The Stupidest Angel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 THE LOCAL GUYS, THEY HAVE THEIR MOMENTS Thursday morning it became official: Dale Pearson, evil developer, was a missing person. Theo Crowe was going over the big red truck parked by the pounding Pacific at Lime Kiln Rock in the Big Sur wilderness area above Pine Cove. This was the area where half the world's car commercials were filmed – everything from Detroit minivans to German lux-o-cruisers was filmed snaking around the cliffs of Big Sur, as if all you needed to do was sign the lease papers and your life would be an open road of frothy waves beating on majestic seawalls, with nothing but leisure and prosperity ahead. Dale Pearson's big red truck did look carefree and prosperous, parked there by the sea, despite the crust of salt forming on the paint and the appearance that the owner had been washed away in the surf. Theo wanted that to be the case. The highway patrol, who had found the truck, had reported it as an accident. There was a surf-casting rod there on the rocks, conveniently monogrammed with Dale's initials. And the Santa hat he'd been wearing was found washed up nearby, and therein lay the problem. Betsy Butler, Dale's squeeze, had said that Dale had gone out two nights ago to play Santa at the Caribou Lodge and had never come home. Who went fishing in the middle of the night while wearing a Santa hat? Granted, according to the other Caribou, Dale had done â€Å"some drinking,† and he was a little wound up from his confrontation with his ex-wife the day before, but he hadn't lost his mind completely. Negotiating the cliffs by Lime Kiln Rock to get down to the water during the day was risky business; there's no way that Dale would have tried it in the middle of the night. (Theo had lost his footing and slid twenty feet before he caught himself, wrenching his back in the process. Sure he was a little stoned, but then, Dale would have been a little drunk.) The highway patrolman, who had a crew cut and looked to be about twelve – an escapee from one of the hygiene films Theo had seen in sixth-grade health class, Why Mary Won't Go in the Water – had Theo sign off on his report, then climbed in his cruiser and headed up the coast into Monterey County. Theo went back and looked through the truck again. All the things that should have been there – some tools, a black Mag flashlight, a couple of fast-food wrappers, another fishing rod, a tube of blueprints – were there. And all the things that shouldn't – bloody knives, shell casings, severed limbs, evidence of bleach from cleanup – were not. It was like the guy had just driven up here, climbed down the cliff, and washed away. But that just couldn't be the case. Dale could be mean-spirited, crude, and even violent, but he wasn't stupid. Unless he knew the exact topography of these cliffs, and had a good flashlight, he'd never have made it down in the dark. And his flashlight was still in the truck. Theo wished that he had better training in crime-scene investigation. He'd learned most of what he knew from television, not at the academy where he'd spent a miserable eight weeks fifteen years ago when the corrupt sheriff who had found his personal pot patch had railroaded him into becoming Pine Cove's constable. Since the academy, almost every crime scene he'd encountered had been turned over to the county sheriff or highway patrol almost immediately. He went over the truck cab again looking for something that might be a clue. The only thing remotely out of order was some dog hairs on the headrest. Theo couldn't remember if Dale had a dog. He put the dog hairs in a sandwich bag and dialed Betsy Butler on his cell phone. She didn't sound that broken up about Dale's disappearance. â€Å"No, Dale didn't like dogs. He didn't like cats either. He was kind of a cow man.† â€Å"He liked cows? Did you guys have a pet cow?† Could it be cow hair? â€Å"No, he liked to eat them, Theo. Are you okay?† â€Å"No, sorry, Betsy.† He had been so sure that he didn't sound stoned. â€Å"So, do I get the truck? I mean, are you going to bring it here?† â€Å"I have no idea,† said Theo. â€Å"They'll tow it to the impound yard. I don't know if they'll release it to you. I'd better go, Betsy.† He snapped the phone shut. Maybe he was just tired. Molly had made him sleep on the couch last night – saying something about him having mutant tendencies. He hadn't even known that she liked the salad shooter. He was sure that she could tell that he'd been smoking pot. He flipped the phone back open and called Gabe Fenton. â€Å"Hey, Theo. I don't know what that stuff is you brought me, but it's not hair. It won't burn or melt, and it's damn hard to cut or break. Good thing it was torn out by the roots.† Theo cringed. He had almost forgotten about the crazed blond guy he'd run over. He shuddered now, thinking about it. â€Å"Gabe, I have some more hair I'd like you to look at.† â€Å"Oh my God, Theo, did you run over someone else?† â€Å"No, I didn't run over anybody. Jeez, Gabe.† â€Å"Okay. I'll be here all day. Actually, I'll be here all night, too. It's not like I have anywhere to go. Or anyone who cares whether I live or die. It's not like –  » â€Å"Okay. I'm coming over.† There were two men and three women, including Lena, in the offices of Properties in the Pines when Tucker Case came through the door. The women were immediately intrigued by him and the men immediately disliked him. It had always been that way with Tuck. Later, if they got to know him, the women would dismiss him and the men would still dislike him. Basically, he was a geek in a cool guy's body – one feature or the other worked against him. It was an open stable of desks and Tuck went directly to Lena's desk at the back. As he went he smiled and nodded to the realtors, who smiled back weakly, trying not to sneer. They were beat from showing properties to Christmas vacation be-backs who wouldn't move here even if they could find employment in this toy town. They'd just failed to plan any vacation activities and so decided to take the kids out for a rousing round of jerk off the realtor. Or so went the party line at the MLS meetings. Lena met Tuck's gaze and instinctively smiled, then frowned. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Lunch? You. Me. Eating. Talking. I need to ask you something.† â€Å"I thought you were supposed to be flying.† Tuck hadn't seen Lena in her business clothes – a sensible skirt and blouse, just a little mascara and lipstick, her hair pinned up with lacquered chopsticks, a few strands escaping here and there to frame her face. He liked the look. â€Å"I flew all morning. There's weather. The edge of a storm coming.† He really wanted to pull the chopsticks out of her hair and throw her down there on the desk and tell her how he really felt, which was somewhat aroused. â€Å"We could get Chinese,† he added. Lena looked out the window. The sky was going dark gray over the shops across the street. â€Å"There's no Chinese place in Pine Cove. Besides, I'm really swamped here. I handle vacation rentals and it's Christmas Eve eve.† â€Å"We could go to your place for a quick lunch. You have no idea how quick I can be if I put my mind to it.† Lena looked past him to her coworkers, who, of course, were now staring. â€Å"Is that what you need to ask me?† â€Å"Oh, no, no, of course not. I wouldn't – that would be, well, yes – but there's something else.† Now Tuck was feeling the realtors watching him, listening to him. He leaned over Lena's desk so only she could hear. â€Å"You said this morning that that constable guy your friend is married to lives in a cabin at the edge of a ranch. It wouldn't be the big ranch north of town, would it?† Lena was still looking past him. â€Å"Yes, the Beer-Bar Ranch, belongs to Jim Beer.† â€Å"And there's an old single-wide trailer next to the cabin?† â€Å"Yes, that used to be Molly's, but now they live in the cabin. Why?† Tuck stood back and grinned. â€Å"Then white roses it is,† he said, a little too loudly for the benefit of the audience. â€Å"I just didn't know if they'd be appropriate for the holidays.† â€Å"Huh?† Lena said. â€Å"See you tonight,† Tuck said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then sauntered out of the office, smiling apologetically at the exhausted realtors as he went. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you guys,† he said, waving from the door. The first thing that Theo noticed when he entered Gabe Fenton's cabin was the aquariums with the dead rats. The female was scampering around the center cage, sniffing and crapping and looking rat-happy, but the others, the males, lay on their backs, feet shot to the sky, like plastic soldiers in a death diorama. â€Å"How did that happen?† â€Å"They wouldn't learn. Once they associated the shock with sex, they started liking it.† Theo thought about his relationship with Molly over the last few days. He pictured himself in the dead-rat display. â€Å"So you just kept shocking them until they died?† â€Å"I had to keep the parameters of the experiment constant.† Theo nodded gravely, as if he understood completely, which he didn't. Skinner came over and headbutted him in the thigh. Theo scratched his ears to comfort him. Skinner was worried about the Food Guy, and he was hoping that maybe the Emergency Backup Food Guy might give him one of the tasty-smelling white squirrels in the cages on the table, now that it appeared that the Food Guy was finished cooking them. This teasing was as bad as when that kid at the beach used to pretend to throw the ball, then not throw the ball. Then pretend to throw the ball, but not throw the ball. Skinner had to knock the kid down and sit on his face. Boy, had he been bad-dogged for that. Nothing hurt like being bad-dogged, but if the Food Guy kept teasing him with the white squirrels, Skinner knew he was going to have to knock him down and sit on his face, maybe even poop in his shoe. Oh, I am a bad, bad dog. No, wait, the Emergency Backup Food Guy was scratching his ears. Oh, that felt good. He was fine. Doggie Xanax. Never mind. Theo handed Gabe the sandwich bag with the hairs in it. â€Å"What's the oily substance in the bag?† Gabe said, examining the specimen. â€Å"Potato-chip flotsam. The bag is from my lunch yesterday.† Gabe nodded, then looked at Theo the way the coroner always looks at the cop on TV – like: You numbskull, don't you know that you're contaminating evidence just by continuing to draw breath and I'd be a lot more comfortable with you if you'd stop? He took the bag over to the microscope on the counter, removed a couple of the hairs, and put them on a slide with a cover, then fitted it into the microscope. â€Å"Please don't tell me it's polar bear,† Theo said. â€Å"No, but at least it's an animal. It seems to have a distinct sour-cream-and-onion signature.† Gabe pulled back from the microscope and grinned at Theo. â€Å"Just fucking with you.† He gave Theo a gentle punch to the arm and looked back into the microscope. â€Å"Wow, the medulla is absent and there's low birefringence.