You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 29~30

Chapter Twenty-nine Don't You Hate Running into Your Ex? As soon as she unlocked the new loft's security door from the street, Jody smelled blood, burned flesh, and shampoo. A case of the willies that felt like an electric serpent slithered up her spine. She went up the stairs, light on the balls of her feet, ready. She heard every tick in the apartment, the refrigerator motor, floorboards shifting, the huge cat Chet snoring in the bedroom, and, of course, someone breathing. The lights were off. He was sitting in a canvas sling-back chair, barefoot, in a pair of Tommy's jeans and a T-shirt, drying his hair with a towel. Jody stopped by the kitchen. â€Å"Fledgling,† said the vampire. â€Å"I'm always pleasantly surprised when I am reminded of how lovely you are. Surprises are rare at my age.† â€Å"Must have surprised the fuck out of you to have that Honda toast you, then, huh?† She felt herself tightening down, the electric jangle channeling itself into an awareness, an edge. It wasn't fear anymore, it was readiness. â€Å"An unpleasant one, yes. I assume your little servant is safe for now.† â€Å"Well, you know, she was winded for a few minutes from kicking your ass, but she is just a little girl.† The vampire laughed, and Jody couldn't help but smile. She went to the windows at the front of the loft and opened them. â€Å"Smells like burned meat in here.† â€Å"She'll have to go, you know,† said the vampire, still smiling. â€Å"No, she won't,† Jody turned on her heel. Faced him. â€Å"Of course she will. All of them but you. I'm quite tired of being alone, little one. You can come away with me, just as we planned.† Jody was stunned at his density. â€Å"I was lying to you, Elijah. I never intended to go away with you. I was just pretending to find out how to be a vampire.† â€Å"What were you going to do the next night, then – if your pet hadn't bronzed us, I mean?† â€Å"I thought I'd send you away.† â€Å"No you didn't.† â€Å"I thought I'd let the Animals kill you, like they were going to anyway.† â€Å"No you didn't.† â€Å"I don't know.† The edge was slipping. â€Å"I don't know.† Maybe she was going to go with him. She had felt so alone, so lost. â€Å"Ah, so here we are again. Let's pretend like all this unpleasantness hasn't happened, and it's the next night, and here we are, just the two of us. The only ones of our kind. What will you do, Jody?† â€Å"But we aren't the only ones of our kind.† â€Å"We are the only ones you need worry about. You do know that you are the first new vampire in a hundred years?† Jody tried not to show her surprise. â€Å"How lucky for me,† she said. â€Å"Oh, you're not the only one I've turned. I've turned many. You're the only one who could weather the change with her mind intact. The others had to be, well, decommissioned.† â€Å"You killed them?† â€Å"Yes. But not you. Help me clean up and then we'll leave, together.† â€Å"Clean up?† â€Å"There are certain rules, love. Rules that I set down myself, and the first of them is make no more vampires. Yet you've let loose a storm of fledglings, and they all have to be cleaned up, including your boy pet.† â€Å"Make no more? What about me? You made me.† â€Å"I didn't expect you to survive, love. I thought you would be an amusement, a break in monotony, an interlude, but you distinguished yourself.† â€Å"And now you want me to run off with you.† â€Å"We'll live like royalty. I have resources you couldn't imagine.† â€Å"You're wearing stolen jeans, sugar daddy.† â€Å"Well, yes, I will have to make my way to one of my caches.† â€Å"I have an idea,† Jody said, and this was really the reason she had come here, by herself, knowing that he would be here. Or at least hoping. â€Å"How about I give you enough money to get you out of town and you do that, just like we promised Rivera and Cavuto? You leave me alone, you leave Tommy alone, you just leave.† Elijah stood now, tossed the towel on the chair, and moved to her so quickly that she could barely even see him move. â€Å"Art, music, literature,† said Elijah. â€Å"Desire, passion, power – the best of man and the best of beast. Together. You would say no to that?† He put his hand on her cheek and she let him. â€Å"Love?† Jody said, looking into his eyes – they reflected like drops of mercury in her night vision. â€Å"For fairy tales. We are the stuff from which nightmares are made. Make nightmares with me.† â€Å"Wow, nice offer. Can't imagine why you haven't had any takers for a hundred years.† Jody grabbed his wrist. If he wouldn't leave, she could take him. She was a vampire, too. The vampire had been smiling, but his smile changed aspect, going from pleased to predatory. â€Å"So be it, then.† His hand was at her neck in an instant, she didn't see him move or have a chance to react. Suddenly she couldn't move her arms or legs, and there was an intense pain behind her ear and under her jaw. She screamed, releasing a sound she couldn't imagine coming out of a human, more like something you'd hear from a tortured cat. He clamped his other hand over her mouth. â€Å"I didn't teach you everything in our one night together, love.† She watched helplessly as he tossed his head back and his fangs unsheathed. Troy Lee squared off against Drew at the end of the dog-food aisle, two short fighting swords in hand. â€Å"Bring it, stoner,† Troy Lee said. He spun the swords. Drew fell into a crouch by the dishwashing liquids. â€Å"I'm fast now,† Drew said. â€Å"Uh-huh,† Troy said. He whipped the swords through the air in a deadly fanning motion. He'd been training since he was a child; he wasn't afraid, especially of Drew. â€Å"Hey,† came a woman's voice from right beside him. Troy Lee looked over, lightning quick, just in time to register what looked like a full moon coming at his face. There was a loud clang and Troy was nearly flipped over backwards when the iron skillet hit him in the forehead. Blue let it drop to her side and grinned at Drew. â€Å"I've always wanted to do that.† â€Å"Housewares used to be my aisle,† Drew said. â€Å"Take him,† said Blue. â€Å"Let him drink some of your blood before he dies.† She headed toward a commotion in the can aisle. â€Å"Save some, boys. Mama's got a broken nose that needs to heal.† Jody felt her own fangs extend and her kneecaps quiver as Elijah fed on her, but otherwise she couldn't move. How could she have been so stupid? He was eight hundred years old – of course he hadn't taught her everything. Of course he was stronger than she was – she was stronger than Tommy, and she had only been a vampire a couple of months longer than he had. If she could stay conscious, maybe when he stopped feeding she could make her move. Could he reduce her to dust like a human, or would he have to do something else? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why didn't she know all of this? Why wasn't she acting on instinct? Where was the predator mind when you needed it? Her vision started to tunnel down – she was losing consciousness. She could hear rapid footsteps outside, though. First below, then across the street, then below again. Elijah heard them, too, and he loosened his grip for an instant, but before she could twist away, his fingers dug into her neck and jaw again. Then a black blur flew through the window and she heard something thud on the floor over by the kitchen. There was another loud thud and Elijah released her and she fell to the floor. She tried to push herself up, but something was thrown over her and she heard a buzzing sound. She heard screaming and smelled burning flesh, glass breaking, then someone was lifting her, carrying her. She couldn't move or even fight anymore. She let go, let herself float away, but the last thing she heard was a girl's voice saying, â€Å"Did you feed Chet?† The Emperor sat on the dock of the St. Francis Yacht Club, watching the fog wash over the breakwater. He'd gone against the advice of the homicide detectives and had left the grocery store. It was his city, and it was his place to take the battle to its attackers. He had cowered in fear long enough. His wickedly pointed sword lay on the dock at his side. The men, Bummer and Lazarus, were sleeping in a fuzzy pile at his back. â€Å"Ah, gentle warriors, how do we engage in battle when our enemy moves with such elegant stealth? Perhaps we should return to the Safeway and help defend.† Bummer's left ear twitched, and he let out a muffled ruff in his sleep. A thick bank of fog was moving down from the opening in the breakwater and it caught the Emperor's attention because it appeared to be moving across the wind from the west. Yes, it was indeed – the cold breeze was coming straight over the breakwater from the north. The fog bank bubbled thick as it moved, tendrils reached out and then were reabsorbed like the false feet of some crawling creature. The Emperor climbed to his feet and roused the men, snatched Bummer up before the sleepy terrier could get his bearings, and headed toward the clubhouse with Lazarus at his heels. He crouched in a shadow by the entrance to the restrooms, holding the hounds as he watched. The fog bank enveloped the end of the dock, paused, then dissipated as if a fan had been turned on it, and three tall figures stood on the dock, a man and two women. They wore long coats, cashmere, the Emperor thought, but he couldn't for the life of him remember why he might know that. They moved down the dock toward him as if they were floating. The Emperor could see their outlines in the moonlight – jawlines and cheekbones that looked as if they'd been chiseled, square shoulders, and narrow hips. They might have been brother and sisters, except one of the women was of African descent, the other looked like she might be Italian or Greek. The man was a head taller than the women and looked Nordic, perhaps German, with close-cropped white hair. All were as pale as bleached bone. As they passed him the Emperor pulled the hounds closer and Bummer let out a threatening ruff. They stopped. The man turned. â€Å"How long have you been here?† he asked. â€Å"Forever, I think,† said the Emperor. The man smiled and nodded, then turned and was on his way. â€Å"I know how you feel,† he said without looking back. Gustavo and Jeff found Barry hiding in the shelves among the toilet-paper packages. When they got close, Barry burst out of the TP and made a run for the end of the aisle, pulling napkins, aluminum foil, garbage bags, and plastic silverware off the shelves as he went to slow his pursuers. Gustavo went down first, slipping on a package of plastic forks. Jeff high-stepped through the obstacles and was right on Barry's ass until he was almost to the end of the aisle and Lash stepped out holding one of Barry's spearguns. â€Å"Down!† Lash barked, and Barry hit the tile on his chest and slid. There was a pneumatic hiss and the heavy stainless spear thudded into Jeff's sternum and blew him back off his feet. â€Å"Ow, goddammit,† said the power forward, clutching at the spear and trying to pull it out of his chest. Gustavo climbed to his feet, ran to Jeff, and started yanking on the spear. Lash handed Barry a four-foot-long stick with a blunt metal tip on it and fitted another spear into the gun. â€Å"That the last one?† Barry asked. Lash nodded. â€Å"Where's Clint?† Just then the tall blond woman appeared at the far end of the aisle, dragging an unconscious Clint by his collar. A wide bloodstain ran from her chin to her crotch and they could see her fangs even from this distance. â€Å"Bad boys. Leaving your born-again lying on the floor where people can trip over him.† She dropped Clint on his face, and headed up the aisle toward them, in long, slow strides. Lash bolted, Barry right behind them, through the canvas doors into the back room, and into the walk-in dairy cooler. It was like a long hallway with plastic milk boxes stacked on one side and the glass dairy cases on the other. They pushed stacks of heavy one-gallon milk boxes in front of the door, then leaned with their backs against the back of the cooler, watching the store through the clear cooler doors in the dairy case, over the cartons of yogurt and cottage cheese. â€Å"What's that she's carrying?† Barry asked. â€Å"A frying pan,† Lash said. â€Å"Oh,† Barry said â€Å"Sorry I let her in. She was almost naked.† â€Å"How could you have known?† â€Å"Well, when she claimed she had a nooky-gram for my birthday, I should have figured something was up.† â€Å"Your birthday's like in March, isn't it?† â€Å"Yeah.† Lash slapped Barry hard once on his bare scalp, then re-aimed the speargun over the yogurts. â€Å"I deserved that,† Barry said. â€Å"Think that spear hit Jeff's heart?† â€Å"Had to. It's a foot through his sternum.† â€Å"He doesn't seem dead.