Should tattoos be accepted in the workplace?

People say perception is everything. Potential employers judge people based on physical appearance, as do peers, potential mates, and clients. Tattoos are a big issue concerning how people judge appearance. While they can be offensive to coworkers and customers, tattoos should not be judged in the workplace because they are a way of expressing yourself, or your culture. â€Å"The tattooing craze spread to upper classes all over Europe in the nineteenth century. † (Global Oneness). Some feel tattoos were made for acupuncture relieving pain from joints.Other ideas range from social status and ritual markings to tribal marks or simple preference. â€Å"Tattooing has been practiced worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha of North Africa, Maori of New Zealand, and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan , Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan,Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia.Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world. † (â€Å"Tattoos,† 2009) Taking their sartorial lead from the British Court, where King Edward VII followed King George V's lead in getting tattooed; King Frederik IX of Denmark, the King of Romania, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Alexandar of Yugoslavia and even Czar Nicholas of Russia, all sported tattoos, many of them elaborate and ornate renditions of the Royal Coat of Arms or the Royal Family Crest. King Alfonso of modern Spain also has a tattoo. (Global Oneness). In present-day society, tattoos are becoming more common.In the USA many prisoners and criminal gangs use distinctive tattoos to indicate facts about their criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation. (Global Oneness). Body Art is a form of commun ication that is as old as the human race itself. Cultures around the world have used tattoos for religious, social, and spiritual reasons playing a significant role in setting a culture's morals and behavior patterns. However, many people used to associate the Bible, which states â€Å"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.† (Leviticus 19:27-29, Bible). Some religious beliefs are slightly different. For example, the fundamentalist Christians believe that one should not have tattoos because they are a â€Å"pagan practice. † Catholics however, believe marking yourself with tattoos is a personal choice open for personal interpretation. In the Jewish faith, marking one's body with tattoos has been thought to be such a desecration of the body that often times a tattooed individual could be denied burial in a Jewish cemetery. People tend to judge others by what the Bible has instructed us to believe.Tattoos are a way of express ing yourself individually. They are seen on entertainers, athletes and public figures. Author Jack London writes, â€Å"Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past. † Peggy Burke, dean of education and graduate studies, said tattoos can have a devastating effect on job opportunities in the education field. She also states, â€Å"Schools are extremely conservative institutions, and most parents consider teachers to be role models for their children,† she wrote in an e-mail.â€Å"Anything the school administrator views as a distraction in the classroom is very likely a negative factor. † As we move past our school years, we tend to look at role models in different views. Most forget their teachers and look for others as a role model. More than half the military members, athletes, and entertainers have tattoos. So the question is, why do people view them differently concerning tattoos? If teachers are considered role models, why sho uld they be judged on their appearances when they tend to have the same look as military members, athletes, and entertainers.Coworkers and customers see tattoos in different ways when dealing with business. Tattoos are much more acceptable in the gym than in the office. When dealing with stocks and bonds or selling real estate, tattoos might draw people away. Potential clients may be intimidated and lack confidence in your abilities as a professional. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published in June 2006, about half of people in their 20s have either a tattoo or a body piercing other than traditional earrings.That figure, which is higher than the national average, is growing, said Anne Laumann, the study's co-author and a dermatologist at Northwestern University. Some employers are updating their dress codes while others are adding new rules to cover up tattoos. The problem that can arise is that the old stereotypes are being challenged and leading to lawsuits. Emplo yers are saying that in 10 years it may change, but suit-and-tie businesses may not. These types of employers are drawn more to the conservative type of dress codes.Qualifications should speak for themselves. In this day and age people are becoming more used to the ideas rather than relying on the past. When someone looks at you, they are not just looking at appearances anymore. They look at you as a person. It's about what's inside that matters the most. Almost everyone has something to bring to the table. That's why companies should look past appearances and look at the work done. Working with people with tattoos is no different from working with someone without tattoos.It doesn't make them less qualified. Looks are the first criteria we have to assess a person. We tend to feel comfortable around people who look like us. We believe that possessing tattoos makes someone a mean or dangerous person. The most important reason tattoos should not affect the workplace is because people s hould not be judged on their appearance but on their quality of work. Companies around the world are now starting to develop a more relaxed dress code for people with tattoos.This will help in getting more qualified people in the company without judging people on appearances but on their qualifications. All around businesses will get smarter and open up more jobs for people in need. Although tattoos can be offensive not only to coworkers but customers as well, tattoos should not affect the workplace for two main reasons. First, tattoos are a way of expressing yourself individually and should not be thought of as degrading one's self. But most importantly, people should not be judged on their appearance but on their quality of work.

Summary of leaders and followers

Summary of â€Å"how to cultivate effective follower† April Wang English Composition I Professor Hampton October 25th, 2012 cultivate effective followers† 2 Summary of â€Å"How to In the article â€Å"How to cultivate effective followers†, the writer Christopher Lorenz identifies that followers who could not follow a parade in the past is playing a remarkable role during recent years, that is to say, since the followers are taken into fully account nowadays, they are becoming more efficient and play a key role in the many.However, the author also stressed that he was not going to have a debate with anyone who had great passion for leadership. According to the author, followers are divided into five types in this article: sheep, yes people, alienated followers, survivors, effective followers. In that case, some recommendations are also given to help foster efficient followers. Truly, most of the time, we do not act as a leader but a follower. Viewing that issue, Kelly, who is an industrial administration in Pittsburgh at Carnegie-Mellon University, did a research about it.Basically, it is separated in to five different sorts according to followers' various qualities in Kelly's study. First, sheep only do, if any, what the leaders let them do. They do not have their own opinions and depend on their leaders all the time. Yes people, obviously, are also a group of people who concern nothing but the tasks are given. Only when the leader is â€Å"blind†, this type of followers may be popular. Alienated followers are cynics–they hold their own ideas which are always the opposite of their leaders and never drop them. Survivors depend on their traders' tempers.Their motto is â€Å"does anything that can please leaders†. Effective followers, who are probably only imaginations, are the most ideal ones. They 3 are not afraid of taking risks, for they claim that they have equal duties for their organizations. Hence, Kelly provided some strategies to us to develop more effective followers. First, the most important thing is to create a common value which can help them work toward a same goal. For example, give customers best services and make them feel at home. Second, aim for making independent and decisive followers.For instance, leaders can allow followers to speak out, which mean they can discuss strategy plans together. Third, leaders should be willing to share powers to others. At the same time, followers will have much more opportunities to make decisions. This is a beneficial way to get everyone involved. Generally speaking, followers should be paid more attention not only by leaders but also by our whole community. When talking about this, I strongly agree with him. Here are my reasons. First, evidently, in a company, only leaders can achieve nothing. Leaders and lowers hold each other tightly toward a common destination is a best way.Thus, the author evidences us some ways, which are studied by Rober t E. Kelly, to make efficient followers. I also learnt it in my leadership class. An efficacious company needs appropriate followers to work with leaders actively to overcome obstacles. If the company is a manufacturer, it needs people to do a single thing day and night. Then, sheep followers are popular. Second, as we can see, in this article, Kelly (1989, Para 3) said, â€Å"What distinguishes effective followers from leaders is not intelligent, ability or any other qualities, but the role they play'.Definitely, everyone should 4 have the opportunity to take control, make decisions and give advice. They can choose someone who has a specialization on the task to help achieve the goal effectively, someone need not to be a leader, someone who are brave and responsible enough to take actions and changes. Last but not least, the time of being identified as a follower is much longer than being a leader; hence, everyone has the necessary to learn how to be both popular leaders and effic ient followers.When I was a freshman, I Join the student association as a leader in one of the student groups. At the same time, I also had a leader in the whole association. I should learn how to be benign to my followers, how to get along well with my colleagues, and how to be credible to my leaders. To achieve the author's goal, he does use some available writing styles, but not everything is so perfect. Logos is the most extraordinary style in this article. At first, he used two clear lists to introduce us the different kinds of followers and the ways to achieve effective followers.Second, his langue is terse and perspicuous. For example, â€Å"sheep are passive and uncritical, lacking in initiative and responsibility'. Only one sentence can tell the main characters of sheep. There are also some drawbacks. First and foremost, I think there should be some examples, when talking about different types of followers. It would more clearly. Moreover, from the whole essay, the author used too much Kelly's words. It would be better to add more opinions about himself. To sum up, I forcefully believe that followers are also taking a big issue.For one thing, no matter how little the company we stayed is, followers should be regarded as 5 equal as leaders. For another, it is strongly suggested that more attention should be taken on followers, since we are more likely a follower rather than a leader in a company. In addition, here is a virtual advice. If a leader is not willing to share power with his followers, it is hard to build ideal followers-?effective followers.

