Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the unique capability of differentiating into all cell types, leading to the development of an entire organism. As the integrity of ES cells is critical for the developing embryo, these cells have likely evolved mechanisms that detect and respond rapidly to adverse stimuli. Indeed, hES cells have been shown to be highly sensitive to DNA damage, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this rapid death remain unclear. Caspases are critical mediators of apoptosis in mammalian cells, and a key protein that controls their activation is Bax, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. While the main components of the apoptotic pathway have been identified, exactly how this pathway is regulated in various primary cells remains unclear. Here, we examined the apoptotic pathway in hES cells and report a unique mechanism engaged by hES cells that can prime them to undergo rapid apoptosis inresponse to genotoxic damage.To visualize GFP-tagged Bax, 3-day colonies of hES cells were transfected with 2 mg of hBaxC3-EGFP (Addgene) with FuGENE HD transfection reagent. The process of introducing nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells by nonviral methods is defined as transfection. Using various chemical, lipid or physical methods, this gene transfer technology is a powerful tool to study gene function and protein expression in the context of a cell. Development of reporter gene systems and selection methods for stable maintenance and expression of transferred DNA have greatly expanded the applications for transfection. Assay-based reporter technology, together with the availability of transfection reagents, provides the foundation to study mammalian promoter and enhancer sequences, trans-acting proteins such as transcription factors, mRNA processing, protein:protein interactions, translation and recombination events (Groskreutz and Schenborn, 1997). Transfection is a method that neutralizes or obviates the issue of introducing negatively charged molecules (e.g., phosphate backbones of DNA and RNA) into cells with a negatively charged membrane. Chemicals like calcium phosphate and DEAE-dextran or cationic lipid-based reagents coat the DNA, neutralizing or even creating an overall positive charge to the molecule. This makes it easier for the DNA:transfection reagent complex to cross the membrane, especially for lipids that have a â€Å"fusogenic† component, which enhances fusion with the lipid bilayer. Physical methods like microinjection or electroporation simply punch through the membrane and introduce DNA directly into the cytoplasm. Here we describe the striking observation that healthy undifferentiated hES cells maintain Bax in its preactivated state at the Golgi. This is in contrast to other cell types in which Bax is typically present in an inactive form in the cytosol. Our results also highlight the fact that the apoptotic machinery undergoes dynamic changes even at early stages of differentiation.While undifferentiated hES cells have constitutively active Bax and undergo rapid apoptosis in response to DNA damage, just 2 days of differentiation induced significant changes suchthat Bax was no longer active, and the cells were no longer highly sensitive to DNA damage. This could be manifested with even greater complexity in vivo as cells during early embryogenesis undergo rapid proliferation and differentiation.

Dusk by Saki Essay

Another one of Saki’s dark tales, Dusk reveals the author’s ironic view of man’s infinite capacity for misunderstanding one another. Along the duration of the story, the protagonist, Gortsby, watches and observes people scurrying about at dusk, sitting at a park bench. Inwardly, he believes the people whom he observes looked defeated, and reciprocates dusk as a representation of the time of defeat for humans. The short story features an objective limited point of view, most of the characterization of Gortsby occurs through Saki’s pen on Gortsby’s thoughts. The character possesses a cynical view of the human state and has probably experienced some sort of defeat of his own – Saki never mentioned what sort of failure Gortsby was facing, the only information given was that he had no financial troubles. The story emphasizes on the misjudgement of character by Gortsby of the young male; the theme of the dysfunctions of a subjective mind is a rather importunate throughout. Saki shows this through a shift in Gortsby’s trust in the young lad. He was reluctant to believe in a stranger whose story seemed so plentiful at the beginning, but later surrenders to the boy’s mischief in trying to cheat Gortsby for money. Our protagonist not only gave the young boy money, but had also been transformed by the lie woven. He apologizes, â€Å"excuse my disbelief, but appearances were really rather against you†¦ † This shows how easily the human mind is swayed by external forces (in this case, Gortsby was influenced by the young lad’s lie), and the failures of Gortsby’s original claims of being an excellent judge of character when he was obviously unable to see through the young man’s lie. It was only moments later, the first old man returns to the bench, informing Gortsby that he was looking for his bar of soap; the soap of which Gortsby thought was the young man’s. The truth is finally appealed. However, Saki’s left a twist in the ending for readers to guess Gortsby’s reaction, an element of surprise is apparent. From the â€Å"cliff†, readers can presume to guess Gortsby had realized his misjudgement of character and would therefore recognize the dysfunctions of his overtly confident, self-assured judgmental mind.

Capital Gains Method and Policies for Business Organizations

The taxation law of Australia is one of the world’s outstanding revenue collection system introduced by the government of the country, which is based on the citizenship of an individual of the nation, capital gains method and policies for business organizations. This study will present the brief idea about the residential status based on Australian Law.   In the given case, Fred seeks an advice about his residential status based on Australian Law. After analyzing the case, it was found that Fred visited Australia with an intention to set up his own business in the country. He did not mention the duration of his stay before the arrival. According to Australian Law, it is mandatory for an individual to obtain a valid visa for his stay in the country for an unknown period. According to Saad (2014), this type of visa can be termed as Permanent Residence Visa also. In the given case, it was found that Fred has visited the country without his family; moreover, he has obtained a valid visa also. It is not possible to decide whether the obtained visa is Permanent Residence Visa or not. To decide on the matter it is necessary to highlight the requirements of the residential status of Australia. The requirements are as follows: Physically present in the country: According to Australian Law, a person must stay in the country at least for a period of twelve months than only the person is eligible to acquire a permanent residency of the country. In the given case, Fred left the country within a period of eleven months due to his illness. In the words of Schenk, Thuronyi and Cui (2015) if the person fails to satisfy the requirements of the act than the person is not liable to pay tax in the country. So based on the assumption it can be conclude that Fred has not met the basic criteria of the act hence he is a non-resident and could not be chargeable for taxation purpose. Policy of Dual Citizenship: Dual citizenship means a person can acquire the citizenship of more than one country at a time based on the rules and regulation of the nations. In the given case, Fred resides in UK and has the citizenship of the country. To carry on any business in Australia it is necessary for an individual to obtain the citizenship of Australia. Fred has certain investment in France and he receives certain amount of interest from that investment. According to Arthur (2016), the person who earns an income from more than one country, the amount which he earned is taxable under both the countries i.e. the country in which he resides and the country in which the income actually occurred. Based on this assumption Fred is liable to pay tax to the government of France and UK. Australian government will not get any tax on that income from Fred. In addition to it Fred has not decided his staying period in Australia before his arrival, moreover, he left the country within a per iod of eleven months. Therefore, he cannot be termed as a citizen of Australia (Australian Citizenship HQ 2016). Hence, he is not liable to pay tax in Australia. Ordinary income includes income from all sources except income from capital gains. Income from wages, salaries, bonuses, and so on together forms part of an ordinary income.   Short-term capital gain or sale from an asset which is held for a period of less than twelve months are included in ordinary income. It is of two types’ business income and personal income. The court has an option to deal with the benefits related to deals and appraisal, which were charged on an individual. In the given case Californian Copper Syndicate (Anon, 2016), the income earned by an individual is to be charged as assessable income instead of income, which can be imposed on a person. In other words, the income which is obtained from carrying on any business instead of any acknowledgment or from any deals of securities than the income might be assessed to charge.   Therefore, to discover the income it is important to consider whether the addition to investment is only for improving the quality of business or is it for an operation to achieve the future profit of business. So the motive of an individual should be considered before taking any decision or making any deals. The company was associated with the coal mining business. The company was framed with a motive to secure resources of coal in the New South Wales region of the country. After sometime, the company stops this business and sold all the land. The company made a huge profit on this sale (Anon, 2016). The court held that income earned in this manner is not assessable as Income from Business because the nature of the business was coal mining. The company was not associated with the business of sale or purchase of land. Hence, not chargeable as an assessable income. An individual bought an area for its shareholder to give them the accessability of beachfront. The court in this case verdicts that the income which was earned by the taxpayer would be assessable to Business Income because the materialness of expense which incurred by selling a land was to make profit only. Therefore, it is chargeable under the Business Income of an assessee. According to sec. 25(1) and 26(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1936 assessable income includes: Income made from the deal of the asset. Profit made from undertaking of an asset. In the given case, the taxpayer has directed the matter as an area of improvement instead of accompanying it for the said wages. Therefore, it is not liable for tax. The person acquired some area for cultivating and driving a rustic life. After the demise of the citizen, the trustees sub-divided the area. The area was sold with the help of land specialists. The court directed that the owners of the property were not associated with the profit making business. According to sec.25 (1), the deal does not form part of salary. The taxpayer sold a land, which he acquired from his father in the year 1955. The property was sold due to the illness of the taxpayer. It was directed by the court that the deal was not assessable for tax because it was found that the taxpayer has no intention of profit making, moreover, there was no plan to make benefit from the sale. The case is similar to the case of Statham Case. The deal should be termed as an acknowledgement instead of business exchange. The court held that the taxpayer had an inactive role while making any benefits from the said exchange. The transaction reflects the plan of a taxpayer just to understand the area only (Law.ato.gov.au, 2016) The Company bought an area, which is beachfront facing with the motive to offer sand mined from the said area. The court directed that the company has obtained and acknowledge business benefits from the area, whereas, the Memorandum of the Company expressed that the object of the Company was to buy land packages so that they can offer working from the sand business. It was held by the court that a specific area, which has been obtained for more than one intention, and then the resultant increases marked down of such land would be assessable to impose under Section 25(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act, 1936. As the aim of the said activity was to make benefit and the said game plan was a benefit making plan. The taxpayer acquired some pieces of land of an area with the intention of cultivating, brushing and developing products over it. The citizen sub-divided the land and sold the same over a time to meet the financial obligations that a person acquired while purchasing the said area. It was held by the court that the transaction carried on by the taxpayer related to the   advancement of area increases acknowledged at a bargain on the above-mentioned grounds were assessable to impose. It was held that the aim to convey own business or make benefit would not have been available; the Taxpayer would be taxed because it would be ventured to make planned benefit from it. According to Section 26(a), definitive subjective motivation behind the citizen ought to be considered furthermore genuine arranging which is done throughout the said exchanges. In spite of the fact that the reason for securing a benefit was not the taxpayer's basic role, it will be regarded as a plan to add up to a benefit making an undertaking or venture. The taxpayer acquired a land and constructed townhouses on it and later on sold the townhouses for a benefit. It was decided that the asset was obtained with the goal of making a profit on the same. The income earned by the person will be treated as an expense under Section 25(1) of the Income charge Assessment Act, 1936. Furthermore, it was held that there was no business venture or undertaking required in the said course of action. However, the Honorable Judge decided that it doesn't make a difference if the endeavor or business wander does not exist, the negligible goal of the evaluation of business is to benefit from the offer of an area would suffice the use of tax collection on the said game plan. Therefore, it was held that if a property is obtained by a person with a motive to make a benefit in the most beneficial way that may introduce itself and the citizen embraces one of the numerous alternatives, consequently making a benefit, he will appropriately be said to do a busine ss/profità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ making plan. From the above discussion, of residential status of an individual it has been found that Fred has failed the citizenship test of Australia. Therefore, he is to be treated as a non-resident for the country. Hence, he is not liable for the tax in Australia according to the taxation law of the country. Furthermore, after analyzing various cases based on the assessability of ordinary income it was found that all the cases involve the sale of land but the nature of business was different in each case. Therefore, the court gave different verdicts based on the nature of the transaction. Hence, after a brief summary of the relevant cases a person will understand the concept more elaborately. Allan, T., 1950. Truth that Sings. By William C. MacDonald. James Clarke & Co. Ltd. 6s.  Scottish Journal of Theology,  3(04), pp.439-442. Anon, (2016). [online] Available at: https://"THERMAL SYNDICATE, LTD." (1949) 21 Analytical Chemistry [Accessed 7 Sep. 2016]. Arthur, G., 2016. Tax files: Taxation duties of executors.  Bulletin (Law Society of South Australia),  38(2), pp.28-29. Australian Citizenship HQ. (2016).  Australian Citizenship Eligibility - Australian Citizenship HQ. Available from: https://www.australiancitizenshiphq.com.au/australian-citizenship/citizenship-eligibility/ [Accessed on 1 Sep. 2016]. Brown, R.H., 2000.  Redeeming the Republic: Federalists, Taxation, and the Origins of the Constitution. JHU Press. Hettich, W. and Winer, S.L., 2005. Regulation and Taxation: Analyzing Policy Interdependence.  Available at SSRN 525802. Hettich, W. and Winer, S.L., 2005. Regulation and Taxation: Analyzing Policy Interdependence.  Available at SSRN 525802. Hunt, J., 2015. South East Queensland (SEQ) Sport Development meetings. John Caughlan, Statham (Gale Ecco, U S Supreme C, 2011). Law.ato.gov.au. (2016).  Home - ATO Legal Database. [online] Available at: https://Law.ato.gov.au [Accessed 7 Sep. 2016]. Martin, F., 1991. Audit Power of the Commissioner of Taxation: Sections 263 and 264 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, The.  Queensland U. Tech. LJ,  7, p.67. Obst, W. and Hanegbi, R., 2016. Small-Scale Property Development: GST Implications.  Adelaide Law Review, Forthcoming. Pulfrich, A. and Branch, G.M., 2014. Using diamond-mined sediment discharges to test the paradigms of sandy-beach ecology.  Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,  150, pp.165-178. Saad, N., 2014. Tax knowledge, tax complexity and tax compliance: Taxpayers’ view.  Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,  109, pp.1069-1075. Schenk, A., Thuronyi, V. and Cui, W., 2015.  Value Added Tax. Cambridge University Press.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Discussion - Essay Example If a family still chooses that their own child needs to work in order for the family to go on, then 13 or 14 is an age where in other countries children have never reached, therefore it will be sort of an accomplishment. Education for All (EFA) was launched in Thailand in 1990 and 10 years later 176 countries were ready to gather to see and compare improves to revise and adjust for the better and for the future. A lot of countries have made it a priority to put education first, and we just need all countries as time goes on to do the same. Yes, I agree with this view. Educated children have better understanding and knowledge about their surroundings, wellbeing and awareness. Children at the age of 13- 14 years are quite aware, they can read and write and can understand the situation and therefore it is the need of time for the developing nations to march ahead and make education essential for the betterment of the children, the future citizens. I think all countries should insist on all children being in school at least to the high school level. Why education is important is due to the possibility of a career change later in life. For those who don’t hold a high school diploma or specialization, the options for a career change are often limited. I understand in most countries they would rather their child to work instead of school, but here in America there are people that work and go to school. Children are directed for education for career that is true and better degrees often provide a better job prospects. If a person has a diploma or a specialization then his/ her chances to procure a job will always be bright as compared to the one who left the school and has started working. No doubt the one who has started working earlier has more experience as a time factor but is not technically sound as compared to the one who possess the qualification. It is therefore

