Analysis of variance

The green moss bio-insecticide was extracted by means of pounding and squeezing. The insecticide was tested by the researcher by applying it to 10 eremites in three trials with three different concentration. The first setup was applied with the 100% moss extract, the second setup with the 50%, the third setup with the 25% concentration gradient of the moss extract. The last setup was applied with commercialese insecticide.With the given results that were computed from the gathered data, the researcher conclude that the alternative hypothesis, which states that the green moss extract would be an effective bio-insecticide on dry wood termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of their mortality, is accepted the reason given that the F value is higher than the degrees of freedom. If the green moss extract, compared to commercialese insecticide, would be an effective insecticide against drowsy termites.Termite, common name for numerous species of social insects that can damag e wooden structures, such as furniture or houses, or other materials containing cellulose while other species obtain a special fluid secreted by beetles. Control is obtained also by using wood treated with creosote or some other poisonous chemical. Because most worker termites cannot vive without moisture, the territories should be exposed to dry air.Insecticides induced to termites are of the following: The soil where a structure is standing would be treated with an insecticide to discourage termite incursions; wooden parts of a structure would be treated with creosote or some other poisonous chemical for control thus making the termites live outside the wood but the workers cannot live without moisture, thus being exposed to dry air. Commercialese insecticides are very harmful not only for the common health of the insects but also for humans and the environment.Unstable chemicals that kill other lives will most potentially kill others. In conclusion, commercialese insecticides whi ch contains harmful chemicals are widely ranged in the country but must not be thus having the study. Moss is used in this study as an insecticide to drowsy termites due to the Bryophytes isolated location; moist, wet, and out of reach. Green moss is not contacted by termites, thus the idea of making idea of making the Bryophyte to be an insecticide.General Statement of the Problem The problems of the research are the following: The possibility of the green moss extract to be a potential insecticide to drowsy termites; the comparison of the green moss extract as an insecticide and the commercialese insecticide to its effectiveness over drowsy termites. Specific Questions 1 . L's there a significant difference between the different proportions of the green moss extract and commercialese insecticide in terms of killing termites? . Will there be a high mortality rate on the termites when the green moss extract is used. Statement of the Hypotheses The null hypothesis of this study is th at the Green moss extract would not be an effective insecticide over drowsy termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of mortality while its alternative hypothesis is that the Green moss extract would be an effective insecticide on droopy termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of mortality.Significance of the Study The aim of the study is to use the abundance of green moss extract in the research's location for use as a alternative for a insecticide over commercialese products due to its chemical value. And also, to find what substance does the green moss extract notation which has insecticidal properties over the termites, if ever. Most Filipino families will benefit from the study due to its abundance in any place which is damp; virtually, everywhere. It may also be mass produced and may be a source of income to the Philippines; export to other countries.Scope and Limitation The study will be dealing with the production of the bio-insecticide made out of the pure extract gathered from the green moss given the reason of the countless chemicals found in the commercialese insecticide and that the bio-insecticide is to Essen the usage of it by proving that the product has better mortality rate over pests, in this case, drowsy termites. The study will be limited on what type of tests shall the green moss extract bio-insecticide undergo. The study is also limited on using just the green moss as the resource for the study.Definition of Terms Bryophyte – a botanical division (phylum) of small, soft plants. Drowsy termites – creates colonies in wood, with no connection to the ground necessary. Green moss – A plant which may grow in all types of climate and grow on a variety of substrates. Insecticide- a chemical used against insects. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The potentiality of Nonage bark extract as an insecticide was conducted by Sheer Ann Alarming, Erectile Guessers, and Shannon Mayo through Photochemical Analy sis and Screen-House Experiment.For the Screen-House Experiment, four nonsectarian were constructed with them applied Treatment A (pure extract), B (extract with essential oil), C (Bacon), and D (Raid). Mortality rate and effectiveness of the extract were observed for two minutes y the researchers and the results were subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance (NOVA). As a result, in terms of the treatments effectively on mosquitoes, the pure extract is the most effective. On the other hand, Treatments A, C and D were effective against termites' and cockroaches.The researchers had bought to a conclusion that Nonage Bark Extract is effective and could be tapped as an alternative bio-insecticide in eliminating insects. In another research, by Amman Bengal, tackling on the Insecticidal effect of Thebe on common house mosquitoes, he stated that developers have had discovered that thebe oil contains insecticidal qualities as well although no toxicity as been reported present. He then made an experiment by introducing the concoction to twenty(20) common house mosquitoes to test the effectively of it and was then observed for twenty(20) minutes.The results brought the researcher to the conclusion that thebe contains an insecticidal effect on mosquitoes. Lastly, the researchers Gaylord and Clement had pondered over the effectiveness of cassava extract insecticide against termites and how it could be a substitute for the commercialese insecticides. The extract was then gathered and applied to twenty(20) termites inside a beaker; sprayed twice. After several trials and times measured, they used T-test to tabulate the data of the Cassava extract against the commercialese insecticide.They then concluded that the two have no significant difference and that the Cassava extract is effective and may be a substitute for the commercialese insecticide. METHODOLOGY Location of the Study The study was conducted inside the vicinity of the researcher's school, Calm City Science High School. The moss was gathered from Callahan, Laguna. Data Gathering Process The data was gathered after the application of the 100%, 50%, and 25% gradient incineration of the green moss extract, and the commercialese insecticide to the drowsy termites.The researcher had observed if there was a significant difference between the four (4) substances to the mortality rate of the drowsy termites. Statistical Analysis The data gathering technique to be used in the study by the researcher is the One-way analysis of variance that it may be used to two or more samples, by using the F-test, and must be numerical data. Since the samples are independent, they have equal variances, and that the insecticides are virtually distributed by the same assure, the study is applicable for a One-way NOVA.Instruments The researcher used the following materials to make the bio-insecticide made out of green moss extract. The raw materials that were used to create the product was green moss and water (for th e concentration of the extract). The other instruments used were mortar and pestle, to pulverize the moss and get the extract easier; beaker, as both a container and measurement tool for both the extract and commercialese insecticide; filter paper, in order not to get impurities to the extract; terrorized containers as where the drowsy termites would be put to; and sprayer for the distribution of the extract.A stopwatch will be used to measure the duration of the mortality of the drowsy termites. Procedure The researcher would first collect the materials for the experiment going with: 500 grams of moss; a beaker; a stirring rod; mortar and pestle; filter paper; patisseries; commercialese insecticide. The researcher would then be extracting the moss using the mortar and pestle and then be contained on a beaker through filter paper and funnel. After a short hill, the extract and the commercialese insecticide will then be applied to 3 set- ups each and having the extract decreased from 100% concentration to 50% and then to 25%.The results will then be gathered and tabulated after twenty(20) minutes using the â€Å"One-way analysis of variance† or the â€Å"One-way NOVA†. Summary and Conclusion This study was conducted to develop a bio-insecticide made out of green moss extract that may kill drowsy termites. The data was gathered by applying the different concentration of the green moss extract which was 100%, 50%, and 25%, including the commercialese insecticide to three (3) trials each containing ten (10) drowsy termites.With the given results that were computed from the gathered data, the researcher conclude that the alternative hypothesis, which states that the green moss extract would be an effective bio-insecticide on dry wood termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of their mortality, is accepted the reason given that the F value is higher than the degrees of freedom thus stating that the alternative hypothesis is accepted. In a ddition, the researcher has tested and concluded that the extraneous arable of the moss extract to be acidic and that may have affected the termites' mortality is faulty.The green moss extract has a level of 8 pH which concludes that it is a basic substance and not an acidic substance. Recommendation The researcher recommends finding what exact content that the green moss extract has that had killed the drowsy termites. He recommends that when the specific content of the green moss extract that has a pesticides effect is found, use another type of moss. The researcher also recommends using the same type of moss but in another location having the reason of different nutrition of the moss. Analysis of variance The green moss bio-insecticide was extracted by means of pounding and squeezing. The insecticide was tested by the researcher by applying it to 10 eremites in three trials with three different concentration. The first setup was applied with the 100% moss extract, the second setup with the 50%, the third setup with the 25% concentration gradient of the moss extract. The last setup was applied with commercialese insecticide.With the given results that were computed from the gathered data, the researcher conclude that the alternative hypothesis, which states that the green moss extract would be an effective bio-insecticide on dry wood termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of their mortality, is accepted the reason given that the F value is higher than the degrees of freedom. If the green moss extract, compared to commercialese insecticide, would be an effective insecticide against drowsy termites.Termite, common name for numerous species of social insects that can damag e wooden structures, such as furniture or houses, or other materials containing cellulose while other species obtain a special fluid secreted by beetles. Control is obtained also by using wood treated with creosote or some other poisonous chemical. Because most worker termites cannot vive without moisture, the territories should be exposed to dry air.Insecticides induced to termites are of the following: The soil where a structure is standing would be treated with an insecticide to discourage termite incursions; wooden parts of a structure would be treated with creosote or some other poisonous chemical for control thus making the termites live outside the wood but the workers cannot live without moisture, thus being exposed to dry air. Commercialese insecticides are very harmful not only for the common health of the insects but also for humans and the environment.Unstable chemicals that kill other lives will most potentially kill others. In conclusion, commercialese insecticides whi ch contains harmful chemicals are widely ranged in the country but must not be thus having the study. Moss is used in this study as an insecticide to drowsy termites due to the Bryophytes isolated location; moist, wet, and out of reach. Green moss is not contacted by termites, thus the idea of making idea of making the Bryophyte to be an insecticide.General Statement of the Problem The problems of the research are the following: The possibility of the green moss extract to be a potential insecticide to drowsy termites; the comparison of the green moss extract as an insecticide and the commercialese insecticide to its effectiveness over drowsy termites. Specific Questions 1 . L's there a significant difference between the different proportions of the green moss extract and commercialese insecticide in terms of killing termites? . Will there be a high mortality rate on the termites when the green moss extract is used. Statement of the Hypotheses The null hypothesis of this study is th at the Green moss extract would not be an effective insecticide over drowsy termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of mortality while its alternative hypothesis is that the Green moss extract would be an effective insecticide on droopy termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of mortality.Significance of the Study The aim of the study is to use the abundance of green moss extract in the research's location for use as a alternative for a insecticide over commercialese products due to its chemical value. And also, to find what substance does the green moss extract notation which has insecticidal properties over the termites, if ever. Most Filipino families will benefit from the study due to its abundance in any place which is damp; virtually, everywhere. It may also be mass produced and may be a source of income to the Philippines; export to other countries.Scope and Limitation The study will be dealing with the production of the bio-insecticide made out of the pure extract gathered from the green moss given the reason of the countless chemicals found in the commercialese insecticide and that the bio-insecticide is to Essen the usage of it by proving that the product has better mortality rate over pests, in this case, drowsy termites. The study will be limited on what type of tests shall the green moss extract bio-insecticide undergo. The study is also limited on using just the green moss as the resource for the study.Definition of Terms Bryophyte – a botanical division (phylum) of small, soft plants. Drowsy termites – creates colonies in wood, with no connection to the ground necessary. Green moss – A plant which may grow in all types of climate and grow on a variety of substrates. Insecticide- a chemical used against insects. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The potentiality of Nonage bark extract as an insecticide was conducted by Sheer Ann Alarming, Erectile Guessers, and Shannon Mayo through Photochemical Analy sis and Screen-House Experiment.For the Screen-House Experiment, four nonsectarian were constructed with them applied Treatment A (pure extract), B (extract with essential oil), C (Bacon), and D (Raid). Mortality rate and effectiveness of the extract were observed for two minutes y the researchers and the results were subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance (NOVA). As a result, in terms of the treatments effectively on mosquitoes, the pure extract is the most effective. On the other hand, Treatments A, C and D were effective against termites' and cockroaches.The researchers had bought to a conclusion that Nonage Bark Extract is effective and could be tapped as an alternative bio-insecticide in eliminating insects. In another research, by Amman Bengal, tackling on the Insecticidal effect of Thebe on common house mosquitoes, he stated that developers have had discovered that thebe oil contains insecticidal qualities as well although no toxicity as been reported present. He then made an experiment by introducing the concoction to twenty(20) common house mosquitoes to test the effectively of it and was then observed for twenty(20) minutes.The results brought the researcher to the conclusion that thebe contains an insecticidal effect on mosquitoes. Lastly, the researchers Gaylord and Clement had pondered over the effectiveness of cassava extract insecticide against termites and how it could be a substitute for the commercialese insecticides. The extract was then gathered and applied to twenty(20) termites inside a beaker; sprayed twice. After several trials and times measured, they used T-test to tabulate the data of the Cassava extract against the commercialese insecticide.They then concluded that the two have no significant difference and that the Cassava extract is effective and may be a substitute for the commercialese insecticide. METHODOLOGY Location of the Study The study was conducted inside the vicinity of the researcher's school, Calm City Science High School. The moss was gathered from Callahan, Laguna. Data Gathering Process The data was gathered after the application of the 100%, 50%, and 25% gradient incineration of the green moss extract, and the commercialese insecticide to the drowsy termites.The researcher had observed if there was a significant difference between the four (4) substances to the mortality rate of the drowsy termites. Statistical Analysis The data gathering technique to be used in the study by the researcher is the One-way analysis of variance that it may be used to two or more samples, by using the F-test, and must be numerical data. Since the samples are independent, they have equal variances, and that the insecticides are virtually distributed by the same assure, the study is applicable for a One-way NOVA.Instruments The researcher used the following materials to make the bio-insecticide made out of green moss extract. The raw materials that were used to create the product was green moss and water (for th e concentration of the extract). The other instruments used were mortar and pestle, to pulverize the moss and get the extract easier; beaker, as both a container and measurement tool for both the extract and commercialese insecticide; filter paper, in order not to get impurities to the extract; terrorized containers as where the drowsy termites would be put to; and sprayer for the distribution of the extract.A stopwatch will be used to measure the duration of the mortality of the drowsy termites. Procedure The researcher would first collect the materials for the experiment going with: 500 grams of moss; a beaker; a stirring rod; mortar and pestle; filter paper; patisseries; commercialese insecticide. The researcher would then be extracting the moss using the mortar and pestle and then be contained on a beaker through filter paper and funnel. After a short hill, the extract and the commercialese insecticide will then be applied to 3 set- ups each and having the extract decreased from 100% concentration to 50% and then to 25%.The results will then be gathered and tabulated after twenty(20) minutes using the â€Å"One-way analysis of variance† or the â€Å"One-way NOVA†. Summary and Conclusion This study was conducted to develop a bio-insecticide made out of green moss extract that may kill drowsy termites. The data was gathered by applying the different concentration of the green moss extract which was 100%, 50%, and 25%, including the commercialese insecticide to three (3) trials each containing ten (10) drowsy termites.With the given results that were computed from the gathered data, the researcher conclude that the alternative hypothesis, which states that the green moss extract would be an effective bio-insecticide on dry wood termites versus the commercialese insecticide by means of their mortality, is accepted the reason given that the F value is higher than the degrees of freedom thus stating that the alternative hypothesis is accepted. In a ddition, the researcher has tested and concluded that the extraneous arable of the moss extract to be acidic and that may have affected the termites' mortality is faulty.The green moss extract has a level of 8 pH which concludes that it is a basic substance and not an acidic substance. Recommendation The researcher recommends finding what exact content that the green moss extract has that had killed the drowsy termites. He recommends that when the specific content of the green moss extract that has a pesticides effect is found, use another type of moss. The researcher also recommends using the same type of moss but in another location having the reason of different nutrition of the moss.

