My Life-Changing Decision

MY LIFE CHANGING DECISION ROSS BROWN ENGL 1301-270 SUSAN ROBBINS 4/2/2013 It was the beginning of spring about two years ago- a wet and gloomy day. I was thirty two years old, strung out on meth and homeless. Headed back to prison for the third time, I was faced with a life changing decision, â€Å"do I turn myself in† or â€Å"do I keep running and take my chances†. It was a decision that would affect the ones I love the most, my children. As I sat in the woods behind a run down, drug infested motel, I closed my eyes and all I could see were the tears in my kids eyes every time they came to see me in prison.The ones that depended on me for love and security, were now sad and scared of me. They were as lost as I was. Thoughts began to run through my head, â€Å"have I failed my children as a father†, â€Å"do I want them to go down the same path I went down† or â€Å"do I want to give them a future and a father to be proud of†. Living the life style I lived for ten years, taught me not to trust people. Especially authority figures. So the thought of turning myself in didn’t sound like a good idea to me at the time. It left me puzzled and scared.I could keep running, but the past ten years had been nothing but a continoues cycle that always landed me back in prison and left my children without a father. I’ve always been known for taking chances. Turning myself in would require taking the biggest chance of my life, trusting an authority figure and the system that I thought had already failed me. My Pastor had always told me â€Å"recovery has to start somewhere son†. At that moment, with my children in mind, I had made my decision. I was going to turn myself in.As I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face, the day seemed to turn from wet and gloomy, to calm and clear. I picked up my phone and made the call. I was to turn myself in to the authorities within two weeks. On April 20,2011 I walked into the F ederal Halfway House. I was tired, physically and mentally. I did not know what to expect or what was expected of me. They gave me three meals a day and a hard mat to sleep on. They provided transportation and the opportunity to become stable, if you wanted it. I wanted it bad! It would require a lot of effort and determination to make it through the system successfully.Not many ex felons make it. They looked at me as another statistic when I first arrived. You only have a certain amount of time to get a job and start your recovery. I struggled, nobody wanted to hire a recovering ex con. I was starting to think I was not going to make it. I was at the end of the dead line, they were wanting go ahead and send me back to prison. On the very last day the phone rang, it was Bill Orr with Gym Bleacher Boards. He asked me to come in right away for an interview. I had to get permission from the job coordinator in order for that to happen.He was not wanting to give me this last chance at ge tting a job. Then out of nowhere my case worker, Ms. Woodson, showed up and said â€Å" just give him this one last chance before you send him back†. When I arrived at Gym Bleacher Boards, I was nervous and had mixed emotions about everything. As I sat there waiting on my interview with Bill, I said a little prayer to myself, â€Å" Lord, please let me get this job, not for me, but for my children†. Bill came out of his office and called me in and I was up front about everything.By the time the interview was over, we were talking as if we had known each other for years. Then he looked over at me and said, â€Å" Ross, everybody deserves a second chance at life, you are hired†. Within two months I was able to get my own place and out of the Federal Halfway House. Now, two years later I got my family back, a good job, and a set of nine month old twin daughters. As I look back on the day I made my decision, I realize I took a chance that changed my life. Now, I am able to give my children a future and a father to be proud of.

