Are There Risks And Confidentiality When Conducting On...

Are there risks to confidentiality when conducting on-line counseling? Yes there is risk to confidentiality when conducting online counseling. Online counseling does not guaranty discretion there are security breaches and there as well as other security measures that have not been thought of to help keep and protect privacy (Coleman, 2000). Another breach that could occur as far as confidentiality when conducting on-line counseling is breach in data, WIFI and or secure networks, like using public computers and or public non-secure WIFI. These sources of accessing the internet have been known to have security breaches all the time. For example in recent news OPM has a had a security breach for its government and contract employees where all of their private information had been hacked into this includes any information you had to give up on your neighbors and any foreign information that was part of your background check as well as all personal and identifiable information, This breach violated all HIPAA training and requirements. Also online counseling can leave space for misunderstandings of information received and observed which can result in mismanagement, negligence’s and better opportunity for incorrect diagnosis or treatment (Coleman, 2000). For example with emails and text messages people misconstrue information that is being received all the time, if there is not a comma in the right place or you accidently put something in all in caps it could be received as youShow MoreRelatedEthics : The Ethics Of Counseling1308 Words   |  6 PagesTo truly discuss the ethics of counseling in groups, one must first understand the term â€Å"ethics†. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term ethics can be defined as, â€Å"rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad† By establishing a code of ethics, professionals are aware of what can be expected from them, as far as morals and values are concerned, in order to avoid behavior that can be determined unethic al. Counseling is most certainly a profession in which a codeRead MoreRole of Finance and Hr Manager1371 Words   |  6 Pagescan be classified into: 1. The routine working capital and cash management decisions. 2. Dividend decisions 3. Investment decisions 4. Financial forecasting 5. International financial decisions 6. Portfolio management 7. Risk management 8. Cash management while the dividend decisions are related to deciding the amount that is to be distributed to the shareholders, the investment decisions relate to the investment that the company makes in different projects so as toRead MoreThe Concept Of Triangulation : Why Is It Important?1580 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom two or more sources as mention previously. It can be use in both quantitative and qualitative and it is the preferred line in the social sciences. An example of triangulation would be to use multiple methods like interviews, documents, observation and questionnaires to gather data in a research. 2. Why is diversity important? Diversity is important to research methods when studying and seeking a wide range of views or different subjects. Rather than constraining the targeting to limited groupsRead MoreTheory of Supervision1692 Words   |  7 Pagesserious they will in turn lay down ground rules when they agree to supervise a student. If the student knows what will be expected of them, then only minimal problems should arise. As problems surface the student should have an understanding of what was discussed and how it will be handled. The student should also understand that if certain boundaries are crossed then the supervision agreement might be at jeopardy. For instance, client confidentiality is breached on the part of the supervisee. ItRead MoreEthical Issues Of Group Counseling2422 Words   |  10 Pageswithin group counseling. These are issues that are strictly unique to group therapy. In group counseling, there are set of ethical standards and codes that a counselor should adhere to throughout the counseling in the process. 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All age ranges will be looked at when making the determination as to which model is superior and results in more successful and long-term solutions for the needs of the individual going through therapy. Further, this paper  seeks to establish and understand the parameters of ethics as itRead MoreEssay On Ptsd1624 Words   |  7 Pagesmanagement and group mantram inventions. The article states that researchers began to look at spirituality and its relation to health and wellbeing; spirituality and religion have been noted to be helpful as coping techniques when dealing with stress. This was further looked at when the authors looked at past studies 1385 veterans who experienced killing or failing to prevent deaths stated their religious beliefs were weak and that they had high f eeling of guilt. The article then defines mantram whichRead MoreNarrative And Cognitive Behavioral Therapies ( Cbt )2433 Words   |  10 PagesCognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT). When I am meeting with a client my first approach is to always listen to the clients and then from what they tell me, decide which direction I want to precede. At my field placement at Belmont Behavioral Hospital this year, most of the clients I have come into contact with have either had deaths in their family, or been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, or other diagnoses that involve some kind of meaning in their lives. When I experience a client who exhibits

Tough Alice - 1309 Words

‘Tough Alice’ Extended Analysis Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast, is a collection of stories that vary from parodies to extended variations of famous fantasy stories. Jane Yolen, challenged the most popular children’s story ever, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and created a more upbeat Wonderland with a more hard-hitting Alice than usual. The original Alice in Wonderland is a tale about a girl who falls asleep and dreams about this magical and adventurous land known as Wonderland. Alice in â€Å"Tough Alice,† has made multiple trips to this magical realm and has become a veteran to the laws and duties of Wonderland. Both stories embark on Joseph Campbell’s idea of Structuralism, ‘Hero’s Journey’ by following the sub-elements†¦show more content†¦Next, the Cheshire cat is a supernatural aide as well for Alice. The Cheshire cat is rather poetic with everything he says and his advice to Alice gives off a poetic vibe. The supernatural part about the cat i s that he enjoys disappearing and reappearing at random times. In Tough Alice, the Red and White Queens symbolized supernatural aides for Alice. There’s no such thing as a red or white queen which indicates that Alice is dreaming. Second, the red and white queens were seen as guidance this time around in Wonderland by saying things like â€Å"We are only present, not truly here,† â€Å"And you are your own future,† â€Å"You are a tough child† and â€Å"You figure it out (page 7-8, Yolen)†. This considered the queens to be aides towards Alice. To make it out of Wonderland this time, she had to learn to fight her own demons. The second phase of the Hero’s Journey is the initiation which embarks on the road of trials. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice becomes overwhelmed with notion of being a range of different sizes within one day, so she begins to cry. Her crying creates a pool of tears where she meets an array of animals, including a mouse. In this pool of tears, Alice and the array of animalsShow MoreRelated Redemption in Alice Walkers Color Purple Essay1194 Words   |  5 PagesRedemption in The Color Purple  Ã‚   Alice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers.   Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome arduous lessons of life.   Once she managed to transfer the struggles of her life into a book, she instantaneously became a world-renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner.   The Color Purple is a riveting novel about the struggle between redemption and revenge according to Dinitia Smith.   The novel takesRead MoreThe Color Purple By Alice Walker1707 Words   |  7 PagesAlice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, grew up in the harsh conditions of the South in the 1940’s. Alice walker was raised in the middle of the Women’s Rights Movement and had to find hope to get through all of the challenges she had to face. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker uses the main character, Celie, as an example of hope. Hope helps Celie overcome oppression, abuse, and other challenges. Celie is used as an example of th e life of a woman during the time of the Civil Rights MovementRead MoreThe Color Purple: Reflections Of Alice Walker Essay728 Words   |  3 PagesAlice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers. Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome demanding lessons of life. She transferred the struggles of her life into a book, that got her awarded a Pulitzer Prize and she became known as a world renowned author. The Color Purple is a compelling novel about redemption and revenge. The conflict between racism, sexism, and the power of strong female relationships is how Alice expressedRead MoreFavorite Scenes from the Color Purple1074 Words   |  5 Pageslike to live in a world where you don’t have any say in what goes on in your own life? 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Elisabeth Kà ¼bler-Ross, a Swiss-American

