Succubus Shadows Chapter 18

It started before I could stop it. I stood in a kitchen, in one of those dreams where I was both watching me and feeling me. The kitchen was bright and modern, far larger than anything I could imagine a non-cook like me needing. My dream-self stood at the sink, arms elbow deep in sudsy water that smelled like oranges. I was hand-washing dishes and kind of doing a half-ass job at it but was too happy to notice. On the floor, an actual dishwasher lay in pieces, thus explaining the need for manual labor. From another room, the sounds of â€Å"Sweet Home Alabama† carried to my ears. I hummed along as I washed. I was content, filled with a joy so utterly perfect, I could barely grasp it after everything else that had happened in my life – particularly after this imprisonment with the Oneroi. After humming a few more bars, I set a wet cup on the counter and turned around to peek into the living room beyond me. A little girl sat in there, about two years old. She was on a blanket, surrounded by stuffed animals and other toys. She clutched a plush giraffe in her hands. It rattled when she shook it. As though sensing my gaze, she looked up. She had plump cheeks that hadn't quite lost their baby fat. Wispy, light brown curls covered her head, and her hazel eyes were large and framed with dark lashes. She was adorable. Behind her on the couch, Aubrey lay curled up in a tight little ball. Godiva lay beside her. A delighted smile spread over the little girl's face, creating a dimple in one cheek. A powerful wave of love and joy spread through me, emotions that my raw and aching real self barely allowed to come through. Just like the first time I'd dreamed this dream, I knew with certainty – absolute certainty – that this girl was my daughter. After a few more moments, I returned to my dishes, though I wanted nothing more than to go back to the living room. Damned manual labor. Neither my dream self nor my waking self could get enough of the girl. I wanted to drink her in. I could have watched her forever, taking in those long-lashed eyes and wispy curls. Unable to resist – and bored with washing dishes – I finally gave in and glanced back again. The girl was gone. I pulled my hands out of the water, just in time to hear a thump and a crash. The sound of crying followed. I sprinted out of the kitchen. Aubrey and Godiva jerked their heads up, surprised at my sudden movement. On the other side of the living room, my daughter sat on the floor beside an end table with sharp corners, a small hand pressed to her forehead. Tears streamed down her checks as she wailed. In a flash, I was on my knees, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. Watching and feeling this dream, I wanted to weep as well over the feel of that soft, warm body in my arms. I rocked the girl, murmuring soothing, nonsensical words as I brushed my lips against the silken hair. Eventually, her sobs stopped, and she rested her head against my chest, content to simply be loved and rocked. We sat like that for another happy minute or so, and then, distantly, I heard the sound of a car's engine. I lifted my head. â€Å"You hear that?† I asked. â€Å"Daddy's home.† Mirrored excitement showed on the girl's face as I stood up, still holding her and balancing her on my hip. It was an act of some coordination, considering how small I was. We walked to the front door and stepped outside onto a porch. It was nighttime, all quiet darkness save for a small light hanging overhead. It shone onto a long stretch of unbroken white snow on the lawn and the driveway. All around, more snow fell in a steady stream. I didn't recognize the place, but it certainly wasn't Seattle. That much snow would have sent the city into a panic, putting everyone on Armageddon alert. My daughter and I were perfectly at ease, barely noticing the snow. Wherever we were, this weather was a common occurrence. Down the driveway, the car I had heard had already parked. My heart swelled with happiness. A man stood behind it, a nondescript dark figure in the faint lighting. He took out a rolling suitcase and slammed the trunk shut. The little girl clasped her hands in excitement, and I waved my own hand in greeting. The man returned the wave as he walked toward the house. It was too dark, and I couldn't see him yet. His face. I had to see his face. We were so close. This was where the dream had stopped before, denying me its conclusion. Some part of me was certain this was a trick too – that the Oneroi were going to do what Nyx had done and end the dream. They didn't. The man continued walking toward us, and at last, the porch light illuminated his features. It was Seth. Lacy snowflakes rested in his messy hair, and I could make out some wacky T-shirt underneath his heavy woolen trench coat. He left the suitcase by the stairs and sprinted up them to get to us that much more quickly. His arms encircled us, and both my daughter and I snuggled against him. It might have been freezing elsewhere, but our little circle held all the warmth in the world. â€Å"My girls,† he murmured. He took one of his gloves off and ran his hand over the fine silk of our daughter's hair. He brushed a kiss against her forehead and then leaned toward me. Our lips met in a soft kiss, and when we pulled away, I could see mist in the air from the warmth of his mouth. He hugged us tighter. I sighed happily. â€Å"Don't leave anymore,† I said. â€Å"Don't do any more traveling.† He laughed quietly and gave me another kiss, this time on my cheek. â€Å"I'll see what I can do. If it was up to me, I'd never leave.† But the dream left, shattering like pieces of glass that were then swept away by a broom. Whereas before I'd counted the seconds for these dreams to go away, this time I wanted to cling to it. The hands I didn't have in this insubstantial form longed to grasp those shards, bloodying my flesh, if only to have a few more moments of that perfect, content bliss my dream-self had held. But it was gone. I was empty. For a long time, I simply couldn't get over the dream's loss. I was a tangle of emotions: hurt and anger and longing and incompleteness. It was all feeling, no thought. When coherency began to return, even it was a jumble. Seth. Seth was the man in the dream? Of course he was. Hadn't I felt it from almost the first time we met? Hadn't I often said he was like a piece of my soul? Hadn't I felt like something was missing when we'd split up? Then, all the doubt that the Oneroi had been so good at instilling in me began to descend. It couldn't be Seth. I couldn't be with a mortal, not in any real capacity. I certainly couldn't have a child with one, and anyway, Seth was marrying someone else. This was a trick. Another lie. Everything here was a lie, meant to continue the torment the Oneroi thought I deserved. â€Å"That can't happen,† I said. The words were hard. And hadn't I already said them earlier? Circles, circles. My life was repeating itself over and over. â€Å"None of that could ever happen.† â€Å"No,† agreed Two. â€Å"Not anymore. Your future shifted.† â€Å"That was never my future. You lie. Nyx lied. There's no truth anywhere.† â€Å"This is truth,† said One. Another dream. A true dream? No, no. The part of me that was starting to lose it swore up and down that it couldn't be true. There's no truth anywhere. I was in the mundane human world again, with Seth and Simone-as-Georgina. They were at a tuxedo shop, browsing suits, and I futilely racked my brain to figure this out. Maddie had requested they go shopping†¦yet, surely it hadn't happened that day. Or had it? Was this another day? How much time had passed? I couldn't tell if these dreams lasted a second or a lifetime. The sky outside was deepening to twilight, so maybe it was the same day. â€Å"You don't have to wear a bow tie,† said Simone, studying a well-dressed mannequin. She herself was dressed magnificently, in a tight dress that was an orange reminiscent of autumn leaves. It was short, of course, and emphasized my breasts as much as was decently possible – maybe more so. Bronze high heels completed the look. It was too fancy for tux shopping, but it looked great on her. Me. Us. Whatever. Seth wandered over to stand beside her, studying the suit. If there hadn't been a salesman straightening a display near the door, I had a feeling Seth would have made a run for it. â€Å"It's more traditional,† said Seth. â€Å"I think that's what Maddie wants.† Simone scoffed. â€Å"So? What about what you want?† She took a step toward him. â€Å"You can't just sit by and let others tell you what to do! You have your own needs. Your own wants. You can't be passive here.† There was passion in her words, a conviction that even I couldn't help but admire. It was the kind of speech that rallied people to your cause – but like everything else she'd said lately, there was this sexual subtext laced within it. He stared at her for a few seconds, as impressed as I was, but finally looked away. He also took a step back. â€Å"Maybe. But I don't really feel like my life currently hinges on whether I choose a bow tie or a regular tie. I think I should save my heroic moments for something a little bigger.† He wandered off to look at another suit and didn't see the scowl on her face that I did. Soon, she had that sweet smile on again and was back by his side – very close to his side – while they examined cuts, colors, and all the myriad details that went into planning a lifelong commitment. The salesman couldn't stay away, of course, and finally swooped in to offer his assistance. â€Å"This jacket would be very flattering with your build,† he told Seth. â€Å"It comes in black and gray, as well as a few others – so it would definitely complement your dress.† That last part was directed to Simone. She laughed merrily. It was nails on a chalkboard to me. â€Å"Oh, we're not getting married.† She patted Seth's arm. â€Å"We're just good friends. I'm helping out.† Seth moved away, escaping the arm, and suddenly seemed very interested in trying on the jacket. The salesman found Seth's size, gushed with compliments, and then left the two of them to mull it over. â€Å"It looks great,† said Simone, coming to stand right in front of him. I couldn't see any space between them. She casually straightened the jacket's lapel, not that it needed it. â€Å"Fits you like a glove.† Seth grabbed hold of her hands, pushed them away, and then backed off himself. â€Å"You need to stop this,† he said, lowering his voice so others wouldn't hear. â€Å"Stop what?† asked Simone. â€Å"You know what! The innuendoes. The touching. All of it. You can't keep doing it.† Simone took a step closer, putting her hands on her hips. Her voice was soft as well, but it was more of a purr. What made it especially irritating was that, really, it was my voice. â€Å"Why? Because you don't like it? Come on, Seth. How much longer are you going to keep fooling yourself? You know you still want me. This scam of a wedding isn't going to change that. What we had†¦what we have is too powerful. I see the way you look at me – and you don't look at her that way. You say I've got to stop? No. You're the one that needs to stop this wedding. End it with her. Or if you don't have the guts, then let us be together again. At the very least – just one more night. I want to feel you again, feel you in me. And I know you do too.† I was aghast at the boldness. I couldn't believe what that bitch had tried to do. Impersonating me was bad enough, but now blatantly trying to lure Seth into her bed? Unforgiveable. I expected Seth to be outraged as well, but his face was the picture of calm. He took off the jacket and set it on a counter. â€Å"I don't know who you are, but stay away from me. Do not speak to me again – or Maddie.† There was a stern, warning tone in his words, that anger I rarely ever heard from him. For once, Simone faltered. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"You aren't Georgina,† he said. â€Å"I should've listened when my niece first told me. Georgina would never do this, no matter how she felt. Georgina wouldn't openly try to break up her friend's wedding. She wouldn't betray Maddie.† Simone's eyes flashed with anger. â€Å"Really? Then how exactly would you classify your little spring fling?† I wasn't surprised she knew about that. Everyone in my hellish circle had figured it out when Seth's soul darkened. His smile was both sad and cold. â€Å"Georgina did that†¦inadvertently. She was aware of what she was doing, but the motivations†¦well, they were different.† â€Å"Stop trying to justify infidelity. And stop talking about me in the third person!† â€Å"You aren't her,† said Seth again. â€Å"I know her. I would know her in almost any form. And although you look like her, you – obviously – do not know her.† He turned around to leave – and ran into Jerome. Seth hadn't seen Jerome enter or teleport into the shop. Neither had I. Yet, even if the demon had strolled in openly, I think Seth would have had the same astonished and deeply disturbed reaction. The cool attitude he'd shown with Simone vanished. â€Å"Sorry,† said Seth, stepping back. He glanced uneasily at Simone, who was just as surprised. â€Å"I'll – I'll leave you two alone.† â€Å"I'm not here for her,† growled Jerome. â€Å"What?† she exclaimed, seeming deeply offended. Jerome's dark eyes bored into Seth's. â€Å"I'm here for you. You need to come with me. Now.† When a demon tells you to do something, it's pretty hard to refuse it. My friends and I might joke about the silliness of Jerome's John Cusack guise, but underneath all that, Jerome was fucking scary. And when he turned his demonic wrath on a human, it was outright terrifying. Yet, with a remarkable show of bravery, Seth asked: â€Å"Why?† Jerome looked displeased that Seth hadn't instantly jumped to obey. â€Å"To get Georgie back.† â€Å"Back?† repeated Simone. â€Å"But if she comes back – â€Å" Jerome lifted his eyes from Seth and glared at her. â€Å"Yes, yes, I know. But you might as well give it up. You failed.† â€Å"But I can – â€Å" â€Å"Clearly, you can't.† Jerome strode over to her, leaning close to her face. He pitched his voice low, but I could hear it from my observer's view. â€Å"This is not the way. I know why you're here now, but tell Niphon that every time he tries to fix things, he ends up fucking up more. It's too late. I'll deal with this. It doesn't involve you.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"Enough.† The word boomed through the store. The salesman looked up, startled, but kept his distance. â€Å"I didn't question your presence before, but now you can go.† Ostensibly, it sounded as though he were giving her permission to leave. But both she and I could hear the underlying meaning: if she didn't go on her own, he would â€Å"assist† her. She made no more protests. Jerome returned to Seth. â€Å"Georgina's been taken. We're going to get her back. And you are going to play a role in that.† Seth couldn't speak for a moment, and when he did, it was to utter the most obvious response: â€Å"How?† â€Å"To start with, you can stop wasting time here with stupid questions. Come with me, and you'll find out.† Jerome then made a masterful play. â€Å"Every moment you delay, she's in more danger.† Nothing else could have spurred Seth into such action. He flinched at the words, and his face ran through a kaleidoscope of emotions. â€Å"Okay,† he said to Jerome. â€Å"Let's go.†