A Dirty Job Chapter 8

8 A STREETCAR NAMED CONFUSION Into the breech of the Castro district Charlie Asher charged, an antique sword-cane from the store on the van seat beside him, his jaw set like a bayonet, his visage a study in fearsome intensity. Half a block, half a block, half of a block onward – into the Valley of Overpriced Juice Bars and Outlandish Hair Highlights – rode the righteous Beta Male. And woe be unto the foolish ne'er-do-well who had dared to fuck with this secondhand death dealer, for his raggedy life would be fast for the bargain table. There's going to be a showdown in Gay Town, Charlie thought, and I am gunning for justice. Well, not really gunning – since he had a sword concealed in a walking stick, not a gun – more of a poking for justice – which didn't really have the avenging angel connotation he was looking for – he was mad, and ready to kick ass, that's all. So, you know, just watch out. (Coincidentally, Poking for Justice was the title currently second in popularity at Castro Video Rentals, closely edging out A Star Is Born: The Director's Cut, and outranked only by Cops Without Pants, which was number one with a bullwhip.) Charlie turned off Market Street and just around the corner on Noe Street he saw it: Fresh Music, the sign done in blocky, Craftsman-style stained glass, and he felt the hair at the back of his neck bristle and an urgency in his bladder. His body had gone into fight-or-flight mode, and for the second time in a week, he was going against his Beta Male nature and choosing to fight. Well, so be it, he thought. So be it. He would confront his tormentor and lay him low, as soon as he found a parking place – which he didn't. He circled the block, cutting between cafs and bars, both of which were in abundance in the Castro. He drove up and down the side streets, lined with rows of immaculately kept (exorbitantly priced) Victorians and found no quarter for his trusty steed. After a half hour of orbiting the neighborhood, he headed back uptown and found a spot in a parking garage in the Fillmore, then took the antique streetcar back down Market Street to the Castro. A cute little green, Italian-made antique streetcar, with oak benches, brass railings, and mahogany window frames – a charming brass bell and a top speed of about twenty miles per hour: this is how Charlie Asher charged into battle. He tried to imagine a horde of Huns hanging off the sides, waving wicked blades and firing arrows as they passed the murals in the Mission district, perhaps Viking raiders, shields fastened to the sides of the car, a great drum pounding as they rowed in to pillage the antique shops, the leather bars, the sushi bars, the leather sushi bars (don't ask), and the art galleries, in the Castro. And here, even Charlie's formidable imagination failed him. He got off the car at Castro and Market and walked back a block to Fresh Music, then paused outside the shop, wondering what in the hell he was going to do now. What if the caller had just borrowed the phone? What if he stormed in screaming and threatening, and there was just some confused kid behind the counter? But then he looked in the door, and there, standing behind the counter, all alone, was an extraordinarily tall black man dressed completely in mint green, and at that point Charlie lost his mind. â€Å"You killed her,† Charlie screamed as he stormed by the racks of CDs toward the man in mint. He drew the sword as he ran, or tried to, hoping to bring it out in a single fluid movement from the cane sheath and across the throat of Rachel's killer. But the sword-cane had been in the back of Charlie's shop for a long time, and except for three times when Lily's friend Abby tried to leave with it (once trying to buy it, when Charlie refused to sell it to her, then twice trying to steal it), the sword hadn't been drawn in years. The little brass stud that you pushed to release the blade had stuck, so when Charlie delivered the deathblow, he swung the entire cane, which was heavier – and slower – than the sword would have been. The man in mint green – quick for his size – ducked, and Charlie took out an entire row of Judy Garland CDs, lost his balance, bounced off the counter, spun around, and again tried for the single draw-and-cut move that he had seen so many times in samurai movies, and had practiced so many times in his head on the way here. This time the sword came free of the scabbard and slashed a deadly arch three feet in front of the man in mint, completely decapitating a life-sized cutout of Barbra Streisand. â€Å"That is un-unfucking called for!† thundered the tall man. As Charlie recovered his balance for a backhand slash, he saw something large and dark coming down over him and recognized it at the last instant, as the antique cash register slammed down on his head. There was a flash, a ding, and everything got dark and gooey. When Charlie came to, he was tied to a chair in the back room of the record store, which looked remarkably like the back room of his own store, except all the stacked boxes were full of records and CDs instead of all variety of used jetsam. The tall black man was standing over him, and Charlie thought at first that he might be turning to mist or smoke, but then he realized it was just that his vision was going wavy, and then pain lit up the inside of his head like a strobe light. â€Å"Ouch.† â€Å"How's your neck?† asked the tall man. â€Å"Does your neck feel broken? Can you feel your feet?† â€Å"Go ahead, kill me, you fucking coward,† said Charlie, bucking around in the chair, trying to lunge at his captor and feeling a little like the Black Knight in Monty Python's Holy Grail after his arms and legs had been hacked off. If this guy took one step closer, Charlie could head-butt him in the nads, he was sure of it. The tall man stomped on Charlie's toes, a size-eighteen glove-leather loafer driven by two hundred and seventy pounds of death and used-record dealer. â€Å"Ouch!† Charlie hopped his chair in a little circle of pain. â€Å"Goddammit! Ouch!† â€Å"So you do have feeling in your feet?† â€Å"Get it over with. Go ahead.† Charlie stretched his neck as if offering his throat to be cut – his strategy was to lure his captor into range, then sever the tall man's femoral artery with his teeth, then gloat as the blood coursed all over his mint-green slacks onto the floor. Charlie would laugh long and sinister as he watched the life drain out of the evil bastard, then he would hop his chair out to the street and onto the streetcar at Market, transfer to the number forty-one bus at Van Ness, hop off at Columbus, and hop the two blocks home, where someone would untie him. He had a plan – and a bus pass with four more days left on it – so this son of a bitch had picked the wrong guy to fuck with. â€Å"I have no intention of killing you, Charlie,† said the tall man, keeping a safe distance. â€Å"I'm sorry I had to hit you with the register. You didn't really leave me any options.† â€Å"You could have tasted the fatal sting of my blade!† Charlie glanced around for his sword-cane, just in case the guy had left it within reach. â€Å"Yeah, sure, there was that one, but I thought I'd go with the one without the stains and the funeral.† Charlie strained against his bonds, which he realized now were plastic shopping bags. â€Å"You're messing with Death, you know? I am Death.† â€Å"Yeah, I know.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Sure.† The tall man spun another wooden chair around and sat on it reversed, facing Charlie. His knees were up at the level of his elbows and he looked like a great green tree frog, crouched to pounce on an insect. Charlie noticed for the first time that he had golden eyes, stark and striking in contrast to his dark skin. â€Å"So am I,† said the evil mint-green frog guy. â€Å"You? You're Death?