Marks and Spencer Business and Financial Performance Analysis

Imprints and Spencer Business and Financial Performance Analysis Imprints and Spencer is a British retail mammoth represented considerable authority in clothing and food industry. The organization had been in its business for over hundred years and has the greatest market capitalisation in the retail business. This exploration is led to gauge and break down the business and budgetary execution of the organization. Business execution is estimated in this investigation thinking about the chances and limitations in organization macroeconomic and industry conditions. Money related execution had been estimated utilizing proportions on productivity, liquidity, effectiveness and influence. There execution of MS is then contrasted and the money related execution of Next Group, the following greatest player in British retail industry. The investigation found that, in spite of the fact that MS has numerous business triumphs throughout the years, it had been performing monetarily more unfortunate than Next Group and needs crisis improvement in its liquidity. The investigation prescribes Marks and Spencer to reevaluate its influence methodology and endeavor the advantage of obligation as like Next Group. Section 1 Presentation 1.1 Study Background Imprints and Spencer is perhaps the biggest retailer in UK had some expertise in garments and nourishments with a market capitalization of more than  £6400 million1. We have more than 700 stores situated all through the UK and Republic of Ireland; this incorporates our biggest store at Marble Arch, London. What's more, the organization has more than 300 stores around the world, working in more than 40 territories2. In 2010 the companys deals income from general product was  £4.1 billion and  £4.3 billion from nourishments. Its closest rival Next, which has a market capitalisation of around  £4100 million1, had a turnover of  £3.41 million of every 2010 with a piece of the overall industry of 8.3% in contrast with 11% by Marks and Spencer as a rule stock fragment. This investigation is especially worried about the business and money related exhibitions of Marks and Spencer which are contrasted and the exhibitions of Next. 1.2 Study Objectives The prime target of this examination is to break down and assess the key business and budgetary exhibitions of British retail monster Marks Spencer from year 2007 to 2010. While accomplishing this target the examination will attempt to meet the accompanying auxiliary goals 1.2.1 Analyze the significant business exhibitions of the organization over most recent three years: The examination will inspect the companys exhibitions in significant business zones including its development, piece of the overall industry, serious situation in the entire large scale condition and significant qualities over its rivals. 1.2.2 Identify and break down the measures key monetary exhibitions: The second goal of the examination is to recognize the proportions of companys budgetary exhibitions particularly in productivity, liquidity, venture and influence exhibitions. Other than this operational exhibitions in different territories would be distinguished and anlaysed under this target. 1.2.3 Compare the exhibitions against Next: The third goal of the investigation is to analyze the money related exhibitions of M S with the exhibitions of Next, the closest rival as a rule retail area. 1.2.4 Identify the serious issues of Marks Spencer in business and money related exhibitions and give proposals: Finally the investigation will attempt to recognize the significant shortcomings of Marks Spencers dependent on the proportions of business and monetary exhibitions. The exploration will likewise detail 1.3 Study Scopes and Usefulness of the Study Extent of this exploration work is three years (2007-2010) business and budgetary exhibitions of Marks and Spencer. The degree likewise incorporates monetary execution of Next for a similar period. The discoveries of the investigation can be helpful data for financial specialists. The strategy utilized by the examination can be a guide for the business and monetary experts. 1.4 Research Structure The examination paper is organized in accordance with the grouping of targets. The primary section incorporates the method of reasoning and goals of the investigation. At that point applicable written works and hypothetical issues are talked about in section two. The third section will introduce the strategies for leading this exploration work. Companys business exhibitions and monetary exhibitions would be introduced sequentially in part four and five. In part six Marks and Spencers execution will be contrasted and Nexts execution and territories of progress for M S would be distinguished. At last in part six proposals would be furnished with definite comments. Part 2 Writing Review 2.1 Introduction As examined before, this exploration work is worried about the business and monetary execution of Marks and Spencer. This section will portray a diagram of the business activity of the organization. This section will likewise audit the methods of estimating business and money related execution particularly utilizing subjective and quantitative strategies alongside brief translation of the presentation measures. 2.2 Marks and Spencer: An Overview Imprints and Spencer is a FTSE 100 organization with the biggest income base of more than  £8 billion as a retailer. It is headquartered in City of Westminster, London having activity in excess of 40 nations. The accompanying segment gives a short conversation on companys history, fundamental line of business, geological spread, rundown of monetary exhibitions, its corporate social duty and the administration. 2.2.1 Corporate History Imprints and Spencer was built up in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer3. The organization had an approach of selling just British-made merchandise which made it well known in mid twentieth century. It began its attire image St Michael in 1928 and in 1950 St Margaret mark was presented for lady apparel. The organization began its universal development in 1970s by placing its progression in focal Europe and Ireland. During its hundred years of lifetime the organization turned into the pioneer in quality administration, client connections, wellbeing and security and vitality proficiency. The companys execution quickly drooped during the primary decade of new thousand years. Be that as it may, the organization has returned to benefit and development in 2010 under the solid administration of Marc Bolland who joined the organization as CEO in May 2010. 2.2.2 Core UK Businesses M Ss center UK organizations incorporate general product and nourishments. It is biggest dress retailer including womenswear, unmentionables and menswear and kidswear. A year ago the companys turnover all in all product was  £4.1 billion which established a shocking 11% of the general piece of the pie. Imprints and Spencer is additionally the main supplier of top notch food, selling everything from new produce and staple goods, to incompletely arranged dinners and prepared dinners and an honor winning scope of wines. Turnover from nourishments was  £4.3 billion out of 2010 with an unassuming piece of the overall industry of 3%. 2.2.3 Sales Channel Clients shop with MS from various perspectives in stores, on the web or via telephone (MS Annual Report, 2010). The organization has 690 stores over the UK. Its shops are situated in helpful areas from high roads to retail stops, train stations to air terminals. In the course of recent years the organization has changed these stores into splendid and contemporary goals with a scope of neighborliness alternatives. The organization likewise sells online which it calls MS Direct. MS Direct is a stage for improving client accommodation and administration including by means of its site and recently propelled Shop Your Way office. The organization intends to achieveâ £500m in deals through MS Direct by 2010/11. 2.2.4 International Business MS has 320 claimed and diversified stores in 41 nations. The companys blend of proprietorship models and nations empowered it to perform well over the previous year in any event, when individual markets were frail. In 2010 its worldwide turnover was  £949 million which is over 15% of its general income. 2.2.5 Recent Business and Financial Performances In 2010 the companys deals were up by 3.2% in spite of recessionary weight. The general gross edge was 41.2% with deals income  £9.3 billion. The organization altogether improved its expense by sparing  £145 million. The organization decreased its capital consumption money outpouring and produced a money inflow of  £412m after expense and profit. Be that as it may, the companys piece of the overall industry was somewhat down from 4.3% to 3.9%. Normal visit to MS shops had been evaluated around 21 million and normal secret customer score was seen as shocking 89% in 2010. 2.2.6 About Next: The Nearest Competitor NEXT is the second biggest UK based retailer offering garments, footwear, adornments and home items. It conveys through three fundamental channels: NEXT Retail, a chain of in excess of 500 stores in the UK and Eire, NEXT Directory, a home shopping list and site with about 3 million dynamic clients, and NEXT International, with in excess of 180 stores far and wide. In 2010 the organization had generally speaking income of  £3.4 with a benefit after expense of  £400 million. 2.3 Techniques of Measuring Business Performances A companys business can be broke down utilizing different apparatuses like PESTLE, SWOT investigation and Porters five power models. Proportions of business execution may be companys extension rate, income development, improvement of solidarity, the board of shortcomings and abuse of chances and so forth. These measures can be accomplished by emotional examination and utilizing business investigation devices. A concise conversation on these devices is introduced as underneath. 2.3.1 PESTLE Analysis PESTLE, which is a famous large scale natural investigation device, represents Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal, and Environmental examination. Political elements incorporate governments charge strategy, business and ecological law, exchanges and duties guideline, and political soundness. Normal Economic components are GDP development, ostensible financing costs, trade and the expansion rate. Key social variables are populace development, age dispersion, wellbeing cognizance, strict perspectives and vocation mentalities and so on. Innovative elements are spread

Role Of Jaques in Shakespeares As You Like It :: Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

Job Of Jaques in As You Like It   The basically solid enthusiastic insight of Rosalind and Orlando and their appropriateness for one another rise up out of their different experiences with Jaques (in certain versions Jacques), the despairing ex-subject who is a piece of Duke Senior's troupe in the backwoods. Both Rosalind and Orlando take a moment aversion to Jaques (which is shared). What's more, in that hate we are welcome to see something indispensably directly about both of them.   For Jaques is, as a result, something contrary to everything Rosalind represents. He is a touchy critic, who likes to take a gander at life and draw from it poetical examinations at the by and large unsuitable nature of the world. He is, it could be said, an underlying Hamlet-like figure (the examination is often made), somebody with no propelling sensual bliss, who makes up for his deficiency by attempting to drag everything down to the degree of his vacant feelings and by verbalizing finally in poetical pictures. He invests heavily in what he calls his own one of a kind brand of despairing which can drain the delight out of life as a weasel drains the protein out of an egg (an intriguing picture of the pulverization of new living potential), and he invests his energy floundering in it. His own social want is by all accounts to discover another person to flounder in a similar passionate mud as he does. In any case, the spirits of different characters, particularly of Rosalind and Or lando, are excessively fundamental and inventive to react well to Jaques' endeavors to chop life down to accommodate his constrained states of mind.   That judgment no uncertainty sounds very unforgiving. What's more, maybe it is, for Jaques is a moderately innocuous individual, who misdirects nobody (nor does he attempt to), and his poetical reflections, as Hamlet's, are frequently alluring. However, we ought not let the notoriety of a portion of his articulations (especially the renowned Seven Ages of Man discourse in 2.7, an as often as possible anthologized bit of purported Shakespearean knowledge) hide the way that his way to deal with life is altogether negative. He sees no an incentive in something besides pointing out the world's inadequacies. He doesn't perceive in the cooperation, music, and love surrounding him any countervailing temperances.

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Individual Statement - Essay Example The significant data and perceptions I got at the emergency clinic are regular to clinical focuses, taking care of the patients’ needs, giving day by day care and other fundamental obligations of medical attendants. Furthermore, I am very much aware that such a spot presents incredible difficulties so I have prepared myself to think fundamentally on the best way to think about patients, understanding that they have various complex clinical issues even to patients who are determined to have comparable wellbeing conditions. Some of the time the setting and the weights of the work can truly make an individual insane be that as it may, I have set out to myself to be the resilient individual I ought to be for me to have the option to do my obligations not exclusively to my patients however to my manager and myself also. I surmise my profound enthusiasm for the calling has consistently been a main impetus that propped me up even through unpleasant occasions which consequently improv ed me, more grounded, progressively capable. I concur with what Donna Cardillo stated, that medical attendants are the core of the social insurance. My convictions are reinforced with the cautious consideration I similarly provide for patients, not being influenced by their individual contrasts and perspectives yet focusing more on what I should give than what I get.

The Townshend Act and Protest of the Colonists :: American America History

The Townshend Act and Protest of the Colonists The Townshend Acts’ cancelation of the Stamp Act left Britain's monetary issues uncertain. Parliament had not surrendered the option to burden the provinces and in 1767, at the asking of chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, it passed the Townshend Acts, which forced duties on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper that Americans imported from Britain. In an exertion to reinforce its own position and the intensity of illustrious frontier authorities, Parliament, at Townshend's solicitation, likewise made the American Leading body of Customs Commissioners whose individuals would carefully uphold the Route Acts. Income raised by the new taxes would be utilized to free imperial authorities from monetary reliance on frontier gatherings, in this way further infringing on frontier self-governance. By and by the settlers fought overwhelmingly. In December 1767, John Dickinson, a Philadelphia legal advisor, distributed 12 famous papers that emphasized the settlers' disavowal of Parliament's privilege to burden them and cautioned of a connivance by a degenerate British service to oppress Americans. The Sons of Liberty sorted out fights against customs authorities, vendors went into nonimportation understandings, and the Little girls of Liberty upheld the nonconsumption of items, for example, tea, burdened by the Townshend Acts. The Massachusetts assembly sent the other provinces a round letter censuring the Townshend Acts and requiring a joined American obstruction. English authorities at that point requested the disintegration of the Massachusetts General Court in the event that it neglected to pull back its round letter; the court cannot, by a vote of 92 to 17, and was excused. The other pilgrim congregations, at first hesitant to fight the demonstrations, presently insubordinately marked the round letter, shocked at British obstruction with a provincial legislature.In different ways, British activities again joined together American dissent. The Board of Customs Commissioners blackmailed cash from pioneer traders and usedflimsy reasons to legitimize holding onto American vessels. These activities elevated pressures, which detonated on June 21, 1768, when customs authorities held onto Boston trader John Hancock's sloop Freedom. A huge number of Bostonians revolted, undermining the traditions magistrates' lives and driving them to escape the city. At the point when updates on the Freedom revolt arrived at London, four regiments of British armed force troops-a few 4,000 officers were requested to Boston to secure the chiefs. The scorn of British soldiers for the homesteaders, joined with the fighters' working two jobs exercises that denied Boston workers of employments, unavoidably prompted viciousness. In March 1770 an uproar happened between British soldiers and Boston residents, who scoffed and provoked the fighters. The soldiers terminated, executing five individuals. The alleged Boston Massacre excited incredible pilgrim hatred. This outrage was before long expanded by further parliamentary enactment. Bowing to provincial monetary blacklists, Parliament, guided by the new executive, Master Frederick North, canceled the Townshend Acts in 1770 yet held the

