WADA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WADA - Essay Example However, the likelihood of doping is reduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency. This body was established in the year 1999 with the aim making sure that athletes compete in a sporting environment that is free from doping. It has come up with policies, standards and rules, frameworks, for anti-doping programs in sports. The agency also has a list of substances that are banned and methods which are prohibited in sports. The agency spends millions annually to catch dopes, even though; this amount is believed to be far from enough. WADA has influenced the world sport by making sure that there is fairness in sports. It advocates for tests to be carried out randomly during races and severely punishes the athletes who are caught doping. These tests reduce unethical practices in sports. Many professional sports leagues including Olympics follow WADA guidelines which encourages fairness, equity, â€Å"playing true†, and which define the rules in sports (Pedersen, 2011). Some elite athletes continue to dope in sports for the purpose of achieving the victory, when anti-doping organizations only expends little to catch dopes and some sports leagues even do not have an active control of

The strengths and limitations of duration analysis

The strengths and limitations of duration analysis As stated by the US Federal Reserve, interest rate risk impacts on a various range of stakeholders, and hence financial actors are interested in quantifying its impact. The most important practical tool to manage interest rate risk and to satisfy this main function for banks is duration analysis. In general duration Analysis is an econometric tool and in terms of Financial Economics it is defined as the mean length of time that passes until the present value is returned by a stream of fixed payments according to Macaulay (1938). Hence, Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of asset ´s prices to interest movements. My following essay defines duration according to Macaulay and presents special terms from the practice. Moreover, it considers immunization, hedging and Duration Gap Analysis as practical applications. The next part will discuss strengths and weaknesses of duration analysis. It concludes with todays importance of Duration analysis. There are two main reasons to study Duration according to Kopprasch (2006). Firstly, firms and especially financial intermediaries have tied up huge amounts of capital in fixed income instruments. These include bonds partly with optional characteristics or recent financial innovations like swaps, interest rate options or floaters. Hence, proper hedging of these instruments becomes important. Secondly, the key figure duration provides an intuitive approach to educate potential customers. This leads to a better understanding of financial instruments in general and how they behave when interest rates change. Bodie, Kane, Marcus (2006) Empirical studies and Figure 16.1 show six bond-pricing relationships: Firstly, theres an inverse relation between bond price and yield to maturity. Secondly, an increase in a bonds yield to maturity results in a smaller price change than a decrease of equal magnitude. Thirdly, long-term bonds are more sensitive than short-term bonds. Fourthly, interest rate risk, which is measured by the sensitivity of bond prices to changes in yields, is less than proportional to bond maturity. Fifthly, there is an inverse relationship between interest rate risk and bonds coupon rate, because a bond with a higher coupon rate pays a greater percentage of its present value prior to maturity. Sixthly, the yield to maturity at which the bond is currently sold is inversely related to the sensitivity of the bonds price to a change in its yield. This five observations were described Mankiel and are known as Malkiel bond-pricing relationships. The sixth property was demonstrated by Homer and Liebowitz (1972). Ingersoll, Skelton, Weil, (1978) stated that the key figure Duratio n can be interpreted as an attempt to quantify this qualitative observations through a single and numerical measure. The duration concepts has its origins in the work of Macaulay(1938), Samuelson (1945), Hicks (1939) and Redington (1952). Macaulay(1938) defined duration as the mean length of time that pass until the present value is returned by a stream of fixed payments. The proof that duration is an elasticity was provided by Hicks in 1939. This means that the price elasticity of a bond in response to an infinitesimal change in its yield to maturity is proportional to duration. But Fisher (2006) casts doubt on Hickss derivation. Nevertheless, his proof is generally acknowledged. Redington (1952) derived the duration independently and used it for portfolio immunization. The standard definition according to Macaulay is: subject to The weight is calculated by . In the special case of a zero bond, the duration equals the maturity, because no payments occur before maturity. Kopprasch (2006) mentions several different practical methods which are based on Macauleys duration and are used in practice. Effective duration is determined by the price movement to an incremental movement while holding the option adjusted spread constant. Option adjusted Spread (OAS) is a flat spread which is added to the yield curve in a pricing model and considers options like prepayments opportunities for mortgage backed securities. Hence, OAS is model dependent and incorporates volatility like variable interest rates or prepayment rates. Portfolio duration quantifies the Duration of a portfolio of different assets. It is based on the additivity of single durations. Additivity means that the duration of a portfolio is the weighted-average of the durations of the individual securities. The weights are the current market value of each security. The term Modified duration is calculated by the formula: Furthermore, the term partial durations or key rate durations is a vector of durations, where each duration is only valid for a limited maturity range. Spread duration recognizes that a change in the spread can affect the bond. This key figure was designed especially to value floaters which trade near par by definition. It often turns out that the market doesnt seem to trade the instruments with the predicted duration. Hence, empirical duration was developed to deal with these times. It is calculated by regressing price movements of the asset versus some market benchmark. The next paragraph considers two applications of duration in risk management: Hedging and immunization for a portfolio and Duration Gap Analysis. The change in an asset price due to change in interest rates can be calculated by: Fooladi (2000) describes that the realized rate of return encompass interest accumulated from reinvestment of coupon income and the capital gain or loss at the end of the planning period when the portfolio is sold. The two components impact the realized rate of return in opposite directions. Hence, in one point the two opposite effects of coupon reinvestment and capital gain or loss offset one another. When the portfolio duration equals the length of the planning period, the portfolio is immunized and the realized return will not fall below the promised rate of return. The second described application is Duration Gap Analysis which is an extension to the immunization approach, because it includes liabilities. A main function of banks is to provide maturity transformation. Hence, banks usually have short-term liabilities and long-term assets. As a consequence of this duration mismatch and shown by the third following equation, changes in interest rates have a direct effect on the banks equity value. The gap between the durations of the assets and liabilities ( is a measure of the interest rate risk of banks equity. Fooladi (2000) describes that banks may take modest bets by setting a duration gap or set the duration gap close to zero. The second equation shows how banks can adjust their duration gap by shifting weights on assets or liabilities. Bierwag and Fooladi (2006) specify that banks use off-balance-sheet securities like interest rate futures, options and swaps to reduce adjustment time and to save costs. Despite the shown strengths, there are weaknesses in duration analysis. As one can see in Figure 16.3, Duration is only valid for small changes, because the relationship between duration and price changes is derived by a first-order Taylor series approximation. Furthermore, Mishkin/Eakins (2006) criticise that interest rate changes have to affect all rates of maturities by exactly the same amount. Generally speaking, the slope of the yield shouldnt be affected at all and the yield curve is assumed to be flat. However, the shape of the yield curve fluctuates over the business cycle and consequently this expected slope change has to be considered. The mentioned partial duration and spread duration try to handle this shortcoming. Further problems involve uncertainty over the proportion of assets and liabilities. Estimates have to consider for example prepayment of loans, customer shifts out of deposits and uncertain cash payments due to default risk according to Fooladi and Roberts (2004). As Bierwag and Kaufman (1988) showed, default alters bonds cash flows and their timing. Additionally, one has to predict the stochastic process governing interest rate movements to value options. This can create a stochastic process risk which can be quantified by approaches to to measure interest rate volatility risk. Ho (2007) states that practitioners tie duration and vega measures which specify the sensitivities to the shift in the swap curve and the volatility surface, respectively. In his approach volatility risk is measured by the value sensitivity of an option to the change in the implied volatility function at the key rate points on the curve. Ingersoll, Skelton, and Weil (1978) argue that the assumed stochastic process to develop duration models is inconsistent with equilibrium conditions. Occurring large shocks to interest rates, riskless arbitrage became possible, but on the practical side the riskless-arbitrage argument seemed hypothetical. To overcome these weaknesses, Mishkin and Eakins (2006) mentions more sophisticated approaches such as scenario analysis and value-at-risk analysis and convexity which is a second-order Taylor series approximation and can be used as a correction measure. Paroush and Prisman (1997) strengthen this assumption and show that convexity (second-order) can be more important than the duration (first order). To put it in a nutshell, with increasing complexity of securities, myriad extensions have been added to the former duration analysis founded by Macaulay to handle the occurring risks. Furthermore, different duration measures face different assumptions about slope and shape of the yield curve or the stochastic process driving interest rates. One has to take in mind how accurate these assumptions are, because as seen in the recent financial crisis failures affect the entire economy, according to my starting statement. However, duration analysis is an adaptable framework and used carefully, a tool to get a first impression of interest-rate risk. Words: 1465

The Crusades Essay -- history

The Crusades Though the causes of the crusades can easily be distinguished the one cause can not be effectively since there is always something that will contradict it. The crusades took place because of the rivalry as well as the clash of cultures between the Catholic Church and the Muslims, they both wanted power, the crusaders wanted more land, and more wealth and both parties wanted to be closer to the Armageddon. It can easily be determined that there was a rivalry between the Catholics and the Muslims. Reading the view of each other in the 11 century shows that they really didn't get together well. There are many reasons for this understatement. First their religions were essentially the same thing, though the Muslim point of view stated that Mohammed was the chosen one. Even though Christ was a man of God the Muslim point of view didn't accept him as the chosen one. The Christians point of view was that of the opposite they don't even believe that Mohammed had the word of God and that it was Christ, the true saviour. First hand documents of the Muslims and the Catholics have very biased points of view and are very hard to understand what really happened. The Muslims claimed to be healers with the more accurate way of living with practising science and maths, their view of the Christians was people who live to far north the cold shrinks their brains resulting in poor eating habits needs as w ell as a lack of intelligence causing ignorance and stupidity. The Christ...

