How is power defined Power is defined by the capability...

How is power defined? Power is defined by the capability of doing or accomplishing something. It is often times found throughout literature as a dominant theme. Furthermore, power can be used as good or evil. An example of evil is found in the memoir, Night when the Nazi’s take complete advantage of the Jews. In the novel, Speak, Melinda’s past takes control of her actions later on and she struggles to find herself after a horrifying event. She is hiding a deep dark secret that only she knows. Overpowering can lead to identity loss, staying silent and psychological harm. But power is not only limited to literature. It is also found throughout artwork in the real world. An example of this is found in the painting, The Sorrowing Old Man by†¦show more content†¦She is experiencing an identity loss from no knowing who she is and what to do. This is similar to how the man in the artwork cannot handle whatever is in his mind and covers his face with hands so that his face is not revealed. A face is a way to recognize someone and his face is being covered so a sense of identity cannot be made. He is shielding his face, too scared to face the truthfulness of reality. Similar to Melinda, Elies also experiences a similar feeling from a loss of identity. In Night when Elies father was attacked by a Gypsy, Elie thought I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked (Wiesel 39). This quote is a significant sign of identity loss. When he thought What had happened to me? it indicates that Elie did not know who he was anymore. In the concentration camps the treatment only has gotten worse and started to change him as a person. Elie became more and more fear stricken of rebelling against the guards. He normally would be the one to help his father from the Gypsy but instead he remained in silence and acted as a bystander. Like The Sorrowing Old Man, who is obviously stripped of his ow n identity, Elie was suffering in despair, unable to face the legitimacy of the incident. This is shown distinctly by the elderly man’s hands covering the emotions running through his face. Clearly, Melinda and Elie experienced suffering and despair from identity lossShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you1000 Words   |  4 PagesBecause, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts (Ende).† Power has long been an issue in our society, even since the first settlers came to America someone needed to have power or control. We came here to escape religious prosecution so we could have power in our own beliefs and over ourselves. Today we are still fighting the battle of power and who should and shouldn’t have it. Abraham Lincoln said, â€Å"Nearly allRead MoreLeading High-Performance Teams Essay1651 Words   |  7 Pagesdifficulties for the team in accomplishing goals. * Periodically provide feedback on the team’s progress Storming:  This is the reality stage wherein the team members seek to a position and gets more clarification on their roles. All the rules will be defined. A few team members will get ready for the team tasks, whereas others will be feeling overwhelmed with the work to be accomplished. During this stage, there may be questions on the goal(s) and resources capabilities. Responsibilities of aRead MoreMoral And Ethical Dilemmas Of Technology1419 Words   |  6 PagesTechnology as defined by the New American Oxford Dictionary: â€Å"The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.† Technology has been linked to man since the very beginnings of humanity. Through observation man gains knowledge, and with that knowledge inevitably comes technology. In the our modern world, we are starting to see the effects of this technology as it is increasingly influenced by what biologists call culture — the ability to pass down informationRead MoreLeadership Between Governing A Nation And Organizing A Book Club1523 Words   |  7 PagesLeadership is an important topic to every organization, society, or group of people with a goal of accomplishing something. Whether it is a world super power nation or a book club, elements of leadership play a role in achieving or not achieving objectives. There are definitely some differences between governing a nation and organizing a book club, but the point is leadership and leaders influence almost every aspect our lives. There are countless descriptions of leadership types, characteristicsRead MoreDifferences in the American a nd Ecuadorian Culture Essay1880 Words   |  8 PagesTyler Copier Autoethnography Com. 3190 Differences in the American and Ecuadorian Culture Culture makes up who we are, what we believe and how we behave. About four years ago, I had the opportunity to live in Ecuador. I found the relationships and communication perspective to be very interesting and after spending two years there, I was able to notice several distinct intercultural differences between the American and Ecuadorian cultures. Since my analysis of Ecuador is only basedRead MoreOrganizational Concepts Of Organizational Behavior2210 Words   |  9 Pagesbest possible ways to deal with issues confronting them as they work on accomplishing assigned tasks. When leaders have the knowledge and capacity to handle the many intricacies of organizational behaviors, it will be easier for them to find solutions to said issues and follow the path to success. As I reflect from the ideas learned from this class, this paper will discuss three chosen organizational concepts, my reflections as how they influenced or changed my thoughts and decision making, both persona llyRead MorePersonality Assessments Of College And Truly Had Not Spent As Much Time1937 Words   |  8 Pageswe should create a 2 year roadmap. She said, â€Å"What if our plans change?† I replied, â€Å"That’s okay, at least we have a foundational plan to work from.† I remember from Org Behavior class that when we wait for others to make decisions for us, we lose power. My leader is waiting for direction on what we should do next. We have to tell our Sponsor, the President, what we should do and why. I also learned I like to take charge and influence. I’m interpersonal and read others well, and ensure to pay attentionRead MoreForeign Aid For Developing Countries2134 Words   |  9 Pagesaid. Foreign aid is a failure for three reasons: the aid does not reach the appropriate people, the aid does not always fix the situation in the long-run, and the aid creates a dependence on both the donor country and the aid itself. We have the capability and the desir e to be of enormous assistance to the developing countries. The way we go about giving the foreign aid determines whether it will ultimately succeed or fail. To begin with, a huge problem with foreign aid is that it does not reachRead MoreLeadership As A Great Leader Essay2095 Words   |  9 PagesLeadership is a broad term that can be defined in many ways. Strong leaders have been found throughout history. There are many example of great leadership and some leaders who lead individuals in the wrong direction, including the infamous Adolf Hitler. Other positive influenced leaders include Charlemagne Sir Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar and many many more. Leaders can be found in classrooms, multi-billion dollar corporations, churches etc. In fact, leaders are found in almost all aspectsRead MoreBen Jerry Case Study2333 Words   |  10 Pagesinternal atmosphere was not in sync with the external corporate image. And thus, commissioned an OD consultant to undertake the task of organizational development and bring people functions, aspirations and direction together. Questions 1. In doing a diagnosis, what factors are important to consider in determining whether a company or team is over –or under-organized? What are the implications for planning an OD intervention? 2. Is team building a good way to launch and OD effort in this case

Essay on President Bushs War on Iraq - 2989 Words

President Bushs War on Iraq Introduction: Since the war on Iraq began on March 20, 2003, at least 1,402 coalition troops have died and 9,326 U.S. troops have been wounded in action. This is no small number and the count grows daily. One would hope, then, that these men and women were sent to war with just cause and as a last resort. However, as the cloud of apprehension and rhetoric surrounding the war has begun to settle, it has become clear that the Bush administration relied on deeply flawed analyses to make its case for war to the United Nations and to the American people, rushing this country, and its soldiers, into war. This is not to say that this war was waged against a blameless regime or that our soldiers have died†¦show more content†¦Therefore, by creating linkages in the minds of the American people between the all-too-real tragedy of September 11 and a supposed Iraqi threat, the Bush administration justified bringing Iraq into its War on Terror. These linkages lent a sense of immediacy and vindic ation to the War on Iraq, which would have otherwise been nearly impossible to engender. The first step in establishing an Iraqi threat was to demonstrate that Iraq possessed WMD, meaning chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver these weapons. The possession of these weapons would be in direct violation of U.N. resolutions put into effect after the Gulf War and hopefully justify any use of force under international law. Time and time again the Bush administration put forth statements that, â€Å"Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more. And he is moving even closer to developing a nuclear weapon.† In February of 2003, one month before the U.S. waged war on Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell brought the administration’s case for war before the United Nations Security Council in an effort to garner U.N. support for an effort to disarm Iraq. By one count, â€Å"Powell made twenty-nine claims about Iraqi weapons, programs, behaviors,Show MoreRelatedPresident Oba ma s View Of The War On Terror1255 Words   |  6 PagesPresident Obama’s Approach to the War on Terror After the attacks on 9/11, the â€Å"War on Terror† became President Bush’s main focus for his political agenda. After the 2008 presidential election, soon that focus belonged to President Obama. The executive actions, legislation, and controversy that resulted during Bush’s presidency would soon be inherited by President Obama. During President Obama’s campaign in 2008, he promised that he would be very different from President Bush in how he employedRead MoreRhetorical Analysis on Bushs Letter to Hussein917 Words   |  4 PagesLetter Abroad President George Bush’s letter to President Saddam Hussein is a convincing segment intended to persuade Hussein to remove his forces from Kuwait before conflict ensues. Some critical readers believe that Bush does not provide a rational argument, but this paper is taking the standpoint that Bush not only is rational, but cogent. President George Bush is able to effectively convey his forceful message to President Saddam Hussein, expressing that Iraq must leave Kuwait throughRead MorePresident Obama s Foreign Policy758 Words   |  4 PagesPresident Barack Obama and President George W. Bush took different approaches to foreign policy. Lindsay (2011) suggests that the attacks on September 11th caused President Bush to take an ideological approach to foreign policy. Obama rejected Bush’s outlook and took a more pragmatic approach. Despite the differences between these two approaches, both Presidents were ultimately unable to meet their international goals. In this essay, I will summarize Lindsay’s main argument. First, I will reviewRead MoreReality Of War953 Words   |  4 PagesDemising the reality of war may be a method for many Americans to ease the harsh realism of the past. Jon Hooten, an administrator at the University of Denver, draws out the fact that â€Å"our everyday language is liberally sprinkled with the language of war†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hooten 437). While these words appear common in the everyday English language, it is possible that they have become too much of the norm. Additionally, Hooten states, â€Å"In our lack of true wartime experience, American culture has learned to deployRead MorePersian Gulf And Iraq War1089 Words   |  5 Pages2015 Persian Gulf Iraq War The Persian Gulf/ Iraq War was one of the longest wars in American history. The Iraq War alone lasted nine years, and the Persian Gulf War lasted a little over a year. Many veterans faced hardships upon returning home. 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Clinton Gallaghan, Matthew Dr. Loveland MGT 388V 27 November, 2014 Introduction Two US presidents, 42nd and 43rd to be exact, both had qualities of a good leader, and they both had their problems. The definition of a leader, according to Merriam-Webster is â€Å"a person who has commanding authority or influence ¬Ã‚ ¬ .† Both Bush and Clinton had a lot of influence, and they had different views on authority. Clinton, had effective leadership skills, butRead MoreU.s. President s National Policy844 Words   |  4 Pageschanged and today U.S. Presidents make public appearances to make sure that the public approval rating of them is favorable. These public appearances allow the president to show off positive characteristics like integrity and courage which makes the President likeable to the American people. The president’s public displays to the American people has essentially turned him into a spectacle. The change of the Presidential image into to a public spectacle is being used by modern presidents as a propagandaRead MoreRational Choice Theor y : Theories Of Political, Social, And Economic Sciences1467 Words   |  6 Pagesof behavioral decision-making provides legitimate concerns with the rational choice model, specifically the assumption of objectivity in analyzing opposing outcomes. In addition, I will use examples from the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq to not only point out flaws within RCT, but also use the theory of behavioral decision-making to explain certain paradigms. Behavioral decision theory (BDT) takes the normative focus of RCT and analyzes the way(s) in which actors truly make decisionsRead MoreGeorge W. Bush s President Of Texas1685 Words   |  7 PagesBorn in July 6, 1946, George W. Bush, America’s 43rd president, served in the White House office from 2001 to 2009. Before coming into the White House, he was the oldest son of former 41st U.S. President George H. W. Bush, who was also a two-term Republican governor of the state of Texas. George W. Bush was a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business majoring in business administration. George W. Bush worked in the Texas oil industry and he was also an owner of the Texas Rangers baseball

