Development of the new england colonies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Development of the new england colonies - Essay Example In 1608, a branch of separatist group of Scrooby decided to flee to Holland. This group comprised of humble individuals, and in Holland, they found low paying jobs. This situation caused some people of the group to quit for other religions. In 1620, a large group of separatist pilgrim left for Mayflower a region that was named Plymouth situated on the Coast of what is today Southeastern Massachusetts. Unfortunately, this group encountered many problems in the new world. For instance, they had the difficulty of crossing the ocean and inadequate supply of food left many hungry. The local Indians assisted Plymouth Colony, and they survived the harsh conditions (Smith 1963, 33). Many puritans who were still living in England were now interest in colonization. In 1629, a group of lawyers and merchants organized a company they called Massachusetts Bay. As time went by, Massachusetts received a royal charter securing its rights to govern the region of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It too k a short time for people to settle in New England by about over twenty thousand settlers. According to Anderson (1992, 66-68), the settlers built towns in the New World. Charles II continued to issue royal charters to these immigrants in 1660s, in that some of them decided to settle in Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut and Rhodes Island. Massachusetts successfully conquered New Hampshire in the 1640’s but it was until 1679 when it became a separate colony. In addition, the New England colonists divided the land among themselves in that some families had about 150 acres of land. As this habit continued, the increasing number of young families moved on to western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Men headed their families in that they sought strict respect and obedience from their children even when they became adults. On the other hand, wives were to be submissive to their husbands. During that time, the law demanded that women who possessed any property were required to surrender it before marriage. At that time, the issue of divorce was almost impossible until the dawn of late eighteenth century. When elections were held in colonies, women were not allowed to vote. Only the widows and single women in society held the same rights as men. The colonies utilized town meetings as basis of their self-governance whereby, town meetings required unanimous consent of all town men. Church played a vital role in the development of new colonies in England. Churches were established at the same time towns were being built. Ministers held much power in that they had the ability to influence over the private and public lives of the people but held no government offices. The colonists were demanded to attend church services and assist ministers in their work in all colonies. New England did not enjoy harmony as the arriving immigrants from England who began to settle in New England disagreed with the local people. These conflicts emerged over different issues such as the right way to regulate livestock, plant crops and distribute land. Towns developed and became overcrowded resulting in many families relocating to outlying districts and wanted to establish their own schools and churches. Religion was the main banning issue in New England among the colonies such as Virginia, New Hampshire, a

Business Policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Policy - Assignment Example KG). Swan Malaysia Sdn Bhd is one of the three production facilities of the Schwan-STABILO Group "that guarantee the best materials and resources, workmanship and experienced staff" (Swan Malaysia Sdn Bhd). It is the goal of this paper to analyze the particular external environment of STABILO Malaysia or the Swan Malaysia Sdn Bhd subsidiary as an aid to better business policy. Effective management and evaluation tools such as the PEST Analysis, The Porter's Five Forces Analysis, the Competitor Analysis and the Market Trend Analysis will all be done in this particular case. The external environment may seem out of company's control as the political, economic, social and technological climate are determined by outside factors, but the responsibility to forecast, adjust and reconcile the company's direction to them is within the company's scope and capability. Political. Malaysia espouses the Parliamentary democracy, with a constitutional monarch, the King of Malaysia as the head of state and the government administration divided among the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches (Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, 2010). The countr The country's judiciary in Malaysia is said to be not independent as there seems to be "excessive influence of the executive over the judiciary, especially in politically motivated cases" thus foreigners cannot be guaranteed an impartial trial from the country's judiciary (Alibaba.com, 2008). As to tax rates, the coutnry requires to Value Added Tax (VAT), but there is a sales tax which is normally at 5%, except for cigarette which is taxed 25% and wine and beer which is taxed at 20% (Alibaba.com, 2008). For corporation, capital gains tax range from 0% to 28% (Alibaba.com, 2008). Economic. Malaysia is one of the growing economies in Asia. Although it posted a -2.8% growth rate in 2010 its inflation rate was moderate at 0.4% in the same year (IndexMundi, 2010). Malaysia Ringgit is a relatively strong currency, which is currently exhcanged for 3.26 to 1.00 USD compared to Philippines' 45.9 to 1.00 USD (http://www.xe.com, 2010). Malaysia's competitive ranking surged to 10th compared to 18th a year ago "as the country benefited from strong demand from Asia as well as implementation of efficient policies, especially government policies" (Sidhu, 2010). Investment banker attributes the leap from the government's strong commitment to "reshapre the country's competitive landscape" (Sidhu, 2010). The ranking which was based from four main criteria including economic performance, governmen efficiency, business, efficiency and infrastructure is expected to boost the country's private investment (Sidhu, 2010). Social. The country currently houses 28.96 million individuals, with a projected average growth rate of 1.6% per year, a figure which is lower than the previous years and is primarily attributed Malaysians' decision to delay marriage and pursue higher education and career advancement (Malaxi.com, 2010 cited in Department of statistic and economic planning unit). 63.6% of the population is from 15-64 years old, 31.7% aged

The Effectiveness Of Diversion Programs For Offenders Criminology Essay

The Effectiveness Of Diversion Programs For Offenders Criminology Essay A criminal conviction does not necessarily mean that individuals will be subjected to jail or prison. In some cases, individuals are afforded the opportunity of attending a diversion program. Depending on the type of crime and the number of offenses, an individual could attend a diversion program with the permission of a judge. Diversion programs are designed to help certain offenders overcome their bad tendencies and drug and/or alcohol addictions. The one lingering question is do diversion programs really help offenders make the transition from prison to society and becoming a productive member of the society. With diversion programs, offenders are given the resources they need to work through their issues, problems, addictions, and the chances of those individuals committing another crime in the future may decrease. Concepts Non-violent crimes and recidivism First, think about the term non-violent. A non-violent crime usually means that no physical harm came to any individual. Though non-violent crimes can cause indirect harm to individuals for example, the Bernard Madoff incident did cause some suicides. One reported incident stated that an individual did commit suicide after losing all of the money to Madoff for it was a way to avoid bankruptcy. That is an example of how non-violent crimes can indirectly cause harm but on a different note those kind of incidents do not happen that often. The correctional plan for persons convicted of non-violent crimes must include an aggressive education plan. The education for a non-violent crime should fit the particular crime in which the individual was convicted of for instance, writing bad checks, substance abuse, or theft. Three strikes law and non-violent offenders The premise of the three strikes laws are best served for serious or violent crimes and the key word is convicted of a felony. In reality, there are gray areas when it comes to the three strikes law and non-violent crimes and offenders. For example, writing bad checks can get a person a jail sentence and if the third time a conviction is imposed on a individual they could face the three strikes law. Constant debate over non-violent crimes and whether a person should receive a life sentence for non-violent crimes. Adult diversion programs and 1st time offenders. A good combination for individuals who are willing and are eligible to participate in the program. These types of programs are meant for individuals who are only for misdemeanors such as worthless checks. Felony convictions can attend diversion programs but it would that written recommendations from the judge which would involve some serious commitment from the individual that they do want to be better. Theoretical considerations Alfred Alders Individual Psychology Social Learning Theory Kohlbergs Theory of Moral development Hypothesis Jail diversion programs may reduce the rates of recidivism because they provide non-violent offenders who are jailed for the first time treatment options, support groups, and overall the opportunity for a second chance. General approach Program evaluation of the jail diversion program for incarcerated individuals who may have substance abuse or mental illness issues. Jail Diversion programs provides court-based services to individuals who are eligible with psychiatric and co-occurring (mental illness and substance abuse) disorders who are arrested on minor or non-violent offenses. Â   Goals To know if jail diversion programs are effective in reducing recidivism. Literature Review Knight, L., Stephens, M. (2009). Mentally disordered offenders in prison: A tale of neglect? Retrieved from http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Knight_Stephens_Mentally_Disordered_Offenders.pdf The article examines whether inmates who have a mental disorder should be considered as patients or prisoners. Prison system are meant for security and control but when it comes to the housing of inmates with mental disorders it is suggested that those particular inmates should be afforded the opportunity for better treatment within prison walls. The Mountbatten Report in 1966, following a series of escapes from high security prisons, led to greater emphasis on security and control (Knight Stephens, 2009). This upgrade in security left gaps in the system because mental ill inmates was disregarded and because of this it caused a reform in the way prisons treat or do not treat mentally ill inmates. Bottom line is that the mistreatment of mentally ill inmates caused human rights issues which prompted a few legislative measures to ensure they get proper treatment for their illnesses. Ashraf, H. (2003). US Supreme Court limits forced drugging of mentally ill before trail. Lancet, 361(9375), 2131. Academic Search Premier Database. The article goes on to explain that for the reason of standing court that mentally ill prisoners can take their prescribed medicine to stand trial. The issue arises for the case of mentally ill prisoners to stand trial for committing a non-violent crime. The article explains how the United States Supreme Court based a decision limiting the use of force drugs in order to make non-violent offenders competent for standing trials. LaFree, G., Erlanger, H. (2002). Too much democracy or too much crime: Lessons from Californias Three-Strikes Law. Law Social Inquiry, 27(4), 875. Academic Search Premier Database. The authors of this article go on explain the problems that were uncovered with some research done on democracy and the effects it has on crime. They also give a history of the Three Strikes Law and note how there needs to be a reform of it. One of the crucial finds of their study was that they were able to note that with the laws in place there was not a significant drop in the crime rate based on the Three Strikes Law. It was purposed that deterrence tactics were better suited in reducing crime. Akins, S., Smith, C., Mosher, C. (2010). Pathways to adult alcohol abuse across racial/ethnic groups: An application of general strain and social learning theories. Journal of Drug Issues, 40(2), 321-351. Retrieved from Academic Search Database. This article takes the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States of America and applies theories on why drugs and alcohol has different impacts on the number of users. The largest groups are Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics. The application of the Social Learning Theory and the General Strain Theory has different applications on users in these communities. Much of the article can lead to conclusions on why the pattern of drinking could lead to why there are many Blacks and Hispanics that occupy our prison systems. Steadman, H., Naples, M. (2005). Assessing the effectiveness of jail diversion programs for persons with serious mental issues and co-occurring substance use disorders. Behavioral Sciences The Law, 23(2), 163-170. Retrieved from doi:10.1002/bsl.640 The article explains how diversion programs help offenders with mental illness and/or substance abusing behaviors. The purpose of the article is to show that diversion programs can help as it was reported that monitored individuals were not committing crimes after their release from prison.

