Chinese history (east asian studies) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese history (east asian studies) - Essay Example Leaders in China remain worried about this incident, since the possibility of a popular uprising of a similar kind worries them. This could also lead to a schism in the leadership that would be disastrous for the unity of the nation. Shirk points out the parallel in history that worries the Chinese leadership, the breakup of the Soviet Union, which was the result of widespread discontent. Shirk points to the support of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In the absence of this support, the possibility of a similar breakup looms large, that worries the Chinese government, which seeks to prevent it through maintaining an authoritarian regime. 3. The evolution of the Chinese foreign policy is something that has caught the eye of various political thinkers and foreign policy analysts. The change from a passive approach to one that actively engages in the political affairs of the world in an active manner signals a change of approach that coincides with the entry of China as a supe rpower in the political arena. It is a change from the erstwhile policy of China that was aimed at attaining the status of a superpower without causing any damage to its internal situation of peace. This shall however, according to analysts around the world, cause a certain kind of conflict between the new and the old power, by which is meant the United States of America and China.

How ICT impacts on me Essay Example for Free

How ICT impacts on me Essay I think ICT impacts me a lot since I first used a computer. It made my life happier but as well as distracting me too much sometimes. When I first used a computer, I was about 8 or 9; it was a must because we all had computer lessons since primary 3 until year 7. Email was the only major thing that made me use computers. By the time goes by, I am getting older, I was told by my younger cousin to play computer games on the internet. Since then, I used computer every day. My mum saw this then she set me a do’s list and a don’ts list. She thought that I was too addicted to the internet for some reason. This probably is one of the handicaps of how ICT impacts on me. On the other hand, teachers taught us how to use email on the internet since we were small, that leaded me communicating with my school friends during holiday. I thought this was very easy for us; we did not have to ring each other very frequently, we could simply send emails. However, we did not use it too appropriately. As the technology is growing year by year, now I know what exactly computers or anything related to ICT help us and influence us. Say about the online banking nowadays, customers will receive a little machine from their bank, which is used for confirming you are the right person when your debit or withdraw money from online banking. This can help with avoiding crime on online banking. For example, customer will need their secure key every time they log on. Secure key is the name of the little machine. It is handy, easy to keep in a safe place. Whenever customers need to log on to their online banking account, the website will ask them for the security code from their secure key. Next, they need to click one of the buttons on their secure key, then a random number or key appear on the screen. This prevents from some people who are trying to hack in others’ accounts. This would also make people feel safer when they do online banking, and getting away from the stress of being stolen a huge amount of money sneakily. This also affects hackers in a bad way; they will not be able to investigate a new way to hack people’s accounts in a period! On the other side of the influence on me, it would probably be computers. Years ago, I was still ‘’writing’’ my prep, nowadays, I go straight to my laptop and ‘’type’’ out my prep and then print them off. We have a various choice for us to prepare and do our paper work on our laptops. Now I use word processer to do my essay-work. Presentation software is for presenting information to a group of people. Spreadsheet is for calculating faster than working out numbers ‘manually’. Database is for holding a massive amount of data and records. This really does help people work more efficiently and spend less time on their work. Correcting words immediately after you find out wrong words is one of the advantages of ICT. Scribbles can be prevented if I work on my laptop. Finally, ICT really affects us in a good way, but there is one main thing that is bad for us. On the social side, some social websites tend to be too distracting to people, this would affect their working motivation and their working force. ICT could be a handicap in some ways. It could lead some teenagers or children over-addicted to computer games or social websites. In conclusion, ICT impacts me well so far. I could do my prep in a faster way and entertainment myself when I am bored or free.

Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on Bilharziasis

Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on Bilharziasis Abstract Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) gained a great attention in biomedical researches and become more applicable in nanomedicine in recent years because they have distinctive physicochemical properties. The current study was planned to assess the effect of the AuNPs with three doses levels on genes expressions, histology and oxidative stress status of Schistosoma mansoni infected mice liver. Inoculation of mice with 100 ÃŽÂ ¼l AuNPs at different doses (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg mice body weight) twice per week on day 46 and day 49 post infection reduced the total worm burden. Meanwhile, it reduced egg load in the liver and reduce the granuloma size. Also, AuNPs were able to significantly decrease the activities of malondialdhyde and nitric oxide as compared to infected untreated group. However, they increased the level of glutathione as compared toinfected untreated group. Concomitantly, AuNPs ameliorate the inflammatory response through decreasing the mRNA expression of IL-1ß, IL-6, TNFʽ ±, IFNÃŽÂ ³, and iNOS. In consistence with molecular, histopathological and biochemical data, AuNPs could ameliorate the infection induced damage in the liver of mice .Our results indicated that, AuNPs are effective anti-schistosomal and anti-oxidantagent.to confirm the role of nanogold as an antischistosomal agent and its mechanism of action, more studies are required to be done in the future. Keywords: Nanogold, Schistosoma mansoni, liver, gene expressions, histopathology, oxidative stress, mice. Introduction Bilharziasis is one of the most common parasitic diseases, which mostly affect the liver causing granuloma formation and hepatic fibrosis. Since, severe morbidity can result of schistosomal infection; the disease is still an important helminthic infection. Schistosomasis excessively affects people who have limited access to potable water and sanitation lived in the tropics and subtropics, approximately 240 million people infected with over 700 million people at risk of getting infected.1 Praziquantel (PZQ) is the known effective anti-schistosomal drug but the reinfection occurs rapidly after massive drug administration, thus, an efficient therapy used is the optimal way, especially in Schistosoma mansoni endemic areas. From a long time, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was have been used for drug delivery into cells.2,3,4Moreover, AuNPs have a strong potential role in cancer treatment and apoptosisinduction.5Accumulation of nanosystems at the targeted site I soften higher than normal drugs and usually leads to reduced systemic toxicity. However, chrysotherapy; gold was used in some diseases treatment smallpox, skin ulcers, syphilis and measles in ancient cultures in Egypt, India and China.2 Gold complexes showed potential antileishmanial and antimalarial activity, which have interesting role against Leishmania promastigotes in culture medium, becoming promising for using as band-aids to treat skin lesions. In addition, the effects of AuNPs as larvicidal for a mosquito vector of malaria have been reported. Thus, the impact of researches on gold for human tropical diseases therapy is considerable.6 The recent interest in using AuNPs in medicine has altered the methods of diagnosis and treatment.2For example, employing AuNPs in PCR has optimized the specificity of this diagnostic method.7Also some researchers have took advantage of AuNPsin transferring drugs into the biological cells, which provided a good basic for nuclear targeted delivery.8 Additional in vivo investigations are wished for the antihelminthic efficacy of AuNPs.9 Therefore, the present work aims to determine the cure rate of three doses of AuNPs against hepatic injury induced by schistosomasis in CD-1 mice . Materials and methods Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) AuNPs have been prepared by chemical reduction method as reported by Turkevich10. A solution of HAuCl4 has been used as Au3+ ions precursor. Sodium citrate has been used as both of mild reducing and stabilizing agent. The color of the solution slowly turned into faint pink color, indicating the reduction of the Au3+ ions to Au nanoparticles. The fabrication of AuNPs were performed with the colloidal reduction process of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4.3H2O) with salt of trisodium citrate (N3C6H5O7) purchased from Aldrich (99% pure) Chemical Co. Ltd and used without further purification. In a typical experiment: 2 mM of HAuCl4.3H2O was dissolved in 100 mL of double distilled water. To this solution, 1% N3C6H5O7 (~3 mM) was mixed. The pH of this solution was measured via pH meter (Cole parmer U.SA.), which was reached to 7.88. The obtained pinkish colored solution was stirred vigorously and refluxed the solution at boiling temperature for 15-20 min. pinkish color was changed to deep red color ed solution of AuNPs. The obtained colloidal solution was stored for the further morphological and other elemental analysis. Characterization Size and morphology of AuNPs were done by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Samples for TEM were prepared using the colloidal solution of nanoparticles. The colloidal sample solution was sonicated for 10 min in a bath sonicator before the observation and dipped in carbon coated copper grid (400 mesh) and dried at room temperature for the morphological analysis.A TEM picture was taken by a JOEL JEM 2000 EX 200 microscope at 200kv. Animals Sixty male CD-1 mice weighing 18-20 g were used in all experiments. The animals were obtained from a closed random bred colony at the Schistosome Biological Supply Center (SBSC) at Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt. Animals were housed in polycarbonate boxes with steel-wire tops (not more than six animals per cage) and bedded with wood shavings. Ambient temperature was controlled at 22  ± 3  °C with a relative humidity of 50 ± 15% and a 12-h light/dark photoperiod. Food and water were provided ad libitum. This study was conducted in accordance with legal ethical guidelines of the Medical Ethics Committee of the Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), Giza, Egypt (Approval No. 4018/2011). Mice Infection S. mansoni cercariae (Egyptian strain) were obtained from infected intermediate host snails (Biomphalaria alexandrina) maintained at the SBSC. Mice were infected subcutaneously with freshly shed 100 ± 10 cercariae/mouse according to Liang et al.11method. Experimental design Animals were divided into six groups of ten mice each. Group I served as a control (non-infected); the animals were received saline (100 ÃŽÂ ¼l saline water/mouse) by intraperitoneal (ip) injection for 10 days. Group II and Groups III, IV, V and VI were infected with 100 ±10 S. mansoni cercariae. The animals of groups III, IV and V were intrapretonially inoculated with 100 ÃŽÂ ¼l AuNPs at different doses (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg mice body weight) twice per week on day 46 and day 49 post infection respectively. Finally, infected animals of Group VI were orally administered 100  µl of PZQ (600 mg/kg mice body weight) on day 46 post infection at an interval of 24 h for 2 days.12 Study of parasitological criteria Immediately after mice killed by cervical decapitation, hepatic and portomesenteric vessels were perfuse for worms recovery and subsequent counting.13 After perfusion, a piece of liver was used for the determination of the number of ova in liver and the percentage change in egg density was determined. The percentage of eggs at various developmental stages was examined in three samples from each mouse and the mean number of eggs at each stage/animal was determined.14 Sample preparation After dissection, the liver of all groups were immediately removed and divided into three parts, the first part for RNA extraction, the second one for histopathological studies and the third part was homogenized (10% w/v) in ice-cold 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4). The homogenate was centrifuged at 2000 ÃÆ'-g for 15 min. at 4  °C and the resultant supernatant was used for biochemical analysis. Histopathological investigations and granuloma size Tissue samples of the liver of all groups were immediately fixed after animal dissection in 10% neutral buffered formalin dehydrated and processed for paraffin sectioning. Sections were then deparaffinized, stained with hematoxylin and eosin stains. To assess the size of tissue granuloma, the mean diameter (ÃŽÂ ¼m) was measured. For each group, 30 granulomas were chosen from different hematoxylin-eosin stained liver sections from different mice. Assessment of oxidative stress markers Estimation of the reduced glutathione (GSH) level GSH level in liver was determined by the methods of Ellman.15 The method based on the reduction of Ellmans reagent with GSH to produce a yellow compound; the reduced chromogen directly proportional to GSH concentration and its absorbance can be measured at 405 nm. Determination of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were assayed through colorimetric tests of the liver homogenates according to the method of Ohkawa et al.16 In this method, TBARS was determined by using 1 ml of trichloroacetic acid 10% and 1 ml of thiobarbituric acid 0.67% which were then heated together in a boiling water bath for 30 min. TBARS which react with the amount of malondialdehyde found in liver homogenate to give a red color were then measured at 535 nm. Determination of nitric oxide level Nitric oxide (NO) level was assayed colorimetrically in liver homogenate according to the method of Green et al.17 The nitrite/nitrate level was determined where in an acid medium and in the presence of nitrite the formed nitrous acid diazotisesulphanilamide is coupled with N-(1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine. The resulting azo dye has a bright reddish-purple color which can be measured at 540 nm. Quantitative PCR Tissues frozen at -80oC were thoroughly grounded with a mortar under liquid nitrogen and total RNA was isolated with Trizol (Sigma-Aldrich). Quality and integrity of RNA were determined using the Agilent RNA 6000 Nano Kit on the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies). RNA was quantified by measuring A260nm on the ND-1000 Spectrophotometer (NanoDrop Technologies).18 Real time PCR was performed as detailed previously.19, 20 In brief, total RNA freed from DNA using the DNA free kit (Applied Biosystem, Darmstadt, Germany) was used to synthesize cDNA using QuantiTectTM Reverse QuantiTectTM SYBR ® Green PCR kit (Qiagen) was applied for amplifications in the ABI Prism ® 7500HT Sequence Detection System (AppliedBiosystems, Darmstadt, Germany) with gene-specific QuantiTectTM primers delivered by Qiagen (Hilden, Germany). We investigated the genes encoding the mRNAs for the following proteins: interleukin-1ÃŽÂ ² (IL-1ÃŽÂ ²), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFÃŽÂ ± ), interferone-à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § (IFNà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ §), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). PCR reactions were performed and evaluated as detailed elsewhere.18 Statistical analysis The obtained data were presented as means  ± standard error. One-way ANOVA was carried out, and the statistical comparisons among the groups were performed with Duncans test using a statistical package program (SPSS version 17.0). Pà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤0.05 was considered as significant for all statistical analysis in this study. Results Morphological analysis of colloidal AuNPs The structural morphology and crystalline character of AuNPs were examined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The obtained images shows the corresponding TEM results, which are shown in figure (1), the low magnified image (Fig. 1A) shows that, AuNPs are spherical in shape within the range of 10-15 nm in diameter. From the observation, its depicted that all the NPs are in definite spherical shape with rough surface and free from agglomeration behavior. Another obtained image represents the high resolution TEM (HR-TEM) image of AuNPs (figure 1B), which shows the lattice difference fringes between two adjacent planes are about 0.235 nm. The obtained lattice difference clearly corresponds to the lattice constant of face centered cubic (FCC) of AuNPs and are analogues with the previously reported information.21, 22 The crystal lattice fringes of HRTEM observation (Fig. 1B), again shows a confirmation of good crystalline nature of synthesized AuNPs and it is consistent with the low magnified image of AuNPs. 21, 22 AuNPs treatment induced a significant reduction in hepatic worm burden at all examined doses (0.25, 0.5 and1 mg/kg) as compared to infected group. The worm burden reduction rate was approximately, 32%, 49% and 64%, respectively (Table 1). Similarly, figure 2 shows that, the three dose levels of AuNPs caused a highly significant reduction on egg density in liver tissues of infected mice, and the highest reduction (69.8 %) was recorded at 1mg AuNPs dose level . Table 2 and figure 3 show the alternation on the liver histology from S. mansoni infected animals, compared with that from control animals. Figure 3A displays a histological section of liver from a control mouse. The center-lobe vein has normal morphological characteristics while figure 3B shows a histological section of liver after 56 days of S. mansoni infection in mice. Cellular alteration was verified on liver. There are leukocyte aggregations near blood vessels and evident vascular congestion. Histological investigation of hepatic tissue sections reveals that S. mansoni infection caused a severe inflammatory response of the liver, as indicated by inflammatory cellular infiltration as well as cytoplasmic vacuolation and degeneration of hepatocytes. In addition, the hepatic sinusoids were dilated and apparently contained more Kupffer cells. Treated livers of S. mansoni infected mice with the three dose levels (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) of AuNPs as shown in figures 3C, 3D and 3E, resp ectively appeared with moderate inflammatory cellular infiltration. Figure4 showed that, the granuloma size in hepatic tissue showed a marked and a significant reduction in the granuloma diameter at Pas a result of AuNPs treatment to schistosome infected mice at all investigated doses (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) as compared to untreated schistosome infected mice. Likewise, PZQ gavage induced a significant decrease in hepatic granuloma size infected of S. mansoni versus infected group. Schistosomiasis induced a significant elevation in hepatic levels of MDA and NO (table 3). In the same manner, injection of 3 different doses of AuNPs and PZQ to infected mice increased the levels of MDA and NO significantly as compared to non-infected group. Oppositely, a significant reduction was observed in hepatic MDA and NO levels as a result of AuNPs (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) and PZQ injection versus infected group. Finally, GSH which involved in the down-regulation of substances formed during oxidative stress has been determined (Table 3). It was striking that GSH was significantly down-regulated by S. mansoni infection but that this effect was largely ameliorated by AuNPs treatment. Moreover, the S. mansoni infected mice revealed a significant up-regulation in mRNA of IL-1ÃŽÂ ², IL-6, TNFÃŽÂ ±, IFNÃŽÂ ³ and iNOs in hepatic tissue; likewise, injection of different doses of AuNPs and PZQ induced significant up-regulation versus control group. On the other hand, treatment with AuNPs as well as, PZQ to infected mice decreased the expression of IL-1ÃŽÂ ², IL-6, TNFÃŽÂ ±, IFNÃŽÂ ³ and iNOs-mRNA significantly as compared to infected group (Fig. 5). 4. Discussion Newly in several fields of nanomedicine; AuNPs have been actively used for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. It has been debated that nanoparticles of gold could be used in nearly all medical purposes.23 Abraham and Himmel24proved the successful usage of colloidal gold in rheumatoid arthritispatients. In addition, AuNPs caused cestode paralysis, which is followed by death; the authors attributed to alterations in cestode enzymatic activity of the parasite.9 Our results revealed that schistosomiasis caused marked and significant histopathological impairments in liver sections, and granulomatous inflammation was recorded. Ameret al.25 reported that S. mansoni induced granulomas which were characterized by concentric fibrosis Ù†¡Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ° the trapped eggs surrounded by many fibroblasts. In addition, Toussonet al.26observed main histopathological injuries in schistosomiasis mansoni such as granulomas, diffuse infiltration of inflammatory cells eosinophils and small mononuclear cells and fibrosis of portal areas and interlobular septa. In the same manner, El- Banhawey et al. 27 cleared that schistosomiasis causes necrotic changes in the liver tissues. On contrary, our treatment with different doses of AuNPs appeared moderate inflammatory cellular infiltration, decreased the granuloma diameter. Moreover, AuNPs reduced the hepatic worm burden as compared the infected group. Dkhilet al.28 deduced that gold nanoparticles treatment to infected schistosome mice improved the histological disturbances of infected brain mice. Schistosomiasis mansoni imbalanced the hepatocellular antioxidant system and liberated the free radicals which are evidenced by decrement in GSH level and increased levels of both nitrite/nitrate and MDA in hepatic tissue. Meanwhile, AuNPs increased hepatic GSH level and decreased the levels of nitrite/nitrate and MDA. It was reported that, schistosomiasis disturbed the levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants which impaired liver GSH content of mice and decreased hepatic antioxidant capacity inducing lipid peroxides generation which may act a main role in the pathology associated with bilharziasis.25, 29 Furthermore, S. mansoni caused oxidative stress in different mice organs such as brain. Neuroschistosomiasis induced reduction of GSH level and increased nitrite/nitrate and MDA levels. Otherwise, gold nanoparticles (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) injection to schistosome infected mice ameliorated GSH level and reduced levels of nitrite/nitrate and MDA in brain.28 In the present study, AuNPs injection (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) to schistosome infected mice showed a significant down-regulation of IL-1ÃŽÂ ², IL-6, TNFÃŽÂ ±, IFNÃŽÂ ³and iNOs-mRNA expressions in hepatic tissue versus infected mice. IL-1 and TNF-ÃŽÂ ± are the major pro-inflammatory cytokine, they considered as alarm cytokines which secreted by macrophages. IL-1 plays a role in initiation and propagation of the inflammation by stimulating the expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells and leukocytes. In addition, TNF-ÃŽÂ ± may aggravate fibrosis and ameliorate the granulomatous reaction results from presence of schistosome eggs. So, in mice lacking of IL-1ÃŽÂ ² gene, characterized by delayed disease development and declined systemic inflammatory responses.30, 31 Moreover, lower expression of IL-6 and IL-1ÃŽÂ ² (pro-inflammatory cytokines) cause a down modulation of granulomatous inflammation and hepatocyte necrosis.32Also, Macrophages could be activate to produce NO and other inflammatory mediators by IFNÃŽÂ ³ is which considered as an important inducer of iNOs. In addition, Abdallahi et al.33detectediNOs mRNA in the liver at the onset of parasite egg laying; the authors cleared that the levels then increased as the eggs accumulated liver.34 However, Mwatha et al.35 reported that increased TNFÃŽÂ ³ is correlated with the development of severe hepatosplenic disease. Khan et al.36 concluded that gold nanoparticles (50 nm) showed a normal level of IL-6 gene expression in hepatic tissue of rat on day 5 of injection meanwhile, IL-1ÃŽÂ ², TNFÃŽÂ ± m-RNA expression was down regulated significantly on day 5. Moreover, nanoparticles of gold have no cytotoxic effect as they decrease the production of reactive oxygen species and do not stimulate secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (TNFà °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¼and IL1-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ½) making them suitable candidates for nanomedicine.37, 38Gold nanoparticles are not induced apoptosis, moreover, not activated gene expression related to oxidative stress and inflammatory response (TNFà °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¼) while their low reactivity with biomolecules and cells provides a promising medical platform.39 Conclusion Collectively, our investigations suggest that the way in which AuNPs exert their ameliorating effects on Schistosomiasis mansoni promoted oxidative stress may be attributed to its ability to scavenging free radicals , and that this action could find a clinical use in the treatment of hepatic dysfunction in schistosomiasis. Additional studies are still necessary, however, with a view to clarify the exact mechanism of this modulatory effect, and to examine its potential therapeutic effects in more detail.

The Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Genetic Engineering E

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Genetic engineering is a process in which scientists transfer genes from one species to another totally unrelated species. Usually this is done in order to get one organism to produce proteins, which it would not naturally produce. The genes taken from one species, which code for a particular protein, are put into cells of another species, using a vector. This can result in the cells producing the desired protein. It is used for producing proteins which can be used by humans, such as insulin for diabetics and is also used to make organisms better at surviving, for example genetically modifying a plant so that it can survive in acidic soil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is debate about whether genetic engineering should be used or not, and to what degree. There are many problems that can occur from the process and many of these cannot be avoided currently. There are known problems and there is also the fact that the whole process is unpredictable and unforeseen problems could crop up. A good example of this was the influence of a genetically engineered organism on a food chain, which sometimes damaged the local ecology. The new organism could now compete successfully against other species, causing unforeseen changes in the environment. This could then have a knock-on effect that could lead to the destruction of whole species.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Due to the quite random nature of genetic engineering, there is a risk that it may disrupt the functioning of other genes in an organism. This could mean that the organisms do not survive at all, or become some sort of mutated freak, which is completely different and maybe even more dangerous. Genetic engineers also intend to profit by patenting genetically engineered seeds. This means that, when a farmer plants these genetically engineered seeds, all the seeds have an identical genetic structure. As a result, if a fungus, a virus, or a pest develops which can attack this particular crop, they might all be at risk, resulting in widespread crop failure. Insects, birds, and the wind can carry genetically altered seeds, which can cross-pollinate with genetically natural crops and wild relatives. All crops, organic and non-organic, are vulnerable to contamination from cross-pollinatation, meaning that problems in the original genetically modified organisms can be spre ad a... ...age because it means that insulin, which keeps diabetics alive, can be produced quickly and cheaply. Genetic Engineering could also increase genetic diversity, and produce more variants of the same species that could also be crossed over and implanted into other species. Animals and plants can be 'tailor made' to show desirable characteristics. Genes could also be manipulated in trees for example, to absorb more CO2 and reduce the threat of global warming. This would actually help the environment. However many of these things have not been tested and are much more difficult in practice than in theory. That added to the massive uncertainty about the effects and results of genetic engineering would suggest that the benefits do not outweigh the risks taken to obtain them. A religious question also arises. By changing the cells of living organisms are we ‘playing God’ and if we are should we be allowed to?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion I would say that genetic engineering is certainly a good thing saving lives in many cases. However more tests need to be carried out, and profit-hungry companies should not be allowed to do whatever they want in their quests for profit.

Lemongrass as Mosquito Repellent

Introduction Nowadays, our country is very rampant with mosquitoes that carry various diseases and one of the most popular diseases that are caused by a mosquito is â€Å"DENGUE†. Because of this disease, a lot of Filipinos died. Dengue is a disease caused by any one of the four related viruses transmitted by mosquitos. One of the easiest ways to prevent mosquitoes is to use Mosquito Repellent. This is the reason why the researchers want to make an alternative Mosquito Repellent.There are many commercial Mosquito Repellent available in the market. The commonly used commercial Mosquito Repellent in the Philippines is quite unaffordable and use chemical that may cause irritation. The researchers planned to use natural ingredients. Since the ingredient to be use is natural, the Mosquito Repellent to be made is more affordable and environmental friendly. The ingredient that the researchers are going to use is Lemongrass.Lemongrass has natural anti-microbial properties, is an antis eptic, suitable for use on various types of skin infections, usually as a wash or compress, and is especially effective on ringworm, infected sores, acne and athlete’s foot. Lemongrass is also used as a Mosquito Repellent. In using this product, you will spray it over all exposed skin areas. Avoid spraying near your eyes. You may reapply after washing. If irritation occurs, wash of immediately and discontinue use. The very most importance of this product is to avoid or prevent the spread of various diseases caused by mosquito bites.Mosquito Repellent is a substance skin, clothing, or other surfaces which discourages insects from landing or climbing on that surface. Mosquito Repellent also helps prevent and control the outbreak of insect borne diseases such as Malaria, Lyme disease, Dengue fever, Bubonic plague, and West Nile Fever. Theoretical Framework Lemongrass herb is very popular plant found commonly in India and used for medicinal, food and insect/mosquito repellent pro ducts.The lemongrass oils are also used in cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, dyes and dorizes along with thousands of other products. (www. newtechbio. com/articles/Lemongrass-as-an-insect-repellent. htm) Lemongrass oil has a fresh, strong, lemon-like, and pungent odor and is used in deodorants, herbal teas, skin care products, fragrances, and insect repellents, and for aromatherapy. (http://www. naturalstandard. com/index-abstract. asp? create-abstract=patient-lemongrass. asp&title=Lemongrass) Significance of the Study People nowadays can be easily infected with diseases caused by mosquitoes.Diseases that can kill people. The people who are easily infected with this diseases are those people living near canals, dump sides, and rivers. Mosquitoes are dangerous pest in the whole world. Nowadays, people encountered various diseases such as malaria and dengue. Due to economic crises the researcher found a solution to get rid of mosquitos that exist in locality. However the following product is tested by the following stake holders such as client, teachers, students, and workers.The researchers find the study significant because there is an increasing number of mortality due to mosquito bites, although there are alternative solutions to this problem. Filipinos cannot deny that some of their brothers and sisters cannot afford to buy organic insect repellent made out of lemongrass. Scope and Limitations The researcher’s product is only limited to minimize the amount of mosquitoes in a certain household. This is to see how effective the product will be before applying it somewhere else.

Animal Farm’s Utopian Society Essay

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel detailing a farm’s revolution as the animals fight to take back what is theirs and keep it for themselves rather than supply a farmer and his needs. The animals succeed in recapturing their farm, and one of the first things they do is set up a list of seven commandments to provide structure to their utopian society. By the end of the book, one realizes that the utopian society the animals set up was riddled with holes, and this leads one to wonder if a utopian is ever really achievable. The purpose of this essay is to discuss Animal Farm’s flaws in its utopian society and the idea of the utopian society as a whole. To begin, one of the main flaws of the animals’ society is the fact that they wanted to be completely self-sufficient without any help from the outside world. A farm cannot sustain on its own: tools break, you can run low on fuel, and things need to be modernized. Orwell wrote the first commandment as â€Å"Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. † (24). With this as its first and primary thought, the pigs ultimately set their society up for failure. One crucial example of this failure is when the animals tried to construct a windmill to provide electricity for the farm. The animals couldn’t break up the stone to build the windmill, because as Orwell put it, â€Å"There seemed no way of doing this except with picks and crowbars, which no animal could use, because no animal could stand on his hind legs. † (60) The animals were not men and were foolish to think that they could achieve everything just as easily as man could. The windmill took several years to finish, and in the end wasn’t used to provide electricity to the farm, but to grind corn. The belief that all humans are the enemy and should be avoided was one of the nails in the coffin of Animal Farm’s utopian society, because they eventually did have to interact with the humans and trade with them. As well as the first commandment, the fact that the animals had two leaders led to the society’s destruction. The pigs Snowball and Napoleon were of completely different minds and had completely ideals. They argued over everything and eventually plotted against each other. Having two different leaders with different ideas and different styles of governing and taking care of Animal Farm was a mistake because it would be much more difficult to reach an agreement or do anything that would greatly improve life on the farm. There is also the fact that one of them would eventually take over completely, which did happen. Napoleon chased Snowball off the premises and slowly but surely convinced the animals that Snowball was the worst of them all. Napoleon even got to the point where if anything bad happened, the animals would blame Snowball for it. To be successful, the leaders of a society must want to cooperate and to work for the good of the people they are leading. Napoleon did not want to work with Snowball in the slightest, and this led to the totalitarianism state that Animal Farm became under Napoleon’s leadership and guidance. Considering these flaws in utopian societies, one is led to wonder if a utopian society is really attainable. To be a utopian society, all people must be equal and have equal worth. This in itself is impossible. A society must have at least one leader to guide it and lead the people, but there are no leaders in equality. There has to be different social classes or else all there is going to be is a great deal of working in the lowest of low jobs in factories or farms. There is also no absolute way to please everyone, which is another characteristic of a utopian society. If one thing happens that will make one person happy, there is a great chance it will make someone else angry. Utopian societies are unreachable and unattainable, and will surely turn into dystopian societies, just like Animal Farm. In brief, the society created in Animal Farm was condemned from the first commandment and the first appointment of its leaders. Trying to live life on a farm without the aid or contact with humans was illogical in itself. As previously stated, a farm cannot sustain on its own. The animals were foolish to think it could. The leading of Snowball and Napoleon also led to the destruction of the farm’s utopian society. They couldn’t possibly do any good for the farm because they were too busy arguing at the Sunday debates. All in all, a utopian society is not achievable, at least not in the near future. Equality cannot possibly be reached because a society needs a leader, which is against the idea of equality. Everyone also cannot be pleased at the same time because it is against human nature. Animal Farm never could have been a true utopian society; it was doomed before it had even begun.

Free Essays on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy More often than not, the outcomes of events that occur in a person’s life is the product of the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy. It is that which â€Å"occurs when a person’s expectations of an event make the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise have been true† (Adler and Towne, Looking Out, Looking In 66). Or restated, as Henry Ford once put it, â€Å"If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!† This brief research paper touches on the two types of self-fulfilling prophecies, those that are self-imposed and those that are imposed by others. Additionally, it gives a discussion on how great of an influence it is in each person’s life, both positively and negatively, and how it consequently helps to mold one’s self-concept and ultimately one’s self. The first topic of discussion is the self-imposed, or self-inflicted, self-fulfilling prophecy. This idea follows that if one has a preconception or notion of an outcome, then chances are that person will raise the possibility of making it so. Take for example these cases-in-hand that Channing Grigsby, teacher of self-esteem speaks of: ‘I can’t handle this.’ And guess what? We don’t handle it well. If I tell myself I won’t have a good time at the party I’m going to, I am likely to behave in ways that generate exactly that reality, eliciting from other people indifferent responses, proving my premise. (â€Å"A Course in Self-Esteem† 5) Additionally, and antithetically, consider the example of the student studying for a mathematics test the following morning whose belief is that since he is and has been studying and has a good working knowledge of the subject area, that he will do well on the test and does so the following morning. When compared to another student doing the same but is less prepared and knowledgeable in the area and additionally thinks that he will fail and did, he performed bett... Free Essays on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Free Essays on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Self-Fulfilling Prophecy More often than not, the outcomes of events that occur in a person’s life is the product of the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy. It is that which â€Å"occurs when a person’s expectations of an event make the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise have been true† (Adler and Towne, Looking Out, Looking In 66). Or restated, as Henry Ford once put it, â€Å"If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!† This brief research paper touches on the two types of self-fulfilling prophecies, those that are self-imposed and those that are imposed by others. Additionally, it gives a discussion on how great of an influence it is in each person’s life, both positively and negatively, and how it consequently helps to mold one’s self-concept and ultimately one’s self. The first topic of discussion is the self-imposed, or self-inflicted, self-fulfilling prophecy. This idea follows that if one has a preconception or notion of an outcome, then chances are that person will raise the possibility of making it so. Take for example these cases-in-hand that Channing Grigsby, teacher of self-esteem speaks of: ‘I can’t handle this.’ And guess what? We don’t handle it well. If I tell myself I won’t have a good time at the party I’m going to, I am likely to behave in ways that generate exactly that reality, eliciting from other people indifferent responses, proving my premise. (â€Å"A Course in Self-Esteem† 5) Additionally, and antithetically, consider the example of the student studying for a mathematics test the following morning whose belief is that since he is and has been studying and has a good working knowledge of the subject area, that he will do well on the test and does so the following morning. When compared to another student doing the same but is less prepared and knowledgeable in the area and additionally thinks that he will fail and did, he performed bett...