Women Who Commit Crimes Free Essays

French Novelist Albert Camus wrote, â€Å"We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, and our ravages. But our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to fight them in ourselves†. Crimes are crimes and should not be differentiated on the basis of gender motivations since they are different for each. We will write a custom essay sample on Women Who Commit Crimes or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was God who made the woman by nature mild, sober, soft, lovely and to be loved with little exception. Even though women are believed to be less violent than men, there are still a percentage of violent acts committed by women. This is in part to the overwhelming beliefs by society that crimes are the domain of men and women are viewed to be more nurturing in that regard. Our lives are already different at birth, as our genders determines who we are and how we are will be viewed by society. In every society our gender constructs these differences. Men have always been associated with power and wealth and women hardly a role at all. Other causes that have been affected are race, class, and sometimes-physical ability. So people believe there is an unequal distribution of wealth, power and standing in the world. Men have always been regarded as the persons most likely to commit a violent crime. Over the past few decades we have seen this thinking change and more women have found themselves in the rising numbers of these cases. Dr. Andrew Chishom, Professor Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina wrote that in 1970 there was 6,000 women incarcerated and in the 90’s that number increased to 75,000. What are the causes of the increases in crimes being committed by women? Dr Chishom also reports that crimes historically were predominately committed by men and that women involved themselves in many kinds of crimes with them, â€Å"Women became more daring†. In the movie Thelma Louise, we saw varying incidents where women were treated in manners that were considered demeaning. Not to say that this would be a reason to commit a crime, but it does open the way for some women to question who they are and why they find themselves taking such abuse. Thelma and Louse reminded me that not only are women looked at differently than men, but also even when a crime is committed, they are still not considered smart. Thelma, a sensitive, naive and somewhat goofy woman, lives in a loveless marriage to a man that is overpowering and loves practicing control over her. Louise, a strong and independent woman who knows that she wants more out of life than what she has been dealt. Going away for a weekend would have been an opportunity for the both of them to find out what they really wanted to do with their lives, Crimes are not always planned, but can make people appear that they were built this way from the start. Louise found herself in a situation that was irreversible. Having experienced the same act of violence that was being perpetrated on Thelma in the parking lot of the bar brought back such horrible memories and at that point Louise was not going to relive it and let it go again. Thelma and Louise, found themselves in such a horrible and unthinkable situation they could only resort to a life of continued crime, since they were now considered suspects in a the shooting and death of Harlan. Crimes such as rape, murder, robbery, and brutality are not easily seen as acts that Women would find themselves involved in. However, there are many circumstances that have placed many women in those situations. Women were widely considered not to be capable of the ferocity or deep-seated evil as men. After all, in eighteenth century patriarchal society, they were widely seen as demure, submissive creatures. True, some had fallen on the wrong side of the tracks and had become petty thieves or whores, but a common contemporary conception seemed to exist that women were pretty much incapable of malice. Some women commit crimes because of pressures that otherwise would be not an issue if they didn’t find themselves in a situation that seemed impossible to get out of, so their actions become devious. Both men and women sometime defer from normal societal cares when confronting conflict. In Thelma and Louise case, men created the spontaneous devious acts that changed their view of the law as well as men in positions of authority. Certainly, you can argue that men are viewed to be stronger and their physical strengths totally outweigh that of women. It has been thought constantly that men were and are prone to violence, and women would only commit a crime as a result due to some kind of force, or because the authority over them was too severe. As Beth Richie discussed in her women and crime book, â€Å"Compelled to Crime† The Gender Entrapment, many of those women were in previous abusive relationships. When a woman is abused she can only take it for so long before she breaks. So many women are oppressed that when they do get a chance to fight back, they fight with all of their might. In the film Thelma and Louise, they fought against a rapist, because Louise had been raped in Texas, and the man got away. Louise did not want to let another rapist walk the street. She was defending herself, Thelma, and in a sense making an example out of that man by showing society that men will not always be able to walk away from their victim. Some women do fight back, and they will fight to the death if necessary. Thelma had been oppressed her entire life by her husband, who would not let her do anything. In fact Thelma stated once they left town, that she was going to let her hair down once and for all! That shows how oppressed she really was. Men are viewed very differently than women are when a similar crime has been committed. This is because over the decades men have proven themselves worthy of this title. Men have been more aggressive in all areas of crime and thus are given sentences that are harsher than women. This does not exclude women from their crimes, however because in many cases women have acted in defense of themselves giving them more reason for justification when they take a life. However, society will probably always have a little more mercy on women when they commit a crime, sighting many opticals that could have caused them to act in such a manner. Both genders are left with frightening realities that face them, and that is that a life has been taken and punishment will be inevitable. Scott, Ridley. Thelma Louise. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1991 Nicole Walker â€Å"Why Women Are Committing Crimes†. Jet Find Articles. com. 15 Mar 2010. Http://findarticles. com Beth E. Richie. â€Å"Why Do Women Commit† Crimes PhD. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of African American Studies http://www. ojp. usdoj. gov/bjs/homicide/gender. htm. Greenfeld, Lawrence A. and Tracy L. Snell, Women Offenders, December 1999, pp. 1, 2, 4 How to cite Women Who Commit Crimes, Papers