Attribution Theory Definition

Attribution Theory Definition Attribution theory is concerned with how people interpret events and relate them to their thinking and behavior. It's a cognitive perception which affects their motivation. This theory was first proposed in a book called, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations by Fritz Heider in 1958. According to Heider, men behave as amateur scientists in social situations. He also said that, we generally explain behavior in two ways; either we attribute the behavior to a person or a situation. Attribution literally means a grant of responsibility. Albeit, the theory was first proposed by Heider (1958), later Edward E.Jones (1972) and Harold Kelley (1967) developed a theoretical structure, which is now seen as an epitome of social psychology. The theory divides the behavior attributes into two parts, external or internal factors. Internal attribution: When an internal attribution is made, the cause of the given behavior is within the person, i. e. the variables whic h make a person responsible like attitude, aptitude, character and personality. External attribution: When an external attribution is made, the cause of the given behavior is assigned to the situation in which the behavior was seen.The person responsible for the behavior may assign the causality to the environment or weather. In 1967, Kelley tried to explain the way people perceive internal and external attribution. He tried this, postulating the principle of co-variation. This model was known as Covariation Model. The basic principle of the covariation model states that the effect is attributed to one of the causes which co-varies over time. It also means that the behavior at various occasions varies. The covariation model considers three major types of information to make an attribution decision and to observe a person's behavior.The three types of information are: Consensus information: This responds to the fact, how people with similar stimuli behave in similar situations. If mo st people behave alike, i. e. their reactions are shared by many, the consensus is high. But, if no one or only a few people share the reactions, the consensus is low. Distinctiveness information: This is about, how a person responds to different situations. There exists a very low distinctiveness if the person reacts similarly in all or most of the situations.However, if a person reacts differently in different situations, it is said that the distinctiveness is high. Consistency information: If the response of a person to different stimulus and in varied situations remains the same, then the consistency is high. But Kelly's covariation model has some limitations. The most prominent being that, it fails to distinguish between the intentional and unintentional behavior. Read more at Buzzle:  http://www. buzzle. com/articles/attribution-theory-of-social-psychology. html Kelley's Covariation Model Kelley’s (1967) covariation model is the best known attribution theory.He develo ped a logical model for judging whether a particular action should be attributed to some characteristic (internal) of the person or the environment (external). The term covariation simply means  that a person has information from multiple observations, at different times and situations, and can perceive the covariation of an observed effect and its causes. He argues that in trying to discover the causes of behavior people act like scientists. More specifically they take into account three kinds of evidence. Kelley believed that there were three types of causal information which influenced our judgments.Low factors = dispositional (internal) attributions. * Consensus: the extent to which other people behave in the same way in a similar situation. E. g. Alison smokes a cigarette when she goes out for a meal with her friend. If her friend smokes, her behavior is high in consensus. If only Alison smokes it is low. * Distinctiveness: the extent to which the person behaves in the same w ay in similar situations. If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, her behavior is high in distinctiveness. If she smokes at any time or place, distinctiveness is low. Consistency: the extent to which the person behaves like this every time the situation occurs. If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, consistency is high. If she only smoke on one special occasion, consistency is low. Let’s look at an example  to help understand his particular attribution theory. Our subject is called Tom. His behavior is laughter. Tom is laughing at a comedian. 1. Consensus: Everybody in the audience is laughing. Consensus is high. If only Tom is laughing consensus is low. 2. Distinctiveness: Tom only laughs at this comedian. Distinctiveness is high.If Tom laughs at everything distinctiveness is low. 3. Consistency: Tom always laughs at this comedian. Consistency is high. Tom rarely laughs at this comedian consistency is low. Now, if everybody laughs at this comedian, if they don’t laugh at the comedian who follows and if this comedian always raises a laugh then we would make an external attribution, i. e. we assume that Tom is laughing because the comedian is very funny. On the other hand, if Tom is the only person who laughs at this comedian, if Tom laughs at all comedians and if Tom always laughs at the comedian then we would make an internal attribution, i. . we assume that Tom is laughing because he is the kind of person who laughs a lot. So what we’ve got here is people attributing causality on the basis of correlation. That is to say, we see that two things go together and we therefore assume that one causes the other. One problem however is that we may not have enough information to make that kind of judgment. For example, if we don’t know Tom that well we wouldn’t necessarily have the information to know if his behavior is consistent over time. So what do we do then?According to Kelley we fall back on past ex perience and look for either 1) Multiple necessary causes. For example, we see an athlete win a marathon and we reason that she must be very fit, highly motivated, have trained hard etc. and that she must have all of these to win 2) Multiple sufficient causes. For example, we see an athlete fail a drug test and we reason that she may be trying to cheat, or have taken a banned substance by accident or been tricked into taking it by her coach. Any one reason would be sufficient.

Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s 5 forces summary According to Porter, in order to achieve competitive advantage over its competitors, analysis of current industry structure is vital because the structure of an industry determines the nature of the competition and the form that a sustainable competitive advantage takes and the industry structure is determined by the five competitive forces; the treat of substitute, the treat of entry, bargaining power of buyer, and bargaining power of supplier and the intensive of rivalry. Porter work simplified to identify five forces and then, to select one of the generic strategies.Last step of his framework is using the value chain from identifying and enhancing the business activities. His concept is based on the idea that forces facing the industry play a key role in determining success and profitability of an organisation. The analysis of five forces tells how management should respond to and try to influence those forces in a favourable way. Threat of entrant s: according to Porter new entry into the industry certainly reduces the existing firm’s profitability. How high the entry barrier of the industry affects the degree of new entry:Simply, internet banking dramatically lowers the entry barrier of bank industry. It is because entry barriers such as ‘economics of scale’, ‘brand identity’ and ‘access to distribution’ do not work any longer. Physical size can only mean high operating cost as well as in efficient and limited degrees of flexibility. The banking market is likely to see the emergence of new small banks that use internet to compete on equal ground with the financial giants. Power of buyer: buyer power affects the prices that firms can charge.Porter theorised that the more products that become standardised or undifferentiated, and hence more power is yielded to buyers. The products of banking market are getting similar therefore it increases the bargaining power of buyers. Also, buy ers have full information on demand and cost with internet, it implies that they can play the game more rationally with significant bargaining power. As more new comers are expected to enter the industry, banking customer are facing more alternatives. This is evidenced by the fact that internet banking services are now free of charge. Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s 5 forces summary According to Porter, in order to achieve competitive advantage over its competitors, analysis of current industry structure is vital because the structure of an industry determines the nature of the competition and the form that a sustainable competitive advantage takes and the industry structure is determined by the five competitive forces; the treat of substitute, the treat of entry, bargaining power of buyer, and bargaining power of supplier and the intensive of rivalry. Porter work simplified to identify five forces and then, to select one of the generic strategies.Last step of his framework is using the value chain from identifying and enhancing the business activities. His concept is based on the idea that forces facing the industry play a key role in determining success and profitability of an organisation. The analysis of five forces tells how management should respond to and try to influence those forces in a favourable way. Threat of entrant s: according to Porter new entry into the industry certainly reduces the existing firm’s profitability. How high the entry barrier of the industry affects the degree of new entry:Simply, internet banking dramatically lowers the entry barrier of bank industry. It is because entry barriers such as ‘economics of scale’, ‘brand identity’ and ‘access to distribution’ do not work any longer. Physical size can only mean high operating cost as well as in efficient and limited degrees of flexibility. The banking market is likely to see the emergence of new small banks that use internet to compete on equal ground with the financial giants. Power of buyer: buyer power affects the prices that firms can charge.Porter theorised that the more products that become standardised or undifferentiated, and hence more power is yielded to buyers. The products of banking market are getting similar therefore it increases the bargaining power of buyers. Also, buy ers have full information on demand and cost with internet, it implies that they can play the game more rationally with significant bargaining power. As more new comers are expected to enter the industry, banking customer are facing more alternatives. This is evidenced by the fact that internet banking services are now free of charge. Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s 5 forces summary According to Porter, in order to achieve competitive advantage over its competitors, analysis of current industry structure is vital because the structure of an industry determines the nature of the competition and the form that a sustainable competitive advantage takes and the industry structure is determined by the five competitive forces; the treat of substitute, the treat of entry, bargaining power of buyer, and bargaining power of supplier and the intensive of rivalry. Porter work simplified to identify five forces and then, to select one of the generic strategies.Last step of his framework is using the value chain from identifying and enhancing the business activities. His concept is based on the idea that forces facing the industry play a key role in determining success and profitability of an organisation. The analysis of five forces tells how management should respond to and try to influence those forces in a favourable way. Threat of entrant s: according to Porter new entry into the industry certainly reduces the existing firm’s profitability. How high the entry barrier of the industry affects the degree of new entry:Simply, internet banking dramatically lowers the entry barrier of bank industry. It is because entry barriers such as ‘economics of scale’, ‘brand identity’ and ‘access to distribution’ do not work any longer. Physical size can only mean high operating cost as well as in efficient and limited degrees of flexibility. The banking market is likely to see the emergence of new small banks that use internet to compete on equal ground with the financial giants. Power of buyer: buyer power affects the prices that firms can charge.Porter theorised that the more products that become standardised or undifferentiated, and hence more power is yielded to buyers. The products of banking market are getting similar therefore it increases the bargaining power of buyers. Also, buy ers have full information on demand and cost with internet, it implies that they can play the game more rationally with significant bargaining power. As more new comers are expected to enter the industry, banking customer are facing more alternatives. This is evidenced by the fact that internet banking services are now free of charge.