A Profile on Bruce Westerman - Free Essay Example

Bruce Westerman is currently running for his third term in the US House of Representatives for the state of Arkansas. Previously an engineer for Mid-South Engineering in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Westerman now serves on the Committee on the Budget. He is also currently Chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for the Committee of Natural Resources.1 Though some would accuse Westerman of attacking groups that dont support him, he seems to be genuinely concerned about how those groups go about doing the jobs they are supposed to. From what information I have gathered about Westerman, he seems to be passionate about getting his job done as best he can, and is realistic about challenges he is faced with. I think this makes him an atypical member of Congress because people in positions of great power tend to lose sight of realistic occurrences. Bruce Westerman represents the fourth district of Arkansas. The fourth district is located in the Southwestern portion of Arkansas and includes towns such as Hot Springs, Texarkana, and El Dorado. Much of the district seems to be suburban with the larger area of this district in comparison with the others in the state of Arkansas. The population of this district is primarily white, with a mean household income of $54,779.3 The area covered by this district also seems to pride itself on its rich history and natural landscapes. In the 2016 elections, Bruce Westerman ran against Libertarian Kerry Hicks and won with seventy-five percent of the popular vote. I would say that he has a pretty safe seat even though he will be running against both the Democrats and Libertarians, along with three individuals, in the 2018 election because he has gained popularity ever since he joined the political spectrum. The Democratic party candidate running against Westerman is Hayden Shamel, who has previously been a teacher for both high schools and colleges. The Libertarian candidate running against Westerman is Tom Canada, who seems to have started getting into politics just last year. Bruce Westerman has voted with his party in almost every issue he has voted for and has only missed a handful of votes in total over his several years in the US House of Representatives.6 In these terms, I would say he is quite loyal to his party. In regards to Agriculture and Food votes, different issue groups rated him on opposite ends of the spectrum with half rating him very high, and the other half rating him low.7 There are no interest groups that rated him more than twenty-five percent on his Animals and Wildlife policies. Almost all of the polled interest groups rated him quite high on his Business and Consumers policies. None of the interest groups rated him above twenty-five percent on his Environmental policies. His tax policies are generally rated high, though some interest groups dip farther than others. For the 2018 election cycle, Bruce Westerman has raised $1,561,039, spent $947,195, and has $958,377 remaining on hand.8 His largest source of funding so far this year is from the Forestry and Forest Products industry which has donated $196,591. There is no funding data given for three of the candidates, but Hayden Shamel has raised $140,096, and one of the independent candidates, Lee McQueen, has raised $1,121.9 The top industries that help fund Westerman are the Forestry and Forest Products, Oil and Gas, Retired, Health Professionals, and Air Transport industries. There is a relevant correlation between the funding received from the Forestry and Forest Products industry, and his recent attempts to pass the Resilient Federal Forests Act. After doing this research on Westerman, I think I would vote for him. He seems to be a man that still regards his job mostly as a public service to the citizens of his district.

Changes to Common App Essay Prompts for 2017-18

Changes to Common App Essay Prompts for 2017-18 This week, The Common Application essay prompts underwent their most substantive changes since 2013. While two prompts remained unchanged, three were revised, one was introduced, and one oldie-but-goodie was resurrected. The team at College Transitions will walk you through the changes and tell you what it means for current juniors who want to get a jump-start on the most important 650-word essay of their young lives.Staying the SameThere are no revisions to the following prompts:#1. Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.#4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to i dentify a solution.RevisedThree prompts were revised. Changes are italicized and our analysis follows:#2. The lessons we take from  obstacles we encounter  can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a  challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?The key change here is that â€Å"failure,† a harsh and perhaps off-putting term in the eyes of many applicants, is now softened to include the more sanitized â€Å"challenge† or â€Å"setback.† We are fans of this prompt and believe it can be refreshing for admissions officers to hear someone willingly talk about their shortcomings and less-proud moments. Subsequent growth in the wake of failure can give insight into your character, resilience, and depth. In brainstorming this one, reflect on your life’s setbacks and whether they led to maturation or enlightenment. Also try starting with periods of growth in your life, and work ba ckward to what rejections/disappointment/failures led to your personal development.#3. Reflect on a time when you  questioned  or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your  thinking? What  was the outcome?This prompt now asks for the â€Å"outcome† of the situation. Don’t be enticed to enter the world of exaggeration and hyperbole when describing the consequences of your actions. Colleges do not expect you to have brought down a dictatorship, brokered peace in the Middle East, or single-handedly eliminated the gender pay gap. In literary terms, this is The Society vs. The Individual type of conflict and it needn’t take place on a grand stage.   Standing up to peer pressure, going against a family tradition, taking part in a local protest, or not following a directive you found to be immoral or unjust are just a few of the â€Å"real life† examples that can make for a gripping storyline.#5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or  realizatio n  that  sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.Jettisoned are the phrases â€Å"transition to adulthood† and â€Å"culture, community, or family.† Perhaps colleges grew tired of slogging through tales of bar mitzvahs, facial hair growth, and awkward, early romantic experiences. This prompt is now conducive to the sharing of more meaningful growth that showcases your growing self-awareness and/or connection to large-scale human events. We do caution against using this prompt to talk about your trip to South America where you highlight obvious linguistic, cultural, or culinary differences. Remember not to write a travelogue—the essay should be revealing about you.Brand New/ReturningThe folks at The Common App generously gave us one newborn prompt and one brought back from the dead. We present them below along with our reaction:#6.  Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all t rack of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?This one is all about your greatest passion and the ways in which you pursue knowledge. Whether it’s aerospace engineering, classical guitar, British Monarchs, the French language, lacrosse, or vintage arcade machines, this newbie offers a solid platform for showing off your unique interests as well as what makes you tick. Elite colleges adore students whose love for learning extends well beyond the classroom. This is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate your most lovable, nerdy obsessions and the verve with which you independently pursue them.#7.  Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one youve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.  It’s back—the college essay version of a free-write! Previously, we recommended that students who had a topic that was off the beaten path find a way to connect their i dea to prompt #1. Now, applicants are free to mold their essays from a formless, lump of clay into, literally, whatever shape they desire. Just be sure to read our Five Essay Topics to Avoid before finalizing your topic.College Transitions’ Quick TakeThe revisions made to The Common Application raise the expectations for depth and substance for existing prompts and open the door to increased creativity and imagination through the introduction of brand new topics. With the return of the â€Å"topic of your choice† option, there is no reason to force yourself to answer one of the other prompts unless it is a 100% perfect launching-pad for your strongest, most revealing composition.

Essay on How To Improve Your Relationship With These 5...

How To Improve Your Relationship With These 5 Simple Tips Let’s face it; not a relationship is perfect. Every relationship is a work in progress; you will find some aspects of it to improve all the time. But, this doesn’t mean your relationship is not perfect for you; it only means that you have to find ways to make it work for you. When thinking about your relationship, do you think that it’s only, â€Å"okay† or â€Å"good enough† or â€Å"not bad?† Then, that’s a warning sign that you must take action in improving your relationship. A successful long term relationship doesn’t get fixed overnight. It goes through a process and the earlier you start trying these few tips below, the sooner your relationship might start getting better. 1. Explore new†¦show more content†¦3. Socialize with other friends and other couples. If your mutual friends ask you to come out with them to a party, dinner, or a plain hang out, accept it! Don’t think that your free nights are only dedicated to spending one on one time with your significant other. Be sure to socialize and interact with other people, as well as other couples, as a pair. Why, you may ask? Because there’s something different about being with your loved one in a crowd. Regularly seeing your partner in the midst of other people will allow yourself to be reminded of what initially attracted you to them. Giving yourself the chance to see them interact with other people is a good way to renew your attraction to your partner. 4. Don’t forget to take time for intimacy. A lot of the relationships are stagnant because they lack intimacy. Because the initial rush you felt in the beginning of your relationship can quickly fade, it is very important to make time for intimacy. It gives you the opportunity to feel a unique bond with your partner, and allows you to realize what a special connection you have with them, that others cannot have. Being intimate with each other releases oxytocin, a hormone that’s responsible for the feeling of attachment. 5. Outwardly and directly express how you feel for them. Your life can be dragging and stagnant, but it is very important thatShow MoreRelatedInterpersonal Skills : Definition, Examples, And Helpful Sites969 Words   |  4 Pagesto your success in business. These skills encompass a great number of things. Some include listening, assertiveness, negotiation, feedback, persuasion, interviewing, and coaching. It is important to understand that you can develop your skills. Not everyone is born a great listener or negotiator. These skills can be either innate or acquired. In any case, it is necessary to always want to improve them. To improve them, you must first understand what they mean and how they can be useful in your businessRead MoreIn Laws Like You Essay955 Words   |  4 PagesHow to Make Your In-Laws Like You You may be recently married and trying to gain favor with new in-laws. Or you might be trying to win over a pair of in-laws who are classically hard to please. Either way, getting your in-laws to like you is possible. First of all, you can win their respect by being a decent spouse and parent. Build bridges by acting warmly around them and showing interest in them. Finally, go out of your way to be a good son or daughter-in-law. ==Steps== ===Being a Good SpouseRead MoreTips For A Freelance Contractor1067 Words   |  5 PagesTip#1: Be Careful With The Niche You Choose Today you will find that almost all professionals can freelance right from the comfort of their home, being able to choose what projects they would like to be a part of and decide the pace of their work. From writers, designers, editors, publishers, programmers, IT consultants, content managers, investment consultants, lawyers, dieticians, SEO experts and even multimedia experts can easily find freelance assignments to earn a steady income. However, theRead MoreMotivational Language Theory ( Mlt )888 Words   |  4 PagesThe situated individual. This concept states your followers build a perception of who they are, what they are doing, and where they are, based upon their identity and purpose (Eisenberg Goodall, 2014). The situated individuals connected through daily experiences, realities, and mutually shared meanings. (Eisenberg Goodall, 2014). Using this concept, encourage followers to form relationships outside of their group that foster organizational learning and growth. Motivational Language Theory (MLT)Read MoreDeveloping A Strong Teacher Student Relationship947 Words   |  4 Pagescarry relationships are the key. Relationship can be defined as, â€Å"an emotional or other connection between people† (dictionary.com). During an academic school year, as well as throughout the duration of a teacher’s career as an educator, it is important to build teacher-student, teacher-parent, teacher-administrator, and teacher-teacher relationships. Not only does a teacher have to build these relationships but he/she has to make sure that they are positive and effective relationships. BuildingRead MoreChapter Two - Depression And Depression1535 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction While the basics of active listening are helpful in most conversations, it is also very important to understand more complicated issues. A majority of people suffer from depression at least once in their lifetime. Depression is not as simple as the emotional feelings of a low moods but also incorporate cognitive, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Understanding the way depression affects someone can help in conversations. Depression symptoms include but are not limited to: Fatigue IrritabilityRead MoreShort Note On Time And Money Essay1410 Words   |  6 Pagesin business. Yet, like me, many business people tend to give a lot more specific thought as to how to spend their money. Too often, how we spend our time is only thought of in terms of What am I going to do today? or What should I do next? There are only 24 hours in your day, just the same as everybody else s and you need to know how to use those 24 hours to your advantage. There are so many simple ways to save time during our busy day that they are easily overlooked. Sometimes we just overlookRead MoreHow An Email List And Get More Subscribers933 Words   |  4 PagesHow to Build an Email List and Get More Subscribers Step 1: Decide your niche Decide which people you want on your list i.e. you want students, professionals or housewives etc. The above decision can be easily taken if we can clearly answer a simple question: Why and for what I am building a list? Step 2: Create set of emails It is important that your email should be good but more important having them. Set these emails in your a Weber auto responder. On an average have some 5-10 emails ready withRead MoreDifferent Communication Methods Strategically Using Email For Short, Neutral Exchanges Essay1339 Words   |  6 Pages6 Tips 1. Use different communication methods strategically (email for short, neutral exchanges; chat for information talk and group discussions, etc.) 2. Promote internal bonding (create opportunities for informal conversations) 3. Set clear expectations (work and schedules expectations for both teammates and manager) 4. Define the â€Å"Why† (bigger-picture as to why teammate work is essential) 5. Track progress (consistent and objective tracking for teammate progress) 6. Be transparent (let your teammatesRead MoreLack of Communication1645 Words   |  7 PagesLack of Communication in a relationship Composition II - 54 7/23/2010 Tiffany Augustin There are two crucial elements in effective communication: relaying a message and receiving a message. It is just as important to communicate the message as it is to ensure the proper message is received. Effective communication is vital to personal and business success. Often, companies provide employee training on how to communicate effectively. This essay focuses on listening and receiving the message