† â€Å"A Death, not THE Death. I don't think there is a THE Death. Not anymore, anyway.† Charlie couldn't grasp it, so he struggled and wobbled until the tall man had to reach out and steady him to keep him from toppling over. â€Å"You killed Rachel.† â€Å"I did not.† â€Å"I saw you there.† â€Å"Yes, you did. That's a problem. Will you please stop thrashing around?† He shook Charlie's chair. â€Å"But I wasn't instrumental in Rachel's death. That's not what we do, not anymore, anyway. Didn't you even look at the book?† â€Å"What book? You said something about a book on the phone.† â€Å"The Great Big Book of Death. I sent it to your shop. I told a woman at the counter that I was sending it, and I got delivery confirmation, so I know it got there.† â€Å"What woman – Lily? She's not a woman, she's a kid.† â€Å"No, this was a woman about your age, with New Wave hair.† â€Å"Jane? No. She didn't say anything, and I didn't get any book.† â€Å"Oh, shit. That explains why they've been showing up. You didn't even know.† â€Å"Who? What? They?† Mint Green Death sighed heavily. â€Å"I guess we're going to be here awhile. I'm going to make some coffee. Do you want some?† â€Å"Sure, try to lull me into a false sense of security, then spring.† â€Å"You're tied the fuck up, motherfucker, I don't need to lull you into shit. You've been fucking with the fabric of human existence and someone needed to shut your ass down.† â€Å"Oh, sure, go black on me. Play the ethnic card.† Mint Green climbed to his feet and headed toward the door to the shop. â€Å"You want cream?† â€Å"And two sugars, please,† Charlie said. This is really cool, why are you giving it back?† said Abby Normal. Abby was Lily's best friend, and they were sitting on the floor in the back room of Asher's Secondhand, looking through The Great Big Book of Death. Abby's real name was Alison, but she would no longer tolerate the ignominy of what she called her â€Å"daylight-slave name.† Everyone had been much more responsive to calling her by her chosen name than they had been to Lily's, Darquewillow Elventhing, which you always had to spell for people. â€Å"Turns out it's Asher, not me,† Lily said. â€Å"He'll be really pissed if he finds out I took it. And he's Death now, I guess, so I could get in trouble.† â€Å"Are you going to tell him you had the book?† Abby scratched the silver spider stud in her eyebrow; it was a fresh piercing and still healing and she couldn't stop messing with it. Abby, like Lily, was dressed all in black, boots to hair, the difference being that she had a black-widow's red hourglass on the front of her black T-shirt and she was thinner and more waiflike in her affected creepiness. â€Å"No. I'll just say it got misfiled. That happens a lot here.† â€Å"How long did you think it was you?† â€Å"Like a month.† â€Å"What about the dreams and the names and stuff it talks about, you didn't have any of that, right?† â€Å"I thought I was just growing into my powers. I made a lot of lists of people I wanted gone.† â€Å"Yeah, I do that. And you just found out yesterday that it was Asher?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Lily. â€Å"That sucks,† said Abby. â€Å"Life sucks,† said Lily. â€Å"So, what now?† asked Abby. â€Å"Junior college?† They both nodded, woefully, and looked into the depths of their respective nail polishes to avoid sharing the humiliation of one of them having gone from dark demigod to local loser in an instant. They lived their lives hoping for something grand and dark and supernatural to happen, so when it had, they took it more in stride than was probably healthy. Fear, after all, is a survival mechanism. â€Å"So all these things are soul objects?† asked Abby, as cheerfully as her integrity would allow. She waved to the piles of stuff Charlie had marked with â€Å"Do Not Sell† signs. â€Å"There's like a person's soul in there?† â€Å"According to the book,† said Lily. â€Å"Asher says he can see them glow.† â€Å"I like the red Converse All Stars.† â€Å"Take them, they're yours,† said Lily. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah,† Lily said. She took the All Stars off the shelf and held them out. â€Å"He'll never miss them.† â€Å"Cool. I have the perfect pair of red fishnets I can wear with them.† â€Å"They probably have the soul of some sweaty jock in them,† Lily said. â€Å"He may worship at my feet,† said Abby, doing a pirouette and an arabesque (remnants, along with an eating disorder, of ten years of ballet lessons). So I'm like a Santa's Helper of Death?!† Charlie said, waving his coffee cup. The tall man had untied his one arm so he could drink his coffee, and Charlie was baptizing the stockroom floor with French roast with every gesture. Mr. Fresh frowned. â€Å"What in the hell are you talking about, Asher?† Fresh felt bad about hitting Charlie Asher with a cash register and tying him up, and now he was wondering if the blow hadn't caused some sort of brain damage. â€Å"I'm talking about the Santa at Macy's, Fresh. When you're a kid, and you notice that the Santa Claus at Macy's has a fake beard, and that there are at least six Salvation Army Santas working Union Square, you ask your parents about it and they tell you that the real Santa is in the North Pole, and he's really busy, so all these other guys are Santa's helpers, who are out helping him with his work. That's what you're saying, that we're Santa's helpers to Death?† Mr. Fresh had been standing by his desk, but now he sat down again across from Charlie so he could look him in the eye. Very softly he said, â€Å"Charlie, you know that that's not true now, right? I mean about Santa's helpers and all?† â€Å"Of course I know that there's no Santa Claus. I'm using it as a metaphor, you tool.† Mr. Fresh took this opportunity to reach out and smack Charlie upside the head. Then immediately regretted it. â€Å"Hey!† Charlie put down his cup and rubbed one of his receding-hairline inlets, which was going red from the blow. â€Å"Rude,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Let's not be rude.† â€Å"So you're saying that there is a Santa?† Charlie said, cringing in anticipation of another smack. â€Å"Oh my God, how deep does this conspiracy go?† â€Å"No, there's no goddamn Santa. I'm just saying that I don't know what we are. I don't know if there is a big Death with a capital D, although the book hints that there used to be. I'm just saying that there are many of us, a dozen that I know of right here in the city – all of us picking up soul vessels and seeing that they get into the right hands.† â€Å"And that's based on someone randomly coming into your shop and buying a record?† Then Charlie's eyes went wide as it hit him. â€Å"Rachel's Sarah McLachlan CD. You took it?† â€Å"Yes.† Fresh looked at the floor, not because he was ashamed, but to avoid seeing the pain in Charlie Asher's eyes. â€Å"Where is it? I want to see it,† said Charlie. â€Å"I sold it.† â€Å"To who? Find it. I want Rachel back.† â€Å"I don't know. To a woman. I didn't get her name, but I'm sure it was meant for her. You'll be able to tell.† â€Å"I will? Why will I?† he asked. â€Å"Why me? I don't want to kill people.† â€Å"We don't kill people, Mr. Asher. That's a misconception. We simply facilitate the ascendance of the soul.† â€Å"Well, one guy died because I said something to him, and another had a heart attack because of something I did. A death that results from your actions is basically killing someone, unless you're a politician, right? So why me? I'm not that highly skilled at bullshit. So why me?† Mr. Fresh considered what Charlie was saying, and felt like something sinister had crawled up his spine. In all his years, he didn't remember ever having his actions directly result in someone's death, nor had he heard of it happening with the other Death Merchants. Of course you occasionally showed up at the time when the person was passing, but not often, and never as a cause. â€Å"Well?