Philosophy Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy Ethics - Research Paper Example 1). On the other hand, Confucius’s The Analects – a post-mortem compilation of his thoughts and written works (Walsh, 2006, p. 11), according to Van Norden (2002), illustrates the combined influential power of Jesus and Socrates (p. 3), essentially implying that it is at par with Plato’s. Suffice it to say: If Plato is the Socrates of the West; then Confucius is the â€Å"Socrates of China† (Walsh, 2006, p. 11). Plato’s definition of the meaning of life can be understood from his view of reality, which to him is divided into two worlds: ‘becoming’ and ‘being’. The world of becoming is the ever-changing material world we deal with everyday with our five senses, that we mistaken it to be what true life is. In reality however, everything in this world is mere unsatisfactory and substandard copies of the original form, which is the unchanging world of being that though abstract is nevertheless the true world – the perfect world; that is why it is unchanging. (Young, 2003, p. 10) Essentially so, ‘being’ is essentially what defines each of us; this is our reason of existence; it is this world that truly defines the meaning of life. Yet since it is the invisible reality, we have to strive hard to see it beyond the visible world. But to be able to do so, we ought to know first the forms of perfections that we have to seek. As such, the meaning of life rests in our pursuit for what is good; because it is only through this that we can attain perfection. Yet, perfection is impossible to the fallible man. Nevertheless, striving hard to get closer to perfection is what matters, as this would differentiate us from the rest. (Walsh, 2007, p. 25) Truly so, it is easy to become a man but it is difficult to attain one’s being. Confucius’s definition of the meaning of life can be understood from his belief of the influences of fate and

Michael Smyth vs. Pillsbury Company. Essay Example for Free

Michael Smyth vs. Pillsbury Company. Essay STYLE: Michael Smyth vs. Pillsbury Company. COURT: United States District Court of Pennsylvania. CITATION: 914 F. Supp. 97; 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 776; 131 Lab. Cas. (CCH) P58, 104; 11 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 585. ISSUE: Can an employer be accused of violating public policy, tortuously invading privacy and subsequently be estopped from firing or discharging an at will employee, if for the purpose of company’s interest, it monitor an employee’s email communications over the company’s email system just to find them contrary to company’s interest? FACTS: Plaintiff, a manager at defendant’s company had work email account with access from home. Plaintiff was assured by defendant that email communication is private and confidential with no messages being intercepted and used employment termination. Plaintiff in reliance to promise to its detriment used work email system to make threatening email comments with supervisor was intercepted and employment was terminated. Court ruled in favor of Defendant as it was not evident if termination threatened or violated a clear mandate of public policy or Plaintiff’s common law right to privacy. HOLDING: An employer cannot be accused for violating public policy, privacy and/or discharging an employee according to restatement definition of tort of intrusion upon seclusion. LAW: Restatement (Second) of Torts  § 652B: Liability only attaches when the intrusion is substantial and would be highly offensive to the ordinary. Unless an employee identifies a specific expression of public policy violated by his discharge, it will not be labelled as wrongful and within the sphere of public policy†. EXPLANATION: The clear mandate of public policy must strike at the heart of a citizen’s social right, duties and responsibilities. Plaintiff was not fired for serving on jury duty, for prior conviction or for reporting violation of federal regulations to NRC. Plaintiff’s alleged unprofessional communication over email system utilized by entire company diminishes expectation of privacy. Plaintiff was not asked to disclose personal information by defendant. JUDGEMENT: The motion of the defendant to dismiss was granted. The complaint was dismissed with prejudice

Free Oedipus the King Essays: Metamorphosis of Oedipus :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Metamorphosis of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex (the King)Â   Â   The metamorphosis of Oedipus in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" is sudden and climactic. Sophocles wrote the tragedy to bring a certain moral conclusion to fruition by the end of the novel. To have change, the character of Oedipus first had to reveal his tragic flaw. He begins the story as a brilliant conqueror and becomes a bereft and blind man at the play's surface. However, the moral of the play is not merely the consequences of attempting to circumvent one's fate. The running theme of the play is blindness, and Oedipus is blind the way through, comparable in every way to Sampson of the Bible. A quick-witted man at first glance, Oedipus soon showed himself to be arrogant and narrow-minded in his dealings with Tiresias, Creon, and the Old Man. After solving the puzzle of the Sphinx, he went on to unknowingly kill his father and try to save another city. His destiny was laid before him prior to his journeys, and by choosing to try to dodge it, he first showed his blindness. Tiresias was Oedipus' inverse at that point. He was the seer who had not vision while Oedipus had full use of his eyes, but was unwise and blinded to the events that circled him. Creon was cool-tempered and forgiving. After Oedipus harangued Creon with accusations of being in cahoots with Tiresias, Creon still wanted to bring the truth and have all be overlooked. At the end of the novel, Creon is kind towards Oedipus in his weakness, for even the strong fall. Oedipus is not aware that he has killed his father or is married to his own mother and has had children by her. As he realizes that the prophecies h as come to pass because of and despite him, his alteration takes place. Sampson was like Oedipus in many aspects of his character and life. Oedipus conquered the Sphinx; Sampson conquered an army using only a donkey's jawbone. Oedipus grew weaker and weaker until he finally discovered the truth and was held accountable, as was Sampson. Both engaged in sexual immorality, though one was less deliberate than the other. Towards the end of their lives they were both physically blinded, but could see the truth and stood more upright because of it. Both Sampson and Oedipus experienced a metamorphosis in which they were originally the greatest men, but by placing themselves and their "wisdom" above the gods or God's, they fell.

Volkswagen of America: Managing It Priorities

Matulovic who is the chief information officer of Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has a tough decision to make. Volkswagen’s subsidiary launched a new process for allocating budgets across the business. With the new process, they have derived at a list of approved projects that no one is happy about. Calls came flooding through to Matulovic with an informal request to insert an unfunded project into the IT department’s work plans. VWoA had projects requiring $210 millions and the parent company of VWoA (Volkswagen Group, VWAG) budgeted only $60 million. In choosing the right projects to fund was a process that consisted of three phases: Phase 1-Calling for projects, communicating process, and identifying dependencies, Phase 2-Formal project requests for business unit, and Phase 3-Transforming business unit request into enterprise goal portfolios. Phase I was able to reduce and re-categorize projects because business units realized that many of their initiatives were very similar to other initiatives throughout the company which lead projects to become grouped together into common enterprise projects. This phase identified dependencies among projects. Therefore, without completed projects, the other projects could not be started. This phase also involved members becoming exposed to information about proposed initiatives across the company which gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of different business units. This helps migrate away from the current silo thinking and start focusing on initiatives in an enterprise-wide level. At the end of this phase, the proposed $210 million was simplified to a list of projects that required $170 million. Phase 1 was a critical starting point in aligning all business initiatives and trimming down projects. With the list in hand, we now step into Phase 2. During Phase 2 each business unit was required to classify each proposal into the type of investment (stay in business, return on investment, and option-creating investment) and technological application type (base-enterprise IT platform, enterprise applications, and customized point solutions). These classifications would influence how particular investments would be treated in the selection and prioritization process. Business units had to rank projects by priority and associate projects with enterprise goals. There was criticism that projects were reclassified as enterprise, but they really weren’t enterprise projects. The is because business units had to think of ways to associate their project with enterprise goals to improve chances of funding since the stay in business projects were given high priority, then the enterprise projects and finally individual business units. So if your project wasn’t a stay in business or enterprise project then the business units were tempted to reclassify their project to an enterprise project instead of a business unit. This built frustration as managers are looking for their own funding but don’t have the overall view to properly prioritize which lead other projects get the funding. Finally, Phase 3 consisted of ranking business unit goals based upon enterprise goals/needs. The key concept of governance is to align organizational activity with corporate goals and strategy. The assessment of the new process is to align business goals with enterprise goals and fund the top priority projects that would support the next round of growth goal areas. The NRG program is the readiness program called â€Å"Next Round of Growth† it was aimed to define the goals, functions, and organizational changes required to support and enable the new global product diversification strategy. The Next Round of Growth Enterprise Goal Areas is to support expanded product portfolio which is customer loyalty, new vehicle value, pre-owned vehicle business, stable infrastructure, and optimize supply flow. In order to reach a final project list, VWoA had to simplify and categorize projects, assess their business impact, and distinguish their alignment with goals all while making trade-off decisions. The process is an improvement over the old process since the business units were required to prioritize based on the enterprise-wide goals instead of their own business unit. It also avoided the less organized and less centralized method in prioritizing projects. The new process led business units to work together and make decisions that would affect their unit using the overall company strategy. They would also recognize other business unit’s priorities and provide a greater appreciation of their business unit and the work that they do. This helps alleviate other business units ranking their initiatives as more important than another. As this being a new process at VWoA, this process failed to capture and fund the supply flow project. The unfunded supply flow project revealed a flaw in the new process system. The supply flow project did not get funding because it was recognized at the global level and not at the VWoA importer level. The loss of funding would constitute a major setback for globalization initiatives based in Germany so this particular project must be funded somehow and Matulovic had to think of options on how to make this happen. The recommendation at this point is to remain focus on the most important strategic goals of VWoA and proceed funding all projects in the final project list in the top-ranked portfolio. He should not take funding from other funded projects to try and help fund the supply flow project. That would lead to intense push back and affect working relationships since projects which are important to VWoA’s strategic goals will be neglected. He should also not leave it to the supply flow area to work out what to do about this project because that decision would lead to a project waiting to fail. Dumping a project on them to figure out, without the proper resources is nearly impossible to successfully complete. Re-opening the new prioritization process that took nearly 3 months to complete is unnecessary and wasted time. The process will not have to be reopened, rather to find alternative sources for funding to proceed with the supply flow project. Due to the global reach of the project, it is unreasonable for the project to be funded solely by VWoA, but rather allocating the funds under the parent company or among all companies under the umbrella of the parent company, Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen Group sets the budget at VWoA and several organizational entities at VWoA would play a role in controlling which projects are funded. There are four specific teams involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council). If they are unable to find alternative funding then they should consider this project as an exception or special condition to figure out a way to fund the project. This is common where successful businesses continuously create new opportunities which cannot be covered by existing IT decisions. Matulovic should reach out to the supply flow group in Germany to present and communicate the different options for alternative funding and the importance of funding the top-ranked portfolio and the supply flow project and get them involved in the solution process. In managing IT priorities in the future, there needs to be a change in the new process to include support and recognize the global level projects and not just at the VWoA level. This ensures other vital projects don’t fall through the cracks like the supply flow project in this case study. The Volkswagen Group should reevaluate that proper funding is allocated for both the VWoA and global level initiatives. Matulovic’s fellow executives that communicated the concern of unfunded projects were involved in the decision making process and if they thought these goals didn’t align with the company’s goals, then they should have voiced their concerns to the process teams, ELT,ITSC, PMO, and/or the DBC, not to Matulovic. The expectation of all VWoA’s employees should be in support of the company’s overall strategic goals, not just their own business units. Volkswagen of America: Managing It Priorities Matulovic who is the chief information officer of Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has a tough decision to make. Volkswagen’s subsidiary launched a new process for allocating budgets across the business. With the new process, they have derived at a list of approved projects that no one is happy about. Calls came flooding through to Matulovic with an informal request to insert an unfunded project into the IT department’s work plans. VWoA had projects requiring $210 millions and the parent company of VWoA (Volkswagen Group, VWAG) budgeted only $60 million. In choosing the right projects to fund was a process that consisted of three phases: Phase 1-Calling for projects, communicating process, and identifying dependencies, Phase 2-Formal project requests for business unit, and Phase 3-Transforming business unit request into enterprise goal portfolios. Phase I was able to reduce and re-categorize projects because business units realized that many of their initiatives were very similar to other initiatives throughout the company which lead projects to become grouped together into common enterprise projects. This phase identified dependencies among projects. Therefore, without completed projects, the other projects could not be started. This phase also involved members becoming exposed to information about proposed initiatives across the company which gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of different business units. This helps migrate away from the current silo thinking and start focusing on initiatives in an enterprise-wide level. At the end of this phase, the proposed $210 million was simplified to a list of projects that required $170 million. Phase 1 was a critical starting point in aligning all business initiatives and trimming down projects. With the list in hand, we now step into Phase 2. During Phase 2 each business unit was required to classify each proposal into the type of investment (stay in business, return on investment, and option-creating investment) and technological application type (base-enterprise IT platform, enterprise applications, and customized point solutions). These classifications would influence how particular investments would be treated in the selection and prioritization process. Business units had to rank projects by priority and associate projects with enterprise goals. There was criticism that projects were reclassified as enterprise, but they really weren’t enterprise projects. The is because business units had to think of ways to associate their project with enterprise goals to improve chances of funding since the stay in business projects were given high priority, then the enterprise projects and finally individual business units. So if your project wasn’t a stay in business or enterprise project then the business units were tempted to reclassify their project to an enterprise project instead of a business unit. This built frustration as managers are looking for their own funding but don’t have the overall view to properly prioritize which lead other projects get the funding. Finally, Phase 3 consisted of ranking business unit goals based upon enterprise goals/needs. The key concept of governance is to align organizational activity with corporate goals and strategy. The assessment of the new process is to align business goals with enterprise goals and fund the top priority projects that would support the next round of growth goal areas. The NRG program is the readiness program called â€Å"Next Round of Growth† it was aimed to define the goals, functions, and organizational changes required to support and enable the new global product diversification strategy. The Next Round of Growth Enterprise Goal Areas is to support expanded product portfolio which is customer loyalty, new vehicle value, pre-owned vehicle business, stable infrastructure, and optimize supply flow. In order to reach a final project list, VWoA had to simplify and categorize projects, assess their business impact, and distinguish their alignment with goals all while making trade-off decisions. The process is an improvement over the old process since the business units were required to prioritize based on the enterprise-wide goals instead of their own business unit. It also avoided the less organized and less centralized method in prioritizing projects. The new process led business units to work together and make decisions that would affect their unit using the overall company strategy. They would also recognize other business unit’s priorities and provide a greater appreciation of their business unit and the work that they do. This helps alleviate other business units ranking their initiatives as more important than another. As this being a new process at VWoA, this process failed to capture and fund the supply flow project. The unfunded supply flow project revealed a flaw in the new process system. The supply flow project did not get funding because it was recognized at the global level and not at the VWoA importer level. The loss of funding would constitute a major setback for globalization initiatives based in Germany so this particular project must be funded somehow and Matulovic had to think of options on how to make this happen. The recommendation at this point is to remain focus on the most important strategic goals of VWoA and proceed funding all projects in the final project list in the top-ranked portfolio. He should not take funding from other funded projects to try and help fund the supply flow project. That would lead to intense push back and affect working relationships since projects which are important to VWoA’s strategic goals will be neglected. He should also not leave it to the supply flow area to work out what to do about this project because that decision would lead to a project waiting to fail. Dumping a project on them to figure out, without the proper resources is nearly impossible to successfully complete. Re-opening the new prioritization process that took nearly 3 months to complete is unnecessary and wasted time. The process will not have to be reopened, rather to find alternative sources for funding to proceed with the supply flow project. Due to the global reach of the project, it is unreasonable for the project to be funded solely by VWoA, but rather allocating the funds under the parent company or among all companies under the umbrella of the parent company, Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen Group sets the budget at VWoA and several organizational entities at VWoA would play a role in controlling which projects are funded. There are four specific teams involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council). If they are unable to find alternative funding then they should consider this project as an exception or special condition to figure out a way to fund the project. This is common where successful businesses continuously create new opportunities which cannot be covered by existing IT decisions. Matulovic should reach out to the supply flow group in Germany to present and communicate the different options for alternative funding and the importance of funding the top-ranked portfolio and the supply flow project and get them involved in the solution process. In managing IT priorities in the future, there needs to be a change in the new process to include support and recognize the global level projects and not just at the VWoA level. This ensures other vital projects don’t fall through the cracks like the supply flow project in this case study. The Volkswagen Group should reevaluate that proper funding is allocated for both the VWoA and global level initiatives. Matulovic’s fellow executives that communicated the concern of unfunded projects were involved in the decision making process and if they thought these goals didn’t align with the company’s goals, then they should have voiced their concerns to the process teams, ELT,ITSC, PMO, and/or the DBC, not to Matulovic. The expectation of all VWoA’s employees should be in support of the company’s overall strategic goals, not just their own business units.