Coles Supermarket Australia Corporate Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about theCorporate Social Responsibility for Coles Supermarket in Australia. Answer: Introduction Coles is one of the leading food retailers of Australia that aims to deliver great values to the customers. The company is operating in Australia for more than 100 years (www.coles.com.au, 2016). It continuous to deliver outstanding customer service and quality product that help the company to maintain good positioning in the Australian market. Currently, Coles has been focusing on sustainable future through corporate social responsibility (www.coles.com.au, 2016). The company has been developing relationship with the Aussie farmers and families by support local needs of the people. Coles have been working for the development of the food industry by implementing education programs for its customers and employees (www.coles.com.au, 2016). Along with that, the company has implemented several other corporate social responsibility policies to seek better reputation in the market. The paper has been developed to conduct an analysis on use of CSR in the Australian industries. Hence, the primary purpose of the paper is to present the use of CSR in an Australian organisation. The study presents a brief overview of CSR and explains how the CSR can be beneficial for the Coles Supermarket to seek growth in the current market scenario. Furthermore, the paper presents an argument for or against the companies practicing CSR in the Australian market. Finally, the paper evaluates the CSR strategies used by Coles to operate in the Australian market and draws a proper conclusion as per the findings of the analysis. CSR: A Brief Overview The Corporate Social Responsibility is a type of self regulation that is formulated in a business model to improve the operations of the organisation. It is a regulatory mechanism that monitors the operations of the firm and ensures that every activity is conducted according to the rules and regulations of the authorised bodies (Rigoberto Parada Daza, 2009). Furthermore, Corporate Social Responsibility presents the ethical standards that are followed by the company to develop good relation in the society (Zu, 2009). Hence, Corporate Social Responsibility is basically a mechanism that is implemented by the modern business organisations to seek sustainable growth of business. Corporate Social Responsibility helps to ensure a better relationship between the association and the society (Zu, 2009). It is the primary reason for the firms to undertake Corporate Social Responsibility as a business procedure to develop operations according to the needs of the society. Hence, it can be said th at Corporate Social Responsibility is an activity that leads to sustainable development of business through the delivery of social, environmental and economic benefits to the stakeholders. Corporate Social Responsibility is the key to economic development of business and welfare of the society. Currently, all organisations in the Australian market have implemented CSR policies to work for the welfare of the society and the environment (Tilt, 2016). It has become mandatory by law for any business organisation operating in Australia to implement CSR strategy to survive and seek growth in the market (Zu, 2009). The Australian government has introduced the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR) to monitor the operations of the companies in the market and rank them for their CSR policies according to their performance (Tilt, 2016). Business Case for CSR Looking at the current Corporate Social Responsibility policies of Coles Supermarket, it can be seen that the company has effective implemented CSR strategies in its operations. Coles Supermarket works for the communities such as their team members and customers to develop a good relationship in the society (www.coles.com.au, 2016). It provides trainings to the suppliers and customers to save the environment. Along with that, the company implements new technologies to conserve environmental pollutions. Coles have made necessary changes in its logistic systems to reduce air pollution. Along with that, the company has earned a good reputation in the market with its new supermarket that has been build using the latest technology (Gelter, 2015). It is estimated that the new eco-friendly supermarket of Coles will consumer around 30% less energy which has been recognised as an initiative of the company towards sustainable development of business (Trong Tuan, 2012). Coles have involved in social works such as funding child care institutions and hospitals. Along with that, it does not carry business with suppliers who use child labour. Hence, it can be seen that CSR initiatives taken by the company has been effective in building a good reputation in the market (Trong Tuan, 2012). The achievements of the company for using CSR can be seen in its financial statement. It can be seen that the company has been able to maintain a good amount of sales with rising competition in the market. Furthermore, it can be said that the CSR policy of Coles Supermarket has helped it to maintain the high amount of profitability (Heikkurinen and Forsman-Hugg, 2011). The summarised income statement of the company has been presented in Appendix A for further consideration. It can be seen from the income statement of Coles Supermarket that the profitability has decreased in the year 2015 as compared to 2014 because of the new investment of the company on CSR projects suc h as social work and technology development (Wesfarmers.com.au, 2016). Hence, it can be said that the company has effectively used the CSR strategies to survive and seek growth in the market. The ACCSR offers a good ranking to Coles because of its CSR initiatives and recent social programs (Jahdi, 2014). Therefore, it can be seen that Coles have implement CSR in its business model to gradually grow its business and work for the welfare of the society (Trong Tuan, 2012). It helps the company to maintain good relationship with the customers and develop its market positioning. Business Case Against CSR In the contemporary business management, Coles Supermarket Australia Pty Ltd has shared a massive section in retail, consumer services and supermarket in the Australian territory. Currently, the organisation operates more around 776 supermarkets throughout the entire Australian market including a number of rebranded supermarkets (www.coles.com.au, 2016). The supermarket chain of Coles Supermarkets owned by Wesfarmers has promoted significant policies and standards for its suppliers, distributors and marketers in order to enforce sustainability within the corporate business (Blowfield and Murray, 2008). Understandably, some of the corporate social responsibility policies directed towards suppliers, distributors and marketers have been strictly criticised as the policies are considerably hurting the poor vendors and market distributors. In a report published to show the adverse effect of the CSR policies of the consumer goods giant such as Coles Supermarkets, it can be seen that Coles Supermarkets are imposing inconsiderate and insensitive conditions on the retailers, suppliers and distributors. Thus, the harsh CSR policy measures of the supermarket chain have led to the dismal condition of the poor suppliers operating in the Australian market. In order to meet the standards of the services and quality of products, Coles has imposed unrealistic conditions on the fishing companies operate in the Pacific area (Welford, 2007). In addition to that, Coles has threatened the suppliers to be excluded from their supply chain if Coles Supermarkets sustainability criteria have not been met (Capaldi, 2016). In this way, Coles Supermarket has shown corporate social irresponsibility towards the stakeholders. In this very regard, a court case was filed against Coles in 2014. Based on the evidence and charges and allegations of th e plaintiff such as suppliers, Coles Supermarket Australia Pty Ltd has ordered to pay $10 million to the suppliers as a penalty (Worldgrowth.org, 2016). Invariably, Coles Supermarket has been reportedly alleged about non-cooperation with the small suppliers. The small suppliers and dairy product producers have been forced to maintain environmental standards at any cost. In case, the suppliers have failed to meet the sustainability standards, the products have been rejected by the biggest retailer in the Australian market creating massive losses for the small suppliers. Herein, the corporate social responsibility practices of Coles have turned into too much harsh to be controlled by the small vendors (Allen and Craig, 2016). In the current market scenario, such nasty practices towards the suppliers have shown corporate social irresponsibility to the stakeholders more than anything else. In addition to that, the standards and environmental sustainability measures delivered to the suppliers have caused more troubles to the vendors. Sometimes, as the consumers have denied buying low-cost products, Coles Supermarket has returned the products to the suppliers without any consideration. Such retailers policy in purchasing must not be supported at the corporate level. Meanwhile, Coles Supermarket has somewhat ignored the rights of the poor suppliers and rather focused on profitability (Ketola, 2013). As a result of the situation, some of the policies in CSR must have been condemned as the same are hurting the poor suppliers deficiently. Through the identification of the Coles Supermarkets adverse CSR policy and practices, it must be said that the companys image towards the suppliers has been continuously declined due to such unethical and irresponsible policy measures. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Coles In the current situation, Coles Supermarket Australia Pty Ltd has identified the market priorities and corporate social responsibility to corporate sustainability. In order to achieve the ecological sustainability in the target market, Coles Supermarket has prioritised environmental standards to control the climate change promoting green farming. Thus, the CSR policies directed towards the suppliers have produced adequate food products processed in a natural way. Also, the CSR policies and practices of Coles Supermarket have protected the rights of the labours and human resources attached to the corporate business (Jones, Bowd and Tench, 2009). By enforcing ethical supply chain within the business pattern, Coles Supermarket has taken the responsibility and accountability of the employees. However, CSR standards towards suppliers have been remained under scanner (Koo, 2015). Meanwhile, the CSR towards the human resources and society has generated increased employment opportunities and standards of living for the public of the country. In this way, CSR in Coles Supermarkets corporate culture has supported the business standards. Invariably, the corporate governance of Coles Supermarket has been impressive following the corporate social responsibility practices. Coles Supermarket has shown zero tolerance towards child labour within the corporate functionality. Therefore, the suppliers, distributors and marketers of Coles Supermarket must abide by the norms of the organisation to be included in the supply chain. At the same time, the strict corporate governance has contributed to eradicating the issues of corruption for the business system providing opportunities to every section of the society (Jenkins, Pearson and Seyfang, 2012). Hence, the more efficient business regime has been set up within the corporate business. Finally, Coles Supermarkets management has supported the economic standards by promoting reduced consumption of resources. For instance, in farming and dairy product manufacturing, solar energy has been utilised to save the other non-renewable energy resources. Also, the organisation has investe d time as well as capital to increase the growth of business. By providing jobs to the unemployed of the society, Coles Supermarket has aimed to eradicate poverty from the society (Zahid, 2015). Also, the organisation has donated fund to the health and educational development to improve the standards of living. Such social investment of Coles Supermarket has been identified as the stand out points in the CSR. Conclusion It can be seen from the above analysis that the ACCSR had effectively worked on behalf of the government to enforce different organisations for implementing CSR in their business model. In the same way, the Coles Supermarket has implemented CSR framework in its business plans to develop its market positioning. Though the CSR practices have increased the expenditure and work pressure of the company, it has worked on behalf of the company to improve its status in the market. Furthermore, the CSR approaches have helps Coles Supermarket to develop good connection with the customers and seek growth in the Australian market. References Allen, M. and Craig, C. (2016). Rethinking corporate social responsibility in the age of climate change: a communication perspective.Int J Corporate Soc Responsibility, 1(1). Blowfield, M. and Murray, A. (2008).Corporate responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Capaldi, N. (2016). New (Other?) Directions in Corporate Social Responsibility.Int J Corporate Soc Responsibility, 1(1). Gelter, M. (2015). Employee Participation in Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility.SSRN Electronic Journal. Heikkurinen, P. and Forsman-Hugg, S. (2011). Strategic Corporate Responsibility in the Food Chain.Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Mgmt, 18(5), pp.306-316. Jahdi, K. (2014). Cause-related marketing (CaRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Social Responsibility Journal, 10(4), pp.674-684. Jenkins, R., Pearson, R. and Seyfang, G. (2012).Corporate responsibility and labour rights. London: Earthscan. Jones, B., Bowd, R. and Tench, R. (2009). Corporate irresponsibility and corporate social responsibility: competing realities.Social Responsibility Journal, 5(3), pp.300-310. Ketola, T. (2013). Rationale, Morals, and Needs Pyramid for Corporate Responsibility Development.Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Mgmt., 21(4), pp.228-239. Koo, T. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance.SSRN Electronic Journal. Rigoberto Parada Daza, J. (2009). A valuation model for corporate social responsibility.Social Responsibility Journal, 5(3), pp.284-299. Tilt, C. (2016). Corporate social responsibility research: the importance of context.Int J Corporate Soc Responsibility, 1(1). Trong Tuan, L. (2012). Corporate social responsibility, ethics, and corporate governance.Social Responsibility Journal, 8(4), pp.547-560. Welford, R. (2007). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: issues for Asia.Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Mgmt, 14(1), pp.42-51. Worldgrowth.org. (2016).Coles, Woolies Socially Irresponsible | World Growth. [online] Available at: https://worldgrowth.org/2011/05/coles-woolies-socially-irresponsible/ [Accessed Sep. 2016]. www.coles.com.au. (2016).Corporate Responsibility. [online] Available at: https://www.coles.com.au/corporate-responsibility [Accessed Sep. 2016]. Zahid, J. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility is No Responsibility.SSRN Electronic Journal. Zu, L. (2009).Corporate social responsibility, corporate restructuring and firm's performance. Berlin: Springer.