The Great Gatsby Book Report Essay -- essays research papers

Summary At the onset of this book, the reader is introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who relates the past happenings that construct the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick during the summer of 1922. After fighting in World War I, or the Great War as Nick called it, Nick left his prominent family in the West of America for the North where he intended to learn the bond business. Nick was originally supposed to share a house in West Egg near New York City with an associate of his, but the man backed out and so Nick lived with only a Finnish cook. Right next door, Gatsby lived in a glorious mansion with expansive gardens and a marble swimming pool, among other luxuries. Yet Nick did not even hear about Gatsby until he went to visit his distant family at East Egg next to West Egg. Daisy was Nick’s second cousin once removed, and Tom Buchanan was Daisy’s hulking brute of a husband and classmate of Nick’s from college. Jordan Baker, a prominent tennis player of the time, was staying with Daisy and Tom. As they sat down and chatted, it was Jordan who mentioned Gatsby, saying that she had been to one of his extravagant parties that he held every weekend. The four sat down to dinner when Tom received a phone call, which Daisy suspected to be from Tom’s mistress. Afterwards, Daisy and Nick talked and Jordan and Tom went out to walk about the grounds. Daisy talked about her little daughter and how when she was born Tom was not even there and she had wished out loud that she would be a fool, for that was the only way she could ever be happy. The four met again at the house and then Jordan went to bed and Nick went home. In the next chapter, the reader is introduced the bleak stretch of land between New York City and West Egg. It was there that Nick first met Tom’s mistress. Nick and Tom were taking the train into New York City one Saturday when Tom signaled to Nick that they were going to get off the train halfway to their destination in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Tom walked into an auto garage where he talked with a man named George Wilson, who asked about a car Tom was supposed to sell him. Wilson’s wife, Myrtle, emerged from the upstairs of the garage. When Wilson went off to his office for a moment, Tom quickly told Myrtle that he wanted to see her and to take the next train into New York. They arranged where they would meet quickly and moved away f... ...al 1922. F. Scott Fitzgerald was not biased for or against the rich in writing this book, he was simply trying to chronicle the lives and times of the early part of the 20’s. His lack of a bias is what makes his book such an accurate description of the era that he wrote about. This book should be considered â€Å"required reading† because it introduces the reader to what life was like for the rich at that time, as well as the general mood that pervaded the decade. It speaks of concepts such as bootlegging, gambling, and â€Å"new money†, ideas that previously were not commonly written of. F. Scott Fitzgerald can be considered an authority on the twenties because he lived in the twenties with the type of people that were described in his book. Theme In writing this book, commonly refered to as the â€Å"Great American Novel†, F. Scott Fitzgerald achieved in showing future generations what the early twenties were like, and the kinds of people that lived then. He did this in a beautifully written novel with in-depth characters, a captivating plot, and a wonderful sense of the time period. Bibliographical Data F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; Simon and Schuster Publishing;  © 1925; 189 pages

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 16. Too-Much-Information Alert