Business Ethical Problem

From September 2010 to May 2011 I interned with the Health Care Administration under the direction of the Executive Nursing Administrator at a hospital facility with nationally integrated service networks. I was told at the time of my hire that I would be privy to all conferences which took place with administrative officers; and that information discussed would be strictly confidential. During the course of my internship there were conferences held with administration and other â€Å"agents† at least once a week. I attended 2 meetings during my internship— neither of them eventful—and was conveniently given my supervisor’s work to complete while she attended the aforementioned conferences. Unknown to me at the time, the facility was under investigation due to complaints filed with the Attorney General from clients, client’s families and medical staff; including nurses and medical doctors. I learned quite recently that special federal investigators had been carrying out an official examination of the hospital since August 2010; concerning quality control issues, adherence to hospital policy and procedures; and other legal matters, including but not limited to: †¢Embezzlement of grants/misappropriation of funds †¢Understaffing Personnel employed in management positions where they were neither qualified, certified nor did they have prior experience in regard to the units they managed †¢Clients being admitted to psychiatric units without a 2 PC order †¢No PRN Protocol in place and agitated clients were admitted to units causing injury to self, other workers and clients. †¢Patient neglect and injuries due to accidents One day I was instructed by the Executive Nursing Administrator (ENA) to prepare 2 spreadsheets: One was a patient satisfaction survey and the second was a unit complaint survey which was to include in the questionnaire specific areas of complaint. I prepared the surveys and since I was given no direction, I researched what questions to ask; and (with SUNY’s documented approval); I utilized my university’s survey program. I prepared the surveys and they were approved by administration (hospital director, medical director and the ENA. I was then instructed to conduct the two survey interviews, which took place from September 2010 to March 2011. Ethical Problems I Faced: At the time of my internship the Unit Complaint Survey I constructed contained the name of the complainant, person’s title and 7areas of complaint; each complaint involved a different area of concern and was to count as a total number of complaints in that particular area; (i. e. : understaffing, p atient injuries/accidents, lack of prompt medical attention; admission documents incomplete, missing or not signed by the admitting physician, medication errors, etc. When Administration (who had previously approved the survey) reviewed the results of the questionnaire and observed that almost all of the units had more than 20 complaints a week, the ENA requested me to adjust the number of complaints to one per person if he/she had filed complaints in several areas of concern. In addition, I was to modify the number of complaints per Unit in regard to specific areas of concern to and combine the figures to reflect 1 complaint in that area. In other words, if 10 units had the same complaint regarding patient injury, the10 complaints would be combined on the survey and count as 1 instance of patient injury. After I completed my internship, the administrative nursing assistant called on behalf of the ENA (who took credit for creating the survey) to request that I come in and train health administrative personnel on how to use the programs I created; and to instruct them on recreating new spreadsheets with the template I had designed for the surveys utilizing SUNY’s survey/software program.

