Executive Summary :: essays research papers

In our stemma world we have to entrust bore atmosphere service to our customers. The purpose for this introduction is to explain how we treat our internal and external customers in order to provide satisfaction. The base of this executive summary forget be on where we work at with our current employer or actor.The information collected for this executive summary will be on my last employer. My former employer was Eppies Restaurant. Mainly this small business was in Madera California. Now that we addressed the company, we now fanny adopt quality principles in theory for my former employer Eppies Restaurant. As I stated in the past, Eppies Restaurant has been open for several years until they closed recently. Since Eppies Restaurant is a food service industry, I can tell you from experience, that it can be very stressful for employees.We as managers must understand that not just people from the community is our customers, but also our employees are too, and business partners, sup pliers and so on For example, we have owners (managers), waitress, busboys, dishwashers, cooks these were the employees who worked at Eppies Restaurant. Employers have always have choices about how they want their business run, but today managers must be more user friendly. Since business runs a cycle one company relieves on other companies services, this would be an external customer. Eppies Restaurant had many external customers. For example, we had M& D services they portray meat and other products. Then we had Rainbow and they deliver bread. We also had a Towel Service they would wash our towels that we use to clean the restaurant. And finally the soda industry and dishwasher industry that supplies their product to any fast food companies. They all provide a service. Eppies Restaurant would buy an extra order for their product and in harvest-feast they would get a discount. Finally we have our customers who buy our foods. The fast food industry can be very busy especially mot hers day. We get peevishness customers because foods are brought late. The service is bad and seating customers has a big affect on our service to the community. The lesson learned steps in. This also applies for internal employees who work to provide the quality service.

The Causes of Self Hatred and How to Combat It :: Essays Papers

The Causes of Self Hatred and How to Combat ItEvery other ethnic background seems to stand up for itself and command respect when it is being discriminated against. If we olfactory property back over the history of this country we will find group after group that defend their rights. Groups that do not want to be portrayed in a negative light within the culture and groups that insist upon compensation for what Americans and the American society has done to them. Why, then, when we look at Italian Americans, do we tend to see a group of people who in effect renounce who they are and do not pressure their heritage? There are many reasons for this quite common denouncement. The first is an attempt to assimilate. By 1930, more than 4.5 million Italians had entered the United States, that is, a third of the creation left Italy within the fifty years miteing up to 1930 (Mangione 33). These Italians immigrated to this country with the hope that they would find food, jobs and fin ancial security. Instead, they demonstrate, often times, worse conditions than they had left behind in Italy. This humungous population was the largest immigration from any one country to ever enter the United States. These people were in need and when they arrived they were ready to work and to earn their wages, which could lead to comfort and happiness. They came in hopes of finding the American dream. As a whole, this group was not looking for handouts, but merely for opportunities. Unfortunately, they were met with opposition. As the History Channels documentary on Italian Americans states, Italians were told that in America they would find streets paved with gold, only to arrive and realize they had to dig the streets. So, these immigrants picked up shovels and went to work. But they quickly found opposition to their efforts. The Irish, who had come a few years prior to the Italians, did not appreciate the Italians willingness to perform hard labor jobs for small wag es. The Irish began to feel jeopardise and soon a rivalry rose between the two groups. This was unfortunate, for both groups, because they were both primarily Catholic. But, this common ground became a divider and not a connector between the two groups.

A Critical Exploration of Klein’s Discarded Factory in Connection With

There is an undoubtedly enormous influence on the valet by consumerism. Consumerism and capitalism shape the nation that we live in today. Everyone knows this because they see advertisements all day long on television, on the radio, on billboards and through hundreds of other(a) mediums. Unfortunately, what the world is not exposed to is what goes on behind the marketing and the ultimate final sale. There is a dark side to capitalism created not provided by shady merchants, but the worldwide multi-national companies as well. What both of these excerpts portray is the idea that there is more to the products we buy than we are told, or unfortunately, that we bother to submit about. Through the use of interviewing, traveling, and criticism, these authors do a fine job in analyzing the relationships between branding and marketing, and more importantly, between our modern day consumption habits and unknown production processes.Based on what we see through advertising and what we are told by sales associates in stores, we assume that many of the products that we are exposed to are of high quality, which justifies the high prices. For example, we pay higher prices for a Nike shoe than a brand less shoe because from what we know, it is made better. While some people perplex the sense to realize that a name doesnt make that much of a difference, the scale to which we are misled is much greater than we think. Stoller points out one instance on the streets of Harlem in the following passage And so they traveled uptown to invest in bolts of wholesale Ghanaian kente, which they brought to their sweatshops in lower Manhattan, producing hundreds of kente caps at a price cheaper than one could get by buying cloth on 125th Street and commission... ...rs were buying the African image. These two authors proved in polar ways that there are flaws in consumerism. While Stoller didnt attack the market as Klein did, he shed light on an underground hunting lodge that people did not know too much about, even though we see them every day. That idea is eerily similar to multi-national brands that we see every day, doing things that we as consumers unfortunately, do not know too much about. This grand scheme of giving up ethics for an increased profit is not only inconveniencing us consumers on the streets of Manhattan with fake cloth, thanks to Klein, we can see that it is literally destroying the world. Works CitedStoller, Paul. 2002. Money Has No Smell The Africanization of New York City. Chicago University of Chicago Press.Klein, Naomi. 1999. No logotype Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Canada Knopf Canada.

Closure of Public OHV Areas Essay -- Off Highway Vehicles Transportati

Closure of Public OHV AreasSome historic period ago a new form of recreation came about known as an Off Highway Vehicle(OHV). Today these high powered, light weight vehicles come in some forms with anywhere from four to two wheels. There are many areas across the United States for such vehicles to be driven but as of today there are some groups out there who wish to obturate the areas in which these vehicles can be enjoymentd. One area in particular, located outside of Yuma on the California and Arizona border has been subjected to many threats recently and those who use the land for its recreational purposes have had to fight to keep the land that was originally granted to them for use by the US government. This one area is what many would auspicate a second home. Land has already been shut off to recreational use and if unchecked these activist groups could take away the rest.A few years ago the American Sand Association agreed to have over 49,000 acres of the imperial sa nd dunes in southern California temporarily shut (James Gilbert). This would allow the Center for Biological Diversity(CBD) to conduct a study on a coiffe that they say is endangered. They said that with the use of OHVs in skinny proximity to these plants they would soon be extinct. After extensive research by both parties it was found that the survival of the Piersons Milkvetch Plant (PMV) has no correlation whatsoever to the congestion of OHVs in a particular area (Mr.Dune). One would think that this would leave the activists with nothing left to complain about and that the re-opening of the dunes would be the next measuring rod in the progression of the cycle. To assume this would be a large fallacy though because as soon as the CBDs argument of the endangered plant ... ...ease. To the citizens in the rest of the United States things can be totally taken out of context and portrayed by the CBD in any way they emotional state is necessary. With the growing numbers of peo ple joining the American Sand Association and other such groups to show their support for the re-opening of the dunes, things will soon get obscure for the CBD and they may finally decide to back down from their podium.CitationsABCNEWS.com. ABC Network Affiliates. 23 litigate 2003 http//abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/DailyNews/dunes_folo020419.htmlJAMES GILBERT. Dune closure draws mixed reviews. YumaSun Nov 22, 2002. 23 March 2003 http//yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_2778.shtmlMr. Dune. Mr. Dune Speaks Out American Sand Association. 23 March 2003 http//www.off-road.com/dunes/speak/special_112000.html

Crisis of Modern American Masculinity :: Essays Papers

Crisis of Modern American MasculinityI think every man amid 20 and 40 needs to read Elizabeth Gilberts The Last American Man. Without going into details (like I said, you should read the book), this is a biography/profile of Eustace Conway - a man who is, among other things, capable of and prefers to (or would prefer to) live the kind of frontier lifestyle we have read about hunting and gathering his food, living in a house he built using his own hands, making his own clothes from the skins of animals he captured, etc. I suspect that for m some(prenominal) hoi polloi the story, at least initially, will arouse the sort of Romantic feelings that tend to come with fantasies of a simple life of rugged self-sufficiency. However, even for those who are quite a certain that they prefer their modern urban lifestyle (air conditioning, direct deposit, grocery stores, ebay, cable TV, &c.), I think this book raises fundamental questions about what it means to be a man at the dawn of the twent y-first century.The problem, as I see it, is that we have not re-defined masculinity for the modern age. In the old days, masculinity was measured by (1) physical abilities, particularly strength, but also skill, (2) power/success/wealth, and (3) sexual prowess. The first can be developed through fostering and hard work, the second could be acquired through the application of the first, and the third, well, either you got it or you dont, but locker-room bragging can always make up for any lacks, especially if you got the first two. Boys growing up in such a society work to develop their physical abilities and learn how to apply them most efficaciously, frankincense becoming a man. This makes sense when a man might be faced with the challenge of building shelter on the prairie or aggrandizement crops, but us modern urban men are unlikely to face such challenges. Of course, we are not unprepared for the challenges of a modern urban lifestyle. Our education generally provides such l ife-sustaining skills as linear algebra, the performing arts, and information systems management. The educational system is successful enough to allow most of us to get jobs that pay us enough to afford all the requirements of a modern urban lifestyle housing, food, clothing, entertainment, transportation, etc. The trouble is that while education has more than or less kept pace with the advance of civilization, our notions of masculinity have not.

Crisis of Modern American Masculinity :: Essays Papers

Crisis of Modern American MasculinityI think every existence between 20 and 40 needs to read Elizabeth Gilberts The Last American Man. Without going into details (like I said, you should read the book), this is a biography/ write of Eustace Conway - a man who is, among other things, capable of and prefers to (or would prefer to) live the kind of frontier lifestyle we have read about hunting and gathering his food, nourishment in a house he built using his own hands, making his own clothes from the skins of animals he captured, etc. I suspect that for numerous people the story, at least initially, will arouse the sort of Romantic feelings that tend to come with fantasies of a simple life of rugged self-sufficiency. However, even for those who atomic number 18 quite certain that they prefer their groundbreaking urban lifestyle (air conditioning, direct deposit, grocery stores, ebay, cable TV, &c.), I think this book raises fundamental questions about what it centre to be a man at the dawn of the twenty-first century.The problem, as I see it, is that we have not re-defined masculinity for the modern age. In the darkened days, masculinity was measured by (1) physical abilities, particularly strength, but also skill, (2) power/success/wealth, and (3) sexual prowess. The first can be developed by command and hard work, the second could be acquired through the application of the first, and the third, well, either you got it or you dont, but locker-room bragging can always make up for any lacks, especially if you got the first two. Boys growing up in such a society work to develop their physical abilities and learn how to apply them roughly efficaciously, thus becoming a man. This makes sense when a man might be faced with the challenge of building shelter on the prairie or raising crops, but us modern urban men are unlikely to face such challenges. Of course, we are not unprepared for the challenges of a modern urban lifestyle. Our education generally provid es such life-sustaining skills as linear algebra, the performing arts, and information systems management. The educational system is successful enough to allow roughly of us to get jobs that pay us enough to afford all the requirements of a modern urban lifestyle housing, food, clothing, entertainment, transportation, etc. The trouble is that while education has more or less kept pace with the advance of civilization, our notions of masculinity have not.

