Goblin Market

chrSomone Jackson Mr. Price English 2223 01 28 October 2012 Christina Rossetti’s â€Å"Goblin Market† One of the strongest emotions inherent in humans is desire. Christina Rossetti poem â€Å"Goblin Market† is filled with many suggestive pieces referring to different kinds of fruits that play upon the hidden desire. From exotic fruit to sweet nectars, she has her audience wondering about her true meaning for the fruit. The question to be answers is what are the â€Å"fruits† being offered to the girls?Many people believed that the poem was directed towards being gay or lesbian just by the vivid language Rossetti used in her poem, but in all actuality that theory was far from being right. During the Victorian period, emphasis was put on ladies to be very conservative. Christine Rossetti’s Goblin Market defies the confinements of the Victorian age while romantically critiquing what takes place in the dark outside of the regality of social circles in r elation to forbidden sexuality. In the poem ‘fruit† was referenced many times in relations to the goblin men.In a sense the â€Å"fruit† can be related to the old Christian story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. The forbidden fruit was Eve weakness but was her desire to have it lead to her demise. The context of the fruit in Goblin Market has explicit sexual connotations that lend to an instructive and more importantly, cautioning perspective on sexual activity. From the very first stanza, with its descriptions of luscious fruits for sale in the â€Å"Goblin Market,† some hard to find but summer ripe, one cannot help but read these mouth-watering depictions with sexuality in mind.Examples of this would be â€Å"Plump unpecked cherries† (Rossetti 7) and â€Å"Figs to fill your mouth, Citron from the South, Sweet to tongue and sound to eye;† (Rossetti 28-30). The â€Å"fruit† mention throughout the poem can be linked to the idea o f an addiction. Being that the â€Å"fruit† was forbidden â€Å"Their offers should not charm us, / Their evil gifts would harm us† (Rossetti 65-66), once eaten one will become addicted and wanted more. Furthermore, Rossetti did relate her poems to the Victorian period which ncluded women and their drug, alcohol, and prostitution abuse. So in those instances the fruit can be looked upon as the drug, â€Å"She suck'd and suck'd and suck'd the more, Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; She suck'd until her lips were sore;† (Rossetti 134-136). Laura basically indulged the fruit as if it was a temptation so sweet that every ounce of juice had to be savored. Sadly as soon as she consumed the fruit her addiction set in.Laura wanted more of the â€Å"fruit† but was upset because she could not find anymore, so as a consequence she fell into a deep depression that could possibly lead to her death. Rossetti does make some references to her brother D. G. Rossetti poem â€Å"Jenny†. References made in Christina Rossetti poem were â€Å"Mindful of Jeanie, Give me much and many; Held out her apron, Tossed them her penny. (Rossetti 365-367). â€Å"Goblin Market† shows a lot of her brother Dante’s influence, and references to his poem â€Å"Jenny† several times. Christina likely borrowed the idea of goblins and Jeanie from his poem also. Jenny† is told through the eyes of the man, while the woman in question is asleep, reinforcing the argument that Christina Rossetti meant to illustrate the experience of prostitution from a female’s perspective. To continue to focus on the matter at hand which is the â€Å"fruit† that is being offered to the girls in â€Å"Goblin Market. For one the Victorian period, once stated before, is related to women and prostitution and Rossetti poem played upon that in a fairy tale way. Lesbian acts were taken out of perspective when people read the poem but once Rossetti clarified the intentions of the poem people where more forgiven.Since Laura indulged in the forbidden fruit she did become addicted to it and Lizzie being her sister wanted to get her more fruit so that she will return to her normal state of mind. Just like drugs will make a person do crazy things for it Lizzie did not want to her sister suffer from depression and death. Ultimately Lizzie saved her sister from the bad affects that the fruit brought upon here due to poor decision making and at the end of the story they both grew up and had children of their own. Overall the basic concept of the fruit that is given to the girls is more like a drug.The unspoken lesbian act that many Victorian perceived was way out of context. The fruit symbolized the drug that the prostitute, Laura, wanted to get from the goblin in return all she had was an addiction. Thanks to a strong sisterhood and not anything related to gays, Lizzie was able to break the habit and they both grew old and had their own families. Work Cited Black, Joseph. â€Å"Goblin Market† The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Concise ed. Volume B. Canada, Ontario. 2007. 810-817. Print.

Internet Cafe Management System

Cost reduction is the process used by companies to reduce their costs and increase their profits. Depending on a company’s services or Product, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the product development process affects cost. Companies typically launch a new product without focusing too much on cost. Cost becomes more important when competition increases and price becomes a differentiator in the market. In linear programming, reduced cost, or opportunity cost, is the amount by which an objective function coefficient would have to improve (so increase for maximization problem, decrease for minimization problem) before it would be possible for a corresponding variable to assume a positive value in the optimal solution. It is the cost for increasing a variable by a small amount, i. e. , the first derivative from a certain point on the polyhedron that constrains the problem. When the point is a vertex in the polyhedron, the variable with the most extreme cost, negatively for minimisation and positively maximisation, is sometimes referred to as the steepest edge. Given a system minimize subject to , the reduced cost vector can be computed as , where is the dual cost vector. It follows directly that for a minimisation problem, any non-basic variables at their lower bounds with strictly negative reduced costs are eligible to enter that basis, while any basic variables must have a reduced cost that is exactly 0. For a maximisation problem, the non-basic variables at their lower bounds that are eligible for entering the basis have a strictly positive reduced cost. Business process re-engineering is a business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. [1] In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. [2] BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering emphasized a holistic focus on business objectives and how processes related to them, encouraging full-scale recreation of processes rather than iterative optimization of subprocesses. [1] Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management.

Child Custody and Support Laws Should Be Changed Essay

Present child custody and support laws do not make any sense. They often penalize hard working parents and alienate parents from children they love. These laws must be re-examined and revised so that the best interest of children be served at all times. John Smith lives with his new wife and her four children, ages 4 to 14. He is the only father that these youngsters have known, and he provides for them in all the ways that a father must. John Smith must pay $1,000 to his ex-wife, a woman he divorced 12 years ago, but with whom he had two children, ages 14 and 15. He barely sees his children, and when he does, the situation is strained and the children act like they would rather be somewhere else. John believes that he would rather have had primary custody of his children: he would have participated more actively in their upbringing, and he would have stayed closer to them, and he would have made a better parent that their mother. He resents that he was not given the opportunity to be closer to his children; instead, the courts had given custody to her; she was their mother, and that was all that counted. Now, they are almost strangers to him. John is angry that the system is holding him hostage to his ex-wife by mandating that he pay her $1,000 a month, even though they’ve been divorced for 12 years, even though she refuses to seek employment to contribute to her children’s support, even though he must struggle to make ends meet with his new family. John Smith is one of 3 million divorced men who have had very little control over decisions of custody and child support. These men feel that as implemented, these laws favor the mothers and force men into choosing to become deadbeat dads. Show status of situation: how many children live in divorced homes; what percentage of das get custody; show how in a typical situation, mothers get custody, and fathers paay support. This situation must change, laws must be designed to treat all equitably and fairly, and in this particular case, the primary concern should be the best interest of the children in divorce situations. I.Custody decisions should be based on who is the better parent II.As much as possible, both parents should have equal access to their children III.Child support rules should demand equally from both parents IV.Rules should allow non-custodial parent enough finances to live his/her life V.Payment should be linked to visitation, etc

Sustainable Container Ports Development Case Study

Sustainable Container Ports Development - Case Study Example Certain ports may be handicapped due to obsolete machinery or being understaffed. In such cases, they find it hard to handle voluminous business, leading to backlogs. Such contingencies can damage business and lead to huge financial losses.‘The need to improve Terminal Efficiency was addressed amongst other things during the execution of the 5th EU sponsored 5th FWP project THERAPIST. Of particular interest was the contribution made in Work Package 4, the aim of developing â€Å"means† for gathering and intelligently using Data from Identified Sources. These â€Å"means† comprised of Object Oriented, Relational Database and Electronic Terminal Planning Board. Together they addressed very comprehensively, the bottleneck ‘Port’ described in the EC publication â€Å"COM99 317 en final Development of SSS in Europe†, 1999 (EC, 1999) , where shortcomings of port infrastructure and port inefficiency were commented upon and ‘port turn-a-round tim e’ was singled out as one of these inefficiencies. WP4 proposes â€Å"Means† aimed at increasing the efficiency of small to medium-sized ports by specifically increasing their commercial attractiveness to regional exporters and importers’ (Felix A Schmidt, Felix A Schmidt and Robert Young, 2005). This was a method thought to reduce the operational backlog and enhance coordination between different wings of the port.Situations like that of above and others wherein ports are too small to handle create extreme pressure on the exporter and port authorities. The government then takes up a feasibility study to modify or develop a new port/terminal to ease the pressure. China and India are two countries that have witnessed such a situation, due to their surplus volume of imports and exports. The major ports faced innumerable problems due to the high-density flow of bulk consignments, such as automobiles, heavy machinery, and food products and so on.