The Candymakers Essays

The Candymakers Essays The Candymakers Paper The Candymakers Paper The Canebrakes Isabella Cooley 4th hour 3/23/12 In the novel The Canebrakes by Wendy Mass, Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Philip are competing to make the worlds best candy. Logan is the son of the man who owns the candy factory Life is Sweet. When the annual competition comes to see which twelve year old can make the best candy, Logan enters along with 31 other kids but only three others practice at Life is Sweet. Daisy, Miles, and Philip all come eager to make candy, but each is hiding a secret. Which one will become the supreme cankered? The thematic statement I hose was It is better to try something and fail than to never have tried at all. My evidence is that Logan made a delicious candy, but it didnt do what he wanted. He didnt win, but he knew that his dad was proud of him because he tried, and he was proud of himself. In the story, Miles has a burden. He doesnt know how to express what hes going through. One day at the lake, he saw a bee follow this girl into the water. No one else saw her, just Miles. He tried explaining it to people, but they never really believed him. He always felt like that girl was watching him, ling him what to do. Daisy tells a story one night about how she practiced with her parents at the lake to see how long she could swim under water. Miles is relieved that she is okay, but mad that she never told anyone. On page 352, Miles says, l was on the boat. The one Daisy swam under. Only I didnt see her. All this time thought the girl-I mean Daisy-had drowned and hadnt been able to save her. That statement helped me understand how he felt and how he thought she was dead. When Daisy tells Miles about the boat, he is shocked, but he was wondering why she did it. So, of course she tells him why. She tells him that SSH?s a spy trying to get a secret ingredient for her client. But there is more. Shes thirteen, not twelve. So that means she cannot compete in the competition due to the fact you have to be twelve. Miles is shocked and doesnt know what to do until she says her clients name. Miles tells Philip, and Philip says that is his father. On page 346, it says, Philip reddened and plopped down on a sleeping bag. That would be my father. This shows me that Philip is embarrassed of his dad and basically assumed that would happen. After that, he calls his dad to confront him. His father confesses and makes him a deal saying if he can win the contest, he wont steal the secret ingredient. All the kids have a tough decision: to give up their dream of winning or forget about Philip and win. What would you choose? All the canebrakes decide to help Philip, although they decide Logan should still enter because its his dream. They help Philip and head to the competition. They have another competitor who has an awesome treat, but something is off about it. On page 426, it says, A. J.! Its caffeine! Alex Grubber put caffeine in the I-scream! That definitely helped me understand how the other team had cheated. After all is said and done, they award first place to Philip from Life is Sweet, and the candy shop is saved. Overall, I really liked this book and all it had to offer for me. It had a lot of mystery in it, which I liked. I would recommend this book to people, but warn them that the point of view changes from person to person. I know that some people dont like that in books. But, overall, its a really great book with a great moral.

Adaptive Or Active Suspension System Engineering Essay

Adaptive Or Active Suspension System Engineering Essay What is the use of a suspension system. Its main task is to provide a safe and stable ride for the vehicle. The components are usually passive force elements as they provide a nice trade-off between wear, stability and comfort. Suspension system dampens the shocks and does not allow the jerks to be transmitted to the human body. By selecting the right spring and damper properties, the suspension functions as a barrier to the jerks and only passes those frequencies which come in comfortable range for humans. But at the same time the wheel load variation must be minimum as we need contact of tire with road at all times. A system of links connects the un-sprung mass (wheel, brake, steering hub) to the sprung mass (car body). However there is a trade off at the cornering, as the spring should be stiff enough to avoid over roll of the body. Sometimes an anti-roll bar is used to overcome the exaggerated roll due to damping in corners. However the stiffness of the roll bar is not independe nt as we cannot transmit vibrations of one wheel to the other. The traditional suspension will tilt the tire while cornering. This is because the linkage rotates and the tire connected to it also rotates. This causes the area of contact of the tire to reduce while cornering or turning. This results in the loss of grip and massive body roll of the vehicle. In case of cornering the requirement usually is to get a so-called counter camber. The negative camber angle will cause a favorable deformation of the contact patch, which in combination with the unfavorable deformation due to the cornering forces will lead to a desirable contact patch between the tire and the road. Examples of today’s suspension systems which provide a negative camber are the double wish-bone and the McPherson suspension system. Non-zero static camber can also improve the cornering and bump control of the vehicle. Active Suspension system An active suspension system can prevent suspension travel under a var ying load, theoretically without consuming energy. That is why it is very suitable for leveling car during accelerating, braking and cornering, or for taking care of static load variations. And as these systems are computer-aided, there mathematical models can be fed to a controller to level the car or to improve the comfort level. Design and Working While cornering the average force per suspension strut varies from the static value and its length remains equal as to eliminate body roll. By using the principle of a lever, the varying load can be counter-balanced by a constant force by varying distance from the fulcrum. This system perfectly eliminates body roll and the system would not rotate. Because all relevant forces are perpendicular to the direction of adjustment of the fulcrum and constant force, the adjustment will not cost any energy. A possible application of this principle is shown below: The pre-tensioned secondary spring (inner one) is maximally assisting the primary sp ring (outer one). Initially, the adjustable arms are positioned at an angle of 90Â ° with respect to the position in figure above in order to not produce any torque around the fulcrum. Fulcrum here is the hollow hole on the right side which will get attached to the chassis of the vehicle. This type of system is called a trailing arm suspension system.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) - Essay Example Increased efficiency and productivity are the main goals of TPM that are focused in this study.   Jindal Steelworks is a global company - a fast growing steelworks and fabrication company, with more than 7,000 employees. The company has recently been hit hard by the global recession and is presently facing hardships in maintaining its profits. The company management has decided to implement various management techniques with the help of available technological and HR management systems in the industry. A number of production and operational management techniques were utilized to increase the value of the system routing through a well defined systematic approach that assisted the company to identify better profits.   With the purpose of sustaining the future growth options, from a finer product based business approach towards higher operational excellence of the company, the management has decided to evaluate modern techniques, TPM, being one of them. By putting in the new management applications in the form of techniques like TPM, TQM, supply chain and inter-enterprise systems, Jindal Steelworks has been able to push through higher goals, better operational excellence, higher cost savings and competitive advantage, (Roberts, 1997).   With the effects of recession on the company profit margins, and changing industry scenario, the company management has been searching for low cost operational and production techniques, along with higher effciency results and customer orieted reuslts. TPM has gained a lot of attention within the steel industry and has been successfully able to eliminate common problems to steel plants like machinery breakdowns, onsite accidents, procedural defects and lack of standards and work safety. Introduction of TPM at the work floor of Jindal steel works has helped to improve work conditions, reduced accidents rates and breakdowns by a considerable margin. TPM

Censorship on the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Censorship on the Internet - Essay Example The Rudd government of Australia wants to introduce the ‘Clean Feed’ project to control internet content. ‘Clean Feed’ aims to censor material on the internet for all Australians, ultimately blocking some forms of content for all individuals, mainly pornography, and possibly other controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia (Courier Mail; Daily Telegraph). This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of internet censorship. It argues that the government no longer needs to spend millions on internet censorship, because it cannot achieve the outcomes it aims for, because there are already many ways of accessing controversial and illegal content. Instead, the government should focus on generating a self-censorship policy, which focuses on educating the public, especially schools and parents, in using free internet censorship software and in educating the people about the harms of accessing illicit content on the web. Internet censorship is not enti rely flawed, because the principle behind it is that the internet should be a safe virtual space for everyone, especially children. Children should be protected from pornographic content, and being victims of pornography too (Flood). Flood shows that â€Å"children and adolescents may be shocked or disturbed by premature or inadvertent encounters with sexually explicit material per se† (388). Since the internet has become increasingly accessible and prominent among the youth, the government also has a responsibility to prevent children’s access to pornography online. The Christian Lobby's Jim Wallace tells the Four Corners that he finds it "quite amazing" that anyone would be against the filter plans (Ross). He asserts his own censorship ideals: "The bigger principle here is to establish the principle that the internet is not a free zone and I think that given the movement of technology and given the expectation of society that what the Government is proposing is there fore a good solution† (Ross). He adds: "We've lobbied the Government of course and we've lobbied quite hard. We got the first commitment to this prior to the last election and you know we're happy to see that the Government is delivering on it.† (Ross). Furthermore, many of these sexual websites have viruses and other computer programs that can harm computers. The Rudd government believes that internet censorship can make the internet a more family-friendly environment and a safer place for children to explore. It then aims to filter questionable content, such as pornography, abortion, profanity, sexual content, suicide and any other material that may seem obscene and unfit for children (Courier Mail; Daily Telegraph). It does so in the role of a caring parent, who seeks to guide the moral development of the nation’s children. Internet censorship is not all-encompassing, so it does not entirely obstruct the freedom of speech. Internet censorship is limited in reac h and impact in Australia. The Clean Feed is designed to have two filters, one being a mandatory stipulation for all Internet Service Providers, and this will target illegal web pages, terrorism, and child pornography. The second filter will censor out all material which is rated R material. This filter will be an optional filter for people in the household. This means that internet censorship remains as a form of self-censorship, with options for opting out for some internet

Consolidation and Reflective Statement on Personal learning preference Coursework

Consolidation and Reflective Statement on Personal learning preference workshop - Coursework Example It is good to balance these styles at times to create a balance for sharpening one’s learning skills (Honey & Mumford, 1992). The reflector and theorist learning styles are worth considering. Reflective learning is an individual style of learning. One needs no guidebook to implement it. Reflection should not be thought of as an essential element of the ‘to do’ list. Rather, reflection should be practiced at any stage. One should underscore the need to be a reflective learner, but not doing reflective learning. The ability to reflect is quite important in the process of learning and self-development (Honey & Mumford, 1992). Reflection could be in the form of thinking with a purpose, questioning, probing, analyzing, being critical, making judgments, and conclusions. A reflective learner should plan and prioritize. The huge number of activities in the study process can overwhelm a learner. One should plan his time and prioritize the learning tasks, knowing well how to execute all other commitments (Contrell, 2010). Precisely, the learner should reflect ahead to know what is required, when and how to do it based on prioritization. Secondly, the learner should set and achieve goals. Motivation can play out when one reflects on the goals of the study while relating the same to life goals. When goals are defined, it is easier to strategize on achieving them (Honey & Mumford, 1992). A reflective learner should know how to deal with anxiety and procrastination (Contrell, 2010). Procrastination can lead to the missing of deadlines or lagging behind in study schedules, a situation that can take away one’s confidence. A learner should recognize why, where and when he or she procrastinates to challenge habits and routines. Essential tools for reflection in reflective learning include diaries, journals, tables, lists, maps, bullet points, videos, digital recorders, diagrams and icons (Contrell, 2010). These can better boost a reflective