† â€Å"Guess that means head shot.† Barry shook his head. â€Å"You want me to try?† â€Å"Nah, if I miss, you have the bang stick.† Lash nodded at the long stick Barry was holding at port arms. Essentially it was a twelve-gauge shotgun shell on the end of a stick, used for killing sharks. You poked them with it and the shotgun shell fired into them at point-blank range. â€Å"I'll bet she doesn't even know what it is.† â€Å"Get it right,† Lash said. â€Å"Blow her fucking brains out.† They looked at each other as they heard the refrigeration compressors and fans wind down. Then the lights went out. â€Å"We're fucked,† Lash said. â€Å"Yep,† Barry agreed. Chapter Thirty Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Dark and Mysterious Goddess of Forbidden Love Don't judge me. I have looked death in the face and made him my bitch! I did what I did out of love, and I don't want to sound conceited, but OMG, we are heroes! And when I say we, I mean us. Had I told you before, you would have called me â€Å"losah!† pronounced me perky and cute beyond redemption, but now that I am secure in my own nefarious love lair and whatnot, I can at last confess, that in my naive youth, my favorite literary character was not the tentacled horror Cthulu from Lovecraft as I previously stated in AP English 235, but, in fact, Pippi Longstocking. Before you condemn me for my Pippism, check it out: Pippi drank a lot of coffee. (Because, like me, she was wise.) Pippi had unnaturally red hair (as I, myself have had, upon occasion). Pippi often wore long, stripy socks (as yours truly has been known to do). Pippi had superhuman strength. (It could happen.) Pippi kicked ass. (Not unlike your humble narrator.) Pippi was a kid who lived without parents in her own house. (Go, girl!) With a monkey. (Haven't you always wanted a monkey?) What Longstockings did not have, was the coolest cyber-ninja-sex-magic boyfriend to ever save the world and whatnot. (Props to Pip, but girlfriend needed some yang to rock her yin.) Steve. My darling, my love, My heart is aflame But OMFG, Steve, I grieve, That you're name Is so fucking lame. I call him Foo Dog, because he guards the gate of my temple, if you know what I mean. I'm wearing the jacket he made me right now. I had it on when they came for me, but that's not the thing. The thing is, I didn't save myself, I saved love. So, that night, after I told the Countess how my sweet Foo Dog saved me from the vampyre, the Countess said she was going to go back to the loft to get some money and feed Chet and get the last of William's blood for Lord Flood, for their love is truly eternal. And Jared and I were like, â€Å"We'll go, too,† but the Countess sent us back to liberate the vampyre Flood from Jared's basement and his hideous family. So we were all, â€Å"Well, okay.† But when we got to Jared's house, Flood was totally gone. And then Steve – I mean Foo Dog – called me and he was all, â€Å"I'm getting off work early, I don't want to leave you out there unprotected.† So I told him where we were. Then Lord Flood comes walking out of the dark and he's all, â€Å"What? What? What?† And I'm all, â€Å"The Countess went back to the loft.† And he's all, â€Å"She is in danger. We must away.† And I was like, â€Å"Chill thee thus, for my sweet love-ninja is on the way in his fly ride.† So Flood was like, † ‘Kay.† I see now that my attraction to the vampyre Flood was nothing more than childish infatuation, never to be requited, because he had eyes only for the Countess. So it was a little awkward when Steve showed up and I had to chill the Lord Flood and make him sit in the backseat to show that my real affections were with Foo Dog, who was formerly known as Steve. And when we got to the loft, the windows were open, but there were no lights on. And Flood had us drive a block past, then we got out and he walked back. Then he runs up and he's like, â€Å"Elijah's up there. He's got her.† And I'm all, â€Å"Then go get her.† And Steve is like, â€Å"No, I'll go get her.† And he pulls this long coat out of the trunk. It's all covered with warts or something, and I'm like, â€Å"Nice coat, but you know, vampyre†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And Steve is like, â€Å"They're UV LEDs. Like the lights we burned the vampires with before.† And I'm like, â€Å"Sweet!† So Steve starts to put the coat on and Flood stops him and goes, â€Å"He'll hear you coming up the stairs. I'll go.† And Steve is all, â€Å"You can't. It will burn you, too.† And Flood is all, â€Å"No it won't.† So they are like five minutes behind the car putting together this ber-cool ensem of like an old gas mask, and a hoodie, and full-on gloves and everything, until Flood is totally covered, wearing the long coat with the glass warts all over it, looking like one of the cenobites from Hellraiser. And Steve is like, â€Å"Don't hit the switch until you know she's covered.† And he hands Flood like a black rubber tarp and a baseball bat, which totally sucked the cool right out of the ensem, but I guess was necessary. Then, just when I'm about to ask how he's going to get in without being heard, we hear the Countess scream, and Flood runs across the street and about halfway up the side of the building, then turns and runs down it, then across the street, up the side of his building, and goes through the window feet fucking first. And I'm like, â€Å"Whoa.† And Steve and Jared are like, â€Å"Whoa.† And a second later we hear a thumping, and purple light comes on in the loft windows and the old vampyre comes crashing through the windows on fucking fire, falling like a comet! And he lands on his feet in the middle of the street, hisses once and looks at us, and that's when Steve holds up one of his UV floodlights, and the vampyre fucking scrams down the alley across the street so fast that he was just a blur. Next thing, Flood is coming out of the building carrying the Countess, who is wrapped in the black rubber tarp and is totally roofied like a limp rag. And Steve's all, â€Å"Get her in the car.† And I'm like, â€Å"Did you feed Chet?† And Jared is like, â€Å"Hello, Abby, the other vampyres.† So I'm like, â€Å"Shut up. I know.† So we all piled into Steve's car and we took Flood and the Countess to a hotel off up on Van Ness, which Steve paid for with his Visa, which was generous and mature of him. It was one of those motels where you have your own entrance to the parking lot so they don't see you in the hallway, so Flood carried the Countess up to the room, and we carried some stuff that Steve had packed up in the trunk of his car. It was so sad. Flood just stroked the Countess's cheek and tried to get her to wake up, but she wouldn't. And he was all, â€Å"Abby, she needs to feed. I wouldn't ask, but he's done something to her, she's hurt.† And I would have totally done it, but Steve pulled me back, and he picks up this playmate cooler that he had us bring up, and he pulls out these pouches of blood. And he hands them to Flood and says, â€Å"I took them from the university hospital. They could kick me out of school for this.† And Flood is all, â€Å"Thanks.† And he bites a hole in one of the pouches and squeezes it on the Countess's lips and that's when I started to cry. There were like four pouches, and when he was going for the last one, Steve was like, â€Å"You need to drink that one.† And Flood was like, â€Å"No way, it's for her.† And Steve was like, â€Å"You know you do.† So Flood like nodded and drank the last one himself, and then he just sat there by her, stroking her hair. Then Steve was like, â€Å"Tommy, you know I can reverse your vampirism. I'm pretty sure the process works.† And Flood just looked at him and nodded. It was so sad. And then the Countess started to moan, and she opened her eyes and she saw the vampyre Flood and she was all, â€Å"Hey, baby.† Just like that. And I started crying again like a big wuss and Steve took Jared and me out to the car to give them some space. And Steve was like, â€Å"I made this for you from my jacket.† And he put this leather motorcycle jacket on me that was covered with those glass LED thingies. It was kinda heavy, because there were batteries built into the padding, but cool. And he was all, â€Å"This will keep you safe. The switch is in the snap on the left cuff. Just squeeze it and the lights will come on. They won't hurt you, but you should wear sunglasses to protect your retinas.† Then he put a pair of totally cyber wraparound sunglasses on me and kissed me. And I kissed him back, hard, with major tongue, and finally he pulled away, as gentle as a butterfly. So then I slapped him, so he wouldn't think I was a slut. But so he wouldn't think I was being frigid, I sort of jumped on him and wrapped my legs around him and sort of accidentally rode him to the ground and was accidentally kind of dry-humping him on the pavement when the lights on my jacket came on and people looked out their hotel windows a nd whatnot, so Jared ended our special romantic moment by hitting my light switch and dragging me off. And I was all, â€Å"You are THE MAN, Foo!† And he was all, â€Å"Huh?† Because I hadn't told him yet that his new name was Foo Dog. But then he said he actually had to get home and check in or his parents would freak out. And said to watch the masters until I got back, if I got a chance try to talk them into being converted. So we made out on the hood of the Honda for a while and he drove off into night's cold loneliness like the superhero that he is. (The effect was ruined, kind of, in that Jared caught a ride with him.) So I went back upstairs and sat at the foot of the masters' bed, keeping guard and listening to them. They were talking softly, but I could hear them. The vampyre Flood was all, â€Å"Maybe we should give it a try.† And the Countess was all, â€Å"What, the cure? Tommy, it can't work. You've seen what I can do, you know what you can do. This isn't biology, this is magic.† â€Å"Maybe it's not. Maybe it's science we don't know yet.† â€Å"It doesn't matter. We don't even know if it works.† â€Å"We should try.† â€Å"Why would we try, Tommy? You've only been immortal for a couple of weeks. Do you want to give up the power, the – I don't know – the command over your world?† â€Å"Well – yes.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Yeah. I don't like it, Jody. I don't like being afraid all the time. I don't like being alone. I don't like being a killer.† â€Å"That woman was torturing you, Tommy. That's never going to happen again.† â€Å"That's wasn't the problem. I'd get over her. The problem was that I liked it. I liked it.† Then the Countess was quiet for a while, and I thought it might be dawn or something, but I peeked over the edge of the bed and she was just staring into his eyes. She looked over at me. â€Å"Hey, girlie girl,† the Countess said, and she smiled at me and it felt like a gift or something. It was like, real. Then she took her watch off and threw it to me at the end of the bed. â€Å"That has an automatic almanac in it – how about you set the alarm to go off about twenty minutes before sunset, so you don't get caught out again, okay?† And I was going to tell her about the jacket that Foo made for me, but I kind of couldn't talk, so I just nodded and put the watch on and slid back down to the floor. Then I heard the Countess go, â€Å"You aren't alone. I'm here. We can go where no one knows us, no one is chasing us, and I'll always be here for you.† And he goes, â€Å"I know. I mean alone from everyone else. Separate. I want to be human, not some foul dead thing.† â€Å"I thought you wanted to be special.† â€Å"I do, but I want to be human special – because of something I did.† Then it was quiet for a while, and finally the Countess goes, â€Å"I love it, Tommy. I'm not afraid all the time like you; just the opposite. I didn't realize how afraid I used to be until I became like this. I like walking the street knowing that I'm the Alpha animal, hearing and seeing and smelling everything, being part of everything. I like it. I wanted to share that with you.† â€Å"It's okay. You couldn't have known.† â€Å"I don't want to be alone either. That's why I turned you. I love you.† Then the alarm went off on Lord Flood's watch, and he shut it off. Then he's all, â€Å"We can't go back to the way it was, before, I mean? Where I look after you?† â€Å"It's not the same world, Tommy. You know that now. We were in the same room in different worlds.† â€Å"Okay then. I love you, Jody.† â€Å"I love you, too,† goes the Countess. Then they didn't say anything for a long time, and when my new watch showed that the sun was up, I looked, and they were lying there, holding each other, and I could see the red stains on the pillow from their tears. And I was like, â€Å"Oh, hell no!†