Development of Phoneme Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Development of Phoneme Perception - Essay Example It is possible that there could be listeners whose discrimination patterns nearly manifest the phonetic system of their corresponding native language(s). In relation to this, Maye, Werker and Gerken (2002) demonstrated that there are possibilities by which infants may lose their ability to distinguish certain foreign language contrasts according to their sensitivity to the dispersal of sounds in the language input. When a child becomes aware that spoken words are comprised with sounds, he or she is described to have achieved "phonological awareness." The phonological awareness can exist in the form of awareness of rhyme, awareness of syllables, awareness of the onsets of words, etc. Phoneme awareness is essential to the process of learning to read; and explicitly teaching phoneme awareness facilitates reading acquisition, in the later stage of childhood. Research have shown that reading failure is linked to deficiency of phoneme awareness. It is important therefore, that early childhood teachers should be active in phoneme manipulation; demonstrate knowledge on the spoken words as it made up of phonemes which can be rearranged to make different words. Added cognitive benefits for young children that are at the same time exposed to more than one language is that they may have greater neural activity as well as denser tissue in the fragile areas of the brain which are related to many functions like memory, association, attention, and language than those who are monolingual learners. These variables are connected with long-term and positive cognitive outcomes (Bialystok 2001, Kovelman, Baker, Mechelli et al., 2004; & Petitto, 2006). Investigation on Performance on Native-languageStudies on the performance on native language is not new. Kuhl, et al. (2004) have conducted experiments on this topic. They compared and contrasted the 6-8 and 10-12 months Mandarin learning infants and American infants' listening to their respective native-language. The participants of the study were the 17 American infants whose mean age is 6-8 months (ten boys; seven girls) and 19 American infants whose mean age is 10-12 months (ten boys; nine girls). The two groups were recruited via the database of an Infant Studies Subject Pool ISSP based in University of Washington. There was same inclusion and exclusion criteria in the selection of the subjects. As part of the procedures, computer synthesized tokens in English were utilized and created using a male voice. The voice were matched in all acoustic details aside from the temporal features in the event of the initial portion of the consonants. The amplitude elevation time was 30 ms lo wer than the frication period to generate more natural-sounding conversation for English speakers. Also, the duration of the vowel reached 245 Your Name 3 minutes. The procedure and apparatus were just the same to that used to investigate perceptual development among infants' speech differentiation on native and non-native contrasts. Results/Findings The English and Mandarin-learning infants manifested

Effects of Human Dimension on Organisational Behaviour Essay

Effects of Human Dimension on Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example The paper, therefore, makes it possible to define the best means of managing organizational behaviour through the simple task of managing attitudes and motivation.   This is because Walton (2007) noted that it is not all forms of organizational behaviour that promotes growth. Drory & Ritov (1997) noted that attitudes are evaluative judgments or statements made about people within an organization. This means that attitude embodies people’s habitual nature, readily associated or identifiable with them within the organization. The attitudes of people, however, do not always come in one form as there are three key components of attitude common with organizational members. The first component is the cognitive component, which Canary, Coach and Serape (2001) noted to be the form of attitude that highlights people’s opinion and beliefs. Because of the relationship between cognitive component of attitude and opinion, it is often seen as a means by which people give personal e valuation on actions that take place within the organization (Samovar and Porter, 2011). A typical example is the evaluative attitude of people when there is a promotion at the workplace. In such situations, employees are likely to evaluate the promotion as either being deserving of the person or not. Where the person’s evaluation says the person promoted did not deserve the promotion, chances are that a negative attitude will be developed towards that person. Meanwhile, where  there is a negative attitude, an organizational behaviour may be negatively affected due to the possibility of frequent organizational conflict.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment Example Most sweatshop employees are working in incredibly harsh conditions and suffer a great deal. Surprisingly, this is even a problem for staff in North America, because all of the jobs go to employees in sweatshops since they get paid barely anything to work. The manufacturers of these products are perfectly satisfied with providing incredibly low wages because it is not against the law to make deals like this. The employees are suffering while the manufacturers are extremely wealthy. The press is constantly describing the troubles that the sweatshops cause for their employees. As mentioned, the conditions are incredibly harsh and no Canadian or American worker would survive in those conditions. Some Mexicans even try crossing deserts in order to escape the rule of the sweatshop employer. Some of the measures that can be done to prevent people working in sweatshops is to create North American ideas to consumers about avoiding buying products from those labels. If Nike does not sell anyt hing, it can no longer function and would have to close down.

Risk Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Risk Management - Research Paper Example Having seen the danger posed by this kind of storing cash within a business, strategists came up with a number of ways to prevent cash theft by employees (Fennelly 39). One of the most fundamental ways of preventing employee theft while operating a cash drawer is to employ honest and trustworthy personnel. Another crucial method of preventing employee theft while operating a cash drawer is to always be aware of the cash in the inventory, store, security, and staff behaviors at all times. In this way, an employer is able to prevent any sort of losses through employee theft since security is intensive (Fennelly 50). Thirdly, an employer can prevent employee theft by monitoring their access. Generally, managers should find it necessary to always be informed of what is happening in the business’ cash drawer. In this way, the managers are able to know which employees have codes and keys to the cash drawer; therefore, in case of any loss they know who is accountable. Fourthly, havin g cash handling processes that does not give room for mistakes can aid in preventing employee theft cases (Ramsey and Ramsey 57). Fifthly, being always present and available for the team is very substantial in preventing employee theft. ... Apart from that, maintaining employee monitoring after undergoing an intensive training is very important when it comes to preventing shoplifting when using a cash drawer. Immediately after the newly employed staff concludes its training, setting up measures that will see proper monitoring of the staff is a sure way of preventing any sort of shoplifting, especially at times when the store is using a cash drawer system. There is also the method of establishing single or simply individual cash drawers for every employee, which have similar balancing procedure at the end of every single day (Wallace and Larry 55). Moreover, initiating a management sign offs in each refund, void, and refund deposit in a store that employs the cash drawer system of storing money is relevant and can help prevent shoplifting. Such strategies are suitable for preventing large-scale losses that may result from possible â€Å"pay outs† (Fennelly 77). In addition to that, a manager can help prevent shopl ifting in a store that uses a cash drawer by putting into place a regular inspection program that goes through register journal tapes and finds out if there are any irregularities. Piecing together a system that allows advent and regular inspection of largely what goes around the store facilitates security and prevents shoplifting in places where they use cash drawers (Ramsey and Ramsey 68). Disaster and recovery plan Commonly, a disaster and recovery plan is planning of a business that seeks to ensure its continuity even after the occurrence of disruptive event that may be in the form of a hurricane, snow, and/or even a simple power outage that may occur anywhere next or close to the business. In a disaster and

Origin and establishment of Christianity in Armenia Essay

Origin and establishment of Christianity in Armenia - Essay Example The foundation of the Armenian Apostolic Church was continued by St. Bartholomew, another Christ’ disciple, who came to Armenia and preached mostly in the province of Siunik, where he martyred. He is probably mentioned in the gospels under the name of Nathanael. He started his preaching in Armenia in the Koghtan region where he founded a church. Two apostles started two lines of bishops, the Sees of Ardaz and Siunik. Notwithstanding the lack of written documents or objective evidence, as well as gaps in the lines, historians have to admit the succession of bishops basing on the tradition. According to different versions, the See of Ardaz is ascribed from seven to nine bishops, including Zaharia, Zementus, Atrnerseh, Moshe, Sghahen, Shavarsh, Ghevondius, and Mehoroujan, with a name missing for the years 193-230 and eight or five bishops, the successors of St. Bartholomew. The two sets were not independent of each other but had the same centers in Edessa and Caesarea.The amount of Christian enlarged steadily, though the persecutions continued. The Armenian King Sanatruk was followed by Vaharsh, Khorsov I and Trdat III. However, it was during the reign of the latter that Christianity was established as an official church of the Armenia, which is said to be the first precedent in the world’s history. The adoption of Christianity by Trdat is surrounded with legends that much influenced the religious literature of Armenia created in the following centuries and shaped the religious outlook of the people.

American Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Democracy - Essay Example To ensure, however, that tendencies toward despotic rule being entitled as well to a right as such are not tolerated, ‘Madisonian’ democracy prioritizes power of the majority to restrain any political behavior that eventually leads to concentration on self-interests by the body of authority. Necessitating for each American citizen to acquire proper education by right rather than privilege is one tradition which gives evidence to the application of Madisonian concept. In this setting, the government engages in full support of fair academic provisions across citizenry through institutions where learning individuals acknowledge the assistance granted. This, in return, enables the latter to realize a sense of responsibility by taking care to accomplish conscientious studies in pursuit of careers that would serve the interest of fellow Americans besides that of oneself. American democratic processes, moreover, may be envisioned to abide by the belief of Madisonian democracy h aving considered the existence of cooperative federalism. Accepting a system of federal governance designed to summon cooperation within various levels of government for supreme advantage that affects the collaborating states involved is such a picture of ideal democracy which the Civil Rights movement had yearned for at length. At a stage when stated-based societies are stratified into the three common social classes namely—upper class, middle class, and lower class, Civil Rights politics may be perceived with respect to the goal of achieving equality of rights regardless of social differentiation. Based on the proposition by the American sociologist T. Parsons, â€Å"stability and order, in part, depend upon a universal value† which is likely to undergo transformation with the political movement in action. Consequently, since almost every U.S. civilian has been able to exercise the freedom of speech and to be distinct in thought and act, participation in Civil Rights protest, apparently, may come in various styles or modes of implementation. In which case, the movement bears the capacity to generate new set of principles which embed onto the older substance of Civil Rights. On the other hand, since the theoretically ideal approach of pluralism requires an acceptance of inequality under a generalized authority of central governments, then the democratic paths to Civil Rights can be altered with time and circumstances brought by social and political differences among people. This way, such differences manifest in competing interests within a marketplace of preferences that occur to be culturally diverse so that the most proactive individuals raise arguments, share intellects, and join forces with the objective of reshaping policies and terms within the society, the economy, and the politics altogether. The varying resources, as it turns out, gradually function to satisfy higher forms of advantage throughout the nation. Instead of productive arran gements nevertheless hyperpluralism, according to a general assessment on policymakers, proves to arrive typically at intricate policies that seem to lead their subjects to disillusionment. Being an exaggerated version of its pluralist counterpart, the rather pessimistic theory of hyperpluralism yields to a state of imbalance between powers of the government and the authorities granted to groups that have been tasked to remedy areas of conflict which are

