Pants

Systematic way of organizing and explaining observations B) hypothetical way of organizing and explaining characteristics of people C) systematic framework for creating a hypothesis based on data and experimentation D) framework based on one's psychological perspective 2. A hypothesis is best characterized as: A) a procedure that precedes a theoretical framework B) any phenomenon that can change from one situation to another C) a systematic way of organizing and explaining observations D) a tentative belief about the relationship between two or more variables .Variables that can be placed on a continuum, such as the degree of happiness or the amount of income, are referred to as: A) dependent variables B) independent variables C) categorical variables D) continuous variables 4. Any variable that is comprised of groupings or classifications such that a person must be in one group or another is referred to as a/an: A) dependent variable B) independent variable C) categorical variable D ) continuous variable 5. I am running an experiment in which my participants have a drink and then drive a car. To ensure that I have good results, my participants shouldA) try hard to drive well when in next in line B) be blind to the results C) be able to explain their observations D) have the same basic procedure so as to minimize unintended variations 6. A subgroup of the population that is likely to be representative of the population as a whole is known as A) a culture B) a sample C) a population D) a subculture 7. Good psychological research uses standardized procedures in order to: A) make sure that a representative sample is being used B) expose participants in a study to as similar procedures as possible C) ensure external validity D) ensure objectivity 8.In order to ensure that the findings obtained with your sample can be applied to the population, your study should involve which of the following? A) stratified sample of subjects B) external validity C) experimenter's di lemma D) all of the above 9. A test that yields relatively similar scores for the same individual over time has which ONE of the following types of reliability? A) test-retest reliability B) integrate reliability C) interim reliability D) contextual reliability 10. If two or more individuals agree on some dimension and give a participant the same score, then that study possesses: A) test-retest reliability 1.Validity is present when: A) the test measures what it is supposed to measure B) measurement reflects truth C) measurement reflects theory correctly D) the test measures the same way each time 12. With regard to face validity, which of the following is true? A) face validity refers to whether or not the measure looks like it measures what it purports to measure B) many researchers go out of their way to make sure their scale does not have face validity C) face validity is the least important type of validity 13.One of the best ways to obtain an accurate assessment off variable i s A) with face validity B) through central reliability C) by using multiple measures D) by using a representative sample 14. Which one of the following is NOT a type of descriptive research? A) case study B) naturalistic observation C) survey D) correlation study 15. A case study is: A) a survey of a person's likes and dislikes B) generalize with little effort C) the study of one individual in great depth D) appropriate for small groups 16.Possible limitations of the case-study method include: A) investigator bias B) small sample size C) lack of generalization 17. The major problem with survey methods is that: A) most people don't want to talk about themselves B) it is hard to question people in their natural environments C) they rely on participants to report on themselves truthfully and accurately D) all of the above 18. Before an experiment begins, the participant must agree to participate in the study.In other words, the participant must provide: A) substantial knowledge B) info rmed consent C) debriefing D) ethical knowledge 19. Debriefing a subject means: A) you briefly explain what will happen in the experiment before you begin B) you explain the purpose of the study and remove any stressful after effects after the artificial is finished C) you have the subject sign a document agreeing to be in the experiment D) you run through the experiment quickly with a participant for practice before you begin collecting data 20.I find that there is a +. 59 correlation between shoe size and intelligence. What can I correctly conclude? A) Having a bigger shoe size causes you to be more intelligent. B) Being more intelligent causes you to have bigger feet and, thus, a bigger shoe size. C) Exercise stimulates both physical growth (resulting in bigger feet) and intellectual growth (resulting in higher intelligence levels). D) Shoe size and

Summary of the “Bigger Piece of the Pie”

The number of all hospitals in the country is declining.   Since 1975, there was a 1/6 less on the total number of hospitals.   Investor owned facilities is currently on the rise.From the year 1993 it started to spring high until 1997 and then there was an incremental decrease afterwards but it continues to rise up to the year 2003.   By the end of 2003, investor-owned hospital comprised 16% of the nation’s community hospitals.   Public hospitals are also diminishing in numbers as well as the not- for profits which decline more than 10 %.It is a continued long term decline that was neutralized by the 2002 figure wherein there was a slight increment.   According to observers it will likely to remain stable in the next coning years or will decline slightly.   This can be explained by the infeasibility of small hospitals commented by the professor and director of the health policy and administrative division for the School of Public Health at the University of Illinoi s Chicago.   More patients prefer to go to large hospitals which were of their driving distance.   Conversion of not-for profit hospitals to for-profit hospital is also outpacing.The biggest factors remains a access to capital-investor-owned chains have it, while access is much more varied for not for profit systems.   Many of the broad measures of credit quality, such as annual median figures for profitability and debt coverage but the prosperity is not uniform throughout the sector even if many are performing better.  Ã‚   Investor owned hospitals are squeezed with bad debt expense but they were able to attract equity and debt capital.   Private firms were attracted in order to recapitalize the companies.   Hospitals are also in mess regarding reimbursement of high commercial insurance companies.Due to the high rates of the hospitals, the insurers were prompted to push for a double digit percentage increase premiums for employers.   Facing a fourth year of double-dig it premium hikes, companies have been getting tough this year, pushing a lot more of those costs back onto their employees in the form of higher co-payments and other cost-sharing arrangements.Recognizing the limitations of those tactics, the survey found employers looking to longer-term solutions and possible government intervention to head off the unrelenting increases.   If this continues, employers may drop coverage and push more of their costs to employees, thus making an even more bad debt for the hospitals.However, if they decide to lower the premium increase, they would not be able to boost the reimbursements the way the hospitals are used to.   Meanwhile, the pressure is now building up for not for profit hospitals regarding charity care.   It is an emerging issue whether or not the not-for-profit hospitals exert pressure on for-profit hospitals to provide charity care and whether for-profit hospitals react differently than not-for-profit hospitals to managed care pre ssures and hospital competition in providing charity care.Nowadays, a mixed ownership markets, for-profit hospitals provide significantly less charity care as not-for-profit hospitals in the market provide more. Unexpectedly, for-profit hospitals were not more influenced by price competition than other hospitals with respect to charity care. Having a unique role in providing charity care may justify continuing tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals and enhance interest in payment and other policies with regard to conversions to ensure that not-for-profit hospitals continue to be represented in market areas.I think the effect of these increases reflected our today economic climate.   As for the charity care of the not-for-profit hospitals, I wonder if it’s their way of breaking tax and being exempted in paying a large amount.   A report by the Internal Revenue Service in July found that not-for-profit hospitals nationwide vary widely in how they report and define their community services.   I believe that the lack of consistency and uniformity makes it difficult to assess the hospitals compliance with the current law.   I think, the changes brought by the IRS would make it easier to compare hospitals and also would help ensure greater accountability.ReferencesCrenshaw, A. (2004).   Health Insurance Costs Keep Rising.   Retrieved on February 29, 2008 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8287-2004Sep9.html  

An Electromagnetic Analysis of Noise-Based Intrinsically Secure Communication in Wireless Systems

An Electromagnetic Analysis of Noise-Based Intrinsically Secure Communication in Wireless Systems The research on noise-based secure communication systems is mainly carried out from an information theoretical point of view, and is focused on evaluation in different communication conditions of the secrecy capacity, which is defined as the maximum achievable perfect secrecy rate, where the perfect secret rate is the amount of information that can be sent not only reliably but also confidentially. He noted that the channel capacity of the authorized channel is higher than the channel capacity of the eavesdropper, and one coding strategy is able to transmit information to the authorized receiver with a vanishing block-code error probability in a completely secure way, at a rate limited by the difference between the authorized and eavesdropper channel capacity. This causes a decrease in the channel capacity of the unauthorized receiver compared to the authorized receiver, which can transmit information buried in the additional noise affecting the eavesdropper. In this paper, it will be shown that, in the noise-based unconditionally secure communication systems, the degrees of freedom of the electromagnetic field are used in a third way. Paralleling the analysis undertaken in, it takes advantage of the concept of the number of degrees of freedom (NDF) of the electromagnetic field, defined as the minimum number of functions required to represent the field on an observation manifold within a given representation error, fixed by the noise corrupting the observed field. Successively, in a seminal paper, Wyner suggested that the presence of additional noise when information is tapped from a line makes the unauthorized channel noisier than the authorized channel. Broadly speaking, any antenna uses the available degrees of freedom of the electromagnetic field mainly following two possible goals: to concentrate (and possibly maximize) energy on the receiving antenna or to maximize the amount of information available on the receiving antenna. In this framework, an approach to obtain unconditionally secure communication based on the use of the degrees of freedom of the electromagnetic field is discussed. Signal and noise are transmitted at the same time using a strategy that avoids any increase in noise at the authorized receiver taking advantage of the degrees of freedom that are not used to transmit information. The physical mechanism at the basis of the secret communication is explained by means of the degrees of freedom of the field, which are able to convey information and noise in spatially orthogonal channels. As a final observation, in order to make the channel secure, a non-negligible percentage of the available power is radiated as artificial noise. According to some fundamental results of information theory, it is possible to hide information in the additional noise affecting the eavesdropper. Loosely speaking, the allocation of power to noise causes a decrease in the channel capacity of the system that follows logarithmic law.

