Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Proposal: West Parking

Contents Introduction2 Problem2 Objectives3 Solution4 Doing Nothing4 Installing extra traffic lights4 Hiring an extra parking staff to coordinate traffic congestion5 Improving North and West Parking5 Methods6 Cost8 Benefits9 Conclusion10 References10 Introduction We propose to expand the West and North parking lots of the UAA main campus to greatly reduce traffic congestion, to save time for students and staff, and to help decrease automobile accidents. Problem The UAA main campus is a commuter to more than 15, 000 students (Common data from UAA).The countless number of vehicles commuting to and from campus creates traffic congestions and is desperately in need of more parking spaces. Lack of adequate parking space for students and staff have negative impacts: * Road rage. The survey given in 2008 to UAA students reported that frustration due to congested traffic resulted in unsafe driving practices. Much could have been prevented if there were enough parking spaces for the vehicles that enter campus parking. * Tardiness.Delays due to finding parking space are direct consequence of students and staff being late for classes. Estimated time to find parking space may take up to 20 minutes (2008-UAA student’s survey). People usually experience high stress level due to frustration of finding parking space. Tardiness may have a direct effect on students’ performance in classes (University of Washington MDJ). * Unauthorized use of parking. UAA students admitted to have used Providence Hospital, and Goose Lake parking due to lack of adequate parking spots on campus.This unauthorized use of parking is taking away the spots reserved for the hospital’s patient, and those reserved for recreational use in the park. * Outrageous Parking Fees. The unanimous survey in 2008 for students showed concern over increased parking fees every semester, yet still not enough parking available. This is a â€Å"hot† topic next to book prices and spiking tuition. Student’s complaints are justified that if UAA is going to charge more for parking, then more parking spaces will also be required from the university. * ER access.Traffic created by students and staff vehicles at the main campus has negative impact for hospital emergencies vehicles. UAA main campus is located across the Providence Hospital, and interfering with littering the Providence Drive with students and staff vehicles may be critical of saving someone’s life where minutes or even seconds are critical to one’s well being. * Road safety. Students have reported and are concern about the pedestrian safety once they park the vehicles (2008 survey). There is no pedestrian pathway from the North and West Parking to campus buildings; walking is on the road.Concerns are mostly in wintertime, (fall and spring semesters) where icy and snowy roads, and poor visibility is a road hazard to moving vehicles and pedestrians. * Vehicle accidents. Department of Transportat ions (DOT) ranks the Providence Drive in top five of hazardous locations. The proximity of UAA and Hospital at Providence Drive and congested traffic at this area is responsible for high amount of automobile accidents (according to US. DOT –Federal Highway Administration). Objectives To create a solution for improved parking at UAA and traffic congestion problems issues must: 1.Include a solid development plan that would benefit students, staff, and the UAA. The students and staff would greatly appreciate adequate parking spaces for their vehicle. UAA would positively gain revenue from parking fees. 2. Ensure that parking construction is developed on time and that students attending the following semester are not interrupted with constructions issues. 3. Ensure that pedestrians’ pathways are easily accessible from parking, thus greatly reducing chance of someone being hit by a vehicle. 4. Avoid new traffic congestions on Providence Drive due to parking construction.Sol ution There are several potential solutions to the problems outlined earlier in the proposal. These solutions are: * Doing nothing * Installing extra traffic lights * Hiring an extra parking staff to coordinate traffic congestion * Improving North and West Parking Doing Nothing This is the least effective solution to the existing problem. By doing nothing, we cannot improve parking issues desperately sought by many students and staffs. The use of unauthorized parking in the property of Providence Hospital and Goose Lake will likely continue.Road rage will likely occur as it has. Issues of tardiness will continue if we do not take appropriate steps to solve it. By doing nothing we will not help to solve automobile accidents, impact road safety, or help with ER access (2008 survey, DOT). Installing extra traffic lights This next possible solution is to install extra traffic lights. This measure of safety and coordination of traffic would add benefit t a more regulated traffic flow, an d improve the safety of the pedestrian’s crosswalks. According to Municipality of Anchorage (M. O.A), Traffic Department, Lance Wilber, said that the cost of installing traffic lights may be well over $700,000 per cross-section, depending on the location and construction plans involved. This solution seems ineffective because it does not solve the pedestrians’ safety concerns over the crossing from the parking area to the campus buildings, nor solve the lack of available parking space. This solution contributes to solving some traffic congestion at campus, but better solution is needed. In addition, M. O. A advised against installation of new traffic lights since there are already five in place at the Providence Drive.Hiring an extra parking staff to coordinate traffic congestion Hiring an extra parking staff could be a reasonable solution for traffic congestion at campus. This solution requires hiring of twelve individuals for North and West Parking, for coordinating traffic at the busiest time: mornings and late afternoon. The vehicles entering campus would be guided to available parking and pedestrians’ safety could be looked after. According to Parking Services, estimated cost for an extra staff and equipment on annual basis would amount to over half a million dollars.However, this would not help eliminate vehicle traffic at Providence Drive; in fact, traffic congestion would likely be worse than it is now. Parking Services, advised against hiring an extra staff to help coordinate traffic due to lack of budget. Improving North and West Parking The best solution to the problems outlined earlier in the proposal is to improve the largest parking on main campus, which is the North, and West Parking. These hold the largest accommodation of parking lots, and are easily accessible from: Providence Drive, Lake Otis Parkway, and UAA Drive-Mallard Lane.For its convenience of being accessible to the main campus and having close proximity to 13-UA A buildings, and short walking distance to other facilities, the North and West Parking is the best candidate and that needs improvement. The advantage to this solution is that it would double the available parking spaces. By creating more space, vehicles would move faster to and from campus creating less congestion on busy Providence Drive. Improvement to existing parking would add walkways to help cross over going to the campus, thus greatly improving road safety for both: the vehicles and pedestrians.Vehicle accidents, road rage, and ER access would be improved since the congestion on Providence Drive would be minimized. This solution would favorably affect the issues with tardiness and positively solve the unauthorized use of parking at Providence Hospital and Goose Lake. The cost of this project is approximately set at 2 million dollars per parking, according to Chris Nowak at Affordable Construction, and Stan Vanover-UAA Project Manager. While this may seem expensive at first glance, it is the best solution for improvement.A solution with traffic lights and hiring extra staff to control traffic congestion does not adequately address solving the problems. The only cheaper solution to improving parking is to do nothing. However, this solution though saves money does not solve the students and staff issues, or traffic congestion, and will actually create more problems and complications in the future. The benefit for UAA for this project is that it would recover accumulated expenses from parking fees over 5-7 years (Parking Services), at the same time will solve the outlined problems.This solution is the answer to the described problems, and is reasonably cost effective. Methods Description of Project This project requires adding one more level to existing floor plan, example: airport-parking style, without roof, with ramp access to another level. Second level would have connecting stairs and or elevator to first floor. The pedestrians’ pathways would be implemented between diagonal parked vehicles for safe crossing. Easily accessible ramps would be used by snow removing vehicles during wintertime; the first floor would be snow free.This project will ensure improvement in parking—double the available space, pedestrians and vehicles safety, and would reduce traffic congestion at Providence Drive due to faster rotation of moving vehicles. Pictures of North and West Parking. Note the hazardous road condition and lack of pedestrians’ walkways | | | PARTIAL UAA CAMPUS MAP(arrows point to proposed project area)| Sample pictures of 2-story parking garage with access ramps. | Cost The cost for this project has been estimated at 2 million for the North Parking, and 2, 2 million for the West Parking according to Affordable Construction.These costs include planning, materials, and labor. The planning include the cost of design, surveying, and appropriate permits for the city of Anchorage building code. The materials and labor include the cost of all construction materials and labor needed to complete the project (including 4 elevators if needed). This estimate may change due to prices fluctuation for material or labor cost. Estimate is fairly set as of November 27, 2009. The estimator predicted the low of 4 million dollars to as high as 5, 2 million dollars for this project.Significant amount of money could be saved for material if ordered early in the year from lower 48, and shipped directly. Table 1. Cost Analysis Project| Cost| Total amount| North Parking| Planning $48000Materials $1280000Labor $672000| $ 2,000. 000| West Parking| Planning $ 51000Materials $1410000Labor $739000| $ 2,200. 000| Contingency Fund| | $ 1,000. 000| | Grand total| $ 5,200. 000| Contingency Fund is set to a million dollars for the high end of the project. Ensuring early material ordering will significantly reduce this expense.Time required and Schedule for Project Completion Planning of project can begin early January 2010. The actual construction should start early May— at the end of spring semester—to ensure completion by the end of August, right on time when the fall semester begins. Construction project should take 110-120 days, ensuring as little as possible interruption with students vehicle traffic. The impact on the construction and students should be minimal as fewer students attending UAA during summer. To better illustrate time allotted for the construction, please refer to Table 2.Information for the time and construction was provided by Stan Vanover, Sr. Project Manager, for Construction at UAA. Table 2. Construction & Planning Project| Task| Time allotted in days| Schedule| North & West Parking Improvement| Planning beginsContractors BidsConstruction begins| 4045110| 01/4/201002/20/201005/10/2010| | Project Completion| | 08/30/2010| Benefits Reasonable cost, attracting revenues * Cost for this project is fairly priced according to UAA Project Manager. UAA will collect for pa rking fees and multiply revenues. Traffic congestion alleviated * Improved parking will double available space.This would mean less traffic at the Providence Drive, and smoother vehicle transition to and from campus. Pedestrians and vehicle safety improved * Walkways for pedestrians inside the campus will increase safety. Road hazards, such as the snow and ice would be eliminated on the first floor of parking, thus enhancing pedestrians and motorists safety. Conclusion Despite our economic downturn, colleges in the United States reporting increase in attendance and ever-rising tuition fees. UAA is a home to more than 15 000 students annually; in 2009 UAA reported over 1000 students more than previous year in attendance.We believe that proposed solution to parking improvement is an excellent way to reduce traffic congestion, pedestrians, and motorists’ safety, and provide adequate parking spaces. We look forward to making UAA a safer, well-developed campus. If there are any qu estions you may have, please contact us at your convenience. References 2008 survey, Campus Commuters Statistics can be found at: http://www. uaa. alaska. edu/opra/upload/Common-Data-Set-2008 Department of Transportation, vehicle accidents statistics can be found at: http://safety. fhwa. dot. gov/hsip/fivepercent/2008/08ak. htmUAA Parking Services comments can be found at: http://www. uaa. alaska. edu/parking/, 907. 786. 1119 Lance Wilber, Municipality of Anchorage, information on traffic lights can be found at: http://www. muni. org/Departments/traffic/engineering/Pages/Signals. aspx Information on cost analysis, construction, and planning for the project can be found from: Stan Vanover, Senior Project Manager UAA, Department of Facilities, Planning, and Construction Information on project cost estimate can be found from: Affordable Construction, Chris Nowak, 907. 245. 5722, 20907 Turnagain St, Anchorage

