Special Effects Technician Career Overview and Pay...

Special Effects Technician Career Overview and Pay Structure A Special Effects Technician uses Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), pyrotechnics and physical effects to create visual illusions in film, television, stage or video productions. I will attempt to explain the major areas of work covered under the title of Special Effects Technician, the education required and the salary expected in the field The Physical Effects Technician is the technician that works to make props, models, scenery, prosthetics and mechanically animated pieces. The physical effects technician works with a variety of mediums. Body and facial prosthetics utilize sculpting of clay to make molds that are cast to fit the specific actors face and/or body. They are†¦show more content†¦This technique is used to layer foreground and background images based on color hues or the chroma range. The CGI technician layers the computer modelling around the actor. Programs such as PhotoKey 6 Pro make it possible to render the images seemlessly. Being a CGI technician requ ires computer knowledge and takes hours to edit and add in the actors into the computer generated world. An example of a seemless CGI movie is Avatar which cost $425,000,000 to make but grossed $2.7 Billion worldwide (www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/). For every 1/24 of a second or one frame of film it took 47 hours of rendering (www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/trivia). There are specialized training school for Special Effects Technicians,such as the Art institute with multiple locations across the country and a few in California.. A College degree is not required it is common especially in the area of CGI. A Pyrotechnician must be certified by the state that they work in and pass a Pyrotechnic safety and handling course. The Physical Effects Technician should have a firm grasp of art styles and art mediums. Now that we know what a Special Effects Technician does, what kind of monetary compensation do they earn. A person can specialize in one or more areas of expertise. Their earnings vary due to geographic location. Since a large majority of the special effects are used in movies, California offers the highest yearly wage of $85,000 per year,New York has a range of $41,000Show MoreRelatedOverview of Hrm93778 Words   |  376 Pageswho are studying this as a supporting subject for their bachelor degree program. This course is designed to provide you the foundations of HRM whether you intend to work in HRM or not, most of these elements will affect you at some point in your career. Either you will be working with some organizations or having people working for you, in both cases you will be dealing with people. To be understandable and lively means that we need to communicate you. 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Deal of Downsizing in Corporations, Businesses and Other Organizations Free Essays

Abstract: In recent years, there has been a great deal of downsizing in corporations, businesses and other organizations throughout the United States. According to the two papers noted below, the negative effects of such layoffs cannot be completely eliminated, but they can be helped or reduced moderately through specific actions such as increased communication and counseling and trust- and team-building. Amundson (2004) notes that corporate downsizing has become an important area of study due to the increasing impact on the American workforce. We will write a custom essay sample on Deal of Downsizing in Corporations, Businesses and Other Organizations or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most companies do little to prepare their employees for such negative measures. The majority of studies on this topic have focused on the victims of the layoffs; few have centered on the survivors. The studies that focused on survivors primarily used survey methods that assessed commitment, motivation, level of performance, job satisfaction, stress symptoms, and coping mechanisms and how these are related to self-affirmation, gender and organizational level, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and intent to leave the organization. In Amundson’s review of literature, he found only two related studies in which a semi-structured group interviewing format was used. Evans (1995) studied U.S. soldiers in the downsized military and Noer (1993) interviewed employees of a downsized private organization. Similar themes emerged from both of these studies: increased stress; decreased motivation; reduced performance with extra workload, distrust/withdrawal of management/leader; and experiencing the emotions of anger, sadness, guilt, insecurity, and fear. Research by Armstrong-Stassen (1998) used mail-in questionnaires to analyze the individual traits and support resources that helped 82 managers in a Canadian federal government department over a 2-year period cope with downsizing. Acknowledging that â€Å"reactions of the remaining employees will largely determine the effectiveness and quality of the services provided by the federal government in the future† (p. 310), she found managers reported a significant decrease in r job performance and commitment. To add to the literature regarding both positive and negative impacts to downsizing, Amundson (2005) interviewed 31 employees from a variety of organizations, including a federal human resources department, hospital, retailer, private employment consulting group, and two oil and gas companies. All individuals had remained in their organizations throughout the time of restructuring. Thirteen of the participants were men, and 18 were women. Their ages ranged from early 20s to mid-50s. Participants were interviewed within six months of the completion of downsizing in their organization. Participants were asked to describe, in behavioral terms, the positive and negative incidents they experienced during the downsizing period. The interviews highlighted three major questions: (a) What recent changes have you experienced in the organization? (b) What helped you to adjust to these changes (the positive incidents)? and (c) What hindered your adjustment (the negative incidents)? The responses by the interviewees of both negative and positive incidents demonstrated the mixed and sometimes confused reactions that survivors have to the downsizing experience. Participants reported both hindering and helpful aspects, regardless of gender or line of work. No event or concern was experienced as negative by everyone, although there definitely were more negative incidents. Throughout the interviews, survivors explained their experiences during the notification and implementation of the layoffs and the downsizing process and the way it was communicated. As the ramifications to downsize became clearer, workers reacted to the possible loss of their own position, changing coworker relations, organizational support programs, leadership, and the effect work changes had on their home life. The survivors cited 102 critical incidents (75 negative, 27 positive) about the restructuring process. The high participation rate, 65 percent for negative and 42 percent for positive incidents, demonstrated the survivors’ desires to be knowledgeable and part of developing the restructuring process. These individuals saw themselves playing a major role in a successful transition. Survivors felt better when involved. They felt frustrated when their input was ignored. Survivors also criticized counter-productive and wasteful processes. Nineteen survivors reported 31 negative incidents and 12 reported 18 positive incidents regarding fellow employees prior to the downsizing. The vast majority of negative incidents concerned grieving for laid-off peers. Survivors who were transferred away from their coworkers felt isolated and lonely and expressed guilt and envy. Positive incidents involved coworkers supporting each other through the uncertainty of the situation and seeking methods to communicate with one another after downsizing. Survivors also discussed the manner in which the organization treated their colleagues during the layoffs. Fair and sensitive treatment was reassuring to survivors; unfair or insensitive treatment resulted in resentment and anger. Management’s actions to facilitate or hinder the downsizing are significant. A total of 48 incidents–36 negative and 12 positive–were reported, with participation rates of 18 (58 percent) for and 8 (26 percent) respectively. Many employees were concerned about company leadership. They felt ambivalent when managers would look out for employees but, ultimately, had their own best interests at heart. Managers were perceived as untrustworthy when withholding information. Employees were angry when supervisors did not offer direction, guidance and information required by employees, but appreciated supervisors who were proactive and showed a positive attitude toward the change. Effective communication could calm fears, conflicting communication increased confusion and anxiety. Although survivors had jobs, their sense value diminished. Morale also decreased, with high incidents of people feeling angry, fear and anxiety. Although employees received support from family many experienced problems outside of work, including illness. Most employees considered the possibility of job loss currently or the future. Negative and positive critical incidents regarding job loss were reported by 13 (42 percent) and 9 (29 percent) of survivors, respectively. Survivors, found efforts to support employee mental health helped and that they would choices if they lost or left their jobs. Amundson concluded that the negative aspects of the downsize can be reduced or helped during downsizing by certain actions, since the integrity of the downsizing process can either destroy or build new loyalties: the trustworthiness of management is imperative, there is a real need for clear and open communication during all stages of the process.. The importance of support from family members is critical, as is ongoing counseling from the company in regards to the issues they face in the new environment. As Amundson finds, there are ways to help or reduce the â€Å"downs† of downsizing. Amabile (1999) decided to see how such aspects as creativity and teamwork could be improved in downsizing environments. If creativity usually declines during downsizing, the work environment plays a central role. Context encompasses all elements of the psychological climate of both the formal organization of policies and procedures and informal organization of values, norms, and interpersonal relationships. Research has shown that context can be important not only in affecting survivors’ reactions, but also in determining the impact of those reactions on job performance. A threatening situation ranks high as problematic. Threats are defined as external events or circumstances in which individuals, groups, or organizations perceive negative or harmful consequences for their vital interests. This leads to dysfunctional employees and organizations. However, studies of creativity stress the role of an organization’s environment in affecting creative behaviors. The componential model of creativity and innovation shows that five environmental components affect creativity: encouragement of creativity: autonomy or freedom in the day-to-day conduct of work; resources, or the materials, information, and general resources available for work; pressures including both positive challenge and negative workload; and organizational impediments to creativity such as conservatism and internal strife. High-creativity projects were generally higher on work environment stimulants to creativity and lower on work environment obstacles to creativity. Thus, it appears that there is indeed a relationship between the work environment and the level of creativity produced by individuals in teams. Amabile’s study (1999) examined the work environment for creativity at a large high-tech firm before, during, and after downsizing. Most creativity-supporting aspects of the work environment decreased greatly during the downsizing but increased somewhat later: The opposite occurred for creativity-undermining aspects. Stimulants and obstacles to creativity in the work environment mediated the effects of downsizing. These results suggest ways in which theories of organizational creativity can be expanded and ways in which the negative effects of downsizing might be avoided or alleviated. Although Noer (1993) suggested that survivors may not recover from the negative effects of downsizing, this research suggests the perceived work environment can improve modestly. Perhaps, some people eventually accept ongoing change within this company, as Noer suggested. However, it is also seen in his study that experienced downsizing was a less a predictor of work environment than was work group stability or downsizing. Thus, suggests Amabile, future research should focus attention here. The work group stability results are largely consistent with the theory of the need to belong suggesting that ongoing relational human bonds are a strong, basic, and pervasive motive that has long-lasting positive effects on emotional patterns and cognitive processes. The anticipated downsizing results suggest that, even if an employee’s work unit has been eliminated, the certainty of knowing the process is over leads to a generally more positive work environment than the expectation of future downsizing in a presently intact unit. That is, the anticipation of the negative event may be less tolerable than the actual experience. This study’s results suggest the possibility of adding a dynamic element to the componential model of organizational creativity. Presently, the componential model is static and specifies relationships between the perceived work environment and creative behavior at any one point in time. It does not address the dynamics of change in the work environment or how events within organizations might lead individuals to perceive their work environments as creativity-supporting or creativity-undermining. What types of events give rise to such environments, and what sorts of events lead to change in those environments? If this is so, events may prove to have a particularly powerful effect on the work environment for creativity. In future research, there could be an investigation of the mechanisms by which anticipated downsizing and work group instability might lead to degraded work environments. The threat theory could be especially helpful in guiding such studies, because it directly addresses possible changes in organizational environments under negative circumstances. Specifically, the following effects could be predicted: a centralization of control would lead to perceptions of lower autonomy/freedom, (2) a conservation of resources would lead to perceptions of less sufficient resources, (3) restriction of information flow would lead to perceptions of less encouragement of creativity from the organization overall (organizational encouragement), from one’s own supervisor (supervisory encouragement), and from one’s work group (work group supports), and (4) reliance on familiar routines would lead to perceptions of more organizational impediments to creativity, through a generally greater conservatism. Researchers may use this information to understand how downsizing and other organizational events bring about change in the perceived work environment for creativity. Most important, reports Amabile, â€Å"first, and most obviously, it is important to do it right.† Since downsizing decreases creativity, managers must first be sure that downsizing is a truly necessary. Second, when it is not possible to maintain team stability, it may be helpful to undertake team-building efforts as soon as new groups are formed–especially when high levels of creativity are desired. Finally, organizational creativity will be less apt to suffer in a downsizing if the process is concluded in a timely manner and if a downsizing moratorium can be identified for some meaningful period of time afterward. Overall, concludes Amabile, â€Å"Our study †¦suggests that corporate decision makers of the future should approach downsizing with great caution. The long-term negative effects of such actions on creativity and innovation may only retrigger the corporate woes that started the cycle in the first place.† How to cite Deal of Downsizing in Corporations, Businesses and Other Organizations, Essay examples

Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change

Question: Discuss about the Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change. Answer: Introduction: Agriculture forms an integral sector for every economy globally especially in Canada(Younger). Changing climate forecasts expects Canada to be warmer during the next 60 years. Climates change has positive as well as negative impacts on agriculture changing employment patterns immensely. Crops, livestock and sea foods yield from Canada contributes to a large proportion to the Canadas economy. Once food-services along with other agricultural related industries are included it is expected to contribute to a sizable proportion. Canada is one of the worlds largest agriculture producer and exporter. Research reflects that proportion of population devoted to agriculture has decreased at a dramatic rate over the 20th century(Howden). The scope of this paper is to analyze and understand relation of climate change to agriculture in Canada. Though Canada experiences mostly cold climates but due to recent climatic changes there has been increase in scope to produce a wide variety of crops and ag ricultural produce. Also exports of agricultural produce, education in the field have provided opportunities for people to join the workforce. Recent trends show that there has been a shift in employment pattern in the agricultural sector. The Government of Canada is also taking a lot of initiatives to attract and develop agricultural sector within the country to address the growing needs of its population and also increase exporting opportunities in some specialized yields(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.). Background of the Study Environment that surrounds the Earth nurtures life and help it prosper. There consists of layers of environment that protects life on Earth, with rapid industrialization post the Second World War significant amount of harmful substances has been released causing harm to this environment. Due to the environment we receive a variety of climates and seasons. Changes in environment has considerably impacted climate, which has been disrupted from its regular course. Climates as hot, winter and rainy helps in development and growth of various plants and other living beings on which human life depend(Bonan). Agriculture is done on basis of climates prevalent, disruptions of which has greatly altered productions made, hence altering employment in agriculture. Climate change has several negative impacts that can significantly increase frequency of droughts and violent storms. These events significantly changes crop yields, decreasing them. Droughts in Canada in 2001 and floods in 2002 have reduced crop yields as much as by 50%. Droughts and floods also reduce pastures available to poultry and other livestock feed, thus forcing to find alternative food sources or reducing their herd size. Climate change has also led to developing of crop pests and diseases, where increased amount of CO2 have led to higher growth of weed(Wall). Employees and labor in the agricultural sector are often exploited and paid less depending upon crop yield. With variability in climatic conditions such factors have further deteriorated. Canadas agriculture includes a vast range of grains and oilseeds. Its major production includes wheat, oats, durum, barley, rye, flax seed, canola, rice, corn, soybean and so on. Other agricultural sectors include red meet including livestock of hogs, beef cattle, lamb and veal. Dairy, horticulture, poultry and eggs are also major agricultural produce from Canada. Its produce is dependent on the geography of the land(Nords). Canada employs a mere 3% of the population in various forms of agriculture. It has received drought which has led to its farmers practice soil conservation and crop rotation as techniques to increase agricultural production. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand changes in climate that exerts impacts employment and labor market in Canada. Rise of globalized economies have changed consumption and production patterns that impacts economic, social and environmental conditions. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) a scientific body that studies climate from world over have evidence that depicts significant impacts from global warming. ILO estimates that 1.3 billion workers which constitutes 43.5 per cent of all labor force survive for less than US$2 per day(Molua). The figures can increase by a 100 million due to current financial crisis and global unemployment. Social inequalities persistent is still huge that have an impact on social, employment conditions especially of agricultural labor market for years to come. Thus, according to IPCC increase in global average air temperature can give rise to melting snow, raise sea levels raising violent storms and floods or droughts. Several endeavor s are taken by various governments across countries by investing into a sustainable world. In order to understand the social linkages of climate change to labor market, the three pillars of sustainable development, environmental protection, social development and economic growth has to be understood. Without existence of sound legislative policies there would be negative impact on the environment as well as on employment and labor market(Smit). Paper Aims Climate change has been addressed by many to have direct impact on economic and social cost. Social conditions that climate will impact is related to employment generation and sustainability to agricultural sector. Agriculture contributes to employment of approximately 1 billion people world over. Asia employs 70% and sub-African 20% of total world labor force in agriculture. From total workforce women represents 40% of the total(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.). Due to changes in climate rainfall patterns, droughts and floods will rise significantly that will degrade marginal lands used for agriculture and destroy crops. Precipitation in temperature also impacts growth and cultivation of certain cereals. Hence, employees in the agricultural sector might have to relocate to look for lands elsewhere. Agricultural sector is also impacted by high job insecurity. Increase in sea levels can also impact salinization of irrigation water, fresh water system and estuaries. Hence em ployees in the agricultural sector have to look at other ways of growing crops(Parry). Employees in the sector experience low rates of pay, growing poverty levels and poor working conditions. Hence climate change will have a high burden on already affected workers. Paper Aim1: To understand the overall impact of climate on agriculture Paper Aim 2: To understand labor involvement in agricultural sector in Canada Paper Aim 3: To understand various impacts related to agriculture on its workforce Paper Aim 4: To analyze past and present trend in working conditions of labor in agriculture Paper Aim 5: To analyze importance of International Labor Standards in climatic change Data Sources, Reliability Limitations Data collection and analysis is a basic for conducting any type of study. For developing an understanding for this study qualitative data of secondary nature was collected(Cline). Secondary data consists of those data that are not primary in nature and has been obtained from sources other than primary. Data has been primarily gathered from journals, books, articles, newspapers, internet, company magazines and so on. Secondary data for this study was not difficult to obtain as there has been plentiful research done in this area to understand the impact of climate change on agriculture. Data pertaining to employment and changes were also available on various journals(Time). All data collected was cross checked and verified for reliability. Each data for the study was carefully selected such that it became relatively easy to reach the defined aims of the paper(Heaton). The study conducted has certain limitations as it was purely made for theoretical purpose. This study can be used in theoretical context but cannot be reproduced to get practical results. The study is developed mostly from secondary sources and is purely qualitative in nature hence anyone adopting any part of this work needs to verify with references prior to doing so(Sapsford). Findings Analysis Paper Aim1 Finding; Climatic change measures in the agricultural sector is being adopted from a long period of time. Climatic changes have impacted various aspects of agriculture as production of crops, livestock feeding and so on(Davies). Climate change has induced a number of workforces to relocate in search of greener and more fruitful pastures. In Canada there have been several institutes set up for learning and researching for innovative ways and means of doing agriculture. Employees working in this sector are investing and undertaking serious learning ways and means of protecting their soil and to do crop rotation such that they are able to produce maximum amount in minimum amount of time. Paper Aim 2 Finding; Though an insignificant number of people from Canada works in the agricultural sector, government is providing a series of initiatives to attract a sizable amounts of the population into the field(Hertel). Agriculture for domestic consumption as well as for exports contributes a significant amount to the economy and GDP. Thus, with more agricultural innovative programs it will be easier to employ more workforce in the field. Government also wants to implement a minimum wage rate and a promising life for those in the sector. Employees already existing in the sector are analyzing and devising ways and means to meet production targets and expectations(McLeman). With frequent drought and other natural turbulences in the country more and more labor force is shifting to other organized sector jobs. But growing needs in agricultural production is slowly putting strain of agricultural imports on the economy of the country. Food price inflation remaining low and other barriers to agriculture there is limited impetus to join the sector. Paper Aim 3 Finding; Agriculture in Canada is gradually diminishing with more and more arid land and due to steady industrialization(Koetse). Majority of workforce and labor in the agricultural sector are adapting to recent changes in climate. Adaptation to farming is not a new concept though, but newer challenges are harsher than past ones. As changes in climate are taking place more rapidly than being a gradual process and covers large geographical areas adaptation helps overcome these potential factors. Employees in the sector has to devise alternate strategies as improved land management, altering of crops