Music Piracy Is a Good Thing Essay

If pirating music hurts musicians income so badly it would charge, and after all this time of pirating music it hasnt. medical specialty piracy benefits artists more than it hurts, therefore it should be legal. Music piracy is mostly committed by multitude who are everyday people who wear total income jobs and lease families who end up being sued by big remember companies oer downloading music for free. It seems a bit to greedy when you look at the going in pay between the artist and the people who download the songs. ( ) say that the people who pirate the music are more likely to go to the show and buy the albums after downloading music (Ernesto).Also, people who pirate music tracks are very likely to develop an connection to the bands orartists and that will lead to them attending the shows, acquire albums and merchandise. When putting this issue in perspective, record companies are just looking for m matchlessy without any consideration for the ways of getting it. Record companies start suing people who have downloaded music for ridiculous amount of money in attempt to intimidate and scare off the fellons from downloading music illegally. The main groups affected are college kids that go intot have the money.Sarah Barg was a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Sarah received an email from a label company stating that she owed $3,000 to the Recording Industry Association of America (Bratton). For that amount,, Sarah would be paying $7. 87 for each song. Majority of the songs she pirated were from the eighties and werent even relevant anymore, and yet she was battling record companys in court over them them. Sixty students like Sarah at UNL received the same similar, as well as hundreds sent out to over sixty other universities across the country. not knowing ow else to handle the situation, Barg contacted her parents and they had to cover her settlement. I dont know what I would have done. Im only 20 years old, says Barg. well up over five hundred students across the states have paid settlements to avoid being sued. I see it as bullying, UNL freshman Andrew Johnson says, Legally, it makes sense, because we dont have the money to fight back. Johnson illegally downloaded one song and settled $3,000 to avoid being sued for one song. The money used came from the 18 year olds college fund and he now has to work two jobs to compensate for his losses.The record companies seem to target those cant fight back. In 2007, major record companies such as Warner music groups, Warner Bros Records, Inc. , and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, tried to sue a young girl from Texas named Whitney Harper for illegally downloading music from file share networks on the internet (Malisow). Whitney was at the time was 16 years old and was being sued for a minimum of $750 per song when Whitney downloaded thirtyseven songs. That is a little over $20,000 and she is only sixteen years old.Harper tried to use the Innocent Infringer Act that wou ld reduce fees to $200 per song. In order to accomplish that, Harper had to prove she was unaware of the right of first publication laws by claiming that the copyright notice placed on cds were not on the file sharing networks on the Internet therefore she was unaware. The companies referred to the sixteen-year-old as a broad term massive infringer of copyright laws. Harper warned that if the companies won the case that downloading music off the Internet could never be innocent infringement. The Harper case is one the few after many years tacit going through federal court.The companies had stated they were going to begin transitioning away from suing individuals and find better mode of fixing the issue. After years of record companies using an intimidation method to fix the pirating problem, it got them nowhere because the amount of pirates only went up, and the efforts by the companies were in most cases useless. consort to the Wall Street Journal, they attempted suing many sin gle mothers, a thirteen-year-old girl, and a dead peope. The new approach is for the companies to work with Internet service providers and when music is eing pirated the user receives a warning that they will lose Internet service if they continue(WSJ. com). The companies still reserve the right to sue if someone is a heavy violator or has ignored several warnings, further even with this new system, it still seems like the companies are only out for money, but in an attempt to escape ban attention from the media, they change their approach. According to The Independent, people who illegally download music also spend more money on music, concerts, merchandises than anyone else.The Secretary of State for Business, slit Mandelson, stated that the record companies new approach to crack down on illegal down loaders by cutting off internet service could potentially harm the music industry more than help it. The people who file share are the ones who are interested in music. They use f ile sharing as a discovery mechanism. The artists also have mixed opinions over file sharing, some such as James Blunt and Lily Allen are anti-piracy and Shakira is pro-piracy(Shields). Sites have come out with monthly bills for unlimited music plans that seem fairer.Some artists dont feel affected by file sharing and reinforcing stimulus the fact that piracy creates a bigger fan base for them. Bands like Angels and Airwaves have produced free records so copyright wasnt an issue. They figure that the fans will still come see them play and record sales arent the only thing to being in a successful band. Some artists dont seem to realize that. Most artists make plenty off of record sales even with a piracy problem, so court cases and law suits on everyday people by record companies seems a bit greedy and selfish.Even with the new laws, they are still pushing to stop this unstoppable problem. at once music piracy is referred to as a dead issue. Most cases that are still pending are b eing dropped. This year a $54,000 fine on a single mother of four was dropped by the U. S. District Court Judge, Micheal Davis, who stated piracy is no longer monstrous and shocking. The need for deterrence cannot relieve a two million verdict for stealing and distributing twenty-four songs for the sole purpose of obtaining free music(physorg. om). Thomas Rasset was convicted in 2007 and was ordered to pay $220,000, but the judge who presided over the trial called off the verdict, saying it was wholly disproportionate and oppressive. Her case was one of the thousands that had actually made it to court. In 2011, with new laws, these cases should not be forgotten about. The people who lost cases should be compensated and apologized to because they did nothing other than have an interest in the artist.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY

I didnt depict them at scratch, which wasnt surp go it seemed that half of Castle waver and roll was on the t throw common as that sultry Saturday afternoon edged on toward so faring. The air was b pay off with hazy midsummer clear-cut, and in it kids swarmed over the playground equipment, a number of old(a) men in bright red vests s invariablyal(prenominal) sort of club, I assumed played chess, and a group of untested people lay on the grass listening to a teenager in a headband playing the guitar and singing hotshot I think ofed from an old Ian and Sylvia record, a cheery tune that wentElla Speed was havin her lovin fun, can Martin shot Ella with a Colt forty- unrivaled . . . I saw no joggers, and no dogs chasing Frisbees. It was incisively too goddam hot.I was numbering to waitress at the bandshell, where an eight-man combo c al superstared The Castle rockers was set up (I had an idea In the Mood was or so as close as they got to rock and roll), when a sm wholl y person hit me from behind, grabbing me incisively above the knees and near dumping me on the grass.Gotcha the small person cried gleefully.Kyra Devore Mattie called, sounding both amused and irritated. Youll disaster him downI morose, dropped the grease-spotted McDonalds bag I had been carrying, and lifted the kid up. It matte up natural, and it felt wonderful. You dont real(a)ize the weight of a healthy child until you hold one, nor do you fully comprehend the life that runs through them same(p) a bright wire. I didnt get choked up (Dont go all corny on me, mike, Siddy would some prison terms rustling when we were kids at the movies and I got wet-eyed at a sad part), exactly I position of Jo, yes. And the child she had been carrying when she fell down in that ill-judged parking lot, yes to that, too.Ki was squealing and laughing, her ordnance show upsp conduct and her sensory hair hanging down in two amusing clumps accented by Raggedy Ann and Andy barrettes.Dont ta ckle your own quarter clog I yelled, grinning, and to my delight she yelled it right back at me Dont taggle yer own quartermack Dont taggle yer own quartermackI set her on her feet, both of us laughing. Ki took a step backward, tripped herself, and sat down on the grass, laughing harder than ever. I had a mean fancy, and so, brief save oh so clear if only the old lizard could see how much he was missed. How sad we were at his passing.Mattie walked over, and tonight she give eared as Id half-imagined her when I offset met her like one of those lovely children of privilege you see at the guide on carery club, either goofing with their friends or sitting seriously at dinner with their p bents. She was in a uninfected sleeveless dress and low heels, her hair falling loose roughly her shoulders, a touch of lipstick on her mouth. Her eyes had a brilliance in them that hadnt been at that place forwards. When she hugged me I could smell her sweetness and feel the press of her f irm wee breasts.I kissed her cheek she kissed me high up on the jaw, making a smack in my ear that I felt all the centering down my back. Say amours are going to be better nowadays, she whispered, electrostatic holding me.Lots better now, I tell, and she hugged me again, tight. thus she stepped past You better thrust brought plenty food, grownup boy, because we plenty hungry womens. Right, Kyra?I taggled my own quartermack, Ki utter, therefore leaned back on her elbows, giggling deliciously at the bright and hazy sky.Come on, I tell, and grabbed her by the middle I toted her that way to a nearby picnic table, Ki kicking her legs and waving her arms and laughing I set her down on the bench she slid off it and beneath the table, boneless as an eel and still laughing.All right, Kyra Elizabeth, Mattie express. Sit up and channelise the other side well be make upd girl, expert girl, she verbalize, clambering up beside me. Thats the other side to me, MikeIm sure, I utter . Inside the bag there were Big Macs and fries for Mattie and me. For Ki there was a colorful box upon which Ronald McDonald and his unindicted co-conspirators capered.Mattie, I got a cheerful Meal Mike got me a Happy Meal They pee toysWell see what yours is.Kyra opened the box, poked around, so smiled It lit up her whole face She brought out something that I at first thought was a big dust-ball For one horrible second I was back in my dream, the one of Jo beneath the bed with the book over her face Give me that, she had snarled Its my dust- vomit upcher. And something else, too some other association, perhaps from some other dream I couldnt get hold of it.Mike? Mattie postulateed. Curiosity in her voice, and maybe borderline concern.Its a doggy Ki said I won a doggy in my Happy MealYes of course A dog. A dinky stuffed dog. And it was gray, not black . . . although why Id care rough the color either way I didnt be intimate.Thats a pretty good prize, I said, taking it. It w as soft, which was good, and it was gray, which was better Being gray made it all right, someway Crazy only true I strained it back to her and smiled.Whats his predict? Ki asked, jumping the minuscule dog back and forth across her Happy Meal box. What doggys name, Mike?And, without cerebration, I said, Strick unload.I thought shed look puzzled, retributive now she didnt. She looked delighted. laid low(p) she said, bouncing the dog back and forth in ever-higher leaps over the box. Stricken Stricken My dog StrickenWhos this guy Strickland? Mattie asked, smiling a inadequate. She had begun to unwrap her hamburger.A character in a book I read once, I said, watching Ki play with the little puffball dog. No one real.My grampa died, she said five minutes later.We were still at the picnic table and the food was mostly gone. Strickland the stuffed puffball had been set to guard the remaining french fries. I had been s preemptning the ebb and flow of people, wondering who was here from the TR observing our rendezvous and simply burning to carry the news back home. I saw no one I knew, but that didnt mean a whole tot, considering how ache Id been away from this part of the world.Mattie put down her burger and looked at Ki with some anxiety, but I thought the kid was okay she had been giving news, not expressing grief.I bang he did, I said.Grampa was atrociously old. Ki pinched a couple of french fries between her pudgy little fingers. They rose to her mouth, then gloop, all gone. Hes with Lord deliverer now. We had all intimately Lord Jesus in VBS.Yes, Ki, I thought, right now Grampys probably teaching Lord Jesus how to use Pixel Easel and asking if there might be a whore handy.Lord Jesus walked on water and in any case changed the wine into macaroni.Yes, something like that, I said. Its sad when people die, isnt it?It would be sad if Mattie died, and it would be sad if you died, but Grampy was old. She said it as though I hadnt quite grasped this conc ept the first time. In heaven hell get all fixed up.Thats a good way to look at it, hon, I said.Mattie did maintenance on Kis drooping barrettes, functional carefully and with a motley of absent love. I thought she glowed in the summer light, her skin in smooth, tanned contrast to the ex singuine dress she had probably bought at one of the discount stores, and I understood that I loved her. Maybe that was all right.I miss the neat nana, though, Ki said, and this time she did look sad. She picked up the stuffed dog, tried to feed him a french fry, then put him down again. Her small, pretty face looked pensive now, and I could see a whisper of her grandfather in it. It was far back but it was there, perceptible, another ghost. Mom says white nana went back to California with Grampys early remains.Earthly remains, Ki-bird, Mattie said. That means his body.Will white nana come back and see me, Mike?I dont get it on.We had a game. It was all rhymes. She looked more pensive than ever .Your mom told me about that game, I said.She wont be back, Ki said, reply her own question. One very large tear rolled down her right cheek. She picked up Stricken, stood him on his back legs for a second, then put him back on guard-duty. Mattie slipped an arm around her, but Ki didnt seem to notice. White nana didnt really like me. She was just pretending to like me. That was her job.Mattie and I exchanged a glance.What makes you say that? I asked.Dont know, Ki said. Over by where the kid was playing the guitar, a juggler in whiteface had started up, puddleing with half a dozen swart balls. Kyra brightened a little. Mommy-bommy, may I go watch that funny white man?Are you do eating?Yeah, Im full.Thank Mike.Dont taggle yer own quartermack, she said, then laughed free meated to show she was just pulling my leg. Thanks, Mike.Not a problem, I said, and then, because that sounded a little old-fashioned Kickin.You can go as far as that tree, but no farther, Mattie said. And you kn ow why.So you can see me. I will.She grabbed Strickland and started to run off, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. I dissemble it was the fridgeafator people, she said, then corrected herself very carefully and seriously. The ree fridge-a-rator people. My heart took a hard double beat in my chest.It was the refrigerator people what, Ki? I asked.That said white nana didnt really like me. Then she ran off toward the juggler, oblivious to the hop up.Mattie watched her go, then turned back to me. I filmnt talked to some(prenominal)body about Kis fridgeafator people. Neither has she, until now. Not that there are any real people, but the permitters seem to move around by themselves. Its like a Ouija board.Do they spell things?For a massive time she said nothing. Then she nodded. Not always, but sometimes. Another pause. Most times, in truth. Ki calls it mail from the people in the refrigerator. She smiled, but her eyes were a little scared. Are they particular magnet ic letters, do you think? Or have we got a poltergeist working the lakefront?I dont know. Im sorry I brought them, if theyre a problem.Dont be silly. You gave them to her, and youre a tremendously big deal to her right now. She talks about you all the time. She was much more interested in picking out something pretty to wear for you tonight than she was in her grandfathers death. I was supposed to wear something pretty, too, Kyra insisted. Shes not that way about people, usually she takes them when theyre there and leaves them when theyre gone. Thats not such a bad way for a little girl to grow up, I sometimes think.You both dressed pretty, I said. That much Im sure of.Thanks. She looked fondly at Ki, who stood by the tree watching the juggler. He had put his rubber balls aside and moved on to Indian clubs. Then she looked back at me. Are we done eating?I nodded, and Mattie began to pick up the trash and stuff it back into the take-out bag. I helped, and when our fingers touched, s he gripped my hand and squeezed. Thank you, she said. For everything youve done. Thank you so damn much.I squeezed back, then let go.You know, she said, its crossed my mind that Kyras touching the letters around herself. Mentally.Telekinesis?I guess thats the technical term. Only Ki cant spell much more than dog and cat.Whats showing up on the fridge?Names, mostly. Once it was yours. Once it was your wifes.Jo?The whole thing JOANNA. And NANA. Rogette, I presume. JARED shows up sometimes, and BRIDGET. Once there was KITO. She spelled it.Kito, I said, and thought Kyra, Kia, Kito. What is this? A boys name, do you think?I know it is. Its Swahili, and means precious child. I looked it up in my baby-name book. She glanced toward her own precious child as we walked across the grass to the nearest trash barrel. whatsoever others that you can remember?She thought. REG has showed up a couple of times. And once there was CARLA. You come across that Ki cant even read these names as a rule, dont you? She has to ask me what they say.Has it occurred to you that Kyra might be copying them out of a book or a magazine? That shes learning to write using the magnetic letters on the fridge instead of paper and pencil?I suppose thats possible . . . She didnt look as if she relyd it, though. Not surprising. I didnt believe it myself.I mean, youve neer actually seen the letters moving around by themselves on the front of the fridge, have you? I hoped I sounded as unconcerned asking this question as I call fored to.She laughed a bit nervously. divinity fudge, noAnything else?Sometimes the fridgeafator people leave messages like HI and BYE and GOOD GIRL. There was one yesterday that I wrote down to show you. Kyra asked me to. Its really weird.What is it?Id rather show you, but I left hand it in the glove compartment of the Scout. Remind me when we go.Yes. I would.This is some spooky shit, se?or, she said. Like the writing in the flour that time.I thought about telling her I h ad my own fridgeafator people, then didnt. She had enough to worry about without that . . . or so I told myself.We stood side-by-side on the grass, watching Ki watch the juggler. Did you call John? I asked.You bet.His reaction?She turned to me, laughing with her eyes. He actually sang a verse of Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead.Wrong sex, right sentiment.She nodded, her eyes going back to Kyra. I thought again how beautiful she looked, her body boil down in the white dress, her features clean and perfectly made.Was he pissed at me inviting myself to lunch? I asked.Nope, he loved the idea of having a party.A party. He loved the idea. I began to feel rather small.He even suggested we invite your lawyer from last Friday. Mr. Bissonette? Plus the private detective John hired on Mr. Bissonettes recommendation. Is that okay with you?Fine. How about you, Mattie? Doing okay?Doing okay, she agreed, turning to me. I did have several more calls than usual today. Im suddenly quite popular.Uh-oh.Mo st were hangups, but one military man took time enough to call me a cunt, and there was a lady with a very strong Yankee accent who said, Theah, you bitch, youve killed him. Aaa you satisfied? She hung up before I could tell her yes, very satisfied, thanks. But Mattie didnt look satisfied she looked un euphoric and guilty, as if she had literally wished him dead.Im sorry.Its okay. Really. Kyra and I have been alone for a long time, and Ive been scared for most of it. direct Ive made a couple of friends. If a few anonymous phone calls are the price I have to even up, Ill pay it.She was very close, looking up at me, and I couldnt stop myself. I put the blame on summer, her perfume, and four eld without a woman. In that order, i slipped my arms around her waist, and remember perfectly the texture of her dress beneath my hands the slight pucker at the back where the zipper hid in its sleeve. I remember the sensation of the cloth moving against the bare skin beneath. Then I was kissi ng her, very gently but very thoroughly anything cost doing is worth doing right and she was kissing me back in exactly the same spirit, her mouth curious but not terror-stricken. Her lips were warm and smooth and held some airheaded sweet taste. Peaches, I think.We stopped at the same time and pulled back a little from each other. Her hands were still on my shoulders. Mine were on the sides of her waist, just above her hips. Her face was composed enough, but her eyes were more brilliant than ever, and there were slants of color in her cheeks, rising along the cheekbones.Oh boy, she said. I really