Ku Klux Klan Essays (2430 words) - Reconstruction Era,

Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan Over the years many people havecreated groups to support their beliefs. These groups allow people with the same ideas to gather together and work out plans to advance their ideas. All of the groups that have been established have not necessarily gained a positive image from the public. One example is the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan originated over one hundred years ago and has gone through many eras and changes since its beginning. Although many people know the Ku Klux Klan exists, they do not understand its purpose or how it has changed throughout its life. After the Civil War ended, the Southern states went through a time known as Reconstruction. Ex-Confederate soldiers had returned home now, and they were still upset about the outcome of the war. It is at this point in time that the Ku Klux Klan became a part of everyday life for many Southerners. In the beginning the Ku Klux Klan was started to be a way for people who had the same views to spend time together. The original members meant of the Ku Klux Klan to be a "hilarious social club" that would be full of aimless fun (Invisible Empire, p.9), though in later years the Ku Klux Klan became known for their violence against people outside the white race and people who associated with them. Contrary to what most people believe, the Ku Klux Klan was started because of a few people wanted to have some innocent fun, not because they were intending to start a chain of violence on anyone outside the white race.(The Klan, p.2) The Ku Klux Klan began in Pulaski, Tennessee, a small town south of Nashville. On the night of December 24, 1865 six ex-confederate soldiers were sitting around a fireplace it the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones.(Invisible Empire, p.9) These six friends were having a discussion and were trying to come up with an idea to cheer themselves up. One of the men suggested that they should start a club and the rest of the men agreed with the idea. After discussing the mew idea, the men decided to meet again and retired for the night. The second meeting was again at Judge Thomas M. Jones' law office and was attended by the same six men. During this meeting the group decided it need a name. After many hours of deliberating they decided on the name derived from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle Ku Klux.("Intro. to the Knights of the KKK", p.2) The group later added "Klan" to the word to make the phrase complete. At this time the group decided what to call the different ranks of the members, starting with the leader, the Grand Cyclops, all the way down to the ghouls, or members of no rank. When the men had finished organizing, they were overjoyed about their group, and they decided to show everyone their creation. The members wrapped themselves and their horses in sheet and rode through the small town and terrified everyone, especially Negroes. No doubt, this is the harmless little club that later would be taken to extremes by its members. Admittedly, the Ku Klux Klan did become out of control in later years, but when it was first created it had no specific meaning; it was a way just to have fun. After the members saw the effect the group's appearance had on people, they began to use the results to their advantage. Because the Klan resembled ghost, many of the citizens of Pulaski believed them to be dead soldiers of the Confederate Army when they saw them riding on their horses through the small town. While Negroes were busy avoiding the Ku Klux Klan, its purpose changed. The Ku Klux Klan began aiming its violent actions toward Negroes, Jews, Orientals, and various other members of society that did not belong to the white race. Although violence was already occurring against non-whites before the organization of the Ku Klux Klan, the Klan used this fact as a way to keep their "enemies" under control. No one denies that the Ku Klux Klan became a brutal force over the years, but the fact remains that violence was not the reason the group was founded. It is true that all groups and club must go through changes, but many changes of the changes which the Ku Klux Klan endured were not necessarily the best for everyone. Shortly after the Ku Klux Klan's first ride, its members began to cause a major impact on society. Many

The Chrysalids by Thomas M. Wagner Essay Example

The Chrysalids by Thomas M. Wagner Essay Example The Chrysalids by Thomas M. Wagner Paper The Chrysalids by Thomas M. Wagner Paper The Review of â€Å"The Chrysalids†, written by Thomas M. Wagner in the year 2004, explores the elements of the book that made it a memorable reading experience, while also discussing the points that rendered the book’s focal issues moot. Wagner compliments Wyndham’s use of his book to explore the themes of xenophobia, intolerance and bigotry that were prominent in society during the period, but criticizes the climax, involving the Sealander Lady and her justification for her actions during the rescue. The piece involves strengths surrounding Wagner’s use of informal language, his focus on critical themes explored throughout the text, and his discussion of the flawed survival of the fittest trope. The article is not without its weaknesses, failing to deliver topic sentences throughout, and introducing a new point in the concluding paragraph. Informal language tends to be used in situations where writers want to bring across their points in a succinct manner, without complicating the information being delivered. Wagner’s use of informal language is prominent throughout the article, bringing across a particular tone that is used to highlight his view of the piece’s climax. Examples of informal language being used can be found in paragraph 9, ‘So far, so good’ and paragraph 14, ‘I almost needed a crane to hoist my jaw from the floor’. Both examples bring across a more personal tone, and link the writer to the target readers more directly. Because of Wagner’s use of a thesis statement in his introductory paragraph, there was provision of information on the strengths and weaknesses that were present in the text. This thesis statement provides readers with knowledge of what is to be expected. He discusses the themes with the text, that focused on the issues of xenophobia, intolerance and bigotry that were heavily prominent during the period when the text was written. He draws a comparison between the book and the Nazi Par

Business Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Business Project - Essay Example In many cases, the solution of transferring part or all the production units in developing countries appears as the most appropriate corporate decision at least for a specific period of time. It has to be noticed that in accordance with the World Economic Outlook (2002, 82) ‘trends and cross-county differences in corporate indicators reflect a variety of country-specific institutional and macroeconomic factors, as well as industrial specialization and firm size’. In other words the decision of ‘relocating’ in a new commercial market has to based on several elements which all must be thoroughly examined before the beginning of any relevant process. The existence of factors that may not have been taken into account when deciding this option can delay the development of the relevant plan and in many cases can even lead to its cancellation. China has proved to be a place that can help the companies to survive – at least on a short term basis – and to develop their level of production while the cost involved is low. Specifically regarding the particular issue MacMurray (1994, 68) stated that ‘as Chinas enterprise reform movement accelerates, MNCs will need to closely monitor the evolution of the industries in which they participate and seek a deeper understanding of the emerging competitors and acquisition candidates in each’. In other words, relocation in China can be an appropriate solution for many corporations however all parameters have to be examined thoroughly in order to assure that in the future the company will continue to have the same benefits or at least that this decision will not be proved to be ‘fatal’ for the firm’s survival. This paper examines the ‘viability’ of a relevant decision which refers to a German automobile company, Omega Motors Gmbh. The company decided to transfer part of its production unit to China at least for a few years in order to examine if suc h a decision could help it to reduce its costs and to

The US Importation Benefits for World Development Term Paper

The US Importation Benefits for World Development - Term Paper Example Countries trade with each other because of the concept of comparative advantage and specialization.   Using the concept of Adams Smith as the basis of the theory it would not able to remember the foundation of having to import or to buy when it would cost more to make. If a foreign country can supply the United States with a commodity which would be cheaper than it can make, then there is a reason to buy from said foreign while at the same time allowing some of the produce of the US industry to be sold. In other words, the US would produce where it has some advantage. The need to specialize and trade for the same reason should govern the behavior of individuals at it meant to result in greater out and income.   A lawyer who is also a skilled painter can benefit to just hire a painter to paint his house. It is assumed that the lawyer can earn $50 dollars per hour and that the painter earns $20 an hour. Although the lawyer is a good painter, he would do best to just specialize in his work as a lawyer by hiring a painted, as he could be saving $20 per hour. That the world economy is benefited by US importation cannot be denied.   Ã‚  One cannot talk about the economy without going back to things about demand and supply of good and services. The demanders are the households, individuals, and entities and the suppliers are the firms. This interaction could result in economic activities that will the cause the continuous production of needs and wants as sustained by the continuing demand.   From the macroeconomic model, the economy of every country is then measured by GDP growth with the necessary components of consumption, investment, government spending, and net export or the result of exports after deducting imports. Imports by the US may result therefore to trade deficit whether the US could actually be consuming more than it produces or exports. It may there have a negative effect on its GDP. However, in business, one’s loss is another’s gain.

Slippery Slope and related Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slippery Slope and related Hypothesis - Essay Example The society at large hypothesis was postulated by O.W Wilson (Delattre 69). According to him, the society at large plays a significant role in making public officers such as policemen and policewomen to participate in corruption (Delattre 70). According to the theory, when a citizen offers a gratuity to a police officer for protection he/she virtually helps in the promotion of corruption. By such an action, the citizen opens doors for the police officer to accept even bigger gratuity offers from other citizens with the unyielding being accused of crimes in spite of their innocence (Delattre 26). Police officers are often considered to belong to a special category of public officers and seem to be above the law. As such their actions, according to the masses, cannot be questioned. Taking advantage of this situation, some police officers grant the same special attention to the criminals with whom they partake in crime.   According to the structural hypothesis theory, values trickle d own from the top brass to individuals in lower ranks (Kaplan & Johnson 25). For example, officers become prone to doing certain activities by watching the activities that their seniors do. Most police officers do not start working as corrupt individuals but instead adopt the deviant behavior while in the field (Kelley 34). Given the fact that the veterans and superiors had learnt the behavior earlier, they do not hesitate to pass it on to the younger generation that comes after them.  

