.Although watching a movie may be entertaining, reading the story may sometimes be more enjoyable. The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a good example of how reading a story might be more interesting, rather than watching the movie. Things such as the author's language and his detailed description of every scene enhance the entertainment you get from reading the story.Although watching a movie may be entertaining, reading the story may sometimes be more enjoyable. The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a good example of how reading a story might be more interesting, rather than watching the movie.English: Illustration of the short story "The Myst...

6 Ways Nurses Can Stay Healthy During Flu Season

6 Ways Nurses Can Stay Healthy During Flu Season Chances are, the hospital or facility you work at requires you to get your flu shot. But sometimes even that is not enough. Here are 6 more preventative measures you can take to protect yourself from getting sick this season. 1. Treat Your Body Like a TempleJunk food is not your friend. Red Bull and french fries and Snickers bars might get you through a shift, but they won’t get you through flu season. Try and eat healthier (and make sure to include fruits and vegetables!) so your body gets the vitamins and minerals it needs to fight things off. And stay hydrated!2. Get Some SleepYou’re working overtime and the time off you do have is full of holiday activity. Make sure to rest as much and as well as you can so you don’t have to lose work time or play time.3. Be Travel SmartStay hydrated and boost your vitamin intake. Carry Airborne or Zicam or Emergen-C and a packet of sanitizing wipes on planes and trains and buses so you don’t pick up any germs.4. Be Vi gilantStart to get a sniffle or a sneeze? Feel a little achy? Stop what you’re doing and take care of yourself. Take your vitamins, get some rest, drink lots of fluids. Use hand sanitizer often. Get a humidifier. If you’re proactive enough, you can head the flu off at the start.5. Get CleanClean your kitchen and bathroom regularly. But don’t forget to also sanatize the things you carry with you, like your cell phone or your keys. A few disinfectant wipes will do a lot of good in fending off the army of germs. And if you do get sick, remember to change your toothbrush.6. Be an EnforcerYou’re a nurse, so you’re a hand washing and sanitizing pro. But the rest of your family probably isn’t. Get on your soapbox and make sure everyone you love is following the same guidelines. No sick people preparing food! Use tissues to sneeze! Wash hands after coughing! Protect your loved ones and protect yourself.

Stakeholder theory and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words - 1

Stakeholder theory and Strategy - Essay Example Subsequently, the study elucidates how significant stakeholder relationships are in a firm’s enduring existence and survival. Likewise, the paper attempts to concisely illustrate the importance of firms’ employing stakeholder management in their day-to-day operations at the same time succinctly presents how the use of stakeholder analysis can advance corporation efficiency and facilitate a corporation’s effectual policy/decision-making. For the investigation’s methodology, it makes use of the qualitative research employing the interpretivist/inductive stance mode of inquiry. It then concludes with the premise that stakeholders can provide the firm with access to the resources and capabilities that they own, create, and control only if the corporation promotes the stakeholders’ interests or stakes and thus offers the stakeholders opportunities for achieving their objectives. This premise directly follows from the dynamics that create organizations stating that an organization is an amalgamation of people who interact with each other in particular and often repeated ways over some period of time. To attract people to its activities and thereby to assure its continued existence, an organisation must bring some form of benefit—whether psychological, social, cultural, professional, or economic —to the people who participate in its activities. The word stakeholder is compellingly authoritative (Phillips, Freeman, & Wicks, 2003) due to its all-inclusive and at the same time logical depiction of how organizations conduct their business and day-to-day existence. In his pioneering work, Freeman (1984) recommended a stakeholder method to strategic management, inferring that it is imperative for organisations to pay attention to those who affect and are affected by the corporate actions. From that time on, stakeholder theory has become a ‘middle-of-the-road’

Learning-Centered Adult and Postsecondary Education Research Paper

Learning-Centered Adult and Postsecondary Education - Research Paper Example Learning from different sources enables an individual to gain understanding from various platforms, further enhancing his/her skills and abilities (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 2014). However, in the absence of the same, in higher education level, a person will lack in terms of widespread knowledge. In the presence of wide variety of educational approaches and materials, individuals will also be able to learn in a manner that can ensure the enhancement of his/her abilities to deal with the challenges of the practical world, which is quite vital. I, as an individual, also had to face problems in the practical world owing to lack of knowledge gained from limited sources and teaching approaches (Weimer, n.d.). The approach of learning-centered education in the domain of adult and postsecondary education will ensure that students are able to learn more apart from the knowledge provided by their academic materials (Duffy & Kirkley, 2003). However, this aspect in turn, tests the mental strength of the students, which can be identified as negative aspects at large (Yurichenko,

Format for a Business Report Essay Example for Free

Format for a Business Report Essay There are few standard rules for writing business reports that dictate what information should come in which section of the report. This format is followed in most of the business report examples, that one may refer to. The most widely used format consists of the following standard sections: Title Section: In a short report, this could be the first page bearing the title of the report, author name and date. The reason of making such a report could also be included in this section, so that the reader can establish an instant connection with the information in subsequent sections. In case of long reports, include the Table of Contents, Terms of References and so on. Summary: As the name suggests, this is the summary of the whole report. Then why include it in the beginning of the report itself? It is because this is the section that most of the senior personnel, who do not have enough time to go through the whole report, will read through. Hence, give a very clear and precise information about the problem/aspect of business that the report is analyzing. Also, include the main points, conclusions, recommendations and important results. Although, this section contains a lot of information, ensure that it is a small one. Treat the summary as a separate report and use bullets and numbered lists to highlight important points. Methodology: List the methodologies used in your research, like if you interviewed focus groups or consulted research firms. Also, give the reason why you resorted to using a particular methodology. Introduction: This is the first part of a proper report. Use this section to provide the background of the report. Highlight the reasons why the report is important for the readers. Include information about what is covered in the main body and the order in which the details are covered in the report. In case, the Terms of Reference has not been mentioned in the Title Section, Introduction is the section to include it. Main Body: This is the heart of the report. Arrange all the information in order of priority, so that this section follows a logical sequence. Divide this section further into subsections. Lend greater order to the Main Body using sub-titles within each subsection. A paragraph about the relevance of the findings of the report can also be included in this section. Data Tabulation: Another important factor when writing format of business report is data tabulation. Presenting your data in lists or tables can help in readily understanding the report. Also, data tabulation or listing, makes the report look professional and neat. So, accompany necessary lists or tables in your report whenever required. Make sure you use neutral colors to make tables and keep the list and tables looking neat and crisp. Conclusion: Present logical conclusions for the topic investigated in the report. One can also suggest an option for the way forward. In case, discussion has not been included in the Main Body, include it in the conclusion. Otherwise keep this section small. Recommendations: Since you have worked on the report, no one would have a better understanding of the topic than you. There may be a few solutions or actions that you think would be effective in dealing with the problem, investigated in the report. Include those solutions in this section. List them in bullets and numbered lists for easier comprehension. Appendix: Although very few people read the Appendix, the information in this section gives support to the arguments used in the report. It is the Appendix where the author includes all the sources and research information, in detail. Although it is not about creative writing, good writing skills are important in business information reports, as one needs to give comprehensive information using precise words. It is advisable to keep the language simple and lucid in a business report, specially in the Summary and the Recommendations, as these are the sections most commonly read by senior level managers. However, some technical jargon can be used in the Main Body, as this is the section that is mostly read by experts. In the world of business, time is money. Following a standard business report format is what senior level managers and busy businessmen look for, as it reflects what they value the most, that is effective utilization of time. You can find many such examples online and use them as a reference for designing a suitable report format.