W.C. Russell Moccasin Company Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W.C. Russell Moccasin Company - Article Example The company runs ads in high-end hunting magazines and relies mainly on word-of-mouth. However, it will be sending monthly email newsletters to a list of 8,000 people owning a pair of its boots. The firm traces beginnings to founder Will Russell when he began selling hand-sewn boots in 1898. A company bought the firm in 1927 only to sell it a year later to Bill Gustin. Gustin’s son-in-law Ralph Fabricius joined the company in 1957 and became company president in 1970. Today, the firm employs 35 people that produced 13,000 pairs of shoes and boots last year. One of the company’s significant markets is Japan where orders are up by 15%. The company started selling in the country 28 years ago through a single wholesaler but there are now 15 wholesalers in that country. Despite the reputation for embracing tradition, Coster (2009) reports that the Japanese customers wear the boots for fashion. Japanese magazines have started to feature the company’s products since fou r years ago. The company introduces a new boot yearly to maintain consumer interests. Customers express devotion for Russell boots in the testimonials section of the Russell website, some of them next to newly killed animals. For market analysis, we use a modified version of the David Aaker perspective as described by NetMBA Business Knowledge Center. We infer that the niche of W.C. Russell Moccasin Company is in hand-sewn boots from animal hides. Both market size and market growth of the product niche of W.C. Russell Moccasin Company has been small. After 111 years, annual sales reached only $3 million in 2008. This size is very small compared to total consumer spending of several trillion in the U.S. and tens of trillions of dollars worldwide. Firm profitability, however, may be above the market level or acceptable given more than a century of existence. The same, however, is not necessarily true for the industry. The firm relies on word of mouth for promotions.

US Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

US Economy - Essay Example The economy of the United States in the past few years has gone through a major slump. This slump has been seen through their real estate crisis, rise in unemployment rates, and their reduced competitiveness in the global economic setting.This economic crisis was not helped by the matching economic crisis felt in other western nations as well, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and similar developed nations. In so many ways, this crisis has been a result of the rise in oil prices which has affected the general prices of commodities and the transport of people and goods from one place to another. Much analysis is needed in order to fully comprehend the US economic crisis. This paper shall now analyze, compare, contrast the economic growth, unemployment, and inflation rates in the United States. This paper is being conducted in order to establish a dynamic and academic understanding of the topic, as well as its implications to the country’s progress. Discussion The US remains to be the world’s largest economy. Based on the CIA Factbook, their 2007 GDP was at $13.84 trillion which represents three times the size of the next largest economy which is Japan at $4.4 trillion (Economy Watch). With the creation of the European Union however, the dominance of the US was reduced with the European market presenting an equivalent of $13 trillion. The growth of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) has also threatened the US global dominance with China forecast to overtake the US in size in the next 30 years (Economy Watch). These are imposing threats on the US economy which have also been plagued by the housing crisis. The failure of the US housing and credit markets caused a major slowdown in the US economy with the 2007 GDP growth being 2.2%, plunging down to 0.9% in 2008. This represents a significant decrease in the GDP when the 10 year average was at 2.8% (Economy Watch). Similar to developed nations, services have been considered an impo rtant element of the US economy. In 2007, services comprised 78.5% of the GDP, the industry represented 20.5% and agriculture represented less than 1% (Economy Watch). About two thirds of the country’s total production has been dictated by personal consumption. And even as it is an economy which is considered free market, government regulations still protect some aspects of their economy like energy and agriculture (Economy Watch). In any case, it can instead be considered a consumer economy. As the largest economy in the world, the US consumer dictates about two thirds of the economy and is a major driver in the global market (Economy Watch). It is also driven by the basic interplay of supply and demand which dictates the prices of goods and services. The impact of the government in the US economy is important in terms of monetary decision making and fiscal policy conceptualization. The federal government considers all the possible initiatives in order to guarantee the growt h of the US (Economy Watch). The US government considers all economic tools, including money supply, taxes, and credit control in order to make the corresponding adjustments in economic growth. During such considerations, the US federal government has also been tasked to regulate the operations of private business concerns in order to control monopolies (Economy Watch). The government provides different services by giving support for national defense, monetary aid for research and development programs (Economy Watch). The national debt is one of the most controversial issues in the US. In 2008, its federal debt was at $9.2 trillion. This represents 67% of GDP and is about $79,000 for each American taxpayer (Economy Watch). American consumers have also become dependent on debt and re-mortgaging to higher loans while using their extra cash to fund their high purchases. Their debt totals are one of the largest in the world; however in terms of GDP percentages, it is still less than Jap an and other European countries. Moreover, much of the debt is

Local and Federal Courts System (Structure and Jurisdiction) in the Essay

Local and Federal Courts System (Structure and Jurisdiction) in the State of Texas and the Impact of its Structure on the Justice System - Essay Example Immediately before these two courts are the 14 intermediate courts and these handle appeals from trial courts. The Texas constitution has also established the District courts that come below the Intermediate courts of appeal. The district courts are followed below by the county level courts and these include the Constitutional County Courts and two other courts, statutory county courts and the statutory probate courts. These two are established by the legislature. The Texas constitution has a provision for the local courts and these include the justice of peace courts and the Municipal courts (Anderson, 2005). The Supreme Court is a court of last resort for civil and juvenile cases, and original jurisdiction to issue writs in the State of Texas. It is composed of the Chief Justice and eight justices each elected to serve for a period of six years (Anderson, 2005). The court is responsible for the efficient functioning of the Texas judicial system; it has powers to enforce rules of civil trial practice and procedure, evidence and appellate procedure. It is also responsible for the promulgation of rules of administration of justice in Texas. The court also has final authority over involuntary retirement or removal of state judges and has also the authority to transfer cases between the 14 appellate courts under it (Walsh, Kemerer, & Maniotis, 2010). The Court of Criminal Appeal is an appellate court with statewide jurisdiction. It has a final appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases. It hears all death penalty appeals. It also may- but does not have to- review cases which have been decided by the courts of appeals to clear up confusion in the law when it feels the case will affect a number of other cases. The court has the authority to change the decision of the court of appeals if it feels the decision was wrong. The only appeal from this court’s decision is to the United States Supreme court but this is

Discussion Board 4-2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Discussion Board 4-2 - Assignment Example Safety plan for intimate partner violence may include assessment of conditions, situation and events that lead to and follow crisis or violence. To ensure treatment of healthy clients, the plan may cover necessity to subject victims of abuse to medical and mental checkups. The plan may further include assessment of history of the violence and manners of handling and addressing the experienced violence (Jackson-Cherry, 2014). Safety plan for intimate partner violence may also include provisions to engage with community, religious or local government leaders to help in establishing frameworks for providing safety for victims of abuse, and offenders in case of vulnerability to community attack. In extreme cases of abuse, safety plan for intimate partner violence include possibility of involving police to initiate arrest and organize for prosecution of abusive partners. The safety plan also has to include promise for shelter, home, work or any necessary resource to comfort the victim of abuse and enable normal running of life routine (Jackson-Cherry, 2014). Another possible component of safety plan for intimate partner violence is increasing accountability level of offenders through measures or ways agreed and approved by the victim, and have to be in manners that do not affect client

The identification and analysis of the economic, political and social Essay

The identification and analysis of the economic, political and social issues facing the United States - Essay Example A combination of reduced market entry barriers for a multitude of different industries has increased competition in a country that is highly saturated with consumer product competition. Renewed reliance on foreign imports to sustain quality of life from emerging or developing countries such as China has, today, begun to impact supply and demand in the United States. In addition, with many foreign nations changing their fiscal policies to ensure economic stability during an ongoing international recessionary environment, currency valuation has become unpredictable, thus impacting profitability for companies that have made considerable profit producing products in countries where labour costs are low. Furthermore, political actors in the U.S. government continue to divest financial resources into the free market environment to assist large banking and lending facilities, as well as a variety of corporate industries, through bailouts and short-term tax extensions. All of these factors, and many more, have raised the consumer price index and increased inflation, thus diminishing real consumer incomes. This report identifies and analyses all of the economic, political and social issues facing the United States and offers recommendations for increasing economic growth in the country. The political and economic factors The United States is considered a federal, constitutional democracy. Weingast (1997) reinforces that stable democracies can only be sustained when values, principles and beliefs are shared by all citizens of the nation, a phenomenon referred to as civic culture. â€Å"If there is no consensus within a society, there is little potentiality for peaceful resolution of political differences† (Weingast 1997, p.248). According to Barrett (2011) there are a series of distinct constructs that must exist in order to be a stable and thriving democracy, including equality, accountability, fairness, transparency and trust. Why is this necessarily relevant to assessing the current condition of the United States? In 2008, President Barack Obama and the authorities of Congress committed billions of dollars to banking and lending facilities and a variety of corporate entities that were failing due to a surplus of economic problems stemming from the mortgage crisis, inflation, market speculators, and diminished consumer incomes that were negatively impacting revenue growth in a variety of industries servicing consumer products. Corporations, consumers and market investors alike have grown inter-dependent on governmental intervention and commitment of taxpayer capital to continue to bailout businesses and financial industries. Where it was once considered unmentionable for government to take such a critical and active role in the free market economy, today consumers and business leaders are placing considerable pressure on governmental actors to develop routine and synchronized financial rescues in order to guarantee short-term economic stab ility in the country. This change in social and political attitudes seems to have now created a somewhat unified set of cultural values related to government involvement in business, industry and investment that has changed the dynamics of the traditional constitutional de

ICT Policy Evaluation and Compliance Research Paper

ICT Policy Evaluation and Compliance - Research Paper Example The other challenges are that ICT is a fast growing sector and this provides many challenges with regard to policy development and implementation. These two factors, combined with the volatility of ICT create issues with policy development thus leading to a point where the policies developed may not be useful in advancing technology (Pilat, 2003). Policies, which hinder the development and growth of ICT can be very detrimental, and it is necessary for stakeholders to understand this and try to come up with new ways to streamline ICT processes. This is very important for Qatar especially with regard to its vibrant and fast-growing economy, which requires ICT backing in order to be sustained. It is in this regard that the policy evaluation process should be able to identify how ICT policies in Qatar are affecting the growth and uptake of the sector. Impact on ICT policies on ICT uptake ICT policy can be very useful in making sure that ICT is being utilised properly. On the other hand, one of the main challenges, which can be faced with regard to developing ICT policies, is that they can hinder the uptake of ICT (Roy, 2005). Different policies meant to help in improving the ICT sector can lead to it being harder for the ICT to develop. For instance, those policies which are geared towards control are more likely to have a negative impact if they are unchecked. This is why it is absolutely to have a mechanism through which ICT policies are supposed to be evaluated in terms of how they achieve what they are meant for and also in terms of how they are likely to be generate other negative impacts in the industry (Roy, 2005). For instance, with regard to ICT products, it is necessary to have those policies which support the capabilities of the consumers to uptake or to start using various ICT products. One of the areas where this should be regarded with care and diligence in the communication networks. According to Metcalfe (1979), networks increase their utility to th e users as the number of users increase. In this regard, those policies which are geared towards control must be looked at and evaluated in terms of how they are affecting the growth of ICT. Failing to do this may end up meaning that there will be issues with the growth and development of the ICT sector. In this regard, there are a number of issues which must be looked at in order to make sure that the policies are not being detrimental to the growth of ICT. Compliance with international standards The world has become a global village, and this has made it necessary for all countries and territories in the world to be able to look at the ways in which they can align themselves in the global village (Roy, 2005). Compliance with international standards is not just an issue affecting only ICT, but it affects all sectors on a country’s economy. In this regard, there is a need to identify ways in which the ICT policies in Qatar are affecting the ability to comply with internationa l standards. There is a need to guarantee compliance with international requirements as well as the standards which are being implemented internationally (Khosrowpour, 2000). Failing to evaluate the ICT policies would bring in the risk of not complying with international standards and this would lead to Qatar being isolated from the rest of the world. With regard to ICT, compliance with international standards can never be stressed enough. In this regard, t

Resume Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Resume Planning - Essay Example When these variables are absent or are not given enough attention, no matter how pretty a resume looks like, it will end up in the thrash bin. Substance and not the form will ultimately decide the efficacy of an applicant’s dossier. In line with this, I would like to borrow Linda Ormont’s (2001) criteria of strong resume, one that works and catches attention: However, this is not to say that appearance does not count, because it is also pivotal in achieving a candidate rà ©sumà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s objectives. Its significance lies in the fact that it presents an image to the prospective employer. A carefully laid out resume, for instance, could complement the content to project a competent and professional image. Needless to say, a resume that is sloppy or peppered with typographical errors or badly laid-out, would create for the employer an impression that the job applicant would be careless on the job, too. Appearance also helps in getting the resume noticed. It works best in situations where first impressions count - say, when there is a plethora of other resumes and one needs to stand out. This is also true in the creative industry wherein the visual presentation is everything. Usually, there appears a very thin line between content and appearance as the form becomes the substance in this field. The bottom line here is that content and appearance work hand in hand to communicate the value of the job seeker to a potential employer. Appearance, play the part of positioning and securing the attention of the employer – getting the resume read. The content will nourish the opening and finally detail competencies, enhanced by neat and concise layout. Not all employers, however, follow the same standard in evaluating resumes. There are those who would scan the dossier in five minutes, there are those who would set store on the first impression, and there are those who value informative content. According to Michael Howard, the degree of importance