The constant needs to provide improvements - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2550 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Uncategorized Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? It is undeniable that nowadays companies should constantly provide considerable improvements within many domains in order to make sure that they are continuously keep up and adapt themselves to changing environment. Given the fact that the current market share are becoming increasingly competitive and in order to overcome the difficult challenges stemmed from changing environment, organizations put more emphasis on development of competencies and setting on competency management strategically. Strategic Competence is a very broad discipline that includes a combination of required knowledge, skills and abilities that an employee must have in order to expose an outstanding performance in his/her job [9]. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The constant needs to provide improvements" essay for you Create order It is essential to possess the required strategic competencies that are the key aspects for that specific position. Employee must possess these strategic competencies which will ensure their performance to be taken much further so as to perform an effective action that will keep companys growing. It is clear that for different positions in a work environment, employees need various competencies for different endeavors. In this manner, it is important for the companies to manage their employees competencies in order to ensure that they have the required strategic competencies that will enable them to perform their specific endeavors and maintain the development of these strategic competencies as well as making best use of them. Therefore, companies must give enough importance to strategic competence management (SCM) subject in order to meet organizations objective [1]. The proposed thesis has been conducted in GC (Global Company) that is one of the leading transportation compani es in the world with over 33000 employees in 35 countries. GC consists of some several divisions that have different occupational areas to be taken care of and these divisions are spread in the various countries where GC has been operating in. Currently, company carries out a large scale of Engineering Performance Improvement Initiative (EPII) that aims to provide robust workstream and increase engineering performance in regards to various domains. One of the domains of EPII is called as Strategic Competencies. The proposed thesis attempts to improve the strategic competencies of Engineering Department of one certain division of GC by means of applying a gap analysis. PRESENT SITUATION GC is a leader company in transportation area with tens of thousands of employees and vehicles in operation around more than 35 countries. Considering the continuous corporate development and growth of company, GC always aims to be the first choice for customers and best performer in the related industry. In order to fulfill the company missions, one strategy set among the others can be defined as Creating profitable growth by investing in company employees and products. With defined strategy GC pays enough attention for the employees growth. In that sense a big project has been initiated across the all divisions of GC that is called EPII and it aims to increase the performance of engineering department in various domains. As also mentioned before, one branch of this initiative is allocated for the competence management (CM) of engineering employees for one specific division of the company that works collaboratively with various countries. The Project of Strategic Competence Management (SCM) in GC The term Competence Management (CM) may be interpreted as a simple and easy to follow set of processes when it is thought at first. However, when the word Strategic introduced in the phrase, it brings more insights into the definition. It is undeniable that no one can possess all the skills, knowledge and capabilities. It is hard for an engineer to have the broad range of aptitudes; in the same sense, CM processes of a company should not aim to provide the employees possessing broad extensive of competencies. Moreover, competencies are not constant and their need may not be as crucial as it is at present. In this sense, it is essential to clarify various engineering roles that exist in the GCs specific division who are accountable for diverse set of functions, services, workstreams etc. Once different roles are identified, their various strategic competencies that will add value to their way of working thus to GC growth should be discussed. Therefore, the project of SCM of GC aims to emphasize on strategic competencies of various types of engineers. That is to say, discovering the existing set of competencies that various engineering roles currently possess as well as their evaluation; and defining their strategic need in the future and required improvements that need to be done ensuring that the engineers have the best strategic competencies adequately so as to perform their tasks smoothly that will retain GCs growing. The detailed explanation of the SCM project steps will be explored in processes of SCM. GOAL The main goal of the project of SCM is to propose the set of actions to be implemented in order to increase the current competencies of engineering department of one division of GC which will have a positive impact on engineering performance, thus implicitly will add value to organization growth by means of performed improvements. Even though this project was a need for GC to be performed, from the student point of view it was interesting to perform this project as a master thesis including a main goal that is to discover the implementation of techniques, tools and approaches learned straight from master program to the real business cases. SCOPE As a sub-part of EPII project, the focus of SCM is the improvement of competencies of engineering department of a certain division of GC. It includes the investigation of current competencies of various engineering roles as well as their assessment today. Next to define the required competencies level and comparison with current situation. All the previous steps aim to offer an insight into the final step which is the actions of improvement of competencies. The other domains of improvement initiative were excluded from the project scope so they can be labeled as out of scope as they require completely another time/effort/ cost dedication. It is thought that one way to frame the scope might be done by questioning. So the main question for this thesis project can be stated as follows: How can the competency state of Engineering Department of one certain division of GC be improved? Next the question is broken down into sub-question which are thought as helpful to clear wha t to focus on right things; What is the workload and volume of the project (in terms of number of employees to be considered, the scope of workload and competence state etc.)? Who are the responsible for this project? What are the intended inputs and expected outcomes of the project? Which methods and tools should be utilized to carry out the project (Interviews, mapping, gap analysis etc)? What should the steps of project be? The reader must be able to find answers to above questions at the end of the thesis report. LIMITATIONS From the beginning until the project finalization, pre-defined project of SCM policy has been tried to be followed in any sense as much as possible. Therefore it can be said that this was a sort of limitation as it restricted the study from re-inventing or creating something new. However, more tools and approaches have been implemented throughout the thesis study that can be viewed in further chapters. It is important to mention that rather than the content, the volume of the project was quite high. In engineering department for one certain division in GC for which the project has been carried out, there were 6 departments where the SCM project has been focused on with more than 250 engineers whose competencies were assessed. Mainly the project milestones and findings had to be reached by holding many interviews and meetings with department managers and line managers as well as the experts in engineering department. In that manner, it can be said that the project continuation wa s strongly depended on employees availability as they need to spare their time for project development. Sometimes it was hard to catch managers availability to schedule a meeting or interview as they mostly have a tight schedule, so it is also considered as a limitation. Finally, within given time for thesis work (10 weeks) was only sufficient to perform the steps of required gap analysis that helped to extract the concrete actions for improvement of competencies of engineering department. Therefore it is possible to say that the given time was not sufficient to transfer the findings into the implementation. MAIN STAKEHOLDERS The main stakeholders of project of SCM are as follows; In terms of GC ; The core project team in Sweden that is set before the project initiation. Project owners and sponsors who are situated in Germany. Site Manager, Director of Engineering, Line Managers, Experts whom were interviewed and held meetings with. Engineers of the dealt division of GC whose competencies will be developed by proposed thesis work. In terms of KTH; The examiner and supervisor of the thesis study who has supported with advices and helped on structuring the finalized report. The future students and researches of KTH for whom this thesis study will be useful for. METHODOLOGY FIRST LEVEL STUDY Aim of Study and Available Resources The study is aimed to propose the set of concrete actions to be implemented in order to increase the current competencies of engineering department of GC to reach the required/desired state of competencies in future. This will have a positive impact on engineering performance, thus implicitly will add value to organization growth by means of performed improvements. The aim is achieved by performing a gap analysis of competencies in which the current competencies are mapped, assessed and evaluated in terms of various engineering roles; and future competencies are investigated, defined and assessed with required level. Next, the current and future competencies are compared and specific gaps are found for specific competencies of relevant engineering roles. The final study is taken place by proposing some concrete actions with assigned due times and responsible people. The available resources for this study can be listed as follows: Project team, managers and all employees in volved in project of SCM processes The project of SCM relevant documentation Database system of GC that enabled the thesis student to reach any required data Target Group of Study to Be Carried Out For From the GC point of view; The target group of this study is particularly the responsible of project of SCM (The core project team, project owners and sponsors). The project plays an improvement process role intended for any level managers and engineers of that certain department of GC whose competencies are intended to be enhanced. The Proposed study outcome will be served as an input to be used for further step that is the implementation plan of project of SCM. From Academic Point of view; The proposed thesis study is intended to shed some lights on researches and students who would like to know more about SCM and what kind of studies can be performed to improve the current SCM processes. Limitations Please refer to 1.5.Limitations Mental Model to Be Used Participating Observation: The mental model of this study can be considered as participating observation model since the aim is to map a certain area that is strategic competencies in this study case [14]. It has started with a general data gathering and continued with analysis of current competency situation of company and then defining a desired position that has been done during the project development. The models, tools, and techniques used were of great importance to reach the verifiable and concrete results. In order to verify validate results it was crucial to establish the data gathering period very carefully, and with enough detail, because it is known that the important part of the result of this study will be yielded by the methods of finding useful information, its mapping and its usage for further steps. Existing Knowledge within the Area Currently there are available articles and researches that have been focused on competence and competence development method; however within the scope of this thesis, there are limited resources emphasize on the improvement of CM processes. Ever at that, some articles published were helpful during thesis report development. From company wise, similar project of SCM has been carried out in some different divisions in some other countries previously which were useful to keep an eye on them to avoid some possible mistakes or unwished circumstances being happened. SECOND LEVEL STUDY Scope of the Investigation Please refer to 1.4 Scope Questions to Be Answered Below are the precise questions to be answered comprehensively in order to reach the expected outcome of this thesis. Since answer of one question will be used as an input for the next questions, it is essential to pay enough importance to fulfill all the requirements for each question. What are the drivers and influences that has an impact on competencies of engineers implicitly and explicitly? Which are the key engineering roles that should be considered within project of SCM? How are the engineering roles current competencies assessed today? What should future competencies be? How to find out the gaps of competencies in present and future? How to close the existing gaps of competencies? Type of Study If the intended objectives of this thesis will be reached, this report will cover all types of studies that are proposed in the guideline [14]. In that manner, type of study first will be initiated by a deductive study based on assessing the validity of present competencies that the employees are holding. Then it can be followed with inductive study in the sense of covering the studies to explore new competencies that are strategic for company in order to have a higher performance of employees. Finally, a descriptive type of study way can be followed to investigate some possible ways to close the differences between the outcome of deductive and inductive studies. THIRD LEVEL STUDY Kind of Study to Be Performed Kind of study can be classified as case study, since this is an actual business case need to be solved. So, one can say that the kind of this study as a case study by a combination of participating observation. The existence competencies, their mapping, as well as future requirements will be analyzed, the gap that is need to be eliminated will be extracted and possible solutions will be proposed to close these gaps. FOURTH LEVEL STUDY Tools to Be Used Below are the tools that have been used throughout the project cycle; Interviews: Several interviews have been carried out face to face with a preparation of set of questions to be answered. In order to reach verifiable and useful data, questions of interviews were divided into sub categories and the time frame was distinguished into these sub categories. Each interview took approximately 1 hour and they are recorded to be documented thoroughly later on. Questions can be found in Appendix A. General Observation and Active Participation: During the thesis study general observation was the main tool used that provided the continuation of work. Gap Analysis: The main tool used for the project was the gap analysis. The actual competencies were defined for each key engineering role and their assessments were done, and the future competencies were identified (if there are some competencies does not exist currently, they are also introduced in the analysis) and their assessment a re done by the managers.

Essay about Greek Politics - 5547 Words

Greek Politics At the foundation of the widely differing systems devised by democratic peoples, there is one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, â€Å"it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares†¦.† To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government. Democracy†¦show more content†¦The polis encompassed a group of men deemed to be equal. In contrast to tribal or feudal societies, ancient Athens boasted no priestly class. The males who made up the citizen body participated in the face-to-face, directl y democratic politics of the city-state, not merely by voting but also by speaking in the assembly and by serving themselves through active and intimate interaction with others. The experience of being a member of a self-governing citizen body was a process of â€Å"individuation,† of reflection on the connection between social order and social demands and the aims of individuals. It prompted reflection about the means of reconciling the conflict between private and public avenues. Participation in the politics of democratic Greece was an extenuation of the menial status of the people. This held true because the polis expressed not merely the material interests of those who ruled and were ruled, but also their freedom and their nobility. The realization of one’s purposes within the polis demanded that one be an active citizen. Man’s awareness and understanding of himself as an agent is shaped through interaction with the world. Membership of the political community was not merely essential for survival, but also greatly extended the range of ends of which it was possible to pursue. A self-governing community enabled men to act to secure the ends they desired, to express their autonomy, and by its very operation ensured that theShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Politics In Ancient Greek And Roman Society859 Words   |  4 Pages Ancient Greek and Roman societies saw the emergence of many modern-day practices such as open-air markets and politics. These societies placed a high value on public lifestyles, with bathhouses and close quarter living spaces. The Greeks held many different jobs and many of the great scholars came out of Greece. While the Roman empire was very focused on its military might, but saw the emergence of a Republican form of government. In both societies their high value on public life could be foundRead MoreThe Greeks : The World s First Inventors Of Democracy, Politics, And Art1349 Words   |  6 PagesThe Greeks The Greeks laid the foundation to Western Civilization and were one of the world’s first inventors of democracy, politics, Philosophy, science, and art. During the time of the Greeks, it would see some of the world’s most significant leaders and politicians. People like Themistocles and Pericles who would lead them in war against the Spartans and others. Great thinkers such as Socrates, who lead the Greeks during its last great empire. Athens would soon rise to greatness during the secondRead MoreAristotle s Rhetorical Rhetoric On The Human Soul1553 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle’s Rhetorical Rhetoric Aristotle, a famous philosopher, is one of the most renowned Greek scholars, and was an influential force in ancient Greece and in modern society. He was the head of the Macedon royal academy, where he taught Alexander the Great, his most famous pupil. He founded the famous Lyceum in Athens later in his life, which is portrayed in Raphael’s painting â€Å"School of Athens.† Aristotle is known for his interest in nature and science, and his emphasis on empirical evidenceRead MoreCreation Of Society : Ancient Myths Essay1419 Words   |  6 Pagestheir society(Anhalt). The Greeks told many stories of their gods, the telling of these stories became a way of life. Today they are called myths, but back in their time they fuiled Greek citizens with courage and answered profound questions that many wondered(Dubious). Great names came from Greece, names like Aristotle and Plato philosophers ahead of their time. Politics, mathematics, and art thrives in Greece. Male citizens were expected to be an avid member of the politics in their community or contributeRead MoreAlexander the Great: the Man, the Life, the Legacy Essay example1465 Words   |  6 Pagesdeemed upon today, and his legacy remembered. If there was a historians that deserves to be called great, it is Alexander. First, his leadership; he was an outstanding leader in his own right. His leadership skills on the battlefield and through politics were exceptional. For those reasons he was able to accomplish what he wished and aimed for. One reason for Alexander’s various and numerous victories in the field was his supreme intelligence as a tactician. Some of the tactics he implemented haveRead MoreHellenistic Times And Classical Times844 Words   |  4 Pages(Spear-Bearer) (c. 450-440 BCE), a sculpture made by Polykleitos. Polykleitos made this art piece during the Classical Times and based it on two core principles of the Canon, composition and commensurability, both residing in mathematical proportions. The Greeks at the time had the interests of seeing beauty in the form of humans and thereby had themselves—particularly those of high physicality and strength—perform poses to try and further understand the physics in which human beings maneuvered. In additionRead MoreEssay on Who Owns The Elgin Marbles Precis1137 Words   |  5 Pagesratification, and the Ottomans ratified Elgin’s removals twice. Since permission was given multiple times and with proper paperwork, Greece’s argument against legality is very weak and insignificant, especially considering the statutes of limitations. The Greeks have lost any right of action due to the fact that they could have sued for the marbles since 1828 and have never attempted to. Ultimately, they waited too long. Some wonder that based on today’s laws if the exchange was legal, but this point requiresRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad Essay1692 Words   |  7 Pagestheme seen in Homer’s The Iliad is one of war and the politics that play a role in it. A key part of politics is the interactions that take place between people when determining policies and courses of action. The focus of this paper will be on the interactions between the Greek leaders and the army in the opening of b ook 2. There will be a section where I will analyze these interactions and provide evidence showing what degree I believe the Greek leaders care about their army. The way that the leadersRead MoreAnalysis Of Percy Jackson And The Sea Of Monster1636 Words   |  7 Pagescontext and cultural context Greece is surround by mountain and seas, that why Greek life has just been local not to diverse. The Greek language had many different dialect, they even had different alphabet. In politics, the Greek people never really were unified until the Greek independence of 1830 they won independence from the Ottoman Empire. There were strong cultural and economic connections between the Greek cities. The reason for that was that the sea was better travel for trades thanRead MoreEarly Western Civilization: Molded by Conflict or Consensus842 Words   |  3 Pagesgovern those holdings and citizens arose. As Hammurabi conducted campaigns to expand his empire, he developed what has become known as Hammurabi’s Code to help govern his people. Many of the laws in the Code still currently have relevance. When the Greek and Roman civilizations arose and expanded due to a desire to control trade in the Mediterranean Sea and a thirst by leaders for more wealth and items of decadence, it became impossible for one person to govern such a vast empire on every level of

What Makes A Narcissist Can Be Defined As An Individual...

