Meet food and safety requirements when providing food and drink for individuals Essay

1.1 food safety hazards when preparing, serving, storing and cleaning away food and drinks are of three types, namely, biological and chemical hazards. 1.2 this is important because it prevents food poisoning for the individual for e.g. if i don’t take all the necessary precautions when preparing food or drink, the service user may get food poisoning which could end with the service user going into hospital. food poisoning is caused when contaminated food is eaten, it can be extremely unpleasant, and in worst case scenarios it can be fatal, particularly in high-risk group clients. the most common cause of illness from food is bacterial contamination. 1.3 personal protective clothing must be used when handling food and drink because dust and bacteria from our clothes can contaminate the service users food and drink. for e.g. we go out in break and have a coffee in a coffee shop, when someone at the next table is sneezing , after going in the service users home we have to use protective clothing because bacteria from our own clothes may contaminate the food and drink we prepare. 1.4 surfaces, utensils and equipment must be clean before beginning a new task because bacteria from the left over pieces of food will contaminate the freshly cut/handled food, also chopping boards used for chopping vegetables must be washed before chopping meat if separate boards are not available in a service users home. 1.5 some of the cooked food products gets extremely quickly contaminated, as food waste promptly and safely. meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, cooked pasta and rice are perfect for bacteria to grow. that’s why we must dispose or clear meals leftovers immediately. for e.g. if the service user left some rice or meat in the pan, we must cover it immediately after the meal and store it in the fridge but only for a few hours (e.g. lunch till supper, but not till next days lunch) if that leftover is not consumed at supper, we must dispose it in the bin for food waste. also we must wash up the pans, plates, cutlery etc after clearing the food to not leave time for bacteria to grow and develop. 1.6 when storing food we must follow some guidelines to ensure its safety, for e.g. to keep apart raw and cooked food, keep apart dairy product, meat products, eggs and vegetables because this is the way of preventing cross contamination. 2.1 hands should be washed quite regularly when handling food, they should be washed before preparing food, in-between dealing with raw and cooked foods also if you were to come in contact with a service user you should then wash your hands. 2.2 step 1 – wet hands thoroughly under warm running water and squirt liquid soap onto the palm of one hand. step 2 – rub your hands together to make lather. step 3 – rub the palm of one hand along the back of the other and along the fingers. then repeat with the other hand. step 4 – rub in between each of your fingers on both hands and round your thumbs. pay particular attention to your nails. you many need to use a nail brush. step 5 – rinse off the soap with clean water. step 6 – dry hands on thoroughly on a disposable towel. 2.3 every person working in a food handling area must maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear suitable clean and where appropriate protective clothing. clothing is a common source of contamination of food and may arise form: – foreign bodies e.g. buttons, fibers and debris – pathogenic (harmful) micro-organisms via cross-contamination from dirty clothing. clothing must be clean and should be changed regularly to maintain hygienic standards and protect food from the risk of contamination where open high risk foods are being prepared or handled, protective clothing must be worn. 2.4 surfaces, utensils and equipment must be clean before beginning a new task: – removing matter on which bacteria grows – reducing the risk of foreign matter in food – preventing cross contamination e.g. direct, indirect 3.1 practices to control hazards when preparing and serving food and drink using seperate boards and utensils for different types of food e.g. raw meats and vegetables, using colour-coded chopping boards, making sure that food is thoroughly cooked according to guidelines e.g. not reheating more than once, following microwave instructions, ensuring frozen meat and products are thawed before cooking. cooking or reheating immediately before serving, washing ready-to-eat product, serving foods e.g. keeping hot or chilled food at correct temperature, nott topping up sauces, excluding staff with food poisoning symptoms. 3.2 prepare and serve food and drink in ways that minimise risks to own safety and that of others: – other e.g. children and adults who eat the food – staff preparing food – following good food handling and serving practices – maintaining personal hygiene – keeping any cuts or lesions completely covered – wearing protective clothing – minimising food handling e.g. using log handled servers – importance of cleaning as you work – replacing covers over food in preparation areas and serving areas – keeping preparation and serving areas clean and tidy 3.3 – check that individuals have finished eating before removing utensils and crockery – you encourage individuals to wash their hands and clean themselves at the end of the meal. – remove or assist individuals to remove used utensils and crockery – follow organisations policies and practice to dispose of stale or unusable left-over food – you clean work surfaces after use with appropriate cleaning materials – clean and store cooking utensils and equipment correctly or return them for cleaning – wash your hands and ensure your own cleanliness and hygiene after cleaning utensils, crockery and equipment 4.1 – following recommended time limits for food at room temperature – not leaving food and drink to accumulate in food areas 4.2 – not leaving food waste near foods or preparation areas – replacing bin lids correctly – keeping bins away from food areas – hand washing after handling waste foods – regular emptying and cleaning food waste bins – keeping external refuse areas clean 4.3 – using seperate sinks for cleaning and food preparation – thorough cleaning and disinfecting – disposing of cleaning cloths or disinfecting – disinfecting cleaning materials 4.4 – all utensils to be stored seperately on a rack – place them upside down – once dry put it in clean, dry storage shelves 5.1 – high risk food e.g. ready to eat, storing immediately after delivery – checking packaging – regular cleaning of food storage areas and refrigerators – separating ready to eat and raw foods – stock rotation – correct temperatures e.g. store rooms , refrigerators, freezers – suitable packaging and pest proof containers – not storing foods in opened cans – cleaning spills in storage areas immediately 5.2 – using covered containers – keeping raw food separate from high risk foods e.g. raw food at the bottom of the fridge – storing perishable foods in dry conditions – using clear labeling – checking use-by dates 6.1 – government agencies e.g. food standards agency – policies and procedures in own setting – legislation – food packaging 6.2 – own job description – line manager – food hygiene qualifications – tutor/assessor

St.Michael

â€Å"St. Michael the Archangel† For my saint, I picked Saint Michael the Archangel. I picked St. Michael because Michael is my middle name. Saint Michael is a name meaning â€Å"He who is like God† in Hebrew. He is said to be placed over all the angels. He is the Patron Saint of soldiers, security guards, and sick people. Saint Michael is one of the seven archangels, him being one of the three mention in the Bible. He is the leader of the army of God during the Lucifer upraising.It is said by Pope Gregory the Great â€Å"Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. † Saint Michael is one of the principal angels. In Latin, the word â€Å"Angel† means messenger, such as a Jeanne-Nicole Saint-Laurent, who earned her doctorate in religious studies from Brown University in June 2009, has been named assistant professor of religiou s studies at Saint Michael's College, starting this fall semester. Dr. Saint-Laurent was a junior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library in Washington, D. C. , for the 2008-2009 academic year where she researched and completed her dissertation, titled â€Å"Apostolic Memories: Religious Differentiation and the Construction of Orthodoxy in Syriac Missionary Literature. † A specialist in Early Christianity: Christianity in Late Antiquity and Syriac Studies, Dr. Saint-Laurent will be teaching Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxies and Early Christianity this semester, and probably Christianity, Past and Present next semester.Dr. Saint-Laurent earned her bachelor's degree summa cum laude in religious studies and classics from Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wash. , in 2000. She earned a master's degree in early Christian studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 with a thesis titled â€Å"The Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian: a Hagiographical and Theological Analysis. â⠂¬  She was a Fulbright Scholar in Austria in 2002-2003, studying at the Theologische Facultat of Salzburg University on a project titled â€Å"Christianity in Late-Antique Austria: A Social History. † I see myself as starting a new journey that I have always wanted to take-it's been my dream really,† Dr. Saint-Laurent said about coming to a college like Saint Michael's. â€Å"I feel very grateful to be here, especially for the all the nice people. † She said her goal was to teach in a small Catholic college where she could work closely with students on texts from the ancient Christian world, and continue her passion for research.â€Å"I hope to instill in my students appreciation of Eastern Mediterranean Christian cultures and history, a greater knowledge of the early Christian church,† she said. I heard about Saint Michael's from my father, a French Canadian, who grew up in the Northeast, and always spoke of this special little college in Vermont,† she said. Dr. Saint-Laurent has published a coauthored essay, â€Å"Tools of the Trade: Instrumenta Studiorum,† in the book Oxford Handbook of Early Christianity (2008), and a solo-authored essay, â€Å"Early Christianity in Late Antique Austria: Eugippius and Severinus,† in Studia Patristica (2006). She has published a book review in Religious Studies Review, and six reports on conferences in Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies (four reports), E-Gorgias, and Syriac Dialogue.She has presented papers at 18 conferences or scholarly meetings, many for the Patristic Society or Syriac conferences. She has also given numerous talks to community groups, church gatherings and retreats on such topics as Early Christianity, Female Mystics in the Medieval Church, History of Monasticism, Saints throughout the Ages, Martyrs and Monastics, Women in the Early Syriac Church, and more. Dr. Saint-Laurent, a resident of Winooski, has run four marathons and loves running. She is also a cl assical singer and hopes to get involved with a choral group.Saint Michael's College is a distinctive Catholic liberal arts college that provides an education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools they need to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges, ranking as 9th among institutions in Quality of Life and 2nd in Town-Gown Relations.It is one of only 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 250 graduate students and 100 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and its professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last nine years.The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U. S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.  ©2011 Saint Michael's College One Winooski Park, Colchester, Vermont, USA 05439 | 802. 654. 2000 | Privacy Policy Web site Powered by ActiveCampustm Software by Datatel