treasured that. Ever since Ki tackled you and you picked her up Ive treasured it.John wouldnt think much of us kissing in public, I said. My voice wasnt quite even, and my heart was racing. Seven seconds, one kiss, and every system in my body was red-lining. In fact, John wouldnt think much of us kissing at all. He fancies you, you know.I know, but I fancy you. She turned to check o n Ki, who was still standing obediently by the tree, watching the juggler. Who might be watching us? Someone who had come over from the TR on a hot summer evening to get ice cream at postmarks Tas-T-Freeze and enjoy a little music and society on the common? Someone who traded for fresh vegetables and fresh gossip at the Lakeview General? A regular at the All-Purpose store? This was insanity, and it stayed insanity no matter how you cut it. I dropped my hands from her waist.Mattie, they could put our run across next to indiscreet in the dictionary.She took her hands off my shoulders and stepped back a pace, but her brilliant eyes never left mine. I know that. Im young but not entirely stupid.I didnt mean She held up a hand to stop me. Ki goes to bed around nine she cant seem to sleep until its mostly dark. I stay up later. Come and visit me, if you want to. You can park around back. She smiled a little. It was a sweet smile it was also incredibly sexy. Once the moons down, thats an area of discretion.Mattie, youre young enough to be my daughter.Maybe, but Im not. And sometimes people can be too discreet for their own good.My body knew so emphatically what it precious. If we had been in her trailer at that moment it would have been no contest. It was almost no contest anyway. Then something recurred to me, something Id thought about Devores ancestors and my own the generations didnt match up. Wasnt the same thing true here? And I dont believe that people automatically have a right to what they want, no matter how badly they want it. Not every thirst should be slaked. Some things are just wrong I guess thats what Im trying to say. But I wasnt sure this was one of them, and I wanted her, all right. So much. I unplowed thinking about how her dress had slid when I put my arms around her waist, the warm feel of her skin just beneath. And no, she wasnt my daughter.You said your thanks, I told her in a dry voice. And thats enough. Really.You think this is gratitu de? She voiced a low, tense laugh. Youre forty, Mike, not eighty. Youre not Harrison Ford, but youre a good-looking man. Talented and interesting, too. And I like you such an awful lot. I want you to be with me. Do you want me to say please? Fine. Please be with me.Yes, this was about more than gratitude I suppose Id known that even when I was using the word. Id known she was wearing white shorts and a halter top when she called on the phone the day I went back to work. Had she also known what I was wearing? Had she dreamed she was in bed with me, the two of us screwing our brains out while the party lights shone and Sara Tidwell played her version of the white nana rhyming game, all that crazy Manderley-sanderley-canderley stuff?. Had Mattie dreamed of telling me to do what she wanted?And there were the fridgeafator people. They were another kind of sharing, an even spookier kind. I hadnt quite had affection enough to tell Mattie about mine, but she might know anyway. Down low in her mind. Down below in her mind, where the blue-collar guys moved around in the zone. Her guys and my guys, all part of the same strange labor union. And maybe it wasnt an issue of morality per se at all. Some thing about it about us just felt dangerous.And oh so attractive.I privation time to think, I said.This isnt about what you think. What do you feel for me?So much it scares me.Before I could say anything else, my ears caught a familiar series of chord-changes. I turned toward the kid with the guitar. He had been working through a repertoire of early Dylan, but now he swung into something chuggy and up-tempo, something that made you want to grin and pat your hands together.Do you want to go fishinhere in my fishin hole?Said do you want to fish some, honey,here in my fishin hole?You want to fish in my pond, baby,you better have a big long pole.Fishin Blues. Written by Sara Tidwell, before performed by Sara and the Red-Top Boys, covered by everyone from Ma Rainey to the Lov in Spoonful. The raunchy ones had been her specialty, double-entendre so thin you could read a newspaper through it . . . although reading hadnt been Saras main interest, judging by her lyrics.Before the kid could go on to the next verse, something about how you got to wiggle when you wobble and get that big one way down deep, The Castle Rockers ran off a brass flourish that said Shut up, everybody, were comin atcha. The kid quit playing his guitar the juggler began catching his Indian clubs and dropping them swiftly onto the grass in a line. The Rockers launched themselves into an extremely evil Sousa march, music to commit serial murders by, and Kyra came running back to us.The jugsters done. Will you tell me the story, Mike? Hansel and Panzel?Its Hansel and Gretel, I said, and Ill be happy to. But lets go where its a little quieter, okay? The band is giving me a headache.Music hurt your headie?A little bit.Well go by Matties car, then.Good thought.Kyra ran ahead to stake out a be nch on the edge of the common. Mattie gave me a long warm look, then her hand. I took it. Our fingers folded together as if they had been doing it for years. I thought, Id like it to be slow, both of us hardly moving at all. At first, anyway. And would I bring my nicest, longest pole? I think you could count on that. And then, afterward, wed talk. Maybe until we could see the furniture in the first early light. When youre in bed with someone you love, particularly for the first time, five oclock seems almost holy.You need a vacation from your own thoughts, Mattie said. I bet most writers do from time to time.Thats probably true.I wish we were home, she said, and I couldnt tell if her fierceness was real or pretend. Id kiss you until this whole conversation became irrelevant. And if there were second thoughts, at least youd be having them in my bed.I turned my face into the red light of the westering sun. Here or there, at this hour Ki would still be up.True, she said, sounding uncha racteristically glum. True.Kyra reached a bench near the sign reading townspeople COMMON PARKING and climbed up on it, holding the little stuffed dog from Mickey Ds in one hand. I tried to pull my hand away as we approached her and Mattie held it firm. Its all right, Mike. At VBS they hold hands with their friends everywhere they go. Its big people who make it into a big deal.She stopped, looked at me.I want you to know something. Maybe it wont matter to you, but it does to me. There wasnt anyone before Lance and no one after. If you come to me, youll be my second. Im not going to talk with you about this again, either. express please is all right, but I wont beg.I dont Theres a pot with tomato plants in it by the trailer steps. Ill leave a key under it. Dont think. plainly come.Not tonight, Mattie. I cant.You can, she replied.Hurry up, slowpokes Kyra cried, bouncing on the bench.Hes the slow one Mattie called back, and poked me in the ribs. Then, in a much lower voice You are, t oo. She unwound her hand from mine and ran toward her daughter, her brown legs scissoring below the hem of the white dress.In my version of Hansel and Gretel the witch was named Depravia. Kyra stared at me with huge eyes when I got to the part where Depravia asks Hansel to poke out his finger so she can see how plump hes getting.Is it too scary? I asked.Ki shook her head emphatically. I glanced at Mattie to make sure. She nodded and waved a hand for me to go on, so I finished the story. Depravia went into the oven and Gretel set in motion her secret stash of winning lottery tickets. The kids bought a Jet Ski and lived happily ever after on the eastern side of Dark Score Lake. By then The Castle Rockers were slaughtering Gershwin and sunset was nigh. I carried Kyra to Scoutie and strapped her in. I remembered the first time Id helped put the kid into her car-seat, and the inadvertent press of Matties breast.I hope there isnt a bad dream for you in that story, I said. Until I heard i t flood tide out of my own mouth, I hadnt realized how fundamentally awful that one is.I wont have bad dreams, Kyra said matter-of-factly. The fridgeafator people will keep them away. Then, carefully, reminding herself Ree-fridge-a-rator. She turned to Mattie. Show him the crosspatch, Mommy-bommy.Crossword. But thanks, I wouldve forgotten. She hitch open the glove compartment and took out a folded sheet of paper. It was on the fridge this morning. I copied it down because Ki said youd know what it meant. She said you do crossword puzzles. Well, she said crosspatches, but I got the idea.Had I told Kyra that I did crosswords? Almost certainly not. Did it surprise me that she knew? Not at all. I took the sheet of paper, unfolded it, and looked at what was printed theredgowninety2Is it a crosspatch puzzle, Mike? Kyra asked.I guess so a very uncomplicated one. But if it means something, I dont know what it is. May I keep this?Yes, Mattie said.I walked her around to the drivers side o f the Scout, reaching for her hand again as we went. Just give me a little time. I know thats supposed to be the girls line, but Take the time, she said. Just dont take too much.I didnt want to take any, which was just the problem. The sex would be great, I knew that. But after?There might be an after, though. I knew it and she did, too. With Mattie, after was a real possibility. The idea was a little scary, a little wonderful.I kissed the corner of her mouth. She laughed and grabbed me by the earlobe. You can do better, she said, then looked at Ki, who was sitting in her car-seat and gazing at us interestedly. But Ill let you off this time.Kiss Ki Kyra called, holding out her arms, so I went around and kissed Ki. Driving home, wearing my dark glasses to cut the glare of the setting sun, it occurred to me that maybe I could be Kyra Devores father. That seemed almost as attractive to me as going to bed with her mother, which was a measure of how deep I was in. And going deeper, mayb e.Deeper still.Sara Laughs seemed very empty after having Mattie in my arms a sleeping head without dreams. I checked the letters on the fridge, saw nothing there but the normal scatter, and got a beer. I went out on the deck to drink it while I watched the last of the sunset. I tried to think about the refrigerator people and crosspatches that had appeared on both refrigerators go down nineteen on Lane Forty-two and go down ninety-two on Wasp Hill Road. Different vectors from the land to the lake? Different spots on The Street? Shit, who knew?I tried to think about John Storrow and how unhappy he was apt to be if he found out there was to quote Sara Laughs, who got to the line long before John Mellencamp another mule kicking in Mattie Devores stall. But mostly what I thought about was holding her for the first time, kissing her for the first time. No human instinct is more powerful than the sex-drive when it is fully aroused, and its awakening images are emotional tattoos that n ever leave us. For me, it was feeling the soft bare skin of her waist just beneath her dress. The slippery feel of the fabric . . .I turned abruptly and speed through the house to the north wing, almost running and shedding clothes as I went. I turned the shower on to full snappy and stood under it for five minutes, shivering. When I got out I felt a little more like an actual human being and a little less like a twitching bundle of nerve endings. And as I toweled dry, something else recurred to me. At some point I had thought of Jos brother Frank, had thought that if anyone besides myself would be able to feel Jos presence in Sara Laughs, it would be him. I hadnt gotten around to inviting him down yet, and now wasnt sure I wanted to. I had come to feel oddly possessive, almost jealous, about what was happening here. And yet if Jo had been writing something on the quiet, Frank might know. Of course she hadnt confided in him about the pregnancy, but I looked at my watch. Quarter pa st nine. In the trailer near the intersection of Wasp Hill Road and Route 68, Kyra was probably already unconscious . . . and her mother might already have put her extra key under the pot near the steps. I thought of her in the white dress, the dandy of her hips just below my hands and the smell of her perfume, then pushed the images away. I couldnt spend the whole night taking cold showers. Quarter past nine was still early enough to call Frank Arlen.He picked up on the second ring, sounding both happy to hear from me and as if hed gotten three or four cans further into the six-pack than I had so far done. We passed the usual pleasantries back and forth most of my own almost entirely fictional, I was deject to find and he mentioned that a famous neighbor of mine had kicked the bucket, according to the news. Had I met him? Yes, I said, remembering how Max Devore had run his wheelchair at me. Yes, Id met him. Frank wanted to know what he was like. That was hard to say, I told hi m. Poor old guy was stuck in a wheelchair and suffering from emphysema.Pretty frail, huh? Frank asked sympathetically.Yeah, I said. Listen, Frank, I called about Jo. I was out in her studio looking around, and I found my typewriter. Since then Ive kind of gotten the idea she was writing something. It might have started as a little piece about our house, then widened. The place is named after Sara Tidwell, you know. The blues singer.A long pause. Then Frank said, I know. His voice sounded heavy, grave.What else do you know, Frank?That she was scared. I think she found out something that scared her. I think that mostly because That was when the light finally broke. I probably should have known from Matties description, would have known if I hadnt been so upset. You were down here with her, werent you? In July of 1994. You went to the softball game, then you went back up The Street to the house.How do you know that? he almost barked.Someone saw you. A friend of mine. I was trying not to sound mad and not succeeding. I was mad, but it was a relieved anger, the kind you feel when your kid comes dragging into the house with a shamefaced grin just as youre getting ready to call the cops.I almost told you a day or two before we buried her. We were in that pub, do you remember?Jacks Pub, right after Frank had beaten the funeral director down on the price of Jos coffin. Sure I remembered. I even remembered the look in his eyes when Id told him Jo had been pregnant when she died.He must have felt the silence reel out, because he came back sounding anxious. Mike, I hope you didnt get any What? Wrong ideas? I thought maybe she was having an affair, hows that for a wrong idea? You can call that ignoble if you want, but I had my reasons. There was a lot she wasnt telling me. What did she tell you?Next to nothing.Did you know she quit all her boards and committees? Quit and never said a word to me?No. I didnt think he was lying. Why would he, at this late date? Jesus, Mike , if Id known that What happened the day you came down here? allege me.I was at the printshop in Sanford. Jo called me from . . . I dont remember, I think a rest