Human nature as reflected in Macbeth Essay

Human nature has sparked much debate throughout history. Some people think that human nature at birth is absolutely good and that all evil comes from postnatal education or the negative effects of parental or guardian interaction. This idea is evident in a Chinese saying which translates as â€Å"Men at their birth are naturally good.† Conversely some people argue that human nature is initially evil, and provide an example by citing the observation that when a person is very young, he or she always and only asks for food and is indifferent to the feelings of others. Such a view interprets this phenomenon to indicate that human nature is originally selfish. It seems clear that Shakespeare may have favored the second perspective because in Macbeth it clearly shows that human nature is selfish, and even though postnatal education can change a human’s mind, it can only reduce or hide his or her selfish nature to some extent, and in addition, the selfish nature will most likely be present when it is activated or spurred by certain circumstances. My idea about human nature is reflected in Shakespeare’s character, Macbeth, who initially is a loyal general to his king, Duncan, and valiantly protects his king and country also showing nobility and little indication of his darker side. In Act 1 Scene 2, it is clear that Macbeth was a brave soldier who ignored the danger he was in, â€Å"[f]or brave Macbeth disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion, carved out his passage till he faced† the rebel leader. Macbeth’s heroic deed demonstrates that he was loyal to his country and the king who calls him a â€Å"peerless kinsman† and appears to trust Macbeth. However, after meeting three witches, Macbeth thinks of murdering Duncan although he wonders to himself why he has murderous thoughts. Despite his earlier surprise about his thoughts when he is told by the witches that he will become king Macbeth, prompted by his wife’s encouragement and also her disdain at what she calls his cowardice, his â€Å"brain sickliness† when he further hesitates decide to murder Duncan. On second thoughts he again hesitates and almost convinces himself that he should not murder the king with various reasons: one of them was that Macbeth was Duncan’s kinsman and also his subject, so Macbeth should always try to protect the king as he states: â€Å"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed†.(Act 1 Sc, 7) Before Macbeth’s desire of pursuing kingship became uncontrollable, Macbeth was still trying to restrain himself from committing the deed and decides to remain loyal stating that his only reason to kill Duncan was to fulfill his ambition. Shakespeare does not tell audiences where Macbeth’s loyalty originated. However, in Act 1 Scene 6, Macbeth constantly expresses his gratitude to Duncan which indicates his appreciation for the new title of Thane of Cawdor which the king gave him, and the honour he attained when Duncan came to his castle. It is evident that even though these expressions were Macbeth’s mask to hide his real plan, Macbeth still hesitated before he did the murder. It represents that he was somewhat reluctant to kill the king and his loyalty was from a profound sense of responsibility. However, the presence of three witches and their predictions spurred his selfish nature along with the criticism of his wife three witches said that Macbeth would be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king step by step. In Act 1 Scene 3, right after the first two predictions really came true, Macbeth stated to himself, â€Å"If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs, against the use of nature?† This quotation illustrates that the murder plan of Duncan had already settled in Macbeth’s brain. He did not do the murder immediately because he still needed a further spur to make him put his plans into actions. When Lady Macbeth persuaded Macbeth to kill the king, Macbeth could not resist the desire to pursue the kingship and the great power he would like to get; as a result. Macbeth killed the king and obtained the kingship. For convincing Macbeth, Lady Macbeth mainly used pathos to spark Macbeth’s self-esteem, his confidence and his anger. First of all, she stated that if Macbeth did not dare to do the murder, he was an animal but not a man. She also said that when Macbeth dared to do it, he was a man; if he went one step further by doing what he dared to do before, he would be much more than a man; â€Å"What beast was ’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.† These words really made Macbeth feel shame, and anger, and also the desire to show himself that he was a real man was prompted by his self-seeking, egotistical selfish nature. Without human logic, people, including Macbeth, find it much easier to do some irrational things such as murder. Secondly, Macbeth did have the desire to be king, but he still worried about his future life after the murder even when his desires were fulfilled. Lady Macbeth told her husband that the murder would not be a failure if he dared to do it commenting â€Å"We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail.† This was a guarantee of success for Macbeth; it actually reduced Macbeth’s concern about his future life after the murder. Lady Macbeth’s persuasive words are considered the circumstance that activated the selfish and evil part in Macbeth’s mind. At this moment, Macbeth really changed his mind and the evil part in his brain arose indeed. In the â€Å"dagger soliloquy†, Macbeth saw a dagger, which was leading him towards Duncan’s bedroom in front of him. He said â€Å"Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still†; this part does tell the audience that Macbeth was not one hundred percent ready to kill but his mind had already encompassed the deed. At the end of this scene, Macbeth finally â€Å"screwed his courage to the sticking point† and decided to do the murder as he stated to himself â€Å"I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or the hell.† In Macbeth’s’ mind, to contest the kingship was more important than anything else at this moment. His selfish nature was adequately exposed by his murder plan for Duncan; however, it was only the first step because to sustain his rule, he was going to kill other people even though they were his friends since he was so strongly self-seeking became evil enough to murder anyone who stood in his was.. After Macbeth acknowledged that his own children would not be the king, but instead, Banquo’s descendants would become kings, this issue became the most critical one in his brain. Thus, instead of being merciful to his old friend, Macbeth commanded three murderers to kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance, as they returned to the castle. As a result, three murderers killed Banquo, but Fleance escaped. This foul and tragic deed seemed very useful   for Macbeth to sustain his rule over Scotland. In the meantime, Macbeth’s selfish nature was clearly evident and he believed the witches prophecy that no one could kill him who â€Å"was of woman born† which made him confident he could stay in control. His selfish, self–seeking nature was at a peak, and he even seemed indifferent to his wife’s death. However, things will develop to the opposite side when it becomes extreme. In Act 3 Scene 4, Macbeth started to see hallucinations of Banquo during the feast, which refers that Macbeth was threatened by his own deed that made him feel guilty and upset. Later on, at the end of this play, Lady Macbeth also became crazy because the people saw that she sleepwalked with a candle and viewed all the bad deeds she had done. Thus, it is clear that when a person has extreme and uncontrollable selfishness, it also brings more or less disasters to himself. In conclusion, Macbeth’s changing process sufficiently proves that human nature is selfish and sometimes evil; it can only hide in human’s mind but can never be wholly eliminated. In addition, in some circumstances, this kind of selfish nature can be recalled and create some terrible results. Evolutionary theory indicates that we have originated from primitive organisms that also produced dinosaurs and crocodiles. As the offspring of such bloody forebears, we have their genes and our bloody nature is even beyond theirs. Macbeth’s greedy and selfish nature was activated by his wife and the witches; then he created catastrophe to others and also to himself. As wise animals, we should restrict our selfish nature and control ourselves; otherwise, we will continue to create tragedies of death and destruction to satisfy ourselves.

Rousseau’s Theory of Education

Rousseau lobbies against an educational system that tries to teach children concepts and facts before such time, as they would make use of them. He believes that a child should not neglect those studies, which meet his present needs, in order to learn that which he may acquire in later years. He claims that experience and emotion are our real teachers, thereby reinforcing the theory that a child should not be educated in matters which are not pertinent to their current station in life. He contends that a child should â€Å"remain in complete ignorance of those ideas which are beyond his grasp† (p686). In essence, Rousseau argues that the healthy spontaneous impulses of children were being repressed by the adult demands for emotional restraint, intellectual precision and social conformity as abdicated by the social and educational practices of his time. Rousseau constructs a theory of education, starting with the influence of the child's natural environment, which should prevail over the influence of society and social institutions. Rousseau advocates allowing children to grow and develop naturally, in direct opposition to the prevailing methods of teaching. Children should be encouraged to develop their faculties through experience. This forms the basis for his fundamental principle of education. Rousseau argues that to be of use to a child, a concept must be relevant to his age. Rousseau promotes involving the student in hands-on learning experiences, as opposed to the more traditional methods of instruction. Children pay little heed to verbal explanation, nor do they remember them in his opinion. He stresses the importance of discovery as a learning tool. Ideas that seem difficult at the onset become less daunting when introduced using a hands-on approach. Simply stated, he proposes to teach his pupil through â€Å"doing†, using words only as a final recourse. I don†t think Rousseau†s plan appealed to the peasants and urban workers in the 18th century. These people were hard workers who would have their children working to feed the family rather than wandering about the countryside learning. If their children had to be schooled, they most likely would have preferred they were subjected to the discipline provided by formal schools in towns and villages which were beginning to appear. Not only did these schools provide a more Christianity based education but kept the children busy and out of the parents way. The people of this time were very focused on discipline and control of their children, allowing the child to explore and learn on their own was the opposite of traditional treatment of children at this time. â€Å"Spare the rod and spoil the child† was a catch phrase of the 18th century and was taken quite literally. Any indications of an independent nature in a child were beaten out them and asking questions was often viewed as a challenge to authority and children were expected to accept all knowledge provided them on faith which was again the opposite of Rousseau†s plan. Since Rousseau†s plan was focused on education based on scientific principles it would go against many of their hardened Christian beliefs about how the world worked. The enlightenment may have been a big influence to Rousseau, but the peasants and urban workers of the 18th century were not particularly interested. For Rousseau to be properly understood we must examine his revolutionary ideas in terms of his relationship to the 18th century enlightenment. During this time a great premium was placed on the discovery of truth through the observation of nature, rather than through the study of authoritative sources, such as Aristotle and the Bible. Rousseau shared the enlightened view that society had perverted natural man, the â€Å"noble savage† who lived harmoniously with nature, free from selfish want, possessiveness and jealousy. One main feature of the enlightenment was that nothing was accepted on faith or face value and he expected no less from his students, he would demonstrate his teachings and not expect them to accept just a verbal description. Rousseau stressed that feeling and sentiment were two very important factors in the motivation of humankind. He emphasizes the need to live and develop in conformity with Nature. The child must be raised in a rural rather than an urban environment, so that he may develop in continuity with nature rather than in opposition to it. A child†s character will mature in harmony with nature if that child†s natural curiosity is allowed to develop unhindered by the corruption of society. All of Rousseau†s educational theories had roots in the enlightenment of the 18th century.