† â€Å"Wow,† echoed Theo, trying but not really feeling the low-birefringence stoke that Gabe was. â€Å"I have to check the hair database online, but I think it's from a bat.† â€Å"There's a database for that? What, Bat Hair Dot-Com?† â€Å"That was supposed to be the whole purpose of the Internet, you know. To share scientific information.† â€Å"Not a Viagra- and porn-delivery system?† Theo said. Maybe Gabe was going to be okay after all. Gabe moved to the computer at his desk and scrolled through screen after screen of microscope photos of mammal hair until he found one he liked, then went back to the microscope and checked it again. â€Å"Wow, Theo, you've got yourself an endangered species here.† â€Å"No way.† â€Å"Where the hell did you get this? Micronesian giant fruit bat.† â€Å"Out of a Dodge pickup truck.† â€Å"Hmm, that's not listed as their habitat. It wasn't parked in Guam, was it?† Theo fished his car keys out of his pocket. â€Å"Look, Gabe, I have to go. Meet at the Slug for a beer tonight, okay?† â€Å"We can have beer now, if you want. I have some in the fridge.† â€Å"You need to get out. I need to get out. Okay?† Theo was backing out the door. â€Å"Okay. I'll meet you at six. I have to go pick up some Super Glue solvent at the Thrifty-Mart.† â€Å"Bye.† Theo jumped off the porch and loped to the Volvo. Skinner barked at him in four-four time. Hello? Tasty white squirrels? Still in the little box? Hello? You forgot? When Theo pulled up to Lena Marquez's house, there was a generic white economy rental car (A Ford Mucus, he thought) parked out front. He looked for the bat he'd seen hanging from the porch ceiling, but it wasn't there. He hadn't even filed the experience of running over the apparently indestructible blond guy, and now he was facing the possibility that he might actually be about to confront a murderer. Just in case, he'd stopped at home and gotten his gun off the shelf in the closet and his handcuffs off the bedpost where Molly had last imprisoned him when they had still been speaking. (She'd been in the yard out behind the cabin, working out with a bamboo shinai kendo sword she'd been using since breaking her broadsword – he'd snuck in and out without confrontation.) He unsnapped the Glock's nylon holster that was clipped to the back of his jeans and rang the doorbell. The door opened. Theo screamed and drew his gun as he jumped back. On the other side of the threshold, Tucker Case screamed and dove backward also, shielding his face with his hands. His hat made a little yelping sound. â€Å"Hold it right there,† Theo said. He could feel his pulse beating in his neck. â€Å"I'm holding, I'm holding. Jesus, what the fuck is this about?† â€Å"You have a bat on your head!† â€Å"Yeah, and for that you're going to shoot me?† The bat, his huge black wings wrapped around the pilot's head, gave the impression of a large leather cap with a Mohawk crest of fur that culminated in a big-eared little dog face that was now barking at Theo. â€Å"Well, uh, no.† Theo lowered the gun, feeling a little embarrassed now. He was still in his shooter's crouch, though, which now, with the gun lowered, made him look like he was posing as the world's skinniest sumo wrestler. â€Å"Can I get up?† Tuck asked. â€Å"Sure, I just wanted to talk to Lena.† Tucker Case was exasperated and his bat had fallen over one eye. â€Å"Well, she's at her office. Look, if you're going to get high, maybe you ought to leave the gun at home, huh?† â€Å"What?† Theo had been careful to use some Visine, and it had been hours since he'd hit his Sneaky Pete pot pipe. He said, â€Å"I'm not high. I haven't gotten high in years.† â€Å"Yeah, right. Constable, maybe you'd better come in.† Theo stood and tried to shake off the appearance that he'd just had about five years of life scared out of him by a guy with a bat on his head. He followed Tucker Case into Lena's kitchen, where the pilot offered him a seat at the table. â€Å"So, Constable, what can I do for you?† Theo wasn't sure. He'd planned on talking to Lena, or at least the two of them together. â€Å"Well, as you probably know, we found Lena's ex-husband's truck up in Big Sur.† â€Å"Of course, I saw it.† â€Å"You saw it?† â€Å"From the helicopter. Tucker Case, contract pilot for the DEA, remember? You can check me out if you want to. Anyway, we've been patrolling that area.† â€Å"You have?† The bat was looking at Theo and Theo was having trouble following his own thoughts. The bat was wearing tiny sunglasses. Ray-Bans, Theo could see by the trademark in the corner of one lens. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mr., uh – Case, could you take the bat off your head. It's very distracting.† â€Å"Him.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"It's a him. Roberto. He no like the light.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Friend of mine used to say that. Sorry.† Tucker Case unwrapped the bat and put it on the floor, where it spidered away, walking on its wing tips into the living room. â€Å"God, that's creepy,† Theo said. â€Å"Yeah, you know, kids. What are you gonna do?† Tuck dazzled a perfect grin. â€Å"So, you found this guy's truck? Not him, though?† â€Å"No. It was made to look like he was washed into the ocean while fishing off the rocks.† â€Å"Made to look? So, you suspect foul play?† Tuck bounced his eyebrows. Theo thought the pilot should be taking this more seriously. It was time to drop the bomb. â€Å"Yes. First, he never came home after the Caribou Christmas party Tuesday night, where he played the joke Santa. No one goes surf-fishing in the middle of the night, wearing a Santa suit. We found the Santa hat still in the truck, and I found hairs from a Micronesian fruit bat on the headrest.† â€Å"Well, that's a coincidence. Jeez, that's got to make you suspicious, doesn't it?† Tucker Case got up and went over to the counter. â€Å"Coffee? I just made it.† Theo stood up, too, just because he didn't want the suspect to get away, or maybe to show that he was taller, because it seemed like the only advantage he had over the pilot. â€Å"Yes, it is suspicious. And I talked to a kid Tuesday night who said he saw a woman killing Santa Claus with a shovel. I didn't think anything of it then, but now I think the kid might have actually seen something.† Tucker Case was busying himself with getting cups out of the cupboard, milk out of the fridge. â€Å"So, you did tell the kid that there's no Santa, right?† â€Å"No, I didn't.† Now Tucker Case turned, coffeepot in hand, and regarded Theo. â€Å"You know that there is no Santa, don't you, Constable?† â€Å"This is not a joke,† Theo said. He hated this – hated being the MAN. He was supposed to be the smart-ass in the face of authority figures. â€Å"Cream?† Theo sighed. â€Å"Sure. And sugar, please.† Tuck finished preparing the coffee, brought the cups to the table, and sat down. â€Å"Look, I see where you're going with this, Theo. Can I call you Theo?† Theo nodded. â€Å"Thanks. Anyway, Lena was with me Tuesday night, all night.† â€Å"Really? I saw Lena on Monday. She didn't mention you. Where did you meet?† â€Å"At the Thrifty-Mart. She was a Salvation Army Santa. I thought she was attractive, so I asked her out. We hit it off.† â€Å"You make it a habit of hitting on the Salvation Army Santas?† â€Å"Lena said that you're married to a scream queen called Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† Theo nearly shot coffee out his nose. â€Å"That was a character she used to play.† â€Å"Yeah, Lena says sometimes that's not so clear to her. My point is: Love is where you find it.† Theo nodded. Yeah, that was true. Before he drifted into a wistful state of mind, Theo reminded himself that this guy was, in an offhand way, attacking the woman he loved. â€Å"Hey,† Theo said. â€Å"It's okay? Who am I to judge? I married an island girl who had never seen indoor plumbing until I brought her to the States. Didn't work out –  » â€Å"Fruit-bat hair in the truck,† Theo interrupted. â€Å"Yeah, I knew you'd come back to that. Well, who knows? Roberto goes out on his own from time to time. Maybe he met this Dale guy. Maybe they hit it off. You know, love is where you find it. I doubt it, though. I hear that this Dale guy was a real creep.† â€Å"Are you implying that your bat may have something to do with the disappearance of Dale Pearson?† â€Å"No, you nitwit, I'm saying that my bat may have had something to do with bat hair, which, even you, with your Sherlock Holmes-like powers of observation, may have noticed he is all covered with.† â€Å"I can't believe you're a cop,† Theo said, getting truly angry now. â€Å"I'm not a cop. I just fly the helicopter for the DEA. They hire me by the season, and this is close to the harvest season in Big Sur and surrounding areas, so here I am, flying around looking in the forest for dark green patches while the agents in the back look at it through infrared and record everything on GPS so they can get specific warrants. And man, do they pay well. ‘Vive la war on drugs, I say. But no, I'm not a cop.† â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Funny thing is, I have learned to spot the right color of green from the sky, and usually the infrared confirms my suspicions. This morning I spotted about a thousand-square-foot patch of marijuana growing just north of the Beer-Bar Ranch. You know where that is?† Theo felt a lump in his throat the size of one of Gabe's dead rats. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Man, that's a lot of pot, even by commercial growers' standards. Felony quantity. I turned the helicopter – steered away without calling it to the agent's attention, but weather permitting, we could go back. There's a storm coming in, you know? Roberto and I drove by there this afternoon just to make sure. I guess I can always show the agents tomorrow.† Tucker Case put down his coffee, leaned on his elbows, and turned his head sideways like he was a cute kid in a cereal commercial who was reaching sugar nirvana. â€Å"You're a very unlikable man, Mr. Case.† â€Å"Oh my God, you should have seen me before I had my epiphany. I used to really be an asshole. I'm actually very charming now. By the way, I saw your wife working out in the yard at your house – very nice. The whole sword thing is a little scary, but otherwise, very nice.† Theo got to his feet, feeling a little dizzy even as he stood, like he'd been hit with a sock full of sand. â€Å"I'd better be going.† Tucker Case put his hand on Theo's shoulder as he walked him to the door. â€Å"You probably don't believe this, Theo, but at another time, I'm sure we'd be friends. And you have to understand, I really, really want things to work out with Lena. It was like we met just at the precise moment, the exact second, that I got over my divorce and was ready to love again. And it's so nice to have someone to bone under the Christmas tree, don't you think? She's a great woman.† â€Å"I like Lena,† Theo said. â€Å"But you are a psychopath.† â€Å"You think?† Tuck said. â€Å"I've really been trying to be more helpful.†