area on the turnpike.Between Derry and the TR?Yeah. She was on her way to Sara Laughs and wanted me to suit her there. She told me to park in the driveway if I got there first, not to go in the house . . . which I could have I know where you keep the stop key.Sure he did, in a Sucrets tin under the deck. I had shown him myself. Did she say why she didnt want you to go inside?Itll sound crazy.No it wont. debate me.She said the house was dangerous.For a moment the words just hung there. Then I asked, Did you get here first?Uh-huh.And waited outside?Yes.Did you see or spirit anything dangerous?There was a long pause. At last he said, There were lots of people out on the lake speedboaters, water-skiers, you know how it is but all the engine-noise and the laughter seemed to kind of . . . stop dead when it got near the ho use. Have you ever noticed that it seems quiet there even when its not?Of course I had Sara seemed to dwell in its own zone of silence. Did it feel dangerous, though?No, he said, almost reluctantly. Not to me, anyway. But it didnt feel exactly empty, either. I felt . . . fuck, I felt watched. I sat on one of those railroad-tie steps and waited for my sis. Finally she came. She parked behind my car and hugged me . . . but she never took her eyes off the house. I asked her what she was up to and she said she couldnt tell me, and that I couldnt tell you wed been there. She said something like, If he finds out on his own, then its meant to be. Ill have to tell him sooner or later, anyway. But I cant now, because I need his whole attention. I cant get that while hes working.I felt a flush crawl across my skin. She said that, huh?Yeah. Then she said she had to go in the house and do something. She wanted me to wait outside. She said if she called, I should come on the run. Otherwise I sh ould just stay where I was.She wanted someone there in case she got in trouble.Yeah, but it had to be someone who wouldnt ask a lot of questions she didnt want to answer. That was me. I guess that was always me.And?She went inside. I sat on the hood of my car, smoking cigarettes. I was still smoking then. And you know, I did start to feel something then that wasnt right. As if there might be someone in the house whod been waiting for her, someone who didnt like her. Maybe someone who wanted to hurt her. Probably I just picked that up from Jo the way her nerves seemed all strung up, the way she kept looking over my shoulder at the house even while she was bosom me but it seemed like something else. Like a . . . I dont know . . . Like a vibe.Yes he almost shouted. A vibration. But not a good vibration, like in the Beach Boys song. A bad vibration.What happened?I sat and waited. I only smoked two cigarettes so I dont guess it could have been longer than twenty minutes or half an hou r, but it seemed longer. I kept noticing how the sounds from the lake seemed to make it most of the way up the hill and then just kind of . . . quit. And how there didnt seem to be any birds, except far off in the distance.Once, she came out. I heard the deck door bang, and then her footsteps on the stairs over on that side. I called to her, asked if she was okay, and she said fine. She said for me to stay where I was. She sounded a little short of breath, as if she was carrying something or had been doing some chore.Did she go to her studio or down to the lake?I dont know. She was gone another fifteen minutes or so time enough for me to smoke another nooky and then she came back out the front door. She checked to make sure it was locked, and then she came up to me. She looked a lot better. Relieved. The way people look when they do some dirty job theyve been putting off, finally get it behind them. She suggested we walk down that path she called The Street to the resort thats do wn there Warringtons.Right, right. She said shed buy me a beer and a sandwich. Which she did, out at the end of this long floating dock.The Sunset Bar, where I had first glimpsed Rogette.Then you went to have a look at the softball game.That was Jos idea. She had three beers to my one, and she insisted. Said someone was going to hit a longshot homer into the trees, she just knew it.Now I had a clear picture of the part Mattie had seen and told me about. Whatever Jo had done, it had left her almost giddy with relief. She had ventured into the house, for one thing. Had dared the spirits in order to do her business and survived. Shed had three beers to celebrate and her discretion had slipped . . . not that she had behaved with any great stealth on her previous trips down to the TR. Frank remembered her saying if I found out on my own then it was meant to be que ser, ser. It wasnt the attitude of someone hiding an affair, and I realized now that all her behavior suggested a woman kee ping a short-term secret. She would have told me when I finished my stupid book, if she had lived. If.You watched the game for awhile, then went back to the house along The Street.Yes, he said.Did either of you go in?No. By the time we got there, her buzz had worn out off and I trusted her to drive. She was laughing while we were at the softball game, but she wasnt laughing by the time we got back to the house. She looked at it and said, Im done with her. Ill never go through that door again, Frank.My skin first chilled, then prickled.I asked her what was wrong, what shed found out. I knew she was writing something, shed told me that much She told everyone but me, I said . . . but without much bitterness. I knew who the man in the brown sportcoat had been, and any bitterness or anger anger at Jo, anger at myself paled before the relief of that. I hadnt realized how much that fellow had been on my mind until now.She must have had her reasons, Frank said. You know that, dont you? But she didnt tell you what they were.All I know is that it started whatever it was with her doing research for an article. It was a lark, Jo playing Nancy Drew. Im pretty sure that at first not telling you was just to keep it a surprise. She read books but mostly she talked to people listened to their stories of the old days and teased them into looking for old letters . . . diaries . . . she was good at that part of it, I think. Damned good. You dont know any of this?No, I said heavily. Jo hadnt been having an affair, but she could have had one, if shed wanted. She could have had an. affair with Tom Selleck and been written up in Inside View and I would have gone on tapping away at the keys of my Powerbook, blissfully unaware.Whatever she found out, Frank said, I think she just stumbled over it.And you never told me. Four years and you never told me any of it.That was the last time I was with her, Frank said, and now he didnt sound apologetic or embarrassed at all. And the last thing she asked of me was that I not tell you wed been to the lake house. She said shed tell you everything when she was ready, but then she died. After that I didnt think it mattered. Mike, she was my sister. She was my sister and I promised.All right. I understand. And I did just not enough. What had Jo discovered? That Normal Auster had drowned his infant son under a handpump? That back around the turn of the century an animal trap had been left in a place where a young Negro boy would be apt to come along and step into it? That another boy, perhaps the incestuous child of Son and Sara Tidwell, had been drowned by his mother in the lake, she maybe laughing that smoke-broken, lunatic laugh as she held him down? You gotta wiggle when you wobble, honey, and hold that young un way down deep.If you need me to apologize, Mike, consider it done.I dont. Frank, do you remember anything else she might have said that night? Anything at all?She said she knew how you found the house.She sai d what?She said that when it wanted you, it called you.At first I couldnt reply, because Frank Arlen had completely demolished one of the assumptions Id made about my married life one of the biggies, one of those that seem so basic you dont even think about questioning them. Gravity holds you down. Light allows you to see. The compass needle points north. Stuff like that.This assumption was that Jo was the one who had wanted to buy Sara Laughs back when we saw the first real money from my writing career, because Jo was the house person in our marriage, just as I was the car person. Jo was the one who had picked our apartments when apartments were all we could afford, Jo who hung a picture here and asked me to put up a shelf there. Jo was the one who had fallen in love with the Derry house and had finally worn down my resistance to the idea that it was too big, too busy, and too broken to take on. Jo had been the nest-builder.She said that when it wanted you, it called you.And it wa s probably true. No, I could do better than that, if I was willing to set aside the lazy thinking and selective remembering. It was certainly true. I was the one who had first broached the idea of a place in western Maine. I was the one who collected stacks of real-estate brochures and hauled them home. Id started buying regional magazines like Down East and always began at the back, where the real-estate ads were. It was I who had first seen a picture of Sara Laughs in a glossy handout called Maine Retreats, and it was I who had made the call first to the agent named in the ad, and then to Marie Hingerman after badgering Maries name out of the Realtor.Johanna had also been charmed by Sara Laughs I think anyone would have been charmed by it, seeing it for the first time in autumn cheer with the trees blazing all around it and drifts of colored leaves blowing up The Street but it was I who had actively sought the place out.Except that was more lazy thinking and selective rememberi ng. Wasnt it? Sara had sought me out.Then how could I not have known it until now? And how was I led here in the first place, full of unwitting happy ignorance?The answer to both questions was the same. It was also the answer to the question of how Jo could have discovered something distressing about the house, the lake, maybe the whole TR, and then gotten away with not telling me. Id been gone, thats all. Id been zoning, tranced out, writing one of my stupid little books. Id been hypnotized by the fantasies going on in my head, and a hypnotized man is easy to lead.Mike? Are you still there?Im here, Frank. But Ill be goddamned if I know what could have scared her so.She mentioned one other name I remember Royce Merrill. She said he was the one who remembered the most, because he was so old. And she said, I dont want Mike to talk to him. Im afraid that old man might let the cat out of the bag and tell him more than he should know. Any idea what she meant?Well . . . its been suggeste d that a splinter from the old family tree wound up here, but my mothers people are from Memphis. The Noonans are from Maine, but not from this part. Yet I no longer entirely believed this.Mike, you sound almost sick.Im okay. Better than I was, actually.And you understand why I didnt tell you any of this until now? I mean, if Id known the ideas you were getting . . . if Id had any clue . . . I think I understand. The ideas didnt belong in my head to begin with, but once that shit starts to creep in . . . When I got back to Sanford that night and it was over, I guess I thought it was just more of Jos Oh fuck, theres a shadow on the moon, nobody go out until tomorrow. She was always the superstitious one, you know knocking on wood, tossing a pinch of brininess over her shoulder if she spilled some, those four-leaf-clover earrings she used to have . . . Or the way she wouldnt wear a pullover if she put it on backward by mistake, I said. She claimed doing that would turn around your w hole day.Well? Doesnt it? Frank asked, and I could hear a little smile in his voice.All at once I remembered Jo completely, right down to the small gold flecks in her left eye, and wanted nobody else. Nobody else would do.She thought there was something bad about the house, Frank said. That much I do know.I drew a piece of paper to me and jotted Kia on it. Yes. And by then she may have suspected she was pregnant. She might have been afraid of . . . influences. There were influences here, all right. You think she got most of this from Royce Merrill?No, that was just a name she mentioned. She probably talked to dozens of people. Do you know a guy named Kloster? Gloster? Something like that?Skuster, I said. Below Kia my pencil was making a series of fat loops that might have been cursive letter ls or hair ribbons. Kenny Auster. Was that it?It sounds right. In any case, you know how she was once she really got going on a thing.Yes. Like a terrier after rats.Mike? Should I come up there? No. Now I was sure. Not Harold Oblowski, not Frank, either. There was a process going on in Sara, something as delicate and as organic as rising bread in a warm room. Frank might interrupt that process . . . or be hurt by it.No, I just wanted to get it cleared up. Besides, Im writing. Its hard for me to have people around when Im writing.Will you call if I can help?You bet, I said.I hung up the telephone, thumbed through the book, and found a listing for R. MERRILL on the Deep Bay Road. I called the number, listened to it ring a dozen times, then hung up. No newfangled state machine for Royce. I wondered idly where he was. Ninety-five seemed a little too old to go dancing at the Country Barn in Harrison, especially on a close night like this one.I looked at the paper with Kia written on it. Below the fat l-shapes I wrote Kyra, and remembered how, the first time Id heard Ki say her name, Id thought it was Kia she was saying. Below Kyra I wrote Kito, hesitated, then wrote Carla. I pu t these names in a box. Beside them I jotted Johanna, Bridget, and Jared. The fridgeafator people. folk music who wanted me to go down nineteen and go down ninety-two.Go down, Moses, you bound for the Promised Land, I told the empty house. I looked around. Just me and Bunter and the waggy clock . . . except it wasnt.When it wanted you, it called you.I got up to get another beer. The fruits and vegetables were in a circle again. In the middle, the letters now spelledlye stilleAs on some old tombstones God grant she lye stille. I looked at these letters for a long time. Then I remembered the IBM was still out on the deck. I brought it in, plonked it on the dining-room table, and began to work on my current stupid little book. Fifteen minutes and I was lost, only faintly aware of thunder someplace over the lake, only faintly aware of Bunters bell shivering from time to time. When I went back to the fridge an hour or so later for another beer and saw that the words in the circle now s aidony lye stilleI hardly noticed. At that moment I didnt care if they lay stille or danced the hucklebuck by the light of the silvery moon. John Shackleford had begun to remember his past, and the child whose only friend he, John, had been. Little neglected Ray Garraty.I wrote until midnight came. By then the thunder had faded away but the heat held on, as oppressive as a blanket. I turned off the IBM and went to bed . . . thinking, so far as I can remember, nothing at all not even about Mattie, lying in her own bed not so many miles away. The writing had burned off all thoughts of the real world, at least temporarily. I think that, in the end, thats what its for. Good or bad, it passes the time.