Research to introduce telemedicine (eICU) to the hospital Annotated Bibliography

Research to introduce telemedicine (eICU) to the hospital - Annotated Bibliography Example The software also involve immediate access to all progress about patient plans of care, x-ray as well as notes that are useful to the patient. This helps hospitals in management because they minimize on costs since one intensivist is used in more that one hospital to offer the same service. The authors brings out the positive effects that telemedicine has in the intensive care unit. This is because this system has an audio-video patient monitoring and management system that has a design best suitable for intensive care unit and hence only few experts manage many hospitals. This source has a goal of ensuring that hospitals minimize costs for intensive care unit to increase financial gain of the hospital. This source is helpful because it brings out the financial benefits, which a hospital is likely to gain by adopting a system since experts can monitor it from a centralized location while dealing with patients who are in the ICU. This research paper is about a proposal of introducing telemedicine to hospitals. It contains annotated bibliography of nine references that relate to this proposal. Breslow, M., et al (2004): Effect of a multiple-site intensive care unit telemedicine program on clinical and economic outcomes: an alternative paradigm for intensivist staffing. Crit Care Med , 32:31–38 [1]. In this journal, the authors examine telemedicine in hospitals by looking at whether a corresponding remote intensive care unit, for care programs adopted by an integrated care delivery network though a commercial telemedicine and ICT (information communication technology), would enhance clinical and economical performance in ICUs. The authors have been able to carry out an important study, and have presented vital results to the study of telemedicine implementation in ICUs. In deed, this journal greatly helps in understanding this

Leadership and Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership and Performance Management - Essay Example In addition to that, recession also added to their demise. Heavy operating costs allowed other competitors with lower costs to capture North American market which was GM’s territory earlier. While assessing some of the decisions taken by GM’s leadership, it was found that closure of GM’s hybrid cars unit along with layoffs and prior faulty acquisitions added to GM’s expense list which had no means to be satisfied. 1.1 Key Findings GM has faced problems due to its highly bureaucratic culture and sluggish approach towards development and innovation. Its slow performance in the recent years has its roots in its earlier catastrophic decisions that were taken in 1970s and 80s but had a long-term impact on the organizational performance which ultimately leads to a government bailout in 2009. GM has made several bad investments in the vehicle models that were not answering consumer’s requirements and also were competitive to each other which further result ed in slow growth of the company. GM had various brands at its portfolio which required major expenses in terms of research and development for proper brand management. Failure to keep up with consumers’ demands ultimately lead to slow sales of these brands which affected cash inflow in turn (Maynard, 2009). Instead of ensuring that consumers’ demands for compact and energy-efficient cars is met, GM under the leadership of Wagoner, shut down EV1 electric cars program. With lower vehicle sales, the operating expenses and manufacturing costs increased greatly as a result of which GM was forced to increase its prices. The burden was passed onto the consumer which act as a deterrent for GM’s sales. As a result of this program’s shutdown, billions were lost in terms of research and development. Furthermore, there was a major recall from the roads which made GM compensate the lessees for the losses incurred. The already manufactured models were crushed which no t only failed to recover original manufacturing costs but also added to it due to extra expenses incurred in terms of amortization. Failure to capture the niche market on timely basis allowed Japanese cars to capture a major North market share which was the territory of GM earlier (Hartung, 2009). Shutting down hybrid cars program had a major impact on GM’s profitability. But most importantly, it affected the brand image greatly. It strengthen GM’s persona of being a giant and slow enterprise incapable of understanding consumer’s requirement and respond to it accordingly. Due to global recession and GM’s series of bad decisions especially poor brand management, faulty investments and shut down of hybrid cars, GM filed a loss of over $ 30 million dollars. These losses include major amounts in terms of lowered share prices and also exceptional operational expenses. After filing these losses, GM filed for bankruptcy and was later bailed out by US government. 1.2 Evidences One of the major evidences that indicated GM’s catastrophic decision making failures was GM’s financial statements and other reports published on the subject matter. According to Hargreaves (2008), â€Å"General Motors reported a huge second-quarter net loss Friday of $15.5 billion, after restructuring and other charges, as the automaker's run of troubles continued. The automaker lost $27.33 per share in the quarter, compared to a

Consolidation and Reflective Statement on Personal learning preference Coursework

Consolidation and Reflective Statement on Personal learning preference workshop - Coursework Example It is good to balance these styles at times to create a balance for sharpening one’s learning skills (Honey & Mumford, 1992). The reflector and theorist learning styles are worth considering. Reflective learning is an individual style of learning. One needs no guidebook to implement it. Reflection should not be thought of as an essential element of the ‘to do’ list. Rather, reflection should be practiced at any stage. One should underscore the need to be a reflective learner, but not doing reflective learning. The ability to reflect is quite important in the process of learning and self-development (Honey & Mumford, 1992). Reflection could be in the form of thinking with a purpose, questioning, probing, analyzing, being critical, making judgments, and conclusions. A reflective learner should plan and prioritize. The huge number of activities in the study process can overwhelm a learner. One should plan his time and prioritize the learning tasks, knowing well how to execute all other commitments (Contrell, 2010). Precisely, the learner should reflect ahead to know what is required, when and how to do it based on prioritization. Secondly, the learner should set and achieve goals. Motivation can play out when one reflects on the goals of the study while relating the same to life goals. When goals are defined, it is easier to strategize on achieving them (Honey & Mumford, 1992). A reflective learner should know how to deal with anxiety and procrastination (Contrell, 2010). Procrastination can lead to the missing of deadlines or lagging behind in study schedules, a situation that can take away one’s confidence. A learner should recognize why, where and when he or she procrastinates to challenge habits and routines. Essential tools for reflection in reflective learning include diaries, journals, tables, lists, maps, bullet points, videos, digital recorders, diagrams and icons (Contrell, 2010). These can better boost a reflective

Leadership and Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership and Performance Management - Essay Example In addition to that, recession also added to their demise. Heavy operating costs allowed other competitors with lower costs to capture North American market which was GM’s territory earlier. While assessing some of the decisions taken by GM’s leadership, it was found that closure of GM’s hybrid cars unit along with layoffs and prior faulty acquisitions added to GM’s expense list which had no means to be satisfied. 1.1 Key Findings GM has faced problems due to its highly bureaucratic culture and sluggish approach towards development and innovation. Its slow performance in the recent years has its roots in its earlier catastrophic decisions that were taken in 1970s and 80s but had a long-term impact on the organizational performance which ultimately leads to a government bailout in 2009. GM has made several bad investments in the vehicle models that were not answering consumer’s requirements and also were competitive to each other which further result ed in slow growth of the company. GM had various brands at its portfolio which required major expenses in terms of research and development for proper brand management. Failure to keep up with consumers’ demands ultimately lead to slow sales of these brands which affected cash inflow in turn (Maynard, 2009). Instead of ensuring that consumers’ demands for compact and energy-efficient cars is met, GM under the leadership of Wagoner, shut down EV1 electric cars program. With lower vehicle sales, the operating expenses and manufacturing costs increased greatly as a result of which GM was forced to increase its prices. The burden was passed onto the consumer which act as a deterrent for GM’s sales. As a result of this program’s shutdown, billions were lost in terms of research and development. Furthermore, there was a major recall from the roads which made GM compensate the lessees for the losses incurred. The already manufactured models were crushed which no t only failed to recover original manufacturing costs but also added to it due to extra expenses incurred in terms of amortization. Failure to capture the niche market on timely basis allowed Japanese cars to capture a major North market share which was the territory of GM earlier (Hartung, 2009). Shutting down hybrid cars program had a major impact on GM’s profitability. But most importantly, it affected the brand image greatly. It strengthen GM’s persona of being a giant and slow enterprise incapable of understanding consumer’s requirement and respond to it accordingly. Due to global recession and GM’s series of bad decisions especially poor brand management, faulty investments and shut down of hybrid cars, GM filed a loss of over $ 30 million dollars. These losses include major amounts in terms of lowered share prices and also exceptional operational expenses. After filing these losses, GM filed for bankruptcy and was later bailed out by US government. 1.2 Evidences One of the major evidences that indicated GM’s catastrophic decision making failures was GM’s financial statements and other reports published on the subject matter. According to Hargreaves (2008), â€Å"General Motors reported a huge second-quarter net loss Friday of $15.5 billion, after restructuring and other charges, as the automaker's run of troubles continued. The automaker lost $27.33 per share in the quarter, compared to a

Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Balanced Scorecard Essay The balance scorecard is used as a strategic planning and a management technique. It is widely used in many organizations, regardless of their scale, to align the organizations performance to its vision and objectives. The scorecard is also used as a tool which improves the communication and feedback process between the employees and management, and to monitor performance of the organizational objectives. There are four different perspectives of balance scorecard which are financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth. Each perspective represents a different aspect of the business organization in order to operate at optimal capacity. Financial perspective is about how does the firm look to shareholders. This is concerned with the shareholders view of performance. Shareholders are concerned with many aspects of financial performance. Amongst the measures of success are market share, revenue growth, profit ratio, return on investment, economic value added, return on capital employed and profitability. Customer perspective is about how do customers see the firm. This perspective focuses on the analysis of different types of customers, their degree of satisfaction and the processes used to deliver products and services to customers. Particular areas of focus would include customer service, customer retention and customer satisfaction. Internal perspective is about how well it manages its operational processes. This seeks to identify how well the business is performing, whether the products and services offered meet customer expectations, and the critical processes for satisfying both customers and shareholders. Learning and growth perspective is about can the firm continue to improve and create value? This perspective also examines how an organisation learns and grows. This perspective is concerned with issues such as can we continue to improve and create value? In which areas must the organisation improve? How can the company continue to improve and create value in the future? What should it be doing to make this happen? The concerns of balanced scorecard are long term with short term concerns, financial with non-financial concerns, and internal with external concerns.