Airline Management (Analysis of the ‘four pillars’)

This should be included into a broader package of measures including new aircraft technology, more efficient operations and better use of infrastructure, (ICAO, 2013) [Online]. The industry determined that a carbon-offsetting policy would be the best method, giving carriers the opportunity to tailor their response to their business development; in effect, ensuring that carriers feel the plan still allows for expansion to meet rising demand, (IATA, 2013) [Online]. The meeting concluded with the following, (ATAG, 2013) [Online]: Agree a roadmap for development of a single global MBM for aviation to be implemented from 2020 that can be adopted at ICAO’s next Assembly in 2016. Agree the principles for development of a global MBM, including: o The goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020; o That aviation emissions should only be accounted for once; o That a global MBM should take account of different types of operator activity. This report will evaluate the progress made on ONE of the four pillars to reduce emissions from the aviation sector; whilst also paying attention to the barriers that carriers face in achieving these targets. The first section will provide a brief introduction to the four pillars as well as reasoning behind the choice in evaluation. A discussion will then follow answering the requirements of the report, before a conclusion summarises the findings. FOUR PILLARS The four pillars cover the entire scope of feasible methods to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. The pillars are technological process, improved infrastructure, operational measures and economic measures. Table 1 below provides a summary: This report has chosen to focus on the development of operational measures; the decision was driven by an interest in the development of fuel efficiency, business optimisation and carrier integration in a bid to reduce emissions from an industry that has always been labelled a major global polluter. With demand for air travel booming on the back of global urbanisation and emerging economies, more attention is being paid to carbon emissions from air travel. According to data from the Air Transport Action Group [ATAG] (2014), global emissions from air travel total 689mt, against a total of 34Billion tonnes of CO2 produced annually from human activity. With these figures, CO2 emissions from air-travel total 2% of annual emissions; in terms of transport, aviation is responsible for 12% of total emissions, compared with 74% from road transport. OPERATIONAL MEASURES As mentioned above, there are a number of factors, which with improvement can lead to a reduction in emissions. This section will concentrate on fuel efficiency, which will touch upon optimal aircraft use, new aircraft design and route optimisation. Also mentioned with be business optimisation, paying attention to carrier ‘load factor’, optimisation on ground-operations and also integration between carriers, which has included MA activity and also the introduction of alliances in the industry. The discussion will touch upon carrier cost reduction, which has become a major supporter of reduction on CO2 emissions given its link to fuel usage and so exposure to high oil prices. FUEL EFFICIENCY In terms of achievements so far, the issue of fuel efficiency has supported in recent years by the economic downturn and high oil prices. Carriers have look to reduce their fuel bills to stay profitable, focusing on a number of methods which also support fuel efficiency. To start, carriers have invested heavily in new aircraft after developments from both Boeing and Airbus support greater fuel efficiency. Airbus experienced its biggest year in 2011, receiving net orders for 1,419 new aircraft, buoyed by the launch of its A320neo, (Morrow, 2013) [Online], with similar success from Boeing, (BBC Business, 2014) [Online]. USA EXAMPLE Figure 1 shows that out of U.S. carriers Alaska Airlines came out as the most fuel efficient airline; what is most surprising is that the company has increased its business and routes by 33% 2000-2010, however has reported no increase in fuel use/emissions as investing in new planes has improved fuel efficiency greatly. The report also found that the fuel-efficiency gap between the best/worst airlines was 26%, (ICCT, 2013); the report also found that about one-third of the variation in efficiency likely comes from the deployment of different technology; for example Allegiant operates a fleet of McDonnell Douglas aircraft that date back to the 1970’s, while Alaska Airlines uses new Boeing planes that have technologies like ‘winglets’ to reduce fuel burn. These finding bode well for Boeing and Airbus as they continue to offer newer models. Recent additions such as Boeings 777X, a more fuel efficient version of the 777 Jumbo and Airbus’s A320 family have been well received; according to Boeing (2013) [Online], customers for the 777X include Gulf carriers along with Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa, with record breaking orders of 259, while Airbus (2013) [Online] confirmed its backlog of orders for the A320’s at over 10,000. These new planes will reduce both emissions and n oise pollution, allowing for negative externalities to be controlled as expansion continues. BUSINESS OPTIMIZATION Carriers have adopted a number of methods to optimise their operations. One factor has been the adoption of alliances between carriers, allowing for them to effectively ‘share’ their capacity. This has reduced the need for such aggressive expansion by some, which would have created too much competition on some routes. Furthermore, airlines have invested in newer aircraft to meet the needs of routes, such as smaller aircraft for new, short-haul routes and larger aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 for busier, long-haul routes. Emirates currently have orders for 90 A380’s as the carrier looks to expand capacity on a number of routes, (Wall, 2013) [Online]. FUTURE PROJECTS FOCUS (VIRGIN ATLANTIC) As more attention is paid by governments and consumers onto CO2 emissions and other negative externalities, company’s such as Virgin Atlantic (2013) have put more into reporting their impact on the environment from sustainability reports; in some continues such as the UK, reporting into emissions and environmental impact are becoming mandatory for listed companies, (UK Government, 2013), which will only increase the amount of information that the aviation sector will make public, (Sustainable Aviation, 2014) [Online]. According to Virgin Atlantic (2013), through its Sustainability Report 2013, the company focuses on a number of programs to improve sustainability. These include: Reducing CO2 emissions by 30% between 2007 and 2020. Improving the fleet of aircraft – currently Virgin Atlantic are taking delivery of 10 Airbus 330-300, which will replace the older Airbus 340-600 and be 30% more fuel efficient. Implementing technology to monitor aircraft fuel-use and routes to identify further carbon savings. PESTEL ANALYSIS This section will touch upon PESTEL analysis to look into the future possibilities to meet operational measure targets. In terms of driving-forces, a number of carriers will look to improve operational performance in a bid to lower costs and remain profitable as low-cost carrier reduce market prices and higher oil prices affect carrier margins. However, it has been noted that each carrier will take a differing approach, designed to also meet the requirements of current expansion plans. For example, take British Airways (BA); currently the carrier is involved in its ‘One Destination’ initiative, with a number of schemes underway to make the carrier carbon neutral from 2020, (Brittlebank, 2012) [Online]. According to British Airways (2013) the international community’s aim is to cut net CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 (relative to 2005 levels). Figure 2 below provides a graphic to the proposal, identifying some of the key factors which will support the reduction. As mentioned prior, one of main drivers will be the continued improvement and market adoption of new aircraft. For example, British Airways (2013) estimates that the new Airbus A380 will have a 16% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the aircraft it will replace, mainly down to the capacity of the aircraft, which can be used on longer routes, such as Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Improvements such as these will continue to drive down CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres, a metric widely used in the airline industry to measure efficiency. In 2012, BA aircraft emitted 101.9g/CO2 per passenger kilometre, while Emirates emitted 100.6 (Emirates, 2013), Lufthansa 109.3 and EasyJet 95.6 (EasyJet, 2013) [Online]. One factor that each airline has in common is major deliveries of new aircraft. While new aircraft will continue to benefit both the environment and also the airline in terms of lower fuel bills, headwinds will appear in the long-term. While the current spate of aircraft order s has been supported by growth opportunities and profitability in the industry, long-term risks to demand could dampen the need and justification to purchase new aircraft. Furthermore, it has also been noticed that the recent rise in airline purchases has been fuelled by expansion projects from carriers in the Middle East and Asia, while European airlines seen less reluctant to purchase than previously as profitability has waned. Given this, the risk is that in the long-term, order may decline, which would impact on carriers ability to further reduce emissions. For example, British Airways (2013) are targeting efficiency of 83g/CO2 per passenger kilometre by 2025, which will require the support of capital expenditure. Given the current reduction in the carriers profitability over the year, continued weakness may make current expenditure plans un-obtainable. Figure 2 also highlights the potential for low-carbon fuels to support the four pillars. Both BA and Cathay Pacific (2013) among other have highlighted development into biofuels as a future growth area. The process involves inputting commercial/ residential organic waste into a boiler, where extremely high pressure plasma breaks down the waste into gases. These gases are then cooled and cleaned, before the Fischer-Tropsch process re-forms the gas into low-carbon jet fuel, (British Airways, 2013). BA is currently involved in a UK-based project with Solena Fuels Corporation to construct a waste-to-fuel plant, which at its peak will convert 500,000 tonnes of water into 50,000 tonnes of jet fuel each year, (British Airways, 2013). Cathay Pacific (2013) also remained optimistic on biofuels, implementing a number of projects itself. While development will be buoyed by social/ political acceptance of biofuels in the future and the green-credentials it provides, there are also factors, such as the costs involved and its competitiveness with current kerosene supplies. Another driver to mention will be the potential for demand. Figure 2 highlights that in the long-term, BA see a reduction in demand as one support for lower emissions; however this may not be the same for carriers such as Emirates, or others in Asia, Africa. Emirates recently reported a 4.5% in aircraft movements given new routes and higher demand, (Emirates, 2013). Given this, the need for a streamline of global initiatives is needed as emerging airlines increase slights to meet increased demand. Another driver identified is the purchase of emission reductions, or ‘carbon offsets’, with the money invested into initiatives to reduce emissions in other areas, which could be seen to offset the emissions from carrier operations. For example, Cathay Pacific (2013) has used money raised to invest in hydropower/ wind power projects in China. These programmes are now run by over 35 airlines, however require voluntary donations from passengers, IATA (2014) [Online]. The main risk is that the projects rely on the social responsibility of customers; an over reliance on these programmes to reduce emissions could back-fire if customers do not share the view; PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2013) suggests that carriers may need to purchase an extra ˆ1.1Billion of carbon offsets annually by 2030 to reach targets. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, hereafter PWC, (2013) backs up the above in its latest report. After mentioning the halving on aviation emissions by 2050, PWC shows its scepticism, saying that reaching the target will not be easy and would require improvements in carbon intensity of 5.1% every year. Ultimately, advances in fuel efficiency would need to be accelerated along with adoption of biofuels. To add, the report mentioned that a global consensus on sustainable aviation was needed before acceleration in improvements can be seen. The fear is that any improvement from airlines operating in advanced economies could be offset on a global scale by less-efficient emerging airlines from China and India etc., who may not have the financial means to invest heavily in the newest aircraft. GROUND OPERATIONS As mentioned in the Four Pillars, efficiency in ground operations will also support a reduction in emissions. Easyjet (2013) [Online] mentioned that they avoid ‘congested hubs’, such as Heathrow and Frankfurt, to help reduce taxiing and holding patterns, which will use less fuel and so emit less carbon. Furthermore, low-cost airlines have also been known for quick turnaround, allowing for greater efficiency from their current fleet, (Barrett, 2009). SUMMARY The report chose to focus on operational management as a tool to reduce emissions, focusing on fuel efficiency, new aircraft, and route optimisation. The report found that fuel efficiency, driven by new aircraft models has become a high priority; while the decision will have been impacted by a move to reduce emissions, there is also the thought that the trend of high-oil prices, coupled with lower earnings over the economic crisis would have pushed a number of carriers to seek cost-reductions and efficiency drives. Given this, past improvements in efficiency have been strong; however, strong growth in demand from emerging economies has led to a marketable rise in flights, pushing overall emissions higher. For example, Emirates, seen as one of the fastest growing carriers could be used as a barometer. While the carrier has reported improvements in fuel efficiency, due to new aircraft and routes, the carrier reported a 15.9% increase in overall CO2 emissions to 22.4Million tonnes, (Emirates, 2013). Looking ahead into the future, the report has highlighted a number of factors for improvement; being higher adoption of new aircraft, increased adoption of biofuels and purchase of emission reductions. Carriers will continue to place attention on new aircraft/ biofuels as focus remain firmly on cost-reductions; however, the level of long-term success will depend upon profitability, which will impact directly on future capital expenditure plans. To add, not all carriers may share the same plans as emerging carriers may focus on growth and profitability over the environment. To combat this, PWC (2013) identified that a global consensus is needed; currently regulation in the USA/ Europe is much higher than seen in Asia/ Middle East/ Africa, creating unfavourable discrepancy to airlines, such as BA. Carbon offsetting was also identified as a major growth initiative, however as mentioned this currently relies on customer donations; as so both social and political attention on the effects of emissions need to be heightened to encourage offsetting by the public. Operational measures provide great opportunities to further reduce emissions; however, carriers need to ensure they have the funds available for capital expenditure, and the public support/ donations to move ahead with carbon offsetting plans. Finally, it is important to mention that while fuel efficiency will continue to improve, strong increases in demand may lead to overall emissions increases as flight numbers/routes are increased by emerging airlines. This has been seen with data from Emirates; under these circumstances carriers would need to accelerate all initiatives in a bid to meet targets that would seem ambitious. All four pillars will need a global consensus to support target achievement. REFERENCES Airbus (2013) [Online]: Orders Deliveries, Available at http://www.airbus.com/company/market/orders-deliveries/, Accessed 12/01/2014. Air Transport Action Group (2014) [Online]: Facts and Figures, Available athttp://www.atag.org/facts-and-figures.html, Accessed 12/01/2014. ATAG (2013) [Online]: 38th ICAO Assembly, Available at http://www.atag.org/our-activities/38th-icao-assembly.html, Accessed 22/03/2014. Barrett, S (2009): Deregulation and the Airline Business in Europe, EU, Routledge. BBC Business (2014) [Online]: Boeing reports record orders and deliveries for 2013, Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25622236, Accessed 22/03/2014. Boeing (2013) [Online]: Media Releases; Boeing launches 777X with record-breaking orders, Available athttp://boeing.mediaroom.com/Boeing-Launches-777X-with-Record-Breaking-Orders-Strengthens-Partnerships-in-the-Middle-East-at-the-2013-Dubai-Airshow, Accessed 12/01/2014. British Airways (2013): Corporate Responsibility Summary, London, British Airways. Brittlebank, W (2012) [Online]: British Airways aims for carbon neutral growth, Available at http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/british_airways_aims_for_carbon_neutral_growth/, Accessed 22/03/2014. Cathay Pacific (2013): Sustainability Matters, Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific. EasyJet (2013) [Online]: In the air, Available at https://www.easyjet.com/EN/environment/green_in_the_air.shtml, Accessed 22/03/2014. Emirates (2013): The Emirates Group Environment Report 2012-13, UAE, Emirates Group. IATA (2013) [Online]: IATA Carbon Offset Program, Available at https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/pages/carbon-offset.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. IATA (2014) [Online]: Fact Sheet: Carbon Offset, Available at http://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/fact_sheets/pages/carbon-offsets.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. ICAO (2013) [Online]: 38th Assembly Session, Available at http://www.icao.int/Meetings/a38/Pages/documentation-wp-presentations.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. International Council of Clean Transportation (2013); U.S. Domestic Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking 2010, USA, ICCT Publications. Morrow, D (2013) [Online]: Airbus close to setting new order record, Available at http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-close-to-setting-new-order-record-393827/, Accessed 23/03/2014. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2013): A sustainable future for aviation; the future of international aviation emissions could be determined in the next 12 months, London, PWC. UNFCCC (2008): The right flight path to reduce aviation emissions, USA, UNFCCC. Virgin Atlantic (2013); Sustainability Report 2013, UK, Virgin Atlantic. Wall, R (2013) [Online]: Emirates orders additional 50 airbus 1380’s to expand fleet, Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-16/emirates-said-in-talks-to-order-50-airbus-a380-superjumbos-1-.html, Accessed 22/03/2014. Airline Management (Analysis of the ‘four pillars’) This should be included into a broader package of measures including new aircraft technology, more efficient operations and better use of infrastructure, (ICAO, 2013) [Online]. The industry determined that a carbon-offsetting policy would be the best method, giving carriers the opportunity to tailor their response to their business development; in effect, ensuring that carriers feel the plan still allows for expansion to meet rising demand, (IATA, 2013) [Online]. The meeting concluded with the following, (ATAG, 2013) [Online]: Agree a roadmap for development of a single global MBM for aviation to be implemented from 2020 that can be adopted at ICAO’s next Assembly in 2016. Agree the principles for development of a global MBM, including: o The goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020; o That aviation emissions should only be accounted for once; o That a global MBM should take account of different types of operator activity. This report will evaluate the progress made on ONE of the four pillars to reduce emissions from the aviation sector; whilst also paying attention to the barriers that carriers face in achieving these targets. The first section will provide a brief introduction to the four pillars as well as reasoning behind the choice in evaluation. A discussion will then follow answering the requirements of the report, before a conclusion summarises the findings. FOUR PILLARS The four pillars cover the entire scope of feasible methods to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. The pillars are technological process, improved infrastructure, operational measures and economic measures. Table 1 below provides a summary: This report has chosen to focus on the development of operational measures; the decision was driven by an interest in the development of fuel efficiency, business optimisation and carrier integration in a bid to reduce emissions from an industry that has always been labelled a major global polluter. With demand for air travel booming on the back of global urbanisation and emerging economies, more attention is being paid to carbon emissions from air travel. According to data from the Air Transport Action Group [ATAG] (2014), global emissions from air travel total 689mt, against a total of 34Billion tonnes of CO2 produced annually from human activity. With these figures, CO2 emissions from air-travel total 2% of annual emissions; in terms of transport, aviation is responsible for 12% of total emissions, compared with 74% from road transport. OPERATIONAL MEASURES As mentioned above, there are a number of factors, which with improvement can lead to a reduction in emissions. This section will concentrate on fuel efficiency, which will touch upon optimal aircraft use, new aircraft design and route optimisation. Also mentioned with be business optimisation, paying attention to carrier ‘load factor’, optimisation on ground-operations and also integration between carriers, which has included MA activity and also the introduction of alliances in the industry. The discussion will touch upon carrier cost reduction, which has become a major supporter of reduction on CO2 emissions given its link to fuel usage and so exposure to high oil prices. FUEL EFFICIENCY In terms of achievements so far, the issue of fuel efficiency has supported in recent years by the economic downturn and high oil prices. Carriers have look to reduce their fuel bills to stay profitable, focusing on a number of methods which also support fuel efficiency. To start, carriers have invested heavily in new aircraft after developments from both Boeing and Airbus support greater fuel efficiency. Airbus experienced its biggest year in 2011, receiving net orders for 1,419 new aircraft, buoyed by the launch of its A320neo, (Morrow, 2013) [Online], with similar success from Boeing, (BBC Business, 2014) [Online]. USA EXAMPLE Figure 1 shows that out of U.S. carriers Alaska Airlines came out as the most fuel efficient airline; what is most surprising is that the company has increased its business and routes by 33% 2000-2010, however has reported no increase in fuel use/emissions as investing in new planes has improved fuel efficiency greatly. The report also found that the fuel-efficiency gap between the best/worst airlines was 26%, (ICCT, 2013); the report also found that about one-third of the variation in efficiency likely comes from the deployment of different technology; for example Allegiant operates a fleet of McDonnell Douglas aircraft that date back to the 1970’s, while Alaska Airlines uses new Boeing planes that have technologies like ‘winglets’ to reduce fuel burn. These finding bode well for Boeing and Airbus as they continue to offer newer models. Recent additions such as Boeings 777X, a more fuel efficient version of the 777 Jumbo and Airbus’s A320 family have been well received; according to Boeing (2013) [Online], customers for the 777X include Gulf carriers along with Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa, with record breaking orders of 259, while Airbus (2013) [Online] confirmed its backlog of orders for the A320’s at over 10,000. These new planes will reduce both emissions and n oise pollution, allowing for negative externalities to be controlled as expansion continues. BUSINESS OPTIMIZATION Carriers have adopted a number of methods to optimise their operations. One factor has been the adoption of alliances between carriers, allowing for them to effectively ‘share’ their capacity. This has reduced the need for such aggressive expansion by some, which would have created too much competition on some routes. Furthermore, airlines have invested in newer aircraft to meet the needs of routes, such as smaller aircraft for new, short-haul routes and larger aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 for busier, long-haul routes. Emirates currently have orders for 90 A380’s as the carrier looks to expand capacity on a number of routes, (Wall, 2013) [Online]. FUTURE PROJECTS FOCUS (VIRGIN ATLANTIC) As more attention is paid by governments and consumers onto CO2 emissions and other negative externalities, company’s such as Virgin Atlantic (2013) have put more into reporting their impact on the environment from sustainability reports; in some continues such as the UK, reporting into emissions and environmental impact are becoming mandatory for listed companies, (UK Government, 2013), which will only increase the amount of information