Alternative Health

Medical intervention is a continuous quest for health care management. Whether conventional, complementary or alternative medicine, the aim of   health care provider is to give relief to pain or to cure illness of   their patients temporarily or permanently .Alternative medicine is a practice of medicine that prevents or treats disease or ailments without the use of drugs or undergoing diagnostic procedures. It includes chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, use of medicinal plants, homeopathy, meditation, massage and anything that requires self awareness and belief   that the body can heal itself.The use of alternative medicine is fast growing despite the result of many clinical studies showing its side effects and adverse reactions especially when combined with other procedure. It is therefore important that health care seekers should inform their health care provider of their present condition and current treatment to prevent unfavorable interaction of different treatment modality .DISCUSSIONThe world of medicine faces a continuous challenge on how to uplift the level   of health care in the country. There are organizations that spend a lot of money to provide the best drug that can cure certain illness. Several funding companies are   searching for the best medication. Clinical trials are continuously conducting studies for the drug development. A variety of medical methods have been accepted by medical practice due to many scientific explanations for their effectiveness and most often than not,   these procedures cost a lot of money.However, absence of side effects and adverse reactions is not an assurance. There are also incidents of unsatisfied medical treatment outcome. Medical lawsuits are becoming rampant nowadays resulting to decline in conventional health visits. In accordance, several health care methods are becoming more accepted as a way of battling ailments. These factors add to the popularity of alternative medicine.Although many people in less developed countries have used alternative medicine, it has not proven to cause 100% therapeutic effect. Many medical literatures have been discussing alternative medicine with complementary medicine. It should be remembered   that alternative medicine is a practice used in place of conventional medicine while complementary medicine is an alternative medicine with concurrent use of conventional medicine.Conventional medicine is medicine practiced by professionals such as Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and other allied health professionals like physical therapist, psychologist and registered nurse. It is also known as Western medicine, orthodox, biomedicine or regular medicine.In a study conducted by Barnes and colleagues (2002), the use of complementary and alternative medicine among adults in United States has been revealed. They collected data from the noninstitutionalized population using a computer-assisted personal interview among adults age 18 and ab ove.They found out that 60% of the adults were using some form of complementary and alternative medicine. The   most commonly used   therapies were use of prayer for   health , natural products, deep breathing exercises,   meditation, chiropractic care, yoga , massage , and diet-based therapies. Ernst (2000) revealed in his research the 9% to 65% prevalence of use of complementary/alternative medicine. The given form for treatment was chiropractic in the USA but showed considerable discrepancies.The study suggests that complementary/alternative medicine therapies are frequently used and increasing. â€Å"The true prevalence of use of complementary/alternative medicine in the general population remains uncertain†.Alternative medicine has been practiced from eastern to western part of the world from 2,000-6,000 years of history (Dworkin, 2006). The definition and scope of alternative medicine is so broad that falls into one definition; a   practice of medicine which r equires self-awareness, treatment or prevention of disease without the use of expensive drugs and need not undergo through the   high cost   of   diagnostic procedures. It includes all healing approaches that do not use the conventional Western medicine.Alternative medicine includes acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurveda medicine, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, herbal medicine, homeopathy, massage, meditation, naturopathy, therapeutic touch and Yoga.   

Property Tax Funding For Public Schools Research Paper

Property Tax Funding For Public Schools - Research Paper Example Instead of doing that, they make equal per-student funding available from their â€Å"General Tax Revenues† for all schools statewide. Most of the Americans declare that they are the supporters of the â€Å"Equal Funding† for the public schools, but the wealthy and the influential citizens often resist the attempts to remove the funding discriminations. This disagreement may be a sign of unawareness about the funding disparities, thoughtless approval of the conventional & long established methods for funding of education, and egotistical yearning to maintain the â€Å"Personal Taxes† at a low rate. The â€Å"Legal and Political† attempts to modify and remove the inequalities have been feeble at the â€Å"Federal Level†. But significant commotion has started to take place in the state courts and governing bodies. This paper ends with suggestions and policy propositions for struggling â€Å"Political and Cultural† conflict to reform. Introducti on: Property taxation and school funding are inter-linked with each other in United States. It has been known that almost half of the property tax revenue is used for funding public, elementary and secondary schools. It has become a hot topic to debate, across the United States as to which extent the public schools should be supported by the funds collected from property taxes. School funding is a controversial topic and it has become a matter to be resolved for almost every state.   It has been estimated  that independent school districts receive 96% of their tax revenues from property taxes. This makes it clear that public school funding rely more on property taxation as compare to grants collected from local government (Fisher, 2007). Whereas on the other hand, almost half of the total property tax revenue collected are also in financing public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. According to the statistics of 2004-2005, United States spent total of $488.5 billion on public elementary and secondary education, with nearly 47 percent of the funds received from state sources, 44 percent funds obtained by local sources with just 9 percent of the contributions derived from federal sources. However, it is a known fact that local funds are mainly received from taxes, primarily the property tax. Since 1952, local governments’ dependence on property taxes has dropped, whether measured as a percentage of local tax revenue, own source general revenue, or total general revenue. There have been quite many strong views on both property taxation and school finance. The strongest statements typically in general disapprove of local property taxes or their use for funding education. A latest assessment of policies in the New England states, a region that rely more greatly on property taxes than the rest of the country, faces strong criticism for this dependence, as stated by Pierce and Johnson (2006) that high property taxes along with the weigh t and perverse incentives they generate, the frenzy they create, the overall town to town school funding inequities they grow typically symbolizes a never-ending series of nightmares for New England. Thus as recommended by the authors, its has been noticed  that New England states need to restructure their  tax systems by lowering their dependency on

Postmodernism and Material Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Postmodernism and Material Culture - Essay Example The essay "Postmodernism and Material Culture" analyzes postmodernism and the material culture. In detail, it refrains from victimizing definitions such as female versus male, straight versus gay, black versus white and colonial versus imperial. Therefore, postmodernism holds realities to be relative to the interested parties and their main concerns. Postmodernism influences numerous cultural fields which include sociology, literary criticism, visual arts, music, architecture and linguistics. The wide range of terms in statements and assumptions in argument seem to complicate the study of postmodernism. We begin by differentiating the concepts and terms of postmodernism. The postmodern refers to a historical condition. Postmodernity assess the acknowledgment or lack of the same about postmodernism. Finally, postmodernism may be exhibited in various movements that exhibit self-awareness and intention of varying degrees. Postmodernism refers to an awareness of transition within the soc ietal and cultural spectrums following the World-War II. It also associates with the upheavals associated with the mass-mediated populist consumer culture of the 1960s-1970s. In culture and art, postmodernism contributes towards the development of hybrid cultural forms. Often, individuals of the affected localities try to be against or in support of the hegemonic Western culture. In history, postmodernism alters progress of the goal oriented history. Postmodernism disrupts myths that propagate ethnic and national identities.

PRoject Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PRoject - Research Paper Example Its main components are feldspar and quartz, even though, there are small amounts of amphiboles, mica, and numerous other elements. Due to the varying composition of the granite rock, it comes in various shades and colors such as white, pink, red and gray. Mable, on the other hand, is the metamorphic rock that will be formed when limestone is exposed to the pressure and heat of the metamorphism. Its main component is calcium calcite and normally can have other minerals such as quartz, clay minerals, graphite, iron oxide, pyrite, and micas. Under the intense condition of metamorphosis, the calcite components of the limestone rejoin each other and form larger calcite crystals. Nigeria has its unique culture that is also in cooperated into their business world. One is likely to find self spending in the first two hours of a first conversation just exchanging pleasantries and talking about matters of family and health. To them, these matters are of great importance. One might find himself trying to rush things at this stage. Something that is worth noting is that Nigerians often work as a team and closed door meetings are bound to be frequently interrupted by phone calls, emails, and errands. Some scholars have argued that the law of supply and demand is enough to shape the business world in any region, however, others argue that politics is very vital for business in any region of the world. However what is now known to be true is that lots of political factors determine which direction the economy swings. The ruling government in Nigeria often introduces new rules and regulations or eliminate old ones that determine how business transactions in the country are to be countries out. By this, may include; waivers, import promotion decrees, tariffs, import duties and industrial promotion policies. It can is best illustrated by the 2004 import waiver of Dangote Industries that enabled the firm to

The Concept of Globalization. Main Effects of the Process of Essay

The Concept of Globalization. Main Effects of the Process of Globalization in the Contemporary World - Essay Example The paper outlines the growing importance of the globalization in the world of today, which is defined as the integration of the world economies by the way of lifting restrictions on trade and finance, and critically considers its advantages and disadvantages, which it brings to disparate in economic respect countries. Proponents of the globalization say that it is a positive force that is making the world a better place. In fact, they say, economic and social indicators show that the world's people are better off than they were before globalization. The solution to economies that are not sufficiently open to trade is more globalization, in the form of free trade, not less. As globalization went on, the plight of the world's poor has improved. The number of people, living in the poverty would undoubtedly be higher and the level of poverty deeper if not for the advances, such as open economies and technology transfers, brought about by globalization, they argue. Some people are totally opposed to globalization, claiming that, among other ill effects, it hinders the efforts of poor nations to climb out of poverty. They believe that the process of opening borders to trade and the free flow of money and ideas should be abandoned. Globalization has failed to deliver the promised benefits to the world's poor. There have been improvements in certain areas, such as health care and infant mortality rates in parts of the developing world, they concede, but, overall, the vast majority of wealth and opportunity still goes to a disproportionately small percentage of population. Although the common perception is that globalization is a new phenomenon, some economists and historians say that it has been taking place for centuries.