Calculating National Income and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Calculating National Income and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 1.0 Introduction of Task 1 In task 1, this task are about the economy of Europe and Japan grow rapidly, this will increase growth of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States. The three country have their own market. Japan is free market and the economy of the United States is the worlds biggest single national economy. 1.1 Economy of Japan Japans industrialized and free-market economy. Japan is the third-largest country in the world. Japan economy is the highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade, but productivity is lower and far in protected areas such as distribution,agriculture and services. Japan have some natural resources, and trade helps Japan to earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase the raw materials for its economy. As the worldwide demand for its goods tumbled, the Bank of Japan reported the real GDP growth of -5.5% in the final year of 2009. Japan recovered the slightly in year 2010 and reported the real GDP growth of 4.4 percent. 1.2 Economy of Japan United States (US) of GDP When the US economy slowdown or rebound, the comparisons to Japan seem to follow. Though the comparisons are debated, there has one idea which isn’t is the idea that Japan has had a â€Å"lost decade†. The main data for supporting this is the Nikkei, which still hasn’t returned to its 1990 peaks and Japanese GDP which has grown at a down pace for decades. It’s debatable whether an equity of average moving from extreme overestimate the territory to more reasonable valuations is a reflection of a stagnant economy. What’s not quite as debatable though is that growth of GDP has lagged the US. To refer appendix 1 . 1.3 Economy of Europe The European Economy since 1945 is a convenience, broad and frank account of the extraordinary development of Europes economy since the end of World War II. Barry Eichengreen is an American economist. He argues that the continents of history has been critical to its economic performance, and that it will be continue to so going forward. Economic growth was the facilitated by unite-centered trade unions, cohesiveness of employers associations, and growth minded of governments for all legacies of Europes earlier history. For example, these institutions worked together to mobilize savings, finance investment, and stabilize wages. 1.4 Economy of Europe United States (US) of GDP According to earlywarn (Stuart Staniford, 2012) showed that the graph about US and Europe real GDP of year 2007. Eurostat came out with the 4 number for GDP and, expected given the data stream of contractionary looking data out of the Europe lately. It showed a moderate of (0.3%) drop over the prior quarter. It was the contrast for both and it to the rather stronger for US data. The level of real GDP for both economies with both normalized to set Q4 of year 2007 to 100. The data are from Eurostat and the BEA. To refer appendix 2. 1.5 GDP of United States (US) The economy of the United States is the worlds biggest single national economy. The United States is a mixed economy and has maintained a stable overall of GDP growth rate,a moderate unemployment rate, and the high levels of research and capital investment. Its have five largest trading partners are Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Germany. According to UsaToday (Pual Davidson, 2014) showed that he nations gross domestic product in the last three months of year 2013 increased at a 2.6% annual rate, up from the previous estimate of 2.4percent. Thats the governments third and final estimate of fourth-quarter of growth.The economy of US grew more briskly than the government previously estimated in the fourth quarter on stronger consumer of spending, among other factors. To refer appendix 3. 1.6 Conclusion of Task 1 In the conclusion of task 1, Europe and Japan both also will affect the US GDP. When the US economy slowdown or rebound, comparisons to Japan seem to follow. Europe and US GDP both are contrast for both and it to the rather stronger US data.The level of real GDP for both economies with both normalized. 2.0 Introduction of Task 2 In task 2 have A and B question. Question A are about the problem encounterd in calculating the national income. Question B are about the table of Country Xanadu for year 2012. 2.1 Task 2 (A): The Problems of Calculating the National Income. Accordig to Fahim Patel, the Content Manager of guesspapers.net showed that the problems will faced while calculating the national income.There have some of the problems and the difficulties that are usually faced while calculating the national income are as follows. When calculating the national income, there is that what should be included and what excluded with the respect to the services and product produced. This is one of the greatest difficulties of calculating the national income. Next problem is the calculation of the depreciation. The main cause of behind it is that because of both the amount and the composition of jour capital will change from time to time. There are no standard and concept rules of depreciation that can be applied. When depreciation is an estimate of correct deduction can be made until or unless these accurate depreciation estimates are not deducted from the estimate of net national product the net national income is bound to false. In addition to, the treatment of the government also is the problem while calculating the national income. Government will have some expenditures such as the defiance and administration expenditure, social welfare expenditure, payment of interest on national debts and the miscellaneous development expenditure. The reality problem that is faced relates to which of the above should be included in the national income. Another problem is the income from foreign firms. This is the major problem of relates to the fact that are weather the income arising from the activities of the foreign firms operating in a country should be included in the countries national income or not. Besides, double counting also is the problem. The proper of care is required for calculating national income so that double counting may not take place. This problem usually will occur in those countries where proper the documentation or statistics are unavailable. Lastly is the value of inventories. It is not easy to calculate the value of raw materials, semi finished the product and finished the goods in the custody of producers there fore it creates some problems. 2.2 Task 2 (B) : The Table of Calculate from Country Xanadu 2012 Formula Answer (RM) Gross Domestic Product at Market Price Private consumption expenditures + Gross investment +Government consumption expenditure + (Exports – Imports) 900 + 1000 + 800 + (2000 1000) =3700 Gross Market Price at Market Price Gross Domestic Price at Factor Cost Gross Domestic at Market Price + Subsidy – Indirect taxation 3700 + 200 – 500 = 3400 Net National Product at Factor Cost Gross Domestic Price at Factor Cost + (Exports Imports) Depreciation 3400 + (2000+ 1000) – 200 = 4200 Net National Output at Market Price Gross Domestic at Market Price + Net factor income from foreign countries Depreciation 3700 + 900 – 200 = 4400 The Net Investment Gross Investment Depreciation 1000 – 200 = 800 Corporate Profit 2.3 Conclusion of Task 2 In the conclusion of task 2, there have some problem will occur when calculating the national income. We have to avoid the the problem recurs again by more practice of the calculating the national income. References Staniford, S. (2012). Early Warning: US vs EU GDP Growth. [online] Earlywarn.blogspot.com. Available at: http://earlywarn.blogspot.com/2012/02/us-vs-eu-gdp-growth.html Patel, F. (2014). Difficulties Faced while Calculating National Income | guesspapers.net. [online] Guesspapers.net. Available at: http://www.guesspapers.net/1337/difficulties-faced-while-calculating-national-income/ Statista, (2014).United States Gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate 2014 | Statistic. [online] Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/263614/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-rate-in-the-united-states/ Murakami, Y., Patrick, H. and Yamamura, K. (1987). The Political economy of Japan. 1st ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. Neal, L. (2007). The economics of Europe and the European Union. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stone, R. and Stone, G. (1962). National income and expenditure. 1st ed. Chicago: Quadrangle Books. Hiroyuki, O. (1992). Growth through Competition, Competition through Growth : Strategic Management and the Economy in Japan. 1st ed. [ebook] Oxford, GBR: Clarendon Press, p.203. Available at: http://library.olympia.edu.my:2051/lib/olympia/docDetail.action?docID=10274571p00=japan%20economy Kemal, S. (2009). Measuring the Economy : GDP and NIPAs. 1st ed. [ebook] New York, NY, USA: Nova, p.15. Available at: http://library.olympia.edu.my:2051/lib/olympia/docDetail.action?docID=10671149p00=united%20states%20gdp Steve, V. (2001). U.S. and Japan Relations in a Changing World. 1st ed. [ebook] Washington, DC, USA: Brookings Institution Press, p.262. Available at: http://library.olympia.edu.my:2051/lib/olympia/docDetail.action?docID=10026222p00=japan%20united%20states Appendix Appendix 1 Appendix 2

Essays - More Capital Punishment and Less Taxes :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Essays - More Capital Punishment and Less Taxes More than 13,000 people have been legally executed since colonial times, most of them in the early 20th Century. By the 1930s, as many as 150 people were executed each year. However, public outrage and legal challenges caused the practice to come to a halt. By 1967, capital punishment had virtually halted in the United States, pending the outcome of several court challenges. Since our nation's founding, the government, colonial, federal and state, has punished murder and, until recent years, rape with the ultimate sanction: death. I think that the nation should still actively use this form of punishment when necessary. More than 2,000 people are on "death row" today. Virtually all are poor, a significant number are mentally retarded or otherwise mentally disabled, more than 40 percent are African American, and a inappropriate number are Native American, Latino and Asian. Does the Death Penalty deter crime, especially murder? No, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. And states that have abolished capital punishment, or instituted it, show no significant changes in either crime or murder rates. Don't murderers deserve to die? Certainly, in general, the punishment should fit the crime. But in civilized society, we reject the "eye for an eye" principle of literally doing to criminals what they do to their victims: The penalty for rape cannot be rape, or for arson, the burning down of the arsonist's house. We should, therefore, punish the murderer with death along with all other heinous crimes. If execution is unacceptable, what is the alternative? Incapacitation. Convicted murderers can be sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including life, as they are in countries and states that have abolished the death penalty. Most state laws allow life sentences for murder that severely limit or eliminate the e possibility of parole. At least ten states have life sentences without the possibility of parole for 20, 25, 30 or 40 years, and at least 18 states have life sentences with no possibility of parole. A recent U. S. Justice Department study of public attitudes about crime and punishment found that a majority of Americans support alternatives to capital punishment: When people were presented the facts about several crimes for which death was a possible punishment, a majority chose lengthy prison sentences as alternatives to the death penalty. Maybe it used to happen that innocent people were mistakenly executed, but hasn't that possibility been eliminated?

Henry David Thoreau and the Power of Non-Violent Resistance Essay

Thoreau contends that men have lost the free will to make individual decisions regarding war, slavery, and domestic issues because government imposes on its citizens only in its own self interests. (Thoreau 1706). He states government loses its integrity when willing to consider profit over the interests of its citizens, and basic human rights such as slavery and war. (Thoreau 1707). He considers slavery as a â€Å"hateful and stupid enterprise? (Eulau 119). Thoreau feels such deep disgrace being associated with a government who condones slavery, that he refuses to vote, pay taxes, and makes his only contact with this government the tax collector. (Eulau 121). Thoreau personally does not want to be bothered with the issues of government or slavery, but because of his writings he is sought out by Abolitionists to give speeches for them. He feels idealism, individualism and democracy are not achievable in a society willing to maintain slaves. (Eulau 123). He is obsessed with right, t ruth and justice for all citizens and encourages nonviolent resistance as the means to effectively abolish slavery. (Eulau 124). This position is different than most Abolitionists of the time. During this time most of his attention is directed at the southern slaves states. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 is the event that leads him to become detached from the State. The treatment of a runaway slave weighs heavily on his emotions. His anger leads him to encouragepeople to withdraw farther from the State ...