Consumer Behavior & Women’s Fashion

Consumer Behavior & Womens Fashion An interesting stereotype at Chinquapin University is the lady friends be endlessly dressing to impressing. Why is this, not only at Chinquapin, but at other schools as well? We were interested as to what influences girls to choose certain(prenominal) meets. Our assort decided to take the initiative to research why girls purchase the uniform that they conduct. We were also interested as to how males, the opposite sex, influence the female purchase closing when it comes to fit out items and picking out outfits for the day or night. Once we came across our topic, several questions came to mind.What do girls play out in the college scene and why do they wear it? What do khats want to see girls wear, day or night? What factors into what girls purchase for clothing? Do college girls purchase certain outfits based on their personal looks, and how they great power feel the look to their confederates? Also, do girls purchase certain outfits ba sed on the attractiveness, trendiest and/or comfort of the clothing items? After creating a survey for females and males asking a series of questions based on clothes and opinion, we came up with hypotheses as to what we think we will draw from the results and conclusions.Our assort believed that during the day, girls wear specific outfits based on what their friends wear and what is comfortable. At night, however, we felt as if girls wear outfits based on what they believe guys want to see them wear. In general, our group believed girls do not feel they pauperism to dress to impress guys, but they still unconsciously do choose certain clothes or outfits based on what they feel a guy may comparable to see them in. Also, we felt as if guys generally do not care what girls wear. Each article we used gave us brief stage setting research on our project topic of omens fashion and consumer behavior.Our academic research findings were informative and helped us gain a better understandi ng of our topic, along with moderate us in the analysis of our results and conclusions after conducting the survey. Martin Evans states an interesting idea of how fashion buying could have much to do with projecting images of how buyers see themselves, or would like to be seen by their peers and society. Relating it back to our groups theories, girls may choose to purchase the clothes they wear because they believe it may look good on them, or owe a article of clothing looks on a model, is how the girl may think it will look on her as she purchases it. Fashion can be almost the ideal product for expressing physical and psychological aspects of self (Evans 13). Fashion consumption is often a manifestation of self-image. There is an increase in the proneness for self-expression and the continuing for the matching of female self-images and brand images. Clothing is seen as one of the most visible forms of consumption and forms a major role in the affable construction of identity, a ccording to Diana Crane in her book Fashion and Its Social Agendas Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing.Clothing choices interprets a specific form of culture among people for their testify purposes. As artifacts, clothing can somehow create behavior through their capacity to impose social identities and empower people to assert a certain social identity. When giving out our survey, we wondered why would girls wear this certain outfit to school, or to hang out with friends, or to a bar. Also, how does wearing this certain outfit or clothing item reflect the girl? Is she somehow showing her social identity among her errs or does she feel the comfortableness to wear what she wants to wear.In all societies, the clothes which all people wear have at least three (mixed latent and main-fest) functions utilitarian, esthetics and symbolic of their social role. Bernard Barber and Lyle S. Lobe believe pretty clothes for the teen-age girl in American society, for instance, are defined by h er social role, especially by her presumed sexual innocence. In the American class system, women take their class status, by and large, from their relationship to men unmarried young women from their fathers, adult married women from their husbands.The symbolic significance of womens consumption puts in evidence her household stability. The trickle system is perpetuated because the American class system makes women continually seek for symbols of their difference from those Jus below them in the system. At the same time, women continually seek for symbols of their equality with those Just above them in the class ranking. Symbolically speaking, women and girls dress to prove their equality among others such as men and lower/higher American class systems. Hymnbook, Rhea, and Oakley compared fashion process networks and intimacy outworks in small groups of adolescents.They wanted to explore the overall pattern of a fashion-process network and a friendship network, explore structural d ifferences in relational colligate of clothing acceptance and social acceptance and discover the factors that contribute to clothing leadership and popularity in small groups of adolescents. These authors found clothing acceptance is related to peer acceptance and is found to occur within and across friendship links. The most significant factor in determining this clothing leadership is found to be facial attractiveness.In addition, facial attractiveness had a significant effect on popularity. Clothing acceptance was found to be closely related to social acceptance, which our group believed was a reason why girls purchase the clothes they wear to possibly fit in with society, friends and peers. Harridan and Booger researched towards a better understanding of fashion clothing involvement. The study was concerned with consumer involvement in fashion clothing. It focused on building a reliable immunological network to bring a great understanding to this facet of consumer behavior.Ma terialism and gender are significant drivers of fashion clothing involvement. Also, recreational shopper identity, ongoing information search, market mavens and purchase decision involvement are all significant outcomes of fashion clothing involvement. Materialism, what girls think society wants them to wear, and gender, the opposite sex, both have potential to play a huge role in why girls choose their outfits and what drives them to wear a certain article of clothing. Our execution of the research further describes our background knowledge of womens fashion and consumer behavior

Mini Assignment

If I were in charge of the Asian operations for McCain I would recommend starting a joint venture with an existing, established, considerably cognise Chinese potato company, for a year or so, or until McCain has the recognition and ability to stand on its own. Creating a Joint venture with an established Chinese company would give McCain the entry It needs into the Asian potato market. McCain would be able to learn the ways that companies handle business deals In chinaware, as they close to likely defer from business deals in other parts of the world, and will also Introduce McCain to future customers.Another recommendation would be to purchase a small, well known, Chinese potato company. This would give McCain access to the Chinese market through a company that Is already know, and has already created a name for Itself. I would commence sure that McCain abides by all Chinese laws, and all customs, to the best of my ability. 2. When interacting with Chinese business colleagues, McCain major power face challenges with most, if not all, of Hypotheses culture dimensions.For example, when looking at function distance, Canadian managers at McCain could face challenges cause Canada has a much lower power distance than China, and workers may not feel comfortable with this power dynamic. A Canadian manager may try to get workers to work harder so they can achieve greater success, but Chinese power distance doesnt concede this in China, one works and does not have aspirations that exceed ones position within the company.When it comes to individualism and collectivism, China has a much lower score than Canada (http//greet-hefted. Com/china. HTML). This might create challenges for Canadian managers because Chinese workers generally stick together. If a Canadian manager promotes one person from a collective group, that could create problems, so the manager must take that into consideration before making any decisions.Canadian managers may also face challenges with time orientation. China has very long bourne orientation (http//www. Acculturated. Com/greet-hefted-cultural- dimensions/long-term-orientation/), while North America has very short term orientation. This could created challenges for Canadian managers because they are used to workers wanting quick results, but In China It Is the opposite, and managers may not know how to handle that.

Relieving pain and inflammation Essay

1.1The holistic start out is important as it foc purposes on relieving infliction and inflammation without harming the body. It to a fault promotes the bodies healing response so that the area of injury is healed as quickly and completely as possible.1.2One approach to alleviate and minimise pain and discomfort is to show the man-to-man that you are concerned about them and their well being. Let the respective(prenominal) recognize you are here to help themand want what is scoop for them. Another approach would be to let the individual know that other people have had the same problem and its nothing to be ashamed or frightened of, some older people may feel they are being a burden and not want to bother anyone, it is important for them to know this isnt the case. Be sincere, smile hold the individuals hand if they are scared.1.3Below is an outline of the agreed ways of working to alleviate pain and minimise discomfort. Pain awareness, you should be alert to the possibility of pain and discomfort in older people and that older people are often reluctant to report the pain as they dont want to be a burden to anyone or may be afraid to tell anyone. Pain enquiry, it is impotant to enquire about pain it is helpful if you use alternative words like where are you sore? Have you got an ache anywhere? Are you hurting? Pain description, where pain is present it is important for a clinical assessment to take place. The sensory dimension, the nature (eg sharp, dull, burning), location and intensity of the pain. The affective dimension, the emotional part (eg fear,depression,anxiety) and response to pain. The impact, how is this effecting the individual participation in mundane activities. Pain location, an attempt should be made to locate the pain ask the individual to point out where the pain is.Pain intensity, pain assessment should be made using a numeric scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is the worst pain and 1 being the lowest level of pain, if the individual is able to use this.Communication, every effort should be made to communicate with individuals with sensory impairments eg glasses, hearing aids etc. Assessment in individuals with impaired cognitive communications (eg dementia suffers) it might be needed for a regular carer and family members to help assess the pain as they will know what is a standard behavior of the individual and one which could suggest the individual is in pain. Cause of pain, a careful physical examination should take place to identify any treatable causes, however it is important to ba aware that pain puke exist even if the examination is normal. Re-evaluate, it is important that the treatment is evaluated to make sure it has worked.Read more thanUnderstand Approaches to Managing Pain and Discomfort2.1Severe pain could have the ability to totally transform a person. It could affect the way a person chow chow and drinks, even putting them forth their food completely. pain can cause frustration or unreasonable be haviour in someone who is normally calm down and controlled. The individual could becone restless or suffer from sleepless nights all this could be signs of pain and could be used to help diagnois individuals who cant communicate they are in pain. Pain can cause many problems to an individuals well being and communication, pain and discomfort can make day to day tone difficult cause limitations to a persons daily activities, this leads to a lower quality of life. Chronic pain causes a host of related problems a main problem can be depression the individual feels helpless and doesnt see a way out. It is important that pain is properly managed so the individual can get their quality of life back and help an individual get back their independance. It is important for none verbal people to have a way of communication so that they can express their pain, providing the apprropriate pain management assures the dignity and well being of a patient.2.2You could encourage an individual to e xpress pain and discomfort in a matter of ways the best ways are to make sure the individual feels safe and at placidity with you, smile sincerely, ask the individual an open terminate question, be supportive make sure the individual knows they are not alone, let them take their time to open up to you.2.3There are a number of self-help methods of pain control it is important to make the individual aware of so they can use them. Some are more successful therefore others. The individual could be encouraged to do some gentle exercise or have some physiotherapy where possible. There is a distraction approach where individuals are incouraged to do something they enjoy such as reading, drawing, watching television or maybe listening to music to take there mind off their pain. Sometimes a lie down or rest can help relieve pain maybe the individual could be incourage to take a rest when the pain is really bad. It can sometimes help if the individual has a bath or shower the warmness of the water can ease pain in some cases.2.4Assist an individual to be positioned safely and comfortably, this may be different for different individuals it is important to consult the individuals care plan. at a time an individual is moved according to their care plan and in compliance with safe moving and handling guidelines you may need to make them more promiscuous using aids. The individual may need more cushions to make them more comfortable, they may need their feet elevating, the person may need to be seating in a recliner for comfort.2.5Measurements to minimise the individuals pain and discomfortmay include repostioning, adjustments to bedding, heating, lightening or noise, the use of specialist mattresses and pressure reducing aids, Also analgesias Pain killers) maybe put across for the individual all measures in the care plan must be followed. The ways pain and discomfort may be managed include massage, yoga, meditation and medication. 3.1 exile out all monitoring accordi ng to the individuals care plan. The individual maybe on 15 min, 30 min, or hourly checks these need to be carried out. If the individual can communicate it is important for you to ask them about any pain, has the individuals mood or behaviour changed are the signs of pain and discomfort there.3.2Records should be completed in a required way as explained in the individuals care plan. All pain killers administered should be documented on the MARS sheet.3.3All findings and concerns should be report correctly to the person in charge and documented in the care plan.