Effects of Volcanoes on Air Pollution in Japan Research Paper - 1

Effects of Volcanoes on Air Pollution in Japan - Research Paper Example The researcher states that volcanic eruption has led to creation of new features tearing down the old ones. Large eruptions are risky, sometimes killing millions of people at the time of occurrence. Eruption has an extreme impact on change on the earth climate. The complex changing processes and events on the planet’s climate results from volcanic eruption. Increase in level of radiation on the earth surface results from the volcanic eruption. Millions of individuals are potentially exposed to volcanic gases globally. Primary studies states that health hazards of volcanic gases. Sulphur IV oxide and acid aerosols generated from volcanic eruption are associated with respiratory illness and mortality in Japan. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in most geothermal areas in Japan has associated with increase in nervous system and respiratory diseases. According to Prisma, volcanic eruption has resulted from natural hazard that has affected the human population globally. Systematic reviews re ported that volcanic eruption has led to human injuries, displacement, refugee, fatality, death and mortality among others. According to the Science for a Changing World organization, volcanic eruption releases more than 130 million tons of carbon IV oxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year in Japan. CO2 is odorless and colorless has no direct hazard to human life but it has a long life effect to human health. The CO2 increases geographical temperature leading to change in atmospheric conditions. Extreme heat from the lava entering water bodies rapidly heats up and vaporizes seawater resulting to chemical reactions. Effects of volcanic eruption highly depend on how the solids and gases from the interior of the earth eject from the ground forming various features such as mudflows, ash falls, pyroclastic flows and stream explosions in Japan. Japan has experience great effects relating to the volcanic eruption. An effect of volcanic eruption has impact on air, water, and land. The ef fects have both positive and negative significance to natural environment.

Improving Your Writing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Improving Your Writing Skills - Essay Example This study outlines that there are several issues that should be put into consideration. The writer should organize the information using a functional format. A functional format is an arrangement that goes through a sequence as per the material that is being presented for clarity and easy understanding. This should be followed by writing down of a draft that comprises of all the important parts of the information that is to be passed to the reader. The writing of a draft is an important process as it gives the writer the opportunity to exhaust all the information that ought to be included, make changes through by removing or adding part of the document. Thus, only the relevant information gets the chance of being in the draft. It is after this process, that the final document for the reader is prepared. In order to be a good business writer, good business writing skills are essential. Through this, professionalism is observed from either side. In this regard, a business document nee ds to be short and precise. This is because most people who require this information do not have much time to go through long documents in search of the ideas that have been put down by the writers.

Internship Case Study Essay Example for Free

Internship Case Study Essay Follow the organizational format provided. Clarity of writing and proper usage, grammar and spelling are expected. The case study must be typed and double-spaced, using a standard term-paper format of 1† margins at the top, bottom and right and a 1. 5† margin on the left. Use a 10 or 12 point typeface. Case studies should be placed in a folder or notebook. The student’s name, Communication Internship, semester, and the sponsoring organization are to appear on the front. PART I: INTERNSHIP SETTING (3-5 pages) 1. Explain the role and purpose of the organization with which you are doing your internship. Give a brief history of the organization. Describe the internship site (a photo is helpful but not mandatory), and provide the current staff size. 2. Outline the organization’s current leadership, including the educational and professional background of those in top positions (or those you work with most directly). 3. Prepare an organizational chart with names and titles of those in the direct chain of command over you, from the owner/president to your immediate supervisor to you. 4. List the organization’s â€Å"publics† (its audiences, people it influences or affects). Define these publics, using your organization’s latest data (circulation figures, listing of clients, viewership/listenership ratings, number of employees, etc. ) 5. Describe the local/regional competition, and report how your organization ranks. 6. Find out how the organization has changed in the past year (for example, new personnel, labor problems, the addition/loss of major clients, new mass communication thrusts, technological changes, etc. ) 7.  Learn the history of internships in the organization, and tell whether supervisors view previous internships as successful. PART II: SUMMARY AND EVALUATION (5-8 pages) 1. Describe working conditions and typical working hours. 2. Write a narrative (or, preferably, keep a weekly journal which chronicles events, issues, tasks and results throughout the internship). This should be a lively synopsis of the internship which includes examples that bring the experience to life. 3. Cite what was appealing and what was not appealing about the internship. Tell whether you would consider this type of work after graduation. How has your internship experience affected your career plans? PART III: INTERNSHIP PORTFOLIO Provide five to ten examples of your internship work (news and feature stories, tapes, campaigns, ads, newsletters, PSAs, etc. ). Show as much diversity in your work as possible. Present the portfolio in an easy-access form for inclusion in a standard 8 1/2 by 11 binder. You may want to use portions of your portfolio in your oral presentation to the class. Interns who are engaged in electronic media or multi-media production or on-air work may submit work samples on audio tape, video tape, or computer disk (when required hardware and software are available to the instructor). All portfolio items must be accompanied by a written explanation of the intern’s role in producing each of the items submitted. If there is some reason the instructor should not write on a portfolio item (for example, this is your only copy), please include a note to that effect.

Benefits Of The Olympic Games

Benefits Of The Olympic Games This essay will analyse the benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games which will bring and has brought to the UK. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring a lot of benefits to the UK this essay intends to look at several of these opportunities; these opportunities include the development of sport, increase in tourism and increase in economic activity throughout the UK. (reference) Local authorities are already using the inspiration of the Games to spread wider social, economic and sporting benefits to their communities in the run up to the 2012. This will be the basis for a long term and UK wide legacy from the Games. The local Government Association has worked with local authorities to identify six UK wide legacy benefits: Inspiring children and young people Raising sporting game and influencing healthier lifestyles Volunteering Championing culture Generating and supporting tourism Boosting the local economy Many of these legacy benefits are already important to local communities, and local authorities are working hard to partners to improve performance and service delivery. The 2012 Games provide a unique catalyst to reach new groups of people, bring new partners to the table and help local authorities achieve existing targets. (reference) Hosting the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is an opportunity to bring about positive change on a massive scale. The Games would not only add to the UKs nations sporting heritage but will also celebrate the diversity of the capital. It is a unique chance to showcase the best of London to the world and would generate huge benefits for all those who live or work in the city: Boost for Sport: The London 2012 Games will accelerate the delivery of new world-class sports infrastructure for the UK and London in particular. For example, after the Games, the athletics Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Indoor Sports Arena, Hockey Centre, and Canoe Slalom will all be available for use by the community as well as elite athletes. The 2012 Olympic Games is most likely to generate large amounts of interest from local authorities and businesses, this could possibly open up further links for the funding of sports at all levels. Based on the experiences of former host Olympic countries, funding for the development of elite athletes in the years running up to the Games would increase. Hosting teams for many months before the Games could also act as a catalyst for developing and refurbishing existing UK sports facilities. Boost for Business, Jobs and Skills: The hosting the Olympic Games will benefit every sector of the economy, this will provide a much needed boost for Business, more jobs will be created and skills will be gained from the 2012 Olympic Games. Thousands of UK businesses will be used to deliver the Games for example catering, manufacturing, construction, services etc, and creating valuable opportunities for businesses. An example such as the Sydney Olympic Games showed that business in Australia won over a billion pounds in contracts for the Games (PWC report), more than 200 million from regional businesses and over 55,000 people receiving employment related training. Londons tourism industry will receive a significant boost, not just for the duration of the Games but in the run up to and long after the Games. An example of how an area can benefit from the 2012 Olympic Games is how Dorset, Weymouth and Portland has increased their local visitor economy. They will host the Sailing events in 2012. The Spirit of the Sean festival, which celebrates the areas close relationship with the sea, has completed its second year and is going from strength to strength. Last years festival showcased around 50 activities at 27 venues. The festival has a range of cultural and sporting events which include water sports competitions for all ages and of all abilities, concerts on the beach, the Dorset seafood festival, the Moving Tides Childrens Procession and the Henri Lloyd Weymouth Regatta. These events all in turn encourage people to be more active and to get involved with the towns cultural opportunities. People who attend these events spent on average  £68, w hich has provided a boost in the economy. Dorset, Weymouth and Portland will be using the councils status to share with other local authorities how to secure a tourism legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games. A London Games would also provide many new learning opportunities for Londoners to train and develop their skills. The Olympic park which is being built will also create thousands of new jobs. The running of the 2012 Olympic Games will require around 70,000 volunteers, this is set to cause the largest volunteer recruitment force in the UK. This will lead to a volunteering boost in general sports and specific sports. An example of this is Kent County councils aim to secure maximum benefit from the 2012 Olympic Games by using the Kent event team, whom are in partnership with the Kent county council and the voluntary sector, and the use of the Games as a key focal point to employee volunteers for sporting events and leisure and cultural activities across the UK. Another example is the Voluntary Action Maidstone which is the lead voluntary sector partner. In its first 18months, a manager and voluntary support staff were appointed, 700 volunteers and 40 organisations were registered and 20 events were supported. These included sporting, cultural and artistic events and festivals. The Kent event team aims to create a network of volunteers for wider community use who are available to volunteer after the 2012 Games, encourage people who are unable to make a long term commitment to volunteering, and help support the volunteering sectors to develop good practices with regard to community events. Various test events will be held during the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games, some of these test events include world championships. International Sports Federations will hold European and world championships and other large scale events in the UK, this will allow their athletes to acclimatise with the country. This will have a positive effect to the UK in the sense that it will deliver several million pounds to the UK for example Birmingham City Council concluded that hosting of the World Indoor Athletics Championships and World Badminton Championships in 2003 had a positive economic impact of  £3.5M and  £2.5M respectively. (reference) Another example Is in the Australian Olympic Games 125 teams from 39 countries went through training before the Games in different locations across Australia, the training estimated to have benefited the states economy by about 70 million (PWC, 2002). Creative Capital: Creative Industries is the fastest growing sector in London, responsible for one in five new jobs in the capital. An Olympic cultural Programme is a major aspect of the Games. From concerts in the parks to street theatre, the Games would provide a platform for talented artists in London to showcase their skills to a global audience. Boosting Health and Sporting success: Hosting the worlds greatest sporting event given the passion, excitement and interest likely to be generated would boost Government initiatives to promote participation in sport and physical activity at all levels. Physical Change: The Olympic Games would bring forward one of the largest and most significant urban regeneration projects ever undertaken in the UK, through the transformation of the Lower Lea Valley in east London. The area has already been identified as a priority by the Government, the Mayor and the LDA. Thousands of athletes, officials, spectators and media will be travelling to the Games and in order to achieve a smooth running transport system London will be improving several of the transport links to the east of London. Some of these improvements include, Channel Tunnel Shuttle link from Stratford to Kings Cross and  £1bn improvement to London East line. (reference) The creation of the Olympic Park will create more green space, maintain local biodiversity, and improve the soil, water and air quality in the London area. The ways in which this will be achieved is the waterways and canals of the river lea will be made wider and will be cleaned, and the levels of the water will be renewed to achieve a new wetland habitat for wildlife, the park will also be planted with native species some of these include oak and ask, this will provide a home for wildlife in the middle of the city, by improving the park it will encourage birdwatchers and ecologists to come and enjoy the area. The London 2012 Olympic Games would set new standard for recycling of natural resources, consumption and sustainable production. They will achieve this by†¦. During the Games The Olympic Village will be used for officials and athletes to stay during the Games and then after the Games the renovation of the Olympic village will take place, the village will turned into 5,000 homes. Houses will also be built on the Olympic park site after the Games as well as new amenities for the local community which will include shops, restaurants and cafes. This is one of the key benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games. The ODA, the Olympic delivery authority, has an equality and inclusion programme, the ODAs equality and diversity strategy and the ODAs three equality schemes covering race, disability and gender equality, the aim of this programme is to create an inclusive Games, which promotes good equality practices and access for all. This mission extends the aims of the ODA beyond these statutory duties to include the newer equality strands of age, religion and sexual orientation and other inclusion issues centred on socio-economic, culture and political disadvantage. The regeneration of the area will have many social and economic benefits. It will have a positive impact on local communities in different parts of the UK and example of how they are managing to achieve this is having a fair, open and a wider range of diverse suppliers the way in which recruiting and managing employees is done fairly, this helps to promote equal opportunities to all and eliminate discrimination in the workplace. The ODA are also working with partner organisations to encourage women, black, Asian and minority ethnic people and disabled people, to train and apply for jobs in construction and other areas. The 2012 Olympic Games is set to be inclusive for people of all cultures, faiths and ages, and fully accessible to disabled people with a wide range of impairments. The ODA will also provide a transport network that will be accessible and give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the Games, as well as leave a lasting legacy for equality and inclusion. The London organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic games plan to get women, disabled people and BAME people actively involved in sport by raising awareness so a wider range of people watch the 2012 Games and influencing key partners to train young people in sports volunteering, coaching and other related skills. They will also challenge discrimination in sport by spreading positive messages, supporting programmes that promote equality and making full use of the London 2012 Paralympic games to inspire disabled people. They hope that with the right approach that the 2012 Games will benefit everyone.