Personal Narrative on Morals

As I was walking down church avenue, all I could think about was my Iphoneless pocket. â€Å"Freaking black people,† I mumbled under my breath as to not let the crowds of black people around me hear, â€Å"you can never trust them. † The sight of them just burned my eyes. Them and their sagged pants that looked like they had 100 pound weights in their pockets, disgusting. As I walked on, the only thing that was roaming around my mind was a memory I was trying so hard to forget. It wasn't a full memory though just, bits and pieces. It was of a black kid.I don't remember any of his features, I didn't want to. â€Å"Hey can I make a call,† he said. I wasn't the type of person to judge anyone, I mean why should a person's skin be a factor in anyone's decision to do something. This teenager could have been the nicest person in the world. So I gave him my phone. The memory then cuts to me standing there gasping for air saying, â€Å" Nicest guy in the world my butt. à ¢â‚¬  That was all I remembered, but it was enough. Enough to drive my anger towards black people, which for me, meant my entire neighborhood.How could I have been such an IDIOT, I said in my head as I walked down the block. I should have seen this coming. I mean he was bla-, I was in mid-thought, when suddenly a black woman, who looked like she could lose a few pounds, bumped into me as she was going the direction opposite of me. â€Å"Watch where you're going,† she said. I could hear the anger and annoyance in her voice. My blood started to boil, my heart raced, I was ready to punch someone. I turned towards her â€Å"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME.Maybe you should lay off the fried chicken † is what I wished to say, but I held my breath. I just stared at her back as she walked away. As I treaded along Church avenue, I spared no black person who came within my line of sight of my racist comments. I didn't care if it was wrong. I mean did that black kid care if it was w rong to steal my phone. Obviously not, because then I wouldn't be walking home phone-less. Did that black lady even bother to care to, oh, I don't know move to the side or say excuse me. NO, she didn't.I mean why shouldn't I judge, I bet black people judge me all the time. I bet that kid who stole my phone had one or two judgments about me. Freaking black people, I said in my head. I finally reached the front of my apartment building. As I entered I noticed this small black kid coming out of the building. When he saw me, he stopped. I recognized him. I didn't know his name, but I knew a thing or two about him. I saw him everyday. Once when I left for school, and once when I came back. Each time I saw him he would say the most random of things about his life.Like how he was in the first grade, or how he thought this one kid named Devon was just the meanest person in the world for throwing a pencil at him. I didn't particularly care much for these facts. Most times he would say someth ing that he thought was funny. Although the things he said weren't funny at all, I went along and smiled anyway. As I looked as this kid, I could find no such fault. You could say he was, in a way, â€Å"stereotypically clean†. â€Å"You know, you look like a person from the wolf people,† he said with a straight face.I don't know if I smiled or not, I may have given a half smile, but I know I replied â€Å"You mean, from Twilight? † â€Å"Yea, from Twilight, the movie about vampires and werewolves. † â€Å"Heh, yea, except I don't have any abs,† I said. This time I knew I was smiling, and I could tell, as he started to smile as well. â€Å"Well, see ya,† he said and walked away. I turned around and watched as he walked down the block and around the corner. That's why Ervin, that's why you shouldn't judge, a voice in my head said. I turned around, walked up the steps to the front door of my building and said, â€Å"yea. †

Maggie and Dee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maggie and Dee - Essay Example Her dress, in striking shades of yellow and orange and her confident glide of a walk reflect her personality and, along with the gold earrings and bracelets, call out loudly for attention. Her hair, with its’ deliberately accentuated African style, is a defiant statement of identity. Maggie, with her burnt and scarred limbs and thin body is a poor contrast to her attractive sister. She is dressed in a nondescript pink skirt and red blouse. She does not walk, but shuffles, â€Å"chin on chest, eyes on ground.† She has a â€Å"dopey, hang dog look,† which is further accentuated by her use of checkerberry snuff. The sisters’ physical appearances are almost caricatures of their personalities. Dee’s personality exhibits an aggressive confidence and an assertive, individual style. She can â€Å"look anyone in the eye† and not back down. She is resolute, well-spoken and spirited. She adamantly faces life on her own terms. Even her style of reading is pitiless and more of an imposition than a narration. She is as â€Å"sweet as a bird† when she customarily gets her own way. When thwarted, her anger and hatred show through. It is revealing that she has a caustic humor, â€Å"that erupted like bubbles in lye,† and many admirers, but no friends. On the other hand, Maggie’s personality reflects her rather fatalistic acceptance of her inferior standing. Her scars, of which she is ashamed, have further undermined her confidence. She is shy, â€Å"stands hopelessly in corners,† hides behind doors and is nervous of strangers, backing away sweating and trembling in alarm from ‘Asalamalakim.’ When Maggie reads, she â€Å"stumbles along good naturedly†: the sister’s respective reading styles reflect their personalities. Dee’s attitude towards her identity as a black woman is to flaunt it as a badge of defiance to the world. She takes pictures of the house and her family, as if they were curiosities. For all the ostentatious

Understanding Surveys and Samples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Understanding Surveys and Samples - Essay Example a hypothesis as â€Å"a tentative explanation of the research problem, a possible outcome of the research, or an educated guess about the research outcome† (Hatch, 2002). Thus, a hypothesis is a temporary prediction about the nature of the relationship that exits between two or more variables. The study has developed the following two hypotheses that take both the null and alternative approach. The analysis of two or more variables together makes it important for the researcher to point out the relationship between the two variables involved in the study. Two variables are independent if a change in one does not consequently cause a change in the other. In the case that one of the variables causes a change in the other then the first variables is known as an independent variable and the latter a dependent variable (Sharp, Peters, & Howard, 2002). In the two questions identified above, domestic violence in the first question is the independent variable while psychological consequences are the dependent variable. In the second question, the independent variable is psychological problems while the dependent variable is the normal development. The following definitions will act as operational definitions for the following variables used in the study. These are based on the various understandings by different scholars on the meaning of the terms and how they are used in day to day interactions. Domestic violence will be taken to mean developed pattern of assaultive and coercive behavior which could take the form of physical, psychological, emotional or economic coercion that is seen to occur between a couple (Champion, 2000). This definition will thus focus on the family where children exist and not any other adult relationship. The definition will only consider what the children can see happen in the family and not what they are not able to observe. Psychological problems will be taken to represent patterns of behavior or psychological symptoms that have an effect