Midterm Essay Essay

Briefly identify and explain the key differences and similarities regarding the UCR, NIBRS, and NCVS course of studys. The Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) Program displays iniquity data for the United States, as sound as for states, cities, counties and colleges. This allows for a comparison among neighboring jurisdictions and among those with similar populations and other common feature articles. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on the frequency and of crimes much(prenominal) as rape, sexual assault, aggravated and simple assault, household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Both systems report different types of information and different details. The UCR program displays statistics for law inflictment administration, operation, and management. The UCR program utilizes what is called the hierarchy rule.If more than one crime was committed by the same person and the time separating the crimes was minor, then the crime highest in the hie rarchy is the only crime reported. This seems like a very inaccurate method of recording data, one would assume that all records of offenses were taken into consideration for reporting intents. The NCVS program collects information on crimes by individuals and households while also providing information on victims such as age, sex, race, marital status. The difference in the two programs is that each serves a different purpose in reporting. The UCR reports information for law enforcement, operations and management. The NCVS provides information about each crime, its victims and the offenders.Summarize the evolution of the criminal justice system in America. Identify and debate at least three (3) key U.S compulsive romance illustrations that have had a significant impact on the issue of individual rights versus public order, with regard to arrest, appear, and seizure. In modern day America, the publics view on the typical criminal has shifted from seeing him or her as a victim of social and personal unfortunate circumstances to seeing himor her as a dangerous predator who takes advantage of the rights and privileges of citizens (Schmalleger, 2014). An example of a Supreme Court case that had an impact on the issue of individual rights versus public order is McCullen v. Coakley.Individuals claimed that a buffer zone around an abortion clinic infringed upon their First Amendment rights to free speech by communication with patients less effective (Takeway). This relates to the possibility of an arrest if the protestors are blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic or physically harassing a patient. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that officers must knock and announce their identity before entering a dwelling even if they hold a search warrant (Schmalleger, 2014). In January 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the FBI needed a warrant to attach a GPS device to s suspected drug dealers car. This ties into the search and seizure topics and preserves the ind ividual rights of the suspected drug dealer. After all, the individual is just suspected of being a dealer, there is no hard evidence.In general, outline the police mission, operational strategies, styles and the legal and ethical aspects of policing today. The police officer mission consists of five components, enforcing the law, apprehending offenders, preventing crime, preserving the peace, and providing the community with needed enforcement related services. Law enforcement has a mountain range of command just like the military with three policing styles that vary by department and region. The watchman style attempts to achieve order maintenance. The legalistic style attempts to enforce the letter of the law. The service style attempts to meet the needs of the community and serve its members. In general, police officers are mandated to stay within the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments. exclusively law enforcement officials regardless of status or rank should be held accountab le for their actions however, this is not always the case. There are three methods that guide American policing.strategic policing retains the goal of professional crime fighting but enlarges the target to include serial offenders, gangs and criminal associations. It makes use of technology, intelligence operations and undercover stings (Schmalleger, 2014). Problem figure out policing assumes that crimes are attemptd by social conditions within the community and that they can be controlled by addressing social problems (Schmalleger, 2014).Lastly, community policing supports the use of partnerships and problem solving techniques to address the issues that cause crime. (Schmalleger, 2014). Ethical issues that plague law enforcement vary. Racially biased policing in which police officers are viewed as biased for example, taking that a predominately African American contiguity is full of criminals. The use of excessive and deadly force is another issue in which police officers either use too much force in the apprehension of a suspect or cause death or great bodily harm (Schmalleger, 2014).What is the dual-court system? Identify and explain the three levels of characteristic of the federal judiciary. The dual court system is the result of general agreement among the founding fathers about the need for individual states to retain significant legislative self-assurance and judicial autonomy separate from federal control (Schmalleger, 2014). The three levels of characteristics of the federal judiciary are the district courts, the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court. The district courts are tranquil of 94 judicial districts .Federal district courts have jurisdiction over all cases involved alleged violations of federal statutes. The 94 judicial districts are organise into 12 regional circuits each with a court of appeals. The court of appeals hears appeals from district courts within its circuit (Schmalleger, 2014). These courts are also known as circuit cour ts. The U.S. Supreme Court is the top federal court system in the U.S. It is comprised of nine justices with eight being associates and the ninth being the chief justice (Schmalleger, 2014). The Supreme Courts decisions reckon the United States by deciding what laws and lower court decisions are in line with the Constitution.Identify and describe the motley pre-trial stages of criminal trial. There are various pre-trial stages in a criminal trial. It begins with an arrest when the person is taken into custody. The first appearance is when the suspect appears before a judge. The legality of his or her arrest is contemplated and the defendant is told what he or she is being charged with. The accused will either be kept incarcerated without bail or with bail, the latter being money stipendiary by the arrested in exchange for release.The next stage is the pretrial release in which the accused person is released from custody before or during prosecution. However, there is a condition theaccused person is required to appear in court when told to do so. Plea bargains are also negotiated. The defendant can agree to defense guilty to a lesser charge than the one he or she is being accused with. A lesser punishment may be in order if they are being accused with multiple offenses. A plea bargain is a debate or negotiation between the defense counsel, defendant and the prosecution. Normally criminal cases end at this stage in order to reduce time and money.ReferencesSchmalleger, F. (2014). Criminal Justice a brief introduction, (10th ed) Upper commove River, NJ Pearson/Prentice Hall. Takeaways From Supreme Court Rulings On Buffer Zones, Recess Picks. (2014). National Public Radio.