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Management proposal

Abstract The present paper is based on a case study of Top Travel. Inconsistent manager practices in selecting travel clerks and trainees are described. Furthermore, the paper includes a section in which a relevant strategy to improve the selection process is recommended. A job description for the position of a HR manager is included. Finally, the paper focuses on a person specification for this management position. Introduction This paper is based on a case study of Top Travel, with focus on inconsistent practices in the selection of travel clerks and trainees. It has been reported that store managers have made mistakes while recruiting potential employees. Therefore, a specific strategy is outlined to improve the selection process. Other aspects discussed in the paper include a job description for the position of a HR manager and a person specification for this position. Inconsistent Success in Selecting Travel Clerks and Trainees One of the likely reasons why Top Travel’s store managers are not consistently successful in selecting suitable travel clerks and trainees is that managers failed to give candidates prior notice and areas to research and focus on. As a result, store managers were unsuccessful in focusing on important aspects, such as accurate determination of candidates’ skills and information on corporate culture and the job position (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). Another reason for the inconsistent success in selecting travel clerks and trainees refers to the lack of formal interview training of store managers. The organisation has not emphasised strategic planning into improving the interviewing process. There was not a sufficient plan of interviewing that had been created in advance. In addition, store managers failed to assess culture fit of candidates within the company (Patterson et al., 2011). The inconsistency of employee selection at Top Travel could be also explained with the fa ct that managers extensively focused on job skills and experience rather than evaluation of candidates’ personality. The ability to differentiate critical job skills was not consistently present during the employee selection process at Top Travel. A Strategy for Improving the Selection Process Based on the issues that have been identified, it is important to recommend a strategy for improving the selection process, for both travel clerks and trainees. Giving candidates prior notice and areas to research is essential because it enables store managers with an opportunity to focus on relevant aspects of the selection process (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). One of the most important issues is to determine candidates’ fit within Top Travel’s culture. Managers should provide an adequate description of the company, including background information, tendencies and trends pertaining to its corporate culture as well as expectations of the job position (Patterson et al., 2011). The organisation should consider the use of competent and qualified interviewers who understand the specificity and structure of the interviewing process. Interviewers should meet in advance and prepare a relevant plan to follow during the interview. It is recommended to assign different responsibilities to different professionals (Brewster et al., 2011). For instance, one person would be responsible for specific types of questions asked during the interview, while another person would be in charge of assessing of candidates’ credentials. Even though store managers at Top Travel have declared their accurate instinct at spotting the right people, there should be emphasis on the evaluation of applicants’ personality. The company needs diverse individuals with diverse personalities to deal with the evolving needs of travel customers (Patterson et al., 2011). Managers should also focus on differentiating one candidate from another. The consistent use of testing and discussi on is a relevant part of the strategy to differentiate the critical job skills that managers expect to see in candidates. Finally, it is important to take the time in creating a small candidate pool with several individuals who meet the needs of Top Travel (Brewster et al., 2011). It may be necessary to reopen the search for employees in case the right people with adequate skills and experience are not settled. Job Description for HR Manager The position of a HR manager requires that the manager should develop policy and regularly participate in the adequate coordination of human resources processes in the organisation. Important responsibilities of a HR manager include employment issues, compensation, maintaining labour relations, benefits, providing employee training opportunities and services (Bareham, 2012). One of the essential duties of a HR manager is to analyse salary trends in the company as well as determine competitive compensation plans. This professional is directly responsible for the creation of suitable policy within the organisation, with focus on ensuring equal employment opportunities and employee benefits (Cushway, 2008). Different policies, regulations and reporting mechanisms should be maintained properly in order to ensure adequate compliance with standards in the field. In addition, a HR manager is expected to evaluate industry trends that could help the organisation grow in the future (Patterson et al., 2011). Furthermore, a HR manager screens and recruits employees when there is a need to fill vacant positions in the organisation (Cushway, 2008). New employee orientation is adequately planned by the manager in an attempt to ensure positive attitude towards the company’s culture and goals. A HR manager should complete reports and recommend procedures that could lead to the decrease or elimination of absenteeism and turnover in the organisation (Bareham, 2012). This professional is also responsible for contracting with outside suppliers to provide appropriate employee services and relocation services. A Person Specification for the HR Position The HR position includes key competencies, such as degree or equivalent, evidence of professional development, extensive contribution to organisational change, experience in delivering reliable HR practices, and experience in developing HR policies (Brewster et al., 2011). Having a professional qualification in the field along with evidence of professional development is a necessary component of screening candidates’ education and training capacity. Focus on organisational change is important considering the fast pace in which modern organisations develop (Bareham, 2012). In addition, a HR manager should demonstrate an extensive experience in the HR field, which would serve as a strong basis for developing successful practices in the organisation. Conclusion The paper discussed inconsistencies in the employee selection process at Top Travel. Store managers demonstrated practices that did not lead to the selection of the right people. Therefore, the paper included important sections on recommending a strategy to improve the selection process along with details on a job description for the position of a HR manager and a person specification for this position. References Bareham, S. (2012). HR in a Nutshell: Making Good Managers Great! Birmingham: Summa Publishing. Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., Vernon, G. and Houldsworth, E. (2011). International Human Resource Management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Cushway, B. (2008). The Handbook of Model Job Descriptions. New York: Kogan Page. Mathis, R. L. and Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human Resource Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R. and Switzler, A. (2011). Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Are we as informed as we think we are Assignment

Are we as informed as we think we are - Assignment Example In the whole room, only their voices could be heard. One of the participants was a 45- year- old women called Heather Tay talks a lot by just repeating other people opinions by not reasoning out some meaningful thoughts just as the design and technology consultants (Ross, 2015). Her opinions are not liked by majority, but she feels used to being on the minority side. Tay, who is an African talks about an attack of Charlie Hebdo and someone, asked her the reason Christians especially the Catholic members can be made fun of but not the Muslim’s. The funny Tay answered the man in just but a simple way that it becomes easy to make excitement of majority compared to minority (Ross, 2015). Motivation entrepreneur of Tay and Rahman called Stuart Knight saw these and felt upset regarding it as lack of knowledge. Knight talks about on how technology has led to many sharing opinions but still majority are not well informed. Every person needs to take into account what is appropriate and meaningful both personally and to others. One needs to seek out new facts and puts them into practice. Thinking big about bigger questions is highly appreciated. One need to gather information from one source and puts it into a working memory that can only allow a maximum of four new information at

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Does Welfare Reform in New York City Work Essay

Does Welfare Reform in New York City Work - Essay Example It stretched from accommodating few natives to a large influx of immigrants from Latin America and other parts of the world. The city had not come up with a long term strategy to include all these new members. So the welfare system was overburdened and after some years (forty years), it started becoming inefficient. In the nineties, employees working for the welfare system in the City felt unsafe and started reinforcing their offices to protect themselves. Clients on welfare had to waste most of their day waiting for welfare workers who could not even deliver upon meeting the clients. Client files started getting lost; welfare workers did not complete cases and kept jumping from client to client so there was no case of continuity. This made most clients angry and they vented out their frustrations on social workers forcing security guards to intervene. This meant that people on welfare could not make time for other productive activities because they spent most of their time trying to chase for benefits and looking for child care. 'Mass confusion' are the perhaps the most appropriate words to use when describing the city's welfare prior to 1995. The New York welfare system underwent a rapid change between 1995 and 2001 or we could say that reforms were introduced. These reforms occurred during Rudolph Giuliani's term as New York mayor. Some of the changes that the welfare system saw were the decline in number of people on welfare; from one point one million to about six hundred. The welfare system's method of approach also changed. Instead of giving checks to clients, they were given jobs; it became employment based instead of issuing handouts. However, there is another side to this reform. Jobs were not just dished out from all directions. Welfare clients had to prove that they were compliant. This implied that the so called 'difficult clients' were not considered this included drug addicts and the like. Besides, this there were problems in system management and all these will be looked at in the subsequent sections in detail. Welfare reforms were not 'the knight on a white horse' for the residents of the City of New York. (Mead, 1992) 2.0 Literature review There are a number of changes that were observed during Giuliani's regime. There is no doubt that the general approach was work oriented. From the 1995 to 1999, most of the policies imposed sanctions and mainly dealt with work requirements. Clients were required to meet a certain criteria and if they were did not comply, then they were met by sanctions. During this time, New York saw the rejection of about a large number of adults. Cases of sanctioning increased from eight percent to fourteen percent. Besides these, the system was characterized by compulsory workfare jobs. This implied that there were a number of adults that were involved in work experience program jobs. These were more of assignments than actual jobs. However in the last years of Giuliani's regime (99-01) emphasis on workfare started diminishing and some emphasis was now being placed on training for jobs. This involved the three plus two model. Welfare adults were required to attend three days of workfare and they were also supposed to dedicate the remaining two days of the week to a training program such as education or job readiness service. There were also a number of programs that focused on special groups.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Classical Era Reflection Paper (Evolution of Management Class) Essay