Public Sector Reform In Ghana Politics Essay

Public Sector Reform In Ghana Politics Essay Ghanas public sector serves as the largest employer of her labor force and also contributes significantly toward the countrys development. Contrarily, people generally tend to hold negative perceptions about the sector. However, in her bid to instill sanity and promote a good image of the system as well as ensure increased productivity of the sector, the Government of Ghana recently introduced several reforms within her public sector. This paper therefore explores the current public sector reform programs such as the wage reforms popularly dubbed Single Spine Salary structure (S-cube) that have been implemented in Ghana. The author however investigates whether or not these current reforms programs would be sustainable. INTRO DUCTI ON The catchphrase Public Sector Reforms has emerged over the past decades in both advanced and developing countries where governments have embarked upon sweeping reforms to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. Efforts at reforming the public sector is more pronounced in Africa where the sector in many of its countries is seen as a mere watchman rather than serving as a facilitator for the private sector to drive the pace of growth and development. As Fatile et al (2010: 145) aptly put it All African countries are caught in the web of Public Sector Reforms. Ghana, a country in Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed its share of these reforms and continues to experiment with new ones. Like many African countries, Ghanas attempt at reforming its public sector can be traced back to the 1980s when it underwent the World Banks Structural Adjustment Programs. From that time until now, successive governments have consistently implemented reforms in its Public Sector which has been full of mixed results. Amongst these include, Civil Service Improvement Program (CSPIP), Public Administration Restructuring and Decentralization and Implementation Committee (PARDIC), the Civil Service Reform (CSR) and Public Sector Reform Program (PSRP) of the now defunct Ministry of Public sector Reform (Holm- Graves, 2011). Quite recently, the public sector of Ghana came under intense criticisms from the public with many citing the sectors inability to meet the needs of its employees, corruption, poor delivery of services, and a host of other issues as the ills plaguing the sector. These issues alongside global pressures have made the Government of Ghana to introduce and implement new reform initiatives ranging from pay reforms to improvement in service delivery. This paper as part of a larger project aimed at investigating the new reform programs that have been implemented in Ghana and to contribute to the broader discussion of public management literature focuses on the on-going pay reform program popularly known as the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) that is being undertaken to replace the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) which proved to be marginally successful (Cooper-Enchia, 2008). Unlike the GUSS which is the first comprehensive pay policy implemented in Ghana, the SSSS tries to bring more order to the pay setting process by promoting adequate comparability of similar jobs across public sector services and institutions (Cavalcanti, 2009). This paper therefore attempts to examine the sustainability of the on-going SSSS in Ghana. Due consideration is also given to the prospects and challenges faced in the implementation of this new pay reform program. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. The next section looks at public sector reforms in Ghana by narrowing the discussion to pay reforms that have been implemented in the country to put the paper in perspective. Section three provides an overview of Ghanas Single Spine pay reform program. Here, the prospects and challenges facing the implementation of the on-going program have been discussed. The final section of the paper discusses the way forward for the current reform program in Ghana. PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN GHANA: A HISTORICAL CONTEXT Historically, efforts at reforming the public sector in many countries have been diverse which can be largely attributed to the issues that occasion such initiatives. In Africa and other developing countries, public sector reforms have been heavily driven by worldwide decline in public finances and the need to get more for less (Caiden cited in Ayee, 2008: 2). These initiatives were promoted to improve the image of governments in the global arena and to mitigate the dead hand of bureaucracy. It is against this background that Ghanas public sector reform efforts have evolved. A closer look into past reform efforts in Ghana shows that initial attempts dates back to 1980s when many African countries implemented a wide range of reform programs with the support and supervision of the World Bank and other reform institutions (Owusu,2006). Ghana vigorously pursued these reforms with the aim of halting economic decline and stagnation to institutional reforms and poverty reduction. The Civil Service Reform Program implemented in 1987, a component of the series of the economic reform programs was the first reform program to be undertaken in the country. The implementation of the CSRP was aimed at reducing overstaffing and trimming redundant civil servants (Owusu, 2005). However, between 1994 and 2003, reform initiatives in Ghana took a new look with the establishment of the National Institutional Renewal Program (Owusu, 2003). Efforts at this stage were centered on improving the public sector through enhancing its efficiency. Recognizing the failures of all the reforms that were implemented from 1987-2003, the erstwhile Kuffour administration took a giant step to establish a Ministry of Public Sector Reform in 2005 to ensure the development of home grown reform initiatives which oversaw the implementation of a number of reforms in the public sector until it was eventually replaced with the Public Sector Reform secretariat under the Mills regime. Having undergone several reform efforts, Public sector reformers in Ghana have realized that many of the problems associated with poor performance, lack of professionalism and corruption are directly related to low salary levels and ineffective pay administration (Cooper-Enchia, 2008), thus, the introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy which forms the crux of the paper. However, any discussion of this new pay policy calls for a critical look into past wage and salary reform attempts. Past Public Sector Pay Reform Attempts in Ghana Over the years, governments in Ghana have introduced several pay reforms and reviews in order to bridge the disparity and inequity gaps in its pay administration systems (TUC bulletin). Prominent among these efforts are reviews under committees and commissions such as Mills-Odoi (1967); Issifu Ali Committee (1973); Azu Gabbe Commission (1979), the National Committee for Wage and Salary Rationalization (1983) and the Gyampoh Salary commission (1992) (Ibid). All these efforts notwithstanding, the problems that these reviews sought to address still lingered on since most of these committees and commissions which were set up remained adhoc and short-lived (source). Moreover, the recommendations that the committees and Commissions made on the existing pay system were never implemented by the government. For instance, the NDC government accepted the recommendations of the Gyampoh Commission in 1992 to consolidate allowances into basic salary but failed to implement them (Kiragu et al, 2003). These gives credence to the fact that political will is key in ensuring the implementation and success of reforms and buttress what Polidano (2001) says account for the why reforms in government fail. Having failed in its bid to achieve the objective of rectifying the imbalances in the pay administration system, there was the need to develop a more realistic and sustainable mechanism to reform the public services pay structure. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach to reforming the public sector pay inadequacies known as the Ghana Universal Salary Structure ( GUSS) was introduced in 1997 to forestall the problems inherent in the existing pay structure. The GUSS, a 22 level salary structure was put across to be implemented in all public sector institutions in Ghana. However, the aim of universality underlying the implementation of the pay policy could not be achieved since some sections of the public service institutions were made to opt out of the policy without any sanctions melted out to them. Moreover, the central body which oversaw the implementation of the GUSS did not have any legal mandate that established its legality to implement the policy and were also not adequately resourced (Government of Ghana, 2009). THE SINGLE SPINE PAY POLICY Overview The Single Spine Pay Policy is a new comprehensive pay reform program introduced to replace the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS). It is anticipated that the Single Spine Pay Policy will be able to restore equity and transparency in Ghanas public service remuneration structure (Government of Ghana, 2009). The Policy is designed to cover all the public sector employees specified under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Those in these category include the civil service, the Judicial service, the Audit service, the Education service, the Prisons service, the Parliamentary service, the Police service, the Immigration service, and the legal service. Others include workers of the constitution and all other public services as Parliament of Ghana may by law prescribe to part of the policy. However, the policy excludes all public employees specified under Article 71 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana. The officials who fall under this classification include the speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice and other justices of the superior court of Judicature, the Auditor- General, the chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Electoral Commission, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and his deputies and the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator; and the Chairman and Vice- Chairman and other members of the National Council for Higher Education, the