16. Too-Much-Information Alert I took off early, long before sunrise was due. I'd gotten just a little bit of uneasy sleep leaning against the side of the sofa. Edward woke me when Bella's face was flushed, and he took my spot to cool her back down. I stretched and decided I was rested enough to get some work done. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward said quietly, seeing my plans. â€Å"If the route is clear, they'll go today.† Tillet you know.† It felt good to get back to my animal self. I was stiff from sitting still for so long. I extended my stride, working out the kinks. Morning, Jacob,Leah greeted me. Good, you're up. How long's Seth been out? Not out yet,Seth thought sleepily. Almost there. What do you need? You think you got another hour in you? Sure thing. No problem.Seth got to his feet right away, shaking out his fur. Let's make the deep run,Itold Leah. Seth, take the perimeter. Gotcha.Seth broke into an easy jog. Off on another vampire errand,Leah grumbled. You got a problem with that? Of course not. I just love to coddle those darling leeches. Good. Let's see how fast we can run. Okay, I'm definitely up forthat Leah was on the far western rim of the perimeter. Rather than cut close to the Cullens' house, she stuck to the circle as she raced around to meet me. I sprinted off straight east, knowing that even with the head start, she'd be passing me soon if I took it easy for even a second. Nose to the ground, Leah. This isn't a race, it's a reconnaissance mission. I can do both and still kick your butt I gave her that one. know. She laughed. We took a winding path through the eastern mountains. It wasa familiar route. We'd run these mountains when the vampires had left a year ago, making it part of our patrol route to better protect the people here. Then we'd pulled back the lines when the Cullens returned. This was their treaty land. But that fact would probably mean nothing to Sam now. The treaty was dead. The question today was how thin he was willing to spread his force. Was he looking for stray Cullens to poach on their land or not? Had Jared spoken the truth or taken advantage of the silence between us? We got deeper and deeper into the mountains without finding any trace of the pack. Fading vampire trails were everywhere, but the scents were familiar now. I was breathing them in all day long. I founda heavy, somewhat recent concentration on one particular trail – all of them coming and going here except for Edward. Some reason for gathering that must have been forgotten when Edward brought his dying pregnant wife home. I gritted my teeth. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with me. Leah didn't push herself past me, though she could have now. I was paying more attention to each new scent than I was to the speed contest. She kept to my right side, running with me rather than racing against me. Were getting pretty far out here,she commented. Yeah. If Sam was hunting strays, we should have crossed his trail by now. Makes more sense right now for him to bunker down in La Push,Leah thought. He knows we're giving the bloodsuckers three extra sets of eyes and legs. He's not going to be able to surprise them. This was just a precaution, really. Wouldn't want our precious parasites taking unnecessary chances. Nope,I agreed, ignoring the sarcasm. You've changed so much, Jacob. Talk about one-eighties. You're not exactly the same Leah I've always known and loved, either. True. Am I less annoying than Paul now? Amazingly†¦ yes. Ah, sweet success. Congrats. We ran in silence again then. It was probably time to turn around, but neither of us wanted to. It felt nice to run like this. We'd been staring at the same small circle of atrail for too long. It felt good to stretch our muscles and take the rugged terrain. We weren't in a huge hurry, so I thought maybe we should hunt on the way back. Leah was pretty hungry. Yum, yum,she thought sourly. It's all in your head,I told her. That's the way wolves eat. It's natural. It tastes fine. If you didn't think about it from a human perspective – Forget the pep talk, Jacob. I'll hunt I don't have to like it Sure, sure,I agreed easily. It wasn't my business if she wanted to make things harder for herself. She didn't add anything for a few minutes; I started thinking about turning back. Thank you,Leah suddenly told me in a much different tone. For? For letting me be. For letting me stay. You've been nicer than I had any right to expect, Jacob. Er, no problem. Actually, I mean that. I don't mind having you here like I thought I would. She snorted, but it was a playful sound. What a glowing commendation! Don't let it go to your head. Okay – if you don't let this go to yours.She paused for a second. think you make a good Alpha. Not in the same way Sam does, but in your own way. You're worth following, Jacob. My mind went blank with surprise. It took me a second to recover enough to respond. Er, thanks. Not totally sure I'll be able to stop that one from going to my head, though. Where did that come from? She didn't answer right away, and I followed the wordless direction of her thoughts. She was thinking about the future – about what I'd said to Jared the other morning. About how the time would be up soon, and then I'd go back to the forest. About how I'd promised that she and Seth would return to the pack when the Cullens were gone___ want to stay with you, she told me. The shock shot through my legs, locking my joints. She blew past me and then put on the brakes. Slowly, she walked back to where I was frozen in place. won't be a pain, I swear. I won't follow you around. You can go wherever you want, and I'll go where I want. You'll only have to put up with me when we're both wolves. She paced back and forth in front of me, swishing her long gray tail nervously. And, as I'm planning on quitting as soon as I can manage it†¦ maybe that won't be so often. I didn't know what to say. I'm happier now, as a part of your pack, than I have been in years. I want to stay, too,Seth thought quietly. I hadn't realized he'd been paying much attention to us as he ran the perimeter. like this pack. Hey, now! Seth, this isn't going to be a pack much longer.I tried to put my thoughts together so they would convince him. We've got a purpose now, but when†¦ after that's over, I'm just going to go wolf. Seth, you need a purpose. You're a good kid. You're the kind of person who always has a crusade. And there's no way you're leaving La Push now. You're going to graduate from high school and do something with your life. You're going to take care of Sue. My issues are not going to mess up your future. But – Jacob is rightLeah seconded. You're agreeing with me? Of course. But none of that applies tome. was on my way out anyway. I'll get a job somewhere away from La Push. Maybe take some courses at a community college. Get into yoga and meditation to work on my temper issues†¦. And stay a part of this pack for the sake of my mental well-being. Jacob – you can see how that makes sense, right? I won't bother you, you won't bother me, everyone is happy. I turned back and started loping slowly toward the west. This is a bit much to deal with, Leah. Let me think about it, ‘kay? Sure. Take your time. It took us longer to make the run back. I wasn't trying for speed. I was just trying to concentrate enough that I wouldn't plow headfirst into a tree. Seth was grumbling a little bit in the back of my head, but I was able to ignore him. He knew I was right. He wasn't going to abandon his mom. He would go back to La Push and protect the tribe like he should. But I couldn't see Leah doing that. And that was just plain scary. A pack of the two of us? No matter the physical distance, I couldn't imagine the†¦ the intimacy of that situation. I wondered if she'd really thought it through, or if she was just desperate to stay free. Leah didn't say anything as I chewed it over. It was like she was trying to prove how easy it would be if it was just us. We ran into a herd of black-tailed deer just as the sun was coming up, brightening the clouds a little bit behind us. Leah sighed internally but didn't hesitate. Her lunge was clean and efficient – graceful, even. She took down the largest one, the buck, before the startled animal fully understood the danger. Not to be outdone, I swooped down on the next largest deer, snapping her neck between my jaws quickly, so she wouldn't feel unnecessary pain. I could feel Leah's disgust warring with her hunger, and I tried to make it easier for her by letting the wolf in me have my head. I'd lived all-wolf for long enough that I knew how to be the animal completely, to see his way and think his way. I let the practical instincts take over, letting her feel that, too. She hesitated for a second, but then, tentatively, she seemed to reach out with her mind and try to see my way. It felt very strange – our minds were more closely linked than they had ever been before, because we both were trying to think together. Strange, but it helped her. Her teeth cut through the fur and skin of her kill's shoulder, tearing away a thick slab of streaming flesh. Rather than wince away as her human thoughts wanted to, she let her wolf-self react instinctively. It was kind of a numbing thing, a thoughtless thing. It let her eat in peace. It was easy for me to do the same. And I was glad I hadn't forgotten this. This would be my life again soon. Was Leah going to be a part of that life? A week ago, I wouldve found that idea beyond horrifying. I wouldn't've been able to stand it. But I knew her better now. And, relieved from the constant pain, she wasn't the same wolf. Not the same girl. We ate together until we both were full. Thanks,she told me later as she was cleaning her muzzle and paws against the wet grass. I didn't bother; it had just started to drizzle and we had to swim the river again on our way back. I'd get clean enough. That wasn't so bad, thinking your way. You're welcome. Seth was dragging when we hit the perimeter. I told him to get some sleep; Leah and I would take over the patrol. Seth's mind faded into unconsciousness just seconds later. You headed back to the bloodsuckers?Leah asked. Maybe. It's hard for you to be there, but hard to stay away, too. I know how that feels. You know, Leah, you might want to think a little bit about the future, about what you really want to do. My head is not going to be the happiest place on earth. And you'll have to suffer right along with me. She thought about how to answer me. Wow, this is going to sound bad. But, honestly, it will be easier to deal with your pain than face mine. Fair enough. I know it's going to be bad for you, Jacob. I understand that – maybe better than you think. I don't like her, but†¦ she's your Sam. She's everything you want and everything you can't have. I couldn't answer. know it's worse for you. At least Sam is happy. At least he's alive and well. I love him enough that I want that. I want him to have what's best for him. She sighed. I just don't want to stick around to watch. Do we need to talk about this? I think we do. Because I want you to know that I won't make it worse for you. Hell, maybe I'll even help. I wasn'tborn a compassionless shrew. I used to be sort of nice, you know. My memory doesn't go that far back. We both laughed once. I'm sorry about this, Jacob. I'm sorry you're in pain. I'm sorry it's getting worse and not better Thanks, Leah. She thought about the things that were worse, the black pictures in my head, while I tried to tune her out without much success. She was able to look at them with some distance, some perspective, and I had to admit that this was helpful. I could imagine that maybe I would be able to see it that way, too, in a few years. She saw the funny side of the daily irritations that came from hanging out around vampires. She liked my ragging on Rosalie, chuckling internally and even running through a few blonde jokes in her mind that I might be able to work in. But then her thoughts turned serious, lingering on Rosalie's face in a way that confused me. You know what's crazy?she asked. Well, almost everything is crazy right now. But what do you mean? That blond vampire you hate so much – totally get her perspective. For a second I thought she was making a joke that was in very poor taste. And then, when I realized she was serious, the fury that ripped through me was hard to control. It was a good thing we'd spread out to run our watch. If she'd been within biting distance†¦ Hold up! Let me explain! Don't want to hear it I'm outta here. Wait! Wait!she pleaded as I tried to calm myself enough to phase back. C'mon, Jake! Leah, this isn't really the best way to convince me that I want to spend more time with you in the future. Yeesh! What an overreaction. You don't even know what I'm talking about So whatare you talking about? And then she was suddenly the pain-hardened Leah from before. I'm talking about being a genetic dead end, Jacob. The vicious edge to her words left me floundering. I hadn't expected to have my anger trumped. I don't understand. Youwould, if you weren't just like the rest of them. If my â€Å"female sfu/T – she thought the words with a hard, sarcastic tone – didn't send you running for cover just like any stupid male, so you could actually pay attention to what it all means. Oh. Yeah, so none of us like to think about that stuff with her. Who would? Of course I remembered Leah's panic that first month after she joined the pack – and I remembered cringing away from it just like everyone else. Because she couldn't be pregnant – not unless there was some really freaky religious immaculate crap going on. She hadn't been with anyone since Sam. And then, when the weeks dragged on and nothing turned into more nothing, she'd realized that her body wasn't following the normal patterns anymore. The horror – what was she now? Had her body changed because she'd become a werewolf? Or had she become a werewolf because her body was wrong? The only female werewolf in the history of forever. Was that because she wasn't as female as she should be? None of us had wanted to deal with that breakdown. Obviously, it wasn't like we could empathize. You know why Sam thinks we imprint,she thought, calmer now. Sure. To carry on the line. Right. To make a bunch of new little werewolves. Survival of the species, genetic override. You're drawn to the person who gives you the best chance to pass on the wolf gene. I waited for her to tell me where she was qoinq with this. If I was any good for that, Sam would have been drawn tome. Her pain was enough that I broke stride under it. But I'm not There's something wrong with me. I don't have the ability to pass on the gene, apparently, despite my stellar bloodlines. So I become a freak – the girlie-wolf – good for nothing