that the aviation sector will make public, (Sustainable Aviation, 2014) [Online]. According to Virgin Atlantic (2013), through its Sustainability Report 2013, the company focuses on a number of programs to improve sustainability. These include: Reducing CO2 emissions by 30% between 2007 and 2020. Improving the fleet of aircraft – currently Virgin Atlantic are taking delivery of 10 Airbus 330-300, which will replace the older Airbus 340-600 and be 30% more fuel efficient. Implementing technology to monitor aircraft fuel-use and routes to identify further carbon savings. PESTEL ANALYSIS This section will touch upon PESTEL analysis to look into the future possibilities to meet operational measure targets. In terms of driving-forces, a number of carriers will look to improve operational performance in a bid to lower costs and remain profitable as low-cost carrier reduce market prices and higher oil prices affect carrier margins. However, it has been noted that each carrier will take a differing approach, designed to also meet the requirements of current expansion plans. For example, take British Airways (BA); currently the carrier is involved in its ‘One Destination’ initiative, with a number of schemes underway to make the carrier carbon neutral from 2020, (Brittlebank, 2012) [Online]. According to British Airways (2013) the international community’s aim is to cut net CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 (relative to 2005 levels). Figure 2 below provides a graphic to the proposal, identifying some of the key factors which will support the reduction. As mentioned prior, one of main drivers will be the continued improvement and market adoption of new aircraft. For example, British Airways (2013) estimates that the new Airbus A380 will have a 16% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the aircraft it will replace, mainly down to the capacity of the aircraft, which can be used on longer routes, such as Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Improvements such as these will continue to drive down CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres, a metric widely used in the airline industry to measure efficiency. In 2012, BA aircraft emitted 101.9g/CO2 per passenger kilometre, while Emirates emitted 100.6 (Emirates, 2013), Lufthansa 109.3 and EasyJet 95.6 (EasyJet, 2013) [Online]. One factor that each airline has in common is major deliveries of new aircraft. While new aircraft will continue to benefit both the environment and also the airline in terms of lower fuel bills, headwinds will appear in the long-term. While the current spate of aircraft order s has been supported by growth opportunities and profitability in the industry, long-term risks to demand could dampen the need and justification to purchase new aircraft. Furthermore, it has also been noticed that the recent rise in airline purchases has been fuelled by expansion projects from carriers in the Middle East and Asia, while European airlines seen less reluctant to purchase than previously as profitability has waned. Given this, the risk is that in the long-term, order may decline, which would impact on carriers ability to further reduce emissions. For example, British Airways (2013) are targeting efficiency of 83g/CO2 per passenger kilometre by 2025, which will require the support of capital expenditure. Given the current reduction in the carriers profitability over the year, continued weakness may make current expenditure plans un-obtainable. Figure 2 also highlights the potential for low-carbon fuels to support the four pillars. Both BA and Cathay Pacific (2013) among other have highlighted development into biofuels as a future growth area. The process involves inputting commercial/ residential organic waste into a boiler, where extremely high pressure plasma breaks down the waste into gases. These gases are then cooled and cleaned, before the Fischer-Tropsch process re-forms the gas into low-carbon jet fuel, (British Airways, 2013). BA is currently involved in a UK-based project with Solena Fuels Corporation to construct a waste-to-fuel plant, which at its peak will convert 500,000 tonnes of water into 50,000 tonnes of jet fuel each year, (British Airways, 2013). Cathay Pacific (2013) also remained optimistic on biofuels, implementing a number of projects itself. While development will be buoyed by social/ political acceptance of biofuels in the future and the green-credentials it provides, there are also factors, such as the costs involved and its competitiveness with current kerosene supplies. Another driver to mention will be the potential for demand. Figure 2 highlights that in the long-term, BA see a reduction in demand as one support for lower emissions; however this may not be the same for carriers such as Emirates, or others in Asia, Africa. Emirates recently reported a 4.5% in aircraft movements given new routes and higher demand, (Emirates, 2013). Given this, the need for a streamline of global initiatives is needed as emerging airlines increase slights to meet increased demand. Another driver identified is the purchase of emission reductions, or ‘carbon offsets’, with the money invested into initiatives to reduce emissions in other areas, which could be seen to offset the emissions from carrier operations. For example, Cathay Pacific (2013) has used money raised to invest in hydropower/ wind power projects in China. These programmes are now run by over 35 airlines, however require voluntary donations from passengers, IATA (2014) [Online]. The main risk is that the projects rely on the social responsibility of customers; an over reliance on these programmes to reduce emissions could back-fire if customers do not share the view; PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2013) suggests that carriers may need to purchase an extra ˆ1.1Billion of carbon offsets annually by 2030 to reach targets. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, hereafter PWC, (2013) backs up the above in its latest report. After mentioning the halving on aviation emissions by 2050, PWC shows its scepticism, saying that reaching the target will not be easy and would require improvements in carbon intensity of 5.1% every year. Ultimately, advances in fuel efficiency would need to be accelerated along with adoption of biofuels. To add, the report mentioned that a global consensus on sustainable aviation was needed before acceleration in improvements can be seen. The fear is that any improvement from airlines operating in advanced economies could be offset on a global scale by less-efficient emerging airlines from China and India etc., who may not have the financial means to invest heavily in the newest aircraft. GROUND OPERATIONS As mentioned in the Four Pillars, efficiency in ground operations will also support a reduction in emissions. Easyjet (2013) [Online] mentioned that they avoid ‘congested hubs’, such as Heathrow and Frankfurt, to help reduce taxiing and holding patterns, which will use less fuel and so emit less carbon. Furthermore, low-cost airlines have also been known for quick turnaround, allowing for greater efficiency from their current fleet, (Barrett, 2009). SUMMARY The report chose to focus on operational management as a tool to reduce emissions, focusing on fuel efficiency, new aircraft, and route optimisation. The report found that fuel efficiency, driven by new aircraft models has become a high priority; while the decision will have been impacted by a move to reduce emissions, there is also the thought that the trend of high-oil prices, coupled with lower earnings over the economic crisis would have pushed a number of carriers to seek cost-reductions and efficiency drives. Given this, past improvements in efficiency have been strong; however, strong growth in demand from emerging economies has led to a marketable rise in flights, pushing overall emissions higher. For example, Emirates, seen as one of the fastest growing carriers could be used as a barometer. While the carrier has reported improvements in fuel efficiency, due to new aircraft and routes, the carrier reported a 15.9% increase in overall CO2 emissions to 22.4Million tonnes, (Emirates, 2013). Looking ahead into the future, the report has highlighted a number of factors for improvement; being higher adoption of new aircraft, increased adoption of biofuels and purchase of emission reductions. Carriers will continue to place attention on new aircraft/ biofuels as focus remain firmly on cost-reductions; however, the level of long-term success will depend upon profitability, which will impact directly on future capital expenditure plans. To add, not all carriers may share the same plans as emerging carriers may focus on growth and profitability over the environment. To combat this, PWC (2013) identified that a global consensus is needed; currently regulation in the USA/ Europe is much higher than seen in Asia/ Middle East/ Africa, creating unfavourable discrepancy to airlines, such as BA. Carbon offsetting was also identified as a major growth initiative, however as mentioned this currently relies on customer donations; as so both social and political attention on the effects of emissions need to be heightened to encourage offsetting by the public. Operational measures provide great opportunities to further reduce emissions; however, carriers need to ensure they have the funds available for capital expenditure, and the public support/ donations to move ahead with carbon offsetting plans. Finally, it is important to mention that while fuel efficiency will continue to improve, strong increases in demand may lead to overall emissions increases as flight numbers/routes are increased by emerging airlines. This has been seen with data from Emirates; under these circumstances carriers would need to accelerate all initiatives in a bid to meet targets that would seem ambitious. All four pillars will need a global consensus to support target achievement. REFERENCES Airbus (2013) [Online]: Orders Deliveries, Available at http://www.airbus.com/company/market/orders-deliveries/, Accessed 12/01/2014. Air Transport Action Group (2014) [Online]: Facts and Figures, Available athttp://www.atag.org/facts-and-figures.html, Accessed 12/01/2014. ATAG (2013) [Online]: 38th ICAO Assembly, Available at http://www.atag.org/our-activities/38th-icao-assembly.html, Accessed 22/03/2014. Barrett, S (2009): Deregulation and the Airline Business in Europe, EU, Routledge. BBC Business (2014) [Online]: Boeing reports record orders and deliveries for 2013, Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25622236, Accessed 22/03/2014. Boeing (2013) [Online]: Media Releases; Boeing launches 777X with record-breaking orders, Available athttp://boeing.mediaroom.com/Boeing-Launches-777X-with-Record-Breaking-Orders-Strengthens-Partnerships-in-the-Middle-East-at-the-2013-Dubai-Airshow, Accessed 12/01/2014. British Airways (2013): Corporate Responsibility Summary, London, British Airways. Brittlebank, W (2012) [Online]: British Airways aims for carbon neutral growth, Available at http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/british_airways_aims_for_carbon_neutral_growth/, Accessed 22/03/2014. Cathay Pacific (2013): Sustainability Matters, Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific. EasyJet (2013) [Online]: In the air, Available at https://www.easyjet.com/EN/environment/green_in_the_air.shtml, Accessed 22/03/2014. Emirates (2013): The Emirates Group Environment Report 2012-13, UAE, Emirates Group. IATA (2013) [Online]: IATA Carbon Offset Program, Available at https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/pages/carbon-offset.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. IATA (2014) [Online]: Fact Sheet: Carbon Offset, Available at http://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/fact_sheets/pages/carbon-offsets.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. ICAO (2013) [Online]: 38th Assembly Session, Available at http://www.icao.int/Meetings/a38/Pages/documentation-wp-presentations.aspx, Accessed 22/03/2014. International Council of Clean Transportation (2013); U.S. Domestic Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking 2010, USA, ICCT Publications. Morrow, D (2013) [Online]: Airbus close to setting new order record, Available at http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-close-to-setting-new-order-record-393827/, Accessed 23/03/2014. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2013): A sustainable future for aviation; the future of international aviation emissions could be determined in the next 12 months, London, PWC. UNFCCC (2008): The right flight path to reduce aviation emissions, USA, UNFCCC. Virgin Atlantic (2013); Sustainability Report 2013, UK, Virgin Atlantic. Wall, R (2013) [Online]: Emirates orders additional 50 airbus 1380’s to expand fleet, Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-16/emirates-said-in-talks-to-order-50-airbus-a380-superjumbos-1-.html, Accessed 22/03/2014.