† Charlie said. Mr. Fresh shrugged. â€Å"Because you saw me. Surely you've noticed that no one sees you when you're out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"I've never gone out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"Yes, you have, and you will, at least you should be. You need to get with the program, Mr. Asher.† â€Å"Yeah, so you said. So you're – uh – we're invisible when we're out getting these soul vessels?† â€Å"Not invisible, so to speak, it's just that no one sees us. You can go right into people's homes and they'll never notice you standing right beside them, but if you speak to someone on the street they'll see you, waitresses will take your order, cabs will stop for you – well, not me, I'm black, but, you know, they would. It's sort of a will thing, I think. I've tested it. Animals can see us, by the way. You'll want to watch out for dogs when you're retrieving a vessel.† â€Å"So that's how you got to be a – what do they call us?† â€Å"Death Merchants.† â€Å"Get out. Really?† â€Å"It's not in the book. I came up with it.† â€Å"It's very cool.† â€Å"Thanks.† Mr. Fresh smiled, relieved for a moment not to be thinking about the gravity of Charlie's unique transition to Death Merchant. â€Å"Actually, I think it's a character from an album cover, guy behind a cash register, eyes glowing red, but I didn't know that when I came up with it.† â€Å"Well, it makes perfect sense.† â€Å"Yeah, I thought so,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"More coffee?† â€Å"Please.† Charlie held out his empty cup. â€Å"So, someone saw you. That's how you became a Death Merchant?† â€Å"No, that's how you became one. I think that you may, uh – † Fresh didn't want to mislead this poor guy, but on the other hand he didn't actually know what had happened. â€Å"I think you may be different from the rest of us. No one saw me. I was working security for a casino in Vegas when that went sour for me – I have a problem with authority, I'm told – so I came to San Francisco and opened this shop, started dealing in used records and CDs, mostly jazz at first. After a while it just started happening: the glowing soul vessels, people coming in with them, finding them at estate sales. I don't know why or how, it just did, and I didn't say anything about it to anyone. Then the book came in the mail.† â€Å"The book again. Don't you have a copy around?† â€Å"There's only one copy. At least that I know of.† â€Å"And you just mailed it out?† â€Å"I sent it certified mail!† Fresh boomed. â€Å"Someone at your store signed for it. I think I did my part.† â€Å"Okay, sorry, go on.† â€Å"Anyway, when I got to the Castro it was a very sad place. The only guys you saw on the street were very old or very young, all the ones in the middle were either dead or sick with HIV, walking with canes, towing oxygen cylinders. Death was everywhere. It's like there needed to be a soul way station, and I was here, trading records. Then the book showed up in the mail. There were a lot of souls coming in. For those first few years I was picking up vessels every day, sometimes two or three times a day. You'd be surprised how many gay men have their souls in their music.† â€Å"Have you sold them all?† â€Å"No. They come in, they go out. There's always some inventory.† â€Å"But how can you be sure the right person gets the right soul?† â€Å"Not my problem, is it?† Mr. Fresh shrugged. He'd worried about it at first, but it seemed to all happen as it should, and he'd gotten into the rhythm of trusting whatever mechanism or power was behind all of this. â€Å"Well, if that's your attitude, why do it at all? I don't want this job. I have a job, and a kid.† â€Å"You have to do it. Believe me, after I got the book, I tried not doing it. We all did. At least the ones I've talked to did. I'm guessing you've already seen what happens if you don't. You'll start hearing the voices, then the shades start coming. The book calls them Underworlders.† â€Å"The giant ravens? Them?† â€Å"They were just indistinct shadows and voices until you showed up. There's something going on. Starting with you, and continuing with you. You let them get a soul vessel, didn't you?† â€Å"Me? You said there's a bunch of Death Merchants.† â€Å"The others know better. It was you. You fucked up. I thought I saw one flying over earlier in the week. Then today, I was out walking, and the voices were bad. Really bad. That's when I called you. It was you, wasn't it?† Charlie nodded. â€Å"I didn't know. How could I know?† â€Å"So they got one?† â€Å"Two,† Charlie said. â€Å"A hand came out of the sewer. It was my first day.† â€Å"Well, that's it,† said Fresh, cradling his head in his hands. â€Å"We are most certainly fucked now.† â€Å"You don't know that,† Charlie said, trying to look on the bright side. â€Å"We could have been fucked before. I mean, we run secondhand stores for dead people, that's sort of a definition of fucked.† Mr. Fresh looked up. â€Å"The book says if we don't do our jobs everything could go dark, become like the Underworld. I don't know what the Underworld is like, Mr. Asher, but I've caught some of the road show from there a couple of times, and I'm not interested in finding out. How 'bout you?† â€Å"Maybe it's Oakland,† Charlie said. â€Å"What's Oakland?† â€Å"The Underworld.† â€Å"Oakland is not the Underworld!† Mr. Fresh leapt to his feet; he was not a violent man, you really didn't have to be when you were his size, but – â€Å"The Tenderloin?† Charlie suggested. â€Å"Don't make me smack you. Neither of us wants that, do we, Mr. Asher?† Charlie shook his head. â€Å"I've seen the ravens,† Charlie said, â€Å"but I haven't heard any voices. What voices?† â€Å"They talk to you when you're on the street. Sometimes you'll hear a voice coming out of a heating vent, a downspout, sometimes a storm drain. It's them, all right. Female voices, taunting. I've gone years without hearing them, I'll almost forget, then I'll be going to pick up a vessel, and one will call to me. I used to phone the other merchants, ask them if they'd done something, but we stopped that right away.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because that's part of what we think brings them up. We're not supposed to have any contact. It took us a while to figure that out. I had only found six of the merchants in the city back then, and we were having lunch once a week, talking about what we knew, comparing notes – that's when we saw the first of the shades. In fact, just to be safe, this will be the last time that you and I have contact.† Mr. Fresh shrugged again and began to untie Charlie's bonds, thinking: It all changed that day at the hospital. This guy has changed everything, and I'm sending him out like a lamb to the slaughter – or maybe he's the one to do the slaughtering. This guy might be the one – â€Å"Wait, I don't know anything,† Charlie pleaded. â€Å"You can't just send me out to do this without more background. What about my daughter? How do I know who to sell the souls to?† He was panicked and trying to ask all the questions before he was set free. â€Å"What are the numbers after the names? Do you get the names like that? How long do I have to do this before I can retire. Why are you always dressed in mint green?† As Mr. Fresh untied one ankle, Charlie was trying to tie the other back to the chair. â€Å"My name,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Pardon?† Charlie stopped tying himself up. â€Å"I dress in mint green because of my first name. It's Minty.† Charlie completely forgot what he was worried about. â€Å"Minty? Your name is Minty Fresh?† Charlie appeared to be trying to stifle a sneeze, but then snorted an explosive laugh. Then ducked.