Gender Roles in The Thin Man Essay Example for Free

Gender Roles in The Thin Man Essay The period of the 1930s was an offshoot of the â€Å"roaring twenties† or the â€Å"jazz age†, a time when women gained a heightened sense of prominence in the society after the First World War saw young men leaving their homes and their work in response to the nation’s call to arms (Freedman, 1974, p. 374). Towards the end of the war and at the beginning of the 1930s, women became more in control of their liberty, proof of which is their newly recognized right to suffrage (Murphy, 1996, p. 52). They became regular members of the social workforce, thereby giving them a renewed sense of control over their lives. The â€Å"flapper†Ã¢â‚¬â€young women who defied the norms of what a conservative woman is by engaging in casual sex and wearing short skirts, among others—took the center stage, so to speak. As for men, such circumstances only brought them closer to the temptation of pleasing the opposite sex. This is clearly portrayed in the 1934 film The Thin Man. In the film, Nick Charles and his wife Nora represent the life of married couples whose lives are characterized primarily by the attitudes of the social elites—fun meant enjoying martinis and sleuthing. In a way, the couple captures the gender roles of each partner during the 1930s. Nora was a wealthy heiress who had almost everything at her disposal. She was beautiful and seemed to have a passion for adventure owing largely to her living a life of liberty. She was the 1930s woman who saw life as the ultimate provider of adventure in all its daring forms. Nick was a handsome man and a retired private detective who previously investigated and solved murders. He was the 1930s man who was deeply entrenched with his passion for resolving issues no matter what it takes, much to the amusement of the female partner. In fact, Nora was more than delighted upon knowing that Nick accepted the task of investigating the disappearance of his friend Clyde Wynant and the death of Clyde’s former girlfriend, Julia Wolfe. It leaves little room to speculate that Nora was indeed the typical 1930s woman who seized her liberty as if it would never run out, putting her self to risky situations together with her man. She portrayed the woman who embraced the â€Å"flapper† culture with open arms, spending her time drinking alcohol or romantically engaging her partner. While she remained supportive of Nick like a female partner might usually commit herself into, she was on her own a liberal minded individual. For the most part, Nick played the role of the adventurous husband which perfectly complements Nora’s interest in the same. He was someone who lived every danger with such boldness. He was someone who sought the pleasure of his spouse—from accepting her request for him to take the case to completely allowing her to partake in his drinking sessions—no matter what the cost may be. It goes to show that Nick was a man who shared entirely similar interests with his spouse and will gladly fulfill whatever it is that will make his woman happy. It was his role to please his woman. On the other hand, it was the woman’s role to act is if she was herself a man, fully absorbed in exactly the same interests as the husband’s. Here we see the approximate gender roles prevalent during the 1930s. Men and women had more similarities than differences as far as their inclinations are concerned. To a certain degree, there was no â€Å"woman†. Woman drank, dressed and acted in an unconventional so that they may be desired by the opposite sex, and actively participated in fairly dangerous tasks. Her liberty stood at the very core of her character and this made her more appealing to every man. Towards the end of the film, Nick gives in to the implied gesture of Nora to spend the night together in the same bed. The scene is revealing insofar as it gives rise to the idea that women exerted a certain influence or power over men especially when it comes to passionate affairs. The 1930s woman had too much liberty, in fact, that she can do anything she pleases and become pleased in the end. Nevertheless, the 1930s man still had a lot to do with her sources of pleasure. References Dyke, W. S. V. (Director). (1934). The Thin Man. United States: MGM. Freedman, E. B. (1974). The New Woman: Changing Views of Women in the 1920s. The Journal of American History, 61(2), 372-393. Murphy, M. (1996). ‘ And All That Jazz’: Changing Manners and Morals after World War I. Montana: The Magazine of Western History, 46(4), 50-63.

A Man Named Dave Essay Example for Free

A Man Named Dave Essay A Man Named Dave is a sad story of an abused child named Dave and his life as a grown man. The book has to do with a persons mind and how it reacts to different situations and events, such as being abused. This story touches your heart and makes you appreciate life and all it has to offer. Dave Spencer wrote this book to tell the world the affects of abuse and to change peoples lives. Dave does a brilliant job and by reading the book, it really changes your life. Dave presents abuse in this book very well and really shows the affects of it. Dave wrote the book exactly how it happened in real life. A Man Named Dave makes you want you know how or why someone can abuse a child and ruin his/her life. There is only one problem with the book, it some times gets the audience confused by switching back-and-forth from present and the past. This I think is what Dave could work on. The book is very entertaining and makes you want more. A Man Named Dave affected my life quite a bit. It made me look at life differently and made me appreciate it more. The book makes you see the outcome of abuse and understand it a little more. The most interesting part in the book is when Dave goes to his mother’s home and tries to find out why she abused him. It gets very emotional. The least interesting part is when Dave goes to his grandmother’s home to seek answers. The grandmother just doesn’t know when to shut her mouth up. I recommend this book to everyone and think everyone should read it. A Man Named Dave was written to stop abuse and to change lives. I believe it has. This book gets very emotional and may make you cry. A Man Named Dave will change the way you act and it will change the way you live.