Justice and Legality in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure Essay Example for Free

Justice and Legality in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure Essay In this brief paper, legality will be taken to mean as â€Å"doing what the written laws or accepted customs require. On the other hand, justice refers to â€Å"doing for any person what is fitting and proper for that person. † Often dubbed as a â€Å"dark† comedy, Measure for Measure is comprised of characters that are confronted with moral dilemmas. The characters that will be analyzed based on the legality and justness of their actions are the Duke, Angelo, and Isabella. These three characters are interrelated in the sense that their actions affect the other characters in the play. This makes the plot complex just like in most plays of Shakespeare. Also, not only does Measure for Measure abound with intrigue and revelation but also with pertinent questions on freedom, sexuality, morality, and the Law. Hence, a reading of the characters necessitates an understanding of the questions the play raises. After analyzing the characters’ actions, the concluding part will look into the link between legality and justice. As I will argue, legality and justice are not one and the same. Rather, they are relational instances that are apparent in the actions of the characters. The play opens with the Duke assigning his role as leader of Vienna to Angelo. Angelo tried to decline at first yet the Duke was firm in his order. At the offset, one may immediately judge whether the act of the Duke and Angelo is just and/or legal. As the formal ruler of Vienna, the Duke gives up temporarily his mandate to Angelo. One may wonder what could be more important and urgent for the Duke than rule the whole of Vienna. By leaving his job as ruler, it may appear that the Duke’s act is illegal. However, if we understand the Duke’s action in the context of monarchy, what he did was not illegal for the precise reason that he embodies the law itself. Whatever the Duke says or wishes to do is considered the Law. On the part of Angelo, his obedience to the Duke’s order is lawful as it is his role to follow whatever the latter asks him to do. We then learn that with his new position as Duke, Angelo implements strictly the already existing law against fornication. We can confer from the beginning part of the play that Angelo complies fondly with the moral law. This caused Claudio to be imprisoned for impregnating Juliet, his lover, even though the sexual intercourse was consensual. In the following scene, the character of Isabella appears. As a morally uptight person and a loving sister of Claudio, Isabella begged Angelo to release his brother from prison. Angelo promised to show mercy only if Isabella sleeps with him. Shocked and disgusted, Isabella refused. In this scene, we come to know the hypocrisy of Angelo with regard to the moral law he imposes to the people. He bans illicit sexual activities yet he himself asks Isabella to sleep with him. Angelo’s actions are therefore illegal. In relation to Isabella, Angelo is being unjust since what he is asking of Isabella is not fitting for someone who is just about to enter the nunnery and serve God. The dilemma faced by Isabella – whether or not sleep with Angelo so as to save Claudio – is intriguing for it involves two virtues that must be upheld by a religious woman as herself. One virtue is chastity, of not giving up to the sexual condition of Angelo. On the other hand, she is also required to fight for the release of his innocent brother who was unfairly imprisoned. In the end, Isabella chose chastity over Claudio. By declining the sexual condition of Angelo, Isabella is being legal in the context of the moral law. Her choice not to sleep with Angelo attests to her determination to remain a virgin for God. However, the other side of the coin consists of her unjust act to leave his brother in prison. When the Duke, as a friar, intervenes to help Isabella, his plan was to trap Angelo so his only choice would be to release Claudio. In the Duke’s plan, Isabella will seduce Angelo to sleep with her. The moment Angelo takes the bait, Isabella would give up her place to Mariana who is Angelo’s former lover. By unwittingly sleeping with Mariana, Angelo would thus prove guilty of sexual immorality and would later on be forced to release Claudio. The plan, however, did not entirely succeed because after sleeping with Mariana, Angelo did not order the release of Claudio. By helping Isabella, the Duke who is pretending as a friar, was in fact being just in a sense that he is trying to help in the release of Claudio. Meanwhile, Angelo resolute stand not to release Claudio is illegal since he is in fact the one who truly committed a prohibited sexual act. If he is really staunch in disciplining the people then Angelo must put his own self in jail. The end part of the play consists of the Duke’s return as the ruler of Vienna. With his power over the people, the Duke was able to make everyone confess their wrongdoings. Angelo eventually admitted his misdeeds and Claudio was released from prison. The Duke then asks Isabella to marry him. The final scene exhibited the just and legal act of the Duke to release the innocent and correct the wrong. Angelo’s confession can be seen as just since he is committing what is proper to a person like himself. It can also be read as legal since his confession complies with the order of the Duke. Isabella, on the other hand, was just in the sense that she still pursued the issue of his brother’s release. Her choice to marry the Duke, if ever she does, will be legal as it is form of obedience to their ruler. Based from the characters’ actions, we may say that legality and justice are two different instances. The reason for being such is the fact that they are grounded on two different frameworks. Legality is based on the written law that is invoked in order to judge a particular action of a character. On the other hand, justice is based on the personal opinion of the characters that is used for the evaluation of certain actions. However, after probing into the actions of the characters, we see that their personal opinions are in fact strongly influenced by the established moral law. For instance, Isabella’s choice not to sleep with Angelo, although personal, is rooted in the moral law that dictates to have illicit sex is sinful. Along the same vein, Angelo’s seeming personal choice to confess depends heavily on the order imposed by the Duke. The boundary therefore between the personal and the outside basis for judgment is diluted. Thus, in the context of Measure for Measure, justice is subsumed into the realm of legality without necessarily being reduced to it.

Vietnamese Immigration to America Essay Example for Free

Vietnamese Immigration to America Essay Vietnam is located in the Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia; 6 00 N, 106 00 E. Its Total Land Area is 329,560 sq km, with a land area of 325,360 sq km and water area of 4,200 sq km. It is slightly larger than New Mexico. Its total land boundary is 4,639 km with border countries like Cambodia, China and Laos. It has3, 444 km coastline which excludes the islands. Its maritime claims include the territorial sea: 12 nm, contiguous zone: 12 nm, exclusive economic zone: 200 nm, continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin. Its climate tropical in south, monsoon in north with hot, rainy season and warm, dry season in mid-October to mid-March. Its terrain includes low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest. (See â€Å"Vietnam†. About: Geography). The history of Vietnamese Americans began with the end of the Viet Nam War in 1975. On 28 January 1973, after having spent years and millions of dollars financing the Viet Nam War, the United States government reluctantly agreed to withdraw its financial and military assistance after signing the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam. The peace agreement was signed by representatives of the United States, the Republic of Viet Nam (South Viet Nam), and the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (North Viet Nam) in Paris. The agreement committed the United States and other signatories to respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Viet Nam, called for prisoners of war to be exchanged, and declared an in-place cease fire. Soon after the withdrawal of the United States military and economic support, the military situation deteriorated rapidly for the government of South Viet Nam. The flight of the Vietnamese refugees really began within the country, with the North Vietnamese military offensive of mid-March 1975 resulting in the defeats at Pleiku, Kontum, and Ban Me Thuot. As a result of this military offensive about one million refugees poured out of these areas and headed for Saigon and the coast. Most traveled by foot, few were fortunate enough to travel by car, truck, or motor bike. On 30 April 1975, the capital of South Viet Nam, and thus South Viet Nam, came under the control of the Provisional Revolutionary Government. This resulted in the flight of the Vietnamese refugees to the United States. Vietnamese refugees were not immigrants who chose to come to the U. S. for better political, social, and economic opportunities. Their migration was for the most part unplanned and out of desperation. Vietnamese emigration is generally divided into two periods, each with several â€Å"waves. † The first period began in April 1975 and continued through 1977. This period included the first three waves of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. The first wave of refugees, involving some ten to fifteen thousand people, began at least a week to ten days before the collapse of the government. The second wave, and probably the largest in numbers, involved some eighty thousand, who were evacuated by aircraft during the last days of April. The evacuation of American personnel, their dependents, and Vietnamese affiliated with them was achieved through giant helicopters under â€Å"Operation Frequent Wind. † These individuals were relatively well-educated, spoke some English, had some skills that were marketable, came from urban areas, and were westernized. Members of these two waves were primarily Vietnamese who worked for the U. S. government, American firms, or the Vietnamese government. All were thought to be prepared for life in the United States on the basis of their contact with the American government and association with Americans. The final wave during this period involved forty to sixty thousand people who left on their own in small boats, ships, and commandeered aircraft during the first two weeks of May 1975. They were later transferred to Subic Bay, Philippines and Guam Island after having been picked up, in many cases, by U. S. Navy and cargo ships standing off the coast. A second period of the Vietnamese refugee migration began in 1978. Since the fall of South Viet Nam in 1975, many Vietnamese have tried to escape the political oppression, the major social, and political and economic reforms instituted by the authoritarian government of North Viet Nam. Although the influx continues steadily, the numbers are no longer as massive as they once were. A significant characteristic of this period, especially between the years 1978 to 1980, is the large number of ethnic Chinese migrating out of Viet Nam and Cambodia. In addition to the ethnic Chinese, there were many Vietnamese who left during this period. These individuals have been called â€Å"boat people† because the majority of them escaped in homemade, poorly constructed boats and wooden vessels. Due to flimsy vessels, scant knowledge of navigational skills, limited amount of provisions, and numerous attacks by Thai sea pirates, the death rate of the â€Å"boat people† was and is very high. Many of the boat people are awaiting their fate in refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia. In addition, since 1979 many former receiving countries are turning away refugees because of the economic, political, and social strains that they are allegedly precipitating. (See â€Å"Vietnam War†. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). The areas where they settled after their migration were in the states of California, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida. As a result of the original resettlement, the secondary migration process, and the length of time since their first arrival in 1975, Vietnamese refugees have been able to establish communities throughout the United States, but are generally located in metropolitan and urban areas. Since the Vietnamese were forced to leave their country as a result of the war, personal adjustments such as becoming proficient in English, separating from families, and dealing with war memories are pressing issues. Because many Vietnamese did not know English, learning a new and different language became an important criterion for adjusting to new living conditions in the United States. In addition, the Dispersal Policy forced many extended families to separate, and some Vietnamese have found themselves in new and unfamiliar communities without family or the community support networks which were of great importance in Viet Nam. Finally, because of the traumatic experiences incurred while leaving their homeland, many experience depression, anxiety, alienation, a sense of helplessness, and recurring war nightmares. To assimilate into the United States economically as quickly as possible, many Vietnamese were forced to obtain low paying jobs. Even for those who were professionals in their country, their credentials failed to transferor simply were not accepted in the United States. The large number of people who were members of the military had skills which were no longer marketable. And, because many did not have the necessary skills to find high paying jobs, both men and women have had to find employment. It is easier for women to find employment, especially in the service and low-skill sectors, and women began to occupy positions traditionally held by men. That is, women have succeeded in achieving a degree of economic independence through their employment outside the home. In some cases, women support the entire family while the men receive technical or educational training for occupations with specific skills. Family conflicts between husbands and wives resulted as an unfortunate side effect. Since women were more likely to find jobs than men and in some instances became the only income earner, traditional family roles and authority were changing. Men were no longer the sole provider for the family and their authority was no longer as clear as it was in Viet Nam. There were a number of substantial of Vietnamese who are attending prestigious colleges and universities throughout America. Upon graduation, these individuals have also become members of the professional group or skilled workers in America. However, while there has been some success in the field of education, Vietnamese Americans are not a â€Å"model minority. † After the fall of Viet Nam in 1975, only a small group of children continued their education. Many younger Vietnamese had problems adjusting to American school. Those who seemed to be having the most problems adjusting are those who came either as unaccompanied minors or the recent arrivals. These individuals primarily immigrated after 1975 and most likely came at an age when it was difficult to learn a new language and adjust to a new society; some have turned to gangs, drugs, gambling, and other illegal activities. The formation of youth gangs might have resulted from their inability to catch up with their peers in schools, their unfamiliarity with a strange land, and perhaps their alienation from their families due to cultural gaps. ( See â€Å"The New Migrants from Asia: Vietnamese in the United States†. Organization of American Historians).