or crop rotation(Lobell). In order to boost employment in the sector their needs to be changes made in land reforms, capacity building and financial incentives to stay employed. There also needs to measures that help workers cope with loss of employment including insurance and medical benefits. Paper Aim 4 Finding; Findings from several studies and journals reflect that workers in the agricultural sector are the worst victims of climate change. The trend seems to have worsen from the past. Land owners often victimize such employees to retain maximum part of the income. Absence of legislation and rules guiding minimum wage payment, security, health and safety of workers make them more vulnerable(Kurz). Loss of job over fears from climate change have induced suicides amongst many farmers in various different parts of the world. Unable to feed and maintain family often employees in this sector commit to high interest rate loans. To add to further woes of the farmers, there are off-seasons for each type of crop, which leads to no earning period and loss of income. This phase employees have often been seen to shift and look for employment elsewhere. Most employed in this sector suffers from high incidence of diseases as well due to physical hazards of the job. In absence of any health and safety standards they are often victimized. Most employees work on a rotation basis and perform the most tough job from sowing of seeds to cutting off crops. Yet the share the minimum amount of revenue generated from such produce. Paper Aim 5 Finding; International Labor Standards is a legal body developed by International Labor Organization, comprising of governments, employers and workers. ILS aims to standardize work related practices, payment to workers in the sector and other factors in order to protect and preserve rights of workforce in this field. ILS can impose norms and regulations on government of various countries for application of such norms. It provides for uniform application of labor standards and other factors related to agricultural sector. Agriculture is largest employer sector in the world which is affected by climate changes. Large number of workforce impose more responsibilities and liabilities on the sector to protect human health and environment. Working environment in the agricultural sector, implying pollution, health hazards, level of pollution impact workers in the sector. Air pollution not only affects agricultural yield but also human health causing many serious implications. Airborne pollutant have significant impact on working environment and health and ILS address issues such as these. Agriculture is also related and impacted by use of various harmful and hazardous substances and chemicals, awareness regarding handling such chemicals has to be brought about in workers. ILS is working closely with United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and World Health Organization (WHO) to establish codes related to safety and to form International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPSC). The norms specifies and addresses handling of harmful chemicals as pesticides and other substances to reduce external environmental damage. ILS provides for prevention of major accidents at workplace to protect health of workers. It has been estimated that approximately 1.3 billion workers in agriculture world over gets injured from workplace accidents every year. Agricultural sector has also contributed to significant addition of greenhouse gases (GHG). In 2000 aloe 14% of GHG was generated from agriculture. Fertilizers being the largest single source generating such pollutant, there needs to be norms for disposal of such harmful substances. Soil realizes nitrous oxide during the process of de-nitrification, which further adds pollution in the processes, harnessing climate change and impacting health of workers. ILS aims protection at workplace by preventing larger impacts of such pollutants from affecting health of workers. ILS provides guidelines for safe collection, recycling and disposal of chemicals, especially obsolete ones that increases risk of workers and impose health norms on them as well as environment. Program for workers at the ILs aims to provide social security as well to workers employed in the sector. Provisions from such norms can include guaranteed income for worker as well as his family such that he or she is able to maintain standards of living. This also helps worker find a new job in seasons of unemployment in agricultural sector for rotational crops. Thus, this enhances intra-generational equity and provides children of workers in this sector to abide by a minimum standard of living. This also allows to fight risks arising from poverty as diseases, alcohol, drug abuse and so on. Though Canada provides for various health and safety norms, but in some poorer regions where parents are unemployed, increased incidence of poverty can force children to leave school and enter employment. Education and training has been identified as fundamental rights of human, especially in the agricultural sector there is a growing need to train and bring awareness regarding the various possibilities of climate change, technological change to adapt and mitigate measures arising out of GHG and reduce it. Such programs are meant to address social equity of workers who works in the sector. Workers of the sector has to adapt to cleaner production processes in order to promote sustainable practices. Migration in the sector is further hampering production in the agriculture. In future there might be instances of whole community migrating impacted by the changes in climate. When some areas flood, especially the low-lying areas there is an increased possibility that workers might migrate to a higher place to look for opportunities. When a flow of people migrate to other countries then social and economic marginalization cannot be managed adequately. Thus, migrating country needs to provide for resettlement policies with possible cost sharing strategies. good governance is another important area that can promote equality and conditions of workers employed in agricultural sector. Conclusion Climate is expected to have an enormous impact on employment and labor market of agricultural sector. Adaptation and principles of mitigation needs to be in compliance with principles of sustainable development, including environment protection, economic growth and social development. International and domestic policy needs to help avoid the ill-effects from adaptation and mitigation on employment as well as labor markets. With rising uncertainties in climatic conditions and in absence of regulations in labor market on social protection, working conditions and participation, unemployment and poverty can increase in this sector. Hence, introduction of global standards for labor market will help reduce disparities amongst population of some countries. Often it has been seen that most poor and vulnerable farmers are the worst hit by the effect of climatic change. An International Labor Standard needs to prevail that offer protection to shield workers from the impacts of climate change. Involvement of workers from agricultural sector is required to be able to introduce more effective policies that help in climate change. Governments of Canada and several countries across the world are making key political decisions regarding climate change by negotiating international laws. These steps will help reduce unemployment and ill-effects of climate change on employees in this field. Government of countries needs to adopt policy changes and good governance to promote, preserve and make agricultural sector prosper from the impending effects of climatic change. Works Cited Bonan, Gordon B. ""Forests and climate change: forcings, feedbacks, and the climate benefits of forests." ." science 320.5882 (2008): 1444-1449. Cline, R. R. "Data collection methods. ." Introduction to the Pharmacy Business Administration Series. (2011). Davies, Mark, et al. ""Climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and social protection: complementary roles in agriculture and rural growth?." ." IDS Working Papers 2009.320 (2009): 1-37. Heaton, J. "Secondary analysis of qualitative data: An overview. Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung." (2008): 33-45. Hertel, Thomas W., Marshall B. Burke, and David B. Lobell. " "The poverty implications of climate-induced crop yield changes by 2030." ." Global Environmental Change 20.4 (2010): 577-585. Howden, S. Mark, et al. " "Adapting agriculture to climate change." ." Proceedings of the national academy of sciences 104. (2007): 19691-19696. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 2014Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Regional Aspects. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Koetse, Mark J., and Piet Rietveld. " "The impact of climate change and weather on transport: An overview of empirical findings." ." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 14.3 (2009): 205-221. Kurz, Werner A., et al. ""Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change." ." Nature 452.7190 (2008): 987-990. Lobell, David B., and Christopher B. Field. " "Global scale climatecrop yield relationships and the impacts of recent warming." ." Environmental research letters 2.1 (2007): 014002. McLeman, Robert, and Barry Smit. ""Migration as an adaptation to climate change." ." Climatic change (2006): 31-53. Molua, Ernest L. ""The economic impact of climate change on agriculture in Cameroon."." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series (2007). Nords, Ragnhild, and Nils Petter Gleditsch. ""Climate change and conflict." ." Political Geography 26.6 (2007): 627-638. Parry, Martin L., Timothy R. Carter, and Nicolaas T. Konijn, eds. "The Impact of Climatic Variations on Agriculture: Volume 1: Assessment in Cool Temperate and Cold Regions." Springer Science Business Media (2013). Reuveny, Rafael. ""Climate change-induced migration and violent conflict." ." Political geography 26.6 (2007): 656-673. Sapsford, R. and Jupp, V. eds. Data collection and analysis. Sage, 2006. Smit, Barry, and Johanna Wandel. ""Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability." ." Global environmental change 16.3 (2006): 282-292. Time, C. "Data Collection Methods. ." Review of Sociology (2012): 225-249. Wall, Ellen, and Katia Marzall. ""Adaptive capacity for climate change in Canadian rural communities." ." Local Environment 11.4 (2006): 373-397. Younger, Margalit, et al. ""The built environment, climate change, and health: opportunities for co-benefits." ." American journal of preventive medicine 35.5 (2008): 517-526.