Organic and Biodynamic forms of Agriculture Ecological basis

Question: Discuss about The Philosophical and Ecological Basis of both Organic and Biodynamic forms of Agriculture. Answer: Topic: The Philosophical and Ecological Basis of Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture Philosophical and Ecological principles govern the production of food and other agricultural yields, which, is being produced organically or bio-dynamically. On a broader podium, organic and biodynamic agriculture retains the physical as well as the biological attribute of the soil by improving the biological interactions that exist in the soil with microorganisms (Chalker-Scott, 2013). The main concern of these two types of agricultural practices is concentrated on striking a balance with the ecology. It involves improving the soil quality, dealing with the pest and disease oriented problems. Application of methods such as crop rotation, symbiotic relation, application of organic manure and biological means of pest control are applied to these types of agriculture (Staudenmaier, 2013). The philosophy between these agricultural practices is similar, to establish a healthy interaction between human and environment because these two systems are interconnected. Any damage inflicted upon the environment will ultimately lead to damaging mankind. Humans cannot walk unscathed by carrying out a one sided deal with nature (Olsen, 2014). The philosophy behind these two types of agricultural practices is the co-existence of all sorts of biological entities with nature. The philosophical and ecological contexts have been discussed keeping in mind the working principles of the two agricultural practices. A brief insight into the basics has been stated along with the standards that are practiced to maintain their individual sustainability. The self-sustaining nature of both the types of agricultural practices has been explored. Sustainability is an attribute, which is imparted to all sorts of concepts such as success, development, and to several others (Boudreau, 2013). The idea of sustainability is to be able to support the present as well as the future progeny in a comfortable way. Agriculture too has a sustainable aspect. In terms of ecology, sustainable agriculture helps in protecting the health and welfare of the humans as well as the environment (Stein-Bachinger Fuchs, 2012). Industrial approach towards agriculture has rendered the agricultural lands barren due to over cropping. Due to excessive use of harmful pesticides and insecticides, the soil has become toxic for the crops to grow as well as made the pests resistant towards these chemicals (Arbenz et al., 2015). Not only the pests and plant pathogens, but also the weeds have become resistant towards the weedicides due to frequent application. On the face of global crisis of food, barren lands are a matter of great concern. To avoid such a situat ion, sustainable agricultural practices should be followed to restore the fertility of the soil. There are several methods that exists for carrying out sustainable agricultural, for example, organic farming, biodynamic farming, permaculture (Sandhu, Porter Wratten, 2013). The two commonly known types of sustainable agriculture has been described as, namely, organic agriculture and biodynamic agriculture. Organic agriculture involves a holistic approach to carry out farming without the application of harmful chemicals present in the fertilizers (Altieri, 2016). Sir Albert Howard (1943) has facilitated in coining the term organic agriculture (Reganold Wachter, 2016). He had boiled down to the idea by discussing the means of recycling sewage and agricultural wastes to harness it in preparing organic manure. Organic agriculture specifically involves the usage of sustainable form of energy source such as solar and wind, application of crop rotation and green manure, utilization of mineral-based rocks in the field and planting legumes (Storl, 2013). Unlike conventional method of farming, the use of pesticides is restricted in organic agriculture. The organic agriculturalists mainly concentrate on drawing a strategy that will involve healthy options of farming such as intelligent management of pest control and weed control. Other than these, this type of agricultural aids in retaining the soil moisture too which, is very helpful for drought prone areas, and it also helps in preventing soil erosion which in return aids in retaining the nutrient content of the soil (Koepf, 2005). Application of IPT (Integrated Pest Management) proves to be an efficient technology for facilitating organic agriculture. IPT comprises of applying physical, chemical and mechanical methods to combat the problem of pests and weeds. Uses of traps, physical repellants such as oils and microbial solutions that are insecticidal in nature are involved in IPT (Leifeld et al., 2013). The philosophical foundation behind organic agricultural practice is inspired from the preservation of the ecology. It is motivated by the philosophy that solely biological processes will be involved in the agricultural practice. Organic agriculture helps in promoting the biodiversity (Tuck et al., 2014). Reports have shown that the diversity of species at organic farms was observed to be higher as the chemical free environment promoted a healthier biome. Organic agriculture has a negligible effect on global warming and it reduces environmental pollution too. When harmful chemicals as pesticides are applied to the soil, the plants uptake the chemicals and leads to bioaccumulation of the chemicals in the leaves and fruits. During rains, the chemicals are washed off into the field run-offs, which fall into a bigger water body such as the rivers or canals or even lakes at times. This leads to the process of eutrophication where the fishes also accumulate the chemicals in their body, whi ch is further consumed by humans (Tuomisto et al., 2012). This entire process can be avoided on practicing of organic agriculture. A healthy option of agriculture is also established in organic agriculture when the livestock is allowed to graze outside and not incorporated with antibiotics or artificial hormones. The idea of genetic engineering of plants is also discouraged in organic agriculture (Andersen et al., 2015, Altieri, 2016). If care is not taken, there will hardly be anything left for the future progeny to experience and explore. The ecological basis of organic agricultural practice is contingent on the recycling of wastes and economic utilization of resources. The core of organic agriculture revolves around the concept of presence of organic carbon in the soil. The main contributor to the soil carbon is the leguminous plants (Gattinger et al., 2012). They have root nodules, which houses microorganisms that facilitate nitrogen fixing in the soil, providing the crops with the necessary nutrition. Hence, organic agriculture contributes to the sequestration of the carbon in the soil. This step has proved to be advantageous from the point of view of helping to curb the excessive production of carbon dioxide, which, is normally observed in conventional agricultural practices (Sale et al., 2015). Sustainable aspect of organic agriculture is dependent on several practices of organic agriculture, first, application of conservational measures involving water, usage of crop rotation, the mulches are employed to plants and lastly, zero application of tillage so that the soil level is not perturbed. Secondly, sustainable organic agriculture can be practiced by being concerned about the well-being of the biological entities of the soil, by applying manures as well as composts (Nowak Szewczyk, 2015). Thirdly, recycling of nutrients leads to effective practicing of sustainable organic agriculture. Recycling of nutrients include rotation of crops, establishing mixed systems by involving crops or livestock, usage of leguminous plants to retain the nutrients in the soil and the usage of trees in the cultivation of crops. Fourthly, sustainable organic agriculture can be followed by managing the habitats by introducing biologically affable pest control measures, which effectively deals wi th the pests without harming the soil biome (Bedoussac et al., 2015). By following these measures, the soil can be made resilient. It can counter the effect of droughts or floods. Organic agricultural practices help in the retention of moisture and this helps the crops to grow during drought. Whereas, crops are not washed off during floods as the soil act as sponge like properties and it aids in absorbing water and as a result helps in the reduction of the water level. Biodynamic agriculture works based on the principle that the farm en bloc is treated as a single biological entity, which is managed with a holistic approach. Rudolph Steiner was responsible for highlighting the principles of biodynamic agriculture (Giannattasia et al., 2013). Biodynamic agriculture is dedicated in promoting ecology, economic and as well as human health by practicing a responsive agricultural practice in a social context. It is basically an advanced form of organic farming. Foods grown with the help of biodynamic agriculture possess a higher nutrient quotient. The application of GM (Genetically Modified) crops is restricted in biodynamic agriculture and this is a common aspect of agricultural practice for both organic as well as biodynamic agriculture (Ponzio, Gangatharan Neri, 2013). The Demeter system of certification was introduced to label foods that have been purely procured out of biodynamic agriculture. A dwindling forest cover and loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate should be a matter of concern for everyone. The ecological basis of biodynamic agriculture is dependent on several principles, namely, system involving the incorporation of livestock and crop, principles applied in the application of pesticides and fertilization concerns, implications in respect to the society, usage and respect adhered to the landscape, cosmic sequence and biodynamic provisions. The principle of incorporation of livestock and crop involves the formulation of a nutrient cycle, which is independent of the external parameters. The application of nitrogen based fertilizers is restricted in biodynamic agriculture. In biodynamic agriculture livestock are believed to have souls so they are treated fair and square by avoiding the incorporation of antibiotics and growth hormones (Smith, 2015). They are never bred in isolation and dehorning is prohibited too. In biodynamic based farms, crops are grown along with plants that help in contributing to the enhancement of the biodiversity of the region. The principle regarding application of pesticides and fertilization concerns involves techniques such as rotation of crops and cover cropping to retain the inherent nutrient of the soil. Crop rotation prevents the uptake of same type of minerals from the soil by the plants (Paull, 2014). Growing a different crop in intervals helps in replenishing the nutrient level in the soil. Cover cropping prevents the loss of soil by wind erosion. Growth of legumes is necessary for biodynamic agriculturalists. It helps in fixing nitrogen in the soil with the help of nitrogen fixing microorganisms inhabiting the root nodules of the legumes. The principle of implications in respect to the society involves practicing farming with a holistic approach where along with crops; the surrounding lands well being is taken into consideration (Paull, 2013). The principle of implications in respect to the society involves everybody who lives in and around the area where biodynamic agriculture is practiced so that an all round upliftment of the community takes place (Pechrov Vlasicov, 2013). The principle of cosmic sequence involves following the patterns of the moon cycle as well as the phases of the moon. To practice agriculture, a calendar is followed and based on that cultivation; harvesting, and several other farming practices are carried out. Biodynamic agricultural practices triumph over conventional agricultural practices as well as industrialized organic agriculture (Paull, 2013). The cycles of moon are evident in having an effect on the seas and the oceans. This concept is applied by the biodynamic agriculturalists by following the waning and waxing patterns of the moon to practice agriculture. The principle of biodynamic provisions involves the application of the originally composed eight different kinds of preparation that enhances the growth of the plant when incorporated in the soil. Different types of composts and manures composition was designed by Steiner ranging from 500-508 respectively (Steiner, 1993). The philosophical foundation associated with