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Identify failures of the now discontinued brand Ralph Lauren Rugby and Essay

Identify failures of the now discontinued brand Ralph Lauren Rugby and propose a marketing strategy for the re-launch of that brand - Essay Example The company even uses various advertisement campaigns to position the brand in minds of the targeted audience. The store layout is also re-structured. The marketing strategy developed is proposed to Mr. Ralph Lauren in order to persuade him to re-launch the brand. The Ralph Lauren Corporation was incorporated in the year 1967 and was a world renowned clothing brand that defined the American lifestyle. Mr. Ralph Lauren started this company by selling ties which was completely different in design to the tradition design of ties used by men in America. His range of colourful ties gave birth to a brand called Polo. In the later years the product range of the brand widened which included footwear, luxury accessories, apparel, and home furnishings. The company comprised of various brands apart from Polo such as Pink Pony, Chaps, Club Monaco, Black Label, RRL and RLX, American Living, Purple Label, and Rugby. The brand Rugby was launched in the year 2004. Despite of the success of the company this Rugby brand failed miserably in the market place and finally the brand was closed in the year 2012. The common reasons for failure of a fashion brand are its incapability to maintain a leading edge or to remain as trendy in order to meet the demand of the customers. In the years when Rugby was launched there exist a lot of competition in the preppy brand market space. The high priced products had made the brand unable to capture the maximum of the market share. The preppy style of the brand was very fashionable from the starting years of its launch but somewhere the other offerings of the brand were really absurd even for its target market. The offerings of the brand were such as a pair of sweat pants with English style classic boating blazer or herringbone three-row-two sport jacket. The combinations offered by the brand were no doubt fashionable but at the same time they were not that much appealing

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

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Ford Motor Group - Henry Ford Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House Essay

Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House - Essay Example To enable the transfer of power smoothly from the previous president and his administrative team, Roosevelt had created a â€Å"transition team† (Coker, 2005, p. 87). While selecting people for the key administrative positions under his authority, Roosevelt was found to be concentrating on the intellectual abilities, regional representation and loyalty to him as well (Coker, 2005, p. 89). He, thus, found his people from among â€Å"Ivy League intellectuals and New York State social workers† (Digital Library, 2012). There was â€Å"an inner circle† of persons who were instrumental in his rise to the president-ship, and he took all his important decisions in consultation with this team after the election as well (Coker, 2005, p. 88). When Roosevelt declared the â€Å"New Deal† policy, its lack of strong â€Å"ideological or philosophical frame work† was attributed to the â€Å"diversity and size† of his support teams (Coker, 2005, p. 89). Roose velt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency (Coker, 2005, p. 94). The support team that... Roosevelt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory†. What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action†. The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency. The support team that he had was known as the â€Å"brain trust†. Generally, the leadership style of Roosevelt has been understood as one that â€Å"yeilds results†.The first thing that Roosevelt did after coming to office was to convene a special session of the Congress and asked the Congress a mandate for h imself to have "broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given [†¦] [him] if [†¦] [the nation] were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.". Through acting in this manner, reflecting the urgency of the situation, Roosevelt created an ambience receptive of the reforms and drastic changes that he envisaged to bring in, in all sectors.The first policy decision of Roosevelt as the president was the declaration of a â€Å"bank holiday† to cope with the financial crisis.

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Professional Development - Essay Example The Aviva ask the candidates to deal company’s clients through telephone line and the candidate’s performance in this process is evaluated by company officials. 1. Communication skill Communication skill is the basic requirement that every employer expects with an applicant regardless of the nature and size of the company. This is highly significant in sectors like insurance industry where group work and customer interaction are inevitable factors. Communication skill is considered as primary requirement for employees as it enables the upward and downward flow of information easily at the organisational level. Obviously Aviva also gives higher importance to this skill as one of the criteria for employee recruitment. 2. ICT skills This is another area of expertise that modern enterprises including Aviva have fixed as employment criterion. According to their recruitment strategy, an employee must possess Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills in order to be employed at their reputed insurance business venture. Aviva’s nature of business includes creation and presentation of plans using graphs and diagrams which necessitate employees’ need of ICT skills. Only a person with good experience in office management and computer applications can meet this requirement. 3. Leadership skills Aviva thinks that leadership quality must be an essential criterion in the employee selection process as their staffs are expected to take charge of projects and be able to work among other group members. Leadership skill in fact involves an array of innate qualities and acquired skills which enable a person to carry out positive interaction with his group members and also with the employer on behalf of his group. From the point of view of Yukl (2003), leadership behavior can be grouped into three such as ‘task-oriented, relation-oriented, and participative leadership’. An individual with leadership skill would come up with innovat ive ideas and normally undertakes the responsibility of his group toward the accomplishment of the given task. All other personal skills including communication skill, knowledge, negotiation skill, and many more add to one’s leadership abilities. 4. Project management skills As mentioned earlier, insurance sector involves wide range of planning activities on their new projects. Therefore, Aviva asks project management skill as another inevitable area of employees’ proficiency. Sometimes, the company would assign specific tasks to its employees and it is not possible to dispose those assignments successfully if the candidate cannot efficiently comply with project management requirements. Although Aviva values math skills, social skills, and work skills, these are not mandatory because the company provides six months basic training to its employees to meet these requirements. 2 Given below are the areas of my proficiency that make me an appropriate candidate at Aviva. I have also specified the area in which I have to further track my excellence. Communication skill must be one of the most important potentials I possess that can meet the employer’s requirements. In addition to the academic knowledge in my majors like Humanities & Social Science and Business Marketing, I have sufficient work experience in marketing field where I had to deal with a wide range of customers. My employment with Samjee International CORP’

An introduction to working with children Essay Example for Free

An introduction to working with children Essay Nurseries provide care and education for children under the age of five in my area by offering free learning and play sessions which take place in the mornings and afternoons. Instead of a nursery just being a place where your child plays, a nursery provides education by qualified staff and professionals who encourage a child to learn as well a play while still providing care. Holiday play schemes is a place where children over the age of five go and can participate in various different types of activities which are both educational and play sessions, the activities range from reading books and watching educational programmes/videos/DVD’s to children playing on game consoles. ‘The room is divided into areas of various types of play experiences. These areas include, large and small construction sets, imaginative play dressing ups, home corner, mark making, Hama beads, dance mats, games machines, pool table, small world, football table. We also have two adjoining areas where children can access messy/art and craft activities and relax in the quiet area, reading books or watching various videos/DVDs.’ http://brightbeginningschildcare.co.uk/playscheme 11.11.11 A Child-minder is a person who looks after a parents children in their own home, child-minders usually look after children under the age of five, they provide care and education by helping the child with school work such as homework, participating in educational games or activities with them or generally playing games with them, baking or watching programmes with them. Nurseries aim to support children and their families by building a strong partnership with parents/careers because the setting and the child’s guardian want what is best, and for the child to achieve. If a nursery did not have a good relationship with parents/careers then there isn’t any trust or respect so if an issue is raised for example the child is underachieving and the nursery thought it is best for that child to receive additional support, a parent/career could take offence to it and then the situation could escalate. But if the nursery had a good positive relationship with parents and careers then a discussion could take place about the child receiving additional support, because it is important that you include the parent or career in discussions about their child otherwise they could feel that they are not valued or respected, and it is also their right to make decisions about their child, so if a nursery overlooked a parent or career regarding a situation wi th their child the parent or career could feel disrespected. ‘It recognises that parents and carers need to be fully involved in discussions about their childs additional support needs. Where necessary, they should be given support by their school or nursery to take part in meetings and be included fully in decisions that affect their child. Establishments and parents/carers may not always agree on what is in the best interest of the child, but by developing good relationships, and through good communication, it is expected that most problems and disagreements will be solved at school/nursery level.’ http://www.clacksweb.org.uk/learning/aslfamilies/ 18.11.11 Holiday play schemes offer children a wide range of different activities from rock climbing to extra-curricular lessons such as additional english, maths or science, but the way these extra-curricular lessons are integrated into the activities do not seem like they are lessons, but the children are subconsciously learning new things which would help them throughout school because they can relate back to these activities. This supports children because they are providing a safe and secure place where they can come and be happy, make new friends and learn new skills and play schemes provide for all children so every child is included, they are also supporting the child by teaching them new things or helping them with specific work by integrating it into an activity. Holiday play schemes support families by ensuring their child is in a safe, stimulating learning environment while they are unable to look after the child because they are at work etc. Play workers also can pick the child up from their school so the parent/career will not have to worry about transport for the child. ‘Holiday play schemes are run by play workers. Play workers are responsible for planning activities to help children learn, play and relax with their friends. Play workers will often pick up children from local schools.’ http://www.youngsouthampton.org/parentsandcarers/childcare-schoolaged/holiday -play-schemes.asp 12.12.11 Child-minders aim to support children and their families by providing a safe and stimulating for the child/children they are caring for, child-minders mainly care for a child in a domestic environment such as the child’s home. Child-minders become a valued member of a family because they pay such a big role in the child’s life. A child-minder usually takes the child on day trips to museums or animal parks such as zoo’s, they are usually educational day trips where the child can learn something. Arranging stimulating and therapeutic learning activities such as finger painting, cooking, reading, dress-up games or even celebrating cultural events which could include making Christmas or Eid cards or creating their own Easter egg. All these activities support children because they are learning new skills which they will need in life, they all acquire the child to use their fine and gross motor skills which will help them develop, and also their language and intellectual development. ‘They do this in a domestic setting (normally their own home) for payment†¦to ensure they provide a safe and stimulating environment for the children that they care for. Registered child-minders are usually self-employed and run their own business. Although every day will be different, a child-minder’s typical day may include: †¢visiting a park, museum, library or playgroup †¢arranging fun and stimulating learning activities, such as dressing-up, creative play, reading, and celebrating cultural events from around the world †¢providing meals and snacks for the children, involving them in food preparation and menu choices †¢taking children to and from school or clubs †¢working with other local child-minders to organise group activities.’ http://www.ncma.org.uk/childminders/become_a_childminder/what_childminders_do.aspx 12.12.11 The Human Rights Act 2000 This act ensures all children have a right to the protection of private and family life, this means in practice all children’s personal life is always kept private, this includes any information that is disclosed from parents or carers about a child, also anything that is revealed during placement. The right to education, this means that every single child has the right to have an education no matter of their race, gender, culture or background whether it is at a statutory or private sector. To discriminate against children because of their race, sex, culture, background etc is unlawful . ‘The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.’ http://www.elc.org.uk/pages/lawarticleshra.htm#14 16.12.11 These are some of the ri ghts that The Human Rights Act 2000 allows children to have, this legislation overall supports the rights of children because it ensures children have the right to equality, dignity and to be respected. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 This act supports the rights of children because it states that it is unlawful for educational providers such as teachers to discriminate against pupils with a special educational disability or need. It influences working practices in the setting because if a teacher discriminated a child which was physically disabled and in a wheel chair by not making sure they had access to everything they needed, additional care, help or support then they could be prosecuted because it is against the law. The Equality Act 2010 This act supports the rights of children because it states the legal responsibilities of public sectors such as schools to provide equal opportunities for everyone. This act influences working practices in the setting by trying to ensure that everyone is treated equally no matter what ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc. A staff member could not treat a child differently to the other children because of their religion, for example; during a seasonal period such as Christmas and the children are creating Christmas cards and one of the children is Muslim and their parents have asked the staff for their child not to take part in activities like that, the staff could not just isolate the child and give them nothing to do, the staff should either set a different piece of work of that child to do which does not involve Christmas activities or send them to a different class where they are doing a different activity so that child does not feel left out or isolated.