Jean Renoir’s film ‘A Day in the Country’ and Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘A Country Excursion’ A comparative analysis in the context of Dudley Andrews’ three adaptation strategies Essay Example

Jean Renoir’s film ‘A Day in the Country’ and Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘A Country Excursion’: A comparative analysis in the context of Dudley Andrews’ three adaptation strategies Essay Introduction: A Day in the Country is one of Renoir’s early forays into narrative story telling. One can see the tentativeness of a filmmaker finding his feet in the new medium which was only a few years past the silent films era. A characteristic of the fledgling days of cinema was its seeking of ideas and stories from classic literature and theatre. In the context of French cinema, works of such iconic writers as Victor Hugo, Emile Zola and Alexander Dumas were heavily drawn upon. Guy de Maupassant’s short story A Country Excursion is one among many instances of early cinema embracing literature. But there are numerous challenges in adapting a work of art to a radically different medium. Theatre and cinema can be said to share some affinity in terms of principles of mise-en-scene, accepted rules of screen-play, shared exploration of genres, etc. But literature to film is a big leap and film theorist Dudley Andrew identifies three basic types of adaptation – borrowing, intersecting and transforming sources. In the case of A Day in the Country to varying degrees all the three types are at play. We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Renoir’s film ‘A Day in the Country’ and Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘A Country Excursion’: A comparative analysis in the context of Dudley Andrews’ three adaptation strategies specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Renoir’s film ‘A Day in the Country’ and Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘A Country Excursion’: A comparative analysis in the context of Dudley Andrews’ three adaptation strategies specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Renoir’s film ‘A Day in the Country’ and Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘A Country Excursion’: A comparative analysis in the context of Dudley Andrews’ three adaptation strategies specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Borrowing: The film is said to be borrowed from the short story to the extent that there is divergence in their details pertaining to characterization, geographic description, projection of individual motive, etc. In borrowing, â€Å"the artist employs, more or less extensively, the material, idea, or form of an earlier, generally successful text†¦the adaptation hopes to win an audience by the prestige of its borrowed title or subject†¦at the same time it seeks to gain a certain respectability, if not aesthetic value, as a dividend in the transaction†. (Andrew, p.422) Renoir’s work satisfies some of these criteria better than others. Certainly the literary work is the very basis for the project of the film. Moreover, Maupassant was a household name in early twentieth century France, and thus brings a degree of prestige to the project at hand. But the particular short story, A Country Excursion, does not have the same name recollection as its author does. Renoirâ€⠄¢s enterprise does succeed in fulfill the twin key criteria of bringing respectability and aesthetic value to the transaction. The cinema produced is no injustice to the artistic standards of its source. The additional provisions afforded by the new medium add more vibrancy and color to the source text. So the idea of the film can certainly be said to have been borrowed, though with certain qualifications. Intersection: This form of adaptation is found to be the weakest in A Day in the Country. Intersection is the most infidel methods of transmuting words to film due to its limited objective. The goal of the filmmaker is less constrained, for he/she is not concerned with the entire written work but only one idea/feature within it. The task then is to experiment and find out what ‘cinema’ as a medium can ‘do’ to the original. At its heart is creative curiosity and experimentation on the part of the director. Renowned French film critic Andre Bazin has expressed intersection through the metaphor of light. Andrews paraphrases Bazin thus, â€Å"here the original artwork can be likened to a crystal chandelier whose formal beauty is a product of its intricate but fully artificial arrangement of parts while the cinema would be a crude flashlight intersecting not for its own shape or the quality of its light but for what it makes appear in this or that dark corner† (Andrews, p.423) Seen in light of this definition, A Day in the Country is the cinematic intersection of the literary work, for it brings to the table unique cinematic qualities of expression. This is most evident in passages in the film where dialogue takes backseat to visual setting, camera angles, dramatic pauses, shot montages, etc. Renoir’s application of intersection succeeds because â€Å"it produces an experience of the original modulated by the peculiar beam of the cinema.† (Andrews, p.423) Transformation: Under this framework of analysis the keywords are ‘fidelity’ and ‘essence’. To study transformation is to measure the extent to which the original text is retained in the film. Andrew identifies two broad classes – those that conform to the ‘letter’ of the source and the rest that are attuned to capturing the ‘spirit’ of the original. The â€Å"letter would appear to be within the reach of cinema for it can be emulated in mechanical fashion. It includes aspects of fiction generally elaborated in any film script providing the fiction’s context, and the basic narrational aspects that determine the point of view of the narrator (tense, degree of participation, and knowledge of the storyteller, etc†¦the skeleton of the original can, more or less thoroughly, become the skeleton of a film.† (Andrew, p.423) Evaluated in the light of this understanding of transformation, A Day in the Country is a work of very-high fidelity. Various aspects of the audio-visual narrative, including the characters and their inter-relation, the geographical, sociological, and cultural information, etc adheres to the Maupassant text. Even when evaluated for the transformed work’s capturing of the ‘essence’ of the original, the film in question answers affirmatively. The story, in essence, is one of chance romantic opportunity that eventually turns out to be a nostalgic memory for Henri and Henriette. This is the central feeling that the reader of the short story as well as the viewer of the film carry with them afterwards. It can be claimed that Renoir’s faithful replication of various socio-cultural details mentioned in the original is not for its own sake but in order to encapsulate the ‘spirit’ or ‘essence’ of its source. Works Cited: Dudley Andrew, Adaptation, From Concepts in Film Theory, retrieved from on 23rd October 2013 Guy de Maupassant, A Country Excursion, retrieved from on 23rd October 2013 A Day in the Country (Partie de Campagne) 1936, accessed from on 23rd October 2013

Reasons for Humanity to Go Back to the Moon

Reasons for Humanity to Go Back to the Moon It has been  decades since the first astronauts walked on the lunar surface. Since then, nobody has set foot on our nearest neighbor in space. Sure, a fleet of probes have headed to the Moon, and they have supplied a lot of information about conditions there.   Is it time to send people to the Moon? The answer coming from the space community is a qualified yes. What that means is, there are missions on the planning boards, but also many questions about what people will do to get there and what theyll do once they set foot on the dusty surface. What Are the Obstacles? The last time people landed on the Moon was in 1972. Since then, a variety of political and economic reasons have kept space agencies from continuing those bold steps. However, the big issues are money, safety, and justifications. The most obvious reason that lunar missions arent happening as quickly as people would like is their cost. NASA spent billions of dollars during the 1960s and early 70s developing the Apollo missions. These happened at the height of the Cold War when the U.S. and the former Soviet Union were at odds politically but were not actively fighting each other in land wars. The expenses of trips to the Moon were tolerated by American people and Soviet citizens for the sake of patriotism and staying ahead of each other. Although there are many good reasons to go back to the Moon, its tough to get a political consensus on spending taxpayer money to do it. Safety Is Important The second reason hampering lunar exploration is the sheer danger of such an enterprise. Faced with the immense challenges that plagued NASA during the 1950s and 60s, it is no small wonder that anyone ever made it to the Moon. Several astronauts lost their lives during the Apollo program, and many technological setbacks took place along the way. However, long-term missions aboard the International Space Station show that humans can  live and work in space, and new developments in space launch and transport capabilities are promising safer ways to get to the Moon. Why Go? The third reason for a lack of lunar missions is that there needs to be a clear mission and goals.  While interesting and scientifically important experiments can always be done, people are also interested in return on investment. Thats particularly true for companies and institutions interested in making money from lunar mining, science research, and tourism. Its easier to send robot probes to do science, although its better to send people. With human missions come higher expenses in terms of life support and safety. With the advances of robotic space probes, a great amount of data can be gathered at a much lower cost and without endangering human life. The big-picture questions, like how did the solar system form, require much longer and more extensive trips than just a couple days on the Moon. Things Are Changing The good news is that attitudes toward lunar trips can and do change, and its likely that a human mission to the Moon will happen within a decade or less. Current NASA mission scenarios include trips to the lunar surface and also to an asteroid, although the asteroid trip may be of more interest to mining companies.   Traveling to the Moon will still be expensive. However, NASA mission planners feel that the benefits outweigh the cost. Even more important, the government foresees a good return on investment. Thats actually a very good argument. The Apollo missions required a significant initial investment. However, technology- weather satellite systems, global positioning systems (GPS), and advanced communication devices, among other advancements- created to support the lunar missions and subsequent planetary science missions are now in everyday use on Earth. New technologies aimed specifically at future lunar missions would also find their way into the worlds economies, spurring a good return on investment Expanding Lunar Interest Other countries are looking quite seriously at sending lunar missions, most specifically China and Japan.  The Chinese have been very clear about their intentions, and have good capability to carry out a long-term lunar mission. Their activities may well spur American and European agencies into a mini race to also build lunar bases. Lunar orbiting laboratories may make an excellent next step, no matter who builds and sends them.   The technology available now, and that to be developed during any concentrated missions to the Moon, would allow scientists to do much more detailed (and longer) studies of the Moons surface and sub-surface systems. Scientists would get the opportunity to answer some of the big questions about how our solar system was formed, or the details about how Moon was created and its geology. Lunar exploration would stimulate new avenues of study. People also expect that lunar tourism would be another way to maximize exploration.   Missions to Mars are also  hot news these days. Some scenarios see humans heading to the Red Planet within a few years, while others foresee Mars missions by the 2030s. Returning to the Moon is an important step in Mars mission planning. The hope is that people could spend time on the Moon to learn how to live in a forbidding environment. If something went wrong, rescue would be only a few days away, rather than months.   Finally, there are valuable resources on the Moon that can be used for other space missions. Liquid oxygen is a major component of the propellant needed for current space travel. NASA believes that this resource can be easily extracted from the Moon and stored at deposit sites for use by other missions - particularly by sending astronauts to Mars. Many other minerals exist, and even some water stores,  that can be mined as well. The Verdict Humans have always made an effort to understand the universe, and going to the Moon does seem to be the next logical step for many reasons. It will be interesting to see who starts up the next race to the Moon. Edited and revised by Carolyn Collins Petersen

How to Grow Salt Crystals

How to Grow Salt Crystals Table salt, also known as sodium chloride, is a crystal (a symmetrical solid substance made entirely of the same material).  You can see the shape of a salt crystal under a microscope, and you can grow your own salt crystals for fun or for a science fair. Growing salt crystals is fun and easy; the ingredients are right in your kitchen, the crystals are non-toxic, and no special equipment is required.   How to Grow Salt Crystals It takes very little work to start the process of growing salt crystals, though you will need to wait a few hours or days to see the results, depending on the method you use. No matter which method you try, youll need to use a hot stove and boiling water, so adult supervision is advised.   Salt Crystal Materials table salt (sodium chloride)waterclean clear containera piece of cardboard (optional)string and pencil or butter knife (optional) Procedures Stir salt into boiling hot water until no more salt will dissolve (crystals start to appear at the bottom of the container). Be sure the water is as close to boiling as possible. Hot tap water is not sufficient for making the solution. Quick Crystals:  If you want crystals quickly, you can soak a piece of cardboard in this supersaturated salt solution. Once it is soggy, place it on a plate or pan and set it in a warm and sunny location to dry out. Numerous small salt crystals will form. Perfect Crystals:  If you are trying to form a larger, perfect cubic crystal, you will want to make a seed crystal.  To grow a big crystal from a seed crystal, carefully pour the supersaturated salt solution into a clean container (so no undissolved salt gets in), allow the solution to cool, then hang the seed crystal in the solution from a pencil or knife placed across the top of the container. You could cover the container with a coffee filter if you like. Set the container in a location where it can remain undisturbed. You are more likely to get a perfect crystal instead of a mass of crystals if you allow the crystal to grow slowly (cooler temperature, shaded location) in a place free of vibrations. Tips for Success Experiment with different types of table salt. Try iodized salt, un-iodized salt, sea salt, or even salt substitutes. Try using different types of water, such as tap water compared with distilled water. See if there is any difference in the appearance of the crystals.If you are trying for the perfect crystal use un-iodized salt and distilled water. Impurities in either the salt or water can aid dislocation, where new crystals dont stack perfectly on top of previous crystals.The solubility of table salt (or any kind of salt) increases greatly with temperature. Youll get the quickest results if you start with a saturated saline solution, which means you want to dissolve salt in the hottest water available. One trick to increase the amount of salt you can dissolve is to microwave the salt solution. Stir in more salt until it stops dissolving and starts to accumulate at the bottom of the container. Use the clear liquid to grow your crystals. You can filter out the solids using a coffee f ilter or paper towel.