else. I'm a genetic dead end and we both know it. We do not,I argued with her. That's just Sam's theory. Imprinting happens, but we don't know why. Billy thinks it's something else. I know, I know. He thinks you're imprinting to makestronger wolves. Because you and Sam are such humongous monsters – bigger than our fathers. But either way, I'm still not a candidate. I'm†¦ I'm menopausal. I'm twenty years old and I'm menopausal. Ugh. I so didn't want to have this conversation. You don't know that, Leah. It's probably just the whole frozen-in-time thing. When you quit your wolf and start getting older again, I'm sure things will†¦ er†¦ pick right back up. might think that – except that no one's imprinting onme, notwithstanding my impressive pedigree. You know, she added thoughtfully, if you weren't around, Seth would probably have the best claim to being Alpha – through his blood, at least. Of course, no one would ever consider me†¦. You reallywant to imprint, or be imprinted on, or whichever? I demanded. What's wrong with going out and falling in love like a normal person, Leah? Imprinting is just another way of getting your choices taken away from you. Sam, Jared, Paul, Quit†¦ they don't seem to mind. None of themhave a mind of their own. You don't want to imprint? Hell, no! That's just because you're already in love withher. That would go away, you know, if you imprinted. You wouldn't have to hurt over her anymore. Do you want to forget the way you feel about Sam? She deliberated for a moment. think I do. I sighed. She was in a healthier place than I was. But back to my original point, Jacob. I understand why your blond vampire is so cold – in the figurative sense. She's focused. She's got her eyes on the prize, right? Because you always want the very most what you can never, ever have. You would act like Rosalie? You would murder someone – because that's what she's doing, making sure no one interferes with Bella's death – you would do that to have a baby? Since when are you a breeder? I just want the options I don't have, Jacob. Maybe, if there was nothing wrong with me, I would never give it a thought. You would kill for that?I demanded, not letting her escape my question. That's not what she's doing. I think it's more like she's living vicariously. And†¦ if Bella askedme to help her with this†¦She paused, considering. Even though I don't think too much of her, I'd probably do the same as the bloodsucker. A loud snarl ripped through my teeth. Because, if it was turned around, I'd want Bella to do that for me. And so would Rosalie. We'd both do it her way. Ugh! You're as bad as they are! That's the funny thing about knowing you can't have something. It makes you desperate. And.. . that's my limit Right there. This conversation is over. Fine. It wasn't enough that she'd agreed to stop. I wanted a stronger termination than that. I was only about a mile from where I'd left my clothes, so I phased back to human and walked. I didn't think about our conversation. Not because there wasn't anything to think about, but because I couldn't stand it. I would not see it that way – but it was harder to keep from doing that when Leah had put the thoughts and emotions straight into my head. Yeah, I wasn't running with her when this was finished. She could go be miserable in La Push. One little Alpha command before I left for good wasn't going to kill anybody. It was real early when I got to the house. Bella was probably still asleep. I figured I'd poke my head in, see what was going on, give 'em the green light to go hunting, and then find a patch of grass soft enough to sleep on while human. I wasn't phasing back until Leah was asleep. But there was a lot of low mumbling going on inside the house, so maybe Bella wasn't sleeping. And then I heard the machinery sound from upstairs again – the X-ray? Great. It looked like day four on the countdown was starting off with a bang. Alice opened the door for me before I could walk in. She nodded. â€Å"Hey, wolf.† â€Å"Hey, shortie. What's going on upstairs?† The big room was empty – all the murmurs were on the second floor. She shrugged her pointy little shoulders. â€Å"Maybe another break.† She tried to say the words casually, but I could see the flames in the very back of her eyes. Edward and I weren't the only ones who were burning over this. Alice loved Bella, too. â€Å"Another rib?† I asked hoarsely. â€Å"No. Pelvis this time.† Funny how it kept hitting me, like each new thing was a surprise. When was I going to stop being surprised? Each new disaster seemed kinda obvious in hindsight. Alice was staring at my hands, watching them tremble. Then we were listening to Rosalie's voice upstairs. â€Å"See, I told you I didn't hear a crack. You need your ears checked, Edward.† There was no answer. Alice made a face. â€Å"Edward's going to end up ripping Rose into small pieces, I think. I'm surprised she doesn't see that. Or maybe she thinks Emmett will be able to stop him.† â€Å"I'll take Emmett,† I offered. â€Å"You can help Edward with the ripping part.† Alice half-smiled. The procession came down the stairs then – Edward had Bella this time. She was gripping her cup of blood in both hands, and her face was white. I could see that, though he compensated for every tiny movement of his body to keep from jostling her, she was hurting. â€Å"Jake,† she whispered, and she smiled through the pain. I stared at her, saying nothing. Edward placed Bella carefully on her couch and sat on the floor by her head. I wondered briefly why they didn't leave her upstairs, and then decided at once that it must be Bella's idea. She'd want to act like things were normal, avoid the hospital setup. And he was humoring her. Naturally. Carlisle came down slowly, the last one, his face creased with worry. It made him look old enough to be a doctor for once. â€Å"Carlisle,† I said. â€Å"We went halfway to Seattle. There's no sign of the pack. You're good to go.† â€Å"Thank you, Jacob. This is good timing. There's much that we need.† His black eyes flickered to the cup that Bella was holding so tight. â€Å"Honestly, I think you're safe to take more than three. I'm pretty positive that Sam is concentrating on La Push.† Carlisle nodded in agreement. It surprised me how willingly he took my advice. â€Å"If you think so. Alice, Esme, Jasper, and I will go. Then Alice can take Emmett and Rosa – â€Å" â€Å"Not a chance,† Rosalie hissed. â€Å"Emmett can go with you now.† â€Å"You should hunt,† Carlisle said in a gentle voice. His tone didn't soften hers. â€Å"I'll hunt when he does,† she growled, jerking her head toward Edward and then flipping her hair back. Carlisle sighed. Jasper and Emmett were down the stairs in a flash, and Alice joined them by the glass back door in the same second. Esme flitted to Alice's side. Carlisle put his hand on my arm. The icy touch did not feel good, but I didn't jerk away. I held still, half in surprise, and half because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. â€Å"Thank you,† he said again, and then he darted out the door with the other four. My eyes followed them as they flew across the lawn and then disappeared before I took another breath. Their needs must have been more urgent than I'd imagined. There was no sound for a minute. I could feel someone glaring at me, and I knew who it would be. I'd been planning to take off and get some Z's, but the chance to ruin Rosalie's morning seemed too good to pass up. So I sauntered over to the armchair next to the one Rosalie had and settled in, sprawling out so that my head was tilted toward Bella and my left foot was near Rosalie's face. â€Å"Ew. Someone put the dog out,† she murmured, wrinkling her nose. â€Å"Have you heard this one, Psycho? How do a blonde's brain cells die?† She didn't say anything. â€Å"Well?† I asked. â€Å"Do you know the punch line or not?† She looked pointedly at the TV and ignored me. â€Å"Has she heard it?† I asked Edward. There was no humor on his tense face – he didn't move his eyes from Bella. But he said, â€Å"No.† â€Å"Awesome. So you'll enjoy this, bloodsucker – a blonde's brain cells die alone.† Rosalie still didn't look at me. â€Å"I have killed a hundred times more often than you have, you disgusting beast. Don't forget that.† â€Å"Someday, Beauty Queen, you're going to get tired of just threatening me. I'm really looking forward to that.† â€Å"Enough, Jacob,† Bella said. I looked down, and she was scowling at me. It looked like yesterday's good mood was long gone. Well, I didn't want to bug her. â€Å"You want me to take off?† I offered. Before I could hope – or fear – that she'd finally gotten tired of me, she blinked, and her frown disappeared. She seemed totally shocked that I would come to that conclusion. â€Å"No! Of course not.† I sighed, and I heard Edward sigh very quietly, too. I knew he wished she'd get over me, too. Too bad he'd never ask her to do anything that might make her unhappy. â€Å"You look tired,† Bella commented. â€Å"Dead beat,† I admitted. I'dlike to beat you dead,† Rosalie muttered, too low for Bella to hear. I just slumped deeper into the chair, getting comfortable. My bare foot dangled closer to Rosalie, and she stiffened. After a few minutes Bella asked Rosalie for a refill. I felt the wind as Rosalie blew upstairs to get her some more blood. It was really quiet. Might as well take a nap, I figured. And then Edward said, â€Å"Did you say something?† in a puzzled tone. Strange. Because no one had said anything, and because Edward's hearing was as good as mine, and he should have known that. He was staring at Bella, and she was staring back. They both looked confused. â€Å"Me?† she asked after a second. â€Å"I didn't say anything.† He moved onto his knees, leaning forward over her, his expression suddenly intense in a whole different way. His black eyes focused on her face. â€Å"What are you thinking about right now?† She stared at him blankly. â€Å"Nothing. What's going on?† â€Å"What were you thinking about a minute ago?† he asked. â€Å"Just†¦ Esme's island. And feathers.† Sounded like total gibberish to me, but then she blushed, and I figured I was better off not knowing. â€Å"Say something else,† he whispered. Tike what? Edward, what's going on?† His face changed again, and he did something that made my mouth fall open with a pop. I heard a gasp behind me, and I knew that Rosalie was back, and just as flabbergasted as I was. Edward, very lightly, put both of his hands against her huge, round stomach. ‘The f – † He swallowed. â€Å"It†¦ the baby likes the sound of your voice.† There was one short beat of total silence. I could not move a muscle, even to blink. Then – â€Å"Holy crow, you can hear him!†Bella shouted. In the next second, she winced. Edward's hand moved to the top peak of her belly and gently rubbed the spot where it must have kicked her. â€Å"Shh,† he murmured. â€Å"You startled it†¦ him.† Her eyes got all wide and full of wonder. She patted the side of her stomach. â€Å"Sorry, baby.† Edward was listening hard, his head tilted toward the bulge. â€Å"What's he thinking now?† she demanded eagerly. â€Å"It†¦ he or she, is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused and looked up into her eyes. His eyes were filled with a similar awe – only his were more careful and grudging. â€Å"He's happy† Edward said in an incredulous voice. Her breath caught, and it was impossible not to see the fanatical gleam in her eyes. The adoration and the devotion. Big, fat tears overflowed her eyes and ran silently down her face and over her smiling lips. As he stared at her, his face was not frightened or angry or burning or any of the other expressions he'd worn since their return. He was marveling with her. â€Å"Of course you're happy, pretty baby, of course you are,† she crooned, rubbing her stomach while the tears washed her cheeks. â€Å"How could you not be, all safe and warm and loved? I love you so much, little EJ, of course you're happy.† â€Å"What did you call him?† Edward asked curiously. She blushed again. â€Å"I sort of named him. I didn't think you would want†¦ well, you know.† â€Å"EJ?† â€Å"Your father's name was Edward, too.† â€Å"Yes, it was. What – ?† He paused and then said, â€Å"Hmm.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"He likes my voice, too.† â€Å"Of course he does.† Her tone was almost gloating now. â€Å"You have the most beautiful voice in the universe. Who wouldn't love it?† â€Å"Do you have a backup plan?† Rosalie asked then, leaning over the back of the sofa with the same wondering, gloating look on her face that was on Bella's. â€Å"What if he's a she?† Bella wiped the back of her hand under her wet eyes. â€Å"I kicked a few things around. Playing with Renee and Esme. I was thinking†¦ Ruh-nez-may.† â€Å"Ruhnezmay?† â€Å"R-e-n-e-s-m-e-e. Too weird?† â€Å"No, I like it,† Rosalie assured her. Their heads were close together, gold and mahogany. â€Å"It's beautiful. And one of a kind, so that fits† â€Å"I still think he's an Edward.† Edward was staring off into space, his face blank as he listened. â€Å"What?† Bella asked, her face just glowing away. â€Å"What's he thinking now?† At first he didn't answer, and then – shocking all the rest of us again, three distinct and separate gasps – he laid his ear tenderly against her belly. â€Å"He loves you,† Edward whispered, sounding dazed. â€Å"He absolutely adores you.† In that moment, I knew that I was alone. All alone. I wanted to kick myself when I realized how much I'd been counting on that loathsome vampire. How stupid – as if you could ever trust a leech! Of course he would betray me in the end. I'd counted on him to be on my side. I'd counted on him to suffer more than I suffered. And, most of all, I'd counted on him to hate that revolting thing killing Bella more than I hated it. I'd trusted him with that. Yet now they were together, the two of them bent over the budding, invisible monster with their eyes lit up like a happy family. And I was all alone with my hatred and the pain that was so bad it was like being tortured. Like being dragged slowly across a bed of razor blades. Pain so bad you'd take death with a smile just to get away from it. The heat unlocked my frozen muscles, and I was on my feet. All three of their heads snapped up, and I watched my pain ripple across Edward's face as he trespassed in my head again. â€Å"Ahh,† he choked. I didn't know what I was doing; I stood there, trembling, ready to bolt for the very first escape that I could think of. Moving like the strike of a snake, Edward darted to a small end table and ripped something from the drawer there. He tossed it at me, and I caught the object reflexively. â€Å"Go, Jacob. Get away from here.† He didn't say it harshly – he threw the words at me like they were a life preserver. He was helping me find the escape I was dying for. The object in my hand was a set of car keys.