Facilitating Case Management Essay Example for Free

Facilitating Case Management Essay Why is it important for a case manager to develop rapport with a client? Provide three examples of how rapport can be generated. 2. Why are statutory requirements necessary? What impact do they have on the case manager’s role? 3. What information might you need to gather from the families of clients? 4. List two elements that may be considered to be characteristics of a complex case. 5. Describe two strategies you may employ when dealing with a client with complex issues. 6. Case management plans must be developed in order to reflect the initial assessment of needs. Why is it essential that these plans be designed in consultation with clients? 7. Casework processes should be continually monitored for effectiveness. a) List two reasons why this is necessary. b) How should monitoring be undertaken? 8. If changes to a case plan are required, who should be consulted prior to the changes being made? 9. Why is cultural consideration important as part of case management planning? 0. Outline three strategies you think a workplace needs to have for including cultural awareness in the planning process? 11. You are a Team Leader in a Community Service Organisation and your organisation has just employed a new case worker. Describe two strategies that can help facilitate casework consultation between staff to maximise their performance in their new role. Best practice and promoting high-quality case management 12. What is meant by the term ‘best practice case management’? Why is best practice a significant service delivery benchmark? 13. How can case workers benefit from appropriate leadership, support, advice, supervision and challenges? In what ways might these improve service delivery? 14. Legislation, organisational policies and procedures can change over time. How might case management leaders support case managers in keeping up to date with organisational policies and procedures?

Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization

Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization Modern Hot Metal Desulfurization And Dephosphorization Technologies Introduction The purpose of phosphorus and sulfur removal is to decrease the concentration of these particles along with the undesired inclusions (oxides, borides, nitrides, carbides, and chlorides) to accomplish the final product quality requirements [5]. Dephosphorization involves low temperature, high slag basicity (CaO/ SiO2 ratio) and high oxygen activity whereas desulphurization entails high temperature, high slag basicity (CaO/ SiO2 ratio) and low oxygen activity. Initially, dephosphorization was performed by the addition of iron ores in the blast furnace runner. Soda ash (Na2CO3) was used in the blast furnace house during desulphurization. Subsequently, dephosphorization was improved by the subsurface injection of reagents in vessels, such as torpedo or submarine cars. Desulfurization was enhanced by co-injection of lime and magnesium into the hot metal transfer ladles [6]. The following dephosphorization and desulphurization technologies are reviewed: 1. Dephosphorization by the multirefining converter (MURC) process 2. Dephosphorization using CaO aggregates 3. Desulfurization by Magnesium 4. Desulfurization by flux injection using a new kinetic model 5. Desulfurization by the CFD modeling 1. Dephosphorization By The Murc Process The multirefining converter (MURC) process claims to improve the efficiency of the dephosphorization procedure by reducing the cost and minimizing the slag volume. It is a new hot metal pretreatment in which dephosphorization and decarburization processes are developed in the same converter for further reduction of the decarburization slag. The MURC process reduces the amount of slag by 50 % in comparison to the conventional pretreatment processes (30 %). The decarburization slag is continuously recycled (Figure 1). A low basicity dephosphorization slag is discharged from the MURC due to the high amount of total iron in the slag (T Fe) and no desiliconization treatment of the hot metal. This results into a valuable utilization of the dephosphorization slag in the steelmaking process. 2. Dephosphorization Using Cao Aggregates The multiphase dephosphorization slag is analyzed through the addition of calcium ferrite flux powder into hot metal. It is observed that high [Si] content (0.15 %) shows a similar CaO efficiency for dephosphorization than low [Si] content (0.00 %). The low [Si] content exhibits calcium phosphate (3CaO.P2O5) whereas high [Si] content shows a combination of calcium silicate (2CaO.SiO2), and calcium phosphate. The formation of these solid phases explains a similar CaO efficiency under different [Si] content. 3. Desulfurization By Magnesium Desulfurization is enhanced by the stirring effect of Mg bubbles in the hot metal. The reaction speeds up by the addition of lime and CaC2. These desulfurization reagents were tested in ArcelorMital Indiana Harbor. The typical inclusions before reagent injection were TiC and MnS. TiO2 is added to protect the graphite lining in the blast furnace. MgS + TiC and MgS were the most frequent inclusions after the reagent injection. MnS inclusions were not observed after this stage. This means, most of these inclusions floated up at the end of desulphurization. Further improvement of desulfurization can be achieved by Al addition. The latter reacts with lime to form lower melting point calcium aluminates. 4. Desulfurization By Flux Injection Using A New Kinetic Model Desulfurization is performed by introducing powder reagents (CaO, calcium carbonate, calcium diamide carbonate) into the hot metal using either core wired or a carrier gas (nitrogen). This creates a complex variety of interfaces in torpedo ladles (Figure 2) [7]. There are two reaction modes that are present in the heterogeneous/ immiscible phases. The first mode is related to the transitory reaction between the liquid steel and powder particles. The second mode is the permanent reaction between the slag on the surface and the molten steel. Desulfurization in torpedo ladles. The interfaces are: (1) Jet zone; (2) bubbles and particles rise in the plume zone; (3) bubbles emerge in the breakthrough zone; (4) slag zone; (5) gas-slag-metal emulsion forms in the dispersion zone; (6) metal reacts with lining in the lining zone; (7) lowest stirring intensity in the intermediate zone Several parameters influence the desulfurization of hot metal and are predicted by a new model of submerged powder injection. The total amount of the flux is considered to be liquid at steelmaking temperature and the injection rate along with the time lapse can be determined. The total sulfur removal rate for both the permanent contact (top slag) and transitory (injection powder) mode is obtained by the following equation, The right hand side of the reaction is related to the transitory reaction. This equation is only useful during the powder injection. After that, the right hand side becomes worthless. Sulfide solubility in slag is restricted. Once the sulfide solubility limit is reached, a pure sulfide phase grows within the slag to absorb the excess of sulfur. Sulfide saturation may occur before the slag and metal reach equilibrium. The speed of the reaction is reduced until the sulfur content is dropped. Excess of sulfur in permanent reactions produces a reversion reaction and further desulphurization cannot occur. The transitory reaction removes the excess of sulfur by the continuously addition of fresh powder into the torpedo ladle. It is also recommended to deslag after powder injection. Figure 3 is divided into [% S] wt % and reaction rate. The experimental results are obtained from the 20 CaO-60CaF2-20Al2O3 (by weight) powder injection under an argon atmosphere into 3.4-3.8 kg cast iron at 1310 Â °C. Once the slag (permanent-contact reaction) experiences an excess of sulfur at 420 s, the sulfur concentration decreases continuously until 950 s. The contributions of the permanent and transitory reactions are also displayed. The permanent reaction increases with time until it is saturated. The transitory reaction never approaches to saturation conditions. The difference between these two reactions is not significant large. Therefore, the contribution of these both reactions is generally equal. 5. Desulfurization By CFD Modeling Synthetic slag is used on the desulfurization process due to its reuse in several treatments. The sulfur is transferred to the synthetic slag followed by slag regeneration. Slag regeneration is performed by the oxygen injection to produce gaseous sulfur dioxide (Equation 3). The sulfur distribution also differs from the slag and the metal once desulfurization begins (Figure 4). A porous plug at the bottom of the vessel is used to inject nitrogen in the hot metal. The fluid velocity is increased to optimize the desulfurization rate to improve sulfur transport. Therefore, CFD analyzes the desulfurization and slag regeneration processes to optimize the plug position and calculate the drift velocity of gas bubbles, desulfurization rate, among other parameters, for future design of desulphurization processes. Conclusions Multirefining converter (MURC) (1) Dephosphorization and decarburization are carried out in the same converter, reducing the slag volume for better industrial, economical and environmental purposes (2) The dephosphorization efficiency is increased by greater amounts of CaO to produce solid phases, such as 3CaOP2O5 and 2CaSiO2 Desulfurization by Mg (1) TiC particles are nucleation sites for MnS and MgS (2) MgS inclusions are the most frequent particles after the reagent injection Desulfurization by flux injection using a new kinetic model (1) A new model is developed to evaluate and identify separately the transitory and permanent reactions (2) This model helps to predict the excess of sulfur to avoid reversion of it in the hot metal (3) The contributions of the transitory and permanent contact reactions are observed to be in a similar proportion, concluding equal influence in the powder injection technique CFD Modelling (1) The desulfurization and slag regeneration are successfully modeled using thermal and transport mechanisms References [1] S.Y. Kitamura, K. Yonezawa, Y. Ogawa, N. Sasaki (2002). Improvement of reaction efficiency in hot metal dephosphorization, 29 (2), 121-124 [2] Q. Liu, H. Pielet, P. Kaushik B. Chukwulebe (2009). AISTech 2009 Proceedings. An investigation of hot metal desulfurization by Mg, 1, 821-827 [3] S. Ohguchi and D.G.C. Robertson (1984). Kinetic model for refining by submerged powder injection: Part 1 Transitory and permanent contact reactions, 11(5), 261-274 [4] S. Pirker, P. Gittler, H. Pirker J. Lehner (2002). Elsevier. CFD, a design tool for a new hot metal desulfurization technology, 26, 337-350 [5] X. LV and L. Zhang (2008). Removal of impurity elements from molten aluminum: part 1. A review. 1, 1-35 [6] R.J. Fruehan (Ed.) (1998). The making, shaping and treating of steel (11th ed.). Pittsburgh: The AISE Steel Foundation [7] M. Sadmi S. Ashhab (2007). Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Application of neural net modeling and inverse control to the desulfurization of hot metal process, 1 (2), 79-84