Discussion Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion - Movie Review Example The French flag on her hand reinforces values of revolution into the revolutionists. The flag carries message of equality, fraternity, and liberty amid struggle for change of governance system in France. Pictures on the foreground of deceased members of both sides of the political divide only serve to explain how catastrophic the effects of the revolution were. The paintings of dead bodies, most probably in their bedroom, also point to the severity of the adverse impacts of the revolutionary struggle. Furthermore, there is a sense of absolute unity portrayed by Delacroix in the painting. Beside the allegorical figure, there are two men; one is a member of the middle-class, and the other is an artisan. The two men, although not belonging to the same class, fight together and applauds the new monarch thereby portray the superiority of the people. On the paintings extreme right, the twin towers of Notre Dame rises above the thick battle smoke. The scene further explains what ensued during the revolution and the

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Political Science - Essay Example After the Ancient Greeks there was little attempt to how world politics work. The concepts of realism were greatly expanded by Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes to become very influential amongst people that are attempting to understand and evaluate world politics. The main aspects of the realism school are that nation states are the most important components within the contemporary international system, and that the objective of each nation state is to gain the most from that system by making realistic as well as rational foreign policy decisions. Realism stresses that nation states compete with each other to gain the most amount of power through the most effective diplomatic or military means. The nation states that are the best at using diplomacy and the threat of military force are the ones that should gain the most power and wealth from the international system. Neorealism is a theory of world politics that was developed from realism. Neorealism still contends that the nation state is the main basis for the international system. However, unlike realism the concept of Neorealism contends that nation states are influenced and possibly shaped by the international system, rather than just by the relationships between each other. Neorealism owes most of its concepts and also its arguments to the work of Waltz. It was Waltz and others that developed the notion of Neorealism to make up for the events and the organisations that realism either did not explain at all or only partially explained. Neorealism was designed in order to explain the formation of organisations such as the UN, the EU, and GATT in which nation states co-operate with each other, for their mutual benefits, actions that realism had failed to predict and could not adequately explain. Neorealism claims that non-governmental organisations have an influence over the international sys tem that has weakened the primary position of the nation state without displacing that

Evaluation and Opinion on Oligopoly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluation and Opinion on Oligopoly - Essay Example The new oligopoly is made up of multinational corporations that have chosen specific product or service categories to dominate. In each category, over time, only two to four major players prosper. Starting a new company in thatmarket segmentis difficult, and the few that do succeed are often gobbled up or run out of business by the oligopolies. (Oligopoly, 2006a) Strategic Interaction: when only a few firms operate in a market, they will soon recognize their interdependence. Strategic Interaction, which is genuinely a new feature of oligopoly, occurs when each firm's business plans depend upon the behavior of its rivals. Analyzation reveals that economists are particularly concerned about industries characterized by imperfect competition. One reason is that such industries behave in certain ways that are unfavorable to the public interest. For example imperfect competition generally leads to prices that are above marginal costs; this results in an inefficient allocation of resources. The result of such high prices leads oligopolistic industries towards supernormal profits. However in depth studies shows concentrated industries having only slight higher rates of profit than unconcentrated ones. (Nordhaus, 1998, p. 171) The distinguishing characteristic of oligopoly is the interdependence among firms in the industry. Since an oligopolist knows that its own actions will have a significant impact on the other oligopolists in the industry, each oligopolist must consider the possible reaction of competitors in deciding its pricing policies, the degree of product differentiation to introduce, the level of advertising to undertake, the amount of service to provide etc. Since competitors can react in many ways, therefore we possess several oligopoly models based on the particular behavioral response of competitors to the actions of the first. Because of this interdependence, managerial decision-making is much more complex under oligopoly than under other forms of market structure. (Salvatore, 2001, p. 427) The following are the sources of oligopoly, which represent the barriers to other firms entering in the market in the long run: Economies of scale may operate over a sufficiently large range of outputs as to leave only a few firms supplying the entire market. Huge capital investments and supplying inputs are usually required to enter an oligopolistic industry and this acts as an important natural barrier to entry. A few firms may own a patent for the exclusive right to produce a commodity or to use a particular production process. Established firms may have a loyal following of customers based on product quality and service that new firms would find very difficult to match. A few firms may own or control the entire supply of a raw material required in the production of a product. A