Lord of the Flies: William Golding

William Golding once said that, â€Å"the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable† (186). He believes that problems with society can be traced â€Å"back to the defects of human nature† (186). In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses two boys from the traditionally socially rigid country of England to illustrate the idea that, if left unchecked, the animalistic nature that resides deep within the hearts of human beings will overcome society’s rules and mores.The characters in the novel are left to their own devices on an uninhabited island and must form their own political system. The true ethical nature of the boys, representative of humans in general, becomes more noticeable as time passes. Ralph is the example of civilization and democracy while Jack is the epitome of savagery and animal behavior. The novel opens with a scene of two young boys on an island after a plane crash in the sea. These boys, Ralph and Piggy, make their way across the isolated island and find a small pool of warm water near a large, pink granite rock.After they find a conch, Ralph blows into it; the noise draws boys from all over the island who are also victims of the plane crash. The major characters include Jack, the leader of the choir, as well as Sam, Eric, Simon and Roger. After an initial meeting, the boys decide that their group should have a leader, although this is more of a game than a means of organization: â€Å"This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch† (22). The conch and the system of voting are both remnants of the English society the boys inhabited.Ralph defeats Jack after a vote, but Ralph places the choir, under the supervision of Jack, in charge of hunting. It is obvious throughout the novel, however, that this token position does not satisfy Jack and that he wants to become chief. Initially, however, Jack says that â€Å"[he] agree[s] with Ralph. Almost immediately, the leadership is beset by a small boy who claims to have seen a nightmarish Beast. Ralph begins by assuring him that such a Beast does not exist, but the young boy insists that the Beast is real and demands o know when it will return. Jack interrupts Ralph to tell the boy, â€Å"There isn’t a snake thing . . . but if there was a snake we’d hunt and kill it. We’re going to hunt . . . and we’ll look for the snake too – â€Å"(36). Ralph is â€Å"annoyed and . . . defeated† (37) by Jack’s usurpation of his authority and is at a loss as to how to deal with it. For the moment, the group of boys waits for the pendulum of authority to swing one way or another. It happens to swing in Ralph’s favor as he assures the boys that they will be rescued.They believe his claim, â€Å"unbacked by any proof but the weight of Ralph’s new authority† (37), and he finds that the assembly â₠¬Å"liked and now respected him† (37). Jack, however, merely smirks and claps half-heartedly. One of the most poignant examples of the remnants of civilization occurs when a boy named Roger begins to throw rocks at a small child named Henry building sand castles. He throws stones, but purposely misses, because, â€Å"there was a space round Henry, perhaps 6 yards in diameter, in which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life† (56).Even after his long time away from adults, he is still socially conditioned to avoid harming others. However, this civilization was declining rapidly: â€Å"Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that†¦ was in ruins† (56). The decline of civilization's hold is unnoticed by Ralph; he becomes fixated on the fire that is built to attract the attention of any nearby ships or planes. Encouraged by Piggy, Ralph feels that â€Å"the fire is the main thing† (102) and insists that a si gnal fire be kept up at all times. Ralph focuses on a return to civilization and normality.Jack, however, focuses on living by instinct – hunting pigs becomes his obsession. He has a bloodlust: â€Å"He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up† (51). He is more than content to live on the island, without civilization; he is happy to do so. The two boys differ on the issue of government, as well. Ralph insists on a democracy and allows the group to vote on certain issues. All boys are allowed to speak at meetings if they have a mind to do so; a conch found at the beginning of the novel is held by a boy when he wishes to address the group.This is perhaps one of the strongest remnants of his time in civilized England: the belief that all people deserve representation, regardless of their abilities. Jack, however, adopts more of a dictator like attitude, as illustrated when he says to Ralph, â€Å"It’s time some people knew t hey’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us† (102). He symbolizes the idea that the strong survive, so the strongest must govern. Ralph and Jack have a sort of mutual respect for each other, but they are very different and do not know exactly what to do with one another. They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate†¦ They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate† (55). Jack is jealous of Ralph’s position as chief, however, and after a long meeting during which Ralph set forth new rules for the group, Jack leaves and starts his own tribe. Because Jack and his elite circle of friends have the ability to hunt and get meat, many of the boys join his tribe. Only Sam, Eric, Simon, Piggy and Ralph remain in the civilized group on the beach. After most of the boys join Jack’s â€Å"tribe,† hunting becomes the primary focus for that group.They spend much of their time hunting an d this provides excitement and entertainment for the boys: â€Å"[T]he sow staggered her way ahead of the, bleeding and mad, and the hunters followed, wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood† (135). After this killing, Jack orders Roger to â€Å"[s]harpen a stick on both ends† (136), then proceeds to thrust one end of the stick into the ground. On the other end, he shoves the head of the pig and says, â€Å"This head is for the beast. It’s a gift† (137). This grotesque act provides the explanation for the Beast when a boy named Simon finds a pig’s head on a stick in the forest.Simon has a sort of psychotic episode where the pig’s head – who is referred to as â€Å"the Lord of the Flies† (138) – speaks to him. The Lord of the Flies says, I’m the Beast. Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, clo se! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are? We are going to have fun on this island! (143-144) The Beast is not some animal that disappeared in the morning, turning â€Å"into them things like ropes in the trees† (36). Rather, the Beast is the animal nature within all humans, simply waiting for a chance to escape.This animalistic behavior is not limited to the gratuitously bloody and almost ritualistic killings of the pigs. After Simon â€Å"listens† to the Lord of the Flies, he places the head of the slaughtered sow onto his head. The demented child knows that he is doing something abnormal: â€Å"He knew that one of his times was coming on† (143). Simon continues to hear the voice of the Lord of the Flies as he covers his head with that of the dead pig. The voice gives a foreshadowing to the events that will soon follow when he tries to frighten the boy by saying, â€Å"We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island!So don’t try [the head] on, my poor misguided boy, or else†¦ Or else we shall do you? Do you. See? † (144) The boy collapses and wakes up after he gets a nosebleed: â€Å"With the running of the blood Simon’s fit passed into the weariness of sleep† (145). His fit, however, does not leave him without advice, because now he knows that the â€Å"beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible. † This last shred of hope for the humanity of the island, brought about by the psychotic episode of a young boy, never reaches the boys. By this time, Ralph and Piggy venture to Jack’s tribe to enjoy some meat.A small argument between Ralph and Jack ensues and Jack decides to have the tribe do their â€Å"dance† as a way to show his power and the fun that the boys in the tribe have. Roger plays a pig and other boys pretend to attack him. A chant rises: â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! † (152) Suddenly a voice cries out, â€Å"Him! Him! † (152) and Simon stumbles out of the forest, covered in pig’s blood as well as his own. He desperately tries to convey the meaning of the Beast to the boys assembled, â€Å"crying out something about a dead man on a hill,† but the boys descend upon him in murderous rapture.To those children, Simon is the beast: â€Å"The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. † Delighted by the prospect of destroying the Beast, â€Å"the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words and no movement but the tearing of teeth and claws† (153). The boys on the island believe that they are killing the beast, when in reality, they are setting it free as they descend from the civilized heig hts of humans to the frightening, murderous behaviour of animals.Even this episode of violence is merely a glance into the darkness in the hearts of the boys. Simon's death could be looked upon as a momentary lapse in judgment, brought about by the fear of the boys. When Ralph suggests murder, Piggy insists that, â€Å"It was dark. There was that – that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared! † (157) He later puts the blame on Simon by saying, â€Å"It was an accident†¦ Coming in the dark – he hadn’t no business crawling like that out of the dark. He was batty. He asked for it. It was an accident† (157).Later, however, the frightening truth about the complete loss of society’s restraints becomes apparent. Jack’s tribe decides that in order to cook their meat, they must have Piggy’s glasses so that they can start fires. A group raids Ralph’s tribe and the glasses are stolen. Piggy is hu rt and confused. He insists on going to Jack and telling him, [Y]ou’re stronger than I am and you haven’t got asthma†¦ You can see, I’m goin’ to say, and with both eyes. But I don’t ask for my glasses back, not as a favor†¦ Give me my glasses, I’m going to say – you got to! (171) Ralph replies with, â€Å"All right. I mean – you can try if you like. We’ll go with you. Ralph, Sam, Eric and Piggy, the remaining members of that particular tribe, then go to see Jack. When they get to Jack’s fort, they demand Piggy’s glasses back and insist that the much larger group of boys keep up a signal fire: â€Å"Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see† (178).This comment is met with derision and laughter from the tribe and Jack commands his group of boys to grab Sam and Eric and tie them up. They do so, nervously at first, then with excitement and a sense of power. Ralph can no longer remain a diplomat; he yells at Jack, â€Å"You’re a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief! (179) They begin to fight, but are interrupted by Piggy, who tries to sway the crowd towards civility. Roger, â€Å"with a sense of delirious abandonment† (180), pushes on a lever, releasing a large rock that the tribe had set up as a weapon. What follows is horrific: The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning as he went†¦ Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea.His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit†¦ [t]hen the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh†¦ and†¦ the body of Piggy was gone (181). Ralph is in shock and his â€Å"lips form ed a word but no sound came† (181). Jack takes this opportunity to cry â€Å"I’m chief! † and attack Ralph while he is off guard. He does this â€Å"[v]iciously, with full intent† (181) and Ralph flees for his life. Jack then allows to Roger to use force to convince Sam and Eric to join his tribe. Ralph hides for a while, but later that night, he goes back to the fort when he knows that Sam and Eric are on duty.Those boys are terrified of Jack and Roger and they insist that Ralph leave. First, however, they warn him that the tribe is â€Å"going to hunt† him tomorrow and that they would â€Å"throw [their] spears like at a pig† (188-189). As a last warning, he is told that â€Å"Roger sharpened a stick at both ends† (190). This indicates that Jack’s plans are no idle threat; he and Roger plan to kill Ralph, then put his head onto a stick and drive the stick into the ground as a sacrifice to the Beast. Horrific as this may seem, perhaps this is the best sacrifice possible, because the Beast is the inhumanity in all people and the loss of civilization.The murder of Ralph would serve as the ultimate concession to murderous desires and blood lust, for such an event would indicate a total abandonment of society’s mores. The hunt begins and soon Ralph’s hiding place in a nearly impenetrable thicket. Even Ralph is shown to have descended into animalism as he considers what he would do in the event that a boy finds him: â€Å"He felt the point of his spear with his thumb and grinned without amusement. Whoever tried that would be stuck, squealing like a pig† (193). His safe area is destroyed, however, when the tribe sets fire to the thicket and Ralph is forced to flee.A chase ensues and Ralph runs onto the beach, falls, and staggers to his feet. Standing before him is a British naval officer, who seems to think that the boys have been playing a game. In an amused fashion, he asks Ralph how many boys have died and the child responds with, â€Å"Only two. And they’ve gone. † The naval officer is astonished and turns away for a moment. The group of boys begins to sob and Ralph is the loudest of these: And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy. 202) In the end, a rescue by an English adult is all the saves that boys from the ultimate fall from society’s grace: the planned murder of an innocent. The idea is clear throughout the novel, however, that the social conditioning impressed upon the boys decreases in influence as time passes with no reminder from a true figure of authority. William Golding proves through his novel that the animalistic nature in all humans is reigned in only by the rigid constraint of civilization.

Free Essays on Kid Nutrition

There are five basic food groups, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products and the protein groups. What is an RDA? It won’t be uncalled for to see a question where they define it and you have to pick out the answer. "Levels for intakes for the central nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board to be adequate to meet the known nutrition needs of practically all healthy persons." It’s pretty vague, isn’t it? What’s an essential nutrient? That’s something that’s got to be provided exogenously usually from your diet because our bodies cannot synthesize it at a sufficient rate to meet the needs of our body. There are some things that we can make but we can’t make enough of and we need to get them from our foods in order to avoid having a deficiency. What are the eight major categories of nutrients? All of these are considered nutrients, so there are eight that our body needs that are really essential. You can’t have a normally functioning body without all of them. Be aware that when we are born we are mostly water. But when we are young adults we become more and more fat. And when we are elderly, you are 70% fat. Total body water is affected, of course, by our age, our sex, our body composition and the total body water decreases with age and changes in body fat. All pretty obvious. The consequences of providing adequate amounts of nutrients without adequate amounts of fluid, dehydration, excessive renal solid load and an inefficient use and waste of calories. What are our daily maintenance fluid requirements for infants and children? Again, it’s not uncommon to ask really simple things about how much water infants or children at different ages might require per day. Again, you should be able to figure that out. The re often are questions like, 10 kg infants should be given so much fluid per day and they’ll list a number, various numbers, and you’ll have to figure ... Free Essays on Kid Nutrition Free Essays on Kid Nutrition There are five basic food groups, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products and the protein groups. What is an RDA? It won’t be uncalled for to see a question where they define it and you have to pick out the answer. "Levels for intakes for the central nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board to be adequate to meet the known nutrition needs of practically all healthy persons." It’s pretty vague, isn’t it? What’s an essential nutrient? That’s something that’s got to be provided exogenously usually from your diet because our bodies cannot synthesize it at a sufficient rate to meet the needs of our body. There are some things that we can make but we can’t make enough of and we need to get them from our foods in order to avoid having a deficiency. What are the eight major categories of nutrients? All of these are considered nutrients, so there are eight that our body needs that are really essential. You can’t have a normally functioning body without all of them. Be aware that when we are born we are mostly water. But when we are young adults we become more and more fat. And when we are elderly, you are 70% fat. Total body water is affected, of course, by our age, our sex, our body composition and the total body water decreases with age and changes in body fat. All pretty obvious. The consequences of providing adequate amounts of nutrients without adequate amounts of fluid, dehydration, excessive renal solid load and an inefficient use and waste of calories. What are our daily maintenance fluid requirements for infants and children? Again, it’s not uncommon to ask really simple things about how much water infants or children at different ages might require per day. Again, you should be able to figure that out. The re often are questions like, 10 kg infants should be given so much fluid per day and they’ll list a number, various numbers, and you’ll have to figure ...

The Euro and Its Potential for essays

The Euro and Its Potential for essays The Euro and Its Potential for Harmfully Affecting Britain Great Britain, a leading country in the world since the industrial revolution is likely to eliminate a major barrier between itself and the formation of a European state in the next several years. The introduction of a new currency, the Euro, and the loss of their own, the pound, could happen as early as the end of this year. To understand why Britain faces the possibility of changing currencies at the beginning of the twenty- first century and why this would be a mistake, you must first understand the history of the European Union. The European Union is an Organization of European countries concerning trade, defense and politics that was created in 1993. However, its roots date back to the Western European Union, or the WEU, a Union that was formed in 1948 because of the Soviets. The WEU more specifically was an agreement to pool military resources. Great Britain was not among the six nations that signed this treaty. In 1957, a very important development occurred, the WEU created the EEC or the European Economic Community. Britain did not take part in the WEU however, or the EEC, and came up with an alternative forum for trade, the European Free Trade Agreement in 1960. Britain soon realized it had taken up with only the smaller countries in the EFTA and applied for the EEC in 1961. They did not gain admittance into the EEC until 1973, when new French President George Pompidou did not bar their admittance, as his predecessor De Gaulle had done. Between 1961 and 1973 the EEC merged with the WEU to form the Eur opean Community. When Britain joined in 1973 they had to not only accepted the terms of the EEC but the WEU as well. Britains reluctant involvement with the EC and its further development the EU has continued to reflect their desire for free trade, not a European state. The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1993. It formally created the European Union by doin...

Multilingual Create a Secondary Language Profile on LinkedIn®

Multilingual Create a Secondary Language Profile on LinkedIn ® Are you bilingual or multilingual? The general rule on LinkedIn ® is that you may only have one profile; having multiple profiles is a violation of the Terms of Service that could get you booted off the site. However, there is one exception to that rule: the Secondary Language Profile. As of January 2013, over 64% of LinkedIn ® members are located outside of the US. Because such a large portion of users are multilingual and interested in connecting with people both inside and outside of English-speaking countries, LinkedIn ®Ã‚   allows users to set up additional LinkedIn ® profiles that cater to secondary languages. LinkedIn ® supports the following languages: English | Czech | Danish | Dutch | French| German | Indonesian | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Malay | Norwegian | Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian| Spanish | Swedish| Tagalog | Turkish Click here for a list of languages supported by LinkedIn ® mobile applications. NOTE: You cannot change the default language of your profile once youve set it up in a particular language. Its recommended that you set up a secondary language profile instead. Creating a Profile in Another Language To create a profile in another language, go to your Profile page and click the down arrow to the right of your Edit Profile button. Select Create profile in another language:    Choose your language from the dropdown menu:    Youll also want to update your Professional Headline. Then click Create Profile. The language you select will determine the default language for your profile display and also the language in which you will receive messages from the LinkedIn Corporation. Content and messages will always be displayed in the language in which they are written. LinkedIn ® does not translate content or messages for you, so you will need to go through each section and update all necessary fields. Remember to save each section before continuing onto the next. When a member signs in to LinkedIn ® and views your profile, they will see it in the language you chose when you set up your account; or, if you have multiple profiles in several languages, viewers will see the one most relevant to them. The viewer has the ability to choose from your language profiles by selecting one from the dropdown menu underneath your profile photo.    All of your language profiles will show up in search engines and have their own URL. You can also delete a secondary language profile by select the language from this dropdown list. Just select Delete this profile link and click Delete. Let me know if this article was useful to you! Also note that the inspiration for this topic came from a question submitted by one of my readers so please do contribute your ideas if you have them! Finally, a Bonus Tip on Secondary Language Profiles has been added to the 7th Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile coming soon!