Nurses as leaders in health care reform Coursework

Nurses as leaders in health care reform - Coursework Example Modern nurses are equipped with the ability to make decisions pertaining any level or department in an organization. Additionally, considering the time nurses spend in their practices, it would a logical strategy to allow nurses make important decisions in healthcare institutions. National Academy of Sciences (2011) points out that practices have realized the potential of nurses if trained enough to make all level decisions in their practices. For this reason, nurses are placed as the main decision makers in health institution. However, this is done in respect to their job description and work experience. Regardless of these conditions, the nursing profession is well equipped to make important decisions at all levels of a practice. Minus the influence of nursing in making such decisions, it is an obvious assumption that a practice may not be well equipped to run the institution effectively. Benefits of researching on this area revolve around having adequate evidence on the importance of nursing on important healthcare decisions. In addition, research enables one to understand different measures taken by an organization to fully take advantage of opportunity presented by the nursing practice. Through research, organizations undermining the significance of nursing in their practices change their perception on the subject. However, there are numerous challenges in conducting research in this priority. Many practices dismiss the significance of nursing in making important decisions in their healthcare facilities. For this reason, there is limited information obtained on the level at which practices allow nurses to make important decisions. Additionally, there area limited number of practices from which research can be conducted. Practices available for research are small healthcare facilities. Large healthcare institutions have a limited mandate provided to their nurses. In these institutions, nurses require authority from top

Argument on Censorship Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Argument on Censorship - Research Paper Example This paper is a critical evaluation of censorship both as a positive and a negative instrument. Censorship Censorship, as stated herein, is an instrument used by governments, religious groups, and media among other groups to prevent the flow of information, which has a real or perceived capacity of destabilizing the society. The government and other interested parties such as the church, have the role of ensuring that moral values are protected in the society by all means available. This is necessary especially with the ever increasing accessibility and utilization of internet resources, not only by adults but also under age users. Apparently, the internet has got thousands of sites, which contain pornographic contents ranging from videos, photographs and texts. In this era of high HIV prevalence, every parent must be worried and careful on the kind of information their children are getting from the internet as pornographic materials have the capacity of creating curiosity which may end up being satisfied through engagement in illicit sex. In order to achieve this, censorship on such materials is essential and every internet provider should be held accountable if they do not apply filter on such contents (Heins 58). However, censorship in the past has been used as a means of keeping the citizens in the dark and protecting governments from criticism (Jansen 22). In this context, laws are put in place with the intention of gagging institutions such as the media and monitoring the internet so as to ensure that they do not broadcast information which is anti government. China for example has been criticized several times for applying censorship to protect the communist party. In this case, critics indicate that the government is keen on covering up past and present failures of the party so as to let people continue believing that their government is perfect and responsible. In addition, it is believed that censorship in this country is also used to shun penetration of western ideologies in the society especially due to the fact that most of the western nations are pro democracy and in that aspect, allowing free flow of information from their sources may open the eyes of Chinese citizens to alternative forms of governance (Barbour 61). This in itself is highly unethical on the part of the government as it enhances ignorance on matters concerning politics and also creates a platform for mismanagement of public resources and limitation of fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression and the right to hold demonstrations. It also puts media personnel at loggerheads with the authorities, which puts them in danger of being arrested or losing their operating licenses (Jansen 36). Countries such as Ireland have also in the past passed legislations promoting censorship of books and other materials believed to touch on issues that are perceived to be sensitive. These are for example the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929, 1946 and 1967, whic h restricted the publishing or possession of materials discussing reproductive health (Maurice 19). This is to imply that any information regarding contraceptives, sex, condoms, abortion among others were not to be circulated in the society, a move which was seen as favoring the

Drug and alcohol use in teens Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug and alcohol use in teens - Term Paper Example A good example is alcohol. It is highly important that people who are in their teens do not use drugs or alcohol as it will have a devastating effect on their bodies. This paper will examine this effect. First of all, one should point out that drugs, due to their nature, negatively affect the brain of a person – the organ which is still a mystery for the science (Scheier vii). Indeed, the nature of the drugs distorts the normal work of brain and it can hardly be restored to its fullest. In other words, it is important to keep in mind that drugs do harm to the body that can hardly be reversed, so if a person decides to take drugs, there is a little chance that one will be able to leave the path of addiction and become a normal individual once again. What is more important is that the minor harmful effects that the body might experience because of the drugs may last for a rather considerable amount of time (Hyde and Setaro 50). This means that one can not simply try drugs for on e time: the consequences which are unpleasant will keep appearing after the use. So, a person should understand that nothing is worth that. Indeed, one should acknowledge that unlike other substances, drugs influence the organism of a person on a much deeper level which makes them extremely dangerous. The â€Å"positive† effect that they drugs can be explained by the distorted functions of some organs; so, when a person takes drugs, one is deliberately tampering one’s body.

The Impact of Markets and the Division of Labour on Social Cohesion Essay

The Impact of Markets and the Division of Labour on Social Cohesion - Essay Example This paper seeks to find out if markets and the division of labour encourage or discourage social cohesion. Impacts A market can be described as a destination for goods or services intended for sale. This market is composed of customers who are people that are willing and able to purchase the goods or services that are being sold. Social cohesion refers to the ability of people to articulate or embrace each other and co-exist peacefully (Council of Europe 67). It also refers to the ability of various groups of people to hold firmly together consistently. Scholars have revealed that markets and division of labour have had a substantial impact on social cohesion in the current society. Division of labour has led to the separation of markets and employment through the differentiation and separation of production processes (Furze, Savy, Brym & Lie 55). Instead of producing similar goods and services, the various labourers in the market are sub-divided and allowed to deal with the various specialties of the production processes so as to meet the various market demands. An example of this is a shift from mixed farming to either crop or animal production as separate production lines or dividing the entire work of an organization into different work units, each dealing with a specific task. This shift in the production processes seemingly separates people from coming together and engaging in the production process as a larger group. In a manufacturing industry for example, the work units will be organized around the skill requirements for the various steps of production and marketing like product production, packaging, IT management, sales and marketing, customer relations among others. This gives the impression that division of labour discourages social cohesion. However, a closer look on the mechanisms of division of labour reveals it encourages social cohesion both local and globally through the development of the need to exchange and which in turn brings people tog ether (Council of Europe 117). This is to say that division of labour encourages the need for trade. One country could choose to specialize in producing and supplying a given product basing on their natural and capital, for example oil and gas. On the same note, another country will produce tyres and apparel. Such a situation definitely generates some form of dependency in which case the two countries need each other. The one producing oil and gas needs tyres and apparel and the one producing apparel and tyres needs oil and gas. This gives a picture of the processes of imports and exports that is seen in today’s society. In other words, division of labour defines the lines of production and this means that no person will produce all that they need in life. This creates some deficiencies of the products that a person does not produce and thus the need to obtain it from others. After an examination of division of labour, Smith (25) concluded that unlike the savage or the ancien t man, the modern man/woman is highly dependent on the labour of others to satisfy his/her full range of wants. This structure of satisfying human wants has resulted to the need to focus attention to the importance of exchange and therefore the need for increased human interactions both locally and globally. Through international exchanges like imports and exports, people across the globe have been able to come together, interact and co-exist

Ethical Theory Study Guide Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Theory Study Guide - Assignment Example Looking at the virtue of duty, the Kantian theory explains that it is important that an individual must act such that their actions and consequences amount to regard for a self and societal respect. It is each and every individual’s moral obligation to conduct themselves such that the consequences accruing observes the communal being. In view of obligation, it is a moral responsibility, according to Kantian theory, it is the moral obligation of every citizen to pledge allegiance to the ruling government. This is in effect regardless of their ideas, be they bad or good. The fact remains that the leadership must be revered. Finally, in view of the third principle of perfection, the Kantian theory has the endowment that such natural existence as sex must be treated with utmost discipline, otherwise one may succumb to drives which make the human morals subjective (wood 3). The Kantian theory defines human beings as rational natural existence. It goes ahead to describe the human dignity as one such attributes that are indispensable from the existence, failure to which there should be the characteristic extinction of nature. With this observation, the theory provides that the existence of humanity must occur to meet the standards of idealism. This means that at all times, moral obligations of each and every individual must be applied. This consistency is which then can define one who lives inconsistency with the truth. For instance, regardless of what a person is made up of as entails character, they must be treated with the respect and right to this at all times. An exemplification is made with a to-be murder. For instance, if such a subject wants to commit the crime, and another person has the information that may assist them in doing so, Kantian theory considers it an obligation of the second party to give truthful information that may help the subjec t accomplish their objective. This is regardless of the expected outcome by both parties (wood 10).

The cause of obesity can be found in an obese society Essay

The cause of obesity can be found in an obese society - Essay Example This essay "The cause of obesity can be found in an obese society" outlines the connection between society and the level of obesity. The general belief is that obesity’s primary causes is simple gluttony, promoted by consumer access to high-fat, palatable food products which incentivises choosing extreme consumption levels (Drewnowski and Spector 2004). However, there is evidence that obesity is caused by poor human nutrition factors as well as socio-psychological factors within a society. For the most part, obesity can be attributed to societal factors within an obese society and those who argue that genetic factors happen to be a contributor, which are beyond the control of the average consumer, maintain little justification due to the rarity of hereditary conditions underpinning obesity development. It is the obese society, itself, which exacerbates this problem in developed societies and this research illustrates what justifies such an assertion. Poor nutrition largely underpins the prevalence of increasing obesity rates in developed countries. One study which examined 5,200 women in the United States found that women who sustained food insecure households as a result of being at the poverty line had higher rates of being obese than women with more stable incomes (Basiotis and Lino 2002). A more recent, longitudinal study found a substantial correlation between childhood obesity and levels and food insecurity resultant of poverty conditions in the household (Eisenmann, et al. 2011).

Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poverty - Research Paper Example The author uses various forms of language to define poverty, as well as convey the nature of poverty to the reader. She starts by defining poverty from a personal perspective and taking the reader through her suffering and the pain of her daily life. Her main aim is to make the readers experience poverty and view themselves in her dirt and poverty, doing so in order to make the reader grasp what world she is coming from. Through the use of imagery to expose the horrific and hideous world of poverty, she enhances her ability to make her audience question the stereotypes that they have of the poor. According to her, there are poor people in every country. Majority of individuals in the world are quick to stereotype Kuwaiti citizens as rich and multi-millionaires, whom all change their automotives on a yearly basis and live in villas (El-Katiri et al 14). While this is true and most Kuwaitis do live relatively well, there are, however, those Kuwaitis who are poor or underprivileged and live below the poverty line, relying heavily on monthly charity that they receive from charitable organizations. It is true that there are very few Kuwaitis who cannot manage a meal, whether foreign laborers or Kuwaiti nationals. However, while shelter, food, and healthcare are attainable with ease because of the welfare system run by the state, there are also charitable organizations based in and out of Kuwait that spend millions in order to make sure that the essential needs of Kuwaiti nationals are taken care of (El-Katiri et al 14). While this may not make sense given the relative wealth in Kuwait compared to other countries, it is also worth remembering that poverty is a major problem worldwide. In today’s world, poverty is an epidemic that has very few solutions (Parker 1). In fact, those who are poor in relatively wealthy countries are worse off compared to those in developing nations. This is because poverty is enabled by classification in these countries with class s tratification making it difficult to â€Å"spread the wealth†. These classifications may be based on individual behavior categories, cultural factors, political factors, economic factors, and social factors. These classifications contribute to poverty. Social class determines wages, which would be the variable that leads to poverty. Those families receiving lower wages are barely able to cater for living expenses (Parker 1). In this case, they do not have sufficient money to enroll for programs that will aid their children’s education. In Kuwait, as well as, other countries like Kuwait in the region, classification based on wealth and private property is not so important, especially compared to having the power, to access state institutions that are involved in distributing revenues from the oil (El-Katiri et al 15). Kuwait is a rich country where poverty is relatively low. However, there are still fundamental social divisions within the country. These divisions exist between tribal families that have settled for a while and those who settled in the country within the last thirty years. The latter group does not have strong and long established ties with the ruling class. In fact, most of them do not even possess Kuwaiti citizenship and are

Systems Maintenance Essay Example for Free

Systems Maintenance Essay Onsite help desk will be located at the head Office. It will provide help desk support to all of their branches via a toll-free number and/or website. When a problem has occurred at a franchisee, the franchisee staff needs to log a call through to their helpdesk over phone or website. The help desk will try to troubleshoot over phone first and if that does not fix the problem, subsequently they will organize for a technician to attend ASAP. In addition to that there will a full time technician at the web server location at the head office providing 247 support. User support will be provided in number of methods, such as online documentation and troubleshooting, a help desk, technical support, end user satisfaction, resolving service request quickly and seamlessly, increase productivities, online document, online enquiry facilities, online transaction facilities and others. A. User Documentation a. User guide The user guide would feature all the roles of the system users and the various functionalities they possess for the successful operation and use of the system. A business process-oriented manual The business process oriented model would collate all the business processes that the equipment tracking system holds and ensures rightful use of them for exploiting the system. c. Security policies for the equipment tracking system The security issues are the primary issues which an organization must take care to protect their data which is king to any organization. In particular as the system implements payment system, security is very much required as that would ensure safe communication with financial information. The following are the identified issues and their correct implementation process: 1. Login/Access Issues: Every customer would be asked to sign up with the company before any services are provided. That would ensure safety of transactions made with the company. It could be similar to Pay Pal, where a person can get verified by giving his Credit card number. 2. Back up: Periodic backups can be taken of the database in magnetic tapes so that data remains safe and is not lost. The saved data also ensures continuity of business and good recoverability options. 3. Antivirus software: The system needs to be protected against all vulnerabilities and threats like viruses. Good anti-virus software would ensure that the system is well protected and operations will not halt for any external threat. 4. Access control: This ensures that everyone is not allowed to access all information and all business functions. Access control is a mechanism which creates views for every type of user. Views are used for giving a user a specific access area outside which nothing is available. Such as an accounts officer should not be able to view reports of the profits in the business which is meant for the owners and higher management. B. Evaluation 1. Critical Appraisal The database designed is a fully automated system for the equipment tracking system. It follows all the CRUD properties and ensure better handling the users and the roles. 2. Strengths of each stage All information is stored and retrieved in the RDBMS tool created for the system. 3. Weaknesses of each stage The cost of maintaining the system is a little overhead for the organization. The backups and support issues may pose a problem. C. Conclusion The equipment tracking system’s fundamental goal was to manage the inventory and ascertain at any point of time the availability of the equipments to be allocated to departments. Another intention is to check the various calculations of the firm based on their earnings and profit in the long run. Content should be maintained and produced for scan-ability. Engineering principles were a necessity in the complexity/diversity surrounding online activity. Legal and ethical issues are vital to security conscious users. Further work can be in the form of a web based system to spread its operation and functionality over the internet to increase its usability, acceptance, workability and many other factors. The systems development model based on the web technologies would make sure that the complete supply chain of the business is managed thoroughly by the system and would take care of the process of getting the products to their warehouse to ultimately selling to the customers (Laudon, 2003). Online order tracking options can be implemented to reinforce visual symbols such as â€Å"Best Buys†, â€Å"Add to Basket† and instructions to â€Å"proceed to Basket and Checkout† which are reminders of physical store environments, providing familiarity to customers. (Weick, 2001). References / Bibliography Barry Mawer (2000). Systems Maintenance, vol 32, pp 12. Booch, Grady (2003). Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications, 2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley Professional.

Stock Price Essay Example for Free

Stock Price Essay 1. If you bought a share of stock, what would you expect to receive, when would you expect to receive it, and would you be certain that your expectations would be met? 2. If most investors expect the same cash flows from Companies A and B but are more confident that Company A’s cash flow will be close to their expected value, which should have the higher stock price? Explain. 3. When is a stock said to be in equilibrium? At any given time, would you guess that most stocks are in equilibrium as you defined it? Explain. 4. Suppose three completely honest individuals gave you their estimates of Stock X’s intrinsic value. One is your current girlfriend or boyfriend, the second is a professional security analyst with an excellent reputation on Wall Street, and the third is Company X’s CFO. If the three estimates differ, which one would you have the most confidence in? Why? 5. What are some actions stockholders can take to ensure that management’s and stockholders’ interest can be aligned? 6. The president of Southern Semiconductor Corporation (SSC) made this statement in the company’s annual report: â€Å"SSC’s primary goal is to increase the value of our common stockholders’ equity.† Later in the report, the following announcements were made: (a) The company is spending $500 million to open a new plant and expand operations in China. No profits will be produced by the Chinese operation for 4 years, so earnings will be depressed during this period versus what they would have been had the decision not been made to expand in the market. (b) The company holds about half of its assets in the form of U.S. Treasury bonds, and it keeps these funds available for use in emergencies. In the future, though, SSC plans to shift its emergency funds from Treasury bonds to common stocks. Discuss how SSC’s stockholders might view each of these actions, and how they might affect the stock price. 7. Edmund Enterprises recently made a large investment to upgrade its technology. While these improvements won’t have much of an effect on performance in the short run, they are expected to reduce future costs significantly. What effect will this investment have on Edmund Enterprises’ earnings per share this year? What effect might this investment have on the company’s stock price? 8. What agency relationships exist within a corporation?  9. What mechanisms exist to influence managers to act in shareholders’ best interests? 10. Should shareholders (through managers) take actions that are detrimental to bondholders? 11. What factors affect stock prices?