Mall Culture

Gone are the days when people had to buy different things from different places. People would visit local Kirana stores for purchasing daily-required household materials, and go to some other local markets for buying clothes. Shopping was never as convenient for people as it is now. The shopper gets the experience of one stop shop. From apparels to FMCG goods, the consumer gets leisure time visiting malls. Each store offers an individual a wide variety be it for choosing a stationery pen or a laptop. One of the reasons for the existence of mall culture is globalization. Products and brands from various places, cultures and communities are under one roof. One of the central features of conventional shopping areas and stores has been their uni-dimentionality. Local festivals and events are given special importance within the mall world. Festivals often become the occasion of greater consumption and are also reflected in the fashion trends of the season. The globalization of culture defines the reshaping of public space in the city. The new cosmopolitan lifestyles, represented in the cosmopolitan culture, now demands new kinds of spaces that reflect global diversity, product range and cultures. The look and feel of the malls is a clear reflection of the cosmopolitan lifestyle that we follow. The lavish use of glass in all these malls suggests possibilities and is future directed. When a person looks in or out of a shop they encounter yet another in the form of a reflection. It creates a sense of hyperrealism which is also seen in the fluid designs often adopted for walls and floors. Time and weather conditions do not really matter since the lighting, arrangement of spaces and the controlled environment makes it very real. Malls are ahistorical and postmodern secular in nature. While the streets of any city carry markers of history, the mall lives exclusively in the present. The use of plastic, glass, PVC, etc, further shows its contemporary existence. Freed of the spaces of religion caste, class the mall is a substitute for the secure spaces for religion and social grouping. The mall marks pedestrianization of space. As soon as we enter a mall it gives a clear list of directions. Each area is well demarcated which directs the public easily to their destination. The space between various sections inside the stores is reduced thus increasing the outer walking space which runs across the entire complex. The construction of the malls is such that one store leads to the other and not very easily to the exit. The mall is an escape, separated from the rest of the city. It is a sanitized standalone space set apart from the city’s dirt, pollution, chaos and traffic. Another important aspect of the malls is strict security which keeps undesired elements out and directs parking. It caters to the smooth functioning of the mall. When a shopper goes to a mall he gets to choose from a wide range of goods and products. The mall is there for a space of display where goods are arranged for maximum visual appeal. In other words the arrangement of goods hass to be attractive enough to instill desire for particular products so that the shopper will purchase the same. Spectacle, attention holding and desire are the central elements of the shopping experience of the mall. Thus visual appeal is very important in the structure of the mall. The presence of models and posters constitute the spectacular fantasy. In a mall there is constant display of consumption where one is surrounded by large size posters of attractive men and women, cozy families and energetic youth. An individual gets the illusion of acquiring perfection as embodied in these images. The spectacle can be experienced not only visually but also through the sense of touch. The trying on of clothes and accessories, handling the objects, performing actions give us a theoretical experience. The spectacle effect is also achieved through the vistas that open out at every level within a mall. Huge balconies and viewing points at every floor enable one to survey large sections of the store. It suggests a sense of choice – where to go? What to buy? We have a prospect of shopping unveiled before us. The mall is also hybrid in another sense, it is a place for shopping and of social interaction. It is not uncommon to see the mall’s spaces transformed into spaces of youth culture, with youngsters meeting friends for an evening. A lot of space in the malls is occupied by food courts and entertainment zones where people of all age groups come to eat, drink, chill and relax. All this adds to the footfall in the malls. Food courts in malls provide a wide range of options which represent the global village of food culture. One can choose from Chinese, Italian, Indian or Mexican the list is endless. Malls, have either cinemas, game space or spas for leisure and recreation. In fact it can be argued that shopping is only one of the several purposes of a mall and leisure is central to its very structure, style and organization. Leisure shopping i. e. pleasure shopping for non essentials is an important aspect of the mall culture . A stroll through the mall which might lead to an actual purchase is about the pleasure of the stroll of spectacle and secure environment. The constant pipe of the music is part of the malls attempt to ensure that we see it as space of relaxation and leisure. However it is not that the mall is exclusively the producers design. In spite of the wide variety that a mall offers there is always a lack of individuality since all brands are available in different sizes and often in different colors. With the increasing number of malls and the ever increasing brands in those malls one can often spot a lot of people wearing the same clothes. As you get more, you want even more! this is the exact phenomenon which takes place in malls. There is no end to our constantly increasing desires. This often is a result of the immense visual appeal done by the malls. To grab the attention of more and more customers thousands of rupees are spent every month to add to the look of the place. Hence an immense and quite unnecessary amount of electricity that is used to lighten up the malls results in lack of electricity in places where it is essentially required. The customers decoding is only limited to the producers encoding. This is because a person cannot have more than what has been designed by the producer. From just shopping to an all in one package, malls are one place where more is less. Mall Culture Walking through the mall-filled streets of Los Angeles, the author of ‘Mall Culture’ mulls over a thought he believes could change the world − the magical idea of doing away with want, desire, and discontent. If this superb plan could ever be carried out, man’s life as he knows it would come to an abrupt end. The reasoning behind it is relatively simple. After all, if we don’t need anything, why would we need to do anything to fulfill non-existent needs? Goodbye selling, marketing, advertising, craving, unhappiness and most importantly, malls. The author talks of how malls literally breed ‘wanting’, as kids stand and gawk at flashy display cabinets, learning very young to ache for things they may never have. Yes, the mall is a much safer place for kids to hang out in and yet it has also become a substitute for everything − meeting places, social activities, sporting events, even parks and beaches. Entertainment in its many forms is being tailor made for a generation that has forgotten how to entertain it self or worse, seek entertainment from within. What is most disheartening about mall culture is that it has buried the ‘art of reflection’, ‘solitude’ and ‘providing for yourself’, replacing it instead with material desires, intense dissatisfaction, the vicious cycle of wanting, buying, having and then wanting more. Customers are no longer people anymore. They’ve become substitutes for the money in their wallets. That’s the end goal and marketing tactics will do anything to draw it out. The author definitely doesn’t want this lifestyle for his twelve year old son, much less for anyone else. But how much can he do about it? That’s where the challenge lies. RESPONSE Yes, the malls are wolves in sheep clothing. Yes, they’re necessary evils. Yes, impressionable young minds should stay far, far away from it. Greed, want, desire − malls are propagators and mass producers of those qualities. I’d like to rewind to when video killed the radio. An entire generation lamented over the many minds it numbed and how children were turning into couch potatoes it generated. And yet, television continues to extend its prolific influence over the world. Has it made a difference? Yes, both positive and negative. It seems like Shepherd is doing pretty much the same thing by dissecting the mall. There’s ‘boy-girl stuff’ happening in these malls, it’s replacing all forms of social activity, it’s making robots of our children, and all though it looks safe, it actually isn’t. Says Patrice Duker, media relations manager for the International Council of Shopping Centers, â€Å"Each decade has its own development trend. In the ’70s and ’80s it was enclosed malls. In the 1990s it was power centers – strips of big box stores like Wal-Mart, Staples and Petco all in a row.†[1] Shepherd’s essay also has a solution to this dilemma that his son and most kids his age are in − a fantastic fantasy. What if desire could be replaced with satiation, want with contentment? Well, on a more realistic note, what if we could work out a balance between the mall culture and a lifestyle that comprises other forms of entertainment as well? How about ensuring kids make it to those organizations that teach children to read and clean landscape? How about looking at the silver lining − your son isn’t watching television! [1] Botelho, Bridget, October 10, 2004. Open-air retail markets outstrip mall mentality. Providence Business News, Issue 19-26. May 16, 2007    Mall Culture Gone are the days when people had to buy different things from different places. People would visit local Kirana stores for purchasing daily-required household materials, and go to some other local markets for buying clothes. Shopping was never as convenient for people as it is now. The shopper gets the experience of one stop shop. From apparels to FMCG goods, the consumer gets leisure time visiting malls. Each store offers an individual a wide variety be it for choosing a stationery pen or a laptop. One of the reasons for the existence of mall culture is globalization. Products and brands from various places, cultures and communities are under one roof. One of the central features of conventional shopping areas and stores has been their uni-dimentionality. Local festivals and events are given special importance within the mall world. Festivals often become the occasion of greater consumption and are also reflected in the fashion trends of the season. The globalization of culture defines the reshaping of public space in the city. The new cosmopolitan lifestyles, represented in the cosmopolitan culture, now demands new kinds of spaces that reflect global diversity, product range and cultures. The look and feel of the malls is a clear reflection of the cosmopolitan lifestyle that we follow. The lavish use of glass in all these malls suggests possibilities and is future directed. When a person looks in or out of a shop they encounter yet another in the form of a reflection. It creates a sense of hyperrealism which is also seen in the fluid designs often adopted for walls and floors. Time and weather conditions do not really matter since the lighting, arrangement of spaces and the controlled environment makes it very real. Malls are ahistorical and postmodern secular in nature. While the streets of any city carry markers of history, the mall lives exclusively in the present. The use of plastic, glass, PVC, etc, further shows its contemporary existence. Freed of the spaces of religion caste, class the mall is a substitute for the secure spaces for religion and social grouping. The mall marks pedestrianization of space. As soon as we enter a mall it gives a clear list of directions. Each area is well demarcated which directs the public easily to their destination. The space between various sections inside the stores is reduced thus increasing the outer walking space which runs across the entire complex. The construction of the malls is such that one store leads to the other and not very easily to the exit. The mall is an escape, separated from the rest of the city. It is a sanitized standalone space set apart from the city’s dirt, pollution, chaos and traffic. Another important aspect of the malls is strict security which keeps undesired elements out and directs parking. It caters to the smooth functioning of the mall. When a shopper goes to a mall he gets to choose from a wide range of goods and products. The mall is there for a space of display where goods are arranged for maximum visual appeal. In other words the arrangement of goods hass to be attractive enough to instill desire for particular products so that the shopper will purchase the same. Spectacle, attention holding and desire are the central elements of the shopping experience of the mall. Thus visual appeal is very important in the structure of the mall. The presence of models and posters constitute the spectacular fantasy. In a mall there is constant display of consumption where one is surrounded by large size posters of attractive men and women, cozy families and energetic youth. An individual gets the illusion of acquiring perfection as embodied in these images. The spectacle can be experienced not only visually but also through the sense of touch. The trying on of clothes and accessories, handling the objects, performing actions give us a theoretical experience. The spectacle effect is also achieved through the vistas that open out at every level within a mall. Huge balconies and viewing points at every floor enable one to survey large sections of the store. It suggests a sense of choice – where to go? What to buy? We have a prospect of shopping unveiled before us. The mall is also hybrid in another sense, it is a place for shopping and of social interaction. It is not uncommon to see the mall’s spaces transformed into spaces of youth culture, with youngsters meeting friends for an evening. A lot of space in the malls is occupied by food courts and entertainment zones where people of all age groups come to eat, drink, chill and relax. All this adds to the footfall in the malls. Food courts in malls provide a wide range of options which represent the global village of food culture. One can choose from Chinese, Italian, Indian or Mexican the list is endless. Malls, have either cinemas, game space or spas for leisure and recreation. In fact it can be argued that shopping is only one of the several purposes of a mall and leisure is central to its very structure, style and organization. Leisure shopping i. e. pleasure shopping for non essentials is an important aspect of the mall culture . A stroll through the mall which might lead to an actual purchase is about the pleasure of the stroll of spectacle and secure environment. The constant pipe of the music is part of the malls attempt to ensure that we see it as space of relaxation and leisure. However it is not that the mall is exclusively the producers design. In spite of the wide variety that a mall offers there is always a lack of individuality since all brands are available in different sizes and often in different colors. With the increasing number of malls and the ever increasing brands in those malls one can often spot a lot of people wearing the same clothes. As you get more, you want even more! this is the exact phenomenon which takes place in malls. There is no end to our constantly increasing desires. This often is a result of the immense visual appeal done by the malls. To grab the attention of more and more customers thousands of rupees are spent every month to add to the look of the place. Hence an immense and quite unnecessary amount of electricity that is used to lighten up the malls results in lack of electricity in places where it is essentially required. The customers decoding is only limited to the producers encoding. This is because a person cannot have more than what has been designed by the producer. From just shopping to an all in one package, malls are one place where more is less.