practicing biodynamic agriculture involves a contribution to nature with the help of practices that are sacred and involve agricultural practices that takes into account the well-being of the nature, human health and welfare. It has a religious approach towards agriculture. Steiner had explained biodynamic agriculture to be responsible in encompassing all aspects of farming involving the wellbeing of the animals and farmers involved as well as nature (Smith Barqun, 2016). He has laid main emphasis on the idea of metaphysics which lay stress on the concept that biodynamic agriculture is based on the application of forces that exist but cannot be perceived. It has a philosophical approach towards agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture requires the farmer to spare 10% of his land for allowing the natural biodiversity of the area to flourish (Perumal Vatsala, 2013). A large number of farmers are joining the league of practicing biodynamic agric ulture as they are slowly becoming aware of the damaging effect of conventional agricultural practice. Biodynamic agriculture helps in adding a spiritual facet to the agricultural practice where science and technology takes a back seat. The philosophy that also lay behind biodynamic agriculture relates to the ignorance of man regarding the implications his actions may befall on the environment (Damery, 2015). This attitude renders harm to the environment. By practicing biodynamic farming, the adverse effects of industrialized farming can be avoided. The ignorance is evident in the form of usage of GM based seeds. There is hardly a prior knowledge of the implication these GM crops can have on the human system (Gidley, 2012). GM crops are synthesized in the laboratory where their genetic make-up is tweaked with the help of genetic engineering and thorough study needs to be carried out to determine the extent of effect it can have on the body. The sustainable aspect of biodynamic agriculture pertains to the idea that agriculture practiced in a particular area is not dependent on any external source (Parpinello et al., 2015). It runs on the resources available in that area itself. It renders the farm as a self-sustaining body. The sustainability is also added to dynamic agriculture with the help of the eight different techniques as described by Steiner to increase the growth of the plant by enriching the soil with nutrients. Like the different fossil fuel resources, which are becoming endangered in an accelerated fashion, soil as a resource has also joined the list. The sustainability factor is enhanced on the application of biodynamic agriculture as the quality of soil is highly improved and this leads to imparting better fertility (Botelho et al., 2015). Better fertility is equivalent to greater produce. The microbial population of the soil determines the quality of the soil. The higher organic content of the soil also pr oves a greater sustainability limit for areas subjected to biodynamic agriculture. The price of produce from organic agriculture is comparatively higher that the ones produced with the help of conventional agricultural practice (Penfold et al., 2015). This was the main reason why it took so long for the organic produce to gain popularity among the consumers. However, the introductory dip has been overcome mostly due to the surge in the ecological, philosophical as well as the social concern related to the organic movement. Dynamic agriculture provides with an economic system in comparison with the industrial agricultural techniques because dynamic agriculture takes into account the well being of the environment as well as the human (Altieri, 2016). Industrial agricultural practice leads to loss of large extent of lands and the environment being heavily polluted due to the conventional methods of farming. The efficiency is also very low for a conventional farm as compared to an organic farm. Other than this aspect, farmers have faced difficulty in applying the techn iques shortlisted in organic agriculture and forms part of the biodynamic agriculture (Crittenden et al., 2014). They require proper training and resources to carry out these types of agriculture. These agricultural types are not economic in the face of production and the failure rates are considerably high. The yields are also considerably low as compared to the conventional agricultural practices (Batary et al., 2013). The only benefit is that, the nutrition aspect remains same and the health quotient seems to be uplifted as they avoid the usage of harmful chemicals. The ecological and philosophical basis of organic and biodynamic agriculture provides us with a window into the world of agriculture that is dedicated in retaining the inherent properties of the soil. These two agricultural practices aid to maintain the nutrient level of the soil by promoting the growth of the soil micro-flora. These kinds of practices protect the top soil cover by preventing them from being eroded. The crops that are being produced from these agricultural fields is high in nutrition as well as high on the health quotient too. Since these agricultural practices do not entertain the usage of harmful chemicals present in the pesticides, the crops are safe to consume as they are devoid of any accumulated chemicals in their leaves or root tips or in fact in the fruit or grain itself. The farmers should further sustainable agricultural practices as the shortage of food is felt globally. The environment has to be stopped from being degraded any further. Bioremediation tech niques need to be applied to the agricultural fields to revert its original condition. The biological method is preferred as their side effects are next to none. A conglomerated effort from agriculturalists across the globe can help revert back the degradation of soil that has set in. As a result it will also indirectly contribute, to remediate the environment too and lessen the extent of water pollution led by agricultural run offs. The lessened use of fossil fuel based resources in farming will also help the cause of environment friendly approach of sustainable agricultural methods. The commercial perquisites are minimal in this case, but the perks associated in the long run should motivate more farmers to embrace these types of sustainable agricultural practices. All these measures are taken in order to create a healthy relationship with the nature rather than violating its resources . References Altieri, M. A. (2016). Agroecological principles for sustainable agriculture.Uphoff, N., ed. 2002. Agroecological Innovations: Increasing Food Production with Participatory Development, 40-46. Sterling, Va.: Earthscan Publications. Andersen, M. M., Landes, X., Xiang, W., Anyshchenko, A., Falhof, J., sterberg, J. T., ... Sande, P. (2015). Feasibility of new breeding techniques for organic farming. Trends in plant science, 20(7), 426-434. Arbenz, M., Willer, H., Lernoud, J., Huber, B., Amarjit, S. (2015). The World of Organic AgricultureStatistics and Emerging Trends (Session at the BIOFACH 2015). Batry, P., Sutcliffe, L., Dormann, C. F., Tscharntke, T. (2013). Organic farming favours insect-pollinated over non-insect pollinated forbs in meadows and wheat fields. PloS one, 8(1), e54818. Bedoussac, L., Journet, E. P., Hauggaard-Nielsen, H., Naudin, C., Corre-Hellou, G., Jensen, E. S., ... Justes, E. (2015). Ecological principles underlying the increase of productivity achieved by cereal-grain legume intercrops in organic farming. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35(3), 911-935. Botelho, R. V., Roberti, R., Tessarin, P., Garcia-Mina, J. M., Rombol, A. D. (2015). Physiological responses of grapevines to biodynamic management. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-12. Boudreau, M. A. (2013). Diseases in intercropping systems.Annual review of phytopathology,51, 499-519. Chalker-Scott, L. (2013). The Science Behind Biodynamic Preparations: A Literature Review.HortTechnology,23(6), 814-819. Crittenden, S. J., Eswaramurthy, T., De Goede, R. G. M., Brussaard, L., Pulleman, M. M. (2014). Effect of tillage on earthworms over short-and medium-term in conventional and organic farming. Applied Soil Ecology, 83, 140-148. Damery, P. (2014). Farming soul: A tale of initiation. BookBaby. Gattinger, A., Muller, A., Haeni, M., Skinner, C., Fliessbach, A., Buchmann, N., ... Niggli, U. (2012). Enhanced top soil carbon stocks under organic farming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(44), 18226-18231. Giannattasio, M., Vendramin, E., Fornasier, F., Alberghini, S., Zanardo, M., Stellin, F., ... Rizzi, V. (2013). Microbiological features and bioactivity of a fermented manure product (preparation 500) used in biodynamic agriculture. Journal of microbiology and biotechnology, 23(5), 644-651. Gidley, J. M. (2012). Steiner, Rudolf (18611925). In Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 3188-3191). Springer US. Koepf, H. H. (2005).The biodynamic farm. SteinerBooks. Leifeld, J., Angers, D. A., Chenu, C., Fuhrer, J., Ktterer, T., Powlson, D. S. (2013). Organic farming gives no climate change benefit through soil carbon sequestration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(11), E984-E984. Nowak, M. M., Szewczyk, Z. (2015. Organic Farming as an Innovative Product Supplier for the Food Industry. Roczniki Naukowe Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistw Rolnictwa i Agrobiznesu, 17(3). Olsen, E. K. (2014). Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative to the Industrial Farming System. Parpinello, G. P., Rombol, A. D., Simoni, M., Versari, A. (2015). Chemical and sensory characterisation of Sangiovese red wines: comparison between biodynamic and organic management. Food chemistry, 167, 145-152. Paull, J. (2012). Book review: Rudolf Steiner-Alchemy of the Everyday. Journal of Organic Systems, 7(2), 61-63. Paull, J. (2013). The Glass House: Crucible of Biodynamic Agriculture. News Leaf, 95(Winter), 17-21. Paull, J. (2014). Ernesto Genoni: Australias pioneer of biodynamic agriculture. Journal of Organics, 1(1), 57-81. Pechrov, M., Vlasicov, E. (2013). Technical efficiency of organic and biodynamic farms in the Czech Republic. Agris on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 5(4), 143. Penfold, C., Johnston, L., Marschner, P., Bastian, S., Collins, C. (2015). The relative sustainability of organic, biodynamic and conventional viticulture: Part 1: Soil health. Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker, (616), 40. Perumal, K., Vatsala, T. M. (2013). Utilization of local alternative materials in cow horn manure (BD 500) Preparations: A case study on biodynamic vegetable cultivation. Reprint copy, 16-18. Ponzio, C., Gangatharan, R., Neri, D. (2013). Organic and biodynamic agriculture: A review in relation to sustainability. International Journal of Plant Soil Science, 2(1), 95-110. Reganold, J. P., Wachter, J. M. (2016). Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century.Nature plants,2, 15221. Sle, V., Aguilera, P., Laczko, E., Mder, P., Berner, A., Zihlmann, U., ... Oehl, F. (2015). Impact of conservation tillage and organic farming on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 84, 38-52. Sandhu, H., Porter, J., Wratten, S. (2013). Experimental assessment of ecosystem services in agriculture.Ecosystem Services in Agricultural and Urban Landscapes. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 122-136. Smith, D., Barqun, J. (2016). Biodynamics in the wine bottle. Skeptical Inquirer. Smith, K. M. (2015). CAN BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE OFFER A WAY TO INCREASE BIODIVERSITY IN FOOD DESERTS? A QUANTITATIVE STUDY WITHIN A JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY. Staudenmaier, P. (2013). Organic Farming in Nazi Germany: The Politics of Biodynamic Agriculture, 19331945.Environmental History, ems154. Stein-Bachinger, K., Fuchs, S. (2012). Protection strategies for farmland birds in legumegrass leys as trade-offs between nature conservation and farmers needs.Organic Agriculture,2(2), 145-162. Steiner, R. (1993). Agriculture. SteinerBooks. Storl, W. D. (2013).Culture and Horticulture: The Classic Guide to Organic and Biodynamic Gardening. North Atlantic Books. Tuck, S. L., Winqvist, C., Mota, F., Ahnstrm, J., Turnbull, L. A., Bengtsson, J. (2014). Landà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ use intensity and the effects of organic farming on biodiversity: a hierarchical metaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 51(3), 746-755. Tuomisto, H. L., Hodge, I. D., Riordan, P., Macdonald, D. W. (2012). Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts?A meta-analysis of European research. Journal of environmental management, 112, 309-320.