A Similar Theme in Works of Neoclassical and Romantic

The genesis of Neoclassical Art and that of Romantic Art thrived in close proximity as far as chronology was concerned.Neoclassicism or Neo-Classicism marked the revival of Classical interests in literature, visual arts, music, theater and architecture between the mid-eighteenth and the nineteenth century. Mainly canonical works of ancient Greek and Roman times were reproduced by the neoclassicists, but not without experimenting with their own impressions and improvisations. Maintaining the tradition of a culture which was rich and opulent in the past was a major objective of the neoclassical craftsmen.But the Romantic genre of decorative and performing art, which hit the scene in the eighteenth century Western Europe, was a trendsetter in its own rights. While neoclassicism dealt with the resurgence of the antique ideal that was conceived of by Virgil, Raphael and many other eminent artists, the Romantic Movement was a reaction against the severities of reality and rationalization. Naturalistic cultural expressions were regained and given newer dimensions by the neoclassicists.On the contrary, the Romantics escaped from the sternness of routine life by delving into fanciful musings on nature in its untamed form. The point of resemblance between both these movements can be found in their dealing with aesthetics of art and subjective virtues. This essay is going to compare and contrast between two archetypal artworks from the eighteenth century Neoclassical and Romantic genres.The eighteenth century Europe was woken up from a slumber of inertia when the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann showered accolades on the ingenuity and authenticity of the ancient Greek sculptor in his essay Gedanken à ¼ber die Nachahmung der Griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst (Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture), published in 1755. While this treatise concerned only the Neoclassical frameworks of art, our proposed course of study in this paper is going to be based on finding a common theme from the Neoclassical and the Romantic era.The basic problem in doing so is to excogitate a way to match the sublimities of ancient Greek tastes and preferences with the realism of the Romantic Europe. Subject matter, style and period played a pivotal role in shaping the vision of the neoclassical artist.[1] Moreover, fastidiousness over maintaining the class is a definitive neoclassical approach. Now if we take into account the cultural influence as well as the artistic nuances of a given work of art, we are unlikely to appreciate it insightfully.[2] These two parameters are independent of each other in that the former has nothing to do with the artist’s vision and objective.The cultural precondition exists in the subconscious of the creator while he goes about his business with the brush and the canvas. The same holds true for the Romantic artist as well. Sublimity, as claimed by Prager,[3] is essentially a romantic quality. The Romantic preoccupation with aesthetics analyzes the underlying meaning of the theme which is being worked upon, and makes a differentiation between sublime and beautiful. But the paradigmatic cases of neoclassical painting do not distinguish between these two viewpoints. By and large, what stands out in any typical neoclassical artwork is its chastity of emotion and lofty ideals that are reflective of the root source and time.Mother of the Gracchi by Angelica Kauffmann is widely regarded to be a representative work of the eighteenth century neoclassical age. Being a trained and well-cultivated painter, Kauffmann was extremely scrupulous about the subtleties of expression and proper treatment of the theme.Hence, Mother of the Gracchi goes beyond the lifeless imitation of a Classical theme at a latter period. Drawing inspiration from the classical Greek and Roman history and literature, Kauffmann repudiated the ancient characters and replaced them with modern one s. The settings too were changed so that the modernistic charm of the neoclassical period could be retained.Revered as an exemplum virtutis (example or model of virtue),[4] this artwork superseded the more flaunty and playful rococo style both in the gravity of theme as well as in taste. This painting thematically concerns the virtue of Cornelia, mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. It displays motherly affection in its most profound manner as Cornelia is seen bringing her two sons as jewels to a visitor who is seated.The Romantic artwork we have picked up in our present study is Alexander Cozens’ paintings. Just as Kauffmann belonged to a learned community of painters, Cozens too was aware of the systematic and accurate drawing procedures from the very beginning of his career as a painter.His works were largely influenced and shaped by his prolonged academic tenure in Italy, where he had to make topographical pen and wash drawings in oil. The salient features of Cozensâ₠¬â„¢ works included â€Å"speed and spontaneity in execution† along with a firm focus on the subject at hand.[5]While it is a daunting task to compare and contrast between two entirely different schools of painting, it would be worth taking a look, first of all, at the similarities. In many ways, Cozens’ works captured the pastoral beauty of nature in its unblemished form. Albeit Kauffmann addressed to a historical theme, she portrayed Cornelia as emblematic of Mother Nature.Moreover, Cozens’ drawings continue to evoke a sense of awe and bewilderment among contemporary critics for their taste and sublimity. Like Kauffmann, he too was able to convey his powerful feelings by using select washes of a few basic colors.Now if we are to look into the contrasting aspects of the Neoclassical and the Romantic artworks, we should be beginning with the cultural remnants of the Classical times that shaped the neoclassical attitude towards painting. It was imperative that Ka uffmann should incorporate the Roman architectural patterns in Mother of the Gracchi – a compulsion Alexander Cozens did not have to pay attention to.Again, the spontaneous flow of emotions, which is so typical of the Romantic movement at large, are missing in the neoclassical paintings. It was as if the neoclassicists were more preoccupied by the exactness of form than by imbibing a sense of freedom and expressionism into their works.Much in sync with the prerequisites of the Romantics, Cozens was a visionary poet who could blend colors with subtle use of light and shade to render a mystic charm to his works. But Kauffmann had to follow stricter rules and norms set by the earlier trends of the Classicism. However, the use of symbolism was more prominent and effective in Mother of the Gracchi and other neoclassical works than what was observed in the works of Cozens.[1] Kleiner et al., p. 767 [2] Binkley, p. 12 [3] Prager, p. 93 [4] Kleiner et al., p. 767 [5] Murray, p. 227

Biography of Darius the Great, Persian King

Biography of Darius the Great, Persian King Darius the Great (550 BCE–486 BCE) was the fourth  Persian king  of the  Achaemenid Empire. He ruled the empire at its height, when its lands included much of  West Asia, the  Caucasus, as well as parts of the  Balkans, Black Sea  coastal regions, North Caucasus,  and Central Asia. Under Darius rule, the kingdom stretched to the  Indus Valley  in the far east and portions of north and northeast Africa including  Egypt, Libya,  and Sudan. Fast Facts: Darius the Great Known For: Persian king  at the height of the  Achaemenid EmpireAlso Known As: Darius I, DarayavauÃ… ¡, DariamauiÃ… ¡, DariiamuÃ… ¡, DrywhwÃ… ¡Born: 550 BCEParents:  Hystaspes,  RhodoguneDied:  486 BCE  in IranChildren: Darius had at least 18 childrenSpouses:  Parmys,  Phaidime,  Atossa,  Artystone,  PhratagoneNotable Quote: Force is always beside the point when subtlety will serve. Early Life Darius was born in 550 BCE His father was Hystaspes and his grandfather was Arsames, both of whom were Achaemenids. In ascending the throne, Darius noted in his own autobiography that he traced his lineage to Achaemenes. From long ago, said Darius, We are princely, from long ago our family was royal. Eight of my family were formerly kings, I am the ninth; nine are we in two lines. That was a bit of propaganda: Darius achieved his rule of the Achmaenids chiefly by overcoming his opponent and rival for the throne Gaumata. Dariuss first wife was a daughter of his good friend Gobryas, although we dont know her name. His other wives included Atossa and Artystone, both daughters of Cyrus; Parmys, the daughter of Cyruss brother Bardiya; and the noblewomen Phratagune and Phaidon. Darius had at least 18 children. Accession of Darius Darius ascended to the Achmaenid throne at the tender age of 28, despite the fact that his father and grandfather were still alive. His predecessor was Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great and Cassandane, who ruled the Achaemenid empire between 530 and 522 BCE Cambyses died from natural causes, but he left his throne in dispute. By right, Cambyses heir should have been his brother Bardiya- Darius claimed Bardiya had been slain by Cambyses, but somebody showed up claiming he was the missing brother and heir to the throne. According to Dariuss version of events, the imposter Gaumata arrived after Cambyses death and claimed the vacated throne. Darius slew Gautama, thereby restoring the rule to the family. Darius was not a close relative of the family so it was important for him to legitimize his rule by claiming descent from an ancestor of Cyrus. This and details of Darius violent treatment of Gautama and the rebels are inscribed on a large relief at Bisitun (Behistun), in three different languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian. Carved into a cliff face 300 feet above the Royal Road of the Achaemenids, the text was not legible to the passersby, although the images of Gautama being subjected certainly were. Darius saw that the cuneiform text was widely circulated throughout the Persian Empire. In the Behistun Inscription, Darius explains why he has the right to rule. He says he has the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda on his side. He claims royal blood lineage through four generations to the eponymous Achaemenes, the father of Teispes, who was the great-grandfather of Cyrus. Darius says his own father was Hystaspes, whose father was Arsanes, whose father was Ariamnes, a son of this Teispes. Notable Accomplishments Darius expanded the Persian empire from the Sakas beyond Sogdiana to the Kush, and from Sind to Sardis. He also refined and expanded the Persian satrapy form of administrative rule, dividing his empire into 20 pieces and providing each piece an authority (generally a relative) to rule over them, and placing additional security measures to reduce revolt. Darius moved the Persian capital from Pasagardae to Persepolis, where he had built a palace and a treasury, where the enormous wealth of the Persian empire would be safely stored for 200 years, only to be looted by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE. He constructed the Royal Road of the Achaemenids from Susa to Sardis, connecting the far-flung satrapies and building staffed way stations so no one had to ride more than a day to deliver the post. Additionally, Darius: Completed the first version of the Suez Canal, leading from the Nile to the Red Sea;Was renowned for innovations in water control, including an extensive set of irrigation canals and wells known as qanats throughout his empire;Was known as a law-giver when serving as the king of Egypt during the Late Period. Death and Legacy Darius died in 486 BCE following an illness at about the age of 64. His coffin was buried at Naqsh-e Rostam. On his tomb is inscribed a memorial, in cuneiform script in Old Persian and Akkadian, stating what Darius wanted people to say about himself and his relationship with Ahura Mazda. It also lists the people over whom he claimed power: Media, Elam, Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdia, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gandara, India, the haoma-drinking Scythians, the Scythians with pointed caps, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Lydia, the Greeks, the Scythians across the sea, Thrace, the sun hat-wearing Greeks, the Libyans, the Nubians, the men of Maka and the Carians. Dariuss successor was not his first born, but rather Xerxes, the oldest son of his first wife, Atossa, making Xerxes a grandson of Cyrus the Great. Both Darius and his son Xerxes participated in the Greco-Persian or Persian Wars. The last king of the Achaemenid Dynasty was Darius III, who ruled from 336–330 BCE Darius III was a descendant of Darius II (ruled 423-405 BCE), who was a descendant of King Darius I. Sources Cahill, Nicholas. The Treasury at Persepolis: Gift-Giving at the City of the Persians. American Journal of Archaeology 89.3 (1985): 373–89. Print.Colburn, Henry P. Connectivity and Communication in the Achaemenid Empire. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 56.1 (2013): 29–52. Print.Daryaee, Touraj. The Construction of the Past in Late Antique Persia. Historia: Zeitschrift fà ¼r Alte Geschichte 55.4 (2006): 493–503. Print.Magee, Peter, et al. The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations at Akra in Northwest Pakistan. American Journal of Archaeology 109.4 (2005): 711–41. Print.Olmstead, A. T. Darius and His Behistun Inscription. The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 55.4 (1938): 392–416. Print.