Climate Change Effects On Water Resources Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate Change Effects On Water Resources Environmental Sciences Essay The last two decades climate change is increasing due to the change of human activity such as cars, planes, factorys and other sources we use that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Because of these human causes the earth is heating up. One effect that climate change has is the effect the change will have upon human water freshwater resources. I believe that climate change will have an effect on human water resources because of the close connections with the hydrological cycle, the raising temperature will increase in floods and droughts that will lead to the demand on more freshwater resources. Climate change has close connections with the hydrological cycle. The hydrological cycle is located in the earths hydrosphere this is the area in around earth which holds all the water. The water is moved around the earths hydrosphere in a cycle. The hydrological cycle is moved in five different steps evaporation, precipitation, condensation, runoff, collection and infiltration. The as you can see in Figure 1 the hydrologival cycle all starts of with evaporation this is the change of liquid water to water vapour. The next step is condensation this is the process of changing water vapour, from a liquid and then to form clouds as you can see from the clouds in figure 1. This process can be notice for example when you look out for dew on the ground in the morning. As the clouds you see in the sky move around earth spreading the water vapour from place to place. The clouds become over loaded with moisture so they have to release the overloaded moisture. They release the moisture by a pr ocess called by precipitation which is usually rain, hail or snow. Infiltration occurs they when all the precipitations lay on the ground. If there is to much precipitation on the ground this becomes runoff. Runoff stays on the earth ground and runs into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. So when the precipitation run into the these streams, rivers, lakes and oceans this process is called collection. As infiltration, runoff and collection are being processed, the sun is causing a the cycle to return back to the begaining of the cycle to the process called evaporation.Sunlight heats up the liquid in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. The warm air rises upwards into the atmosphere and becomes the vapour involved in condensation. Without this process life on earth would be impossible. Freshwater that we use in or day to day lifes usually comes from Aquifer, Streams, Rivers, Lakes. Aquifer are constructed when rocks of the upper part of the earths crust contain holes or pores. Theses holes are big or joined together so that water can flow through them easily. This is a part of rock that is easy for water to pass through known as permeable. Streams usually get most of its water from runoff, rain and melting snow. A stream is formed when the rain and melting snow met at the same place and get into a line of channel. Streams usely flows into lakes, rivers, aquifer and seas. Rivers are a natural stream of freshwater resource. Water within the river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge, springs and the release of stored water in ice and melting glaciers. Lakes are usually filled with deep freshwater or salt water. Lakes are inland usly on mountains areas and are not part of the Ocean. They are filled by rivers or streams that connect to them. Some Lakes can be man made and are constructed for industrial or agricultur al use and even for hydro- electric power or domestic water supply. Water is one of the most importent inputs the human body needs for us humans to cope with everyday life . We need it for so many things e.g. health, growing food, irrigation, industry. Despite the importance of Freshwater Resources decreasing, we are beginning to take the freshwater resources for granted. Most of the freshwater we use is wasted and polluted. Because the hydrological cycle temperature is rising it will lead to a change in the horological cycle, This will have an impact on the weather. The dry seasons will become alot more dryer and the wet seasons will become alot more wetter. Leaving us with more floods and droughts. This change will therefore will impart the availability and quality of water. Some of the countries on this earth already have a hard enouch time getting water because of increaseing industrial pollution and population growth. Climate change just adds to the problem to the quality of water, which in some parts of the world the reduce rainfall and rising temperatures decrease the freshwater. By the year 2025 most of humans living in countries with poor water quality levels will increase from approximately 34 percent (in 1995) to 63 percent.R K Pachauri (2005) The change in accessing water stressed areas will have a potential conflict. As there will be a pressured demand on freshwater because of household, agricultural and industrial uses. These conflicts will occur in water stressed areas fighting against areas of natural springs and rivers as well as this it will lead to conflict on boundary areas for example the region of Northern Kenya and the Samburu is having to cope with the changing patterns of rainfall and dry periods which with other pressures on the natural resources are leading to increasing conflict among tribal groups over access to scarce water.Smith (2006) 2 Discussion Most of the earth has 70% of ocean. While just 30% of the earth is land. Around 84% of the worlds population is living on dry land. Humans are trying to fix this by reconstruction the hydrological cycle system by building dams and creating waste water treatment plants etc. These elements will provide water for agriculture, household, Industrial, environmental and other uses. But these changes will also lead to some defects in years to come. India is one of the most effected by climate change. The snow ice caps of the Himalayas is experienceing less snow because of snow melt. The glaciers is melting and there is signs of increase flooding. The increasing rising temperatures is starting to dry up the rivers. The Himalayas holds the largest amount ice on the earth. Researchers have figure out that there is a strong combination between snow and the temperature. In recent years the Himalayas have experienced warm periods in the years between 1960- 1990, causing a reduction in snow fall. Glaciers has been watched by researchers in the the past years. The United Nations climate report predicts by 2035 some Himalayan glaciers will disappear with the rising temperatures. Because of the glaciers melting the melting ice will run off into rivers such as the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and some tributaries coming from the Himalayan ice field. This will cause flooding to riverside cites e.g. Varanasi, Kanpur and Patna. These citys have a population of millions and have already experience floods during high monsoon season and it will be ongoing. Flooding will also cause interruption for the farming areas in northern parts of India and cause damage to the roads and rail way line. The dams such as the dams in Kosi ans Sutlej could over flow causing more destruction to cornfields and settlements. When the point of no ice is reached by 2035 the ice melting will have either stopped because of a solution to climate change or be dried up because of the continued temperature rising. If the ice does start to minimise the river will become weaker and dryer during the monsoon mouths and summer. As the earths temperatures rises from about 14 degrees C based in 2000 to a estimated 19 degrees C in 2100 the following effects will be cause by the increase; Agricultural, Household, Industrial, Environmental and health sea levels will rise to an estimated 3.9 in to estimated 35 by 2100. Some parts of the coastal cites around India e.g. Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other parts of the world will be underwater. Even most of the island around India will be covered in water. The island of Lohachara is the first island in the world to be covered in water due to climate change. The island is located on the southern edge of the Ganges delta in the bay of Bengal. Its 10,000 residents became the first refugees created because of climate change. There is a group of 27 island called Lakhadweep around the Arabian sea off the coast of south Indian state Kraal. They have a population of about 61,000 people living on them. The low lying islands are in huge danger of being covered in water as well. India is one of the world biggest countrys that effects the greenhouse effect. With the increased temperatures they will create a increase in precipitation. Rising the process of evaporation resulting from warmer sea temperatures in the Indian ocean and Arabian Sea will increase that destroy process around the west Indian Rajasthan Desert As well as the water resources being shorten because of climate change there is also another problem and that is that usually boundary countries sometime share the same water resource. There is some indentation that there has been conflict over freshwater shared by two or more countries. Freshwater is very important to all the worlds Humans activity, including the Agricultural, Household, Industrial and Environmental. But bad management and the impact of climate change can lead to tensions between different countries. For some years the counties such as India and Bangladesh have encountered conflict on river resources. It all started In 1993 when India and Bangladesh came under pressure when the Ganges River started to reach its record lows. Because the water level was low it affected Bangladesh agricultural and killed most of its crops. In October 1995, The Prime Minister of Bangladesh addressed the United Nations(UN) .The prime minister called India ¿Ã‚ ½s share of river water resources  ¿Ã‚ ½a gross violation of human rights and justice. ¿Ã‚ ½ India ¿Ã‚ ½s establishment of the Farrakka Barrage which is a barrage built near the border of Bangladesh. The barrage was build was to separate water for the Calcutta port. But Bangladesh says that because of this separation it has resulted in falling water tables and greater water resources for Bangladesh. India has a different view of the issue. Indian leaders says that Bangladesh was wrong in describing this issue. Bangladesh has asked India for a  ¿Ã‚ ½minimum guarantee ¿Ã‚ ½ agreement which will give Bangladesh a minimum flow of water. In 1996 India and Bangladesh agreed in the agreement then the  ¿Ã‚ ½Treaty on the Sharing of the Waters of the Gang ¿Ã‚ ½ was signed. Some political leader were unhappy about the agreement. But it was accepted my most political leaders. Since the treaty Bangladesh continues to have a number of problems. Some of the agreements that was agreed in the treaty have not been met. How are we going to fix this problem is the question we need to ask ourselfs I can see from my research that some efforts are being made to improve management in freshwater resources. Different organiseions have been developed to help the mather of climate change for example, the United Nation(UN) have organised the first water conference to take place in 1977 and developed an action plan to take action on the improved management and development of water resources and the UN designated 2003 as the international year of freshwater resources. The mission of the organision is to increase awareness of the importance of freshwater use, management and protection, provide an opportunity to change the implementation of the principles of integrated water resources management, use the year as a platform for promoting existing activity and spearheading new initiatives in water resources at the international, regional and national levels, and Launch the world water development report at the thir d world water forum in Kyoto. The World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) 2002 has emphasised on the development of an integrated water resources management and water efficiency plan.DEVELOPMENT (2003). Global Water Partnership(GWP) Is a network of agencies and intuitions to promote  ¿Ã‚ ½integrated water resource management ¿Ã‚ ½ in developing countries. It facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experience and practise related to water resources management.Partnerships (2010). World Water Council(WWC) is an international think-tank for water issues. It objective is to  ¿Ã‚ ½increase advocacy for improved water resources management ¿Ã‚ ½. WWC has been organising the World Water Forum(WWF) bi-annually. The 3rd Forum was held in Japan in march 2003.Council (2010). European Water Association Act as a focal point for the exchange of information related to water and water activities.Association (2010) 3 Conclusion I can conclude that because of climate change and the hydrological cycle it is having a slight long term effect on human water resources. I can see that it has close connections with the hydrological cycle. Because of this it will increases flooding, create dry lands and encounter conflict within countries. More acceleration to the hydrological cycle may result in more severe weather and extreme conditions.Anne E. Egger (2003) If we dont address this issue there will be further more problems in the future and lead to even more droughts and flooding. According to the Comprehensive Assessment Of Water Manage in Agriculture, one in three people are already facing water shortages(2007). Almost one-fifth of the world ¿Ã‚ ½s population, live in areas of physical scarcity. Climate change has a close connection between hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures will increase the changing liquid to vapour and lead to the increases in rainfall and snowfall. Because of this the overall supply of freshwater resources will increase, Droughts and floods will happen more frequently and changes in snowfall and snow melt are expected in mountainous areas more frequently. Reading about climate change has made me release that we take our freshwater for granted and dont think about what will happen if we lose the freshwater. Will we have to introduce water charges maintain better water systems.