How Does Stevenson Explore The Notion Of Duality Throughout The Novel Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde? Essay

Robert Louis Stevenson is renowned all over the world today for his contributions to English literature; he makes his skill evident in his ability to utilize the duality of soul concept through example of one Henry Jekyll, showing in many ways what can and does happen when Jekyll decides to experiment with the aspect of his evil side and bring it to the surface as the twisted character of Edward Hyde; incorporating the interplay of good and evil, in his novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, published in 1886. Stevenson creates an effective mystery tale set in Victorian London and does this by presenting sub themes that relate to the central theme of duality. He keeps readers engaged with the developing plot and unravels pieces of the puzzle as the story unfolds, creating an effective mystery tale while his emotions are shown as the nature of humankind and Victorian moralities are explained in one of the most famous novels of the present day. In the story I have noted that Stevenson presents the reader with the complexities of human nature through his portrayal of characters. For example, he describes Utterson as being â€Å"dreary, and, yet somehow lovable†, he then reveals that although he â€Å"enjoyed the theatre† he had not been for â€Å"twenty years†. These descriptions are contradictory and reveal that Utterson has two sides to his personality, one of which he now seeks to suppress, the other a respectable, reliable and responsible man. I believe that Stevenson needs readers to relate to and rely on Utterson as he is the most frequent narrator of the story, therefore he presents him with this censored past where he used to be much more outgoing, yet now he is old and respectable. Also, Victorians were much more impressionable than people of the present day, therefore Utterson’s upkeep of his respectable, sensible side to his personality publicly and the fact that he â€Å"drank gin when he was alone†, which helps us to warm to him even more, was vital to Stevenson’s success in displaying the central theme of Duality through the sub themes of Suppression and Respectability, explored through the character of Dr. Utterson. I think this is successful because even in a character such as Utterson, who we all come to empathise with and rely on, can be susceptible to duality, just as any human being can, therefore it makes us think and question ourselves. Another way in which Stevenson represents Duality is through the setting of the door in the first chapter; aptly titled â€Å"Story of The Door†. The door is situated on a typical, fairly rich Victorian street which is described to have â€Å"cleanliness and gaiety of note†, this gives the impression that this area has a reputation to upkeep, however, the splendid view of the street is ruined by a door which stands out somewhat, â€Å"Blistered and distained† with â€Å"prolonged and sordid negligence†. This description uses great imagery that causes an impact on the reader. One interpretation a reader could have is that, despite the cleanliness and class of the street, duality is shown in the fact that behind closed doors things may not always be what they seem, therefore the are two sides, one which seeks to suppress what is really going on inside, and one which has a respectable reputation to uphold; just like the character of Dr. Utterson. Also, this could be representation of how rich and poor live so close together, as in Victorian times a rich street could be directly adjacent to a poor, therefore Stevenson is demonstrating how different these classes are, yet they are living closely together, another way in which duality is explained. Furthermore, Stevenson could also be relating to his previous life in his hometown of Edinburgh, which was divided into poor and rich, old and new by a single river. Stevenson, who lived on the rich and new side often ventured into the other and gained an insight on how different the two sides were, whilst seeking his inner temptations and leading a double life, therefore duality was recognised within himself. We know that the door is significant in this chapter and it is evident in the fact that the chapter is named about it, therefore it makes us realised that it is important for a reason, and that reason is to represent duality further in a setting. This is successful as there are many different interpretations to make, yet all lead to the same conclusion of duality, and this chapter is vital in letting readers know that duality is, and will be, the key to the story. A further way in which Stevenson explores duality is in the structure of the novel. The novel’s structure is unique in the fact that it isn’t written entirely in first person, as it would have been possible to tell the story in the manner of a confession from Jekyll’s point of view. We are limited to Utterson when reading in an omniscient view for the first eight chapters, however after this in Chapter 9 it switches to first person, where we read â€Å"Dr Llanyon’s Narrative†, and after this it is again first person, where we hear from Dr. Henry Jekyll himself. The structural and linguistic devices employed by Stevenson create an unusual atmosphere of controlled suspense, which surrounds the story. The gradual building up of horror and destruction is achieved through a slow accumulation of unemotional detail. The fact that the story is written in the view of three different, distinct people gives it three different endings, making us go back in time to read from another point of view, this uncovers more of the story and keeps the reader engaged as they can finally see behind the closed doors and find out what they have been dying to find out throughout the story. This notion of suspense keeps the genre of mystery intact as only minor clues are given away until the three different endings, each one gathering more evidence, this is extremely successful because of this and further benefits the theme of duality, and of course mystery. Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale can be interpreted as a coherent warning to Victorian society of the potential effect of such asphyxiated social, ethical and moral conventions and I would agree that some of these still exist today. Through the use of the sub-themes of characters, setting and structure Stevenson makes us realise that duality is present within ourselves, and can be dangerous at times. Furthermore, he explores what it means to be human thus ensuring that his mysterious tale is as revealing, relevant and enjoyable to a reader in 21st century as it was in the 19th.

How Does Arthur Miller Use the Theme of Dreams to Convey the Hopes and Disappointments of Other Characters?

The theme of dreams plays a very important part in ‘Death of a Salesman’. They consist of ‘the American Dream’, daydreams and hopes for succeeding. Willy Loman was the main victim in this play as he ended up losing his life by trying to achieve the ‘American Dream’. Although, this dream was the main reason for Willy’s early death, this wasn’t something that he wanted to do; it was the dream that the American society wanted him to do. This dream is known as ‘The American Dream’ and it played an important role in disappointing the characters of Willy’s family.In the majority of the play, Willy Loman is seen to be following the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that everyone can become successful, rich and popular in America, but this is mainly based on luck. Willy Loman tries to achieve this, but seeking this artificial happiness that was set by America only ended with his life being taken away. Throu ghout the entire play, Willy Loman was chasing this false dream that was given to him by the society surrounding him, but he never wanted to do this.He wanted to live in the country and support himself in the great outdoors, â€Å"Me and my boys in those grand outdoors† (Act 2), but this never worked out because of the American society, which made Willy forget about his true dream and forced him to spend his entire life chasing ‘the American Dream’ which in the end, brought him to an early death. Another theme of dreams that Arthur Miller used was ‘hopes and ambitions’. Willy’s flashbacks link to this theme as he has still not achieved his ambition to become successful; instead, Willy used his flashbacks to hide in the past where his life was cheerful and pleasant.A perfect example of this was at the beginning of the play where he said that his son, Biff was not achieving anything with his life, but then, he fell into a flashback where Biff wa s popular in school and was adored by everyone around him. Willy keeps on reminiscing this time because it shows that he was trying to use the past to cheer himself up when he was going through a hopeless time in the present. Hopes and ambition are very important because it showed that Willy ‘hoped’ to be well-liked which was the reason for him becoming a salesman because he thought this was the best job for an American.This theme links to the American Dream because Willy thought that being a salesman would make him rich and successful as it was the ‘best job’, but it didn’t, instead it was dictating and playing with his life. He told his two sons that, â€Å"Uncle Charley is liked, but not well-liked†. The reason for this was to prove to Biff and Happy that he was important to other people, but in Willy’s mind, he knew he would never be able to match the level of success of his brother, Ben and Charley achieved, instead Willy was livin g under their shadow leading him into another disappointment.The American Dream makes the Loman family very acquisitive, they think that buying the newest technology on the market is the best way of showing that they are rich and successful, for example, they bought a new refrigerator because â€Å"it had the best ads on them†. This sort of buying spree led the Lomans into severe debt and was one of the main sources to Willy’s death as he tried to pay off the debt by killing himself in the end.Arthur Miller also uses the name ‘Happy’ for the use of irony because the character is getting no real fulfilment from his work or life. â€Å"My own apartment, a car, plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely†, this shows that goods cannot fill his soul therefore his happiness is limited. Arthur Miller added this type of character into the play because it shows us that the American Dream is not what we think it is, it is in fact added to show t hat money cannot buy happiness which is why Happy is lonely, leaving him disappointed with his life.However, Arthur Miller portrays Willy Loman as the main tragic hero because the American Dream has both mentally and physically destroyed Willy, causing his death at the end of the play. His obsession with success led him to his breaking point; all his ideas and views were twisted by the American Dream. For example, when Willy was playing cards with Charley, he kept on daydreaming about his brother Ben and how much of a great success he had become, Willy almost felt jealous of him because of that.The fact that he could’ve shared the wealth with him if he had gone on the journey also leaves Willy distraught. During the life of Willy Loman, he was seen as the tragic hero who could not reach the standards of the American Dream. In fact, he was so focused on achieving success; he failed to notice the love his family was showing him. Willy was so severely in debt, he had to kill him self to provide money for his family from his life insurance. This shows that the American Dream can make a normal human being kill themselves just to gain a little money.Arthur Miller also shows signs of hope in some parts of the play,† Sure, certain men just don’t get started till late in life. Like Thomas Edison, or B. F Goodrich. One of them was deaf. I’ll put my money on Biff†. Willy still has some sort of ‘hope’ that his older son, Biff, can still become a successful businessman. This reliance put Willy under a lot of pressure which eventually lead to his death because his son had multiple failures throughout the play. He died with a false belief that his son would become famous and well-liked (like he was) but we all knew this was never going to happen.There is also another theme used by Arthur Miller in ‘Death of a Salesman’ and it is ‘Dreams versus Reality’. The Lomans could not pick out the difference between what was a dream and what was reality; Willy suffered from this theory the most because he always dreamed that his two sons would be very successful in the future, but we knew this was never going to happen because Biff was still unemployed at the age of thirty-four and Happy hated his colleagues at work who were always one step ahead of him.This caused disappointments to them both in the end because they knew that Willy would never let them achieve their true dream which was to work in the outdoors, instead, they were forced to follow Willy’s false dream which was to pursue the success of a salesman. Willy Loman’s situation as a character is supposed to make the audience feel sorry for him because he is very hard-working and determined and yet, still cannot achieve any success. The American Dream has made him into a complete failure.The author of the play tells the audience that the American Dream is a lie and not everyone can achieve a good amount of success just fr om hard work, instead, it requires a certain amount of skill and intellect to become successful and in this play, it is shown that Willy does not have any skill or intellect which is why he cannot achieve the American Dream. The theme of dreams is very important ‘Death of a Salesman’ as they affect every character whether it is a daydream, the American Dream or one’s hopes.