A narcissist can be defined as an individual who expresses constant or erotic gratification/interest in one’s self. In the entertainment industry, we call it confidence, however the extreme narcissist constantly cries out for attention, and often appears in scandals. Most creatives, in some way can be defined as narcissists, completely dedicated to their crafts, and obsessing over physical appearance, because we are simply judged and paid for it. It is no surprise that I turned to entertainment industry professionals, as well as designer fashion shows for an in-depth study on narcissism. While observing celebrity fashion designer’s Willie Fulmore was observing a celebrity to be. The designers constant work towards his craft was absolutely stunning. Fulmore, 30 years old, currently resides in Brooklyn, and has done work for the TMT (The Money Team), which includes mega celebrity Floyd Mayweather and other people such as Deontay Wilder, Swizz Beats, Precious Paris and o thers. Observing the artist at work, all T-Shirts are custom made. Their are made with the finest alligator material, beads and leather. As the designer states, â€Å"I crave for perfection†, meaning that Willmore will sacrifice several sleepless nights to create his work for celebrity clientele. â€Å"Do you consider yourself a narcissist† , are the words that leave my mouth? He stated there s a difference between perfection, and narcissism. Fulmore is constantly hard at work with the

The Truman Show free essay sample

The Truman Show:What are the philosophical issues raised by The Truman Show?Peter Weirs The Truman Show'(1998) tells the story of a fictional reality television program which is named after its main star, Truman Burbank. In the telling of this story, Peter Weir raises some interesting issues for reflection; is such and invasion of privacy acceptable?, what does Truman believe to be reality?, are the actors prostituting there privacy?For reality TV shows, the actors know they are on camera. Sometimes they dont know they are being recorded, but they know they are on TV. For Truman, his entire life, from birth to being a grown man, was being broadcasted on TV for anyone with cable. He had absolutely no privacy. Even when he thought he was alone, he had more eyes on him than most have in their entire lifetime. This is a complete invasion of privacy and he had absolutely no say in it. Weir wanted us to understand the importance of not giving up your morals, despite the possible consequences, although doing so is a problem in today’s society. Weir displays how the viewers of the Truman Show are abusing their power by allowing the show to happen. His use of cross cutting from Seahaven to the show’s viewers allows us to see the show’s immense support. Cross cutting from Truman in the climatic storm scene to the viewers allows us to see the outrage they have and that they are scared for his life. However what the audience fails to realise is that they are to blame for the mistreatment of Truman, as by watching the show they are supporting it and thereby condoning the abuse. In an interview Weir stated about Lady Diana’s death that. â€Å"The very people who were outraged by her perceived cause of death, were the ones who bought the magazines. † This helps us to understand how The Truman Show is not just the product of one man abusing his power, but that it is caused by everyone who simply goes along with it and no one standing up for what is right. This idea highlights that Weir wanted us to be aware of Jewish writer and philosopher Hannah Arendt’s term, ‘The banality of evil. The banality of evil refers to the idea that evil is allowed to occur and it is not due to fanatical leaders like Christof, but by the people who blindly follow and support him without questioning. This key idea displays the importance of the people in the masses to speak out and stand up for their morals so that abuse, like that seen in The Truman Show, does not occur. The way Christof abuses his power over Truman by controlling every aspect of his life makes us aware that reality television shows have gotten out of hand. In the climax Christof shouts, â€Å"Give me some lightning Again! Hit ‘im! Again! † This imperative from Christof shows how he is willing to harm Truman. â€Å"You can’t let him die in front of a live audience! † â€Å"He was born on television. He can die on television too. † This dialogue displays how Christof is willing to forgo his moral obligations and endanger a ‘cast member’ for the sake of a good show. This control Christof has over Truman makes us see the similarities between The Truman Show and reality television shows today. As The Truman Show cast member Marlon states, trying to condone the show, â€Å"It’s all real. Nothing here is fake. Nothing you see on this show is fake. It’s merely controlled. †The same could be said for reality shows which push the boundaries such as Big Brother. Big Brother is a hugely successful reality show which imposes 24 hours a day surveillance on it’s contestants, who are put through gruelling conditions with limited resources alongside strong minded fellow competitors, all this leads to much loved drama, from love to betrayal. Shows like these invade any sense of privacy for the contestants, as seen when two contestants on Big Brother were seen together by the night vision cameras under the sheets making love. Weir says that he heard someone say, â€Å"What a bizarre movie. † But he claims â€Å"life is so outrageous right now, and the film is reflecting that. † This tells us that Weir wants us to realise how out of control reality television has become even the extreme concept of The Truman Show is not really so far from what we see on the television today. In conclusion the key idea of abuse of power is shown by the director Peter Weir throughout the film. His excellent use of camera shots, cross cutting and dialogue allows us to see that abuse of power is not only seen throughout The Truman Show, but it is also very prevalent in today’s society, through the forms of workplace bullying and reality television shows, as was it also an issue in history as seen with Lady Diana’s tragic death. As Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"It is the responsibility of every citizen to question authority. †

Adhoc Networks Essay Example For Students

Adhoc Networks Essay Reliable Broadcasting in Mobile Ad-Hoc NetworksPhaneesh KuppahalliDepartment of Computer ScienceThe University of Texas at Dallas, TexasemailprotectedABSTRACTIn a mobile ad-hoc network, providing a reliable broadcast is one of the most important requirements. In broadcasting, a source node sends a message to all the other nodes in the network. Broadcasting operation is expected to be executed more frequently in mobile ad-hoc networks MANETs. So the number of retransmissions in the broadcast has to be minimized. The reliable broadcast service ensures that all the hosts in the network deliver the same set of messages to the upper layer. The protocols that are used in wired networks are unsuitable for deployment on MANETs, as these do not take into account the node mobility, network load and congestion. There have been a lot of protocols which are proposed for reliable broadcasting in MANETs. A straight forward way is by Simple Flooding 1, 2 which is very costly and very inefficient. Th e other protocols are Probability based methods 3, Area Based Methods 3 and Neighbor Knowledge Methods 4, 5, 6 and 7. Also, efficiency and reliability conflict with each other. Hence it is hard to achieve both at a time with just one scheme. This paper will aim at proposing improvements for reliable broadcasting in MANETs. 1.INTRODUCTIONThe drastic improvements in the wireless communications and portable wireless devices have made mobile computing a reality. Recently, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) has attracted a lot of attention and research. MANETs are made of a group of independent mobile hosts which communicate with each other. A mobile host may not be able to communicate directly with all the other hosts. So, the packets traverse various intermediate nodes before reaching the destination. All the nodes in the network assist in routing. The ad-hoc networks are created dynamically on the fly. The hosts are allowed to move around in the network. Routing protocols in ad-hoc networks should provide means to deliver packets to destination nodes given these dynamic topologies. Applications of MANETs occur in battle-fields, major disaster and some business environments where networks need to be deployed immediately without any base stations or fixed networks. Broadcasting is process by which a source node sends a message to all the other nodes in the entire network. Broadcasting operation is expected to be executed more frequently in mobile ad-hoc networks MANETs. Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) 10 and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) 9 are the two most widely studied unicast on-demand ad-hoc routing protocols which use broadcasting. These broadcasts use flooding which is inefficient and very costly. The other protocols that use broadcasting are Probability based methods 3, Area Based Methods 3 and Neighbor Knowledge Methods 4, 5, 6 and 7. Since broadcasting is the most basic operation in ad-hoc networks, the reliability of the broadcast is one of the most important requirements. This paper discusses the some of the existing reliable broadcast protocols and also proposes improvements for reliable broadcasting in MANETs. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In section 2, the broadcast storm12 and implosion13 problems are discussed. In section 3, the related work is discussed. In section 4, the comparison of some of the existing protocols and improvements for the reliable broadcast in mobile ad-hoc networks are described. In section 5, the conclusion is given. 2.PRELIMINARIESA MANET consists of a set of mobile hosts that may communicate with one another from time to time. No base stations are supported. Each host is equipped with a CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) 11 transceiver. In such environment, a host may communicate with another directly or indirectly. In indirect communication, the packet is transmitted between sender and receiver through intermediate nodes. The broadcast problem refers to the sending of a message to all other hosts in the network. In such environments, any of the nodes can issue a broadcast message at any time so it can experience repetitive collisions. Acknowledgements may cause serious medium contention (and thus, another storm) surrounding the sender. Broadcast storm caused by floodingA straight-forward approach to achieve reliable broadcast is by simple flooding. A host, on receiving a broadcast message for the first time, has to rebroadcast the message. Clearly, this costs n tr ansmissions in

To Build A Fire Man free essay sample

To Construct A Fire: Man # 8217 ; s Intelligence Is Foolish Essay, Research Paper To Construct a Fire: Man # 8217 ; s Intelligence is Foolish How many times have you seen birds winging South for the winter? They do non read someplace or utilize some computing machine to cognize that they must wing to last. In Jack London # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; To Construct a Fire # 8221 ; , we see how that mans intelligence is sometimes foolish. The adult male, who is walking in 75 grades below nothing conditions, lets his erudite behaviour override his inherent aptitude. Therefore, he dies. London # 8217 ; s subject is that no affair how intelligent society becomes, we as a species should neer fling our basic inherent aptitudes. In the beginning of the narrative we see that the adult male realizes it is cold, but merely sees this as a fact and non a danger. The adult male tongue on the land to prove how cold it was. We will write a custom essay sample on To Build A Fire Man or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His trial taught him that it was colder than he had first idea, but he neer thought of that as a danger merely as a world. # 8220 ; That there should be anything more to it than that was a idea that neer entered his caput # 8221 ; ( 119 ) . To many times modern adult male plods along unmindful to the world that lies one minute or misstep off ( Votleler 272 ) . The adult male sees that he is experiencing the effects of the cold more and more as lt ;< br /> he goes along, but more than of all time he pushes on. Several times he remarks that the cold is doing his custodies and pess numbed, and cryopathy is killing his cheeks. He thinks # 8220 ; What were frosted cheek? A spot painful, that was all. . . # 8221 ; ( 120 ) . Again he chose to disregard an inherent aptitude that would hold saved him. The Canis familiaris, on the other manus, although guided by his erudite behaviour still retains his inherent aptitudes. The Canis familiaris follows the adult male throughout his ailment faded journey, but after the adult male perishes he relies upon his inherent aptitudes to last. This is witnessed in the last paragraph by the statement # 8220 ; Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the way of the cantonment it knew, where there were other nutrient suppliers and fire suppliers # 8221 ; ( 129 ) . The subject of London # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; To Construct a Fire # 8221 ; is how we should all take attentiveness to modern cognition and learned behaviour has its benefits, but our primal inherent aptitudes should neer hold ignored. The adult male in the narrative had tonss of cognition but neglected to pay attending to his # 8220 ; sixth sense. # 8221 ; The Canis familiaris on the other manus, followed every bit long as he could but so allow his inherent aptitudes carry him to safety. We can neer hold plenty cognition to replace the endurance accomplishment that nature has provided us.

What Is Urap Berkeley Essay Sample?

What Is Urap Berkeley Essay Sample?Urap Berkeley Essay Sample can be considered as one of the best free college essay samples available. The College Board has made this resource for every student and teaches its use in the books of every major subject, including Biology, English, History, Math, and Science. These writers are ready to write free samples of essays from their program, which means they will answer your questions and provide tips on writing with a question in mind. This will help you be prepared for the big test that is right around the corner.At the moment, free college essay samples are only available for biology. Other subjects are to be added in the near future. So, take advantage of this opportunity to work on those subjects that you want to focus on for the class.One of the first things that you should do is to pick a subject that you want to write about that is very important to you. The College Board will have many options available to choose from, such as a topic related to the author's beliefs or something that you like to write about, such as your favorite author or movie. Once you have decided on the subject of your essay, you will need to find a writer to get your work.There are a number of free college essay samples to choose from, such as Urap Berkeley Essay Sample. One of the most popular ones is Urap Berkeley Essay Sample by Brook. This free resource is only a small portion of what the entire workbook is about. The entire book is available online at the College Board site, and you will need to download it to have access to the site.Once you have downloaded this eBook, it will give you the freedom to use these free resources for all of your classes. When you work with this resource, you will not be afraid to write the material you want, and the advice provided will help you be prepared for your big test. The College Board will have you covered on many different topics in your classes.The writing skills you learn from these free resou rces will help you when you go to write the essay of your dreams for a test. Many of the writers who work for the College Board are native English speakers who have a wealth of experience with writing assignments. They are able to review your writing before they work on it to make sure that it fits the requirements of the specific writing assignment.There are no hard rules about writing with these free resources, but you need to make sure that the writers know exactly what you want to write about. As long as you have a general idea about the topic, you will be able to write confidently. Do not worry about spelling or grammar, as the writers for the College Board are experts in these areas. These are not writers who are reviewing your work for criticism, and they are there to help you with anything that you need them to.The best thing about the free college essay samples is that they give you enough information to allow you to start writing on any topic that you want to write about. You do not have to be afraid to test your writing skills. Just find the resources that you need and you will be able to write your papers with confidence.