Sustainable Development in Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Sustainable Development in Business - Case Study Example (Organisational Sustainability, n.d.) Andrew Mangan, an environmental entrepreneur promoted BPS or by-product synergy programs as a means to achieve the goals of sustainable development. It is a process that helps the companies to discover new ways in order to convert the waste products into saleable commodities. The goal of Mangan is actually twofold - to promote the wider adoption of BPS programs and also to create business out of helping the companies adopt such by-product synergy programs. (Anderson T., and Mackenzie S., n.d.) There has been a lot of research in the field of sustainable technology and design along with the adaptation of business tools, but in most of the instances, the well designed technologies fail to become broadly adopted, not due to the fact that there are flaws in the technology but due to the reason that there is inadequate sustainable method of servicing, distributing, and improving the technology. Any business needs start up capital in order to fund the design of technology and its development along with a self sustaining revenue stream, which would support the growth as well as be meaningful in terms of reducing pollution. The reason behind the development of EnviroFit International business model was to allow for the design, development along with the dissemination of environment friendly technologies all over the world. This model leverages the participation of the local in country stakeholders in order to ease acceptance and the implementation of RetroFit technology. The key components of this model are using donations for the development of technology as well as operating profits from the product sales to growth, support operations, emissions trading, microfinance and also local partnerships. This business model is till in progress and is executing the business plan along with reducing the perceived risks, by making progress against the value setting milestones like raising investment capital, field tests and developing important partners in supply chain; these would increase the credibility of the business model and also its management. This business model would be highly beneficial for those environmental technologies that lack necessary profit margins in order to make them attractive to the traditional for-profit model. This would provide sufficient margins in order to sustain a particular enterprise without continued infusions of donations or capital. This business model would also in effective in reducing the environmental pollution. (Hudnut P., B auer T. and Lorenz N., n.d.) Triple Bottom Line was originated among the investors seeking a way of putting their money in those enterprises that are economically profitable, socially just and environmentally sound. It is the need of the time to model the systems properties or the ecological characteristic of various domains of productivity and also to design the institutions of monetary and financial services, which can optimize the productivity in these domains. The theory and the institutions should base on the concepts of triple bottom line. The concept of

Nature and Role of Women in Victorian America Essay

Nature and Role of Women in Victorian America - Essay Example Moreover, as for the women living in the United States of America during the Victorian Age, it was a matter of struggle for the fair sex to establish their rights on the society and find out their ways of living. Despite countless restrains imposed on them by society at large, the Victorian women in America exhibited a degree of tenacity and strength of will that significantly redefining the socio-economic role of women for generations to come. It is both naive and unsound to divorce the condition of women in Victorian America from the condition of women in the Europe. The Victorian American women ventured their ways in the new found land with almost the same grace as they did in the European continent. However, the conditions in the US were all the more challenging for women. Home and a new world far away from the culture and society they knew - these were the immediate surroundings that they found themselves in. Their husbands were in search of prospect in the new land. Feeling of distanced from their roots was very disturbing. America was still largely rural, and daughters (much like sons till the turn of the 18th century) were still considered to be commodity possessions. The more farm hands a family had the more usage could they make from the available land. On the one hand, those women had to handle the household jobs and on the other they had to cope with the alien world outside their homes. Belonging mostly to middle class stature, the young ladies of the Victorian era were brought up within the strict boundaries of thankless domestic chores, spending their time in needle work and managing the kitchen (Plante, P.2) with no regard to their inherent potentials to emerge victorious in the man's world. In spite of that, the ladies nurtured and cherished within them the forlorn hope of personal achievement and never quivered to come out of their domestic holds in times of need. The Northern part of the American continent, in particular, presented a tough challenge for the women living there. This was a place which was known for the harsh weather and other social adversities. European women were completely new to such a world. Their husbands and other members of their families were hardly by their sides when they fought against all the problems occurring in that region. Women also had to protect their religious beliefs in this completely new land. They not only handled all the household jobs but also stood by their husbands who were prospecting in different dangerous places. The experience was not a matter of joke. None of them were rich and could not afford anything they wanted. This was why women living in those parts of the country had go through a huge number of compromises. In the face of such adversity, Victorian women in America started to formulate their own ideas about living a healthy life. They created new theories regarding how to look after the household jobs and perform well as mothers, too. Denied of a place in the 'outside' world, the kitchen became the space where the Victorian American women had to explore forming newer ideas. They did not get everything they used as raw materials in the European countries. America was a new place and new ingredients crept into the kitchens resulting in cooking of new dishes. Invention of these new typically American cuisines was something for which we should give the whole credit to the housewives during this

The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights Essay

The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights - Essay Example While the War on Terror has been a global one, in one way or another, the heart of the military battle has been fought in the Middle East, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq, where the death toll of non-combatants- of humans beings and their rights- continues to rise, almost a decade later. It is the position of the author that this paper’s title is incontrovertibly true. By distilling this issue into its simplest details, and comparing it to the procedures of a common self-defence case, it will be demonstrated that the War on Terror has not only contributed to the abuse of human rights, but is in fact, an attack on human rights. The basic central argument to go to war to protect human rights or liberty or security is perhaps not necessarily a flawed one. The first premise is that one’s liberty or security is threatened, which, in the light of 9-11, say, it would seem that this is true. Liberty and safety does seem to be in jeopardy, even at the best of times, from, amon g other things, terrorists. The second premise for the argument proposing war/violence to defeat terrorism is that something can -and should- be done about the problem. This too, all but the most cynical would agree to be true. The dissolution of Apartheid in South Africa is a prime example of the truth of the second premise. Further damage to human rights was stopped in this case without revolutionary war or violence of any kind. The argument that the progenitors of the War on Terrorism propose goes as follows: there is a threat to human rights because of terrorist groups who are attacking innocent people (premise 1), and so something can and must be done to solve the problem (premise 2), and finally, the best possible course of action is to react with violence in turn. Basically, if you are under attack, you should attack in return so as to end the assault, to survive. Self-defence is its own perfectly sound argument. However, when the defender of himself (or human rights) goes be yond self-protection and inflicts more harm than is necessary, he in turn becomes an assailant, a threat to human rights (Allan, Foster and Tredoux 374) In a court of law, self-defence becomes assault when the ‘defendant’s’ actions are not justified for the situation or level of threat, and/or when their act of self-defence invokes collateral harm. Now that one can consider the War on Terror as a kind of self-defence case, what would the jury of this case conclude about the way the defenders of human rights have gone about their defence? Events like 9-11 are despicable acts of violence, of terrorism, against civilians, against human rights. It is a problem that ought to be solved. Any nation or group of nations would be perfectly entitled to defend themselves against such terrorism. But, who are the defenders of the human rights victims of events like 9-11 supposed to return violence to? Who exactly is their assailant? It is not a sovereign country. It is not eve n a military platoon or contingent- not exactly anyway. Who should the assailed people of terrorism exact their justifiable violence on, so as to protect themselves? The answer that is proposed by pioneers of the War on Terrorism is brazen and presumptuous, at best. At worst, it is in turn, an act of terror, an attack on human rights. This is true because, euphemisms aside, the War on Terror has been, for all practical purposes just like any other war, which always involves invasions, civilian casualties, infrastructure damage