My Friend Hamilton -Who I shot Essay -- essays research papers fc

A Historiographical Discussion of the Duel Between Aaron Burr and The duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton holds a significant relevance in American history and should be examined within the context of early American culture and politics. The recent historiography of the incident provides us with a complex, evolving web of conflicting interpretations. Since the day of this tragic duel, contemporaries and historians have puzzled over why these two prominent American statesmen confronted each other on the Plains of Weehawken. What circumstances or events could have motivated two of the most brilliant political minds in America to endanger their lives and reputations by taking aim at each other on that dismal day? The recent historiography of the event can be divided into two schools which I shall denote as the â€Å"contextual† school and the â€Å"psycho-historical† school. These differing â€Å"schools† demonstrate the complexity of history and the extent to which a variety of factors, including bias and changing frames of reference can influence interpretive study and conclusions. It is the object of this discussion, therefore, to examine the heretofore mentioned interpretations, and to critically analyze the differing ideas concerning the Burr-Hamilton duel. The most succinct version of the event, as told by Joseph J. Ellis reads On the morning of July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were rowed across the Hudson River in separate boats to a secluded spot near Weehawken, New Jersey. There, in accord with the customs of the code duello, they exchanged pistol shots at ten paces. Hamilton was struck on his right side and died the following day. Though unhurt, Burr found that his reputation suffered an equally fatal wound. In this, the most famous duel in American history, both participants were casualties.1 Almost every American is familiar with this most famous—and deadly—of American duels. Hamilton was celebrated and hailed as a martyr, and Burr was labeled a murderer and went on to undertake many strange adventures in the American west, eventually tried for treason for his purported conspiratorial intentions. Before engaging further in this discussion, one must first differentiate between what I have denoted as â€Å"contextual† history and â€Å"psycho-historical† history. I contend that â€Å"contextual† ... ...no. 1 (1995): 1-23. Schachner, Nathan. Aaron Burr: A Biography. New York, NY: A.S. & Barnes Company, 1961. Shalhope, Robert E. Review of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic, by Joanne B. Freeman. The Journal of American History 89, no. 2 (2002): 620-621. Schneidman, J. Lee and Conalee Levin-Schneidman. â€Å"Suicide or Murder? The Burr-Hamilton Duel.† Journal of Psychohistory 8, no. 2 (1980): 159-181. Stevens, William Oliver. Pistols at Ten Paces: The Story of the Code of Honor in America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940. Ward, Allen Mason. A History of the Roman People. 4th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall, 2003. Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations. 5th Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001. Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1991. Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1982. ----------. Honor and Violence in the Old South. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1980. My Friend Hamilton -Who I shot Essay -- essays research papers fc A Historiographical Discussion of the Duel Between Aaron Burr and The duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton holds a significant relevance in American history and should be examined within the context of early American culture and politics. The recent historiography of the incident provides us with a complex, evolving web of conflicting interpretations. Since the day of this tragic duel, contemporaries and historians have puzzled over why these two prominent American statesmen confronted each other on the Plains of Weehawken. What circumstances or events could have motivated two of the most brilliant political minds in America to endanger their lives and reputations by taking aim at each other on that dismal day? The recent historiography of the event can be divided into two schools which I shall denote as the â€Å"contextual† school and the â€Å"psycho-historical† school. These differing â€Å"schools† demonstrate the complexity of history and the extent to which a variety of factors, including bias and changing frames of reference can influence interpretive study and conclusions. It is the object of this discussion, therefore, to examine the heretofore mentioned interpretations, and to critically analyze the differing ideas concerning the Burr-Hamilton duel. The most succinct version of the event, as told by Joseph J. Ellis reads On the morning of July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were rowed across the Hudson River in separate boats to a secluded spot near Weehawken, New Jersey. There, in accord with the customs of the code duello, they exchanged pistol shots at ten paces. Hamilton was struck on his right side and died the following day. Though unhurt, Burr found that his reputation suffered an equally fatal wound. In this, the most famous duel in American history, both participants were casualties.1 Almost every American is familiar with this most famous—and deadly—of American duels. Hamilton was celebrated and hailed as a martyr, and Burr was labeled a murderer and went on to undertake many strange adventures in the American west, eventually tried for treason for his purported conspiratorial intentions. Before engaging further in this discussion, one must first differentiate between what I have denoted as â€Å"contextual† history and â€Å"psycho-historical† history. I contend that â€Å"contextual† ... ...no. 1 (1995): 1-23. Schachner, Nathan. Aaron Burr: A Biography. New York, NY: A.S. & Barnes Company, 1961. Shalhope, Robert E. Review of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic, by Joanne B. Freeman. The Journal of American History 89, no. 2 (2002): 620-621. Schneidman, J. Lee and Conalee Levin-Schneidman. â€Å"Suicide or Murder? The Burr-Hamilton Duel.† Journal of Psychohistory 8, no. 2 (1980): 159-181. Stevens, William Oliver. Pistols at Ten Paces: The Story of the Code of Honor in America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940. Ward, Allen Mason. A History of the Roman People. 4th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall, 2003. Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations. 5th Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001. Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1991. Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1982. ----------. Honor and Violence in the Old South. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1980.

Christina Rossettis Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Essay -- Cousin

Christina Rossetti's Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Rossetti's poetry has been described as both controlled and passionate. Making clear what you understand by the terms discuss which of these two views you have more sympathy with and why. Refer closely to at least three of the set poems. Christina Rossetti poetry uses concise structures but through these she expresses immense emotion; in this respect her poetry can accurately described as "both controlled and passionate" yet the two words are almost a paradox as passion is frequently seen to be at odds with controlled tight structures. Other poets have also followed in Rossetti's footsteps by combining tight structured poetic forms with emotion e.g. Dylan Thomas. L.E.L is a prime example of Rossetti's technique; it combines a complex structure with a very emotive outcry. The structure is very precise with each verse not only rhyming within itself, in an A, B, A, B, C, C, C pattern, but also within pairs of stanzas containing a pattern between them on the 5th to 8th lines. The 2nd and fourth lines provide visually rhyming lines throughout the poem connecting each verse although when the poem is read aloud the lines do not rhyme verbally. Rossetti also plays with structures in the poem, beginning with an elegiac stanza form ("a Quatrain of four iambic pentameters rhyming A, B, A, B" - Pears Cyclopaedia) before diversifying into her own version ending with C, C, C. The elegiac stanza form helps contribute to the passion by setting the tone for the poem while at the same time Rossetti alters the form to suit her needs showing creativity within her "control". The latter section of each stanza is in a different tone relating and contrasting the emot... ... with more flair in her earlier poetry, with later works settling into more conventional forms. Thus it is difficult to decide which argument to have more sympathy with as both control and passion are constantly intertwined and also changed as Rossetti grew older. Work Cited Rossetti, Christina. The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti. With Memoir and Notes &c. Ed. William Michael Rossetti. London; New York: Macmillan, 1904. Works Consulted Armstrong, Isobel. 'A Music of Thine Own': Women's Poetry. in: Joseph Bristow, Victorian Women Poets. Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1995, 32-63. Harrison, Antony H. Christina Rossetti in Context. Brighton: The Harvester Press, 1988. Marsh, Jan. Christina Rossetti. A Literary Biography. London and Sydney: Pimlico, 1995.