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning Governmental Control Over Curriculum and the Impact on Teachers as Skilled  Professionals Introduction Caldwell and Hayward (1998) state that the need for reform in England’s school system was realized in 1976 (p. 1). Yet, it was not until 1988 with the Education Reform Act instituted under Margaret Thatcher that a â€Å"national curriculum, national tests† and control of the schools by the government began to become a reality (Caldwell Hayward 1998, p. 1). Murnane and Steele (2007) contend that national involvement in the public schools was intended to support the learners, as well as the teachers (p. 15). However, because of the continued awareness by governments that Western educational institutions were lagging behind the accomplishments of Eastern schools, continued changes in the area of education and government’s control over it have completely altered the educational landscape (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). This is because of an adopted neo-liberalist policy approach that has favored markets over learners and policies over teacher effectiveness (Apple 200 1, p. 182). As a result teachers are becoming â€Å"deskilled† and incapable of maintaining their own control over their effectiveness in the classroom (Hall 2004, p. 3). As this control subsides, therefore, teachers are leaving the profession due to frustration and an inability to maintain their professional capabilities in the schools. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Neo-Liberalism Apple (2001) indicates that there was once a â€Å"classical liberalism† that existed in relation to the schools and those policies related to education that impacted teachers and students (p. 182). However, Apple (2001) states that as time has progressed the classical liberalism of the state policies has been altered toward a â€Å"neo-liberalism approach† (p. 182). According to Apple (2001), it is important to understand the differences between these two types of views of education because these differences are at the core of the educational issues that schools in many countries face today (p. 182). Olssen (1996) defines classical liberalism in the schools as a method of â€Å"freeing those within the schools from state control† (p. 337). Olssen (1996), on the other hand, specifies that neo-liberalism supports the state’s role in controlling education by â€Å"creating a market†¦[that involves] the conditions, laws and institutions necessary for its operation† (p. 337). Apple (2001) argues that when an education â€Å"market† is, therefore, created it is a market that seems to suggest â€Å"individualization† (p. 182). However, the individualization of the market is subjected to the controls of the government and the policies that force parents, teachers and students to act in a certain manner, leading to the end results that the state intended from the start (Apple 2001, p. 182). This is because the actions of the entities connected to education are restrained by the boundaries set forth in the policies of the government and as those boun daries become more tightly fixed the actions of the parties are more predictable. Choice and Influence on Teachers Apple (2001) expands on this notion by examining the middle class in society (p. 182). Apple (2001) stipulates that when parents of different nations in the middle class are given the opportunity of school choice the government knows that those parents will naturally begin placing their own criteria and/or expectations on schools (p. 182). Consequently when parents are unhappy with the curriculum at one school the teachers at the school are forced to alter that curriculum in order to meet the demands of the parents or they will loose the students within that school (Apple 2001, p. 182). The loss of students within a school means the loss of government funding, the loss of jobs, the lack of teacher’s ability to provide resources and ultimately the loss of the school itself in the community. Therefore, as Apple (2001) indicates, the government policies may be suggesting that people have a greater choice; yet, what is actually occurring is a more significant control of schools th rough the ability of parents to actively use choice to influence curriculum in relation to the schools (p. 182). As parents influence how the curriculum is created, consequently, teachers are placed under greater scrutiny and are forced to expand their offerings in the classroom – even if these offerings include learning that the teacher is not knowledgeable or skilled in. Brooker (2003) contends that the manner in which parents and private entities are capable of influencing the education of students is evident in the United Kingdom with the inclusion of computer technologies in the elementary classroom (p. 261). Over the past decade there has been such a significant increase in the demand for computer technology training of young students. Yet, those schools that do not conform to this expectation are loosing students (Brooker 2003, p. 261). In general this is because parents, manufacturers and the government insists that if children are not trained in the use of computers at an early age they will not be capable of competing with their peers or those in the outside world later on (Brooker 2003, p. 261). Yet, Brooker (2003) argues that technologies in the classroom has impacted teachers negatively due to the fact that many of today’s teachers are not skilled in the use of computers and they are not capable of acquiring the knowledge needed to instruct their students adequately (p. 261). This is because, in general, many schools fail to provide teachers with new training that will support the increase in the instructional scope and teachers do not have the ability to seek outside skill training and maintain their work schedule at the same time. New Teacher Training The concept of choice and control offered by the government is also being reflected in proposals by government entities associated with initial teacher training (Apple 2000, p. 1). Apple (2000) specifies that in the current educational climate what is being considered is the â€Å"deregulation† of teacher training as a means of promoting competition among institutions of higher learning (p. 1). Essentially what this causes to occur is that colleges and universities are freely allowed to choose their own approaches to teaching and teachers have the choice of training institutions that they prefer. However, as time progresses it becomes apparent to schools and the communities that support them which teachers are trained effectively and which are not (Apple 2001, p. 182). This occurs when standardized test scores are revealed from students, reflecting directly back on the teacher’s abilities to educate (Apple 2001, p. 182). As a result, when enough teachers from a particul ar institution are incapable of developing learners that can pass standardized tests that institution begins to realize a decline in enrollment (Apple 2001, p. 182). Although teachers in training are given the choice of schools to attend and colleges are given freedom in determining how those teachers are training, ultimately it is the governmental control of policies that impacts whether or not the institution of higher learning will survive and what curriculum will be used to teach teachers in society. In the neo-liberalist approach to education there is evidence that the freedoms that are being given to colleges and universities are instead tools that negatively impact teachers entering the profession, often with the new teachers being unaware that they are ultimately slated for failure before they even begin their careers. Able Students Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) stipulate that governmental control over education further impacts teachers and curriculum due to the fact that teachers and schools begin to attempt to avoid students with special needs and â€Å"seek out able children† (p. 19). This is because special needs students require a greater amount of teacher time, teacher expertise and teacher interaction with students that takes away from the teacher instructing â€Å"able† students who do not have special needs (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). In England, Ball, Bowe and Gewitz (1994) state that this intent to encourage able students enrolling in schools by teachers and administrators is directly related to the â€Å"publication of performance indicators such as examination league tables† because schools find it difficult to explain that test scores may be low due to an abundance of special needs students (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). Yet, Gerwitz, Ball and Bowe (1995) further argue that control of the curriculum and teacher performance is also related to the students of different cultures (p. 6). For example, in England it is known that African American students traditionally have difficulties in the schools because of the large segment of this population that is impoverished (p. 6). Poverty is correlated to the abilities of the students, with those in the impoverished classes historically performing less successfully on standardized tests (Gerwitz, Ball Bowe 1995, p. 6). Apple (2001), therefore, states that this causes teachers to develop curriculum that targets students who are more capable of learning and ignores those students that standardized testing was intended to support in the first place (p. 182). Fragmentation Allen and Ainley (2007) contend that as time progresses the governmental control over the curriculum in the schools is continuing to expand, impacting how teachers not only teach, but changing what is taught to students, causing a fragmentation of teacher control over their own labor (p. 1). An example of this exists within English schools as education reform is focused on vocational education for students beginning at age 14 (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). According to Allen and Ainley (2007) the government came to the conclusion that there was a decline in students graduating from schools with marketable skills and this impacted their success after public schooling (p. 1). The issue, therefore, became less concentrated on a student’s ability to read, write and perform simple math and more on specifically training students to function in specific jobs once they have left academia (Allen Ainley, 2007, p. 1). Allen and Ainley (2007) indicate that this brings about two specific issues. First, while teachers in the United Kingdom have indicated that they do not support this policy, teacher organizations throughout the country have ignored teacher protests and called on educators to ensure that the policies are successful (Allen Ainley 2007, p 1). Second, programs for vocational training are being largely created in schools that instruct low income or impoverished students, with those students in high performing schools working with a traditional curriculum (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). What this means is that while governmental policies are once again suggesting that there is choice in relation to education, the policies are ensuring that only those choices that support what the government deems appropriate for education will be made (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1; Chitty 2004, p. 160). Furthermore, Murnane and Steele (2007) state that this causes teachers to be inundated with having to cope with a curriculum that is ever-changing and that they believe they no longer have control over (p. 15). As a result teachers are leaving the teaching profession in vast numbers and this is creating a greater shortage in the teacher workforce than ever before (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). Conclusion Duggan and Pole (1996) suggest that the dissatisfaction in the teacher workforce began to be ever apparent in the 1990s (p. 139). Hall (2004) states that this is an issue that has increased over time because of policies such as â€Å"the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in primary school and the Key Stage 3 Strategy in secondary schools†, as well as the inclusion of technologies and standardized testing that â€Å"constricts teachers† and their capabilities throughout the curriculum (p. 3). According to Hall (2004) the types of control connected to the schools and the deskilling of teachers are endless (p. 8; Appendix 1). Consequently there is an increased teacher workload, decreased teacher satisfaction and a reduction in the number of teachers that want to or are capable of instructing students in the manner in which government and/or society demands. For the future of education in the Western world this could mean that the attempt by government to regulate education and create more successful outcomes for students in England has the opposite effect, as is indicated by Hall (2004, p. 3). The research indicates that the original intent of education to create students that were capable of being productive citizens after their educational careers ended became extremely complex when it was realized that Western students did not achieve at the same rate as Eastern students. Therefore, a neo-liberalist policy toward education by the government was adopted, suggesting that choice was available to parents, teachers and students and that a greater freedom in education would exist. Yet, the research also demonstrates that the idea of choice was restricted by the policies related to education that were adopted by the government and that these policies minimalized the choices that actually existed. Moreover, these neo-liberalist policies became so intricately woven within education that the choices made by those connected to education could be predicted and manipulated with ease. For teachers this has meant that they are overworked, under-trained and unprepared for the demands o f the modern educational system and given few options as to how they can overcome these issues. This knowledge provides serious implications for the educational system because as teachers continue to become frustrated due to their increasing deskilled status they are leaving the teaching workforce. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Appendix 1 (Hall 2004, p. 8). 1. Regulated market control: metaphors of the market and consumer demand are imposed upon schools; success and profits go to those who best meet consumer demand. Teachers’ work is evaluated in terms of measured outputs set against cost. Competition is the key element in relations between schools. (Ball, 1994) 2. Technical control: this is embodied in structures rather than people – in, for example, notionally ‘teacher proof’ teaching materials and text books, and in specified competences (Apple, 1988, 1996) 3. Bureaucratic control: hierarchical power is embedded in the social and organisational structure of institutions – jobs are differently divided and defined, have different salaries, and supervision, evaluation and promotion arrangements. The potential for establishing a career operates as a control mechanism. 4. Corporate control: the focus of the institution is on economic rather than social good. A competitive ethos prevails. Managers focus on economic goals. The head teacher is perceived more as a line manager than as a first among professional equals. 5. Ideological control: hegemonic beliefs – for example, that a good teacher has certain characteristics – become part of the dominant ideology within schools. These ideas and beliefs are reinforced in pre-service and in-service training. Certain conceptions of teachers’ work become naturalised – for example, a move away from child-centred discourse to market based discourse. 6. Disciplinary power: Foucault (1977) shows how, by means of the technologies of power – hierarchical observation, normalising judgment and examination –individuals are ‘disciplined’ into ways of understanding their work. Minor procedures and routines are specified (times, dress, expected responses) in ways that become anonymous and functional within a school; teachers and others within the school regulate their own behaviours to meet these expectations. Smyth describes this as a ‘triumph of technique over questions of purpose’ Bibliography Allen, M. and Ainley, P. (2007) Education make you fick, innit? London: Tufnell Press. Apple, M. (2000). Power, meaning, and identity. New York: Peter Lang. Apple, M. (2001). Markets, standards, teaching and teacher education. Journal of  Teacher Education. 52(3): 182-207. Ball, S., Bowe, R., Gewirtz, S. (1994). Market forces and parental choice. In S. Tomlinson (Ed.), Educational reform and its consequences (pp. 13-25). London: IPPR/Rivers Oram Press. Brooker, L. (2003). Integrating new technologies in the UK classroom. Childhood  Education. 79(5): 261-289. Caldwell, B., and Hayward, D. (1998). The future of schools: Lessons from the reform  of public education. London: Falmer Press. Chitty, C. (2004). Education policy in Britain. London: Palgrave. Duggan, R., and Pole, C. (1996). Reshaping education in the 1990s. New York:  Routledge. Gewirtz, S., Ball, S., Bowe, R. (1995). Markets, choice, and equity in education.  Philadelphia: Open University Press. Hall. C. (2004). Theorizing changes in teacher’s work. Canadian Journal of Education  Administration and Policy. Retrieved January 1, 2009, from http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/hall.pdf Murnane, R., and Steele, J. (2007). What is the problem? The challenge of providing  effective teacher for all children. The Future of Children. 17(1): 15-35. Olssen, M. (1996). In defense of the welfare state and of publicly provided education.  Journal of Education Policy. 11: 337-362.