Little Caesar :: Historical Narrative Italy Papers

Little Caesar Shortly before noon on a Wednesday in October, 1894, the clients of a small-town Italian barbershop leisurely undergo the ritual of shaving. A group sit along the side wall and trade observations in phlegmatic, Neapolitan dialect, while the patron in the barber's chair listens. Occasionally, between strokes of the razor through thick stubble, the barber adds his opinion to the conversation. A pair of young children regularly chase each other through the shop and are peremptorily ordered back out. A young man rushes in off the street and declares himself, somewhat unnecessarily, to be in a hurry. The older men are silent for a moment and share disapproving and curious glances while he climbs into the chair and the barber begins to lather his face. With hazel eyes and sharp features, 22-year-old Giuseppe Zambarano stands out in a gathering of swarthy peasant stock. His closely trimmed moustache and neat hair already appear well-groomed, his overall appearance verges on fastidious. He announces to the barbershop audience that he is getting engaged today. He will receive his betrothed and her family at two o'clock in his father's house. The men offer formal compliments to young Giuseppe on his engagement, and perhaps some patronizing words of wisdom: Moglie e buoi dei paesi tuoi; Take wife and cattle from your own village. The men in the barbershop know that Giuseppe's future in-laws, like most of them, come from the same triangle of villages in the back-country of Campania. Fontegreca, Ciorlano, and Prata Sannita lie two hilly miles. walk from the last station on the Naples line. Now many of the squat cottages there stand empty. Most of the one thousand or so natives of these villages make their homes a short way from the terminal of the Cranston St. trolley car, in Thornton, Rhode Island, on farm land that resembles the fertile hills of the old country, with island-dotted Narragansett Bay like a reflection of Naples in the background. * * * As a yet unmarried youngest son, Giuseppe Zambarano lives in the home of his father Gioacchino and his uncle Lorenzo, a modest wooden affair in the heart of this growing neighborhood. The Zambarano brothers of the older generation disembarked in 1882 to join the so-called "pick and shovel brigade" of new immigrants, who tilled the land in Thornton and Simmonsville, as they had in Italy. Now many of the early arrivals have become disenchanted with the hard conditions and meager returns of family farming that drove them from the Italian countryside in the first place.

The Effect of Pollution on Mount Everest

Nepal is the small, one of the poorest country of the world. Yet it is very rich in natural resources and scenic beauty including highest ranges of Himalayas. Nepal is the home of the eight highest mountains out often in the world. Mountaineers, trekkers and skilled professionals regularly visit to scale the Mountains in Nepal, which has increased the number of tourist in Nepal. In the last decade, people's attraction toward the mountaineering has increased a lot, by which number of climbers visiting Mount Everest has also been increased.Due to the increasing umber of climbers in the Everest, pollution in and around the Everest has increased and it needs a special attention to prevent from the pollution. Everest attracts people of all around the world. In the past only few climbers who know well about the mountains used to come but today most of the interested people who have enough economic sources visit Himalayas to climb the mountain. According to Norbu Sherpa, a mountain tourist guide, people come to climb Everest as they want to be famous scaling the tallest mountain in the world (Wawahare).In the early 2000s the number f tourist arriving to Nepal was around 400,000 but in last two years people flowing to Nepal has increased rapidly reaching around 900,000 nearly triple of starting 2000s as per the statistics given by the Nepal Tourism Statistics in 2012 (Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation ). As the numbers of climbers has increased, pollution in the highest portion of the peaks has been increased.Pollution in the Everest includes foods, plastics, cans, gas tanks, papers, climber's equipment, human excreta, and also dead bodies of climbers. According to Norbu Sherpa in the article, â€Å"A Conversation with: Mountain Guide Norbu Sherpa†, if the flow of the climbers is frequent, more and more waste is created (Wawahare). The article â€Å"Everest Maxed Out† published on June 2013 in National Geographic Magazine by Mark Jenkins pro vides information about his climbing on Everest and the flow of climbers he saw near camp Ill and pollution in the Everest.Jenkins says, â€Å"The two standard routes, the Northeast Ridge and the Southeast Ridge, are not only dangerously crowded but also disgustingly polluted, with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human excrement befouling the high camps. And then there are the deaths. † Pollution due to death of climbers happens especially due to certain change in weather and climbers who is less experienced or trained. Despite of being polluted, Everest fascinates and attracts the climbers toward it every year.As the increasing numbers of trekkers and climbers in the Everest has led to the pollution, government should try to clean up all the wastes in the Everest utilizing the revenue they had earned from the tourism industry. Norbu says, the government earnings through tourism has not been utilize in mountains nor for benefit of Sherpas (Wawahare). Gover nment should make strict rules and laws to punish the people who makes pollution in the Everest.If the Climbers did not bring back their all used equipment's and the trash from Everest they should lose their deposit money and Sherpas should be rewarded if they brought wastes to the lower base of Everest. And also government, mountaineering agencies should limit the number of people climbing the mountain in every season or month which will not only helps to control pollution but also maintains the traffic Jams in Everest. A climbers, guides and Sherpas should be provided trainings to handle the severe eather condition in mountain so that deaths in the mountains decrease.Decreasing the number of deaths and limiting the number of climbers on Everest pollution will be controlled and also government needs to be aware about the pollution on Everest and utilize their revenue for reducing pollution in mountains. Everest is one of the main factor that world recognizes Nepal, so every concern ed individual as well as government and agencies should control pollution. Controlling pollution it will not only preserve the beauty of Everest but also more people can have the glory to scale the Everest in future.

Environmental Issues Essay

Not enough can be said about the environmental problems that the planet earth and its inhabitants is currently facing. Aside from the rampant pollution that people nowadays have to live with, people must also be concerned with the inescapable problems that affect the ozone layer, which in turn causes global warming. Global warming is not an issue that only affects a few people from poorer parts of the world. It is a global problem that people must face now before time runs out. Although it is true that global warming, the thinning and the destruction of the ozone layer, are irreversible, people can start working as one now to help alleviate the problem. This time no one is spared from the problems that Mother Earth has bestowed its inhabitants after years of abuse. There are a number of things that one can do in order to start solving the planet. These may be done in one’s home, school, office or community, and may even be simpler than one can even imagine. At home, people may start being more disciplined and conscious in recycling everything that can be recycled. Paper, bottles, cans, plastics, and other items may be recycled properly and taken to recycling centers. Brown paper bags and plastic bags may be reused to line trash cans rather than using new trash liners and garbage bags. Food may be used in reusable containers instead on disposable plastic containers. Electric energy may be conserved by avoiding the use of electrical appliances when needed, such as turning of lights, electronic devices when a person leaves the room, less ironing of clothes that are only worn at home, or the use of manual can openers and knife sharpeners instead of using the electric can openers and knife sharpening devices. The use of cold water in the washer rather than hot water also saves energy as well as prolongs the longevity of one’s clothes. Turning off the faucet when not in use, or even turning the heat down and putting on sweaters indoors instead are also energy-conserving ways. In one’s yard, a compost pit may be started where leaves and other biodegradable household waste may be put into. Rather than using insecticides, homeowners and gardeners may opt to pull weeds instead. Planting dense shrubs close to the house’s foundation also adds insulation to one’s home to protect against draft and the cold. People should also be more conscious of the ways they use their cars. More and more people are now observed to be using their bicycles, which is not only an excellent workout but also helps conserve energy. Further, more and more people have rediscovered the joys of carpooling and the use of public transit. A lot of new cars are now more fuel-efficient and produce lower emissions, which must be one of the greater considerations when buying a new car. Old cars must be regularly tuned up, and its oil must be regularly changed as well. The same is true in one’s office. Recycle all the materials, such as paper, paper clips, boxes, among others properly. There are a number of electronic office devices which are energy efficient and may be acquired instead of less energy efficient ones. The higher price makes up for more savings in the long run. All in all, there are a million things people can do to help alleviate the environmental concerns the earth is now facing. Joining a conservation organization, volunteering one’s time to conservation projects or even allotting a few loose change for conservation projects may also be helpful especially if done sincerely. People must start encouraging each one to take part and be more involved in the proper care of the environment. Children must be taught as early as possible to respect and care for the environment. Conservation concerns must be properly disseminated to the community to enjoin its members to help and take part in caring for the environment.