Conflict of Slavery and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conflict of Slavery and Religion - Essay Example Slavery is, in fact, one unique human / inhuman(e) universe in which meaning-making is perpetually created and-recreated in order to maintain a status quo of control on master’s side and dependence and exploitation on slave’s side. If the case against slavery should not be one negotiated based on â€Å"humane† reasons, suffice it to dispel slavery as an antithesis to religion based on raison d’à ªtre grounds alone. That is, no one man can truly claim he is a man (small letter) of God unless he not only subjects himself to God’s – and only God’s – will. Therefore, a man subjugating a fellow man by means of enslavement and exploitation is only one who claims a divine status. In essence, all claims of anti-slavery abolitionists coalesce around one fundamental creed that is; all men are God’s children. Probably, one outspoken and specially gifted orator who voiced religion vs. slavery case most eloquently during Antebellum i s Fredrick Douglass. In his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass employs a set of rhetorical as well as narrative strategies by which he not only dispels slavery as an antithesis to religion but also reclaims slavery discourse as an African American meaning-making universe par excellence.

International marketing plan- how to increase sales rate for HTC in UK Dissertation

International marketing plan- how to increase sales rate for HTC in UK - Dissertation Example The chapter also highlights the rationale and scope of the research along with proposing the methodology. The literature review chapter discussed the model proposed by Zeithaml (1985) where the relationship between price, value, and quality has been associated with consumer perception. The model explained that in order to enhance the consumer perceptions, it is important to decrease the perception of sacrifice, add intrinsic attributes, evoke perceptions, and use extrinsic cues to signal value for all possible strategies. The chapter concluded that price, value, and quality of products affect the perceived benefits and beliefs of consumers in a good manner. The research methodology chapter presented an overview of the different elements of the methodology along with highlighting the preference for each element in an illustrative manner. The finding and analysis chapter found that Samsung success factors are in the form of a robust and varied product portfolio attracting consumers of all age groups. On the other hand, Apple believes in product differentiation embedded with brand equity and recognition to attract consumers. The last chapter concluded that that the success factors of Apple are mainly in the form of product differentiation, brand appeal, brand value, and consumer perception over the value and quality. ... Communication plays an important role in connecting people and in this regard, mobile phones have played a major and crucial role (Adkins, 2008). The advent of mobile phones offered much needed liberty to people to enhance the communication at any point of time making life easy and simple along with facilitating the flow of information and communication (Anttila and Jung, 2006). Motorola was the first company to introduce mobile phones in the market and later a number of organisations introduced mobile phones in their domestic markets. Prior to 2010, Nokia was the market leader in the mobile phone communication having great reach in different parts of the world. Later, organisations like Samsung, HTC, Micromax, Apple, and Sony forayed into different markets increasing the overall rate of competition along with offering wide arrays of options to the consumers. One of the most innovative mobile manufacturers has been Apple and Samsung offering attractive mobile phones with distinctive designs and appeal. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate having a number of products including mobile phones. On the other hand, Apple is an American multinational company having wide arrays of products related to computers, software, and mobile phones (Attewell, 2005). Initially, the success of both these organisations was limited to few countries but later these companies embraced an international outlook by exploring international markets and thus gaining impressive market share (Ballard, 2007). The research aimed to explore factors affecting the productivity of foreign mobile phone brands like Samsung and Apple in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has been a developed market for

Strategies Adopted by Walt Disney Essay Example for Free

Strategies Adopted by Walt Disney Essay Write down about strategy implemented by Walt Disney Company after the death of Roy Disney in order to improve the conditions of the company by adopting 3 major strategies. Explain the post and pre conditions of Walt Disney. Ans: From the very beginning, Disneys founder Walter Elias Disney fostered the spirit of creativity, innovation and excellence that continues to underlie all of the companys success. Walt arrived in California in the summer of 1923 with dreams and determination, but little else. He had made a short film in Kansas City about a little girl in a cartoon world, called Alices Wonderland, and he planned to use it as his pilot film to sell a series of these Alice Comedies to a distributor. On October 16, 1923, a New York distributor, M. J. Winkler, contracted to release the Alice Comedies, and this date became the formal beginning of The Walt Disney Company. Originally known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, with Walt Disney and his brother Roy as equal partners, the company soon changed its name, at Roys suggestion, to the Walt Disney Studio, which was initially housed in a succession of storefront buildings in Hollywood before becoming established on Hyperion Avenue. So this is how Disney Company came into existence. However Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966. Roy Disney, who was older than Walt took over supervision of the company. However Roy Disney also died just two months after realizing his brothers final dream. For the next decade the company was led by a team including Card Walker, Donn Tatum, and Ron Miller, all originally trained by the Disney brothers.

They Just Dont Understand Essay -- Personal Narrative Family Culture

They Just Don't Understand As the weekend drew in I knew that it’s going to be another battle between my mom and me. About whether or not it is acceptable for me to stay out till the club closes, or if I should just stay home and live like a hermit and study. I respect my mom very much, and in no way do I want to give her a hard time, but come on If your 18,19 years old don’t you feel that you deserve at least a little bit of freedom. People always tell me that â€Å"she is worried about you because you are her only son† and things like that, which I already understand. I know that every ones parents feel like that about them. I think that what adds to the fire is the fact that she was raised totally different than me, in a totally different country with totally different customs. This I feel has a great effect on the way she treats me here in America people go out to clubs, people party and have fun on the weekends, where my mom grew up it was totally different. My mom was raised on a small farm in Rorzniaty Poland; it is a really tiny town, not even two miles in total going north, south, east, and west. Her parents were pretty religious folks and she was a total study addict. All she would do is help out in the field come back home bathe, eat and study. There were really no clubs or anything she can go to, and only from time to time did the school have a dance. Basically her child hood consisted of studying. After high school she went on to the University of Krakow where she studied education. Only then did she start to live a li... ...e that we are not in Poland any more and that most of my years were spent here so I adapted to the way things are. She should really try to adopt to the way things are here, and I do talk to her and it is getting better but still there are those times where it all just goes back to square one and it seems like all the talks were just a waste of time. Many different cultures and many different generations will be put through the same cycle, some will adapt and others will not, some will try others will not, but either way we all should just try to bare with them because the chances are that the ones who will be against you doing what you do will be your parents, and whether it is going to be because of there age difference or there cultural difference, is up to them, but I guess in a way it is up to us to understand them if its so hard for them to understand us.