Passion in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Passion in Jane Eyre It is believed that we are born with a predestined personality. Our spiritual individuality is just as much a product of our genetic makeup as the color of our skin or our eyes. With our soul firmly planted, we can then build upon this basis as we are educated of the world. The social climate and cultural atmosphere shape our personalities, however, it is the people in our lives who have the greatest influence. Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre reveals this idea by the development of the protagonist. Through a series of character foils, Bronte expresses her idea of self- development and growth of the human spirit by contrasting passion with reason. By my interpretation of the novel, Bronte suggests that in one's life time, they will encounter a number of people and experiences that will arouse enough emotion in them to have the power to change their direction in life. St. John Rivers plays one of these life determining foils to Jane Eyre. His confidence, devotion and reason intrigue Jane almost enough to silence her inner passionate spirit, but it is the forces of nature that prove to be stronger than human will. The life path of a Victorian woman was somewhat limited in it's direction and expression of individuality. Jane Eyre strongly adheres to the Victorian morality which was dominated by the Anglican party of the Church of England in which passion and emotion were kept concealed. Jane's instinct for asserting herself was stifled at an early age and could only be expressed through defiance. The defiant declaration of independence from Mrs. Reed , "You are deceitful",(v.i.37) gives Jane the power of freedom and opens up a life of "unhoped-for liberty",(v.i.37). Through the preceding years Jane develops into a highly educated, well spoken and strong willed woman . She is taught to be patient and thoughtful during her years in Lowood , and is introduced to the emotions of the heart and spirit in meeting Rochester. Bronte makes an emphasis on the spiritual and supernatural atmosphere of Thornfield. The reference to the "Gytrash" and the mystical atmosphere she illustrates of their first meeting in the woods (v.i.113) could suggest that she is playing upon natural imagery and allusions to