Classical Era Reflection Paper (Evolution of Management Class) - Essay Example Furthermore, the paper includes discussion on scientific management principles as well as their significance in the activities of today’s managers. Over the years all these theories have been greatly practiced in different workplaces throughout the world. One of the major objectives of discussing these theories is helping the today’s managers so that they can utilize their capabilities in the best possible ways. In addition to these, the paper also includes disadvantages of using these theories. As a result, it is expected that this paper is going to be very useful for the managers in making effective decisions in their career. Classical Era and It’s Impact The basic concept of management is one of the oldest concepts in the world. Individuals and organizations have been using the core concepts of management over the past few centuries throughout the world. Without proper management wars could not be won. Even the wonders of this world and the process in which th ey are built, reflect the fact that ‘management principles’ were greatly in use even in the past. However, there was lack of written formats of the core principles of management. The classical era of management started from 1880 and it lasted till 1930. Prior to this classical era there was pre-scientific era of management that started from 1000 and lasted till the beginning the classical era (Singh, 2009). During classical era general management theories started to evolve. Two of the main thrusts were scientific management and administrative theory. Famous French industrialist, Henri Fayol can be called as the father of administrative theory. He came up with five functions of management and 14 universal principles (Singh, 2009). On the other hand, scientific management came in the picture in 1900 (Singh, 2009). Basically it is the advanced edition of systematic management which was proposed with the purpose of solving the managers’ problems regarding the demand of consumers (Russell & Taylor, 2006). The partial failure of systematic management principles resulted in the origination of scientific management. Scientific management can be defined as the â€Å"management which conducts a business or affairs by standards established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiment or reasoning† (Kreitner, 2006). Frederick Taylor is known to be the father of this type of management. Taylor was able to improve the individual outputs significantly by conducting ‘task and time study’ and developing ‘piece-rate incentive systems’. He also used systematic training and selection process. His main objective was to make the behavior and attitude in the workplaces as predictable and as stable as possible, because predictable and stable work behavior is likely to improve the level of efficiency of sophisticated factories and machines. Taylor heavily trusted on various monetary incentive schemes as he us ed to believe that money is one of the biggest motivating factors that can improve the performance of even lazy workers (Singh, 2009). Four basic principles that were proposed by him are (i) development of scientific approach, (ii) scientific selection, training and teaching, (iii) encouragement of co-operation among the managers and workers and lastly (iv) proper division of responsibilities among management and workers (McDaniel & Gitman, 2007). There are many other contemporary experts who followed

Friday, July 26, 2019

Evolution of Correctional System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evolution of Correctional System - Essay Example In America, the correction system has witnessed great, interesting changes from the medieval times, to the current super-max prisons. With this in mind, this paper will address the evolution of the correction system, including a historical overview of different types of corrections and custody levels. The criminal justice system of America is concerned with both punishment and corrections, however, today; America has the highest inmate population in the world. The history of corrections system in America traces back to the European system, which was in England, Holland, and France. America only improved on this system in the way they executed it. In the past, common law comprising set rules offered guidance and helped people in solving different social problems. The process of law was under the guidance of judges, as they were responsible for making decisions relating to law. However, as time went by, the colonial system developed their system of criminal justice, which laid the foun dation for the present criminal justice system in America (Gottfredson 11-15). In the 16th and 17th Centuries, there were various correction modes. Most of them were based on public shaming, in order to teach offenders a lesson, and deter others. This approach was to prevent the recurrence of criminal activity, and included, cutting off ears, the stocks, whipping, ducking stool, and placing people in the pillory. For much heinous crimes such as murder, the criminals faced execution through public hanging. The act of imprisonment was rare in colonial years. However, this later found its way into the American criminal justice system. In prisons, people waited for their trial or punishment, while in detention. All types of criminals were detained together while waiting punishment. However, these prisons were poorly maintained, due to the negligence of the prison warders. Most people detained in prisons lost their lives due to various diseases, such as the gaol fever. Houses of correcti on were to serve a purpose of instilling industry habits in offenders through labor in prisons. The people held in these houses were mainly petty offenders, the local disorderly poor, and vagrants. Near the end of the 17th Century, houses of correction were absorbed into the prison system, and put under the control of the local justices of peace (Tonry 12-15). In the 18th Century, many executions of criminals were undertaken. This raised concerns and led to the opposition of the death penalty by many people. They suggested that not all offenders found guilty should be subjected to a death penalty, however, only those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, should be executed. This opposition was counter-productive as jurors finally considered executions for petty offenders extreme. They therefore had to look for a much fairer way of punishing petty offenders, other than execution. In the mid-18th Century, imprisonment, with hard labor, was decided on as the most appropriate form of punishment for petty offenders (Freeman 77-80). Transportation was the most appropriate method used to dispose convicts. These were transported by ship to the America and other British colonies by ship. This happened until the America War of Independence. However, at the end of the 18th Century, there was curtailing of transportation. This means that alternative sanctions had to be put in place. These were later

Anything But Lazy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anything But Lazy - Essay Example In order to examine the effects of these factors, the author undertook a study which examined how middle school students undertake the "reading task demands of his or her classroom" and how each teacher contributed to the students' reading task / challenge. Using a descriptive case study approach, the author conducted periodic visits, administered questionnaires and conducted comprehension assessments in order to gather primary data. Identifying themes and patterns from an analysis of this data, the author identified "the ways in which each student transacted in the classroom and how the teachers worked with / responded to students around issues of reading and comprehension". The study revealed that as far as students were concerned, their reading / comprehension was influenced by own ability, desire to learn, and more importantly, how the student wanted to be perceived [by his or her peers] as a reader.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

What practices pay off best and under what conditions Assignment - 1

What practices pay off best and under what conditions - Assignment Example It is the consideration between the employers and themselves. It is usually a reward for a job done, directly related to the efforts applied in performance of the work. In merit pay/cost of living adjustments form of pay, the employees are paid in relation to past work behavior and cost of living (Belcher, 1996). An increase in merit is triggered by work behavior recognized in the past and the adjustments in the cost of living. The cost of living consideration raises the merit of all the employees without regard to the performance. This form of pay is mostly beneficial when the employer is assured of commitment and professional skills of the workers. This form of pay will work towards ensuring that there is low employee turn over as most appreciate that the employer is considerate enough. Adjustments of pay in relation to the cost of living encourage the employees to be loyal to the company and to increase their output. This form of pay is particularly beneficial to the employees as during harsh economic times they are assured that the employer will adjust the pay in their benefit. The pay system brings on board various groups of people and this determines what they perceive of the company or the employer. The society or the community considers job compensation often referred to as pay as a measure of justice towards the employees. It is the society’s belief that benefits extended to the employees are a reflection of the level of justice in the society. The most beneficial form of pay to the employer is the incentives or the variable pay. In this form of pay, pay rise is triggered by performance of the employees. Some of the assumptions of the variable pay method are: some employees are more productive than their peers; some perform better and are better equipped with technical skills; better performance should be rewarded; and some of the employees’ earnings should be directly proportional

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Strategic management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management - Term Paper Example They are the leaders in investment banking, wealth management and a host of other services. The biggest change that ever took place in the history of the financial institutions was the merger with Bank One. This change primarily took place because the other banks like the Bank of America were almost ready to merge with other big banks like FleetBoston. This merger took place because the financial institutions came under increasing pressure during the time of recession. The announcement of this merger was made on 14 January 2004. The Wall Street reacted very positively because of this merger and the NASDAQ witnessed growth soon after the merger took place. This change took place because the two financial institutions wanted to downsize and cut the deadwood out. The aim was to save about $2.2 billion over three years  and it was planned to eliminate as many as 10,000 people. This again goes to show how desperate even the biggest financial institutions were at the time of recession. Mergers and acquisitions were very common and these overtures were the initial signs which showed that almost all the big financial institutions were panicking. Volatile corporate banking was the major factor on which JP Morgan primarily functioned. The investors looked less enthusiastic with the deal between Bank of America and Fleet-Boston. This deal was for a whopping $48 billion. The shares of Fleet-Boston were driven up as a result of this deal because Bank of America offered 40% premium in this deal. The shares of Bank of America however came down and the investors lost a lot of money consequently. Big mergers take place because both the companies involved in the merger want to grow at a tremendous pace but this merger was not very useful for both the financial institutions. The collapse of WORLDCOM in the year 2005 signaled trouble for JP Morgan chase, the institution had to pay a whopping sum of $2 billion. This sum was paid to the different