The Definition of Suburban Sprawl

The Definition of Suburban Sprawl Suburban sprawl, also called urban sprawl, is the spread of urbanized areas into the rural landscape. It can be recognized by low-density single-family homes and new road networks spreading into the wild lands and agricultural fields outside of cities. As the popularity of single-family houses rose during the 20th century, and as mass ownership of cars allowed people to get to homes located far outside of city centers, new streets spread outwards to serve large housing subdivisions. Subdivisions built in the 1940s and 1950s consisted of relatively small homes built on small lots. Over the next few decades, the average house size increased, and so did the lot they were built on. Single-family homes in the United States are now on average twice the size of those inhabited in 1950. One or two-acre lots are now common and many subdivisions now offer homes each built on 5 or 10 acres - some housing developments in the western US even boast lots 25 acres in size. This trend leads to a hungry demand for land, accelerating road construction, and further spilling into fields, grasslands, forests, and other wild lands. Smart Growth America ranked US cities along criteria of compactness and connectivity and found that the most sprawling large cities were Atlanta (GA), Prescott (AZ), Nashville (TN), Baton Rouge (LA), and Riverside-San Bernardino (CA). On the flip side, the least sprawling large cities were New York, San Francisco, and Miami which all have densely populated neighborhoods served by well-connected street systems allowing residents close access to living, working, and shopping areas.   Environmental Consequences of Sprawl In the context of land use, suburban sprawl takes agricultural production off from fertile lands forever. Natural habitats like forests get fragmented, which has negative consequences for wildlife populations including loss of habitat and increased road mortality. Some animal species benefit from the fragmented landscapes: raccoons, skunks, and other small scavengers and predators thrive, driving down local bird populations. Deer become more abundant, facilitating the spread of deer tick and along with them, Lyme disease. Exotic plants are used in landscaping, but then become invasive. Extensive lawns require pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that contribute to nutrient pollution in nearby streams. The housing subdivisions making up most of the sprawl are generally built well away from industry, business, and other employment opportunities. As a result, people need to commute to their workplace, and since these suburbs are generally not well served by public transportation, commuting is most often done by car. When using fossil fuels, transportation is a major source of greenhouse gases, and because of its reliance on commuting by car, sprawl contributes to global climate change. There Are Social and Economic Consequences of Sprawl Many municipal authorities are finding out that low density, large-lot suburban areas are a bum deal for them economically. The tax revenue from a relatively small number of residents may not be enough to support the construction and maintenance of the miles and miles of roads, sidewalks, sewer lines, and water pipes needed to service the scattered homes. Residents living in the denser, older neighborhoods elsewhere in town often need to essentially subsidize the infrastructure on the outskirts. Negative health outcomes have also been attributed to living in suburban sprawl. Residents of outlying suburban areas are more likely to feel isolated from their community and be overweight, in part because of their reliance on cars for transportation. For the same reasons, fatal car accidents are most common for those who have longer commutes by car. Solutions to Combat Sprawl Sprawl is not necessarily one of those environmental issues against which we can identify a few simple steps. However, awareness of some of the potential solutions can be enough to make you a supporter of important change initiatives: Be a supporter of smart growth programs at the county and municipal levels. This includes programs that revitalize development in already built-up areas. Reinvesting in neglected city centers is part of the solution, as is taking care of an abandoned property. For example, an abandoned shopping mall can be turned into a medium-density housing development without the need for new water pipes, road access, or sewage lines.Support mixed-used development. People like to live in close proximity to where they can shop, recreate, and send their kids to school. Building these types of neighborhoods around public transportation hubs can create very desirable communities.Support your local land use planning efforts. Consider volunteering for the town’s planning board and advocate for smart growth. Attend fund-raising activities for your regional land trust, as they work hard to protect prime farmland, working waterfronts, exceptional wetlands, or intact forests.Support sensible transpor tation policies that complement smart growth. This includes affordable and dependable public transportation options, investments in maintaining the existing road network instead of expanding it, building bike paths, and developing programs to make business districts pleasant places to walk. Make a personal decision to live in a less environmentally impactful way. Choosing higher density housing can mean lower energy needs, a more active lifestyle, and proximity to work, interesting businesses, art venues, and a vibrant community. You will be able to fulfill most of your transportation needs by walking, bicycling, or public transit. In fact, in a comparison of the environmental virtues of city vs. rural living,  urban dwellers have the edge.In a paradoxical but very understandable way, many people choose to move to low density, outlying suburban areas to be closer to nature. They feel that these large lots close to agricultural lands or forests would put them in close proximity to wildlife, with more birds visiting their feeders and ample opportunity for gardening. Perhaps this appreciation of nature makes them predisposed to finding other ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Body of Stalin Removed From Lenins Tomb

Body of Stalin Removed From Lenins Tomb After his death in 1953, Soviet leader Joseph Stalins remains were embalmed and put on display next to Vladimir Lenin. Hundreds of thousands of people came to see the Generalissimo in the mausoleum. In 1961, just eight years later, the Soviet government ordered Stalins remains removed from the tomb. Why did the Soviet government change their mind? What happened to Stalins body after it was removed from Lenins tomb? Stalin's Death Joseph Stalin had been the despotic dictator of the Soviet Union for nearly 30 years. Though he is now considered responsible for the deaths of millions of his own people through famine and purges, when his death was announced to the people of the Soviet Union on March 6, 1953, many wept. Stalin had led them to victory in World War II. He had been their leader, the Father of the Peoples, the Supreme Commander, the Generalissimo. And now he was dead. Through a succession of bulletins, the Soviet people had been made aware that Stalin was gravely ill. At four in the morning of March 6, 1953, it was announced: [T]he heart of the comrade-in-arms and continuer of genius of Lenins cause, of the wise leader and teacher of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union, has ceased to beat.1 Joseph Stalin, 73 years of age, had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at 9:50 p.m. on March 5, 1953. Temporary Display Stalins body was washed by a nurse and then carried via a white car to the Kremlin mortuary. There, an autopsy was performed. After the autopsy was completed, Stalins body was given to the embalmers to prepare it for the three days it would lay-in-state. Stalins body was placed on temporary display in the Hall of Columns. Thousands of people lined up in the snow to see it. The crowds were so dense and chaotic outside that some people were trampled underfoot, others rammed against traffic lights, and some others choked to death. It is estimated that 500 people lost their lives while trying to get a glimpse of Stalins corpse. On March 9, nine pallbearers carried the coffin from the Hall of Columns onto a gun carriage. The body was then ceremoniously taken to Lenins tomb on the Red Square in Moscow. Only three speeches were made - one by Georgy Malenkov, another by Lavrenty Beria, and the third by Vyacheslav Molotov. Then, covered in black and red silk, Stalins coffin was carried into the tomb. At noon, throughout the Soviet Union, came a loud roar - whistles, bells, guns, and sirens were blown in honor of Stalin. Preparation for Eternity Though Stalins body had been embalmed, it was only prepared for the three-day lying-in-state. It was going to take much more preparation to make the body seem unchanged for generations. When Lenin died in 1924, Professor Vorobyev had done the embalming. It was a complicated process that resulted in an electric pump being installed inside Lenins body to maintain a constant humidity.2 When Stalin died in 1953, Professor Vorobyev had already passed away. Thus, the job of embalming Stalin went to Professor Vorobyevs assistant, Professor Zharsky. The embalming process took several months. In November 1953, seven months after Stalins death, Lenins  tomb was reopened. Stalin was placed inside the tomb, in an open coffin, under glass, near the body of Lenin.   Secretly Removing Stalin's Body Stalin had been a dictator and a tyrant. Yet he presented himself as the Father of Peoples, a wise leader, and the continuer of Lenins cause. After his death, people began to acknowledge that he was responsible for the deaths of millions of their own countrymen. Nikita Khrushchev, first secretary of the Communist Party (1953-1964) and premier of the Soviet Union (1958-1964), spearheaded this movement against the false memory of Stalin. Khrushchevs policies became known as de-Stalinization. On February 24-25, 1956, three years after Stalins death, Khrushchev gave a speech at the Twentieth Party Congress that crushed the aura of greatness that had surrounded Stalin. In this Secret Speech, Khrushchev revealed many of the horrible atrocities committed by Stalin. Five years later, it was time to physically remove Stalin from a place of honor. At the Twenty-second Party Congress in October 1961, an old, devoted Bolshevik woman, Dora Abramovna Lazurkina stood up and said: My heart is always full of Lenin. Comrades, I could survive the most difficult moments only because I carried Lenin in my heart, and always consulted him on what to do. Yesterday I consulted him. He was standing there before me as if he were alive, and he said: It is unpleasant to be next to Stalin, who did so much harm to the party.This speech had been pre-planned yet it was still very effective. Khrushchev followed by reading a decree ordering the removal of Stalins remains. The further retention in the mausoleum of the sarcophagus with the bier of J. V. Stalin shall be recognized as inappropriate since the A few days later, Stalins body was quietly removed from the mausoleum. There were no ceremonies and no fanfare. About 300 feet from the mausoleum, Stalins body was buried near other minor leaders of the Russian Revolution. Stalins body was placed near the Kremlin wall, half-hidden by trees. A few weeks later, a simple dark granite stone marked the grave with the very simple, J. V. STALIN 1879-1953. In 1970, a small bust was added to the grave. Notes As quoted in Robert Payne,  The Rise and Fall of Stalin  (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) 682.Georges Bortoli,  The Death of Stalin  (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975) 171.Dora Lazurkina as quoted in  Rise and Fall 712-713.Nikita Khrushchev as quoted in  Ibid  713. Sources: Bortoli, Georges.  The Death of Stalin. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975.Hingley, Ronald.  Joseph Stalin: Man and Legend. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1974.Hyde, H. Montgomery.  Stalin: The History of a Dictator. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971.Payne, Robert.  The Rise and Fall of Stalin. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965.