Understanding What Is The Sustainable Development Politics Essay

Understanding What Is The Sustainable Development Politics Essay Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:[1] Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the worlds poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environments ability to meet present and future needs. All definitions of sustainable development require that we see the world as a system-a system that connects space; and a system that connects time. When you think of the world as a system over space, you grow to understand that air pollution from North America affects air quality in Asia, and that pesticides sprayed in Argentina could harm fish stocks off the coast of Australia. And when you think of the world as a system over time, you start to realize that the decisions our grandparents made about how to farm the land continue to affect agricultural practice today; and the economic policies we endorse today will have an impact on urban poverty when our children are adults. We also understand that quality of life is a system, too. Its good to be physically healthy, but what if you are poor and dont have access to education? Its good to have a secure income, but what if the air in your part of the world is unclean? And its good to have freedom of religious expression, but what if you cant feed your family? The concept of sustainable development is rooted is this sort of systems thinking. It helps us understand ourselves and our world. The problems we face are complex and serious-and we cant address them in the same way we created them. But we can address them. This paper introduces two axioms that capture the idea of sustainable development, and characterizes the welfare criterion that they imply. The axioms require that neither the present nor the future should play a dictatorial role in societys choices over time. At the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, sustainable development emerged as one of the most urgent subjects for international policy. One hundred and fifty participating nations endorsed UN Agenda 21, proposing as part of its policy agenda sustainable development based on the satisfaction of basic needs in developing countries Brundtland Commission proposed that sustainable development is development that satisfies the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. Brundtland (1987) The experimental evidence indicates that the present and the future are treated more even-handedly. Typically we do discount the future, but the trade-off between today and tomorrow blurs as we move into the future. Tomorrow acquires increasing relative importance as time progresses. It is as if we viewed the future through a curved lens. The relative weight given to two subsequent periods in the future is inversely related to their distance from today. (P.468) The two following axioms are non-dictatorship properties. Axiom 1 requires that the present should not dictate the outcome in disregard for the future: it requires sensitivity to the welfare of generations in the distant future. Axiom 2 requires that the welfare criterion should not be dictated by the long-run future, and thus requires sensitivity to the present. (P.469) Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning Studies in Modelling and Decision Support Edited by M.A. Quaddus M.A.B. Siddique The concept of sustainable development gained its currency with the publication of Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WECD) in 1987. It emerged from recognition of the need to maintain a balance between economic development and environmental protection and to ensure intra- and intergenerational equity. Before the 1980s, a mono-disciplinary approach was applied to define economic development. Economic development basically meant sustained increase in per capita income. For example, in 1957, Meier and Baldwin defined economic development as a process whereby an economys real national income increases over a long period of time (Meier and Baldwin, 1957, p. 2). This notion of development was prevalent among many of the third world countries until the end of the 1960s. However, during the last quarter of the twentieth century, a multi-dimensional concept of economic development was developed. One of the shortcomings of defining economic development i n terms of sustained increase in per capita income is that it fails to accommodate the question of distribution of income. It was believed that the distributional aspect would be taken care of by the trickle-down effect of growth. However, by the end of the 1960s, it became clear that economic development over a long period of time in many of the developing countries failed to bring about the trickle-down effect. A new environmental and social dimension of development, referred to as sustainable development, emerged in the 1980s. The first formal definition of sustainable development is found in Our Common Future, where it is defined as a process that fulfils present human needs without endangering the opportunities of future generations to fulfil their needs (WECD, 1987, p. 43). (P. 3) However, since the publication of Our Common Future, the concept of sustainable development was further modified and extended by development economists. In Caring for the Earth (IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991) sustainable development is defined as an improvement in the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems. It should be noted here that improvement in the quality of human life subject to environmental or ecological constraint is the main focus of this definition. Although the seminal definition of sustainable development by the WECD has been widely quoted by many, the precise meaning of sustainable development and the ways to achieve it have always been matters of intense debate among researchers and policy-makers. The main criticism directed against the notion of sustainable development perceived by both the WECD and the UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) is that it is very broad and general. The lack of a universa lly acceptable definition makes the task for sustainable development planners difficult. Moreover, very often the objective of sustainable development is not clear. The implication of this is that the gap between theories (that is, the definition of sustainable development) and the actual application of sustainability to reality becomes particularly significant. This further results in many difficulties in the formulation of policies to plan sustainable development. As a result there is a demand for more precision in order to make sustainable development planning more consistent and efficient. Sustainable Development in Tribal and Backward Areas Kohli, Anju, Shah, Farida Chowdhary, A.P. (Eds)., 1997 : New Delhi, Indus Publishing Company Sustainable development is a development process that only generates economic growth but distributes its benefits equitably, that regenerates the environment rather than destroying it, that empowers people rather than materializing them. It is a matter of distributional equity between present and the future. It is intrinsically inexact concept which cannot be measured but can be a general guide to policies that which cannot be measured but can be a general guide to policies that have be with investment, conservation and resource use. In short, sustainability is an injunction not to satisfy ourselves by improvising our successors. It is an obligation to conduct ourselves so that we leave to the future the option or the capacity to be as well off as we are. P. 14 ============= In the developing world at least a billion people live in abject poverty for which no justification can be made. They have not received the benefit of growth. Unfortunately, they have no real choice except to burn their forest and to overuse their land and their resources just to secure a livelihood. P.194 The only important point to consider is the polluters must pay principle. It should be obeyed within the rules of the game. Putting this responsibility on government is both time-consuming and economically a costly preposition. P. 195. It is true that the developed world has contributed out of proportion in this game of destruction. The stage started in the colonial era when vast amount of timber wood and mineral resources were tapped. But the story of development after 1950 is even more hilarious. When large dams are erected or industrialization takes place, apparently it is an indicator of economic growth. But in the long run these efforts require a closer scrutiny. The economics of large scale dam construction is in vogue and even the World Bank clan has withdrawn its hands on ecological grounds. Even the much lauded Green Revolution has degraded the quality of soil. Thus in fifties every new invention or investment was an indicator of development. The end of twentieth century will like to rewrite the whole gamut of development economics. In todays economic thinking the propelling nature of economic activity is not profit maximization but creation of utility. P. 196 The economics of conservation should be a part of the development process. Sustainable development has defined in the World Conservation Strategy (1980) as : The management of the human use of the biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable development to present generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations. P. 228 In order to ensure long-term sustainability it is essential to ensure that the national social and economic policy framework is consistent with, and supportive of, the development objectives and implementation methods of social sector projects and programmes P. 228 The problem of tribal development cannot be seen in isolation from mainstream development, yet, the preservation and sensitivity towards their socio-cultural identity also cannot be overlooked. The challenge, at present, is to be able to recognize and understand the priorities and anxieties of the tribal communities. These arise from their shrinking economic base due to massive felling of trees caused by commercial exploitation of forest wealth. More and more tribals are becoming alien in their own area. Our economic modernization through construction of big power projects, opening of mines and construction of large dams is leading to displacement and impoverishment of tribals. There is a need for having a critical look at all the ongoing tribal development programmes. The areas of concern will have to go beyond the conception and implementation of development programmes and projects to focus on getting sustained long-term benefits from investment. It is being seriously felt that while there has been emphasis on tribal development by both government and voluntary sectors, yet, it has rested only on project formulation and timely cost effective implementation of the development projects. The sustainability aspect of the projects has not received sufficient attention. P.229 Productivity of land in tribal areas is poor and the agricultural output not sufficient. So they depend on cheap daily wage labour and collection and sale of firewood from the forest to see them through the year until the next harvest. It is important to highlight that the problems of poverty, population and environmental degradation are linked and the stark reality is that weaker sections of our Indian society still inhibit the areas of environmental degradation. The issue of sustainable development assumes alarming significance for the tribal areas because the human resources base of these regions is very weak to shoulder the development responsibilities. Literacy level among the tribal social groups of Rajastan is still around 20%. The tribal Sub-Plan Areas concept has, of course, implanted some visible infrastructural masts over the whole TSP area during the last two decades. But the traditional socio-cultural fabric of tribal society perpetuates and still conditions the development parameters of the region spread over the 5 districts à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Tribal economy continues to be governed by fragile agricultural and animal husbandry activities. The economy of this region is groaning under the increasing pressures of human and animal population. Land holding size and forest covered area is dwindling, droughts and famines continue to reoccur frequently and the land productivity is yet to surge up to a perceptible level. Governmental initi atives in promoting the use of modern farm technology à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.do not seem to have established the roots in the tribal landscape. Even the poverty eradication programmes executed under the IRDP scheme are yet to show their glow on the faces of poverty stricken tribal masses. This region has rich mineral resource base but the industrial activities have not developed on a large scale. P.236 Mineral and industrial development responsibilities are primarily shouldered by the outside non-tribal entrepreneurial talents and the local masses are being engaged as wage laborers. Looking to the geophysical setup and the growing population pressures, the secondary sector is expected to galvanize the tribal economy through the creation of larger and sustainable economic activities. However, as the situation exists today, no perceptible indicators are visible on the horizon of tribal region. To be precise, the development experiences of last four decades lead us to surmise if the prevailing policy parameters are sustainable for the next century. What should be the thrust areas of development ? How could the tribals be roped in the development process for promoting a participative development model ? What strategic components of tribal development planning could prove viable in eradicating the problem of poverty on a sustainable basis ? These issues crave for the indulgency of acade mic world including the galaxy of economists as well as social scientists à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ P. 237 The panorama of unspent funds and under-exploited schemes persists because of the poor responses from the target groups. Geographical isolation has perpetuated tribals fear psychosis and as such, this society has yet to become vocal for claiming its active participation in the development process. The society has remained mute spectator to the manoeuvrability of outsider plunderers of the natural wealth of the region. P. 237 The term sustainable development holds together two principles : the first, development component concentrating on meeting the needs of the present generation; the other, sustainable component limiting harmful effects of human activities on natural environment so that the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is not compromised. Environmental degradation and health hazards are the by-products of economic and industrial activities due to mindless and ruthless exploitation of natural resources. Poor planning and perverted process of development for short-term gains has destroyed the physical environment. If poverty existed before the pre-planning era, it was the result of under-utilization of resources, but if poverty, unemployment and inequalities persist today, it can be regarded as the consequence of ruthless over-exploitation of natural resources which left the physical environment degraded. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which defines sustainable development as development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome Document refers to the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection. Indigenous peoples have argued, through various international forums such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Convention on Biological Diversity, that there are four pillars of sustainable development, the fourth being cultural. The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001) further elaborates the concept by stating that cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature; it becomes one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence. In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development. Economic Sustainability: Agenda 21 clearly identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that recognises these interdependent pillars. It emphasises that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information. It stresses the need to change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social concerns into all development processes. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that broad public participation in decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the sum total of natures resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only uses natures resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of carrying capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for humanity. Consumption of Renewable resources State of environment Sustainability More than natures ability to replenish Environmental degradation Not sustainable Equal to natures ability to replenish Environmental equilibrium Steady state economy Less than natures ability to replenish Environmental renewal Environmentally sustainable The sustainable development debate is based on the assumption that societies need to manage three types of capital (economic, social, and natural), which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be irreversible. The business case for sustainable development : The most broadly accepted criterion for corporate sustainability constitutes a firms efficient use of natural capital. This eco-efficiency is usually calculated as the economic value added by a firm in relation to its aggregated ecological impact.[19] This idea has been popularised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) under the following definition: Eco-efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in line with the earths carrying capacity. (DeSimone and Popoff, 1997: 47) Similar to the eco-efficiency concept but so far less explored is the second criterion for corporate sustainability. Socio-efficiency[21] describes the relation between a firms value added and its social impact. Whereas, it can be assumed that most corporate impacts on the environment are negative (apart from rare exceptions such as the planting of trees) this is not true for social impacts. These can be either positive (e.g. corporate giving, creation of employment) or negative (e.g. work accidents, mobbing of employees, human rights abuses). Depending on the type of impact socio-efficiency thus either tries to minimize negative social impacts (i.e. accidents per value added) or maximise positive social impacts (i.e. donations per value added) in relation to the value added. Both eco-efficiency and socio-efficiency are concerned primarily with increasing economic sustainability. In this process they instrumentalize both natural and social capital aiming to benefit from win-win situations. However, as Dyllick and Hockerts[21] point out the business case alone will not be sufficient to realise sustainable development. They point towards eco-effectiveness, socio-effectiveness, sufficiency, and eco-equity as four criteria that need to be met if sustainable development is to be reached.. What is needed now is a new era of economic growth growth that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable. The concept of sustainable development calls for a constant re-evaluation of the relationship between man and nature, and solidarity between generations, as the only viable option for long-term development. Sustainable development is a bridge concept connecting economics, ecology and ethics, Environment degradation is a result of the dynamic interplay of socio-economic, institutional and technological activities. Possible intervention strategies 1972, Stockholm : UN Conference on the Human Environment that the international community met for the first time to consider global environment and development needs together. 1992, 3 to 14 June Rio de Janerio, Brazil: The Earth Summit United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Agreed to Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration. 1992, December : The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created. 1997, New York, Towards Earth Summit +5 2002, 26 August to 4 September Johannesburg, South Africa: World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). 2012, 14 16 May Rio de Janeiro: UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) or Rio+20. Also referred to as the Rio+20 Earth Summit, Agenda21 Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992. The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on implementation of the agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. It was agreed that a five year review of Earth Summit progress would be made in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session. The full implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Commitments to the Rio principles, were strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. P.K. Rao, Sustainable Development Economics and Policy, New Delhi : Blackwell Publishers, 2001 The history of human civilization has been strongly interwoven with the history of climate and environment. Until recently, the climate and environment were seen as major determinants of the growth and stability of civilizations, and this was perceived as a one-way effect. However, the impact of civilization or human influences on the climate and the environment is now seen to constitute a serious problem. This is because, in the emerging new scenarios, two-way interactions seem to exist between climate-environment, and human activities. We are entering the 21st century amid such potential for combined interactive effects. There is a significant need for an analysis of the underlying factors and their potential mitigatory alternatives. This analysis could lead to improved and pragmatic policy framework. P. 3 Dresner, Simon. 2005. The Principles of Sustainability. London : Earthscan Publications Ltd.. Book Review At a time of increasingly rapid environmental deterioration, sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the world. Can we create a sustainable society? What would that mean? How should we set about doing it? How can we bring about such a profound change in the way things are organized? This text tackles these questions directly. It goes beyond rhetoric to explain the deeper issues of sustainable development in a way that seeks to be accessible and interesting to the non-specialist reader. It covers historical development of the concept of sustainability; contemporary debates about how to achieve it; and obstacles and the prospects for overcoming them. The work should be useful to students, academics and activists concerned with sustainable development. It assumes no previous knowledge of the subject. We should live sustainably has become central to environmental discussions. P.1 The concept of sustainability in something like its modern form was first used by the World Council of Churches in 1974. It was proposed by Western environmentalists in response to developing world objections to worrying about eh environment when human beings in many parts of the world suffer from poverty and deprivation. The concept of sustainable development was put forward by International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1980. Sustainability and sustainable development finally came to prominence in 1987, when the United Nations World Commission on Environment and development, chaired by former and later Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, published its report Our Common Future. The central recommendation of this document, usually known as the Brundtland report, was that the way to square the circle of competing demands of environmental development. They defined it as development that meets . their needs. They wrote that sustainable development was about both equity between generations and equity within generations. P.1 Different people use the term in different ways, some emphasizing development through economic growth, and others emphasizing sustainability through environmental protection. Some environmentalists have claimed that sustainable development is a contradiction in terms, can be used merely a cover for continuing to destroy the natural world. On the other side of the debate, some economists have argued that sustainable development is too cautious about the future, potentially leading to sacrifices of economic growth for the sake of excessive concern about depletion of natural resources. Defenders of the concept argue that disagreement about sustainable development does not show that it is meaningless. Rather, it is a contestable concept like liberty or justice. P.2 The sustainability debate is not just about environment and growth. Although sustainability is often presented that you should not destroy the basis of your own existence it is more a question of equity. Concern about sustainability must be based on moral obligations towards future generations not just personal self-interest. Brundtland Commissions conception of sustainable development brought together equity between generations and equity within generations. P.2 The dispute between environmentalists and economists over sustainability is not just about the capacity of technological progress to substitute for natural resources. In the absence of sufficient understanding of the natural environment and of the capacities of future science and technology to deal with any problems, it involves disputes about how to deal with indeterminate risks. Economists tend to average out such risks in their calculations, burying worst-case possibilities in the average, or often even ignoring the possibility that things might turn out worse than they expect, so tending to advocate risky approaches to environmental futures. Environmentalists instead highlight worst-case outcomes and suggest that extra efforts should be taken to avoid them. There are parallels between the risky approach that economists take with the future and their lack of support for egalitarianism in the present. Both are a result of the assumptions of the utilitarian philosophy underlying mainstream economics, which is indifferent to the risk of very bad outcomes for some individuals in the present or everyone in some alternative futures. Most contemporary environmentalists are more left-wing, and it turns out that there is a real philosophical parallel between their interest in equity to future generations and equity within generations. Drawing on the theories of the philosopher John Rawls, I will suggest that there are very sever tensions between the utilitarianism basis of mainstream economic and sustainabilitys concern for equity within and between generations. P. 4. Malthus on Population Malthus argued that the tendency of population towards geometric growth meant that it would always outstrip the growth in food supply. The population was controlled by misery and vice. The standard of living of the labouring classes always hovered around the minimum necessary for subsistence. The World Summit on Sustainable Development took place in Johannesburg in 2002 as a sequel UNCED, ten years on. It was supposed to be more about development than environment, as Southern countries had felt that UNCED was more about environment than development. On both counts, though, it was a disappointment. The lack of substantial progress at the World Summit showed that global political efforts to bring about sustainable development had run out of steam, even as the environment continues to deteriorate. P.59 Sustainable development is a meeting point for environmentalists and developers. the term sustainable development lay in the way that it could be used both by environmentalists, emphasizing the sustainable part, and by developers, emphasizing the development part. The definition given by Brundtland Commission, is often criticized as hopelessly vague or non-operationalizable. In his essay, ORiordan expressed the concern that the vagueness of the definition would allow people to claim almost anything as part of sustainable development, reducing the term meaningless. P.64 The identification of sustainable development with the growth agenda has made radical environmentalists deeply suspicious of it. P.65 Sustainable development is a contestable concept one that affords variety of competing interpretations or conceptions. These concepts have basic meanings and almost everyone is in favour of them, but deep conflicts remain about how they should be understood and what they imply for polity. That something is a contestable concept does not mean that it has no meaning at all. Brundtland seems to be identifying the crucial elements of sustainable development as meeting basic needs, recognizing environmental limits, and the principles of intergenerational and intragenerational equity. P.67 The goal of development was first formally enunciated by President Truman in 1949. The objective was generally seen in terms o