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Essay

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Marketing - Essay Example Also gives the reader an insight about the influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak’s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry; it shows how the product, price, placement, and promotion of the product have been altered to best fit the consumers’ choice and also encourage positive buyer behaviour, which in turn induces consumer loyalty and attracts more consumers. In addition to this, the report also discusses the different marketing communication channels and how they are being used by the company to influence the consumer decision-making  process with regard to the consumer decision-making model, the technique that has been applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Aims and Objectives: Following are the aims and objectives of the report: To understand the importance of buyer behaviour in the Packaged Milk Industry, specifically for Nestle MilkPak with regard to market segmentation, target market as well as product positioning. The influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak`s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry i.e. ... applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Nestle The Company: In 1866, Henri Nestle founded the Nestle Company in Vevey, Switzerland and its headquarters are still based there to date. Its factories and operations are spread all over the world, with approximately 280,000 global employees. Its sales for 2010 were almost CHF 110 bn. Nestle is one of the top Nutrition, Health and Wellness companies in the world, pursuing the mission of "Good Food, Good Life". The company aims towards providing its consumers with tasty and nutritious food in a wide range of food and beverage categories. (Nestle.com 2011) Nestle MilkPak: MilkPak by Nestle is well known for its nutritious value and uncontaminated natural taste. It has added nutritious value of Iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, which is very beneficial for the health of the entire family. MilkPak is harmonized UHT milk that benefits from NESTLE’s expertise and is brimming with healthiness, wellness and nutrition. A single glass of MilkPak fulfils 20% Iron, 41% Calcium, 18% Vitamin A and 20% Vitamin C of an individuals’ daily requirement, as stated by Nutritional Reference Values, CODEX Alimentarius. (Nestle.pk 2007) Milk, as well as dairy products,  contain a vast quantity of nutrients and provide a shortcut of the supplying of these nutrients to the diet within moderately few calories. (The Dairy Council 2011) Milk is an important source of nutrition and its hygienic quality is important from public health point of view. (K. Muhammad, I. Altaf, A. Hanif, A. A. Anjum* and M. Y. Tipu 2009) Market Segmentation: Market segmentation can be divided into two broad categories, namely descriptive and behavioural. The descriptive market segmentation is done on the basis of descriptive

Monday, July 22, 2019

Cango Analysis Essay Example for Free

Cango Analysis Essay Like Liz mentions in the video (speech); CanGo acts as a personal shopper for their customers. Customers don’t have go to different store to buy their merchandise when they can buy online at the same place and for affordable prices. Weaknesses: When Liz was asked to prepare a speech of how their company developed over time, she had no clue of where to start. She didn’t plan anything ahead, for example; she mentions in the resolution video that if she had done some planning for her company, her company would have gone much far from where they are at now. CanGo didn’t have a strategic plan for online gaming. Liz and her employees just had a small meeting and without giving a notice ahead of time, she just announced that they are entering into a new market of online gaming. All her employees were surprised at first. She didn’t ask any of her employees before that if they liked the idea of online gaming or not. She just went ahead and asked for preliminary marketing plan. The employees seemed hesitant as to asking questions. The employees at CanGo don’t work together and are not working in a team setting as should be implemented. Furthermore, the company doesn’t determine what this online gaming includes. Further, the company didn’t speak to determine what would be the various levels of support it would provide to its customers. CanGo didn’t develop a strategy explaining how it will conduct its business. Opportunities: As one of the employee mentions what about online â€Å"football† game ? I think it would be great idea for the company to go ahead and implement an online football game, since a lot of customers like to play football or sports. It could be that during the football season they can get a huge rush. Secondly online gaming also allows people from different countries to play at the same time which is a huge plus. Threats: CanGo doesn’t have a huge capital to invest. If they waste it on the idea of online gaming without knowing if they have any future with it, CanGo will be in a huge debt. If they are going to train their staff to do the operations, their customers are going to be unhappy because they have few people and there is a lot of work to do. They would have to increase wages of their employees because they will be handling more work than they are supposed to. Recommendation: CanGo company needs to have a mission and vision statement. Mission statement is going to describe what their company does and vision statement is where management wants to see their company in future. First step is, to have these two statements ready, which this company is missing. I don’t think CanGo should expand on their idea of online gaming without having a strategic plan. They were missing all the elements of strategic planning which are implementation, evaluation and formation. There were no questions about the future of online gaming nor there do any report to see how much success other companies had so far with online gaming. No one discussed about the equipment they are going to need to build this huge project. Liz has put the whole burden on one employee. There is no teamwork; what if that person gets lazy and comes up a lazy marketing plan. Then everyone would have to agree to it because no other member knows anything about marketing. Liz should have told her employees that everyone needs to come up with marketing plan and then in the next meeting they will choose the best one by consensus. I don’t think company is in its best financial condition. If they go ahead with their idea of online gaming, operational costs of buying equipment and software are going to cost a lot by itself. I also think they need new personnel; training old employees about the new technology is going to be a tough job. Hiring the new staff will be cheaper. May be they should wait for the financial times to get better or they should outsource. The company can outsource the implementation of equipment which would save them a lot of money and keeping the customer service here in America. CanGo’s customers will be very happy because they will be able to talk to their own people in their language comfortably. Customer Service should be the priority in any decision they make or any service they provide. References: Devry. (n. d. ). CanGo videos. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from devry: www. devry. edu/ec/crs

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Influences on American Politics

Influences on American Politics Question 1: What are the two major types of interest groups and examples of each? Which of these types of interest groups tend to be more powerful? Explain your choice. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: In the United States there two main types of interest groups that actively work to influence public policy. The main differences between the two are how they are organized, funded, and what their main purposes are (Patterson, 2013). Economic groups are the most common, most funded and most influential. They are comprised of businesses, labor unions, professional organizations, and agricultural groups that seek public policy that provides monetary benefits to their members. The funding of economic interest groups comes from the members that willingly contribute money in hopes of receiving political influence and/or profit that only they will benefit from. An example of an economic group would be businesses. Business groups are the most influential of any special interest group and all large businesses lobby the government. Many smaller businesses band together to form associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote their interests by seeking tax cuts, regulatory changes, and other pro-business benefits (Patterson, 2013). The second type of special interest group, citizens groups, is comprised of single issue groups that work toward a focused goal that they believe in. They fight for causes instead of economic or material gain and for the good of society as a whole (Patterson, 2013). Though the number of citizens groups as increased sharply over the years, the total number still lags behind that of economic groups. One of the main reasons for this is that citizens groups have not nearly the same access to funds that economic groups do. Citizens groups do not generate profits or fees from their daily activity and their only incentive for membership are ones that everyone can take advantage of, member or not. Because of this, many people take advantage of the benefits but do not pay for them. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Question 2: How has the news media evolved from the nations founding to what it is today? Discuss the various functions the news media has in American society. How well do you feel the media carries out these functions? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: The founding fathers felt that a free press was crucial to the health of a successful democracy. That is why they gave us the First Amendment protecting the rights of a free and unrestrained press. Some of our founding fathers were themselves involved with the printing of journalistic newspapers. They understood the importance of keeping the populace informed of the workings of their government. The first press and newspapers were initially closely associated with the days political parties and helped them muster public opinion (Patterson, 2013). This was partly done because without party support and/or subsidization, the newspapers would never have survived; the cost to purchase was prohibitory for the average citizen. The drawback to this was that the newspapers themselves very partisan in the information that they imparted. Eventually, as printing methods improved and the cost decreased newspaper moved away from such partisanship. The height of newspapers power came around 1890-1900; during this time, reporters and editors number one goal was to increase sales of their papers (Patterson, 2013). They did so by sensationalizing the news in order to drive up circulation. This period was termed yellow journalism and thankfully was relatively short-lived by the advent of a new style of reporting: objective journalism. Objective journalism emphasized fair and accurate information and accounts of events. This new approach to reporting was the method that began being taught at newly established journalistic universities and is what still governs the news reporting of todays traditional media. The newest form of media today comes in the form of radio talk shows, cable talk shows, and internet blogs. This type of media has made news more accessible than ever before and has greatly increased the choice viewers have to what they hear. The problem with these outlets, as Patterson points out in The American Democracy, however, is the many address information through a partisan lens. Talk radio is a growing format for political information but is often imparted in a conservative manner, internet blogs lean primarily liberal, and the cable new networks split evenly between the two ideologies. Regardless of the manner in which the information is disseminated, the media performs four basic functions (Patterson, 2013). First, is to act as a signal, alerting and communicating information on breaking events and news developments to the public. Second, is to act as a common carrier of information from political leaders to the general public. Medias third function is as a partisan advocate to influence public response to a particular party, leader, or issue. Lastly, the press acts as a watchdog to the government to expose deceitful and corrupt officials. In my personal opinion, the news media does carry out these functions fairly well. The problem lies in ensuring that, as a citizen, you listen to and pay attention to multiple news outlets in order to get the entire story, not one with a particular ideological bent. As they say There are three sides to every story, his, hers and the truth. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Question 3: Discuss how the news audience has changed from the 1970s until now. Do you feel that Americans can still find unbiased news anywhere today? Why or why not? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: News audiences have changed considerably since the 1970s. Though there is more diversity than ever, cable television and the internet now reign supreme for news information in the lives of the average American, while the daily newspapers and traditional broadcasters are losing audiences by the droves (Patterson, 2013) These new forms of media behave quite differently than the media of the baby-boomers and their parents. News was received in regulated segments, in the morning through your newspaper and then in the evening by the network news. It was all relatively similar as well, owning to the fact that they both received their stories from the same sources. The news reported was objective and fair with little political spin. People received the exact same message regardless of what their own ideology was; it is at that point that people form their opinions on issues. The emergence of cables 24-hour news cycle, political talk shows, and internet blogs, where information is handed out already with partisan spin has made it harder to get just the facts, and also makes it is easy for citizens to only receive their news through the specific ideological lens of their choosing. All of this is leading to more and more polarization in political society (Patterson, T. (2013). Another change that has occurred is an overall decline in consumers of media. Young adults are less likely than older ones to pay attention to any type of news and when they do, it is often from less than reputable sources like social media, a.k.a. Facebook. All of these factors combine to a current generation that is considerably less informed politically than prior generations. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc Question 4: Do you feel that special interest groups have too much power in politics today? Why or why not? Do you think we should allow these interest groups to continue to function as they currently do? Why or why not? What do you think would happen to our nation if we did not allow interest groups to continue to operate? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: Special interest groups are an important way for people to show support or discontent for governmental policies and are an effective way for the average citizen to influence politics. They help keep their members informed of the current political issues they identify with, make sure policies are carried out effectively, help organize member activities in a more focused manner, and some even offer its members legal representation in grievances against the government, However, in regards to our current political system, I feel that many have grown too powerful. For every case of a SIG promoting the common good, there are cases highlighting the corruption that has eroded the quality of our democratic process, generally through corruption. A good example of what interest groups can achieve is the NAACP brought and won the case of Brown vs The Board of Education of Topeka (NAACP, n.d.). While at the same time you have examples of SIGs buying influence such as when during the 1973 Watergate hearings it was revealed that the milk industry had donated money to President Nixons administration and to members of Congress in exchange for favorable decisions by the Department of Agriculture (Torres-Spelliscy, 2013). The issue comes down to political influence vs. political power. I, along with the vast majority of Americans (Gallup, 2011), feel that lobbyist groups have gone beyond just influencing politicians and politics, and have moved into the realm of over-whelming political power. References Gallup. (2011, April 11). Americans Decry Power of Lobbyists, Corporations, Banks, Feds. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/147026/americans-decry-power-lobbyists-corporations-banks-feds.aspx milk industry had donated money to President Nixons administration NAACP Legal History. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.naacp.org/legal-department/naacp-legal-history/ Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc Torres-Spelliscy, C. (2013, October 21). Got Corruption? Nixons Milk Money. | Brennan Center for Justice. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/got-corruption-nixon%E2%80%99s-milk-money