Athletes drug use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Athletes drug use - Essay Example Covered in the subsequent paragraphs are types of drugs abused by athletes, reasons as to why they abuse drugs, associated effects, policies and punishments and finally, possible solutions to the problem. The sole aim of one taking part in a sporting completion, just like is the case with any other kind of completion is to emerge victorious. However, sometimes the prediction of the outcome may leave the competitor feel like he/she has already lost to his/her opponents even before the real competition. This is the main drive behind use of drugs by some athletes, just to ensure that they emerge winners and land their hands on the gold medal for their country while at the same time ensuring personal accomplishment satisfaction. . The former refers to the kinds of drugs which are usually taken with the aim of one getting the ability to perform better especially in athletics. With respect to Examples of PEDs include stimulants, human growth hormone (HGH), anabolic steroids, erythropoietin and diuretics (Audran et al, 1999). The second type of drugs (recreational drugs) comprise of those drugs, usually narcotic which are taken for the purpose of helping an individual alter his/her mood. In other words, these are drugs which are taken non-medically for the purpose of enjoyment and not because one is sick. Examples of drugs other this category include psychedelic mushrooms, cannabis, barbiturates, opium, amphetamines and heroin. An athlete will feel satisfied if at the completion of the game it turns out that he/she emerged the winner. However, as it is obvious, one cannot be said to have won the race if he/she has not yet taken part in a given completion. It is both the victorious feeling associated with winning and the intense feeling of competition that leaves some athletes with no option but to abuse some certain drugs. When an athlete wins a race, he/she is sure of taking home (to his/her home country) a medal, getting a good

Stakeholder management and risk management Essay

Stakeholder management and risk management - Essay Example The stakeholder identification includes listing of the external and internal stakeholders who are associated with the mega project and then categorizing the stakeholders according to their roles, influence and impact on the large project. After analyzing the group of stakeholders, a stakeholder matrix is formed in which the stakeholders are positioned based on their relative importance for the large project that they are associated with. Followed by the formation of stakeholder matrix, stakeholder engagement is crucial in order to discuss the objectives and goals of the organization. The expectations of the stakeholders are also discussed in the meeting and a common goal is arrived to which all the stakeholders need to abide. The expectations of the stakeholders are discussed and the nature of communication to be maintained with the stakeholders is also agreed upon during the process (Kerzner and  Belack, 2010, p.47). The approach of stakeholder management maintains all the protoco ls of the large scale project in terms of security, confidentiality, etc. ... The synthesis approach to stakeholder management considers the ethical responsibilities to the stakeholders apart from the fiduciary responsibilities. Risk management is a process of identification, assessment, categorization and prioritization of risks and then adopt suitable strategies for allocation of resources in order to monitor, control and mitigate the impacts of risk exposures. Risk management approaches are adopted in order to minimize the impacts of uncertain events which could interrupt or cause stoppage or considerable loss in the operations of large scale projects. Risk management takes into account the exposures to the financial markets, credit policies, legal risk, operational risk and any other event that is unpredictable or uncertain in the course of large projects. The various approaches to risk management in large scale projects include avoiding the risk, reducing the impact of risk exposure, transferring the risk to another party or even accepting some or all of the probable impacts of a certain risk exposure (Handlechner, 2008, p.37). In case of avoidance of the risk, some of the resources or objectives of the large scale project may need to be compromises. The risk avoidance approach is taken when the impact of such risk on the large scale project nullifies the value of the project. In most large scale projects, the risk mitigation approach is followed with a view that there is a risk return trade off for the project. Lowering the amount of risk to the tolerable limit of the project would help large projects to be executed with a profitable balance between the associated risks and the potential returns (Conrow, 2003, p.58). The third approach for the management of risk is the method of transferring the risk to another party. By transferring

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Economic - Essay Example This paper explores the reasons why China’s economy might grow more slowly than it has in the last three decades. High dependence on investment for growth rather than consumption is likely to hurt China’s economy in the future. In the view of many economists, China needs to reduce this overreliance and rebalance in order to enable consumption to take control of the economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the country is mainly driven by consumption rather than investment. The annual GDP of China shows high potential of slowing in the future irrespective of the implementation of reforms (Tian Para 1). According to Robin Bew, a London-based Economist Intelligence Unit managing director, the Chinese economic growth is likely to decline to 7.3% in 2014. The rate of economic growth will slow further to 5.9% in 2018 and to approximately 5% after the next ten years, according to the EIU (Tian Para 5). Taking a keen look at the economy of China, one cannot fail to see looming signs of future economic doom. Banks have invested heavily into green energy project creating numerous corporations, which have in turn catapult China to the spot light as the world biggest producer of solar panels. High investments in the manufacturing sector have begun to take a toll on the country’s economy with bankruptcy hitting most banks that investment heavily solar panel manufacturing. The booming property market is growing in such a way that it seems to have surpassed government control. When the boom is finally over, anyone can only pray that China has a soft landing. However, the Chinese private consumption still remains the lowest when compared to major economies of the world. Unfortunately, there have been minimal attempts by the government to implement reforms that could reverse this trend. The Chinese government has practically balked at any possible reform that could boost consumption. The Chinese government policy is more of its old