Market Social Research

Background of the Study Newtonville is a city in Massachusetts in the United States that borders Boston. Newtonville, Census, and Information (2012, para. 1) identified that the city has an estimated population of 85,000 people. The Newtonville District Council has a Leisure Services Department responsible for creating and promoting outdoor and park leisure areas.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Market Social Research specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Leisure Services Department is grateful for the working relationship that has developed for years with the local community. The department relies on the community for acquiring expertise and program developments in volunteers with the ability to coordinate leisure activities. The department has a 9+variety of parks that include Harvard Square Park, Fenway Park, Hunnewell Park, Arnold Arboretum, Larz Anderson Park, Jamaica Pond, Menotomy Rocks Park, Corey Hill Out look, and Chestnut Hill Reservoir. There is indoor leisure such as golf course, swimming pools, playgrounds, and Zoo. The department has established programs such as the Colonie Youth Service Wrap-Around Program, South Shore LGBT Seniors, The Newton dining out for seniors over 65, over-the-rainbow-supper-club, the Greater Brockton Tortoise Walking Group, Belmont Area Walking Group, and the Women’s Travel Group (Meetup 2012, para.1). The relationship of the department and the community is that the department provides memorable experience for the local population. However, the department is facing financial difficulties of maintaining and improving its established leisure programs because of economic crisis and pressure on available funds. The department wants to involve local residents in the planning and organizing of leisure activities and the local business community in sponsoring such developments and changes. The projects will develop when the department forms partnership s successfully with the business community. The department, therefore, has the responsibility of convincing the business community to accept the proposal of forming the partnership through convincing them of good business opportunities. The department requested a proposal on the issue to find means of attracting and maintaining potential sponsors from the business community. The study will target the people with interest in rock climbing, camping, swimming, dog walking, and visiting parks (Trenberth 2005, p.5).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Objectives of the Study The study will focus on acquiring high acceptance from the public and commercial interests. The study will aim to increase the range of the target market share, volunteers to work in the communal leisure and parks, and the focus on needs and wants of the families in the community. The study will also attract the interest and attention of sponsors and seek the ways to improve the facilities essential for the operations of the recreation centers and parks. The study will ensure that the leisure service department is responsible for facilities and programs provided after the partnership with local and business communities. The partnership will be for building and fostering a good relationship through creating leisure opportunities for everybody, promoting healthy lifestyle, and offering quality facilities, services, and programs to the community. The study will evaluate the opportunities that businesspeople have to increase their image and reputation in sponsoring the Leisure Service Department (Mowen, Kyle, Borrie Graefe 2006, p.89). Methodology The study will use observation and exploration to establish the relationship between the potential of the leisure programs and the outcomes expected when the leisure service department forms partnerships with the business and local community. The res earch will emphasize accuracy, reliability, dependability, and satisfaction of the data collected to enable its approval for professional use. Quantitative research designs will avoid missing some of the important details in the investigation. The data will be analyzed statistically and presented in graphs, tables, and theoretically to enable easy derivation of data by the user. Research Design A research design will be necessary in this research to convert research questions into an investigation project. In research, research design is in two forms, quantitative and qualitative research designs. Quantitative research method can be experimental, descriptive, or causal depending on the objectives of the research. In this research, quantitative research design will analyze the case study using the meaning of the objectives and the framework of events and consider the study in a flexible manner to bring out the importance of the business and local community sponsorships in the leisure programs. The quantitative research method will allow the collected data to be treated statistically.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Market Social Research specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The statistics acquired will be essential in this study to determine the amount of influence the department has enforced and the capacity to succeed in attracting potential sponsors for leisure programs. Moreover, a large sample is to be in the research to acquire reliable and dependable information. The study will make the adjustments and changes required to improve the influence of the proposal to the community (Pride 2010, p.83). According to Cameron (2009, p.135), the study will include the examination of four aspects that include the responsibility of the Leisure Service Department to improve the performance of facilities and programs after the partnership with the local and business community. The study will to build a nd foster relationship through creating leisure opportunities and benefits for everybody, promoting healthy lifestyle, and offering quality facilities, services, and programs to the community. The quantitative research design will use statistical tools, such as sum, mean, and standard deviation successfully to establish the relationship between the various variables of the study that include satisfaction of the sponsors, teenagers, adults, and children in the leisure programs and the increase in the financial capability of the programs. A properly implemented and designed study can convince the business community the significance and meaning of sponsoring leisure programs (Gauthier, Lariviere, Pong, Snelling Young 2010, p.67). The study brings out the demand of the leisure indoors and parks in Newtonville because of the ability of the activities to reduce stress after work, promote the health of different people, and create happiness to participants. The community should volunteer in managing leisure activities in the community to help develop and change it for the better of everybody. The business community can support leisure destinations to create good reputation essential for the success of their business. The business community that supports the events will acquire the opportunity of promoting and selling their products or services in the parks and other leisure destinations (Buswell, Zabriskie, Lundberg Hawkins 2012, p.184). According to Trenberth and Dewe (2002, p.68), confirmatory data analysis technique will draw the important concepts of the study to make the final report of the data collected from the research. This helps to improve the satisfaction of the users of the findings by ensuring that only the necessary data is analyzed. Among these variables are facilities, quality of the park, and the standard of indoor programs among many other factors.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The research design used calls for sponsors from the business and local community to come to terms with the nature of leisure demand, with a view of improving the demand and customer satisfaction levels among the local population. Therefore, the collected data should be very accurate, dependable, and reliable as much as possible to users (Marshall 2010, p.234). Data Collection Data collection is a concept used to exemplify a procedure of organizing and gathering information in research work, either as a fraction of a process development or comparable assignment. The main intention for data collection is to acquire information that can prove the existing relationship between the existence of the department and its impacts on the community. Therefore, in this research, data will be collected from primary and secondary sources to meet the main objectives of the study that include developing a better understanding of the needs, wants, and satisfaction levels associated with leisure acti vities and attractions to promote the leisure programs in a community. In addition, the data will also help in categorizing the various leisure activities that the Newtonville District Council should promote. Through the information collected, it will be easier to implement some strategies that could help improve the lifestyle of people at Newtonville. This is because from the research, various leisure programs that Leisure Service Department promotes will be realized (Liu Ko 2011, p.263). Therefore, the method of data collection recommended includes a study of primary and secondary sources such as journals, newsletters, magazines, newspapers and scholarly books and primary sources, such as conducting focus group discussions and observation. Secondary sources usually vary broadly and this leads to examination of the issues at hand in detail. The issues include researching a deposit of preset questions as it is in the case in the research requirements. Moreover, they strengthen the research process to convey the findings at length. Therefore, by employing descriptive research as a data collection method in this research, the researcher will be sure of detailing comments on the events, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of the local community in Newtonville towards leisure activities and programs. Nevertheless, through information provided by the sources, the research will be in a better position of solving various issues concerning the needs, wants, and the satisfaction levels of the local population. This is therefore the main reason about the recommendation of using secondary and primary sources for this research (Gwinner Eaton1999, p.49). In addition, descriptive technique of data collection is appropriate because it enables the researcher to attain or collect detailed information concerning the issue at hand. The data is very important because Newtonville is to be among the best regions in attracting community development and changes in the leisure sector a nd statistics show that many of the programs are not sponsored. Moreover, customer satisfaction has become a necessity within this important service sector. In this context, the user expects high quality data. This research will therefore focus on the ever-increasing needs, preferences, and satisfaction levels associated with the local population in engaging in leisure activities, especially those that promote their health and experience (Thompson 2012, p.498). The quality of the findings of this study would be increased by ensuring that there is internal and external validity for the collected data. In addition, construct validity would be assured through ensuring that the constructs of the study are representing the actual reality of that exist in the study population. Sample Plan Sampling deals with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population. This study will make use of both random and stratified sampling methods. These sampling methods will be advantageous in this research because they will allow low costs, homogeneity, fast data collection, and enhancement of accuracy and quality of the data collection process. This study has a target population that depicts that characteristics required by the researcher and it comprises of the community and the business people living in Newtonville. Therefore, in this research, the target population includes the business and local community in Newtonville. Because of limited financial and time resources, the research will only focus on the most relevant sources to accomplish the research issues at hand. This is because it is not easy to collect information from all sources. The population under study will comprise teenagers, children, and adults visiting the indoor leisure and parks for leisure (Doyle 2008, p.43). To achieve the research using the sampling method, it is vital to choose a sampling frame to help in identifying every a single component in the sample. Consequently, the researcher woul d be interested in a sample frame that contains the features of the study population and may include all those community and business members (people) that live within Newtonville and could help in the survey. Therefore, the sampling frame will use a random and stratified sampling frame to avoid any risk of bias. Therefore, each member in the population will have the same opportunities to participate for the sample. This sampling technique is appropriate because it allows all people in the population to participate in the research, hence eliminating bias problems. In addition, the method is easy and cost-effective since it only needs a considerate number of people that the research can accommodate in financial terms and in time management (Alexandris, Douka Balaska 2012, p.58). The target population will comprise of 10,000 people, and the research will consider 6,000 for the participants in the research process. Among the 6,000 people, 1000 participants will be the business communi ty and the remaining 5000 will be the local community with the potential of sponsoring the Leisure Service Department. Data Analysis and Presentation Techniques Data analysis is the procedure of investigating, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the objective of emphasizing essential information, offering recommendations on conclusions, and sustaining decision-making. Thus, this research will employ descriptive statistics analysis technique because it provides well-planned explanations and details concerning the research problem. The quantitative study will examine the satisfaction of the potential sponsors in supporting the programs and the influence of the research proposal presented. The research will seek to establish the segments of the potential sponsors, travel patterns, their attractions, length of leisure time, and their experiences in the leisure attractions (Fitzen 2009, p.48). The data analysis will provide the investigation with the essential information, rec ommendations, and conclusions on the financial problem facing the Leisure Services Department. The data of the study will be analyzed descriptively to provide the department with information on the market and sponsor fast enough to restore its finances and improve services to the community. Coding will categorize the issues derived from the research. Data reduction will present the data collected into tables and figures. The data collected will be interpreted in a theoretical and practical form to help the user derive the information he or she needs easily (Cheng-Hsui, Ya-Hui, Feng-Chun 2012, p.262). The research will measure their expenses in leisure and expectations. However, there are many government and private sector efforts to improve the level of leisure events in the local community. Therefore, the data analysis techniques will be geared at increasing the market share of the sector, as it is one effective way of promoting healthy lifestyles of people in the community. This is important because the health sector comes with many risks that could affect the whole countries government expenditure. The leisure business is successful because of the public opinions therefore; the study will have the purpose of discovering the public and the businesspeople opinion records (Creswell 2009, p.46). Conclusion This study is by the need to have a better understanding of the needs and satisfaction levels associated with leisure programs in the community level. Many people in the communities complain of lack of support of sponsors in their programs. This research will identify the programs to find potential sponsors who satisfy the organizers of the program. Moreover, member satisfaction has become a necessity within this important service sector. The analysis mainly constitutes of the reserve situation, communal surroundings, and administration settings. These controls are supplementary mediated by the research assessment of individual members of the programs accord ing to his or hers socioeconomic actions, intellectual characteristics, knowledge, customs, feelings, and predilection. An analysis of the individual members will measure the potential of the leisure program to develop and change in quality and standards. Lists of References Alexandris, K, Douka, S Balaska, P 2012, ‘Involvement with active leisure participation: does service quality have a role?’, Managing Leisure, vol.17, no.1, pp.54-66. Buswell, L, Zabriskie, R, Lundberg, N Hawkins, A 2012, ‘The relationship between father involvement in family leisure and family functioning: the importance of daily family leisure’, Leisure Sciences, vol.34, no.2, pp.172-190. Cameron, N 2009, ‘Understanding sponsorship and its measurement implications’, Journal of Sponsorship, vol.2, no.2, pp.131-139. Cheng-Hsui, C, Ya-Hui, C Feng-Chun, F 2012, ‘Adolescents and leisure activities: the impact of expectation and experience on service satisfaction, Soci al Behavior Personality’, An International Journal, vol.40, no.2, pp.259-265. Creswell, J2009, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, Sage Publications, New York. Doyle, P 2008, Value-based marketing: marketing strategies for corporate growth and shareholder value, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Fitzen, L 2009, Marketing environment: what factors internal to an organization can have an influence on the way it perceives and responds to its external environment? GRIN Verlag, New York. Gauthier, A, Lariviere, M, Pong, R, Snelling, S Young, N 2010, ‘Assessing the importance of social and environmental supports for leisure-time physical activity in a unique socio-cultural and geographical context’, International Electronic Journal of Health Education, vol.13, pp. 59-75 Gwinner, KP Eaton, J 1999, ‘Building brand image through event sponsorship: the role of image transfer’, Journal of Advertising, vol.28, no.4, pp.47-57 . Liu, G Ko, W 2011, ‘An analysis of cause-related marketing implementation strategies through social alliance: partnership conditions and strategic objectives’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol.100, no.2, pp.253-281. Marshall, C 2010, Designing qualitative research, SAGE, New York. Meetup 2012, Leisure and social walking, Meetup, New York, https://www.meetup.com/topics/leisure-and-social-walking/us/ma/newtonville/ Mowen, AJ, Kyle, G, Borrie, W Graefe, A 2006, ‘Public response to park and recreation funding and costsaving strategies: the role of organizational trust and commitment’, Journal of Park Recreation Administration, vol.24, no.3, pp.72-95. Newtonville, 2012, New York census data and community profile, https://www.americantowns.com/newtonville-ny/ Pride, W 2010, Foundations of marketing, Cengage Learning , Boston. Thompson, W 2012, ‘Health-related quality of life among older adults with and without functional limitations’, American Jo urnal Of Public Health, vol.102, no.3, pp. 496-502. Trenberth, L Dewe, P 2002, ‘The importance of leisure as a means of coping with work related stress: an exploratory study’, Counseling Psychology Quarterly, vol.15, no.1, pp.59-72. Trenberth, L 2005, ‘The role, nature and purpose of leisure and its contribution to individual development and well-being’, British Journal of Guidance Counseling, vol.33, no.1, pp. 1-6. This essay on Market Social Research was written and submitted by user Janelle Olson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Anti-Semitism In The United States Essays - Racism, Prejudices

Anti-Semitism in the United States 'The more things change, the more they stay the same'. This clich? has been used millions of times and never has it been more fitting than in this situation. The Holocaust was supposed to be a wake up call for the world, to let all nations know that racism and hatred must be abolished or at least contained in order for peace to exist. It seems that in this country, a nation founded on the principles of equality and freedom, the lessons of the Holocaust are being ignored. If you were to search the Internet and type in the phrase 'white supremacy' or 'Nazi', without a doubt you would find hundreds of organizations throughout the United States who still preach the teachings of Adolf Hitler. It's almost terrifying to think that something like this could exist, but even here in the Bay Area you can find such Anti-Semitic groups. Anti-Semitism differs from the usual form of racism, it seems that it's rooted much deeper in the psyche of people. Many cultures in the world have their own reas on for disliking Jews, and that has carried over to the U.S. Those who hold strong religious beliefs dislike the Jews because of their unsubstantiated link to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Those of Arab descent also dislike Jews because of religious reasons and because of the founding of the state of Israel. It would be reasonable to say that Anti-Semitism is passed down from parents to their children. Although, parents may not teach the hatred of Jews, there is certainly some dislike of Jews expressed to their children. Just a few words like " I hate those greedy Jews" may not seem too significant, but to an impressionable child it can have a crude effect. Every once and a while you hear news of a hate crime that was committed somewhere in this country. Sometimes, it is against an innocent Jew who's only reason for being attacked is the religion he has chosen to practice. Even here in America, where we believe that everyone is treated with fairness and equality, the existence of Anti-Semitism is undeniable. In my opinion, I don't think that will ever change. Mainly because it's deeply routed in many cultures and because America is the land of many cultures, consequently Anti-Semitism becomes integrated into America.