Famous Management Journals

RESEARCH WORSHOP ASSIGNMENT 04 According to the subject classification of your theater of operations print the followings ? List the journals in your discipline ? List of approved journals by HEC ? List of journals in your area for ISI Thomson list ? List of some selected journals with some impact compute MPhil Human Resource forethought SUBMITTED ON 2nd March, 2012 Discipline Chosen Management Area Chosen HRM journal Stated (Management) 141 HRM Journal as per ISI Thomson List 110 Impact factor as per 2010 SERIAL NO NAME OF ledger 3-YEAR IMPACT FACTOR 5-YEAR IMPACT FACTOR HRM journal IN ISI ( centering) THOMSON LIST 1 ACADEMY OF focusing ANNALS 5. 440 5. 342 ? 2 ACADEMY OF anxiety JOURNAL 5. 250 10. 779 ? 3 ACADEMY OF guidance LEARNING & EDUCATION 2. 33 3. 333 4 ACADEMY OF charge PERSPECTIVES 2. 470 2. five hundred ? 5 ACADEMY OF steering REVIEW 6. 720 11. 657 ? 6 ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY 3. 684 7. 539 ? 7 ADVANCES IN STRATEGIC vigilance-A RESEARCH ANNU AL 0. 43 0. 636 8 ADVANCES IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT-A RESEARCH ANNUAL 9 AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ? 10 AMERICAN REVIEW OF general ADMINISTRATION ? 11 ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES 0. 18 ? 12 ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 3. 355 ? 13 ASIAN BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT 0. 610 ? 14 AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 0. 469 ? 15 AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ? 16 BALTIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 0. 525 ? 17 BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL psychological science ? 18 BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 0. 403 0. 646 ? 19 BRITISH JOURNAL OF industrial RELATIONS 1. 033 1. 529 ? 20 BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 1. 85 2. 631 ? 21 CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW 1. 706 2. 524 ? 22 CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES 0. 714 0. 695 ? 23 CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY 1. 345 1. 406 ? 24 CHINESE MANAGEMENT STUDIES 0. 750 0. 39 ? 25 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND PEACE SCIENCE ? 26 CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT-AN supranational JOURNAL ? 27 CULTURE AND make-up ? 28 DECISION SCIENCES 2. 233 3. 937 ? 29 EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 30 EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 0. 690 0. 926 ? 31 EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF global MANAGEMENT 0. 220 ? 32 EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WORK AND brass sectionAL psychological science 1. 489 2. 682 ? 33 EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT JOURNAL ? 34 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 35 sexuality WORK AND placement 0. 733 1. 373 ? 36 GROUP & ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT 2. 415 2. 710 ? 37 GROUP DECISION AND NEGOTIATION 1. 48 1. 313 ? 38 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 1. 881 2. 671 ? 39 HUMAN ORGANIZATION ? 40 HUMAN PERFORMANCE 0. 636 1. 962 ? 41 HUMAN RELATIONS 1. 701 2. 95 ? 42 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY 0. 475 ? 43 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1. 341 1. 825 ? 44 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL ? 45 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2. 796 ? 46 INDUSTRIAL & LABOR RELATIONS REVIEW 1. 071 1. 607 ? 47 INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY-PERSPECTIVES ON SCIENCE ? AND PRACTICE 48 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 1. 311 1. 948 ? 49 INDUTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT 50 INFORMATION & MANAGEMENT 51 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ? 52 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 0. 869 1. 610 ? 53 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION ? 54 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS ? 55 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS 2. 641 4. 304 ? 56 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANPOWER 0. 429 0. 752 ? 57 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT 1. 12 2. 792 58 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 59 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION & ASSESMENT ? 60 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT 0. 859 1. 361 ? 61 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF taste MANAGEMENT ? 62 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ? 63 INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL ? 64 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES 0. 848 0. 798 ? 65 JOURNAL FOR EAST EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT STUDIES 0. 781 ? 66 JOURNAL OF APP LIED sortAL SCIENCE 1. 82 ? 67 JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY 3. 977 6. 730 ? 68 JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY ? 69 JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 1. 672 2. 409 ? 70 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT 3. 66 71 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT 72 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH 1. 773 2. 484 ? 73 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT 1. 639 1. 986 ? 74 JOURNAL OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT 1. 50 1. 125 ? 75 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY ? 76 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT 0. 623 0. 894 ? 77 JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 1. 123 1. 656 78 JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-APPLIED 2. 237 2. 09 ? 79 JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION ? 80 JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 0. 430 ? 81 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES 4. 184 5. 539 ? 82 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL COMPENSATION ? 83 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING 84 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT 1. 298 ? 85 JOURNA L OF MANAGEMENT 3. 758 6. 210 ? 86 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATION 0. 425 ? 87 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INQUIRY 1. 83 1. 600 ? 88 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 3. 817 4. 684 ? 89 JOURNAL OF MANAGERIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2. 150 ? 90 JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 0. 882 2. 259 ? 91 JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 5. 093 6. 29 92 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2. 351 4. 411 ? 93 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 0. 963 1. 222 ? 94 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT 0. 650 0. 944 ? 95 JOURNAL OF military group PSYCHOLOGY ? 96 JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT 97 JOURNAL OF PURCHASING AND SUPPLY MANAGEMENT 98 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 99 JOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 5. 853 11. 06 100 JOURNAL OF THE OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY 1. 102 1. 481 101 JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2. 604 3. 928 102 JOURNAL OF public BUSINESS ? 103 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH & PRACTICE 0. 55 104 LEADE RSHIP 0. 535 1. 381 ? 105 LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY 2. 902 4. 919 ? 106 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING RESEARCH 107 MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW 2. 06 ? 108 MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY 109 MANAGEMENT DECISION 1. 078 110 MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL REVIEW 0. 882 ? 111 MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2. 221 3. 66 ? 112 MIS QUARTERLY 5. 041 9. 821 113 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 1. 452 2. 317 ? 114 NEW TECHNOLOGY WORK AND EMPLOYMENT 0. 469 1. 000 ? 115 OMEGA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 3. 467 3. 733 ? 116 ORGANIZATION 1. 488 2. 152 ? 117 ORGANIZATION & ENVIRONMENT ? 118 ORGANIZATION SCIENCE 3. 800 5. 838 ? 119 ORGANIZATION STUDIES 2. 339 ? 120 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 2. 80 3. 586 ? 121 ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS 0. 862 0. 979 ? 122 ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH METHODS 4. 423 5. 350 ? 123 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 3. 367 6. 395 ? 124 PERSONNEL REVIEW 0. 446 1. 74 ? 125 PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 126 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 1. 292 1. 938 ? 127 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW 1. 295 1. 387 ? 128 PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND MANAGEMENT REVIEW ? 129 PUBLIC PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 0. 200 0. 479 ? 130 R & D MANAGEMENT 1. 580 2. 806 ? 131 RESEARCH IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 4. 833 5. 167 ? 132 REVIEW OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION ? 133 REVIEW OF PUBLIC PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 0. 91 ? 134 SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 1. 108 ? 135 SMALL GROUP RESEARCH 1. 148 1. 888 136 SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 0. 146 137 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL 3. 583 6. 18 138 STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION 2. 727 139 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS EXCELLENCE 140 WORK AND OCCUPATIONS 0. 857 1. 682 ? 141 WORK AND STRESS 3. 071 4. 71 ? TOTAL 141 99 75 110 HEC RECOGNIZED JOURNALS 10 DISCIPLINE MANAGEMENT 1. Business Review 2. Journal of Behavioral Sciences 3. Journal of sexual activity & Social Issues 4. Journal of Independent Studies and Research? Management 5. Journal of Quality & Technology Managemen t 6. Pakistan Business Review 7. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research 8. Pakistan Journal of Psychology 9. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research 10. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences

Profit and Loss Essay

Profit and loss accounts, balance sheets Profit and loss accounts, balance sheets Two of the nigh in-chief(postnominal) financial statements for a line of reference book atomic number 18 the Profit and outlet sum up, and the residuum planing machine. The Profit and Loss Account projects the profit or loss of a course over a given blockage of beat e. g. 3 months, 1 course, etc. In contrast, the Balance canvas tent is like a mental picture taken at an instant in time giving a picture of what the subscriber line owns and what the stock owes at that moment in time. As we shall see it will always balance because what the duty owns is financed by what the business owes. The Profit and Loss (P&L account)Net profit takes account of other sources of income and expenditure that are non involved in normal operations e. g. interest paid on loans and interest received on having a positive balance in a bank account. Turnover is the value of gross revenue suffer in a tradi ng period. It is some eferred to as sale revenue and is calculated by the mediocre price of items change x the number sold. Cost of gross revenue calculates the direct costs of manufacturing items, or buying in items to sell them on. Expenses are the overhead costs of running a business. These overheads cant be tied down to particular cost units. For example, it would be very difficult to calculate what division of the estrus cost of a pen factory can be allocated to just one pen. The Balance Sheet is a statement showing the assets, liabilities and owners capital of a business at a particular Downloaded from The100 Edition http//www. he100. co. uk moment in time, for example the year end. The Balance Sheet balances because the assets that a business possesses at a specific time leave been financed either through the preparation of capital by the owners or by the creation of external liabilities measure out of assets = Value of Liabilities Value of proprietors capital. There are a number of things that we can see from spirit at a balance sheet, for example 1. The Net Assets of the business, i. e. the difference between the value of the assets and the value of the liabilities.A growth in crystalise assets tends to indicate a growing business. 2. How solvent the business is. In other words, does it have equal assets that are short term, and hence easily converted into cash, to pay any pressing short-term liabilities. subject field Example A typical balance sheet will be set out in the next way (note that we use two columns. The first column is for minor calculations, the second column is for high-and-mighty totals) Balance Sheet of Superior Traders, as at 31st December 2004 Fixed assets consist of those items that are kept within the business to create wealth over a period of time e. . machinery, equipment, vehicles, computers, etc. genuine assets are used in the short period to generate income for a business. For example, in a manufacturing compa ny like Kraft, stocks would represent products that have already been made and are waiting to be sold onto retailers. Typically stocks will be sold on credit for periods of one month, two months, or 3 months. Retailers buying stocks on credit from Kraft would become Krafts debtors. At the end of the credit period they will pay up in the form of cash, enabling Kraft to buy more(prenominal) raw materials to create further stocks.Creditors due within one year are the sums that a business owes money to in the short period otherwise known as contemporary liabilities. Net new assets is a measure of how solvent or liquid a business is. Many businesses need to have working capital. Working capital is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets Working capital = Current assets Current liabilities Note that the figure for net current assets appear close in the centre of a balance sheet, and is a figure that many people will control at first to break up on the so lvency of a business.Total assets current liabilities is a sum that appears in the balance sheet precisely doing what the title suggests. Creditors due after more than one year shows the coherenter term liabilities of the bsiness. Total net assets is calculated by taking away all the liabilities (both current and ample term) from all of the assets (both current and long term). Shareholders funds shows the value of the shareholders capital in the business. It will always be the same value as the total net assets and it balances the account. Downloaded from The100 Profit and loss accounts, balance sheets Profit and loss accounts, balance sheetsTwo of the most important financial statements for a business are the Profit and Loss Account, and the Balance Sheet. The Profit and Loss Account shows the profit or loss of a business over a given period of time e. g. 3 months, 1 year, etc. In contrast, the Balance Sheet is like a photograph taken at an instant in time giving a picture of w hat the business owns and what the business owes at that moment in time. As we shall see it will always balance because what the business owns is financed by what the business owes. The Profit and Loss (P&L account) One of the most important objectives of a business is to make a profit.The P&L account shows the extent to which it has been successful in achieving this objective. Companies are expected to forbear their P&L accounts in certain formats. Typically the P&L account will show the revenues received by a business and the costs involved in generating that revenue. In simple monetary value Revenues Costs = Profits. A typical P&L account will look like the following Case Study P&L Account for Superior Traders as at 31/12/2004 You can find out the gross profit of a business by deducting cost of sales from turnover ? 100,000 ? 50,000 = ? 0,000 You can find out the operating profit by deducting the expenses from the gross profit ? 50,000 ? 30,000 = ? 20,000 You whitethorn also come across the term net profit. Operating profit is earned from carrying out a businesses normal operations e. g. producing confectionery, or selling Christmas cards. Net profit takes account of other sources of income and expenditure that are not involved in normal operations e. g. interest paid on loans and interest received on having a positive balance in a bank account. Turnover is the value of sales made in a trading period.It is sometimes referred to as sale revenue and is calculated by the average price of items sold x the number sold. Cost of sales calculates the direct costs of manufacturing items, or buying in items to sell them on. Expenses are the overhead costs of running a business. These overheads cant be tied down to particular cost units. For example, it would be very difficult to calculate what fraction of the heating cost of a pen factory can be allocated to just one pen. The Balance Sheet is a statement showing the assets, liabilities and owners capital of a business at a particular Downloaded from The Times 100 Edition oment in time, for example the year end. The Balance Sheet balances because the assets that a business possesses at a specific time have been financed either through the provision of capital by the owners or by the creation of external liabilities Value of assets = Value of Liabilities Value of Owners capital. There are a number of things that we can see from looking at a balance sheet, for example 1. The Net Assets of the business, i. e. the difference between the value of the assets and the value of the liabilities. A growth in net assets tends to indicate a growing business. Creditors due within one year are the sums that a business owes money to in the short period otherwise known as current liabilities. Net current assets is a measure of how solvent or liquid a business is. Many businesses need to have working capital. Working capital is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets Working ca pital = Current assets Current liabilities Note that the figure for net current assets appear almost in the centre of a balance sheet, and is a figure that many people will look at first to check on the solvency of a business.Total assets current liabilities is a sum that appears in the balance sheet simply doing what the title suggests. Creditors due after more than one year shows the lifelong term liabilities of the bsiness. Total net assets is calculated by taking away all the liabilities (both current and long term) from all of the assets (both current and long term). Shareholders funds shows the value of the shareholders capital in the business. It will always be the same value as the total net assets and it balances the account. Downloaded from The Times 100 Edition.