Waiting for the Sun :: Essays Paper

Waiting for the Sun 1 The theme of "Sweat" [Titles] is that in a fight between good and evil, good wins out eventually, because any evil done will come back to the source in time. There are three concepts that support this theme. They are conflict, irony and symbolism. 2 The conflict of the story is good vs. evil. Delia is good. She goes to church on a regular basis, sometimes more often than regularly. She continues to stay and fulfill her marital responsibilities, regardless of the fact that her husband is cruel. [She also kills Sykes, or at least lets him die.] 3 [Combine with previous paragraph.] Sykes is evil. He cheats on his wife and abuses her mentally, physically and verbally. The most evil thing Sykes does is let the snake loose in Delia’s hamper. His intent is that the snake will attack and bite Delia. Delia would die from the snake’s venom, and then she would be out of his life. 4 Irony supports the theme of this story. Sykes puts the snake into the hamper so that it will bite Delia when she goes to do the laundry. Instead, Delia gets away from the snake, and Sykes gets bit. This is ironic because Delia said, â€Å"What goes over the devils back, is got to come over his belly,†(762) earlier in the story. [What Delia says undercuts the irony.] 5 [Combine with previous paragraph.] Another irony of the story is when Delia notices there is only one match left. She curses Sykes for never getting any, and then she lights her lantern. When Sykes goes to get one, the match safe is empty. He is left in the dark because he never bought any matches. [Wouldn't one expect no matches if no one bought any? I don't see the irony.] 6 The most important concept of this story is symbolism. Sykes kicks a pile of white laundry, which symbolizes ["is"?] an evil act. The laundry is white which symbolizes good. Sykes â€Å"stepped roughly on the whitest pile† (761). A snake symbolizes evil or death. In the story the snake delivers the death.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Devore was mad, all right, mad as a hatter, and he couldn't have caught me at a worse, weaker, more terrified moment. And I think that everything from that moment on was almost pre-ordained. From there to the terrible storm they still talk about in this part of the world, it all came down like a rockslide. I felt fine the rest of Friday afternoon my talk with Bonnie left a lot of questions unanswered, but it had been a tonic just the same. I made a vegetable stir-fry (atonement for my latest plunge into the Fry-O-Lator at the Village Cafe) and ate it while I watched the evening news. On the other side of the lake the sun was sliding down toward the mountains and flooding the living room with gold. When Tom Brokaw closed up shop, I decided to take a walk north along The Street I'd go as far as I could and still be assured of getting home by dark, and as I went I'd think about the things Bill Dean and Bonnie Amudson had told me. I'd think about them the way I sometimes walked and thought about plot-snags in whatever I was working on. I walked down the railroad-tie steps, still feeling perfectly fine (confused, but fine), started off along The Street, then paused to look at the Green Lady. Even with the evening sun shining fully upon her, it was hard to see her for what she actually was just a birch tree with a half-dead pine standing behind it, one branch of the latter making a pointing arm. It was as if the Green Lady were saying go north, young man, go north. Well, I wasn't exactly young, but I could go north, all right. For awhile, at least. Yet I stood a moment longer, uneasily studying the face I could see in the bushes, not liking the way the little shake of breeze seemed to make what was nearly a mouth sneer and grin. I think perhaps I started to feel a little bad then, was too preoccupied to notice it. I set off north, wondering what, exactly, Jo might have written . . . for by then I was starting to believe she might have written something, after all. Why else had I found my old typewriter in her studio? I would go through the place, I decided. I would go through it carefully and . . . help im drown The voice came from the woods, the water, from myself. A wave of lightheadedness passed through my thoughts, lifting and scattering them like leaves in a breeze. I stopped. All at once I had never felt so bad, so blighted, in my life. My chest was tight. My stomach folded in on itself like a cold flower. My eyes filled with chilly water that was nothing like tears, and I knew what was coming. No, I tried to say, but the word wouldn't come out. My mouth filled with the cold taste of lakewater instead, all those dark minerals, and suddenly the trees were shimmering before my eyes as if I were looking up at them through clear liquid, and the pressure on my chest had become dreadfully localized and taken the shapes of hands. They were holding me down. ‘Won't it stop doing that?' someone asked almost cried. There was no one on The Street but me, yet I heard that voice clearly. ‘Won't it ever stop doing that?' What came next was no outer voice but alien thoughts in my own head. They beat against the walls of my skull like moths trapped inside a light-fixture . . . or inside a Japanese lantern. help I'm drown help I'm drown blue-cap man say git me blue-cap man say dassn't let me ramble help I'm drown lost my berries they on the path he holdin me he face shimmer n look bad lemme up lemme up 0 sweet Jesus lemme up oxen free allee allee oxen free? PLEASE OXEN FREE you go on and stop now ALLEE OXEN FREE she scream my name she scream it so LOUD I bent forward in an utter panic, opened my mouth, and from my gaping, straining mouth there poured a cold flood of . . . Nothing at all. The horror of it passed and yet it didn't pass. I still felt terribly sick to my stomach, as if I had eaten something to which my body had taken a violent offense, some kind of ant-powder or maybe a killer mushroom, the kind Jo's fungi guides pictured inside red borders. I staggered forward half a dozen steps, gagging dryly from a throat which still believed it was wet. There was another birch where the bank dropped to the lake, arching its white belly gracefully over the water as if to see its reflection by evening's flattering light. I grabbed it like a drunk grabbing a lamp-post. The pressure in my chest began to ease, but it left an ache as real as rain. I hung against the tree, heart fluttering, and suddenly I became aware that something stank an evil, polluted smell worse than a clogged septic pool which has simmered all summer under the blazing sun. With it was a sense of some hideous presence giving off that odor, something which should have been dead and wasn't. Oh stop, allee allee oxen free, I'll do anything only stop, I tried to say, and still nothing came out. Then it was gone. I could smell nothing but the lake and the woods . . . but I could see something: a boy in the lake, a little drowned dark boy lying on his back. His cheeks were puffed out. His mouth hung slackly open. His eyes were as white as the eyes of a statue. My mouth filled with the unmerciful iron of the lake again. Help me, lemme up, help I'm drown. I leaned out, screaming inside my head, screaming down at the dead face, and I realized I was looking up at myself, looking up through the rose-shimmer of sunset water at a white man in blue jeans and a yellow polo shirt holding onto a trembling, birch and trying to scream, his liquid face in motion, his eyes momentarily blotted out by the passage of a small perch coursing after a tasty bug, I was both the dark boy and the white man, drowned in the water and drowning in the air, is this right, is this what's happening, tap once for yes twice for no. I retched nothing but a single runner of spit, and, impossibly, a fish jumped at it. They'll jump at almost anything at sunset; something in the dying light must make them crazy. The fish hit the water again about seven feet from the bank, spanking out a circular silver ripple, and it was gone the taste in my mouth, the horrible smell, the shimmering drowned face of the Negro child a Negro, that was how he would have thought of himself whose name had almost surely been Tidwell. I looked to my right and saw a gray forehead of rock poking out of the mulch. I thought, There, right there, and as if in confirmation, that horrible putrescent smell puffed at me again, seemingly from the ground. I closed my eyes, still hanging onto the birch for dear life, feeling weak and sick and ill, and that was when Max Devore, that madman, spoke from behind me. ‘Say there, whoremaster, where's your whore?' I turned and there he was, with Rogette Whitmore by his side. It was the only time I ever met him, but once was enough. Believe me, once was more than enough. His wheelchair hardly looked like a wheelchair at all. What it looked like was a motorcycle sidecar crossed with a lunar lander. Half a dozen chrome wheels ran along both sides. Bigger wheels four of them, I think ran in a row across the back. None looked to be exactly on the same level, and I realized each was tied into its own suspension-bed. Devore would have a smooth ride over ground a lot rougher than The Street. Above the back wheels was an enclosed engine compartment. Hiding Devore's legs was a fiberglass nacelle, black with red pinstriping, that would not have looked out of place on a racing car. Implanted in the center of it was a gadget that looked like my DSS satellite dish . . . some sort of computerized avoidance system, I guessed. Maybe even an autopilot. The armrests were wide and covered with controls. Holstered on the left side of this machine was a green oxygen tank four feet long. A hose went to a clear plastic accordion tube; the accordion tube led to a mask whi ch rested in Devore's lap. It made me think of the old guy's Stenomask. Coming on the heels of what had just happened, I might have considered this Tom Clancyish vehicle a hallucination, except for the bumper-sticker on the nacelle, below the dish. I BLEED DODGER BLUE, it said. This evening the woman I had seen outside The Sunset Bar at Warrington's was wearing a white blouse with long sleeves and black pants so tapered they made her legs look like sheathed swords. Her narrow face and hollow cheeks made her resemble Edvard Munch's screamer more than ever. Her white hair hung around her face in a lank cowl. Her lips were painted so brightly red she seemed to be bleeding from the mouth. She was old and she was ugly, but she was a prize compared to Mattie's father-in-law. Scrawny, blue-lipped, the skin around his eyes and the corners of his mouth a dark exploded purple, he looked like something an archeologist might find in the burial room of a pyramid, surrounded by his stuffed wives and pets, bedizened with his favorite jewels. A few wisps of white hair still clung to his scaly skull; more tufts sprang from enormous ears which seemed to have melted like wax sculptures left out in the sun. He was wearing white cotton pants and a billowy blue shirt. Add a little black beret and he would have looked like a French artist from the nineteenth century at the end of a very long life. Across his lap was a cane of some black wood. Snugged over the end was a bright red bicycle grip. The fingers grasping it looked powerful, but they were going as black as the cane itself. His circulation was failing, and I couldn't imagine what his feet and his lower legs must look like. ‘Whore run off and left you, has she?' I tried to say something. A croak came out of my mouth, nothing more. I was still holding the birch. I let go of it and tried to straighten up, but my legs were still weak and I had to grab it again. He nudged a silver toggle switch and the chair came ten feet closer, halving the distance between us. The sound it made was a silky whisper; watching it was like watching an evil magic carpet. Its many wheels rose and fell independent of one another and flashed in the declining sun, which had begun to take on a reddish cast. And as he came closer, I felt the sense of the man. His body was rotting out from under him, but the force around him was undeniable and daunting, like an electrical storm. The woman paced beside him, regarding me with silent amusement. Her eyes were pinkish. I assumed then that they were gray and had picked up a bit of the coming sunset, but I think now she was an albino. ‘I always liked a whore,' he said. He drew the word out, making it horrrrrrr. ‘Didn't I, Rogette?' ‘Yes, sir,' she said. ‘In their place.' ‘Sometimes their place was on my face!' he cried with a kind of insane perkiness, as if she had contradicted him. ‘Where is she, young man? Whose face is she sitting on right now? I wonder. That smart lawyer you found? Oh, I know all about him, right down to the Unsatisfactory Conduct he got in the third grade. I make it my business to know things. It's the secret of my success.' With an enormous effort, I straightened up. ‘What are you doing here?' ‘Having a constitutional, same as you. And no law against it, is there? The Street belongs to anyone who wants to use it. You haven't been here long, young whoremaster, but surely you've been here long enough to know that. It's our version of the town common, where good pups and vile dogs may walk side-by-side.' Once more using the hand not bunched around the red bicycle grip, he picked up the oxygen mask, sucked deeply, then dropped it back in his lap. He grinned an unspeakable grin of complicity that revealed gums the color of iodine. ‘She good? That little horrrrrr of yours? She must be good to have kept my son prisoner in that nasty little trailer where she lives. And then along comes you even before the worms had finished with my boy's eyes. Does her cunt suck?' ‘Shut up.' Rogette Whitmore threw back her head and laughed. The sound was like the scream of a rabbit caught in an owl's talons, and my flesh crawled. I had an idea she was as crazy as he was. Thank God they were old. ‘You struck a nerve there, Max,' she said. ‘What do you want?' I took a breath . . . and caught a taste of that putrescence again. I gagged. I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it. Devore straightened in his chair and breathed deeply, as if to mock me. In that moment he looked like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, striding along the beach and telling the world how much he loved the smell of napalm in the morning. His grin widened. ‘Lovely place, just here, isn't it? A cozy spot to stop and think, wouldn't you say?' He looked around. ‘This is where it happened, all right. Ayuh.' ‘Where the boy drowned.' I thought Whitmore's smile looked momentarily uneasy at that. Devore didn't. He clutched for his translucent oxygen mask with an old man's overwide grip, fingers that grope rather than reach. I could see little bubbles of mucus clinging to the inside. He sucked deep again, put it down again. ‘Thirty or more folks have drowned in this lake, and that's just the ones they know about,' he said. ‘What's one boy, more or less?' ‘I don't get it. Were there two Tidwell boys who died here? The one that got blood-poisoning and the one ‘ ‘Do you care about your soul, Mr. Noonan? Your immortal soul? God's butterfly caught in a cocoon of flesh that will soon stink like mine?' I said nothing. The strangeness of what had happened before he arrived was passing. What replaced it was his incredible personal magnetism. I have never in my life felt so much raw force. There was nothing supernatural about it, either, and raw is exactly the right word. I might have run. Under other circumstances, I'm sure I would have. It certainly wasn't bravery that kept me where I was; my legs still felt rubbery, and I was afraid I might fall down. ‘I'm going to give you one chance to save your soul,' Devore said. He raised a bony finger to illustrate the concept of one. ‘Go away, my fine whoremaster. Right now, in the clothes you stand up in. Don't bother to pack a bag, don't even stop to make sure you turned off the stoveburners. Go. Leave the whore and leave the whorelet.' ‘Leave them to you.' ‘Ayuh, to me. I'll do the things that need to be done. Souls are for liberal arts majors, Noonan. I was an engineer.' ‘Go fuck yourself.' Rogette Whitmore made that screaming-rabbit sound again. The old man sat in his chair, head lowered, grinning sallowly up at me and looking like something raised from the dead. ‘Are you sure you want to be the one, Noonan? It doesn't matter to her, you know you or me, it's all the same to her.' ‘I don't know what you're talking about.' I drew another deep breath, and this time the air tasted all right. I took a step away from the birch, and my legs were all right, too. ‘And I don't care. You're never getting Kyra. Never in what remains of your scaly life. I'll never see that happen.' ‘Pal, you'll see plenty,' Devore said, grinning and showing me his iodine gums. ‘Before July's done, you'll likely have seen so much you'll wish you'd ripped the living eyes out of your head in June.' ‘I'm going home. Let me pass.' ‘Go home then, how could I stop you?' he asked. ‘The Street belongs to everyone.' He groped the oxygen mask out of his lap again and took another healthy pull. He dropped it into his lap and settled his left hand on the arm of his Buck Rogers wheelchair. I stepped toward him, and almost before I knew what was happening, he ran the wheelchair at me. He could have hit me and hurt me quite badly broken one or both of my legs, I don't doubt but he stopped just short. I leaped back, but only because he allowed me to. I was aware that Whitmore was laughing again. ‘What's the matter, Noonan?' ‘Get out of my way. I'm warning you.' ‘Whore made you jumpy, has she?' I started to my left, meaning to go by him on that side, but in a flash he had turned the chair, shot it forward, and cut me off. ‘Get out of the TR, Noonan. I'm giving you good ad ‘ I broke to the right, this time on the lake side, and would have slipped by him quite neatly except for the fist, very small and hard, that hammered the left side of my face. The white-haired bitch was wearing a ring, and the stone cut me behind the ear. I felt the sting and the warm flow of blood. I pivoted, stuck out both hands, and pushed her. She fell to the needle-carpeted path with a squawk of surprised outrage. At the next instant something clouted me on the back of the head. A momentary orange glow lit up my sight. I staggered backward in what felt like slow motion, waving my arms, and Devore came into view again. He was slued around in his wheelchair, scaly head thrust forward, the cane he'd hit me with still upraised. If he had been ten years younger, I believe he would have fractured my skull instead of just creating that momentary orange light. I ran into my old friend the birch tree. I raised my hand to my ear and looked unbelievingly at the blood on the tips of my fingers. My head ached from the blow he had fetched me. Whitmore was struggling to her feet, brushing pine needles from her slacks and looking at me with a furious smile. Her cheeks had filled in with a thin pink flush. Her too-red lips were pulled back to show small teeth. In the light of the setting sun her eyes looked as if they were burning. ‘Get out of my way,' I said, but my voice sounded small and weak. ‘No,' Devore said, and laid the black barrel of his cane on the nacelle that curved over the front of his chair. Now