Behavioral And Emotional Disorders Education Essay

Behavioral And Emotional Disorders Education Essay Behavioral/emotional disorders represent the broad category, used in educational settings among the children and adolescents with difficulties. As a fact, the observed behavior of children may depend on many factors. Emotional disturbance is a diagnostic category that includes various forms of inadequate emotional reactions (emotional numbness, unreasonable fears, inappropriate euphoria, etc..), the inability of emotional self-control (uncontrolled invasion of anger, weeping, cheerfulness, etc..), and chronic pathological changes in emotional behavior (Livingstone and Rosen, 1991). The examples of behavioral/emotional disorders  include such disabilities: PDD,  autism,  Rett syndrome,  PDD-NOS,  Asperger syndrome  and  ADHD. As a fact, it has been proved that children with special educational needs, who studied in the mainstream schools, have shown much better results in studying and development (Lehmkuhle and Garzia, 1993). These indicators are the most important. The educational process shows, that when children with some special educational needs study in the mainstream schools, they forget about their problems or defects and they consider themselves as everyone else. It is the way it should be. The results have shown, that the mainstream schools can do miracles for some children who can get better while communicating with other children, getting new friends and new sense in studying (Howell and Stanley,  1988). Childrens emotions and behavior, as a rule, hide more serious problems that can be overcome in communication and in the mainstream schools. The place where there are a lot of children, a child with a health problem will not consider himself such, as the aim of the teachers to give proper knowledge and educate children. Consequently, children who are not limited in their actions and studying usually recuperate faster and have a considerable progress combating their health problems (Arnot, 2010). Communication disorder includes the speech and language disorders, which, as a rule, refer to the problems in communication among children. Communication disorder can range from simple sound substitution to the complete inability to understand and use the language. For example, such problems as dyslexia the selective impaired ability to master reading and writing skills, while maintaining the overall ability to learn, can be overcome by allowing children with these problems study in the mainstream schools and there can be a great and unexpected benefit to their health. Children with special educational needs have to live among other people, communicate with them and to have a normal and happy life. As a fact, dyslexia is a specific type of impairment of learning, having a neurological nature.  It is characterized by the inability to quickly and accurately recognize words, to decode, learn the skills of spelling (Bailet, 2010).  These difficulties are associated with defective p honological components of language.  They exist, despite the preservation of other cognitive abilities and complete learning environment.  A second violation occurs in comprehension, lack of readers experience and vocabulary. Typically, problems in speech articulation and expression are detected in the period when the kids learns new sounds or to begin to express their thoughts.  The severity of the disease can vary greatly.  For example, in early childhood, mild forms of phonological disorders are relatively common, they are suffered by about 10% of children.  Many of them get rid of such problems, and from six or seven years only 2-3% of children to their problems meet the criteria of phonological disorders.  Similarly, expressive speech disorder (affecting 2-3%) and mixed expressive-receptive disorder (affecting less than 3%) both are relatively common for school-age children.  Fortunately, in the middle and late adolescence most children with the disorder of speech development are starting to have a normal speech.  About half of them completely got rid of problems, whereas the other half showed significant improvement, but may still remain some degree of impairment to late adolescence.  In contrast, the type of congenital disorders, course and prognosis of the disease for children with acquired type of communication disorder (occurring as a result of brain injury or paralysis) depends largely on the severity of injuries, of which it is part of the brain is damaged, and the age of the child in  time of the injury and the degree of language development at this time.   Although over time the problems themselves of the speeches usually disappear or are reduced in children with a disorder of communication, from an early age, often there are marked negative patterns of behavior (Beitchman and Young, 1997).  Such behavioral disorders are as hyperkinetic disorder and attention deficit disorder may exacerbate existing problems of communication, reflected in how children interact with peers and how they cope with learning tasks.  Since teachers are increasingly aware of the importance to give children special needs and the opportunity to interact with normally developed children, the school system began to place children with various problems in common, rather than isolated classes. Placing developmentally delayed children along with their normal counterparts based on the premise that children with special needs will benefit from communicating with normally developed peers and will be spared from the effect of labeling and placement in institutions.  The effect of interaction with peers in the social field reminds of the benefits of environmental factors that influence the course of development of children with special needs (Toppelberg and Shapiro, 2000). Developmental disorder as a rule occurs at some stage in a  childs development, often retarding the development, which can include  psychological  or physical disorders. As a fact, dyslexia can be related to communication and developmental disorders. Sometimes, children with special educational needs have the lack of communication and understanding. There are many communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders that can be cured. Recent research on children with communication disorders has shown that if the process of education in the mainstream schools can help these children, then they definitely have to go to the mainstream schools. There are several problems in one way or another, of each person, facing dyslexics. Most common problems are dyslexic: delay in developing the ability to read, write, memorize the spelling; disorientation in space, disorganization; difficulties with the perception of information; difficulty in recognizing words, failure to understand what has just been read; clumsiness or poor coordination; attention deficit disorder, sometimes accompanied by hyperactivity. All the symptoms of dyslexia are the symptoms of disorientation.  It is impossible to recognize dyslexia in itself, but to recognize the disorientation is quite possible.  The result of the orientation is an accurate perception of the environment, including a two-word printed on paper.  And as a result, the child cannot accept the surrounding reality as perceived her by other people. There are almost no objective methods for determining the characteristics of the brain neglect of the child.  Often in the case of low-quali ty education, for the social worker it is more convenient to make a diagnosis of dyslexia, rather than objectively investigate and determine the socio-educational background, which led to difficulties in reading (Waters, 2001). Dyslexia represents a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects reading and spelling, and it is also characterized by difficulties in processing word-sounds and weaknesses in short-term verbal memory. As a fact, dyslexia is not a result of low intelligence, merely concerned with reading difficulties, the result of poor eyesight or hearing, the result of an emotional problem, an impediment to a possible academic career or a middle-class excuse for poor academic achievement. The main areas tested for dyslexia are visual motor short-term memory, auditory memory and phonological awareness the ability to manipulate sounds within words (Solan and Brannan, 1994). Symptoms of Dyslexia may also include left/right confusions, trouble generalizing, poor concept of time, mispronunciation of multisyllabic words, difficulties in organizing self/time/work or easily distracted. The possible areas of difficulties are: reading: learning to decode, using sounds (phonemes), selecting materials, retaining what has been read, keeping up with set reading, spelling: interfering with written expression and choice of vocabulary, note-taking: copying quickly and accurately, distinguishing main points, writing and listening simultaneously, and writing: handwriting, written expression, sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, planning and structuring written work, sequencing ideas, editing and proof-reading. Possible areas of difficulty can also be: oral language: taking in information, misunderstanding instructions or information, sorting what is said in group discussion, word-finding, pronunciation; examinations: timed conditions exacerbate reading, writing and spelling problems, recall of information, achieving marks in line with course work; presentations: lack of confidence, word-finding problems, pronunciation, reading out loud, losing place, sequencing information, organizing time, easily distracted, clumsy use of equipment. As a fact, there can also occur different problems, connected with dyscalculia- problems in math, visual disturbance, etc. The objectives are to help the dyslexic learner to build on existing strengths, to develop strategies for lifelong learning, to build confidence and to bring about an understanding of individual differences (Blakeslee, 1991). Towards the equity of access there should be provided help with information processing, help for reading, help with note taking, help with specialized vocabulary and help with assignments. Despite disadvantages that the mainstream schools can represent for children, children with communication and developmental disorders will benefit from communication with classmates an d will not pay attention to their health problem (Williams  and LeCluyse, 1992). Another example of developmental disorder is Autism. Autism is a serious violation of the mental development, which primarily affected the ability to communicate, the social interaction.  Behavior of children with autism is also characterized by a rigid stereotype (of repeating the basic movements such as shaking hands or jumping to complex rituals), and often destructive (aggression, self-harm, shouting, negativism, etc.).   Level of intellectual development in autism may be the most diverse: from severe mental retardation to giftedness in certain areas of knowledge and art, in some cases, children with autism have no speech, marked abnormalities in motor development, attention, perception, emotional and other areas of the psyche.  More than 80% of children with autism are the people with disabilities    Exceptional diversity spectrum disorders and their severity can reasonably assume that training and education of children with autism the most challenging section of Correctional Pedagogy (Wolk and Giesen, 2010). Physical disorders. As an example of the physical disorder can be named Developmental Co-ordination Disorder. Developmental Co-ordination Disorder is a subtly different condition by definition, in practice, and very similar to dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a lifelong developmental disability and co-ordination, which is more common in males than in females, affecting an estimated 8-10% of all children.  Ripley, Daines and Barrett say it in developed dyspraxia it is difficult to let his body do what we want and when we want to do it and that these difficulties can be regarded as significant when they  in the range of normal activities are expected of children of a certain age. As a fact, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder has main characteristics, such as common, clumsy children, chronic health condition, co-morbid and consequences. It has been also proved, that Developmental Co-ordination Disorder affects one child in every classroom. Developmental Co-ordination Disorder also has an impact on the family, which consists of the facts that parental concerns often not heard or acknowledged, there is frustration with health care and educational systems, overprotective world as a hostile place, stress regarding daily activities around the home, aggression and criticism from strangers, embarrassment and relieved once diagnosis any diagnosis is made. The other term clumsy child syndrome refers to the gross and fine motor difficulties of the patient.  The condition affects both the ability of action planning and action learning, for example, the storage functions in the brain is for action. The cause of developmental dyspraxia may be a result of immature neurons development.  Dyspraxia is often part of a continuum of related coordination and developmental disorders.   The Dyspraxia is often associated with other disorders, such as with Aspergers syndrome, autism, dyslexia and dyscalculia. Life experiences of resilient young adults with DCD include coordination difficulties are context-specific, the facts that they can struggle, as children, with issues of social isolation and lack of participation, they remember pull-out therapy and being made to work on handwriting very negatively, social/emotional health and life course can improve when kids enter good secondary school and effective teaching accommodations and support are critical factors. The experience shows, that allowing children visit mainstream schools and to live as normal children without serious health problems, children get more relaxed and able to understand more things. This way, their developmental processes accelerate and they have more desire to study. Communication, as a fact, helps a lot for those who especially need it. The other example is Dyspraxia an impairment of the ability to automatically execute specific movements in the absence of any paralysis or paresis of the muscles involved in movement.  The subject must voluntarily control every persons move, which is very expensive care, and makes the coordination of complex movements of everyday life extremely difficult, so it is rarely achieved.  It is a developmental apraxia of origin. Dyspraxia is a little known disability that concerns, however 3% to 6% of children.  Three quarters of children who are suffering from this disability are not diagnosed.  Dyspraxia often goes unnoticed because it is invisible.  It is sometimes blamed on a mentally retarded or ill will. There are many types of dyspraxia. Possible symptoms are: developmental disorders engines: slowness, clumsiness, difficulty performing voluntary movements, coordinated (walking, cycling, swimming, ball games, cut his meat, dressing, brushing teeth, tying shoelaces); dysgraphia: difficulty in handwriting and automate the handwriting; eye problems (oculomotor): jerks and eye tracking, visual fixation: difficulties with reading, following his line to locate a page and adopt an exploration strategy of the page; speech: oral apraxia facial-lingual, speech difficulties; speech and language disorders (pseudo-dyslexia driven by dyspraxia), language difficulties writing logical-mathematical problems: difficulties to ask operations in columns, to understand the mathematical facts, problems sequences, difficulty in positioning itself in time. Consequently, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, dyslexia, communication, physical and developmental disorders can be cured and they have to be cured. Sometimes, it is enough to communicate with a person and to help him, and he will feel better. Community should not avoid communicating with people with some defects or health problems. And as well, there have to be created special policies considering these issues. That is why it is more beneficial for the society to allow the children with certain disorders to visit mainstream schools and to be able recuperate faster. The social issues are considered the most important for people and that is why there have to be conditions for the comfortable living for all people.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Literary Analysis: The Storm :: essays research papers