How to buy a used car Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How to buy a used car - Essay Example Do merciless bargaining without any hesitation,† he cautioned me. When I reached the umbrella shop, the shopkeeper had just opened the shutters, and I was his first customer of the day. I selected an umbrella, looked at the price tag and exclaimed â€Å"Oh, my God!† and showed my disinclination. The price was $60. â€Å"Don’t you worry? You are my first customer of the day I will give you the discount of 10% and will make it $54† he said. Remembering the golden advice of my guide I said, â€Å"Can you make it $30?† He short back, though not angrily, â€Å"Do you think we make 100% profits?† I was not interested in arguments, and I was about to move. â€Å"Well, take it, you see I am a bit superstitious by nature and you are the first customer of the day. The deal is done†, he said. I decided I must engage this man in shameless bargaining. I said, â€Å"Sorry, I just now recollect I have seen similar umbrellas in the 10Dollar Shop.† The shopkeeper was shocked and said, â€Å"Leave it then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was about to move, he held me by my hand and said in a low tone, â€Å"Why don’t you understand †¦your are my first customer and I don’t want to spoil my mood for the entire day, by disappointing the first customer†¦well, take it†. I had chosen my dealer carefully after the google search for days together and after listening to the agony of buying the used cars from my friends and relatives. One of my friends had told me curtly, â€Å"Buy a second hand car, if you wish to buy incurable headaches.† The engine of the first car that I examined was roaring as if it was about to declare war on me and I was its sworn enemy. â€Å"The sound will gradually die down as it picks up speed† the dealer assured me. â€Å"This is the best in the lot considering your price range. If you increase the range by $1000 dollars, I will show you better models. Let me assure you, I am an honest and straightforward dealer. I show to the customers

Racism Reading + Questions for March Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Racism Reading + Questions for March - Coursework Example The central point of concern revolves around the predominant whites and the minority blacks. The superiority of whiteness over other races within and without the American context takes toll of the discussion. This is more so when Americans are generally expected to be whites, although the American population comprises of native communities and people from European and Asian background. The cultural, social, economic, and political dealings relative to whiteness and people of color are essentially captured. Investments within and across the aforementioned factors have always favored the white population at the expense of colored people. Oppressive and discriminatory social democratic policies implemented by agencies like the Federal Housing Administration (Lipsitz 372) are highlighted. Notably, the contemporary America continues to overlook and downplay the present implications posed by the â€Å"whiteness† factor relative to the welfare of the people of color and the nation at large. Ultimately, the â€Å"white† problem will only escalate if whiteness continues to be the basis upon which social democracy is racialized. The author’s insights into social democracy racialization, American â€Å"white† problem, and whiteness as an investment factor resonated with me. Personally, I deem these issues necessary to address, but they continue to receive little if no social and political attention. I had not thought of what actually constitutes the American society. The American society is made up of people with diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Majority of American people today are not Native Americans. This means that they are the lineage of early European and Asian settlers into America. On the same note, slavery had its contribution to the existence of people of color in America. This makes the American white a social construction, something that I had not thought of before. I have a question about whites and

Reliability, Validity and Trustworthiness in Nursing Essay

Reliability, Validity and Trustworthiness in Nursing - Essay Example 30). In case positive results of the nurses’ researches and studies are reached, then their research strategies are valid and reliable (Zangaro, Soeken 2005, p. 6). Qualitative researches are often positioned as pragmatic researches and there is no doubt that there is a need to follow the rules of these researches. In accordance with Aristotle, there is more practical than theoretical aspects of nursing. One of the greatest ancient philosophers claims: â€Å"practical sciences inquire into the principles and causes of things to achieve knowledge in order to make, as in engineering, or in order to do, as in ethics† (Strickland 2006, p. 5). Three main concepts of nursing research Reliability and validity are two integrative elements of trustworthiness of the researches and studies. Trustworthiness of the research depends on the initial research question, data collection, analysis and conclusions reached. The issues of validity and reliability should be taken into account in the process of reading different research projects, either quantitative or qualitative ones. Both in qualitative and quantitative studies, these concepts are of crucial importance. That is why the following research, which is based on the article by Byrne, Cooper and Fairburn â€Å"Weight maintenance and relapse in obesity: a qualitative study†, the concept of reliability is discussed in detail. The study deals with the problems of obesity, a challenging issue of weight regain and weight maintenance. A qualitative approach is chosen in this study, because there is a need to define the number of factors, which are influencing on weight maintenance and relapse in obesity. The reliability of quantitative studies depends on the methodology of calculation. In the study conducted by Byrne, Cooper and Fairburn transcripts were analyzed with the help of NUD*IST software (Byrne, Cooper and Fairburn 2003, p. 956). Reliability demonstrates how a certain procedural instrument is used to provide similar results in different circumstances. Validity is the correlation of an intended measure with the real measure. These two concepts should be better considered in terms of nursing research. In a broader definition: â€Å"validity in relation to research is a judgment regarding the degree to which the components of the research reflect the theory, concept, or variable under study† (Roberts 2006, p. 42). In order to determine whether results are valid or not, it is necessary to determine worthiness of the reached results in the process of the study. Internal validity refers to evaluation of the results’ worthiness. External validity deals with generalization of the study’s results and its application to the larger population (Morse 1991, p. 15). Further on, the concept of reliability is considered in detail and it is relevant to discuss the main characteristics of this concept. Reliability determines an instrument’s stability and consistency in a certain context. Reliability of a measured instrument should be considered in terms of a particular study otherwise its application may be irrelevant. Further on reliability will be considered in accordance with three main characteristics: stability, internal consistency and equivalence (Munhall 2001, p. 18). Test-retest

Documenteries report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Documenteries report - Essay Example me Shelter’ is presented in a riveting manner that shows the plight of women who have got pregnant while still at their homes and not married and the humiliation and rejection that they always meet at these families. It gives n insight of what can be done to these ladies who get pregnant in order to make them feel as parts of the communities that they are in (Rolling Stones, 1971). Through a lot of drama, the film shows how ladies often get rejected by their parents especially their mothers when they get pregnant and the tribulations they go through by the mere fact of their pregnancy. The question that these ladies usually meet includes the matter of whether to retain the babies or alternatively procure abortion in the midst of such kind of competing forces and rejection. Even after being involved in an accident and being admitted in hospital and subsequently being sheltered by the church, the tribulations of the Apple do not cease as her mother still pursues her while initially she seemed to have rejected her. Through the tribulation of pregnancy of Apple and other occurrences that occur to her life, we can easily see how a society can at times be unfair to those that are hitherto vulnerable in all aspects. For example, Apple is involved in a car crash at one point in her life, the doors to the shelters are at times locked, families that are unsupportive as well as social workers who fail to understand her predicament of nursing injuries and a pregnancy that has been rejected by her family. The film ‘Gimme Shelter’ therefore has the purpose of highlighting the plight of young girls who get pregnant and are in need of shelter after being rejected by their families and is not merely propaganda or mythology. Aside from showing the plight o f rejected pregnant girls and their quest for acceptance by the society, the film also she violence, shows the suffering suffered the violence, rape and the other forms of suffering that impede them from self actualization.

Digital Marketing Concepts Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Digital Marketing Concepts - Case Study Example The vision of the company is a focus on customer experience by offering affordable prices, ease of access and guaranteeing the availability of merchandise. The vision of Amazon is to offer the earth’s biggest selection and to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. In 2011, the net sales of the company increased by 41%. The company has always endeavored to use technology to satisfy the needs of its customers. Use of Digital Channels Amazon.com is an online company and hence it has to utilize internet marketing techniques. Internet marketing is important in this era where most of the target consumers spend most of their time online. Digital channels are critical in advertising the company and marketing the products of the company. For a company to stay competitive in the online environment, it is necessary for it to develop features that attract customers and motivate them to make purchases from the website (Andrew, 2011). In essence, the website of an online company i s the only interface with the clients. Therefore, the website has to impressive and user-friendly for it to be appealing to potential clients. Over the years, Amazon has developed and refined its website within the anticipations of the customers and to provide a rich user interface. The company has used digital design channels to obtain a leadership position in the industry. Web Analytics Web analytics is the careful analysis of the activity on a website in order to deduce the behavior of the visitors of the website. Amazon has been at the forefront of using advanced web analytics in analyzing the behavior of visitors with a view of improving their business potential. As CEO Jeff Bezos stated, the company utilizes the latest data analysis tools to scrutinize visitor information. One of the strengths of Amazon is that offers reviews on every single product that it sells. This provides a model for online accountability. The user has a chance to read reviews of other clients before mak ing a purchase. This strategy is important in the user feels empowered and informed before making the purchase decision (Leigh, 2009). The use of web analytics also helps to cross-sell products. Amazon uses advanced software to group together products according to purchase patterns. Essentially, the company tells the user other services that have been availed to the visitor. This increases the chances of the user buying other related products and thus increase the overall amount used on the site. The concept of cross-selling is also important since the user might be unaware of other products. When related products are positioned together, the user can make a decision to purchase. The use of web analytics to collect personal information is important to personalize the offers presented to users. Information on the history of purchases and products viewed is stored and used to make target offers. This is important since it helps the company to make relevant offers to a user depending o n the browsing history collected. Amazon monitors the number of users on its website round the clock. In this way, the company is always aware of the user metrics and thus corrective measures are quickly taken in case of anomalies.

Documenteries report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Documenteries report - Essay Example me Shelter’ is presented in a riveting manner that shows the plight of women who have got pregnant while still at their homes and not married and the humiliation and rejection that they always meet at these families. It gives n insight of what can be done to these ladies who get pregnant in order to make them feel as parts of the communities that they are in (Rolling Stones, 1971). Through a lot of drama, the film shows how ladies often get rejected by their parents especially their mothers when they get pregnant and the tribulations they go through by the mere fact of their pregnancy. The question that these ladies usually meet includes the matter of whether to retain the babies or alternatively procure abortion in the midst of such kind of competing forces and rejection. Even after being involved in an accident and being admitted in hospital and subsequently being sheltered by the church, the tribulations of the Apple do not cease as her mother still pursues her while initially she seemed to have rejected her. Through the tribulation of pregnancy of Apple and other occurrences that occur to her life, we can easily see how a society can at times be unfair to those that are hitherto vulnerable in all aspects. For example, Apple is involved in a car crash at one point in her life, the doors to the shelters are at times locked, families that are unsupportive as well as social workers who fail to understand her predicament of nursing injuries and a pregnancy that has been rejected by her family. The film ‘Gimme Shelter’ therefore has the purpose of highlighting the plight of young girls who get pregnant and are in need of shelter after being rejected by their families and is not merely propaganda or mythology. Aside from showing the plight o f rejected pregnant girls and their quest for acceptance by the society, the film also she violence, shows the suffering suffered the violence, rape and the other forms of suffering that impede them from self actualization.

The relationship between executive remuneration and corporate Literature review

The relationship between executive remuneration and corporate performance - Literature review Example At a normative level, the managers are expected to align their personal goals with that of the shareholders and aim toward maximising their values (Chaubey and Kulkarni, 1988). Many of the studies have identified that managerial compensation is linked with the firm’s performance, which is a critical factor in the maximization of shareholders value. The managerial compensation includes base salary, deferred compensation, perquisites and cash bonus. This paper deals with the literature review related to the relationship between compensation of the executives and the performance of the firm. Executive Compensation and Firm performance The advent of the â€Å"new economy† industries is a recent phenomenon and not much literature is available which concerns the relationship between performance and pay. Anderson, Banker and Ravindran (2000) have used simultaneous equation model for estimating the performance of the firm and compensation of the executives in the information te chnology industry and has found evidences that suggest that the share of both pay and bonus increases with the performance. Along with this, the study also suggested that the extent of incentive pay and the level of pay are responsible for positively affecting the performance of the firm. ... The performance of the firm and its size serves as determinants of the pay, which has been suggested by a standard empirical model based on CEO compensation. The firm size is the component that measures the managerial discretion. The compatibility of managerial incentive is indicated by the performance of the firm. The literature related to the compensation of the CEO lacks consensus with respect to the appropriate functional specification. The research scholars like, Coughlan and Schmidt (1985), Hall and Liebman (1998), and Gibbons and Murphy (1992), prefer elasticity specification where the change in or level of the log of executive compensation is linked to the change in or level of log of the firm performance. A different approach has been taken by Jensen and Murphy (1990). They had used sensitivity approach that had linked the change in the compensation level with the change in the performance of the firm. These specifications imply that the relationship between the firm’ s performance and the compensation of the employees is contemporaneous only. This signifies that one-time increase in the performance leads to an increase in the compensation of the executives within that period of time. These specifications help to remove the fixed effects related to the firm. In other words, it omits the consistent effect of the time invariant factors such as, the diverse personal characteristics of the CEO, which otherwise might have diverted the estimation of the pay related to performance relationship. A wide spread interest and media attention had thrown light on the pay packages of CEOs in United Kingdom (UK). Eruption of public indignation was seen for the first time in 1995