John F. Kennedy :: essays research papers

John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States (1961-1963). He was the youngest person ever to be elected president. Also, He was the first Roman Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20the century. He served in World War II on PT boat. He also helped to solve the Cuban Missile Crisis and started Peace of Corps to help 3rd world countries better them selves. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. Therefore, his achievements were limited. He was shot in the head and died within an hour. Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. "The other children in the family were Joseph, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward."(Encarta' 95). "The Kennedys were an active family. With 11 people in the house, someone was always busy. The children took swimming, sailing, and tennis lessons."(Potts, Steve - 7). The Kennedy family had long been active in politics. His brothers Robert and Edward Kennedy also entered politics. Kennedy's both grand fathers had been active in politics. His father was a self-made millionaire. He served as first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kennedy's family called him jack. He and his older brother Joe were strong rivals. Jack was quiet and often shy, but held his owns in fights with Jo e. "The boys enjoyed playing touch football."(The World Book Encyclopedia, 261). His childhood was full of sports, fun and activity. This all ended when he grew up old enough to leave for school. Kennedy attended elementary schools in Brookline and Riverdale. "In 1930, when he was 13 years old, his father sent him to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn." (The World Book Encyclopedia, 261). One year later, he transferred to Choate Academy in Wallingford, Coon. He graduated from Choate in 1935 at the age of 18. He was promised a trip to London as a graduation gift but he became ill with jaundice and would have to go to the hospital. He spent the rest of the summer trying to recover. He was not entirely well when he started Princeton, several weeks later in the fall of 1935. The jaundice returned and he had to drop out of school.

The 1966 Impala vs. 1996 Impala SS :: essays research papers

The 1966 Impala vs. 1996 Impala SS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is hard to believe how the Impala has changed over the last thirty years. It went from a step up from an average car to what it is now, a full size luxury car with all of the options.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chevrolet built the Impala in 1966 with very little standard options. It came with a bench seat, AM Radio, lap safety belts, 283 cubic inch V-8, and manual transmission. They did not construct the car with any form of emission system. The federal government did not require car companies to equip the car with emissions systems until 1968. The emission systems helped to reduce pollution emitted from the car. During the mid-sixties, engines started to get bigger and more powerful. One option for the Impala was the Super Sport model, more widely known as the SS. This option gave the car a 396 cu. in. engine, four speed manual transmission, heavier duty suspension and all of the SS insignias. If you were buying any car in 1966 you could order it with each individual option that you wanted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They built the Impala SS in 1996 with many standard options. It came with bucket seats, a console, automatic transmission, shifter on the floor, leather seats, seventeen inch aluminum rims, all season radials, and the LT1 engine(commonly in the Corvette). This car was built with all kinds of safety equipment, emission systems, and a computer to control the entire car. The emission system on the car is approved for 1998 emission standards. The safety equipment on the Impala SS is lap/shoulder seat belts, dual air bags, and crumple zones. The computers on today's new cars control the engine, the fuel injection, the emission systems, the air bags, the transmission, the cooling system, the instrument gauges and all of the warning lights. On the 1996 Impala SS, the options came in packages. If you just wanted air conditioning with the car, you would have to buy the package with air conditioning included. The car companies devised putting options into packages so they could produce many identical cars and still can sell them with some guarantee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1966 Impala was designed very differently than the 1996 Impala SS. In 1966, the Impala was built with a steel frame and metal body panels. This design made the car very strong and durable that is one main reason you see many old cars still in running today. Cars were also built with chrome. You do not see that on many new cars. The 1966 Impala, I think they built it with style,

A Comparison of The Destructors and Lord of the Flies Essay -- compari

A Comparison of The Destructors and Lord of the Flies      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Graham Greene's "The Destructors," the author presents the Wormsley Common car-park gang, a group of adolescent delinquents who commit petty crimes for fun. William Golding, in his novel Lord of the Flies, presents a slightly younger group of boys who are wrecked on an uninhabited island and develop a primitive society that eventually collapses and gives way to despotic savagery. Although these two cases seem rather different, the boys in both situations show common characteristics. They react to the outside environment of their worlds in similar ways. There are also trends in the development of the dynamic characters in each story. Each account presents a conflict of interests between two dominant characters, a leadership struggle, a predefined goal set by the boys, and a mystified enemy. There are even parallel characters. For example, Blackie in "The Destructors" resembles Ralph in Lord of the Flies. In Graham Greene's "The Destructors," the boys' behaviour, thoughts, and social-development patterns parallel those of the boys in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.    One of the main characters in Lord of the Flies is the "beast." This mythical creation is a product of the boys' collective fear of being plane-wrecked on an uninhabited island. They also have a few unreliable "sightings" to support their suspicions. The beast eventually develops into a totem, a pagan god for Jack's simple religion. The boys fear this beast, because it manifests itself in the boars that roam the island, both a danger and a source of food. The beast of "The Destructors" is not ... ... social class, era, and placement, the Wormsley Common Gang does not seem that different from the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies. They might have different symbolic representations for the various common elements of their cultures, but these elements are the same. Both stories have a beast, a beast's lair, an honest leader, a manipulator figure, an "underdog," and evidence of influence from the outside world. The parallelism between these two works demonstrates the constancy of human nature. Despite changing times, people remain basically the same.    Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber & Faber, 1954. Greene, Graham. "The Destructors," Story and Structure. Seventh Edition. Edited by Laurence Perrine, assisted by Thomas R. Arp. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988, 49-61.

Conflict Between Developing Economic Essay

The economy growth impact the protecting environment, on the contrary the protecting environment also impacts the economy growth. Whether the environment is a factor considering the economic growth? The core answering these questions is how to regard the relationship between economic growth and environment. Concerning on the situation of economic and environment whether has the intrinsic relation or has any type relation, this still has the dispute. In this essay I will analyze the conflict between the developing economic and protecting environment. Through the analysis cause where can get a balance between them. Keywords: Environment, Economic growth, Poverty, Conflict, Contradiction, Environmental Kuznets curve 1. Introduction Environment not only provides the substance foundation and activity space for human, but also is responsible for production castoff by human activity. Economic development not only enhances the integration national power and improves the people’s life quality, but brings a number of serous environmental problems, such as air pollution, water pollution, soil degradation, desertification, and so on. Whether does economic growth affect the environment? On the contrary whether also does the protecting environment affect the growth economy? Whether is protecting economy and protecting environment a pair of contradiction or not? What creates the environment problems? Poverty is a main factor. Solving this problem is that developing economy. How to increase economy under the protecting environment? Analyzing their relationship is the focal point. Problem formulation: what is the conflict between developing economic and protecting environment? 2. The developing economic brings some environmental problems Economy development is obvious at present. Many multinational enterprises have been invested following the all kinds of increased industries and agricultures. These such as machine, textile, chemical plant, foodstuff, and so on, not only are the record of the economic development, but also provide a great deal of working opportunities for the labor market, and reduce the burden of the country. That’s the positive points, but it has the negative points like the traffic jam, pollution, chemical, etc, a series of serious problems. In the traffic point, â€Å"The environment impact of transport has now become a global issue. Environmental impacts from transport in the developed world are now equaled or exceeded by those in developing countries. This is alarming given the relatively low level of car ownership and use in developing countries. Equally alarming is the advanced of modes of transport that are damaging to the environment and health, while less damaging modes are retreating. The impact of transport affects the global, regional, and local environment.