The plot of the story "The Storm" by Kate Chopin is a conventional everyday plot. The story would not be so interesting if it weren't for the last line of the story; "So the storm passed and everyone was happy." What did she mean by the closing line? My interpretation of the story is that she meant the rocky part of both Calixta and Alcee's mariage had passed along with the storm. Both Alcee and Calixta cheated on their spouse, however, they both knew that when the stor was over they would return to faithfulness with their mates. Alcee obviously felt regretful, as indicated when the author writes; "It was a loving letter full of tender solicitude." He then went on to say "although he missed them, he was willing to bear the separation a while longer-realizing that their health and pleasure were the first things to be considered." These quotes were taken from the letter Alcee had written to his wife. The storm had passed and it looked as if everyone in Alcee's situation was going to be happy. As for Calixta, she was extremely happy to see her son and husband return home safely, as indicated in the story; "She had clasped Bibi and was kissing him effusively." Calixta then went on to Bobinot and "Felt him to see if he was dry, and seemed to express nothing but satisfaction at their safe return." Calixta had also withstood the storm of her marriage and everyone seemed to be happy too. Alcee and Calixta both seemed to realize they were blessed with loving spouses. In their moment of passion they did not realize how lucky they both were. I feel they both came to grips with the fact that what happened between them was an act of lust and there were no feelings involved. The moment was very arousing to each of them but when the storm was over so was the act of lust and betrayal. My opinion is, this act was going to help both Alcee's and Calixta's marriage rather than hurt it, as long as their respective spouses do not find out what happened during the storm. I bring this up because both guilty parties involved seemed to come away fromthe incident loving their spouses more and realizing that their choice of who to

Friday, July 19, 2019

Mirroring an Exposed World :: Dance Dancing Art Papers

Mirroring an Exposed World I recently saw a photography piece, "Dancer" by Irving Penn on exhibit at the Whitney Museum. The striking thing about the photos was not that they were of a nude Alexandra Beller, but that hers is not what one would typically think of as a naked dancer's body. She's not tall and thin with well-defined muscles and barely developed breasts. No. She's fat. Beller took a big risk posing nude for Penn's camera. She dared people to see her as a dancer, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as a sex symbol, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as an emotional woman- sensitive, powerful, frightened, bold, shy, loving, rebellious. She owns her body, and she challenges the audience to own their hesitation and move past it to see her exposed for the woman she really is. The exhibit made me immediately curious about Beller and her work. Formerly dancing with Bill T. Jones' company, Beller is now choreographing her own works. When I heard she would be presenting her latest work, It's Not You, It's Me at the Joyce Soho, I got out my umbrella and waited for over an hour in a standby line to see her perform. My friends had teased me for wanting to see Beller's show, saying "Wouldn't it be weird. I mean you saw her naked," and "Do you think she'll dance naked too?" But that was one of the reasons I wanted to see the show. I really identified with Beller in many ways. I was deeply impressed with her confidence to pose nude in the first place. Obesity, seen as repulsive, is despised at best, yet politely ignored. But Beller will not be ignored. I wondered what it was that gave her this confidence in her body. And I wondered what she would express with her body in her dance works. I was compelled by the risks she had taken with Penn, and compelled to see what else she would risk. When I saw It's Not You, It's Me, particularly the last piece, 50 Ways to Find a Mate, I was bombarded by feelings of pain, sadness, confusion that come with rejection, insecurities that are connected with bodies and body images. I got the feeling that Beller, though a beautiful and talented dancer is still an imperfect woman who struggles with her self-confidence, especially in romantic relationships.

Views of War in Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade and Whitman’s Dr

Views of War in Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade and Whitman’s Drum-Taps  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Even though Walt Whitman and Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote with different styles and ideals, the common theme of war gave them the similar purpose of exposing the destructive nature of battle while remaining inspiring and even optimistic. Tennyson’s "The Charge of the Light Brigade" reveals a fatal "blunder" that cost the lives of many English soldiers, while asserting that the unquestioning loyalty of the British troops causes tremendous pride. Whitman’s Drum-Taps series of poems, especially "Beat! Beat! Drums!," documents the tragedies that occurred during the Civil War, yet maintains a feeling of hope that the war will help to cleanse the nation and revitalize it. Despite the outward similarities between "Light Brigade" and Drum-Taps, subtle differences exist between the respective authors’ attitudes towards war and the tones that carry over into the poems. The extreme pride Tennyson felt for England as Britain’s poet laureate swayed his writ ing, and critics have since attacked the excessive jingoism that seeps into "Light Brigade" (Marshall 135), since he was unable to capture the immense suffering of battle that could only be seen on the front lines, where he never set foot. Conversely, Whitman was able to grasp the darkest of emotions that war generated in his poems because of the prolonged experience he had caring for the wounded and mourning the dead (Golden 106). Tennyson’s "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and Whitman’s "Beat! Beat! Drums!" appear to be nationalistic poems glorifying war, but while Tennyson paints a heroic picture of valiant soldiers fighting a just war, Whitman employs a mixture of sarcasm and grim reality to portr... ...Jr. A Tennyson Handbook. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1963: 110-135. Shaw, W. David. Alfred Lord Tennyson: the Poet in an Age of Theory. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1996: 25-35. Sweet, Timothy. "Whitman’s Drum-Taps and the Rhetoric of War." Traces of War: Poetry, Photography, and the Crisis of the Union. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990: 11-45. Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "The Charge of the Light Brigade." The Norton Anthology: English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996: 1954-1955. Thomas, M. Wynn. "Fratricide and Brotherly Love: Whitman and the Civil War." ed. Ezra Greenspan. The Cambridge Companion to Walt Whitman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995: 27-44. Whitman, Walt. "Beat! Beat! Drums!" The Norton Anthology: American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995: 1004-1005.      