Why Tsarism Fell †World Civilizations Essay

Why Tsarism Fell – World Civilizations Essay Free Online Research Papers Why Tsarism Fell World Civilizations Essay Nicholas didn’t want to be a Tsar in the first place and so he didn’t really care what happened to his country when he was still in power. He left it up to his government officials to run the country. He was basically being used as a puppet by his officials so really, they were running Russia during Nicholas’s entire reign. Nicholas basically had nothing to do with a lot of things that happened while he was in power. Most of the time it was Nicholas’s officials and advisors who did all the bad things to the people of Russia, such as Bloody Sunday. And also Nicholas’s wife had influence on him and his country as well. Bloody Sunday, was probably the event that led to later revolutionary acts in Russia. Bloody Sunday happened on January 09th, 1905 in St. Petersburg. Bloody Sunday was originally supposed to be a peaceful request from the people of Russia to their Tsar so they could have better working conditions but that all turned bad when one of the royal guards opened fire on the people. Little did the workers know, Nicholas wasn’t even where the protesters were heading. Nicholas at the time was back at home with his wife tending to his sick child Alexis who was the only male heir to the Russian thrown. Nicholas’s wife was also a big influence on how the country was run. She was actually at one point during Nicholas’s reign, controlling Russia on her own, but was under the influence of Rasputin, so really, Rasputin was controlling the country because he had control of Nicholas’s wife. The other influence Alexandra, Nicholas’s wife, had on Nicholas and the country was, she was German born so during world war 1, when she was basically in control, the people of Russia didn’t trust in her loyalty to Russia, causing the revolts in Russian streets to escalate to higher levels. Also, another reason that Tsarism failed is that the country was too large to be run by one person who was never bound to be a very good leader to begin with. The country was becoming of overwhelming size and one person could possibly not be able to be responsible for that much land. In conclusion, there really were many reasons that Tsarism failed. One of the biggest parts is Nicholas, so he should be held responsible. He was the one who was supposed to be in power, but he abused the privilege of running a country and, especially a country of that size, so he should indefinitely without a doubt be held responsible for the fall of this age long traditional kind of government. Research Papers on Why Tsarism Fell - World Civilizations EssayThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Never Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraCapital PunishmentPETSTEL analysis of IndiaWhere Wild and West MeetRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Morin Surname Meaning and Family History

Morin Surname Meaning and Family History The Morin surname derives from the Old French morin, a diminutive of the name More, meaning dark and swarthy [as a moor]. It may also have originated as a topographical surname for one who lived on or near a moor. The Morin surname could also possibly originate as an adaptation of Irish surnames such as OMorahan and OMoran, or as a patronymic surname meaning the son of Maurice. Surname Origin: French Alternate Surname Spellings:  MOREN, MORRIN, MORREN, MORINI, MORAN, OMORAN, MURRAN, MORO Famous People with the Morin Surname Jean-Baptiste Morin  -  French  mathematician,  astrologer, and  astronomer.Jean-Baptiste Morin - French composerArthur Morin  -  French physicistJames C. Morin  -  American Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonistRenà © Morin  - head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during World War IIJean Morin - French Baroque artistLee Morin - American astronaut Where is the Mori Surname Most Common? The Morin surname, according to surname distribution information from Forebears, is the 3,333rd most common surname in the world. It is most commonly found today in Canada, where it ranks as the 24th most common surname in the country. It is also very prevalent in France (ranked 47th) and the Seychelles (97th). WorldNames PublicProfiler indicates the Morin surname is most common in France- particularly in the regions of Poitou-Charentes, Basse-Normandie, Bretagne, Haute-Normandie, Centre, Pays-de-la-Loire, and Bourgogne. It is also fairly prevalent in Canada, particularly in the Northwest Territories, as well as Maine and New Hampshire in the United States. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Morin Morin Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Morin family crest or coat of arms for the Morin surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. MORIN Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Morin ancestors around the world. Search the forum for posts about your Morin ancestors, or join the forum and post your own queries.   FamilySearch - MORIN GenealogyExplore over 2.4 million  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Morin surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. MORIN Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Morin surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. GeneaNet - Morin RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Morin surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Morin Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Morin surname from the website of Genealogy Today. Genealogy of Canada: Morin Family TreeA collection of links and information for Morin ancestors shared by researchers. Ancestry.com: Morin SurnameExplore over 1.2 million digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Morin surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

How Conservatives Think About Race in America

How Conservatives Think About Race in America When it comes to how conservatives think about race in America, no issue provides a clearer picture of their perspective than affirmative action. Conservatives see the issue very differently than liberals. While liberals believe affirmative action programs create opportunities for disadvantaged minorities where they didnt previously exist, conservatives believe these programs actually serve to foster racism by denying opportunities to others who are equally qualified. Further, most affirmative action programs address specific minorities, while alienating others. From a conservative perspective, this creates tension and undermines the ideal of racial equality. Conservatives are much less apt to adopt sympathetic attitudes toward minorities on the basis of their race alone. Conservatives assume racial equality exists to begin with and base their policies on that assumption. Therefore, when it comes to an issue like hate crimes, for example, conservatives disagree with the notion entirely.If some unconscionable crime is perpetrated upon someone based on that persons ethnicity, conservatives dont believe the victim should receive more justice because of it. The idea of more or less justice doesnt make sense to conservatives, since they believe there can only be one form of justice, applied equally to everyone. If the same unconscionable crime is perpetrated upon someone based on that persons financial circumstances, for example, that victim should be no less entitled to the same pursuit of justice. A crime is a crime, regardless of the motivation behind it.Conservatives believe that affirmative action programs and hate crime legislation often do more harm to the pursuit of racial harmony than good. These types of legislative programs might serve to build resentment outside the particular minority community they serve, which, in turn, promotes the very disharmony they are designed to circumvent.When attention is spent on race, conservatives believe no good can come from it.

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Human Resource Management - Essay Example This model considers the external environment and the stakeholders as important determinants of the human resource policies in organisations. The policies would result in effective human resource outcomes pertaining to commitment, cost effectiveness and competence (D’Annunzio & Duncan, 2009, p.26). This approach is seen to bear relevance in the case of Cafe Co. with regard to its policies and criteria while recruiting of candidates. Candidates were selected according to merits befitting the organisation. The soft HRM policies also get reflected through the company’s attempt to enhance values of openness, recognition, trust, people development, teamwork, enthusiasm, fairness, courtesy and communication. Also the HR practices introduced were primarily meant to attain employee loyalty as there was a very high staff turnover. The soft human resource practices which treats employees as competitive assets of the company is demonstrated by Cafe Co’s considering the low minimum wages as one of the prime factors behind high employee turnovers. Hard human resource management seeks to achieve organisational goals. Just like another resource, they also need to be managed. It requires aligning the human resource strategies with the organisational strategies. The hard management argues that HR strategies must be developed to achieve organisational goals through managerial control and maintaining of performance. The new approach developed by Cafe Co. Aimed to achieve such organisational goals by the adoption of best practices. The hard HR practices also get reflected through the fact that Cafe Co. introduced methods of associating performance with organisation goals. The organisational structures were also well defined. The practices of communication, empowerment, training and involvement were meant to improve the bottom line performance and demonstrate the company’s emphasis on hard HR strategies. The primary aim of implementing the best practices strategy was to ensure that the human resources practice con tribute towards taking the business forward. Moreover, the development of performance management system demonstrates the company’s attempt towards development of scientific practices for measuring the employee’s performance. Through this system, the combined objectives of colleagues and their development needs were addressed. This was done in terms of increasing their technical skills and knowledge and also their behavioural skills. The system was implemented considering the firms’ objectives and constantly reviewing the performance for ensuring that they met those objectives. Regular feedback was delivered to the employees on the basis of which training and development programs were developed. Answer to Question no: 2 Line managers play the critical role of the delivery of HR practices and policies. They are primarily concerned with the issues relating to resourcing, preparation, performance manageme nt and international development (Dickmann, 2008, p.15). They are responsible for interpreting and implementing HR practices which have direct influence over people’s discretionary behaviours and motivation levels, which consequently affects the business performance. The importance of using human resource activities by line managers is that they remain in direct

A Major Health Problem in British Society and Improving Medical Essay

A Major Health Problem in British Society and Improving Medical Service - Essay Example After World War II, population growth within the British society was very limited. Apart from war casualties of war, an outbreak of diseases and poor medical facilities were the major factor contributing towards widespread loss of life in the UK. Currently, dementia is recognised as a common disease in older people, particularly due to its widespread prevalence across the world. Historically, due to the lack of awareness in the past century, most of the people were unable to determine the consequences and symptoms of dementia disease. For that reason, most of the people suffered from unknown psychological and behavioural problems. In the 18th century, people were more focused on civilianization. During the era of civilianization, every governmental policy offered urban people of with numerous advantages while most of the rural people were ignored. The gradual shift was witnessed in British society which was reflected by the increasing concern of the policy makers towards promoting th e health of the citizens. In this regard, numerous policies were set towards ensuring the community engagement and promoting good health of the people within the country. The healthcare professionals, government and non-government bodies, and healthcare institutions have a huge role and responsibilities to implement health policy among British society. To improve the health conditions of each human being social agents, actors and institutions of society have to implement policies, which can easily improve the sustainability of human being.