A Dirty Job Chapter 19

19 We're OKAY, AS LONG AS THINGS DON'T GET WEIRD ALVIN AND MOHAMMED When Charlie arrived home from his mother's funeral, he was met at the door by two very large, very enthusiastic canines, who, undistracted by keeping watch over Sophie's love hostage, were now able to visit the full measure of their affection and joy upon their returning master. It is generally agreed, and in fact stated in the bylaws of the American Kennel Club, that you have not been truly dog-humped until you have been double-dog-humped by a pair of four-hundred-pound hounds from hell (Section 5, paragraph 7: Standards of Humping and Ass-dragging). And despite having used an extra-strength antiperspirant that very morning before leaving Sedona, Charlie found that getting poked repeatedly in the armpits by two damp devil-dog dicks was leaving him feeling less than fresh. â€Å"Sophie, call them off. Call them off.† â€Å"The puppies are dancing with Daddy.† Sophie giggled. â€Å"Dance, Daddy!† Mrs. Ling covered Sophie's eyes to shield her from the abomination of her father's unwilling journey into bestiality. â€Å"Go wash hands, Sophie. Have lunch while you daddy make nasty with shiksas.† Mrs. Ling couldn't help but do a quick appraisal of the monetary value of the slippery red dogwoods currently pummeling her landlord's oxford-cloth shirt like piston-driven leviathan lipsticks. The herbalist in Chinatown would pay a fortune for a powder made from the desiccated members of Alvin and Mohammed. (The men of her homeland would go to any length to enhance their virility, including grinding up endangered species and brewing them in tea, not unlike certain American presidents, who believe there is no stiffy like the one you get from bombing a few thousand foreigners.) Yet it appeared that the desiccated-dog-dick fortune would remain unclaimed. Mrs. Ling had long ago given up on collecting hellhound bits, when after trying to dispatch Alvin with a sharp and ringing blow to the cranium from her cast-iron skillet, he bit the skillet off its handle, crunched it down in a slurry of dog drool and iron filings, and then sat up and begged for seconds. â€Å"Throw some water on them!† Charlie cried. â€Å"Down, doggies. Good doggies. Oh, yuck.† Mrs. Ling was galvanized into action by Charlie's distress call, and timing her move with the oscillating pyramid of man and dog meat in the doorway, dashed by Charlie, into the hallway, and down the steps. LILY Lily came up the stairs and skidded to a stop on the hallway carpet when she saw the hellhounds pounding away at Charlie. â€Å"Oh, Asher, you sick bastard!† â€Å"Help,† Charlie said. Lily pulled the fire extinguisher off the wall, dragged it to the doorway, pulled the pin, and proceeded to unload on the bouncing trio. Two minutes later Charlie was collapsed in a frosty heap on the threshold and Alvin and Mohammed were locked in Charlie's bedroom, where they were joyfully chewing away on the expended fire extinguisher. Lily had lured them in there when they had tried to bite the CO2 stream, seeming to enjoy the freezing novelty of it over the welcome-home humping they were giving Charlie. â€Å"You okay?† Lily said. She was wearing one of her chef coats over a red leather skirt and knee-high platform boots. â€Å"It's been kind of a rough week,† Charlie said. She helped him to his feet, trying to avoid touching the damp spots on his shirt. Charlie did a controlled fall toward the couch. Lily helped him land, ending with one arm pinned awkwardly under his back. â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. There was still frost in his hair and eyelashes from the fire extinguisher. â€Å"Asher,† Lily said, trying not to look him in the eye. â€Å"I'm not comfortable with this, but I think, given the situation, that it's time I said something.† â€Å"Okay, Lily. You want some coffee?† â€Å"No. Please shut up. Thank you.† She paused and took a deep breath, but did not extricate her arm from behind Charlie's back. â€Å"You have been good to me over the years, and although I would not admit this to anyone else, I probably wouldn't have finished school or turned out as well as I have if it hadn't been for your influence.† Charlie was still trying to see, blinking away ice crystals on his eyelids, thinking that maybe his eyeballs were frostbitten. â€Å"It was nothing,† he said. â€Å"Please, please, shut up,† Lily said. Another deep breath. â€Å"You have always been decent to me, despite what I would call some of my bitchier moments, and in spite of the fact that you are some dark death dude, and probably had other things to worry about – sorry about your mom, by the way.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"Well, given what I've heard about your night out before your mom died and whatnot, and what I've seen here today, I think – that it's only right – that I do you.† â€Å"Do me?† â€Å"Yes,† she said, â€Å"for the greater good, even though you are a complete tool.† Charlie squirmed away from her on the couch. He looked at her for a second, trying to figure out if she was putting him on, then, deciding that she wasn't, he said, â€Å"That's very sweet of you, Lily, and – â€Å" â€Å"Nothing weird, Asher. You need to understand that I'm only doing this out of basic human decency and pity. You can just take it to the hoes on Broadway if you need to get your freak on.† â€Å"Lily, I don't know what – â€Å" â€Å"And not in the butt,† Lily added. There was a high-pitched little-girl giggle from behind the couch. â€Å"Hi, Daddy,† Sophie said, popping up behind him. â€Å"I missed you.† Charlie swung her up over the back of the couch and gave her a big kiss. â€Å"I missed you, too, sweetie.† Sophie pushed him away. â€Å"How come you have frosting on your hair?† â€Å"Oh, that – Lily had to spray some frost on Alvin and Mohammed to settle them down and it got on me.† â€Å"They missed you, too.† â€Å"I could tell,† Charlie said. â€Å"Honey, could you go play in your room for a bit while I talk to Lily about business?† â€Å"Where are the puppies?† Sophie asked. â€Å"They're having a T.O. in Daddy's room. Can you go play and we'll have some Cheese Newts in a little while?† â€Å"Okay,† Sophie said, sliding to the floor. â€Å"Bye, Lily.† She waved to Lily. â€Å"Bye, Sophie,† Lily said, looking even more pale than usual. Sophie marched away in rhythm to her new chant, â€Å"Not in the butt – not in the butt – not in the butt.† Charlie turned to face Lily. â€Å"Well, that ought to liven up Mrs. Magnussen's first-grade class.† â€Å"Sure, it's embarrassing now,† Lily said, without missing a beat, â€Å"but someday she'll thank me.† Charlie tried to look at his shirt buttons as if he were deep in thought, but instead started to giggle, tried to stop, and ended up snorting a little. â€Å"Jeez, Lily, you're like a little sister to me, I could never – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, fine. I offer you a gift, out of the goodness of my heart, and you – â€Å" â€Å"Coffee, Lily,† Charlie said with a sigh. â€Å"Could I just get you to make me a cup of coffee instead of doing me – and sit and talk to me while I drink it? You're the only one who knows what's going on with Sophie and me, and I need to try to sort things out.† â€Å"Well, that will probably take longer than doing you,† Lily said, looking at her watch. â€Å"Let me call down to the store and tell Ray that I'll be a while.† â€Å"That would be great,† Charlie said. â€Å"I was only going to do you in exchange for information about your Death Merchant thing, anyway,† Lily said, picking up the phone on the breakfast bar. Charlie sighed again. â€Å"That's what I need to sort out.† â€Å"Either way,† Lily said, â€Å"I'm unbending on the butt issue.† Charlie tried to nod gravely, but started giggling again. Lily chucked the San Francisco Yellow Pages at him. THE MORRIGAN â€Å"This soul smells like ham,† said Nemain, wrinkling her nose at a lump of meat she had impaled on one long claw. â€Å"I want some,† said Babd. â€Å"Gimme.† She slashed at the carrion with her own talons, snagging a fist-sized hunk of flesh in the process. The three were in a forgotten subbasement beneath Chinatown, lounging on timbers that had been burned black in the great fire of 1906. Macha, who was starting to manifest the pearl headdress she wore in her woman form, studied the skull of a small animal by the light of a candle she'd made from the fat of dead babies. (Macha was ever the artsy-craftsy one, and the other two were jealous of her skills.) â€Å"I don't understand why the soul is in the meat, but not in a man.† â€Å"Tastes like ham, too, I think,† Nemain said, spitting glowing red bits of soul when she talked. â€Å"Macha, do you remember ham? Do we like it?† Babd ate her bit of meat and wiped her claws on her breast feathers. â€Å"I think ham is new,† she said, â€Å"like cell phones.† â€Å"Ham is not new,† Macha said. â€Å"It's smoked pork.† â€Å"No,† said Babd, aghast. â€Å"Yes,† said Macha. â€Å"Not human flesh? Then how is there a soul in it?† â€Å"Thank you,† Macha said. â€Å"That's what I've been trying to say.† â€Å"I've decided that we like ham,† said Nemain. â€Å"There's something wrong,† Macha said. â€Å"It shouldn't be this easy.† â€Å"Easy?† said Babd. â€Å"Easy? It's taken hundreds – no, thousands of years to get this far. How many thousands of years, Nemain?† Babd looked to the poison sister. â€Å"Many,† said Nemain. â€Å"Many,† said Babd. â€Å"Many thousands of years. That's not easy.† â€Å"Souls coming to us, without bodies, without the soul stealers, that seems too easy.† â€Å"I like it,† Nemain said. They were quiet for a moment, Nemain nibbled at the glowing soul, Babd preened, and Macha studied the animal skull, turning it over in her talons. â€Å"I think it's a woodchuck,† Macha said. â€Å"Can you make ham from woodchuck?† Nemain asked. â€Å"Don't know,† said Macha. â€Å"I don't remember woodchuck,† Nemain said. Babd sighed heavily. â€Å"Things are going so well. Do you two ever think about when we are Above all the time, and Darkness rules all, about, you know, what then?† â€Å"What do you mean, what then?† Macha asked. â€Å"We will hold dominion over all souls, and visit death as we wish until we consume all the light of humanity.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† Babd said, â€Å"but then what? I mean, you know, dominion and all that is nice, but will Orcus always have to be around, snorting and growling?† Macha put down her skull and sat up on a blackened beam. â€Å"What's this about?† Nemain smiled, her teeth perfectly even, the canines just a little too long. â€Å"She's pining about that skinny soul stealer with the sword.† â€Å"New Meat?† Macha couldn't believe her ears, which had become visible only a few days ago when the first of the gift souls had wandered into their claws, so they hadn't been tested in a while. â€Å"You like New Meat?† â€Å"Like is a little strong,† Babd said. â€Å"I just think he's interesting.† â€Å"Interesting in that you'd like to arrange his entrails in interesting patterns in the dirt?† Macha said. â€Å"Well, no, I'm not talented that way like you.† Macha looked at Nemain, who grinned and shrugged. â€Å"We could probably try to kill Orcus once Darkness rises,† Nemain said. â€Å"I am a little tired of his preaching, and he'll be impossible if the Luminatus doesn't appear.† Macha shrugged a surrender. â€Å"Sure, why not.† THE EMPEROR The Emperor of San Francisco was troubled. He sensed that something very wrong was going on in the City, yet he was at a loss as to what to do. He didn't want to alarm the people unduly, but he did not want them to be unprepared for whatever danger they might face. He believed that a just and benevolent ruler would not use fear to manipulate his people, and until he had some sort of proof that there was an actual threat, it would be criminal to call for any action. â€Å"Sometimes,† he said to Lazarus, the steadfast golden retriever, â€Å"a man must muster all of his courage to simply sit still. How much humanity has been spoiled for the confusion of movement with progress, my friend? How much?† Still, he'd been seeing things, strange things. One late night in Chinatown he'd seen a dragon made of fog snaking through the streets. Then, early one morning, down by the Boudin Bakery at Ghirardelli Square, he saw what looked like a nude woman covered in motor oil crawl out of a storm sewer and grab a tall, half-full latte cup out of the trash, then dive right back in the sewer as a policeman on a bicycle rounded the corner. He knew that he saw these things because he was more sensitive than other people, and because he lived on the streets and could sense the slightest nuance of change there, and largely because he was completely barking-at-the-moon batshit. But none of that relieved him of the responsibility to his people, nor did it ease his mind about the disturbing nature of what he was seeing. The squirrel in the hoop skirt was really bothering the Emperor, but he couldn't exactly say why. He liked squirrels – often took the men to Golden Gate Park to chase them, in fact – but a squirrel walking upright and digging through the trash behind the Empanada Emporium while wearing a pink ball gown from the eighteenth century – well – it was off-putting. He was sure that Bummer, who was curled up sleeping in the oversized pocket of his coat, would agree. (Bummer, being a rat dog at heart, had a less than enlightened outlook upon coexistence with any rodent, no less one dressed for the court of Louis XVI.) â€Å"Not to be critical,† said the Emperor, â€Å"but shoes would be a welcome complement to the ensemble, don't you think, Lazarus?† Lazarus, normally tolerant of all noncookie creatures great and small, growled at the squirrel, who appeared to have the feet of a chicken sticking out from under her skirt, which – you know – was weird. With the growl, Bummer squirmed awake and emerged from the woolen bedchamber like Grendel from his lair. He immediately erupted into an apoplectic barking fit, as if to say, You guys, in case you didn't notice, there's a squirrel in a ball gown going through the trash over there and you're just sitting here like a couple of concrete library lions! The message thus barked, off he went, a furry squirrel-seeking missile, bent on single-minded annihilation of all things rodent. â€Å"Bummer,† called the Emperor. â€Å"Wait.† Too late. The squirrel had tried to take off up the side of the brick building, but snagged her skirt on a gutter and fell back to the alley, just as Bummer was hitting full stride. Then the squirrel snatched up a small board from a broken pallet and swung it at his pursuer, who leapt just in time to miss taking a nail in one of his bug eyes. Growling ensued. The Emperor noticed at that point that the squirrel's hands were reptilian in nature, the fingernails painted a pleasant pink to match her gown. â€Å"You don't see that every day,† the Emperor said. Lazarus barked in agreement. The squirrel dropped the board and took off toward the street, moving nicely on her chicken feet, her skirt held up in her lizard hands. Bummer had recovered from the initial shock of a weapon-wielding squirrel (something he had encountered before only in doggie nightmares brought on by the late-night gift of chorizo pizza from a charitable Domino's guy) and took off after the squirrel, followed closely by the Emperor and Lazarus. â€Å"No, Bummer,† the Emperor called. â€Å"She's not a normal squirrel.