Learning Experience Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Learning Experience Plan - Essay Example In my case, I needed an experience from operating in a nursing home. From the course I have the goal to achieve as much information and expertise as possible and create in myself a good nurse instructor. This learning experience will provide me the opportunity to apply my scholarly experience in a professional environment. My mentor gave me an overall goal of knowing how to relate to both my students and patients. Apart from this learning experience I have a future goal of operating in a renowned nursing educating institution. This goal will be given more professional support by the expertise I will gain from the learning experience. I will also aim to acquire the required skills and create a generation of skilled nurses from my class. At the end of 16 to 24 hours learning experience I will be able to acquire efficient tutoring schools from my instructor. As a nursing educator student I will be required to learn more than just acquiring medical information. I will be needed to acquir e tactics and skills to deliver lectures to student. At the end of the 16 to 24 hours learning experience I will be able to know more about the learning objectives in question. In my case, I chose ventilation pneumonia and congestive heart failure. I will be able to have the required medication and nursing tips when it comes to deal with patients diagnosed with the illnesses. An interview with my instructor pointed out my expectation from scholarships and teaching. From the scholarship expectations, I will be required to have acquired skills to enhance my career as nursing educator. To ensure I have attained these skills, I will be given a couple to tutoring classes to test my expertise and skills. Scholarships required a mandatory adherence to the 16 to 24 hours learning schedule which must be translated in writing. For the teaching and service expectations, the instructor pointed out that I had to provide educational roles to other learners in the facility. This will not only enha nce the learning skills in the nursing home but will also sharpen my skills as an educator. My instructor also had to relate the works of their nursing staff to our learning experience. Objectives for core measures protocol for congestive heart failure In this learning experience, I had to get the information to pass to my students on how to tackle this disease. Congestive heart failure is a chronic disease characterized by lapses in the normal heartbeat of humans (Ellen, Cecile & Martin, 2009). Older people have a high probability of contacting the disease. The weight of the patients also matter when it comes to detecting the symptoms. According to Nursing Skills (2012) keeping track of heartbeats of patients with the risk of having congestive heart failure help in the life saving life process since it keeps medics ready for any attack. For this learning outcome the objectives were based on the ability to suppress the effects of the disease and how to cater for patients with the di sease. For the medication, I had to learn how to interpret the ace inhibitors, diet, echo, diuretics and the beta blockers. The interpretation of these results is the main objectives and expectations for a nurse educator (Leslie, 2011). Objectives for evidence based practices for ventilator acquired pneumonia Ventilation acquired pneumonia is a respiratory disease associated with effects on the lungs. The disease causes effect on ones breathing