Use And History Of Song Backmasking Music Essay

Use And History Of Song Backmasking Music Essay Each one of us has his/her favorite song, different bands, and different genres. And upon listening to music, it gives us inspiration, relaxes our minds and let us release our emotions and tensions. But would you believe that in some music we hear and every song that we sing, there lies a hidden message that lies within its lyrics and sound. And the process of discovering those things is called Backward Masking or usually referred as Backmasking. It is done by playing a song reversely or reading the lyrics backward. A. History of Backmasking Song Backmasking began in 1966 when the band, Beatles used it in recording their album, Revolver (Sullivan, 1987). Album tracks like Tomorrow Never Knows, Im Only Sleeping and Rain were the songs that have used techniques of musique concrà ¨te in recording (Mugan, 2006). Musique Concrà ¨te is an avant-garde form of electronic music which involves editing together fragments of natural and industrial sounds; and the concurrent spread of the use of tape recorders in recording studios(White, 2007). After the Beatles used backmasking, artists in time also used it for enhancing the both analog and digital recording of their tracks, by producing comedic and satiric effect. Some artists used backmasking to censor some words and phrases for clean release of sounds (Sullivan 1987). II. Uses of Backmasking A. Satanic Backmasking Satanic Backmasking involved classic rock songs, but composers of these songs denied any intent to promote Satanism. Some bands use Satanic imagery just for commercial use, one of these is the trash metal band, Slayer. The band used it in their 1985 album Hell Awaits (UGO Networks, 2009), in that album a deep backmasked voice chants repeatedly Join us. But the bands vocalist, Tom Araya said that they used it just for solely for effect (Hellqvist, 1998). Also the band, Cradle of Filth used Satanic Imagery, and released a song entitled Dinner at Deviants Palace, that song consists weird sounds and reverse reading of the Lords Prayer (Corbin). B. Subliminal Messages Fundamentalist Christian groups said that Satan use music to influence people with the use of Subliminal Messages. Subliminal messages backmasked into rock music influence its listeners to commit crime (Pastor Gary Greenwald). In 1982, Minister Jacob Aranza wrote a book entitled Backward Masking Unmasked, in that book, it explains how backmasking is used to open the subconscious mind and introduce its listeners to Satanism and drugs (Holden, 1983). The subconscious mind is being successfully affected by the repetition of beat and lyrics being affected through a subliminal message (Mills, 1981). B1. Influence of Subliminal Messages Because of these subliminal messages, crimes had been committed. Serial killer Richard Ramirez, said that AC/DC music and he specified that the song Night Prowler on Highway to Hell provoked him to commit murder (Watkins). David John Oates, a reverse speech advocate said that the song Highway to Hell contains backmasked message Im the law, my name is Lucifer and she belongs in hell (Von Ulrich, 1997). Angus Young of AC/DC stated that You didnt need to play (the album) backwards, because we never hid (the messages). Wed call an album Highway to Hell , there it was right in front of them (Young and Young, 2004). In 1990, two men in Nevada committed suicide because of the songs of a British heavy metal band, Judas Priest. The lawsuit of their family stated that the 1978 album Stained Class contained a hidden messages , including a forward subliminal message Do it in the song Better By You, Better Than Me. The judge dismissed the case due lack of sufficient evidence of Judas Priest place ment of subliminal message on the album (Vokey). The members of the Judas Priest stated that if they insert subliminal messages in their song, all of their fans have died and instead of doing that, they would prefer to insert a subliminal command Buy more of our records (Van Taylor). C. Backmasking used for critical and too explicit message Another use of song backmasking is for critical or too explicit messages in a soundtrack. Frank Zappa is one example of artists who used backmasking to avoid critical or too explicit message. He used it in his song Hot Poop from his album, Were Only in It for the Money released in 1968. The side A of the album contains a backmasked message Better look around before you say you dont careà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/ Shut your fà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.king mouth bout the length of my hairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/ How would you survive / If you were alive / Shitty little person? . The verse originally came from the song Mother People, and was censored by Verve Records, so Zappa edited it, he reversed it, and insert in his album as Hot Poop (Pacholski). D. Backmasking used for Aesthetics Another use of backmasking is for aesthetics, which means to enhance the meaning of a track (Blecha). During the subliminal message trial of the band Judas Priest, its lead vocalist, Rod Halford admitted the recording of words In the dead of the night, love bites backwards in the song Love Bites that came from the album Defenders of Faith that was released in 1984. In an interview, he was asked why he recorded the message, Halford answered that When youre composing songs, youre always looking for new ideas, new sounds (Zwerin, 1999). Related from this technique is to reverse a whole instrumental track. Vocalist of the band Beatles, John Lennon wanted to do it in their song Rain but their producer, George Martin and bandmate, Paul McCartney disagree with him and cut the backward section to 30 seconds (Stevens, 2002). E. Backmasking used for Humorous and Parody message Backmasking is also used for hiding comedic or parodical message backwards in a song. In 1966, the B-side of Napoleon XIV s single Theyre Coming to take me Away Ha-Haaa! is a reverse version of the record entitled aaaH-aH, yawA em ekat ot gnimoC eryeht(Anonymous). Pink Floyd puts a backmasked message in the song Empty Spaces from 1979s The Wall, Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the Funny Farm, Chalfont/Roger! Carolynes on the phone! /Okay. This message refers to Syd Barrett, the former lead singer of the band who is thought to have suffered nervous breakdown years earlier (Patterson). F. Backmasking used for Censorship Backmasking is also used for censorship. It is used to censor words and phrases deemed inappropriate on radio edits and clean album releases. One example of this is The Fugees clean version of the album The Score it contains various backmasked profanities (Nelson, 1998), when the album is played backwards, the censored words are clearly heard in the backward gibberish (Anonymous, 2006). For example, the word shit, after it was backmasked it would give a sound ish, as a result ish became a euphemism for the word shit (Rader, 2002). III. Artists that were accused using Baskmasking According to Blecha, Arar, Poundstone, Deusner, Tetley and Searcey these are the artists who used backmasking: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, Styx, AC/DC, Judas Priest, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Starship, Black Oak Arkansas, Rush, Britney Spears and Eminem. Electric Light Orchestra or commonly called as ELO was accused of hiding satanic backmasked message in their album, Elorado that was released in 1974, the song entitled Elorado was said to contain the message He is the nasty one / Christ, you are infernal / It is said were dead men / Everyone who has the mark will live (Poundstone, 1983). Way back 1981, Styx was also accused of hiding a backmasked satanic message Satan move through our voices on their song Snowblind from their album Paradise Theatre (Holden, 1983). James Young, guitarist of the Styx, called the issue rubbish and stated that, If we want to make a statement, well do it in a way that people can understand us an d not in a way where you have to go out and buy a $400 tape player to understand us (Hoekstra, 1983). The famous of all is the Stairway to Heaven, 1971 song of the band, Led Zeppelin, the backward playing of a portion of the song results to a message Heres to my sweet Satan (Milner). The recording company, Swan Song Records gives a statement regarding the song, Stairway to Heaven, they said that Our turntables only play in one direction-forwards (Davis, 2007). And in an interview Robert Plant, vocalist of the band, Led Zeppelin denied the accusation, he said that To me its very sad, because Stairway To Heaven was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, thats not my dea of making music (Considine, 1983). IV. Comments of Society regarding the song Backmasking Christian Groups Christian websites have stated that backmasking is widely used to promote Satanism (Robinson). Dial-the-Truth Ministries, the web page of the Albama group argues for the satanic backmasking that lies in the song, Stairway to Heaven of Led Zeppelin saying that the contains a message, Its my sweet Satan Oh I will sing because I live with Satan (Watkins). Bible Believers, an Australian Christian group , quoted a statement from Backward Masking Unmasked, a book written by Jacob Aranza, about William Yarrolls proposal regarding the psychological effect of music to the subconscious: In the base of our brain, there is a check valve commonly known as Reticular Activating System. The left side of our brain is logical while the right side is creative, if the left side of our brain cannot decode the meaning of the strange word or phrase, the right side which is the creative one takes over and the message is acknowledge and stored. Parent Music Resource Center The Parent Music Resource Center is a committee formed by the American Government in 1985. Its main purpose is to increase parental control to the music selected by the children which may trigger violence and sexual suggestive (Anonymous). Dr. Joe Stuessy testified to the United States Congress at PMRC in 1985: Lyrics in some heavy metal music may be converted to subliminal, sometimes lower tracks are mixed with louder tracks and these lower tracks are heard by the subconscious mind and not the conscious the process of doing this is called backmasking. There is a disagreement between experts regarding the effect of subliminal. We need more research on that.

Marriage in Pride and Prejudice and in Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

Most of the novels we read involve marriages .Discuss the dialectics involved in the marriage of Pride and Prejudice and another novel of your choice. Marriage in the 19th century has always been an important issue and thus, it is manifested in most of the novels of the 19th century. Pride and Prejudice as well as Jane Eyre are two novels in which the dialectics of marriage are strongly present. In the opening of Pride and Prejudice, the narrator claims that â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife; thus, foretelling that the theme of marriage will be the most dominant throughout the novel .This sentence is true because it is only logical to say so if one believes that the ultimate goal of a man or even a woman is to marry. However, this truth is fixed in the minds of the few families in the novel and thus, it is not a universal truth. From the moment Elizabeth and Darcy meet, Elizabeth is blinded by prejudice and Darcy by pride though they like each other. Only when they admit the wrong they have done, especially Elizabeth, they are to be married. She should accept the right of Darcy to have some sense of pride toward his class and she has to learn to comply to social rules .therefore, it is not about marriage as much it is about learning to comply to rules. Elizabeth and Darcy will meet on common grounds. It is about finding moderation between nature represented by Elizabeth and art represented by Darcy. Only then the marriage would be successful. Furthermore, Charlotte Lucas who has no fortune settles for marriage with Mr. Collins, the arrogant, self important, materialistic and boring man. She thinks that it is better to be married than not, even if she doesn’t like him and he is not likely to make her happy. Elizabeth is so upset about charlotte marrying Collins because she is afraid if being forced into a similar marriage or ending up as having no money, no marriage .Concerning the civil status and economic right of woman , Austen is hitting at the patriarchal society. The nightmare of not marrying is worse than marrying someone like Mr. Collins. On the other hand, Charlotte Bronte, author of Jane Eyre is an anti-Austenian. Her heroine Jane breaks all proper behavior for a girl her age and in her social situation, as an orphan, when she is a child.

Sonnets: The Power of Love Essay -- Sonnet essays

Sonnets:   The Power of Love  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The majority of Elizabethan sonnets reflect two major themes: time and love. William Shakespeare, too, followed this convention, producing 154 sonnets, many of which deal with the usual theme of love. Because the concept of love is in itself so immense, Shakespeare found several ways to capture the essence of his passion. Therefore, in his poetry he explored various methods and used them to describe the emotions associated with his love for a mysterious "dark lady." These various ideas and views resulted in a series of sonnets that vibrantly depicts his feelings of true, undying love for his lady. Instead of making the topic less interesting, as some might expect, Shakespeare's myriad approaches serve to further the reader's knowledge about the sheer power of true love. Three of Shakespeare's methods that show his ability in this respect are the motif of dreams and thoughts, the examples of the extent of love, and Shakespeare's desire for his sonnets to aid or glorify their love. In many of Shakespeare's sonnets, he frequently mentions the continuous presence of a special lady in his dreams and thoughts. For example, in Sonnet 27, Shakespeare writes about the fact that he is never without his love. This is because during the day he worships her at sight, and at night she invades his dreams. He cannot sleep without her coming, unbidden, into his mind: "Lo, thus by day my limbs, by night my mind/ For thee, and for myself, no quiet find." Contrary to this thought, however, his constant musings of his lady are also a blessing to him. In Sonnet 29, Shakespeare, depressed and envious of others, thinks of his love: "Yet, in these thoughts myself almost despising,/ Haply I think on thee, a... ...that time I do ensconce me here/ Within the knowledge of mine own desert." If he should ever have to live without her, his sonnets will remind him of the love that once was. Shakespeare's sonnets are a romantic and charming series of poems. His use of rhyme and passionate, eloquent language serve to illuminate his strong feelings. These techniques were probably the most fluent way for such a writer as him to express the immeasurable love that he obviously felt for his mysterious lady. Examining the numerous ways Shakespeare found to describe it, the reader believes that this love was undoubtedly lasting and authentic. He often made heart-felt comments about his emotions that could also suit lovers in the present day. Because of this, and the fact that people read them yet, Shakespeare's sonnets are timeless and universal, just like the concept of love itself.

the scarlet letter c- :: essays research papers

Since the dawn of man people have been challenged by evil. Whether it was Eve eating and than offering the apple to Adam, or the Caveman murdering his neighbor for personal benefit. Using Nathaniel Hawthorns novel The Scarlet Letter we can see how evil consumes someone’s day to day live even if it is filled with the morals brought fourth upon them by their god. Three of the four main characters in this book were sinners who were faced with evil and chose to suffer, combat, or bargain with it. With good intentions the townspeople also played a role letting evil exist with the intentions of stomping it out. In the 1600’s because of fear from their vengeful god Puritans tried to be moral and just. They chose a life where the 10 commandments was the law of the land and there was no exception. The sixth commandment Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery was not a rule that people ignored. With the intentions of comforting Hester Prynne’s lonesomeness and grief for her missing husband, Arthur Dimmesdale became passionate. They both shared intimacy knowing the result was not praised in Heaven. She later found that she was pregnant and our novel begins to show a struggle between good and evil. After Hester Prynne’s child was born, she was forced to take her walk of shame out of the prison doors to stand on a Scaffold to be publicly humiliated. The townspeople in the marketplace were astonished that a woman can let her lust overwhelm her into the point of adultery. Harsh statements came out of their mouths. â€Å"`At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. `Said one of the angry puritans† (1360). The townspeople have good intentions by trying to teach others that Adultery was a sin yet are doing the work of the Dark Man. By mentally crucifying this woman and making her wear the letter they are forming their own lust and vengefulness. While on the Scaffold she looks down to see her missing husband Rodger Chillingworth and he is horrified and ashamed. It is hard to forgive and Chillingworth mentally vows revenge to the one who impregnated his wife. He later tells her not to let his identity to be known. Even in chapter four The Interview it is hard for us to see the path of evil he is about to follow.