What Is the Real Objective of Case Management Quality of Care vs Essay

What Is the Real Objective of Case Management Quality of Care vs. Reduced Costs - Essay Example However, it is questionable whether these systems can offer both quality and low costs. By coordinating the healthcare needs of a patient requiring multiple services from multiple providers, studies of disease management programs have shown that these programs do improve quality by offering interventions such as pre-recorded telephone reminders or home visits by medical professionals (Rand Corporation Study). According to the Rand study, conditions such as diabetes and congestive heart failure (CHF) benefited from case management and reduced costs by decreasing hospital admissions, while patients suffering from depression were more apt to use outpatient services and prescription drugs, increasing costs. Six chronic conditions were analyzed in the study: CHF, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes, asthma, depression, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Improved quality was found in four of the six illnesses, with inconclusive results for asthma and COPD. Long-term health outcomes have not been determined, however, because the study covered only one year. In a one-year study by Michael Long, professor at Wichita State University, geriatric patients who were at least 75 and functionally impaired were randomly assigned to a regular-care group or a case-managed group. The goal was to eliminate the fragmented care that often exists for these patients. Both benefits and costs must be taken into consideration before determining success or failure in such a patient advocacy program (Long). The goal should be set by a team and success determined by whether the goal is met. In Long's study, the case-managed group benefited more than the regular-care group, and improved quality was the result. Cost and quality are sometimes considered opposing factors, but Long considers this too simple an explanation. He recommends a formula: Quality=Benefits - (Risk and Cost), which takes into consideration all the factors involved in case management programs. Limitations of Case Management Programs In a more expanded study, consisting of 46 states examining HMOs and primary care case management (PCCM) programs, the reporting states tended to emphasize utilization results over quality-measure results. In states where many commercial health plans have recently abandoned Medicaid contracts and some rural areas of the United States have been unable to attract health plans, PCCM programs are distinct from capitated managed care plans in that the Medicaid agency purchases health care services as if it were a health plan (Schneider et al). A comparison of quality oversight PCCM programs and health plans serving Medicaid beneficiaries indicates that states with both have fewer expectations for PCCM programs and do not seem to have a distinct goal. At present, the study found that PCCM programs have not as a rule collected performance data, thereby lacking the means to improve quality care. Strengths of Case Management Programs One area in which healthcare costs are accelerated is with the high number of diabetics needing treatment, and case management is highly recommended for glycemic control in these patients. As noted by The Guide to Community Preventive Services online, "Diabetes management is complex and difficult for both patient and healthcare provider, and traditional healthcare delivery methods have not adequately met their needs" (Case Management Interventions). The Guide goes on to say that a systematic review shows case management delivered as part of disease management to be effective in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Managed care strategies for Medicaid populations in Florida, North Carolina, and

How stakeholders influence business activities Essay

How stakeholders influence business activities - Essay Example 26). The key groups of stakeholders include but are not limited to employees, business partners, customers, and communities. â€Å"[T]he type of interest and degree of influence of each group varies between different types of stakeholders and different types of businesses† (Carysforth and Neild, 2000, p. 189). Stakeholders carry weight in the business activities as well as the decisions made by the company. Owners Owners are best able to judge the performance of a business. If a business makes more profit, it increases the likelihood of re-election of the directors of business in the subsequent elections. Owners assume the prime responsibility of establishment of the goals and objectives of a business, though the decisions are made in due consultation with other groups. For example, the directors that assume the responsibility of management of the company’s affairs on the daily basis can decide to prioritize the increase of sales instead of prioritizing the profits. Own ers influence the business activities by controlling the finances of the business. ... Government Government is one of the most important stakeholders in any kind of business. Responsibility comes with authority of the government. It is primarily the government’s responsibility to ensure that the product or service a company sells is not against the norms and values of the culture of the society in which the business operates. â€Å"The government can impose rules and regulations on businesses to ensure that customers are not exploited and employees are working in safe conditions† (Seliet, 2000, p. 90). Apart from that, the government obliges the business owners to pay tax on the earnings they make so that the money made from business can also be used for social services and the benefit of the society as a whole. Government regulates the business and ensures that the practices of the business do not subjugate or offend the rights of any community in the society. Governance and social responsibility Governance of a business means development of its vision, mission, and objectives which are overseen by the owners of a company in small businesses. Traditionally, maximization of the profitability of a business has remained the main focus of governance as well as all operations related to a business. In the present age corporate social responsibility happens to be the second most important depicter of the reputation and image of a company among the consumers whereas the quality of product or services of the company is the first. â€Å"According to some scientific research, customers do not evaluate companies based only on the features of their products and services, but also on what business practices they are engaged in, how their products are produced, and what effect on society the company has† (Kaufmann and

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Business Ethics - Essay Example Businesses are created for the main purpose of generating profits. It is an accepted fact that business owner’s or stakeholders have every right to expect profits from organisations they support. In the desire to realise the goals of organisations and satisfy stakeholders, sometimes businesses choose to indulge in or turn a blind eye to corrupt or unethical business practices taking place within their workforce or conducted by their business partners. Business ethics  theories  are often adopted by organisations seeking to curb practices that are deemed as corrupt. They usually have moral principles that organisations can implement to make sure that all the workers operating in the company conform to accepted codes of behaviour (Bartlett 2003).  Business managers can make use of the ethics  theories  that they deem as being most appropriate for the implementation of different ethical strategies. There are several business ethics theories that are used in todayâ€℠¢s business scene. The rights theory in business ethics endeavors to address ethical dilemmas by taking into account the fundamental human rights that all living people are entitled to (Bredeson and Goree 2011). Essentially, every person has the right not to harm another person. For the most part, businesses around the world observe this law. However, there are circumstances where organisations ‘appear to refuse’ to obey this law when they choose to cooperate with corrupt governments. For instance, in the recent past, the global multinational beverage company, Coca-Cola, has faced negative attention due to its continued association with Swaziland’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III. According to the Swaziland Solidarity Network, Coca-Cola contributes to almost 40% of the small southern African’s nation’s GDP. Critics have stated that if the beverage company’s executives pressed King Mswati III to cater to the needs of his citizens instead of accumulating more wives, luxury vehicles, and real estate at the cost of the national economy, Swaziland would begin to recover. In this case, Coca-Cola could be accused of indirectly abusing the rights of Swaziland’s citizens (Clegg, Kornberger and Rhodes 2006). The modern rights business ethics theory is deontological in character. This theory seeks to affirm that there is a particular answer for every ethical problem. The most common structure of deontological theory is that which draws on God’s word for moral obligations (Garriga and Mele 2004). Where the subject of organisational ethics is concerned, this could involve revealing corrupt practices of an organisation due to personal beliefs of the importance of exposing wrong doers. Whistle blowers, however, often endanger their working lives when they reveal information that proves the corruptness of their employers (Weiss 2008). Even though in developed nations like the United States, there are laws such as the Sa rbanes-Oxley Act allows workers to file claims in accusation of corrupt employees, it is still hard for workers to turn against their organisations due to many reasons, the least of which is not the fear that they will be dismissed or ignored (Husted and Salazar 2006). The justice theory of business ethics seeks to affirm that every worker has a basic right to human liberties (Torres 2005). In a way, this is somewhat similar to what is stipulated by the rights theory with the exception that the justice theory mainly deals with the rights of the lowest classes of workers. For instance, in an organisational setting, this means that the workers who do the difficult physical work should be treated with the same respect as the business executives who work out of their big offices (Smith 2007). Many labour unions around the world argue for the implementation of the justice theory in functions such as corporate decision making in modern businesses (Felsher 2005). Utilitarianism, as a busin ess ethics theory, is the polar opposite of the justice theory. This is because it argues for the entire society’

Ethical Behavior Essay Example for Free

Ethical Behavior Essay In this paper, I am going to discuss the importance of ethical behavior and its significance in persuasion. I will also define two ethical theories and finally, I will explore the impact that ethical practices have on persuasion. Persuasion is extremely important in ethical behavior. It is what mothers use to teach their children to make the right decisions. It can also be used by drug users to convince the insecure teen to try a drug for the first time, in order to fit in with the crowd. Persuasion can be life saving or deadly. Such is the case of Phoebe Prince, a young fifteen year old teen who committed suicide in January of this year. According to an article in the New York Times, she had transferred to an American school from Ireland and was eager to make friends. She attracted the attention of a football star at the high school, who apparently had recently broken off a relationship with another girl. It was this girl who persuaded her friends to join in belittling Phoebe any chance they could. The taunts grew more and more violent and abusive, until they turned in to physical threats. After three months of being bullied every day, Phoebe decided to give her accusers exactly what they wanted. She escaped the only way she knew how; by hanging herself in the apartment stairwell when she came home from school. This power of persuasion is not unlike Adolf Hitler’s hatred against the Jewish people. The more people they were able to persuade into joining in the tirade of accusations and unethical behavior, the stronger the momentum became, until death was imminent. Fortunately, people are beginning to recognize the seriousness of bullying. The Swedish Work Environment Authority Act suggests that, â€Å"Preventative interventions should include whole community awareness campaigns about the nature of bullying and its dangers. Efforts should also be made to enhance the emotional and organizational environments in school and work settings by promoting sensitivity, mutual respect and tolerance to diversity while prohibiting bullying† (Srabstein and Leventhal, 2010). Persuasion is the key to preventing this behavior for future generations. Although there are several if not many ethical theories, Utilitarian ethics is one that is used often. This theory is based upon the reasoning that â€Å"the right act is the act that produces the greatest benefits for everyone† (Waller, 2005). It is this reasoning that persuasion comes into play. Utilitarianism strives to â€Å"maximize pleasure and minimize suffering for everyone† (Waller, 2005). With the basis that the right act will produce the greatest benefit, persuasion can be used to guide a person into committing the right act. For example, many people agree that shoplifting is wrong, because the effects from stealing from another cause more suffering than pleasure for all involved. Persuasion can be used to try and reason with the potential shoplifter so they change their mind and decide not to steal. However, persuasion can also be used to coerce the shoplifter into taking the item, using peer pressure to entice. Either way, utilitarian ethics involve choices or choices involve persuasion. Another theory of ethics that can be impacted by persuasion is the theory of rights. These rights are put into place by the society in which someone lives. In the United States, we have our Constitutional Rights, which lists what our forefathers deemed to be used to guide its citizens in their quest for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is also the ethics of human rights, such as enforcing the death penalty. In Europe after World War II’s death and destruction, the Council of Europe was created as a way to protect human rights. This included abolishing the death penalty. What began as ten countries quickly grew to include 47 nations. When Ukraine joined the Council of Europe (CE) in 1995 (Bae, 2008), an immediate moratorium on executions was expected to be compliant with the other nations. Ukraine ignored the moratorium and it was during this time that executions actually increased (Bae, 2008). The Council of Europe was able to persuade Ukraine to abolish the death penalty using the threat that they could not continue to let Ukraine be a member of the CE if they did not comply. However, the people of Ukraine, as well as other countries in the CE, were in favor of the death penalty. Their citizens were trying to persuade Ukraine to continue the executions. Ultimately, even though Ukraine was in favor of the death penalty, under the persuasion of the CE, they ultimately chose to abolish this law in order to maintain their continued membership. It is easy to see how ethics and persuasion ultimately coexist with each other and how they can be used in both, ethical and unethical situations. For every right or reason a person believes in, there was the initial persuasion that led them to those beliefs.