A Psychological Analysis of Alice Walkers Everyday Use Essay -- Every

The human mind is divided into three parts that make up the mind as a whole. These parts are necessary to have a complete mind, just as the members of a family are needed to make up the entire family. The use of components to equal a whole is often exercised in literature. Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use," contains the idea of family and of the mind, therefore her work can be evaluated through psychological methods. Through their actions, the characters symbolize the three different parts of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. The first type of mind division, the id, "constantly strives to satisfy basic drives...[and] seeks immediate gratification" (Myers 379). In "Everyday Use," Dee's personality is equivalent to the id because she seeks her own personal gain and does not necessarily consider the consequences of her actions. Mama, the narrator in "Everyday Use," says that "Dee wanted nice things. She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts" (Walker 92). Dee strives for satisfaction in all she does; she will do everything in her power to get what she desires. The story recounts a situation in which Dee wants some quilts that were stiched by her grandmother, but Mama has already promised these treasures to Dee's sister, Maggie. Mama said that as she "[moved] up to touch the quilts. Dee moved back just enough so that [Mama] couldn't reach the quilts. They already belonged to [Dee]" (Walker 96). Mama explains that Dee is determined to gain possession of the quilts. Although the quilts belong to her mother, Dee has already mentally determined that the quilts belong to her. Dee's personality is comparable to the id branch of the The use of psychological strategies in the Walker's work shows that the characters are joined and create one unit, a family. Works Cited Alice Malsenior Walker: An Annotated Bibliography, 1968-1986. Eds. Louis H. Pratt and Donnell D. Pratt. Connecticut: Meckler Corporation, 1988. Everyday Use: Alice Walker. Ed. Barbara T. Christian. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. Third edition. New York: Worth Publishing, 1996. Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth edition. Eds. X.J. Dennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/sample/walker.html http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/alicew/ http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/altalic_051697.html

Critical Analysis of Mysticism and the concept of oneness with god Essay

Critical Analysis of Mysticism and the concept of oneness with god - Essay Example According to W.T. Stace 'The mystical event is a personal experience during which one feels as though one has been touched by some higher or greater truth or power.' "The most important, the central characteristic in which all fully developed mystical experiences agree, and which in the last analysis is definitive of them and serves to mark them off from other kinds of experiences, is that they involve the apprehension of an ultimate nonsensuous unity in all things, a oneness or a One to which neither the senses nor the reason can penetrate. In other words, it entirely transcends our sensory-intellectual consciousness. It should be carefully noted that only fully developed mystical experiences are necessarily apprehensive of the One. Many experiences have been recorded which lack this central feature but yet possess other mystical characteristics. These are borderline cases, which may be said to shade off from the central core of cases. They have to the central core the relation which some philosophers like to call "family resemblance. (pp.14-15)" 1. Even among monotheistic religions-(belief in one God) - there are differences between God's relationship to his Creation. Religions like Islam feel he is above his creation and the Jewish tradition feels he is both, within and above it. 'On the face of it, the characteristics of transcendence and immanence appear to be in conflict. A transcendent God is one who is beyond perception, independent of the universe, and wholly "other" when compared to us. An immanent God, is one which exists - within us, within the universe - and, hence, very much a part of our existence. How can these qualities exist simultaneously'The best example of an immanent God is found in the Hindu religion in the Bagvad Gita in which the God Krishna declares, "He who sees me in all things and in all things sees me, where ever that man may be, I never leave him and he lives in me."2. In other words, an immanent God is found wherever one seeks Him. The idea of a transcendent unknowable God has roots in Zoroastrianism which in turn affected Judaism and Islam. The Old Testament prohibits idols in an attempt to emphasize the 'otherness' of God which cannot be physically depicted.The fundamental concept in Islam is the Oneness of God. Islamic 'tawhd'- monotheism, is not relative or pluralistic it is absolute. This Oneness of God is the first of Islam's five pillars. This is why it is known as the 'uncompromising monotheism of Islam' since it does not allow any pictorial references of 'Allah' in a mosque. Timeless, 'Allah' is unchangeable and outside time and space. He is therefore unknowable in the mystic sense. Islam believes that God is so far above his creation that man can never begin to know him. The word Muslim literally means 'one who has surrendered to God' through blind worship and obedience. In the Kabbalistic theory of creation God 'contracted' his infinite essence to create a 'conceptual space' in which a restricted world could exist. In Jewish mysticism, the concept of 'Tzimtzum' contains a built-in paradox, as it requires that God be transcendent and immanent at the same time. The Judaic God took part in

What Does It Mean To Be An Educated Person Essay

What Does It Mean To Be An Educated Person - Essay Example Everyone goes to university and earns a degree but educated ones are only those who learn something and use their knowledge. Education has become the backbone of every society and especially everywhere in the world the competition of getting quality education is intense. Youngsters are running here forth to get the best of education and to compete in this technologically advanced world. Competition is more intense in rural areas than urban areas in attaining good grades because the students there knows well that whoever will get a scholarship can further afford to study otherwise rest of them have to either stop studying or get admitted into some infamous, small or not up to the mark college or university. Whereas, in urban areas the competition is not only just about attaining the good grades but also about studying in a prestigious and well known college or university. They consider it as their status symbol to get qualified from a famous university. Mostly students take education for granted and show reluctance towards their studies. They are always indulged in bunking classes, involving in some notorious activities, getting suspension, and not completing their homework. Life is a joke for them and they are not serious about their future. Hence, they suffer in the end when they are not left with any option and have to start off everything from the beginning in order to compete with the educated ones. It takes entire life to become successful but youngsters think that success comes with a blink of an eye (Kapoor; Naomi; Ozieh). Education opens one’s mind and widens his vision. He interacts with so many different people who belong to different culture, tradition, race, religion and areas. People learn a lot during their time in schools and colleges but once they are graduated and done with their degree, it’s the time to show the application of their LEARNED knowledge. Ignorance is the curse for a society and hence, every country in the world is s triving hard to make it developed by education and success. It is believed that success comes to those who are educated but in actual educated people struggle hard for success. Education enlightens the knowledge of the person. This globe consists of many challenging and major social problems and an educated person should use his education as a tool to aware people about how to

Combustion process, whether used for electricity generation or in Essay

Combustion process, whether used for electricity generation or in engines for transport, produce airborne emissions of environmental concern - Essay Example Acid rain is due to the presence in the atmosphere of SO2 and NOx which, after a series of reactions, are deposited as nitric and sulphuric acid in the form of rain. Particulate matter is known to cause serious respiratory diseases. Carbon sequestration is a method that allows the reduction of CO2 by capturing it at its source (e.g. a power plant) and storing it in non-atmospheric reservoirs such as geologic or oceanic reservoirs (Herzog). The Sleipner project is a working example of carbon sequestration technology. Off the coast of Norway in the North Sea, it is in fact the world's first commercial CO2 capture and storage project collecting about one million metric tons of CO2 each year since it was opened in 1996 (Sleipner CO2 project). The term "scrubber" is used to refer to a group of air pollution control devices that aid the removal of fine particles and/or gases (especially acid gases) from industrial exhaust streams. Scrubbers work by either physically removing substances from the exhaust gas stream or by chemically neutralising them so that they cannot do any harm once released into the environment. Wet scrubbing is used to clean gases from pollutants and particulates by putting in contact the exhaust gas stream with the scrubbing solution. The scrubbing solution can simply be water for the removal of dust or a chemical solution which contains reagents that can specifically target certain compounds. Removal efficiency of pollutants is improved by increasing residence time in the scrubber or by the increase of surface area of the scrubber solution. 2.2. Dry scrubbing Dry scrubbing is generally used to remove acid gases, such as SO2, primarily from combustion sources. All dry scrubbing systems consist of two main devices: 1) a device to introduce a solid sorbent material into the gas stream; and 2) a particulate control device to remove reaction products, excess sorbent material, any particulate matter already in the flue gas. 2.3. Seawater scrubbing The natural buffering capacity of seawater can be taken advantage of by using it as a sorbent in a scrubbing system. When SO2 comes into contact with seawater a reaction takes place between the SO2 and the CaCO3 present in the seawater, producing CaSO4 and CO2. This reaction is complete in a very short time, so the equipment required for seawater scrubbing can be compact. 3. NOx 3.1. Primary measures Primary measures can be applied pre-combustion. In Bowin low NOx technology, air and

Search and Rescue in Residential Fire Structures Research Paper

Search and Rescue in Residential Fire Structures - Research Paper Example It is vital to the safety of our society that researchers continue to enhance the technologies that allow fire fighters to do their jobs in the safest and most effective fashion possible, especially those working in residential structure fires and residential search and rescue. Residential structure fires are responsible for approximately two to three thousand civilian deaths per year since 1997, but these numbers have been dropping due to improved fire prevention education, early fire detection, and fire suppression technologies being used, and also the improved technologies and equipment available for search and rescue efforts (USFA, 2008). These search and rescue technologies fall into two major categories: those devices that make it easier for fire fighters to find and save those victims trapped within a burning building and those technologies that protect the fire fighters' own lives, which indirectly will save even more lives than the direct equipment. Technologies that allow f ire fighters to rescue those victims who have been trapped within a burning building mainly include those which allow the rescue workers to find those individuals more quickly. The primary and most impressive piece of equipment in this category is the thermal imaging camera. A thermal imaging camera helps the fire fighters to see people more easily through dense smoke or haze, by analyzing the image of a trapped figure and â€Å"convert[ing] the 'thermal signature' to a visible image† (Marlow Industries Inc, 2008). These cameras are able to convert the most minute differences in the temperature of objects into a visible light image for the fire fighter using the camera to view, and they work even in complete darkness as they do not require any ambient visible light to resolve the images (FLIR Commercial Vision Systems, n.d.). This combination of processes means that a thermal imaging camera can be used by a fire fighter to look into a dark or smoke-filled room and determine i mmediately if there are any people within the room who need to be evacuated from the building. The image will also show the fire fighter if there are any flames or ignition sources within that room (FLIR Commercial Vision Systems, n.d.) Such cameras work by visualizing an image using infrared radiation instead of visible light sources. They are able to produce images at high resolution through heavy smoke due to the fact that the infrared radiation used has a longer wavelength, reducing scattering off of particulate matter in the air. (FLIR Commercial Visions Systems, n.d.). Some cameras are even able to transmit these images to a commander outside the building, allowing him or her to better control the situation within the building based on the real-time data being received (Santa Clara County Fire Department, â€Å"High-Tech and Specialized Equipment, n.d.). These cameras are also sometimes of adjustable sensitivity, to allow for varying temperature ranges in the space being view ed. They can be more sensitive for narrow temperature ranges, such as looking into a hot room, and less sensitive cameras for situations where temperatures vary more widely, such as trying to locate an individual in a smoky but relatively cool room (Amon, Bryner, & Hamins, 2005).