Single Parenting vs Nuclear Parenting

Although households are â€Å"supposed† to contain two parents there are ones that contain only one parent. A single parent is a parent who cares for one or more child without physical help of another parent in the house. Though people looked down upon single parenting before, it is now quite common in today’s world. According to the United States Census Bureau the amount of children who live with a single parent has increased to a little more than 30 percent.Single parenting is a problem to others since children raised under a household of a single parent are two times more likely to end up poor, to give birth outside of marriage, to not graduate from high school, and to have behavioral and psychological problems. It is also said that children living in single parent households are more likely to experience accidents, injuries, and poisonings. Since kids living in single parent homes are more likely to undergo these problems, many people argue that children who live in single parent homes will not grow up properly.Although kids are more likely to develop those problems, if single parents raise their children properly their children will be able to avoid those problems. Single parents and other non-traditional families are quite capable of raising healthy, well-adjusted children. Those who propose that single parents are not capable of rearing healthy and well-adjusted children have comprehensible reasons. They worry that the children will lack guidance and attention needed since there is only one parent for them to go to.They also worry that the children will lack gender influence and will need help with relationship problems in the future. At last, they worry that the children will grow up unable being independent and responsible due to their parent â€Å"babying† them too much. I believe the reasons why people are against single parent homes are not very reasonable. People propose that children raised by a single parent are not being rai sed properly. They believe that the child won’t be attended to as often since there is only one parent.That is where they are wrong, because what is family for, right? Many single parents are able to turn to their parents, siblings or extended family quite often for help. People also argue that the child of a single parent will suffer from lack of gender influence. This is basically saying a child will not understand the role of either a male or the role of a female because of deprivation of the other parent. This argument is invalid since the role models of a single parent child could be uncles, aunties, or friends of the parents.Children raised from a single parent are able to grow up with the same amount of guidance and attention as a child reared from two parents. Many people argue that children being raised by a single parent will lack those basic essentials. Many think this because single parents often work a full-time job. I believe this claim is invalid but to a certa in extent. As long as the parent has contact with family or friends, they, along with the single parent will help guide and support the child throughout their life as long as they are around.A life example would be a single parent that has to work. They will call their parents to watch their child. The child will then be taken care of by their grandparents. The grandparents will teach the child what is right from wrong (guidance); something the single parent may not have the time to do. They may also be there for the child when the single parent is not. Since many children crave attention, they like showing their parents their accomplishments from school they obtain. Since a single parent is usually too busy to take the time to notice.By having the grandparents there for the child, the child will more likely be able to receive the attention they wish to receive. Raising a child in a single parent household will not affect the child’s future relationships. Others argue against this because when children are young, they fall in love with their parent of the opposite sex. For the boys it is the Oedipus complex and for girls it is the Electra complex. Boys later on, end up looking for personality traits which their mother hold and choose a girl based upon those traits; for girls they undergo the same affair though they do so based off of their fathers traits.Some children unable to learn this develop relationship problems since they do not know what traits they are searching for in a partner. This task is extremely difficult for single parents to succeed in doing though it is not impossible. A parent can carry out this troublesome task by taking on both roles of the parents; as a father and as a mother. Single parenting holds the ability to teach independence and responsibility indirectly to their child. Others think differently, they assume these children won’t be ready for the real world due to the amount of â€Å"babying† while growing up.T his of course is incorrect because studies show that children of single parents are more independent that those with two parents. Being there only one parent, they are unable to do everything on their own; this moderately forces their child to learn to do tasks the parent has not the time to handle, on their own and at a younger age. An example, if a parent is running late for work, their child may have to make their own meal since their mother or their father does not have the time to do so.Individual parents and other non-traditional families are completely able to rear normal, balanced offspring. Single parent children are fully capable of having guidance and attention, learning roles of the opposite gender, and being independent as children with two parents. If you do not believe single parents are able to raise normal children, you are thinking wrong because this type of family makes up about 30 percent of the United States population; this number continues to escalate.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 THE LOCAL GUYS, THEY HAVE THEIR MOMENTS Thursday morning it became official: Dale Pearson, evil developer, was a missing person. Theo Crowe was going over the big red truck parked by the pounding Pacific at Lime Kiln Rock in the Big Sur wilderness area above Pine Cove. This was the area where half the world's car commercials were filmed – everything from Detroit minivans to German lux-o-cruisers was filmed snaking around the cliffs of Big Sur, as if all you needed to do was sign the lease papers and your life would be an open road of frothy waves beating on majestic seawalls, with nothing but leisure and prosperity ahead. Dale Pearson's big red truck did look carefree and prosperous, parked there by the sea, despite the crust of salt forming on the paint and the appearance that the owner had been washed away in the surf. Theo wanted that to be the case. The highway patrol, who had found the truck, had reported it as an accident. There was a surf-casting rod there on the rocks, conveniently monogrammed with Dale's initials. And the Santa hat he'd been wearing was found washed up nearby, and therein lay the problem. Betsy Butler, Dale's squeeze, had said that Dale had gone out two nights ago to play Santa at the Caribou Lodge and had never come home. Who went fishing in the middle of the night while wearing a Santa hat? Granted, according to the other Caribou, Dale had done â€Å"some drinking,† and he was a little wound up from his confrontation with his ex-wife the day before, but he hadn't lost his mind completely. Negotiating the cliffs by Lime Kiln Rock to get down to the water during the day was risky business; there's no way that Dale would have tried it in the middle of the night. (Theo had lost his footing and slid twenty feet before he caught himself, wrenching his back in the process. Sure he was a little stoned, but then, Dale would have been a little drunk.) The highway patrolman, who had a crew cut and looked to be about twelve – an escapee from one of the hygiene films Theo had seen in sixth-grade health class, Why Mary Won't Go in the Water – had Theo sign off on his report, then climbed in his cruiser and headed up the coast into Monterey County. Theo went back and looked through the truck again. All the things that should have been there – some tools, a black Mag flashlight, a couple of fast-food wrappers, another fishing rod, a tube of blueprints – were there. And all the things that shouldn't – bloody knives, shell casings, severed limbs, evidence of bleach from cleanup – were not. It was like the guy had just driven up here, climbed down the cliff, and washed away. But that just couldn't be the case. Dale could be mean-spirited, crude, and even violent, but he wasn't stupid. Unless he knew the exact topography of these cliffs, and had a good flashlight, he'd never have made it down in the dark. And his flashlight was still in the truck. Theo wished that he had better training in crime-scene investigation. He'd learned most of what he knew from television, not at the academy where he'd spent a miserable eight weeks fifteen years ago when the corrupt sheriff who had found his personal pot patch had railroaded him into becoming Pine Cove's constable. Since the academy, almost every crime scene he'd encountered had been turned over to the county sheriff or highway patrol almost immediately. He went over the truck cab again looking for something that might be a clue. The only thing remotely out of order was some dog hairs on the headrest. Theo couldn't remember if Dale had a dog. He put the dog hairs in a sandwich bag and dialed Betsy Butler on his cell phone. She didn't sound that broken up about Dale's disappearance. â€Å"No, Dale didn't like dogs. He didn't like cats either. He was kind of a cow man.† â€Å"He liked cows? Did you guys have a pet cow?† Could it be cow hair? â€Å"No, he liked to eat them, Theo. Are you okay?† â€Å"No, sorry, Betsy.† He had been so sure that he didn't sound stoned. â€Å"So, do I get the truck? I mean, are you going to bring it here?† â€Å"I have no idea,† said Theo. â€Å"They'll tow it to the impound yard. I don't know if they'll release it to you. I'd better go, Betsy.† He snapped the phone shut. Maybe he was just tired. Molly had made him sleep on the couch last night – saying something about him having mutant tendencies. He hadn't even known that she liked the salad shooter. He was sure that she could tell that he'd been smoking pot. He flipped the phone back open and called Gabe Fenton. â€Å"Hey, Theo. I don't know what that stuff is you brought me, but it's not hair. It won't burn or melt, and it's damn hard to cut or break. Good thing it was torn out by the roots.† Theo cringed. He had almost forgotten about the crazed blond guy he'd run over. He shuddered now, thinking about it. â€Å"Gabe, I have some more hair I'd like you to look at.† â€Å"Oh my God, Theo, did you run over someone else?† â€Å"No, I didn't run over anybody. Jeez, Gabe.† â€Å"Okay. I'll be here all day. Actually, I'll be here all night, too. It's not like I have anywhere to go. Or anyone who cares whether I live or die. It's not like –  » â€Å"Okay. I'm coming over.† There were two men and three women, including Lena, in the offices of Properties in the Pines when Tucker Case came through the door. The women were immediately intrigued by him and the men immediately disliked him. It had always been that way with Tuck. Later, if they got to know him, the women would dismiss him and the men would still dislike him. Basically, he was a geek in a cool guy's body – one feature or the other worked against him. It was an open stable of desks and Tuck went directly to Lena's desk at the back. As he went he smiled and nodded to the realtors, who smiled back weakly, trying not to sneer. They were beat from showing properties to Christmas vacation be-backs who wouldn't move here even if they could find employment in this toy town. They'd just failed to plan any vacation activities and so decided to take the kids out for a rousing round of jerk off the realtor. Or so went the party line at the MLS meetings. Lena met Tuck's gaze and instinctively smiled, then frowned. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Lunch? You. Me. Eating. Talking. I need to ask you something.† â€Å"I thought you were supposed to be flying.† Tuck hadn't seen Lena in her business clothes – a sensible skirt and blouse, just a little mascara and lipstick, her hair pinned up with lacquered chopsticks, a few strands escaping here and there to frame her face. He liked the look. â€Å"I flew all morning. There's weather. The edge of a storm coming.† He really wanted to pull the chopsticks out of her hair and throw her down there on the desk and tell her how he really felt, which was somewhat aroused. â€Å"We could get Chinese,† he added. Lena looked out the window. The sky was going dark gray over the shops across the street. â€Å"There's no Chinese place in Pine Cove. Besides, I'm really swamped here. I handle vacation rentals and it's Christmas Eve eve.† â€Å"We could go to your place for a quick lunch. You have no idea how quick I can be if I put my mind to it.† Lena looked past him to her coworkers, who, of course, were now staring. â€Å"Is that what you need to ask me?† â€Å"Oh, no, no, of course not. I wouldn't – that would be, well, yes – but there's something else.† Now Tuck was feeling the realtors watching him, listening to him. He leaned over Lena's desk so only she could hear. â€Å"You said this morning that that constable guy your friend is married to lives in a cabin at the edge of a ranch. It wouldn't be the big ranch north of town, would it?† Lena was still looking past him. â€Å"Yes, the Beer-Bar Ranch, belongs to Jim Beer.† â€Å"And there's an old single-wide trailer next to the cabin?† â€Å"Yes, that used to be Molly's, but now they live in the cabin. Why?† Tuck stood back and grinned. â€Å"Then white roses it is,† he said, a little too loudly for the benefit of the audience. â€Å"I just didn't know if they'd be appropriate for the holidays.