Act 2, Scene 3 of A Raisin in the Sun

Act 2, Scene 3 of 'A Raisin in the Sun' Explore this plot summary and study guide for Lorraine Hansberrys play, A Raisin in the Sun, which provides an overview of Act Two, Scene Three. One Week Later - Moving Day Scene Three of the second act of A Raisin in the Sun takes place a week after the events of Scene Two. It is moving day for the Younger family. Ruth and Beantha are making last minute preparations before the movers arrive. Ruth recounts how she and her husband, Walter Lee, went to a movie the previous evening - something they have not done in a very long time. The romance in the marriage seems to have been rekindled. During and after the movie, Ruth and Walter held hands. Walter enters, filled with happiness and anticipation. In contrast to previous scenes during the play, Walter now feels empowered - as though he is finally steering his life in its proper direction. He plays an old record and dances with his wife as Beneatha pokes fun at them. Walter jokes with his sister (Beneatha aka Bennie), claiming that she is too obsessed with civil rights: WALTER: Girl, I do believe you are the first person in the history of the entire human race to successfully brainwash yourself. The Welcoming Committee The doorbell rings. As Beneatha opens the door, the audience is introduced to Mr. Karl Lindner. He is a white, bespectacled, middle-aged man who has been sent from Clybourne Park, the soon-to-be neighborhood of the Younger family. He asks to speak with Mrs. Lena Younger (Mama), but since she is not home, Walter says that he handles most of the family business. Karl Lindner is the chairman of a welcoming committee - an association that not only welcomes newcomers, but that also deals with problematic situations. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry describes him in the following stage directions: He is a gentle man; thoughtful and somewhat labored in his manner. (Note: In the film version, Mr. Lindner was played by John Fiedler, the same actor who provided the voice of Piglet in Disneys Winnie the Pooh cartoons. Thats how timid he is meant to seem.) Yet, despite his gentle mannerisms, Mr. Lindner represents something very insidious; he symbolizes a large portion of 1950s society who were believed they were not overtly racist, yet quietly allowed racism to thrive within their community. Eventually, Mr. Lindner reveals his purpose. His committee wants their neighborhood to remain segregated. Walter and the others become very upset by his message. Sensing their disturbance, Lindner hurriedly explains that his committee wants to buy the new house from the Youngers, so that the black family will make a healthy profit in the exchange. Walter is dismayed and insulted by Lindners proposition. The chairman leaves, sadly saying, You just cant force people to change their hearts son. Directly after Lindner exits, Mama and Travis enter. Beneatha and Walter teasingly explain that the Welcoming Committee of Clybourne Park cant hardly wait to see Mamas face. Mama eventually gets the jest, though she does not find it amusing. They wonder why the white community is so against living next to a black family. RUTH: You should hear the money those folks raised to buy the house from us. All we paid and then some. BENEATHA: What they think we going to do - eat em? RUTH: No, honey, marry em. MAMA: (Shaking her head.) Lord, Lord, Lord... Mama's Houseplant The focus of Act Two, Scene Three of A Raisin in the Sun shifts to Mama and her houseplant. She prepares the plant for the big move so that it wont get hurt in the process. When Beneatha asks why Mama would want to keep that raggedy-looking old thing, Mama Younger replies: It expresses me. This is Mamas way of recalling Beneathas tirade about self-expression, but it also reveals the affinity Mama feels for the enduring houseplant. And, even though the family may joke about the ragged condition of the plant, the family strongly believes in Mamas ability to nurture. This is evident by the Moving Day gifts they bestow upon her. In the stage directions, the gifts are described as: a brand new sparkling set of tools and a wide gardening hat. The playwright also notes in the stage directions that these are the first presents Mama has received outside of Christmas. One might think that the Younger clan is on the cusp of a prosperous new life, but there is yet another knock at the door. Walter Lee and the Money Filled with nervous anticipation, Walter eventually opens the door. One of his two business partners stands before him with a sobering expression. His name is Bobo; the absent business partner is named Willy. Bobo, in quiet desperation, explains the distressing news. Willy was supposed to meet Bobo and travel to Springfield to quickly obtain a liquor license. Instead, Willy stole all of Walters investment money, as well as Bobos life savings. During Act Two, Scene Two, Mama entrusted $6500 to her son, Walter. She instructed him to place three thousand dollars in a savings account. That money was meant for Beneathas college education. The remaining $3500 was for Walter. But Walter didnt just invest his money he gave all of it to Willy, including Beneathas portion. When Bobo reveals the news of Willys betrayal (and Walters decision to leave all of the money in the hands of a con-artist), the family is devastated. Beneatha is filled with rage, and Walter is wroth with shame. Mama snaps and repeatedly hits Walter Lee in the face. In a surprise move, Beneatha actually stops her mothers assault. (I say surprise move because I expected Beneatha to join in!) Finally, Mama wanders around the room, recalling how her husband had worked himself to death (and all apparently for naught.) The scene ends with Mama Younger looking up to God, asking for strength.

Word Choice Tortuous vs. Torturous - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Tortuous vs. Torturous - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Tortuous vs. Torturous The way that language evolves is fascinating to word nerds like us, especially how different words develop from the same origins. â€Å"Tortuous† and â€Å"torturous,† for example, can both be traced back to the Latin term torquÄ“re, which means â€Å"to twist.† This shared root is why these words are similarly spelled. However, â€Å"tortuous† and â€Å"torturous† also have importantly distinct meanings, so you need to know how each is used. Tortuous (Twisting or Complicated) The literal meaning of â€Å"tortuous† is fairly close to its Latin origins, since it means â€Å"full of twists.† We might use this term to describe a long and twisting route, for instance: They followed the tortuous road up the mountain. Are we nearly there yet?(Photo: Srdjan Marincic/wikimedia) However, â€Å"tortuous† can also mean â€Å"excessively complicated,† such as in the following: It was difficult to follow his tortuous speech and the audience left the hall confused. The important thing to remember is that â€Å"tortuous† mean â€Å"twisting† or â€Å"complicated.† Torturous (Involving Torture or Suffering) â€Å"Torture† refers to inflicting pain as punishment or to gain information (e.g., â€Å"the confession was given under torture†). It can also mean â€Å"extreme pain or suffering.† The term â€Å"torturous† therefore means â€Å"related to or involving torture†: Prolonged solitary confinement is considered a torturous punishment. More generally, we sometimes use â€Å"torturous† to describe something that is very unpleasant: Professor Jones’ lectures were torturously dull. These uses might seem a long way from the root of â€Å"twist,† but they make more sense if you imagine someone writhing and twisting in pain while being tortured! Were not sure whats happening here, but it definitely looks torturous. Tortuous or Torturous? â€Å"Tortuous† and â€Å"torturous† are often confused because something â€Å"tortuous† (i.e., complicated) could also be considered â€Å"torturous† (i.e., unpleasant). For example: G. W. F. Hegel’s tortuous writing is torturous to read. Possibly not a fun-loving dude. Nevertheless, since these terms have very distinct meanings when used literally, you should always make sure you’ve picked the right word for what you’re describing. Remember: Tortuous = Twisting or complicated Torturous = Involving torture or suffering