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Coyote Blue Chapter 16~17

CHAPTER 16 Live, Via the Spirit World Satellite Network Santa Barbara Lonnie Ray Inman was sitting in a worn leather easy chair listening for noises to sift down from upstairs. He had loaded and unloaded his Colt Python.357 Magnum four times, nervously fumbling its deadly weight as he alternately entertained fantasies of vengeance and prison. Every few minutes he would rise and go to the window to see if the black Mercedes was still parked out front, then he would pause at the front closet, where he opened and slammed the door until the violence in his heart subsided enough for him to sit again. He was short and dark and muscles stood out on his bare arms like cables. The front of his black tank top was soaked with blood where he had ripped the skin of his chest with his fingernails, trying to destroy the tattoo of a naked woman, the same woman whose picture was airbrushed on the tank of his Harley, the same woman who had turned his thoughts to murder. Lonnie Ray Inman dropped six cartridges into the cylinder of the Python and snapped it shut, determin ed this time to make it out the door and up the stairs, where he would burst through the door and kill Calliope's new lover. Fuck prison. -=*=- A thousand miles away, ten thousand feet up in the Bighorn Mountains, Pokey Medicine Wing watched Lonnie loading the gun. Pokey was into the second day of his fast and had been searching the Spirit World for clues to the whereabouts of his favorite nephew, Samson Hunts Alone. He had called for his spirit helper, Old Man Coyote, to help him, but the trickster had not appeared. Instead he was seeing a white city, with red roofs and palm trees, and a man who wanted to murder Samson. Pokey's body sat, dangerously close to death, in the middle of a two-hundred-foot stone medicine wheel, the holiest of the Crow fasting places, just west of Sheridan, Wyoming. Pokey had been under the hoof of a bull-moose hangover when he began the fast, and now the dry mountain wind was sucking the last life-water from his body. Alone in the Spirit World, Pokey was unaware of his heart struggling to pump his thickening blood. He looked for a way to warn Samson, and called out for Old Man Coyote to help. Coyote was in the locker room of the Santa Barbara YWCA when he heard Pokey's call. He had entered as a horsefly, and after watching the women in the showers for a while had changed himself into a baby hedgehog and was rolled into a ball in the soap dish, imitating a loofah. Lazy by nature, Coyote had given his medicine to only three people since time began – Pokey, Samson, and a warrior named Burnt Face, who had built the ancient medicine wheel – so it took him a while to realize that he was being called. Reluctantly, he left the hedgehog body in the capable hands of a soapy aerobics instructor and went to the Spirit World, where he found Pokey waiting. â€Å"What?† Coyote said. â€Å"Old Man Coyote, I need your help.† â€Å"I know,† Coyote said. â€Å"You are dying.† â€Å"No, I need to find my nephew, Samson.† â€Å"But you are dying.† â€Å"I am? Shit!† â€Å"You should end this fast now, old man.† â€Å"But what about Samson?† â€Å"I've been helping Samson. Don't worry.† â€Å"But he has an enemy who is going to kill him. I saw him, but I don't know where he is.† â€Å"I know he has enemies. I am Coyote. I know everything. What's this guy look like?† â€Å"He's white. He has a gun.† â€Å"That narrows it down.† â€Å"He has a tattoo of a woman on his chest – it's bleeding. He looks out a window and sees a motorcycle and a black car. That's all I know.† â€Å"Do you have any water on the mountain where your body is?† â€Å"No. There's a little snow.† â€Å"I will help you,† Coyote said. â€Å"Go now.† Suddenly Pokey was back in his body, sitting on the mountain. In his lap he found a package of dry Kool-Aid that had not been there before. He looked down at it and smiled, then fell forward into the dirt. In the shower of the YWCA a naked aerobics instructor screamed and ran into the locker room when the loofah she was using turned into a raven. The bird circled the locker room twice and nipped her on the bottom with its beak before flying down the hall, into the lobby, and out an open skylight. -=*=- Across town, Calliope took the empty salad bowl from Sam and set it on the dresser next to a statue of Buddha. â€Å"More?† she asked. â€Å"No, I'm full,† Sam whispered. Grubb had fallen asleep in his crib and Sam didn't want to risk waking him. â€Å"Calliope,† he said, â€Å"is this guy dangerous?† â€Å"Lonnie? No. He thinks he's tough because he's in a biker club, but I don't think he's dangerous. His friends are a little scary, though. They take a lot of PCP and it makes them spiritually dense.† â€Å"I hate that,† Sam said, proud because he was spiritually dense without the aid of drugs. â€Å"I'm going to take the dishes out and check on J. Nigel. Why don't you light some candles? I don't think we should turn on the stereo, though. It might irritate Lonnie.† â€Å"We wouldn't want that,† Sam said. -=*=- Outside, a raven landed on the hood of Sam's car. Lonnie Ray saw it from his window. â€Å"Shit on it. Shit on it,† he said, but as he watched the raven seemed to disappear. Lonnie slammed the closet door until the doorframe splintered. Coyote was a mosquito making his way through the air vents of the Mercedes. He flew out of the defroster vent and settled on the driver's seat, where he became a man. Sam's Rolodex was on the passenger seat next to his pack of cigarettes. Coyote lit a cigarette and flipped through the Rolodex until he found the card he was looking for. He removed it and tucked it into the waist of his buckskins. -=*=- Lonnie Ray was rattling through the kitchen cabinets, looking for liquor, when he heard the pounding at his front door. On his way through the living room he snatched the Python off the easy chair and shoved it in his jeans at the small of his back. He threw open the door and was nearly knocked down by the Indian who brushed him aside on the way into the room. The Indian looked around the room and wheeled on Lonnie Ray. â€Å"Where is he? Where's the bastard hiding?† Lonnie Ray recovered his balance and dropped his right hand to the grip of the Colt. â€Å"Who the fuck are you?† â€Å"Don't worry about it. Where's the guy that drives that Mercedes?† In spite of his own anger, Lonnie Ray was intrigued. â€Å"What do you want him for?† â€Å"That's my business, but if he owes you money, you'd better get it back before I find him.† â€Å"You going to kill him?† Lonnie asked. â€Å"If he's lucky,† the Indian said. â€Å"You got a gun?† â€Å"I don't need a gun. Now where is he?† â€Å"Chill, man, I might be able to help you out.† â€Å"I don't have time for this,† the Indian said. â€Å"I'll just catch him at his house.† â€Å"You know where he lives?† Lonnie Ray asked. This was like a gift from heaven. He could send the Indian up to Calliope's to do the dirty work: no risk, no prison. If it didn't work, he and the boys could surprise the guy at his house tomorrow, no witnesses. Lonnie Ray hadn't really relished the idea of having to shoot Calliope, anyway. â€Å"Yeah, I know where the bastard lives,† the Indian said. â€Å"But he ain't there. He's somewhere around here.† â€Å"You give me his address, I'll tell you where he is.† â€Å"Fuck that,† the Indian said, shoving Lonnie against the wall. â€Å"You'll tell me now.† Lonnie brought the barrel of the Python up under the Indian's chin. â€Å"I don't think so.† The Indian froze. â€Å"It's on a card in my pants.† Lonnie Ray held out his free hand. â€Å"Don't ever tell someone you don't have a gun, dipshit.† The Indian lifted his buckskin shirt, pulled a card from his waistband, and handed it to Lonnie Ray, who glanced at it and spun the Indian around by one shoulder, pointing him out the door. Lonnie ground the barrel of the Python into the Indian's spine, stood on his toes, and whispered threateningly into the Indian's ear. â€Å"You didn't come here and you didn't see me. You understand?† The Indian nodded. â€Å"He's upstairs,† Lonnie whispered. â€Å"Now go!† He shoved the Indian out the door. â€Å"And never, never fuck with a brother of the Guild.† Lonnie closed the door. â€Å"Fucking A,† he said with a giggle. -=*=- Upstairs, Calliope said, â€Å"Tell me what you know, Sam.† â€Å"About what?† â€Å"About anything.† She sat down next to him on the bed and brushed his hair back with her fingers. â€Å"Tell me what you know.† The silence that followed would have been awkward except Calliope seemed to expect it. She stroked his hair while he tried to think of what to say. He sorted through facts and figures and histories and strategies. Clever retorts, meaningless jokes, sophistries and non sequiturs rose in his mind and fell unspoken. She rubbed his neck and found a knot in the muscle that she worked her fingertips into. â€Å"That feels good,† Sam said. â€Å"That's what you know?† A smile rose to Sam's lips. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"What do you want?† she asked. He shot her a sideways glance and saw the candlelight gleaming in her eyes. She was serious, waiting for an answer. â€Å"Is this a test?† â€Å"No. What do you want?† â€Å"Why don't you ask me what I do for a living? Where I live? Where I'm from? How old I am? You don't even know my last name.† â€Å"Would that stuff tell me who you are?† Sam turned to face her and took her hand from his neck. He still had a niggling mistrust of her and he wanted to let it go. â€Å"The truth now – Calliope, are you part of something he cooked up? Some trick?† â€Å"No. Who's he?† â€Å"Never mind.† Sam turned away from her again, stared at a candle flame on the dresser, and tried to think. She really didn't know about Coyote. What now? â€Å"Well, what do you want?† she asked again. He snapped, â€Å"Dammit, I don't know.† She didn't recoil or seem hurt, but began rubbing his neck again. â€Å"You came here because you wanted me, didn't you?† â€Å"No. Yes, I guess I did.