Ece 201

0Behavioral Support Plans Behavioral Support Plans ECE 201 Debra Lawrence Jan. 14, 2013 Behavior management plays an important role in early childhood education. Behavior management is important in early childhood education setting in order to develop and/or maintain some sort of order in the classroom. However, the most important reason to have behavior management and/or rules in the early childhood education setting is the safety of the students and yourself as well.A child’s behavior not only frustrates their teacher but their parents as well. That’s when behavior management steps in because the teacher or parent has to find a way to manage the child’s behavior. Communication between home and school keeps the focus on what the child needs in order to be successful in life. When dealing with behavior management with a troubled child you have to be consistent.In this paper I will describe the purpose of behavior management in early childhood education setting, d iscuss three strategies teachers may use to determine the function of challenging behaviors and design an individual support plan for each of the challenging behaviors, and summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan. The purpose of the behavior management system is to provide teachers with a plan to keep order in their classrooms.Discipline, communication skills, and social skills are basis of an effective management system. An effective behavior management system provides an organized learning environment for students and reduces stress and burnout among teachers. Working with kids you have to keep a positive mind at all times. You can never take your mind off your students and teaching at no times. Behavior management provides children with assistance and tools they need in order to learn how to appropriately behave at home and in a classroom setting.Behavior management is there for the purpose of assisting children display proper beh aviors that is needed in learning environment. Teachers do this by teaching children appropriate behaviors and social behaviors that are expected and acceptable, children will learn these behaviors and exercise them at home and school. Behavior management include all of the actions and conscious inactions to enhance the probability people, individually and in groups, choose behaviors which are personally fulfilling, productive, and socially acceptable (Wikipedia. org).The overall purpose of behavior management is to assist young children in displaying behaviors that are conducive to learning and to teach social behaviors that are appropriate for home and school settings. Positive behavior training starts at home. If you began to train your kids at home from right and wrong then it affectively takes place at school. Sometimes it doesn’t always happen like that but if you let your children know that there will be repercussion then it will not be as bad. Developing strong behavi or management skills in classroom skills is very important to bring forth to prevent burnout in the classroom.Most of the time student misconduct and teacher frustration with behavior issues often lead to work stress, job dissatisfaction, and loss of teachers as well as behavior problems with the students. Having behavior management in a classroom can keep teachers and their students on the same page. Behavior management has a huge impact on students along with their achievements and their will to learn. When a student has challenging behavior, it is the teacher’s role to help execute strategies to change and improve that behavior.Teachers should conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA) as a first step in trying to understand why a student may be engaging in challenging behaviors. A FBA enables you to figure out the functions or purposes of the challenging behavior and to identify events in the environment that trigger and maintain it (Kaiser & Raminsky, 2012). Three st rategies that teachers may use to determine the functions of challenging by is providing. A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors.Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior. Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: The A-B-C paradigm of behavior analysis can be very useful in determining behaviors that need to be modified in young children. A- Is the conditions of stimulus before the behavior occurs, also known as the antecedent. B- is the behavior or response to the stimulus. C- is the result for the behavior.Together A-B-C forms an approach to behavior management called A-B-A which stands for applied behavior analysis. A-B-A focuses on changing/modifying behaviors that are operationally defined and observable. Behaviors are form ed through manipulation of the environmental factors. They can be changed by altering the environment. They can also be changed by altering the response to the behavior. The antecedent sets the stage for a specific response to occur, while the consequence changes the probablility that the behavior will increase and/or decrease in the future. Alberto and Troutman, 1999). A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors. Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior (Walker,1995). Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and define it in observable terms.It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describ ing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific 1. Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and 2. define it in observable terms. It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific. 3. Select and describe settings for observation. You should observe the behavior(s) in two or 4. three settings.The first setting is where the behavior first became a problem, one that is similar, and one that is quite different. Followed by where the behavior starts back up. Doing this will determine what is causing the problem behavior(s). You should always consider the environmental demands and/or the teacher’s expectations in each setting. This information could help provide an intervention plan for the child. (http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 3) Select the observation type, two types of observation are qualitative and quantitative.Qualitative, is descriptive in nature. The observer begins with ideas about what will be observed and describes the behavior(s) that appears important. Quantitative, can be done only when the observer is watching what is happening. 4) Develop data collection procedures, can be collected using several different techniques. Documenting the frequency of the behavior(s) is important, the duration of the behavior(s), and the intensity of the behavior(s). If the behavior is not frequent a good solution might be event recording. Using a tally sheet helps to observe the child’s behavior continuously.Time interval is useful if the behavior(s) is done during a specific observation period. 5) Analyze the learning environment as it impacts child behavior(s), careful analysis of the physical environment can unveil information that is necessary to understand the underlying cause of a child’s behavior(s). 6) Interview o thers, a detailed interview allows individuals who have contact with the child the opportunity to review information about the child in more detail. These individuals can include nurses, other teachers, parents, siblings, and/or friends. ) Hypothesis of the behavior(s) function, the information gathered through child observation and/or interviewing others will be examined in this step to determine possible functions for the identified problem behavior(s). The function of the behavior(s) could be to obtain a desired outcome or to allow the child to avoid an undesirable outcome. http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 8) Develop a behavioral intervention plan, from the data gathered through observation, a clear description of the problem behavior(s) and perhaps patterns of the behavior(s) will form the basis for a plan. ttp://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 Positive behavioral support (PBS) help s understand and resolves a behavioral problem that a child might be having that is based on values and research. It offers an approach to develop an understanding of why the child engages in problem behavior and strategies to prevent the occurrence of problem behavior while teaching the child new skills. Positive behavior support offers a holistic approach that considers all factors that have an impact on a child and the child’s behavior.It can be used to address problem behaviors that range from aggression, tantrums, and property destruction to social withdrawal (challengingbehavior. org). To successfully implement positive behavior supports {PBS), it is essential that each of the of the following six steps is followed in the designated order: Building a Behavior Support Team; Person-Centered Planning; Functional Behavioral Assessment; Hypothesis Development; Behavior Support Plan Development; and Monitoring Outcomes.Building a Behavior Support Team is getting the parents, teachers and others together to that mostly is involved with the child the most. Person-Centered Planning is responsible for bring everyone together for the best interest of the child. Functional Behavioral Assessment is involving collecting data and observing the behavior. Hypothesis Development is what is known that triggers the said behavior. Behavior Support Plan Development is to summarize the data gathered from the functional assessment process and come up with a plan.Monitoring Outcomes are monitoring the effectiveness of the behavior support plan. Monitoring includes measurement the changes of the problem behavior and the achievements and outcome. Summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan (challengingbehavior. org). Teachers have big responsibilities in taking part in making the Behavior Plan successful. The teacher is the one who has to follow through and implement the plan and make it consistently every day. It is the teacher who has to push forward even when it appears things isn’t going as planned. The

Mary Wigman

Mary Wigman: Witch Dance Word Count: 1120 Through her simplification and breaking down of theatrical and aesthetic dance, Mary Wigman stands as one of the most inspirational figures of 20th century dance. Her unique use of theatrical elements such as masks, sound, costume and movement created an evolution of dance that was never seen before. Her use of the character, The Witch, changed the world’s views on dance forever, and inspired a revolution of artistic quality all around Europe.In this essay I will discuss whether or not The Witch in Wigmans work stands as an interpretation of her role in society, and her aspirations for future dance forms. Mary Wigman’s Witch Dance epitomized the breaking away from conventional concepts and traditions. Through her modernistic choreography she captured the true essence of dance. There was no conformity or theatricality to it. Instead, she used elements that would speak directly to the audience (Muller, 1986, pp. 173-184). The arch aic image of the witch expressed the elements of Wigman’s own identity.She expresses her modernistic identity in her breaking away of the social and cultural boundaries that besieged her time error. She also physically identifies herself as a witch, absorbing the viewer with the magical essence of her imagination. Through her movements she was able to personify this strong presence of the witch (Gunhild, 1992, pp. 35-49). She stressed the common association of the image of a witch with that of fear and apprehension of losing control over both body and mind.This fear was created to be extended to the audiences watching the piece (Chritiane & Finnan, 2006, pp. 76-84). One of Wigman’s most praised techniques in dance was her use of breathing. She believed that a dancers expression could be built to a climax simply through the pace and tone of their breathing. Through inhalation and exhalation the dancers were able to create both tension and tranquility. In addition to thi s her dance techniques were also highly revolutionary.Wigman did not believe that dance should be performed merely for entertainment purposes (Chritiane & Finnan, 2006, pp. 76-84). She diverged herself from the conventional practices of dance, such as ballet, and formed her own unique dance language that stripped away the aesthetic movement that was generally accepted at the time. The movement which she used in her pieces was unrestricted and she made use of percussion instead of traditionally orchestrated aesthetic music (Muller, 1986, pp. 173-184).This made the audience focus more on the properties of the dance itself then the external features of it. Wigman’s dances hypnotized the viewer with its powerful yet highly abstract choreography. Her use of repetitive gestures in her choreography helped to carve their cultural roles. She broke away from conventions by pulling away from the aesthetics of ballet. She did this by avoiding following fixed choreography, dancing barefoo t and using eccentric music and percussion (Gunhild, 1992, pp. 35-49).The cultural context in which Mary Wigman’s lived was a very restricted and conservative society. Wigman grew up in Germany during the Weimer republic. This was a time of extreme change in Germany. Ausdruckstanz had been ubiquitous in Germany from the start of the 20th century, and there was a definite cultural and social revolution taking place. Along with this was the reign of feminism taking place worldwide. These ideologies and social changes showed up significantly in Wigman’s choreography. Before Wigman, dance was primarily based on sexuality (Jiyun, 2007, pp. 27-437). Exoticism was instrumental in the audiences appeal to it. Wigman broke away from these ideals by performing characters which held modernistic significance (Muller, 1986, pp. 173-184). Before Wigman, women were often portrayed in dance as modest and simple characters. Wigman changed this view by primarily using female dancers and depicting females as strong and powerful beings. Wigman’s performances challenged the static social dynamics of the time. She created an atmosphere of respect between the female dancers and herself.She allowed for a strong female subject in her pieces that provided females, who were previously oppressed, with a firm identity and place in society. Previously, male choreographers had objectified woman in their choreography. Wigman aimed at individualizing women and breaking away from the sensual image that they previously conformed to (Valerie & Lahusen, 1990, pp. 8-10). Wigman’s choice of using the witch figure in her choreography was partly influenced by her attempt to emphasize the roots of dance and highlight feminist ideals.Through her dances she strove to elevate her art to a new culture and change her own identity to that of a goddess. The witch figure stood as a solution to the concept of Ausdruckstanz (Valerie, 1998, pp. 298-304). This concept introduced a confl iction between the desire to have their dance accepted by society but maintain a strong level of originality at the same time. Wigman’s dance focused primarily on raw and natural movement to truly capture the fresh expressiveness of her work.Through her work she hoped to portray a new vision of life. She wanted her work to be characterized by its dark and somewhat masculine nature. She explored the different ways in which the body could express itself (Valerie & Lahusen, 1990, pp. 8-10). She tried to use freedom of movement in expressing her sensuality and accepted that improvisation was the first step toward composition. The important thing about Wigman’s choreography was that even those who misunderstood it were inspired by the energy of her performances.The audience seldom failed to recognize the energy and life in Wigman’s choreography (Gunhild, 1992, pp. 35-49). The witch in Wigmans choreography represented the overcoming of human mortality and deficiencies through her new religion of dance. The dances were not sets of beautifully displayed images, but were created through disfigured movement that held no consideration for the viewer’s enjoyment. She ripped the space apart through her dance and engaged in the emptiness and diversity of the space.In conclusion, Wigman played a truly inspirational role in the modernization of dance in the 20th century. It would seem that Kolb’s statement regarding the feminist and demonic quality would be true with regards to the time error that she found herself in. The Witch not only represented woman as a powerful figure, but it highlighted the abstract quality of her dance. Wigman changed the face of dance forever through her diverse and unconventional ways of thinking. The way she broke away from conformist ideals still serves as inspiration to the dance we have today. Works Cited