The First Time Essay -- essays research papers

The First Time Slush, Slush, Slush, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" "Well, there goes another graceful one," I looked admirably down the slope, "How do they do that?" "With lots of practice?!" Veronica replied sarcastically. "No kidding!" I gave her a look. Then with a unsure voice I said, "I'm going to try it myself, wish me luck." "Break a leg?!" "Ha, Ha, very funny." Slowly, I crabbed walked up the slope. Shaking all over, I was afraid to look down. Yet, I still had the courage to stagger myself to the top. Feeling a little dizzy by the high altitude, I took a deep breath of the cold frost bitten air. Then without a second thought, I lowered my knees and gave it a quick push. "Ahhhhhhhh!" Oh my God, what have I put myself through. Is this what I really came here for? Why do I feel like I'm flying, like a 747, heavy but still floating in the air. Have I died and left my body? No, No, I'm to young to die. Give me another chance to live. Please, let me go. Suddenly, I felt myself swaggering. The air pressure pushing harder below me. No, No, I take it back, don't let me go. Thoughts that were racing through my mind were blown away by a sudden "Thud!" like all those times I've dived off a diving board with my belly down. "Where am I?" I whispered to myself, " Why is it so cold?" "Hey Jo! Get up!" "Uh?" "Hurry, before someone accidentally skis over y...

Cultural Analysis of The Coldest Winter Ever Essay -- essays research

The Coldest Winter Ever   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born Lisa Williamson in 1964, Sister Souljah is a hip-hop artist that burst to the forefront of mainstream media in 1992 when she was criticized by then Presidential candidate Bill Clinton for saying â€Å"If Black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?† Clinton was trying to prove to other Democrats that he did not sympathize with the organization that Souljah was a member of. She basically said Bill Clinton and went on to sign music and publishing contracts. She has become one of the more passionate and articulate voices to emerge speaking for young African Americans in the United States. She has written and published to works: No Disrespect, and autobiographical account of Souljah’s life, and The Coldest Winter Ever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Coldest Winter Ever tells of the story of a young woman named Winter. She was born into a family drug operation. Her father was a drug kingpin. Winter never knew about struggles in life. She always had the best of the best; everyone wanted to be like her. This was all taken away when her father’s operation is busted and he goes to jail for the rest of his life. Winter, who has never known poverty, is faced with trying to survive while attempting to continue living in the extravagance to which she has become accustomed. The story follows Winter from the time she is fifteen until she is about twenty-five, in prison serving time for a crime for possessing drugs that belonged to her boyfriend. The story ends with Winter still in jail, not the usual happy ending that accompanies fictional novels. This real life ending is the most important aspect of this novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx argues in The German Ideology that material allows for more culture. Material is the road to true humanity. These materials are not only those things that we possess, such as cars, clothes, and houses, but also material that we gain through life experience itself. Winter defines her life by material. For her, money is God. She begins referencing her material items at once, from the diamond ring set in 24-karat gold she received the day she was born, to the diamond tennis bracelet she received on her sixteenth birthday, to the designer clothes she wore that no one else had or could afford. Even after she has no money because of he... .... International Publishers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2004. Rosteck, Thomas. â€Å"Subject Positions as a Site of Rhetorical Struggle: Representing African   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Americans.† At the Intersection: Cultural Studies and Rhetorical Studies. The Guilford   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Press. New York. 1999. Sheldon, Randall G. â€Å"The History of Criminal Justice from a Critical Perspective.† Controlling   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Dangerous Classes: A Critical Introduction to the History of Criminal Justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sister Souljah. The Coldest Winter Ever. Pocket Books, a Division of Simon and Schuster Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Americas, NY. 1999. Sister Souljah. No Disrespect. Vintage Books, a Division of Random House. New York. 1994. Storey, John. â€Å"Fiction.† Cultural Studies and the Study of Popluar Culture second edition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens, Georgia. University of Georgia Press. 2003. Woodson, Carter G. The Mis-Education of the Negro. Trenton, NJ. Africa World Press, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  March 1998.