The Worlds Most Ethical Companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

The Worlds Most Ethical Companies - Essay Example It also merged with the Quaker Oats Company in 2001. Currently, the company is distributing and providing food and beverages in more than 200 countries in the World. The PepsiCo Company produces several products that gain a large market share in the market compared to other products. Their main product categories include soft drinks, snacks, side dishes, rice snacks, cereals, energy drinks, coffee drinks and breakfast bars. PepsiCo’s business success is as a result of their moral responsibility and treatment to customers, employees and the environment. The company has appropriate and perfect treatment strategies to customers and employees. In addition, it is sensitive to environmental conservation and prevention of environmental pollution (PepsiCo, 2014). First, PepsiCo Company relates well with its customers. This enhances increased sales and improved relations with the customers. The company is socially responsible and sustainable and has a sound advertising strategy with more than forty slogans and songs. These slogans and songs are keys advertising strategy that the company incorporates. Secondly, the company offers promotion to its customers. This is a good strategy of improving customer relations. Late in 2003, Pepsi joined hands with Apple computers and announced promotion that would give one hundred million songs to Pepsi consumers. These free songs were from Apple’s iTunes music store which is a digital music download provider. The promotion initiative places specific codes in one litre bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Sierra Mist. The winning codes get free songs in the iTunes music store. The promotion is an example of PepsiCo’s strategy of capturing young customers. PepsiCo has three Pepsi zone lounge in California, Florida and Illinois. These lounges feature plasma TVs screens, couches, video games and computer stations. Everything in the lounge is free except the Pepsi vending machine which carries a variety of Pepsi

Philosophy of Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Philosophy of Education - Assignment Example Personally, I consider teaching as a platform where the pupil’s future will be greatly shaped by the kind of teachings they receive from me. Concerning the teachings offered at kindergarten, the approach is rather different in comparison to other levels. Normally, it does not just entail a curriculum that is easy to understand. Rather, the first days are usually vital for every kindergarten student because it is here that a relationship between the teacher and the pupils need to be established. That means the teacher has to understand the personalities and backgrounds of the pupils. Once this is done, the children need to be made lively always, if possible, in order to make the learning atmosphere easier. Upon exciting the learners, the education for pupils at this level starts with making them understand the alphabets. That is to say, training them how to pronounce correctly as well pointing out the ones that have a variance in terms of sound. Unlike in other teaching levels, this one has to be with minimal strictness, and is brief. My beliefs concerning teaching have to do with using this career to impart children with the right kind of teachings. In short, teaching is not a career as such, but rather a calling-like pursuit meant to bring a positive change. Because of strongly believing in this way, I often find myself going beyond the expectations. Besides teaching what is only listed, encouraging discipline, socialization among the children and thinking critically is often done in the class. Due to this approach, I normally set a goal for myself as well as that of pupils where I help students to achieve it even as I commit myself to doing so. Earlier, it was stated that a teacher is more than an employee; a role model is what every teacher is. Therefore, the goals I set are not just for the students but mine as well. Concerning the

Case Study on the Feasibility of a new venture Essay

Case Study on the Feasibility of a new venture - Essay Example The initial success of the Cool Moose Creamery in Ontario should be studied for comparison purposes prior to the financial commitment of a franchise investment. Of considerable interest is the notion of whether the initial location of the first business contributed to its success? Moreover, what were the location factors that contributed to the success of the first business? A common refrain in real estate is location, location and location again. This maxim, of course, is not only limited to home prices. Consideration must be given to visibility and accessibility. Obviously, a highly visible location along an extremely busy thoroughfare where the eyes of all passer-bys will be drawn to your sign, thus, making business almost ideal. In a highly competitive business environment, start-ups may find these prime locations already long occupied by established players. There are still options for the establishment of a new business or franchise: buying out an unsuccessful business in an ot herwise useful location or appropriating a property as close as one can get to prime real estate, yet on the fringes. In this case a choice made here could prove to be influential with respect to every other subsequent factor. If a prime location for your franchise of Cool Moose Creamery can be determined, and is theoretically available then, as with most other material decisions, the cost/benefit analysis must come into play. It may be possible to purchase or lease a property in a highly visible location, but this cost must be weighed against future earnings. There must be a sense of the likely revenue within a particular time frame, as well as one should realize how high the benefits of visibility might be depending on a prime location. Even if the money does not come directly out of pocket, such as it is in the case with the $20,000 bank loan that must be sought, too much capital invested in the initial start up could lead to more debt, or more complex financing arrangements that could make the business more trouble than profit. These factors are never easy to predict, but the small business owner must do the best he can while examining – whenever possible examples of similar businesses, and the local operations in similar situations as guides for cost and profitability. Other factors that will influence the success of any franchise may be forces less visible and tangible than location or the initial equipment that must be purchased. Local zoning ordinances must also be taken into account, with respect to both above board and clandestine forces. Even if the zoning regulations and requirements are obeyed with precision, investigation is warranted concerning under-the-table problems or restrictions. Have other business owners complained about a particular individual in city government with control over regulatory decisions that might impede small businesses? Could there be zoning ordinances that have unusual sub-clauses or interpretations that are not obvious at cursory examination but which prove surprisingly problematic after an investment has begun? Question such as these can only be addressed through word-of-mouth, largely from anecdotal accounts, and of course – prior personal experience. This leads the small business owner into the complex question of a financial 'cushion'. One must consider whether it is possible, or feasible to determine minimum initial start up money, and then wait until it is possible to acquire extra funding held in reserve