Risk Assessment For nonprofit hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Assessment For nonprofit hospital - Essay Example Evidently, the industry is highly vulnerable to information theft more than ever before. In modern healthcare settings, risk factors are impulsive and hence comprehensive risk assessment programs are essential to meet the challenges. According to the current day concept, risk assessment is not simply a precaution but a preventive healthcare approach that mitigates the impacts of a number of risk factors (The National Patient Safety Agency, 2007). Why Risk Assessment It has been stated that â€Å"each technical advance brings new security holes† (Rogers, 2011, p. 2). According to the writer, storing data over the internet involves incessant threat from hackers and malware. Burger (2010) describes the Kern medical center’s intense struggle with computer virus to regain its data, for the virus had downloaded ‘tons of porn documents’ and crashed all computers causing great dilemma. The incident has been cited by many experts to show that hospital data is always vulnerable to identity theft. For instance, Fell (2010) also points out that hospital computer systems are under the threat of information theft referring to the mayhem caused by virus at Kern Medical Center. According to the officials of UC Davis Police Department, the author says that "Hospitals are a soft target where a cyber attack can cause a lot of damage quite easily† (as cited in Fell, 2010). ... 3-5), the business environment highly involves intense competition and technical complexity which raise considerable amount of vulnerability risk to organizations of every type. Hence it is important to have a reliable risk assessment program for every firm to ensure the security of their data and other areas of organizational functions. And risk assessment in the view of the writers is â€Å"a systematic process for describing and quantifying the risks associated with hazardous substances, processes, action, or events† (Covello & Merkhoher 1993, p.3). Risk Assessment Tools There are certain effective free vulnerability scanning tools that can help non-profit organizations to address this issue. Nessus is one of the most important security vulnerability scanning tools. The website gives very detailed information about the vulnerability scanning tool-Nessus. The site has included several frequently asked questions and their answers along with the basic instructions for its user s. A close analysis of Nessus’ official website gives a clear picture of its total functions (Nessus). The relevance of Nessus has been well described in Rogers (2011). According to the author, tools like Nessus have been helping organizations to assess the vulnerability of their systems. It can also be used to check for misconfiguration vulnerabilities like open mail relay and missing patches (p.291). Evidently, Nessus is widely accepted as the most comprehensive vulnerability scanning program available today, for it helps clients to assess the level of their system’s vulnerability to data theft or virus attack (Nessus: online encyclopedia). The website, SecTools.Org conducts regular surveys to identify and list the community’s favorite software through multiple

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer Annotated Bibliography

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer - Annotated Bibliography Example hnologies, the study indicates that superior imaging techniques show promise for postoperative specimen evaluation and have helped improve breast cancer screening. Further, the study shows that digital mammography has helped improve the sensitivity of mammography especially for women aging 50 years and below and that it may help improve the specificity of tomosynthesis. This source contributes to the collection of Annotated Bibliography (AB) by highlighting the role that the improved technology has played in the treatment of breast cancer. The specific technologies highlighted in this article clearly shows how improved technology has contributed towards the treatment of breast cancer. Joann, G. Elmore, MP, Armstrong, K., Constance, D., & Fletcher, S. (1997). Barclay J. Increase in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast cancer in relation to mammography: a dilemma. Journal of Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 22:151–6. In this article, Elmore et al. demonstrates that the increased utilization of screening mammography has had a remarkable change in detected ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. The articles show that, in 1993 alone, there were about 23,276 newly diagnosed DCIS cases in the U.S. Of these 4,675 were in women aging between 40 and 49. The authors indicate that DCIS accounted for about 14.7 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases among women aging between 40 and 49, and 40 percent of the mammographically detected breast cancer cases in this group were DCIS. In women aging between 40 and 49, an approximate 2,707 lumpectomies and mastectomies were conducted for DCIS. This source contributes to the AB collection by demonstrating the use of screening mammography, one of the current technologies, in the detecting ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. Glass A, Lacey J, & Carreon J. (2007). Breast cancer incidences, 1980–2006, combined roles of menopausal hormone therapy, Estrogen Receptor Status, and screening mammography. Journal of Natl Cancer

Political rhetoric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Political rhetoric - Essay Example Given the variations in the economic state of the United States of America, Obama used his annual State of the Union podium to adopt a new trend in his executive authority as the President. The speech entailed rhetoric speech through the use of defiant words such as â€Å"with or without Congress† as an individual step in advancement of the economy. The President also adopted the use of alliteration in a number of paragraphs such as â€Å"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.† These words outline the repetition of words alongside words that soften the attention of the audience. In addition, the president insisted the use of rhetoric using character development by stating. â€Å"I’m eager to work with all of you,† â€Å"But America does not stand still and neither wil l I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do (Baker, n.d).† At the same time, republicans were not left out in responding to the rhetoric speech of Obama in the state of the Union. The five term congress woman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers rhetorically responded by blaming Obama for the current economic problems. She stated, â€Å"Too many people are falling further and further behind because, right now, the president’s policies are making people’s lives harder,† she said. â€Å"Republicans have plans to close the gap.† Her speech incorporated alliteration as a way of outlining how her 6 year old son, Cole was born with Down syndrome under the Obama’s health care program that had many regulations and a record in expenditure (Franke-Ruta, n.d). Obama’s speech at the annual State of the Union podium resembles that of Julius

The influence of Gender and Alcohol Consumption Patterns on Alcohol Essay

The influence of Gender and Alcohol Consumption Patterns on Alcohol Expectancy amongst Undergraduate Students - Essay Example Its nearly impossible to study each and every single person's perceptions on the subject of alcohol prevalence rates, however, numbers and statistics are always an accurate tool for study. Many of the articles chosen to use for research include survey results, marketing opinions, college binge drinking studies, psychology related magazines and of course programs to cure alcohol related problems; such Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and social norms programs made by colleges to reduce and stop binge drinking. Fact, one in three eighteen to twenty-four year old persons admitted into emergency rooms for serious injuries are intoxicated. Fact, a twelve-ounce bottle of beer has the same amount of alcohol as a standard shot of eighty-proof liquor mixed or straight as well as a five ounce glass of wine. Fact, rates of binge drinking are increasing alarmingly. When alcohol and undergraduate students are near, they are contributing to the need for college anti-alcohol social programs, strict laws and regulations, and of course, serious and sometimes fatal injury. But, what is the major problem and why is it a problem Increasing rates of alcoholism on college campuses are creating a large number of negative consequences including long term brain damage, long term jail sentences, and extremely long term sleep; six feet under. The main contributing factors to the increasing rates of alcoholism are directly caused by ineffective laws and regulations and the superior power of manipulation from the multi-media. This paper will be divided into five sections; the first section will cover the laws and regulations made by Canadian and American governments, the second and most focused part of the paper, the marketing power of the mass media and its effects on the individual, the third section will discuss why current marketing strategies to lessen the rates of alcohol use are failing and will continue to fail, the fourth section will bring attention to many of the skewed statistics of alcohol studies and use real articles and statistics to strengthen this allegation, and the latter sections will deal with many of the internal and psychological factors that each individual faces before consumption of alcohol; here, research from psychology journals and magazines will be criticized and analyzed to make a rational an d proper conclusion of the previous discussions and arguments. Laws And Regulations Of Alcohol In most of the United States of America, patrons must be twenty-one years of age to purchase and consume alcohol, whereas in most of Canada, the age of consumption is nineteen, however, one strange fact is that at eighteen, Canadians are considered adults; that is, they are indeed permitted to vote, but not purchase or consume

Use of English Essay Example for Free

Use of English Essay I. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following text. Use only one word in each space. (15 points) In a major breakthrough in diving, scientists have developed an artificial gill capable 1 obtaining oxygen 2sea water. The question of 3. fish breathe puzzled man for centuries. Now, fortunately, a team of chemists, physicists and mathematicians at Tokyo University have built two forms of artificial gill, which imitate the breathing method used 4.. fish. They are also developing a lightweight version 5. could be worn on the back. They expect that the first model will be 6.for human trials within three years and could be7 .. sale in the shops within five to ten years. Fish transfer oxygen directly to the blood, and the artificial gill will be 8. to transfer oxygen through a mouthpiece into human lungs. This process of taking oxygen 9 of water occurs through the ultra-thin surface of hundreds of fine, hollow threads. As water streams over them, the dissolved oxygen in10 . passes through to become a breathable gas. At the moment, the human gill has a 10-litre volume, 11.. has to be halved to produce a machine small 12.to be commercially successful. In 13..to this, the team is optimistic, believing it will have huge value both for commercial and leisure purposes 14.. it will let people dive, in shallow water, for as 15as they like. II. Read the text below and use the word given in the brackets to form words that fit in the gaps. (10 points) There has been much debate in recent times about when young people should take up a second language. This has been especially fuelled in recent times by the increasing 1.(important) placed on the English language. It is now commonplace to see parents providing a substantial amount of 2.(funds) on additional tuition on language lessons to give their children every 3.(competition) edge. In the past decade, language institutes have sprung up in 4 ..(number) urban centres, all claiming to provide rapid 5.(advance) in English. There has been a push by many parents to expose their children to English in their 6..(formation) years. This, many claim, will make the language more 7(instinct) and ensure that all pronunciation errors can be avoided. There is some evidence which points to youngsters who have been raised in 8(language) families, where the language spoken at home is different to the one that they 9..(conversation) with in their external environment. While these children can switch between two languages with greater 10.(easy) it remains to be seen whether this is advantageous when learning additional languages. III. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between 3 and 8 words including the word given. (15 points) 1. When I realised what had happend, I became quite afraid. OVERCOME I when I worked out what had occurred.[pic] 2. It looks as if hes forgotten about the meeting again. TO He seems. about the meeting again. 3. You can see that they made a big effort with the school play. DEAL You can see that. into the school play. 4.You have to work here for two years before they consider you for promotion BEEN They will consider you for promotion.for two years. 5. It was a bad idea to turn up unexpectedly without calling first. BLUE You shouldwithout calling first. IV. Find one word which is appropriate for all three gaps in each of the following sentences. (10 points) 1. We were aiming to raise one million euros for charity, but we†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.short by quite a long way. I did a survey online and it said that I†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.into the category of people who should consider a career change. Jane seemed confident going into the interview, but then she†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦to pieces and made a complete mess of it. 2. I don’t like parties because I’ve never been good at†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.talk. I wish you wouldn’t try to make me look †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..in front of other people. We sat up chatting into the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦hours. 3. I’m planning to go to the funeral, just to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..my last respect. I was surprised when Caleb said I looked nice because he doesn’t usually †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.me compliments. I might not have a lot of money, but I always make sure I †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦my way. 4. There’s no†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.for believing that the Queen is going to abdicate. She is only working here on a temporary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ We chose Turkey on the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.that it’s much cheaper than Greece. 5. We hope it won’t be too long before we start a †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. My dad thought that the whole thing reflected badly on the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦name. Our dog’s got a great personality and we all treat her like one of the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..