Biography of Marco Polo, Merchant and Explorer

Biography of Marco Polo, Merchant and Explorer Marco Polo (c.1254–January 8, 1324) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle. His writings about China and the Mongol Empire in The Travels of Marco Polo had a significant impact on European beliefs about and behavior toward the East and inspired the travels of Christopher Columbus. Fast Facts: Marco Polo Known For: Exploration of the Far East and writing about his travelsBorn: c. 1254 in the city-state of Venice (modern Italy)Parents: Niccolà ² Polo, Nicole Anna DefusehDied: January 8, 1324 in VeniceEducation: UnknownPublished Works: The Travels of Marco PoloSpouse: Donata BadoerChildren: Bellela Polo, Fantina Polo, Moretta PoloNotable Quote: â€Å"I have not told the half of what I saw.† Early Years Marco Polo was born into a prosperous merchant family in 1254 in what was then the Italian city-state of Venice. His father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo had already left Venice for a trading trip before Marco was born, and Marcos mother died before the expedition returned. As a result, young Marco was raised by relatives. Meanwhile, Marcos father and uncle traveled to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), encountering Mongol uprisings and the Byzantine re-conquest of Constantinople along the way. The brothers then headed east to Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan), and, from there, were encouraged to meet with the great Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan) in his court in what is now Beijing. Kublai Khan took a liking to the Italian brothers and learned a great deal from them about European culture and technology. A few years later, Kublai Khan sent the Polo brothers back to Europe on a mission to the Pope, asking that missionaries be sent to convert the Mongols (no mission was ever sent). By the time the Polos returned to Venice the year was 1269; Niccolo discovered that his wife had died in the interim, leaving him a 15-year-old son. The father, uncle, and son got along well; two years later, in 1271, the three left Venice once again and headed east. Travels With His Father Marco, his father, and his uncle sailed across the Mediterranean Sea and then traveled overland, crossing Armenia, Persia, Afghanistan, and the Pamir Mountains. Finally, they set off across the Gobi Desert to China and Kublai Khan. The entire journey took about four years, including a period during which the group stayed in the mountains of Afghanistan while Marco recovered from illness. Despite the hardships, Marco discovered a love for travel and a desire to learn as much as he could about the cultures he encountered. Upon reaching Beijing, the Polos were welcomed to Kublai Khans legendary marble and gold summer palace, Xanadu. All three men were invited to join the emperors court, and all three immersed themselves in Chinese language and culture. Marco was appointed to become a special envoy to the emperor, which entitled him to travel throughout Asia, thus becoming the first European to see Tibet, Burma, and India. His service to the emperor was exemplary; as a result, he received the titles of governor of a Chinese city and earned a seat on the emperors council. Return to Venice After a successful stay of more than 17 years in China, the Polos had become extraordinarily wealthy. They finally left as the escorts to a Mongolian princess named Cogatin, who was to become the bride of a Persian prince. Though they had the use of a fleet of Chinese ships, hundreds of passengers and crew members died during the voyage home. When they reached Persia, the brides Persian prince had died as well, leading to a delay while the right match was found for the young princess. During the multi-year trip, Kublai Khan himself died, which left the Polos vulnerable to local rulers who exacted taxes from the Polos before they were allowed to leave. The Polos returned to Venice as strangers in their own land. When they arrived, Venice was at war with the rival city-state of Genoa. As was the custom, Marco funded his own warship, but he was captured and imprisoned in Genoa. Publication of The Travels of Marco Polo While in prison for two years, Marco Polo dictated an account of his travels to a fellow prisoner (and author) named Rusticello. In 1299, the war ended and Marco Polo was released; he returned to Venice, married Donata Badoer, and had three daughters while reviving his successful business. During this time, The Travels of Marco Polo was published in French. Published before the invention of the printing press, the book was copied by hand by scholars and monks, and each of the surviving 130 or so copies is different. Over time, the book was translated into many different languages and distributed worldwide. At the time of its publication, few readers believed that the book was literally accurate, and many questioned whether it was written by Polo or Rusticello. It seems likely that much of the book is hearsay, as it contains both first-person and third-person passages. Nevertheless, most of the books description of Kublai Kahns court and customs have been authenticated by historians. The Strange Worlds of Marco Polo In addition to accurate, first-hand descriptions of Asian customs, Marco Polos book also provided Europes introduction to paper money, coal, and other important innovations. At the same time, however, it includes stories of people with tails, lands occupied almost entirely by cannibals, and other impossible or unlikely claims. His description of coal is accurate and, in the long run, was very influential: Throughout this province there is found a sort of black stone, which they dig out of the mountains, where it runs in veins. When lighted, it burns like charcoal, and retains the fire much better than wood; inso- much that it may be preserved during the night, and in the morning be found still burning. These stones do not flame, excepting a little when first lighted, but during their ignition give out a considerable heat. On the other hand, his account of the Kingdom of Lambri (theoretically near Java) is pure fiction: Now you must know that in this kingdom of Lambri there are men with tails; these tails are of a palm in length, and have no hair on them. These people live in the mountains and are a kind of wild men. Their tails are about the thickness of a dogs. There are also plenty of unicorns in that country, and abundance of game in birds and beasts. Death Marco Polo spent his final days as a businessman, working from home. He died there at almost 70 years of age, on January 8, 1324, and was buried under the church of San Lorenzo, though his tomb has now vanished. Legacy As Polo neared death in 1324, he was asked to recant what he had written and simply said that he had not even told half of what he had witnessed. Despite the fact that many claim his book to be unreliable, it was a sort of regional geography of Asia for centuries, serving as inspiration for Christopher Columbus- who took an annotated copy along on his first voyage in 1492. Even today, it is considered one of the great works of travel literature. Sources BBC. Marco Polo. BBC History.â€Å"The Travels of Marco Polo/Book 3/Chapter 11.† Codex Hammurabi (King Translation) - Wikisource, the Free Online Library, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.ï » ¿Khan Academy. Marco Polo. Kahnacademy.org.

Adversarial System vs. Civil Law Essay Example for Free

Adversarial System vs. Civil Law Essay ? The European civil law system is all about finding the truth, even if a lawyer has to lose the case for their client while doing so. The American adversarial system is about winning, even if it means avoiding and stretching the truth to do so. Civil law has the laws made by the government and the courts apply them, while common law has the judges making the majority of the laws through precedents. The adversarial system uses specific laws, precedents, and legal rules to determine who wins. It allows lawyers to take the truth and spin it into the picture that is the most beneficial to their client. They can use loopholes in the law to keep evidence from being allowed to cause their guilty clients to be punished for what they have done. Once all the talking is done, it is up to twelve people to decide whose lawyer did a better job of convincing them to believe them. The civil system uses general ideas and broad concepts to form the framework for taking the evidence at hand and attempting to determine what the truth is. When the truth is revealed, lawyers do not try to hide it or escape from it, even if they do not like the results. A major disadvantage of this system is that those twelve people from the common law system are only used in major criminal cases, so when the truth is unclear, only a couple people get to determine who is right, and three people can be wrong easier than twelve people in 100% agreement. In my opinion from what I have learned, I believe that the civil law system has an advantage in finding the ideal of the judicial system – justice. In the adversarial system, the truth can be avoided, and once it is, there can be no justice. As to the question of whether there are constitutional problems with applying civil laws in the US, the most obvious one is that a jury trial is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights to protect a defendant from being condemned by the voice of one person. Adversarial System vs. Civil Law. (2017, Jan 20).

The Shots of Goodfellas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Shots of Goodfellas - Essay Example Goodfellas does not glorify the gangster lifestyle like The Godfather. The framing of the short tracking shot from a three-shot to the two-shot is vital for the psychological state of mind of the audience that must be willing to accept the perhaps fictional assertion that the man through whose eyes the story will be told was not as bloodthirsty and violent as those around him. The movement away from directly including Henry in this show to bringing Tommy and Jimmy together is a distancing device that subtly creates a sense of audience participation with Henry’s character. At no point in the editing of the incredibly violent opening sequence of Goodfellas is Henry Hill ever included in the finishing off the murder of the man in the trunk. The audience has no way of knowing who this man is or what part he will play or why he was killed. For the audience can’t possibly know he was a completely innocent witness to a crime rather than a wiseguy himself. Because this is the o pening scene that essentially introduces the audience to the main characters it is imperative that Henry is not only never seen taking an active role in the murder, but is seen to react to Jimmy’s nod of the head to open the trunk in the first place as Jimmy is his boss. The reaction shots of Henry responding to the brutality before him rather than taking part also serves to further intensify audience participation in part because of the murderous glee with which Tommy kills and the quick sneer that appears on Jimmy’s face before he shoots the corpse.

The Professional Development Programs at Abbott Essay

The Professional Development Programs at Abbott - Essay Example PDPs are highly selective, two-three year assignment and rotation-based programs built around formal learning and mentoring. As a member of the program each employee will contribute as a functioning professional in a specific area within the company, rotate through challenging, demanding and diverse assignments and be paired with a mentor to assist in the development of his / her career. (Abbott) The success of participants in Professional Development Programs is convincing enough to prove that these programs are really helping them to grow in their career. According to Tomlin nearly 25% of participants are now in senior management positions. She says, One of the most popular psychological tests is Myers -Briggs type indicators (MBTI). It helps in knowing how a person feels and tends to think like in different situations. "It identifies individual's preferences for energy, information gathering and life-style" (Raymond Noe). It is highly useful for understanding and practicing different concepts like communication, teamwork, motivation, work styles and leadership. Abbott has developed a very scientific and successful system for its workforce training and development. It has incorporated all the latest methods in assessing the training needs of employees and how best they can learn new skills.

Children and Gangs Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Children and Gangs      Ã‚  Ã‚   Gang violence is a huge problem in America today. More and more children are joining gangs every day. It has become evident that these gangs made up of young people are causing numerous problems. Gang violence and gang activities impact all of those around the gang members. The kids in these gangs are hurting themselves, each other, their families, and the communities around them. Those who are associated with the gangs through family ties or just those who are associated with the gangs through geographical location. Before we can understand how gangs effect the people and communities around them we must first understand what gangs actually are. We must try and understand how the gang members think, how they react to certain situations, and what makes them do what they do. First of all, why do youth join gangs in the first place? Often young people join gangs for a sense of belonging. When children are not getting the attention they need from other people they turn to those who will give them the sense of belonging that they long for. Often gangs form in, areas with weak family and neighborhood controls, especially poor urban slum areas. Children with low parental supervision often spend much of their time on the streets(Lo,38). Once in a gang, the gang becomes the childà ­s family. Everything the child does is for the gang. à ¬Gang members fight to protect what the members value, and to protect the integrity of the group...gang members engage in violent behavior to impress others and to reinforce their own self-esteemà ®(Lo,40). In order to gain status and respect in a gang, the gang member must give everything for the gang. The gang member must in fact have à ¬the willingness to r... ...orces, Vol. 75 No. 2 December 1996, pg. 619-645. Lo, Chun-Nui, A Social Model of Gang Related Violence, Free Inquiry In Creative Sociology, Vol 19 no. 1, May 1991, pg. 36-43. Osgood, Wayne et al., Routine Activities and Deviant Behavior, American Sociological Review, Vol. 61 no. 4, August 1996, pg 635-655. Brantley, Gangs, Vol.63, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, May 1,1994, pp1-8 (Article) Kennedy, Leslie and Stephen Baron, Routine Activities And A Subculture Of Violence: A Study Of Violence On The Street, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 30 No. 1, Febuary 1993, pp. 88-112 (Journal) Lo, Chun-Nui (Celia), A Social Model Of Gang-Related Violence, Free Inquiry In Creative Sociology, Vol 19 No 1, May1991, pp. 36-43 (Journal) Shakur, Sanyika, Monster: The Autobiography Of An L.A. Gang Member,Penguin Book Ltd., 1993   