The Problems In The Emergency Department Of Services

The Problems In The Emergency Department Of Services The report contains the actual hypothetical findings from which every prospective general public can benefit because the hospital is basically for public. The drastic differences between the government and private hospitals have revolutionized the private hospitals by creating more competition day by day. This report will discuss all the problems and issues of the Emergency Department of Services Hospital. This report has been accomplished by analyzing the recruitment statistics for Emergency Department as well as their whole process of their methodology. There were several problems in the department which we observed. This report will discuss about the patient problems, doctor problems, facilities, corruption and the hygiene environment and it will also discuss their solutions. The word hospital comes from the Latin hopes which refers to either a visitor or the host who receives the visitor. From hopes came the Latin hospitalia, an apartment for strangers or guests, and the medieval Latin hospitale. Hospital Hospital only took on its modern meaning as an institution where sick or injured are given medical or surgical care Emergency It is a place where person got first aid and doctors suggestion immediately Background Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan. It is the Capital of Province, Punjab. Lahore has many hospitals and services hospital is one of them. It is located in Jail road, near Punjab cardiology. Before giving a brief introduction about services hospital I want to tell you about the hospital. In 1958 a separate outpatient department of Mayo hospital, was setup for the government employees. In 1960 it was converted into 55 beds and named as Wahdat hospital. It had medical and surgical facilities together with laboratory and X-rays unit. Later on it was named as Services Hospital. In 1977 it was became the teaching hospital of the Llama Iqbal medical college and now it has its own medical college known as SIMS. It was declared autonomous institute in 1999. In order to make to make the emergency department fully functional, a comprehensive ATLS training progress undergraduate MBBS and nursing student is being organized. In addition staff working in the emergency department is being trained on regular basis to handle emergency patients and disaster victims. The description of problems is the patients problems that what kind of problems are being faced by patients. Hygiene environment that what is the current condition of hygiene in the department. Facilities that kind of facilities are being provided to doctors, staff and patients and the corruption. This research proposes to study the major problems of Emergency Hospital and to find out the causes of these problems, to find out what improvements have taken place in the past for the betterment of this department from 2005-2009 As Services Hospital is one of the biggest and oldest Hospital of Lahore; and is currently facing many problems that are why a detailed research must be conducted, so that we should be able to make people and the Government aware from the situation of the hospital. The scope of this research is to cover all the major problems that the Emergency Department is currently facing like environment pollution, hygiene/ cleanliness, patients problems, doctors and staff problem, security, parking, and then to find out what steps can be taken to solve these problems. We divided the problems among group members. Each member contains two domain. Sundus Farooq has covered the Problems of patients and Hygiene environment. Ahsan Akram covered the Facilities and Corruption. Literature Review One thing is for sure the people who are living near the hospital face many problems. One of the big is the dispose of syringes and other material near the residential areas which creates many problems and causes severe kind of diseases. We were searching the newspapers to get some information about the hospitals. We got various regarding the issues about the hospitals, but we are just writing the two news. One thing is for sure the people who are living near the hospital face many problems. One of the big issue is the disposed of syringes and other material near the residential areas which creates many problems and can cause multiple diseases. (Ali Raza, 2010) also discuss the problem of waste disposed. He said that the Environment Protection Department (EPD) has initiated legal action against hospitals for disposing hospital waste in residential skins on Jail Road. The sources EPD said that first we would issue Environmental Protection Orders (EPO) after which the case will send to the Environmental Tribunal. The EPD said that they had too many complaints that surgimed was disposing of its hazardous medical waste in the local garbage container. Experts say the reuse of hospital waste posses serious threat to the health of citizens besides the workers and other people affiliated with the recycling purposes. If the infected content is not disposed properly, it will causes many fatal diseases like Hepatitis and AIDS, Beside this it will also causes skin ,respiratory and eye diseases. Sources discover that private parties bring tons of infectious hospital waste from across the province in the city for recycling purposes. They bring these waste packets in sacks through trucks. Mafia is also involved in all this. A senior official of CDGL Environment department said that hazardous and waste material, earning more than Rs 15 million per day out of which the value of Lahore waste was more than Rs 5 million per day. We analyze that their waste material is causing many problems.) There should be taken some steps by the managements of hospitals to control all this. In another article the author discusses the emergency department. The facilities which are mostly provide in every emergency department of hospital. The author said the emergency departments require different equipments and approaches than most other hospital division. Patients frequently with unstable conditions and so, must be treated quickly. They may be unconscious, and information such as their medical history, allergies, and blood type may be unavailable. Emergency Department staff are trained to work quickly and effectively even with minimal information. . They may be unconscious, and information such as their medical history, allergies, and blood type may be unavailable. Emergency Department staff are trained to work quickly and effectively even with minimal information. . They may be unconscious, and information such as their medical history, allergies, and blood type may be unavailable. Emergency Department staff are trained to work quickly and effectively even with minimal information) Research Questions Primary Research Question What are the present conditions prevailed at the emergency department of services hospital Lahore? Subsidiary Research Questions Q1:- What is the emergency department? Q2:- How many doctors are available at a time in emergency department? Q3:- what is the qualification of the employees of the department i.e are they fresh graduates or senior doctors? Q4:- Where and how  are the syringes and other waste material disposed? Q5:- What is the method of sterilizing the surgical instrument? Q6:- Why do people complain about non-availability of doctors? Q7:- What facilities are being provided to the doctors? Q8:- At the time of an emergency such as a blast, how do doctors  handle the large number of casualties? Q9:- What is the quality of  the sterilization? Q10:- What is the condition of machinery and equipment in the department? Q11:- Does the dept, provide any research and teaching facility? Q12:- Why do patients mostly prefer this hospital even though  it is far from their houses? Method Sample We have taken the sample of 50 by distributing the questionnaire. Data Collection The primly source of data will be collected through questionnaire and interviews with different people having different opinions. Most of the secondary data and information is obtained from electronic sources, annual reports, news papers, articles, case studies, books, and journals. Research Tools The research tools are field study, distributing questionnaire; and then finally taking interview from the Dr.Mushtaq Khataq (DMS of Services Hospital) and the interview from the of affectee. Field study This will be general source of data collection in which the data will be represented on the basis of our personal experience in the same field. Time frame For the research we did field study on January 19, 2010; we started our work on January 22, 2010. We have taken interview on March 25, 2010 from the D.M.S of Services Hospital and from the affectee and we have also distributed the questionnaire on March 10, 2010. Date of Interviews March 25,2010 Date of dist. Of Questionnaire March 10,2010 Rough Draft March 20,2010 Final Draft April 2, 2010 Date of Submission April 12, 2010 Analysis of Data and Discussion We visited the services hospital 3 to 4 times to evaluate the condition of the emergency department. In our first survey we had observed a lot of issue. The main problem which we faced was parking. There was no empty place for parking in the hospital. People parked their car according to their on will. There was no well organized order for parking and even had no security arrangements. One can easily steal your vehicles. Other issues were: we heard that there should not be noise and crowd in the parameters of hospital, but there was too much noise and it was overcrowded. There was no place to stand for one second in emergency department of the Services Hospital. Numerous people were standing there which had nothing to do their. They were sitting their ideally and even not giving the seat to any patients. Patients problems The emergency department of the Services Hospital is double story but still it was considered an insufficient place for patients. Numerous patients were sitting in the floor. There were insufficient beds in the emergency department and also there was no place for the relatives of patients or visitors. The visitors or relatives were also sitting with the patient on the bed. Nobody was asking them that not to sit here. With every patient there was 2 or 3 person who had made the emergency department overcrowded and noisy. Doctors and nurses were not asking anything to them. Even many visitors were standing in the way of a patient which was making many difficulties for patients. We saw from our own eyes that a patient was in the bed, he was on drip in his arm. He was screaming with pain but doctors were not examining him even not his relatives. The reason of his screaming was that his mother was also sitting on bed and she was continuously shaking the bed due to which the drip stand was moving and the patient gets pain, nobody feels that. There was numerous patients which were sitting in line and waiting for their turn mean while their came one gentleman with his two security guards. The doctors left the list of patient and moved towards him to examine him first, though he did not have any big problem. He just had the minor headache. There was a medical store in the Emergency Department but there were insufficient medicines in the medical store. The person who was sitting in the medical store was giving the patients alternative medicines instead of giving them the prescribed medicines and when the patients asked him he argued with them vaguely. We went to the person who was sitting in the medical store. We asked him that why you are giving alternative medicines instead of the prescribed one. He said that those medicines also had the same effect. We asked him that we know this and it is fine if you do not have the 2 or 3 prescribed medicines but you are giving every patient alternative medicine. We asked him why the prescribed medicines are not available and who is fallible for this? He said very ambiguously no one is responsible for this. The medical store of Emergency Department needs variety of medicines. The medicines which were available were not enough. Hygiene Environment After the medical store we observed the hygiene environment in the Emergency Department of the Services Hospital. The condition of the cleanliness in the Department was satisfactory. There were 2 or 3 sweepers present in the department who cleaned the floor after an hour. Patients were throwing trash in the dustbins, but still there was a stingy smell in the Emergency Department and also wrappers were lying in the floor. The sweepers were using a kind of acid (final) to clean the floor and the microscopic germs but it had a very strong smell, which caused headache. The condition of some patients was becoming critical due to the smell of that acid. The doctors and other was throwing the used syringes and other disposed material into the dustbin which was collected by the sweeper after some time and there was a room where the sweepers throw the disposed material and outside of that room. There was written Dispose Room. The dispose room was locked. The management told us that this dispo sed material is very useful after process of purification it uses for several purposes. In the news paper it was written that the government had sent notice to many hospital in which services hospital was also cleared that their method of disposed material was not right. It is dangerous for the residential areas and for the other people. Patients problems On our second survey, we went to the patients and general public to know their problems and issues. Numerous people had many problems with doctors and nurses and some were completely satisfied with the current situation of Emergency Department and also from the doctors and staff. People said that commonly doctors did not come on time and also did not examine them with complete satisfaction. Patients also told that sometime doctors did not tell them the actual disease. Patients said that doctors are also running their personal clinic due to which they mostly came late or suggest them to come to their personal clinic. People said that the doctors are earnings good revenue from their personal clinics. They also said that doctors did not take interest in them that means sometime do not become satisfied with the doctors. After the discussion with patients about the doctors we started to discuss with people about the staff. 