Bhopal Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bhopal Disaster - Essay Example Regardless of the overall loss of life or the nature of the explosion that caused the subsequent release, the pertinent business issue associated with such a horrifying event is seeking to determine culpability for the tragedy. As such, this essay will discuss overall culpability as well as seek to define where ownership begins and culpability ends. Before delving into such a topic and seeking to weigh economic costs and benefits, the author of this piece feels incumbent to reiterate the sheer scale of this disaster so that the reader might not in any way seem to misunderstand that this analysis has not taken into full account the suffering and loss of life that such a careless and poorly managed disaster has effected on countless rural and working poor in Bhopal, India (Bloch 2012). As such, although this analysis will seek to determine the overall level to which a business entity should be held responsible for a tragedy of epic proportions, such an analysis will seek to address bot h moral and ethical issues associated with the Bhopal crisis without merely focusing on the positive and negative business factors that could affect such a decision. Only days after the Bhopal disaster, CEO of Union Carbide was testifying before the United States Congress exalting the â€Å"commitment to safety† that Union Carbide has exhibited in the past and plans to exhibit in the future with reference to ensuring such an incident would never occur again. Ultimately, Union Carbide agreed to pay over 300 million USD to the victims of the Bhopal disaster as a means to attempt to evade any further litigation surrounding the matter. However, due to the sheer size and scope of the Bhopal tragedy, such a sidestep was impossible (Kripalanin 2008). Eventually, the legal ramifications of the Bhopal disaster forced Union Carbide to divest itself entirely of its Indian holdings and sell of the remainder of its operations within the subcontinent. As such, many individuals, both within India and within the remainder of the world thought that a likely end to the legal wrangling surrounding the Bhopal incident would likely draw to a close. However, this was not the case. Due to the sheer size en horror of the incident, it remained indelibly seared onto the minds of the populace and government entities within India. As a function of this, when DOW chemical bought some of the components that originally constituted Union Carbide in 2002, many officials within the Indian government as well as human rights activists that had closely monitored the legal back and forth between Union Carbide and its affiliates in the wake of the disaster began to make immediate demands upon DOW chemical to don the mantle of responsibility for the disaster (Ali 2012). Eager to have a recognizable MNC at the helm of the now defunct portions of Union Carbide, many believed that DOW should be responsible for the final remediation and civic responsibility associated with the Bhopal disaster. At the risk of sounded calloused and with a long and storied reputation to uphold, DOW chemical found itself at a severe impasse. Rather than outright denying the claim and risking alienating key shareholders within one of the fastest growing markets in the world, DOW found itself

Culture Change and Aspects of Culture Assignment

Culture Change and Aspects of Culture - Assignment Example In a very broad sense, culture is a cultivated behavior; that is the sum total of an individual's learned and accumulate experience which is hence socially transmitted, or behavior through the process of social learning. In light of the deeper aspect of culture, culture change can be defined as the gradual or sporadic modification of a society’s beliefs and values through the processes of innovation, discovery, or even external contact with other societies. Cultural change can hence be comprehensively defined as the dynamic phenomenon by which various cultures in the world are changing and modifying their usual and common code of conduct and behavior in order to adapt to the external or internal forces acting on the society (Steward, 1973). Culture change is a process that not only occurs at the basic societal level but also has been observed on a wider scope. It can be seen also in organizations such as businesses or educational institutions or any other group of people who may have developed and accumulated experiences and behavior patterns. As a result, culture change may require changes or a complete overhaul of organization practices, physical environments inter-personal relationships at all levels and even communication patterns. In analyzing the whole concept of culture, a question that rarely fails to come up is: what makes up culture? It is with answering this question that one can isolate the various aspects of culture, that is, the very basic elements that culture is comprised of. This hence gives rise to the concept of cultural awareness (Singh, 2009). Various numerous theories have been formulated on the elements that make up culture but similarities have been observed and it can be confidently put down that there are twelve main aspects of culture.  

Construction Proposal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Construction Proposal - Coursework Example It is a formal, written document that describes the context and scope of an organization's marketing effort to achieve defined goals or objectives within a specific future time period. Before making a marketing plan, Parish Council will have to make a market plan questionnaire by which they will be able to know about their own position or capability to do the project. While Parish Council searching for information on a topic, it is important to understand the value of both primary and secondary sources to do the work accordingly. The PEST analysis has proven to be a flexible and easy to understand tool in the context of strategic planning or marketing planning as well. PEST Analysis can be used here which stands for political, economical, socio-cultural, and technological factors. The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieve the objective of an organization. It implies any organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportu nities, and threats. The mix of five 'P' implies Price, Product, Place, Promotion and People in our marketing recipe. Marketing plan implementation is the "how" component of marketing strategy. It is also known as operations plan. Components that are important in implementation include: Marketing structure, Marketing strategy, Leadership, Human resources, Organizational resources, and Organizational systems. Parish Council may have to face some challenges to implement the plan. After evaluating their business planning, it can be said that the business plan was good enough to build up a BMX Track. In spite of having few inconsistencies or problems, this plan may bring success for Parish Council if it would be implemented accordingly. Task 2: During 1980 in Chile the pioneer of BMX development was Mr. VINCENZO CASCINO. He started getting organized in 1980 and founded the C.B.X. - Comision Nacional de Bicicross. The center of development was Las Condes, inside Santiago de Chile. Ending 1980 there were about 350-license. A group of enthusiasts was in the progress of starting a club in the city of Apeldoorn in Holland. Becoming a section of the already bicycle club, they planned a track to be built inside a velodrome! January 21st. Promotional meeting in Beek & Donk (Holland), final result was that on January 28th a club was formed officially. The city of Beek & Donk already had promised building a new track to be ready sometime April 1980. Paul & Bart de Jong from elders were one of the first members of this clubs and their father became the club's secretary. The number of BMX brands extended during this year of ending 1980: NBL / NBA - USA St. Fietscross Nederland - Holland UK Bicycle Motocross Association - Great Britain Federation Francaise de Bicrossing - France Federation of Belgium Bicrossing - Belgium Japan BMX Association - Japan1 Ingatestone is a village in Essex, England. It has a population of 3400 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning. Ingatestone and Fryerning Parish Council were formed in 1895, following the passing of the Local Government Act in

Child Care Care for Babies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Care Care for Babies - Essay Example They are not comfortable with the idea of two caregivers having to attend a minimum of ten babies at the same time. Thinking of the direct relationship between the baby's mood swings and a caregiver's mood swings makes them forecast possibility of a caregiver's outburst of frustrations and inability to fulfill task. The scene just can't be concluded yet if all of the ten babies will cry at the same time. The couple needs to work and they are only able to do that when they are secure in their knowledge that their children are safe and in good hands. It will be unwise or unfair to expect a clone of the parent. However we can respond to the worries by convincing them that the caregiver is a decent and kind individual. To give them a good outlook of the care the center is providing they will be given an opportunity to interview the caregivers at a preset time to satisfy their parent's instincts. In this way the parents will be able to personally describe the routines of the baby and caring schemes for their child apart from what was listed in the enrolment form. The act will give them comfort that they have personally clarified in detail the baby's management and care in question.

Construction Proposal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Construction Proposal - Coursework Example It is a formal, written document that describes the context and scope of an organization's marketing effort to achieve defined goals or objectives within a specific future time period. Before making a marketing plan, Parish Council will have to make a market plan questionnaire by which they will be able to know about their own position or capability to do the project. While Parish Council searching for information on a topic, it is important to understand the value of both primary and secondary sources to do the work accordingly. The PEST analysis has proven to be a flexible and easy to understand tool in the context of strategic planning or marketing planning as well. PEST Analysis can be used here which stands for political, economical, socio-cultural, and technological factors. The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieve the objective of an organization. It implies any organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportu nities, and threats. The mix of five 'P' implies Price, Product, Place, Promotion and People in our marketing recipe. Marketing plan implementation is the "how" component of marketing strategy. It is also known as operations plan. Components that are important in implementation include: Marketing structure, Marketing strategy, Leadership, Human resources, Organizational resources, and Organizational systems. Parish Council may have to face some challenges to implement the plan. After evaluating their business planning, it can be said that the business plan was good enough to build up a BMX Track. In spite of having few inconsistencies or problems, this plan may bring success for Parish Council if it would be implemented accordingly. Task 2: During 1980 in Chile the pioneer of BMX development was Mr. VINCENZO CASCINO. He started getting organized in 1980 and founded the C.B.X. - Comision Nacional de Bicicross. The center of development was Las Condes, inside Santiago de Chile. Ending 1980 there were about 350-license. A group of enthusiasts was in the progress of starting a club in the city of Apeldoorn in Holland. Becoming a section of the already bicycle club, they planned a track to be built inside a velodrome! January 21st. Promotional meeting in Beek & Donk (Holland), final result was that on January 28th a club was formed officially. The city of Beek & Donk already had promised building a new track to be ready sometime April 1980. Paul & Bart de Jong from elders were one of the first members of this clubs and their father became the club's secretary. The number of BMX brands extended during this year of ending 1980: NBL / NBA - USA St. Fietscross Nederland - Holland UK Bicycle Motocross Association - Great Britain Federation Francaise de Bicrossing - France Federation of Belgium Bicrossing - Belgium Japan BMX Association - Japan1 Ingatestone is a village in Essex, England. It has a population of 3400 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning. Ingatestone and Fryerning Parish Council were formed in 1895, following the passing of the Local Government Act in

Global political economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global political economy - Essay Example The Blueshirts tended to brutalise society into obedience. In this sense, Chiang tried to enforce his authority by force - something that Hitler and Mussolini tried to do. Chiang's attempt to win the support of the people in his territory was minimal Meanwhile, on Taiwan, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, intermittent skirmishes occurred throughout the mainland's coastal and peripheral regions, though American reluctance to be drawn into a larger conflict left Chiang Kai-shek too weak to "retake the mainland" as he constantly vowed. ROC fighter aircraft bombed mainland targets and commandos, sometimes numbering up to 80, landed repeatedly on the mainland to kill PLA soldiers, kidnap CCP cadres, destroy infrastructure, and seize documents. The ROC lost about 150 men in one raid in 1964.Mao's prestige rose steadily after the failure of the Comintern-directed urban insurrections. In late 1931 he was able to proclaim the establishment of the Chinese Soviet Republic under his chairmanship i n Ruijin, Jiangxi Province. The Soviet-oriented CCP Political Bureau came to Ruijin at Mao's invitation with the intent of dismantling his apparatus. But, although he had yet to gain membership in the Political Bureau, Mao dominated the proceedings. Few Chinese had any illusions about Japanese designs on China. ... The Japanese began to push from south of the Great Wall into northern China and into the coastal provinces. Chinese fury against Japan was predictable, but anger was also directed against the Guomindang government, which at the time was more preoccupied with anti-Communist extermination campaigns than with resisting the Japanese invaders. The importance of "internal unity before external danger" was forcefully brought home in December 1936, when Nationalist troops (who had been ousted from Manchuria by the Japanese) mutinied at Xi'an. The mutineers forcibly detained Chiang Kai-shek for several days until he agreed to cease hostilities against the Communist forces in northwest China and to assign Communist units combat duties in designated anti-Japanese front areas. At Yan'an and elsewhere in the "liberated areas," Mao was able to adapt Marxism-Leninism to Chinese conditions. He taught party cadres to lead the masses by living and working with them, eating their food, and thinking their thoughts. The Red Army fostered an image of conducting guerrilla warfare in defense of the people. Communist troops adapted to changing wartime conditions and became a seasoned fighting force. Mao also began preparing for the establishment of a new China. In 1940 he outlined the program of the Chinese Communists for an eventual seizure of power. His teachings became the central tenets of the CCP doctrine that came to be formalized as Mao Zedong Thought. With skillful organizational and propaganda work, the Communists increased party membership from 100,000 in 1937 to 1.2 million by 1945. In 1945 China emerged from the war nominally a great military power but actually a