Biggest Problems Facing Small Business Research Paper

Biggest Problems Facing Small Business - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that in today’s business environment it is necessary for a small business to think beyond survival.   Lack of key management services could limit the success of a small business. An entrepreneur is one who possesses a burning desire to make a change through dedication, determination and hard work, knowing that it satisfies their ultimate business and personal objectives. Entrepreneur is a term applied to the individual who is ready to take upon him or herself a new enterprise or venture and accepts complete accountability for the outcome.Entrepreneurship refers to a company formed with an express goal of growing with a defined growth path. Small businesses are generally consortium of professionals or a family-owned company formed with specific objectives in place. In majority of the cases, providing adequate income is more important than aggressive growth.As the discussion highlights the rising advertising and promotional tools have made it really difficult for a small business to make a mark or even survive. Traditional methods of promotion and advertising do not help the consumers in the brand recognition. The management must ensure delivering of their promises and high quality experience on the first purchase of the consumer. If the experience of the consumer is not good on the first instance itself then it will lead to negative publicity and the business will not get an extra chance. Problems and Challenges Entrepreneurs have become one of the most vibrant forces in the economy with the boom in internet and technology. They are now driving the boom in technology, which itself is driving majority of the economic growth of the world making entrepreneurs very significant from a macro-economic perspective. They have a major impact on the economy. Due to growing globalization, the impact will be felt even more deeply. They have already become a major force in developing nations and in the worldwide economy. The scope of entrepreneurship will continue to change and evolve with the changing world. Some common issues pertaining to business continue to exist such as how to start a business, how to finance it, how to run the business with a sharing and learning environment within the community. Entrepreneurism is an established field with a wide range of problems at various stages of the enterprises. The challenge of starting a business is a common factor for all the entrepreneurs. Be it looking for an idea, through inventing something, finding the right opportunity to buy a franchise or breaking into a new business. Financing their entrepreneurial venture is a challenge faced by all the entrepreneurs. They are even faced with financial hurdles within corporate rules. So unless it is a self-funded venture, getting finances is a challenge that requires preparation of applications or funding proposals to be presented for IPO’s, angel investors, loans or even venture capital. There is no smooth sailing through even after passing the above challenges. Minute glitches should be taken into consideration having a good business plan. The implementation stage is very essential for a

Nationalism and Patriotism in World War I Assignment

Nationalism and Patriotism in World War I - Assignment Example The novel conveyed various themes including nationalism and patriotism which will be the focus of this exposition. The author shatters any idealistic predeterminations that prospective readers may develop in the course of reading the novel in his portrayal of all possible ghastly consequences in war participation. Yet again, the emphasis of this treatise is directed towards â€Å"nationalism† and â€Å"patriotism† and their corresponding examples as exemplified in the novel. The reader is likewise informed to all new sorts of attacks in the war which even more procured the writer the impetus to write this novel. Nationalism Nationalism oftentimes connotes the unwavering commitment and loyalty of a person towards his mother homeland. In the novel â€Å"All Quiet on the Western Front†, nationalism is introduced through the encouragement of Paul’s teacher, Kantorek, to join the German army shortly after the commencement of the World War 1. Paul recalled how K antorek would constantly push them to join the war by subtle forms of bullying and by verbalizing patriotic passages towards them, thereby criticizing their spinelessness. Albeit Kantorek expressed 2 nationalism by encouraging the young men to enlist themselves in the war, Kantorek was not among those people who belonged to the generation relatively entreated to battle for their homeland. In the novel it says â€Å"For us young men of twenty  everything is extraordinarily vague, for Kropp,  Muller, Leer, and me, for all of us whom Kantorek  calls the â€Å"Iron Youth†Ã¢â‚¬  (Wheen 1929), people who offer their lives in order to serve the political interest of their leaders. This thereby implies that not all nationalistic goals are motivated by acceptable intents. Paul felt acrimonious as to how they cannot defy the calls of their conscience and about the thoughts of nationalistic contributions pleaded of them which eventually compelled them to join the war; neverthele ss, Paul still was able to utilize it in humanitarian cause. Nationalism transcended beyond its common description, that is loyalty to your homeland, when Paul reconciled with the Russian soldiers after realizing that they do not war against each other because they are enemies but because they were ordered to do so. Furthermore, Paul altered his customary understanding about nationalism as manifested by his feeling of remorse after slaying a person for the first time. He felt numb and haunted after seeing the soldier gasping for air and slowly dying. The nationalism portrayed in the novel projects it in different angles. It did not only focus on pristine loyalty to his homeland but nationalism by understanding why they were in war and realizing how they are used as a â€Å"marionette† leverage of their political leaders. Patriotism In deliberating on a certain novel and its undertones and meanings, we find nationalism and patriotism as one of the most common themes when it co mes to war novels. However, in the novel â€Å"All Quiet on the Western Front†, it does not focus on the triumph of war or any 3 undesirable consequences that one who engages in battle would encounter. The novel is just a simple exposition of how war can separate a person from his civil life, particularly a person who was involved in the war itself. The novel depicts truthful accounts of the actual events that took place in the war scene and thereby added the traumatic effect of witnessing a dying person, hovering killer planes, a

Equal Employment Opportunity Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equal Employment Opportunity Laws - Essay Example The federal laws prohibits job discrimination in the fields of payment based on sex, age discrimination, discrimination against people with disabilities, discrimination based on genetic information, race, ethnic, color, religion, sex or national origin (Bizmanualz, 2008). The EEOC provides coordination and oversight of all the EEO policies, regulations, and practices. The Equal Pay Act (EPA) enacted in 1963 protects all women and men working in the same work group, or establishment, from discrimination in wage rates based on sex of the worker. The minimum wage of Section 6 provides that no employee shall receive less pay than that of his or her colleagues of the opposite sex (Cook, 2009). The Congress passed the EPA as an amendment of the previous Fair Labor Standard Act in 1963. The EPA contains the regulations from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but with a concise statement and brief description of the problem that it covers. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, famously known as Title VII , prohibits discrimination of employees based on color, religion, sex, race, or national origin. It also covers discrimination against people associated with people of different religion, color, race, sex, or national origin. The law also prohibits the employees to retaliate an employee because they complained of discrimination at the workplace. Further, it requires the employer to accommodate the religious practices of the employees, unless a defense on Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications exists. Nevertheless, the exceptions to this law are rare. The Civil Rights enactment was under the presidency of John F. Kennedy. After his assassination, his Vice president Lyndon Johnson pushed for enactment of the bill terming saying that the country owed it to Kennedy’s life. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X became international figures as they were advocating for the enactment of the bill through Civil Rights Movements (Bizmanualz, 2008). Despite the enactment, both the Black and Wh ite communities engaged in protest, with the black claiming that it did not cover enough areas and the whites enraged with its passage. Regardless of the protests, the Act proved to be of great importance to the social and political development in America. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 protects employees and job applicants aged 40 years and above from discrimination based on age. The discrimination may be in promotion, compensation, hiring, discharge, privileges, and conditions of employment. Other regulations that prohibit age discrimination at the workplace include The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 188 of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The amended Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act of 1990 recognize and protect the equal rights of Americans with disabilities. It is models after the act of discrimination against race and gender. The Act addresses the disability issues under five titles. Title I caters for access to workplaces for the disabled people, title II protects their access to Local and State services, title III centers around commercial facilities and places of accommodation, title IV contains requirements to telecommunications companies to provide relay services for the disabled people, and title V contains miscellaneous instructions to the agencies to enforce the law. Congress enacted the law with intentions of creating a permanent civil rights law protecting

Critically evaluate the use of neurofeedback techniques as a mechanism Essay

Critically evaluate the use of neurofeedback techniques as a mechanism for enhancing human performance - Essay Example The report also differentiates neurofeedback from other therapeutic treatments used in training the human brain to regulate various cortical activities of their bodies (LaVaque, 2003). Finally, the report pinpoints the numerous criticisms that have been levelled against the use of neurofeedback technique and sums it up by a short concluding remark. From the outset, LaVaque (2003) attempted to define Neurofeedback by alluding that it is a form of conditioning technique aimed at bringing gradual change to the human mind. Broadly, the technique has been associated with Biofeedback which on one hand is claimed to be fundamentally concerned with improving the inherent communication between the mind and the body (Linden & Moseley, 2006). This claim is further confirmed by the definition arrived at by three professional Biofeedback organizations sometime in 2008 where they noted: â€Å"Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. By use of precise instruments to measure physiological activity such as brainwaves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature, accurate information is rapidly relayed back to the user for eventual implementation†. ... For the foregoing definitions, it becomes critical to address the pertinent issues associated with Neurofeedback techniques. Background Research has variously identified Neurofeedback as a somewhat complicated form of biofeedback that requires sufferers to learn self-regulating certain aspects of their body activities through conditioning. Such distinct parameters of these body activities have been cited by Bladin (2006) as coherence in their mind processes that can be studied using a painless technique namely electroencephalography (EEG). As noted by Nestoriuc et al (2008), Biofeedback has been used in relieving headaches, asthma and blood pressure as well as optimizing performance in elite athletes for close to forty years. The practice has continued to date where Neurofeedback is actively being applied as a therapeutic tool to treat different types of disorders including but not limited to epilepsy, lack of sleep or reduced alertness in children (Norbert, 2007). Further observatio ns by Mark & Barlow (2009) indicate that the advancement in IT has enabled partially incapacitated patients to converse and even show some signs of mobility. Additionally, application of technological prowess has greatly seen Neurofeedback allowing otherwise incapacitated patients learn to normalize physiological processes such as muscle co-ordination, respiration, and blood pressure. This breakthrough is further evidenced by the development of â€Å"Inner Act’s platform for Biofeedback† which is lauded by Cannon et al (2008) as the mostly utilized platform for elite athletes. It is therefore in the interest of this report to mention that most recent researches have focused on the possibility of using healthy individuals as control subjects to prove the efficacy of