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay Charles Dickens is best known as a writer of novels, many of which are read today and regularly used in stage productions, on television and in the cinema. He was also a journalist, he used his stories to get across what he felt were important messages.  Although he tried to get his message across he wanted his work to be entertaining. In so doing, he created some of the most well remembered characters of English literature, such as Mr Pickwick, Oliver Twist and Ebenezer Scrooge. Dickens wrote about Victorian life and particularly Victorian life in London. Dickens campaigned for things he believed in like the welfare and education of children. He addressed the public in public speakings and through his writings.  Great Expectations  Chapter one  At the start of Great Expectations Charles Dickens introduces us to a boy called Pip. This name is explained in the novels very first sentence and stated that this is the name he is commonly called by in the second.  My fathers family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. Pip goes onto explain that he never saw his mother or father and so the audience straight away feels very sorry for this young boy. As I never saw my father or my mother,  The setting in the first chapter is a graveyard with Pip looking at his father and mothers tombstones. Pip must be quite imaginative as he uses the shape of the letters on his fathers tombstone to create a mental picture of what he and his mother was like. The shape of the letters on my fathers, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, Also Georgina Wife of the Above , I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. We go on to learn that he also had five brothers that must of all died at an early age.  To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine-who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle  Throughout this novel the narrator is a young Pip and this is to make the reader feel empathy for the character for the whole of the novel. It also means there is a childish view on things and a lack of understanding. For example in the graveyard he cant really understand why his father, mother and five brothers were dead and he was still alive. Although the reader feels sad because of this Pip is not that sad as he cant understand the situation fully. When the focus switches to the scenery and Pip starts to describe the churchyard and its view. Pip begins to cry and almost out of nowhere Hold your noise! Cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at he side of the church porch. Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your throat!  This is the introduction of Magwitch an escaped convict from a nearby jail. In Charles Dickens days capital punishment was enforced in the United Kingdom and conditions in jails were very poor an so Magwitch would have been n a terrible condition. First impressions of Magwitch are that he is an evil man for the obvious reason of him being a convict. He has no sympathy for others. A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. The iron is the giveaway that he is an escaped convict. The iron is like a clamp that will have maybe been connected to a ball and chain.  A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, with an old rag tied round his head. This shows the terrible condition that he is in.  A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and those teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. These things are what make me think he has escaped.  Magwitch is also quite a violent man, Pip is only a young boy and he feels it necessary to grab him by the throat and threaten him. He bullies a young child into getting things for him.  After darkly looking at his leg and at me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me both arms, tilted me back as far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.  You know what a file is?  And you know what wittles is?

Interconversion of Petroleum Distillation Curves

Interconversion of Petroleum Distillation Curves The procedures recommended by API [1a] for the interconversion of ASTM D 86 and TBP (True Boiling Point) distillation curves are transposed into Mathcad computation platform. Two Mathcad versions are presented for each of direct, ASTM to TBP, and the backward, TBP to ASTM, curves conversions according to the API procedure. The first version, simpler, but with fewer possibilities of use, was presented in the first part [1a]. This second part comprises the relations of the API procedure written as functions in the Mathcad worksheet. The procedure functions can be placed in a separate area of the worksheet, area which may be then collapsed, locked and hidden. Alternatively, the functions can be stored in a specific Mathcad file, which can be afterwards inserted and employed in the main worksheet with Reference command. Other possibilities of Mathcad environment for interconnection of worksheets (files), such as utilization of Mathconnex or creation of Mathcad E-books, are briefly mentio ned, too. Utilization of Mathcad procedures is illustrated through several examples. The Mathcad worksheets comprising the API procedures are thus providing a convenient computer tool for fast prediction of one of ASTM and TBP distillation curve starting from the other one. Key words : ASTM D 86, TBP, distillation, interconversion, Mathcad, petroleum Introduction The goal of the present work is to offer a general, easy-to-use Mathcad versions of the API (American Petroleum Institute) procedures for the ASTM D 86 and TBP distillation curves interconversion. A simpler Mathcad version of the API procedures was given in the first part [1a]. However the simpler Mathcad version has limited possibilities of use, or even no utility in some applications, such as those of iterative tasks commonly solved with programming modules. Furthermore, numerical data assignements needed to be placed in the worksheet before the methods expressions (case of worksheet setting of Automatic calculation as default, that is turned on ; anyhow, if turned off, most of the present discussion becomes meaningless). In this second part we are going to provide Mathcad written procedures which are more concise and have extended range of application. The relations needed for distillation curves interconversion originating from reference [2] and adapted by the author for temperatures in degrees centigrade have been given explicitly in the first part [1a]. Since the API procedure for ASTM TBP distillation curves interconversion was described in Part 1 [1a], the reader is urged to refer to that part or to the original API reference [2] for a better comprehension and details on both the API method procedure and Mathcad version herein presented. Numerical checks against examples taken from literature [2] [3] [7] and made in order to verify our Mathcad versions of the API procedure, are also shown. Mathcad implementation of API procedures for ASTM TBP distillation curves interconversion. Using functions The main part of the Mathcad worksheet with the API method for estimation of TBP curve from ASTM distillation curve is reproduced in Fig. 1. Assignments of parameters values being identical with those already given in Fig. 1a of the first part [1a], the beginning area of the Mathcad worksheet containing these assignments is no more shown in the present Fig. 1. In the same area omitted from Fig. 1, there are also definitions of range variables  «ip » and  «id », which again are identical with those in Part 1, that is  «ip := 0,1..6 » and  «id:=0,1..5 », needed for indexing current points of the distillation curve (corresponding to 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, 90 and 100 % vol.) and differences (between temperatures), respectively. Thus, the distillation curve is assumed to be represented in the same format as in Part 1, i.e. 7 rows  ´ 2 columns matrix, where the first column elements are volume percentages (0, 10, 30, 50, 70, 90 and 100) of distillate and the second column elements are the corresponding six temperatures (oC) on the (ASTM or TBP) distillation curve. The task of the function  « dt_DC  » (where dt and DC in notation stand for difference of temperatures and distillation curve) as defined by relation (1) in Fig. 1 is to pick up all pairs of consecutive temperatures on the given ASTM curve, to compute the difference between the two temperatures, and to give the result as a 6 elements array, which elements are the temperature differences. One of the two arguments of the function  «dt_DC » in Fig. 1 needs to be the range variable id. Otherwise, a definition like (a) would issue an error message (Illegal context and expression (a) written in Mathcad turning into red) because, as expected, a range variable is not allowed as parameter within the function definition, or, being more specific, within the expression assigned to a function. Another definition but more lengthy, which can be used to obtain the same numerical result as  «dt_DC » function in relation (1) of Fig. 1, i.e. the six temperature differences, is the next one : (b) Fig. 1. Portion of the Mathcad worksheet with functions definitions to be used for API procedure for TBP curve prediction from the ASTM D86 distillation curve (continued with applications in Figures 2 and 3) Even if the numerical values produced with both definitions, (1) in Fig.1 or above (b), are same, it is worth of mention that the two outputs have different meanings in Mathcad. Thus, while the latter definition (b) produces a six-element vector, the first definition, which is used in relation (1) of Fig. 1, produces an array (which may be also called table) with also 6 values, but which has not the quality of a vector in Mathcad. Consequently, neither several operations typical for vectors, such as transposition (operator à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾T as superscript) or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾vectorize (operator denoted by an arrow above an expression containing a vector) can be applied to the output of the twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœargument function  «dt_DC ». This behavior may be probably better understood if a function definition like that in relation (1) of Fig.1 for  «dt_DC » is regarded as six one-variable functions simultaneously defined. Difference between the outputs of t he two functions,  «dt_DC » and  «dt_DCb » is similar to that between a true vector and a range variable such as  «ip » or  «id » which is used for indexing. When desired, a workaround able to lead to a vector output is thus provided by the above definition of  «dt_DCb » in (b). Moreover, this definition can be rewritten in a more concise form within a Mathcad worksheet using programming modules (see Part 3 [1b]). In step 2 (Fig. 1), temperature for 50%vol. on TBP curve is estimated with the function denoted  «t_50%TBP », from temperature for 50% vol. of ASTM, as in API procedure described in Part 1 [1a]. According correlations of the same procedure (that is relations (3) given in Part 1), differences between temperatures on TBP curve are then calculated in step 3 based on Fig. 2. Part of the worksheet containing an example using the Mathcad version of API procedure for ASTM-to-TBP distillation curves conversion (Mathcad version of the procedure given in Fig. 1 ; ASTM data and experimental TBP from [2]) temperature differences of ASTM curve. This is done employing again a function with two arguments, of which the first is the range variable  «id » (function named  «dt_TBP »). Finally, TBP temperatures are determined in the 4th and last step with function  «t_DC » by subtracting or adding to priorly determined  «t50%TBP » the appropriate temperature gaps found in step 3 (Fig. 1). An example using the Mathcad version of the API procedure described above is given in the portion of the Mathcad worksheet shown in Fig. 2. As previously explained, since the output of the function  «dt_DC » in step 1 or of the function  «dt_TBP » in step 3 (Fig. 2) is an array (table) and not a vector, presence of the index  «id » at vector-variables  «ÃƒÅ½Ã¢â‚¬ tASTM1 » or  «ÃƒÅ½Ã¢â‚¬ tTBP1 », respectively, is imperative for a correct assignment of values computed by functions ( «dt_DC » or  «dt_TBP ») to the elements of mentioned vectors. Otherwise, the aforementioned error message (Illegal context) would be issued and corresponding expressions turned into red. Fig. 3. Part of the worksheet with another example using the Mathcad version of API procedure for ASTM-to-TBP distillation curves conversion (Mathcad version of the API procedure given in Fig. 1 ; ASTM data and corresponding TBP estimated by Edmisterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœOkamoto procedure taken from [3]) Even if it can be readily noticed from both Fig. 1 and example in Fig. 2, we emphasize that in the present Mathcad version of API procedure (Fig. 1) it is possible to write the expressions of the procedure as a standalone suite, independent on the 7  ´ 2 matrix with distillation curve data, due to use of functions. On the contrary, for the simpler Mathcad version given in Part 1 [1a], it was necessary to provide the distillation curve matrix in the Mathcad worksheet before the relations of the API procedure. Thus, presentation of simpler Mathcad procedure in [1a] was actually possible only using a numerical example. However, it can be mentioned that even in the case of simpler version in Part 1 a workaround for the infringement of normal order, that is with data in the begining of the worksheet, may be provided by the use of a global definition (available in Mathcad). ASTM distillation data for example in Fig. 2 was taken from API Technical Data Book [2]. The TBP curve determined in Fig. 2 is identical with that computed in [2] from the same ASTM distillation data and with same API procedure. For comparaison, experimental TBP (vector  «TBPexp ») retrieved from the mentioned reference [2] is also given in Fig. 2. Fig. 4. Area of worksheet with the Mathcad version of the reversed API procedure, for conversion of the TBP curve into ASTM distillation curve The use of the same Mathcad version of the API procedure is illustrated with another example in the part of the worksheet reproduced in Fig. 3. ASTM data (7  ´ 2 matrix  «ASTM2 ») in Fig. 3 and corresponding TBP values (matrix  «TBP2_EO ») estimated with Edmister and Okamoto method [4] are quoted from reference [3]. The suite of definitions shown in Fig. 1 as well as the two examples (Fig. 2 and 3) have been actually written in the same Mathcad worksheet. The Mathcad version of the reversed API procedure, for TBP curve conversion to ASTM distillation curve, is illustrated in Fig. 4. In step 1 the temperature differences between two consecutive temperatures amongst those of selected points on TBP curve can be computed with the same function  «dt_DC » given in Fig. 1. Since the Mathcad versions of both direct and reversed API procedures have been written in same worksheet, there was no more need for another function definition for step 1 in Fig. 4. Coefficients in the expression of the function  «t_50%ASTM » in relation (6) (Fig. 4), needed for the prediction of the 50% temperature on ASTM curve based on 50% temperature on TBP curve, are taken from Part 1 [1a] and they are coming from the same API procedure [2]. As shown in Fig. 4, the temperature for 50% on ASTM curve can also be determined with the function  «tr_50%ASTM », which is the inverse of function  «t_50%PRF » defined previously in the worksheet (with relation (2) in Fig. 1). The inverse function,  «tr_50%ASTM », is defined using the Mathcad built-in function  «root ». First argument of  «root » is the expression of whose root is wanted, the second argument indicates the variable with respect to which the equation defined by the expression has to be solved, and the 3rd and 4th arguments specify the interval where the desired root is lying. Fig. 5. Portion of Mathcad worksheet with example of TBP curve conversion into ASTM D86 distillation curve (API procedure [2]) Presence of last two arguments is optional: when these are included, Ridder or Brent algorithm is used internally by  «root » to determine the solution; otherwise Mueller-secant algorithm is employed. The accuracy of the computed root is determined by parameter TOL (tolerance) whose value can be set (for the entire worksheet) from Mathcad menu. For details on the Mathcad root function or on the mentioned algorithms, references [5-6, 9] may be consulted. Notations used in relation (6r) of Fig. 4 show that equation t_50%TBP(à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœt=0 is (numerically) solved with respect to variable à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ (that is unknown à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡) and the desired root (ASTM temperature for 50% vol.) is within interval (0, 1000) ( oC ) for all possible values of parameter  «t » (temperature for 50% vol. on TBP curve). Differences between temperatures on ASTM curve are computed in step 3 based on temperature differences on TBP curve determined in step 1. Being previously defined in the worksheet (Fig. 1), coefficients  «AAPIC » and  «BAPI » in relations (7) are known. Finally, in step 4 temperatures on the ASTM curve are calculated using the same function  «t_DC » already defined in a proceeding zone (Fig. 1) of the worksheet. We recall that for features of Mathcad employed herein or other capabilities reader can find valuable and detailed information with good examples in Mathcad help [5a] and particularly in the Resource Center [5b] accompanying Mathcad platform. The use of the Mathcad version for the reversed API procedure, that is for TBP curve to ASTM curve conversion, is illustrated with the example in the part of Mathcad worksheet reproduced by Fig. 5. Other possibilities of utilization of Mathcad written procedures Two of these possibilities are illustrated below, one using an inserted area and the other the Reference command provided by the Mathcad environment. An area can be readily inserted in a worksheet, using the commands from Insert menu. In our case (Fig. 6), after inserting a new area (a blank area initially) in the worksheet, we have merely copied ( Copy/Paste ) the area given in Fig. 1 and pasted it in the inserted blank area. The area thus inserted contains also the assignments of values to parameters Aid and Bid needed in the procedure (parameters which values are given in Tab. 1 of [1a] and are named  «AAPIC »  «BAPI » in Figures 1a,b and 2 in the same reference [1a] and which are no more shown in Fig.1 of the present part). Obviously, in such a case one has to provide a sufficient size of the inserted area. Its enlargement can be made by selecting one (usually the lower) of the crosshairs corresponding to the boundaries of inserted area and dragging it, or by clicking inside area and typing Enter one or several times, as needed to accommodate the whole pasted part. The inserted area may be then easi ly collapsed (Fig. 6), as indicated by instructions in the dialog box which appears with a mouse right-button click. After collapsing, the inserted region can be locked and protected by a password and then provided with a time stamp. Always after collapsing, presence of the inserted region may be even made invisible (hidden) [5b]. All content of Fig. 6 was actually written in a new Mathcad file (worksheet), different from those illustrated in previous figures. Fig. 6. Mathcad worksheet with inserted area collapsed and an example of ASTM curve conversion into TBP curve Fig. 7. Mathcad worksheet with Reference to the Mathcad file (named here ASTMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœTBP interconvAPI simple functions.mcd) containing the API procedure for the two distillation curves interconversion The Reference command (Fig. 7) allows all variables or functions definitions from another worksheet (referenced worksheet or referenced Mathcad file) to be made available in the current (parent) worksheet. Thus the current worksheet will behave as if one should have inserted into it the actual regions from the referenced worksheet. The Reference containing line is merely introduced by a first mouse click in the main (parent) worksheet in the place where the referenced file is desired, then making the insert from the Reference command accessible in menu (Insert Reference), followed by pointing to referenced file location (as asked by dialog box). An icon (right headed arrow inside a square) will mark the place from which the referenced worksheet will take effect within the parent worksheet. (R) after the file name (ASTM-TBP interconvAPI simple functions.mcd in occurrence, Fig. 7) means that the relative path was chosen in the present case in order to locate the referenced file. Even if the referenced Mathcad file itself cannot be seen in the current (parent) worksheet, it may be opened with a double click on its Reference icon and then accessed and even modified. Like for any other computational environment or programming language, it is strongly advisable to use systematic and mnemonic notations for various variables, functions,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, both in main and inserted worksheet (collapsed or not, or with Reference), in order to avoid errors. As already mentioned in [1a], errors in computed results may appear in case of notations overlap, even without any error message highlighted by Mathcad (without any expression turned into red). In the case of long worksheets, more complicated structures of linked (concatenated) worksheets can be thus envisaged. For example a worksheet with an inserted area can be referenced from another worksheet. Again, in order to reduce the possibility of errors and for an acceptable readability, it is however advisable to limit to only a few the worksheets thus interconnected. If this is not possible, there are alternatives offered by Mathcad platform, such as use of Mathconnex environment or creation of a Mathcad electronic book. Both alternatives are easy to use and well documented in Mathcad help, for example the latter in the Authors reference item within Help menu. Moreover, recent versions of Mathcad, i.e. starting with 2001i, offer the possibility to save worksheets under XML or HTML format. Conclusion In the Mathcad version of API procedure for ASTM-TBP distillation curves interconversion presented in this part, use of functions allows to write the expressions of the procedure as a standalone suite, independent on the 7  ´ 2 matrix comprising distillation data. Utilization of some Mathcad features, such as functions with two arguments one of which being a range variable, vector-valued functions, definition of an inverse of a function using built-in root function, or area insertion in a Mathcad worksheet, are illustrated through examples. Interconnection of Mathcad worksheets (files) through the ,Reference command is also exemplified. Such features of Mathcad platform can provide added readability and broader generality to worksheets. Other capabilities of Mathcad, like utilization of Mathconnex or creation of Mathcad E-books are briefly envisaged. The Mathcad worksheets comprising the API procedures are thus providing a convenient tool for fast prediction of an ASTM or TBP distillation curve starting from the other one.