HR Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Asphalt superpave - Assignment Example 5. Calculate averages and standard deviations using data from all samples of the same mix design. Compare average results from different design mixes. Do the samples fall within PennDOT’s acceptance criteria? The laboratory experiment was successful since the results showed that the samples prepared had compacted air voids of between 3% and 8%. For C, the percent covered by air voids was 3.22% while for D the percent was 2.95%. This range prevents the possibility of the voids becoming interconnected thereby reducing the susceptibility of the pavement undergoing permeation by air and moisture. The percent of water absorbed for both specimen C and D was less than 3 percent consequently there was no need for paraffin-coated. The samples fall within PennDOT’s acceptance criteria because they have percent of air voids around 4% and 96% compaction. However, C proves to be the best sample since its values for percent air voids (3.22) and compaction (96.78%) are closer to PennDOT’s acceptance criteria. This means that design mixes C and D are suitable for asphalt pavement since they give assurance on the required degree of compaction and percent air voids in compacted bituminous

The Importance of a Deep Understanding of the Cultural Specifics of th Research Paper

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Problems with standardized testing Research Paper

Problems with standardized testing - Research Paper Example The reasons have gone from an equalizer of chance to an apparatus of isolation used to partition by insights, as well as socio-investment status, riches, and benefit. In 2001, when the No Child Left Behind Act was made there was such an extraordinary attention set on standardized testing that it is presently essential to the accomplishment of American understudies to discriminatingly analyze the testing framework and adjust any imperfections that may be available. The NCLB Act has turned into a significant some piece of state funded training change by striving to meet one real objective: arriving at 100% capability of all gatherings of scholars in America by the year 2014. This objective wont be effectively accomplished and may not be conceivable to be attained at all unless there are remedies and updates made to the demonstration and the way the projects are authorized in schools crosswise over America. Training is a significant a piece of the accomplishment of our nation and with an Act like this being such a predominant compel in instruction it needs to be as near impeccable as could be expected under the circumstances. The No Child Left Behind Act made by President George W. Shrub in 2001 has created a few significant changes inside state funded schools in regards to financing, testing, and the reporting of test effects. Regardless of the negative impacts the Act has created, with the utilization of individualized testing (less attention on standardized testing) and distinctive regulations in regards to financing, the Act could help schools accomplish the objectives they were proposed to meet. At the point when Horace Mann created a test to oversee to a gathering of understudies in the 1800s, his expectations were to make judgments about how the scholar was doing at their current level and figure out whether they might be fit for propelling to the larger amount. The persons prosperity on the test had no pessimistic

The Whole Foods Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Assignments 1 - Assignment Example The US government intervened in the case and tried to solve the issues at hand. The purpose of this report is to critically analyze the decisions and goals set by the then CEO of the company Mr. Bernie Ebbers. A number of factors contributed to this fraud and this include corporate culture, leadership, and communication style among others. The report use literature reviews form financial analysts, business journals and investigation reports to understand how the above factors contributed to the massive financial fraud as well as the failure of the company. The report will show how the CEOs ambitions and need to satisfy the Wall Street expectations led to fraud as well as failure of the internet communication slow growth after massive investment. WorldCom was established in 1983 under the name Long Distance Discount Service by two businessmen Murray Waldron and William Rector. Two years later, a new investor Bernard Ebbers became the CEO of the company. At that time, the company was based in Jackson Mississippi. In 1989, the company acquired Advantage companies Inc and consequently became traded publicly as a corporation. A couple of other acquisitions were done by the company in the following decade including Resurgens Communications group Inc, Metromedia Communications Corp in 1993. In 1995, after the acquisition of Williams Telecommunications, the company changed its name to WorldCom Inc. Perhaps the biggest acquisition yet was MCI Communications Corps, Brooks Fiber Properties Inc. and CompuServe Corp in 1998. The next big merger with Sprint was blocked in 2000 by both the European and US regulators. This was the beginning of catastrophes to the company. The company was actively involved in telecommunication services which included internet, emails, voice calls among others. Before the fraud case in 2002, the company had made investments to expand its internet capabilities as there was high expectation on

An Inspector Calls Essay Example for Free

An Inspector Calls Essay JB Priestly wrote An Inspector Calls to enhance the message that we dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others. He uses the downfall of Eva Smith and a chain of events to demonstrate this. This leads to a very convincing and well-devised play, which puts across JB Priestleys views clearly and precisely. In Edwardian Britain there was a great difference in the roles of men and women in society and the outlook of what and was not accepted differed substantially. A prime example of this in the play is when Mr Birling says Nothing to do with you, Sheila. Run along. This tells us that women are treated as inferior to men as they should not interfere with their conversations. For example, upper class men were encouraged to gain sexual experience with lower class women. This way, women were preserved until the wedding night as a sign of purity. The background a marriage carried was seen as more important than the relationship between the couple. In many cases it was necessary for individuals to marry into families that offered greater status or financial strength. This is shown in the play when Mr Birling says Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business we may look forward to a time when Crafts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together. This suggests Mr Birling cares more about his own welfare than Gerald and Sheilas happiness. The Inspector conveys the theme of responsibility. He shows we must all look out for each other and think before taking actions. Priestley uses Eva Smiths death as an example of the suffering of lower class women in Edwardian times and directs the blame at the whole family caused by their small but consequential, chain of events. Priestley cleverly brings in the inspector at a strategic moment, just after Birling has stated that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own. This is the speech that Birling has just made, which reveals his true character. That of a narcissistic, unsparing old man. But then the inspector comes in and gradually shows them how wrong Birling is and how we should feel and show responsibility for one another.