Kraft Foods Essay Example for Free

Kraft Foods Essay Kraft Foods Group, which is one of the most famous food and beverage companies in the world, has a wide and significant impact on socio-economic and lives of people all over the world. It was founded in 1852. It produces and sells packaged food and beverages including snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and various packaged grocery products. Kraft Foods operates in more than 70 countries, primarily in the US and Canada. And it sells its products in more than 150 countries. (Kraft Foods, 2009).As one of the fastest growing food manufactures in the Australian, Kraft Foods is changed to Mondelēz International . It employ more than 3500 employees who work across a range of activities and try to use the new name and new look to serve the customers. To ensure the sustainable development of the company, Kraft Foods takes the economic, social and environmental issues into consideration and tries to achieve ever-changing social expectations. As an influential food company, Kraft Foods makes great effort to contribute to society. It is aware of that hunger is a very serious issue among the society and keeps fighting with it. Kraft Foods expands cooperation with other company and donate food to food bank and other hunger relief centres to help provide products for the food drive (Safeway and Kraft, 2012).Many efforts at fighting hunger and contribution to society can be found all over the world by Kraft Foods employees ((More than 20,000, 2010) . However, in food safety, several recall cases in 2014 caused detrimental impact on company’s image. This critical essay will explicitly examine Kraft Foods’s actions and their implications on society.