30% of people said that the staff does not take the good care of t he patient. They do not listen anybody an also discern between the people. They pleased the well known and rich people and often ignore the middle class or poor people. Numerous people said that they did not have any sense that how to talk with the patients and the visitors. Patients said that the staff do what they want to do. It totally depend on them that what they want to do. They do not listen to anybody and sometime they quarreled with other staff during their duty times which create disturbance for the other patients. Some people point out that the character of the staff is not good. One patient told us that he caught one nurse who had stolen his mobile. Some patients had no issue with the staff. They were satisfied with the behavior of the staff. They said that the staff is caring, but 80% protest against the staff and doctors behavior. When we came out from the Emergency Department we have seen that there is just one ambulance standing outside the emergency. When we asked about it to the management they replied that the ambulances are standing in front of different departments. Then we asked from the management how many ambulances are available at a time in the hospital. They told us that there are 8 ambulances present every time, and they also told us the process that how ambulances reach to the given addressed. They select person who can drive fast but not rough and who also know the all way of the city. We asked if by chance no ambulance is present or if you need more ambulances then what you do? They told us if we need more ambulances then we asked for it to others departments and if no ambulance is present at a time then we have the record and numbers of all the drivers. We just call them and said them to reach in the addressed immediately. After our second and third surveys we went in the parameters to fill the questionnaires. The sample size of the questionnaire was 40.The questionnaire was distributed among the general public and patients in the Emergency Department in of the Services Hospital. On that survey we again find to talk with the different peoples. We all divided the questionnaire among over selves and float it among people. We first filled questionnaire from the student of that Hospital (SIMS). They were girl students. She prefers the private hospital because she said that there were more facilities and good hygiene environment. She said that in the condition of emergency she will prefer to come to Services Hospital because she is student of this Hospital and she know the staff and get good care and discount here. Then we filled our questionnaire from the nurse she said that salary of staff should be increased so that the staff can work with more diligence. She also said that there should be more arrangements for cleanliness and management Numerous people told us that we came here because it is cheaper than other hospital. We discuss all these problems with the doctors. Doctors said us that though we are running the personal clinic but we checked the patients of here with our complete satisfaction. we also filled our questionnaire fr om the doctor and the doctor also prefer the private hospital and said that the private hospitals had better facilities and take good care of the patients, he also accept that the government hospitals are not in better conditions. 95% people told us that there is too much corruption. You need high reference or any other kind of source to meet the doctors. We also use the resource and reference to meet the Principle of the hospital. We face too many problems to take the interview from the authority. Nobody was ready to give us interview. They thought that we were also the member of press then after a lot of struggle they just give us the permission to take the interview of DMS and make the movie of emergency department in a condition. Ahsan Akram conducted the interview. The expression of DMS was very offensive. He just wanted to get rid of this. Ahsan asked many questions from him. He answered in vey good attitude. He told us that us that the number of doctors presents depend on the quantity of patients. Sometime patients are large in amount and sometime there are fewer amounts of patients. He also told us that in the time of emergency we made the Emergency Department large, we discharge patients who had recover maximum, shifts the other patients in to the ward and we bring the more beds and call the more doctors. He also told us that there is a separate department where the whole surgical instruments were sent for sterilization. Facilities A satisfactory number of facilities are providing to the patients, doctors, nurses and the relatives of the patients. Some of them are listed below There is an outside counter present from where a patient has to receive his/her file. This file maintains record of the patient. Every patient has to buy his/her file in Rupees 10 only. There is a guard and a ward boy present at the gate of the each emergency. There is nursing counter from where patients can get information. Nurse is always present on the table. If a patient or relative of the patient have any query then he/she might talk to the nurse from the nursing counter. There is a special monitoring room present where every one cannot enter with shoes and patients relatives are also not allowed in special monitoring room. Monitoring room is the room where patients can be checked with full care and attention. Monitoring room is like a small operation Theater. There are 20 beds available for men and 11 beds are available only for women. Total capacity of beds 20+11=31. There are three counters of nurses from where patients or the relative of patient can get information. Emergency department is fully air condition. Patients do not feel uncomfortable during treatment. There are two separate waiting rooms for the relatives of the patients in the surgical emergency of the hospital. 9 persons can sit in one waiting room and 24 people can sit in the second waiting room. There is an X-Ray room present in the surgical Emergency. So patient can X-Ray themselves immediately. There is an Ultrasound room present in the surgical emergency only for surgical emergency patients. This facility is very good facility for patients because they do not have to travel from one place to another. They immediately get their medicines, X-ray, ultrasound in the emergency. Pharmacy is also present in the surgical emergency. There is a changing room. Small Operation Theater is also present in the emergency. 3 ward boys, 5 nurses, 6 post graduate students and 4 house officers are present in the surgical emergency all the time. There is blood bank present in the surgical emergency. Patient can take blood from the blood bank. If a patient is bleeding due to accident on the road and he needs a bottle of blood then he can take blood from the blood bank. There is a nursing head office. Head is always present in the room. There is a gents and ladies toilet present in the surgical emergency of the services hospital but they are not separate from each other. There is a prayer area in which 4 people can Offer their Pray at one time. There is a children emergency ward present in the medical emergency. 24 beds are present in the children emergency room. There are 27 beds present for men and 28 beds are present in the women area. There is a guard and a ward boy present at the gate of the each emergency. There are two separate wash rooms are available in the medical emergency of the services hospital. There is a Parmonology ward present in the medical emergency of the services hospital. There are security cameras present everywhere in the medical emergency of the hospital and TV`s are present in the DMS of the Medical Emergency DMS is always watching that what is happening everywhere Problems There is infinite number of problems present in the emergency. Some of them are given below. There are 20 beds present for men and 11 beds for women only. The number of beds is too small. They should increase the number of beds in the surgical emergency. Patents have to wait for the empty bed. Mostly 2 patents are present on the single bed. In a critical situation (such as bomb blast in the city) 100-150 injured person came to the emergency but the staff and doctors cannot handle that injured people. Administration of the hospital should take steps to increase the number of doctors and nurses. There are men and women toilet present in the surgical emergency but they are not separated from each other. They should be separated from each other because women need a separate washroom. They feel shy to enter in men`s washroom. Head should take action and make 2 toilets for men and two toilets for women separately. In the medical emergency there are two separated toilets but. There is a leakage of water from the upper roof in the washroom. There is one wash room which has no lock. Washrooms are in very bad situation. Washrooms are in very poor condition. No exhaust fans are present to clean the atmosphere. Administration should take notice and give new sinks to the women`s toilet and put at least 2 to 3 exhaust fans in the toilet so the cleanliness of the washroom. Cat is wondering in the medical emergency. No one was there to take off that cat. Animals are free to move in the emergency. Head should heir a person who can control all this problems. Corruption Corruption is present everywhere in our country. It is very difficult to handle corruption. Everyone wants black money. There is too much attraction in black money. Sometimes very responsible and honest person wants black money. It is in human nature. Man wants more, more and more money. Corrupted people do not care that it is HALAAL or HARAAM money. It is very difficult to control corruption but our leaders and heads can control this bad habit. (((Corruption is primarily of two types, Need Based Corruption (NBC) and the Greed Based Corruption (GBC). Both are found in the public as well as private sectors. NBC takes its birth in the lower echelons of the bureaucracy or in poor people who are not paid enough to fulfill their needs and on the top of it also not provided with the subsidized amenities and facilities by the government. Imagine the plight of one such functionary whose child is seriously ill and he has no money even to buy him the medicine! He would do anything to save the life of his child, let alone corruption. I am not trying to justify the NBC, but it needs to be seriously looked into. To control NBC government should increase the salary of poor people and try to give subsidies to them. According to Corruption rate of Pakistan is 2.1. When our researcher team visited the emergency department, patients said us that there is too much corruption present in the emergency of Services hospital. Patients have to give money to the staff to get bed in the Emergency. They have to give money to staff to get the bottles of blood. They have to give money to the nurses to get quick response from them. They have to give money to get medicines. There is too much corruption present in the hospital. Administration should increase the salary of nurses and ward boys. They should give facilities so that ward boy s and nurses leave to earn black money from patients. They want black money because they do not get their salary on time. The amount (price) is increasing of goods day by day. Workers cannot afford to buy anything in a limited amount of salary. Controller of the hospital should increase the salary to control the corruption. When they ask for money from the patient then patient cannot do anything expects giving them money becau se on that time patient is in very bad condition and needs help. In my opinion corruption is of two types. First one is NBC and the second one is covetousness. We have to control all of them by taking strong steps. Services Hospital should hair at least 3 to 4 people who do nothing but they must see what is happening very where. They should control the emergency department. They can control the corruption. If the administrations of the services hospital do nothing to control the corruption then it will increase daily. No doubt corruption is increasing daily but if we do not control now then it will be very dangerous for us. It is our duty to control corruption in the hospital level. If we do not control the corruption in the hospital yet, then what will we say to our new generation? It is our country our hospital we have to control all this. Controller of the emergency should control all this and they can control by haring the team of responsible persons. Security Pakistanis are known as terrorist now-a-days due to some groups or parties who played negative role in a society and made bomb blasts in every look and corner of the city. Lahore is in very critical situation. In 2007, 1,503 terrorist attacks and clashes, including all the suicide attacks, target killings and assassinations, resulted in 3,448 casualties and 5,353 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. These casualties figure 128 percent and 491.7 percent higher as compared with 2006 and 2005, respectively. The report states that Pakistan faced 60 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 770, besides injuring another 1,574 people. In 2008, the country saw 2,148 terrorist attacks, which caused 2,267 fatalities and 4,558 injuries. Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in its annual report indicated that there were at least 67 suicide attacks across Pakistan killing 973 people and injuring 2,318. 2009, the worst of any year, 2,586 terrorist, insurgent and sectaria n-related incidents were reported that killed 3,021 people and injured 7,334, according to the Pakistan Security Report 2009 published by PIPS. These casualties figure 48 percent higher as compared to 2008. On the other hand, the rate of suicide attacks surged by one third to 87 bombings that killed 1,300 people and injured 3,600. There is a small list of bomb blasts occurred in Lahore Pakistan from past 3 years shown below. This list is too small and short. 2010 No. Date Place Killed Injured 1 March 08 Model Town / Lahore 15 80 2 March 12 RA Bazaar / Lahore 57 90 TOTAL   72 170 *Data till March 15, 2010 2009 Sl. No. Date Place Killed Injured 1 May 27 CCPO-ISI offices / Lahore 27 326 2 November 2 Lahore 1 25 3 December 7 Moon Market / Lahore 45 100 TOTAL   73 451 2008 Sl. No. Date Place Killed Injured 1 January 10 Lahore High Court 24 80 2 March 4 Pakistan Navy War College / Lahore 8 24 3 March 11 FIA regional headquarters / Lahore 30 200 4 August 13 Dubai Chowk / Lahore 9 35 TOTAL   71 339 There is only security guard present at the gate of emergency of the services hospital Lahore Pakistan. They have no security cameras on the gate. They have no security gates and security alarms. They have no instruments to check the person. There is no security guard present on the main gate of the services hospital Lahore Pakistan. Anyone can enter and can freely move in the hospital. Any terrorist can enter in the hospital and do anything what he wants to do. Controller of the hospital should take steps to avoid this. They have to hair security guards who will check every person entering in the hospital. They should fix security cameras everywhere. No doubt it is a government hospital. There is a lack of money but if the authority does not do something for security then it will prove very dangerous for us and for all citizens. Our leaders use 40 % of security. They cannot move in the city without having security with them. No doubt their lives are very important but they should pr ovide some security to the hospital. When our researcher team entered in the services hospital, we observed many things. Few of them are listed below. There was no parking at that place. Streets were poor in condition. Patients were sitting on the road of the hospital. Some of them are sitting on the stairs of the hospital. Cats are wondering on the roads of the hospital. There were countless people present in the emergency of the hospital. Space of e