Commands and Mandates

Commands and Mandates Commands and Mandates Commands and Mandates By Mark Nichol Several words pertaining to authority or obligation display their kinship with the word element mand. This post lists and defines those terms. The Latin verb mandare, meaning â€Å"order,† is perhaps most commonly represented in command, which primarily means â€Å"exercise or have authority.† Other meanings include â€Å"have dominance or influence over,† â€Å"have at one’s disposal,† or â€Å"overlook† (as in reference to a mountain or hill that commands a location of lower elevation). As a noun, command pertains to an order or signal given, to authority, control, dominance, facility, or mastery, to the act of commanding or the position of a military authority, or to the scope of such an authority, including a specific US Air Force unit. A commander (also often referred to as a commanding officer) is an officer of any rank in a military, law enforcement, or other organizational structure who has authority over a particular unit; in some countries, as in the United States, the head of state is also the commander in chief of its armed forces. Commander is also a specific military or law enforcement rank independent of its generic use, as is the rank of lieutenant commander. To commend (literally, â€Å"entrust with,† from the â€Å"entrust† sense of mandare) is to endorse, entrust, or praise, though recommend is often used for the first sense. Behavior that is praiseworthy is commendable, and statement of praise is a commendation. The idioms â€Å"commends itself to† and â€Å"have much to commend it† are formal language for â€Å"is liked and approved† and â€Å"is good in many ways,† respectively. To countermand is to reverse an order, and as a noun the word refers to such a reversal. To demand is to claim, require, or summon, or to express an expectation (as in â€Å"Courtesy demands an acknowledgment of the gesture†). The noun demand refers to something claimed or required, to the notion of a desire or want for something or the quantity of something desired or wanted (as in the expression â€Å"supply and demand†), to a need or to being needed or wanted (as in â€Å"As a speaker, she is in great demand†), or to expectations (as in â€Å"the demands of the job†). The phrase â€Å"on demand† means â€Å"when asked for† or â€Å"when needed.† To remand is to give over (as in returning a case to trial or a criminal suspect to custody) or send back; a remand is such an action. A mandate is an authorization or command, though it is often used in a political sense to suggest that an election victory or passage of a legislative act validates a certain ideology or policy. It also refers to a conquered territory granted to a particular country, or to an authorization for such a grant. To mandate is to require or to administer a mandate, and something mandatory is required (or might pertain to the granting of territory). The adjective is not to be confused with the legal term mandatary, which refers to a person given authority to transact business for another person. Another obscure legal term derived from mandare is mandamus, which refers to a document issued by a court of law that commands that an act or duty be undertaken or performed. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?Confused Words #3: Lose, Loose, LossWhat is an Anagram?

Case brief Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Brief - Case Study Example t can be said that there is more demand for books hence, in this regard the company plans to launch MIRA program which had the same focus, of promoting these simple story lines. It is indicated by research that customers are more inclined towards reading these romantic novels. As far as reasons for likeness of these romantic series is concerned, it can be said the novels offers the readers a sense of romantic fantasy which makes these books popular among young adolescence specially women. The case study of Harlequin shows that the company has stabilized growth in publishing romance series. However, the company should take the initiative of launching MIRA program with emphasis on women’s single title romance novels. The main reason of using this program would be that the company would be able to achieve a competitive advantage of creating a brand image which could help generate incoming sales in the long run. This brand image would be based on a business model that has the components of capitalist stance. This capitalist stance can be defined as having an advantage over the weaker market, making Harlequin a recognized brand. It is seen that the fiction market is fragmented so Harlequin has the potential of becoming the world largest publisher of these single title fiction series. Moreover, the name, â€Å"Harlequin† would suggest to the people as a dominant brand that establishes brand loyalty by being standardized in printing, marketing their books and using effective distribution channels. It can be said that this would make the company an opportunist and they can successfully take the title of being brand that promotes single title series of romance and limit access of other companies. The books provided by this company would cater to all the audience, making the readers hooked on these books so that there is no other brand that could compete with the company. It has been estimated that there is only around 50% of the books having the same title of single

Introduction to Business Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to Business Law - Case Study Example The other party (Nuriya) cannot perform work that is significantly different than what is expected. Concerning the Act mentioned above, but in section 17 of Part II, applies to this situation and will be specially applied to this case as well. Throughout most of this remaining piece the Unfair Contract Terms will be abbreviated as â€Å"UCT† for convenience. It may appear that Nuriya did not conduct work that was unexpected of Flavio and Marco because they read the contract and made a payment that all agreed upon at that time was pertaining to the contract mentioned. Both Flavio and Marco did in fact â€Å"insist† on differences before agreement of the contract was made and those two made it clear that Nuriya should make these changes, the reasonable individual(s) would have known that Nuriya did not want to make such changes. The reason this is so is because Nuriya had added the clause â€Å"The agreement will be carried out under the conditions set up on Nuriyas previous communication.† The addition of this clause undoubtedly changes the conditions of the contract and if the other parties knowingly reads and made payment to this particular change then any payments to Nuriya would likely imply an understanding of the contract by Flavio and Marco. The other party (Nuriya) has not performed differently than what is expected. As per Schedule Two of the UCT Act (1977) â€Å"whether the customer knew or ought reasonably to have known of the existence and the extent of the term (having regard, among other things, to any custom of the trade and any previous course of dealing between the parties) is relevant here. More plainly, the contract possessed new language, and quite arguably Flavio and Marco should have known the new conditions written, and that signing the contract and additionally making a first payment to Nuriya after signing the contract would

The Highest Breed Essay Example for Free

The Highest Breed Essay How would you like to own a car that can run and transport you on the road for ten minutes without the engine turned on? (Gold, 2006) No, it won’t be on neutral and without speed control†¦ you simply have to be on a Toyota Hybrid vehicle. This is because when the car isnt using its gasoline engine, such as when you are in bumper to bumper traffic or coasting downhill, it shuts the engine off automatically. Isn’t that neat? That means that you are not burning gas (and your hard-earned money with it) as much as you would have on a conventional car. When you are not burning gas, you too are helping to preserve the earth from global warming. You might want to join the thousands of people who are already seeing the importance of clean air and financial savings just by driving a cool car. Today, I take it upon myself to show you why Toyota Hybrid vehicles, especially the Prius, are the absolute choices for economical and environmental reasons, especially when compared to conventional gasoline-powered cars and other hybrid brands. Global warming is a very urgent issue because it affects the survival of every creature on earth. Global warming happens when carbon and methane gases are excessive and form a sort of force field in the atmosphere. (Mendoza, 2005) This additional layer of smog blocks the heat from the earth from escaping the atmosphere and thereby causes the unnecessary warming which can alter natural weather cycles, etc. How can individuals like us help maintain clean air without sacrificing too much time, effort, and comfort? The answer lies within Toyota Hybrid vehicles. Toyota has been a pioneer in making environmentalists’ dreams come true on the road to zero emissions by coming out with the first mass-produced hybrid car in 1997 – the Prius. In eight years, the Prius has already sold 1,000,000 cars and is 9th best selling car in the US for 2007. (Vlasic, 2008) The Prius is a vehicle run by a battery but has an electric motor and a petrol-powered engine. This means that during stop lights and downhill stretches, the car is simply run by the battery and will only use gas upon the need for higher speed. Ergo, approximately 3. 5 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide had been saved by these cars in the short span of time. (Mendoza) This not only means less pollution but also less need to buy gas. When it comes to fuel efficiency, the Prius is also above its competitors. Compared to a Honda Civic Hybrid which goes about 42 miles per gallon (MPG), for example, the Prius can take the distance to 47 MPG. This means that if you consume $1007 worth of gas on a Civic, you will only be spending $902 on a Prius. This is even more dramatic when compared to the $1650 you would have spent on an ordinary gas-powered car. (Comparison Chart, 2007) Other hybrid models like the Camry and Highlander are also gaining popularity in the market. The Camry is not as fuel efficient as the Prius but is known for its Plasmacluster ionizer which filters micro dust and pollen so you can have clean air inside and outside of the car. The Camry’s battery is also good for 8 years compared to Honda Altima’s 5 years which means it can run longer by about 40,000 miles. The Highlander, on the other hand, is incomparable to the sedans because it is much largely built and therefore requires more power. However, it is preferable to the other hybrid midsize SUVs because of its 241 horsepower compared to the others which can only go up to 208 hp. Toyota, as anyone can see, has been a good pioneer and maintains to be the best in the hybrid industry. Toyota hybrids are above par in fuel efficiency, cost of maintenance, speed, comfort and cleanliness with regards to its emissions. Every responsible citizen who wants to help maintain economic and environmental balance simply has to own one†¦don’t you think so too? If you are thinking of getting a new car or is at least concerned in keeping the earth in proper temperature, please do consider Toyota hybrid vehicles. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Structure And Culture Of Volkswagen Commerce Essay