Language Planning and Language Development Essay

Language is a typically human phenomenon. In moving from the ‘natural being’ of animal existence to the ‘cultural being’ of human existence, language plays the decisive role. Language gives a sense of identity to an individual as well as a social group and, in the process, creates multiple identities. The maintenance, merger, clash and change in identities based on and reflected in the language change has prompted linguists, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists to study language in its multifarious dimensions. Since economic and societal planning have to, of necessity, take into account the context of planning, there is no wonder that worldwide attention has been drawn towards language planning. Language is an asset and a primary instrument of human communication. However, language can become a problem and a barrier to communication, sometimes symbolically so, under conditions of multiplicity of ethnic groups, languages, dialects, styles, registers and scripts. These conditions may lead to one or more of the following situations which necessitate language planning : (i) Mutually unintelligible language, dialects or scripts competing for supremacy of dominance (ii) Mutually intelligible languages, dialects or scripts, (a) threatening mutual identity, (b) with mutually unfavorable attitudes. (iii) Existence of diglossia, triglossia or multiglossia. (iv) Existence of languages with dominant/minority relationship with a national frontier. (v) Social variables correlating with language use and creating communication zones. (vi) Official action in recognising official languages, distributing patronages for development of languages which may even have the remote implication of displacing or disturbing in reality or symbolically, the existing domains of language use. (vii) Language used by the politicised elite to retain their elitist privileges by restricting language use in education, administration and mass media. There is an urgent need for serious attention to language planning in a country like India. The following examples are illustrative of situations which demand the attention of educationists and planners to the crucial importance of language in society. 1. Sometime back, the Physics Department of the Aligarh University administered a standardised creativity test to the high achievers of the University. To their great surprise they found the result absolutely erratic. After hurried consultations among the scientists involved, it was decided to translate the test into Hindi—Urdu, the mother tongue of the students taking the test. It is only then that the test yielded the expected standard result2. 2. A very significant programme, the preparation of a Bridge Course in Kannada, was undertaken by the Central Institute of Indian Languages some years back. From experience and observation the Institute came to a few conclusions: 1. Language teaching, particularly that of teaching the mother tongue in the Indian schools, is defective 2. What is taught in the name of language is literature. 3. The teaching of literature is restricted to the teaching of ancient and medieval literature and seldom touches the contemporary. 4. Even in literature, more emphasis is given to teaching about literature than really teaching literary sensibility and critical judgment. 5. No attention is paid to the teaching of different registers. 6. As a result, there is a gap between the language attainment at the end of the school stage and the language requirement at the beginning of the college stage, particularly when taught through the mother tongue medium. As a result of this, the students cannot cope with their college studies. Some 900 students selected from three Universities of Karnataka were given a pre-test. A hundred-hour Bridge Course developed by the Institute was offered to an experimental group of about 400 students and a post-test given to all the 900. It was established that the hypotheses suggested by the institute were valid and that, pending revision of the school curriculum, the Bridge Course was of immediate necessity, particularly in the context of switchover to the mother tongue medium at the University stage (Upadhyaya 1972 and Dave 1974). 3. In Nagaland, there are 22 mutually unintelligible Naga languages, of which 16 recognised by the State Government. The language of communication among the people is Pidgin Naga, which is used even in the floor of the Assembly, though not an officially recognised language. In the absence of an acceptable common language, the State Government has adopted English as the State Language (Sreedhar 1974). This has not only created a wide gulf among the elite and the masses of people, but also deprived the common man from effectively participating in the processes of governance of the State. 4. The widespread radio network in the country has shrunk distances. The growing television network has demonstrated the potential of revolutionising communication in a very short time. However, out of the 1652 mother tongues of the country, broadcasting is not done even in 150. Broadcasting in languages other than the 15 major languages is meant mostly either for entertainment, or for purposes catering to peripheral interests of the listeners. The television is much more restricted in the coverage. Under these circumstances, in spite of all the outer-trappings, the message broadcast over the mass media reaches a very restricted audience (Pattanayak 1974). A study of the language of newspapers and that of the film is bound to reinforce the above conclusion. 5. Illiteracy is a major problem of the country (Pattanayak 1974). Out of 800 million illiterates in the world, India is credited to have 400 million . if in eradicating illiteracy the intention is to move from a ‘culture of silence’ to a ‘culture of thinking’ participation and the emphasis is on the creation of an intelligent task force for economic and industrial development, then, urgent and bold steps need to be taken in this area. Literacy in a multilingual must be based on the expressed needs of a people3. Secondly, the language of literacy has to be determined keeping in view the various contexts of language use and strategies linking the languages of literacy with that of education and administration. It would thus be quite clear that whether it is in the field of language use in education, language use in administration or in mass media, there is a constant need to weigh alternatives and plan action. The examples cited above are as true of any multi lingual country as they are of India. Such examples not only establish the necessity for language planning, but also the need to analyse its process and product. Before talking about language planning, one must understand the motivation and mechanisms of planning. Planning is not merely a catalogue of resources and the organisation and mobilization of these resources to reach a certain defined goal. Since the technocrat is seldom the decision maker, it is important that the planner provides alternatives and options are given, the goal is stated and the strategies are spelled out the politician-decision maker can take a decision. The two aims of planning are growth promotion and environment amelioration. Here, environment is not used merely in the physical ecological sense, but is used in the sense of sociocultural context of the individuals in society. It is most unfortunate that the pre-occupation with economics as the only discipline of concern of planning blinded the planners to its equally important second aspect of planning. Those who are obsessed with growth and economic development take the social and cultural imperatives for granted. Like the textbook and laboratory controlled experiments, where all other conditions being equal a certain conclusion flows out of it, the economic planner takes the context of planning for granted and concentrates on the economic planning. He forgets that in actual life all the conditions seldom remain equal and that the context in which social problems are nurtured is as important as the problems themselves. Planning is not merely a balance sheet of inputs and outputs. That input-output statements of growth have to be checked against cost benefit to the society, need to be emphasised more, if planning is not to defeat its own purpose. Language planning does not merely entail drawing a list of mother tongues spoken in a defined territory, nor does it merely mean listing of their actual and desired domains of use. Whether in a unilingual or in a plurilingual society, language planning is essential to deal with such problems of dialect, language standard, all aspects of language development and the contexts of language use are areas of concern of a language planner. It would be much more meaningful and sensible to talk of relatively unitary and pluralilstic societies, as the great divide seems to be unitary and pluralilstic rather than developed and developing in the context of language planning. In pluralistic societies, choices, options and alternatives are imperatives of planning, as the basis of pluralism is transparent and easily manipulated. Speaking of language development, Khubchandani (1975:102) offers the following framework which accepts the distinction between developed and undeveloped languages: Dimension Developed Language Undeveloped Language Range of communication Wide,Sometimes multinational. Limited to region. Ecological status. Spoken by dominant majorities. Spoken by dominant minorities. Domian of use. All. Restricted as with vernaculars. Writing system Present. May not be present. Literary status With literary traditions. Colloquial, bazar languages. Social prestige Standard language, acceptable to the elite. Non-standard or sub-standard: slangs, hybrids This is too simplistic a model. Following this one can argue that the major (scheduled) languages of India are both developed and un-developed and they are neither developed nor un-developed. One can say that, barring their restricted domain of use, they fulfill all the criteria of developed language. At the same time, looking at the situation from national and international perspective, one can say that, being diglossic, they have all the features of undeveloped, whereas in Latin America, the major language is developed and the minority (such as Indian) languages are undeveloped. If one takes the case of English alone, this scheme will lead to untenable conclusions. Actually such a schematic presentation conceals and confuses issues rather than clarifies them. Ferguson’s criteria (Fishman 1968 : 28) of a developed language, inter-translatablity with languages in the industrial society, is ethnocentric. One may wish to give the benefit of doubt by saying that the industrial so ciety probably has developed the most varied registers of the language used. But, in the agricultural society, certain contemplative disciplines have flourished which may not have found place in the industrial society. In any case, there is no reason why value judgement about a society need be bodily transferred into the discussion of language use without establishing its relevance to such discussions. What, then, is language development? Can a language be developed by a language planning society ? One popular notion of a developed language is its antiquity. Languages which are older are generally considered more developed. Scholars of history of language and literature in all Indian languages usually devote considerable space and time to this aspect of the question. Another popular notion is linked with the availability of creative literature in a language. Thus, a quarrel whether Bengali or Tamil is more developed has resulted in a lot of unproductive debate. A corollary of this stand is the rejection of spoken languages as languages and give them a grudging recognition as dialects. Scholars have even gone to the extent of saying that Saora has only 700 words, and therefore it does not deserve the status of a language, thus putting the premium on the vocabulary. Presentation of a norm or standard where competing varieties of a language exist is a primary step in language development. This can be achieved by standardising spelling, writing grammars, dictionaries, textbooks, etc. Developing a script for non-literate languages forms a legitimate concern of language is another major concern of language development. This is best achieved by promoting new registral writing, creating technical terminology, and encouraging translation, etc. In a multilingual society, allocation of domains of use to each language and ensuring its increased or decreased use for specific domains forms part of the study of language