Break of Day in the Trenches Analysis Essay

In the poem, â€Å"Break of Day in the Trenches†, the author, Isaac Rosenberg shows the theme that endless conflict leads emotionally numb soldiers to snap, through the literary devices, tone and personification. Tone is used by Rosenberg to furthermore reveal the theme in this poem. The two that he uses are musing and contemplative tones. The author uses the air of musing in this poem throughout the beginning few lines of the poem. When a soldier is immersed into war they are exposed to the death of their friends and peers, they are taken from their family, and they are forced to repel any emotions. The soldier who is telling his story is sitting in the war trench at sunrise or in his words, the â€Å"druid Time†. The Druids are an ancient civilization who at sunrise made sacrifices to their gods. This leads readers to believe that the soldier is sitting among what could be interpreted the human â€Å"sacrifices† that war had taken. Around him there are soldiers lying dead for seemingly no good reason. To be talking in the tone of curiosity rather than pain and horror in that situation, it shows that he has numbed himself to the feelings that would naturally come to him because he is so used to seeing the display of death. The other tone that is used by the author is a tone of contemplation. Rosenberg shifts from talking to himself, to directly addressing the rat, asking questions and drawing his own conclusions. The soldier gets more and more demanding of the rat as the poem goes on, eventually asking it, what do the eyes of mankind say. The soldier uses the rat to ask all of these questions because he knows he shouldn’t be thinking emotionally. He can’t control himself and he has to let off steam by talking to a rat, which can’t respond or judge him. He then has a final break in his mind, using the death of a poppy to symbolize death of soldiers. He says, â€Å"Poppies whose roots are in man’s veins/ Drop and are ever dropping;/ But mine in my ear is safe-/ Just a little while white with the dust. † He had just picked the poppy from the parapet, taking it from its nutrients causing it to stop growing. This is ironic because the flower, though safe from being trampled, is already a dying cause, just like him. He gives up and lets know, even while knowing he is going to die, he chooses to numb his emotions again, and move on till his day comes. The shift from controlled and nonchalant to inquisition and back to control shows the struggle that soldiers had to face and the fact that the idea of emotional numbness is flawed. Personification is rarely used in this poem, but when it is used it has powerful meaning behind it. The two areas personification is used is when he talks about the sleeping green and the queer, sardonic, and droll rat. The green grass is given the personification of sleeping to reflect the death of the soldiers who lay on it. As a whole, the soldier is referring to No Man’s Land. The second personification is used on the rat. The rat is given the human qualities of being sarcastic, odd, and amusing. The idea of personification is to give a feeling to something incapable of human-like qualities. Feeling shouldn’t be a part of a soldier’s thoughts. This goes to show that the use of personification is a way for the soldier to reflect his feelings on something else. War is too emotionally scarring for you to not have an emotional reaction to it. In essence, the poem, â€Å"Break of Day in the Trenches†, Isaac Rosenberg uses tone and personification to show the theme that endless conflict makes it impossible for soldiers to completely suppress their emotions. The shifts in tone that the author wrote showed the struggle from controlled to a mix of emotions, then back to control and acceptance. The personification shows that the soldier needed something to project his feelings onto because he couldn’t handle not being allowed to talk about them, causing him to talk to a rat for consolation.