Structure And Culture Of Volkswagen Commerce Essay In a fast-changing world, large business organisations have to take decisions to enhance the strategic growth to be competitive. This report includes a critical evaluation of the organisation Volkswagens structure and culture; it also covers the management role and a strategic decision. Volkswagen is a part of the Volkswagen Group of America, but only the brand Volkswagen will be emphasised and not the other brands such as Bentley, Bugatti, Audi and Porsche. Important factors of this organisation will be explored, and links will draw it together with the aim to reveal their relationship and influence in a large organisation such as the Volkswagen Group of America. Furthermore, these factors will influence the firm performance, thus it crucial to continuously observe and analyse the internal and external environment around the organisation in order to achieve long-term success (Kunc, 2010). Structure and Culture An organisation is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a certain need and/or to pursue shared goals. All organisations have a management structure that decides relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out distinctive tasks. Organisations affect and are affected by its environment because it is an open system (Murcko, 2012). Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (VW AG) is an international company based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the parent company of Volkswagen Group of America. The parent company guide and control the Volkswagen Group of America, but the group is managed by its own respective managers. The executive board of VW AG make sure that the framework of the VW AG is being enforced for each decision made the Volkswagen Group of America (Volkswagen, 2007). The structure within Volkswagen Group of America is made up by different divisions, because the departme nts in form of different brands are grouped together and based on similar organisational output (Daft, 2011, p. 282). A common issue in structuring a company is how to make the entire company work. Make it work means the structure of the company has to adapt to major factors such as environment changes, and the change in culture, strategy and technology (Rosen, 1995, p. 69). Volkswagen Group of America has a horizontal structure based on the work processes rather than departmental functions. This is beneficial as it allows the company to be more flexible in a changing environment, and especially for a rapidly change in technology, which is crucial for a car manufacture company. Business performance is heavily influenced by how well the structure of a company is connected and aligned with the strategic intend (Daft, 2011, p. 297). If the environment in which the company is operating or affected by is changing, it is sometimes necessary to change the structure of the company. Successful managers have to observe the environment carefully and create a structure and strategy which are congruent. Culture is closely related to the main assumptions and beliefs of an organisation that provide a guideline for its members, including attitudes, perception, norms, ways of thinking and behaviour (Rosen, 1995, p. 71). Culture can also focus more on people, relations meanings, commitments, motivation and emotion. (Alvesson, 2008, p. 36). The internal environment of an organisation is vital as it has to fit in the external environment and strategy of the organisation. Volkswagen Group of America has applied this theory to achieve an industry orientated culture and environment, which relays on performance, innovation and responsibility. Volkswagen is known as a producer of people cares, and has performed actions to support this claim for several generations. Innovation and responsibility are the other two key factors where innovation is indispensable for technological change to reduce the level of CO2 and responsibility focus on people as workers or craft men and treat them as individual (Volkswagen, 2007). Individual culture within the Volkswagen Group of America is focused around social responsibility, national pride and the flagship of philanthropic in the education sector. The Group of America has a particular strong goal to recruit and select students for future workforce in the US with the right attitude and mind-set (Wiley, 2010). Culture can guide companies, enhance control and foster loyalty and identification with a group (Smircich, 1983). A danger to organisation culture is that it can become uncontrollable and unreasonable and may hurt the organisation (Anthony, 1994, p. 93). Management role and decision taking In todays fast changing global world it is essential to succeed as an organisation in times of turbulence and recession. The correct management style has to be chosen and developed in order to be successful (Rosen, 1995, p. 72). Over the decades many important strategic management operations and related decisions have been made by the Volkswagen Group of America. These strategic decisions play a part in the long-time well-being of the organisation (Fitzroy, 2005, p. 5). Culture as described in the previous section of this report should reinforce the decision making of managers (Rosen, 1995, p. 71). The new car Volkswagen New Midsize Sedan (NMS) is an excellent example of strategic management. The car was designed just for the US market, but Volkswagen decided to start shipping the model to South Korea as well. Volkswagen NMS is produced in Chattanooga, Tennessee, US, and use mainly American suppliers. The aim is to increase the low numbers of sales from the past and to build a Volksw agen made by the US, by using American employers and suppliers (Jacoby, 2009). The car will cost around 20k USD and will compete with other everyday cars in this price range. The idea for this decision is to exploit the technology, innovation and experience of a German car manufacturer with the tradition of manufacturing made by the US. This long term strategic decision is determined by selling one million units in the United States by 2018 (Kurylko, 2009). Volkswagen has also made a Chinese version of this car for the Chinese market. This car will be produced in China by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive, which is another group within Volkswagen (ChinaAutoWeb, 2010). In the example above the strategic decision to launch the Volkswagen NMS model was made by the German CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Stefan Jacoby. He was transferred from Volkswagen AG to increase the profit of Group of America (Kurylko, 2009). This decision was based on the rational model which uses rational economic assumptions regarding shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers (Woiceshyn, 2011). Quantitative research collection is important, because this method relies on accurate information. The rational model also use market analysis, strategic direction, evaluation, market response and forecasting, agreed goals and alternatives within the group but also the intuition of the manager as means to make a rational decision (Stewert, 2011). The rational model is made after analysing a cause and development of alternatives but this model also has room for intuition (Dane, 2007). The overall and long-term direction of an organisation is decided by its strategic planning (Rosen, 1995, p. 76). Furthermore, long-term direction is also determined by structure and culture, and if these factors are not taken into account, the organisation will most likely not meet designated goals. In the US drivers tend to use their car more frequently, and they are doing more activities such as eating, drinking coffee, putting on make-up, etc. (Kiley, 2007). This is because the car is associated with the American dream and every individual with respect for themselves will own a car, which again makes the public transport system less used (Will, 2012). Volkswagen NMSs predecessor did not take the difference between the American and European culture into account, and could be a reason why the sales were not adequate. The CEO from Germany has to understand and implement the American culture if he wants to maximize Volkswagens sales in the US market. For this reason, the Human Resour ce Management (HRM) has the significant role to attract and motivate talented employees with the necessary culture to cope with the environment (Daft, 2011, p. 84). By hiring American employees and using local suppliers Volkswagen makes sure that the culture will agree with the market. No strategy can be effectively implemented without the right people; hence all levels and functions of an organisation should have and exercise of influence. Conclusion The culture in an organisation can be weak or strong depending on the degree of individual behaviour. Organisation structure can have a flat or a steep hierarchy, where the role of the management in this context is to set the right goals and objectives related to the defined values (Bushardt, 2011). To achieve the designated goals and objectives, the strategic decisions should comprehend the main values of the organisation. A manager who does not follow the defined culture within an organisation can influence others and may change the culture in the organisation, even in large companies such as Volkswagen. If the goal setting is different to the defined values, the outcome will be unsatisfied, which means a change in the structure of the organisation has to be made. In large organisation the structure is normally deep anchored and therefore the people who make the decision have to be changed. This was done in 2007 when Volkswagen Group of America changed its former CEO. Dropping sale s and no profitability since 2002 forced Volkswagen to make major changes to adapt to its environment (Prospero, 2007). Producing a precise and correct forecast of an important strategic process in a business is very difficult, as there are many uncertainties in todays global economy. The CEO and managers of an organisation can attempt to minimise the uncertainties of the business if they follow all values of the organisation including the consideration of change in the environment.

Consider how Emily Bront introduces the reader to the themes of enclosure and the supernatural