Public services commission, the National Media Commission, the Lands Commission and the National Commission for Civic Education (Constitution of Republic of Ghana, 1992; Ankomah, 2010) The SSSS places public sector employees on a 25-level unified salary structure as compared to the 22-level salary structure under the GUSS. Moreover, since the SSSS attempts to put all public sector employees on a common structure, it utilizes the so called base pay (Cavalcanti, 2009) which is the minimum pay on the structure (Ankomah, 2010). Aside the common base pay, there are other remunerations such the Market Premiums as to induce certain category of professionals which is over and above the common base pay. Other commissions and allowances are also expected to be made specifically to certain group of public sector employees (Cavalcanti, 2010) It is worth mentioning that, the first time in Ghanas pay reform history, there have been an establishment of a Fair wages and salaries commission (FWSC) legally mandated by an Act of parliament (Act, 737, 2007) to oversee to the implementation of this pay reform policy (Ankomah, 2010; Cooper-Enchia, 2009; Government of Ghana, 2009). Rationale for Ghanas New Pay Policy There have been serious debates concerning Ghanas public sector pay over a long period of time. Issues that have been at the center stage of such debates concerns how to manage the pay disparities within the public sector and the rising cost of the public sector wage bill. For instance, although public sector salaries in Ghana constitute a major proportion of the government expenditure, it still remains very low and uncompetitive thus making the attraction and retainment of technical and managerial talents difficult (Ankomah, 2010). In addition, pay disparities continues to widen among public sector workers. It is against this backdrop that the Government has introduced this new pay policy. Hence, the Single Spine Pay Policy seeks to address the following key issues; Pay disparities that have emerged within the public services Rising cost of the public sector wage bill Large number of public sector pay negotiations Linkage of pay to productivity ( Government of Ghana, 2009) Aim and Objectives of the SSSS The overarching aim of the Single Spine pay policy is to ensure equity, fairness and transparency in the public service pay administration. Specifically, the objectives of the policy are to; Place all the public sector employees one vertical structure Ensure that jobs within the same job value range are paid within the same pay range (i.e equal pay for work of equal work ) Allow Government the ability to manage the wage bill more efficiently Ensure compliance and ease of monitoring the pay structures of self-accounting institutions Minimize industrial-relation tensions related to low pay and distortions across the public services; and Link pay to productivity ( Government of Ghana, 2009) Ghanas SSSS Implementation The implementation of Ghanas Single Spine Pay Policy commenced in July 2010 with the Police service being the first public sector institution to be migrated onto the new pay structure. The full scale implementation is scheduled to be undertaken within a five year period. Currently, all government employees specified under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Republic of Ghana have been moved onto the structure. The stages that were followed in implementing the policy are listed below; Job analysis and evaluation Design of a grading structure based on the results of the job evaluation Placement of jobs on the grading structure Determination of the base pay and relativity through negotiations Design of the SSSS Placement if the individual jobholders on the SSSS Standardization of the allowances Negotiation of other conditions of service between Fair wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and Unions/ Associations in the nine service classification Development of public sector-wide performance system Monitoring and ensuring compliance (Ankomah, 2010;Government of Ghana, 2009 ) Emerging Challenges The implementation of the single Spine pay reform in Ghana like its predecessor policies have faced several challenges. Amongst the key challenges the policy has been beset with include the following; First, the migration of public sector workers onto the SSSS have been met with mixed results. While, the Police Service who were the first institution to be moved onto the new pay policy have hailed the policy as a good approach to ensure substantial increase in the salaries of all Ghanaian workers. Other Public sector workers share lukewarm attitudes toward the new pay policy. For instance, the health sector workers have consistently raised issues about internal relativity distortions and lack of transparency in the Job placement. They contend that the re-evaluation that was done prior to the placement of workers onto the SSSS was a total flaw (Ankomah, 2010). These same issues have also been advanced by other workers including Ghana Prison Service Staff, Civil Service and Local Government staff (Ibid) Another major challenge confronting the SSSS implementation has to do the payment of market premiums to certain categories of workers such as doctors, nurses, etc who are said to possess special skills set that are in short supply. It is argued that the absence of such professionals could throw the country into chaos (Abbey cited in Ankomah, 2010) A third critical issue that has been raised by the labor unions and associations particularly Civil and Local Government Service Association of Ghana as far as the implementation of the SSSS has to do with collective bargaining arrangements. Under the SSSS, there is only one umbrella negotiation committee, that is, the Public Services Joint Negotiation Committee that can negotiate Public Salary which comprises Fair Wages and Salaries Commission on one hand and organized labor / associations on the other hand Ankomah (2010). This threatens workers right as stipulated in the Labor Act, 2003 to collectively bargain and renders them powerless to fight for future improvements in their salaries and conditions of service. Poor management systems on human resources in Public institutions in Ghana have also been cited as a major challenge facing the implementation of the SSSS. According to Ankomah (2010), the current policy will require a thorough and complete assessment and review, which would demand a lot of competences and skills. Unfortunately, the human resource departments and units do not have the capacity to adequately manage this change. Moreover, the data base and Monitoring and Evaluation systems in the public institutions are not enough to cope with this new policy. WAY FORWARD CONCLUSION

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Essay -- Stand by Me Ste

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Movies are becoming more and more popular with new special effects and stories that are intriguing and gripping. Movies now have lasting effects on viewers, since the stories are becoming more involved and more in depth. Screenwriters are constantly trying to create better screenplays to have made into motion pictures, yet there are thousands, if not millions, of screenwriters out there trying to earn a wage. The Writer’s Guild of America reports that in one year an average of 40,000 screenplays will be submitted and out of those only 120 will be made into motion pictures. (Field 5) Stephen King, who has no affiliation to being a screenwriter, has written numerous novels that almost everyone knows without them having ever read one word. Stephen King has a way of writing that appeals to both readers and film lovers. King who is an author of books has beaten out millions of screenwriters in the movie business. What is funny is that King himself does not expect a movie adaptation when he writes his stories. Stephen King’s writing style is the main reason why King’s novels are almost always found on the big screen. King purposely uses images in his novels that tell stories themselves. These images help enhance the story as the reader reads King’s work. These images are ones made by the reader and are limited to just the images we see on screen. Of course some of the better King movies do have wonderful imagery that can be associated with the same image the reader would have made in his mind. One popular movie that was based on King’s work is Stand by Me, which has terrific examples of this imagery. Stand by Me is based on King’s novella â€Å"The Body† which can be found in Different Seasons. â€Å"The Body† is a coming of age story about a boy named Gordie Lachance. Gordie is faced with the death of his brother, but is confused about his feelings. He knows he should be mourning for him, but he does not seem to have any remorseful feelings towards his brother. The story is about Gordie and 3 of his close friends on a journey through the woods to find a dead body. Throughout their journey they face all types of obstacles and go through a series of ups and downs. In the end they find the body and face a climatic altercation with the neighborhood gang. The four boys end up scaring the gang away and go home wi... ...y of King’s stories it is good to stop and actually take in the image that King is describing to us. The image that he gives us isn’t just for graphic purposes but actually to enlighten the story. A lot of symbolism can be found in the images King chooses, as explained above. King has a director’s mindset and uses images that a good director would use. It’s up to the reader to take these images and learn and analyze them to fill gaps in the story. A story can become much more complete when looking at a picture rather than reading in between the lines. Works Cited Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King, ed. Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller (New York, NY: Carroll & Graff Publishers, 1992) 282. Bergmooser, Mark. â€Å"The Outsider’s guide to selling to Hollywood.† Writer’s Digest Vol. 78 (1998): 34. Field, Syd. Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Hollywood. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1989. King, Stephen. â€Å"The Body.† Different Seasons. New York: Penguin Books USA, 1982. 293-436. Mayer, Geoff. â€Å"Stand By Me,† Metro (9/1/1992): 56-59. Wukovits, John F. Stephen King. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, Inc., 1999.