Housing in a Free Market Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Housing in a Free Market Economy - Essay Example With the end of the housing blast of the past decade, the UK government under Gordon Brown wants to energise the housing sector of the economy. The government’s interference in housing and its authenticity in playing a role in the housing market through its policy initiatives is being seen doubtfully by experts as they perceive the ups and downs of the market functioning a part of the business cycle of regular intervals of boom and bust OR the government’s desire to meddle in the housing affairs just shows the obsession of the people to own a home of their own OR the government has started realising the importance of hosing market in the overall economy of the country, needs o be analysed (The Telegraph, 5 June 2008). The government can intervene in housing sector by planning its role through various choices and taking certain measures. It can initiate a national homes saving scheme by facilitating first-time home buyers to use their tax-free 5-years period deposits. It can allow parental help by making the contribution in the housing of their children tax-free. It can increase the stamp duty to a certain limit to minimise the impact to new buyers. The government can declare a stamp duty ‘holiday’ for a stipulated time to boost the housing market. It can loosen the regulatory grip so that home building activity becomes hyper. It can be lax in insisting on Home Information Packs, which are offered and paid by the sellers. The government can limit the number of ‘affordable homes’ on the upcoming housing locations to boost housing growth as house making is less profitable for making affordable homes (The Telegraph, 5 June 2008). Competition is very important in housing market to disrupt the rent-seeking tendencies by powerful builders. Rent seeking, laissez-faire and state intervention not only kills competition between the market forces but comes in the way of innovation. Government level intervention can bring about greate r transparency in the housing transactions (Hooper, 2009). Arguments in Favour of Government Intervention in Housing Sloman and Sutcliffe (2004) state a number of reasons inviting government intervention in business. To fulfil the aim of social efficiency, which is attained when marginal benefits become equal to marginal costs from production or consumption activity, government can interfere in the specific business market. Response of market to changes in supply and demand may be slow, which can impair the level of equilibrium and cause instability. A free market does not consider the needs of less-affordable people and therefore, the production of merit goods could be insufficient. Market irregularities can be corrected through taxes and subsidies. Taxes can be increased to equal the size of the marginal external cost and offering subsidy equal to the marginal external advantage. The government can regulate the market behaviour by making certain laws to be abided by for the benefi t of common man. These are some of the steps government can take to interfere in the market for any business activity. The current discussion on government role in housing market has gained momentum because of the global financial crisis, which has drawn the attention of policy makers in the UK government. It wants to rescue the housing and banking sector, as housing and finance are inter-related sectors; without getting loans sanctioned by the financial organisations, the home buyers cannot purchase houses and the housing industry cannot attain growth. On its part, the British government through the Bank of England made $352 billion available via the Special Liquidity Scheme to enhance the

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Economic - Essay Example This paper explores the reasons why China’s economy might grow more slowly than it has in the last three decades. High dependence on investment for growth rather than consumption is likely to hurt China’s economy in the future. In the view of many economists, China needs to reduce this overreliance and rebalance in order to enable consumption to take control of the economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the country is mainly driven by consumption rather than investment. The annual GDP of China shows high potential of slowing in the future irrespective of the implementation of reforms (Tian Para 1). According to Robin Bew, a London-based Economist Intelligence Unit managing director, the Chinese economic growth is likely to decline to 7.3% in 2014. The rate of economic growth will slow further to 5.9% in 2018 and to approximately 5% after the next ten years, according to the EIU (Tian Para 5). Taking a keen look at the economy of China, one cannot fail to see looming signs of future economic doom. Banks have invested heavily into green energy project creating numerous corporations, which have in turn catapult China to the spot light as the world biggest producer of solar panels. High investments in the manufacturing sector have begun to take a toll on the country’s economy with bankruptcy hitting most banks that investment heavily solar panel manufacturing. The booming property market is growing in such a way that it seems to have surpassed government control. When the boom is finally over, anyone can only pray that China has a soft landing. However, the Chinese private consumption still remains the lowest when compared to major economies of the world. Unfortunately, there have been minimal attempts by the government to implement reforms that could reverse this trend. The Chinese government has practically balked at any possible reform that could boost consumption. The Chinese government policy is more of its old

Evidence-based practice in Cognitive-behavioural Therapy for Essay

Evidence-based practice in Cognitive-behavioural Therapy for Schizophrenia - Essay Example Thus far, there is no legitimate group assigned to give definition to formal EBP for mental disorder. Therefore, a broader understanding of EBP necessitates up to date and unbroken knowledge of clinical evidence associated with the treatment of mental illnesses. This essay discusses evidence-based practice for cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in schizophrenia. This is an important issue to discuss in the field of EBP because there are still a lot of unsettled problems that need a certain extent of care in the implementation of CBT methods. Empirical support for CBT has been fairly substantial to justify application for the treatment of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the empirical support concerning CBT has critical weaknesses. There are still problems in understanding CBT’s specificity and the stability of any positive outcome beyond the duration of the treatment itself (Gaudiano 2006, 3). The explanation for the conflicting results is not identified and thus is uncertain. Such unsettled issues suggest the importance of further controlled, randomised studies placing emphasis on the stability and specificity of any supposed positive effects of CBT. Empirical Support for EBP in Schizophrenia A primary motivator for studies on psychological treatments for individuals with schizophrenia is the reality that a large number of people still develop signs of psychosis—possibly 40 percent—in spite of intervention with antipsychotics (Roth & Fonagy 2005, 281). CBT administered to clients individually has been examined for community-based samples of individuals with mental illness, for severe current-onset mental disorder, and for relapse avoidance. More currently, research has also started to consider administering CBT to individuals who are highly susceptible to mental illness (Whitfield & Davidson 2007, 47). Even though there are proofs that CBT can have numerous positive outcomes, these proofs are not definite. A major questi on is which benefits should be considered vital. The study of Rector and Beck (2001) focusing on CBT for delusions discovered positive outcomes for CBT combined with less detailed psychosocial treatments. Likewise, several individual investigations have discovered evident benefits of controlled CBT-based models such as with regard to relapse rates. But on the contrary, other studies that have focused on rates of relapse, such as the study of Pilling and associates (2002), have discovered that CBT does not improve them. CBT for schizophrenia is intended to be a supplementary therapy to pharmacotherapy; hence, controlled, randomised studies before usually used supplement research paradigms, evaluating usual treatment against usual treatment in addition to CBT. After a number of trials discovered definite gains for CBT outside usual treatment, accurately designed trials started to surface evaluation CBT against nonspecific treatments (Gaudiano 2006, 2). As expected, findings evaluating CBT against another treatment were less notable. A number of metal-analyses have been made public in the past summing up the results of treatment demonstrated in investigations of CBT for mental illness. Tarrier and Wykes (2004), derived from a current review of 19 clinical studies, discovered an â€Å"effect-size difference between CBT and comparison conditions of .37 at post-treatment on