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Results Reporter| | Out of 10 questions, you answered 5 correctly with a final grade of 50%| | | | | | 5 correct (50%)| | | | 5 incorrect (50%)| | | | 0 unanswered (0%)| | | Your Results:| The correct answer for each question is indicated by a . | ————————————————- Top of Form | 1 CORRECT| | Value is the customer's perception of all of the benefits of a product or service weighed against all the costs of acquiring and consuming it. The mileage of a car would be considered as a(n):| | | A)| functional benefit. | | | B)| experiential benefit. | | | C)| social benefit. | | | D)| psychological benefit. | | E)| internal benefit. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Hard LO: 01-01 Topic: The Role of Marketing Bloom's: Apply AACSB: Reflective Thinking Page: 07 Value is the customer's perception of all of the benefits of a product or service weighed against all the costs of acquiring and consuming it. Benefits can be functional (the performance of the product), experiential (what it feels like to use the product), and/or psychological (feelings such as self-esteem or status that result from owning a particular brand). | | 2 INCORRECT| | How did integrated marketing communications (IMC) revolutionize the role of marketing? | | A)| It shifted marketplace power from retailers to manufacturers. | | | B)| It led to increasing dependence on the advertising element of the promotion mix. | | | C)| It led to the rapid growth and development of database marketing. | | | D)| It created a lessening need for advertising agencies to be accountable for their actions. | | | E)| It shifted marketing expenditure from non-traditional to traditional media advertising. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Easy LO: 01-03 Topic: Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC Bloom's: Remember AACSB: Analytic Page: 14Major characteristics of this marketing revolution include: the growth and de velopment of database marketing. Many companies now have extensive databases containing customer names; geographic, demographic, and psychographic profiles, purchase patterns; media preferences, credit and other financial information; and other relevant characteristics. | | 3 CORRECT| | Which of the following statements is true about branding? | | | A)| Organizations should not provide the same level of promotion to brands during recessions as they do during times of prosperity. | | | B)| A well-known brand has a competitive advantage in the market. | | C)| Companies trying to sell their products internationally do not benefit from having a strong brand name. | | | D)| The appeal of recognized brand names is declining. | | | E)| Many organizations view the process of creating and maintaining a strong brand as a liability. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Medium LO: 01-03 Topic: The Role of IMC in Branding Bloom's: Understand AACSB: Analytic Page: 15 With more and more products and services competing for consideration by customers who have less and less time to make choices, well-known brands have a major competitive advantage in today's marketplace. | 4 CORRECT| | ____ advertising would focus on creating a demand for MilkBone, a brand of dog biscuits, among consumers. | | | A)| Selective-demand| | | B)| Direct| | | C)| Trade| | | D)| Primary-demand| | | E)| Secondary-demand| | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Hard LO: 01-04 Topic: Advertising Bloom's: Analyze AACSB: Reflective Thinking Page: 20 Refer: Figure 1-4 Primary-demand advertising is designed to stimulate demand for the general product class or entire industry. Selective-demand advertising focuses on creating demand for a specific company's brands. | 5 INCORRECT| | The ad for Gills onions in Fresh Cut, a publication for people in the grocery business, encouraged store managers to stock up on the product. The ad is an example of _____ advertising. | | | A)| consumer| | | B)| trade| | | C)| cooperative| | | D)| comparative| | | E)| primary demand| | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Hard LO: 01-04 Topic: Advertising Bloom's: Analyze AACSB: Reflective Thinking Page: 20 Refer: Figure 1-4 Advertising targeted to marketing channel members such as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers.The goal is to encourage channel members to stock, promote, and resell the manufacturer's branded products to their customers. | | 6 INCORRECT| | Several years ago, consumers could get a free Bart Simpson watch if they collected and mailed in three Universal Product Codes from boxes of Kellogg's cereal. Which element of integrated marketing communications was being used in this case? | | | A)| Sponsorship| | | B)| Interactive marketing| | | C)| Direct-order advertising| | | D)| Sales promotion| | | E)| Exchange advertising| | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Hard LO: 01-04 Topic: Sales PromotionBloom's: Analyze AACSB: Reflective Thinking Page: 23 Sales promotionis generally defined as those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to the sales force, the distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales. | | 7 CORRECT| | SoBe beverages was a major sponsor of the Gravity Games, which included contestants performing 360-degree turns in mid-air while on motorcycles, competitive skateboarding, and other extreme sports. By co-sponsoring this event, SoBe was indulging in:| | | A)| trade advertising. | | | B)| direct marketing. | | | C)| personal selling. | | D)| primary-demand advertising. | | | E)| public relations. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Hard LO: 01-04 Topic: Publicity Bloom's: Analyze AACSB: Reflective Thinking Page: 25 Public relations uses publicity and a variety of other tools-including special publications, participation in community activities, fund-raising, sponsorship of special events, and various public affairs activities-to enhance an organization's image. | | 8 CORRECT| | Advertisements, websites, press releases, brochures and po int-of-purchase displays are all examples of:| | | A)| intrinsic touch points. | | B)| company created touch points. | | | C)| consumer created touch points. | | | D)| unexpected touch points. | | | E)| extrinsic touch points. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Easy LO: 01-05 Topic: IMC involves Audience Contacts Bloom's: Remember AACSB: Analytic Page: 26 Company created touch points are planned marketing communication messages created by the company such as advertisements, websites, news/press releases, packaging, brochures and collateral material, sale promotions, and point-of-purchase displays along with other types of in-store decor. | | 9 INCORRECT| |During an internal analysis conducted for the creation of the marketing plan of PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest car manufacturer, the company would have discovered:| | | A)| a potential market in the United States. | | | B)| the image of the company as an efficient manufacturer. | | | C)| how competition from Volkswagen is impacting the company's growth. | | | D)| untapped target markets. | | | E)| the current demographic trends in the environment. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Medium LO: 01-06 Topic: Promotional Program Situation Analysis Bloom's: Remember and UnderstandAACSB: Analytic Page: 29 Another aspect of the internal analysis is assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the firm or the brand from an image perspective. Often the image a firm brings to the market will have a significant impact on the way the firm can advertise and promote itself as well as its various products and services. | | 10 INCORRECT| | The external analysis (done for the creation of the marketing plan) of the situational analysis would examine:| | | A)| the image of the company or the brand. | | | B)| the characteristics and buying patterns of the firm's ustomers. | | | C)| the firm's ability to implement the promotional program. | | | D)| the selection and evaluation of the ad agency. | | | E)| the results of t he previous marketing plan. | | | | | | Feedback: Difficulty: Easy LO: 01-06 Topic: Promotional Program Situation Analysis Bloom's: Remember AACSB: Analytic Page: 32 An important part of the external analysis is a detailed consideration of customers' characteristics and buying patterns, their decision processes, and factors influencing their purchase decisions. | Bottom of Form

Disadvantages of Labor Unions Essay

Ever since their initial establishment, there has been much dispute whether labor unions are a positive or negative social economic force in the United States. There are many disadvantages that labor unions pose on the individual, the organization, and society as a whole. This paper discusses the negative effect of having labor Unions in the United States. The union’s top weapons, strikes, can be self-disastrous. The reason being is that â€Å"employers of striking workers have the legal right to continue to operate their business with permanent replacement employees who need not be discharged once the strike ends.† In this case, employees on strike are not eligible to return since their previous jobs have been occupied. They would then have to wait until there is eventually an employment vacancy, if any. Striking employees also will destroy people’s every day routines and habits. On December 20, 2005, The Transport Workers Union Local 100 in New York City went on strike. New York City Transit Authority personal had observed the strike. The 2005 strike, which took place during the busiest shopping week of the year, had significantly affected the local economy since many people had then chosen to avoid shopping in New York. These shoppers chose to shop online, or postpone shopping. The strike was ended on Tuesday, December 27, 2005. The number of strikes and their effectiveness has decreased tremendously. The following figure from Hunter’s report, taken from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides us with the evidence: Walter Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University, emphasizes the above in his article â€Å"Where Union Power Lies†. He gives an example of the failed â€Å"air-traffic controllers’ strike during the Reagan administration†. The union in this case was simply not able to prevent the Federal Aviation Administration from employing new workers. Unfortunately, in such instances, unions may tend to violence as a means of eliminating competition. Williams illustrates this during several incidents. Back in 1987, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck an Anchorage Alaska utility plant. Non-striking workers were routinely attacked and had their tires slashed. One employee had to move after union members threatened to rape and murder his wife. In his report â€Å"Freedom from Union Violence† released by Cato Institute, David Kendrick, program director at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, affirms that there have been 8,799 incidents of violence reported since 1975, with only 258 convictions. Obviously this first disadvantage of union representation impacts not only the individual, but the organization through acts of vandalism and society by victimizing innocent people. Another disadvantage of union representation is discussed by Hunter as â€Å"loss of individuality†. When a union is an exclusive employee representative in a workplace, the employees then become part of a collective bargaining unit where the majority rules. This majority may not be concerned with the individual needs or demands of each employee. Individual agreements between employees and management are not allowed because each employee has to deal with the union. After all, members of a union become part of a collective bargaining unit in which the majority rules, regardless of any affiliate’s best interests. Union leaders often operate based on their self-interest, which basically means expanding union membership regardless of the members’ benefits; they do so to gain more power and even enjoy some of the extra money. Hunter states â€Å"Loss of individuality is of prime concern for many employees, as well as the loss of the opportunity to negotiate for themselves an individual arrangement†. Student assistants at Yale asked to be heard as individuals and not part of a union as they didn’t see union representation as beneficial. Hockfield commented â€Å"†¦individual voices are more effective than that of a union.† â€Å"Many faculty members voiced concerns about the implications of unionization, asking questions about strikes, union dues, and the loss of individuality. Loss of individuality is inevitable when labor unions represent a majority. Another disadvantage of union representation that Hunter discusses is â€Å"cost to employees†. Collective bargaining units require all employees to support the union financially as a condition of their employment. â€Å"Federal law provides that employees may, regardless of the language in the agreement, opt not to formally join the union; however, they may still be required to pay certain dues and initiation fees.† Every union member is required to financially support the union by paying dues, and can face penalties that amount to his/her discharge for failing to do so. That is, the union can demand the discharge of any employee who fails to pay required dues and fees, unless a right-to-work law has been enacted in the state where the business operates. The costs of union membership differ but the average Michigan union employee pays hundreds of dollars in dues a year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, â€Å"In 2007, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.1 percent, while 20 states had higher rates.† That means that the average cost to union members is above 12.1%. This union representation can be quite costly to employees and in some cases defeats the purpose of fringe benefits. Other disadvantages of labor unions that Hunter argued is â€Å"Penalties by labor unions† employee can be fined or disciplined for involving in activities that violate union code. Such activities include, but are not limited to: crossing strike picket lines, surpassing set production quotas, and seeking representation by other unions. Unfortunately for union workers, these fines are enforced by the law. This is not the case however for nonunion employees who are exempt from all the declared restrictions. Although Robert Hunter raises excellent points, disadvantages of union representation exceed the individual to adversely affect the society and the economy. With regards to society, Terry Moe, underlines in his article â€Å"EDUCATION: Taking on the Unions† that the teachers’ union have interests that are â€Å"often in conflict with the public interest†. Moe raises the concern that the union does not permit the riddance or even the evaluation of bad teachers, which apparently is not good for the kids and schools. As for the economy and organizations, Thomas Sowell touches on this issue by explaining that union contracts have helped put American automakers at a disadvantage compared to its Japanese competitors, resulting in General Motors â€Å"going from selling about half the cars in the country to selling about one quarter today†. The UAW simply did not exhibit flexibility at a time when change was needed most. The consequences were terrible to the econ omy and organizations like The Auto industry: numerous plants closing, hundreds of thousands of employees being laid off, the moving of plants to states that have no union control, and the moving of plants overseas. From all of the above, it is easy to conclude that labor unions are a negative social economic force in the United States. Unions simply forgot their main purpose of existence which is to be fair to all parties: workers, companies, and the society. Instead, unions have become like businesses interested in maximizing membership count regardless of consequences. That is why the unionized share of the total U.S. labor force has declined tremendously since the 1970s till our present day. According to Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, replied in an interview with The Austrian Economics Newsletter by â€Å"Americans now realize that we don’t need labor unions† The continuous decline in union membership over the past years serves only to solidify Vedder’s statement. Also, according to Hunter, â€Å"the labor movement will have to add nearly 700,000 members per year just to maintain its current levels of employee representationâ₠¬ .