Fusion Power for Sustainable Development

Fusion Power for Sustainable Development Introduction Sustainable energy is about using energy wisely and using energy generated from clean sources and clean technologies. This approach is first step to ensuring we have sustainable energy and technologies for present and future generations. Being efficient with our energy will reduce our household and business energy bills, reduce the amount of energy we need to produce in the first place and cut energy related greenhouse pollution. Sustainable energy isn’t just about producing energy to meet the demands, it also means that the energy sources are clean and don’t have a detrimental on the environment. This essay will discuss in-depth how fusion power is the solution the energy crisis which is currently being faced around the world. Fusion is a very clean, green source of power which doesn’t have a detrimental impact in the environment. Nuclear fusion In nuclear physics, nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei collide at a very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. During this process, mass is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nuclei is converted to photons (energy). Fusion is also the process that provides Sun and all other stars with their energy; the process involves the collision of atomic nuclei to release energy. Currently scientists and engineers are developing the technology that it can be used in power stations to meet the energy demands that are currently being faced globally. It is hoped that fusion will provide us with the solution for the current energy crisis and provide a clean renewable source of power for future generations. How fusion works In a fusion reaction, energy is released when two light atomic nuclei are fused together to form one heavier atom. This is the process that provides the energy powering the Sun and other stars, where hydrogen nuclei are combined to form helium. To achieve high enough fusion reaction rates to make fusion useful as an energy source, the fuel (two types of hydrogen – deuterium and tritium) must be heated to temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius. At these extremely high temperatures the fuel becomes plasma. What is plasma? Plasma is the fourth state of matter with the others being solid, liquid and gas. a plasma is an ionized gas, a gas into which sufficient energy is provided to free electrons from atoms or molecules and to allow both species, ions and electrons, to coexist. Plasma is a gas that has been energized to the point that some of the electrons break free from, but travel with, their nucleus. Gases can become plasmas in several ways, but all include pumping the gas with energy. A spark in a gas will create plasma. A hot gas passing through a big spark will turn the gas stream into a plasma that can be useful. Plasma torches like that are used in industry to cut metals. The plasma is also extremely thin and fragile, and is significantly less dense then air. To keep the plasma from being contaminated and cooled by contact with material surfaces it is contained in a magnetic confinement system. Magnetic confinement is the approach that Culham and many other laboratories are researching to provide energy from fusion. A plasma of light atomic nuclei is heated and confined in a circular bottle known as a tokamak, where it is controlled with strong magnetic fields. A magnetic fusion device, the maximum fusion power is achieved using deuterium and tritium. These fuse to produce helium and high-speed neutrons, releasing 17.6MeV (megaelectron volts) of energy per reaction. This is approximately 10,000,000 times more energy than is released in a typical chemical reaction. A commercial fusion power station will use the energy carried by the neutrons to generate electricity. The neutrons will be slowed down by a blanket of denser material surrounding the machine, and the heat this provides will be converted into steam to drive turbines and put power on to the grid. The Tokomak The tokamak is a magnetic confinement system and is a key component which is required for a fusion reaction to take place. Tokomak the base on which the fusion reactors of the future will be build around. It was first invented by the soviet union during the 1960s and it was soon adopted by scientists and engineers around the globe. The joint European Torus(JET ) , which is located at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, is the largest and most powerful set up which is currently in operation. tokamak components and functions are as follows: The plasma is contained in a vacuum vessel. The vacuum is maintained by external pumps. The plasma is created by letting in a small puff of gas, which is then heated by driving a current through it. The hot plasma is contained by a magnetic field which keeps it away from the machine walls. The combination of two sets of magnetic coils – known as toroidal and poloidal field coils – creates a field in both vertical and horizontal directions, acting as a magnetic ‘cage to hold and shape the plasma. Large power supplies are used to generate the magnetic fields and plasma currents. Plasma current is induced by a transformer, with the central magnetic coil acting as the primary winding and the plasma as the secondary winding. The heating provided by the plasma current (known as Ohmic heating) supplies up to a third of the 100 million degrees Celsius temperature required to make fusion occur. Additional plasma heating is provided by neutral beam injection. In this process, neutral hydrogen atoms are injected at high speed into the plasma, ionized and trapped by the magnetic field. As they are slowed down, they transfer their energy to the plasma and heat it. Radiofrequency heating is also used to heat the plasma. High-frequency oscillating currents are induced in the plasma by external coils or waveguides. The frequencies are chosen to match regions where the energy absorption is very high (resonances). In this way, large amounts of power may be transferred to the plasma. Why fusion Power is needed By 2050, it is expected that will be a rise in global population from six billion to nine billion and better living standards could lead to a two to threefold increase in energy consumption. At this point in time, 80% of the developed worlds energy comes from fossil fuels. The ever increasing dependency on fossil fuels for generating power has lead to things such as global warming and acid rain and other damaging effects on our health and on the world we live in. Achieving fusion power Fusion is expected to become a major part of the energy mix during the second half of this century because it is seen by so many as being the â€Å"silver bullet† to the l energy problems which is currently plaguing the world . With sufficient funding, the first fusion power plant could be operating in the 2040s. To achieve this, first a series of development steps need to be taken, which are set out in the European fusion roadmap, published in 2013. CCFE is working with its counterparts around Europe to implement this plan, which would see fusion power on the grid by 2050. ITER is the next major international fusion experiment and a crucial step towards achieving commercial fusion energy. It is expected to prove the feasibility of electricity generation from fusion by releasing in the region of 500 megawattsof fusion power (from a 50 megawattinput) for up to 500 seconds. It will be the first fusion experiment to produce net power – ten times more than the amount required to heat the plasma. Demonstration Once the scientific and engineering systems have been tested on ITER, the next stage will be to build a demonstration fusion power plant which will integrate the finding of the research . Designs are already advanced for this prototype machine, known as ‘DEMO. The demonstration is expected to produce in the region of two gig wattsof electrical power to the grid, a similar output to a standard electrical power plant, and could be online in the 2040s. If these trials are successful, it will lead to the first generation of commercial fusion power stations being put into commission. Advantages of fusion power The world needs new, cleaner ways to meet our ever increasing energy demand, as concerns grow over climate change and declining supplies of fossil fuels. Power stations using fusion would have a number of advantages: No carbon emissions. The only by-products of fusion reactions are small amounts of helium, which is an inert gas that will not add to atmospheric pollution. Abundant fuels. Deuterium can be extracted from water and tritium is produced from lithium, which is found in the earths crust. Fuel supplies will therefore last for millions of years. Energy efficiency. One kilogram of fusion fuel can provide the same amount of energy as 10 million kilograms of fossil fuel. No long-lived radioactive waste. Only plant components become radioactive and these will be safe to recycle or dispose of conventionally within 100 years. Safety. The small amounts of fuel used in fusion devices (about the weight of a postage stamp at any one time) means that a large-scale nuclear accident is not possible. Reliable power. Fusion power plants should provide a baseload supply of large amounts of electricity, at costs that are estimated to be broadly similar to other energy sources. Disadvantages of fusion power Unproven on a large commercial scale. No full scale production expected till at least 2050 The power plants would be expensive to build Requires extremely high temperatures. Could produce a net negative amount of energy If cold fusion could be achieved, it would be much easier to implement. The billions in research funding could be spent on renewables instead What is Cold Fusion? Cold fusion describes a form of energy generated when hydrogen interacts with various metals like nickel and palladium. Cold fusion is a field of condensed matter nuclear science CMNS, and is also called low-energy nuclear reactions LENR, lattice-assisted nuclear reactions LANR, nickel-hydrogen exothermic reactions Ni-H, and quantum fusion. The name cold fusion comes from the idea that the temperatures involved are relatively ( room temperature in some instances) low in comparison to those of a fusion reactor which are in excess of a few thousand degrees. Cold fusion gained attention after reports in 1989 by Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, at the time one of worlds leading electrochemists,[1] that their apparatus had produced excess heat, of a magnitude they asserted would defy explanation except in terms of nuclear processes. They further reported measuring small amounts of nuclear reaction byproducts, including neutrons and tritium.[2] The small tabletop experiment involved electrolysis of heavy water on the surface of a palladium (Pd) electrode. The reported results received wide media attention,[3] and raised hopes of a cheap and abundant source of energy.[4] Many scientists tried to replicate the experiment with the few details available. Hopes fell with the large number of negative replications, the withdrawal of many positive replications, the discovery of flaws and sources of experimental error in the original experiment, and finally the discovery that Fleischmann and Pons had not actually detected nuclear reaction byproducts. In 1989, a review panel organized by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) found that the evidence for the discovery of a new nuclear process was not persuasive enough to start a special program, but was sympathetic toward modest support for experiments within thke present funding system. Pons and Fleischmann, skipped the typical route of publishing their study and results in a peer-reviewed science journal because of the pressure they were under from the university of Utah to secure a patent for this potential cash cow which could bring the university a significant amount media attention and flame for the Pons and Fleischmann, instead they take it directly to the press and public. Because they decided to take a unconvential root as to how they published their finding that lead others to question how authentic the information they were being given was. When many scientists from around the world tried to replicate the results from Pons’ without any success and questions began to be asked about the accuracy of the data which they had collected from their cold fusion experiment and this is what ultimately lead to their downfall. Recent developments in cold fusion Andrea Rossi a Italian scientist has said to have created a device called Energy Catalyser (E-cat for short) , is said to be a device â€Å"which purports to use cold fusion to generate vast amounts of power has been verified by a panel of independent scientists†. The research paper, which hasn’t gone through undergone peer review as of yet, seems to confirm both the existence of cold fusion, and its potency: The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline.