A Dirty Job Chapter 21

21 COMMON COURTESY Charlie was torn – he really wanted to take his sword-cane, but he couldn't carry it while using the crutches. He considered duct-taping it to one of the crutches, but he thought that might attract attention. â€Å"You want me to go with you?† Ray asked. â€Å"I mean, you okay to drive, with your leg and all?† â€Å"I'll be fine,† Charlie said. â€Å"Someone needs to watch the store.† â€Å"Charlie, before you go, can I ask you something?† â€Å"Sure.† Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask, Charlie thought. â€Å"Why did you need me to find these two women?† You robot-necked bastard, you had to ask. â€Å"I told you, estate stuff.† Charlie shrugged. No big deal, let it go, nothing to see here. â€Å"Yeah, I know you told me that, and normally that would make sense, but I found out a lot about these two while looking for them – no one in either of their families has died recently.† â€Å"Funny thing,† Charlie said, juggling his keys, the cane, his date book, and his crutches by the back door. â€Å"Both bequests were from nonrelatives. Old friends.† No wonder women don't like you, you just won't leave things alone. â€Å"Uh-huh,† Ray said, unconvinced. â€Å"You know, when people run, when they go as far as faking their own death to get away, they are usually running from something. Are you that something, Charlie?† â€Å"Ray, listen to yourself. Are you back on your serial-killer thing? I thought Rivera explained that.† â€Å"So this is for Rivera?† â€Å"Let's say he's interested,† Charlie said. â€Å"Why didn't you just say so?† Charlie sighed. â€Å"Ray, I'm not supposed to talk about this stuff, you know that. Fourth Amendment and all. I came to you because you're good, and you have contacts. I depend on you and I trust you. I think you know that you can depend on me and trust me, right? I mean, in all these years, I've never put your disability pension in jeopardy by being careless about our arrangement, have I?† It was a threat, however subtle, and Charlie felt bad for doing it, but he just couldn't let Ray continue to push on this, particularly since he was in unexplored territory himself – he didn't even know what kind of bluff he was covering. â€Å"So Mrs. Johnson isn't going to end up dead if I find her for you?† â€Å"I will not lay a hand on Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Pojo†¦Mrs. Pokojo – or that other woman either. You have my word on it.† Charlie raised his hand as if swearing on a Bible and dropped one of his crutches. â€Å"Why don't you just use the cane?† Ray said. â€Å"Right,† Charlie said. He leaned the crutches on the door and tried his weight on the bad leg and the cane. The doctors had, indeed, said that it was just a flesh wound, so there was no tendon damage, just muscle, but it hurt like hell to put any weight on that foot. The cane would work, he decided. â€Å"I should be back to relieve you before five.† He limped out the door. Ray didn't like being lied to. He'd had quite enough of that from his desperate Filipinas and was becoming sensitive about being taken for a fool. Who did Charlie Asher think he was fooling? As soon as he got the store squared away, he'd give Rivera a call and see for himself. He went out into the store and did a little dusting, then went to Charlie's â€Å"special† rack, where he kept the weird estate items that he made such a fuss about. You were only supposed to sell one to each customer, but Ray had sold five of them to the same woman in the last two weeks. He knew he should have said something to Charlie, but really, why? Charlie wasn't being open with him about anything, it seemed. Besides, the woman who bought the stuff was cute, and she'd smiled at Ray. She had nice hair, a cute figure, and really striking light blue eyes. Plus there was something about her voice – she seemed so, what? Peaceful, maybe. Like she knew that everything was going to be okay and no one needed to worry. Maybe he was projecting. And she didn't have an Adam's apple, which was a big plus in Ray's book lately. He'd tried to get her name, even get a look at something in her wallet, but she'd paid in cash and had been as careful as a poker player covering her cards. If she'd driven, she'd parked too far away for him to see her get into her car from the store, so there was no license number to trace. He resolved to ask her name if she came in today. And she was due to come in. She only came in when he was working alone. He'd seen her check through the window once when he was working with Lily, and only came into the store later when Lily was gone. He really hoped she'd come in. He tried to calm himself down for his call to Rivera. He didn't want to seem like a rube to a guy who was still on the job. He used his own cell phone for the call so Rivera would see it was him calling. Charlie didn't like leaving Sophie for this long, given what had happened a few days ago, but on the other hand, whatever might be threatening her was obviously being caused by his missing these two soul vessels. The quicker he fixed the problem, the quicker the threat would be diminished. Besides, the hellhounds were her best defense, and he'd given express instructions to Mrs. Ling that the dogs and Sophie were not to be separated for any amount of time, for any reason. He took Presidio Boulevard through Golden Gate Park into the Sunset, reminding himself to take Sophie to the Japanese Tea Garden to feed the koi, now that her plague on pets seemed to have subsided. The Sunset district lay just south of Golden Gate Park, bordered by the American Highway and Ocean Beach on the west, and Twin Peaks and the University of San Francisco on the east. It had once been a suburb, until the city expanded to include it, and many of its houses were modest, single-story family dwellings, built en masse in the 1940s and '50s. They were like the mosaics of little boxes that peppered neighborhoods across the entire country in that postwar period, but in San Francisco, where so much had been built after the quake and fire of '06, then again in the economic boom of the late twentieth century, they seemed like anachronisms from both ends of time. Charlie felt like he was driving through the Eisenhower era, at least until he passed a mother with a shaved head and tribal tattoos on her scalp pushing twins in a double stroller. Irena Posokovanovich's sister lived in a small, one-story frame house with a small covered porch that had jasmine vines growing up trellises on either side and springing off into the air like morning-after-sex hair. The rest of the tiny yard was meticulously groomed, from the holly hedge at the sidewalk to the red geraniums that lined the concrete path up to the house. Charlie parked a block away and walked to the house. On the way he was nearly run over by two different joggers, one a young mother pushing a running stroller. They couldn't see him – he was on track. Now, how to go about getting in? And then what? If he was the Luminatus, then perhaps just his presence would take care of the problem. He checked around back and saw that there was a car in the garage, but the shades were drawn on all the windows. Finally he decided on the frontal approach and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later a short woman in her seventies wearing a pink chenille housecoat opened the door. â€Å"Yes,† she said, looking a little suspicious as she eyed Charlie's walking cast. She quickly flipped the lock on the screen door. â€Å"Can I help you?† It was the woman in the picture. â€Å"Yes, ma'am, I'm looking for Irena Posokovanovich.† â€Å"Well, she's not here,† said Irena Posokovanovich. â€Å"You must have the wrong house.† She started to close the door. â€Å"Wasn't there a death notice in the paper a couple of weeks ago?† Charlie said. So far, his awesome presence as the Luminatus wasn't having much of an effect on her. â€Å"Well, yes, I believe there was,† said the woman, sensing an out. She opened the door a little more. â€Å"It was such a tragedy. We all loved Irena so much. She was the kindest, most generous, most loving, attractive – you know, for her age – well-read – â€Å" â€Å"And evidently didn't know that it's considered common courtesy when you publish a death notice to actually die!† Charlie held out the enlarged driver's-license picture. He considered adding aha! but thought that might be a little over-the-top. Irena Posokovanovich slammed the door. â€Å"I don't know who you are, but you have the wrong house,† she said through the door. â€Å"You know who I am,† Charlie said. Actually, she probably had no idea who he was. â€Å"And I know who you are, and you are supposed to have died three weeks ago.† â€Å"You're mistaken. Now go away before I call the police and tell them that there's a rapist at my door.† Charlie gagged a little, then pushed on. â€Å"I am not a rapist, Mrs. Poso†¦Posokev – I'm Death, Irena. That's who I am. And you are overdue. You need to die, this minute if possible. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's like going to sleep, only, well – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not ready,† Irena whined. â€Å"If I was ready I wouldn't have left my home. I'm not ready.† â€Å"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have to insist.† â€Å"I'm sure you're mistaken. Perhaps another Mrs. Posokovanovich.† â€Å"No, here it is, right here in the calendar, with your address. It's you.† Charlie held his date book turned to the page with her name on it up to the little window in the door. â€Å"And you say that that is Death's calendar?† â€Å"That's correct, ma'am. Notice the date. And this is your second notice.† â€Å"And you are Death?† â€Å"That's right.† â€Å"Well, that's just silly.† â€Å"I am not silly, Mrs. Posokovanovich. I am Death.† â€Å"Aren't you supposed to have a sickle and a long black robe?† â€Å"No, we don't do that anymore. Take my word for it, I am Death.† He tried to sound really ominous. â€Å"Death is always tall in the pictures.† She was standing on tiptoe, he could tell the way she kept bouncing up by the little window to get a look at him. â€Å"You don't seem tall enough.† â€Å"There's no height requirement.† â€Å"Then could I see your business card?† â€Å"Sure.† Charlie took out a card and held it against the glass. â€Å"This says ‘Purveyor of Fine Vintage Clothing and Accessories.'† â€Å"Right! Exactly!† He knew he should have had a second set of business cards printed up. â€Å"And where do you think I get those things? From the dead. You see?† â€Å"Mr. Asher, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.† â€Å"No, ma'am, I'm going to have to insist that you pass away, this instant. You're overdue.† â€Å"Go away! You are a charlatan, and I think you need psychological help.† â€Å"Death! You're fucking with Death! Capital D, bitch!† Well, that was uncalled for. Charlie felt bad the second he said it. â€Å"Sorry,† he mumbled to the door. â€Å"I'm calling the police.† â€Å"You go ahead, Mrs. – uh – Irena. You know what they'll tell you, that you're dead! It was in the Chronicle. They hardly ever print stuff that's not true.† â€Å"Please go away. I practiced for a long time so I could live longer, it's not fair.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Go away.† â€Å"I heard that part, I mean the part about practicing.† â€Å"Never you mind. You just go take someone else.† Charlie actually had no idea what he would do if she let him in. Maybe he had to touch her for his Death abilities to kick in. He remembered seeing an old Twilight Zone as a kid, where Robert Redford was Death, and this old lady wouldn't let him in, so he pretended to be injured, and when she came to help him†¦ALA-KAZAM! She croaked, and he peacefully led her off to Hole in the Wall, where she helped him produce independent movies. Maybe that would work. He did have the cast and the cane going for him. He looked up and down the street to make sure that no one could see him, then he lay down, half on the little porch, half on the concrete steps. He threw his cane against the door and made sure that it clattered loudly on the concrete, then he let out what he thought was a very convincing wail. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhh, I've broken my leg.† He heard footsteps inside and saw gray hair at the little window, bouncing a little so she could see out. â€Å"Oh, it hurts,† Charlie wailed. â€Å"Help.† More steps, the shade in the window to the right of the door parted and he saw an eye. He grimaced in fake pain. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Mrs. Posokovanovich. â€Å"I need help. My leg was hurt before, but I slipped on your steps. I think I've broken something. There's blood, and a piece of bone sticking out.† He kept his leg below the level where she could see it. â€Å"Oh my,† she said. â€Å"Give me a minute.† â€Å"Help. Please. The pain. So – much – pain.† Charlie coughed the way cowboys do when they are dying in the dirt and things are getting all dark. He heard the latch being thrown, and then the inner door opened. â€Å"You're really hurt bad,† she said. â€Å"Please,† Charlie said, holding his hand out to her. â€Å"Help me.† She unlatched the screen. Charlie suppressed a grin. â€Å"Oh, thank you,† he gasped. She threw open the screen door and blasted him in the face with a stream of pepper spray. â€Å"I saw that Twilight Zone, you son of a bitch!† The doors slammed. The latch was thrown. Charlie's face felt like it was on fire. When he could finally see well enough to walk, as he limped back to his van, he heard a female voice say, â€Å"I'd have let you in, lover.† Then a chorus of spooky-girlish laughter erupted from the storm sewer. He backed against the van, ready to draw the sword from the cane, but then he heard what sounded like a small dog barking in the sewer. â€Å"Where did he come from?† said one of the harpies. â€Å"He bit me! You little fucker!† â€Å"Get him!† â€Å"I hate dogs. When we take over, no dogs.