Evolution in the United States Education System Essay -- Essays Papers

Evolution in the United States Education System In July of 1925, a Tennessee high school teacher named John Scopes sat in a court room facing a violation of state law by teaching evolution, the idea that human beings and monkeys share a similar ancestry. This was no ordinary trial, this was the â€Å"trial of the century†; it featured heavy media attention, it was a battle between two of the best attorneys in the nation, and it raised many questions about evolution and creation, the theory that human beings were put on Earth by God. Today, these questions still are not answered, with cases and debates still popping up 78 years after the famous â€Å"monkey trial,† with the same issues at hand: creation versus evolution (Futuyma 6). The evolution theory goes back to the times of the Greeks, who believed that humans went through a form of evolution. Later on in the 18th and 19th centuries, many scientists and philosophers from Europe wrote theories pertaining to evolution. Finally, in 1859 On the Origins of Species, a book on observations by Englishman Charles Darwin, was published explaining his theory, that in the long run, the fittest of all species survive, passing on different characteristics to help the next generation survive. This theory changed the aspects of biology and sparked much controversy in society. Beginning in the 1870s in the United States, about ten years after Darwin released his controversial book, Southern Christians began to fight the idea of evolution, while in the North, much was not made of the topic. It was almost completely ignored. In the early 1900s, teaching of evolution had become pretty normal in an American elementary, middle, or high school, although sometimes with some controversy. In the... ...d J. (1998). Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. Boston: Harvard University Press. Levenson, J.C. (2004). The age of Darwin. Raritan, 23 (3). 115-149. Linder, Douglas. (2002). Tennessee vs. John Scopes Monkey Trial. Retrieved April 19, 2004, from http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/scopes.htm Morgan, Jeffrey P. (2003) Reading race into the Scopes trial. Journal of American History, 90 (3). 891. Robinson, B.A. Teaching of Evolution of U.S. schools. Retrieved: March 30, 2004, from http://religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm Shultz, Lynne H. Summary of Evolution in Public Schools. Retrieved: April 19, 2004, from http://infidels.org/activist/state/evolution.shtml Scopes, John T. & Presley, James. (1967). Center of the Storm. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston Books

Consequently Mayflower

There were several dfferent classes of people who settled in the colonies of North America. They all experienced hardships along the way, though some experiences were milder than others. One perspective of someone who had a decent experience. was William Bradford. He was one of the leaders among the group of religious, freedom-seeking people, called Pilgrims, who arrived in America on the Mayflower. Their trip was not as smooth as It seemed though. Their ship had gotten off-course several times, as a result of the violent storms that took place.Consequently, in spite f the patent (which had originally granted them to settle in Virginia), they ended up settling their colony in what they called Plymouth (Massachusetts). This lead to a series of conflicts between the group of land-seeking people and the religious people. The land-seeking people argued that they were not bound by the terms of the patent, and thus no one had the power to control them. As a compromise, Bradford and the oth er leaders created an agreement called the Mayflower Compact, which stated that members of the colony had to form a civic body politic, and obey by the laws for the good of the colony.Bradford later went on become governor of the Plymouth Colony. Another perspective, is of Olaudah Equiano, who served as an African slave and came to the America not by choice, but by force. Born in Africa to a village chief, Equiano was suppose to follow in his father's footsteps. However, at age 11 he was kidnapped and loaded Into a crowded slave ship with Inhumane conditions. After barely surviving the poor conditions of the trip, Equiano was first taken to the Barbados, and then to Virginia to work in a plantation. Less than a month later, he was sold to an English naval officer.After traveling the world as the man's servant for seven years, he was fortunate to have been able to buy his way out of slavery. HIS fate was lucky, compared to others who would, along with their children. never know freed om again. Lastly, a slightly better experience of settling in the colonies would be Matthew Lyon, who was one of the many indentured servants who voluntarily agreed to trade their freedom for a trip to America. Lyon was a fourteen year old at the time, but his intelligence allowed him to persuade the ship captain to say he was eighteen (through bribery), which lessened his service time to three- ears.However, because of his cleverness, he once again was able to shorten his service time. After a year of service, he convinced a farmer to give him two bulls, promlslng to pay off the debt when he was free. With the bulls now In his possession. he was then able to sell the bulls to his master in exchange for his freedom. From the on, he was free, and after working off the debt he owed the farmer, Lyon went on to first become a ironworker, then an officer in the army, and eventually, the legislator of Vermont.As you can see, there were many different types of people with a wide ange of pe rspectives, who settled in the colonies of North America. BY Pinklover1967 There were several different classes of people who settled in the colonies of North were milder than others. One perspective of someone who had a decent experience, Their trip was not as smooth as it seemed though. Their ship had gotten off-course 11 he was kidnapped and loaded into a crowded slave ship with inhumane slavery. His fate was lucky, compared to others who would, along with their children, promising to pay off the debt when he was free. With the bulls now in his possession,