Price And Non Price Competition In Markets Economics Essay

Every one set up the concern for the interest net incomes.Firms sell goods and services through a assortment of direct and indirect channels. In order to increase the net income orto increase the gross of the house we can follow the monetary value competition or non-price competition. In the monetary value competition companies seek to pull clients entirely on the footing of merchandise price.In this seller ‘s seek to act upon client demand chiefly through altering the monetary values of the merchandises. In the non pricecompetition cost of thecost of the merchandise is minimized and other doing factors are maximized by the creative activity of a typical quality about the merchandise such as its design, public presentation, advertisement, complementary and utility goods, handiness, client services and trueness plans. In monopoly market monetary value competition is more good to the houses because merely few Sellerss are available in the market. In oligopoly market non monetary value competition is more good to the houses because market is controlled by the little group of houses. In monopolistic market non monetary value competition is more good to the signifiers because it is imperfect competition in short tally and perfect competition in long tally analysis. Unilever limited $ 1:40 $ 1:50 $ 1:40 Procure & A ; Gamble $ 1:50 12000 12000 29000 11000 3000 21000 20000 20000 For the above illustration it can demo the monetary value competition.when of all time the monetary values are remains same in the $ 1:40 and the net income of the monetary value remains unchanged.Most of the houses followed by the dominant scheme. In the monetary value competition that depends up on the oppositions motion. That ‘s why houses are largely used in non monetary value competition. For illustration Pepsi Cola and Cocos nucifera Cola are ever used in the non monetary value competition. Elasticity In order to mensurate this reactivity of quality to monetary value alterations, and finally impact on the entire gross. It is called snap. It is defined as the per centum alteration in one variable relation to a per centum alteration in another variable. Ep= ( a?† Q/a?† P ) * ( P/Q ) Where Ep= Coefficient of monetary value snap a?† Q=percentage alteration in measure a?† P=percentage alteration in monetary value a?† =absolute alteration The measure demanded or supplied alterations will alter when the monetary value alterations. This is known as monetary value snap of demand and monetary value snap of supply severally. Elasticity is a step of comparatively alterations. If the monetary value of the mandatory goods can be increased and the consumer can take the complementary goods so it is called elastic and the consumer can non take the complementary goods, they are mandatory goods so it called inelastic. In general, Oligopolies involve a big sum of non-price competition. Product development is one country of competition, and advertisement makes up a big part of non-price competition as good. Oligopolists are big houses and hence can afford to publicize Monetary value is the value placed on what is exchanged. Something of value is exchanged for satisfaction and public-service corporation, includes touchable ( functional ) and intangible ( prestigiousness ) factors. Buyers must find if the public-service corporation gained from the exchange is worth the purchasing power that must be sacrificed. Price represents the value of a good/service among possible purchases and for guaranting competition among Sellerss in an unfastened market economic system. Sellers need to understand the value consumers derive from a merchandise and utilize this as a footing for pricing a merchandise — must make this if we are client oriented. Percentage alteration in measure demanded comparative to the per centum alteration in monetary value. % alteration in Qtty demanded— — — — — — — — — — — — –% alteration in monetary value Elastic demand is more sensitive to monetary value than inelastic demand. Elastic demand, greater than1 Inelastic demand, less than 1 Unitary demand, equal to 1 TR = Price * Qtty If demand is elastic so alteration in monetary value causes an opposite alteration in the entire gross. If demand is inelastic so alteration in monetary value causes the same alteration in the entire gross. The less elastic the demand, the more good it is for the marketer to increase monetary value. Demand is more supply is less so the of the merchandise monetary value will be additions. It can be possible in merely in the monopoly market.because individual house leads the full market. In the same manner when the demand is more supply is less so the merchandise of the monetary value will non be additions in the oligopoly market because in the oligopoly all the houses holding the same monetary value and varies the merchandise in the nonprice competition. In the shop they arranged all shampoos in the similar trade names are side by side. In the shop the two merchandises of the different trade names are arranged side by side so the demand and monetary values of the different trade names are same. In the monopolistic market two more houses lead the market.in the monopolistic market besides follows the nonprice competition. Choosing the right shampoo can be a hard undertaking. There are 100s of trade names, each with infinite assortments, runing from conditioning shampoo to anti-dandruff shampoo.most work forces could care less about what type of shampoo they use.A So demo your adult male some love byA purchasing himA a shampoo that will maintain his hair healthy.A Water is the first ingredient in all shampoos. Detergent is the 2nd ingredient listed on a shampoo label. The staying ingredients include moisturizers, thickenings, conditioners, aromas, infusions, dyes, and more. If happening a hairdresser to assist is unrealistic, there are a couple easy things to retrieve about happening a professional shampoo. Coarse hair tends to be more crisp and dry, so use a heavier shampoo with humidifying belongingss. Fine hair lays flatter and suffers from inactive, so avoid volume shampoos as they can dry out even more, and concentrate on light wet. Curly hair can be coarse of mulct, but by and large, utilizing a shampoo that has frizz combatants and wet is the best option, like Redken ‘s Fresh Curls. For colour treated hair types, most professional trade names have formulated all of their shampoos to be colour safe. For added protection, nevertheless, alternate a colour shampoo with a wet or equilibrating shampoo. Oily hair needs a reconciliation shampoo to modulate the pH of the hair and scalp, like Matrix ‘s Normalizing Shampoo. For utmost waterlessness and flaking, any shampoo with tea tree or batch oils for ingredients is preferred. Professional trade name shampoos are the best option for soft, healthy, and glistening hair. With easy entree to them, cheap monetary values, and so much assortment for different hair textures, there ‘s no alibi for cognizing how to truly take attention of hair. Hair strands are made up of protein or ceratin. They have a softer, more fictile indoors called the cerebral mantle, and a harder, stronger run alonging called the cuticle. Most generic shampoos are non strong plenty to properly perforate the cuticle and cleanse the interior of the hair strand, which is the occupation of shampoo. Alternatively, they coat the cuticle and merely buildup on the hair. Since most shop trade name shampoos are made with more detergent and sulphates, the buildup they cause is normally waxen and heavy. Particularly for adult females who perm, relax, or colourise their hair, these shampoos will turn glistening, healthy hair into dull, weighed down strands Learn why its better to purchase professional shampoo and how to happen the best one or your budget, life manner and hair type. In the shampoo industry there are figure of trade names.Each trade name can be manufactured by many merchandises, and the every merchandise has many types.All the trade names are manufactured merchandises like Antidandruff, loss of hair autumn, black and satiny, to acquire vitamins, long and turn hair. I visited a local super market Spencers, consult the gross revenues director ( koteswararao ) .i enquiry about how much infinite allocated for shampoos. He tells that 2.3 % of the entire volume of the store.in this shop all the shampoos are placed in the left corner of the entryway. That row contains 7racks all of them are FMCG products.The 3 rack is allocated for shampoos.The trade names that i ound in the rack are Hindustan unilever limited, procter and gamble, cavin attention, Himalaya drug company, loreal, ITC, Godrej and many more trade names. Trade name merchandises Space allocated Market size Hindustan Unilever Limited Sun silk, Dove, All clear, clinic plus 35 % 50 % Procter & A ; Gamble Head & A ; shoulders, Pantene, wella, Rejoice 25 % 16 % Cavin attention Meera, chik, Nyle 15 % 19 % Himalaya drug Company Himalaya herb teas 5 % 15 % Godrej Neem, Johnson & A ; Johnson, kesini 5 % Loreal Loreal, Garnier 10 % ITC Vivel extremist pro 5 % I find that many clients are willing to purchase hul merchandises. I asked one of the client why all of them are purchasing shampoos and what are the benefits to you. He said that on watching advertizements he started purchasing hul merchandises.and besides tells that hul has more assortment of merchandises and they are updating the merchandises frequently.By this ever gets a new stock.the ingredients which are utilizing hul merchandises are non harmul to our health.the monetary value of the hul merchandises are sensible and available to all the categories of the people.thats why he is taking hul merchandises. Compared the rural and urban countries, urban countries are more gross revenues in shampoos because it is hard to acquire natural products.hul merchandises are more interact with the all sorts of countries. Most of the people populating in the urban countries are coming from the rural.they all of them know hulproducts.thats why hul merchandises has more gross revenues comparing to the other trade names. When the demand of the shampoo additions monetary value is automatically lessenings, because if any merchandise has more demand so automatically many of them starts the concern. Hul has a greater supply and the other are comparatively low compared to hul.thats why the supply of hul additions monetary value besides increases.shampoos are inelastic merchandises because there are no complement products.in this quality demanded or supplied alterations will alter when the monetary value alterations.

College Participation Essay

One of the best things we can do after high school is to continue our education by going to college. During a high school career fair, students may find themselves asking: â€Å"Why is it important to go to college? † Well, it is important because at college, students try new things, meet new people and expand their knowledge of the world. Higher education also improves their chances of having the lives and the job they always wanted. However, it is not as easy as they think. Students can get distracted by different things in college, which can prevent them from success and achieving their goals. In most cases, lack of class participation is one of the factors that could directly affect their education and increase their chances to quit college. Boring instructors and time management could be the obstacles for students to not participate in class activities. â€Å"My class is so boring†, â€Å"My instructor talks all the time†, â€Å"I fall asleep in my class†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ are popular sayings from college students. Why should students go to class when everything from the lectures can be found easily from the book? When the lectures are so boring and the instructors basically just represent the information from the book, students would think that it is not necessary for them to go class, so they skip. Moreover, there are instructors who just go to class with a mission: talk. They keep going on and on without any class activities for students to participate in. This makes class participation even harder for students who attend class regularly and have questions or topics they want to discuss. As a result, students easily fall asleep during the lectures. Next, time management could be considered one of the biggest barriers that prevents students from class participation. Part-time jobs, friends and school activities can occupy most of the time if students do not know how to manage their time well. College students may vary where they come from. They could be high school graduate students or people who come back after years to have higher education in order to achieve their goals. But, they all cannot fully function as well as normal if they had to work until 12 the night before and then go to class at 8 in the morning. Since some have to earn money for tuition, their jobs occupy most of their time rather than finishing their homework and preparing for classes in the next day. On the other hand, in college, students always meet new friends and new people, so hanging out with them will just be a part of a student’s schedule. It can put them in trouble if they cannot balance themselves between spending time on school work and friends. It is even harder for those who are school athletes. It is impossible for them to be able to finish their homework and to prepare for class after hours of sport practices. With unfinished homework, lack of sleep and no class preparation, students will just attend classes with empty brains. Despite great lectures from the instructors, they all will just fall asleep during class or hardly join class activities. As a result, lack of class participation would prevent students from deeply understanding the lectures, increasing their chances to fall in the path of getting bad grades on exam. Class participation helps student to interact with each other and with teacher. It is an opportunity for students to practice in-class problems in order to deeply understand the lectures. It also helps them to better prepare for the assignments and exams. Unlike in high school, in college, students may have to finish a book in a short quarter. Dealing with large amounts of information in the short time, students may find it difficult to memorize details from the lectures and the book if they do not understand the lectures in depth. If so, it becomes difficult for them be able to score high in the exam because a test in college usually covers at least three to four chapters. Thus, it would not be strange if they got bad grades in the exams. On the other hand, in some classes, participation in class could be counted as a participation grade which can affect the student’s grade in general. One more important thing is that the instructors sometimes use the discussion questions for the upcoming test, so it would be a big disadvantage for those who attended class but did not actually participate in class activities. By having too many bad grades, students will just drop out of class or, the worst thing could happen, they quit. Approximately three million students enroll in some form of college every year; however, 33% drop out each year. From lack of class participation, students will feel alone and school becomes the most boring place they have to go to every day. They do not see the importance of going to college. Students will just quit to find a job that can fit them in. In order to have students participate in class, instructors should have some strategies to make their lecture more interesting to students and create interactive activities such as rolling dice to have students answer question or group discussions†¦ However, students also have to actively prepare for classes and participate in class activities. Checklists and to-do lists can be a student’s best friends if they have trouble with managing their time. By doing so, students can balance their time on school works and outside activities more effectively and have more spare time for themselves. When students find it more interesting to participate in class, it means they are one step closer to be successful in college. Because the more time students participate in class, the more knowledge they can gain and the more successful they can be.

Albanian crises of 97 essays

Albanian crises of 97 essays It is not easy at all to try to understand and define what happened in Albania between end of 96 till summer 97. It is almost impossible to really tell why it happened, whether it was organized if it was, what went wrong and what should have be done to avoid that. One thing is for sure though The State did NOT function. The state didnt function in several aspects and dimensions. The government was not able to prevent the expansion of the pyramid schemes. It also was not able to warn its citizens in due time about the risk that they had taken. On the other side, the citizens themselves were expecting everything from their government. And when things went wrong, the Government was on the spotlight. Everybody blamed the state and forgot they the citizens form an integral part of the state. People didnt understand that by attacking the state and its institutions, they were attacking themselves. Dont ask what the Government can do for you, but what you can do for your Government-. Unfortunately most of the citizens didnt see it this way. There can be several factors that can explain why people reacted that way. History of regimes in Albania. Albania has had very short period that can be considered that they had an independent state and the government that served them, and that is from 1920 till the Italian occupation . For the rest of the time we have either been under occupation, thus not considering the government as Albanian, or under dictatorship so that the government was serving the dictator and not the people. Manipulation of the situation by the opposition. The opposition played a very destructive role by putting narrow political interests above wider national ones. Another notion that did not function was the hierarchy. The army, the police forces and other public officials/servant didnt ...