Summary of chapter 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of chapter 13 - Essay Example The nature of return, production scale and technology decides the market structure of products. The book suggests that diamond company De Beers is a best example of monopoly but monopoly does not exist in America because of legal obstacles. Oligopoly is a market structure where there is small number of large producers and is more common to be found. In monopoly, there is an upward movement of demand curve which means there is reduce quantity of product supplied. The monopolist usually raises the price of the product by reducing the output and they achieve market power. And monopoly is all about market structure. Their intention is to increase profit and hold control over economy. The monopolist create barrier to entry for other producers and there are five principles to it. They are control of scarce resource or input, increasing return to scale, technological superiority, network externality and government created barrier. The monopolist has two effects on the revenue which is quantity effect and pricing effect. The monopoly marker is a price maker and they decide the demand and price of their product. Actually in monopoly there is no substitute for the product they sell. The fundamental cause to monopoly is barrier to entry. The main example of it is De Beers according to the author. Here the government gives a single firm, the exclusive right to produce a particular good. In monopoly, there is sole producer, downward sloping curve, price maker and reduce price to increase sales. The monopolist’s marginal revenue is less than price of the good. The monopolist receives economic profits as long as price is greater than general cost. The monopolist practice price discrimination to increase their profit and recue dead weight loss. But for this, the firm must analyse the customer’s willingness to pay. The author expressed the monopoly versus perfect competition and welfare effects o f the monopoly. The chapter describes

Water security among Egypt ,Ethiopia and Sudan- subject is Essay

Water security among Egypt ,Ethiopia and Sudan- subject is international relation - Essay Example 98). The river originates from mainly two countries. The White Nile from Burundi joins the Blue Nile from Ethiopia to form the Nile Basin. The Nile Basin is the major source of water for this region supplying ten countries with water. Egypt is the traditional user of the water and has almost exclusive rights for extracting water from the River Nile. Though a non-contributing country, Egypt benefits from a bilateral 1959 agreement that gives it the largest allocation in the utilization of River Nile’s Water. Sudan, another noncontributing country, gets the second largest share of the river’s resources. Other nations especially, the contributing ones have, for a long time, suffered water scarcity due to the unequal distribution of this water. This has created animosity between neighboring countries and was a source of conflict amongst the countries in this region. Countries upstream have, in recent time, considered controlling the use of the water (Adar, 2011, pp. 73). Some have, for example, built large dams and canals to confine their waters. This issue has been a major concern which the UN lists as one o f the most urgent political issues. Watershed countries in the Nile Basin have realized that a shift from the current state must be fueled by a more equitable sharing of the Nile water. This urge to exploit more water has been occasioned by the desire to achieve economic development. Ethiopia, for example, has initiated hydroelectric power projects along the river’s flow. Despite these efforts, however, economic development has not been achieved in many countries. Most of the countries in the region have long unresolved disputes that hinder the economic prosperity of the people (Jacobs, 2012, pp. 37). Civil wars, famines, strife, and internal and regional discord have been the order of the day in these countries. The disparities in the colonial agreement

How the present day data centers are turning to virtual data centers Research Paper

How the present day data centers are turning to virtual data centers - Research Paper Example The Hyper-V process allows the virtual machine user to craft and manager one’s virtual machines process by implementing the popular virtual technology. Hyper V operates effectively in the Windows Server 2012 setup. Hyper-V allows the virtual machines user to run several operating systems together, starting and ending at the same time on a solo physical computer. The process includes implementing the different operating systems on a separate virtual machine. Consequently, memory usage can be increased more effectively and more efficiently. Virtual machines use lesser memory compared to physical machines, saving cost by increasing the virtual machines’ restarting functions. Hyper V administration implements strict security measures by implementing a local administrator’s setup (http://technet.microsoft.com). In addition, Harley Stagner (2009) insists that Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 Release 2, Hyper-V is a bare metal server virtualization product. The op erating system does not sit between the hardware and the hypervisor (the code implements the server virtualization process). The hypervisor (Hyper-V) is generates processing on Windows Server 2008. The Windows server is the parent partition, respectfully a privileged guest virtual machine. Virtual machines have gained popularity in the computer environment. To join the bandwagon, Microsoft offers Hyper –V program. The program works in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 20008 infrastructure environment. Hyper-V enhances software infrastructure and management tools needed to craft and administer the virtual server system. Hyper-V contains dynamic memory. The virtual environment augments and improves the use of the physical machine environment (http://technet.microsoft.com). How the move to virtualization affects our data networks today. Singh Amit theorized the move to virtualization enhances data network processing today (http://www.kernelthread.com). First, virtual mac hines can combine the data processing of many less maximized servers to a lesser number of machines, including only one server consolidating machine. Consequently, the users can reduce avoidable costs. Second, virtual machines increase the effectiveness and efficiency of legacy processes. Virtual machines help in the individuals’ or companies’ strive to achieve goals and plans. The same processes may not work on newly installed hardware or newly bought operating systems. Likewise, the use of the newly installed hardware or newly bought operating systems will not maximize server use, unlike the virtual machines (http://www.kernelthread.com). Further, virtual machines offer enhanced security that includes isolated sandboxes to access and process trust-lacking programs or websites (http://www.kernelthread.com). One can implement address obfuscation to implement on the fly environments that are downloaded from the internet sites, increasing the danger of accessing trust-la cking websites. Such websites may steal information from the downloading computer and wreak havoc on the computers’ processing time and processing output quality. Virtual machines popularity is based on the concept of creating secured computing environments (http://www.kernelthread.com). Furthermore, virtual machines offer hardware illusions and configure the users’ hardware, which is absent (http://www.kerne

Outsourcing in healthcare facilities Assignment

Outsourcing in healthcare facilities - Assignment Example For effective operation and achieving of the outsourcing objectives, healthcare facilities have to find reliable business associates who will offer cost-effective and quality services that meet patient expectations. Prevalence and trends of outsourcing in the healthcare industry The prevalence of outsourcing in the healthcare industry is low as compared to other industries though it is picking up at a fast rate due to increasing financial pressures and demand for better services by patients. The trends of outsourcing in healthcare are increasing as evidenced by the decreasing restrictions on the types of services being outsourced by healthcare facilities. Many outsourcing relationships now are like long-term strategic partnerships instead of arrangements that are tactical and single-purpose in nature. This indicates increasing interest in outsourcing by healthcare facilities. Hospitals are the main types of organizations in healthcare which utilize outsourcing to a greater extend. Ho wever, there is a difference in the trends and prevalence rates among the for-profit hospital settings and the not-for-profit hospital settings. More of the profit-oriented hospitals are outsourcing as compared to the non-profit hospitals. Currently, profit-oriented hospital settings outsource up to 25% of their services and their non-profit oriented counterparts are expected to reach this level in the near future (Harris, 2001). One of the areas in which outsourcing is utilized in healthcare is medical transcriptions. This is done as a strategy for dealing with the increasing need to document medical records hence it is a more-cost effective way of adding to back offices. Outsourcing in this area is growing at a significant rate of 15% annually. The third most commonly outsourced service in healthcare facilities is linen/laundry services. This is driven by factors like increasing costs of operating a laundry and upgrading efficient laundry equipment. There is also increasing laundr y volumes due to the increasing number of patients (Harris, 2001). Ambulance services, gift stores, and security services enjoy a moderate level of outsourcing in the healthcare sector. The most recent service to be outsourced services is IT services. EHRS outsourcing is picking up even as physicians are being encouraged to adopt and use EHRS. The complexity and urgency of implementing and maintaining EHRS is the driving factor behind its outsourcing. The healthcare industry has also begun contracting for software applications. These services are offered by 3rd party application service providers (ASP's) (Kirchheimer, 2005. Other services that experience varied levels of outsourcing include management of facilities, feeding of patients, transportation, health information management (HIM) and clinical services. One of the companies offering medical transcription services is Chromolume Transcription, a company located in Santa Monica, California. Hospital TeamCare provides physician o utsourcing whereas Precyse Solutions provides HIM outsourcing. Experience of healthcare organizations that have tried outsourcing Some of the healthcare organisations that have tried outsourcing include Launceston General Hospital and Westbury Community Health Centre. These hospitals outsource their linen services to Northern Tasmanian Linen Service

Encounter Point Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Encounter Point - Movie Review Example The issues of land and water are especially important factors since the region in which these countries lie has arid and semi arid conditions. Due to inadequacy of water, there has been a struggle concerning the control of water sources (Tesssler 67). Another factor that has contributed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the Muslim insurgency in the region. Most attacks in the Middle East are terrorist attacks whereby Israelis face growing attacks from insurgent militias and terrorist groups from all countries in the region in support of Palestine. In response, Israeli retaliates with attacks also. This has ensured that the Palestine-Israeli conflict has persisted for years despite efforts by the international community to quail the violence. However, the International community seems to favor Israel and this has worsened the peace in the region since the Arab world feels that Palestine is being fairly untreated. Despite numerous peace accords and ventures, the insurgency seems to be rising and enmity between these two states worsens. However, those that suffer are the civilians. Most of the attacks in the conflict are directed at villages, railway terminals, bus terminals, churches, and mosques etc, where many people assembl e. This has led to death and suffering of very many civilian Palestinians and Israeli (Tessler 68). This movie is based on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whereby people have decided to use non violent means to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. People have decided that since it is civilians who suffer in the conflict, it is civilians themselves who can ensure that such conflict is suppressed so that peace prevails. The producers spent a total of 4 years in coming up with this documentary. Encounter movie examines the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in detail by analyzing the lives of various

Discussions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussions - Essay Example The health care law lobby’s for spending based on quality of health care received and not quantity. This has therefore led to improvement of the services being rendered in the health care centers and all these at a reduced cost. The new health care act is also making institution be more involved in health care issues and ensure that they device ways to improve the quality of health care and at the same time cut the costs. This has been evident in a hospital in Minnesota where the hospital has resorted to monitoring around 300 of its heart patients from home rather than having them in the hospital. This decision has reduced the hospitals spending associated with admissions and hence in the end saved the country several million dollars which is put into continual quality improvement of health. This therefore continues to be an indication that the new health care law; the Affordable Care Act is working as proposed which was to improve the quality of health care and reduce the