Scientific perspectives on positivism and hermeneutics

Scientific perspectives on positivism and hermeneutics The purpose of this chapter is to describe the method that how the work will be carried out and what approach we have chosen. The aim of this research design is to answer the main questions. We would also present the overview of the choice of methods used for data collection, analysis and the results of the data. Research perspective There are two main scientific perspectives, positivism and hermeneutics. (Ann Lind, 2005), since we want to create comprehension knowledge, a hermeneutic perspective is best for our research. The aim of the hermeneutic analysis is trying to make sense of the whole, and the relationship between people, the organization, and information technology (Michael D. Myers, 1997). Hermeneutics has been defined as the theory of the operation of understanding in relation to the interpretation of text (David L. Rennie, 2006). The text could be any sacred and legal document. Hermeneutics dealt with two aspects of interpretation which will be encountered again: first, the problems of analyzing texts in a way that looked beyond the surface features (e.g. of a parable), and second, the problems of verifying the analysis so produced (Wallace, Ross, Davie, 2003). We can say that the hermeneutics deals with the interpretation of any aspect of the technology. Hermeneutics opens the path of protecting the social sciences from the violation of the methodology of the natural sciences, but the main concerns are always the similar as those acknowledged previously: i.e. to what degree are readings to be ordered and to what level are they objectively accurate or subjectively factual to the reader? (Wallace, Ross, Davie, 2003) The hermeneutics deals with the difficulties of the text interpretation, analysis of the text and the verification of that analysis. The qualitative study produces some kind of text from the interviews or observation, the produced text needs to be interpretive because Texts are not just more or less meaningful, they are also more or less useful. (Wallace, Ross, Davie, 2003). It will show the objectivity of the text, we think that the hermeneutic approach with qualitative research is better approach to choose. The qualitative research gives chance to the interviewee or respondents to answer in their own opinion and not forcing them to select or answer from preset answers Every research design has some positive aspects in it beside with some negative sides. It is not possible to say that any research design a perfect design. There are mainly two research designs which are the source of the todays research, one is qualitative research and other is quantitative research. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior.(Wikipedia, 2010) and The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena.(Wikipedia, 2010) The qualitative research contains the study that consists of: to find the answers of questions by predefined set of measures produces answer that might not be resolute in advance and gathering of the proofs. The Qualitative research shares the characteristics which are described and it helps to recognize any given research problem or subject. Qualitative research is especially efficient in obtaining culturally specific information about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts of particular populations. The qualitative research provides textual metaphors of, how the researcher experience a given research problem. There are three qualitative research methods which are: participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. The participant observation depends on the observation of the participant to be observed, in-depth interviews depend on the collection of data from the individual personally, and focus groups depend on collection of data from the group of partic ulars. (Mack, Namey, 2005) The quantitative approach, on the other hand, has more benefit of generating data that is open to the statistical analysis, and something that is predominantly imperative in a safety context. The quantitative research approach is most of the time is in simpler form, the representation of the data in quantitative structure (e.g. graphs or charts) then the disordered layout of the text in qualitative data. (Wallace, Ross, Davie, 2003) In this research we have use qualitative research methods with hermeneutic approach, our research design will show how this work will be applied, and why we have chosen the approach that we are going to work with. The research design will be helpful to answer the research question, we will use the procedure of the observations and the interviews in this regard. We will try to explore that what are the requirements of a user (visually impaired people) and how the ticketing machine could be provided by the interface that could be usable for the user. This approach will be relying on the conclusion and results that we gather from the interviews and the observation. We will try to broaden our perspective at the start of the work, because it could be very helpful at the point, when we will be collecting data. We will analyze that how a ticket machine system interfaces have an effect on a user who is in need of it. Comparison of quantitative and qualitative research approaches Quantitative Qualitative General framework Seek to confirm hypotheses about phenomena Instruments use more rigid style of eliciting and categorizing responses to questions Use highly structured methods such as questionnaires, surveys, and structured observation Seek to explore phenomena Instruments use more flexible, iterative style of eliciting and categorizing responses to questions Use semi-structured methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation Analytical objectives To quantify variation To predict causal relationships To describe characteristics of a population To describe variation To describe and explain relationships To describe individual experiences To describe group norms Question format Closed-ended Open-ended Data format Numerical (obtained by assigning numerical values to responses) Textual (obtained from audiotapes, videotapes, and field notes) Flexibility in study design Study design is stable from beginning to end Participant responses do not influence or determine how and which questions researchers ask next Study design is subject to statistical assumptions and conditions Some aspects of the study are flexible (for example, the addition, exclusion, or wording of particular interview questions) Participant responses affect how and which questions researchers ask next Study design is iterative, that is, data collection and research questions are adjusted according to what is learned Research strategy We need to look at the existing method and practices, perhaps to develop and improve them. Once a particular project is underway, we may need to collect information to monitor the program and review its effectiveness. Is it meeting its target? Is it satisfying its customers? (Paul Nichols, 2006). The research strategy we will follow during the research is consisting of the collection of the information through the interviews and the observations then we will review the effectiveness of the data and try to answer the questions that Nichols asked. There are two types of research strategy approaches. Exploratory research Descriptive research Exploratory research An explorative study is conducted when the researcher would like to follow a new interest or when the subject area in itself is relatively new and unexplored. The aim for such a study may be to create a better understanding, to test the feasibility of further research or to develop a method for further research.(Ann Lind, 2005) Explorative studies are most important when moving into new territories where they almost always can create new knowledge of the research area. (Babbie, 1995) Descriptive Research Descriptive research is also called Statistical Research. The main goal of this type of research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied. The idea behind this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical calculations. Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind a situation. (Anto, 2007) We have chosen the exploratory approach as our research strategy, because we want to follow a new knowledge. This area has been unexplored and is a new one, this area need to be of better understanding for the further exploration in the area. The interviews and the observations are also fits well with exploratory approach, because they will create better understanding of the problem and towards the solution of the problem. By the application of the exploratory method, will help us to get better understanding and make the interface of the ticket machine system better and usable. By descriptive, we will be able to easily get our principles from theories now days for a design principle of a ticket machine system and the features of visually impaired people. Once the phase of interviews and the observations will be finished, we will try to build a prototype that will help to book tickets for the visually impaired people for the experimental purpose. Our effort would be to get a better understanding of how users perceive the interface of the ticket machine system and how we can make more improvement in the interface to be useable for the visually impaired people. To come up with better design of the machine to investigate further on to make it more reliable for users. If we noticed and observed that today the system called as self-service systems, always need to be improved and need some kind of updating and upgrading in it to make the performances better, improved and more users friendly. The role of theoretical study The role of the theoretical study is to explore the literature related to the material which is relevant about the research topic. According to Oates (2006, page 72) the aim is to gather and present evidence to support your claim that you have created some new knowledge. The theoretical study is used to identify the theorys key points and suggest theories that they might explain the data that, the researcher has collected from the field of study. The theoretical study provides the base for any kind of research. The theoretical study is based on the literature resources like books, journals articles, conference papers and catalogues. In theoretical part we will make a base for the empirical survey, which will later on be implemented. We have inquired the different ways for the conducting of interviews. We have to keep in mind that what is considerable to think about and what we should do to attain, validity and consistency when we carry out the theoretical study. We have read various theories about the usability, ticket machine system, human-computer interaction, and user interface and design principles. The role of Empirical study According to Oates, (2006, page 2-3) the research within information system has a long tradition of carrying out field research (often called empirical research) in order to find out what happen, when information system are requested, developed and used by the people. The empirical researchs outcome can be utilized as the verification to sustain the valuable development and usage of any information system. When the product is actually implemented in the real world the empirical study can be helpful to find out what happen actually, and if we want to develop the system in a desire efficient way, there should be evidence of empirical study to support the research, the theoretical study will also be enhanced with the help of empirical study. (Oates, 2006) Our intention is to acquire an enhanced understanding of how the user recognize interface in the ticket machine system and what measurements we can take to make the interface of a ticket machine system better for the handicapped (visually impaired). This can be done with the help of the empirical study because the role of the empirical study is to verify the results of the theoretical study. Data collection procedures For the solution of the problem of design issues of the ticketing machine system for the visual impaired people, we will use the interviews and the observations. During the interviews, we will ask the questions from different visually impaired people about their thinking of such kind of system. The interviews from the normal human beings, who travel regularly, will help us to sort out the availabilities and problems of the current ticketing machine, and to get the idea how they think about the current system to improve to make usable for the visually impaired people. During the observations, we will analyze and argue the different responses given by the interviewer and will try to reach some results. Theoretical study Our theoretical groundwork is based on articles, books and literature review as well as material which is relevant to our study in our problem area. The literature review is done by searching for these keywords, usability, interface, human computer interface, information service and user interfaces etc. Theoretical sources The theoretical source is a tool of qualitative research, for the theoretical source of the empirical studies, we have selected to go through the comprehensive study of literature that is related to our research, which is compose of the journals, books and articles in the research area. We will make analysis of the problem by making predictions, understanding and explaining the matter. Our theoretical groundwork is comprised of articles, books, internet and literature review as well as material that is relevant to our study in our problem area. The literature review is done by searching for these keywords: usability, interface, human computer interface, information service, user interfaces etc. For these keywords we will definitely consider that the authors are more trustworthy than others. In our theoretical study, this thing will be posed with the web sites, books, articles and journals because this will provide quality in our data. Empiric Survey The empirical study is related to balance with what the theory says, here the theory is initial point and the preparation of questions related to interviews is based on it. The empirical study will have observations and interviews will be conducted at different places. We will also try to collect the data by the interviews from the blind or visually impaired people would be the source of direct quotations from them and also yields their pervious experiences, pervious knowledge, feelings and opinion about the ticketing machine or booking system (Michael Quinn). The observation will provide the handicap peoples behaviour, activities actions and their interpersonal interaction with other assistive technologies they have used. The analysis of data from written documents consists of the analysis of articles, journals and books related to the blind people or people with visual impairment and booking systems. Empirical sources The empirical source will be composed of a number of interviews and observations, which will be conducted randomly from normal user on the spot after or before buying ticket form ticket reservation machine, and from the blind or visually impaired people, from Eye center Boras. According to Briony J Oates (2006, page-202, 203), to observe mean to watch and to pay attention to. Observing is something most of us do a lot most of the time: seeing, hearing, noting, analyzing, formal theories, making inferences, imposing meaning. He further says that, for data generation methods the researchers use observations to find out what people actually do, rather than what they say they do when questioned. Most of the time the observation contains looking and watching, but it can involve the senses other than sight: hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. Briony J Oates presents many different kind of observations that could be for the observations, out of which we will use three kind of observations that includes, short duration observation, record keeping by using simple notes and may be camera as well(if required) and third one is that no feedback is given to the observed people. The people observed would be only the people with the visually impairment disabilities. (Oates, 2006) Highly systematic observations of pre-defined types of events Observations of anything and everything Narrow concentration on particular type of event Broad focus Observation takes no part in the proceedings Observer participates fully in the proceedings Facts of Observations taking place is known to all Fact of observation taking place is known to none except the researcher No explanation, or false explanation, given for presence of observer-researcher Full explanation given for the presence of the observer-researcher Short duration-could be as little as 5 minutes Long duration-possibly years Record-Keeping uses only note taking Record-keeping uses technology (e. g audio tape, camera, stop watch, two way mirror, computer program) No feedback given afterwards to the observed Full feedback given afterwards to the observed FIGURE 2.1: Different Kind of Observation (Briony j Oates, 2006) We will try to observe and describe the interaction between the handicap people and the ticketing machine or the booking system, and the data and the information which obtained by the means of observations and experiences. We start with a theory as starting point then we will formulate interviews which will base on that theory. Interviews are defined as a particular type of conversation between people. Usually one person has the purpose of undertaking the interview: they want to gain information from the other(s) ( Briony j Oates, 2006). The purpose of interviews would be to produce useful information for the research. In interviews we will try to do the things that Oates suggested (page-187) like gain detailed information, explore emotions, experiences or feeling that cannot easily be observed and investigate sensitive issues or privileged information, that respondent might not willing to write about on paper for a researcher that they have not met. We will use unstructured interviews; we will start by introducing topic to the interviewee and allow them to develop their own ideas about the topic let the interviewees to speak their mind. The criteria for the selection of the sources of the interviewer or the person to be observed will be the amount and type of the information required for the empirical study. For example if we want the user requirement we will interview from the users (visually impaired people) and if we need to know that how the ticket machine works normally or for the normal people we will interview general public for that. For the study of a group of individuals, (visually impaired people) we will be visiting various people with visual impairment disabilities at the handicaps care center in Boras for interviews and observations. The selection criteria for the interview and the observation will depend on the information and data required for the empirical study i.e. the user (visually impaired people) and the regular traveler. Most part of our observation will be undergo when we will be conducting interviews, because the visually impairment people might not be able to give us a long time for observation. There are very less chances that we found these people personally interacting with ticketing machine as we can find normal people interacting. Data analysis procedures At this stage of inspection, we will analyze the data we received from our observations and interviews, and then revise them and compare them between real findings and experience. The evaluation method means to produce a high-quality with the help of evaluation, so we can authenticate all the gathered data in order to get new information. It should be done sooner than we begin with our conclusions. Interviews will be arranged for the users, who are using the ticket machine systems in association with the observations and unexpectedly different question would be asked from them. We can give the idea of the problem in the users mind. In this way we will easily reach to our goal of what we need and what are problems in the interface, which might create more problems for the user (visually impaired). Then make a comparison of interviews with various users viewpoints, what hurdles they could face during interaction with such interface. At the end we will review of all data that we have collected through the interviews and compare them with our theory. Strategies for validating findings According to Collin Robson (2004) evaluation refer to as assessing the value (or worth or merit) of something. The something focused on here is some kind of innovation, or intervention, project, or service. It involves people in one or more ways, perhaps as the provider of the service, or in setting up and running the intervention, almost inevitably as participants in the innovation or project and as client of the service (Collin Robson, 2004). The evaluation method is used to produce a good grade of the research, which should be of great importance that we evaluated for the quality of the research, So we will able to validate all the material that we collected. There are many methods for the qualitative research as: (Kaplan, Maxwell, 2005) -Validity -data quality -feedback We will also use these evaluation methods in our research, according to Bonnie Kaplan and Joseph A. Maxwell (page-14) validity in qualitative research addresses the necessarily subjective nature of data collection and analysis. Because the researcher is the instrument for collection and analyzing data, the study is subjective in the sense of being different for different researchers. Different researchers may approach the same research question by collecting different data or by interpreting the same data different ways. We will compare the results of interviews and observations taken from different people. (Kaplan, Maxwell, 2005) Data quality will reveals us that the data we collected is in detailed and varied enough that it will provide a comprehensive and showing a complete picture of, what is going on and what processes are involved. Data quality will help us to deeply see the whole process and developing some results. This is the single most important way of ruling out the possibility of misinterpreting the meaning of what participants say and do, or what the researcher have observed (Kaplan, Maxwell, 2005). The feedback will imply the gathering the response about the conclusions from participants. We will try to check that our interpretation makes sense to the visually impaired people; this thing will help us in collecting additional important data if required. We want to keep the structure of the research flexible and feasible, which would provide easiness and comfort to the reader. We will have empirical aid because of interviews and observations that we would conduct from handicap people and the machine ticket purchasers. The aim is to create consistency in the research so that it becomes easy to see that how the different parts to the research fit together. On the basis of these two different observations and interview types, we will try to join the results from both scenarios and evaluate the results and try to provide a clear picture of the problem area, that we are studying, from which the future readers can identify and relate their study. Result presentation method After analyzing all the observations, interviews and the literature, the research results of our thesis would be presented in the form of mainly prototype to certain extent, along with the small amount of data, model and diagrams as well. We will illustrate our results in form of prototype for the use of handicaps with visually impaired people.