A Dirty Job Chapter 1

For when the Gods made man, They kept immortality for themselves. Fill your belly. Day and night make merry, Let Days be full of joy. Love the child that holds your hand. Let your wife delight in your embrace. For these alone are the concerns of man. – The Epic of Gilgamesh 1 BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH – HE KINDLY STOPPED FOR ME – Charlie Asher walked the earth like an ant walks on the surface of water, as if the slightest misstep might send him plummeting through the surface to be sucked to the depths below. Blessed with the Beta Male imagination, he spent much of his life squinting into the future so he might spot ways in which the world was conspiring to kill him – him; his wife, Rachel; and now, newborn Sophie. But despite his attention, his paranoia, his ceaseless fretting from the moment Rachel peed a blue stripe on the pregnancy stick to the time they wheeled her into recovery at St. Francis Memorial, Death slipped in. â€Å"She’s not breathing,† Charlie said. â€Å"She’s breathing fine,† Rachel said, patting the baby’s back. â€Å"Do you want to hold her?† Charlie had held baby Sophie for a few seconds earlier in the day, and had handed her quickly to a nurse insisting that someone more qualified than he do some finger and toe counting. He’d done it twice and kept coming up with twenty-one. â€Å"They act like that’s all there is to it. Like if the kid has the minimum ten fingers and ten toes it’s all going to be fine. What if there are extras? Huh? Extra-credit fingers? What if the kid has a tail?† (Charlie was sure he’d spotted a tail in the six-month sonogram. Umbilical indeed! He’d kept a hard copy.) â€Å"She doesn’t have a tail, Mr. Asher,† the nurse explained. â€Å"And it’s ten and ten, we’ve all checked. Perhaps you should go home and get some rest.† â€Å"I’ll still love her, even with her extra finger.† â€Å"She’s perfectly normal.† â€Å"Or toe.† â€Å"We really do know what we’re doing, Mr. Asher. She’s a beautiful, healthy baby girl.† â€Å"Or a tail.† The nurse sighed. She was short, wide, and had a tattoo of a snake up her right calf that showed through her white nurse stockings. She spent four hours of every workday massaging preemie babies, her hands threaded through ports in a Lucite incubator, like she was handling a radioactive spark in there. She talked to them, coaxed them, told them how special they were, and felt their hearts fluttering in chests no bigger than a balled-up pair of sweat socks. She cried over every one, and believed that her tears and touch poured a bit of her own life into the tiny bodies, which was just fine with her. She could spare it. She had been a neonatal nurse for twenty years and had never so much as raised her voice to a new father. â€Å"There’s no goddamn tail, you doofus! Look!† She pulled down the blanket and aimed baby Sophie’s bottom at him like she might unleash a fusillade of weapons-grade poopage such as the guileless Beta Male had never seen. Charlie jumped back – a lean and nimble thirty, he was – then, once he realized that the baby wasn’t loaded, he straightened the lapels on his tweed jacket in a gesture of righteous indignation. â€Å"You could have removed her tail in the delivery room and we’d never know.† He didn’t know. He’d been asked to leave the delivery room, first by the ob-gyn and finally by Rachel. (â€Å"Him or me,† Rachel said. â€Å"One of us has to go.†) In Rachel’s room, Charlie said: â€Å"If they removed her tail, I want it. She’ll want it when she gets older.† â€Å"Sophie, your Papa isn’t really insane. He just hasn’t slept for a couple of days.† â€Å"She’s looking at me,† Charlie said. â€Å"She’s looking at me like I blew her college money at the track and now she’s going to have to turn tricks to get her MBA.† Rachel took his hand. â€Å"Honey, I don’t think her eyes can even focus this early, and besides, she’s a little young to start worrying about her turning tricks to get her MFA.† â€Å"MBA,† Charlie corrected. â€Å"They start very young these days. By the time I figure out how to get to the track, she could be old enough. God, your parents are going to hate me.† â€Å"And that would be different how?† â€Å"New reasons, that’s how. Now I’ve made their granddaughter a shiksa.† â€Å"She’s not a shiksa, Charlie. We’ve been through this. She’s my daughter, so she’s as Jewish as I am.† Charlie went down on one knee next to the bed and took one of Sophie’s tiny hands between his fingers. â€Å"Daddy’s sorry he made you a shiksa.† He put his head down, buried his face in the crook where the baby met Rachel’s side. Rachel traced his hairline with her fingernail, describing a tight U-turn around his narrow forehead. â€Å"You need to go home and get some sleep.† Charlie mumbled something into the covers. When he looked up there were tears in his eyes. â€Å"She feels warm.† â€Å"She is warm. She’s supposed to be. It’s a mammal thing. Goes with the breast-feeding. Why are you crying?† â€Å"You guys are so beautiful.† He began arranging Rachel’s dark hair across the pillow, brought a long lock down over Sophie’s head, and started styling it into a baby hairpiece. â€Å"It will be okay if she can’t grow hair. There was that angry Irish singer who didn’t have any hair and she was attractive. If we had her tail we could transplant plugs from that.† â€Å"Charlie! Go home!† â€Å"Your parents will blame me. Their bald shiksa granddaughter turning tricks and getting a business degree – it will be all my fault.† Rachel grabbed the buzzer from the blanket and held it up like it was wired to a bomb. â€Å"Charlie, if you don’t go home and get some sleep right now, I swear I’ll buzz the nurse and have her throw you out.† She sounded stern, but she was smiling. Charlie liked looking at her smile, always had; it felt like approval and permission at the same time. Permission to be Charlie Asher. â€Å"Okay, I’ll go.† He reached to feel her forehead. â€Å"Do you have a fever? You look tired.† â€Å"I just gave birth, you squirrel!† â€Å"I’m just concerned about you.† He was not a squirrel. She was blaming him for Sophie’s tail, that’s why she’d said squirrel, and not doofus like everyone else. â€Å"Sweetie, go. Now. So I can get some rest.† Charlie fluffed her pillows, checked her water pitcher, tucked in the blankets, kissed her forehead, kissed the baby’s head, fluffed the baby, then started to rearrange the flowers that his mother had sent, moving the big stargazer lily in the front, accenting it with a spray of baby’s breath – â€Å"Charlie!† â€Å"I’m going. Jeez.† He checked the room, one last time, then backed toward the door. â€Å"Can I bring you anything from home?† â€Å"I’ll be fine. The ready kit you packed covered everything, I think. In fact, I may not even need the fire extinguisher.† â€Å"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it – â€Å" â€Å"Go! I’ll get some rest, the doctor will check Sophie out, and we’ll take her home in the morning.† â€Å"That seems soon.† â€Å"It’s standard.† â€Å"Should I bring more propane for the camp stove?† â€Å"We’ll try to make it last.† â€Å"But – â€Å" Rachel held up the buzzer, as if her demands were not met, the consequences could be dire. â€Å"Love you,† she said. â€Å"Love you, too,† Charlie said. â€Å"Both of you.† â€Å"Bye, Daddy.† Rachel puppeted Sophie’s little hand in a wave. Charlie felt a lump rising in his throat. No one had ever called him Daddy before, not even a puppet. (He had once asked Rachel, â€Å"Who’s your daddy?† during sex, to which she had replied, â€Å"Saul Goldstein,† thus rendering him impotent for a week and raising all kinds of issues that he didn’t really like to think about.) He backed out of the room, palming the door shut as he went, then headed down the hall and past the desk where the neonatal nurse with the snake tattoo gave him a sideways smile as he went by. Charlie drove a six-year-old minivan that he’d inherited from his father, along with the thrift store and the building that housed it. The minivan always smelled faintly of dust, mothballs, and body odor, despite a forest of smell-good Christmas trees that Charlie had hung from every hook, knob, and protrusion. He opened the car door and the odor of the unwanted – the wares of the thrift-store owner – washed over him. Before he even had the key in the ignition, he noticed the Sarah McLachlan CD lying on the passenger seat. Well, Rachel was going to miss that. It was her favorite CD and there she was, recovering without it, and he could not have that. Charlie grabbed the CD, locked the van, and headed back up to Rachel’s room. To his relief, the nurse had stepped away from the desk so he didn’t have to endure her frosty stare of accusation, or what he guessed would be her frosty stare of accusation. He’d mentally prepared a short speech about how being a good husband and father included anticipating the wants and needs of his wife and that included bringing her music – well, he could use the speech on the way out if she gave him the frosty stare. He opened the door to Rachel’s room slowly so as not to startle her – anticipating her warm smile of disapproval, but instead she appeared to be asleep and there was a very tall black man dressed in mint green standing next to her bed. â€Å"What are you doing here?† The man in mint green turned, startled. â€Å"You can see me?† He gestured to his chocolate-brown tie, and Charlie was reminded, just for a second, of those thin mints they put on the pillow in nicer hotels. â€Å"Of course I can see you. What are you doing here?† Charlie moved to Rachel’s bedside, putting himself between the stranger and his family. Baby Sophie seemed fascinated by the tall black man. â€Å"This is not good,† said Mint Green. â€Å"You’re in the wrong room,† Charlie said. â€Å"You get out of here.† Charlie reached behind and patted Rachel’s hand. â€Å"This is really, really not good.† â€Å"Sir, my wife is trying to sleep and you’re in the wrong room. Now please go before – â€Å" â€Å"She’s not sleeping,† said Mint Green. His voice was soft, and a little Southern. â€Å"I’m sorry.† Charlie turned to look down at Rachel, expecting to see her smile, hear her tell him to calm down, but her eyes were closed and her head had lolled off the pillow. â€Å"Honey?† Charlie dropped the CD he was carrying and shook her gently. â€Å"Honey?† Baby Sophie began to cry. Charlie felt Rachel’s forehead, took her by the shoulders, and shook her. â€Å"Honey, wake up. Rachel.† He put his ear to her heart and heard nothing. â€Å"Nurse!† Charlie scrambled across the bed to grab the buzzer that had slipped from Rachel’s hand and lay on the blanket. â€Å"Nurse!† He pounded the button and turned to look at the man in mint green. â€Å"What happened†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was gone. Charlie ran into the hall, but no one was out there. â€Å"Nurse!