Encounter Point Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Encounter Point - Movie Review Example The issues of land and water are especially important factors since the region in which these countries lie has arid and semi arid conditions. Due to inadequacy of water, there has been a struggle concerning the control of water sources (Tesssler 67). Another factor that has contributed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the Muslim insurgency in the region. Most attacks in the Middle East are terrorist attacks whereby Israelis face growing attacks from insurgent militias and terrorist groups from all countries in the region in support of Palestine. In response, Israeli retaliates with attacks also. This has ensured that the Palestine-Israeli conflict has persisted for years despite efforts by the international community to quail the violence. However, the International community seems to favor Israel and this has worsened the peace in the region since the Arab world feels that Palestine is being fairly untreated. Despite numerous peace accords and ventures, the insurgency seems to be rising and enmity between these two states worsens. However, those that suffer are the civilians. Most of the attacks in the conflict are directed at villages, railway terminals, bus terminals, churches, and mosques etc, where many people assembl e. This has led to death and suffering of very many civilian Palestinians and Israeli (Tessler 68). This movie is based on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whereby people have decided to use non violent means to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. People have decided that since it is civilians who suffer in the conflict, it is civilians themselves who can ensure that such conflict is suppressed so that peace prevails. The producers spent a total of 4 years in coming up with this documentary. Encounter movie examines the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in detail by analyzing the lives of various

The Black Death Essay Example for Free

The Black Death Essay What were the short term and long term impacts of the Black Death on Medieval society? The Black Death is one of the most fatal diseases in human history and took its peak in Europe from 1348 to 1350. Half of Europe’s population was wiped out due to this disease and the short and long term impacts greatly affected the structure of Medieval Society. The Black Death or otherwise known as the plague was thought to have begun in Central Asia, which spread down the Silk Road and eventually to Europe in the 14th century. The disease was caused by the fleas on infected rats, which spread the infection by biting a person or animal. However, the disease could also be contracted by breathing in airborne droplets from a person who already had the plague. Trading ships helped spread the plague as there were many rats on board who could jump off at the harbours they were trading in. Symptoms for the plague began in the first few days and included headaches, feeling of weakness, aches in the legs and groin, a white coating on the tongue, fever, vomiting, muscles pains, bleeding of the lungs and mental instability. The victim would also begin to develop black buboes on the armpits, leg, neck or groin that are red when first formed but will eventually grow to the size of an egg, turn black and burst, ultimately killing the victim . This disease killed very quickly, between 2 to 4 days and gave the victim a strong desire to sleep, which would kill them if it was allowed. There were many ‘treatments’ to the Black Death, many of them ineffective and superstitious such as wearing a magpies beak around your neck and cutting a hole in your head to let out bad spirits. However, there were wise women that lived in villages who provided medicine from herbs that actually worked. In all, there were not many effective way to cure the plague as people back in the Medieval times had little scientific understanding and believed the plague was a punishment sent from God, hence there were people called flagellants who went around whipping themselves and begging for God’s forgiveness. The short impacts of the Black Death had changed Medieval society greatly. Whole families and towns were wiped out and it is estimated that around 200 million people in Europe fell to the plague. Villages and towns began barring anyone from entering in fear of the plague and some of the rich chose to escape overseas. People began running amok, drinking and enjoying themselves as much as they could as they believed they had not long to live. Others thought that living quietly would cure them of the plague while a large amount of people believed that the world was going to end. The Crusades (a religious war fought between the Christians and the Muslims) came to a halt as the soldiers fighting the war had mostly died from the plague. Prices for everything also went down as most of the customers were dead and Free land become quite common as the people who owned the land were all dead. There were so many deaths that there was no one to farm the lands and barely anything had been harvested, resulting in starvation. The Long term impacts of the Black Death were better living conditions for the peasants after the plague as there were hardly any people left so the peasants remaining could get more wages subsequently improving their houses, tools and clothes. Higher wages also meant that some could send their children to school where they learnt to read and write to get better jobs. More schools were built due to this development and life became much easier for the poor. The power that the church had over the people was also diminishing as many believed that the plague was sent to punish the wicked, which was mainly the peasants but when even people of the church began to die, people began to question the church’s power. There were also more opportunities for women as many men had died so the women had to fill in for their jobs. For the first time, women could be the head of a household and own a wage earning job such as a blacksmith. Peasants were not so bound to the land anymore and this caused problems as the feudal lords of those times lost power and more peasants began looking for a better life. However, these were not the only long term impacts of the Black Death and in 1381; an event occurred in England that had never taken place before in the Medieval Ages. This event took place due to the smaller number of people to work the land; the peasants wanted more wages and freedom so that they could live a better life. Taxes also grew higher because of war and the Poll Tax in 1381 was the highest ones, leading the Peasants to rebel in what is now called ‘The Peasant’s Revolt’. The Peasants Revolt was an event in Medieval history where common people fought for more rights and freedom. It began in the villagers when Essex refused to pay taxes and attacked the tax collectors starting a riot that spread through Kent and Essex. The peasants eventually grouped together and decided to march to London to force the King to give them more rights. They elected a leader called Wat Tyler on the 7th of June, released a priest called John Ball and assembled together outside of London where King Richard (the present 14 year old king) met the rebels at Mile End. Wat Tyler demanded six things from the King. He demanded that Serfdom was abolished, that there be no more feudal services for the peasants, that land would be held freely at 4d an acre per year, the church lands must be given to the people and that there should be no legal difference between one man and another. King Richard agreed to these requests and pardoned the rebels. The same day, King Richard went to meet the rebels again at the Banks of Thames but confusion amongst the rebels stopped him from landing. Some rebels left after being pardoned but some stayed and murdered two of the King’s advisors in the tower of London. After this, the King went into hiding when the peasants destroyed the Duke of Lancaster’s palace and freed the prisoners. Finally, the King met with the rebels again and Wat Tyler made more demands but was stabbed to death when some felt he was threatening the King. The rebels were disbanded and killed under order of the King, the revolt had failed. However, it would not be until at 500 years later that Wat Tyler’s demands became a reality. The Black Death was a devastating disease that occurred in Europe in the 14th century that wiped out half of the population. The short term impacts were not only of mass death but also of the events that took place afterwards, such as the Peasant’s Revolt that resulted from the short term impacts of the plague. Whether short term or long term, the Black Death greatly impacted Medieval Society and triggered some of the most major events in English history.