development. Language planning agencies, endowed with sufficient technical expertise, and executive power, and certainly do a great deal to influence language development, and, through planning, help reduce conflict and tension. The problems in a linguistically plural society are complex, the options are competitive and the goal is difficult to perceive, because of the volotile nature of the context of language use. It must be understood that no language or culture group is absolutely unitary or monolithic in nature. For example, all persons speaking English do neither speak a uniform language nor do they share a single culture. Even all English speakers in England or America cannot be so classified. Communication facilities, ethnicity, religious grouping, uneven opportunities leading to uneven education and cultural development are some of the parameters which account for regional linguistic differences even where a single language is dominant. In the past, linguists assumed a uniform and invariant structure of language. At the present moment it is generally accepted that the speech matrix of a community is constituted of varieties of varieties of the language. These are generally treated under rubrics of style, register, dialect, sociolect, etc. While in a single dominant language society, the different varieties tend to have specialised functions, in a multilingual society, in addition to varieties of mother tongue, one or more other languages share the communicative domain. When there are people using different languages and different varieties of a language, it is natural that they develop certain attit udes towards each other. These attitudes indicate social ranking and relative status of groups and also intergroup cohesiveness or lack of it within a broad framework. Each person considers his language to be the paragon of beauty and sweetest sounding of all. The neighbour’s language usually comes in for a drubbing. The neighbour with whom one comes in constant communication, competes for socio-economic advantages, trades and establishes other societal relationship, naturally exerts a lot of linguistic influence. The nature of this influence depends on many factors, the important one being the political-economic power of the communities concerned. A Telugu speaker calls Tamil by the given name ‘Aravam’, meaning ‘sound not sweet to hear’. The neighbour’s language is described in many languages as the sound of pebbles in a tin drum or sounds coming from a mouth filled with pan. One’s own language is like peeled sweet banana, sweet as sugar and like nectar. When so expressed the unconscious feelings are expressed as conscious attitudes. The epithet of Devabhasha ‘language of the gods’ brought out the retort from the Maharashtra saint poet, ‘If Sanskrit is the language of gods, is Prakrit the language of thieves ?’ All such overt attitudinal statements are grist in the mill of the linguist and the language planner. The above attitudes are not strictly confined to interlingual relationships. Attitudes of dialect speakers of one language towards each other may result either in consolidation and standardization of the language, or separation and split of a language. The notion of dialect may or may not have a pejorative connotation for the for the standard language speaker, but, for the dialect speaker, it is related to local pride. Any effort at standardisation must take this factor of local pride into consideration. A study of dialects of Hindi in India alone will provide examples of both consolidation and separation. As attitudes towards others’ language have serious sociolinguistic implications, so has one’s attitude towards one’s own language. A derogatory attitude or a sense of deficiency towards one’s own language results in the looking for an external standard, acceptance of a culture language or even language loss. The Canadian French speakers looking towards Parisian French, the Caribbean Hindi speaker, the Ceylonese Tamil speaker and the Malayalee settlers in Hon Kong looking towards India, for standards is the result of a feeling of deficiency by the speakers of those languages outside their homeland. Non-literate minority languages adopting a dominant language for almost all purposes other than home use, as in the case of Kannada for Tulu, Kodagu and Marathi or Kannada for Konkani in India, are examples of culture languages. Examples of loss of language due to weakened loyalty can be found almost in all parts of the world. In India various tribal languages which are lost because of the modernising thhrust of various dominant languages may be taken as examples. Sometimes loyalty towards one’s own language is shaken due to induced circumstances. For example, the team roller publicity in favour of American white English and standard is responsible not only for the lack of confidence in the native black and brown speakers of English about the standard of their mother tongue in the USA itself, but also for the lack of faith of the non-English world in Asia and Africa in the non-white speakers, including native speakers of English of Latin American origin in the USA as class room models. As would be clear by now, although language planning in some form is needed in al societies, the need for it is greater in a muitllingual society where the problem of communication is complex, and confronts the speaker with multiple options. Linguists have conceived of primary, secondary and tertiary speech communities on the basis of communicatory situations linking the National languagewith the secondary and the international language with tertiary (Haugen 1972:166). But such a simplified model is inadequate to explain the situation in multilingual societies in general and Indian situation in particular. Take for example, a group of Dravidian and Munda language speakers using a common code, Desia, for communication, which is a dialect of Oriya, an Indo-Aryan language. Oriya as a language has dialects which shade of into Marathi, Hindi or Bengali. If one measures the country in any direction on a straight line with points at short intervals, it will be quite evident that there is break in communication only at the extreme points of the scale. Viewed from on angle, there is ‘partial understanding’ among contiguous speech communities in India; viewed from the other, there is Switzerland – like tertiary speech communities among whom interpreters are needed as there is no of creation and change of primary language loyalties, the process of a group transcending the primordial linguistic loyalty through and identities, sub-national or national, is concealed in these simplified models. Because of ethnic cohesiveness and consequent density in communication, at the intermediate contiguous points even languages belonging to two different families are found to share a common grammar. Gumperz (1971 ; 255) has pointed out that the bilinguals in the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka operate with a single grammar and move from one language to the other through a set of transformation rules. It is not always that a third language is used as a common code. In the cases of Konkani : Marathi : Tulu : Kannada, the former has adopted the latter as culture languages, thus allocating the culture language the domain of formal commuinication. All these call for a re-examination of notions like national language, George Puttenham’s comment (1589) â€Å"After a speech is fully fashioned to the common understanding, and accepted by consent of a whole country and nation, it is called a language† is a poor definition both of nation and of language. In a nation like India, where there are languages of all India importance, languages of regional importance and languages of local importance, all the 1652 mother tongues, listed by the Census are national languages. This includes the so-called foreign mother tongues which have become part of the national cultural heritage of the country. It must be understood in this connection that ‘nation’ is a political concept. A political entity becoming a nation faces the challenge of developing a sense of nationalism among all the people inhabiting it. If already a majority of people have imbibed the spirit of nationalism, the task is to persuade the minority to accept the national goals set by the majority. In a nation inhabited by people of diverse ethnicity and language without a dominant group, a national outlook has to emerge through consensus. This requires coherence between the local group needs and national needs, between micro-planning, and macro-planning, and between economic development and political development. In short, it requires coherence between economic development through planning and socio-political context for such developmental planning. The ‘sons of soil theory’ as propounded in different regions of India has to be viewed in this general perspective. In fact, this phenomenon is not peculiar to India. The demands of the French in Canada, the Tamil in Sri Lanka, the Bengalis in the erstwhile Pakistan, the Flemings in Belgium, the various ethnic groups in Philippines, UK, USA and even in the USSR for equal national importance and equal share in development can be subsumed under this rubric. Such theories arise out of micro-planning at its narrowest application and is anti-national in both approach and content. India as a nation can be viewed as constituting a single soil, Maharshtra or Tamil Nadu may be viewed as disparate entities and independent soils. Within Maharashtra. Vidarbha and Marathwada claim independent soil status, whereas Marathas, not to speak of the backward classes, are not even given equal treatment with Brahmins in the same soil. Under these circumstances ‘sons of soil’ is n ot only a pernicious doctrine, but any planning based only on such considerations without reference to macro-planning is bound to defeat the very purpose of planning. Those who plead for sons of soil theory, often due to lsck of perspective, draw strength and support from notion such as situation-bound language planning (Khubchandani 1975). In a nation state with pluri-lingual society, it is important to be aware of the local needs as well as the national needs. Exclusive concern either with the dominant or the minority without reference to the other is bound to hurt both and destroy the society. Neighbourhood is important and of immediate relevance to all; but extension of the neighbourhood or at least the awareness of its extended frontiers so as to reach out to the national frontiers is of equal importance from the point of view of the existence of a nation. If there is no coherence between a speech area and a language area, then it is bound to create conflict. Language planning and language development, to be effective, must have the twin focus on micro and micro level needs, aspirations and resources. The Western view is liner and binary whereas the Eastern is cyclical and spiral. However, the westernised eastern elites, who are in charge of planning, follow essentially the Western world view. That is why, all language problems are reduced to binary oppositions such as English:Hindi; Hindi:Urdu; Hindi:Indian languages, etc; and all integrative solutions elude them. ‘Unity in diversity’ is so worn out through constant use that it is often rejected as a cliche. And yet if language planning is to be achieved without coercion in a multilingual, multi-ethnic society, it has to be viewed in the grand design offered by Gandhi in his concept of the ‘oceanic circle’. In this structure, composed of innumerable speech communities, â€Å"life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual†, always ready to defend and enrich his mother tongue, each speech community ready to defend and enrich the standard, the superposed or the culture language, each such group ready to defend, enrich and sacrifice for the regional dominant language and the latter ready to defend, enrich and sacrifice for the link language, national language or language and languages of national and international integration, â€Å"till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral unit†. NOTE 1. These multiple identities may be both multi-lingualism in the mother tongue and plurilingualism in the sense of different language use. See : wandruszka, Mario, Interlinguistics-Outlines of the New Linguistics. Education; Vol. 12. Institute for Scientific Co-operation, Tubingen, Landhausstr. 18, FRG, 76 ff. 2. Personal communication from Prof. Rais Ahmed, formerly Professor of Physics, Aligarh Muslim University, and later Director, NCERT, New Delhi. 3. Ph.D. thesis of Daniel Moulton in the University of Texas based on his field work in Andhra Pradesh, India under supervision of the author.