The Evolution Of The Atomic Theory :: essays research papers

The Evolution of the Atomic Theory The five atomic theorys of the past two centuries represent the sudden advancement of science in modern times. Begining with a basic theory on the behavior of atoms to the current model, some changes have been made, and some ideas are still the same. Ancient Greek philosophers belived that everything was made up of invisible particles called atmos. Since then the theory of atoms did not progress untill 1803. John Dalton was the first scientist to compose a theory of matter based on atoms. Dalton's atomic theory is based on four concepts. He stated: "1. All elements are composed of atoms, which are indivisable and indestructable particles. 2. All atoms of the same element are exactly alike; in particular, they have the same mass. 3. Atoms of different elements are different; in particular, they have different masses. 4. Compounds are formed by the joining of atoms of two or more elements." 1 All of Dalton's ideas account for the laws of definate and multiple proportions and the law of conservation of mass. Some of Dalton's points are still thought to be true, but over time this origional theory has been modifyed. The first of these modifications came in 1897 when J.J. Thomson discovered the electron. Based on the work of William Crookes and his "Crookes tube" (Cathode-ray tube), Thomson discovered a negative charged particle was the cause of the light produced by the cathode-ray tube. He also discovered that these particles are present in all elements. These cathode-ray particles are now known as electrons. Soon after the discovery of electrons the proton was discovered. This led Thomson to conclude that ther were an equal number of both particles present in the atom. Twelve years later Lord Ernest Rutherford was experimenting with alpha particles. He shot a stream of them at a peice of gold foil surrounded by zinc-sulfide. When an alpha particle strikes ZnS it produces a flash of light. The particles mostly stayed in a constant stream through the foil, but a few were deflected. This led Rutherford to belive that there must be a small, dense cluster of protons in the middle of the atoms to deflect the small number of particles. Neils Bohr was the next physicist to advance the atomic theory. He explained what Rutherford could not about how the electron could stay in orbit around the nucleus. When the electron has little energy it is closer to the nucleus, when it absorbs more energy it travels farther from the nucleus. There is a definate number of electrons that can be in the same orbit. When the orbits closest to the nucleus are filled the atom is at a ground state.

Wake Me Up When My Gold Lord Returns Essay -- Literary Analysis, The W

Most people turn their misery into depression, while a few creative minds transform their feelings into writings, many times as poetry or songs. Additionally, most pieces of literature express theme in one way or another to make the piece hold a deeper message for the audience to grasp. Themes prove universal by withstanding time and exemplifying similar meanings throughout the years. Varying elements in the literature help develop a theme and produce it to become a meaningful notion. Regardless of the different seasons used to portray the message of both the poem and the song, â€Å"The Wanderer,† a poem written by an anonymous writer in the Anglo-Saxon era, and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends,† a song written by Green Day in the twenty-first century, compare the common theme that lingering in the past causes isolation and despair through the literary elements of symbolism of seasons that reveals the desolate mood and the narrator’s reluctance to chang e, imagery to further accentuate the similar theme between the two pieces, and flashback to contrast the narrator’s present depressed emotions to his past happiness. Despite the fact that the narrators use different seasons to portray the theme, both â€Å"The Wanderer† and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends† develop upon season’s symbolism which depicts the desolate mood and the narrators’ reluctance to change due to their inability to let go of their past and present despair. In â€Å"The Wanderer† the narrator â€Å"woefully toil[s] on wintry seas† (l. 3) by himself because of â€Å"grievous disasters, and death of kin† (l. 7). The author uses winter to symbolize a time of little opportunity and death for the narrator because winter already examples a bleak time period with little life, and since th... ...e in his memories now. In both pieces, the flashbacks contrast the emotions of the present-day gloomy narrator to the happier emotions of the narrator before the change while the narrators’ lingering in the past causes their own seclusion and misery. In conclusion, through the elements of symbolism, imagery, and flashback â€Å"The Wanderer† and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends† produce the common theme that lingering in the past creates isolation and misery. Though written in a different time period, â€Å"The Wanderer† proves relevant to today’s time through its notable comparison with a song from thousands of years later. Themes withstand time and apply to many different types of people in different ways depending on a person’s understanding of the message implied. Through literary elements, writers depict a message that the audience interprets with their own wisdom.

Difficulities in the Play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Ess

Difficulities in the Play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry In the four years between 1861 and 1865 this country was in civil war over the rights and freedom of blacks in America. When all was said and done, the blacks won their freedom and gained several rights that would make their lives better. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry wrote her great play, A Raisin in the Sun. It described the everyday life of a black family in the Southside of Chicago sometime after World War II. Throughout the play, Hansberry talks of the difficulties that the Younger family faces trying to get from one day to another; the problems that should have been resolved by the Civil War. Even after the Civil War and this play, many of these problems still exist today. The first difficulty that the Younger family faces is poor housing. The play starts off in a small two bedroom apartment with Ruth waking up her son, Travis, who sleeps on the couch in the living room. He sleeps on the couch because one bedroom is used by Ruth and Walter and the other by Mama and Beneatha. Every morning they wake up early so they can get to the one bathroom that is shared by all of the other families that live in the complex. When Mama talks about putting a down payment on a new house, Ruth says, ?Well, Lord knows, we?ve put enough rent into this here rat trap to pay for four houses by now? (p. 1817). When she says rat trap you would naturally think of some of the houses today with boarded up or broken windows, unattended yards, and streets that are covered with potholes. But in the movie, it is nothing like that. The movie depicts the apartment in a very livable way. You can say they made the best of a bad situation. T... ... over this and it was decided by the Civil War the blacks should have their freedom as ?full? American citizens. When will we be able to live as one community? ?The history must be taught, and if not in schools then at home. But that won?t or can?t be done until our home life, our families, get back on track. Its a vicious cycle. We still have a long, long way to go.? (Lee p. xivii) Bibliography: Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Norton Introduction to Literature: 7th edition. Ed. Jerome Beaty, et al. New York: Norton, 1998. Lee, Spike. ?Commentary: Thoughts on the Screenplay.? A Raisin in the Sun: Original Screenplay. London: Penguin, 1992 Wilkerson, Margaret. ?Introduction.? A Raisin in the Sun: Original Screenplay. London: Penguin, 1992 X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As told to Alex Haley. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 21-23