† â€Å"Huh?† Lena said. â€Å"See you tonight,† Tuck said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then sauntered out of the office, smiling apologetically at the exhausted realtors as he went. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you guys,† he said, waving from the door. The first thing that Theo noticed when he entered Gabe Fenton's cabin was the aquariums with the dead rats. The female was scampering around the center cage, sniffing and crapping and looking rat-happy, but the others, the males, lay on their backs, feet shot to the sky, like plastic soldiers in a death diorama. â€Å"How did that happen?† â€Å"They wouldn't learn. Once they associated the shock with sex, they started liking it.† Theo thought about his relationship with Molly over the last few days. He pictured himself in the dead-rat display. â€Å"So you just kept shocking them until they died?† â€Å"I had to keep the parameters of the experiment constant.† Theo nodded gravely, as if he understood completely, which he didn't. Skinner came over and headbutted him in the thigh. Theo scratched his ears to comfort him. Skinner was worried about the Food Guy, and he was hoping that maybe the Emergency Backup Food Guy might give him one of the tasty-smelling white squirrels in the cages on the table, now that it appeared that the Food Guy was finished cooking them. This teasing was as bad as when that kid at the beach used to pretend to throw the ball, then not throw the ball. Then pretend to throw the ball, but not throw the ball. Skinner had to knock the kid down and sit on his face. Boy, had he been bad-dogged for that. Nothing hurt like being bad-dogged, but if the Food Guy kept teasing him with the white squirrels, Skinner knew he was going to have to knock him down and sit on his face, maybe even poop in his shoe. Oh, I am a bad, bad dog. No, wait, the Emergency Backup Food Guy was scratching his ears. Oh, that felt good. He was fine. Doggie Xanax. Never mind. Theo handed Gabe the sandwich bag with the hairs in it. â€Å"What's the oily substance in the bag?† Gabe said, examining the specimen. â€Å"Potato-chip flotsam. The bag is from my lunch yesterday.† Gabe nodded, then looked at Theo the way the coroner always looks at the cop on TV – like: You numbskull, don't you know that you're contaminating evidence just by continuing to draw breath and I'd be a lot more comfortable with you if you'd stop? He took the bag over to the microscope on the counter, removed a couple of the hairs, and put them on a slide with a cover, then fitted it into the microscope. â€Å"Please don't tell me it's polar bear,† Theo said. â€Å"No, but at least it's an animal. It seems to have a distinct sour-cream-and-onion signature.† Gabe pulled back from the microscope and grinned at Theo. â€Å"Just fucking with you.† He gave Theo a gentle punch to the arm and looked back into the microscope. â€Å"Wow, the medulla is absent and there's low birefringence.† â€Å"Wow,† echoed Theo, trying but not really feeling the low-birefringence stoke that Gabe was. â€Å"I have to check the hair database online, but I think it's from a bat.† â€Å"There's a database for that? What, Bat Hair Dot-Com?† â€Å"That was supposed to be the whole purpose of the Internet, you know. To share scientific information.† â€Å"Not a Viagra- and porn-delivery system?† Theo said. Maybe Gabe was going to be okay after all. Gabe moved to the computer at his desk and scrolled through screen after screen of microscope photos of mammal hair until he found one he liked, then went back to the microscope and checked it again. â€Å"Wow, Theo, you've got yourself an endangered species here.† â€Å"No way.† â€Å"Where the hell did you get this? Micronesian giant fruit bat.† â€Å"Out of a Dodge pickup truck.† â€Å"Hmm, that's not listed as their habitat. It wasn't parked in Guam, was it?† Theo fished his car keys out of his pocket. â€Å"Look, Gabe, I have to go. Meet at the Slug for a beer tonight, okay?† â€Å"We can have beer now, if you want. I have some in the fridge.† â€Å"You need to get out. I need to get out. Okay?† Theo was backing out the door. â€Å"Okay. I'll meet you at six. I have to go pick up some Super Glue solvent at the Thrifty-Mart.† â€Å"Bye.† Theo jumped off the porch and loped to the Volvo. Skinner barked at him in four-four time. Hello? Tasty white squirrels? Still in the little box? Hello? You forgot? When Theo pulled up to Lena Marquez's house, there was a generic white economy rental car (A Ford Mucus, he thought) parked out front. He looked for the bat he'd seen hanging from the porch ceiling, but it wasn't there. He hadn't even filed the experience of running over the apparently indestructible blond guy, and now he was facing the possibility that he might actually be about to confront a murderer. Just in case, he'd stopped at home and gotten his gun off the shelf in the closet and his handcuffs off the bedpost where Molly had last imprisoned him when they had still been speaking. (She'd been in the yard out behind the cabin, working out with a bamboo shinai kendo sword she'd been using since breaking her broadsword – he'd snuck in and out without confrontation.) He unsnapped the Glock's nylon holster that was clipped to the back of his jeans and rang the doorbell. The door opened. Theo screamed and drew his gun as he jumped back. On the other side of the threshold, Tucker Case screamed and dove backward also, shielding his face with his hands. His hat made a little yelping sound. â€Å"Hold it right there,† Theo said. He could feel his pulse beating in his neck. â€Å"I'm holding, I'm holding. Jesus, what the fuck is this about?† â€Å"You have a bat on your head!† â€Å"Yeah, and for that you're going to shoot me?† The bat, his huge black wings wrapped around the pilot's head, gave the impression of a large leather cap with a Mohawk crest of fur that culminated in a big-eared little dog face that was now barking at Theo. â€Å"Well, uh, no.† Theo lowered the gun, feeling a little embarrassed now. He was still in his shooter's crouch, though, which now, with the gun lowered, made him look like he was posing as the world's skinniest sumo wrestler. â€Å"Can I get up?† Tuck asked. â€Å"Sure, I just wanted to talk to Lena.† Tucker Case was exasperated and his bat had fallen over one eye. â€Å"Well, she's at her office. Look, if you're going to get high, maybe you ought to leave the gun at home, huh?† â€Å"What?† Theo had been careful to use some Visine, and it had been hours since he'd hit his Sneaky Pete pot pipe. He said, â€Å"I'm not high. I haven't gotten high in years.† â€Å"Yeah, right. Constable, maybe you'd better come in.† Theo stood and tried to shake off the appearance that he'd just had about five years of life scared out of him by a guy with a bat on his head. He followed Tucker Case into Lena's kitchen, where the pilot offered him a seat at the table. â€Å"So, Constable, what can I do for you?† Theo wasn't sure. He'd planned on talking to Lena, or at least the two of them together. â€Å"Well, as you probably know, we found Lena's ex-husband's truck up in Big Sur.† â€Å"Of course, I saw it.† â€Å"You saw it?† â€Å"From the helicopter. Tucker Case, contract pilot for the DEA, remember? You can check me out if you want to. Anyway, we've been patrolling that area.† â€Å"You have?† The bat was looking at Theo and Theo was having trouble following his own thoughts. The bat was wearing tiny sunglasses. Ray-Bans, Theo could see by the trademark in the corner of one lens. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mr., uh – Case, could you take the bat off your head. It's very distracting.† â€Å"Him.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"It's a him. Roberto. He no like the light.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Friend of mine used to say that. Sorry.† Tucker Case unwrapped the bat and put it on the floor, where it spidered away, walking on its wing tips into the living room. â€Å"God, that's creepy,† Theo said. â€Å"Yeah, you know, kids. What are you gonna do?† Tuck dazzled a perfect grin. â€Å"So, you found this guy's truck? Not him, though?† â€Å"No. It was made to look like he was washed into the ocean while fishing off the rocks.† â€Å"Made to look? So, you suspect foul play?† Tuck bounced his eyebrows. Theo thought the pilot should be taking this more seriously. It was time to drop the bomb. â€Å"Yes. First, he never came home after the Caribou Christmas party Tuesday night, where he played the joke Santa. No one goes surf-fishing in the middle of the night, wearing a Santa suit. We found the Santa hat still in the truck, and I found hairs from a Micronesian fruit bat on the headrest.† â€Å"Well, that's a coincidence. Jeez, that's got to make you suspicious, doesn't it?† Tucker Case got up and went over to the counter. â€Å"Coffee? I just made it.† Theo stood up, too, just because he didn't want the suspect to get away, or maybe to show that he was taller, because it seemed like the only advantage he had over the pilot. â€Å"Yes, it is suspicious. And I talked to a kid Tuesday night who said he saw a woman killing Santa Claus with a shovel. I didn't think anything of it then, but now I think the kid might have actually seen something.† Tucker Case was busying himself with getting cups out of the cupboard, milk out of the fridge. â€Å"So, you did tell the kid that there's no Santa, right?† â€Å"No, I didn't.† Now Tucker Case turned, coffeepot in hand, and regarded Theo. â€Å"You know that there is no Santa, don't you, Constable?† â€Å"This is not a joke,† Theo said. He hated this – hated being the MAN. He was supposed to be the smart-ass in the face of authority figures. â€Å"Cream?† Theo sighed. â€Å"Sure. And sugar, please.† Tuck finished preparing the coffee, brought the cups to the table, and sat down. â€Å"Look, I see where you're going with this, Theo. Can I call you Theo?† Theo nodded. â€Å"Thanks. Anyway, Lena was with me Tuesday night, all night.† â€Å"Really? I saw Lena on Monday. She didn't mention you. Where did you meet?† â€Å"At the Thrifty-Mart. She was a Salvation Army Santa. I thought she was attractive, so I asked her out. We hit it off.† â€Å"You make it a habit of hitting on the Salvation Army Santas?† â€Å"Lena said that you're married to a scream queen called Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† Theo nearly shot coffee out his nose. â€Å"That was a character she used to play.† â€Å"Yeah, Lena says sometimes that's not so clear to her. My point is: Love is where you find it.† Theo nodded. Yeah, that was true. Before he drifted into a wistful state of mind, Theo reminded himself that this guy was, in an offhand way, attacking the woman he loved. â€Å"Hey,† Theo said. â€Å"It's okay? Who am I to judge? I married an island girl who had never seen indoor plumbing until I brought her to the States. Didn't work out –  » â€Å"Fruit-bat hair in the truck,† Theo interrupted. â€Å"Yeah, I knew you'd come back to that. Well, who knows? Roberto goes out on his own from time to time. Maybe he met this Dale guy. Maybe they hit it off. You know, love is where you find it. I doubt it, though. I hear that this Dale guy was a real creep.† â€Å"Are you implying that your bat may have something to do with the disappearance of Dale Pearson?† â€Å"No, you nitwit, I'm saying that my bat may have had something to do with bat hair, which, even you, with your Sherlock Holmes-like powers of observation, may have noticed he is all covered with.† â€Å"I can't believe you're a cop,† Theo said, getting truly angry now. â€Å"I'm not a cop. I just fly the helicopter for the DEA. They hire me by the season, and this is close to the harvest season in Big Sur and surrounding areas, so here I am, flying around looking in the forest for dark green patches while the agents in the back look at it through infrared and record everything on GPS so they can get specific warrants. And man, do they pay well. ‘Vive la war on drugs, I say. But no, I'm not a cop.† â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Funny thing is, I have learned to spot the right color of green from the sky, and usually the infrared confirms my suspicions. This morning I spotted about a thousand-square-foot patch of marijuana growing just north of the Beer-Bar Ranch. You know where that is?† Theo felt a lump in his throat the size of one of Gabe's dead rats. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Man, that's a lot of pot, even by commercial growers' standards. Felony quantity. I turned the helicopter – steered away without calling it to the agent's attention, but weather permitting, we could go back. There's a storm coming in, you know? Roberto and I drove by there this afternoon just to make sure. I guess I can always show the agents tomorrow.† Tucker Case put down his coffee, leaned on his elbows, and turned his head sideways like he was a cute kid in a cereal commercial who was reaching sugar nirvana. â€Å"You're a very unlikable man, Mr. Case.† â€Å"Oh my God, you should have seen me before I had my epiphany. I used to really be an asshole. I'm actually very charming now. By the way, I saw your wife working out in the yard at your house – very nice. The whole sword thing is a little scary, but otherwise, very nice.† Theo got to his feet, feeling a little dizzy even as he stood, like he'd been hit with a sock full of sand. â€Å"I'd better be going.† Tucker Case put his hand on Theo's shoulder as he walked him to the door. â€Å"You probably don't believe this, Theo, but at another time, I'm sure we'd be friends. And you have to understand, I really, really want things to work out with Lena. It was like we met just at the precise moment, the exact second, that I got over my divorce and was ready to love again. And it's so nice to have someone to bone under the Christmas tree, don't you think? She's a great woman.† â€Å"I like Lena,† Theo said. â€Å"But you are a psychopath.† â€Å"You think?† Tuck said. â€Å"I've really been trying to be more helpful.†