Black House Chapter Eleven

11 BEEZER'S JOURNEY BEGAN with Myrtle Harrington, the loving wife of Michael Harrington, whispering down the telephone line to Richie Bumstead, on whom she has an industrial-strength crush in spite of his having been married to her second-best friend, Glad, who dropped down dead in her kitchen at the amazing age of thirty-one. For his part, Richie Bumstead has had enough macaroni-tuna casseroles and whisper-voiced phone calls from Myrtle to last him through two more lifetimes, but this is one set of whispers he's glad, even oddly relieved, to listen to, because he drives a truck for the Kingsland Brewing Company and has come to know Beezer St. Pierre and the rest of the boys, at least a little bit. At first, Richie thought the Thunder Five was a bunch of hoodlums, those big guys with scraggly shoulder-length hair and foaming beards roaring through town on their Harleys, but one Friday he happened to be standing alongside the one called Mouse in the pay-window line, and Mouse looked down at him and said something funny about how working for love never made the paycheck look bigger, and they got into a conversation that made Richie Bumstead's head spin. Two nights later he saw Beezer St. Pierre and the one called Doc shooting the breeze in the yard when he came off-shift, and after he got his rig locked down for the night he went over and got into another conversation that made him feel like he'd walked into a combination of a raunchy blues bar and a Jeopardy! championship. These guys Beezer, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and Kaiser Bill looked like rockin', stompin', red-eyed violence, but they were smart. Beezer, it turned out, was head brewmaster in Kingsland Ale's special-projects div ision, and the other guys were just under him. They had all gone to college. They were interested in making great beer and having a good time, and Richie sort of wished he could get a bike and let it all hang out like them, but a long Saturday afternoon and evening at the Sand Bar proved that the line between a high old time and utter abandon was too fine for him. He didn't have the stamina to put away two pitchers of Kingsland, play a decent game of pool, drink two more pitchers while talking about the influences of Sherwood An-derson and Gertrude Stein on the young Hemingway, get into some serious head-butting, put down another couple of pitchers, emerge clearheaded enough to go barrel-assing through the countryside, pick up a couple of experimental Madison girls, smoke a lot of high-grade shit, and romp until dawn. You have to respect people who can do that and still hold down good jobs. As far as Richie is concerned, he has a duty to tell Beezer that the police have finally learned the whereabouts of Irma Freneau's body. That busybody Myrtle said it was a secret Richie has to keep to himself, but he's pretty sure that right after Myrtle gave him the news, she called four or five other people. Those people will call their best friends, and in no time at all half of French Landing is going to be heading over on 35 to be in on the action. Beezer has a better right to be there than most, doesn't he? Less than thirty seconds after getting rid of Myrtle Harrington, Richie Bumstead looks up Beezer St. Pierre in the directory and dials the number. â€Å"Richie, I sure hope you aren't shitting me,† Beezer says. â€Å"He called in, yeah?† Beezer wants Richie to repeat it. â€Å"That worthless piece of shit in the DARE car, the Mad Hungarian? . . . And he said the girl was where?† â€Å"Fuck, the whole town is gonna be out there,† Beezer says. â€Å"But thanks, man, thanks a lot. I owe you.† In the instant before the receiver slams down, Richie thinks he hears Beezer start to say something else that gets dissolved in a scalding rush of emotion. And in the little house on Nailhouse Row, Beezer St. Pierre swipes tears into his beard, gently moves the telephone a few inches back on the table, and turns to face Bear Girl, his common-law spouse, his old lady, Amy's mother, whose real name is Susan Osgood, and who is staring up at him from beneath her thick blond bangs, one finger holding her place in a book. â€Å"It's the Freneau girl,† he says. â€Å"I gotta go.† â€Å"Go,† Bear Girl tells him. â€Å"Take the cell phone and call me as soon as you can.† â€Å"Yeah,† he says, and plucks the cell phone from its charger and rams it into a front pocket of his jeans. Instead of moving to the door, he thrusts a hand into the huge red-brown tangle of his beard and absent-mindedly combs it with his fingers. His feet are rooted to the floor; his eyes have lost focus. â€Å"The Fisherman called 911,† he says. â€Å"Can you believe this shit? They couldn't find the Freneau girl by themselves, they needed him to tell them where to find her body.† â€Å"Listen to me,† Bear Girl says, and gets up and travels the space between them far more quickly than she seems to. She snuggles her compact little body into his massive bulk, and Beezer inhales a chestful of her clean, soothing scent, a combination of soap and fresh bread. â€Å"When you and the boys get out there, it's going to be up to you to keep them in line. So you have to keep yourself in line, Beezer. No matter how angry you are, you can't go nuts and start beating on people. Cops especially.† â€Å"I suppose you think I shouldn't go.† â€Å"You have to. I just don't want you to wind up in jail.† â€Å"Hey,† he says, â€Å"I'm a brewer, not a brawler.† â€Å"Don't forget it,† she says, and pats him on the back. â€Å"Are you going to call them?† â€Å"Street telephone.† Beezer walks to the door, bends down to pick up his helmet, and marches out. Sweat slides down his forehead and crawls through his beard. Two strides bring him to his motorcycle. He puts one hand on the saddle, wipes his forehead, and bellows, â€Å"THE FUCKING FISHERMAN TOLD THAT FUCKING HUNGARIAN COP WHERE TO FIND IRMA FRENEAU'S BODY. WHO'S COMING WITH ME?† On both sides of Nailhouse Row, bearded heads pop out of windows and loud voices shout â€Å"Wait Up!† â€Å"Holy Shit!† and â€Å"Yo!† Four vast men in leather jackets, jeans, and boots come barreling out of four front doors. Beezer almost has to smile he loves these guys, but sometimes they remind him of cartoon characters. Even before they reach him, he starts explaining about Richie Bumstead and the 911 call, and by the time he finishes, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and Kaiser Bill are on their bikes and waiting for the signal. â€Å"But this here's the deal,† Beezer says. â€Å"Two things. We're going out there for Amy and Irma Freneau and Johnny Irkenham, not for ourselves. We want to make sure everything gets done the right way, and we're not gonna bust anybody's head open, not unless they ask for it. You got that?† The others rumble, mumble, and grumble, apparently in assent. Four tangled beards wag up and down. â€Å"And number two, when we do bust open somebody's head, it's gonna be the Fisherman's. Because we have put up with enough crap around here, and now I am pretty damn sure it's our turn to hunt down the fucking bastard who killed my little girl † Beezer's voice catches in his throat, and he raises his fist before continuing. â€Å"And dumped this other little girl in that fucking shack out on 35. Because I am going to get my hands on that fucking fuckhead, and when I do, I am gonna get RIGHTEOUS on his ass!† His boys, his crew, his posse shake their fists in the air and bellow. Five motorcycles surge noisily into life. â€Å"We'll take a look at the place from the highway and double back to the road behind Goltz's,† Beezer shouts, and charges down the road and uphill on Chase Street with the others in his slipstream. Through the middle of town they roll, Beezer in the lead, Mouse and Sonny practically on his tailpipe, Doc and the Kaiser right behind, their beards flowing in the wind. The thunder of their bikes rattles the windows in Schmitt's Allsorts and sends starlings flapping up from the marquee of the Agincourt Theater. Hanging over the bars of his Harley, Beezer looks a little bit like King Kong getting set to rip apart a jungle gym. Once they get past the 7-Eleven, Kaiser and Doc move up alongside Sonny and Mouse and take up the entire width of the highway. People driving west on 35 look at the figures charging toward them and swerve onto the shoulder; drivers who see them in their rearview mirrors drift to the side of the road, stick their arms out of their windows, and wave them on. As they near Centralia, Beezer passes about twice as many cars as really ought to be traveling down a country highway on a weekend morning. The situation is even worse than he figured it would be: Dale Gilbertson is bound to have a couple of cops blocking traffic turning in from 35, but two cops couldn't handle more than ten or twelve ghouls dead set on seeing, really seeing, the Fisherman's handiwork. French Landing doesn't have enough cops to keep a lid on all the screwballs homing in on Ed's Eats. Beezer curses, picturing himself losing control, turning a bunch of twisted Fisherman geeks into tent pegs. Losing control is exactly what he cannot afford to do, not if he expects any cooperation from Dale Gilbertson and his flunkies. Beezer leads his companions around a crapped-out old red Toyota and is visited by an idea so perfect that he forgets to strike unreasoning terror into the beater's driver by looking him in the eye and snarling, â€Å"I make Kingsland Ale, the best beer in the world, you dimwit cur.† He has done this to two drivers this morning, and neither one let him down. The people who earn this treatment by either lousy driving or the possession of a truly ugly vehicle imagine that he is threatening them with some grotesque form of sexual assault, and they freeze like rabbits, they stiffen right up. Jolly good fun, as the citizens of Emerald City sang in The Wizard of Oz. The idea that has distracted Beezer from his harmless pleasures possesses the simplicity of most valid inspirations. The best way to get cooperation is to give it. He knows exactly how to soften up Dale Gilbertson: the answer is putting on a baseball cap, grabbing its car keys, and heading out the door the answer lies al l around him. One small part of that answer sits behind the wheel of the red Toyota just being overtaken by Beezer and his jolly crew. Wendell Green earned the mock rebuke he failed to receive on both of the conventional grounds. His little car may not have been ugly to begin with, but by now it is so disfigured by multiple dents and scrapes that it resembles a rolling sneer; and Green drives with an unyielding arrogance he thinks of as â€Å"dash.† He zooms through yellow lights, changes lanes recklessly, and tailgates as a means of intimidation. Of course, he blasts his horn at the slightest provocation. Wendell is a menace. The way he handles his car perfectly expresses his character, being inconsiderate, thoughtless, and riddled with grandiosity. At the moment, he is driving even worse than usual, because as he tries to overtake every other vehicle on the road, most of his concentration is focused on the pocket tape recorder he holds up to his mouth and the golden words his equally gold en voice pours into the precious machine. (Wendell often regrets the shortsightedness of the local radio stations in devoting so much air time to fools like George Rathbun and Henry Shake, when they could move up to a new level simply by letting him give an ongoing commentary on the news for an hour or so every day.) Ah, the delicious combination of Wendell's words and Wendell's voice Edward R. Murrow in his heyday never sounded so eloquent, so resonant. Here is what he is saying: This morning I joined a virtual caravan of the shocked, the grieving, and the merely curious in a mournful pilgrimage winding eastward along bucolic Highway 35. Not for the first time, this journalist was struck, and struck deeply, by the immense contrast between the loveliness and peace of the Coulee Country's landscape and the ugliness and savagery one deranged human being has wrought in its unsuspecting bosom. New paragraph. The news had spread like wildfire. Neighbor called neighbor, friend called friend. According to a morning 911 call to the French Landing police station, the mutilated body of little Irma Freneau lies within the ruins of a former ice-cream parlor and caf? ¦ called Ed's Eats and Dawgs. And who had placed the call? Surely, some dutiful citizen. Not at all, ladies and gentlemen, not at all . . . Ladies and gentlemen, this is frontline reportage, this is the news being written while it happens, a concept that cannot but murmur â€Å"Pulitzer Prize† to an experienced journalist. The scoop had come to Wendell Green by way of his barber, Roy Royal, who heard it from his wife, Tillie Royal, who had been clued in by Myrtle Harrington herself, and Wendell Green has done his duty to his readers: he grabbed his tape recorder and his camera and ran out to his nasty little vehicle without pausing to telephone his editors at the Herald. He doesn't need a photographer; he can take all the photographs he needs with that dependable old Nikon F2A on the passenger seat. A seamless blend of words and pictures a penetrating examination of the new century's most hideous crime a thoughtful exploration into the nature of evil a compassionate portrayal of one community's suffering an unsparing expos? ¦ of one police department's ineptitude With all this going on in his mind as his mellifluous words drip one by one into the microphone of his upheld cassette recorder, is it any wonder that Wendell Green fails to hear the sound of motorcycles, or to take in the presence of the Thunder Five in any way, until he happens to glance sideways in search of the perfect phrase? Glance sideways he does, and with a spurt of panic observes, no more than two feet to his left, Beezer St. Pierre astride his roaring Harley, apparently singing, to judge from his own moving lips singing huh? Can't be, nope. In Wendell's experience, Beezer St. Pierre is far more likely to be cursing like a navvy in a waterfront brawl. When, after the death of Amy St. Pierre, Wendell, who was merely obeying the ancient rules of his trade, dropped in at 1 Nailhouse Row, and inquired of the grieving father how it felt to know that his daughter had been slaughtered like a pig and partially eaten by a monster in human form, Beezer had gripped the innocent newshound by the throat, unleashed a torrent of obscenities, and concluded by bellowing that if he should ever see Mr. Green again, he would tear off his head and use the stump as a sexual orifice. It is this threat that causes Wendell's moment of panic. He glances into his rearview mirror and sees Beezer's cohorts strung out across the road like an invading army of Goths. In his imagination, they are waving skulls on ropes made of human skin and yelling about what they are going to do to his neck after they rip his head off. Whatever he was about to dictate into the invaluable machine instantly evaporates, along with his daydreams of winning the Pulitzer Prize. His stomach clenches, and sweat bursts from every pore on his broad, ruddy face. His left hand trembles on the wheel, his right shakes the cassette recorder like a castanet. Wendell lifts his foot from the accelerator and slides down on the car seat, turning his head as far to the right as he dares. His basic desire is to curl up in the well beneath the dashboard and pretend to be a fetus. The huge roar of sound behind him grows louder, and his heart leaps in his chest like a fish. Wendell whimpers. A rank of kettledrum s batters the air beyond the fragile skin of the car door. Then the motorcycles swoop past him and race off up the highway. Wendell Green wipes his face. Slowly, he persuades his body to sit up straight. His heart ceases its attempt to escape his chest. The world on the other side of his windshield, which had contracted to the size of a housefly, expands back to its normal size. It occurs to Wendell that he was no more afraid than any normal human being would be, under the circumstances. Self-regard fills him like helium fills a balloon. Most guys he knows would have driven right off the road, he thinks; most guys would have crapped in their pants. What did Wendell Green do? He slowed down a little, that's all. He acted like a gentleman and let the ass-holes of the Thunder Five drive past him. When it comes to Beezer and his apes, Wendell thinks, being a gentleman is the better part of valor. He picks up