21 AUGUSTUS BRINE â€Å"I found them. The car is parked in front of Jenny Masterson's house.† Augustus Brine stormed into the house carrying a grocery bag in each arm. Gian Hen Gian was in the kitchen pouring salt from a round, blue box into a pitcher of Koolaid. Brine set the bags down on the hearth. â€Å"Help me bring some of this stuff in. There's more bags in the truck.† The genie walked to the fireplace and looked in the bags. One was filled with dry-cell batteries and spools of wire. The other was full of brown cardboard cylinders about four inches long and an inch in diameter. Gian Hen Gian took one of the cylinders out of the bag and held it up. A green, waterproof fuse extended from one end. â€Å"What are these?† â€Å"Seal bombs,† Brine said. â€Å"The Department of Fish and Game distributes them to fishermen to scare seals away from their lines and nets. I had a bunch at the store.† â€Å"Explosives are useless against the demon.† â€Å"There are five more bags in the truck. Would you bring them in, please?† Brine began to lay the seal bombs out in a line on the hearth. â€Å"I don't know how much time we have.† â€Å"What am I, some scrounging servant? Am I a beast of burden? Should I, Gian Hen Gian, king of the Djinn, be reduced to bearing loads for an ignorant mortal who would attack a demon from hell with firecrackers?† â€Å"O King,† Brine said, exasperated, â€Å"please bring in the goddamn bags so I can finish this before dawn.† â€Å"It is useless.† â€Å"I'm not going to try to blow him up. I just want to know where he is. Unless you can use your great power to restrain him, O King of the Djinn.† â€Å"You know I cannot.† â€Å"The bags!† â€Å"You are a stupid, mean-spirited man, Augustus Brine. I've seen more intelligence in the crotch lice of harem whores.† The genie walked out the door and his diatribe faded into the night. Brine was methodically wrapping the fuses of the seal bombs with thin monofilament silver wire designed to heat up when a current was applied. It was an inexact method of detonation, but Brine had no access to blasting caps at this hour of the morning. The genie returned in a moment carrying two grocery bags. â€Å"Put them on the chairs.† Brine gestured with his head. â€Å"These bags are filled with flour,† Gian Hen Gian said. â€Å"Are you going to bake bread, Augustus Brine?† 22 TRAVIS AND JENNY There was something about her that made Travis want to dump his life out on the coffee table like a pocket full of coins; let her sort through and keep what she wanted. If he was still here in the morning, he'd tell her about Catch, but not now. â€Å"Do you like traveling?† Jenny asked. â€Å"I'm getting tired of it. I could use a break.† She sipped from a glass of red wine and pulled her skirt down for the tenth time. There was still a neutral zone between them on the couch. She said, â€Å"You don't seem like any insurance salesman I've ever known. I hope you don't mind my saying, but usually insurance men dress in loud blazers and reek of cheap cologne. I've never met one that seemed sincere about anything.† â€Å"It's a job.† Travis hoped she wouldn't ask about the details of his job. He didn't know a thing about insurance. He had decided on the career because Effrom Elliot had mistaken him for an insurance man that afternoon, so it was the first thing that came to mind. â€Å"When I was a kid, an insurance man came to our house to sell my father some life insurance,† Jenny said. â€Å"He gathered the family together in front of the fireplace and took our picture with a Polaroid camera. It was a nice picture. My father was standing at one side of us all, looking proud. As we were passing the picture around, the insurance man snatched the picture out of my father's hands and said, ‘What a nice family.' Then he ripped my father out of the picture and said, ‘Now what will they do?' I burst into tears. My father was frightened.† Travis said: â€Å"I'm sorry, Jenny.† Perhaps he should have told her he was a brush salesman. Did she have any traumatic brush-salesman stories? â€Å"Do you do that, Travis? Do you frighten people for a living?† â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"Like I said, you don't seem like an insurance man.† â€Å"Jennifer, I need to tell you something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's okay. I'm sorry, I got a little heavy on you. You do what you do. I never thought I'd be waiting tables at this age.† â€Å"What did you want to do? I mean, when you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to have a family and a man who loved me and a nice house. Pretty unambitious, huh?† â€Å"No, there's nothing wrong with that. What happened?† She drained her wineglass and poured herself another from the bottle on the coffee table. â€Å"You can't have a family alone.† â€Å"But?† â€Å"Travis, I don't want to ruin the evening by talking more about my marriage. I'm trying to make some changes.† Travis let it go. She picked up his silence as understanding and brightened. â€Å"So, what did you want to do when you grew up?† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"Don't tell me you wanted to be a housewife, too.† â€Å"When I was growing up that's all any girl wanted to be.† â€Å"Where did you grow up, Siberia?† â€Å"Pennsylvania. I grew up on a farm.† â€Å"And what did the farm boy from Pennsylvania want to be when he grew up?† â€Å"A priest.† Jenny laughed. â€Å"I never knew anyone who wanted to be a priest. What did you do while the other boys were playing army, give last rights to the dead?† â€Å"No, it wasn't like that. My mother always wanted me to be a priest. As soon as I was old enough, I went away to seminary. It didn't work out.† â€Å"So you became an insurance man. I suppose that works. I read once that all religions and insurance companies are supported by the fear of death.† â€Å"That's pretty cynical,† the demonkeeper said. â€Å"I'm sorry, Travis. I don't have much faith in the concept of an all-powerful being that would glorify war and violence.† â€Å"You should.† â€Å"Are you trying to convert me?† â€Å"No, it's just that I know, absolutely, that God exists.† â€Å"No one knows anything absolutely. I'm not without faith. I have my own beliefs, but I have my doubts, too.† â€Å"So did I.† â€Å"Did? What happened, did the Holy Spirit come to you in the night and say, ‘Go forth and sell insurance'?† â€Å"Something like that.† Travis forced a smile. â€Å"Travis, you are a very strange man.† â€Å"I really didn't want to talk about religion.† â€Å"Good. I'll tell you my beliefs in the morning. You'll be quite shocked, I'm sure.† â€Å"I doubt that, I really do†¦ Did you say ‘in the morning'?† Jenny held her hand out to him. Inside she was unsure of what she was doing, but it seemed fine – at least it didn't feel wrong. â€Å"Did I miss something?† Travis asked. â€Å"I thought you were angry with me.† â€Å"No, why would I be angry at you?† â€Å"Because of my faith.† â€Å"I think it's cute.† â€Å"Cute? Cute! You think the Roman Catholic Church is cute? A hundred popes are rolling in their graves, Jenny.† â€Å"Good. They aren't invited. Move over here.† â€Å"Are you sure?† he said. â€Å"You've had a lot of wine.† She was not sure at all, nevertheless she nodded to him. She was single, right? She liked him, right? Well, hell, it was started now. He slid down the couch to her side and took her in his arms. They kissed, awkwardly at first; he was too aware of himself and she was still wondering if she should have invited him in in the first place. He held her tighter and she arched her back and pushed against him and they both forgot their reservations. The world outside ceased to exist. When they finally broke the kiss, he buried his face in her hair and held her tight so she could not pull away and see the tears in his eyes. â€Å"Jenny,† he said softly, â€Å"it's been a long time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shushed him and dug her hands into his hair. â€Å"Everything will be fine. Just fine.† Perhaps it was because they were both afraid, or perhaps it was because they really didn't know each other; it might even have been that by playing a role they would not have to face anything but the moment. The roles they played throughout the night changed. First, each gave when the other needed, and later, when need was no longer an issue, they played their roles out to felicity. It progressed thusly: she was the comforter, he the comforted; then he was the understanding counselor, she the confused confessor; she became the nurse, he the patient in traction; he took the role of the naive stable boy, she the seductive duchess; he was the drill sergeant, she the raw recruit; she was the cruel master, he the helpless slave girl. The small hours of the morning found them naked on the kitchen floor after Travis had played a rampaging Godzilla to Jennifer's unsuspecting Tokyo. They were crouched over a cooking toaster oven, each with a table knife loaded with butter, poised like executioners waiting for the signal to drop their blades. They polished off a loaf of toast, a half-pound of butter, a quart of tofu ice cream, a box of whole wheat cream-sandwich cookies, a bag of unsalted blue corn chips, and an organically grown watermelon that gushed pink juice down their chins while they laughed. Stuffed, satisfied, and sticky-sweet they returned to bed and fell asleep in a warm tangle. Perhaps it wasn't love that they had in common; perhaps it was only a need for escape and forgetting. But they found it. Three hours later the alarm clock sounded and Jenny left to go wait tables at H.P.'s Cafe. Travis slept dreamless, groaning and smiling when she kissed him good-bye on the forehead. When the explosions started, Travis woke up screaming. PART FOUR MONDAY The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner 23 RIVERA Rivera came through the trailer door followed by two uniformed officers. Robert sat up on the couch and was immediately rolled over and handcuffed. Rivera read him his Miranda rights before he was completely awake. When Robert's vision cleared, Rivera was sitting in a chair in front of him, holding a piece of paper in his face. â€Å"Robert, I am Detective Sergeant Alphonse Rivera.† A badge wallet flipped open in Rivera's other hand. â€Å"This is a warrant for your and The Breeze's arrest. There's one here to search this trailer as well, which is what I and deputies Deforest and Perez will be doing in just a moment.† A uniformed officer appeared from the far end of the trailer. â€Å"He's not here, Sergeant.† â€Å"Thanks,† Rivera said to the uniform. To Robert he said: â€Å"Things will go easier for you if you tell me right now where I can find The Breeze.† Robert was starting to get a foggy idea of what was going on. â€Å"So you're not a dealer?† he asked sleepily. â€Å"You're quick, Masterson. Where's The Breeze?† â€Å"The Breeze didn't have anything to do with it. He's been gone for two days. I took the suitcase because I wanted to know who the guy was that was with my wife.† â€Å"What suitcase?† Robert nodded toward the living-room floor. The Haliburton case lay there unopened. Rivera picked it up and tried the latches. â€Å"It's got a combination lock,† Robert said. â€Å"I couldn't get it open.† Sheriff's deputies were riffling through the trailer. From the back bedroom one shouted. â€Å"Rivera, we've got it.† â€Å"Stay here, Robert. I'll be right back.† Rivera rose and started toward the bedroom just as Perez appeared in the kitchen holding another aluminum suitcase. â€Å"That it?† Rivera asked. Perez, a dark Hispanic who seemed too small to be a deputy, threw the suitcase on the kitchen table and opened the lid. â€Å"Jackpot,† he said. Neat square blocks of plastic-covered green weed lay in even rows across the suitcase. Robert could smell a faint odor like skunk coming from the marijuana. â€Å"I'll get the testing kit,† Perez said. Rivera took a deep sniff and looked at Perez quizzically. â€Å"Right, it could be just lawn clippings that they weighed out in pounds.† Perez looked hurt by Rivera's sarcasm. â€Å"But for the record?† Rivera waved him away, then returned to the couch and sat down next to Robert. â€Å"You are in deep trouble, my friend.† â€Å"You know,† Robert said, â€Å"I felt really bad about being so rude to you yesterday when you came by.† He smiled weakly. â€Å"I've been going through some really hard times.† â€Å"Make it up to me, Robert. Tell me where The Breeze is.† â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"Then you are going to eat shit for all that pot over there on the table.† â€Å"I didn't even know it was there. I thought you guys were here about the suitcase I took. The other one.† â€Å"Robert, you and I are going to go back to the station and have a really long talk. You can tell me all about the suitcase and all the folks that The Breeze has been keeping company with.† â€Å"Sergeant Rivera, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I wasn't quite awake when you were telling me the charges†¦ sir.† Rivera helped Robert to his feet and led him out of the trailer. â€Å"Possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Actually the conspiracy charge is the nastier of the two.† â€Å"So you didn't even know about the suitcase I took?† â€Å"I couldn't care less about the suitcase.† Rivera pushed Robert into the cruiser. â€Å"Watch your head.† â€Å"You should bring it along just to see who the guy was that it belonged to. Your guys in the lab can open it and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Rivera slammed the car door on Robert's comment. He turned to Deforest, who was coming out of the trailer. â€Å"Grab that suitcase out of the living room and tag it.† â€Å"More pot, Sarge?† â€Å"I don't think so, but the whacko seems to think it's important.†