Black House Chapter Fifteen

15 BY EVENING, the temperature has dropped fifteen degrees as a minor cold front pushes through our little patch of the Coulee Country. There are no thunderstorms, but as the sky tinges toward violet, the fog arrives. It's born out of the river and rises up the inclined ramp of Chase Street, first obscuring the gutters, then the sidewalks, then blurring the buildings themselves. It cannot completely hide them, as the fogs of spring and winter sometimes do, but the blurring is somehow worse: it steals colors and softens shapes. The fog makes the ordinary look alien. And there's the smell, the ancient, seagully odor that works deep into your nose and awakens the back part of your brain, the part that is perfectly capable of believing in monsters when the sight lines shorten and the heart is uneasy. On Sumner Street, Debbi Anderson is still working dispatch. Arnold â€Å"the Mad Hungarian† Hrabowski has been sent home without his badge in fact, suspended and feels he must ask his wife a few pointed questions (his belief that he already knows the answers makes him even more heartsick). Debbi is now standing at the window, a cup of coffee in her hand and a puckery little frown on her face. â€Å"Don't like this,† she says to Bobby Dulac, who is glumly and silently writing reports. â€Å"It reminds me of the Hammer pictures I used to watch on TV back when I was in junior high.† â€Å"Hammer pictures?† Bobby asks, looking up. â€Å"Horror pictures,† she says, looking out into the deepening fog. â€Å"A lot of them were about Dracula. Also Jack the Ripper.† â€Å"I don't want to hear nothing about Jack the Ripper,† Bobby says. â€Å"You mind me, Debster.† And resumes writing. In the parking lot of the 7-Eleven, Mr. Rajan Patel stands beside his telephone (still crisscrossed by yellow police tape, and when it will be all right again for using, this Mr. Patel could not be telling us). He looks toward downtown, which now seems to rise from a vast bowl of cream. The buildings on Chase Street descend into this bowl. Those at Chase's lowest point are visible only from the second story up. â€Å"If he is down there,† Mr. Patel says softly, and to no one but himself, â€Å"tonight he will be doing whatever he wants.† He crosses his arms over his chest and shivers. Dale Gilbertson is at home, for a wonder. He plans to have a sit-down dinner with his wife and child even if the world ends because of it. He comes out of his den (where he has spent twenty minutes talking with WSP officer Jeff Black, a conversation in which he has had to exercise all his discipline to keep from shouting), and sees his wife standing at the window and looking out. Her posture is almost exactly the same as Debbi Anderson's, only she's got a glass of wine in her hand instead of a cup of coffee. The puckery little frown is identical. â€Å"River fog,† Sarah says dismally. â€Å"Isn't that ducky. If he's out there â€Å" Dale points at her. â€Å"Don't say it. Don't even think it.† But he knows that neither of them can help thinking about it. The streets of French Landing the foggy streets of French Landing will be deserted right now: no one shopping in the stores, no one idling along the sidewalks, no one in the parks. Especially no children. The parents will be keeping them in. Even on Nailhouse Row, where good parenting is the exception rather than the rule, the parents will be keeping their kids inside. â€Å"I won't say it,† she allows. â€Å"That much I can do.† â€Å"What's for dinner?† â€Å"How does chicken pot pie sound?† Ordinarily such a hot dish on a July evening would strike him as an awful choice, but tonight, with the fog coming in, it sounds like just the thing. He steps up behind her, gives her a brief squeeze, and says, â€Å"Great. And earlier would be better.† She turns, disappointed. â€Å"Going back in?† â€Å"I shouldn't have to, not with Brown and Black rolling the ball â€Å" â€Å"Those pricks,† she says. â€Å"I never liked them.† Dale smiles. He knows that the former Sarah Asbury has never cared much for the way he earns his living, and this makes her furious loyalty all the more touching. And tonight it feels vital, as well. It's been the most painful day of his career in law enforcement, ending with the suspension of Arnold Hrabowski. Arnie, Dale knows, believes he will be back on duty before long. And the shitty truth is that Arnie may be right. Based on the way things are going, Dale may need even such an exquisite example of ineptitude as the Mad Hungarian. â€Å"Anyway, I shouldn't have to go back in, but . . .† â€Å"You have a feeling.† â€Å"I do.† â€Å"Good or bad?† She has come to respect her husband's intuitions, not in the least because of Dale's intense desire to see Jack Sawyer settled close enough to reach with seven keystrokes instead of eleven. Tonight that looks to her like pardon the pun a pretty good call. â€Å"Both,† Dale says, and then, without explaining or giving Sarah a chance to question further: â€Å"Where's Dave?† â€Å"At the kitchen table with his crayons.† At six, young David Gilbertson is enjoying a violent love affair with Crayolas, has gone through two boxes since school let out. Dale and Sarah's strong hope, expressed even to each other only at night, lying side by side before sleep, is that they may be raising a real artist. The next Norman Rockwell, Sarah said once. Dale who helped Jack Sawyer hang his strange and wonderful pictures has higher hopes for the boy. Too high to express, really, even in the marriage bed after the lights are out. With his own glass of wine in hand, Dale ambles out to the kitchen. â€Å"What you drawing, Dave? What â€Å" He stops. The crayons have been abandoned. The picture a half-finished drawing of what might be either a flying saucer or perhaps just a round coffee table has also been abandoned. The back door is open. Looking out at the whiteness that hides David's swing and jungle gym, Dale feels a terrible fear leap up his throat, choking him. All at once he can smell Irma Freneau again, that terrible smell of raw spoiled meat. Any sense that his family lives in a protected, magic circle it may happen to others, but it can never, never happen to us is gone now. What has replaced it is stark certainty: David is gone. The Fisherman has enticed him out of the house and spirited him away into the fog. Dale can see the grin on the Fisherman's face. He can see the gloved hand it's yellow covering his son's mouth but not the bulging, terrified child's eyes. Into the fog and out of the known world. David. He moves forward across the kitchen on legs that feel boneless as well as nerveless. He puts his wineglass down on the table, the stem landing a-tilt on a crayon, not noticing when it spills and covers David's half-finished drawing with something that looks horribly like venous blood. He's out the door, and although he means to yell, his voice comes out in a weak and almost strengthless sigh: â€Å"David? . . . Dave?† For a moment that seems to last a thousand years, there is nothing. Then he hears the soft thud of running feet on damp grass. Blue jeans and a red-striped rugby shirt materialize out of the thickening soup. A moment later he sees his son's dear, grinning face and mop of yellow hair. â€Å"Dad! Daddy! I was swinging in the fog! It was like being in a cloud!† Dale snatches him up. There is a bad, blinding impulse to slap the kid across the face, to hurt him for scaring his father so. It passes as quickly as it came. He kisses David instead. â€Å"I know,† he says. â€Å"That must have been fun, but it's time to come in now.† â€Å"Why, Daddy?† â€Å"Because sometimes little boys get lost in the fog,† he says, looking out into the white yard. He can see the patio table, but it is only a ghost; he wouldn't know what he was looking at if he hadn't seen it a thousand times. He kisses his son again. â€Å"Sometimes little boys get lost,† he repeats. Oh, we could check in with any number of friends, both old and new. Jack and Fred Marshall have returned from Arden (neither suggested stopping at Gertie's Kitchen in Centralia when they passed it), and both are now in their otherwise deserted houses. For the balance of the ride back to French Landing, Fred never once let go of his son's baseball cap, and he has a hand on it even now, as he eats a microwaved TV dinner in his too empty living room and watches Action News Five. Tonight's news is mostly about Irma Freneau, of course. Fred picks up the remote when they switch from shaky-cam footage of Ed's Eats to a taped report from the Holiday Trailer Park. The cameraman has focused on one shabby trailer in particular. A few flowers, brave but doomed, straggle in the dust by the stoop, which consists of three boards laid across two cement blocks. â€Å"Here, on the outskirts of French Landing, Irma Freneau's grieving mother is in seclusion,† says the on-scene correspondent. â€Å"One can only imagine this single mother's feelings tonight.† The reporter is prettier than Wendell Green but exudes much the same aura of glittering, unhealthy excitement. Fred hits the OFF button on the remote and growls, â€Å"Why can't you leave the poor woman alone?† He looks down at his chipped beef on toast, but he has lost his appetite. Slowly, he raises Tyler's hat and puts it on his own head. It doesn't fit, and Fred for a moment thinks of letting out the plastic band at the back. The idea shocks him. Suppose that was all it took to kill his son? That one simple, deadly modification? The idea strikes him as both ridiculous and utterly inarguable. He supposes that if this keeps up, he'll soon be as mad as his wife . . . or Sawyer. Trusting Sawyer is as crazy as thinking he might kill his son by changing the size of the boy's hat . . . and yet he believes in both things. He picks up his fork and begins to eat again, Ty's Brewers cap sitting on his head like Spanky's beanie in an old Our Gang one-reeler. Beezer St. Pierre is sitting on his sofa in his underwear, a book open on his lap (it is, in fact, a book of William Blake's poems) but unread. Bear Girl's asleep in the other room, and he's fighting the urge to bop on down to the Sand Bar and score some crank, his old vice, untouched for going on five years now. Since Amy died, he fights this urge every single day, and lately he wins only by reminding himself that he won't be able to find the Fisherman and punish him as he deserves to be punished if he's fucked up on devil dust. Henry Leyden is in his studio with a huge pair of Akai headphones on his head, listening to Warren Vach? ¦, John Bunch, and Phil Flanigan dreamboat their way through â€Å"I Remember April.† He can smell the fog even through the walls, and to him it smells like the air at Ed's Eats. Like bad death, in other words. He's wondering how Jack made out in good old Ward D at French County Lutheran. And he's thinking about his wife, who lately (especially since the record hop at Maxton's, although he doesn't consciously realize this) seems closer than ever. And unquiet. Yes indeed, all sorts of friends are available for our inspection, but at least one seems to have dropped out of sight. Charles Burnside isn't in the common room at Maxton's (where an old episode of Family Ties is currently running on the ancient color TV bolted to the wall), nor in the dining hall, where snacks are available in the early evening, nor in his own room, where the sheets are currently clean (but where the air still smells vaguely of old shit). What about the bathroom? Nope. Thorvald Thorvaldson has stopped in to have a pee and a handwash, but otherwise the place is empty. One oddity: there's a fuzzy slipper lying on its side in one of the stalls. With its bright black and yellow stripes, it looks like the corpse of a huge dead bumblebee. And yes, it's the stall second from the left. Burny's favorite. Should we look for him? Maybe we should. Maybe not knowing exactly where that rascal is makes us uneasy. Let us slip through the fog, then, silent as a dream, down to lower Chase Street. Here is the Nelson Hotel, its ground floor now submerged in river fog, the ocher stripe marking high water of that ancient flood no more than a whisper of color in the fading light. On one side of it is Wisconsin Shoe, now closed for the day. On the other is Lucky's Tavern, where an old woman with bowlegs (her name is Bertha Van Dusen, if you care) is currently bent over with her hands planted on her large knees, yarking a bellyful of Kingsland Old-Time Lager into the gutter. She makes sounds like a bad driver grinding a manual transmission. In the doorway of the Nelson Hotel itself sits a patient old mongrel, who will wait until Bertha has gone back into the tavern, then slink over to eat the half-digested cocktail franks floating in the beer. From Lucky's comes the tired, twanging voice of the late Dick Curless, Ole Country One-Eye, singing about those Hainesville Woods, where there's a tombstone every mile. The dog gives a single disinterested growl as we pass him and slip into the Nelson's lobby, where moth-eaten heads a wolf, a bear, an elk, and an ancient half-bald bison with a single glass eye look at empty sofas, empty chairs, the elevator that hasn't worked since 1994 or so, and the empty registration desk. (Morty Fine, the clerk, is in the office with his feet propped up on an empty file-cabinet drawer, reading People and picking his nose.) The lobby of the Nelson Hotel always smells of the river it's in the pores of the place but this evening the smell is heavier than usual. It's a smell that makes us think of bad ideas, blown investments, forged checks, deteriorating health, stolen office supplies, unpaid alimony, empty promises, skin tumors, lost ambition, abandoned sample cases filled with cheap novelties, dead hope, dead skin, and fallen arches. This is the kind of place you don't come to unless you've been here before and all your other options are pretty much foreclose d. It's a place where men who left their families two decades before now lie on narrow beds with pee-stained mattresses, coughing and smoking cigarettes. The scuzzy old lounge (where scuzzy old Hoover Dalrymple once held court and knocked heads most every Friday and Saturday night) has been closed by unanimous vote of the town council since early June, when Dale Gilbertson scandalized the local political elite by showing them a video of three traveling strippers who billed themselves as the Anal University Trio, performing a synchronized cucumber routine on the tiny stage (FLPD cameraman: Officer Tom Lund, let's give him a hand), but the Nelson's residents still have only to go next door to get a beer; it's convenient. You pay by the week at the Nelson. You can keep a hot plate in your room, but only by permission and after the cord has been inspected. You can die on a fixed income at the Nelson, and the last sound you hear could well be the creaking of bedsprings over your head as some other helpless old loser jacks off. Let us rise up the first flight, past the old canvas firehose in its glass box. Turn right at the second-floor landing (past the pay phone with its yellowing OUT OF ORDER sign) and continue to rise. When we reach the third floor, the smell of river fog is joined by the smell of chicken soup warming on someone's hot plate (the cord duly approved either by Morty Fine or George Smith, the day manager). The smell is coming from 307. If we slip through the keyhole (there have never been keycards at the Nelson and never will be), we'll be in the presence of Andrew Railsback, seventy, balding, scrawny, good-humored. He once sold vacuum cleaners for Electrolux and appliances for Sylvania, but those days are behind him now. These are his golden years. A candidate for Maxton's, we might think, but Andy Railsback knows that place, and places like it. Not for him, thanks. He's sociable enough, but he doesn't want people