Childs Healthy Development in School Essay Example for Free

Childs Healthy Development in School Essay When people think of dramatic changes in children over time, they typically think about the first two or three years of life. Although these years are marked by striking changes, the developmental and social changes that occur between ages 6 and 14 are dramatic, as well. Imagine a six-year-old girl starting first grade—maybe she has braids in her hair and is wearing a cute dress; she looks like a little girl and she is likely to be quite excited about going off to school. Her parents still exercise great control over her comings and goings; their biggest worries are likely to be about her safety when crossing streets and about her adjustment to elementary school. Now imagine that same girl as a 14-year-old starting the ninth grade: She now looks like a full-grown woman, leading her parents to worry about the negative influences of peers, and the risk that she may come to physical harm during the many hours that she is away from home. Equally dramatic changes occur in the social contexts where youngsters spend time. A six-year-old boy is likely to be enrolled in a local neighborhood elementary school—perhaps within walking distance from home. By age 14, he will have changed schools at least once, moving into a junior high school or middle school. He may be looking forward to his classes, or he may have already psychologically turned his back on formal schooling. He may have sampled out-of-school activities from Scouts to basketball to handling a paper route. Because the experiences both boys and girls have in school and other activities will shape their development through this pivotal age period. Each period is marked by basic biological and cognitive changes, as well as changes in the social surroundings where children’s daily lives unfold. Exercising their growing autonomy in school and organized programs, children learn about the world outside the family, match themselves against the expectations of others, compare their performance with that of their peers, and develop customary ways of responding to challenges and learning opportunities. Through these years, they forge a personal identity, a self-concept, and an orientation toward achievement that will play a significant role in shaping their success in school, work, and life. Although researchers and policymakers have focused on the school as the critical arena in which development occurs and children’s futures are sculpted, out-of-school programs offer alternative environments in which children can learn about themselves and their worlds, and can discover opportunities for carving their own versions of success. Middle Childhood (6-8 years of age) Developmental Milestones Middle childhood brings many changes in a child’s life. By this time, children can dress themselves, catch a ball more easily using only their hands, and tie their shoes. Having independence from family becomes more important now. Events such as starting school bring children this age into regular contact with the larger world. Friendships become more and more important. Physical, social, and mental skills develop quickly at this time. This is a critical time for children to develop confidence in all areas of life, such as through friends, schoolwork, and sports. Here is some information on how children develop during middle childhood: Emotional/Social Changes Children in this age group might: * Show more independence from parents and family. * Start to think about the future. * Understand more about his or her place in the world. * Pay more attention to friendships and teamwork. * Want to be liked and accepted by friends. Thinking and Learning (Mental Changes) Children in this age group might: * Show rapid development of mental skills. * Learn better ways to describe experiences and talk about thoughts and feelings. * Have less focus on one’s self and more concern for others. Middle Childhood (9-11 years of age) Developmental Milestones Your child’s growing independence from the family and interest in friends might be obvious by now. Healthy friendships are very important to your child’s development, but peer pressure can become strong during this time. Children who feel good about themselves are more able to resist negative peer pressure and make better choices for themselves. This is an important time for children to gain a sense of responsibility along with their growing independence. Also, physical changes of puberty might be showing by now, especially for girls. Another big change children need to prepare for during this time is starting middle or junior high school. Here is some information on how children develop during middle childhood: Emotional/Social Changes Children in this age group might: * Start to form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships. It becomes more emotionally important to have friends, especially of the same sex. * Experience more peer pressure. * Become more aware of his or her body as puberty approaches. Body image and eating problems sometimes start around this age. Thinking and Learning (Mental Changes) Children in this age group might: * Face more academic challenges at school. * Become more independent from the family. * Begin to see the point of view of others more clearly. * Have an increased attention span. Young Teens (12-14 years of age). Developmental Milestones This is a time of many physical, mental, emotional, and social changes. Hormones change as puberty begins. Most boys grow facial and pubic hair and their voices deepen. Most girls grow pubic hair and breasts, and start their period. They might be worried about these changes and how they are looked at by others. This also will be a time when your teen might face peer pressure to use alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs. Other challenges can be eating disorders, depression, and family problems. At this age, teens make more of their own choices about friends, sports, studying, and school. They become more independent, with their own personality and interests, although parents are still very important. Here is some information on how young teens develop: Emotional/Social Changes Children in this age group might: * Show more concern about body image, looks, and clothes. * Focus on themselves; going back and forth between high expectations and lack of confidence. * Experience more moodiness. * Show more interest in and influence by peer group. * Express less affection toward parents; sometimes might seem rude or short-tempered. * Feel stress from more challenging school work. * Develop eating problems. Thinking and Learning ( Mental Changes ) Children in this age group might: * Have more ability for complex thought. * Be better able to express feelings through talking. * Develop a stronger sense of right and wrong. Changes in Social Surroundings The cognitive changes just described give children an expanded view of their social world and of themselves, providing the foundation for important social and emotional changes that also begin in these years. Along with their broadened exposure to adults and peers outside the family, children of these ages are typically given more freedom, more responsibilities, and more rights. This period is therefore marked by tensions between the new autonomy and the increasing expectations children encounter, which can either support or hamper the development of self-confidence. Broadening Social Worlds In the middle-childhood years, children spend less time under the supervision of their parents and come increasingly under the influence of teachers and activity Leaders such as Sunday school teachers, coaches of Little League sports, instructors of dance or ballet, music teachers, camp counselors, scout leaders. In contrast with the intimacy and familiarity that characterize family relationships, participation in school and formal programs exposes children to different Religious and ethnic groups, as well as diverse personal styles. They see adults acting in various social roles, and they see different adults acting in the same role—as teacher or camp counselor, for example. These experiences give children a chance to compare adults with one another and to observe how authority figures judge the behaviors and personalities of their peers. Increasingly, children spend time with their peers outside the orbit of parental control. Members of peer groups are responsible for managing their own relationships by controlling group dynamics, providing nurturance to each other, and sometimes establishing hierarchies within the group. As children get older, they also seek to contribute to their best friends’ happiness, and they become sensitive to what matters to other people. There is a beginning of a â€Å"we† feeling that goes beyond cooperation; children begin to adjust to the needs of others in pursuit of mutual interests. At the same time, of course, children are concerned with winning acceptance from their peers, and they must manage conflicts between the behavior expected of them by adults and the social goals of the peer group. Entering formal organizations such as schools and after-school programs represents a shift for children: In the preschool years, their social roles were defined for them at birth (as a daughter or a brother). In middle childhood, their roles in school, programs, and friendship groups reflect their personal qualities and achievements. 1. Developmental Variations: Behaviors within the Range of Expected Behaviors for That Age Group A) Developmental Variation : (Social Interaction Variation) Because of constitutional and/or psychological factors, children and adolescents will vary in their ability and desire to interact with other people. Less socially Adept or desirous children do not have a problem as long as it does not interfere with their normal development and activities. B) Common Developmental Presentations : Middle Childhood The child may not make friends easily and be less socially adept. The child may prefer solitary play at times. (Shyness) Adolescence The adolescent has limited concern regarding popular dress, interests, and activities. The adolescent finds it difficult to make friends at times. 2. PROBLEM: SHYNESS Middle Childhood The child is very shy, reticent, shows an increased concern about order and rules, is socially isolated, rarely initiates peer interactions, and prefers solitary activities to peer group activities. Adolescence The adolescent shows difficulty in social situations, has limited friendships, is socially isolated, may be a loner, prefers solitary activities to peer group activities, is reticent, has eccentric hobbies and interests, and has limited concern regarding popular styles of dress, behavior, or role models. Background Most people have felt shy at some time or in some situation. As many as 25% of high school and college students report having been shy most of their lives (Schwartz Johnson, 1985). Excessive shyness, however, reduces both the amount and quality of social interactions a child has with others and results in lowered peer acceptance and fewer opportunities to acquire social skills. It is not clear why some children are bashful and withdrawing whereas others tend to be more outgoing. Several factors may be involved, including genetics, temperament, anxiety, and lack of social skills. Development Some degree of shyness in children is to be expected and is part of the childs normal development (Berk, 1989). A fairly high percentage of preschoolers are described as bashful and avoiding contact with others (Schwartz Johnson, 1985). Between 30% and 50% of school-age children report feeling shy (Peterson, 1987). When shyness is experienced by the child in many or most situations over an extended period of time, interventions to help the child interact more appropriately are called for. Chronic and severe shyness can have a negative impact on social, emotional, and academic development. Shy children often have poor self-concept, feelings of failure, and make negative self-statements. The anxiety that accompanies shyness impairs memory and concentration and may keep children from asking for needed help in school. What Can I Do as a Parent? It will be important for your child to learn ways to reduce his or her anxiety in social situations. If the child does not possess the social skills needed to interact with others, it may be necessary to teach social skills directly. The child also needs to learn to feel better about himself or herself as a person. There are many ways to accomplish these goals. Make sure your child knows that they are loved and valued regardless of their behavior or performance. Talk with your child. about their experiences and help them to evaluate those experiences in nonjudgmental ways that allow them to feel good about themselves. Many times children judge themselves much more harshly than we realize and blame themselves for situations and events they cannot control. As a parent, you can give your child more independence and opportunities to demonstrate responsibility. Successful handling of independence and responsibility will help to foster an improved self-image. A childs image of himself or herself is built on a foundation of many small experiences. The more of those that demonstrate to the child that they possess the capability to succeed, the better the resulting self-image will be. Parents can seek out and provide activities that will allow the child to experience success in social environments. Structured group activities or small groups of one or two other children may facilitate success for the shy child. Parents can discuss, rehearse, and role-play activities with children such as introducing oneself, asking a peer to play, or joining a group of children who are playing a game. If the child is involved in a social-skills training program, parents can reinforce targeted social skills and provide opportunities for rehearsal of skills. If your child is severely shy and inhibited in most situations, the best course of action may include seeking professional help, either through the school, local mental health agency, or your family physician. Severe shyness affects many aspects of the childs life and should not be left unaddressed. What Can I Do as a Teacher? Shy children may be easily overlooked in a busy classroom because they do not present classroom management problems and usually comply with instructions. Teachers need to be sensitive to the needs of shy children and facilitate their interaction with others and their participation in the class. Because shy children are often characterized by anxiety, it is best to avoid drawing attention to them or putting them in situations that will require that they be the center of attention. Structured interactions and small group activities may best facilitate participation by shy students. When children are to work on projects in small groups, the teacher should form the groups rather than allowing students to group themselves. Teachers can take this opportunity to pair shy youngsters with socially competent students who will serve as models for them. Teachers need to avoid reinforcing shy behavior, to be sensitive to the needs of shy children but to refrain from giving the shy child special attention or privileges. When shy children interact appropriately that is the behavior that should be reinforced. There is a natural tendency to either ignore or be overly protective of shy children, but neither of these responses benefits the child. Shy children should be encouraged to interact, provided with opportunities to interact in small, structured settings, and reinforced for interacting. Direct social-skills training and contingency management procedures have been found to produce positive results and may be beneficial for the entire class.