The Opportunities for Multinational Companies to Shift Resources Term Paper - 2

The Opportunities for Multinational Companies to Shift Resources around the World - Term Paper Example At a superficial glance, when a multinational invests in a country overseas, the partnership seems beneficial. Both the parties seem to profit. The multinational company finds a new domain to practice business on, while the country involved benefits due to the creation of jobs in its economy as well as the expansion in the consumer market due to the addition of the MNC’s product. There is, however, a more deep-rooted impact of this operation, which implies increased benefit for the MNC and less benefit for the developing country. The nation-state, which allows the multinational to operate within its borders, seldom sees the profit from the company’s operations (Chen, pp. 136, 2003). Multinational company, upon earning this profit, will whisk the profit out of the country to its own origin and home. Resultantly, even when million-dollar companies enter a developing country’s market, the million-dollar profit is not beneficial to the country itself in any way. If e valuated by the subjective eye, the situation can appear as if the MNC exploits the hosting country for its cheap labor and consumer market, while paying back only the bare minimum in the form of wages, while earning a massive profit as well as a beneficial expansion in operations. The operations of a multinational consist of combining the expertise (especially new technology) and the stock capital of the multinational with any opportunities the MNC may find in other countries in the form of cheap labor and other resources, leading to an increased output (Toyne, pp. 42, 2009). The result is often a substantial profit that the investors in the multinational divide amongst themselves and take home.

Immigration Reform and Control Act Research Paper

Immigration Reform and Control Act - Research Paper Example Other programs like the Agricultural worker program also provided permanent residency status to more illegal immigrants. Border patrols were enforced while all employers were required to verify the legal status of the job candidates as regards the authority to work in the US within three days after employment offer. The Act led to increase in the number of illegal immigrants and other social problems like low wages. Immigration reform and Control Act Immigration Reform and Control Act-requirements and issues in workplace Introduction Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was enacted to deal with various immigration problems. Section 1324a of the Act prohibits employees to hire or continue employing illegal immigrants with prior knowledge that the employee is an illegal immigrant. All employers are required to make proper verification that all employees are legalized to work in the U.S including the American citizens, aliens holding express authority from the attorney General to work in the US and resident aliens (Schultz, 2000). According to the opponents, granting amnesty and sanctioning employees did not deter illegal immigrations. Allocation of billions of dollars on border patrols and hiring of additional border enforcement agents could not solve the illegal immigration problem unless the US demand for cheap labor was addressed. This paper shall examine the pros and cons of the Act and effects in the workplace and society. Employers are required to submit form 1-9 detailing the documentation of the employees together with identities and authorization to work in the US. Failure to verify the employee documentation and identity will subject the employer to a fine ranging from $ 110 per worker without the Form 1-9 to a maximum penalty of $ 1,100 per worker without the documentation (Schultz, 2000). The debate of the impact of the Act has attracted intense demand with proponents arguing that it was effective in deterring illegal aliens and reducing social problems in the society. On the other hand, opponents of the Act reduced availability of cheap labor in the economy and slowed down economic growth in the agricultural sector (Smith, 1997). The Act aimed at controlling the high flow of undocumented immigrants in to the US and ensuring on authorized residents were entitled to the available job opportunities. The Act sought for increased border surveillance and enforcement of immigration laws and amnesty program for the undocumented immigrants who met certain minimum standards for authorization as legal aliens (Powell, 2005). About 2.3 undocumented aliens from Mexico were granted permanent resident status in the US. The Act provided for sanctions on employers who knowingly employed illegal immigrants unauthorized to work in the US or continued employment of those illegal aliens (Schultz, 2000). The Act also provided sanctions for employers who hired employees without verifying and properly documenting the identity and legal status of the employee in regards to the ability to work in the US (Smith, 1997. More employers were penalized for undue diligence in verifying the identity of the prospective employees and not filing documentation requirements with the relevant authorities (Laet, 2000). On border enforcement program, the Act provided for 50 percent increase in border patrol manpower to apprehend the illegal immigrants along the border points and especially the US-Mexico border. Additional funds were utilized in deporting illegal immigrants

It dont matter Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

It dont matter - Article Example Hippocratic Database (HDB) which is composed of different technologies with the capacity to store medical information to change the system from manual and paper-based to computer-based systems. This can attributed to the fact that modern and computerized systems and infrastructures are deemed to have less medical errors, lower costs and ultimately more improved patient care. The HDB is the answer to the vision of PITAC in the provision of health information infrastructure that can be made available to health professionals nationwide to be able to improve the level of health care knowledge since there is a single collection of clinical and empirical data important for decision making support. The said system can be accessible for data entry and data retrieval. The said system can be considered highly applicable and practical but there are different concerns, one of which is the security of the information stored within the HDB (Agrawal, Grandison, Johnson, and Keirnan, 2007, p.36). There is a built-in policy-based privacy management feature of the HDB referred to as the Active Enforcement to answer the concerns regarding the secured state of the health care data stored in the system. The said feature which is also referred to as AE is an ‘agnostic middle ware solution for privacy and security needs.’ Basically the application of the said feature is situated in the system to gauge and to filter the input and output of data based on the governing policies which are based on the preferences of the patients and the applicable laws (p. 36). Strengths of the HDB AE include general methodology for handling and codifying policy and preference information, transparency of policy enforcement to enterprise applications, being agnostic to underlying database technology and improvement of query processing speed (p.37). The study by Agrawal and colleagues presented numerous capabilities of the HDB such as enforcement of privacy policies at database level, efficient

Raina Petkoff and her Cover-up Essay Example for Free

Raina Petkoff and her Cover-up Essay Bernard Shaws works make us doubt principles and ideals, which we accepted without a question. The economic status of the Petkoffs is one of wealth, and the fact that they are rich makes us think of a well-mannered and educated family, especially the young girl. The young girl should give us a sense of nobility and in fact she does in this story. The young girl in Arms and the Man gives us the impression that she is an ideal daughter, lover and citizen. But is she really? This girl tries to portray this stereotypical personality but proves not to be quite the noble girl she plays. At a certain point she sees herself in a very compromising position and is forced to change. As the play begins and we start getting to know this girl, Raina Petkoff we start noticing that she is a bit vain. The stage directions go as follows: On the balcony a young lady, intensely conscious of the romantic beauty of the night, and of the fact that her own youth and beauty are part of it (1561). This excerpt takes away some of the innocence she portrays in a subtle way. The next deception comes when the Swiss enters through the window; instead of screaming for help she decides to help him hide. She even lies to the Bulgarian officer who is looking for the Swiss, betraying her own country. Raina and the Swiss get to know each other a little, and with his experience he can see right through her. He instantly discovered the superficial coating over a very rough interior. The mother, Catherine, proves to be the same when she abandons her patriotism and loyalty and helps the Serb officer to hide and even escape the next morning. Like father, like son they say. But the biggest surprise comes when the Swiss or Serbian officer or Bluntschli blows Rainas cover. Raina is outraged or pretends to be when Bluntschli throws the truth at her face. He calls her a liar and insists on it. She gets furious at first, but gives in when she realizes shes got no way out. Her reaction is: I! I!!!How did you find me out? (1591). And here she confesses that the noble attitude and the thrilling voice is just a cover-up. This is Rainas turning point. We could say that at this point she went from being a girl to being a woman; at this point she matured. Another important fact to my case is the picture of herself she left in the jacket for Bluntschli to find, and the message it contained. My chocolate cream soldier (1603) is the name Raina gives Bluntschli in the dedication of the picture. This title given to Bluntschli suggests some type of affection that at this point is obvious but if the audience had learned of it as it happened chronologically it would be very shocking. After the turning point described above, Raina becomes a more outgoing and sincere person. She describes her own cover-up personality as a noble attitude and thrilling voice (1591) to Bluntschli. Raina also says Bluntschli is the first person that didnt take her fake personality seriously. She confesses to the point that she mocks the people who believe her noble self by saying: I did it when I was a child to my nurse. She believed in it. I do it before my parents. They believe in it. I do it before Sergius. He believes in it (1591). That incident of calling her a liar made Raina mature. It was a turning point in the life of this character and in the plot of Arms and the Man. Bernard Shaw uses his comedies to criticize many ideals by mocking them. In the case of Arms and the Man he takes the nobility of a wealthy, respected family and destroys it by mocking many of its aspects. In this essay I analyze how Shaw takes the view of innocence of a young, noble, rich girl and changes it to make it crude reality, he makes the Petkoffs look like common people with very little nobility. Works Cited Shaw, George Bernard. Arms and the Man. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw, 2002. 1561-1604.