† Lazarus, because he did not know how to say â€Å"well, duh,† stopped in his tracks and looked at the Emperor. The squirrel rocketed out of the alley and took a quick turn down the gutter, falling now to all fours as she went. Just as he reached the corner, the Emperor saw the trail of the tiny pink dress disappear down a storm sewer, followed closely by the intrepid Bummer. The Emperor could hear the terrier's bark echoing out of the grate, fading as Bummer pursued his prey into the darkness. RIVERA Nick Cavuto sat down across from Rivera with a plate of buffalo stew roughly the size of a garbage-can lid. They were having lunch at Tommy's Joynt, an old-school eatery on Van Ness that served home-style food like meat loaf, roasted turkey and stuffing, and buffalo stew every day of the year, and featured San Francisco sports teams on the TV over the bar whenever anyone was playing. â€Å"What?† said the big cop, when he saw his partner roll his eyes. â€Å"Fucking what?† â€Å"Buffalo almost went extinct once,† Rivera said. â€Å"You have ancestors on the Great Plains?† â€Å"Special law enforcement portions – protecting and serving and stuff requires protein.† â€Å"A whole bison?† â€Å"Do I criticize your hobbies?† Rivera looked at his half a turkey sandwich and cup of bean soup, then at Cavuto's stew, then at his runt of a sandwich, then at his partner's colossus of a stew. â€Å"My lunch is embarrassed,† he said. â€Å"Serves you right. Revenge for the Italian suits. I love going to every call with people thinking I'm the victim.† â€Å"You could buy a steamer, or I could have my guy find you some nice clothes.† â€Å"Your guy the serial-killing thrift-store owner? No thanks.† â€Å"He's not a serial killer. He's got some weird shit going on, but he's not a killer.† â€Å"Just what we need, more weird shit. What was he really doing when you had that shots-fired report?† â€Å"Just like it said, I was going by and a guy tried to rob him at gunpoint. I drew my weapon and told the perp to halt, he drew down on me, and I fired.† â€Å"Your ass. You never fired eleven shots in your life you didn't hit the ten X ring with nine of them. The fuck happened?† Rivera looked down the long table, made sure the three guys sitting down at the other end were engaged in the game showing on the TV over the bar. â€Å"I hit her with every shot.† â€Å"Her? Perp was a woman?† â€Å"I didn't say that.† Cavuto dropped his spoon. â€Å"Partner? Don't tell me you shot the redhead? I thought that was over.† â€Å"No. This was a new thing – like – Nick, you know me, I'm not going to fire unless it's justified.† â€Å"Just say what happened. I got your back.† â€Å"It was like this bird woman or something. All black. I mean fucking black as tar. Had claws that looked like – I don't know, like three-inch-long silver ice picks or something. My shots took chunks out of her – feathers and black goo and shit everywhere. She took nine in the torso and flew away.† â€Å"Flew?† Rivera sipped his coffee, eyeing his partner's reaction over the edge of the cup. They had been through some extraordinary things working together, but if the situation had been reversed, he wasn't sure he'd believe this story either. â€Å"Yeah, flew.† Cavuto nodded. â€Å"Okay, I can see why you wouldn't put that in the report.† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"So this bird woman,† Cavuto said, like that was settled, he totally believed it, now what? â€Å"She was robbing the Asher guy from the thrift shop?† â€Å"Giving him a hand job.† Cavuto nodded, picked up his spoon, and took a huge bite of stew and rice, still nodding as he chewed. He looked as if he were going to say something, then quickly took another bite, as if to stop himself. He appeared to be distracted by the game on television, and finished his lunch without another word. Rivera ate his soup and sandwich in silence as well. As they were leaving, Cavuto grabbed two toothpicks from the dispenser by the register and gave one to Rivera as they walked out into a beautiful San Francisco day. â€Å"So you were following Asher?† â€Å"I've been trying to keep an eye on him. Just in case.† â€Å"And you shot her nine times for giving the guy a hand job,† Cavuto finally asked. â€Å"I guess,† Rivera said. â€Å"You know, Alphonse, that right there is why I don't hang out with you socially. Your values are fucked up.† â€Å"She wasn't human, Nick.† â€Å"Still. A hand job? Deadly force? I don't know – â€Å" â€Å"It wasn't deadly force. I didn't kill her.† â€Å"Nine to the chest?† â€Å"I saw her – it – last night. On my street. Watching me from a storm sewer.† â€Å"Ever think to ask Asher how he happened to know the flying bulletproof bird woman in the first place?† â€Å"Yeah, I did, but I can't tell you what he said. It's too weird.† Cavuto threw his arms in the air. â€Å"Well, sweet Tidy Bowl Jesus skipping on the blue toilet water, we wouldn't want it to get fucking weird, would we?† LILY They were on their second cup of coffee and Charlie had told Lily about not getting the two soul vessels, about the encounter with the sewer harpy, about the shadow coming out of the mountains in Sedona and the other version of The Great Big Book of Death, and his suspicions that there was a frightening problem with his little girl, the symptoms of which were two giant dogs and an ability to kill with the word kitty. To Charlie's thinking, Lily was reacting to the wrong story. â€Å"You hooked up with a demon from the Underworld and I'm not good enough for you?† â€Å"It's not a competition, Lily. Can we not talk about that? I knew I shouldn't have told you. I'm worried about other stuff.† â€Å"I want details, Asher.† â€Å"Lily, a gentleman doesn't share the details of his amorous encounters.† Lily crossed her arms and assumed a pose of disgusted incredulity, an eloquent pose, because before she said it, Charlie knew what was coming: â€Å"Bullshit. That cop shot pieces off her, but you're worried about protecting her honor?† Charlie smiled wistfully. â€Å"You know, we shared a moment – â€Å" â€Å"Oh my God, you complete man-whore!† â€Å"Lily, you can't possibly be hurt by my – by my response to your generous – and let me say right here – extraordinarily tempting offer. Gee whiz.† â€Å"It's because I'm too perky, isn't it? Not dark enough for you? You being Mr. Death and all.† â€Å"Lily, the shadow in Sedona was coming for me. When I left town, it went away. The sewer harpy came for me. The other Death Merchant said that I was different. They never had deaths happen as a result of their presence like I have.† â€Å"Did you just say ‘gee whiz' to me? What am I, nine? I am a woman – â€Å" â€Å"I think I might be the Luminatus, Lily.† Lily shut up. She raised her eyebrows. As if â€Å"no.† Charlie nodded. As if â€Å"yes.† â€Å"The Big Death?† â€Å"With a capital D,† Charlie said. â€Å"Well, you're totally not qualified for that,† Lily said. â€Å"Thanks, I feel better now.† MINTY FRESH Being two hundred feet under the sea always made Minty uneasy, especially if he'd been drinking sake and listening to jazz all night, which he had. He was in the last car on the last train out of Oakland, and he had the car to himself, like his own private submarine, cruising under the Bay with the echo of a tenor sax in his ear like sonar, and a half-dozen sake-sodden spicy tuna rolls sitting in his stomach like depth charges. He'd spent his evening at Sato's on the Embarcadero, Japanese restaurant and jazz club. Sushi and jazz, strange bedfellows, shacked up by opportunity and oppression. It began in the Fillmore district, which had been a Japanese neighborhood before World War II. When the Japanese were shipped off to internment camps, and their homes and belongings sold off, the blacks, who came to the city to work in the shipyards building battleships and destroyers, moved into the vacant buildings. Jazz came close behind. For years, the Fillmore was the center of the San Francisco jazz scene, and Bop City on Post Street the premier jazz club. When the war ended and the Japanese returned, many a late night might find Japanese kids standing under the windows of Bop City, listening to the likes of Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, or Charles Mingus, listening to art happen and dissipate into the San Francisco nights. Sato was one of those kids. It wasn't just historical happenstance – Sato had explained to Minty, late one night after the music had ended and the sake was making him wax eloquent – it was philosophical alignment: jazz was a Zen art, dig? Controlled spontaneity. Like sumi-e ink painting, like haiku, like archery, like kendo fencing – jazz wasn't something you planned, it was something you did. You practiced, you played your scales, you learned your chops, then you brought all your knowledge, your conditioning, to the moment. â€Å"And in jazz, every moment is a crisis,† Sato quoted Wynton Marsalis, â€Å"and you bring all your skill to bear on that crisis.† Like the swordsman, the archer, the poet, and the painter – it's all right there – no future, no past, just that moment and how you deal with it. Art happens. And Minty, taken by the need to escape his life as Death, had taken the train to Oakland to find a moment he could hide in, without the regret of the past or the anxiety of the future, just a pure right now resting in the bell of a tenor sax. But the sake, too much future looming ahead, and too much water overhead had brought on the blues, the moment melted, and Minty was uneasy. Things were going badly. He'd been unable to retrieve his last two soul vessels – a first in his career – and he was starting to see, or hear, the effects. Voices out of the storm sewers – louder and more numerous than ever – taunting him. Things moving in the shadows, on the periphery of his vision, shuffling, scuffling dark things that disappeared when you looked right at them. He'd even sold three discs off the soul-vessels rack to the same person, another first. He hadn't noticed it was the same woman right away, but when things started to go wrong, the faces played back and he realized. She'd been a monk the first time, a Buddhist monk of some kind, wearing gold-and-maroon robes, her hair very short, as if her head had been shaved and was growing out. What he remembered was that her eyes were a crystal blue, unusual in someone with such dark hair and skin. And there was a smile deep in those eyes that made him feel as if a soul had found its rightful place, a good home at a higher level. The next time he'd seen her was six months later and she was in jeans and leather jacket, her hair sort of out of control. She'd taken a CD from the â€Å"One Per Customer† rack, a Sarah McLachlan, which is what he'd have chosen for her if asked, and he barely noticed the crystal-blue eyes other than to think that he'd seen that smile before. Then, last week, it w as her again, with hair down around her shoulders, wearing a long skirt and a belted muslin poet's shirt – like an escapee from a Renaissance fair, not unusual for the Haight, but not quite common in the Castro – still, he thought nothing of it, until she had paid him and glanced over the top of her sunglasses to count the cash out of her wallet. The blue eyes again, electric and not quite smiling this time. He didn't know what to do. He had no proof she was the monk, the chick in the leather jacket, but he knew it was her. He brought all his skills to bear on the situation, and essentially, he folded. â€Å"So you like Mozart?† he asked her. â€Å"It's for a friend† was all she said. He rationalized not confronting her by that simple statement. A soul vessel was supposed to find its rightful owner, right? It didn't say he had to sell it directly to them. That had been a week ago, and since then the voices, the scuffling noises in the shadows, the general creepiness, had been nearly constant. Minty Fresh had spent most of his adult life alone, but never before had he felt the loneliness so profoundly. A dozen times in the last few weeks he'd been tempted to call one of the other Death Merchants under the pretense of warning them about his screwup, but mainly just to talk to someone who had a clue about what his life was like. He stretched his long legs out over three train seats and into the aisle, then closed his eyes and laid his head back against the window, feeling the rhythm of the rattling train coming through the cool glass against his shaved scalp. Oh no, that wasn't going to work. Too much sake and something akin to bed spins. He jerked his head forward and opened his eyes, then noticed through the doors that the train had gone dark two cars up. He sat upright and watched as the lights went out in the next car – no, that's not what happened. Darkness moved through the car like a flowing gas, taking the energy out of the lights as it went. â€Å"Oh, shit,† Minty said to the empty car. He couldn't even stand up inside the train, but stand up he did, staying slumped a little, his head against the ceiling, but facing the flowing darkness. The door at the end of the car opened and someone stepped through. A woman. Well, not exactly a woman. What looked like the shadow of a woman. â€Å"Hey, lover,† it said. A low voice, smoky. He'd heard this voice before, or a voice like it. The darkness flowed around the two floor lights at the far end of the car, leaving the woman illuminated in outline only, a gunmetal reflection against pure blackness. Since he was first tapped as a Death Merchant, Minty had never remembered feeling afraid, but he was afraid now. â€Å"I'm not your lover,† Minty said, his voice as smooth and steady as a bass sax, not giving up a note of fear. A crisis in every moment, he thought. â€Å"Once you've had black, you never go back,† she said, taking a step toward him, her blue-black outline the only thing visible in any direction now. He knew there was a door a few feet behind him that was held shut with powerful hydraulics, and that led to a dark tunnel two hundred feet under the Bay, lined with a deadly electric rail – but for some reason, that sounded like a really friendly place to be right now. â€Å"I've had black,† said Minty. â€Å"No, you haven't, lover. You've had shades of brown, dark cocoa and coffee maybe, but I promise you, you've never had black. Because once you do, you never ever come back.† He watched as she moved toward him – flowed toward him – and long silver claws sprouted from her fingertips, playing in the dim glow from the safety lights, dripping something that steamed when it hit the floor. There were scurrying sounds on either side of him, things moving in the darkness, low and quick. â€Å"Okay, good point,† Minty said.