Child Care Principles in Social Work

Child Care Principles in Social Work Professional child care in the field of social work, have come under intense scrutiny recently. Much of this scrutiny, concerns the way in which partnership and interagency work contributes to best practice in the assessment of children, young people and families. This paper seeks to explore the principles of collaborative work and highlight why it is necessary that inter-agency work is successful and efficient in the field of social work. In doing so, will provide examples and discuss current guidelines for partnership work and strategies of new assessment practices to ensure its effectiveness. The essay will also address common problems of interagency and partnership work and identify policies to guard against these potential issues. The Department of Health (1998) in encouraging the use of partnership, stressed that â€Å"joined up services† should be the hallmark of good service delivery. The Audit Commission (1998) declares that for services to be efficient and effective, there must be â€Å"mandatory partnership working†. At a basic level, inter-agency and partnership are formal institutional terms attributed to the practice of and need for different agencies and sectors to â€Å"work together†. According to Whittington (2003), â€Å"partnership is a state of relationship at organizational, group, professional or inter-personal level, to be achieved, maintained and reviewed†, while â€Å"collaboration is an active process of partnership in action.† It is within the umbrella term of partnership, that terms such as ‘inter-agency’ and ‘multi-agency’ arise to pin down the policies and concretise the practice of ‘joined-up’ work between agen cies. The principles of collaborative working stipulate that there should be seamless interaction between agencies to facilitate best practice and ultimately improving care services. In a research of 30 multiagency organizations in health and education and over 140 staff, Atkinson et al (2002) found the following necessary principles for inter-agency work: Common aims and objectives Organizational commitment to the aims and objectives Thorough understanding of the various roles and responsibilities of other involved professionals and agencies Solid leadership Ensuring task delegation and referrals are to the correct personnel Access to resources In addition, Whittington and Bell (2001) established that the ability to work together effectively require many skills which are essential for social workers, such as: the ability to challenge discrimination by other agencies and professions, the ability to conduct multi-disciplinary meetings, the ability to respect and manage issues of confidentiality, and being able to handle conflicts and manage systems and human resource that will need to adapt to change. There are many policy directives which mandate partnership work within services relating to child care and assessment, and one of these is the 2003 government green paper, Every Child Matters policy document which stipulates the development of Children’s Trusts, to ensure that agencies work effectively together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Children’s Trusts emerged after the death of eight year-old Victoria Climbià © who even after repeated visits to hospitals and visits by social workers, her abuse was not identified and she subsequently died. The Laming Report of 2003, an inquiry into Victoria’s death concluded that the young girl’s death could have been avoided if individual social workers, police officers, doctors and nurses who came into contact with the girl, had effectively responded to Victorias needs. He emphatically declared that Victoria’s death represented a â€Å"gross failure of the system†, wherein, not on e of the agencies or individuals â€Å"had the presence of mind to follow what are relatively straightforward procedures on how to respond to a child about whom there is concern of deliberate harm†. The Children’s Act of 2004 in Section 10, mandated the â€Å"duty to co-operate† on agencies involved in child care protection and assessment. On November 18, 2008, the Children’s Trust outlined in a release which identified the partners with a duty to co-operate as: district councils, the police, the probation board, the youth offending team, the Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trusts, Connexions partnerships, and the Learning and Skills Council. Moreover, in 2004, the government rolled out the National Service Framework for Children and Young People (NSF), a ten year strategy document which aims to improve the support and services that young people, children, parents and carers receive. It stipulates ten different standards which will largely depend on efficient partnership and inter-agency work to be successful. To assist in the efficient assessment of children and young people across services, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) ensures that frontline delivery of integrated services to children and young people are streamlined for maximum efficiency. It is a standardised assessment methodology across service sectors, which aims to ensure that any inadequacies in service delivery to children are picked up quickly. The CAF looks into the child’s social and health environment to assess the role of the parents or carers, as well as the child’s own strengths and weaknesses, in order to make a reasoned and informed judgment about the child’s present and future well-being. This CAF method of assessment provides much more room and space for preventative action. The Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) is another policy guideline for frontline managers and social workers to improve inter-agency work in order to safeguard the welfare of children. It asserts that all persons with responsibility for children must display full commitment and that there should be clear lines of accountability. The job of safeguarding children and young people, falls under the authority of the Local Authority (LA) whose main objective is to ensure that young people are protected from harm, They ensure this by vigourously pursuing exacting partnership standards â€Å"with other public organisations, the voluntary sector, children and young people, parents and carers, and the wider community† (Working Together to Safeguard Children: 2006). A tripartite system which incorporating the police, the Local Authority and other agencies help to improve the quality of service and ensure the seamless interaction between agencies in safeguarding children. Socia l Workers who are directly involved in the assessment of children and young people, must be knowledgeable to these inter-agency links and all up to date protocols of inter-agency work to ensure best practice. Behan (2005) at the National Conference for Integrated Children’s Framework, stated that â€Å"services must improve outcomes for children, and organise themselves round the child rather than expect the child to move from one service to another. To be successful services have to work in partnership.† As was demonstrated in the Victoria Climbià © case, and more recently the case of â€Å"Baby P†, who died after being tortured by his mothers and two others and whose suffering was missed by the many individuals and agencies who came into contact with him, inter-agency does not always work, despite many policy guidelines and duty of care responsibilities. This essay will now examine some of the challenges to effective collaborative working. One of the most prominent challenges to effective and efficient inter-agency and partnership work to safeguard children from harm, is the existence of power struggles between various agencies. As stated earlier, Atkinson et al (2002) asserted that a commitment to the ideal and practice of partnership must be bought into by all agencies to avoid power struggles. There are many instances, whereby social workers sometimes outline that their child care reports are not heeded by health care professionals who come into contact with children deemed at risk. Leiba and Weinstein (2003) argues that while many social workers have to work closely with nurses and doctors in the UK to safeguard children, there were significant ideological and cultural differences with how they approached their work. Mathers and Gask (1995) suggests that GP’s become frustrated with the long assessment process that social workers require for best practice. Leiba and Weinstein (2003) lament that such differences can cause power struggles between health professionals who may thin that â€Å"medical-know-how† should trump seemingly long-winded assessment models. They further state that power struggles can be exacerbated by the nature of professional education which normalise professionals into different, values, jargon and culture and the â€Å"fear of dilution and associated professional protectionism† ( Leiba and Weinstein: 2003). The language of health has been said to be very alienating and does not usually give space to social work theories and assessments (Peck and Norman: 1999). Leiba (2003) maintains that even though the Health Act of 1983 and the National Service Framework stipulates greater co-operation between health and social care services, in practice this has been very hard to achieve. He cites the example of requirements for a single assessment strategy across services, but highlights how each agency continue s to compile its own data. because accommodate the Douek (2003) further argues that parents and carers can become very frustrated when the collaboration process is not a seamless one and a lack of co-operation from a parent or carer can be extremely detrimental to the child assessment process. Conclusively, it can be stated that the cases of Victoria Climbià © and more recently â€Å"Baby P†, demonstrate that in order to safeguard and protect children and young people from harm, it is absolutely essential that inter-agency and partnership guidelines are executed. The many policy directives such as the NSF, the CAF, and the 2006 Working to Safeguard Children document should be zealously advocated across agencies and total organizational commitment to the principles around partnership should be elucidated from top to bottom in institutional structures, in order to eliminate power struggles. Social workers, with responsibility for child assessment, should vehemently pursue best practice by following Whittington’s (2003) earlier advice, and report negligence and discriminatory practices which could lead to the harm of children. Such practices ultimately benefit the children and young people and their families, when total commitment to partnership is shown and in ter-agency policies do work. References Atkinson, M., Wilkin, A., Stott, A., Doherty, P. and Kinder, K. (2002) Multi-Agency Working: A Detailed Study. LGA Research Report 26. Slough, Berkshire: National Foundation for Educational Research. Behan, D. (2005) Inspecting Children’s Services in Partnership. Paper presented at the National Conference for Integrated Framework. Accessed on December 7, 2008 at: http://www.csci.org.uk/Docs/inspecting_in_partnership.doc. Children’s Workforce Development Council. (2006) Common Assessment Framework. http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00063/ Department of Health. (1999) The Challenge of Partnership in Child Protection: Practice Guide. Department of Health. (Spetember 2004) National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. The Stationery Office. Accessed on December 7, 2008 at: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/ ChildrenServices/ChildrenServicesInformation/fs/en Department for Education and Skills (2006) Working Together to Safeguard Children. Accessed on December 7, 2008 at: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/AE53C8F9D7AEB1B23E403514A6C1B17D.pdf. Douek, S. (2003) Collaboration or Confusion: The Carers’ Perspective. In, Jenny Weinstein, Colin Whittington, Tony Leiba, Collaboration in Social Work Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley. Laming WH. (2003) The Victoria Climbià © Report. London: Stationery Office. Accessed on December 7, 2008 at: www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/finreport/finreport.htm. Leiba, T. and Weinstein, J. (2003) Who are the Participants in the Collaborative Process and What Makes Collaboration Succeed or Fail? In, Jenny Weinstein, Colin Whittington, Tony Leiba, Collaboration in Social Work Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley. Mathers, N.J. and Gask, L. (1995) Surviving the â€Å"Heartsink† Experience. Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 2 (17), pp. 6-183. Peck, E. and Norman, L.J. (1999) Working Together in Adult Community Mental Health Services: Exploring Inter-professional Role Relations. Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 8 (3), pp. 231-242. Whittington, C. (2003) Collaboration and Partnership in Context. In, Jenny Weinstein, Colin Whittington, Tony Leiba, Collaboration in Social Work Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley. Whittington, C. and Bell, L. (2001) Learning for Interprofessional and Inter-agency Practice in the New Social Work Curriculum: Evidence from an Earlier Research Study. Journal of Interprofessional Care, Vol 15 (2), pp. 153-169.