The Virtual Learning Environment Education Essay

The Virtual Learning Environment Education Essay Is the Internet only about social networking sites. How does it relate to a whole new dimension of E-learning, what are its effects on traditional teaching methods? Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are prevailing in education nowadays and are effectively used to deliver training materials and assist the progress of communication within a module. There has been a comprehensive study which aimed at exploring the task- technology for two main groups namely trainers and students with the help of VLE WebCT. It has been apparent that students task technology usage, user satisfaction, perspective towards the usage and expected consequences of use were higher than trainers. Trainers had higher perceptions of social rules and regulations with higher perceptions of promoting conditions than students. However, there has been no difference in the level of practice of the VLE between the trainers and students. VLE had more impact on the learning of students rather than trainers in the whole learning process. These outcomes suggest that in spite of high levels of support approved by the tutors, they may still be confused about the benefaction of VLEs to their teaching. Introduction Higher education has been increasingly influenced by the progress of information and technology. The core training requirements in Universities and other institutes involve e-learning processes. Distance education has been possible with the introduction to new innovative courses due to the World Wide Web and online education is now available to in numerous students and lecturers for their training purposes (Peffers and Bloom 1999; Alexander 2001; Chen and Dwyer 2003). Information Technology has introduced new terms and forms which are further categorized into different segments. Some of these are e- learning, distributed learning and technology- mediated learning. The term e- learning has been extensively used to define education and training which is supported by the Internet. A virtual learning environment (VLE) simplifies e-learning by supporting an information system. Teaching and learning is carried out through communication support, broadcasting educational material, storage and processing of the VLEs. In spite of the omnipresence of VLEs in teaching, much of the proof to support their use is unreliable or inefficiently established. The usage of VLEs by instructors and how they signify student learning has been a topic of debate for many researchers. They believe that an extensive theory should be available which is reliable and rigorous in order to authorize the usage and its complexities (Alavi and leidner 2001; Poccoli et al 2001). This dissertation will mainly focus on the difference between Knowledge which has become more accessible on the Internet and the process of teaching and learning which has changed, but not always improved due to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Furthermore, it will also discuss about the information society in a wider context. The title global auction warns that the info society anticipated in the 1980s has failed to generate jobs, instead computer programs are used to substitute for skilled workers (in accountancy, education, law, manufacturing and other occupations) who become unemployed. This is partly because the internet facilitates outsourcing of jobs from the West to China and India, so globalization is another issue which will be discussed. Virtual learning Environment Virtual learning environment (VLEs) are defined as computer based environments that are relatively open systems, allowing interactions and encounters with other participants and delivering a huge database (Wilson 1996, p 8). Furthermore, he suggests that VLEs differ from computer micro-worlds and classroom based learning environments where we use technologies as tools or in micro-worlds where students help themselves by entering a self- contained computer based learning environment. Computer aided instruction (CAI) or computer micro-worlds have many similarities with VLEs. For instance, materials can be fetched or accessed individually by learners; different paths can be followed through them and can be utilized in material displays discrepantly. Although we see, that the VLE concept is much different and broader than the CAI as it adds new dimensions to individual learning. Electronic interaction and discussion, building up new infrastructure for widely available network are some of the things encouraged by the VLEs (Wilson 1996). In a broader context, VLEs augment the progress of an individual not only in the corporate sector but also enable him or her to connect and share experiences with a larger learner-learner and instructors group. Chapter 2 Introduction It has been observed that e-learning or VLEs had been the central supporting system for the formal countenance of learning by enhancing predefined formats and learning objectives. Although, it has been in the human nature to learn informally on the unconscious level which is essentially not based on traditional exams or curricula, as a part of education to some extent. The learning outcome can largely be depended upon VLEs which support and guide the learning system. E-learning and technology enhanced learning are provided with support and recognition with the growth of Social media with their probabilities to communicate to a larger group, reflect, relate and collaborate. Research Review On a global frame, it has been examined that social media have excessive potential influence on e-learning and technology- enhancing learning, mostly within the framework of contemporary learning methods (Baird and Fisher, 2006). This impact is however partly technologically derived. The whole truth is, with the concept of web 2.0, learning is influenced technically as well as socially. They encircle the strong alliance of informal environments, the desire to engage with the learning groups beyond the classroom environment. Technologies like instant messaging (chat), wikis and weblogs are considered to be social media which enable users to publish and be a part of online communities as well as manage them in a broader scale (Schaffert, 2006). The publication and exercising of content is cheaper and more flexible unlike traditional media. Precisely, social media aims to connect with a broader mass by forming and supporting user groups and communities. This dissertation focuses on the usage of social media in teaching and acquiring knowledge in higher education. The promotional culture of social media highlighted the shift of contents from producer generated to user generated content within the Web 2.0 framework. The standard change in the context of technology-enhanced learning symbolized the shift from traditional e-learning, established upon courses and the phenomenal of learning module to an active cooperation of the learners and their support as a community for general interest. So much so, social media is predestined to augment traditional learning and also e-learning environments. In a typical university curriculum, promotion or cultivation of informal learning with formal one is not done but Social media makes this possible. Informal learning has had a parallel shift from pedagogical standards from behaviourism to constructivism. It has been suggested that informal learning was held valuable due to its characteristics of be ing passively progressive outside the so-called traditional teaching. For example, Workplace coordinated learning, where the amount of information is sought in a permanent basis. (Tochermann and Granitzer, 2008) Research Questionnaires and Outcomes I had taken an online survey which was responded by 100 people from different countries for this thesis which focuses on the articulation, development, application and evaluation of implemented situations for social media in the background of higher education. These implemented situations are designed to answer the most crucial questions listed below for my research questions. Subsequently, the outcomes for each are precisely summarized under the respective questions. Are you familiar with the applications and technologies under Web 2.0 i.e Social Networking sites, Blogging, Web content Voting, Tagging, and Bookmarking? Can you tell me which of these do you use or used for your education? This research question drew the fact that most of the students were familiar with the applications of Web 2.0 but had little knowledge about their impact on the society as a whole and how social media trends keep changing in a profound way. Most of them used Social Networking sites, completely unaware of publishing data. Moreover, this was used as the base to confirm their intent to use the internet. Were you introduced to E-learning during your education? Library Catalogues, E-books, E-journals? Do you communicate with your lecturers via mail? This question was also conducted for research amongst students to test their attitude towards e-learning. Except Wikipedia most of them had little or no interest in other user contents for education. How do you think the concepts of E-learning 2.0 be applied to your education, if you are a software development or software engineering student? While from the above answer it is apparent that most of them used Wikipedia as their learning source, weblogs also counted as the second application crucial to the implementation of e-learning 2.0. Weblogs had been newly introduced in the software development education as learning logs dated back in the 1990s when it was used as blogs only. HTML and FTP was used to publish web content. How do you think Peer Review or Self Reflection helps you when you get feedback online about your assessment or work? The concept of Peer Review has been augmented to provide better assessment of software development students for themselves as well as their peers. In this way, a new adaptation meant better work as they now became familiar to faster feedbacks and more collaborative online components. How do you think the concept of Social media can be used to refer to a larger audience globally? Can we think of distance learning without social media? If no then why? Use examples to support your answer. These questions aim to externalize knowledge and were used as an online mind mapping tool. Probing how they use visualization of information to their maximum abilities. This is the traditional way of new features in the social media education arena which enhances students to determine the possible outcomes of e-learning. Possible use of situations for education have been improvised and evaluated. What do you think about mobile learning in higher education? Does scrolling down a map while youre outside help you? You can explain what you think about location based services. Mapping materials provided possible mashups for location based services as it has been seen as the renaissance in the previous years. To support successful expedition in higher education, a collaborative system essentially location based and lightweight had been developed. Structure and Methodology The methodology applied to the analysis presented in this thesis is constructed on the notions of situations and services denoted to itemize the crucial topic of social media to clarify concrete problems and enable learning in definite situations. Situations or Plots Situations or schemes are the devices for improving our perception. A problem becomes insightfully manageable and can be better mastered by putting a composite set of events and relationships into a story. (Van der Heijden, 1997) A plot is an idealized but detailed description of a specific scenario (Young and Barnard, 1987). Furthermore, a plot is an informal approach widely used in provisional engineering (Alspaugh and Anton, 2008). One of the critical advantages is the comfort of the designer to predict outcomes before trying to specify them, making necessities more proactive in the advancement. (Carroll et al., 1998) These situations can be used to define and identify details of individual research investigation. Furthermore, developing evaluation situations for individual investigative goals can be used efficiently after research. In the scenario of education, the OECD puts forth the definition of situations for the research of expected education in order to administer a basis for stakeholders from different fields to establish long-term strategies. (OECD Publishing, 2006) In technology- enhanced learning, situations or schemes are used in the parameter of an activity-based instructive theory. In this instructive model, learning situations are described as a series of activities, a list of associated user roles, system tools which are applied, and the tutorial content (Helic, 2005). These schemes provide the fundamental assembly of the learning process within this methodology. In the background of this research, situations were used firstly to define the individual issue domains for specific aspects of social media to be adapted to education and thus, by providing concrete scenarios, simplify the possible influence on the learning process. Secondly, these situations describe a test of cases with the help of which the suggested solution can be evaluated to examine the validity of the access.