Case Study of Low Blood Pressure

Case Study of Low Blood Pressure Mr Jones has a BP of 90/60. Please name the appropriate health terminology in relation to his BP. Normal Range = Hypotension Low blood pressure is referred to as hypotension, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. Hypotension is generally considered systolic blood pressure less than 90 millimetres of mercury (mmHg) or diastolic less than 60 mmHg. A persons blood pressure reading appears as two numbers. The first and higher of the two numbers is a measure of systolic pressure or the pressure in the persons arteries when their heart beats and fills them with blood. The second number measures diastolic pressure or the pressure in the persons arteries when their heart rests between beats. A desired blood pressure is less than 120/80. In people who are considered to be healthy, low blood pressure without experiencing any symptoms is commonly not a concern and does not need to be treated. Low blood pressure may be a sign of an underlying issue, particularly in the elderly, where it might cause inadequate blood flow to their heart, vital organs, and brain. Fortunately, chronic low blood pressure without symptoms is rarely serious. Health issues may happen, however, when a persons blood pressure suddenly drops and their brain is deprived of an adequate blood and oxygen supply. The condition may lead to light-headedness or dizziness. A sudden drop in blood pressure usually happens in a person who has risen from a prone or sitting position to a standing one. When this occurs it is referred to as, postural hypotension or orthostatic hypotension. Another type of low blood pressure may happen when a person stands for extended periods of time. This is referred to as, neurally-mediated hypotension. Postural hypotension is considered to be a failure of a persons cardiovascular system or nervous system to react appropriately to sudden changes. Usually, when a person stands up, some of their blood pools in their lower extremities. If this remains uncorrected, it would cause the persons blood pressure to fall or decrease. A persons body usually compensates by sending messages to their heart to beat faster and to their blood vessels to constrict, offsetting the drop in blood pressure. If this does not happen, or does not happen quickly enough, postural hypotension is the result. Blood Pressure and Aging The risk of low and high blood pressure commonly increases as a person ages due in part to changes during the aging process. The flow of blood to a persons heart muscle and brain declines as a person ages, many times as a result of plaque build-up in their blood vessels. While the causes of low blood pressure may not always be clear, it might be associated with things such as: Heart arrhythmias Heart failure Heat exhaustion or heat stroke Hormonal issues such as an under-active thyroid, diabetes, or low blood sugar Liver disease Pregnancy Some over-the-counter drugs Some prescription medications Widening of the blood vessels Causes of Sudden Drops in Blood Pressure Sudden drops in a persons blood pressure may be life-threatening. A number of different things may cause this type of hypotension. The causes of sudden drops in blood pressure may include: A reaction to alcohol or medication Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction Heart muscle disease High body temperature Loss of blood Low body temperature Sepsis Severe dehydration from diarrhoea, vomiting, or fever People at Risk of Postural Hypotension Postural hypotension, or low blood pressure when a person stands up quickly, may happen to anyone for a number of reasons such as lack of food, dehydration, or simply being overly fatigued. It might also be influenced by a persons genetic make-up, medication, aging, psychological factors, dietary ones, or acute triggers such as allergy or infection. Postural hypotension happens most often in people who are taking medications to control high blood pressure or, hypertension. It may also be related to strong emotions, pregnancy, diabetes, or hardening of a persons arteries. Seniors are affected by postural hypotension in particular, especially seniors who experience high blood pressure or autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Hypotension after eating is a common cause of dizziness or even falls. It is most common after large meals containing a lot of carbohydrates. Medical science believes it is caused by blood pooling into a persons vessels in their stomach and intestines. A number of medications are associated with postural hypotension as well. The medications may be divided into two major categories: Medications used to treat high blood pressure such as beta-blockers, diuretics, calcium-channel blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors Medications that have hypotension as a side effect such as anti-psychotics, neuroleptics, nitrates, anti-anxiety agents, tricyclic antidepressants, sedative-hypnotics, and medications for Parkinsons disease Some causes of naturally occurring postural hypotension exist. For example, dehydration and electrolyte loss might result from vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive blood loss during menstruation, or other conditions. A persons age associated decline in blood pressure regulation is another example and is something that might worsen due to certain health conditions or medications. Some diseases may cause postural hypotension as well. Diseases such as Shy-Drager syndrome or, multiple system atrophy, nerve issues such as peripheral neuropathy or autonomic neuropathy, cardiovascular disorders, nutritional diseases, or alcoholism may cause postural hypotension. Blood Pressure Ranges Listed below are the ranges for Low (Table 1) Normal (Table 2) and High (Table 3) blood pressure respectively. Systolic pressure (mm Hg) Diastolic pressure (mm Hg) Pressure Range 90 60 Borderline Low blood Pressure 60 40 Too Low Blood Pressure 50 33 Dangerously Low Blood Pressure Table 1 Low Blood Pressure Range Systolic pressure (mm Hg) Diastolic pressure (mm Hg) Pressure Range 130 85 High Normal Blood Pressure 120 80 Normal Blood Pressure 110 75 Low Normal Blood Pressure Table 2 Normal Blood Pressure Range If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure (Hypertension). Systolic pressure (mm Hg) Diastolic pressure (mm Hg) Stages of High Blood Pressure 210 120 Stage 4 180 110 Stage 3 160 100 Stage 2 140 90 Stage 1 Table 3 High Blood Pressure Range Figure 1Visual representation of Systolic and Diastolic Ranges       Age Systolic BP Diastolic BP 3-6 116 76 7-10 122 78 11-13 126 82 14-16 136 86 17-19 120 85 20-24 120 79 25-29 121 80 30-34 122 81 35-39 123 82 40-44 125 83 45-49 127 84 50-54 129 85 55-59 131 86 60+ 134 87 The average Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure is affected by age, as shown in Age Males (mmHg) Females (mmHg) 1 3 80/34 120/75 83/38 117/76 4 to 6 88/47 128/84 88/50 122/83 7 10 92/53 130/90 93/55 129/88 Table 4 Average Systolic and Diastolic Ranges of Neonates and Infants Table 5 Average Systolic and Diastolic Ranges of Children and Adults Mr Jones has a HR of 153. Please name the appropriate health terminology in relation to his HR reading. Normal Range = What is an arrhythmia? An arrhythmia is a disruption in the hearts normal electrical system which causes an abnormal or irregular heart beat for no apparent reason. Anyone can develop an arrhythmia, even a young person without a previous heart condition. However, arrhythmias are most common in people over 65 who have heart damage caused by a heart attack, cardiac surgery or other conditions. There are many types of arrhythmias, including: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Heartbeats that are too slow (bradycardia) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Heartbeats that are too fast (tachycardia) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Extra beats à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Skipped beats à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Beats coming from abnormal areas of the heart Typical symptoms Some arrhythmias may occur without any symptoms. Others may cause noticeable symptoms, such as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Chest pain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Dizziness, sensation of light-headedness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Fainting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Fatigue à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Sensation of a missed or extra heart beat à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Sensation of your heart fluttering (palpitations) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Shortness of breath à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Weakness Figure 2 Location of Arterial Pulses where Heart Rate can be Detected Figure 3 Normal Heart Rate on an ECG Symptoms of Arrhythmias Symptoms of arrhythmias can vary widely from person to person. An arrhythmia may last for a few minutes, a few hours, a few days, even a few weeks at a time. Some people feel no symptoms at all. Most commonly, patients report feeling a rapid heartbeat, often described as a fluttering sensation. Depending on the severity of the arrhythmia, that may be the only symptom experienced. Others may experience shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness or fainting. Types of Arrhythmias Arrhythmias that cause heartbeats that are too fast are called tachycardia. There are several different types of tachycardia, which are categorized by where they originate in the heart. Figure 4 Supraventricular Tachycardia Location and ECG Presentation Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) is a general term describing any rapid heart rate originating above the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart). The most common SVTs are described below. Atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib) is the most common SVT. During AF, the heartbeat produced by the atria is irregular and rapid, sometimes up to 4 times faster than normal. This impairs the hearts ability to efficiently pump blood and increases the risk of developing blood clots which can cause a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke. Atrial flutter (AFL) is similar to atrial fibrillation in that it is characterised by a rapid heartbeat, sometimes up to 4 times faster than normal that originates in the atria. It differs from atrial fibrillation (AF) in that the heartbeat is regular, not irregular. Atrial flutter also carries the risk of developing blood clots, though not as great as with AF. With atrial flutter, the electrical signal becomes trapped in the right atrium. It repeatedly travels in a circular pattern inside the right atrium, only occasionally escaping through the AV node to the ventricles. This causes your atria to beat faster than the ventricles of your heart, at rates between 150 and 450 beats each minute. Atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the second most common SVT. In a normal heart, there is a single electrical pathway, or gate, called an atrioventricular node (AV node) that controls the timing and direction of the electrical signal as it travels from the upper chambers (atria) to the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. With AVNRT, an extra electrical pathway forms which allows the electrical signal to travel backward through the gate (AV Node) at the same time, starting another heartbeat. During AVNRT the electrical signals continuously go around the 2 pathways in a circular pattern called re-entry. This can lead to a very fast heart rate of 160 to 220 beats per minute. Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) is similar to AVNRT in that an extra electrical pathway is formed that allows the electrical signal to travel backward from the ventricles to the atria. However, in AVRT the extra pathway circumvents the AV node, or gate. This extra pathway around the outside of the AV node is called an accessory pathway. Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) is a rapid heart rate (160 to 240 beats per minute) that originates in the ventricles. It may cause the heart to become unable to pump adequate blood throughout the body. VT most often occurs in patients with underlying structural heart disease, such as ischemic heart disease. Figure 6Ventricular Fibrillation ECG Presentation Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) is a tachycardia which causes the ventricles to contract in an irregular and very rapid manner. The heart immediately loses its ability to pump blood throughout the body. VF causes immediate loss of consciousness, and is invariably fatal within minutes unless it is stopped (usually by using a defibrillator.) AGE HEART RATE (BEATS/MIN) Infant 120-160 Toddler 90-140 Preschooler 80-110 School-age child 75-100 Adolescent 60-90 Adult 60-100 Table 6 Average Heart Rate Range by Age (Rested) Mr Jones has oxygen saturations of 75%. Please name the appropriate health terminology in relation to his oxygen saturations. Normal Range = Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive and continuous method of determining the oxygen saturation of haemoglobin (SpO2). Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) is usually measured with a pulse oximeter placed on the finger. SpO2 is normally 95% to 100%. If the level is below 90%, it is considered low, resulting in hypoxemia. Blood oxygen levels below 80% may compromise organ function, such as the heart and brain, and should be addressed promptly. Accurate SpO2 measurements may be difficult to obtain on patients who are hypothermic, receiving IV vasopressor therapy, or experiencing hypoperfusion and vasoconstriction. Figure 9 Pulse Oximeter Oxygen Saturation Levels Severity % Saturation None/Minimal 95-100% Mild 90-94% Moderate 80-89% Severe Table 7 Oxidation (SpO2) Levels Mr Jones has a RR of 6. Please name the appropriate health terminology in relation to his RR reading. Normal Range = Slow Breathing (Bradypnoea) A slow respiratory rate is usually significant at a rate of 8 or less per minute. Often this is an emergency and requires immediate therapy. Conditions causing bradypnoea are the ingestion of drugs (such as, alcohol, narcotics, sedative-hypnotics), increased intracranial pressure from trauma and haemorrhage (pressure on the respiratory centre), severe respiratory depression (that is, CO2 narcosis) and coma from any cause. It is seen in many pre-arrest and end-stage conditions. Treatment Assisted ventilation is often required with a bag-valve-mask (BVM). Endotracheal intubation is frequently necessary. AGE RATE (BREATHS/MIN) Newborn 35-40 Infant (6 months) 30-50 Toddler (2 years) 25-32 Child 20-30 Adolescent 16-20 Adult 12-20 Table 8 Respiration Rate Range by Age Mr Jones has a temperature of 39 C. Please name the appropriate health terminology in relation to his temperature reading. Normal Range = Measurement site Mouth / Armpit Ear / forehead Rectum Low temperature Consult a doctor Normal temperature 35.9 37.0 à ¢- ¦C 35.8 36.9 à ¢- ¦C 36.3 37.5 à ¢- ¦C You are perfectly well Increased temperature 37.1 37.5 à ¢- ¦C 37.0 37.5 à ¢- ¦C 37.6 38.0 à ¢- ¦C You should get some rest Light fever 37.6 38.0 à ¢- ¦C 37.6 38.0 à ¢- ¦C 38.1 38.5 à ¢- ¦C Check your temperature regularly and rest Moderate fever 38.1 38.5 à ¢- ¦C 38.1 38.5 à ¢- ¦C 38.6 39.0 à ¢- ¦C Check your temperature regularly. Consult a doctor if you get worse or if the fever lasts for more than three days High fever 38.6 39.5 à ¢- ¦C 38.6 39.4 à ¢- ¦C 39.1 39.9 à ¢- ¦C Consult a doctor, especially if the fever lasts for more than one day Very high fever 39.6 42.0 à ¢- ¦C 39.5 42.0 à ¢- ¦C 40.0 42.5 à ¢- ¦C Go to emergency ward of a hospital Table 9 Human Body Temperature Ranges Figure 12 Centigrade and Fahrenheit Representation of Temperature Ranges and Bodily Affection Please explain what the term dysphagia means in words that MR Jones can understand. Dysphagia is another term for a swallowing disorder. A person with dysphagia may experience difficulty swallowing food, liquid and/or their saliva. Some people may be incapable of swallowing at all. Dysphagia occurs when there is a problem with any part of the swallowing process, and often is the result of a stroke. People with dysphagia often have to eat food which is softened and/or mashed and consume liquids which are thickened. Figure 15 Fluid and Food for Dysphagic Persons Please describe hemiplegia as if you were explaining what this term meant to a family member of Mr Jones and how would this impact on taking his blood pressure? What is hemiplegia? Hemiplegia (sometimes called hemiparesis) is a condition that affects one side of the body. We talk about a right or left hemiplegia, depending on the side affected. It is caused by injury to parts of the brain that control movements of the limbs, chest, face, and so forth. This may happen before, during or soon after birth (up to two years of age approximately), when it is known as congenital hemiplegia (or unilateral cerebral palsy), or later in life as a result of injury or illness, in which case it is called acquired hemiplegia. Generally, injury to the left side of the brain will cause a right hemiplegia and injury to the right side a left hemiplegia. Hemiplegia is a condition which is lifelong and non-progressive, that is they do not get worse. How does hemiplegia occur? Acquired hemiplegia results from brain injury. The most common cause is a stroke (when a bleed or blood clot damages part of the brain), but it can also result from a head injury or infection. What are the effects of hemiplegia? It is difficult to generalise: hemiplegia affects each person differently. The most obvious result is a varying degree of weakness, stiffness (spasticity) and lack of control in the affected side of the body, rather like the effects of a stroke. In one person this may be very obvious (he or she may have little use of one hand, may limp or have poor balance); in another person it will be so slight that it only shows when attempting specific physical activities. What can be done to help? Hemiplegia cannot be cured, but a lot can be done to minimise its effects and help the individual achieve their potential. The person, once diagnosed, will probably be referred to a rehabilitation department of your local or regional hospital. Therapists, who work as part of a wider network of professionals including neurologists and orthopaedic and neurosurgeons, will work in partnership with you to develop his or her abilities. Understanding hemiplegia and knowing how you can help your loved one achieve his or her potential is vital. Your loved ones management will probably be based on a multidisciplinary approach, involving physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and possibly speech therapy where required. A physiotherapist and often an occupational therapist will work closely with each other and with partners or carers, to agree a programme of management with specific goals that are tailored to your loved ones development and needs. The aim will be to improve their participation in everyday activities e.g. social activities, feeding, dressing, and toileting. The therapists will work to develop their skills, assessing posture and providing muscle stretching, and possibly strengthening activities. This will help prevent possible secondary consequences of the condition such as pain or the development of weakened muscles. Goals could include improving function so that your loved one can grasp an object with the affected hand, or walk better. They should take into account the partner/ carers views, the time and effort involved in carrying out therapy activities, the impact on the patient and his/her family and how effective the activities might be. A therapy programme will probably include training partners/carers, and later the induvial him/herself, to carry out exercises or techniques which they should continue to use at home, e.g. during dressing or bathing, so that they become part of the individuals everyday life. The persons progress should be reviewed regularly to assess how well the therapy programme is working and consider whether there is a need for other treatments as well. These might include orthoses (devices, such as splints, fitted to the body to improve posture and/or function); medications or orthopaedic surgery. In general the person with hemiplegia should be treated as normally as possible. It is essential to involve the affected side in everyday activities, to make your loved one as two-sided as he or she can be. Are there other problems associated with hemiplegia? Yes, there may be. Because hemiplegia is caused by injury to the brain, it is not just motor pathways and motor development that may be affected. And despite the developing brains effort to relocate functions to undamaged areas, additional diagnoses may occur. Some of these are medical in nature, such as epilepsy, visual impairment or speech difficulties. Many people have less obvious additional challenges, such as perceptual problems, specific learning difficulties or emotional and behavioural problems. Each patient should be fully assessed and regularly monitored to identify if any of these associated problems are present. What does the future hold? In merely defining hemiplegia with its causes and effects we leave out perhaps the most important issue the shock of diagnosis and the fear of the unknown. When a person is first diagnosed, it is often difficult for a doctor to predict whether problems will be mild or severe later in life. He or she will often adopt a wait and see approach, which the patient and their supporters may find difficult to accept, since they may feel they are not being given all the facts. Understanding hemiplegia and knowing how you can help your loved one achieve his or her potential is vital. Make good use of the specialists dealing with your loved ones hemiplegia. Do ask them questions and make sure you understand their replies, if necessary asking them to repeat them using non- specialist terms. Support Life can be difficult for someone with hemiplegia who want to do the same things as they previously did. They tire more easily and the effort involved in simple tasks can be considerable. They need all the help and encouragement you can give them. And you need support in your turn ideally from others who understand how you feel and with whom you can also share ideas and information. You may find general support groups for disabled patients and their families in your own area your hospital or library should have information. And you may want to a national organisatio