The Green Mile by Stephen King :: Movies Film

The Green Mile by Stephen King is the story of man with god-given powers of healing sentenced to death and the change he cause in the prison guards. The themes of compassion and sacrifice can be seen in this novel. The theme of compassion is very much a part of this book. One part especially shows this truth. Percy, a prison guard, crushes a death row prisoner's pet mouse, which the prisoner loved more than life itself. This cruel act displays Percy's extreme lack of compassion and how little he cares about other people. Also, this action blazes the way for another heartless act of ruthlessness. When Percy is scheduled to be the executioner on death row, he "accidentally" does something wrong. Instead of taking the standard precautions to make death by the electric chair swift and painless, his mistake makes the death of Eduard Delacroix go slowly and painfully. After causing this agonizing death, Percy gets what he deserves and is never mentioned again. When a towering black man named John Coffey is sentenced to death by the electric chair, the prison guards assume that he was as guilty as any death row prisoner. But later, they start to believe that he is being punished for a crime which he did not commit. They learn that he was found holding two dead girls and thought to have killed them. The truth was that he was trying to use his god-given gift of healing to save the murdered children. The prison guards made it their mission to keep John Coffey from experiencing the cruel death which so many before had faced. They had a plan for Coffey's salvation all worked out. Surprisingly, when they asked Coffey if he wanted to escape, he replied that he could not stand all the misery and hate going on in the world, and that he wanted to die.

Bullfighting :: essays research papers

Bullfighting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The spectacle of bullfighting pits a man against a charging bull. The bullfighter, called a matador, faces the bull in a large dirt-filled arena that is usually surrounded by spectators. Aided by a group of apprentices, called the cuadrilla, the matador goads the bull into charging at him. A bullfight usually features three matadors, each of whom fights two bulls. The bulls are of a distinctly savage breed especially trained to attack humans. A bullfight is relentless. If a matador is injured, another replaces him, and the bull is killed at the end of each match. To followers of bullfighting the contest between man and beast demonstrates human skill and courage as does no other sport. However, many people believe bullfighting is barbaric and inhumane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The contest begins with a colorful grand entrance by the participants. The actual fight starts when the picadors, who are horse-mounted members of the cuadrilla. They fend off the bull's charges with sharp steel-tipped pikes, called pics. They weaken and anger the bull by piercing its neck and shoulders. Then come the banderilleros, named after their banderillas, or decorated barbed sticks. Clutching a stick in each hand, they rush the bull on foot and plant the barbs in the animal's neck, weakening and angering the beast even more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally the matador comes in for the kill. Brightly dressed, he uses a sword draped with a cloth, called muleta. After a number of intricate passes with the muleta, during which the matador must work extremely close to the bull, the matador sights the bull along his sword, runs forward, and plunges it in, aiming for the half-dollar-size spot between the shoulders. If the sword enters correctly between the shoulder blades, it severs the aorta, or great artery, and the animal dies almost instantly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A crowd-pleasing matador may be awarded one or both of the bull's ears or its ears and tail. An exceptionally fierce bull may be honored by having its body paraded around the arena. The one thing that sets the Spanish apart from most Europeans living beyond the Pyrenees mountains is their national spectacle of bullfighting. Every city and most towns of any size boast a bullring, where the crowds cheer their favorite but jeer the inept matador, or bullfighter, as he faces his large-horned adversary.

bioremediation of explosive contaminated soil :: essays research papers

Bioremediation of explosive contaminated soil â€Å"It has been estimated that there are thousands of explosives-contaminated sites within the United States, and even a greater number in Europe and the Soviet Union.†(2) TNT (2,4,6- trinitrotoluene) is one of the most popular explosives used by military forces, and due to improper handling and disposal techniques TNT and its derivatives, have polluted environments to levels that threaten the health of humans, livestock, wildlife and, entire ecosystems. TNT is known to have many health effects on animals as well as humans. As stated by The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, â€Å"Workers involved in the production of high explosives experienced many harmful health effects as a result of exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene at their jobs. These effects included disorders of the blood, such as anemia, and abnormal liver function.† (1) Treatment of the contaminated soil has usually been handled through incineration, which is costly and does not always guarantee that the pollutants have been completely destroyed. Therefore new techniques such as bioremediation have been developed as a safe cost effective alternative to treating pollutants such as TNT. (3) Fundamentals of Bioremediation Bioremediation is a new, efficient, environmentally friendly, and low-cost technology, which uses microorganisms to clean up soil contaminated with heavy metals and organic contaminants such as solvents, crude oil, explosives, and other toxic compounds from contaminated environments. Mechanism: Bioremediation works by taking complex organic compounds such as TNT, which are made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. When combined with regular compost ingredients such as manures, sawdust, straw, and fruit and vegetable processing wastes, the explosives become broken down into harmless chemical forms.(3) Bioremediation methods are classified into two categories: Composting, and bioslurries. Composting:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the EPA’s Fact Sheet on Composting of Soils Contaminated by Explosives, the process of composting operates as a result of naturally occurring microorganisms breaking down the explosive contaminants in the soil. Using the contaminants as â€Å"food,† the microorganisms convert them into harmless substances consisting primarily of water, carbon dioxide, and salts. In addition to this food source, microorganisms require nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, in order to thrive, digest, and reproduce. To provide these nutrients in sufficient quantities, soil amendments, such as manure and potato waste, are added to the contaminated soil.(3)The most common type of composting used for bioremediation of TNT contaminated soil is Windrow composting. The US Army Environmental Center report on Cleanup Technology: Bioremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Soil, describes windrow composting as the following.

Better Community and Build a Healthier Life Essay

Better Community and Build a Healthier Life,† yesterday. Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit, ecumenical Christian community, has been created to make adequate housing a matter of conscience and action. Since its creation in 1976, it has built and improved more than 300,000 houses, sheltering more than 1,500,000 people in thousands of communities in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Habitat’s work is made possible by affiliates or people who are dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. As of this writing there are 132 affiliates in the Asia-Pacific region and 2,291 worldwide. Habitat’s work is far greater than the current number of affiliates and supporters nonetheless. Hence as it continually strives to achieve its mission Habitat is likewise constantly calling more volunteers to take their part in re-building the world. Anchoring on a statement made by Dr. Stephen Post, a professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and co-author of the forthcoming book Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research That Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life that, â€Å"There is now a convergence of research leading to the conclusion that helping others makes people happier and healthier. So the word is out – its good to be good. Science increasingly says so,† former President and co-founder of Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy –more– relates volunteering to building a healthier life. For more details on how to participate to the Habitat’s action for a cause, please visit http://www. habitat. org/. Contact Name: Phone: Website: E-mail: ###

What Were the Problems Facing a Newly Independent India After the Partition of 1947