telling him when to go to bed, when to get up, and when he can have a little nip of Early Times. He has friends in Maxton's, visits them often, and has from time to time met the sparkling, shallow, predatory eye of our pal Chipper. He has thought on more than one such occasion that Mr. Maxton looks like the sort of fellow who would happily turn the corpses of his graduates into soap if he thought he could turn a buck on it. No, for Andy Railsback, the third floor of the Nelson Hotel is good enough. He has his hot plate; he has his bottle of hooch; he's got four packs of Bicycles and plays big-picture solitaire on nights when the sandman loses his way. This evening he has made three Lipton Cup-A-Soups, thinking he'll invite Irving Throneberry in for a bowl and a chat. Maybe afterward they'll go next door to Lucky's and grab a beer. He checks the soup, sees it has attained a nice simmer, sniffs the fragrant steam, and nods. He also has saltines, which go well with soup. He leaves the room to make his way upstairs and knock on Irv's door, but what he sees in the hallway stops him cold. It's an old man in a shapeless blue robe, walking away from him with suspicious quickness. Beneath the hem of the robe, the stranger's legs are as white as a carp's belly and marked with blue snarls of varicose veins. On his left foot is a fuzzy black-and-yellow slipper. His right foot is bare. Although our new friend can't tell for sure not with the guy's back to him he doesn't look like anyone Andy knows. Also, he's trying doorknobs as he wends his way along the main third-floor hall. He gives each one a single hard, quick shake. Like a turnkey. Or a thief. A fucking thief. Yeah. Although the man is obviously old older than Andy, it looks like and dressed as if for bed, the idea of thievery resonates in Andy's mind with queer certainty. Even the one bare foot, arguing that the fellow probably didn't come in off the street, has no power over this strong intuition. Andy opens his mouth to call out something like Can I help you? or Looking for someone? and then changes his mind. He just has this feeling about the guy. It has to do with the fleet way the stranger scurries along as he tries the knobs, but that's not all of it. Not all of it by any means. It's a feeling of darkness and danger. There are pockets in the geezer's robe, Andy can see them, and there might be a weapon in one of them. Thieves don't always have weapons, but . . . The old guy turns the corner and is gone. Andy stands where he is, considering. If he had a phone in his room, he might call downstairs and alert Morty Fine, but he doesn't. So, what to do? After a brief interior debate, he tiptoes down the hall to the corner and peeps around. Here is a cul-de-sac with three doors: 312, 313, and, at the very end, 314, the only room in that little appendix which is currently occupied. The man in 314 has been there since the spring, but almost all Andy knows about him is his name: George Potter. Andy has asked both Irv and Hoover Dalrymple about Potter, but Hoover doesn't know jack-shit and Irv has learned only a little more. â€Å"You must,† Andy objected this conversation took place in late May or early June, around the time the Buckhead Lounge downstairs went dark. â€Å"I seen you in Lucky's with him, havin' a beer.† Irv had lifted one bushy eyebrow in that cynical way of his. â€Å"Seen me havin' a beer with him. What are you?† he'd rasped. â€Å"My fuckin' wife?† â€Å"I'm just saying. You drink a beer with a man, you have a little conversation â€Å" â€Å"Usually, maybe. Not with him. I sat down, bought a pitcher, and mostly got the dubious pleasure of listenin' to myself think. I say, ‘What do you think about the Brewers this year?' and he says, ‘They'll suck, same as last year. I can get the Cubs at night on my rah-dio ‘ â€Å" â€Å"That the way he said it? Rah-dio?† â€Å"Well, it ain't the way I say it, is it? You ever heard me say rah-dio? I say radio, same as any normal person. You want to hear this or not?† â€Å"Don't sound like there's much to hear.† â€Å"You got that right, buddy. He says, ‘I can get the Cubs at night on my rah-dio, and that's enough for me. I always went to Wrigley with my dad when I was a kid.' So I found out he was from Chi, but otherwise, bupkes.† The first thought to pop into Andy's mind upon glimpsing the fucking thief in the third-floor corridor had been Potter, but Mr. George I-Keep-to-Myself Potter is a tall drink of water, maybe six-four, still with a pretty good head of salt-and-pepper hair. Mr. One-Slipper was shorter than that, hunched over like a toad. (A poison toad, at that is the thought that immediately rises in Andy's mind.) He's in there, Andy thinks. Fucking thief's in Potter's room, maybe going through Potter's drawers, looking for a little stash. Fifty or sixty rolled up in the toe of a sock, like I used to do. Or stealing Potter's radio. His fucking rah-dio. Well, and what was that to him? You passed Potter in the hallway, gave him a civil good morning or good afternoon, and what you got back was an uncivil grunt. Bupkes, in other words. You saw him in Lucky's, he was drinking alone, far side of the jukebox. Andy guessed you could sit down with him and he'd split a pitcher with you Irv's little tte-? ¤-tte with the man proved that much but what good was that without a little chin-jaw to go along with it? Why should he, Andrew Railsback, risk the wrath of some poison toad in a bathrobe for the sake of an old grump who wouldn't give you a yes, no, or maybe? Well . . . Because this is his home, cheesy as it might be, that's why. Because when you saw some crazy old one-slipper fuck in search of loose cash or the easily lifted rah-dio, you didn't just turn your back and shuffle away. Because the bad feeling he got from the scurrying old elf (the bad vibe, his grandchildren would have said) was probably nothing but a case of the chickenshits. Because Suddenly Andy Railsback has an intuition that, while not a direct hit, is at least adjacent to the truth. Suppose it is a guy from off the street? Suppose it's one of the old guys from Maxton Elder Care? It's not that far away, and he knows for a fact that from time to time an old feller (or old gal) will get mixed up in his (or her) head and wander off the reservation. Under ordinary circumstances that person would be spotted and hauled back long before getting this far downtown kind of hard to miss on the street in an institutional robe and single slipper but this evening the fog has come in and the streets are all but deserted. Look at you, Andy berates himself. Scared half to death of a feller that's probably got ten years on you and peanut butter for brains. Wandered in here past the empty desk not a chance in the goddamn world Fine's out front; he'll be in back reading a magazine or a stroke book and now he's looking for his room back at Maxton's, trying every knob on the goddamn corridor, no more idea of where he is than a squirrel on a freeway ramp. Potter's probably having a beer next door (this, at least, turns out to be true) and left his door unlocked (this, we may be assured, is not). And although he's still frightened, Andy comes all the way around the corner and walks slowly toward the open door. His heart is beating fast, because half his mind is still convinced the old man is maybe dangerous. There was, after all, that bad feeling he got just from looking at the stranger's back But he goes. God help him, he does. â€Å"Mister?† he calls when he reaches the open door. â€Å"Hey, mister, I think you got the wrong room. That's Mr. Potter's room. Don't you â€Å" He stops. No sense talking, because the room is empty. How is that possible? Andy steps back and tries the knobs of 312 and 313. Both locked up tight, as he knew they would be. With that ascertained, he steps into George Potter's room and has a good look around curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back. Potter's digs are a little larger than his, but otherwise not much different: it's a box with a high ceiling (they made places a man could stand up in back in the old days, you had to say that much for them). The single bed is sagging in the middle but neatly made. On the night table is a bottle of pills (these turn out to be an anti-depressant called Zoloft) and a single framed picture of a woman. Andy thinks she took a pretty good whopping with the ugly stick, but Potter must see her differently. He has, after all, put the picture in a place where it's the first thing he looks at in the morning and the last thing he sees at night. â€Å"Potter?† Andy asks. â€Å"Anyone? Hello?† He is suddenly overcome with a sense of someone standing behind him and whirls around, lips drawn back from his dentures in a grinning snarl that is half a cringe. One hand comes up to shield his face from the blow he is suddenly certain will fall . . . only there's no one there. Is he lurking behind the corner at the end of this short addendum to the main corridor? No. Andy saw the stranger go scurrying around that corner. No way he could have gotten behind him again . . . unless he crawled along the ceiling like some kind of fly . . . Andy looks up there, knowing he's being absurd, giving in to the whim-whams big time, but there's no one here to see him, so what the hey? And nothing for him to see overhead, either. Just an ordinary tin ceiling, now yellowed by age and decades of cigar and cigarette smoke. The radio oh, excuse me all to hell, rah-dio is sitting on the win-dowsill, unmolested. Damn fine one, too, a Bose, the kind Paul Harvey always talks about on his noon show. Beyond it, on the other side of the dirty glass, is the fire escape. Ah-hah! Andy thinks, and hurries across to the window. One look at the turned thumb lock and his triumphant expression fades. He peers out just the same, and sees a short stretch of wet black iron descending into the fog. No blue robe, no scaly bald pate. Of course not. The knob shaker didn't go out that way unless he had some magic trick to move the window's inside thumb lock back into place once he was on the fire escape landing. Andy turns, stands where he is a moment, thinking, then drops to his knees and looks under the bed. What he sees is an old tin ashtray with an unopened pack of Pall Malls and a Kingsland Old-Time Lager disposable lighter in it. Nothing else except dust kittens. He puts his hand on the coverlet preparatory to standing up, and his eyes fix on the closet door. It's standing ajar. â€Å"There,† Andy breathes, almost too low for his own ears to hear. He gets up and crosses to the closet door. The fog may or may not come in on little cat feet, as Carl Sandburg said, but that is certainly how Andy Railsback moves across George Potter's room. His heart is beating hard again, hard enough to start the prominent vein in the center of his forehead pulsing. The man he saw is in the closet. Logic demands it. Intuition screams it. And if the doorknob shaker's just a confused old soul who wandered into the Nelson Hotel out of the fog, why hasn't he spoken to Andy? Why has he concealed himself ? Because he may be old but he's not confused, that's why. No more confused than Andy is himself. The doorknob shaker's a fucking thief, and he's in the closet. He's maybe holding a knife that he has taken from the pocket of his tatty old robe. Maybe a coat hanger that he's unwound and turned into a weapon. Maybe he's just standing there in the dark, eyes wide, fingers hooked into claws. Andy no longer cares. You can scare him, you bet he's a retired salesman, not Superman but if you load enough tension on top of fright you turn it into anger, same as enough pressure turns coal into a diamond. And right now Andy is more pissed off than scared. He closes his fingers around the cool glass knob of the closet door. He squeezes down on it. He takes one breath . . . a second . . . steeling himself, getting ready . . . psyching himself up, the grandkids would say . . . one more breath, just for good luck, and . . . With a low, stressful sound half growl and half howl Andy yanks the closet door wide, setting off a chatter of hangers. He crouches, hands up in fists, looking like some ancient sparring partner from the Gym Time Forgot. â€Å"Come outta there, you fucking â€Å" No one there. Four shirts, one jacket, two ties, and three pairs of pants hanging like dead skin. A battered old suitcase that looks as if it has been kicked through every Greyhound Bus terminal in North America. Nothing else. Not a goddamn th But there is. There's something on the floor beneath the shirts. Several somethings. Almost half a dozen somethings. At first Andy Rails-back either doesn't understand what he's seeing or doesn't want to understand. Then it gets through to him, imprints itself on his mind and memory like a hoofprint, and he tries to scream. He can't. He tries again and nothing comes out but a rusty wheeze from lungs that feel no larger than old prune skins. He tries to turn around and can't do that, either. He is sure George Potter is coming, and if Potter finds him here, Andy's life will end. He has seen something George Potter can never allow him to talk about. But he can't turn. Can't scream. Can't take his eyes from the secret in George Potter's closet. Can't move. Because of the fog, nearly full dark has arrived in French Landing unnaturally early; it's barely six-thirty. The blurry yellow lights of Maxton Elder Care look like the lights of a cruise ship lying becalmed at sea. In Daisy wing, home of the wonderful Alice Weathers and the far less wonderful Charles Burnside, Pete Wexler and Butch Yerxa have both gone home for the day. A broad-shouldered, peroxide blonde named Vera Hutchinson is now on the desk. In front of her is a book entitled E-Z Minute Crosswords. She is currently puzzling over 6 Across: Garfield, for example. Six letters, first is F, third is L, sixth is E. She hates these tricky ones. There's the swoosh of a bathroom door opening. She looks up and sees Charles Burnside come shuffling out of the men's in his blue robe and a pair of yellow-and-black striped slippers that look like great fuzzy bumblebees. She recognizes them at once. â€Å"Charlie?† she asks, putting her pencil in her crossword book and closing it. Charlie just goes shuffling along, jaw hanging down, a long runner of drool also hanging down. But he has an unpleasant half grin on his face that Vera doesn't care for. This one may have lost most of his marbles, but the few left in his head are mean marbles. Sometimes she knows that Charlie Burnside genuinely doesn't hear her when she speaks (or doesn't understand her), but she's positive that sometimes he just pretends not to understand. She has an idea this is one of the latter times. â€Å"Charlie, what are you doing wearing Elmer's bee slippers? You know his great-granddaughter gave those to him.† The old man Burny to us, Charlie to Vera just goes shuffling along, in a direction that will eventually take him back to D18. Assuming he stays on course, that is. â€Å"Charlie, stop.† Charlie stops. He stands at the head of Daisy's corridor like a machine that has been turned off. His jaw hangs. The string of drool snaps, and all at once there's a little wet spot on the linoleum beside one of those absurd but amusing slippers. Vera gets up, goes to him, kneels down before him. If she knew what we know, she'd probably be a lot less willing to put her defenseless white neck within reach of those hanging hands, which are twisted by arthritis but still powerful. But of course she does not. She grasps the left bee slipper. â€Å"Lift,† she says. Charles Burnside lifts his right foot. â€Å"Oh, quit being such a turkey,† she says. â€Å"Other one.† Burny lifts his left foot a little, just enough for her to get the slipper off. â€Å"Now the right one.