I could see the little boy who had been determined to have the sled no matter how badly he cut his hands getting it. I could see him very clearly. ‘No, you whore-fucking sissy. I won't.' He shoved the silver toggle switch again and the wheelchair rushed silently at me. If I had stayed where I was, he would have run me through with his cane as surely as any evil duke was ever run through in an Alexandre Dumas story. He probably would have crushed the fragile bones in his right hand and torn his right arm clean out of its socket in the collision, but this man had never cared about such things; he left cost-counting to the little people. If I had hesitated out of shock or incredulity, he would have killed me, I'm sure of it. Instead, I rolled to my left. My sneakers slid on the needle-slippery embankment for a moment. Then they lost contact with the earth and I was falling. I hit the water awkwardly and much too close to the bank. My left foot struck a submerged root and twisted. The pain was huge, something that felt like a thunderclap sounds. I opened my mouth to scream and the lake poured in that cold metallic dark taste, this time for real. I coughed it out and sneezed it out and floundered away from where I had landed, thinking The boy, the dead boy's down here, what if he reaches up and grabs me? I turned over on my back, still flailing and coughing, very aware of my jeans clinging clammily to my legs and crotch, thinking absurdly about my wallet I didn't care about the credit cards or driver's license, but I had two good snapshots of Jo in there, and they would be ruined. Devore had almost run himself over the embankment, I saw, and for a moment I thought he still might go. The front of his chair jutted over the place where I had fallen (I could see the short tracks of my sneakers just to the left of the bitch's partially exposed roots), and although the forward wheels were still grounded, the crumbly earth was running out from beneath them in dry little avalanches that rolled down the slope and pit-a-patted into the water, creating interlocking ripple patterns. Whitmore was clinging to the back of the chair, yanking on it, but it was much too heavy for her; if Devore was to be saved, he would have to save himself. Standing waist-deep in the lake with my clothes floating around me, I rooted for him to go over. The purplish claw of his left hand recaptured the silver toggle switch after several attempts. One finger hooked it backward, and the chair reversed away from the embankment with a final shower of stones and dirt. Whitmore leaped prankishly to one side to keep her feet from being run over. Devore fiddled some more with his controls, turned the chair to face me where I stood in the water, some seven feet out from the overhanging birch, and then nudged the chair forward until he was on the edge of The Street but safely away from the drop off. Whitmore had turned away from us entirely; she was bent over with her butt poking in my direction. If I thought about her at all, and I can't remember that I did, I suppose I thought she was getting her breath back. Devore appeared to be in the best shape of the three of us, not even needing a hit from the oxygen mask sitting in his lap. The late light was full in his face, making him look like a half-rotted jack-o'-lantern which has been soaked with gas and set on fire. ‘Enjoying your swim?' he asked, and laughed. I looked around, hoping to see a strolling couple or perhaps a fisherman looking for a place where he could wet his line one more time before dark . . . and yet at the same time I hoped I'd see no one. I was angry, hurt, and scared. Most of all I was embarrassed. I had been dunked in the lake by a man of eighty-five . . . a man who showed every sign of hanging around and making sport of me. I began wading to my right south, back toward my house. The water was about waist-deep, cool and almost refreshing now that I was used to it. My sneakers squelched over rocks and submerged tree-branches. The ankle I'd twisted still hurt, but it was supporting me. Whether it would continue to once I got out of the lake was another question. Devore twiddled his controls some more. The chair pivoted and came rolling slowly along The Street, keeping pace with me easily. ‘I didn't introduce you properly to Rogette, did I?' he said. ‘She was quite an athlete in college, you know. Softball and field hockey were her specialties, and she's held onto at least some of her skills. Rogette, demonstrate your skills for this young man.' Whitmore passed the slowly moving wheelchair on the left. For a moment she was blocked out by it. When I could see her again, I could also see what she was holding. She hadn't been bent over to get her breath. Smiling, she strode to the edge of the embankment with her left arm curled against her midriff, cradling the rocks she had picked up from the edge of the path. She selected a chunk roughly the size of a golfball, drew her hand back to her ear, and threw it at me. Hard. It whizzed by my left temple and splashed into the water behind me. ‘Hey!' I shouted, more startled than afraid. Even after everything that had preceded it, I couldn't believe this was happening. ‘What's wrong with you, Rogette?' Devore asked chidingly. ‘You never used to throw like a girl. Get him!' The second rock passed two inches over my head. The third was a potential tooth-smasher. I batted it away with an angry, fearful shout, not noticing until later that it had bruised my palm. At the moment I was only aware of her hateful, smiling face the face of a woman who has plunked down two dollars in a carny shooting-pitch and means to win the big stuffed teddybear even if she has to blast away all night. And she threw fast. The rocks hailed down around me, some splashing into the ruddy water to my left or right, creating little geysers. I began to backpedal, afraid to turn and swim for it, afraid that she would throw a really big one the minute I did. Still, I had to get out of her range. Devore, meanwhile, was laughing a wheezy old man's laugh, his wretched face crunched in on itself like the face of a malicious apple-doll. One of her rocks struck me a hard, painful blow on the collarbone and bounced high into the air. I cried out, and she did, too: ‘Hai!,' like a karate fighter who's gotten in a good kick. So much for orderly retreat. I turned, swam for deeper water, and the bitch brained me. The first two rocks she threw after I began to swim seemed to be range-finders. There was a pause when I had time to think I'm doing it, I'm getting beyond her area of . . . and then something hit the back of my head. I felt it and heard it the same way it went CLONK!, like something you'd read in a Batman comic. The surface of the lake went from bright orange to bright red to dark scarlet. Faintly I could hear Devore yelling approval and Whitmore squealing her strange laugh. I took in another mouthful of iron-tasting water and was so dazed I had to remind myself to spit it out, not swallow it. My feet now felt too heavy for swimming, and my goddam sneakers weighed a ton. I put them down to stand up and couldn't find the bottom I had gotten beyond my depth. I looked in toward the shore. It was spectacular, blazing in the sunset like stage-scenery lit with bright orange and red gels. I was probably twenty feet out from the shore now. Devore and Whitmore were at the edge of The Street, watching. They looked like Dad and Mom in a Grant Wood painting. Devore was using the mask again, but I could see him grinning inside it. Whitmore was grinning, too. More water sloshed in my mouth. I spit most of it out, but some went down, making me cough and half-retch. I started to sink below the surface and fought my way back up, not swimming but only splashing wildly, expending nine times the energy I needed to stay afloat. Panic made its first appearance, nibbling through my dazed bewilderment with sharp little rat teeth. I realized I could hear a high, sweet buzzing. How many blows had my poor old head taken? One from Whitmore's fist . . . one from Devore's cane . . . one rock . . . or had it been two? Christ, I couldn't remember. Get hold of yourself, for God's sake you're not going to let him beat you this way, are you? Drown you like that little boy was drowned? No, not if I could help it. I trod water and ran my left hand down the back of my head. Not too far above the nape I encountered a goose-egg that was still rising. When I pressed on it the pain made me feel like throwing up and fainting at the same time. Tears rose in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. There were only traces of blood on the tips of my fingers when I looked at them, but it was hard to tell about cuts when you were in the water. ‘You look like a woodchuck caught out in the rain, Noonan!' Now his voice seemed to roll to where I was, as if across a great distance. ‘Fuck you!' I called. ‘I'll see you in jail for this!' He looked at Whitmore. She looked back with an identical expression, and they both laughed. If someone had put an Uzi in my hands at that moment, I would have killed them both with no hesitation and then asked for a second clip so I could machine-gun the bodies. With no Uzi to hand, I began to dogpaddle south, toward my house. They paced me along The Street, he rolling in his whisper-quiet wheelchair, she walking beside him as solemn as a nun and pausing every now and then to pick up a likely-looking rock. I hadn't swum enough to be tired, but I was. It was mostly shock, I suppose. Finally I tried to draw a breath at the wrong time, swallowed more water, and panicked completely. I began to swim in toward the shore, wanting to get to where I could stand up. Rogette Whitmore began to fire rocks at me immediately, first using the ones she' had lined up between her left arm and her midriff, then those she'd stockpiled in Devore's lap. She was warmed up, she wasn't throwing like a girl anymore, and her aim was deadly. Stones splashed all around me. I batted another away a big one that likely would have cut open my forehead if it had hit but her follow-up struck my bicep and tore a long scratch there. Enough. I rolled over and swam back out beyond her range, gasping for breath, trying to keep my head up in spite of the growing ache in the back of my neck. When I was clear, I trod water and looked in at them. Whitmore had come all the way to the edge of the embankment, wanting to get every foot of distance she could. Hell, every damned inch. Devore was parked behind her in his wheelchair. They were both still grinning, and now their faces were as red as the faces of imps in hell. Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Another twenty minutes and it would be getting dark. Could I keep my head above water for another twenty minutes? I thought so, if I didn't panic again, but not much longer. I thought of drowning in the dark, looking up and seeing Venus just before I went under for the last time, and the panic-rat slashed me with its teeth again. The panic-rat was worse than Rogette and her rocks, much worse. Maybe not worse than Devore. I looked both ways along the lakefront, checking The Street wherever it wove out of the trees for a dozen feet or a dozen yards. I didn't care about being embarrassed anymore, but I saw no one. Dear God, where was everybody? Gone to the Mountain View in Fryeburg for pizza, or the Village Cafe for milkshakes? ‘What do you want?' I called in to Devore. ‘Do you want me to tell you I'll butt out of your business? Okay, I'll butt out!' He laughed. Well, I hadn't expected it to work. Even if I'd been sincere about it, he wouldn't have believed me. ‘We just want to see how long you can swim,' Whitmore said, and threw another rock -a long, lazy toss that fell about five feet short of where I was. They mean to kill me, I thought. They really do. Yes. And what was more, they might well get away with it. A crazy idea, both plausible and implausible at the same time, rose in my mind. I could see Rogette Whitmore tacking a notice to the cOMMUNITY DOIN'S board outside the Lakeview General Store. TO THE MARTIANS OF TR-90, GREETINGS! Mr, MAXWELL DEVORE, everyone's favorite Martian, will give each resident of the TR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS if no one will use The Street on FRIDAY EVENING, THE 17th OF JULY, between the hours of SEVEN and NINE P.M. Keep our ‘SUMMER FRIENDS' away, too! And remember: GOOD MARTIANS are like GOOD MONKEYS: they SEE no evil, HEAR no evil, and SPEAK no evil! I couldn't really believe it, not even in my current situation . . . and yet I almost could. At the very least I had to grant him the luck of the devil. Tired. My sneakers heavier than ever. I tried to push one of them off and succeeded only in taking in another mouthful of lakewater. They stood watching me, Devore occasionally picking the mask up from his lap and having a revivifying suck. I couldn't wait until dark. The sun exits in a hurry here in western Maine as it does, I guess, in mountain country everywhere but the twilights are long and lingering. By the time it got dark enough in the west to move without being seen, the moon would have risen in the east. I found myself imagining my obituary in the New York Times, the headline reading POPULAR ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVELIST DROWNS IN MAINE. Debra Weinstock would provide them with the author photo from the forthcoming Helen's Promise. Harold Oblowski would say all the right things, and he'd also remember to put a modest (but not tiny) death notice in Publishers Weekly. He would go half-and-half with Putnam on it, and I sank, swallowed more water, and spat it out. I began pummelling the lake again and forced myself to stop. From the shore, I could hear Rogette Whitmore's tinkling laughter. You bitch, I thought, you scrawny bi Mike, Jo said. Her voice was in my head, but it wasn't the one I make when I'm imagining her side of a mental dialogue or when I just miss her and need to whistle her up for awhile. As if to underline this, something splashed to my right, splashed hard. When I looked in that direction I saw no fish, not even a ripple. What I saw instead was our swimming float, anchored about a hundred yards away in the sunset-colored water. ‘I can't swim that far, baby,' I croaked. ‘Did you say something, Noonan?' Devore called from the shore. He cupped a mocking hand to one of his huge waxlump ears. ‘Couldn't quite make it out! You sound all out of breath!' More tinkling laughter from Whitmore. He was Johnny Carson; she was Ed Mcmahon. You can make it. I'll help you. The float, I realized, might be my only chance there wasn't another one on this part of the shore, and it was at least ten yards beyond Whitmore's longest rockshot so far. I began to dogpaddle in that direction, my arms now as leaden as my feet. Each time I felt my head on the verge of going under I paused, treading water, telling myself to take it easy, I was in pretty good shape and doing okay, telling myself that if I didn't panic I'd be all right. The old bitch and the even older bastard resumed pacing me, but they saw where I was headed and the laughter stopped. So did the taunts. For a long time the swimming float seemed to draw no closer. I told myself that was just because the light was fading, the color of the water draining from red to purple to a near-black that was the color of Devore's gums, but I was able to muster less and less conviction for this idea as my breath shortened and my arms grew heavier. When I was still thirty yards away a cramp struck my left leg. I rolled sideways like a swamped sailboat, trying to reach the bunched muscle. More water poured down my throat. I tried to cough it out, then retched and went under with my stomach still trying to heave and my fingers still looking for the knotted place above the knee. I'm really drowning, I thought, strangely calm now that it was happening. This is how it happens, this is it. Then I felt a hand seize me by the nape of the neck. The pain of having my hair yanked brought me back to reality in a flash it was better than an epinephrine injection. I felt another hand clamp around my left leg; there was a brief but terrific sense of heat. The cramp let go and I broke the surface swimming really swimming this time, not just dog-paddling, and in what seemed like seconds I was clinging to the ladder on the side of the float, breathing in great, snatching gasps, waiting to see if I was going to be all right or if my heart was going to detonate in my chest like a hand grenade. At last my lungs started to overcome my oxygen debt, and everything began to calm down. I gave it another minute, then climbed out of the water and into what was now the ashes of twilight. I stood facing west for a little while, bent over with my hands on my knees, dripping on the boards. Then I turned around, meaning this time to flip them not just a single bird but that fabled double eagle . There was no one to flip it to. The Street was empty. Devore and Rogette Whitmore were gone. Maybe they were gone. I'd do well to remember there was a lot of Street I couldn't see. I sat cross-legged on the float until the moon rose, waiting and watching for any movement. Half an hour, I think. Maybe forty-five minutes. I checked my watch, but got no help there; it had shipped some water and stopped at 7:30 P.M. To the other satisfactions Devore owed me I could now add the price of one Timex Indiglo that's $29.95, asshole, cough it up. At last I climbed back down the ladder, slipped into the water, and stroked for shore as quietly as I could. I was rested, my head had stopped aching (although the knot above the nape of my neck still throbbed steadily), and I no longer felt off-balance and incredulous. In some ways, that had been the worst of it trying to cope not just with the apparition of the drowned boy, the flying rocks, and the lake, but with the pervasive sense that none of this could be happening, that rich old software moguls did not try to drown novelists who strayed into their line of sight. Had tonight's adventure been a case of simple straying into Devore's view, though? A coincidental meeting, no more than that? Wasn't it likely he'd been having me watched ever since the Fourth of July . . . maybe from the other side of the lake, by people with high-powered optical equipment? Paranoid bullshit, I would have said . . . at least I would have said it before the two of them almost sank me in Dark Score Lake like a kid's paper boat in a mudpuddle. I decided I didn't care who might be watching from the other side of the lake. I didn't care if the two of them were still lurking on one of the tree-shielded parts of The Street, either. I swam until I could feel strands of waterweed tickling my ankles and see the crescent of my beach. Then I stood up, wincing at the air, which now felt cold on my skin. I limped to shore, one hand raised to fend off a hail of rocks, but no rocks came. I stood for a moment on The Street, my jeans and polo shirt dripping, looking first one way, then the other. It seemed I had this little part of the world to myself. Last, I looked back at the water, where weak moonlight beat a track from the thumbnail of beach out to the swimming float. ‘Thanks, Jo,' I said, then started up the railroad ties to the house. I got about halfway, then had to stop and sit down. I had never been so utterly tired in my whole life.