Promote The Human Rights Essay Example for Free

Promote The Human Rights Essay Identify legislation and policies that are designed to promote the human rights, inclusion equal life chances and citizenship of individuals with learning disabilities. Legislation and policies are implemented to support and protect the human rights and inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities Some of these Acts and policies include: The Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act in the United Kingdom came into force on the 2nd October 2000 and underpins many of the core values which we in the care industry must adopt. It ensures the rights of individuals and means that they are entitled to seek help from the courts if they believe that their human rights have been infringed. The Human Rights Act â€Å"guarantees† basic human rights: the right to life; the right to liberty and security of person; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to marry and found a family etc. The care sector has the responsibility to promote and respect human rights as a core part of their day-to-day work, from drafting policies regulations and rules, through internal staff and policy issues, administration, decision making, to implementing policy and working with members of the public. The basic human rights which the care sector has the responsibility to promote are: †¢The right to life (relevant to protection of clients’ physical and mental wellbeing) †¢The right to freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment †¢The right of respect for private and family life, home and correspondence (relevant to confidentiality) †¢The right to freedom of thought, conscience or religion (relevant to respecting equality and diversity) †¢The right of protection from discrimination †¢The right to marry and found a family †¢The right to education †¢Free elections by secret ballot The Equality Act 2010 Brought in to replace the previous anti-discriminatory laws. It identifies nine protected characteristics; age, disability, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The Care Standards Act 2000 The Care Standards Act 2000 reforms the regulatory system for care services in England and Wales. It replaces the Registered Homes Act 1984, and associated regulations, which is intended to be repealed from 1 April 2002. The National Minimum Standards for registered care services are issued by the Department of Health as part of the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000. These standards include requirements about the competence of the work force including their suitability, experience and qualifications. The Care Standards Act sets out a broad range of regulation making powers covering, amongst other matters, the management, staff, premises and conduct of social care and independent healthcare establishments and agencies. The aim is to ensure that the care of vulnerable people, in differing types of supported housing is properly regulated, to improve care standards and introduce consistency in the regulation of services provided. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA)/Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults (SVA) scheme will act as a workforce ban on those professionals who have harmed vulnerable adults in their care. It will add an extra layer of protection to the pre-employment processes, including Criminal Records Bureau checks, which already take place and prevent known abusers from entering the care workforce. This Care Act 2000 was replaced by the Health Social Care Act 2008 with the aim to primary focus of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 was to create a new regulator whose purpose was to provide registration and inspection of health and adult social care services together for the first time, with the aim of ensuring safety and quality of care for service users. Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Group Act 2006 The purpose of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 is to restrict contact between children and vulnerable adults and those who might do them harm. The Mental Health Act 2007 The law which governs the compulsory treatment of certain people who have a mental disorder is the Mental Health Act 1983. The main purpose of the Mental Health Act 2007 is to amend the 1983 Act. It is also being used to introduce â€Å"deprivation of liberty safeguards† through amending the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and to extend the rights of victims by amending the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Mental Capacity Act 2005 The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a comprehensive framework for decision making on behalf of adults aged 16 and over who lack capacity to make decisions on their own behalf. The Act applies to England and Wales. Scotland has its own legislation. The Act sets out a number of basic principles that must govern all decisions made and actions taken under its powers. These are rooted in best practice and the common law and are designed to be fully compliant with the relevant sections of the Human Rights Act. Where confusion arises about how aspects of the Act should be implemented, it can be extremely helpful to refer back to them. Actions or decisions that clearly conflict with them are unlikely to be lawful, although there may be occasions on which they are in tension with each other and some balancing will be required. Valuing People Now Valuing People Now is an opportunity to help get better lives for all people with learning disabilities and their families, including those with complex needs, and from black and minority ethnic communities. Valuing People Now says people with a learning disability have the same human rights as everyone else Putting People First Putting People First (PPF) sets out the direction for adult social care. It is a shared commitment by the Government, local councils and service providers to ensuring that people who need care and support have choice, flexibility and control to live their lives the way they wish.

Religion and the Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

Religion and the Meaning of Life Essay According to Frederich Nietzche, â€Å"A man who has a why to live can bear any how†. To me this statement provides massive insight into the human experience: all people need a purpose in life. As humans we need a constructive outlet through which we can invest our thoughts, emotions, efforts and energies. We need something to thrive for and strive toward. Religion, for many people provides this outlet in life in a most positive manner. It allows people to find themselves by losing themselves foremost. Religion encourages service to others, selflessness, forgiveness and ascetic values that allow people to displace personal prejudices and mental barriers that are roadblocks on the path toward self awareness and understanding. Religion teaches that human beings are direct creations of God. Due to this, the religious person places immense gravity into the definition of what it means to be human. To the religious person human life is sacred therefore all human beings are treated as if they are sacred entities. Dignity is vital to this experience and the religious person lives a decent life based largely on the fact that they find it a grave injustice to engage in dehumanizing acts. A dehumanizing act is any action that undermines the value of what it means to be human, and because human life to the religious person is sacred; treating other people and oneself with respect is part of the job description. Religious people also are heavily focused on remaining loyal to traditions and place heavy emphasis on the concept of togetherness through ceremonies, rituals and even celebrations. Religious people congregate and come together in a forum of mutual understanding of one another’s beliefs and values, and respect for the characteristics that make individuals unique. This is how religious institutions have survived throughout the ages. People of all sorts come together based on a mutual understanding of the same truths. The idea of coming together forms a family-like atmosphere that strengthens dynamics within individual households and strengthens interpersonal bonds among all people whom the religious person encounters. The religious person lives a life of kindness, simplicity and dignity highlighted by unity, loyalty and fairness. These concepts are vital to becoming a well integrated person which is the key component to finding one’s purpose and meaning in life. Once a person gains a sense of purpose, the other aspects of their lives fall into place based around what that person chooses to life for. When a person lives for their faith, their lives are based around morals that encourage reverence for all human beings and a genuine perceptive of righteousness. This is why religious people not only have a strong sense of self, but also have unshakable character based in a solid affection for mankind.

Effect of the Cold War on America

Effect of the Cold War on America Introduction The Cold War refers to the continuous geopolitical, economic and ideological struggle that was between the two super powers in the west (USA and its NATO allies) and the powers in the East (Soviet Union). This Cold War began in the year 1947 which was the time that the Second World War was ending and it continued until the year 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. The term ‘cold’ was used because there was no large scale direct fighting between the East and the West and that there were only regional fights between the countries that the two sides supported. During the cold war, the alliance against Nazi Germany was split leaving USA and USSR as the only two sides that greatly differed over ideologies such as capitalism, totalitarianism, communism and liberal democracy. The two countries were not at any time involved in a full-scale armed fighting but they were always each armed heavily for a World War III. It was believed that each side held a strong nuclear deterrent that made the other side afraid to attack because of the fear of total destruction on its part. Apart from the nuclear deterrent on both sides, dominance on both sides was expressed through psychological warfare, technological competitions and propaganda and espionage. One of the events leading to the origin of the Cold was remarks by a British leader Winston Churchill who gave some anti-communism remarks during his speech in the year 1946 (Fleming 34). Ways in which the West and the East Differed The cold war is believed to be the most important political issue in the early post war period and it was as a result of long time disagreements between USA and the Soviet Union. However, during the Second World War, these two countries put their differences aside and they were allied. The end of the World War II triggered the resurface of the antagonisms between the two countries (Fleming 44). America had survived destruction from the war and it hoped to share its idea of liberty, democracy and equality with the rest of the world which was in turmoil after the war. America was much aware of the effects of the Great Depression that were experienced in the years 1929-1940. In an attempt to avoid another depression, it sought to remove all the trade barriers in order to help the nation create outside markets for its industrial and agricultural products. Free trade would also help other western nations to export their products and hence be able to rebuild their nations that were destroy ed in the World War II. Generally the free trade would help boost the economic growth of all the western nations and also help to boost the relationships between the countries. The Soviet Union had a different Agenda that contrasted sharply with that of the Americans. They believed in a centralized, autocratic form of government that was very different with the American’s emphasis on freedom and democracy. During the World War II they had briefly abandoned the Marxist-Leninist ideology but it was still one of the country’s policies. Distraught by the death of 20 million citizens during the struggle, Soviet Union was focused on reconstruction and also protecting itself from another future attack of the same magnitude. Specifically, they feared attack of their nation from the West and hence were very determined to prevent another great attack. The Soviet Union was intent on demanding defensible borders but the in the East. But the Americans had already declared independence and self-government to countries in the east such as Poland and Czechoslovakia(Meernik 68). The Cold War origin was as a result of the differing opinions about the shape of the postwar and this was what led to distrust between the two super powers. Firstly, the conflict started over Poland. Moscow wanted a government that was subject to Soviet impact; Washington on the other hand, wanted a more independent and representative government that was in line with the Western model (Russett 29).Different interpretations of different forms of government were discussed in the Yalta Conference of February 1945 and it provided provisions to ensure that the elections in Poland would be ‘free and unfettered.’ Harry Truman had succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt and he became the president of America. During his regime, he promised to respond to the international affairs between these two super powers and his decisions to respond to Soviet Union lead to the early Cold war between the two nations. During his first meeting with Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, he made it clear that he was supporting self-determination and he urge the diplomat to implement the Yalta accords. Molotov took offence of this and he exclaimed that he had never been spoken to like that in his entire life. Truman responded to him that if he follows the agreements then he will never have to be spoken to like that. This is where the relations between the countries got deteriorated (Meernik 82). Control the Soviet Union then became a policy to the Americans during the post war years. George Kennan who was a top official in Moscow established and elaborated on a new approach to control Soviet Union. This is because he felt that Soviet Union would not change their stand and hence they had to be stopped by control the efforts of Russia to expand the territories. The application of this containment policy was first applied in the eastern Mediterranean. The Great Britain was an ally to Greece where communist forces were threatening to rule a monarchy in civil war, and Turkey, the nation in which the Soviet Union had compelled for territorial concessions and also the mandate to build marine bases on the Bosporus. In the year 1947, Britain could not afford the aid and hence the U.S quickly came in to offer their assistance. Truman was able to then allocate $ 400 million to cater for the economic and military assistance to Turkey and Greece (May 39). Truman and the American society, however, had to pay a price for the containment policy. Truman had overstated the threat of the Soviet Union to the U.S and through this; there emerged an inspired wave of anti-communism and pave d the way for the emergence of McCarthyism. Effects of the potential conflict to the culture, economics and politics of the United States Effect on ideology The effect of the cold war not only shaped the foreign policy of the U.S, but it also helped to improve the domestic affairs. In the past, the Americans had been afraid of radical subversion but efforts to root out communism became much stronger after the World War II(Waltz 35). The foreign events made the anti-communist hysteria to be strong. It surprised the Americans when the Soviet Union exploded its own atomic device and this made Americans to fear that they could be attacked by them at any given time. Economic effect As the cold war continued fifteen years later that is from 1945-1960, the U.S experienced great economic growth. The war was the main reason that it got back its prosperity and it in the postwar period it was able to become one of the richest nations in the world. The Gross Domestic Product of the United States improved from $200 thousand million in 1940 to $ 300 million in 1950 and more than $500 thousand million in 1960. This made more Americans to consider themselves as middle class. Major companies also grew larger through merges and they expanded their branches overseas where they could get labor cheaply. Effect on the lifestyle of the Americans The workers in America found their lifestyles changing as the nation progressed industrially. Many of the workers became involved in provision of services rather than production of goods. Farmers on the other hand were in great trouble as the benefits of agriculture lead to consolidations and hence family farms were thrown out of business by the large farming businesses (Betts 37). There was movement of the Americans from inner cities to suburbs where cheaper hosing was found in order to fit the big families that were as a result of a postwar baby boom (May 51). And as the suburbs grew bigger, more businesses were created such as large shopping centers that reduced traffic of shoppers in the cities. New highways were also constructed so as to make the suburbs accessible.There was also the widespread marketing of the television which had been developed previously but not marketed until after the war. In conclusion, the Cold War was an important historical event. Specifically, it was very important to the Americans as it enabled them to progress economically, culturally and politically. We can therefore say that the United States became even more powerful after the Cold War and up to now it is regarded as the most powerful nation in the whole world. Works Cited Betts, Richard K. Wealth, power, and instability: East Asia and the United States after the Cold War. International Security (1993): 34-77. Print. Fleming, Denna Frank. The Cold War and Its Origins: 1917-1960. 1950-1960. Vol. 2. Doubleday, 1961. Print. May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward bound: American families in the cold war era. Basic Books, 2008. Print. Meernik, James, Eric L. Krueger, and Steven C. Poe. Testing models of US foreign policy: Foreign aid during and after the Cold War. The journal of Politics 60.01 (1998): 63-85. Print. Russett, Bruce. Grasping the democratic peace: Principles for a post-Cold War world. Princeton University Press, 1994. Print. Waltz, Kenneth N. Structural realism after the Cold War. International security 25.1 (2000): 5- 41. Print.