Employee Turnover In Pharmaceutical Companies In Kenya Management Essay

Employee Turnover In Pharmaceutical Companies In Kenya Management Essay The objective of the study was to investigate employee turnover problem in Pharmaceutical industries in Kenya with a case study of Ranbaxy Laboratories limited. The study specifically investigated on staff retention measures utilized by the management, whether exit interviews are conducted, and the competitiveness of reward program and whether the conduciveness of the work place environment as factors that may contribute to workforce turnover in this sector. The study adopted a descriptive research design to identify the employee turnover factors and a sample size of 50 employees were selected using a simple random sampling since the population for the purpose of this study was regarded as homogeneous. The study collected both primary and secondary data using semi-structured questionnaire and review of empirical and theoretical literatures respectively. The instruments were pilot tested for reliability checks. Statistical software SPSS was used for data analysis and generation of charts and graphs. Analysis took both descriptive and inferential dimensions where some elements of measure of central tendency and regression analysis were employed respectively. The study revealed that organization lacked effective staff retention strategies, where exit interviews were not regularly and effectively conducted, the employed reward program was not competitive and existence of unfriendly work place environment influenced most employees to leave the organization. Thus it was concluded that lack of effective strategies to manage these factors influenced most pharmaceutical companies to continue experiencing high staff turnover rates that lower the total organization productivity and increase running costs by recurrent recruitment costs, production disrupting and broken clients relationships. The study recommended that these factors should be part of the organization business strategy rather than being left to managers to act. Key Words: Employee turnover, Retention strategies, Exit interviews, Work environment and, Compensation. Introduction Turnover is the rate at which workers are replaced with new staff members in an organization. Turnover rate is calculated by dividing the number of resignations by number of staff in a given period of time usually a calendar year. Gberevbie, (2008) refers to frequent labor turnover as a state of affairs in an organization whereby employees for reasons best known to them based on their perception of personnel policies and practice of an organization resign or leave their job. Employees switch organizations for several reasons. These reasons could be either organization related or job related. Managers would readily agree that retaining the top performers results in higher customer satisfaction, quality improvement, effective succession planning and a considerable increase in organization knowledge and learning. Smith (2001) discusses companies with work environments that attract and retain people and where people are willing to give their best. These environments arent expensive. In f act, they save money.   In most cases, they improve retention and productivity without lavish salaries or bonuses. And they certainly lower the expense of continually hiring and training new people. Estimates suggest that separation, replacement and training costs are 1.5 to 2.5 times annual salary for each person who quits, which means that the departure of a middle manager usually costs an organization around $75,000 (Dalton et al., 1993). Employees who perceive relationships with customers provide better service. Customers who receive better service express fewer complaints and thereby create fewer problems for employees. Employees in turn react more favorably to encounters with customers. These reactions result in better service which again leads to higher customer satisfaction. Providing adequate health care to the populations remains a major challenge for governments in Africa .Access of drugs is dependent on both affordability and quality. The pharmaceutical sector is Kenya is dominated by multinational companies and generic companies who either import ready products or locally manufactured products. The domestic pharmaceutical industry shows considerable strength and has significant opportunities for growth. Imported generics make 28% of the market share (UNIDO survey, 2009). The reports goes on to say exports to Tanzania and Uganda are growing and still more potential for Kenya to establish its self as a major source in Southern Sudan. For purpose of this study, the researcher focused on Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies, the company has a unique model of applauding and recognizing individual and team effort through (APPRECIATE) program designed to motivate performance (www.ranbaxy.com). The Companys business philosophy is based on delivering value to its stakeholders by constantly inspiring its people to innovate, achieve excellence and set new global benchmarks. Statement of the Problem The private health sector in Kenya contributes around 13% to the GDP and has largely remained unchanged since 1995(KPPB, 2007). Out of this, Pharmaceutical industries account for a whopping 10.3% in its contribution to the GDP. Although on average this is seen as stagnation, it is considered as one of the largest in East and Central Africa. Nevertheless, due to increased development of conventional medicines and awareness about preventive culture in the urban population, the industry has registered a high level of growth and innovation that has turned the sector into a vibrant business domain. This has seemingly attracted the attention of many entrepreneurs resulting to massive investment both at large and retail scale levels. Empirical studies (Wilson and Peel, 1990) on pharmaceutical industries have indicated that the industry is characterized by a stiff competition. In Kenya, the proliferations of the biotechnology marketplace have greatly revolutionized the industry operations. Organizations are increasingly at risk of losing key sales personnel to competitors and new market entrants. In a recent benchmarking study, Best Practices found that the 2006 aggregate annual turnover of employees for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries in Kenya is 14.2%. According to (Paul and Anantharaman, 2003) ,increasing turnover of sales people is particularly problematic for the larger pharmaceutical companies as smaller market entrants, particularly biotechnology firm keep on attracting their employees.. This resulted into massive exodus of employees from the pharmaceutical subsector into these upcoming biotechnology firms since the skills required is the same in both sub sector. This has evidently affected the Pharmaceutical industries since they responded to these pressures by focusing on its innovative segment and increasing its RD expenditures by means of in-house innovation, technological and therapeutic market specialization, and mergers and acquisitions of companies within and outside the pharmaceutical industry resulting to declining profits and stagnation (Kundu Malhan, 2007). Most studies (Delaney and Huselid,1996) done of the employee turnover sought to establish preliminary indices for employee turnover situations in different subsector hence making many statistics that describes the turnover of employees as abundant. In spite of having many studies undertaken on staff turnover in pharmaceutical companies, none of t he studies have managed to come up with an effective solution on how pharmaceutical companies should employ effective staff retention measures, conduct exit interviews, employ effective rewards programs and provide better working envi ronment. This has therefore created a wide knowledge gap on staff turnover management and hence created a need to conduct a study on factors contributing to the employee turnover in pharmaceutical companies in Kenya. Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, which is one of the largest and leading chains in the pharmaceutical laboratories with highest turnover according to the preliminary indices, (Delaney and Huselid, 1996) its recent employee satisfaction survey of 2009 indicated that 50% of the employees felt they would not be in the company for the next two years and 69% felt their intention to quit is influenced by management not peers. Considering Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited as a case, this study therefore sought to investigate the factors that contribute to employee turnover in pharmaceutical industries in Kenya. Overall Objective of the Study The general objective of the study is to investigate factors contributing to the employee turnover in pharmaceutical companies in Kenya, a case study of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Specific Objectives The study aimed to:- To investigate employee retention actions as a factor contributing to employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. To find out whether exit interviews affect employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. To find out the competiveness of reward program as a factor contributing to employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited.. To establish whether the work place environment affect employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Research Question The study sought answers for the following questions: Does employee retention actions as a factor contributing to employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Do exit interviews affect employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Does competiveness of reward program as a factor contributing to employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Do the work place environment affect employee turnover in Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. Scope of the Study In the literature, the variables that influence the turnover of the employees in an organization is vast. Since human resource management is also a socially complex process which is intertwined with array of organizational factors, it further diversifies the reasons as to why employees leave their organizations. Thus, this study focused only on retention action employed by the organization, exit interviews, competitiveness of reward program and status of workplace environment as factors influencing the employee turnover investigated. The study will limit itself to the case of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited only. Literature Review Both the theoretical and empirical reviews on employee turnover and its variables were conducted. This resulted into array of constructs (retention strategy, exit interviews, reward strategy, workplace environment and employee turnover) and their relationships which was conceptualized in the following schematic diagram below. This was used as the Conceptual framework which guided the study. Retention Strategy Exit Interviews Employee Turnover Reward Strategy Work place Environment Independent Variables Dependant Variable Research Methodology This chapter focused on research design, sampling, instrumentation, data collection, data analysis and interpretation. Research Design The research adopted descriptive approach. This is because, the study aim to describe employee turnover phenomena using different set of independent variable cluster. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exists, with respect to variables or conditions in a situation (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). Population and Sampling The study focused on pharmaceutical industry in Kenya which is the target population regarded as the larger population on which the findings were generalized to. The study population was mployees of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. A target population is the total collection of elements about which one wishes to make some inferences (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample size of 50 employees out of the total 75 employee of the study population. Since most variables under investigations are related to motivation, stratification is necessary to consider the different cadres of employees which pose motivation implications. This is equivalent to 66.67% sample size. According to Dempsey, (2003) a sample size of 50% is appropriate for generalization of the gathered findings in descriptive research. This therefore surpasses the threshold suggested by Dempsey, (2003) for generalization purposes and thus, regarded as adequate. The list sourced from th e Human Resource department of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited was used as a sampling frame. Data Collection and Instrumentation Primary data collection was through the questionnaire using a semi structured questionnaire that was interviewer-administered. Secondary data was through review of the theoretical and empirical literatures sourced from books and scholarly journals, Internet and conference papers among others. Pilot Test A pilot study was conducted to test reliability of the instrument (questionnaire). This involved selecting 2 respondents from each strata and issuing them with the questionnaires. Data was obtained using the questionnaires and after evaluating and identifying the response, reliability analysis using Kunder-Richardson 20 formulae was conducted. The results were applied to modify or drop the items whose thresholds were low. Data reliability also plays an important role towards generalization of the gathered data to reflect the research objective. Data Analysis and Presentation Descriptive statistics data analysis method was applied to analyze quantitative data where data was scored by calculating the percentages and means. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software was used specifically for the purpose of analyzing the quantitative data and presenting it inform of table, figures and graphs. Linear Regression analysis was also used to show the relationship between research variables. Qualitative data analysis method was employed to analyze qualitative data gathered using open end questions. Summary of the Major Findings Response Rate The response rate was 80%. This is regarded adequate in line with the literature by Mugenda and Mugenda, (2003) which recommends 70% as a good response rate in descriptive studies. Respondents Demographic Profile Majority of the respondents (50%) were within the age bracket 31-40 years, 24% within the age bracket of 18-30, and 13% within the age bracket of 41-50 years and 51 years and above. On the education level, majority of the respondents (62%) had attained university education level and 25% had attained college education level. Regarding working experience most of the respondents (35%) had a working experience of 3-5 years, 25% 6-7 years, 18% 3-5 years, 20% had a working experience of less than 2years and 20% had a working experience of 8 years and above. This indicated that most of the study respondents were experienced and educated and hence expected to give relevant information for this study. Employee Retention Strategies Majority (58%) of the respondents indicated the organization lacked effective employee retention strategies while 42% felt otherwise. The 58% felt management lacked understanding on retention strategies. This concurs with Ruth (2004) that managers who have greater understanding on causes of employee turnover are likely to employ effective employee retention strategies in order to retain competent and most skilled employee. Further 80% of the respondents felt that the strategies employed do not minimize employee turnover. Using Likert scale method rating 4 very effective,3-effective,2-Moderate and 1 not effective 5-very effective, (50%) rated the effectiveness of the employed employee retention strategies as being moderate, 18% effective, 20% not effective and 12% very effective. From this we can infer majority of the employee rated average. This concurs with findings by Baker (2004) that organization that lacks very effectives employee retention strategies faces cases of high employ ee turnover rates that contributes to loss of the most skilled and competent employee. The low standard deviation indicates that there was negligible error during the analysis and the variance results demonstrates that respondents gave similar answers as the answers variation was close to each other and hence giving a clear indication that the answers given were reliable From the findings, it can be concluded that lack of effective employee retention strategies contributed to high employee turnover rates in the organization. Exit Interviews Majority of the respondents (68%) were of the opinion that employees leaving the organization were not subjected to exit interviews. However, 32% of the respondents expressed that the employees were subjected to exit interviews. This agreed with suggestion by Armstrong (2006) that presence of exit interviews in organization assists human resource management to establish the core causes of high employee turnover. Concerning whether exit interviews help the organization to find out the reasons for employee turnover (83%) answered no indicating that exit interviews did not help to establish reasons why employees left the organization and (37%) felt otherwise. The majority who answered no explained that the organization lacked effective exit interview program that helped in capturing the organization problems influencing high employee turnover. Regarding the frequency of conducting exit interviews respondents (47.5%) stated that exit interviews were rarely conducted, 40% stated sometimes , 7.5% never and only 5% who stated exit interviews were always conducted. Exit interviews were rarely conducted since the management was not conscious on the reasons contributing to high employee turnover rates and this agreed with Nelly (2002) that human resource managers who are not mindful about employees turnover do not carry out exit interviews and instead concentrates on employing new employees. The study hence concluded that conducting exit interviews could help human resource management in pharmaceutical to effectively manage high employee turnover rates. The table shows that a low standard deviation was obtained in all questions, indicating that the answers given were accurate. A low variance in all the questions shows that the respondents answered the questions in a similar way and hence the responses given were reliable. Reward Program The study sought to find out competitiveness of the reward program.73% of the respondents felt the reward program was not competitive and it was one of the reasons that influenced employees to leave. This agrees with Nzuve (2007) that absence of competitive rewards in the organization lead to low level of employee motivation that influences most employee to leave the organization hence increasing the rate of employee turnover.85% of the respondents indicated absence of competitive reward programs in the organization contributed to high employee turnover while 15% felt otherwise. As can be observed from the table a mean of 1.27 and 1.85 was obtained in the two questions indicating that organization lacked competitive reward programs and absence of competitive reward programs contributed high employee turnover rates. Work place Environment An overwhelming (80%) of the respondents felt their work environment was not conducive while 20% felt it was conducive. The majority 80% felt that the work environment contributed to employee turnover. Using Likert Scale where 5 -very large externt4-large extent, 3-moderate extent, 2-small extent and 1- not at all, majority of the respondents (60%) stated that work place environment contributed to employee turnover to a very large extent, 20% large extent, 10% moderate extent and 5% small extent and not at all respectively. A mean of 1.20 indicates that organization work place environment was not conducive, a mean of 1.80 shows that work place environment contributed to high employee turnover rate and a mean of 4.25 indicated that work place environment contributed to employee turnover to a large extent. A low variance and a low standard deviation demonstrate that the answers given by the respondents were accurate. Regression Analysis A regression equation to show the relationship between the independent variables and dependant variable was derived Y = a + bX1 + bX2 + bX3 + bX4 + e=r2 The values for b0, b1, b2, b3 and b4 are  .569, .330, .095, .160 and .132 therefore the equation Y = .569+.330+.095+ .160 +.132 This indicates that there is a strong relationship between, employee retention, exit interviews, reward program, work place environment and employee turnover. A coefficient of .330 indicates that application of effective employee retention strategies reduces employee turnover by 0.330,a coefficient of .095 indicates application of exit interviews reduces employee turnover by 0.095. A coefficient of.160 presents that application of effective reward programs reduces employee turnover by 0.16. A coefficient of .132 indicates that conducive workplace environment helps to reduce employee turnover by 0.132. Conclusion Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that employee retention strategy was a major factor that greatly contributed to high employee turnover rates in the organization. The study also found out that one of the critical parameter of collecting data form the exiting employees, exit interviews were not regularly conducted whenever employees left the organization. And this hampered the organization human resource management to identify the core reasons that influenced employees to leave the organization. Lack of competitive reward program greatly contributed to high employee turnover rates in the organization since the organizations reward package was not competitive and also lacks the elements of totality in its reward system. Finally it can be concluded that the organization working environment was not conducive to most of the employees and this contributed to high employee turnover. This is expected since; laboratories like workshops are characteristically identified with the workplace environments which they offer. Recommendations Employee turnover should not be left to be handled by the human resource department alone rather it should be looked at as part of the overall business strategy since human capital is one of the major factors of production. This way , factors that are causing employee turnover will be handled and top management level and action will be taken to minimize employee turnover. Thus the study suggests the need to investigate on the role played by the top management in the alleviating employee turnover investigation as necessary. The study also recommends the need for the managements to be vigilant with their exit interviews so as to get insights of why the employees are leaving while redoubling their efforts in streamlining the motivation package.