† Twenty seconds later the nurse with the snake tattoo arrived, followed in another thirty seconds by a resuscitation team with a crash cart. There was nothing they could do. A Dirty Job Chapter 1 For when the Gods made man, They kept immortality for themselves. Fill your belly. Day and night make merry, Let Days be full of joy. Love the child that holds your hand. Let your wife delight in your embrace. For these alone are the concerns of man. – The Epic of Gilgamesh 1 BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH – HE KINDLY STOPPED FOR ME – Charlie Asher walked the earth like an ant walks on the surface of water, as if the slightest misstep might send him plummeting through the surface to be sucked to the depths below. Blessed with the Beta Male imagination, he spent much of his life squinting into the future so he might spot ways in which the world was conspiring to kill him – him; his wife, Rachel; and now, newborn Sophie. But despite his attention, his paranoia, his ceaseless fretting from the moment Rachel peed a blue stripe on the pregnancy stick to the time they wheeled her into recovery at St. Francis Memorial, Death slipped in. â€Å"She’s not breathing,† Charlie said. â€Å"She’s breathing fine,† Rachel said, patting the baby’s back. â€Å"Do you want to hold her?† Charlie had held baby Sophie for a few seconds earlier in the day, and had handed her quickly to a nurse insisting that someone more qualified than he do some finger and toe counting. He’d done it twice and kept coming up with twenty-one. â€Å"They act like that’s all there is to it. Like if the kid has the minimum ten fingers and ten toes it’s all going to be fine. What if there are extras? Huh? Extra-credit fingers? What if the kid has a tail?† (Charlie was sure he’d spotted a tail in the six-month sonogram. Umbilical indeed! He’d kept a hard copy.) â€Å"She doesn’t have a tail, Mr. Asher,† the nurse explained. â€Å"And it’s ten and ten, we’ve all checked. Perhaps you should go home and get some rest.† â€Å"I’ll still love her, even with her extra finger.† â€Å"She’s perfectly normal.† â€Å"Or toe.† â€Å"We really do know what we’re doing, Mr. Asher. She’s a beautiful, healthy baby girl.† â€Å"Or a tail.† The nurse sighed. She was short, wide, and had a tattoo of a snake up her right calf that showed through her white nurse stockings. She spent four hours of every workday massaging preemie babies, her hands threaded through ports in a Lucite incubator, like she was handling a radioactive spark in there. She talked to them, coaxed them, told them how special they were, and felt their hearts fluttering in chests no bigger than a balled-up pair of sweat socks. She cried over every one, and believed that her tears and touch poured a bit of her own life into the tiny bodies, which was just fine with her. She could spare it. She had been a neonatal nurse for twenty years and had never so much as raised her voice to a new father. â€Å"There’s no goddamn tail, you doofus! Look!† She pulled down the blanket and aimed baby Sophie’s bottom at him like she might unleash a fusillade of weapons-grade poopage such as the guileless Beta Male had never seen. Charlie jumped back – a lean and nimble thirty, he was – then, once he realized that the baby wasn’t loaded, he straightened the lapels on his tweed jacket in a gesture of righteous indignation. â€Å"You could have removed her tail in the delivery room and we’d never know.† He didn’t know. He’d been asked to leave the delivery room, first by the ob-gyn and finally by Rachel. (â€Å"Him or me,† Rachel said. â€Å"One of us has to go.†) In Rachel’s room, Charlie said: â€Å"If they removed her tail, I want it. She’ll want it when she gets older.† â€Å"Sophie, your Papa isn’t really insane. He just hasn’t slept for a couple of days.† â€Å"She’s looking at me,† Charlie said. â€Å"She’s looking at me like I blew her college money at the track and now she’s going to have to turn tricks to get her MBA.† Rachel took his hand. â€Å"Honey, I don’t think her eyes can even focus this early, and besides, she’s a little young to start worrying about her turning tricks to get her MFA.† â€Å"MBA,† Charlie corrected. â€Å"They start very young these days. By the time I figure out how to get to the track, she could be old enough. God, your parents are going to hate me.† â€Å"And that would be different how?† â€Å"New reasons, that’s how. Now I’ve made their granddaughter a shiksa.† â€Å"She’s not a shiksa, Charlie. We’ve been through this. She’s my daughter, so she’s as Jewish as I am.† Charlie went down on one knee next to the bed and took one of Sophie’s tiny hands between his fingers. â€Å"Daddy’s sorry he made you a shiksa.† He put his head down, buried his face in the crook where the baby met Rachel’s side. Rachel traced his hairline with her fingernail, describing a tight U-turn around his narrow forehead. â€Å"You need to go home and get some sleep.† Charlie mumbled something into the covers. When he looked up there were tears in his eyes. â€Å"She feels warm.† â€Å"She is warm. She’s supposed to be. It’s a mammal thing. Goes with the breast-feeding. Why are you crying?† â€Å"You guys are so beautiful.† He began arranging Rachel’s dark hair across the pillow, brought a long lock down over Sophie’s head, and started styling it into a baby hairpiece. â€Å"It will be okay if she can’t grow hair. There was that angry Irish singer who didn’t have any hair and she was attractive. If we had her tail we could transplant plugs from that.† â€Å"Charlie! Go home!† â€Å"Your parents will blame me. Their bald shiksa granddaughter turning tricks and getting a business degree – it will be all my fault.† Rachel grabbed the buzzer from the blanket and held it up like it was wired to a bomb. â€Å"Charlie, if you don’t go home and get some sleep right now, I swear I’ll buzz the nurse and have her throw you out.† She sounded stern, but she was smiling. Charlie liked looking at her smile, always had; it felt like approval and permission at the same time. Permission to be Charlie Asher. â€Å"Okay, I’ll go.† He reached to feel her forehead. â€Å"Do you have a fever? You look tired.† â€Å"I just gave birth, you squirrel!† â€Å"I’m just concerned about you.† He was not a squirrel. She was blaming him for Sophie’s tail, that’s why she’d said squirrel, and not doofus like everyone else. â€Å"Sweetie, go. Now. So I can get some rest.† Charlie fluffed her pillows, checked her water pitcher, tucked in the blankets, kissed her forehead, kissed the baby’s head, fluffed the baby, then started to rearrange the flowers that his mother had sent, moving the big stargazer lily in the front, accenting it with a spray of baby’s breath – â€Å"Charlie!† â€Å"I’m going. Jeez.† He checked the room, one last time, then backed toward the door. â€Å"Can I bring you anything from home?† â€Å"I’ll be fine. The ready kit you packed covered everything, I think. In fact, I may not even need the fire extinguisher.† â€Å"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it – â€Å" â€Å"Go! I’ll get some rest, the doctor will check Sophie out, and we’ll take her home in the morning.† â€Å"That seems soon.† â€Å"It’s standard.† â€Å"Should I bring more propane for the camp stove?† â€Å"We’ll try to make it last.† â€Å"But – â€Å" Rachel held up the buzzer, as if her demands were not met, the consequences could be dire. â€Å"Love you,† she said. â€Å"Love you, too,† Charlie said. â€Å"Both of you.† â€Å"Bye, Daddy.† Rachel puppeted Sophie’s little hand in a wave. Charlie felt a lump rising in his throat. No one had ever called him Daddy before, not even a puppet. (He had once asked Rachel, â€Å"Who’s your daddy?† during sex, to which she had replied, â€Å"Saul Goldstein,† thus rendering him impotent for a week and raising all kinds of issues that he didn’t really like to think about.) He backed out of the room, palming the door shut as he went, then headed down the hall and past the desk where the neonatal nurse with the snake tattoo gave him a sideways smile as he went by. Charlie drove a six-year-old minivan that he’d inherited from his father, along with the thrift store and the building that housed it. The minivan always smelled faintly of dust, mothballs, and body odor, despite a forest of smell-good Christmas trees that Charlie had hung from every hook, knob, and protrusion. He opened the car door and the odor of the unwanted – the wares of the thrift-store owner – washed over him. Before he even had the key in the ignition, he noticed the Sarah McLachlan CD lying on the passenger seat. Well, Rachel was going to miss that. It was her favorite CD and there she was, recovering without it, and he could not have that. Charlie grabbed the CD, locked the van, and headed back up to Rachel’s room. To his relief, the nurse had stepped away from the desk so he didn’t have to endure her frosty stare of accusation, or what he guessed would be her frosty stare of accusation. He’d mentally prepared a short speech about how being a good husband and father included anticipating the wants and needs of his wife and that included bringing her music – well, he could use the speech on the way out if she gave him the frosty stare. He opened the door to Rachel’s room slowly so as not to startle her – anticipating her warm smile of disapproval, but instead she appeared to be asleep and there was a very tall black man dressed in mint green standing next to her bed. â€Å"What are you doing here?† The man in mint green turned, startled. â€Å"You can see me?† He gestured to his chocolate-brown tie, and Charlie was reminded, just for a second, of those thin mints they put on the pillow in nicer hotels. â€Å"Of course I can see you. What are you doing here?† Charlie moved to Rachel’s bedside, putting himself between the stranger and his family. Baby Sophie seemed fascinated by the tall black man. â€Å"This is not good,† said Mint Green. â€Å"You’re in the wrong room,† Charlie said. â€Å"You get out of here.† Charlie reached behind and patted Rachel’s hand. â€Å"This is really, really not good.† â€Å"Sir, my wife is trying to sleep and you’re in the wrong room. Now please go before – â€Å" â€Å"She’s not sleeping,† said Mint Green. His voice was soft, and a little Southern. â€Å"I’m sorry.† Charlie turned to look down at Rachel, expecting to see her smile, hear her tell him to calm down, but her eyes were closed and her head had lolled off the pillow. â€Å"Honey?† Charlie dropped the CD he was carrying and shook her gently. â€Å"Honey?† Baby Sophie began to cry. Charlie felt Rachel’s forehead, took her by the shoulders, and shook her. â€Å"Honey, wake up. Rachel.† He put his ear to her heart and heard nothing. â€Å"Nurse!† Charlie scrambled across the bed to grab the buzzer that had slipped from Rachel’s hand and lay on the blanket. â€Å"Nurse!† He pounded the button and turned to look at the man in mint green. â€Å"What happened†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was gone. Charlie ran into the hall, but no one was out there. â€Å"Nurse!† Twenty seconds later the nurse with the snake tattoo arrived, followed in another thirty seconds by a resuscitation team with a crash cart. There was nothing they could do.