“That’s Life” An Analysis of Holden Caulfield Essay --

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger supersedes the norm by staying painfully in the deepest part of the average, for it contains topics that people can relate to (such as, cynicism, nostalgia, and bitterness of life). One of the grand topics the novel discusses is an individuals identity, and how Holden Caulfields identity is shaped through the adversity he faces. Quentin Crisp once said â€Å"The young always have the same problem -- how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.† Holdens desire to be an individual (a rebel without a cause), hatred of phoniness, and guilt over Allies death creates a substantial conflict. Conformity can be defined in many ways, depending on the person and their situation. In Holdens case conformity is the choice to grow up and move on from childish antics. Holden, however, chooses to be wedged between a world of a child's innocence and the complex world of adulthood. He deities his two younger siblings, Allie and Phoebe, as if the were contenders for sainthood because of ...

Internal and External Constraints Facing Venetian Ices Ltd Essay

Constraints are laws, which the company must abide by. There are two different types of constraints; these are internal and external constraints. Internal constraints are those that the company controls their selves such as: * Availability of finance * Existing company policy * Peoples behaviour External constraints are decisions that are made outside the company’s control such as: * Government and EC legislation * Competitors behaviour * Lack of technology * The economic environment The internal constraints facing Venetian ices include: 1.Equipment Venetian Ices need equipment in order to produce their goods and also keep the ice cream frozen. So obviously they will need equipment such as freezers (to store the ice cream), new ice cream making machines in order to produce the ice cream for the customers. They will also need a mobile van, so that customers could get ice cream in different areas. Another equipment that Venetian Ices could have is packaging, this will be for customers who would want to buy a whole tub of ice cream from them. There are some problems, which may occur when replacement or extra equipment is needed. Venetian ices could in fact find themselves in a position where they are unable to afford the equipment that they would want available to them. In the case of additional equipment there may not be enough room on the sight of enough employees to operate all the machinery. 2. Financing the development of a Franchisee operation Venetian Ices must provide finance to their franchisees in order to get them started and set up in the business world. Venetian Ices can get their finance from a number of places and ways. The first is retained profit, but that can possible prove difficult for them, as small companies such as themselves only tend to make a small profit. They can also get their finance from selling as much ice cream as they possibly can. Venetian ices would have to buy all the equipment and premised that they would require when they are setting up a business up and also paying all of the workers in their franchisee. This means that when a new franchisee joins at first Venetian Ices have to spend a lot of capital and get little back in return. 3. Staffing for Increased Production Output By increasing the number of staff it would increase the output of the company, but this will mean having to pay out more money in order to pay their new employees. Also they may have a problem with the size of the premises. There could be a problem with the amount of people allowed to work in the building, if there isn’t enough room for everyone they would have to employ less people then they would like. Some External constraints that may affect Venetian Ices include: 1.Raising finance How much finance Venetian Ices can raise depends a lot on the public who purchase ice cream from them and also investors who decide to invest money in the company. This could cause a problem though because in winter ice cream is less popular and a whole lot less people would come and purchase ice cream during the cold period. This could therefore mean investors will not want to invest in an ice cream company, which for part of the reason will not raise much finance. 2. Planning Permission If Venetian Ices decided they wanted to expand their premises or decide to build new premises for their company, they would require planning permission from the local council or the government. If Venetian Ices did decide to go ahead with an extension or the building of a new building without a contract from the authorities then they could be taken to court and forced to abandon work on their new premises completely. 3. Franchising Venetian Ices do not have complete control over its franchisees, as the franchiser does not always check them on. This can mean that franchisees may run the business against the company policy and use different and methods. For example if the franchisee trains the staff in how to recruit then the staff must do exactly as they are told to, if they recruit people in a different way or people who Venetian Ices don’t want. This could lead to the company having a bad reputation. 4. Law Venetian Ices must follow and work by all the laws. There has being laws set about methods of employment, training, European regulations and also food which would defiantly apply to Venetian Ices. These laws can be checked often by government inspectors. 5. Tourism Tourism is a big market for Venetian Ices as they make up a large percentage of customers in some areas where there are mobile and ice cream parlours. Tourist also often purchases goods on impulse. However, Venetian Ices cannot insure that the number of tourists in a certain area will remain the same all the time. 6. Foot and Mouth Disease Another outbreak of foot and mouth can cause serious problems for Venetian Ices. Foot and Mouth affect cows, which Venetian ices, depends on for its main ingredient, which is milk. Another foot and mouth epidemic breaking out would make it hard obtaining the milk and also getting it transported as certain areas of the countryside would be shut off, therefore making transportation hard. Foot and mouth can also cause tourism to drop in certain areas and possibly even close. This would lead Venetian Ices in an awful position in them areas affected by foot and mouth. There could possibly be people who would want to stay away from the ice cream due to foot and mouth.

Specific User System Requirements

Specific RequirementsThis section provides comprehensive details on all requirements. It should include all of the details which the designer will need to create the design. The details that is shown below should be defined as individual specific requirements such as User Requirements and System Requirements. It also contains all of the software requirements to a level of detail sufficient to enable designer to design a system to satisfy those requirements and testers to test that the system satisfies those requirements.User RequirementsThe user must enter the correct username and password otherwise they cannot access through the system. The system should reports invalid log in errors. The system shall provide a facility in changing user accounts: Username and Password allowing the users to modify their accounts. The system should report any violation. The system should automatically generate bills and receipt, and other functional reports. The system can also void purchase order and should include search facility on different products information. The system should keep records on every actions that has been made.System Requirements1. Log in and log out a. Users must be able to log in and log out b. The users must enter correct user accounts to access the system c. The users can change their accounts 2. Viewing the system main menu a. The system should have a clear and user friendly interface. 3. Rendering order transaction a. The system should provide bills and receipt 4. Viewing / Retrieving / Modifying records a. The user must be able to create and update records 5. Viewing and evaluation of records