The Hole In The Net :: essays research papers

Our social safety net has a hole in it. The fibers of the net are decaying; the hole is getting bigger. More people are falling through, and the people with the least strength are holding the most of the weight. Three to four million Americans are homeless according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 5.5% cannot find jobs according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and the figure is over twice that in the 20-24 year old age group, according to the Department of Education. A very slim minority of these people are sucking off the system, but the vast majority just had a bad break. Such is the story of Peter and Megan, as told by author Jonathan Kozol in his Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award winner Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America. Peter was a carpenter and she was a homemaker who raised their five children. They lived in a neat, working class apartment building in New York City. Peter did construction for public housing projects, and had a vast array of technical skills and tools: â€Å"I did carpentry. I painted. I could do wallpapering. I earned a living. We spent Sundays walking with our children on the beach.† It may sound like this was a happy family, living the American Dream. Perhaps they were -- they were self sufficient for all of the 12 years that they had been married, they had a steady income, a close and loving family, a home, and a chance for their children to do even better than they had done. Then the fire struck. They came racing home after hearing the news, only to find that everything had been destroyed. The children lost their pet dog and cat, Megan lost her grandmother’s china, but Peter perhaps lost the most: his tools. Since the fire, he has not had a job, because a carpenter without tools might as well not have eyes. He explained that for every job he had, he would add a new tool to his collection. But they all went up in the blaze. When Kozol first met them, they were living in a welfare hotel in New York, where they had been living for two years. They can’t get out because federal assistance programs (better known as welfare) tell them that their family limit for an apartment is $366 a month -- this with seven family members living in New York City. (In comparison, that’s about the rock bottom price for a week in a New York City one room motel.) In their two room â€Å"apartment†, the entire place is falling

Working and Poor Essay -- essays research papers

It’s difficult to imagine how some people hold multiple jobs to support their family and still live below the poverty line. The saying â€Å"the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer† has never been so evident in today’s society. With a growing percentage of people living below the poverty line, one has to question the government policies enacted to elevate the living standings for its people. Government policies great influence the everyday life of its people. It is difficult to enact common ground policies to satisfy the entire public since not everyone is on same financial level. Strategic plans should be sought out to ensure effectiveness to its targeted group by considering all the interests of the stakeholders and the impact that will affect these stakeholder groups. According to the free market theory, the government ultimately has the social responsibility to its public. The important task the government must face is to maximize the benefit at a minimized cost. It must approve and implement laws that benefit overall society while adhering strictly to its budget constraints. The underlying concept of the â€Å"good will prevail† is also prevalent in its policy effectiveness. Good implementations to benefit society will stay and the benefit will multiply with time. Bad policies will be questioned, debated, and eventually thrown out. The invisible hand will always bring the market back to equilibrium. The issues on employment greatly reflect a utilitarian view. Utilitarianism is often used to determine the conflict of interest. Often times the employer and the employees will encounter conflict of interests. Which side will ultimately come out on top depends on which side is perceived as the greatest and whether it will generate the greatest bottom line value or the greatest societal gain. The conflict of interest is utterly apparent in a layoff, where the employers are doing so to maximize profit and minimize cost by outsourcing all of its jobs overseas. The stakeholder, employees, suffers greatly from such an act. Utilitarianism often stresses the importance of increased productivity and profit, and reducing cost while improving quality. Many people lose sight of the true benefit or damage in the long run. The only consideration was the short term gain and profit. It is not surprising that families living under the poverty line often hold some of the mo... ...ic’s living conditions, while the general public has duties to cooperate and carry out functions to ensure the success of these policies. Universal moral norms such as honesty, fairness, compassion, integrity, etc., are often expected between the stakeholders. The government and the companies must assess environmental scanning and fully evaluate issues management to ensure the public and its employees are protected, while the policy serves its underlying purpose. It is a depressing realization that some people work very hard to support those around them and never get the benefits they deserve. Tax, education, and health care policies are often working against those who are less unfortunate. It is apparent that the poor keep on trailing further and further behind. It’s not surprising to learn that the policies enacted today haven’t proven as effective as originally intended. Everyday is a learning process and ongoing improvements must be made, especially in this fast paced, ever-changing environment. Poverty will never be eradicated, but with thorough analysis and evaluation, the overall living standard can be improved for many who are counting on the government to help them.

Green Capitalism Essay

Green Capitalism is a new approach for resolving the problem of environmental destruction while ensure the sustainable development of capitalism practices (Bess, 2000). The world is witnessing the effects of global warming. In addition, economic sustainability remains a major concern by the global community. Based on this, green capitalism concept dictates for use of green energy sources to support the economy (Bess, 2000). By ethics of care, individual humans must protect the environment for the good of the whole community. Critics have blamed capitalism for its exploitation of available resources without concern of the negative environmental implications of the same (Beaufoy, 1993). From an ethical point of view, green capitalism concept is quite limited in its practicability due to the fact that capitalism by its nature seeks to maximize profits regardless of associated consequences (Beaufoy, 1993). On the other side, green practices dictate for protection of the environment and its ecosystem. Thus, the theory of green capitalism remains a conflict between caring for the environment and maximization of capital (Beaufoy, 1993). True to the letter, the world is claimed to have enough renewable resources to sustain its population. Nevertheless, most of these resources like solar, wind, and tidal energies are unpredictable for supporting our current economic energy requirements. Still, the green capitalism concept advocates for reduced consumption of anti-green products in the community (Bess, 2000). This has an ethical implication of harming the global market capital, a claim that has been blamed for economic meltdown (Beaufoy, 1993). As a solution to these real concerns on green capitalism theory, there is need having in place other models of addressing the problem of environmental pollution. Just to note, the effects of capitalism are permanent trends that cannot be reversed if capitalism prevails. References Bess, M. (2000). Greening the Mainstream. Environmental History, 5, 12-18. Beaufoy, H. (1993). Case Study: The Green Office in Britain: A Critical Analysis. Journal of Design History, 6, 9-14.

Family Therapy Essay

The whole issue of preferred family structure in the United States is complex with potential debates ranging from human rights issues to personal preferences and compliance with societal requirements. Several issue under lies this interest in a human context. For instance, the perception that the nuclear family is the best family structure which should feature in all human societies and is the only family structure that can fulfill the requirements and functions of a family is facing a lot of challenges in the modern society (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005) this paper is written. It identifies and discusses the reasons why single parented family is more preferable to nuclear family in the United States. Nuclear family is defined as a traditional family which is made up of father, mother and children (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). It was traditionally conceived after marriage and developed ties across generation to an extended family, which accommodated cousins, uncles, aunts and grand parents. The nuclear family is associated with many advantages which range from emotional to social and economical support. However, numerous studies indicate that in the recent past, the nuclear family structure has lost the originality and substance it deserved and alternative family structures are becoming more prevalent (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). Several proposals have been put forth to explain this transformation top on the list being high divorce rates, same sex marriages and adoption of children. Current sociological statistics shows that nuclear family is losing prevalent in the United States because of its inadequacy to accommodate the diversified modern family arrangements. Available research shows that single parent family structure is increasingly high and 75% of all children in the United States spend a considerable amount of their life time in a single family (Stebbins, 2001). In a single family, there is only one parent in the family raising the children. In many a time, single parent family consists of a mother and the children. But to avoid being branded a feminist, the author of this paper finds it important to mention here that the number of single male parents is on the hike and cannot be ignored in this discussion. Several reasons have been put forth to explain why many people in United States prefer single parent family structure. From available statistics, many of the single parents are women who have never been married (Stebbins, 2001). The modern society has given women equal opportunities to pursue their careers. This is evidenced by the increasingly high number of women who have excelled in different careers including the male dominated ones. These women spend a considerable amount of their life time nurturing their careers to a point where if they have to wait until they get a potential partner, it mate be late for them to bear children. Advance in technology has enable women to bear children in absence intimacy with there male partners through artificial insemination (Sharp, & Yarber, 2010). They are given a chance to select a male partner who is willing to father the child without being emotionally attached. They raise the children according to their plans, values and standards and they stands to benefit from their parenting effort. The high rate of divorce in the United States has contributed heavily to the increased number of single parent families (Stebbins, 2001). Psychological research result indicates that conflict between parents creates the worst environment for the well being of children. Children built their characters from their parents and therefore domestic violence, for instance is emotionally and psychologically destructive to the children. Divorce and hence single family gives a solution to this problem and may guarantee the children a good future. Available information shows that despite the emotional feelings of loneliness, single parent families have many opportunities for the growth of children than in a two parent family (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). References McGoldrick, M., & Carter, B. (2005). The Expanded Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Sharp, P., & Yarber, A. (2010). Focus on Single-Parent Families: past, present, and Future. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Stebbins, L. (2001). Work and Family in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Reaction to Amistad Movie