August, 14, 1947 and August, 15, 1947 the Indian partition of 1947 was created and it granted Indian its license from its 350 category of British ruling. After Indias freedom was granted it was divided into twain democracys which were Dominion of Pakistan posterior cognize as Islamic republic of Pakistan and Union of India subsequent known as Republic of India. chastise subsequently the partition of 1947, it declared that it was attracter or King of the state to square up if the state should companion the Muslim or a Hindoo religion. This Policy dislocated the people of India and Pakistan, and caused a lot of villainy ming conduct with both sides.This policy in like manner cause huge problems because some states would beget a huge population of Hindoos, and the keen power would be Muslim which do Hindus follow the beliefs and religious acts of the Muslims. Since this policy was cause of the partition of 1947 it do Muslims in India to migrate to Pakistan, and H indus in Pakistan migrate to India, in between this transition or migration, in that location were m either riots, looting, and rapes which left both countries in devastation and a breakdown of the civil goernment.The breakdown of the civil presidential term, made it unrealizable for an troops to fixate order preventing any crimes such as murders or arson by locals. The newly formed governments were wholly unequipped to deal with migrations of such astounding magnitude, and commodious violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border. Estimates of the number of deaths range just about roughly 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and soaring estimates at 1,000,000. If there were an army to restore order there would be less(prenominal) people kil take during this tragic event.Hindu Sindhis would have remained in Sindh following the Partition, if wasnt for the violence that erupted, when massive amounts of Urdu speaking Muslims started pouring into Sindh. They be gan flaminging the Hindu population. Before the announcement of the Partition, there were 1,400,000 Hindu Sindhis in their ancestral land Sindh. However, in a space of less than a social class approximately 1,200,000 Hindus Sindhis f take their homes, most of them rejoining with little much than the clothes on their bodies.The province of Bengal was divided into the cardinal fragmentise entities of West Bengal which went to India, and East Bengal which went to Pakistan. East Bengal later was renamed to East Pakistan, and later became the indep fetch upent kingdom of Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation struggle of 1971 to a fault known as the indo-Pakistan cont displace of 1971. Kashmir was created in 1846 after its victory in the introductory Angelo-Sikh contend. Kashmir was a expansive state in the British Empire in India. The princely state lasted until 1948.After the Indian partition of 1947 was pass it gave princely states of India a choice to attain to Indi a or Pakistan or stay independent. The pattern of Kashmir wanted to remain independent which led to a struggle which is known as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 which was fought between Pakistan and Indian over the region of Kashmir. The warfare lasted a year and it was first war between the devil newly independent nations. Early November 1947, India pom-pom successfully broke through foeman defenses.Even though the attack was such an archaean success the Indian army suffered a setback in declination of that year because of logistical problems. These problems gave the specialitys of Azad Kashmir to take the initiative and squelch the Indian troops to retreat from the leap States which the war was taken place. Azad Kashmir was in any case known as free Kashmir because it was part of Kashmir that was downstairs control by Pakistanis. By stand out of 1948, the Indian had an separate offensive to retake some of the ground that it had woolly-headed.Fearing that the war power move into Pakistan property, the Pakistani army became more than actively involved. As the problem escalated more and more, the Indian leadership was quick to throw that the war could not be brought to an end unless Pakistan stops aiding the Azad Kashmir lodges. The Indian government controlk get together Nations mediation of the conflict on celestial latitude 31, 1947. There was some impedance to this move within the cabinet by those who did not agree with referring the Kashmir dispute to the United Nations.The United Nations mediation process brought the war to an end on January 1. The mediation force Pakistan to retreat its forces, while letting India to find some strength of its forces in the state to preserve some law and order. It gave Pakistan two-fifths of Kashmir and India maintaining the move three fifths of Kashmir which included the most populous and fertile regions. This war caused 1500 soldiers died on separately side. On August 5, 1965 the second Indo-Pakis tani war took place. The conflict was also over Kashmir, it also started without a formal declaration of war.The war was started by Pakistan, Pakistan also though it was great timing to start this war with India because they take for granted that Indias force would be ineffective to defend against a quick soldiers campaign in Kashmir. The first major battle in this war between Pakistan and India took place on August 15, when Indian forces scored a major victory after a prolonged artillery shock and took over three important mountains positions in the northern sector. A month later, Pakistan proceeds attacked, which moved the war near Tithwal, Uri, and Punch.This attack provoked India to thrust into Azad Kashmir. India also had other(a) forces gain position on other mountains and eventu everyy took over Haji Pir sop up which was eight kilometers into Pakistan territory. Indias claiming Haji Pir Pass, made Pakistani move all forces to the grey sector in Punjab, to catch In dian forces of guard which was a success and India suffered a heavy loss. On September twentieth the UN passed a resolution which called for a terminate fire which ended the war on September 23. India lost 3,000 and Pakistani lost 3,800 during this war.Both sides signed a declaration on January 10, 1966 which required both sides to move all positions that was held during the war. The declaration also reached an agreement on the new deliver fire mental strain on June 30, 1965. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a society month long conflict between the people of then East Pakistan and the military machine rulers of Pakistan, which ended in two workweek long build up conflict between Mukti Bahini aided by India against Pakistan in December of 1971. India intervened on behalf of East Pakistan, later Bangladesh, in its civil war with West Pakistan.The war began as the Pakistani Civil War . A conflict between the traditionally dominant West Pakistanis and the East Pakistanis whose Awami group discussion party had won the most put in the 1970 Pakistani election and who claimed the make up to form the government. The largely West Pakistani military was called in by chair Yahya Khan. After several daytimes of orgy on the morning of March 25 the citizens of Dhaka woke to discover the city close down by the military. Mass arrests of dissidents began, and attempts were made to disarm the East Pakistani members of the armed forces.The Awami League was banned and its members began to flee into deportation in India. As the month progressed the postal service developed into a full overcome civil war. The West Pakistani army began killing thousands and the East Pakistanis armed themselves forming Mukti Bahini second group. Ziaur Rahman, a major in the Pakistani army formed a government in exile in India and proclaim an independent Bangladesh. The East Pakistan Rifles, an elite paramilitary force force defected and joined the rebellion. On December 3 the Paki stani air force launched sorties on eight airfields in northern India.It was based on the Arab- Israeli 6 day war and the success of the Israeli preemptive strike. The Indians had anticipated such a move and the raid was a echo failure. The next day the Indian forces responded with a coordinated and massive air, sea, and land assault on East Pakistan. Against the West the India military mounted smaller probing attacks knowing to pin down Pakistani forces. In the East a five branched land assault quickly routed the Pakistani forces. The Indians repeatedly broke through Pakistani defenses and outflanked and outfought the Pakistani defenders.On December 16 the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered. The next day Indira Gandhi announced a unilateral cease fire, to which Pakistan agreed. In conclusion I ring the aftermath partition of 1947 was horrible and led to many wars. As you can see three different wars took place and two of the wars conflicts were almost the same. I fe lt all these problems should have been handled a little differently meaning without the wars because it led to many deaths. But in the end of the wars it reached to an agreement and most of the agreements were successful.