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 29~30

Chapter Twenty-nine Don't You Hate Running into Your Ex? As soon as she unlocked the new loft's security door from the street, Jody smelled blood, burned flesh, and shampoo. A case of the willies that felt like an electric serpent slithered up her spine. She went up the stairs, light on the balls of her feet, ready. She heard every tick in the apartment, the refrigerator motor, floorboards shifting, the huge cat Chet snoring in the bedroom, and, of course, someone breathing. The lights were off. He was sitting in a canvas sling-back chair, barefoot, in a pair of Tommy's jeans and a T-shirt, drying his hair with a towel. Jody stopped by the kitchen. â€Å"Fledgling,† said the vampire. â€Å"I'm always pleasantly surprised when I am reminded of how lovely you are. Surprises are rare at my age.† â€Å"Must have surprised the fuck out of you to have that Honda toast you, then, huh?† She felt herself tightening down, the electric jangle channeling itself into an awareness, an edge. It wasn't fear anymore, it was readiness. â€Å"An unpleasant one, yes. I assume your little servant is safe for now.† â€Å"Well, you know, she was winded for a few minutes from kicking your ass, but she is just a little girl.† The vampire laughed, and Jody couldn't help but smile. She went to the windows at the front of the loft and opened them. â€Å"Smells like burned meat in here.† â€Å"She'll have to go, you know,† said the vampire, still smiling. â€Å"No, she won't,† Jody turned on her heel. Faced him. â€Å"Of course she will. All of them but you. I'm quite tired of being alone, little one. You can come away with me, just as we planned.† Jody was stunned at his density. â€Å"I was lying to you, Elijah. I never intended to go away with you. I was just pretending to find out how to be a vampire.† â€Å"What were you going to do the next night, then – if your pet hadn't bronzed us, I mean?† â€Å"I thought I'd send you away.† â€Å"No you didn't.† â€Å"I thought I'd let the Animals kill you, like they were going to anyway.† â€Å"No you didn't.† â€Å"I don't know.† The edge was slipping. â€Å"I don't know.† Maybe she was going to go with him. She had felt so alone, so lost. â€Å"Ah, so here we are again. Let's pretend like all this unpleasantness hasn't happened, and it's the next night, and here we are, just the two of us. The only ones of our kind. What will you do, Jody?† â€Å"But we aren't the only ones of our kind.† â€Å"We are the only ones you need worry about. You do know that you are the first new vampire in a hundred years?† Jody tried not to show her surprise. â€Å"How lucky for me,† she said. â€Å"Oh, you're not the only one I've turned. I've turned many. You're the only one who could weather the change with her mind intact. The others had to be, well, decommissioned.† â€Å"You killed them?† â€Å"Yes. But not you. Help me clean up and then we'll leave, together.† â€Å"Clean up?† â€Å"There are certain rules, love. Rules that I set down myself, and the first of them is make no more vampires. Yet you've let loose a storm of fledglings, and they all have to be cleaned up, including your boy pet.† â€Å"Make no more? What about me? You made me.† â€Å"I didn't expect you to survive, love. I thought you would be an amusement, a break in monotony, an interlude, but you distinguished yourself.† â€Å"And now you want me to run off with you.† â€Å"We'll live like royalty. I have resources you couldn't imagine.† â€Å"You're wearing stolen jeans, sugar daddy.† â€Å"Well, yes, I will have to make my way to one of my caches.† â€Å"I have an idea,† Jody said, and this was really the reason she had come here, by herself, knowing that he would be here. Or at least hoping. â€Å"How about I give you enough money to get you out of town and you do that, just like we promised Rivera and Cavuto? You leave me alone, you leave Tommy alone, you just leave.† Elijah stood now, tossed the towel on the chair, and moved to her so quickly that she could barely even see him move. â€Å"Art, music, literature,† said Elijah. â€Å"Desire, passion, power – the best of man and the best of beast. Together. You would say no to that?† He put his hand on her cheek and she let him. â€Å"Love?† Jody said, looking into his eyes – they reflected like drops of mercury in her night vision. â€Å"For fairy tales. We are the stuff from which nightmares are made. Make nightmares with me.† â€Å"Wow, nice offer. Can't imagine why you haven't had any takers for a hundred years.† Jody grabbed his wrist. If he wouldn't leave, she could take him. She was a vampire, too. The vampire had been smiling, but his smile changed aspect, going from pleased to predatory. â€Å"So be it, then.† His hand was at her neck in an instant, she didn't see him move or have a chance to react. Suddenly she couldn't move her arms or legs, and there was an intense pain behind her ear and under her jaw. She screamed, releasing a sound she couldn't imagine coming out of a human, more like something you'd hear from a tortured cat. He clamped his other hand over her mouth. â€Å"I didn't teach you everything in our one night together, love.† She watched helplessly as he tossed his head back and his fangs unsheathed. Troy Lee squared off against Drew at the end of the dog-food aisle, two short fighting swords in hand. â€Å"Bring it, stoner,† Troy Lee said. He spun the swords. Drew fell into a crouch by the dishwashing liquids. â€Å"I'm fast now,† Drew said. â€Å"Uh-huh,† Troy said. He whipped the swords through the air in a deadly fanning motion. He'd been training since he was a child; he wasn't afraid, especially of Drew. â€Å"Hey,† came a woman's voice from right beside him. Troy Lee looked over, lightning quick, just in time to register what looked like a full moon coming at his face. There was a loud clang and Troy was nearly flipped over backwards when the iron skillet hit him in the forehead. Blue let it drop to her side and grinned at Drew. â€Å"I've always wanted to do that.† â€Å"Housewares used to be my aisle,† Drew said. â€Å"Take him,† said Blue. â€Å"Let him drink some of your blood before he dies.† She headed toward a commotion in the can aisle. â€Å"Save some, boys. Mama's got a broken nose that needs to heal.† Jody felt her own fangs extend and her kneecaps quiver as Elijah fed on her, but otherwise she couldn't move. How could she have been so stupid? He was eight hundred years old – of course he hadn't taught her everything. Of course he was stronger than she was – she was stronger than Tommy, and she had only been a vampire a couple of months longer than he had. If she could stay conscious, maybe when he stopped feeding she could make her move. Could he reduce her to dust like a human, or would he have to do something else? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why didn't she know all of this? Why wasn't she acting on instinct? Where was the predator mind when you needed it? Her vision started to tunnel down – she was losing consciousness. She could hear rapid footsteps outside, though. First below, then across the street, then below again. Elijah heard them, too, and he loosened his grip for an instant, but before she could twist away, his fingers dug into her neck and jaw again. Then a black blur flew through the window and she heard something thud on the floor over by the kitchen. There was another loud thud and Elijah released her and she fell to the floor. She tried to push herself up, but something was thrown over her and she heard a buzzing sound. She heard screaming and smelled burning flesh, glass breaking, then someone was lifting her, carrying her. She couldn't move or even fight anymore. She let go, let herself float away, but the last thing she heard was a girl's voice saying, â€Å"Did you feed Chet?† The Emperor sat on the dock of the St. Francis Yacht Club, watching the fog wash over the breakwater. He'd gone against the advice of the homicide detectives and had left the grocery store. It was his city, and it was his place to take the battle to its attackers. He had cowered in fear long enough. His wickedly pointed sword lay on the dock at his side. The men, Bummer and Lazarus, were sleeping in a fuzzy pile at his back. â€Å"Ah, gentle warriors, how do we engage in battle when our enemy moves with such elegant stealth? Perhaps we should return to the Safeway and help defend.† Bummer's left ear twitched, and he let out a muffled ruff in his sleep. A thick bank of fog was moving down from the opening in the breakwater and it caught the Emperor's attention because it appeared to be moving across the wind from the west. Yes, it was indeed – the cold breeze was coming straight over the breakwater from the north. The fog bank bubbled thick as it moved, tendrils reached out and then were reabsorbed like the false feet of some crawling creature. The Emperor climbed to his feet and roused the men, snatched Bummer up before the sleepy terrier could get his bearings, and headed toward the clubhouse with Lazarus at his heels. He crouched in a shadow by the entrance to the restrooms, holding the hounds as he watched. The fog bank enveloped the end of the dock, paused, then dissipated as if a fan had been turned on it, and three tall figures stood on the dock, a man and two women. They wore long coats, cashmere, the Emperor thought, but he couldn't for the life of him remember why he might know that. They moved down the dock toward him as if they were floating. The Emperor could see their outlines in the moonlight – jawlines and cheekbones that looked as if they'd been chiseled, square shoulders, and narrow hips. They might have been brother and sisters, except one of the women was of African descent, the other looked like she might be Italian or Greek. The man was a head taller than the women and looked Nordic, perhaps German, with close-cropped white hair. All were as pale as bleached bone. As they passed him the Emperor pulled the hounds closer and Bummer let out a threatening ruff. They stopped. The man turned. â€Å"How long have you been here?† he asked. â€Å"Forever, I think,† said the Emperor. The man smiled and nodded, then turned and was on his way. â€Å"I know how you feel,† he said without looking back. Gustavo and Jeff found Barry hiding in the shelves among the toilet-paper packages. When they got close, Barry burst out of the TP and made a run for the end of the aisle, pulling napkins, aluminum foil, garbage bags, and plastic silverware off the shelves as he went to slow his pursuers. Gustavo went down first, slipping on a package of plastic forks. Jeff high-stepped through the obstacles and was right on Barry's ass until he was almost to the end of the aisle and Lash stepped out holding one of Barry's spearguns. â€Å"Down!† Lash barked, and Barry hit the tile on his chest and slid. There was a pneumatic hiss and the heavy stainless spear thudded into Jeff's sternum and blew him back off his feet. â€Å"Ow, goddammit,† said the power forward, clutching at the spear and trying to pull it out of his chest. Gustavo climbed to his feet, ran to Jeff, and started yanking on the spear. Lash handed Barry a four-foot-long stick with a blunt metal tip on it and fitted another spear into the gun. â€Å"That the last one?† Barry asked. Lash nodded. â€Å"Where's Clint?† Just then the tall blond woman appeared at the far end of the aisle, dragging an unconscious Clint by his collar. A wide bloodstain ran from her chin to her crotch and they could see her fangs even from this distance. â€Å"Bad boys. Leaving your born-again lying on the floor where people can trip over him.† She dropped Clint on his face, and headed up the aisle toward them, in long, slow strides. Lash bolted, Barry right behind them, through the canvas doors into the back room, and into the walk-in dairy cooler. It was like a long hallway with plastic milk boxes stacked on one side and the glass dairy cases on the other. They pushed stacks of heavy one-gallon milk boxes in front of the door, then leaned with their backs against the back of the cooler, watching the store through the clear cooler doors in the dairy case, over the cartons of yogurt and cottage cheese. â€Å"What's that she's carrying?† Barry asked. â€Å"A frying pan,† Lash said. â€Å"Oh,† Barry said â€Å"Sorry I let her in. She was almost naked.† â€Å"How could you have known?† â€Å"Well, when she claimed she had a nooky-gram for my birthday, I should have figured something was up.† â€Å"Your birthday's like in March, isn't it?† â€Å"Yeah.† Lash slapped Barry hard once on his bare scalp, then re-aimed the speargun over the yogurts. â€Å"I deserved that,† Barry said. â€Å"Think that spear hit Jeff's heart?† â€Å"Had to. It's a foot through his sternum.† â€Å"He doesn't seem dead.