Effects of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine

Effects of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine Cocaine versus Crack Cocaine Lindsay Janzen Introduction Drugs play a major role on the streets and in the medical field. Some drugs are seen as less serious as others. Stimulants are a wide category of drugs that is an upper. Stimulants generally make you feel happy and energetic. Cocaine and crack cocaine do exactly that. These are two drugs that are very similar, yet very different. Crack cocaine comes from cocaine, but is mixed with baking soda and water to create a lower purity form of free-base cocaine. This creates a hard, brittle unstructured material known as a piece of rock, which is crack cocaine. When it is smoked, it creates a cracking sound, which gives crack cocaine its’ name. Cocaine in its purest form is a white powder, whereas the colour of crack cocaine varies based upon the origin of the cocaine and how the baking soda is added. Crack cocaine can range from white to yellowish to a light brown. Crack cocaine in its purest form is an off-white solid with jagged edges. This paper is going to compare the history, adm inistration, effects, and legal aspects of cocaine and crack cocaine. History Cocaine originated from South America, from coca leaves. Originally, the coca leaves were chewed by workers to decrease fatigue, improve endurance and have a greater resistance to the cold. This was to benefit the workers so they could work longer hours and be more productive. In 1855 the active ingredient in cocaine was isolated from the leaves, and in 1880 it was used as a local anesthetic (Nunes,2006). It was also used in coca cola. In 1855, coca cola was a soda beverage that contained sixty milligrams of cocaine for every eight ounces of the beverage. The idea behind this was to give people energy and a sense of well being (Nunes, 2006). By the late 1880s Sigmund Freud was using cocaine regularly and was even recommending it to others. This only lasted for less than twenty years, until he started discouraging it to others. Then by 1914 cocaine was banned for medical use and in beverages. This caused the use of cocaine and by the 1930s, the use had drastically decreased. It then b ecame popular for recreational use in the 1980s (Nunes, 2006). It was often used and shown in movies such as Scarface, and is famous for the amount of cocaine that Al Pacino uses in one of the final scenes of the movie. Now it is still used recreationally and used by a ‘party crowd’. Although this is the primary category of people who use cocaine, people of all demographics use cocaine recreationally. Cocaine started to be first cut with baking soda in the early 1880s. This was done because of the price drop that drug dealers were facing. They decided to mix it with baking soda and make a hard piece of rock, and sell it in smaller quantities. This made crack cocaine, easily manufactured, cheap which made it highly profitable for drug dealers to develop (Kornbluh, 1997). Crack first started to become largely used in 1984. The worst impact that crack cocaine had was on the Northeastern states of the United States. This was believed to be because the CIA knew about the large amounts of cocaine that was being brought into the United States, to fund some of their operations (Kornbluh, 1997). This was alleged in the Dark Alliances article by a journalist. Today crack cocaine is still used recreationally but by heave drug users and abusers. It is seen as a more serious and more addictive drug than cocaine. Administration Cocaine can be administered in multiple ways, whereas crack cocaine only has one administration method. Cocaine has four main routes of administration. They are orally, injection, intranasal and inhalation. When cocaine is taken orally the person is swallowing the powder or liquid; it then dissolves in the stomach and large intestine and then through passive diffusion it is distributed to get the desired effect. This process takes approximately thirty minutes to enter the blood stream (Volkow, 2013). The next method of administration is injection. There are four different ways that cocaine can be injected into the body. The first method is subcutaneous, which is under the skin. Another method to inject cocaine is intramuscular, which is in the muscle. The third method is intraperitoneal which is in the stomach. Lastly, there is intravenous which is into the veins. Intravenous injection results in intense affects within 30 seconds of the injection (Volkow, 2013). This method is though t to be most common when thinking of heavy drug users because of the fast results. The next route of administration for cocaine is intranasal. This is where cocaine is snorted or sniffed up the nose. This is the most common way that cocaine is administered. Intranasal routes require ten to fifteen minutes for the desired effect of cocaine to begin. The last method is inhalation. This is where cocaine is smoked. The effect of inhaling cocaine is felt almost immediately; however, the effects do not last more than five to fifteen minutes (Volkow, 2013). This method is less likely with cocaine since it is the only way for crack to be administered. Cocaine is readily absorbed after oral and intranasal administration, but the onset of drug action is slower and the peak effect is takes longer period of time to be reached than with other routes of administration. Cocaine is processed rapidly with most of its effects vanishing twenty to eighty minutes after administration (Volkow, 2013). Coc aine and crack cocaine is eliminated through the urine and is detectible up to two to three days after administration. The route of administration is chosen by the user, and is addictive from whichever route is chosen. They become addictive because of the effect cocaine and crack cocaine has on the body. Effects Cocaine is a stimulant drug that has physiological effects that are seen outside of the brain, through how a person acts. Common effects of cocaine that can be detected by others are increased talkativeness, sociability, alertness and insomnia. Cocaine is a stimulant that stimulates the central nervous system. When an individual administers cocaine into body, three neurotransmitters are released into the brain; they are norepinepherine, dopamine and serotonin. These neurotransmitters are normally reabsorbed; however, cocaine works by blocking the reuptake for these neurotransmitters, which allows for these chemicals to build up in the brain (Holman, 1994). Cocaine binds to the transporters that normally remove the excess of these neurotransmitters from the synaptic gap which prevents them from being reabsorbed by the neurons that released them (Depression: Cocaine, 2014). This results in a natural effect of dopamine on the post-synaptic neurons, which is amplified and gives the pleas urable effects or feelings of the drug (Holman, 1994). These feelings are happiness, confidence, and energy. Each of these feelings are stimulated from a different neurotransmitter. Happiness comes from excess dopamine, confidence comes from serotonin and energy comes from excess norepinepherine. Along with the pleasurable effects of cocaine, it also has negative effects. Cocaine can cause nasal damage, loss of appetite, hallucinations, strokes, increased blood pressure, and increased pulse and heart rate. Recent studies have found that five to sex percent of people who use cocaine become dependent on it (O’Brien Anthony, 2005). There is no safe way to use cocaine to avoid becoming dependent; but once dependence is established, withdrawal occurs when not on the drug. This is the same for crack cocaine. Crack cocaine has a high that is extremely pleasurable and produces feelings of euphoria. The initial high is what crack cocaine users constantly keep trying to achieve. This creates the addictive behaviours associated with the abuse of crack cocaine. This desirable euphoric effect only lasts for a few minutes. Once this effect is done, the negative side effects begin and last longer than the pleasurable effects. The negative side effects include, paranoia, depressed and extreme itchiness. Long term effects of crack cocaine use are crack lips from the hot glass smoking pipe that is used to smoke crack cocaine. Other long term effects are respiratory and heart problems, teeth damage, loss of appetite, malnutrition, insomnia and liver and kidney damage. Crack cocaine abuse has been found to be associated with homelessness, unemployment and the sex trade (Edwards, Halpern Wechsberg, 2006). This is due to the paranoia and the need to support their drug use. Legal Legally, cocaine and crack cocaine are both classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act. The classification means that there are no legal rights to use cocaine and crack cocaine for medical use. Punishment is different for cocaine and crack cocaine, but it is based upon the amount of the drug that is found, and the purpose for having the drug. They are each treated as an indictable or summary conviction. If you are convicted of possession of cocaine or crack cocaine, with an amount over one kilogram it is an indictable offence and has a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. If it is less than one kilogram, it is a summary conviction. The punishment depends on the person’s criminal history. There is a mmaximum fine of 1000 dollars for first offence and/or six months imprisonment or a maximum fine of 2000 dollars for subsequent offences and/or maximum one year imprisonment. If you are convicted of trafficking or possession with the intent of trafficking, the punishment has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory one year of imprisonment if amount is less than one kilogram and two years if amount exceeds two kilograms (Controlled drug and, 2013). The starting point for trafficking in cocaine in small quantities is three years for most provinces, whereas the range of sentence for trafficking of cocaine in the amounts of one kilogram or more will typically see sentences in the range of five years. Larger amounts upward of three kilograms will have a range of six to eight years. In comparison, in Ontario, the range of sentencing for trafficking in small amounts of crack cocaine is six months to two years (Controlled drug and, 2013). This shows that although cocaine and crack cocaine are different drugs, they are classified under the same legal category. The only difference is the sentencing, which is based upon the amount you are convicted of having. Crack cocaine has a longer jail sentence with smaller amou nts than cocaine has of the same amount. Conclusion Cocaine and crack cocaine have similar long term effects. They both create insomnia and kidney and liver problems. They differ in the short term effects. Cocaine gives you increased feelings, of energy and happiness, whereas crack cocaine has a short high of euphoria and then negative effects of depression and paranoia. Crack cocaine is seen as a more serious drug than cocaine. This is shown by the legal sentencing of trafficking. A lesser amount of crack cocaine, gives a longer jail sentence than cocaine does. â€Å"Crack has been widely believed to be cheaper than powder cocaine, and this fact has been used to help explain why drug problems worsened in the 1980s† (Caulkins, 1997).

The History of the Antitrust Laws Essay -- U.S. Law

In the 1800’s there were several businesses known as trusts. These â€Å"trusts† owned the entire industry. Railroads, sugar, oil, and steel were some of the major products that were controlled by these trusts. U.S. Steel and Standard Oil were two big companies that were famous for controlling their product and the industry it was a part of. The oil industry was an easy industry to be monopolized because the deposits were rare. The Standard Oil Company was incorporated by John D. Rockefeller in Ohio in 1870. At the time, the refining business was highly competitive, and Standard Oil had more than 250 competitors. Rockefeller and his associates took advantage of both the scarcity of oil and the returns produced from it to lay down a monopoly, with no help from the banks. The industry practices and questionable strategy that Rockefeller used to form Standard Oil made the Enron mass feel ashamed, but the completed product was not near as harmful to the market or the environment as the industry was previous to Rockefeller monopolizing it. There once were a lot of oil companies competing to make the most of their find. Companies would pump waste products into the rivers or on the ground because it cost too much for research on how to dispose of it properly. They also slashed costs by pumping through poor pipelines that were famous for seepage. Standard Oil eventually owned 90% of oil production and distribution in the United States, and they had learned how to make money off of their waste products. Vaseline was one of many of the new products formed. Andrew Carnegie went a lengthy way in producing a monopoly in the steel industry U.S. Steel, a gigantic corporation nearly reaching the magnitude of Standard Oil. U.S. Steel ... ...rman+Act Antitrust: An Overview. ANTITRUST. Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Antitrust Sherman Anti-Trust Act. LawBrain. http://lawbrain.com/wiki/Sherman_Anti-Trust_Act Clayton Act. LawBrain. http://lawbrain.com/wiki/Clayton_Act Herbert Hovenkamp. Clayton Act (1914). Enotes. Major Acts of Congress,  ©2004 Gale Cengage. http://www.enotes.com/clayton-act-1914-reference/clayton-act-1914 Herbert Hovenkamp. Federal Trade Commission Act (1914). Enotes. Major Acts of Congress,  ©2004 Gale Cengage. http://www.enotes.com/federal-trade-commission-act-1914-100734-reference/federal-trade-commission-act-1914 Herbert Hovenkamp. Sherman Antitrust Act (1890). Enotes. Major Acts of Congress,  ©2004 Gale Cengage. http://www.enotes.com/sherman-antitrust-act-1890-101422-reference/sherman-antitrust-act-1890

Class Distinction Shown in The Prince and the Pauper Essay example --

In his book, The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain highlights class distinction very often. It plays an immensely important role in his novel, because Twain places his two main characters in the total extremes of the social class. Through these characters, Edward and Tom, Twain illustrates the vast difference between the high and low ends of the social class in England, shows how ignorant they were of each other, proves that a person's social status was determined by his appearance, and demonstrates that social status does not show the true worth of a person. Throughout the whole book, Twain shows that there is a huge difference between the English Royalty and the slums. He does this by describing Tom's and Edward's homes, the people surrounding them, their way of life, and the way they dressed. The first chapter of Twain's book starts out like this: In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. (15) Already in the first two sentences, he shows a drastic difference between the two main characters. Tom was an unwanted child, but the whole nation had been longing for the birth of Edward. Later on in the chapter he makes a comment about their clothes, saying that Tom was â€Å"lapped in his poor rags,† and Edward â€Å"lay lapped in silks and satin† (15). Twain uses Tom's and Edward's homes as another way to portray class distinction. He describes the places where they live so vividly that the reader can almost visualize it in his head. Tom lived on Offal Court, and the name fit his situation pre... ...ction can be found on almost every page. Twain uses it to portray his own views on England's social classes. Works Cited Paul, Kathleen. "The Prince and the Pauper." Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction Series (1991). Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. North Haledon Free Public Library, North Haledon, NJ. 3 Jan. 2009 . "The Prince and the Pauper." Masterplots, Revised Second Edition (1996). Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. North Haledon Free Public Library, North Haledon, NJ. 3 Jan. 2009 . Twain, Mark. The Prince and the Pauper. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1964.