Venus :: essays research papers

Venus is the second planet from the sun and the sixth largest. Venus’ orbit is the most circular of any planet, with an eccentricy of less than 1%. Venus, perhaps because it is the brightest of planets known to the ancients, Is named after the Greek goddess of love and beauty. The planet of Venus has been known since prehistoric times and is the brightest object in the sky with the exception of the sun and the moon. Venus’ rotation is somewhat unusual in that it is both very slow ( 243 Earth days per Venus day) and retrograde. In addition, the periods of Venus’ rotation and of its orbit are synchronized such that it always presents the same face toward Earth when the two planets are at their closest approach. The pressure of the planet’s atmosphere at the surface is 90 atmospheres and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide. There are several layers of clouds which are many kilometers thick and composed of sulfuric acid. This dense atmosphere produces a run-away greenhouse effect that raises Venus’ surface temperature by about 400 degrees to over 740 K. The planet of Venus is often regarded as Earth’s sister planet, in some ways they are very similar. For example, Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth (95% of Earth’s diameter, 80% of Earth’s mass.) Both have few craters indicating relatively young surfaces. Their densities and chemical compositions are also similar. Because of these similarities, it was once thought that below it’s dense clouds, Venus might be very earthlike, perhaps to the point of containing life. However, a more detailed study of Venus revealed that many aspects of Venus’ atmosphere was much different from that of Earth. There are no small craters on Venus. It appears that small meteoroids burn up in Venus’ dense atmosphere before reaching the surface. Craters on Venus seem to come in bunches indicating that the large meteoroids that do reach the surface usually break up in the atmosphere. The oldest terrains on Venus seem to be about 800 million years old. Extensive volcanisms at the time wiped out the earlier surface including any large craters from early Venus’ history. The interior of Venus is probably very similar to that of Earth. It consists of an iron core about 3000 km in radius, a molten rocky mantle comprising the majority of the planet. Venus probably once had large

Home Decorating Plan :: Interior Decorating Marketing Strategies Essays

Home Decorating Plan 1.0 Executive Summary Interior Views is a retail home decorator fabrics and complementary home accessories and services concept that is now in its third year. This destination store offers the advantages of providing fabrics specifically designed for home decorator use in fabric widths of 54 inches and greater. Over 900 fabrics are available on the floor at any time with more than 3,000 sample fabrics for custom "cut" orders. Customers see, touch, feel, and take the fabric to their home as they work through their purchase decision. Market research indicates a specific and growing need in the area for the products and services Interior Views offers in the market it serves. The market strategy will be based on a cost effective approach to reach this clearly defined target market. The three-phase approach will utilize resources to create awareness of the store and encourage customers to benefit from the convenience and services it offers. Interior Views will focus on its selection, accessibility of product, design services, and competitive pricing. The marketing objective is to actively support continued growth and profitability through effective implementation of the strategy. 2.0 Situation Analysis Interior Views is a retail store heading into its third year of operation. The store has been well received, and marketing is now critical to its continued success and future profitability. The store offers the most extensive selection of in-stock decorator fabrics as well as a resource for special ordered fabrics. The basic market need is to offer a good selection of decorator fabrics at reasonable prices, for the "do-it-yourself" and the "buy-it-yourself" customers, through a personalized retail store that offers excellent service, design assistance, and inspiration for people to redecorate their homes. 2.1 Market Summary We possess good information about our market and know a great deal about the common attributes of our most prized and loyal customers. We will leverage this information to better understand who we serve, their specific needs, and how we can better communicate with them. Target Markets 2.1.1 Market Demographics The profile of the Interior Views customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavior factors: Geographics  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our immediate geographic market is the Boise area, with a population of 168,300.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A 50-mile geographic area is in need of our products and services.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The total targeted area population is estimated at 568,800. Demographics  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Female.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Married.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have children, but not necessarily at home.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have attended college.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A combined annual income in excess of $50,000.

Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans on French Revolution

Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans on French Revolution The Federalists wanted to remain neutral regarding the issue of French Revolution in order to avoid to a trade conflict with Britain. However, the Jeffersonian Republicans wanted to help France achieve independence from a cruel monarchy and help the Frenchmen support the idea of freedom just like the United States. The Federalist Party was led by Alexander Hamilton.Federalists favored a strong federal government, believed that the government should be ruled by educated, wealthy men, wanted to pay off national debt, establishing a national credit, promoted entrepreneurship & manufacturing, and interpreted the United States Constitution with an open mind. These views supported the Federalists’ view on the French Revolution and so did Jefferson’s party. Thomas Jefferson led his party known as the Jeffersonian Republicans.The Jeffersonian Republicans supported the idea of government ruled by informed men, bel ieved in a strong state government, wanted to cultivate an economy by cultivating crops, and followed the U. S. Constitution verbatim. Jefferson’s party too had an opinion on the French Revolution. Hamilton and Jefferson supported their party’s views. The Federalists wanted to remain neutral to avoid a sanction from Britain on American goods because they were highly concerned about paying off the national debt and ensure a strong economy by exporting manufactured goods.Conversely, Jeffersonian Republicans and his leader, an author of the Declaration of Independence, supported the motif of the French Revolution and believed that the Americans should support one similar to theirs. In conclusion, the Federalist Party wanted to remain neutral regarding the issue of French Revolution to avoid a sanction from Britain. Though, the Jeffersonian Republicans supported the French citizens to remove a feudal system, revolt against a tyranny and achieve independence similar to Amer ica.