Bacteria and Foodborne Illness :: contaminated food

Foodborne illness results from eating food contaminated with bacteria (or their toxins) or other pathogens such as parasites or viruses. The illnesses range from upset stomach to more serious symptoms, including diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration. Although most foodborne infections are undiagnosed and unreported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year about 76 million people in the United States become ill from pathogens in food. Of these, about 5,000 die. Causes Harmful bacteria are the most common causes of foodborne illnesses. Some bacteria may be present on foods when you purchase them. Raw foods are not sterile. Raw meat and poultry may become contaminated during slaughter. Seafood may become contaminated during harvest or through processing. One in 20,000 eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella inside the egg shell. Produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, and melons can become contaminated with Salmonella, Shigella, or Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. Contamination can occur during growing, harvesting, processing, storing, shipping, or final preparation. Sources of contamination are varied; however, these items are grown in the soil and therefore may become contaminated during growth or through processing and distribution. Contamination may also occur during food preparation in the restaurant or in the person's kitchen. When food is cooked and left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, bacteria can multiply quickly. Most bacteria grow undetected because they do not produce an "off" odor or change the color or texture of the food. Freezing food slows or stops bacteria's growth but does not destroy the bacteria. The microbes can become reactivated when the food is thawed. Refrigeration may slow the growth of some bacteria, but thorough cooking is needed to destroy the bacteria. Symptoms In most cases of foodborne illness, symptoms resemble intestinal flu and may last a few hours or even several days. Symptoms can range from mild to serious and include  · abdominal cramps  · nausea  · vomiting  · diarrhea  · fever  · dehydration [Top] Risk Factors Some people are at greater risk for bacterial infections because of their age or immune status. Young children, pregnant women and their fetuses, the elderly, and people with lowered immunity are at greatest risk. Complications Some micro-organisms, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum, cause far more serious illness than vomiting or diarrhea. They can cause spontaneous abortion or death. In some people, especially children, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can result from infection by a particular strain of bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, and can lead to kidney failure and death.