† It wasn't bad enough that she had to keep telling the truth; now she was expecting it back, and he was out of practice. â€Å"We've had sex. Do you want to go now?† Christ, she was like some gorgeous New Age district attorney. â€Å"No, I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Do you want a bowl of chocolate marshmallow ice cream?† â€Å"That would be great!† Sam said. Off the hook, no further questions, Your Honor. â€Å"See, it's not that hard to figure out what you want.† She got up and left the room, heading for the kitchen again. Sam sat back and waited, realizing that it had been some time since a door had slammed downstairs. Suddenly he was very uncomfortable with the silence. When he heard footfalls on the stairs outside he leapt to his feet and ran to the kitchen. CHAPTER 17 A White Picket Fence Around Chaos Santa Barbara Sam hit the kitchen just as Yiffer stepped through the screenless section of the screen door. â€Å"Cool! Ice cream!† Yiffer said, staggering to Calliope's side at the counter. â€Å"Keep it down, Yiffer. I just got Grubb and J. Nigel down.† Calliope picked up two full bowls of ice cream and nodded to the carton on the counter. â€Å"You can have the rest.† â€Å"Bitchin'.† Yiffer grabbed a serving spoon from the empty salad bowl and dug into the ice cream, shoveling a baseball-sized clump into his mouth. Sam watched in amazement as Yiffer mouthed the ice cream until he got his jaws closed around it, then swallowed the whole clump, dipping his head snakelike to facilitate the passage. â€Å"Oh, shit, man,† Yiffer said as he dropped the spoon and bent over, grabbing the bridge of his nose. â€Å"Major ice cream headache. Ouch!† Sam heard footsteps on the stairs outside, ran to the door, and popped his head out to see who was coming, ready to duck back inside should it be the crazed biker from downstairs. To his relief, Nina was trudging up the steps, obviously a little drunk herself. â€Å"Did Yiffer come home?† Sam said, â€Å"He's punishing himself with ice cream as we speak.† â€Å"I'll kill him.† She ran the rest of the way up the steps and Sam helped her wrestle the door open, then he stepped out of harm's way as she stormed by him to Yiffer, who was still bent over, now holding his temples. â€Å"You jerk!† Nina shrieked. â€Å"Who was that woman at the bar? And where the hell is my money?† â€Å"Babe, I'm in pain here. I'm suffering.† Nina raised her fist as if to hammer Yiffer's back, then she spotted the serving spoon, picked it up, and began whacking the surfer unmercifully on the head with it. â€Å"You want pain (whack!), I'll give you pain (whack! whack! whack!). Suffering? (whack!) You wouldn't (whack!) know (whack!) suffering (whack!) if (whack!)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well,† Calliope said. â€Å"I guess you guys need a little space. C'mon, Sam.† She led Sam out of the kitchen and back to her bedroom. They sat eating and listening to Yiffer whining under Nina's attack. After a few minutes she was losing momentum and Yiffer's whines turned to moans. Soon Nina was moaning with him rhythmically. Sam stared at the candle on the dresser as if he hadn't noticed. â€Å"They do this all the time,† Calliope offered. â€Å"I think Nina gets in touch with that male energy that equates violence and sex.† â€Å"Excuse me?† â€Å"Hitting Yiffer makes her horny.† â€Å"Oh,† Sam said. He flinched at the sound of breaking dishes from the kitchen. Nina screamed, â€Å"Oh, yes, you asshole! Yes!† Yiffer groaned. The house shook with the sound of a door slamming downstairs and J. Nigel joined the din with a wail of his own. â€Å"Lonnie must think that we're doing it,† Calliope said. â€Å"Do you think he'll give us time to explain before he shoots us?† â€Å"Don't think about it.† Calliope stood and stepped out of her dress, then gestured for Sam to take off his shirt. The moaning in the kitchen was rising in intensity and J. Nigel was wailing like a siren. The windows rattled with a salvo of door slams. Sam looked at her and thought, A bowl of ice cream, a load of loonies, and thou†¦ â€Å"Now?† he said. â€Å"Are you sure?† Calliope nodded. She pulled his shirt off, then pushed him back on the bed and took off his shoes. Sam let her undress him as he tried to put the noise out of his mind. As she pulled the sheet over him and crawled in beside him, he imagined the two of them being shot in the act. When she kissed him he barely felt it. In the crib next to them Grubb began to stir, and with the next series of door slams and a crash from the kitchen he came awake crying. Despite Calliope's soft warmth against him and the smell of jasmine on her hair, Sam was unable to respond. â€Å"He'll be okay,† Calliope said. She stroked Sam's cheek and kissed him gently on the forehead. â€Å"I'll be back in a second,† Sam said. He got up and wrapped his shirt around his hips, then, checking the hallway, he darted out of the room and into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, staring blankly at the ceiling. The sex sounds from the kitchen reached a crescendo with a piercing scream from Nina, then stopped, leaving only the sounds of crying babies and slamming doors. Sam took a deep breath. â€Å"I can't do this,† he said to himself. â€Å"This is too weird. Too fucking weird.† He lowered the lid of the toilet and sat facing the shower stall, assuming the posture of Rodin's Thinker. For once in his life, it really seemed to matter that the sex be good, but this was like a combat zone. â€Å"I can't do this,† he said. â€Å"Sure you can,† a voice said from behind the shower curtain. Sam screamed and jumped to the top of the toilet tank. Coyote stepped out of the shower holding a beaded leather pouch. â€Å"What in the hell are you doing here?† Sam asked. â€Å"I'm here to help,† Coyote said. â€Å"Well, get out of here. I don't need your help.† â€Å"You are wasting that woman.† â€Å"Do you have any idea what is going on around here? Listen.† Another door slammed and Nina resumed shouting at Yiffer. From what Sam could make out it had something to do with the yard sale. â€Å"You must leave here, then,† Coyote said. â€Å"You must find a place on the woman's body and live there. Hear only her breath, smell only her scent.† â€Å"If you don't get out of here I won't even have a chance. What if she sees you? How could I explain your being here?† Thinking about it, Sam realized that if he told Calliope that there was an ancient trickster god in her bathroom she would accept it without question – would probably ask for an introduction. Coyote held out the beaded pouch. â€Å"Put this on your member.† â€Å"What is it?† Sam asked, taking the pouch. â€Å"Passion powder. It will make you as strong and stiff as a lance.† Sam shook the contents of the pouch – a fine brown powder – into the palm of his hand. He sniffed it. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Corn pollen, cedar, sweet grass, sage, powdered elk semen – it is an old and powerful recipe. Try it.† â€Å"No way.† â€Å"You want the woman to think you are not a man?† â€Å"If I try it will you go?† Coyote grinned. â€Å"Put just a pinch on your member and you will pleasure the woman to tears.† â€Å"And you'll go?† Coyote nodded. Sam tentatively took a pinch of the powder and began to sprinkle it on his penis. Calliope opened the bathroom door, catching Sam in mid-sprinkle. â€Å"You won't need that, honey,† she said. â€Å"I'm on the pill.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sam looked around for Coyote, but the trickster was gone. â€Å"I was just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Being responsible,† Calliope said. â€Å"Thank you. Now come to bed.† She took his hand and led him out of the bathroom. Sam submitted, glancing over his shoulder for signs of Coyote. Yiffer and Nina had taken the fight to their bedroom. Nina was calling Yiffer an idiot and going on about a newspaper ad being misplaced. A door slammed downstairs and Yiffer stormed out of the bedroom. â€Å"I'm going to kick his ass!† he shouted. In the hall he looked up at Calliope and Sam as he passed. â€Å"Hi, kids,† he said, then he proceeded down the hall. Sam could hear the kitchen screen door ripping off the hinges as Yiffer went through. â€Å"You're history, biker boy!† Calliope pulled Sam into the bedroom and closed the door. â€Å"Shouldn't we call the police or something?† Sam asked. â€Å"No, he'll be okay. Lonnie's afraid of Yiffer. He won't fight him and he's afraid to shoot him because of jail.† â€Å"Oh, everything's fine, then,† Sam said. â€Å"Come to bed,† Calliope said. Sam shot a glance to Grubb, who was lying quietly on his side staring suspiciously at Sam over the edge of a pacifier, as if saying, â€Å"What are you doing with my mom?† â€Å"Can we blow out the candles?† Sam asked. Without a word Calliope blew out the candles and pulled Sam down on top of her on the bed. Outside, the sounds of Nina screaming down from the top of the stairs, Yiffer pounding on Lonnie's door, and J. Nigel crying for attention faded into white noise. â€Å"You must find a place on the woman's body and live there.† In the dark, the noise far away, Sam ran his hands over Calliope's body and the world of work and worry seemed to move away. He found two depressions at the bottom of her back where sunlight collected, and he lived there, out of the wind and the noise. He grew old there, died, and ascended to the Great Spirit, found heaven in her cheek on his chest, the warm wind of her breath across his stomach carried sweet grass and sage, and†¦ In another lifetime he lived on the soft skin under her right breast, his lips riding light over the ridge and valley of every rib, shuffling through downy, dew-damp hairs like a child dancing through autumn leaves. On the mountain of her breast, he fasted at the medicine wheel of her aureole, received a vision that he and she were steam people, mingled wet with no skin separating them. And there he lived, happy. And for the first time in years he felt that he was home. She followed, traveled, lived with him and in him as he was in her. They lived lifetimes and slept and dreamed together. It was swell.