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 8-9

8 ROBERT Robert loaded the last of the laundry baskets full of dishes into the bed of the pickup. The sight of a truckload of clean dishes did not raise his spirits nearly as much as he thought it would. He was still depressed. He was still heartbroken. And he was still hung over. For a moment he thought that washing the dishes might have been a mistake. Having created a single bright spot, no matter how small, seemed to make the rest of his life look even more dismal by contrast. Maybe he should have just gone with the downward flow, like the pilot who pushes down the stick to pull out of an uncontrolled spin. Secretly, Robert believed that if things got so bad that he couldn't see his way out, something would come along and not only save him from disaster but improve his life overall. It was a skewed brand of faith that he had developed through years of watching television – where no problem was so great that it could not be surmounted by the last commercial break – and through two events in his own life. As a boy in Ohio he had taken his first summer job at the local county fair, picking up trash on the midways. The job had been great fun for the first two weeks. He and the other boys on the cleanup crew spent their days wandering the midways using long sticks, with nails extending from one end, to spear paper cups and hot dog wrappers as if they were hunting lions on the Serengeti. They were paid in cash at the end of each day. The next day they spent their pay on games of chance and repeated rides on the Zipper, which was the beginning of Robert's lifelong habit of exchanging money for dizziness and nausea. The day after the fair ended, Robert and the boys were told to report to the livestock area of the fairgrounds. They arrived before dawn, wondering what they would do now that the colorful carny trailers and rides were gone and the midways were as barren as airport runways. The man from the county met them outside the big exhibition barns with a dump truck, a pile of pitchforks, and some wheelbarrows. â€Å"Clean out those pens, boys. Load the manure on the truck,† he had said. Then he went away, leaving the boys unsupervised. Robert had loaded only three forkfuls when he and the boys ran out of the barn gasping for breath, the odor of ammonia burning in their noses and lungs. Again and again they tried to clean the stables only to be overcome by the stench. As they stood outside the barn, swearing and complaining, Robert noticed something sticking up out of the morning fog on the adjacent show ground. It looked like the head of a dragon. It was beginning to get light, and the boys could hear banging and clanging and strange animal noises coming from the show ground. They stared into the fog, trying to make out the shapes moving there, glad for the distraction from their miserable task. When the sun broke over the trees to the east of the fairgrounds, a scraggly man in blue work clothes walked out of the mist toward the barn. â€Å"Hey, you kids,† he shouted, and they all prepared to be admonished for standing around instead of working. â€Å"You want to work for the circus?† The boys dropped their pitchforks as if they were red-hot rods of steel and ran to the man. The dragon had been a camel. The strange noises were the trumpeting of elephants. Under the mist a crew of men were unrolling the big top of the Clyde Beatty Circus. Robert and the boys worked all morning beside the circus people, lacing together the bright-yellow canvas panels of the tent and fitting together giant sections of aluminum poles that would support the big top. It was hot, sweaty, heavy work, and it was wonderful and exciting. When the poles lay out across the canvas, cables were hitched to a team of elephants and the poles were hoisted skyward. Robert thought his heart would burst with excitement. The canvas was connected by cables to a winch. The boys watched in awe as the big top rose up the poles like a great yellow dream. It was only one day. But it was glorious, and Robert thought of it often – of the roustabouts who sipped from their hip flasks and called each other by the names of their home states or towns. â€Å"Kansas, bring that strut over here. New York, we need a sledge over here.† Robert thought of the thick-thighed women who walked the wire and flew on the trapeze. Their heavy makeup was grotesque up close but beautiful at a distance when they were flying through the air above the crowd. That day was an adventure and a dream. It was one of the finest in Robert's life. But what had impressed him was that it had come right when things seemed the most bleak, when everything had gone, literally, to shit. The next time Robert's life took a nosedive he was in Santa Barbara, and his salvation arrived in the form of a woman. He had come to California with everything he owned packed into a Volkswagen Beetle, determined to pursue a dream that he thought would begin at the California border with music by the Beach Boys and a long, white beach full of shapely blondes dying for the company of a young photographer from Ohio. What he found was alienation and poverty. Robert had chosen the prestigious photography school in Santa Barbara because it was reputed to be the best. As photographer for the high school yearbook he had gained a reputation as one of the best photographers in town, but in Santa Barbara he was just another teenager among hundreds of students who were, if anything, more skilled than he. He took a job in a grocery store, stocking shelves from midnight to eight in the morning. He had to work full-time to pay his exorbitant tuition and rent, and soon he fell behind in his assignments. After two months he had to leave school to avoid flunking out. He found himself in a strange town with no friends and barely enough money to survive. He started drinking beer every morning with the night crew in the parking lot. He drove home in a stupor and slept through the day until his next shift. With the added expense of alcohol, Robert had to hock his cameras to pay rent, and with them went his last hope for a future beyond stocking shelves. One morning after his shift the manager called him into the office. â€Å"Do you know anything about this?† The manager pointed to four jars of peanut butter that lay open on his desk. â€Å"These were returned by customers yesterday.† On the smooth surface of the peanut butter in each jar was etched, â€Å"Help, I'm trapped in Supermarket Hell!† Robert stocked the glass aisle. There was no denying it. He had written the messages one night during his shift after drinking several bottles of cough medicine he had stolen from the shelves. â€Å"Pick up your check on Friday,† the manager said. He shuffled away, broke, unemployed, two thousand miles from home, a failure at nineteen. As he left the store, one of the cashiers, a pretty redhead about his age, who was coming in to open the store, stopped him. â€Å"Your name is Robert, isn't it?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"You're the photographer, aren't you?† â€Å"I was.† Robert was in no mood to chat. â€Å"Well, I hope you don't mind,† she said, â€Å"but I saw your portfolio sitting in the break room one morning and I looked at it. You're very good.† â€Å"I don't do it anymore.† â€Å"Oh, that's too bad. I have a friend who's getting married on Saturday, and she needs a photographer.† â€Å"Look,† Robert said, â€Å"I appreciate the thought, but I just got fired and I'm going home to get hammered. Besides, I hocked my cameras.† The girl smiled, she had incredible blue eyes. â€Å"You were wasting your talent here. How much would it cost to get your cameras out of hock?† Her name was Jennifer. She paid to get his cameras out of hock and showered him with praise and encouragement. Robert began to make money picking up weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, but it wasn't enough to make rent. There were too many good photographers competing in Santa Barbara. He moved into her tiny studio apartment. After a few months of living together they were married and they moved north to Pine Cove, where Robert would find less competition for photography jobs. Once again, Robert had sunk to a lifetime low, and once again Dame Fate had provided him with a miraculous rescue. The sharp edges of Robert's world were rounded by Jennifer's love and dedication. Life had been good, until now. Robert's world was dropping out from under him like a trapdoor and he found himself in a disoriented free-fall. Trying to control things by design would only delay his inevitable rescue. The sooner he hit bottom, he reasoned, the sooner his life would improve. Each time this had happened before, things had gotten a little worse only to get a little better. One day the good times had to keep on rolling, and all of life's horseshit would turn to circuses. Robert had faith that it would happen. But to rise from the ashes you had to crash and burn first. With that in mind, he took his last ten dollars and headed down the street to the Head of the Slug Saloon. 9 THE HEAD OF THE SLUG Mavis Sand, the owner of the Head of the Slug Saloon, had lived so long with the Specter of Death hanging over her shoulders that she had started to think of him as one might regard a comfortable old sweater. She had made her peace with Death a long time ago, and Death, in return, had agreed to whittle away at Mavis rather than take her all at once. In her seventy years, Death had taken her right lung, her gall bladder, her appendix, and the lenses of both eyes, complete with cataracts. Death had her aortic heart valve, and Mavis had in its place a steel and plastic gizmo that opened and closed like the automatic doors at the Thrifty Mart. Death had most of Mavis's hair, and Mavis had a polyester wig that irritated her scalp. She had also lost most of her hearing, all of her teeth, and her complete collection of Liberty dimes. (Although she suspected a ne'er-do-well nephew rather than Death in the disappearance of the dimes.) Thirty years ago she had lost her uterus, but that was at a time when doctors were yanking them so frequently that it seemed as if they were competing for a prize, so she didn't blame Death for that. With the loss of her uterus Mavis grew a mustache that she shaved every morning before leaving to open the saloon. At the Slug she ambled around behind the bar on a pair of stainless steel ball and sockets, as Death had taken her hips, but not before she had offered them up to a legion of cowboys and construction workers. Over the years Death had taken so much of Mavis that when her time finally came to pass into the next world, she felt it would be like slipping slowly into a steaming-hot bath. She was afraid of nothing. When Robert walked into the Head of the Slug, Mavis was perched on her stool behind the bar smoking a Taryton extra-long, lording over the saloon like the quintessential queen of the lipstick lizards. After each few drags on her cigarette she applied a thick paste of fire-engine-red lipstick, actually getting a large percentage of it where it was supposed to go. Each time she butted a Taryton she sprayed her abysmal cleavage and behind her ears with a shot of Midnight Seduction from an atomizer she kept by her ashtray. On occasion, when she had rendered herself wobbly by too many shots of Bushmill's, she would shoot perfume directly into one of her hearing aids, causing a short circuit and making the act of ordering drinks a screaming ordeal. To avoid the problem, someone had once given her a pair of earrings fashioned from cardboard air fresheners shaped like Christmas trees, guaranteed to give Mavis that new car smell. But Mavis insisted that it was Midnight Seduction or nothing, s o the earrings hung on the wall in a place of honor next to the plaque listing the winners of the annual Head of the Slug eight-ball tournament and chili cook-off, known locally as â€Å"The Slugfest.† Robert stood by the bar trying to get his eyes to adjust to the smoky darkness of the Slug. â€Å"What can I get for you, sweet cheeks?† Mavis asked, batting her false eyelashes behind pop-bottle-thick, rhinestone-rimmed glasses. They put Robert in mind of spiders trying to escape a jar. He fingered the ten-dollar bill in his pocket and climbed onto the bar stool. â€Å"A draft, please.† â€Å"Hair of the dog?† â€Å"Does it show?† Robert asked in earnest. â€Å"Not much. I was just going to ask you to close your eyes before you bled to death.† Mavis giggled like a coquettish gargoyle, then burst into a coughing fit. She drew a mug of beer and set it in front of Robert, taking his ten and replacing it with nine ones. Robert took a long pull from the beer as he turned on the stool and looked around the bar. Mavis kept the bar dimly lit except for the lights over the pool tables, and Robert's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness. It occurred to him that he had never seen the floor of the saloon, which stuck to his shoes when he walked. Except for the occasional crunch underfoot identifying a piece of popcorn or a peanut shell, the floor of The Slug was a murky mystery. Whatever was down there should be left alone to evolve, white and eyeless, in peace. He promised himself to make it to the door before he passed out. He squinted into the lights over the pool tables. There was a heated eight-ball match going on at the back table. A half dozen locals had gathered at the end of the bar to watch. Society called them the hard-core unemployed; Mavis called them the daytime regulars. On the table Slick McCall was playing a dark young man Robert did not recognize. The man seemed familiar, though, and for some reason, Robert found that he did not like him. â€Å"Who's the stranger?† Robert asked Mavis over his shoulder. Something about the young man's aquiline good looks repelled Robert, like biting down on tin foil with a filling. â€Å"New meat for Slick,† Mavis said. â€Å"Came in about fifteen minutes ago and wanted to play for money. Shoots a pretty lame stick, if you ask me. Slick is keeping his cue behind the bar until the money gets big enough.† Robert watched the wiry Slick McCall move around the table, stopping to drill a solid ball into the side pocket with a bar cue. Slick left himself without a following shot. He stood and ran his fingers over his greased-back brown hair. He said, â€Å"Shit. Snookered myself.† Slick was on the hustle. The phone rang and Mavis picked it up. â€Å"Den of iniquity. Den mother speaking. No, he ain't here. Just a minute.