Deception Point Page 15

Finally, Rachel spotted the hazy outline of land. But it was not what she had expected. Looming out of the ocean before the plane was an enormous snowcapped mountain range. â€Å"Mountains?† Rachel asked, confused. â€Å"There are mountains north of Greenland?† â€Å"Apparently,† the pilot said, sounding equally surprised. As the nose of the F-14 tipped downward, Rachel felt an eerie weightlessness. Through the ringing in her ears she could hear a repeated electronic ping in the cockpit. The pilot had apparently locked on to some kind of directional beacon and was following it in. As they passed below three thousand feet, Rachel stared out at the dramatic moonlit terrain beneath them. At the base of the mountains, an expansive, snowy plain swept wide. The plateau spread gracefully seaward about ten miles until it ended abruptly at a sheer cliff of solid ice that dropped vertically into the ocean. It was then that Rachel saw it. A sight like nothing she had ever seen anywhere on earth. At first she thought the moonlight must be playing tricks on her. She squinted down at the snowfields, unable to comprehend what she was looking at. The lower the plane descended, the clearer the image became. What in the name of God? The plateau beneath them was striped†¦ as if someone had painted the snow with three huge striations of silver paint. The glistening strips ran parallel to the coastal cliff. Not until the plane dropped past five hundred feet did the optical illusion reveal itself. The three silver stripes were deep troughs, each one over thirty yards wide. The troughs had filled with water and frozen into broad, silvery channels that stretched in parallel across the plateau. The white berms between them were mounded dikes of snow. As they dropped toward the plateau, the plane started bucking and bouncing in heavy turbulence. Rachel heard the landing gear engage with a heavy clunk, but she still saw no landing strip. As the pilot struggled to keep the plane under control, Rachel peered out and spotted two lines of blinking strobes straddling the outermost ice trough. She realized to her horror what the pilot was about to do. â€Å"We're landing on ice?† she demanded. The pilot did not respond. He was concentrating on the buffeting wind. Rachel felt a drag in her gut as the craft decelerated and dropped toward the ice channel. High snow berms rose on either side of the aircraft, and Rachel held her breath, knowing the slightest miscalculation in the narrow channel would mean certain death. The wavering plane dropped lower between the berms, and the turbulence suddenly disappeared. Sheltered there from the wind, the plane touched down perfectly on the ice. The Tomcat's rear thrusters roared, slowing the plane. Rachel exhaled. The jet taxied about a hundred yards farther and rolled to a stop at a red line spray-painted boldly across the ice. The view to the right was nothing but a wall of snow in the moonlight-the side of an ice berm. The view on the left was identical. Only through the windshield ahead of them did Rachel have any visibility†¦ an endless expanse of ice. She felt like she had landed on a dead planet. Aside from the line on the ice, there were no signs of life. Then Rachel heard it. In the distance, another engine was approaching. Higher pitched. The sound grew louder until a machine came into view. It was a large, multitreaded snow tractor churning toward them up the ice trough. Tall and spindly, it looked like a towering futuristic insect grinding toward them on voracious spinning feet. Mounted high on the chassis was an enclosed Plexiglas cabin with a rack of floodlights illuminating its way. The machine shuddered to a halt directly beside the F-14. The door on the Plexiglas cabin opened, and a figure climbed down a ladder onto the ice. He was bundled from head to foot in a puffy white jumpsuit that gave the impression he had been inflated. Mad Max meets the Pillsbury Dough Boy, Rachel thought, relieved at least to see this strange planet was inhabited. The man signaled for the F-14 pilot to pop the hatch. The pilot obeyed. When the cockpit opened, the gust of air that tore through Rachel's body chilled her instantly to the core. Close the damn lid! â€Å"Ms. Sexton?† the figure called up to her. His accent was American. â€Å"On behalf of NASA, I welcome you.† Rachel was shivering. Thanks a million. â€Å"Please unhook your flight harness, leave your helmet in the craft, and deplane by using the fuselage toe-holds. Do you have any questions?† â€Å"Yes,† Rachel shouted back. â€Å"Where the hell am I?† 17 Marjorie Tench-senior adviser to the President-was a loping skeleton of a creature. Her gaunt six-foot frame resembled an Erector Set construction of joints and limbs. Overhanging her precarious body was a jaundiced face whose skin resembled a sheet of parchment paper punctured by two emotionless eyes. At fifty-one, she looked seventy. Tench was revered in Washington as a goddess in the political arena. She was said to possess analytical skills that bordered on the clairvoyant. Her decade running the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research had helped hone a lethally sharp, critical mind. Unfortunately, accompanying Tench's political savvy came an icy temperament that few could endure for more than a few minutes. Marjorie Tench had been blessed with all the brains of a supercomputer-and the warmth of one, too. Nonetheless, President Zach Herney had little trouble tolerating the woman's idiosyncrasies; her intellect and hard work were almost single-handedly responsible for putting Herney in office in the first place. â€Å"Marjorie,† the President said, standing to welcome her into the Oval Office. â€Å"What can I do for you?† He did not offer her a seat. The typical social graces did not apply to women like Marjorie Tench. If Tench wanted a seat, she would damn well take one. â€Å"I see you set the staff briefing for four o'clock this afternoon.† Her voice was raspy from cigarettes. â€Å"Excellent.† Tench paced a moment, and Herney sensed the intricate cogs of her mind turning over and over. He was grateful. Marjorie Tench was one of the select few on the President's staff who was fully aware of the NASA discovery, and her political savvy was helping the President plan his strategy. â€Å"This CNN debate today at one o'clock,† Tench said, coughing. â€Å"Who are we sending to spar with Sexton?† Herney smiled. â€Å"A junior campaign spokesperson.† The political tactic of frustrating the â€Å"hunter† by never sending him any big game was as old as debates themselves. â€Å"I have a better idea,† Tench said, her barren eyes finding his. â€Å"Let me take the spot myself.† Zach Herney's head shot up. â€Å"You?† What the hell is she thinking? â€Å"Marjorie, you don't do media spots. Besides, it's a midday cable show. If I send my senior adviser, what kind of message does that send? It makes us look like we're panicking.† â€Å"Exactly.† Herney studied her. Whatever convoluted scheme Tench was hatching, there was no way in hell Herney would permit her to appear on CNN. Anyone who had ever laid eyes on Marjorie Tench knew there was a reason she worked behind the scenes. Tench was a frightful-looking woman-not the kind of face a President wanted delivering the White House message. â€Å"I am taking this CNN debate,† she repeated. This time she was not asking. â€Å"Marjorie,† the President maneuvered, feeling uneasy now, â€Å"Sexton's campaign will obviously claim your presence on CNN is proof the White House is running scared. Sending out our big guns early makes us look desperate.† The woman gave a quiet nod and lit a cigarette. â€Å"The more desperate we look, the better.†