Wuthering Heights is a novel which criticisers the idea of enclosure in pre 19th century books and life. It was published in December 1847, but only 250 copies were published. It centres on pivotal characters, which Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ heavily describes. People who read the book from the contemporary audience would have been shocked from the language and all the swearing, they thought it was a depressing and morose novel. Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in the north of England; similarly the book is set in the north of Yorkshire, in the moors. This amplifies the idea enclosure already as it is a hard to reach place, and the place where it is set, is remote to every where else! Emily had a rough life because she lived in a small stone cottage on the 2nd floor with three bedrooms, no bigger than a small closet. She died of Tuberculosis in late 1848. She caught a cold at her brother, Branwell's, funeral in September. Her novel â€Å"Wuthering Heights† reflects on her life, as she lived a rough life living in a small house with two sisters in the moors. Moving on the opening of this prestigious novel opens with a specific date, 1801. This specific date â€Å"1801† is a similar to a diary so it would make the reader feel more intimately enclosed with Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½; plus the use of her heavy vocabulary and description makes me feel quite involved with the book and it's characters, yet it cleverly ties you into her grasp so you feel you have to carry on reading. But as this is a diary type opening the person, in this case the narrator: Lockwood, will inevitably express his feelings, which is indeed what he does so there is a sense of biased in his views and opinions. Lockwood seems to be a pleasant man who thinks himself to be in the same league as Heathcliff, yet he is much more polite and affectionate and can show his emotions more freely than Heathcliff. Yet as we enter this heavily described book he is the narrator and is quite provoked by Heathcliff, in the sense that he is a role model towards him. The opening of the book is set in a remote place with a garish house, quite distressed and characterised, especially with gothic creatures. Lock mentions â€Å"1500† this was over the door of the house with the name â€Å"Hareton Earnshaw†, so the story the is written in a 1st person narration. Also the fact that Heathcliff expresses the words â€Å"go to the Deuce† is quite atrocious and not appealing. This would immediately astonish the contemporary audience as witchcraft and mentioning the Devil was quite blasphemous and profound; this may have triggered a slight distaste towards the dreadful keeper of this dreadful house. Lockwood also asks himself questions like â€Å"Why did I think of Linton?† on page 17, this leads on to impression of enclosure like â€Å"Situation so completely removed from the stir of society† and â€Å"Misanthropists heaven†, this means someone who hates society and everyone else. This is ideal for an misanthropist because no one else is around and the nearest house is about 2 miles away. Another sense of a misanthropist is when Heathcliff says â€Å"Walk in† and when the dogs attack Lockwood because they are not use to anyone else. Nobody helps Lockwood when he shouts accept for Zillah, this is because women were cheap labour and disrespected back then. This leads to a description of Wuthering Heights it shows an influence of a gothic novel because of the different features like â€Å"quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front†, this is on page 2 and he says there is â€Å"Crumberling griffins and shameless little boys† over the door, so the book reinforces the idea of supernatural. When it says â€Å"dark skinned gypsy† people thought they were into aroused suspicion. Another part of the supernatural is when Lockwood says â€Å"The storm subsided magically†. The language reinforces the supernatural. By this time the reader feels that Lockwood has made an effort to be polite but all his efforts were thrown back in his face by Heathcliffs rudeness. â€Å"The walk in was littered with closed teeth, and expressed in the sentiment.† This novel shows that the life she led she was very, powerfully influenced by enclosure and that she was very enclosed being a women, as men were more dominant and allowed to vote, whereas women were still treated as the lower powered sex! Also in those times women weren't allowed to write and publish books, so with this in mind, how did Emily Bronte's book become so famous? If women weren't allowed to write books, how did Emily Bronte's book, and her sisters' for that matter, get published in what used to be a powerfully, male dominated world? It seems to me that Emily Bronte was very influenced by enclosure in her life and that she is tired of the way women are exploited in the world. This is where the ideas of women, and supernatural mix â€Å"a lusty dame, with tucked-up gown, bare arms and fire-flushed cheeks, rushed into the midst of us flourishing a frying-pan: and used that weapon, and her tongue, to such a purpose, that the storm subsided magically.† In addition there are further, reinforced ideas of the supernatural in the mind of the reader as; there is an incident, after Lockwood has entered the house, and is waiting to talk to Heathcliff. He is seated anxiously waiting with Heathcliff's dogs, which are â€Å"haunting the recesses†. This shows that the dogs are more powerful or seem to be more powerfully personified, and it gives the idea that the dogs are ghosts and dark spirited, especially the use of the word â€Å"haunted†, as it implies bringing displeasure to someone or something, and maybe not welcoming anything. At the end of the chapter, the reader would feel different towards Lockwood as they would have done at the beginning. At the beginning Lockwood seems more provoked as he thinks himself to be in the same league as Heathcliff, towards the end he is shown to be quite different from Heathcliff; further more we would feel sympathetic towards him as he was callously attacked by Heathcliffs' dogs. Having been annoyed by this racket, Heathcliff is angry and unsympathetic towards him. Moving on, Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ builds up the idea of the supernatural and enclosure, through a number of ways. Firstly we see Lockwood, anonymously, returning to Wuthering Heights, to have, yet another meeting with Heathcliff. â€Å"Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend by my study fire, instead if wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.† This shows that Lockwood is optimistic to still show Heathcliff he can be a nicer person than normal. Furthermore, after re entering Wuthering Heights, Lockwood is bombarded by displeasure and hints of hatred, towards him, as Heathcliff does not want a repeat of what happened before, â€Å"You should not have come out.† This would make the audience feel slight sympathy towards Lockwood, but as he unconventionally turned up, it was not wrong for Heathcliff and the others to feel this way.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 THE LOCAL GUYS, THEY HAVE THEIR MOMENTS Thursday morning it became official: Dale Pearson, evil developer, was a missing person. Theo Crowe was going over the big red truck parked by the pounding Pacific at Lime Kiln Rock in the Big Sur wilderness area above Pine Cove. This was the area where half the world's car commercials were filmed – everything from Detroit minivans to German lux-o-cruisers was filmed snaking around the cliffs of Big Sur, as if all you needed to do was sign the lease papers and your life would be an open road of frothy waves beating on majestic seawalls, with nothing but leisure and prosperity ahead. Dale Pearson's big red truck did look carefree and prosperous, parked there by the sea, despite the crust of salt forming on the paint and the appearance that the owner had been washed away in the surf. Theo wanted that to be the case. The highway patrol, who had found the truck, had reported it as an accident. There was a surf-casting rod there on the rocks, conveniently monogrammed with Dale's initials. And the Santa hat he'd been wearing was found washed up nearby, and therein lay the problem. Betsy Butler, Dale's squeeze, had said that Dale had gone out two nights ago to play Santa at the Caribou Lodge and had never come home. Who went fishing in the middle of the night while wearing a Santa hat? Granted, according to the other Caribou, Dale had done â€Å"some drinking,† and he was a little wound up from his confrontation with his ex-wife the day before, but he hadn't lost his mind completely. Negotiating the cliffs by Lime Kiln Rock to get down to the water during the day was risky business; there's no way that Dale would have tried it in the middle of the night. (Theo had lost his footing and slid twenty feet before he caught himself, wrenching his back in the process. Sure he was a little stoned, but then, Dale would have been a little drunk.) The highway patrolman, who had a crew cut and looked to be about twelve – an escapee from one of the hygiene films Theo had seen in sixth-grade health class, Why Mary Won't Go in the Water – had Theo sign off on his report, then climbed in his cruiser and headed up the coast into Monterey County. Theo went back and looked through the truck again. All the things that should have been there – some tools, a black Mag flashlight, a couple of fast-food wrappers, another fishing rod, a tube of blueprints – were there. And all the things that shouldn't – bloody knives, shell casings, severed limbs, evidence of bleach from cleanup – were not. It was like the guy had just driven up here, climbed down the cliff, and washed away. But that just couldn't be the case. Dale could be mean-spirited, crude, and even violent, but he wasn't stupid. Unless he knew the exact topography of these cliffs, and had a good flashlight, he'd never have made it down in the dark. And his flashlight was still in the truck. Theo wished that he had better training in crime-scene investigation. He'd learned most of what he knew from television, not at the academy where he'd spent a miserable eight weeks fifteen years ago when the corrupt sheriff who had found his personal pot patch had railroaded him into becoming Pine Cove's constable. Since the academy, almost every crime scene he'd encountered had been turned over to the county sheriff or highway patrol almost immediately. He went over the truck cab again looking for something that might be a clue. The only thing remotely out of order was some dog hairs on the headrest. Theo couldn't remember if Dale had a dog. He put the dog hairs in a sandwich bag and dialed Betsy Butler on his cell phone. She didn't sound that broken up about Dale's disappearance. â€Å"No, Dale didn't like dogs. He didn't like cats either. He was kind of a cow man.† â€Å"He liked cows? Did you guys have a pet cow?† Could it be cow hair? â€Å"No, he liked to eat them, Theo. Are you okay?† â€Å"No, sorry, Betsy.† He had been so sure that he didn't sound stoned. â€Å"So, do I get the truck? I mean, are you going to bring it here?† â€Å"I have no idea,† said Theo. â€Å"They'll tow it to the impound yard. I don't know if they'll release it to you. I'd better go, Betsy.† He snapped the phone shut. Maybe he was just tired. Molly had made him sleep on the couch last night – saying something about him having mutant tendencies. He hadn't even known that she liked the salad shooter. He was sure that she could tell that he'd been smoking pot. He flipped the phone back open and called Gabe Fenton. â€Å"Hey, Theo. I don't know what that stuff is you brought me, but it's not hair. It won't burn or melt, and it's damn hard to cut or break. Good thing it was torn out by the roots.† Theo cringed. He had almost forgotten about the crazed blond guy he'd run over. He shuddered now, thinking about it. â€Å"Gabe, I have some more hair I'd like you to look at.† â€Å"Oh my God, Theo, did you run over someone else?† â€Å"No, I didn't run over anybody. Jeez, Gabe.† â€Å"Okay. I'll be here all day. Actually, I'll be here all night, too. It's not like I have anywhere to go. Or anyone who cares whether I live or die. It's not like –  » â€Å"Okay. I'm coming over.† There were two men and three women, including Lena, in the offices of Properties in the Pines when Tucker Case came through the door. The women were immediately intrigued by him and the men immediately disliked him. It had always been that way with Tuck. Later, if they got to know him, the women would dismiss him and the men would still dislike him. Basically, he was a geek in a cool guy's body – one feature or the other worked against him. It was an open stable of desks and Tuck went directly to Lena's desk at the back. As he went he smiled and nodded to the realtors, who smiled back weakly, trying not to sneer. They were beat from showing properties to Christmas vacation be-backs who wouldn't move here even if they could find employment in this toy town. They'd just failed to plan any vacation activities and so decided to take the kids out for a rousing round of jerk off the realtor. Or so went the party line at the MLS meetings. Lena met Tuck's gaze and instinctively smiled, then frowned. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Lunch? You. Me. Eating. Talking. I need to ask you something.† â€Å"I thought you were supposed to be flying.† Tuck hadn't seen Lena in her business clothes – a sensible skirt and blouse, just a little mascara and lipstick, her hair pinned up with lacquered chopsticks, a few strands escaping here and there to frame her face. He liked the look. â€Å"I flew all morning. There's weather. The edge of a storm coming.† He really wanted to pull the chopsticks out of her hair and throw her down there on the desk and tell her how he really felt, which was somewhat aroused. â€Å"We could get Chinese,† he added. Lena looked out the window. The sky was going dark gray over the shops across the street. â€Å"There's no Chinese place in Pine Cove. Besides, I'm really swamped here. I handle vacation rentals and it's Christmas Eve eve.† â€Å"We could go to your place for a quick lunch. You have no idea how quick I can be if I put my mind to it.† Lena looked past him to her coworkers, who, of course, were now staring. â€Å"Is that what you need to ask me?† â€Å"Oh, no, no, of course not. I wouldn't – that would be, well, yes – but there's something else.