† â€Å"Guess that means head shot.† Barry shook his head. â€Å"You want me to try?† â€Å"Nah, if I miss, you have the bang stick.† Lash nodded at the long stick Barry was holding at port arms. Essentially it was a twelve-gauge shotgun shell on the end of a stick, used for killing sharks. You poked them with it and the shotgun shell fired into them at point-blank range. â€Å"I'll bet she doesn't even know what it is.† â€Å"Get it right,† Lash said. â€Å"Blow her fucking brains out.† They looked at each other as they heard the refrigeration compressors and fans wind down. Then the lights went out. â€Å"We're fucked,† Lash said. â€Å"Yep,† Barry agreed. Chapter Thirty Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Dark and Mysterious Goddess of Forbidden Love Don't judge me. I have looked death in the face and made him my bitch! I did what I did out of love, and I don't want to sound conceited, but OMG, we are heroes! And when I say we, I mean us. Had I told you before, you would have called me â€Å"losah!† pronounced me perky and cute beyond redemption, but now that I am secure in my own nefarious love lair and whatnot, I can at last confess, that in my naive youth, my favorite literary character was not the tentacled horror Cthulu from Lovecraft as I previously stated in AP English 235, but, in fact, Pippi Longstocking. Before you condemn me for my Pippism, check it out: Pippi drank a lot of coffee. (Because, like me, she was wise.) Pippi had unnaturally red hair (as I, myself have had, upon occasion). Pippi often wore long, stripy socks (as yours truly has been known to do). Pippi had superhuman strength. (It could happen.) Pippi kicked ass. (Not unlike your humble narrator.) Pippi was a kid who lived without parents in her own house. (Go, girl!) With a monkey. (Haven't you always wanted a monkey?) What Longstockings did not have, was the coolest cyber-ninja-sex-magic boyfriend to ever save the world and whatnot. (Props to Pip, but girlfriend needed some yang to rock her yin.) Steve. My darling, my love, My heart is aflame But OMFG, Steve, I grieve, That you're name Is so fucking lame. I call him Foo Dog, because he guards the gate of my temple, if you know what I mean. I'm wearing the jacket he made me right now. I had it on when they came for me, but that's not the thing. The thing is, I didn't save myself, I saved love. So, that night, after I told the Countess how my sweet Foo Dog saved me from the vampyre, the Countess said she was going to go back to the loft to get some money and feed Chet and get the last of William's blood for Lord Flood, for their love is truly eternal. And Jared and I were like, â€Å"We'll go, too,† but the Countess sent us back to liberate the vampyre Flood from Jared's basement and his hideous family. So we were all, â€Å"Well, okay.† But when we got to Jared's house, Flood was totally gone. And then Steve – I mean Foo Dog – called me and he was all, â€Å"I'm getting off work early, I don't want to leave you out there unprotected.† So I told him where we were. Then Lord Flood comes walking out of the dark and he's all, â€Å"What? What? What?† And I'm all, â€Å"The Countess went back to the loft.† And he's all, â€Å"She is in danger. We must away.† And I was like, â€Å"Chill thee thus, for my sweet love-ninja is on the way in his fly ride.† So Flood was like, † ‘Kay.† I see now that my attraction to the vampyre Flood was nothing more than childish infatuation, never to be requited, because he had eyes only for the Countess. So it was a little awkward when Steve showed up and I had to chill the Lord Flood and make him sit in the backseat to show that my real affections were with Foo Dog, who was formerly known as Steve. And when we got to the loft, the windows were open, but there were no lights on. And Flood had us drive a block past, then we got out and he walked back. Then he runs up and he's like, â€Å"Elijah's up there. He's got her.† And I'm all, â€Å"Then go get her.† And Steve is like, â€Å"No, I'll go get her.† And he pulls this long coat out of the trunk. It's all covered with warts or something, and I'm like, â€Å"Nice coat, but you know, vampyre†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And Steve is like, â€Å"They're UV LEDs. Like the lights we burned the vampires with before.† And I'm like, â€Å"Sweet!† So Steve starts to put the coat on and Flood stops him and goes, â€Å"He'll hear you coming up the stairs. I'll go.† And Steve is all, â€Å"You can't. It will burn you, too.† And Flood is all, â€Å"No it won't.† So they are like five minutes behind the car putting together this ber-cool ensem of like an old gas mask, and a hoodie, and full-on gloves and everything, until Flood is totally covered, wearing the long coat with the glass warts all over it, looking like one of the cenobites from Hellraiser. And Steve is like, â€Å"Don't hit the switch until you know she's covered.† And he hands Flood like a black rubber tarp and a baseball bat, which totally sucked the cool right out of the ensem, but I guess was necessary. Then, just when I'm about to ask how he's going to get in without being heard, we hear the Countess scream, and Flood runs across the street and about halfway up the side of the building, then turns and runs down it, then across the street, up the side of his building, and goes through the window feet fucking first. And I'm like, â€Å"Whoa.† And Steve and Jared are like, â€Å"Whoa.† And a second later we hear a thumping, and purple light comes on in the loft windows and the old vampyre comes crashing through the windows on fucking fire, falling like a comet! And he lands on his feet in the middle of the street, hisses once and looks at us, and that's when Steve holds up one of his UV floodlights, and the vampyre fucking scrams down the alley across the street so fast that he was just a blur. Next thing, Flood is coming out of the building carrying the Countess, who is wrapped in the black rubber tarp and is totally roofied like a limp rag. And Steve's all, â€Å"Get her in the car.† And I'm like, â€Å"Did you feed Chet?† And Jared is like, â€Å"Hello, Abby, the other vampyres.† So I'm like, â€Å"Shut up. I know.† So we all piled into Steve's car and we took Flood and the Countess to a hotel off up on Van Ness, which Steve paid for with his Visa, which was generous and mature of him. It was one of those motels where you have your own entrance to the parking lot so they don't see you in the hallway, so Flood carried the Countess up to the room, and we carried some stuff that Steve had packed up in the trunk of his car. It was so sad. Flood just stroked the Countess's cheek and tried to get her to wake up, but she wouldn't. And he was all, â€Å"Abby, she needs to feed. I wouldn't ask, but he's done something to her, she's hurt.† And I would have totally done it, but Steve pulled me back, and he picks up this playmate cooler that he had us bring up, and he pulls out these pouches of blood. And he hands them to Flood and says, â€Å"I took them from the university hospital. They could kick me out of school for this.† And Flood is all, â€Å"Thanks.† And he bites a hole in one of the pouches and squeezes it on the Countess's lips and that's when I started to cry. There were like four pouches, and when he was going for the last one, Steve was like, â€Å"You need to drink that one.† And Flood was like, â€Å"No way, it's for her.† And Steve was like, â€Å"You know you do.† So Flood like nodded and drank the last one himself, and then he just sat there by her, stroking her hair. Then Steve was like, â€Å"Tommy, you know I can reverse your vampirism. I'm pretty sure the process works.† And Flood just looked at him and nodded. It was so sad. And then the Countess started to moan, and she opened her eyes and she saw the vampyre Flood and she was all, â€Å"Hey, baby.† Just like that. And I started crying again like a big wuss and Steve took Jared and me out to the car to give them some space. And Steve was like, â€Å"I made this for you from my jacket.† And he put this leather motorcycle jacket on me that was covered with those glass LED thingies. It was kinda heavy, because there were batteries built into the padding, but cool. And he was all, â€Å"This will keep you safe. The switch is in the snap on the left cuff. Just squeeze it and the lights will come on. They won't hurt you, but you should wear sunglasses to protect your retinas.† Then he put a pair of totally cyber wraparound sunglasses on me and kissed me. And I kissed him back, hard, with major tongue, and finally he pulled away, as gentle as a butterfly. So then I slapped him, so he wouldn't think I was a slut. But so he wouldn't think I was being frigid, I sort of jumped on him and wrapped my legs around him and sort of accidentally rode him to the ground and was accidentally kind of dry-humping him on the pavement when the lights on my jacket came on and people looked out their hotel windows a nd whatnot, so Jared ended our special romantic moment by hitting my light switch and dragging me off. And I was all, â€Å"You are THE MAN, Foo!† And he was all, â€Å"Huh?† Because I hadn't told him yet that his new name was Foo Dog. But then he said he actually had to get home and check in or his parents would freak out. And said to watch the masters until I got back, if I got a chance try to talk them into being converted. So we made out on the hood of the Honda for a while and he drove off into night's cold loneliness like the superhero that he is. (The effect was ruined, kind of, in that Jared caught a ride with him.) So I went back upstairs and sat at the foot of the masters' bed, keeping guard and listening to them. They were talking softly, but I could hear them. The vampyre Flood was all, â€Å"Maybe we should give it a try.† And the Countess was all, â€Å"What, the cure? Tommy, it can't work. You've seen what I can do, you know what you can do. This isn't biology, this is magic.† â€Å"Maybe it's not. Maybe it's science we don't know yet.† â€Å"It doesn't matter. We don't even know if it works.† â€Å"We should try.† â€Å"Why would we try, Tommy? You've only been immortal for a couple of weeks. Do you want to give up the power, the – I don't know – the command over your world?† â€Å"Well – yes.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Yeah. I don't like it, Jody. I don't like being afraid all the time. I don't like being alone. I don't like being a killer.† â€Å"That woman was torturing you, Tommy. That's never going to happen again.† â€Å"That's wasn't the problem. I'd get over her. The problem was that I liked it. I liked it.† Then the Countess was quiet for a while, and I thought it might be dawn or something, but I peeked over the edge of the bed and she was just staring into his eyes. She looked over at me. â€Å"Hey, girlie girl,† the Countess said, and she smiled at me and it felt like a gift or something. It was like, real. Then she took her watch off and threw it to me at the end of the bed. â€Å"That has an automatic almanac in it – how about you set the alarm to go off about twenty minutes before sunset, so you don't get caught out again, okay?† And I was going to tell her about the jacket that Foo made for me, but I kind of couldn't talk, so I just nodded and put the watch on and slid back down to the floor. Then I heard the Countess go, â€Å"You aren't alone. I'm here. We can go where no one knows us, no one is chasing us, and I'll always be here for you.† And he goes, â€Å"I know. I mean alone from everyone else. Separate. I want to be human, not some foul dead thing.† â€Å"I thought you wanted to be special.† â€Å"I do, but I want to be human special – because of something I did.† Then it was quiet for a while, and finally the Countess goes, â€Å"I love it, Tommy. I'm not afraid all the time like you; just the opposite. I didn't realize how afraid I used to be until I became like this. I like walking the street knowing that I'm the Alpha animal, hearing and seeing and smelling everything, being part of everything. I like it. I wanted to share that with you.† â€Å"It's okay. You couldn't have known.† â€Å"I don't want to be alone either. That's why I turned you. I love you.† Then the alarm went off on Lord Flood's watch, and he shut it off. Then he's all, â€Å"We can't go back to the way it was, before, I mean? Where I look after you?† â€Å"It's not the same world, Tommy. You know that now. We were in the same room in different worlds.† â€Å"Okay then. I love you, Jody.† â€Å"I love you, too,† goes the Countess. Then they didn't say anything for a long time, and when my new watch showed that the sun was up, I looked, and they were lying there, holding each other, and I could see the red stains on the pillow from their tears. And I was like, â€Å"Oh, hell no!†