Mangment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Mangment - Essay Example Managers find it difficult to budget the money for pay increase of the employees. They also know that employees would be demotivated to know that their hard work would not be rewarded with pay increase or addition of privileges and perks. I think that the greatest challenge for a manager in performance management is to track down and record employees’ performance throughout the year or interval. Some wrong areas that managers focus on while managing performance include long gaps between performance appraisals, highlighting only the deficiencies of employees with no mention of their good points, establish performance as the only criterion for pay increase. Managers are also misled in their decisions by the power and age of an employee. I think about managing performance annually, but believe that this should be conducted much more often, like monthly. The biggest concern is to be able to justify the decisions without demotivating the employees. This is a concern for me because I am poor at collecting daily records of performance. Most important skill in performance management, for me, is accordingly to be able to keep track of employees performance because this is tedious work and seems so unrelated to the organizational tasks at

Writing letter Essay Example for Free

Writing letter Essay I am writing this letter to recommend Connie Fan, whom I met Connie Fan on the first day of high school. She sat a few seats behind me in our Freshmen Composition class, and I didn’t even notice her until the period bell rang. Her gentle voice and sweet, unassuming nature appealed to me.   Her well-rounded personality drew me in even further. Since the first few weeks of our friendship, I have noticed that Connie is an explorer of many sorts.   She loves to delve into the nooks and crannies of every setting she encounters. Whether it is the hallways of a new school, the streets of a city, or the pages of a book, she is an adventurer whose curiosity always dares her to discover the unknown. She showed me the difference between knowing and experiencing. Together we sought to uncover the remnants of a city’s history or a school’s past, walking its pavements and hallways until our feet swelled with pain. Her inquisitive nature makes her a great scholar. Connie Fan is an ambitious individual whose boldness and sense of direction are always an inspiration for her friends. Her physical appearance does not match her actual character. What lies beneath the small frame and the gentle voice is a woman of tremendous fortitude and stature. Rich with the abundance of friends that she has made, she cherishes each moment with her friends and family and would never disregard them. She is also a confidant woman who takes pride in her background, her culture, and her identity. She embraces her achievements but never forgets her failures or the steps that she had to undertake to reach her destination. We encouraged one another to challenge ourselves and to take as many classes to broaden the scope of our knowledge as well as to participate in extracurricular activities. She was eager to contribute to the Stuyvesant community, and so we tried out for the yearbook committee, the track and gymnastics team, and we sing together. When both of us tried out for the track team sophomore year and neither of us made it, she pushed me to try out again. Her persistence is one of her greatest gifts.   We did; the result was sweat, anguish, and a story we could laugh about when either one of us feels disheartened. Also equally important are her smile and her kindness. Her grin is large but welcoming, and her laugh is loud yet contagious. She is so often teased about her prominent mouth that I don’t think she realizes the importance her smile brings to others. Her smile is affectionate and she is always quick to flash it as it radiates warmth for those around her. Recently this year when we received our report cards and I broke down at the discovery of my grades, she showed me her infinite patience. She took my hand and led me to the same spot we sought out freshmen year and waited until I stopped crying. She let me pour out my feelings and resolve my own problems merely through talking it out, offering tidbits of advice along the way. She does this for many of her friends, adding a pinch of advice, offering a shoulder for support, mixed with that comforting smile she is so well known for. One the whole, Miss Fan is a well-rounded and outstanding girl who is an ambitious, hardworking student. A dedicated scholar, she also has a friendly, easy-going personality that allows her to work well as a team member and would be a wonderful addition to Dartmouth. I respectfully request that you accept her application.