† She covered the mouthpiece and turned to Robert. â€Å"You seen The Breeze?† â€Å"Who's calling?† Into the phone, â€Å"Who's calling?† Mavis listened for a moment, then covered the mouthpiece again. â€Å"It's his landlord.† â€Å"He's out of town,† Robert said. â€Å"He'll be back soon.† Mavis conveyed the message and hung up. The phone rang again immediately. Mavis answered, â€Å"Garden of Eden. Snake speaking.† There was a pause. â€Å"What am I, his answering service?† Pause. â€Å"He's out of town; he'll be back soon. Why don't you guys take a social risk and call him at home?† Pause. â€Å"Yeah, he's here.† Mavis shot a glance at Robert. â€Å"You want to talk to him? Okay.† She hung up. â€Å"That for The Breeze?† Robert asked. Mavis lit a Taryton. â€Å"He got popular all of a sudden?† â€Å"Who was it?† â€Å"Didn't ask. Sounded Mexican. Asked about you.† â€Å"Shit,† Robert said. Mavis set him up with another draft. He turned to watch the game. The stranger had won. He was collecting five dollars from Slick. â€Å"Guess you showed me, pard,† Slick said. â€Å"You gonna give a chance to win my money back?† â€Å"Double or nothing,† the stranger said. â€Å"Fine. I'll rack 'em.† Slick pushed the quarters into the coin slot on the side of the pool table. The balls dropped into the gutter and Slick began racking them. Slick was wearing a red-and-blue polka-dotted polyester shirt with long, pointed collars that had been fashionable around the time that disco died – about the same time that Slick had stopped brushing his teeth, Robert guessed. Slick wore a perpetual brown and broken grin, a grin that was burned into the memories of countless tourists who had strayed into the Slug to be fleeced at the end of Slick's intrepid cue. The stranger reared back and broke. His stick made the sickly vibrato sound of a miscue. The cue ball rocketed down the table, barely grazing the rack, then bounced off two corner rails and made a beeline toward the corner pocket where the stranger stood. â€Å"Sorry, brother,† Slick said, chalking his cue and preparing to shoot the scratch. When it reached the corner pocket, the cue ball stopped dead on the lip. Almost as an afterthought, one of the solid balls moved out of the pack and fell into the opposite corner with a plop. â€Å"Damn,† Slick said. â€Å"That was some pretty fancy English. I thought you'd scratched for sure.† â€Å"Was that a solid?† the stranger asked. Mavis leaned over the bar and whispered to Robert. â€Å"Did you see that ball stop? It should have been a scratch.† â€Å"Maybe there's a piece of chalk on the table that stopped it,† Robert speculated. The stranger made two more balls in an unremarkable fashion, then called a straight-in shot on the three ball. When he shot, the cue ball curved off his stick, describing a C-shaped curve, and sunk the six ball in the opposite corner. â€Å"I said the three ball!† the stranger shouted. â€Å"I know you did,† Slick said. â€Å"Looks like you were a little heavy on the English. My shot.† The stranger seemed to be angry at someone, but it wasn't Slick. â€Å"How can you confuse the six with the three, you idiot?† â€Å"You got me,† said Slick. â€Å"Don't be so hard on yourself, pard. You're up one game already.† Slick ran four balls, then missed a shot that was so obvious it made Robert wince. Slick's hustles were usually more subtle. â€Å"Five in the side!† the stranger shouted. â€Å"Got that? Five!† â€Å"I got it,† Slick said. â€Å"And all these folks got it along with half the people out in the street. You don't need to yell, pard. This is just a friendly game.† The stranger bent over the table and shot. The five ball careened off the cue ball, headed for the rail, then changed its path and curved into the side pocket. Robert was amazed, as were all the observers. It was an impossible shot, yet they all had seen it. â€Å"Damn,† Slick said to no one in particular, then to Mavis, â€Å"Mavis, when was the last time you leveled this table?† â€Å"Yesterday, Slick.† â€Å"Well, it sure as shit went catywumpus fast. Give me my cue, Mavis.† Mavis waddled to the end of the bar and pulled out a three-foot-long black leather case. She handled it carefully and presented it to Slick with reverence, a decrepit Lady of the Lake presenting a hardwood Excaliber to the rightful king. Slick flipped the case open and screwed the cue together, never taking his eyes off the stranger. At the sight of the cue the stranger smiled. Slick smiled back. The game was defined. Two hustlers recognized each other. A tacit agreement passed between them: Let's cut the bullshit and play. Robert had become so engrossed in watching the tension between the two men and trying to figure out why the stranger angered him so, that he failed to notice that someone had slipped onto the stool next to him. Then she spoke. â€Å"How are you, Robert?† Her voice was deep and throaty. She placed her hand on his arm and gave it a sympathetic squeeze. Robert turned and was taken aback by her appearance. She always affected him that way. She affected most men that way. She was wearing a black body stocking, belted at the waist with wide leather in which she had tucked a multitude of chiffon scarves that danced around her hips when she walked like diaphanous ghosts of Salome. Her wrists were adorned with layers of silver bangles; her nails were sculptured long and lacquered black. Her eyes were wide and green, set far apart over a small, straight nose and full lips, glossed blood red. Her hair hung to her waist, blue-black. An inverted silver pentagram dangled between her breasts on a silver chain. â€Å"I'm miserable,† Robert said. â€Å"Thanks for asking, Ms. Henderson.† â€Å"My friends call me Rachel.† â€Å"Okay. I'm miserable, Ms. Henderson.† Rachel was thirty-five but she could have passed for twenty if it weren't for the arrogant sensuality with which she moved and the mocking smile in her eyes that evinced experience, confidence, and guile beyond any twenty-year-old. Her body did not betray her age; it was her manner. She went through men like water. Robert had known her for years, but her presence never failed to awaken in him a feeling that his marital fidelity was nothing more than an absurd notion. In retrospect, perhaps it was. Still, she made him feel uneasy. â€Å"I'm not your enemy, Robert. No matter what you think. Jenny has been thinking about leaving you for a long time. We didn't have anything to do with it.† â€Å"How are things with the coven?† Robert asked sarcastically. â€Å"It's not a coven. The Pagan Vegetarians for Peace are dedicated to Earth consciousness, both spiritual and physical.† Robert drained his fifth beer and slammed the mug down on the bar. â€Å"The Pagan Vegetarians for Peace are a group of bitter, ball-biting, man haters, dedicated to breaking up marriages and turning men into toads.† â€Å"That's not true and you know it.† â€Å"What I know,† Robert said, â€Å"is that within a year of joining, every woman in your coven has divorced her husband. I was against Jenny getting into this mumbo jumbo from the beginning. I told her you would brainwash her and you have.† Rachel reared back on the bar stool like a hissing cat. â€Å"You believe what you want to believe, Robert. I show women the Goddess within. I put them in touch with their own personal power; what they do with it is their own business. We aren't against men. Men just can't stand to see a woman discover herself. Maybe if you'd exalted Jenny's growth instead of criticizing, she'd still be around.† Robert turned away from her and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror behind the bar. He was overcome by a wave of self-loathing. She was right. He covered his face with his hands and leaned forward on the bar. â€Å"Look, I didn't come here to fight with you,† Rachel said. â€Å"I saw your truck outside and I thought you might be able to use a little money. I have some work for you. It might take your mind off the hurt.† â€Å"What?† Robert said through his hands. â€Å"We're sponsoring the annual tofu sculpture contest at the park this year. We need someone to take pictures for the poster and the press package. I know you're broke, Robert.† â€Å"No,† he said, without looking up. â€Å"Fine. Suit yourself.† Rachel slid off the stood and started to leave. Mavis sat another beer in front of Robert and counted his money on the bar. â€Å"Very smooth,† she said. â€Å"You've got four bucks left to your name.† Robert looked up. Rachel was almost to the door. â€Å"Rachel!† She turned and waited, an elegant hand on an exquisite hip. â€Å"I'm staying at The Breeze's trailer.† He told her the phone number. â€Å"Call me, okay?† Rachel smiled. â€Å"Okay, Robert, I'll call.† She turned to walk out. Robert called out to her again. â€Å"You haven't seen The Breeze, have you?† Rachel grimaced. â€Å"Robert, just being in the same room with The Breeze makes me want to take a bath in bleach.† â€Å"Come on, he's a fun guy.† â€Å"He's a fun-gus,† Rachel said. â€Å"But have you seen him?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"Call me.† â€Å"I will.† She turned and walked out. When she opened the door, light spilling in blinded Robert. When his vision returned, a little man in a red stocking cap was sitting next to him. He hadn't seen him come in. To Mavis the little man said, â€Å"Could I trouble you for a small quantity of salt?† â€Å"How about a margarita with extra salt, handsome?† Mavis batted her spider-lashes. â€Å"Yes, that will be good. Thank you.† Robert looked the little man over for a moment, then turned away to watch the pool game while he contemplated his destiny. Maybe this job for Rachel was his way out. Strange, though, things didn't seem to be bad enough yet. And the idea that Rachel could be his fairy godmother in disguise made him smile. No, the downward spiral to salvation was going quite nicely. The Breeze was missing. The rent was due. He had made enemies with a crazed Mexican drug dealer, and it was driving him nuts trying to figure out where he had seen the stranger at the pool table. The game was still going strong. Slick was running the balls with machinelike precision. When he did miss, the stranger cleared the table with a series of impossible, erratic, curving shots, while the crowd watched with their jaws hanging, and Slick broke into a nervous sweat. Slick McCall had been the undisputed king of eight ball at the Head of the Slug Saloon since before it had been called the Head of the Slug. The bar had been the Head of the Wolf for fifty years, until Mavis grew tired of the protests of drunken environmentalists, who insisted that timber wolves were an endangered species and that the saloon was somehow sanctioning their killing. One day she had taken the stuffed wolf head that hung over the bar to the Salvation Army and had a local artist render a giant slug head in fiberglass to replace it. Then she changed the sign and waited for some half-wit from the Save the Slugs Society to show up and protest. It never happened. In business, as in politics, the public is ever so tolerant of those who slime. Years ago, Slick and Mavis had come to a mutually beneficial business agreement. Mavis allowed Slick to make his living on her pool table, and in return, Slick agreed to pay her twenty percent of his winnings and to excuse himself from the Slug's annual eight-ball tournament. Robert had been coming into the Slug for seven years and in that time he had never seen Slick rattled over a pool game. Slick was rattled now. Occasionally some tourist who had won the Sheep's Penis Kansas Nine-Ball tournament would come into the Slug puffed up like the omnipotent god of the green felt, and Slick would return him to Earth, deflating his ego with gentle pokes from his custom-made, ivory-inlaid cue. But those fellows played within the known laws of physics. The dark stranger played as if Newton had been dropped on his head at birth. To his credit, Slick played his usual methodical game, but Robert could tell that he was afraid. When the stranger sank the eight ball in a hundred-dollar game, Slick's fear turned to anger and he threw his custom cue across the room like a crazed Zulu. â€Å"Goddammit, boy, I don't know how you're doing it, but no one can shoot like that.† Slick was screaming into the stranger's face, his fists were balled at his sides. â€Å"Back off,† the stranger said. All the boyishness drained from his face. He could have been a thousand years old, carved in stone. His eyes were locked on Slick's. â€Å"The game is over.† He might have been stating that â€Å"water is wet.† It was truth. It was deadly serious. Slick reached into the pocket of his jeans, fished out a handful of crumpled twenties, and threw them on the table. The stranger picked up the bills and walked out. Slick retrieved his stick and began taking it apart. The daytime regulars remained silent, allowing Slick to gather his dignity. â€Å"That was like a fucking bad dream,† he said to the onlookers. The comment hit Robert like a sock full of birdshot. He suddenly remembered where he had seen the stranger. The dream of the desert came back to him with crippling clarity. He turned back to his beer, stunned. â€Å"You want a margarita?† Mavis asked him. She was holding a baseball bat she had pulled from under the bar when things had heated up at the pool table. Robert looked to the stool next to him. The little man was gone. â€Å"He saw that guy make one shot and ran out of here like his ass was on fire,† Mavis said. Robert picked up the margarita and downed its frozen contents in one gulp, giving himself an instant headache. Outside on the street Travis and Catch headed toward the service station. â€Å"Well, maybe you should learn to shoot pool if you're going to get money this way.† â€Å"Maybe you could pay attention when I call a shot.† â€Å"I didn't hear you. I don't understand why we just don't steal our money.† â€Å"I don't like to steal.† â€Å"You stole from the pimp in L.A.† â€Å"That was okay.† â€Å"What's the difference?† â€Å"Stealing is immoral.† â€Å"And cheating at pool isn't?† â€Å"I didn't cheat. I just had an unfair advantage. He had a custom-made pool cue. I had you to push the balls in.† â€Å"I don't understand morality.† â€Å"That's not surprising.† â€Å"I don't think you understand it either.† â€Å"We have to pick up the car.† â€Å"Where are we going?† â€Å"To see an old friend.† â€Å"You say that everywhere we go.† â€Å"This is the last one.† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Be quiet. People are looking.† â€Å"You're trying to be tricky. What's morality?† â€Å"It's the difference between what is right and what you can rationalize.† â€Å"Must be a human thing.† â€Å"Exactly.†