Green peace :: essays research papers

We interviewed Andra Zommers from Greenpeace. The questions we asked were as follows: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Greenpeace? 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How is Greenpeace run/structured? 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why did you get involved in the environment? (Your motivation) 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why Greenpeace? 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In your opinion, where is the greatest concern? 6)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is there any Spiritual emphasis Greenpeace has or that you personally have? 7)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Greenpeace’s vision for the future? 8)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What gives you hope? Taken from www.greenpeace.ca: â€Å"Greenpeace is an independently funded organization that works to protect the environment. We challenge government and industry to halt harmful practices by negotiating solutions, conducting scientific research, introducing clean alternatives, carrying out peaceful acts of civil disobedience and educating and engaging the public. Greenpeace seeks to:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Protect biodiversity in all its forms;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prevent pollution of the earth’s oceans, land, air and fresh water;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  End all nuclear threats;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Promote peace, global disarmament and non-violence.† It is a global campaigning organization founded in 1971 and contains offices in 27 countries worldwide. They place a high emphasis on non-violent confrontational methods in the hope to raise education and awareness. This is often the motivation behind protests. They do this through lobbying, campaigns, boycotts, discussions and interviews. Their focus audience is the consumer. They hope to inform the consumer to change economic stance to support only companies concerned with the environment. Theoretically, the change in money flow should affect large companies approaches to the environment. Greenpeace is independently run in each country. Greenpeace Canada contains 7 board of director members (Peter Bleyer, Varda Burstyn, John Doherty (chair), John Foster, Karen Wristen) that determine priorities and the annual budget. The Executive Director, Peter Tabuns, handles day-to-day management. It is run solely on public donations and does not accept company of government funding in order to stay independent. Most of the money stays local. Their head office is located at 1726 Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Andra credits her motivation towards the environment largely to the location of her upbringing. The claims that the in-your-face beauty of British Columbia, with its mountains, lakes, rivers, forests and ocean, one cannot help but be drawn and connected by it. This, accompanied by the in-your-face destruction of the environment and abuse evidently seen in British Columbia, one cannot help but also be involved with saving the thing you are so closely connected to. She also expressed much concern with the power corporation seem to have over our lives and her personal desire to educate people and see them change for the better drives her to continue in the field.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER THREE