speed, watching the bikers race on ahead. In his hand, the cassette recorder is still running. Wendell raises it to his mouth, licks his lips, and discovers that he has forgotten what he was going to say. Blank tape whirls from spool to spool. â€Å"Damn,† he says, and pushes the OFF button. An inspired phrase, a melodious cadence, has vanished into the ether, perhaps for good. But the situation is far more frustrating than that. It seems to Wendell that a whole series of logical connections has vanished with the lost phrase: he can remember seeing the shape of a vast outline for at least half a dozen penetrating articles that would go beyond the Fisherman to . . . do what? Win him the Pulitzer, for sure, but how? The area in his mind that had given him the immense outline still holds its shape, but the shape is empty. Beezer St. Pierre and his goons murdered what now seems the greatest idea Wendell Green ever had, and Wendell has no certainty that he can bring it back to life. What are these biker freaks doing out here, anyhow? The question answers itself: some creepy do-gooder thought Beezer ought to know about the Fisherman's 911 call, and now the biker freaks are headed to the ruins of Ed's, just like him. Fortunately, so many other people are going to the same place that Wendell figures he can steer clear of his nemesis. Taking no chances, he drops a couple of cars behind the bikers. The traffic thickens and slows down; up ahead, the bikers form a single line and zoom up alongside the line crawling toward the dusty old lane to Ed's place. From seventy or eighty yards back, Wendell can see two cops, a man and a woman, trying to wave the rubberneckers along. Every time a fresh car pulls up in front of them, they have to go through the same pantomine of turning its occupants away and pointing down the road. To reinforce the message, a police car is parked sideways across the lane, blocking anyone who should try to get fancy. This spectacle troubles Wendell not at all, for the press has automatic access to such scenes. Journalists are the medium, the aperture, through which otherwise prohibited places and events reach the general public. Wen-dell Green is the people's representative here, and the most distinguished journalist in western Wisconsin besides. After he has inched along another thirty feet, he sees that the cops riding herd on the traffic are Danny Tcheda and Pam Stevens, and his complacency wavers. A couple of days ago, both Tcheda and Stevens had responded to his request for information by telling him to go to hell. Pam Stevens is a know-it-all bitch anyhow, a professional ball-breaker. Why else would a reasonably okay-looking dame want to be a cop? Stevens would turn him away from the scene for the sheer hell of it she'd enjoy it! Probably, Wendell realizes, he will have to sneak in somehow. He pictures himself crawling through the fields on his belly and shivers with distaste. At least he can have the pleasure of watching the cops giving the finger to Beezer and crew. The bikers roar past another half-dozen cars without slowing down, so Wendell supposes they plan on going into a flashy, skidding turn, dodging right by those two dumbbells in blue, and zooming around the patrol car as if it didn't exist. What will the cops do then, Wendell wonders drag out their guns and try to look fierce? Fire warning shots and hit each other in the foot? Astonishingly, Beezer and his train of fellow bikers pay no attention to the cars attempting to move into the lane, to Tcheda and Stevens, or to anything else up there. They do not even turn their heads to gape up at the ruined shack, the chief's car, the pickup truck which Wendell instantly recognizes and the men standing on the beaten grass, two of whom are Dale Gilbertson and the pickup's owner, Hollywood Jack Sawyer, that snooty L.A. prick. (The third guy, who is wearing an ice-cream hat, sunglasses, and a spiffy vest, makes no sense at all, at least not to Wendell. He looks like he dropped in from some old Humphrey Bogart movie.) No, they blast on by the whole messy scene with their helmets pointed straight ahead, as if all they have in mind is cruising into Centralia and busting up the fixtures in the Sand Bar. On they go, all five of the bastards, indifferent as a pack of wild dogs. As soon as they hit open road again, the other four move into parallel formation behind Beeze r and fan out across the highway. Then, as one, they veer off to the left, send up five great plumes of dust and gravel, and spin into five U-turns. Without breaking stride without even appearing to slow down they separate into their one-two-two pattern and come streaking back westward toward the crime scene and French Landing. I'll be damned, Wendell thinks. Beezer turned tail and gave up. What a wimp. The knot of bikers grows larger and larger as it swoops toward him, and soon the amazed Wendell Green makes out Beezer St. Pierre's grim face, which beneath its helmet also gets larger and larger as it approaches. â€Å"I never figured you for a quitter,† Wendell says, watching Beezer loom ever nearer. The wind has parted his beard into two equal sections that flare out behind him on both sides of his head. Behind his goggles, Beezer's eyes look as if he is aiming down the barrel of a rifle. The thought that Beezer might turn those hunter's eyes on him makes Wendell's bowels feel dangerously loose. â€Å"Loser,† he says, not very loudly. With an ear-pounding roar, Beezer flashes past the dented Toyota. The rest of the Thunder Five hammer the air, then streak down the road. This evidence of Beezer's cowardice brightens Wendell's heart as he watches the bikers diminish in his rearview mirror, but a thought he cannot ignore begins to worm its way upward through the synapses of his brain. Wendell may not be the Edward R. Murrow of the present day, but he has been a reporter for nearly thirty years, and he has developed a few instincts. The thought winding through his mental channels sets off a series of wavelike alarms that at last push it into consciousness. Wendell gets it he sees the hidden design; he understands what's going down. â€Å"Well, hot doggy,† he says, and with a wide grin blasts his horn, cranks his wheel to the left, and jolts into a turn with only minimal damage to his fender and that of the car in front of him. â€Å"You sneaky bastard,† he says, nearly chuckling with delight. The Toyota squeezes out of the line of vehicles pointed eastward and drifts over into the westbound lanes. Clanking and farting, it shoots away in pursuit of the crafty bikers. There will be no crawling through cornfields for Wendell Green: that sneaky bastard Beezer St. Pierre knows a back way to Ed's Eats! All our star reporter has to do is hang back far enough to stay out of sight and he gets a free pass into the scene. Beautiful. Ah, the irony: Beezer gives the press a helpful hand many thanks, you arrogant thug. Wendell hardly supposes that Dale Gilbertson will give him the run of the place, but it will be harder to throw him out than to turn him away. In the time he has, he can ask a few probing questions, snap a few telling photos, and above all! soak up enough atmosphere to produce one of his legendary â€Å"color† pieces. With a cheerful heart, Wendell poodles down the highway at fifty miles per hour, letting the bikers race far ahead of him without ever letting them pass out of sight. The number of cars coming toward him thins out to widely spaced groups of two and three, then to a few single cars, then to nothing. As if they have been waiting to be unobserved, Beezer and his friends swerve across the highway and go blasting up the driveway to Goltz's space-age dome. Wendell feels an unwelcome trickle of self-doubt, but he is not about to assume that Beezer and his louts have a sudden yearning for tractor hitches and riding lawn mowers. He speeds up, wondering if they have spotted him and are trying to throw him off their trail. As far as he knows, there is nothing up on that rise except the showroom, the maintenance garage, and the parking lot. Damn place looks like a wasteland. Beyond the parking lot . . . what? On one side, he remembers a scrubby field stretching away to the horizon, on the other a bunch of trees, like a forest, only not as thick. He can see the trees from where he is now, running downhill like a windbreak. Without bothering to signal, he speeds across the oncoming lanes and into Goltz's driveway. The sound of the motorcycles is still audible but growing softer, and Wendell experiences a jolt of fear that they have somehow tricked him and are getting away, jeering at him! At the top of the rise, he zooms around the front of the showroom and drives into the big lot. Two huge yellow tractors stand in front of the equipment garage, but his is the only car in sight. At the far end of the empty lot, a low concrete wall rises to bumper height between the asphalt and the meadow bordered by trees. On the other side of the tree line, the wall ends at the swoop of asphalt drive coming around from the back of the showroom. Wendell cranks the wheel and speeds toward the far end of the wall. He can still hear the motorcycles, but they sound like a distant swarm of bees. They must be about a half mile away, Wendell thinks, and jumps out of the Toyota. He jams the cassette recorder in a jacket pocket, slings the Nikon on its strap around his neck, and runs around the low wall and into the meadow. Even before he reaches the tree line, he can see the remains of an old macadam road, broken and overgrown, cutting downhill between the trees. Wendell imagines, overestimating, that Ed's old place is about a mile distant, and he wonders if his car could go the distance on this rough, uneven surface. In some places, the macadam has fissured into tectonic plates; in others, it has crumbled away to black gravel. Sinkholes and weedy rills radiate out from the thick, snaking roots of the trees. A biker could jounce over this mess reasonably well, but Wendell sees that his legs will manage the journey better than his Toyota, so he sets off down the old track through the trees. From what he took in while he was on the highway, he still has plenty of time before the medical examiner and the evidence wagon show up. Even with the help of the famous Hollywood Sawyer, the local cops are mooning around in a daze. The sound of motorcycles grows louder as Wendell picks his way along, as if the boys stopped moving in order to talk things over when they came to the far end of the old back road. That's perfect. Wendell hopes they will keep jawing until he has nearly caught up with them; he hopes they are shouting at one another and waving their fists in the air. He wants to see them cranked to the gills on rage and adrenaline, plus God knows what else those savages might have in their saddlebags. Wendell would love to get a photograph of Beezer St. Pierre knocking out Dale Gilbertson's front teeth with a well-aimed right, or putting the choke hold on his buddy Sawyer. The photograph Wendell wants most, however, and for the sake of which he is prepared to bribe every cop, county functionary, state official, or innocent bystander capable of holding out his hand, is a good, clean, dramatic picture of Irma Freneau's naked corpse. Preferably one that leaves no doubt about the Fisherman's depredations, whatever they were. Two would be ideal one of her face for poignancy, the other a full-body shot for the perverts but he will settle for the body shot if he has to. An image like that would go around the world, generating millions as it went. The National Enquirer alone would fork over, what two hundred thousand, three? for a photo of poor little Irma sprawled out in death, mutilations clearly visible. Talk about your gold mines, talk about your Big Kahunas! When Wendell has covered about a tenth of a mile of the miserable old road, his concentration divided between gloating over all the money little Irma is going to siphon into his pockets and his fears of falling down and twisting his ankle, the uproar caused by the Thunder Five's Harleys abruptly ceases. The resulting silence seems immense, then immediately fills with other, quieter sounds. Wendell can hear his breath struggling in and out, and also some other noise, a combined rattle and thud, from behind him. He whirls around and beholds, far up the ruined road, an ancient pickup lurching toward him. It's almost funny, the way the truck rocks from side to side as one tire, then another, sinks into an invisible depression or rolls up a tilting section of road surface. That is, it would be funny if these people were not horning in on his private access route to Irma Freneau's body. Whenever the pickup climbs over a particularly muscular-looking length of tree root, the four dark heads in the cab bob like marionettes. Wendell takes a step forward, intending to send these yokels back where they came from. The truck's suspension scrapes against a flat rock, and sparks leap from the undercarriage. That thing must be thirty years old, at least, Wendell thinks it's one of the few vehicles on the road that looks even worse than his car. When the truck jolts closer to him, he sees that it is an International Harvester. Weeds and twigs decorate the rusty bumper. Does I.H. even make pickups anymore? Wendell holds up his hand like a juror taking the oath, and the truck jounces and dips over another few rutted feet before coming to a halt. Its left side sits noticeably higher than the right. In the darkness cast by the trees, Wendell cannot quite make out the faces peering at him through the windshield, but he has the feeling that at least two of them are familiar. The man behind the wheel pokes his head out of the driver's window and says, â€Å"Hidey-ho, Mr. Bigshot Reporter. They slam the front door in your face, too?† It is Teddy Runkleman, who regularly comes to Wendell's attention while he is going over the day's police reports. The other three people in the cab bray like mules at Teddy's wit. Wendell knows two of them Freddy Saknessum, part of a low-life clan that oozes in and out of various run-down shacks along the river, and Toots Billinger, a scrawny kid who somehow supports himself by scavenging scrap metal in La Riviere and French Landing. Like Runkleman, Toots has been arrested for a number of third-rate crimes but never convicted of anything. The hard-worn, scruffy woman between Freddy and Toots rings a bell too dim to identify. â€Å"Hello, Teddy,† Wendell says. â€Å"And you, Freddy and Toots. No, after I got a look at the mess out front, I decided to come in the back way.† â€Å"Hey, Wen-dell, doncha ‘member me?† the woman says, a touch pathetically. â€Å"Doodles Sanger, in case your memory's all shot to hell. I started out with a whole buncha guys in Freddy's Bel Air, and Teddy was with a whole ‘nother bunch, but after we got run off by Miss Bitch, the rest of 'em wanted to go back to their barstools.† Of course he does remember her, although the hardened face before him now only faintly resembles that of the bawdy party girl named Doodles Sanger who served up drinks at the Nelson Hotel a decade ago. Wendell thinks she got fired more for drinking too much on the job than for stealing, but God knows she did both. Back then, Wendell threw a lot of money across the bar at the Nelson Hotel. He tries to remember if he ever hopped in the sack with Doodles. He plays it safe and says, â€Å"Cripes, Doodles, how the hell could I forget a pretty little thing like you?† The boys get a big yuck out of this sally. Doodles jabs her elbow into Toots Billinger's vaporous ribs, gives Wendell a pouty little smile, and says, â€Å"Well thank-ee, kind sir.† Yep, he boffed her, all right. This would be the perfect time to order these morons back to their ratholes, but Wendell is visited by grade-A inspiration. â€Å"How would you charming people like to assist a gentleman of the press and earn fifty bucks in the process?† â€Å"Fifty each, or all together?† asks Teddy Runkleman. â€Å"Come on, all together,† Wendell says. Doodles leans forward and says, â€Å"Twenty each, all right, big-timer? If we agree to do what you want.† â€Å"Aw, you're breakin' my heart,† Wendell says, and extracts his wallet from his back pocket and removes four twenties, leaving only a ten and three singles to see him through the day. They accept their payment and, in a flash, tuck it away. â€Å"Now this is what I want you to do,† Wendell says, and leans toward the window and the four jack-o'-lantern faces in the cab.