† The barking faded away, followed by the voices of the sewer harpies. Charlie took a deep breath and tried to blink the pain out of his eyes. He needed to regroup, but then he was taking the old lady down, pepper spray or not. It took him the better part of an hour to get into position, but once he was ready, he put down the cinder block, flipped open his cell phone, and dialed the number he'd gotten from information. A woman answered. â€Å"Hello.† â€Å"Ma'am, this is the gas company,† Charlie said in his best gas-company voice. â€Å"My grid is showing pressure loss at your address. We're sending a truck right out, but you need to get everyone out of the house, right now.† â€Å"Well, I'm the only one here right now, but I'm sorry, I don't smell gas.† â€Å"It may be building up under the house,† Charlie said, feeling proud of himself for being quick on his feet. Is there anyone else in the house?† â€Å"No, just me and my kitty, Samantha.† â€Å"Ma'am, please take the cat and go out by the street. Our truck will meet you there. Go right now, okay?† â€Å"Well, all right.† â€Å"Thank you, ma'am.† Charlie clicked off. He could feel movement inside of the house. He moved right to the edge of the porch roof and raised the concrete cinder block over his head. It'll look like an accident, he thought, like a cinder block fell off the porch roof. He was glad that no one could see him up here. He was sweating from the climb, his armpits stained, his trousers wrinkled. He heard the door open and got ready to throw the cinder block as soon as his target emerged from under the roof. â€Å"Good afternoon, ma'am.† A man's voice, out by the street. Charlie looked down to see Inspector Rivera standing at the sidewalk, having just climbed out of an unmarked car. What the hell was he doing here? â€Å"Are you the gas company?† said Mrs. Posokovanovich. â€Å"No, ma'am, I'm from the San Francisco police.† He flashed his badge. â€Å"They told me there was a gas leak,† she said. â€Å"That's been taken care of, ma'am. Could you step back inside and I'll check with you in a minute, okay?† â€Å"Well, okay, then.† Charlie heard the doors open and close again. His arms were trembling from holding the cinder block over his head. He tried to breathe quietly, thinking that the sound of his wheezing might attract Rivera's attention, make him visible. â€Å"Mr. Asher, what are you doing up there?† Charlie nearly lost his balance and went over. â€Å"You can see me?† â€Å"Yes, sir, I certainly can. And I can also see that cinder block you're holding over your head.† â€Å"Oh, this old thing.† â€Å"What were you planning on doing with that?† â€Å"Repairs?† Charlie tried. How could Rivera see him when he was in soul-vessel-retrieval mode? â€Å"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you, Mr. Asher. You're going to have to drop the cinder block.† â€Å"I'd rather not. It was really hard getting it up here.† â€Å"Be that as it may, I'm going to have to insist that you drop it.† â€Å"I was planning on it, but then you showed up.† â€Å"Please. Indulge me. Look, you're sweating. Climb down and you can sit in my air-conditioned car with me. We'll chat – talk about Italian suits, the Giants – I don't know – why you were about to brain that sweet old lady with a cinder block. Air-conditioning, Mr. Asher – won't that be nice?† Charlie brought the cinder block down and rested it on his thigh, feeling his trousers snagging beyond repair as he did so. â€Å"That's not much of an incentive. What am I, some primitive Amazon native? I've had air-conditioning before. I have air-conditioning in my own van.† â€Å"Yes, I'll admit it's not exactly a weekend in Paris, but the next choice was that I shoot you off the roof, and they put you in a body bag, which is going to be sweltering on a warm day like this.† â€Å"Oh, well, yes,† Charlie said. â€Å"That does make air-conditioning sound a lot more inviting. Thanks. I'm going to toss my brick down first, if that's okay?† â€Å"That would be great, Mr. Asher.† Disillusioned with DesperateFilipinas, Ray was browsing through the selection of lonely first-grade teachers with master's degrees in nuclear physics on when she came through the door. He heard the bell and caught her out of the corner of his eye, and forgetting that his neck vertebrae were fused, he sprained the left side of his face trying to turn to see her. She saw him looking and smiled. Ray smiled back, then, out of the corner of his eye, saw the monitor with the photo of the first-grade teacher holding her breasts, and sprained the right side of his face trying to turn in time to punch the power button before she passed the counter. â€Å"Just browsing,† said the love of his life. â€Å"How are you today?† â€Å"Hi,† Ray said. In his mental rehearsals, he started with â€Å"hi,† and it just sort of burped out of him before he realized that it put him behind a beat. â€Å"I mean, fine. Sorry. I was working.† â€Å"I can see that.† Again the smile. She was so understanding, forgiving – and kind, you could just tell that by her eyes. He knew in his heart that he would even sit through a hat movie for this woman. He would watch A Room with a View AND The English Patient, back-to-back, just to share a pizza with her. And she would stop him from eating his service revolver halfway through the second movie, because that's just how she was: compassionate. She made a show of browsing the store, but two minutes hadn't passed before she made for Charlie's special shelf. Even the sign said SPECIAL ITEMS – ONE PER CUSTOMER, but it didn't say if that was a per-day policy, or one per lifetime. Charlie hadn't really specified, now that Ray thought about it. Sure, Lily had yammered on about how important it was that they adhere to the policy, but that was Lily, she might have grown up some, but she was still disturbed. After a short time she picked up an electric alarm clock and brought it over to the counter. This was it. This was it. Ray heard the back door open. â€Å"Will this be everything?† he said. â€Å"Yes,† said the future Mrs. Ray Macy. â€Å"I've been looking for one like this.† â€Å"Yep, you can't beat a Sunbeam,† Ray said. â€Å"That's two-sixteen with tax – aw, heck, call it two even.† â€Å"That's very nice of you,† she said, digging into a small purse woven from colorful Guatemalan cotton thread. â€Å"Hi, Ray,† Lily said, suddenly standing there beside him like some evil phantom who appeared out of nowhere to leech every potentially joyous moment out of his life. â€Å"Hi, Lily,† he said. Lily clicked some keys on the computer. Slowed down by his freshly sprained face, Ray wasn't able to turn before she'd hit the power button on the monitor. â€Å"What's this?† asked Lily. With his free hand, Ray thumped Lily in the thigh under the counter. â€Å"Ouch! Freak!† â€Å"I'm sure you'll enjoy waking up with that,† Ray said, handing the alarm clock to the woman who would be his queen. â€Å"Thank you so much,† said the lovely brunette goddess of all things Ray. â€Å"By the way,† Ray said, pushing on, â€Å"you've been in a couple of times, I was wondering, you know, because I'm curious that way, uh, what's your name?† â€Å"Audrey.† â€Å"Hi, Audrey. I'm Ray.† â€Å"Nice to meet you, Ray. Gotta go. Bye.† She waved over her shoulder and headed out the door. Ray and Lily watched her walk away. â€Å"Nice butt,† Lily said. â€Å"She said my name,† Ray said. â€Å"She's a little bit – I don't know – unimaginary for you.† Ray turned to the nemesis Lily. â€Å"You have to watch the store. I have to go.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"I have to follow her, find out who she is.† Ray began to gather his stuff – phone, keys, baseball cap. â€Å"Yeah, that's healthy, Ray.† â€Å"Tell Charlie I – don't tell Charlie.† â€Å"Okay. So is it okay if I switch the computer from the UGLY Web site?† â€Å"What are you talking about?† Lily stepped back from the screen and pointed to the letters as she read, â€Å"Ukrainian Girls Loving You – U-G-L-Y, ugly.† Lily smiled, a perky, self-satisfied smile, like that kid who won the spelling bee in third grade. Didn't you hate that kid? Ray couldn't believe it. They weren't even being subtle about it anymore. â€Å"Can't talk,† he said. â€Å"Gotta go.† He ran out the door and headed up Mason Street after the lovely and compassionate Audrey. Rivera had driven up to the Cliff House Restaurant overlooking Seal Rocks and forced Charlie to buy him a drink while they watched the surfers down on the beach. Rivera was not a morbid man, but he knew that if he came here enough times, eventually he'd see a surfer get hit by a white shark. In fact, he sorely hoped that it would happen, because otherwise, the world made no sense, there was no justice, and life was just a tangled ball of chaos. Thousands of seals in the water and on the rocks – the mainstay of the white shark diet – hundreds of surfers in the water, dressed like seals, well, it just needed to happen for all to be right with the world. â€Å"I never believed you, Mr. Asher, when you said that you were Death, but since I couldn't explain whatever that thing was in the alley with you, didn't want to explain, in fact, I let it slide.† â€Å"And I appreciate that,† said Charlie, showing a little discomfort at drinking a glass of wine with handcuffs on. His face was candy-apple red from having been burned by the pepper spray. â€Å"Is this normal procedure for interrogations?† â€Å"No,† Rivera said. â€Å"Normally the City is supposed to pay, but I'll have the judge take the drinks off your sentence.† â€Å"Great. Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"And you can call me Charlie.† â€Å"Okay, and you can call me Inspector Rivera. Now, braining the old lady with the cinder block – just exactly what were you thinking?† â€Å"Do I need a lawyer?† â€Å"Of course not, you're fine, this bar is full of witnesses.† Rivera had once been a by-the-book kind of cop. That was before the demons, the giant owls, the bankruptcy, the polar bears, the vampires, the divorce, and the saber-clawed woman-thing that turned into a bird. Now, not so much. â€Å"In that case, I was thinking that no one could see me,† Charlie said. â€Å"Because you were invisible?† â€Å"Not really. Just sort of not noticeable.† â€Å"Well, I'll give you that, but I don't think that's any reason to crush a grandmother's skull.† â€Å"You have no proof of that,† Charlie said. â€Å"Of course I do,† Rivera said, holding up his glass to signal to the waitress that he needed another Glenfiddich on the rocks. â€Å"I saw pictures of her grandchildren, she showed me when I went in the house.† â€Å"No, I mean you have no proof that I was going to crush her skull.† â€Å"I see,† said Rivera, who did not see at all. â€Å"How did you know Mrs. Posokovanovich?† â€Å"I didn't. Her name just showed up in my date book, like I showed you.† â€Å"Yes, you did. Yes, you did. But that doesn't really give you a license to kill her, now does it?† â€Å"That's the point, she was supposed to be dead three weeks ago. There was even a death notice in the paper. I was just trying to make sure it was accurate.† â€Å"So in lieu of having the Chronicle print a correction, you thought you'd bash in granny's brains.† â€Å"Well, it was that or have my daughter say ‘kitty' at her, and I refuse to exploit my child in that way.† â€Å"Well, I admire your taking the high ground on that one, Charlie,† Rivera said, thinking, Who do I have to shoot to get a drink around here? â€Å"But let's just say that for one millisecond I believe you, and the old lady was supposed to die, but didn't, and that because of it you were shot with a crossbow and that thing I shot in the alley appeared – let's just say I believe all that, what am I supposed to do about it?† â€Å"You need to be careful,† Charlie said. â€Å"You may be turning into one of us.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"That's how it happened to me. When my wife passed away, in the hospital, I saw the guy that came to collect her soul vessel, and wham, I was a Death Merchant. You saw me today, when no one else could, and you saw the sewer harpy, that night in the alley. Most of the time, I'm the only one who can see them.† Rivera really, really wanted to turn this guy over to a psychiatrist at the hospital and never see him again, but the problem was, he had seen the woman-thing, that night and another time on his own street, and he had seen reports of weird stuff happening in the City over the last two weeks. And not just normal San Francisco weird stuff, but really weird stuff, like a flock of ravens attacking a tourist in Coit Tower, and a guy who slammed his car through a storefront in Chinatown, saying that he had swerved to miss a dragon, and people all over the Mission saying that they'd seen an iguana dressed like a musketeer going through their garbage, tiny sword and all. â€Å"I can prove it,† Charlie said. â€Å"Just take me to the music store in the Castro.† Rivera looked at the sad, naked ice cubes in his glass and said, â€Å"Anyone ever tell you that it's hard to follow your train of thought, Charlie?† â€Å"You need to talk to Minty Fresh.† â€Å"Of course, that clears things up. I'll have a word with Krispy Kreme while I'm there.† â€Å"He's also a Death Merchant. He can tell you that what I'm telling you is true and you can let me go.† â€Å"Get up.† Rivera stood. â€Å"I'm not finished with my wine.† â€Å"Leave the money for the drinks and get up, please.† Rivera hooked his finger in Charlie's handcuffs and pulled him up. â€Å"We're going to the Castro.† â€Å"I don't think I can work my cane with these things on,† Charlie said. Rivera sighed and looked down on the surfers. He thought he saw something large moving in a wave behind one surfer, but as his heart leapt at the prospect, a sea lion poked his whiskered face out of the curl and Rivera's spirits sank again. He threw Charlie the handcuff keys. â€Å"Meet me in the car, I have to take a leak.† â€Å"I could escape.† â€Å"You do that, Charlie – after you pay.†