Zinc Deficiencies

Zinc deficiency is the inadequate amount of zinc in the body to meet its demands. Zinc is vital to the body functions such as, a healthy immune system and wrongdiagnosis. com states is best known for minimizing the effects of the common cold or upper respiratory infections. It can enhance the functions of the liver, muscles and bones. Other functions of zinc in the body are to wound heals; aid enzyme activity; DNA production and cell division. When there is an insufficient amount of zinc available for metabolic needs the condition is called hypozincemia. Inadequate quantities of zinc in the daily diet are the main reason why zinc deficiencies occur. Zinc deficiency is uncommon in areas where the diet is high in meat but Solomons, N. W. (2001) concludes that people who diets consist primarily plant based food sources that are low in bioavailable zinc often have zinc deficiencies. People who are vegetarians, elderly and those whom are malnourished can be at risk of the deficiency. Pregnant women or those that are breastfeeding are at risk from zinc deficiency due to the high demands for zinc from a developing infant. Chronic diseases such as alcoholism, diabetes and cancer are at risk of developing zinc deficiency. Excessive loss of zinc can occur if you have liver disease or after a trauma, burns and protein losing conditions such as enteropathy. In children zinc deficiency can develop as impaired growth and taste as well as a delayed sexual maturation. The symptoms include impaired immunity, night blindness, anemia, lethargy, and impaired wound healing. A deficiency in zinc can cause malfunctions of these organs and functions. Zinc does not get stored in the body; therefore for treatment it is important to eat food high in zinc every day. Red meat, shellfish, nuts and beans are examples of suitable food sources for the mineral zinc. Dietary supplements also contain zinc therefore vegetarians whose diet does not include adequate sources of zinc, supplementation may be necessary. Pregnant or breastfeeding woman may also need zinc supplementation due to their required high demand and is a positive effect on growth in premature infants. Nutritional-supplements-health-guide. com states there are two ways of achieving supplements and those are zinc sulfate and zinc gluconate. According to pediatriconcall. om a dose of 35-40mg daily can be used for treatment of zinc deficiency. In patients with diarrhea, a uniform dose of 20 mg of elemental zinc should be given during the period of diarrhea and for 7 days after cessation of diarrhea in children older than 3 months. To meet the need for absorbed zinc in the human body through our dietary intake, it requires an increase in zinc content or a decrease in the phytate content. Phytate is a phosphate storage compound that chelates zinc and theses two substances affects the bioavailability of zinc. If diagnosed and treated promptly, zinc deficiency has a good prognosis of a full recovery but because there is no definitive test for zinc deficiency, a delayed or missed diagnosis of the condition is possible. There are multiple diagnostic tests available for zinc deficiency such as zinc taste test. As taste and smell is dependent on there being enough zinc in the body , a simple 10 second test can be done where 1- 2 teaspoons of the solution is sipped and held in the mouth for exactly ten seconds after which is spitting out. If there is no specific taste sensation it indicates a major deficiency of zinc, a metallic taste similar to baking soda indicates a moderate deficiency exist. Left untreated, a zinc deficiency may lead to complications of an enlargement of the liver and spleen, severe malnutrition, recurrent infections and eventually death. pr-usa. net claims ‘deficiency is a significant public health issue, causing 800,000 deaths overall and putting at risk more than two billion people due to ailments such as diarrhea and pneumonia’ and maternal zinc deficiency may cause fetal malformations and low birth weight. References http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/zinc-deficiency-symptoms.html http://www.ehow.com/how_4514397_identify-zinc-deficiency.html#ixzz1CqQF0cNK http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec01/ch005/ch005j.html http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Zinc-Deficiency.htm

Macbeth Act 2, scenes 1 and 2 Essay

In Act 2 Banquo is found with his son Fleance, in the courtyard of Macbeth’s castle at â€Å"witching hour†. The night is cold and dark, with fog surrounding the castles boundaries. Banquo is becoming nervous and this is evident from what he says to his son, Fleance, â€Å"Hold, take my sword. – There’s husbandry in heaven, Their candles are all out. – Take thee that too.† Even though it is obvious he would like to rest, he is fearful of nightmares whilst he sleeps, the following quote suggests this, â€Å"A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep; merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in response.† As Banquo was patrolling the area he hears a noise, â€Å"Who’s there?† startled and scared at this he says to Fleance, â€Å"Give me my sword.† Banquo is tired and is trying to maintain full alert, showing he is on edge; listening out for any anything and everything that might occur. As Macbeth steps out of the dark, slightly visible by Banquo, Macbeth replies: â€Å"A friend† Banquo feels relieved as he can now put his mind at rest, because he has seen a friendly face at such time of night and hostile surroundings. After Macbeth had been socialising with Banquo, Banquo remembers to ask Macbeth a question that had been troubling him about the witches, â€Å"I dreamed last night of the three weird sisters; To you they showed some truth.† Macbeth tries quickly to change the subject by answering, â€Å"I think not of them;† this is because he does not want to be linked to the murder of Duncan that Macbeth is plotting. Macbeth then tries to bribe Banquo, we see this from â€Å"If you shall cleave to my consent, when ’tis, it shall make honour for you.† By this Macbeth is trying to imply that if Banquo stands by him and stays loyal to him, when he Macbeth needs him, Banquo will not regret it and will be honoured by others. Banquo replies, â€Å"So I lose none In seeking to augment it, but still keep My bosom franchised and allegiance clear, I shall be counselled.† Which basically translates, as long as Banquo does not have to risk his honour in providing his life and can keep a clear conscience, then he will be advised by Macbeth. This indicates that Banquo might be picking up on Macbeth’s intentions on becoming king of Scotland. So far we can see the differences in the two characters personalities. Banquo is a loyal person, kind, open to discussions, friendly and honourable to the king â€Å"Duncan† as well as to his friends and family. On the other hand Macbeth is the complete opposite in every way, he appears to be dishonourable (as we know he is planning Duncan’s murder), a liar, untrustworthy and an actor of personalities. When Macbeth is on his own his mind becomes delusional goes into a frenzy he starts to think about the side affects of his actions, but is hyped up and ready to do the deed of killing Duncan. It is clear from, â€Å"Is this a dagger that I see before me, The handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still,† that Macbeth is hallucinating. However, during the build up to the murder Macbeth continues to be drawn by the image of the dagger to Duncan’s room. â€Å"I see thee still and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before.† From this we are informed that Macbeth has now imagined Duncan’s blood on the dagger, but this does not put Macbeth off as we see from when the bell is rung, which was a sign from Lady Macbeth that the coast was clear. Macbeth does not hesitate as he confidently says, â€Å"I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell. Yet earlier, in Act 1 scene 7 we see that Macbeth had doubts about murdering Duncan as he thinks, â€Å"If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly. If th’assassination could trammel up the consequence and catch with his surcease, success, that but his blow might be the be-all and the end all – here†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is where we realise he is feeling uneasy about killing his friend and worrying about the possible consequences. The reason Macbeth changed his mind about murdering Duncan is because Macbeth really wanted to be King more than anything, and once the witches prophesised that this would happen, it made Macbeth more convinced that he should carry out the murder. The changes of his mind show us that Macbeth is easily misled. I feel Macbeth would not have been brave or foolish enough to kill Duncan had his wife not persuaded him to do it as we see from her planning and convincing Macbeth that their murder won’t fail, â€Å"We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep, whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey soundly invite him. Although we have seen Macbeth’s guilt about wanting to kill his friend and someone who he really respects, he is driven to follow through his ambition of becoming king because of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Once Macbeth has killed Duncan he feels guilty which causes him to become hysterical. Although his wife tries to calm him down it is evident that she fails because she instructs him to, â€Å"Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands.† After washing his hands Macbeth still thinks the blood is still on him, due to the burden he is carrying from the dirty deed he carried out. He is so ridden with guilt he cannot even bring himself to say â€Å"Amen† because it is such a religious word, and he knows that now he has committed such a crime, he cannot be a holy person. Macbeth is so tortured in his mind that he imagines he hears a voice cry â€Å"sleep no more†. He feels he will be punished for killing a defenceless man and in return he will be deprived of sleep. He refuses to go back into Duncan’s chamber because the sin he has performed is so great he cannot face up to it again, we learn this from, â€Å"I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done, look on’t again, I dare not.† The following quotes also confirm his guilt, â€Å"To know my deed, ’twere best not know myself.† Which seems to suggest that he would like to disown himself, and â€Å"Wake Duncan with thy knocking: I would thou couldst† implies that Macbeth wishes that Duncan would wake up at the sound of the noises Macbeth hears. Lady Macbeth is not able to fight off Macbeth’s mood swings and conscience. She is trying to be positive and tries to have an optimistic answer for all his negative comments. We see this many times, one example is after Macbeth has killed Duncan he says, â€Å"This is a sorry sight†, but his wife replies â€Å"A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.† Act 2 ends with Macbeth continuing to feel guilty and on edge with every noise he hears.