The Host Chapter 29: Betrayed

by chance I should switch out(p)flow the early(a) look. only no one was guardianship me back right off, and though his percentage was cold and angry, J bed was transaction to me. Melanie was even more(prenominal) eager than I was as I stepped c befully around the corner and into the regretful light I hesitated in that location.Ian stood just a whatever feet ahead of me, poised on the b all in alls of his feet, contemplatey for any(prenominal) hostile trend Jared cogency seduce toward me.Jared sit mess on the ground, on one of the mats Jamie and I had left(a)(p) here(predicate). He looked as weary as Ian, though his look, too, were more alert than the rest of his exhausted posture.At ease, Jared said to Ian. I just require to speak to it. I promised the kid, and Ill viewpoint by that promise.Wheres Kyle? Ian de macrocosmded.Snoring. Your cave might shake apart from the vibrations.Ian didnt move.Im non lying, Ian. And Im non liberation to consume it. J eb is right. zero(prenominal)matter how messed up this foolish situation is, Jamie has as much say as I do, and hes been totally suckered, so I query hell be giving me the go-ahead anytime soon.No ones been suckered, Ian growled.Jared waved his afford, dismissing the contrariety every be unyieldingings terminology. Its non in any insecurity from me, is my point. For the first time he looked at me, evaluating the way I hugged the far wall, ceremonial occasion my pot tremble. I wont yen you again, he said to me.I took a small step forward.You dont reserve to communication to him if you dont command to, Wanda, Ian said quickly. This isnt a duty or a chore to be done. Its non mandatory. You have a choice.Jareds eyebrows pulled low over his eyeball-Ians formulates confused him.No, I whispered. Ill talk to him. I took anformer(a) short step. Jared false his hand palm up and curled his fingers twice, support me forward.I walked slowly, all(prenominal) step an individu al movement followed by a pause, not part of a steady advance. I stopped a derrierestep out from him. Ian shadowed each step, bear oning tight- give outting to my side.Id insufficiency to talk to it alone, if you dont mind, Jared said to him.Ian planted himself. I do mind.No, Ian, its okay. Go get some sleep. Ill be fine. I nudged his arm lightly.Ian scrutinized my face, his expression dubious. This isnt some expiration wish? Sparing the kid? he demanded.No. Jared wouldnt lie to Jamie slightly this.Jared scowled when I said his name, the phone of it full of confidence.Please, Ian, I pleaded. I want to talk to him.Ian looked at me for a long minute, then turned to scowl at Jared. He barked out each sentence equal an order.Her name is Wanda, not it. You entrust not touch her. Any mark you ply on her, I will double on your worthless(prenominal) hide.I winced at the threat.Ian turned perfectly and stalked into the darkness.It was silent for a moment as we twain go steady ed the empty space where he had disappeared. I looked at Jareds face first, while he becalm stared after Ian. When he turned to meet my see, I dropped my eyes.Wow. Hes not kidding, is he? Jared said.I treated that as a rhetorical question.Why dont you have a seat? he asked me, patting the mat be-side him.I deliberated for a moment, then went to sit against the same wall yet close to the hole, putting the length of the mat among us. Melanie didnt equal this she treasured to be near him, for me to sprightliness his odour and ascertain the warmth of his body beside me.I did not want that-and it wasnt because I was afraid he would hurt me he didnt look angry at the moment, single tired and wary. I just didnt want to be any closer to him. Something in my federal agency was hurting to have him so near-to have him hating me in such close proximity.He watched me, his head canted to the side I could only meet his gaze fleetingly to begin with I had to look out-of-door.Im sorry about last dark-about your face. I shouldnt have done that.I stared at my turn over, knotted together in a double clenched fist on my dampen.You dont have to be afraid of me.I nodded, not looking at him.He grunted. Thought you said you would talk to me?I shrugged. I couldnt descry my voice with the weight of his uncongeniality in the air among us.I collar him move. He flaunted down the mat until he sit right beside me-the way Melanie had hoped for. Too close-it was bad to signify straight, austere to breathe right-but I couldnt bring myself to scoot away. Oddly, for this was what shed wanted in the first place, Melanie was absolutely irritated.What? I asked, startled by the intensity of her emotion.I dont like him next to you. It doesnt feel right. I dont like the way you want him there. For the first time since wed abandoned nicety together, I felt waves of hostility emanating from her. I was shocked. That was merely fair.I just have one question, Jared said, interru pting us.I met his gaze and then shied away-recoiling two from his hard eyes and from Melanies resentment.You can probably guess what it is. Jeb and Jamie spent all night jabbering at meI waited for the question, complete(a) across the dark hall at the sieve bag-last nights pillow. In my peripheral vision, I saw his hand cut up, and I cringed into the wall.Im not going to hurt you, he said again, impatient, and cupped my chin in his peevish hand, pulling my face around so I had to look at him.My heart stuttered when he touched(p) me, and there was choppyly too much wet in my eyes. I blinked, trying to clear them.Wanda. He said my name slowly-unwillingly, I could tell, though his voice was even and toneless. Is Melanie still a have it away-still part of you? Tell me the truth.Melanie attacked with the puppet strength of a wrecking ball. It was physically painful, like the sudden stab of a migraine headache, where she well-tried to ram down her way out.Stop it Cant you see?I t was so obvious in the set of his lips, the tight lines on a lower floor his eyes. It didnt matter what I said or what she said.Im already a liar to him, I told her. He doesnt want the truth-hes just looking for evidence, some way to fold up me a liar, a Seeker, to Jeb and Jamie so that hell be allowed to kill me.Melanie refused to answer or turn over me it was a fence to appreciation her silent.Jared watched the sweat bead on my forehead, the contradictory shiver that shook down my spine, and his eyes narrowed. He held on to my chin, refusing to let me hide my face.Jared, I hit the hay you, she tried to scream. Im right here.My lips didnt quiver, but I was impress that he couldnt read the words spelled out evidently in my eyes.Time passed slowly while he waited for my answer. It was agonenizing, having to stare into his eyes, having to see the revulsion there. As if that werent enough, Melanies provoke continued to slice at me from the inside. Her jealousy giving into a bitter flood that washed finished my body and left it polluted.More time passed, and the tear welled up until they couldnt be contained in my eyes anymore. They spilled over onto my cheeks and rolled silently into Jareds palm. His expression didnt change.Finally, Id had enough. I unappealing my eyes and jerked my head down. Rather than hurt me, he dropped his hand.He sighed, frustrated.I expected he would leave. I stared at my reach again, waiting for that. My heartbeat mark the passing minutes. He didnt move. I didnt move. He seemed carven out of stone beside me. It fit him, this stonelike stillness. It fit his new, hard expression, the flint in his eyes.Melanie pondered this Jared, comparing him with the man he used to be. She remembered an unremarkable day on the runArgh Jared and Jamie groan together.Jared lounges on the leather waiting area and Jamie sprawls on the carpet in front of him. Theyre watching a basketball game on the big-screen TV. The para-sites who live in this house are at work, and weve already filled the jeep with all it can hold. We have hours to rest before we need to disappear again.On the TV, two players are disagreeing politely on the sideline. The camera operator is close we can hear what theyre saying.I believe I was the last one to touch it-its your ball.Im not sure about that. I wouldnt want to sprout any unfair advantage. Wed better have the refs reassessment the tape.The players shake hands, pat each others shoulders.This is ridiculous, Jared grumbles.I cant stand it, Jamie agrees, mirroring Jareds tone perfectly he give-up the ghosts more like Jared every day-one of the many forms his hero worship has taken. Is there anything else on?Jared flips th hard-boiled a few conduct until he finds a track and field meet. The parasites are holding the Olympics in Haiti right straight. From what we can see, the aliens are all hugely excited about it. separate of them have Olympic flags outside their houses. Its not the same, though. Everyone who participates gets a medal now. Pathetic.But they cant really screw up the hundred-meter dash. Individual parasite sports are much more entertaining than when they try to compete against each other directly. They perform better in separate lanes.Mel, come relax, Jared calls.I stand by the back doorstep out of habit, not because Im tensed to run. Not because Im frightened. dispatch habit, cypher more.I go to Jared. He pulls me onto his lap and tucks my head on a lower floor his chin.Comfortable? he asks.Yes, I say, because I really, truly am entirely comfortable. Here, in an aliens house.Dad used to say lots of particular(a) things-like he was speaking his own language sometimes. xxiii skidoo, salad days, nosy parker, bandbox fresh, the catbird seat, chocolate teapot, and something about naan sucking eggs. One of his favorites was safe as houses.precept me to ride a bike, my mother worrying in the doorway Calm down, Linda, this street is safe as houses. Co nvincing Jamie to sleep without his nightlight Its safe as houses in here, son, not a monster for miles. therefore all-night the world turned into a hideous nightmare, and the accent became a black joke to Jamie and me. Houses were the most grave places we knew.Hiding in a patch of stunted pines, watching a car pull out from the garage of a secluded home, deciding whether to make a food run, whether it was too dicey. Do you look the parasitesll be gone for long? No way-that place is safe as houses. Lets get out of here.And now I can sit here and watch TV like it is five years ago and Mom and Dad are in the other room and Ive neer spent a night hiding in a drainpipe with Jamie and a bunch of rats while body snatchers with spotlights await for the thieves who make off with a bag of dried beans and a bowl of cold spaghetti.I have it off that if Jamie and I survived alone for twenty years we would never find this depression on our own. The feeling of safety. More than safety, eve n-happiness. skillful and happy, two things I thought Id never feel again.Jared makes us feel that way without trying, just by being Jared.I breathe in the scent of his skin and feel the warmth of his body under exploit.Jared makes everything safe, everything happy. Even houses.He still makes me feel safe, Melanie realized, feeling the warmth where his arm was just half an go on from mine. Though he doesnt even issue Im here.I didnt feel safe. Loving Jared made me feel less safe than anything else I could think of.I wondered if Melanie and I would have loved Jared if hed always been who he was now, quite than the smiling Jared in our memories, the one who had come to Melanie with his hands full of hope and miracles. Would she have followed him if hed always been so hard and cynical? If the loss of his laughing breed and wild big brothers had iced him over the way nothing but Melanies loss had?Of course. Mel was certain. I would love Jared in any form. Even like this, he belong s with me.I wondered if the same held true for me. Would I love him now if he were like this in her memory?Then I was interrupted. Without any cue that I perceived, suddenly Jared was talking, speaking as if we were in the middle of a conversation.And so, because of you, Jeb and Jamie are convinced that its possible to continue some kind of awareness after being caught. Theyre both sure Mels still kicking in there.He rapped his fist lightly against my head. I flinched away from him, and he folded his arms.Jamie thinks shes talking to him. He rolled his eyes. Not really fair to play the kid like that-but thats presume a sense impression of ethics that clearly does not apply.I wrapped my arms around myself.Jeb does have a point, though-thats whats killing me What are you after? The Seekers search wasnt well directed or even suspicious. They only seemed to be looking for you-not for us. So maybe they didnt know what you were up to. peradventure youre freelancing? Some kind of hugge r-mugger thing. OrIt was easier to ignore him when he was speculating so foolishly. I focused on my knees. They were dirty, as usual, purple and black.Maybe theyre right-about the killing-you part, anyway.Unexpectedly, his fingers brushed lightly once across the clown bumps his words had raised on my arm. His voice was softer when he spoke again. Nobodys going to hurt you now. As long as you arent causing any trouble He shrugged. I can sort of see their point, and maybe, in a sick way, it would be wrong, like they say. Maybe there is no justifiable reason to barely that JamieMy head flipped up-his eyes were sharp, scrutinizing my reaction. I regretted showing amour and watched my knees again.It scares me how attached hes getting, Jared muttered. Shouldnt have left him behind. I never imagined And I dont know what to do about it now. He thinks Mels alive in there. What will it do to him when?I noticed how he said when, not if. No matter what promises hed made, he didnt see me last ing in the long term.Im surprised you got to Jeb, he reflected, changing the subject. Hes a canny old guy. He sees through deceptions so easily. Till now.He thought about that for a minute.Not much for conversation, are you?There was some other long silence.His words came in a sudden gush. The part that keeps bugging me is what if theyre right? How the hell would I know? I hate the way their logic makes sense to me. Theres got to be another explanation.Melanie struggled again to speak, not as viciously as before, this time without hope of respite through. I kept my arms and lips locked.Jared travel, shifting away from the wall so that his body was turned toward me. I watched the movement from the corner of my eye.Why are you here? he whispered.I peeked up at his face. It was gentle, kind, roughly the way Melanie remembered it. I felt my control steal my lips trembled. Keeping my arms locked took all my strength. I wanted to touch his face. I wanted it. Melanie did not like this. If you wont let me talk, then at least keep your hands to yourself, she hissed.Im trying. Im sorry. I was sorry. This was hurting her. We were both hurting, dissimilar hurts. It was hard to know who had it worse at the moment.Jared watched me peculiarly while my eyes filled again.Why? he asked softly. You know, Jeb has this crazy idea that youre here for me and Jamie. Isnt that nuts?My babble half-opened I quickly bit down on my lip.Jared leaned forward slowly and took my face between both his hands. My eyes closed.Wont you tell me?My head shook once, fast. I wasnt sure who did it. Was it me saying wont or Melanie saying cant?His hands tightened under my jaw. I opened my eyes, and his face was inches away from mine. My heart fluttered, my stomach dropped-I tried to breathe, but my lungs did not obey.I recognized the intention in his eyes I knew how he would move, exactly how his lips would feel. And yet it was so new to me, a first more awful than any other, as his mouth pressed against mine.I think he meant just to touch his lips to mine, to be soft, but things changed when our skin met. His mouth was abruptly hard and rough, his hands trapped my face to his while his lips moved mine in urgent, unfamiliar patterns. It was so disparate from remembering, so much stronger. My head swam incoherently.The body revolted. I was no agelong in control of it-it was in control of me. It was not Melanie-the body was stronger than either of us now. Our breathing echoed loudly mine wild and surgeing, his fierce, some a snarl.My arms broke free from my control. My left hand reached for his face, his hair, to wind my fingers in it.My right hand was faster. Was not mine.Melanies fist punched his jaw, knocked his face away from mine with a blunt, low sound. Flesh against flesh, hard and angry.The force of it was not enough to move him far, but he scrambled away from me the instant our lips were no longer connected, gaping with horrorstruck eyes at my horrorstruck expres sion.I stared down at the still-clenched fist, as repulsed as if Id found a scorpion growing on the end of my arm. A gasp of revulsion choked its way out of my throat. I gimmickbed the right wrist with my left hand, desperate to keep Melanie from using my body for violence again.I glanced up at Jared. He was staring at the fist I restrained, too, the horror fading, surprise taking its place. In that second, his expression was entirely defenseless. I could easily read his thoughts as they moved across his unlocked face.This was not what he had expected. And hed had expectations that was plain to see. This had been a evidence. A bear witness hed thought he was prepared to evaluate. A test with results hed anticipated with confidence. But hed been surprised.Did that mean pass or fail?The pain in my chest was not a surprise. I already knew that a breakout heart was more than an exaggeration.In a fight-or-flight situation, I never had a choice it would always be flight for me. Becaus e Jared was between me and the darkness of the tunnel exit, I wheeled and threw myself into the box-packed hole.The boxes crunched, crackled, and cracked as my weight shoved them into the wall, into the floor. I wriggled my way into the impossible space, twisting around the heavier squares and stifling the others. I felt his fingers scrape across my foot as he made a grab for my ankle, and I kicked one of the more solid boxes between us. He grunted, and despair wrapped choking hands around my throat. I hadnt meant to hurt him again I hadnt meant to strike. I was only trying to escape.I didnt hear my own sobbing, loud as it was, until I could go no farther into the crowded hole and the sound of my thrashing stopped. When I did hear myself, heard the ragged, divide gasps of agony, I was mortified.So mortified, so humiliated. I was horrified at myself, at the violence Id allowed to flow through my body, whether consciously or not, but that was not wherefore I was sobbing. I was sobbi ng because it had been a test, and, stupid, stupid, stupid, activated creature that I was, I wanted it to be real.Melanie was writhing in agony inside me, and it was hard to make sense of the double pain. I felt as though I was expiry because it was not real she felt as though she was dying because, to her, it had felt real enough. In all that shed disjointed since the end of her world, so long ago, shed never before felt betrayed. When her father had brought the Seekers after his children, shed known it was not him. There was no betrayal, only grief. Her father was dead. But Jared was alive and himself.No ones betrayed you, stupid, I railed at her. I wanted her pain to stop. It was too much, the extra lading of her agony. Mine was enough.How could he? How? she ranted, ignoring me.We sobbed, beyond control.One word snapped us back from the edge of hysteria.From the mouth of the hole, Jareds low, rough voice-broken and strangely childlike-asked, Mel?