† Now Tuck was feeling the realtors watching him, listening to him. He leaned over Lena's desk so only she could hear. â€Å"You said this morning that that constable guy your friend is married to lives in a cabin at the edge of a ranch. It wouldn't be the big ranch north of town, would it?† Lena was still looking past him. â€Å"Yes, the Beer-Bar Ranch, belongs to Jim Beer.† â€Å"And there's an old single-wide trailer next to the cabin?† â€Å"Yes, that used to be Molly's, but now they live in the cabin. Why?† Tuck stood back and grinned. â€Å"Then white roses it is,† he said, a little too loudly for the benefit of the audience. â€Å"I just didn't know if they'd be appropriate for the holidays.† â€Å"Huh?† Lena said. â€Å"See you tonight,† Tuck said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then sauntered out of the office, smiling apologetically at the exhausted realtors as he went. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you guys,† he said, waving from the door. The first thing that Theo noticed when he entered Gabe Fenton's cabin was the aquariums with the dead rats. The female was scampering around the center cage, sniffing and crapping and looking rat-happy, but the others, the males, lay on their backs, feet shot to the sky, like plastic soldiers in a death diorama. â€Å"How did that happen?† â€Å"They wouldn't learn. Once they associated the shock with sex, they started liking it.† Theo thought about his relationship with Molly over the last few days. He pictured himself in the dead-rat display. â€Å"So you just kept shocking them until they died?† â€Å"I had to keep the parameters of the experiment constant.† Theo nodded gravely, as if he understood completely, which he didn't. Skinner came over and headbutted him in the thigh. Theo scratched his ears to comfort him. Skinner was worried about the Food Guy, and he was hoping that maybe the Emergency Backup Food Guy might give him one of the tasty-smelling white squirrels in the cages on the table, now that it appeared that the Food Guy was finished cooking them. This teasing was as bad as when that kid at the beach used to pretend to throw the ball, then not throw the ball. Then pretend to throw the ball, but not throw the ball. Skinner had to knock the kid down and sit on his face. Boy, had he been bad-dogged for that. Nothing hurt like being bad-dogged, but if the Food Guy kept teasing him with the white squirrels, Skinner knew he was going to have to knock him down and sit on his face, maybe even poop in his shoe. Oh, I am a bad, bad dog. No, wait, the Emergency Backup Food Guy was scratching his ears. Oh, that felt good. He was fine. Doggie Xanax. Never mind. Theo handed Gabe the sandwich bag with the hairs in it. â€Å"What's the oily substance in the bag?† Gabe said, examining the specimen. â€Å"Potato-chip flotsam. The bag is from my lunch yesterday.† Gabe nodded, then looked at Theo the way the coroner always looks at the cop on TV – like: You numbskull, don't you know that you're contaminating evidence just by continuing to draw breath and I'd be a lot more comfortable with you if you'd stop? He took the bag over to the microscope on the counter, removed a couple of the hairs, and put them on a slide with a cover, then fitted it into the microscope. â€Å"Please don't tell me it's polar bear,† Theo said. â€Å"No, but at least it's an animal. It seems to have a distinct sour-cream-and-onion signature.† Gabe pulled back from the microscope and grinned at Theo. â€Å"Just fucking with you.† He gave Theo a gentle punch to the arm and looked back into the microscope. â€Å"Wow, the medulla is absent and there's low birefringence.† â€Å"Wow,† echoed Theo, trying but not really feeling the low-birefringence stoke that Gabe was. â€Å"I have to check the hair database online, but I think it's from a bat.† â€Å"There's a database for that? What, Bat Hair Dot-Com?† â€Å"That was supposed to be the whole purpose of the Internet, you know. To share scientific information.† â€Å"Not a Viagra- and porn-delivery system?† Theo said. Maybe Gabe was going to be okay after all. Gabe moved to the computer at his desk and scrolled through screen after screen of microscope photos of mammal hair until he found one he liked, then went back to the microscope and checked it again. â€Å"Wow, Theo, you've got yourself an endangered species here.† â€Å"No way.† â€Å"Where the hell did you get this? Micronesian giant fruit bat.† â€Å"Out of a Dodge pickup truck.† â€Å"Hmm, that's not listed as their habitat. It wasn't parked in Guam, was it?† Theo fished his car keys out of his pocket. â€Å"Look, Gabe, I have to go. Meet at the Slug for a beer tonight, okay?† â€Å"We can have beer now, if you want. I have some in the fridge.† â€Å"You need to get out. I need to get out. Okay?† Theo was backing out the door. â€Å"Okay. I'll meet you at six. I have to go pick up some Super Glue solvent at the Thrifty-Mart.† â€Å"Bye.† Theo jumped off the porch and loped to the Volvo. Skinner barked at him in four-four time. Hello? Tasty white squirrels? Still in the little box? Hello? You forgot? When Theo pulled up to Lena Marquez's house, there was a generic white economy rental car (A Ford Mucus, he thought) parked out front. He looked for the bat he'd seen hanging from the porch ceiling, but it wasn't there. He hadn't even filed the experience of running over the apparently indestructible blond guy, and now he was facing the possibility that he might actually be about to confront a murderer. Just in case, he'd stopped at home and gotten his gun off the shelf in the closet and his handcuffs off the bedpost where Molly had last imprisoned him when they had still been speaking. (She'd been in the yard out behind the cabin, working out with a bamboo shinai kendo sword she'd been using since breaking her broadsword – he'd snuck in and out without confrontation.) He unsnapped the Glock's nylon holster that was clipped to the back of his jeans and rang the doorbell. The door opened. Theo screamed and drew his gun as he jumped back. On the other side of the threshold, Tucker Case screamed and dove backward also, shielding his face with his hands. His hat made a little yelping sound. â€Å"Hold it right there,† Theo said. He could feel his pulse beating in his neck. â€Å"I'm holding, I'm holding. Jesus, what the fuck is this about?† â€Å"You have a bat on your head!† â€Å"Yeah, and for that you're going to shoot me?† The bat, his huge black wings wrapped around the pilot's head, gave the impression of a large leather cap with a Mohawk crest of fur that culminated in a big-eared little dog face that was now barking at Theo. â€Å"Well, uh, no.† Theo lowered the gun, feeling a little embarrassed now. He was still in his shooter's crouch, though, which now, with the gun lowered, made him look like he was posing as the world's skinniest sumo wrestler. â€Å"Can I get up?† Tuck asked. â€Å"Sure, I just wanted to talk to Lena.† Tucker Case was exasperated and his bat had fallen over one eye. â€Å"Well, she's at her office. Look, if you're going to get high, maybe you ought to leave the gun at home, huh?† â€Å"What?† Theo had been careful to use some Visine, and it had been hours since he'd hit his Sneaky Pete pot pipe. He said, â€Å"I'm not high. I haven't gotten high in years.† â€Å"Yeah, right. Constable, maybe you'd better come in.† Theo stood and tried to shake off the appearance that he'd just had about five years of life scared out of him by a guy with a bat on his head. He followed Tucker Case into Lena's kitchen, where the pilot offered him a seat at the table. â€Å"So, Constable, what can I do for you?† Theo wasn't sure. He'd planned on talking to Lena, or at least the two of them together. â€Å"Well, as you probably know, we found Lena's ex-husband's truck up in Big Sur.† â€Å"Of course, I saw it.† â€Å"You saw it?† â€Å"From the helicopter. Tucker Case, contract pilot for the DEA, remember? You can check me out if you want to. Anyway, we've been patrolling that area.† â€Å"You have?† The bat was looking at Theo and Theo was having trouble following his own thoughts. The bat was wearing tiny sunglasses. Ray-Bans, Theo could see by the trademark in the corner of one lens. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mr., uh – Case, could you take the bat off your head. It's very distracting.† â€Å"Him.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"It's a him. Roberto. He no like the light.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Friend of mine used to say that. Sorry.† Tucker Case unwrapped the bat and put it on the floor, where it spidered away, walking on its wing tips into the living room. â€Å"God, that's creepy,† Theo said. â€Å"Yeah, you know, kids. What are you gonna do?† Tuck dazzled a perfect grin. â€Å"So, you found this guy's truck? Not him, though?† â€Å"No. It was made to look like he was washed into the ocean while fishing off the rocks.† â€Å"Made to look? So, you suspect foul play?† Tuck bounced his eyebrows. Theo thought the pilot should be taking this more seriously. It was time to drop the bomb. â€Å"Yes. First, he never came home after the Caribou Christmas party Tuesday night, where he played the joke Santa. No one goes surf-fishing in the middle of the night, wearing a Santa suit. We found the Santa hat still in the truck, and I found hairs from a Micronesian fruit bat on the headrest.† â€Å"Well, that's a coincidence. Jeez, that's got to make you suspicious, doesn't it?† Tucker Case got up and went over to the counter. â€Å"Coffee? I just made it.† Theo stood up, too, just because he didn't want the suspect to get away, or maybe to show that he was taller, because it seemed like the only advantage he had over the pilot. â€Å"Yes, it is suspicious. And I talked to a kid Tuesday night who said he saw a woman killing Santa Claus with a shovel. I didn't think anything of it then, but now I think the kid might have actually seen something.† Tucker Case was busying himself with getting cups out of the cupboard, milk out of the fridge. â€Å"So, you did tell the kid that there's no Santa, right?† â€Å"No, I didn't.† Now Tucker Case turned, coffeepot in hand, and regarded Theo. â€Å"You know that there is no Santa, don't you, Constable?† â€Å"This is not a joke,† Theo said. He hated this – hated being the MAN. He was supposed to be the smart-ass in the face of authority figures. â€Å"Cream?† Theo sighed. â€Å"Sure. And sugar, please.† Tuck finished preparing the coffee, brought the cups to the table, and sat down. â€Å"Look, I see where you're going with this, Theo. Can I call you Theo?† Theo nodded. â€Å"Thanks. Anyway, Lena was with me Tuesday night, all night.† â€Å"Really? I saw Lena on Monday. She didn't mention you. Where did you meet?† â€Å"At the Thrifty-Mart. She was a Salvation Army Santa. I thought she was attractive, so I asked her out. We hit it off.† â€Å"You make it a habit of hitting on the Salvation Army Santas?† â€Å"Lena said that you're married to a scream queen called Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† Theo nearly shot coffee out his nose. â€Å"That was a character she used to play.† â€Å"Yeah, Lena says sometimes that's not so clear to her. My point is: Love is where you find it.† Theo nodded. Yeah, that was true. Before he drifted into a wistful state of mind, Theo reminded himself that this guy was, in an offhand way, attacking the woman he loved. â€Å"Hey,† Theo said. â€Å"It's okay? Who am I to judge? I married an island girl who had never seen indoor plumbing until I brought her to the States. Didn't work out –  » â€Å"Fruit-bat hair in the truck,† Theo interrupted. â€Å"Yeah, I knew you'd come back to that. Well, who knows? Roberto goes out on his own from time to time. Maybe he met this Dale guy. Maybe they hit it off. You know, love is where you find it. I doubt it, though. I hear that this Dale guy was a real creep.† â€Å"Are you implying that your bat may have something to do with the disappearance of Dale Pearson?† â€Å"No, you nitwit, I'm saying that my bat may have had something to do with bat hair, which, even you, with your Sherlock Holmes-like powers of observation, may have noticed he is all covered with.† â€Å"I can't believe you're a cop,† Theo said, getting truly angry now. â€Å"I'm not a cop. I just fly the helicopter for the DEA. They hire me by the season, and this is close to the harvest season in Big Sur and surrounding areas, so here I am, flying around looking in the forest for dark green patches while the agents in the back look at it through infrared and record everything on GPS so they can get specific warrants. And man, do they pay well. ‘Vive la war on drugs, I say. But no, I'm not a cop.† â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Funny thing is, I have learned to spot the right color of green from the sky, and usually the infrared confirms my suspicions. This morning I spotted about a thousand-square-foot patch of marijuana growing just north of the Beer-Bar Ranch. You know where that is?† Theo felt a lump in his throat the size of one of Gabe's dead rats. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Man, that's a lot of pot, even by commercial growers' standards. Felony quantity. I turned the helicopter – steered away without calling it to the agent's attention, but weather permitting, we could go back. There's a storm coming in, you know? Roberto and I drove by there this afternoon just to make sure. I guess I can always show the agents tomorrow.† Tucker Case put down his coffee, leaned on his elbows, and turned his head sideways like he was a cute kid in a cereal commercial who was reaching sugar nirvana. â€Å"You're a very unlikable man, Mr. Case.† â€Å"Oh my God, you should have seen me before I had my epiphany. I used to really be an asshole. I'm actually very charming now. By the way, I saw your wife working out in the yard at your house – very nice. The whole sword thing is a little scary, but otherwise, very nice.† Theo got to his feet, feeling a little dizzy even as he stood, like he'd been hit with a sock full of sand. â€Å"I'd better be going.† Tucker Case put his hand on Theo's shoulder as he walked him to the door. â€Å"You probably don't believe this, Theo, but at another time, I'm sure we'd be friends. And you have to understand, I really, really want things to work out with Lena. It was like we met just at the precise moment, the exact second, that I got over my divorce and was ready to love again. And it's so nice to have someone to bone under the Christmas tree, don't you think? She's a great woman.† â€Å"I like Lena,† Theo said. â€Å"But you are a psychopath.† â€Å"You think?† Tuck said. â€Å"I've really been trying to be more helpful.†