Importance of Observation Research in Childcare

Importance of Observation Research in Childcare Unit 5 Explain the reasons for conducting observations and the format that these can take: Reference 1 and reference 6 In a nursery setting it is very important to carry out observations. Reasons of observations: The reason why observations are important is because it helps children know how they are improving on their development. Observations also help key workers know how to support children in their playful activities. Observations help children to go up a level. In a observation the child and the key worker gets to know each other, they get to talk and the key worker gets a chance to play along with children and help children to socialise. Methods of observation: The main observation nurseries use is writing down and taking photographs. This helps nursery know more about the child. How to carry out observations: You must sit and watch children play If children do not know how to play you show them and give them something to play with. You then talk to children as they get to know you and get used to you You seat their and spot the child’s weakness and try to put it correct You then begin to write down what the child is doing such as analyse as they get talking and get to know you. You must understand how they are improving with a key worker observing children. When a key worker writes down on a post it note, they must write everything a child is doing with the puzzle. The key worker can also ask the child questions. Observations are mainly one to one observations. Key worker will then take photo and write up a report on this child on how they are doing in their development. Children can be observed on many activities accoutring to their age: Ball activity Play dough Lego Football Communication Drawing Cutting Numbers Alphabets reading Discuss the importance of parental permission for carrying out observations on children and babies aged 3 and under: Reference 2 As a nursery we ensure we report everything we have to, to parents, regarding their children. This includes observations and collecting information which we have to about their children. We might take photographs of children’s, vidieo recordings of children. In some setting it is up to the student’s to get permissions from parents to carry out observation and it is up to the students to build relationship with both children and parents to build up student’s career. Nurseries also have to keep in touch with the third parties when information needs to be passed on, such as a child who is ill in health, this information must be reported to them and their report and the child’s information so the third parties can support the nurseries on this issue. Most parents are okay with their children being obsevered as it helps them to know how their children are improving. Observations are carried out according to the child’s age. Such as in the baby room a child might be observed on their crawling or walking. They must tell their parents as they are babies to keep them up to date and help them know their child is in good hands. The reason for parental permission is if a stranger was to walk in and take a photograph of a child, the stranger can do anything with the child’s photograph. It is important a key worker or a member of staff CRB checked is always there to keep an eye out for children. a child who has been observed in writing, someone might have left this observation at the reception desk for someone to easily pick up this can be a document to unwanted visitors to read. This can cause the nursery big problems and lead to the nursery a penalty of closing. Identify the process for carrying out a risk assessment within the nursery environment and the steps to be taken for those items requiring attention: In a nursery a key worker has been asked to look for all hazards’s and assess what can happen: You must identify all hazards such as: Computer wire left lying and not plugged, children can trip over, and these can be protected by ensuring the plug is plugged to the socket and that worker’s check up on this. Children’s cups and plates unwashed, children become unclean, to keep protected it is up to key workers to ensure these are always washed. Chairs left in the middle of play area where children play and walk, children can fall; to keep all protected children must be shown how to seat on a chair and push the chairs under the table. Children swinging on their chair, children can fall backwards – children should be told not to swing on the chair. Toys left where children run around, children can trip over – toys must be cleared and put in the correct place. Children pushing each other, we ensure children talk to children not to push each other and report this then discuss why this happened in a meeting and find ways on how to protect children. Children playing with broken toys – it is important worker’s check all toys before children come in the morning and that this is reported and discussed at the meeting and find out why this happen so it can be reported to parents. Sharp adult scissors left for children on cutting table – this should also be put away, and reported to discuss during the meeting times in the mornings. Knives left on playing tables when should be in safe hands of an adult while cutting fruit for children during snack times- it is important to report this and be honest even thou you picked it up. Children not washing hands after toilet times- this is very important because children have to keep clean, this must be report and ensure a key worker is informed to help children wash their hands. Children running around, children can trip over and hurt themselves it is important children keep calm and walk. Children’s drawing all over the floor, staff member not seeing this and children may be walking on this and running, children’s work half ripped apart and therefore nurseries have to do double work, this must be reported and discussed. To many workers and less children, it is important this is discussed to have less worker during certain days. As a nursery we must pay attention to the risk and watch all children around us Process Administrator of the nursery creates a table of all the hazards in the nursery. The administrator then gives this to the assessment team to carry out The assessment team then rates these hazards to see if it is minor or extreme for children to be in. Reference 3 After completing the assessment this must be discussed at the meeting and then a staff meeting must be organised to inform the staff which has to check up on these risk’s at all times. We must find ways on how to stop these risks from happening; we must carry out this risk assessment once every month for regular checks. We must also write a report on how this can be protected. Evaluate in which communication can be encouraged for learning and play among your children: Reference 4 My finding on this question is that children need to be listened to when they talk on everyday life. Children and key worker’s build relationship to make it easier to communicate this give children great confidence. It is important to reach children to their chosen goal of communication, we must allow children to talk up to the level they must talk at. As children talk key worker must give contact that you are there and listening to them, children can talk about anything they like this will give children more encouragement. In a nursery setting I found that 3 years age children begin to talk full sentences. Key workers encourage children to read books, gives them talking times during circle times. Pre-schoolers like to talk more about their past life what they did. They enjoying talking rather than playing as they like to be more like adults and learn more about how adults are. To encourage pre-school children key workers ask children question as many as they can in a day to keep them confident and talking and active at all times. As key workers we encourage children to talk about the world, whatever they can think of something good. We encourage our workers to tell children to talk to each other while they play, we ask children what they are playing with as these type of question’s are common to ask. Communication can also be encouraged by giving child the time to reply back, we give children rewards on when they communicate well, we ensure all members of staff listen to children when they talk, we repeat if children do not understand the question when it is there time to talk, we show children how to answer to questions, we build children’s talking up to the highest level they can talk. In a nursery, key workers put a group of children with a similar interest in a communication activity. Key workers support children by carrying out role play. This can be a communication role play on London zoo. They can talk about animals and have an acting show to perform in front of the group. To support children we encourage children to talk, we provide as many activities we can. When key workers play with a group of children they talk more to children and ask as many questions they can. Reference 5 From my other finding while working in nurseries in my area’s I also found that there are so many communication activities, which are: Saying out alphabets and numbers out loud Talking times during circle Reading books out loud Socialising and talking while playing Question times When putting all the above together, encouragement is the best way to improve children’s communication learning. References: Reference 1: http://www.childrenscentres.org.uk/ps_step_by_step_observations.asp (I used the link to give me an understanding and wrote it into my own words. Reference 2: I used the hand book pages 91 – about how parents are happy the way children are observed. Reference 3: I used page 93 94 in the hand book to give me an understanding then wrote into my own words. I used the meanings. Reference 4: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/GH6123 I used this and wrote it into my own words and used mostly my own words based on the question. Reference 5 – working for nurseries Reference 6 http://www.homelearningcollege.com/HLC/media/PDF/SampleMaterial/ChildCare/Diploma-In-Early-Learning-And-Childcare-Sample.pdf I used this link to give myself an understanding procedure