My publisher didn't know, my editor Debra Weinstock didn't know, my agent Harold Oblowski didn't know. Frank Arlen didn't know, either, although on more than one occasion I had been tempted to tell him. Let me be your brother. For Jo's sake if not your own, he told me on the day he went back to his printing business and mostly solitary life in the southern Maine town of Sanford. I had never expected to take him up on that, and didn't not in the elemental cry-for-help way he might have been thinking about but I phoned him every couple of weeks or so. Guy-talk, you know How's it going, Not too bad, cold as a witch's tit, Yeah, here, too, You want to go down to Boston if I can get Bruins tickets, Maybe next year, pretty busy right now, Yeah, I know how that is, seeya, Mikey, Okay, Frank, keep your wee-wee in the teepee. Guy-talk. I'm pretty sure that once or twice he asked me if I was working on a new book, and I think I said Oh, fuck it that's a lie, okay? One so ingrown that now I'm even telling it to myself. He asked, all right, and I always said yeah, I was working on a new book, it was going good, real good. I was tempted more than once to tell him I can't write two paragraphs without going into total mental and physical doglock my heartbeat doubles, then triples, I get short of breath and then start to pant, my eyes feel like they're going to pop out of my head and hang there on my cheeks. I'm like a claustrophobe in a sinking submarine. That's how it's going, thanks for asking, but I never did. I don't call for help. I can't call for help. I think I told you that. From my admittedly prejudiced standpoint, successful novelists even modestly successful novelists have got the best gig in the creative arts. It's true that people buy more CDS than books, go to more movies, and watch a lot more TV. But the arc of productivity is longer for novelists, perhaps because readers are a little brighter than fans of the non-written arts, and thus have marginally longer memories. David Soul of Starsky and Hutch is God knows where, same with that peculiar white rapper Vanilla Ice, but in 1994, Herman Wouk, James Michener, and Norman Mailer were all still around; talk about when dinosaurs walked the earth. Arthur Hailey was writing a new book (that was the rumor, anyway, and it turned out to be true), Thomas Harris could take seven years between Lecters and still produce bestsellers, and although not heard from in almost forty years, J. D. Salinger was still a hot topic in English classes and informal coffee-house literary groups. Readers have a loyalty that cannot be matched anywhere else in the creative arts, which explains why so many writers who have run out of gas can keep coasting anyway, propelled onto the bestseller lists by the magic words AUTHOR OF on the covers of their books. What the publisher wants in return, especially from an author who can be counted on to sell 500,000 or so copies of each novel in hardcover and a million more in paperback, is perfectly simple: a book a year. That, the wallahs in New York have determined, is the optimum. Three hundred and eighty pages bound by string or glue every twelve months, a beginning, a middle, and an end, continuing main character like Kinsey Millhone or Kay Scarpetta optional but very much preferred. Readers love continuing characters; it's like coming back to family. Less than a book a year and you're screwing up the publisher's investment in you, hampering your business manager's ability to continue floating all of your credit cards, and jeopardizing your agent's ability to pay his shrink on time. Also, there's always some fan attrition when you take too long. Can't be helped. Just as, if you publish too much, there are readers who'll say, ‘Phew, I've had enough of this guy for awhile, it's all starting to taste like beans.' I tell you all this so you'll understand how I could spend four years using my computer as the world's most expensive Scrabble board, and no one ever suspected. Writer's block? What writer's block? We don't got no steenkin writer's block. How could anyone think such a thing when there was a new Michael Noonan suspense novel appearing each fall just like clockwork, perfect for your late-summer pleasure reading, folks, and by the way, don't forget that the holidays are coming and that all your relatives would also probably enjoy the new Noonan, which can he had at Borders at a thirty percent discount, oy vay, such a deal. The secret is simple, and I am not the only popular novelist in America who knows it if the rumors are correct, Danielle Steel (to name just one) has been using the Noonan Formula for decades. You see, although I have published a book a year starting with Being Two in 1984, I wrote two books in four of those ten years, publishing one and ratholing the other. I don't remember ever talking about this with Jo, and since she never asked, I always assumed she understood what I was doing: saving up nuts. It wasn't writer's block I was thinking of, though. Shit, I was just having fun. By February of 1995, after crashing and burning with at least two good ideas (that particular function the Eureka! thing has never stopped, which creates its own special version of hell), I could no longer deny the obvious: I was in the worst sort of trouble a writer can get into, barring Alzheimer's or a cataclysmic stroke. Still, I had four cardboard manuscript boxes in the big safe-deposit box I keep up at Fidelity Union. They were marked Promise, Threat, Darcy, and Top. Around Valentine's Day, my agent called, moderately nervous I usually delivered my latest masterpiece to him by January, and here it was already half-past February. They would have to crash production to get this year's Mike Noonan out in time for the annual Christmas buying orgy. Was everything all right? This was my first chance to say things were a country mile from all but Mr. Harold Oblowski of 225 Park Avenue wasn't the sort of man you said such things to. He was a fine agent, both liked and loathed in publishing circles (sometimes by the same people at the same time), but he didn't adapt well to bad news from the dark and oil.treaked levels where the goods were actually produced. He would have freaked and been on the next plane to Derry, ready to give me creative mouth-to-mouth, adamant in his resolve not to leave until he had yanked me out of my fugue. No, I liked Harold right where he was, in his thirty-eighth-floor office with its kickass view of the East Side. I told him what a coincidence, Harold, you calling on the very day I finished the new one, gosharooty, how 'bout that, I'll send it out FedEx, you'll have it tomorrow. Harold assured me solemnly that there was no coincidence about it, that where his writers were concerned, he was telepathic. Then he congratulated me and hung up. Two hours later I received his bouquet-every bit as fulsome and silky as one of his Jimmy Hollywood ascots. After putting the flowers in the dining room, where I rarely went since Jo died, I went down to Fidelity Union. I used my key, the bank manager used his, and soon enough I was on my way to FedEx with the manuscript of All the Way from the Top. I took the most recent book because it was the one closest to the front of the box, that's all. In November it was published just in time for the Christmas rush. I dedicated it to the memory of my late, beloved wife, Johanna. It went to number eleven on the Times bestseller list, and everyone went home happy. Even me. Because things would get better, wouldn't they? No one had terminal writer's block, did they (well, with the possible exception of Harper Lee)? All I had to do was relax, as the chorus girl said to the archbishop. And thank God I'd been a good squirrel and saved up my nuts. I was still optimistic the following year when I drove down to the Federal Express office with Threatening Behavior. That one was written in the fall of 1991, and had been one of Jo's favorites. Optimism had faded quite a little bit by March of 1997, when I drove through a wet snowstorm with Darcy's Admirer, although when people asked me how it was going (‘Writing any good books lately?' is the existential way most seem to phrase the question), I still answered good, fine, yeah, writing lots of good books lately, they're pouring out of me like shit out of a cow's ass. After Harold had read Darcy and pronounced it my best ever, a best-seller which was also serious, I hesitantly broached the idea of taking a year off. He responded immediately with the question I detest above all others: was I all right? Sure, I told him, fine as freckles, just thinking about easing off a little. There followed one of those patented Harold Oblowski silences, which were meant to convey that you were being a terrific asshole, but because Harold liked you so much, he was trying to think of the gentlest possible way of telling you so. This is a wonderful trick, but one I saw through about six years ago. Actually, it was Jo who saw through it. ‘He's only pretending compassion,' she said. ‘Actually, he's like a cop in one of those old film noir movies, keeping his mouth shut so you'll blunder ahead and end up confessing to everything.' This time I kept my mouth shut just switched the phone from my right ear to my left, and rocked back a little further in my office chair. When I did, my eye fell on the framed photograph over my computer Sara Laughs, our place on Dark Score Lake. I hadn't been there in eons, and for a moment I consciously wondered why. Then Harold's voice cautious, comforting, the voice of a sane man trying to talk a lunatic out of what he hopes will be no more than a passing delusion was back in my ear. ‘That might not be a good idea, Mike not at this stage of your career.' ‘This isn't a stage,' I said. ‘I peaked in 1991 since then, my sales haven't really gone up or down. This is a plateau, Harold.' ‘Yes,' he said, ‘and writers who've reached that steady state really only have two choices in terms of sales they can continue as they are, or they can go down.' So I go down, I thought of saying . . . but didn't. I didn't want Harold to know exactly how deep this went, or how shaky the ground under me was. I didn't want him to know that I was now having heart palpitations-yes, I mean this literally almost every time I opened the Word Six program on my computer and looked at the blank screen and flashing cursor. ‘Yeah,' I said. ‘Okay. Message received.' ‘You're sure you're all right?' ‘Does the book read like I'm wrong, Harold?' ‘Hell, no it's a helluva yarn. Your personal best, I told you. A great read but also fucking serious shit. If Saul Bellow wrote romantic suspense fiction, this is what he'd write. But . . . you're not having any trouble with :the next one, are you? I know you're still missing Jo, hell, we all are ‘ ‘No,' I said. ‘No trouble at all.' Another of those long silences ensued. I endured it. At last Harold said, ‘Grisham could afford to take a year off. Clancy could. Thomas Harris, the long silences are a part of his mystique. But where you are, life is even tougher than at the very top, Mike. There are five writers for every one of those spots down on the list, and you know who they are hell, they're your neighbors three months a year. Some are going up, the way Patricia Cornwell went up with her last two books, some are going down, and some are staying steady, like you. If Tom Clancy were to go on hiatus for five years and then bring Jack Ryan back, he'd come back strong, no argument. If you go on hiatus for five years, maybe you don't come back at all. My advice is ‘ ‘Make hay while the sun shines.' ‘Took the words right out of my mouth.' We talked a little more, then said our goodbyes. I leaned back further in my office chair not all the way to the tip over point but close and looked at the photo of our western Maine retreat. Sara Laughs, sort of like the title of that hoary old Hall and Oates ballad. Jo had loved it more, true enough, but only by a little, so why had I been staying away? Bill Dean, the caretaker, took down the storm shutters every spring and put them back up every fall, drained the pipes in the fall and made sure the pump was running in the spring, checked the generator and took care to see that all the maintenance tags were current, anchored the swimming float fifty yards or so off our little lick of beach after each Memorial Day. Bill had the chimney cleaned in the early summer of '96, although there hadn't been a fire in the fireplace for two years or more. I paid him quarterly, as is the custom with caretakers in that part of the world; Bill Dean, old Yankee from a long line of them, cashed my checks and didn't ask why I never used my place anymore. I'd only been down two or three times since Jo died, and not a single overnight. Good thing Bill didn't ask, because I don't know what answer I would have given him. I hadn't even really thought about Sara Laughs until my conversation with Harold. Thinking of Harold, I looked away from the photo and back at the phone. Imagined saying to him, So I go down, so what? The world comes to an end? Please. It isn't as if I had a wife and family to support the wife died in a drugstore parking lot, if you please (or even if you don't please), and the kid we wanted so badly and tried for so long went with her, I don't crave the fame, either if writers who fill the lower slots on the Times bestseller list can be said to be famous and I don't fall asleep dreaming of book club sales. So why? Why does it even bother me? But that last one I could answer. Because it felt like giving up. Because without my wife and my work, I was a superfluous man living alone in a big house that was all paid for, doing nothing but the newspaper crossword over lunch. I pushed on with what passed for my life. I forgot about Sara Laughs (or some part of me that didn't want to go there buried the idea) and spent another sweltering, miserable summer in Derry. I put a cruciverbalist program on my Powerbook and began making my own crossword puzzles. I took an interim appointment on the local YMCA's board of directors and judged the Summer Arts Competition in Waterville. I did a series of TV ads for the local homeless shelter, which was staggering toward bankruptcy, then served on that board for awhile. (At one public meeting of this latter board a woman called me a friend of degenerates, to which I replied, ‘Thanks! I needed that.' This resulted in a loud outburst of applause which I still don't understand.) I tried some one-on-one counselling and gave it up after five appointments, deciding that the counsellor's problems were far worse than mine. I sponsored an Asian child and bowled with a league. Sometimes I tried to write, and every time I did, I locked up. Once, when I tried to force a sentence or two (any sentence or two, just as long as they came fresh-baked out of my own head), I had to grab the wastebasket and vomit into it. I vomited until I thought it was going to kill me . . . and I did have to literally crawl away from the desk and the computer, pulling myself across the deep-pile rug on my hands and knees. By the time I got to the other side of the room, it was better. I could even look back over my shoulder at the VDT screen. I just couldn't get near it. Later that day, I approached it with my eyes shut and turned it off. More and more often during those late-summer days I thought of Dennison Carville, the creative-writing teacher who'd helped me connect with Harold and who had damned Being Two with such faint praise. Camille once said something I never forgot, attributing it to Thomas Hardy, the Victorian novelist and poet. Perhaps Hardy did say it, but I've never found it repeated, not in Bartlett's, not in the Hardy biography I read between the publications of All the Way from the Top and Threatening Behavior. I have an idea Carville may have made it up himself and then attributed it to Hardy in order to give it more weight. It's a ploy I have used myself from time to time, I'm ashamed to say. In any case, I thought about this quote more and more as I struggled with the panic in my body and the frozen feeling in my head, that awful locked-up feeling. It seemed to sum up my despair and my growing certainty that I would never be able to write again (what a tragedy, V. C. Andrews with a prick felled by writer's block). It was this quote that suggested any effort I made to better my situation might be meaningless even if it succeeded. According to gloomy old Dennison Carville, the aspiring novelist should understand from the outset that fiction's goals were forever beyond his reach, that the job was an exercise in futility. ‘Compared to the dullest human being actually walking about on the face of the earth and casting his shadow there,' Hardy supposedly said, ‘the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones.' I understood because that was what I felt like in those interminable, dissembling days: a bag of bones. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. If there is any more beautiful and haunting first line in English fiction, I've never read it. And it was a line I had cause to think of a lot during the fall of 1997 and the winter of 1998. I didn't dream of Manderley, of course, but of Sara Laughs, which Jo sometimes called ‘the hideout.' A fair enough description, I guess, for a place so far up in the western Maine woods that it's not really even in a town at all, but in an unincorporated area designated on state maps as RR-90. The last of these dreams was a nightmare, but until that one they had a kind of surreal simplicity. They were dreams I'd awake from wanting to turn on the bedroom light so I could reconfirm my place in reality before going back to sleep. You know how the air feels before a thunderstorm, how everything gets still and colors seem to stand out with the brilliance of things seen during a high fever? My winter dreams of Sara Laughs were like that, each leaving me with a feeling that was not quite sickness. I've dreamt again of Manderley, I would think sometimes, and sometimes I would lie in bed with the light on, listening to the wind outside, looking into the bedroom's shadowy corners, and thinking that Rebecca de Winter hadn't drowned in a bay but in Dark Score Lake. That she had gone down, gurgling and flailing, her strange black eyes full of water, while the loons cried out indifferently in the twilight. Sometimes I would get up and drink a glass of water. Sometimes I just turned off the light after I was once more sure of where I was, rolled over on my side again, and went back to sleep. In the daytime I rarely thought of Sara Laughs at all, and it was only much later that I realized something is badly out of whack when there is such a dichotomy between a person's waking and sleeping lives. I think that Harold Oblowski's call in October of 1997 was what kicked off the dreams. Harold's ostensible reason for calling was to congratulate me on the impending release of Darcy's Admirer, which was entertaining as hell and which also contained some extremely thought-provoking shit. I suspected he had at least one other item on his agenda Harold usually does and I was right. He'd had lunch with Debra Weinstock, my editor, the day before, and they had gotten talking about the fall of 1998. ‘Looks crowded,' he said, meaning the fall lists, meaning specifically the fiction half of the fall lists. ‘And there are some surprise additions. Dean Koontz ‘ ‘I thought he usually published in January,' I said. ‘He does, but Debra hears this one may be delayed. He wants to add a section, or something. Also there's a Harold Robbins, The Predators ‘ ‘Big deal.' ‘Robbins still has his fans, Mike, still has his fans. As you yourself have pointed out on more than one occasion, fiction writers have a long arc.' ‘Uh-huh.' I switched the telephone to the other ear and leaned back in my chair. I caught a glimpse of the framed Sara Laughs photo over my desk when I did. I would be visiting it at greater length and proximity that night in my dreams, although I didn't know that then; all I knew then was that I wished like almighty fuck that Harold Oblowski would hurry up and get to the point. ‘I sense impatience, Michael my boy,' Harold said. ‘Did I catch you at your desk? Are you writing?' ‘Just finished for the day,' I said. ‘I am thinking about lunch, however.' ‘I'll be quick,' he promised, ‘but hang with me, this is important. There may be as many as five other writers that we didn't expect publishing next fall: Ken Follett . . . it's supposed to be his best since Eye of the Needle . . . Belva Plain . . . John Jakes . . . ‘ ‘None of those guys plays tennis on my court,' I said, although I knew that was not exactly Harold's point; Harold's point was that there are only fifteen slots on the Times list. ‘How about Jean Auel, finally publishing the next of her sex-among-the-cave-people epics?' I sat up. ‘Jean Auel? Really?' ‘Well . . . not a hundred percent, but it looks good. Last but not least is a new Mary Higgins Clark. I know what tennis court she plays on, and so do you.' If I'd gotten that sort of news six or seven years earlier, when I'd felt I had a great deal more to protect, I would have been frothing; Mary Higgins Clark did play on the same court, shared exactly the same audience, and so far our publishing schedules had been arranged to keep us out of each other's way . . . which was to my benefit rather than hers, let me assure you. Going nose to nose, she would cream me. As the late Jim Croce so wisely observed, you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger, and you don't mess around with Mary Higgins Clark. Not if you're Michael Noonan, anyway. ‘How did this happen?' I asked. I don't think my tone was particularly ominous, but Harold replied in the nervous, stumbling-all-over-his-own-words fashion of a man who suspects he may be fired or even beheaded for bearing evil tidings. ‘I don't know. She just happened to get an extra idea this year, I guess. That does happen, I've been told.' As a fellow who had taken his share of double-dips I knew it did, so I simply asked Harold what he wanted. It seemed the quickest and easiest way to get him to relinquish the phone. The answer was no surprise; what he and Debra both wanted not to mention all the rest of my Putnam pals was a book they could publish in late summer of '98, thus getting in front of Ms. Clark and the rest of the competition by a couple of months. Then, in November, the Putnam sales reps would give the novel a healthy second push, with the Christmas season in mind. ‘So they say,' I replied. Like most novelists (and in this regard the successful are no different from the unsuccessful, indicating there might be some merit to the idea as well as the usual free-floating paranoia), I never trusted publishers' promises. ‘I think you can believe them on this, Mike Darcy's Admirer was the last book of your old contract, remember.' Harold sounded almost sprightly at the thought of forthcoming contract negotiations with Debra Weinstock and Phyllis Grann at Putnam. ‘The big thing is they still like you. They'd like you even more, I think, if they saw pages with your name on them before Thanksgiving.' ‘They want me to give them the next book in November? Next month?' I injected what I hoped was the right note of incredulity into my voice, just as if I hadn't had Helen's Promise in a safe-deposit box for almost eleven years. It had been the first nut I had stored; it was now the only nut I had left. ‘No, no, you could have until January fifteenth, at least,' he said, trying to sound magnanimous. I found myself wondering where he and Debra had gotten their lunch. Some fly place, I would have bet my life on that. Maybe Four Seasons. Johanna always used to call that place Valli and the Four Seasons. ‘It means they'd have to crash production, seriously crash it, but they're willing to do that. The real question is whether or not you could crash production.' ‘I think I could, but it'll cost em,' I said. ‘Tell them to think of it as being like same-day service on your dry-cleaning.' ‘Oh what a rotten shame for them!' Harold sounded as if he were maybe jacking off and had reached the point where Old Faithful splurts and everybody snaps their Instamatics. ‘How much do you think ‘ ‘A surcharge tacked on to the advance is probably the way to go,' he said. ‘They'll get pouty of course, claim that the move is in your interest, too. Primarily in your interest, even. But based on the extra-work argument . . . the midnight oil you'll have to burn . . . ‘ ‘The mental agony of creation . . . the pangs of premature birth . . . ‘ ‘Right . . . right . . . I think a ten percent surcharge sounds about right.' He spoke judiciously, like a man trying to be just as damned fair as he possibly could. Myself, I was wondering how many women would induce birth a month or so early if they got paid two or three hundred grand extra for doing so. Probably some questions are best left unanswered. And in my case, what difference did it make? The goddam thing was written, wasn't it? ‘Well, see if you can make the deal,' I said. ‘Yes, but I don't think we want to be talking about just a single book here, okay? I think ‘ ‘Harold, what I want right now is to eat some lunch.' ‘You sound a little tense, Michael. Is everything ‘ ‘Everything is fine. Talk to them about just one book, with a sweetener for speeding up production at my end. Okay?' ‘Okay,' he said after one of his most significant pauses. ‘But I hope this doesn't mean that you won't entertain a three- or four-book contract later on. Make hay while the sun shines, remember. It's the motto Of champions.' ‘Cross each bridge when you come to it is the motto of champions,' I said, and that night I dreamt I went to Sara Laughs again. In that dream in all the dreams I had that fall and winter I am walking up the lane to the lodge. The lane is a two-mile loop through the woods with ends opening onto Route 68. It has a number at either end (Lane Forty-two, if it matters) in case you have to call in a fire, but no name. Nor did Jo and I ever give it one, not even between ourselves. It is narrow, really just a double rut with timothy and witchgrass growing on the crown. When you drive in, you can hear that grass whispering like low voices against the undercarriage of your car or truck. I don't drive in the dream, though. I never drive. In these dreams I walk. The trees huddle in close on either side of the lane. The darkening sky overhead is little more than a slot. Soon I will be able to see the first peeping stars. Sunset is past. Crickets chirr. Loons cry on the lake. Small things chipmunks, probably, or the occasional squirrel rustle in the woods. Now I come to a dirt driveway sloping down the hill on my right. It is our driveway, marked with a little wooden sign which reads SARA LAUGHS. I stand at the head of it, but I don't go down. Below is the lodge. It's all logs and added-on wings, with a deck jutting out behind. Fourteen rooms in all, a ridiculous number of rooms. It should look ugly and awkward, but somehow it does not. There is a brave-dowager quality to Sara, the look of a lady pressing resolutely on toward her hundredth year, still taking pretty good strides in spite of her arthritic hips and gimpy old knees. The central section is the oldest, dating back to 1900 or so. Other sections were added in the thirties, forties, and sixties. Once it was a hunting lodge; for a brief period in the early seventies it was home to a small commune of transcendental hippies. These were lease or rental deals; the owners from the late forties until 1984 were the Hingermans, Darren and Marie . . . then Marie alone when Darren died in 1971. The only visible addition from our period of ownership is the tiny DSS dish mounted on the central roofpeak. That was Johanna's idea, and she never really got a chance to enjoy it. Beyond the house, the lake glimmers in the afterglow of sunset. The driveway, I see, is carpeted with brown pine needles and littered with fallen branches. The bushes which grow on either side of it have run wild, reaching out to one another like lovers across the narrowed gap which separates them. If you brought a car down here, the branches would scrape and unpleasantly against its sides. Below, I see, there's moss growing logs of the main house, and three large sunflowers with faces like have grown up through the boards of the little driveway-side. The overall feeling is not neglect, exactly, but forgottenness. There is a breath of breeze, and its coldness on my skin makes me that I have been sweating. I can smell pine a smell which is sour and clean at the same time and the faint but somehow smell of the lake. Dark Score is one of the cleanest, deepest in Maine. It was bigger until the late thirties, Marie Hingerman us; that was when Western Maine Electric, working hand in hand the mills and paper operations around Rumford, had gotten state to dam the Gessa River. Marie also showed us some charming photographs of white-frocked ladies and vested gentlemen in canoes snaps were from the time of the First World War, she said, and to one of the young women, frozen forever on the rim of the with a dripping paddle upraised. ‘That's my mother,' she said, the man she's threatening with the paddle is my father.' Loons crying, their voices like loss. Now I can see Venus in the dark-sky. Star light, star bright, wish I may, wish I might . . . in these I always wish for Johanna. With my wish made, I try to walk down the driveway. Of course I do. Its my house, isn't it? Where else would I go but my house, now that dark and now that the stealthy rustling in the woods seems closer and somehow more purposeful? Where else can I go? It's dark, and it will be frightening to go into that dark place alone (suppose been left so long alone? suppose she's angry?), but I must. If the electricity's off, I'll light one of the hurricane lamps we keep in a kitchen cabinet. I can't go down. My legs won't move. It's as if my body knows something about the house down there that my brain does not. The breeze rises again, chilling gooseflesh out onto my skin, and I wonder what I have done to get myself all sweaty like this. Have I been running? And if so, what have I been running toward? Or from? My hair is sweaty, too; it lies on my brow in an unpleasantly heavy clump. I raise my hand to brush it away and see there is a shallow cut, fairly recent, running across the back, just beyond the knuckles. Sometimes this cut is on my right hand, sometimes it's on the left. I think, If this is a dream, the details are good. Always that same thought: If this is a dream, the details are good. It's the absolute truth. They are a novelist's details . . . but in dreams, perhaps everyone is a novelist. How is one to know? Now Sara Laughs is only a dark hulk down below, and I realize I don't want to go down there, anyway. I am a man who has trained his mind to misbehave, and I can imagine too many things waiting for me inside. A rabid raccoon crouched in a corner of the kitchen. Bats in the bath-room if disturbed they'll crowd the air around my cringing face, squeaking and fluttering against my cheeks with their dusty wings. Even one of William Denbrough's famous Creatures from Beyond the Universe, now hiding under the porch and watching me approach with glittering, pus-rimmed eyes. ‘Well, I can't stay up here,' I say, but my legs won't move, and it seems I will be staying up here, where the driveway meets the lane; that I will be staying up here, like it or not. Now the rustling in the woods behind me sounds not like small animals (most of them would by then be nested or burrowed for the night, anyway) but approaching footsteps. I try to turn and see, but I can't even do that . . . . . . and that was where I usually woke up. The first thing I always did was to turn over, establishing my return to reality by demonstrating to myself that my body would once more obey my mind. Sometimes most times, actually I would find myself thinking Manderley, I have dreamt again of Manderley. There was something creepy about this (there's something creepy about any repeating dream, I think, about knowing your subconscious is digging obsessively at some object that won't be dislodged), but I would be lying if I didn't add that some part of me enjoyed the breathless summer calm in which the dream always wrapped me, and that part also enjoyed the sadness and foreboding I felt when I awoke. There was an exotic strangeness to the dream that was missing from my waking life, now that the road leading out of my imagination was so effectively blocked. The only time I remember being really frightened (and I must tell I don't completely trust any of these memories, because for so long they didn't seem to exist at all) was when I awoke one night speaking clearly into the dark of my bedroom: ‘Something's behind me, don't let it get me, something in the woods, please don't let it get me.' wasn't the words themselves that frightened me so much as the tone in which they were spoken. It was the voice of a man on the raw edge of panic, and hardly seemed like my own voice at all. Two days before Christmas of 1997, I once more drove down to Fidelity where once more the bank manager escorted me to my safe-box in the fluorescent-lit catacombs. As we walked down the stairs he assured me (for the dozenth time, at least) that his wife was a huge fan of my work, she'd read all my books, couldn't get enough. For the dozenth time (at least) I replied that now I must get him in my clutches. He responded with his usual chuckle. I thought of this oft-repeated exchange as Banker's Communion. Mr. Quinlan inserted his key in Slot A and turned it. Then, as discreetly as a pimp who has conveyed a customer to a whore's crib, he left. I inserted my own key in Slot B, turned it, and opened the drawer. It very vast now. The one remaining manuscript box seemed almost to quail in the far corner, like an abandoned puppy who somehow knows his sibs have been taken off and gassed. Promise was scrawled across the top in fat black letters. I could barely remember what the goddam story was about. I snatched that time-traveller from the eighties and slammed the box shut. Nothing left in there now but dust. Give me that, Jo had hissed in my dream it was the first time I'd thought of that one in years. Give me that, it's my dust-catcher. Mr Quinlan, I'm finished,' I called. My voice sounded rough and unsteady to my own ears, but Quinlan seemed to sense nothing wrong . . . or perhaps he was just being discreet. I can't have been the only customer after all, who found his or her visits to this financial version of Forest Lawn emotionally distressful. ‘I'm really going to read one of your books,' he said, dropping an involuntary little glance at the box I was holding (I suppose I could have brought a briefcase to put it in, but on those expeditions I never did). ‘In fact, I think I'll put it on my list of New Year's resolutions.' ‘You do that,' I said. ‘You just do that, Mr. Quinlan.' ‘Mark,' he said. ‘Please.' He'd said this before, too. I had composed two letters, which I slipped into the manuscript box before setting out for Federal Express. Both had been written on my computer, which my body would let me use as long as I chose the Note Pad function. It was only opening Word Six that caused the storms to start. I never tried to compose a novel using the Note Pad function, understanding that if I did, I'd likely lose that option, too . . . not to mention my ability to play Scrabble and do crosswords on the machine. I had tried a couple of times to compose longhand, with spectacular lack of success. The problem wasn't what I had once heard described as ‘screen shyness'; I had proved that to myself. One of the notes was to Harold, the other to Debra Weinstock, and both said pretty much the same thing: here's the new book, Helen's Promise, hope you like it as much as I do, if it seems a little rough it's because I had to work a lot of extra hours to finish it this soon, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Erin Go Bragh, trick or treat, hope someone gives you a fucking pony. I stood for almost an hour in a line of shuffling, bitter-eyed late mailers (Christmas is such a carefree, low-pressure time that's one of the things I love about it), with Helen's Promise under my left arm and a paperback copy of Nelson DeMille's The Charm School in my right hand. I read almost fifty pages before entrusting my final unpublished novel to a harried-looking clerk. When I wished her a Merry Christmas she shuddered and said nothing.