† Unseen by Vera, who is looking at his feet, Burny pulls his penis from the fly of his loose pajama pants and pretends to piss on Vera's bowed head. His grin widens. At the same time, he lifts his right foot and she removes the other slipper. When she looks back up, Burny's wrinkled old tool is back where it belongs. He considered baptizing her, he really did, but he has created almost enough mischief for one evening. One more little chore and he'll be off to the land of dreamy dreams. He's an old monster now. He needs his rest. â€Å"All right,† Vera says. â€Å"Want to tell me why one of these is dirtier than the other?† No answer. She hasn't really expected one. â€Å"Okay, beautiful. Back to your room or down to the common room, if you want. There's microwave popcorn and Jell-O pops tonight, I think. They're showing The Sound of Music. I'll see that these slippers get back to where they belong, and you taking them will be our little secret. Take them again and I'll have to report you, though. Capisce?† Burny just stands there, vacant . . . but with that nasty little grin lifting his wrinkled old chops. And that light in his eyes. He capisces, all right. â€Å"Go on,† Vera says. â€Å"And you better not have dropped a load on the floor in there, you old buzzard.† Again she expects no reply, but this time she gets one. Burny's voice is low but perfectly clear. â€Å"Keep a civil tongue, you fat bitch, or I'll eat it right out of your head.† She recoils as if slapped. Burny stands there with his hands dangling and that little grin on his face. â€Å"Get out of here,† she says. â€Å"Or I really will report you.† And a great lot of good that would do. Charlie is one of Maxton's cash cows, and Vera knows it. Charlie recommences his slow walk (Pete Wexler has dubbed this particular gait the Old Fucks' Shuffle), now in his bare feet. Then he turns back. The bleary lamps of his eyes regard her. â€Å"The word you're looking for is feline. Garfield's a feline. Got it? Stupid cow.† With that he continues his trip down the corridor. Vera stands where she is, looking at him with her own jaw hanging. She has forgotten all about her crossword puzzle. In his room, Burny lies down on his bed and slips his hands into the small of his back. From there down he aches like a bugger. Later he will buzz for the fat old bitch, get her to bring him an ibuprofen. For now, though, he has to stay sharp. One more little trick still to do. â€Å"Found you, Potter,† he murmurs. â€Å"Good . . . old . . . Potsie.† Burny hadn't been shaking doorknobs at all (not that Andy Railsback will ever know this). He had been feeling for the fellow who diddled him out of a sweet little Chicago housing deal back in the late seventies. South Side, home of the White Sox. Blacktown, in other words. Lots of federal money in that one, and several bushels of Illinois dough as well. Enough skim available to last for years, more angles than on a baseball field, but George â€Å"Go Fuck Your Mother† Potter had gotten there first, cash had changed hands beneath the proverbial table, and Charles Burn-side (or perhaps then he'd still been Carl Bierstone; it's hard to remember) had been out in the cold. But Burny has kept track of the thief for lo these many years. (Well, not Burny himself, actually, but as we must by now have realized, this is a man with powerful friends.) Old Potsie what his friends called him in the days when he still had a few declared bankruptcy in La Riviere back in the nineties, and lost most of what he still had hidden away during the Great Dot-Com Wreck of Double Aught. But that's not good enough for Burny. Potsie requires further punishment, and the coincidence of that particular fuckhead washing up in this particular fuckhole of a town is just too good to pass up. Burny's principal motive a brainless desire to keep stirring the pot, to make sure bad goes to worse hasn't changed, but this will serve that purpose, too. So he traveled to the Nelson, doing so in a way Jack understands and Judy Marshall has intuited, homing in on Potsie's room like some ancient bat. And when he sensed Andy Railsback behind him, he was of course delighted. Railsback will save him having to make another anonymous call, and Burny is, in truth, getting tired of doing all their work for them. Now, back in his room, all comfy-cozy (except for the arthritis, that is), he turns his mind away from George Potter, and begins to Summon. Looking up into the dark, Charles Burnside's eyes begin to glow in a distinctly unsettling way. â€Å"Gorg,† he says. â€Å"Gorg t'eelee. Dinnit a abbalah. Samman Tansy. Samman a montah a Irma. Dinnit a abbalah, Gorg. Dinnit a Ram Abbalah.† Gorg. Gorg, come. Serve the abbalah. Find Tansy. Find the mother of Irma. Serve the abbalah, Gorg. Serve the Crimson King. Burny's eyes slip closed. He goes to sleep with a smile on his face. And beneath their wrinkled lids, his eyes continue to glow like hooded lamps. Morty Fine, the night manager of the Nelson Hotel, is half-asleep over his magazine when Andy Railsback comes bursting in, startling him so badly that Morty almost tumbles out of his chair. His magazine falls to the floor with a flat slap. â€Å"Jesus Christ, Andy, you almost gave me a heart attack!† Morty cries. â€Å"You ever hear of knocking, or at least clearing your goddam throat?† Andy takes no notice, and Morty realizes the old fella is as white as a sheet. Maybe he's the one having the heart attack. It wouldn't be the first time one occurred in the Nelson. â€Å"You gotta call the police,† Andy says. â€Å"They're horrible. Dear Jesus, Morty, they're the most horrible pictures I ever saw . . . Polaroids . . . and oh man, I thought he was going to come back in . . . come back in any second . . . but at first I was just froze, and I . . . I . . .† â€Å"Slow down,† Morty says, concerned. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Andy takes a deep breath and makes a visible effort to get himself under control. â€Å"Have you seen Potter?† he asks. â€Å"The guy in 314?† â€Å"Nope,† Morty says, â€Å"but most nights he's in Lucky's around this time, having a few beers and maybe a hamburger. Although why anybody would eat anything in that place, I don't know.† Then, perhaps associating one ptomaine palace with another: â€Å"Hey, have you heard what the cops found out at Ed's Eats? Trevor Gordon was by and he said â€Å" â€Å"Never mind.† Andy sits in the chair on the other side of the desk and stares at Morty with wet, terrified eyes. â€Å"Call the police. Do it right now. Tell them that the Fisherman is a man named George Potter, and he lives on the third floor of the Nelson Hotel.† Andy's face tightens in a hard grimace, then relaxes again. â€Å"Right down the hall from yours truly.† â€Å"Potter? You're dreaming, Andy. That guy's nothing but a retired builder. Wouldn't hurt a fly.† â€Å"I don't know about flies, but he hurt the hell out of some little kids. I seen the Polaroids he took of them. They're in his closet. They're the worst things you ever saw.† Then Andy does something that amazes Morty and convinces him that this isn't a joke, and probably not just a mistake, either: Andy Railsback begins to cry. Tansy Freneau, a.k.a. Irma Freneau's grieving mother, is not actually grieving yet. She knows she should be, but grief has been deferred. Right now she feels as if she is floating in a cloud of warm bright wool. The doctor (Pat Skarda's associate, Norma Whitestone) gave her five milligrams of lorazepam four or five hours ago, but that's only the start. The Holiday Trailer Park, where Tansy and Irma have lived since Cubby Freneau took off for Green Bay in ninety-eight, is handy to the Sand Bar, and she has a part-time â€Å"thing† going with Lester Moon, one of the bartenders. The Thunder Five has dubbed Lester Moon â€Å"Stinky Cheese† for some reason, but Tansy unfailingly calls him Lester, which he appreciates almost as much as the occasional boozy grapple in Tansy's bedroom or out back of the Bar, where there's a mattress (and a black light) in the storeroom. Around five this evening, Lester ran over with a quart of coffee brandy and four hundred milligrams of OxyCon tin, all considerately crushed and ready for snorting. Tansy has done half a dozen lines already, and she is cruising. Looking over old pictures of Irma and just . . . you know . . . cruising. What a pretty baby she was, Tansy thinks, unaware that not far away, a horrified hotel clerk is looking at a very different picture of her pretty baby, a nightmare Polaroid he will never be able to forget. It is a picture Tansy herself will never have to look at, suggesting that perhaps there is a God in heaven. She turns a page (GOLDEN MEMORIES has been stamped on the front of her scrapbook), and here are Tansy and Irma at the Mississippi Electrix company picnic, back when Irma was four and Mississippi Electrix was still a year away from bankruptcy and everything was more or less all right. In the photo, Irma is wading with a bunch of other tykes, her laughing face smeared with chocolate ice cream. Looking fixedly at this snapshot, Tansy reaches for her glass of coffee brandy and takes a small sip. And suddenly, from nowhere (or the place from which all our more ominous and unconnected thoughts float out into the light of our regard), she finds herself remembering that stupid Edgar Allan Poe poem they had to memorize in the ninth grade. She hasn't thought of it in years and has no reason to now, but the words of the opening stanza rise effortlessly and perfectly in her mind. Looking at Irma, she recites them aloud in a toneless, pauseless voice that no doubt would have caused Mrs. Normandie to clutch her stringy white hair and groan. Tansy's recitation doesn't affect us that way; instead it gives us a deep and abiding chill. It is like listening to a poetry reading given by a corpse. â€Å"Once upon a mih'nigh' dreary while I ponnered weak ‘n' weary over many a quaint ‘n' curris volume of forgotten lore while I nodded nearly nappin' sun'ly there came a tappin' as of someone gen'ly rappin' rappin' at my chamber door â€Å" At this precise moment there comes a soft rapping at the cheap fiber-board door of Tansy Freneau's Airstream. She looks up, eyes floating, lips pursed and glossed with coffee brandy. â€Å"Les'ser? Is that you?† It might be, she supposes. Not the TV people, at least she hopes not. She wouldn't talk to the TV people, sent them packing. She knows, in some deep and sadly cunning part of her mind, that they would lull her and comfort her only to make her look stupid in the glare of their lights, the way that the people on the Jerry Springer Show always end up looking stupid. No answer . . . and then it comes again. Tap. Tap-tap. â€Å"‘Tis some visitor,† she says, getting up. It's like getting up in a dream. â€Å"‘Tis some visitor, I murmured, tappin' at my chamber door, only this ‘n' nothin' more.† Tap. Tap-tap. Not like curled knuckles. It's a thinner sound than that. A sound like a single fingernail. Or a beak. She crosses the room in her haze of drugs and brandy, bare feet whispering on carpet that was once nubbly and is now balding: the ex-mother. She opens the door onto this foggy summer evening and sees nothing, because she's looking too high. Then something on the welcome mat rustles. Something, some black thing, is looking up at her with bright, inquiring eyes. It's a raven, omigod it's Poe's raven, come to pay her a visit. â€Å"Jesus, I'm trippin',† Tansy says, and runs her hands through her thin hair. â€Å"Jesus!† repeats the crow on the welcome mat. And then, chipper as a chickadee: â€Å"Gorg!† If asked, Tansy would have said she was too stoned to be frightened, but this is apparently not so, because she gives out a disconcerted little cry and takes a step backward. The crow hops briskly across the doorsill and strides onto the faded purple carpet, still looking up at her with its bright eyes. Its feathers glisten with condensed drops of mist. It bops on past her, then pauses to preen and fluff. It looks around as if to ask, How'm I doin', sweetheart? â€Å"Go away,† Tansy says. â€Å"I don't know what the fuck you are, or if you're here at all, but â€Å" â€Å"Gorg!† the crow insists, then spreads its wings and fleets across the trailer's living room, a charred fleck burnt off the back of the night. Tansy screams and cringes, instinctively shielding her face, but Gorg doesn't come near her. It alights on the table beside her bottle, there not being any bust of Pallas handy. Tansy thinks: It got disoriented in the fog, that's all. It could even be rabid, or have that Key Lime disease, whatever you call it. I ought to go in the kitchen and get the broom. Shoo it out before it shits around . . . But the kitchen is too far. In her current state, the kitchen seems hundreds of miles away, somewhere in the vicinity of Colorado Springs. And there's probably no crow here at all. Thinking of that goddamn poem has caused her to hallucinate, that's all . . . that, and losing her daughter. For the first time the pain gets through the haze, and Tansy winces from its cruel and wiry heat. She remembers the little hands that sometimes pressed so tidily against the sides of her neck. The cries in the night, summoning her from sleep. The smell of her, fresh from the bath. â€Å"Her name was Irma!† she suddenly shouts at the figment standing so boldly beside the brandy bottle. â€Å"Irma, not fucking Lenore, what kind of stupid name is Lenore? Let's hear you say Irma!† â€Å"Irma!† the visitor croaks obediently, stunning her to silence. And its eyes. Ah! Its glittering eyes draw her, like the eyes of the Ancient Mariner in that other poem she was supposed to learn but never did. â€Å"Irma-Irma-Irma-Irma â€Å" â€Å"Stop it!† She doesn't want to hear it after all. She was wrong. Her daughter's name out of that alien throat is foul, insupportable. She wants to put her hands over her ears and can't. They're too heavy. Her hands have joined the stove and the refrigerator (miserable half-busted thing) in Colorado Springs. All she can do is look into those glittering black eyes. It preens for her, ruffling its ebony sateen feathers. They make a loathsome little scuttering noise all up and down its back and she thinks, â€Å"Prophet!† said I, â€Å"thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil!† Certainty fills her heart like cold water. â€Å"What do you know?† she asks. â€Å"Why did you come?† â€Å"Know!† croaks the Crow Gorg, nodding its beak briskly up and down. â€Å"Come!† And does it wink? Good God, does it wink at her? â€Å"Who killed her?† Tansy Freneau whispers. â€Å"Who killed my pretty baby?† The crow's eyes fix her, turn her into a bug on a pin. Slowly, feeling more in a dream than ever (but this is happening, on some level she understands that perfectly), she crosses to the table. Still the crow watches her, still the crow draws her on. Night's Plutonian shore, she thinks. Night's Plutonian fuckin' shore. â€Å"Who? Tell me what you know!† The crow looks up at her with its bright black eyes. Its beak opens and closes, revealing a wet red interior in tiny peeks. â€Å"Tansy!† it croaks. â€Å"Come!† The strength runs out of her legs, and she drops to her knees, biting her tongue and making it bleed. Crimson drops splatter her U of W sweatshirt. Now her face is on a level with the bird's face. She can see one of its wings brushing up and down, sensuously, on the glass side of the coffee-brandy bottle. The smell of Gorg is dust and heaped dead flies and ancient urns of buried spice. Its eyes are shining black portholes looking into some other world. Hell, perhaps. Or Sheol. â€Å"Who?† she whispers. Gorg stretches its black and rustling neck until its black beak is actually in the cup of her ear. It begins to whisper, and eventually Tansy Freneau begins to nod. The light of sanity has left her eyes. And when will it return? Oh, I think we all know the answer to that one. Can you say â€Å"Nevermore†?