Julian Assange and WikiLeaks Essay -- Politics Current Events

WikiLeaks is more than just a website. It is one of the fastest growing, nonprofit news organizations in the twenty first century. With millions of documents posted, WikiLeaks has recently released over 250,000 documents related to US Embassy message traffic; a majority of which are either Secret NOFORN (No Foreign Nationals) or Classified. The disclosure of these documents has seriously impeded diplomatic relations between various countries, with the US being the primary target. In these various â€Å"cables†, as they’re commonly referred to, the internal thoughts and opinions of several high ranking United States officials is laid bare for anyone with internet access to observe. Many would claim that this is an extreme exercise in Freedom of Speech; simply keeping open the lines of communication between our government and its people. This is a righteous faà §ade of the truth. The reality is this: WikiLeaks is damaging. It is damaging to our country’s ability to present a coherent and clear diplomatic embrace to our friends and allies alike. The people releasing the material don’t seem to share the same assertion of the consequences of their actions. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims: â€Å"Since 2006, we have been working along this philosophy that organizations which are abusive and need to be [in] the public eye. If their behavior is revealed to the public, they have one of two choices: one is to reform in such a way that they can be proud of their endeavors, and proud to display them to the public. Or the other is to lock down internally and to balkanize, and as a result, of course, cease to be as efficient as they were.† (TIME) In theory this sounds fine, but the context has to be set properly for this argument to ... ...for it. Works Cited Stengel, Richard. "Transcript: TIME Interview with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews. 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . "A Breakdown of the 251,287 Diplomatic Cables and Their Potential Fallout." Washington Post – Politics, National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines WASHINGTON POST, 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. . Condon, Stephanie. "Poll: Americans Concerned WikiLeaks Dump Will Hurt the U.S. - Political Hotsheet - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News. 03 Dec. 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. .

Convincing Q? Essay example -- Argumentative Persuasive Papers

Convincing Q? Voting on a proposition banning genetic engineering seemed odd to me, but to the voters in the county of San Luis Obispo (SLO) on 2 November 2004 it was just another proposal on the ballot. This proposition, known as Measure Q shall make it â€Å"unlawful for any person or entity to propagate, cultivate, raise, or grow genetically engineered organisms in San Luis Obispo County.† This law was proposed after the proponents for Measure Q claimed that â€Å"the people of San Luis Obispo County wish to protect the county’s agriculture, environment, economy, and private property from genetic pollution by genetically engineered organisms until all the risks associated with these organisms are fully understood.† The only exemptions in the measure allow â€Å"a fully accredited college or university to engage in scientific research or education using genetically engineered organisms† and do not prevent health care professionals from providing â€Å"any diagnosis, care, or treatment to any patient.† On the sample ballot was a section entitled â€Å"Argument In Favor Of Measure Q-04.† This argument makes a good case, but it lacks the clarity to be convincing. â€Å"Argument In Favor Of Measure Q-04† emphasizes the negative effects of genetic engineering on the agriculture in SLO County. The claim of this argument is that genetically engineered (GE) crops are bad for the agriculture of SLO County. The first reason given in support of the claim of â€Å"Argument In Favor Of Measure Q-04† is â€Å"keeping SLO County free of genetically engineered (GE) crops maintains our [SLO County’s] strong agricultural economy.† This reason is supported by evidence pertaining to the agricultural economy of SLO County. The argument states... ... might be convincing. However, it emphasized the line of evidence that GE crops can contaminate â€Å"pure† crops stating neither how the conventional crops were contaminated nor what was meant by the term â€Å"contaminated.† Due to this uncertainty, this main support of the argument lacked the clarity to be convincing. Therefore, I am still undecided on Measure Q[SM1] . Nice job for your first draft. The use of terminology and the division of topics and paragraphs clarifies the elements of the argument. Your critique of the word contaminates is original and compelling. In addition to the specific corrections noted, it would be worthwhile for you to look at the supports and evidence in light of the critiques and counters offered by the opponents on their ballot argument and elsewhere and compare them with the rebuttals of those critiques offered by defenders.

Teaching Practices Essay -- Education, Early Childhood Education

In this essay Te Ao Maori, Te Reo Maori, Tikanga Maori and Treaty of Waitangi will be examined. The relevance of these to the teaching practices will be reflected upon. Few appropriate strategies will be discussed to support the implementation of a bicultural curriculum in early childhood education. According to Irwin (1984) for Maori, the creating myths form an important part of their world view, â€Å"conveying myth messages that people practice as ideals and norms in their lives â€Å"(p.1). The Maori creation myths begin with three stages te kore, te po and tea ao Marama. In the beginning there was Te Kore, the nothingness. Then came the te po the night , it was this night that the seven gods began crawling in the narrow space between their parents bodies, who were Rangi (sky father) and Papa (Earth mother). One day Tane –mahuta god of forest, began separating his parents apart so that there was enough room for them to move around in. So when Tane became successful in separating his parents, the world of light – te ao marama was created . The sun used to move across the sky quite rapidly and it used to be hard for the people to finish their daily chores such as cooking, hunting due to the insufficient time of the sun in the sky. So, Maui the demi – god decided one day that he needs to slow down the sun. As stated by Reed (2007) â€Å"Maui battered the sun until he was weakened (p.28). Ultimately, the people were able to finish their chores as sunlight was there for more hours. Te Ao Maori has played a significant role in my teaching practice, because the creation of the Maori myths is similar to showing the children how to grow a seed into a plant, the different growing stages of the plant depict the Maori strategy of growing of ... ... some aspects of treaty and the government has tried to settle the claims and set of tribunals to look into this aspect. Foreshore rights are one of the contributions issues. Government feels the treaty is an important part of New Zealand history and culture. (State Services Commision , 2004). Te Ao Maori, Te Reo Maori, Tikanga Maori and Treaty of Waitangi are an valuable asset of New Zealand and they are protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. Te Ao Maori explains us the creating of myths and legends through the Maori perspective and also that Te Reo Maori (Maori language) is a living treasure (taonga) of New Zealand. Tikanga Maori tells us the importance of the values and beliefs in Maori culture. Treaty of Waitangi holds a special value in the history of New Zealand. Therefore, all the Maori perspective add a significance in the wealth of knowledge.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 16~18

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