Kaylan Earls March 22, 2013 COMM3820 Reaction To Amistad Amistad was a very touching movie and showed a lot of fight and determination from the West Africans and several others working to gain freedom for the slaves.. During the movie I felt that I to were experiencing the gruesome triumphs that the West African slaves experienced during their fight toward freedom. Though I have seen several movies dealing with race it is always interesting to learn more about history. Amistad showed how the West Africans stuck together and remained as one to fight for their freedom and be reunited with their families once again.An issue that really hit a spot was how the slaves had to continue to go back to trial after being given their freedom once before due to illegal captivation. I think because of history and how race had such a impact in past times, regardless if the slaves were illegally captivated, the White House made the decision based off what was right for only their sake. I think during those times African Americans were just seen for their color and were being enslaved just because just for that simple reason. Though it was great to see that the Mende people finally were granted their freedom after a third trial, t was not fair that they had to go through so much for something they were already given before. This film had a huge impact on my thinking about race. Being African American I know the marches and all that was put in to get to where we are today. It's so inspiring to see and makes me so much more appreciative that todays society is better than it was in the past. Though I am sure that there are still some racial problems it is not nearly as bad as before. I liked the movie because I feel like in a way it showed how we all should have been treated equally in a way because the Mende eople were enslaved for no reason. I think it relates to my life because their are still some that have their strong racist beliefs because of how they may have been raised. I t's scary to think of how life would be if I lived the life that some of my people did when they were alive. I think it would be safe to say that the society has come a long way and if we still dealt with the same issues we wouldn't have an African American President today. I believe that the film was a little gruesome but not at exaggerated at all with the in treatment of the blacks.The non-blacks seemed to have no sympathy in what they were doing, they were simply doing what they had do, because in their eyes it's life. There are many other films that show the same treatment to slaves. Only knowing some basic treatments I fully believe that the way the Mende people were treated in the movie is how they were treated realistically. As stated before, I really have a lot more appreciation for my race. My ancestors and so many others experienced some really hard times and had to deal with things that no human should ever have to deal with regardless of the color of their skin.Not that I never appreciated what my people have done for freedom, but it is always very inspiring and impactful to see how much went into a tremendous fight for freedom. In our generation now, not many know exactly what it was like to live the life that African Americans before we were born, so it's good that we have films that shows us and help us learn. I would hope that this movie had some type of impact on the society because it is a very touching film. No one now could ever put themselves in the shoes of those who actually experienced these times.I know that if it was hard to even watch the way the slaves were treated in the movie, I could only imagine what it was actually living it. This movie shows society that this treatment was unnecessary, there is no possible reason why African Americans were treated the way they were. Amistad was a touching, impactful movie and it would be a movie I recommend people to see, just to learn more about history. Today racial issues sometimes get over looked and to see a movie that shows how they use to be may make people become more aware of how they treat someone else that is a different race.

Mercury

Mercury International, Ltd is already at the forefront of the shoe manufacturing industry being in direct competition with the world’s biggest names in shoes manufacturing. These include Nike, Reebok and Puma. Thus, what they have to do is to sustain there marketing output, yet continue enhancing the way they compete with the present market. Relative to other leaders in the industry, they are very near behind, although Mercury shoes are unheard yet in other parts of the world. Having the same technological edge with other brands, there is a possibility that it can surpass others given the chance to maximize its potential using new marketing techniques. Several factors have contributed to Mercury International, Ltd’s performance. Although some of these are technological in nature, still the key factor to its growth is adhering to tested marketing principles. Some of these are; product innovations, making the most of market trend information, market expansion, and relying on concrete statistical data. But, to sustain the growth of a company, one has to remedy first the aspects or areas which keep the company grounded and not able to grow at the rate that it should be. Hence, an analysis on the factors prejudicial to the company and need to be improved is imperative. On the operational side of things, we cannot see much of a problem because it expanded its market to other countries, and having also product-development centers in China, Taiwan and Indonesia. The combined production capacity of these centers can very well meet consumer demands, at least in Asia alone. So there is a need to put up production centers in Europe and Latin American countries alone, so that Mercury’s products will be well distributed, and at the same time gain exposure to new markets. European and Latin American countries composed a very big share the shoe industry market, thus there’s a need for the company to capture these areas of the market. Its expenses can be further reduced by using technology. The fact that the company is at par with other company regarding the technology used in its production, it can reduced its expenses by mass-producing their products in a single period of time and later on put emphasis on its marketing, doing the production and marketing in phases. Eventually, all marketing processes could be covered, yet there would be no waste in effort and energy by doing different processes in a given time, thus big expenses can be avoided. On the financial side of its operations, an analysis on its financial and management reports gives a picture as to how the company is faring in the worldwide market. By the end of the year 2005, its total market share was only 9.1%; this information explains that there is still a huge chunk of the market that needs to be covered. Seeing this in the negative, it seems that the company is far from other companies in terms of market covered. But profitability cannot be measured by the size of the market covered alone, but through the actual profit made. A closer analysis of its income statement showed that there was a deficit of $10.13 million incurred during 2003 alone, and the succeeding combined income for the years 2004 and 2005 was barely able to compensate the 2003 deficit, the combined income being only $13.08 million. A growth of only $3.05 million was realized over the past three years. In essence, the company is not doing well financially. Â  Mercury Shoes, Ltd. can do much better that this. Yet, on the brighter side, we can glimpse from the financial reports that, at the least, there was a recorded growth between 2004 and 2005. This is enough for the management to persevere even harder to raise this notch to higher level. Perhaps, the company should put emphasis on the development of its operational system, because when its operations are exemplary, a good performance relating to its income will follow later. A complete operational overhaul is not needed. The company excels in other areas far better than other companies do. It has a technological edge over others, and its research and development is exemplary providing products to consumers with innovative technology. Almost 98% of human labor in the actual production of shoes and apparel has already been eliminated by robotic technology. Manufacturing is in an automated mode. These factors alone don’t justify the need to overhaul the operational system of the company completely. If changes are to be made, it should be done in the human resource and marketing divisions of the company. The brain of a particular organization lies in the management officials that lead the company. It is, therefore, logical to surmise that the failure of a company can be attributed to the leaders’ incapability. The marketing department also has the power to attract consumers to buy the company’s products, failure to do so justify their incompetence. The technological advantage, R & D programs, and the manufacturing process of the company should be retained. The rest should be change and improved for the benefit of the whole company. Generally, Mercury International, Ltd. has a potential in being a leader of the shoe and apparel manufacturing industry. What is has to do is to align its operations and processes into a single output force looking at a single objective. Although, the company hasn’t yet reached this stage of organizational development, with patience, cooperation, and continuous development of its product with the use of cutting-edge technology, it will eventually. What the management has to do is to sustain the over-all output to maintain its position yet continue to strive and develop further. The backbone of the company’s product line, the Boost Technology, TrailStep, and the Sweatless Training Apparel should further be strengthened, so that the company will have security on where to get its money for expenses when changes are to be made in other areas of the company. With the managerial officers having already the skills to effectuate changes on the company, what they have to do only is to use their skills at the utmost and steer the company to where it grows the most.

Brainstorming Six Thinking Hats Communications Essay

Brainstorming Six Thinking Hats Communications Essay Brainstorming is one of the best-known techniques for producing fresh ideas and approaching problems from innovative new angles. Brainstorming sessions are best done in small groups; participants are asked to leave their inner critic at the door and come up with the zaniest ideas possible. This challenge is based on a tool created by famous ‘lateral thinker’ Edward de Bono to improve decision making skills. The Six Thinking Hats technique is particularly useful for group brainstorming as it emphasises ‘what if?’ thinking rather than ‘what is’ assumptions. People or groups often tend to follow certain fixed ways of thinking. This technique involves looking at a problem or issue from a number of different perspectives, each represented by a different coloured hat, and giving each one equal weighting in a discussion. White hat (= objective) When you wear this hat, you focus on available information to see what you can learn from it. You try to fill any gaps in your knowledge. This is where you analyse past trends and extrapolate from historical data. Red hat (= emotions, feelings) When you wear the red hat you use intuition, gut reaction and emotion to respond to an issue or idea. You also try to think how other people will react emotionally to the issue, and try to understand their intuitive responses. Black hat (= negatives, points of caution) When you wear the black hat you are the pessimist. You are cautious and critical and try to find reasons that things will not work. It’s a useful perspective, since it highlights any weak points in a plan and enables you to either eliminate them, or prepare measures to counter problems should they arise. Black hat thinking makes plans more resilient. Yellow hat (= positive focus) The yellow hat is the positive thinking hat. When you wear this hat you seek harmony; its optimistic viewpoint enables you to see the value, benefits and further opportunities in a plan. Yellow ha t thinking helps you keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult. Green hat (= generates new ideas or concepts) The green hat stands for creativity. Its mood is provocative, experimental, and explorative. Wear it to playfully spin ideas free of any judgement or criticism. Blue hat (= defines focus, control of thinking) The blue hat stands for process control. It sees the big picture. Wear this hat to chair a meeting, or to bring any of the other processes /thinking approaches [?] to order. During a typical Six Hats session you will flip between different hat ‘modes’: when ideas are slow in coming you’ll try green hat thinking; when the mood gets too pessimistic, switch to yellow hat thinking; when contingency planning is needed, put on your black hat, and so on. 3 How to Play 3.a Game Instructions The six animals on the right-hand riverbank are desperately looking for their thinking caps, which the wind has cheekily deposited on the left bank. Send the hats back to their respective owners by following the 6 ways of thinking, one at a time, all the way through from the left to the right.