Chapter 6 Talons and Tea Leaves

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. As they passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter. â€Å"Ignore him,† said Hermione, who was right behind Harry. â€Å"Just ignore him, it's not worth it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hey, Potter!† shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. â€Å"Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooooo!† Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to George Weasley. â€Å"New third-year course schedules,† said George, passing then, over. â€Å"What's up with you, Harry?† â€Å"Malfoy,† said Ron, sitting down on George's other side and glaring over at the Slytherin table. George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with terror again. â€Å"That little git,† he said calmly. â€Å"He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?† â€Å"Nearly wet himself,† said Fred, with a contemptuous glance at Malfoy. â€Å"I wasn't too happy myself,† said George. â€Å"They're horrible things, those Dementors†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?† said Fred. â€Å"You didn't pass out, though, did you?† said Harry in a low voice. â€Å"Forget it, Harry,† said George bracingly. â€Å"Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking†¦They suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there.† â€Å"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match,† said Fred. â€Å"Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?† The only time Harry and Malfoy had faced each other in a Quidditch match, Malfoy had definitely come off worse. Feeling slightly more cheerful, Harry helped himself to sausages and fried tomatoes. Hermione was examining her new schedule. â€Å"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today,† she said happily. â€Å"Hermione,† said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder, â€Å"they've messed up your timetable. Look — they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time.† â€Å"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall.† â€Å"But look,† said Ron, laughing, â€Å"see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And –† Ron leaned closer to the timetable, disbelieving, â€Å"look — underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?† â€Å"Don't be silly,† said Hermione shortly. â€Å"Of course I won't be in three classes at once.† â€Å"Well then –â€Å" â€Å"Pass the marmalade,† said Hermione. â€Å"But –â€Å" â€Å"Oh, Ron, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?† Hermione snapped. â€Å"I told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall.† Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absent-mindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand. â€Å"All righ'?† he said eagerly, pausing on his way to the staff table. â€Å"Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five getting' everthin' ready†¦hope it's OK†¦me, a teacher†¦hones'ly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat. â€Å"Wonder what he's been getting ready?† said Ron, a note of anxiety in his voice. The Hall was starting to empty as people headed off towards their first lesson. Ron checked his schedule. â€Å"We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower. It'll take us ten minutes to get there†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They finished breakfast hastily, said goodbye to Fred and George and walked back through the hall. As they passed the Slytherin table, Malfoy did yet another impression of a fainting fit. The shouts of laughter followed Harry into the Entrance Hall. The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught them everything about the castle, and they had never been inside North Tower before. â€Å"There's — got — to — be — a — short — cut,† Ron panted, as they climbed the seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall. â€Å"I think it's this way,† said Hermione, peering down the empty passage to the right. â€Å"Can't be,† said Ron. â€Å"That's south. Look, you can see a bit of the lake outside the window†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry was watching the painting. A fat, dappled-gray pony had just ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly. Harry was used to the subjects of Hogwarts paintings moving around and leaving their frames to visit each other, but he always enjoyed watching them. A moment later, a short, squat knight in a suit of armour had clanked into the picture after his pony. By the look of the grass stains on his metal knees, he had just fallen off. â€Å"Aha!† he yelled, seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione. â€Å"What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!† They watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Harry, moving closer to the picture. â€Å"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!† The knight seized his sword again and used it to push himself back up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he pulled with all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally, he had to flop back down onto the grass and push up his visor to mop his sweating face. â€Å"Listen,† said Harry, taking advantage of the knight's exhaustion, â€Å"we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way, do you?† â€Å"A quest!† The knight's rage seemed to vanish instantly. He clanked to his feet and shouted, â€Å"Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!† He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony, gave up, and cried, â€Å"On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady! On! On!† And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of sight. They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound of his armor. Every now and then they spotted him running through a picture ahead. â€Å"Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!† yelled the knight, and they saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiral staircase. Puffing loudly, Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the tightly spiraling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard the murmur of voices above them and knew they had reached the classroom. â€Å"Farewell!† cried the knight, popping his head into a painting of some sinister-looking monks. â€Å"Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!† â€Å"Yeah, we'll call you,† muttered Ron as the knight disappeared, â€Å"if we ever need someone mental.† They climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing, where most of the class was already assembled. There were no doors off this landing, but Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the ceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it. â€Å"‘Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher,'† Harry read. â€Å"How're we supposed to get up there?† As though in answer to his question, the trapdoor suddenly opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Harry's feet. Everyone got quiet. â€Å"After you,† said Ron, grinning, so Harry climbed the ladder first. He emerged into the strangest-looking classroom he had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all, more like a cross between someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. At least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little poufs. Everything was lit with a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire that was burning under the crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls, and a huge array of teacups. Ron appeared at Harry's shoulder as the class assembled around them, all talking in whispers. â€Å"Where is she?† Ron said. A voice came suddenly out of the shadows, a soft, misty sort of voice. â€Å"Welcome,† it said. â€Å"How nice to see you in the physical world at last.† Harry's immediate impression was of a large, glittering insect. Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that she was very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings. â€Å"Sit, my children, sit,† she said, and they all climbed awkwardly into armchairs or sank onto poufs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat themselves around the same round table. â€Å"Welcome to Divination,† said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. â€Å"My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye.† Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, â€Å"So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you†¦Books can take you only so far in this field†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At these words, both Harry and Ron glanced, grinning, at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject. â€Å"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future,† Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. â€Å"It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy,† she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. â€Å"Is your grandmother well?† â€Å"I think so,† said Neville tremulously. â€Å"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear,† said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. â€Å"We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear,† she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, â€Å"beware a red-haired man.† Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her and edged her chair away from him. â€Å"In the second term,† Professor Trelawney went on, â€Å"we shall progress to the crystal ball — if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us for ever.† A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it. â€Å"I wonder, dear,† she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, â€Å"if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?† Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney. â€Å"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading — it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October.† Lavender trembled. â€Å"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear,† — she caught Neville by the arm as he made to stand up, â€Å"after you've broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink.† Sure enough, Neville had no sooner reached the shelf of teacups when there was a tinkle of breaking china. Professor Trelawney swept over to him holding a dustpan and brush and said, â€Å"One of the blue ones, then, dear, if you wouldn't mind†¦thank you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When Harry and Ron had had their teacups filled, they went back to their table and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over. â€Å"Right,† said Ron as they both opened their books at pages five and six. â€Å"What can you see in mine?† â€Å"A load of soggy brown stuff,† said Harry. The heavily perfumed smoke in the room was making him feel sleepy and stupid. â€Å"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!† Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom. Harry tried to pull himself together. â€Å"Right, you've got a crooked sort of cross†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He consulted Unfogging the Future. â€Å"That means you're going to have ‘trials and suffering' — sorry about that — but there's a thing that could be the sun. Hang on†¦that means ‘great happiness'†¦so you're going to suffer but be very happy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me,† said Ron, and they both had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction. â€Å"My turn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ron peered into Harry's teacup, his forehead wrinkled with effort. â€Å"There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat,† he said. â€Å"Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He turned the teacup the other way up. â€Å"But this way it looks more like an acorn†¦what's that?† He scanned his copy of Unfogging the Future. â€Å"‘A windfall, unexpected gold.' Excellent, you can lend me some. And there's a thing here,† he turned the cup again, â€Å"that looks like an animal†¦yeah, if that was its head†¦it looks like a hippo†¦no, a sheep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Professor Trelawney whirled around as Harry let out a snort of laughter. â€Å"Let me see that, my dear,† she said reprovingly to Ron, sweeping over and snatching Harry's cup from him. Everyone went quiet to watch. Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it counterclockwise. â€Å"The falcon†¦my dear, you have a deadly enemy.† â€Å"But everyone knows that,† said Hermione in a loud whisper. Professor Trelawney stared at her. â€Å"Well, they do,† said Hermione. â€Å"Everybody knows about Harry and You-Know-Who.† Harry and Ron stared at her with a mixture of amazement and admiration. They had never heard Hermione speak to a teacher like that before. Professor Trelawney chose not to reply. She lowered her huge eyes to Harry's cup again and continued to turn it. â€Å"The club†¦an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I thought that was a bowler hat,† said Ron sheepishly. â€Å"The skull†¦danger in your path, my dear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Everyone was staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, who gave the cup a final turn, gasped, and then screamed. There was another tinkle of breaking china; Neville had smashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacant armchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed. â€Å"My dear boy — my poor dear boy — no — it is kinder not to say — no — don't ask me†¦.† â€Å"What is it, Professor?† said Dean Thomas at once. Everyone had got to their feet, and slowly they crowded around Harry and Ron's table, pressing close to Professor Trelawney's chair to get a good look at Harry's cup. â€Å"My dear,† Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, â€Å"you have the Grim.† â€Å"The what?† said Harry. He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror. â€Å"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!† cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. â€Å"The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen — the worst omen — of death!† Harry's stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of Death Omens in Flourish and Blotts — the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent†¦Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth too. Everyone was looking at Harry, everyone except Hermione, who had gotten up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney's chair. â€Å"I don't think it looks like a Grim,† she said flatly. Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike. â€Å"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future.† Seamus Finnigan was tilting his head from side to side. â€Å"It looks like a Grim if you do this,† he said, with his eyes almost shut, â€Å"but it looks more like a donkey from here,† he said, leaning to the left. â€Å"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!† said Harry, taking even himself by surprise. Now nobody seemed to want to look at him. â€Å"I think we will leave the lesson here for today,† said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice. â€Å"Yes†¦please pack away your things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron was avoiding Harry's eyes. â€Å"Until we meet again,† said Professor Trelawney faintly, â€Å"fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear,† — she pointed at Neville, â€Å"you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up.† Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson. It took them so long to find her classroom that, early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time. Harry chose a seat right at the back of the room, feeling as though he were sitting in a very bright spotlight; the rest of the class kept shooting furtive glances at him, as though he were about to drop dead at any moment. He hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them about Animagi (wizards who could transform at will into animals), and wasn't even watching when she transformed herself in front of their eyes into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes. â€Å"Really, what has got into you all today?† said Professor McGonagall, turning back into herself with a faint pop, and staring around at them all. â€Å"Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class.† Everybody's heads turned toward Harry again, but nobody spoke. Then Hermione raised her hand. â€Å"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and –â€Å" â€Å"Ah, of course,† said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. â€Å"There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?† Everyone stared at her. â€Å"Me,† said Harry, finally. â€Å"I see,† said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes. â€Å"Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues –† Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, more calmly, â€Å"Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, â€Å"You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.† Hermione laughed. Harry felt a bit better. It was harder to feel scared of a lump of tea leaves away from the dim red light and befuddling perfume of Professor Trelawney's classroom. Not everyone was convinced, however. Ron still looked worried, and Lavender whispered, â€Å"But what about Neville's cup?† When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the crowd thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch. â€Å"Ron, cheer up,† said Hermione, pushing a dish of stew toward him. â€Å"You heard what Professor McGonagall said.† Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork but didn't start. â€Å"Harry,† he said, in a low, serious voice, â€Å"You haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?† â€Å"Yeah, I have,† said Harry. â€Å"I saw one the night I left the Dursleys'.† Ron let his fork fall with a clatter. â€Å"Probably a stray,† said Hermione calmly. Ron looked at Hermione as though she had gone mad. â€Å"Hermione, if Harry's seen a Grim, that's — that's bad,† he said. â€Å"My — my uncle Bilius saw one and — and he died twenty-four hours later!† â€Å"Coincidence,† said Hermione airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. â€Å"You don't know what you're talking about!† said Ron, starting to get angry. â€Å"Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!† â€Å"There you are, then,† said Hermione in a superior tone. â€Å"They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!† Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new Arithmancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug. â€Å"I think Divination seems very woolly,† she said, searching for her page. â€Å"A lot of guesswork, if you ask me.† â€Å"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!† said Ron hotly. â€Å"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep,† said Hermione coolly. â€Å"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!† He had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere. â€Å"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!† She snatched up her bag and stalked away. Ron frowned after her. â€Å"What's she talking about?† he said to Harry. â€Å"She hasn't been to an Arithmancy class yet.† ****** Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class. Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. Harry walked beside them in silence as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was only when he spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that he realized they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about. Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start. â€Å"C'mon, now, get a move on!† he called as the class approached. â€Å"Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!† For one nasty moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last him a lifetime. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there. â€Å"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!† he called. â€Å"That's it — make sure yeh can see — now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –â€Å" â€Å"How?† said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. â€Å"Eh?† said Hagrid. â€Å"How do we open our books?† Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Harry, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips. â€Å"Hasn' — hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?† said Hagrid, looking crestfallen. The class all shook their heads. â€Å"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em,† said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. â€Å"Look –â€Å" He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand. â€Å"Oh, how silly we've all been!† Malfoy sneered. â€Å"We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!† â€Å"I — I thought they were funny,† Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione. â€Å"Oh, tremendously funny!† said Malfoy. â€Å"Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!† â€Å"Shut up, Malfoy,† said Harry quietly. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success. â€Å"Righ' then,† said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, â€Å"so — so yeh've got yer books an'†¦an'†¦now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight. â€Å"God, this place is going to the dogs,† said Malfoy loudly. â€Å"That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him –â€Å" â€Å"Shut up, Malfoy,† Harry repeated. â€Å"Careful, Potter, there's a Dementor behind you –â€Å" â€Å"Oooooooh!† squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock. Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures. â€Å"Gee up, there!† he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence. â€Å"Hippogriffs!† Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. â€Å"Beau'iful, aren' they?† Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black. â€Å"So,† said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, â€Å"if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  No one seemed to want to. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously. â€Å"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud,† said Hagrid. â€Å"Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do.† Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone and Harry had a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson. â€Å"Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move,† Hagrid continued. â€Å"It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.† â€Å"Right — who wants ter go first?† Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione had misgivings. The Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this. â€Å"No one?† said Hagrid, with a pleading look. â€Å"I'll do it,† said Harry. There was an intake of breath from behind him, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered, â€Å"Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!† Harry ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence. â€Å"Good man, Harry!† roared Hagrid. â€Å"Right then — let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak.† He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray Hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously. â€Å"Easy now, Harry,† said Hagrid quietly. â€Å"Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink†¦Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut them. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye. â€Å"Tha's it,† said Hagrid. â€Å"Tha's it, Harry†¦now, bow.† Harry didn't feel much like exposing the back of his neck to Buckbeak, but he did as he was told. He gave a short bow and then looked up. The Hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move. â€Å"Ah,† said Hagrid, sounding worried. â€Å"Right — back away, now, Harry, easy does it –â€Å" But then, to Harry's enormous surprise, the Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow. â€Å"Well done, Harry!† said Hagrid, ecstatic. â€Å"Right — yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!† Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away, Harry moved slowly toward the Hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the Hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it. The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed. â€Å"Righ' then, Harry,† said Hagrid. â€Å"I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!† This was more than Harry had bargained for. He was used to a broomstick; but he wasn't sure a Hippogriff would be quite the same. â€Å"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint,† said Hagrid, â€Å"an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure where to hold on; everything in front of him was covered with feathers. â€Å"Go on, then!† roared Hagrid, slapping the Hippogriffs hindquarters. Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, he just had time to seize the Hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward. It was nothing like a broomstick, and Harry knew which one he preferred; the Hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortably on either side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel he was about to be thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and he didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of his Nimbus Two Thousand, he now felt himself rocking backward and forward as the hindquarters of the Hippogriff rose and fell with its wings. Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; this was the bit Harry had been dreading; he leaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling he was going to slip off over the beak, then felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground. He just managed to hold on and push himself straight again. â€Å"Good work, Harry!† roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. â€Å"Okay, who else wants a go?† Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Harry watched. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful. â€Å"This is very easy,† Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Harry to, hear him. â€Å"I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it†¦I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?† he said to the Hippogriff. â€Å"Are you, you great ugly brute?† It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes. â€Å"I'm dying!† Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. â€Å"I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!† â€Å"Yer not dyin'!† said Hagrid, who had gone very white. â€Å"Someone help me — gotta get him outta here –â€Å" Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Harry saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle. Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid. â€Å"They should sack him straight away!† said Pansy Parkinson, who was in tears. â€Å"It was Malfoy's fault!† snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly. They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall. â€Å"I'm going to see if he's okay!† said Pansy, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins, still muttering about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room; Harry, Ron, and Hermione proceeded upstairs to Gryffindor Tower. â€Å"You think he'll be all right?† said Hermione nervously. â€Å"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second,† said Harry, who had had far worse injuries mended magically by the nurse. â€Å"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?† said Ron, looking worried. â€Å"Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinnertime, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there. â€Å"They wouldn't fire him, would they?† said Hermione anxiously, not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding. â€Å"They'd better not,† said Ron, who wasn't eating either. Harry was watching the Slytherin table. A large group including Crabbe and Goyle was huddled together, deep in conversation. Harry was sure they were cooking up their own version of how Malfoy had been injured. â€Å"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back,† said Ron gloomily. They went up to the crowded Gryffindor common room after dinner and tried to do the homework Professor McGonagall had given them, but all three of them kept breaking off and glancing out of the tower window. â€Å"There's a light on in Hagrid's window,† Harry said suddenly. Ron looked at his watch. â€Å"If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't know,† Hermione said slowly, and Harry saw her glance at him. â€Å"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds,† he said pointedly. â€Å"Sirius Black hasn't got past the Dementors yet, has he?† So they put their things away and headed out of the portrait hole, glad to meet nobody on their way to the front doors, as they weren't entirely sure they were supposed to be out. The grass was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they knocked, and a voice growled, â€Å"C'min.† Hagrid was sitting in his shirtsleeves at his scrubbed wooden table; his boarhound, Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a pewter tankard almost as big as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed to be having difficulty getting them into focus. â€Å"‘Spect it's a record,† he said thickly, when he recognized them. â€Å"Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before.† â€Å"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!† gasped Hermione. â€Å"Not yet,† said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard. â€Å"But's only a matter o' time, I'n't, after Malfoy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"How is he?† said Ron as they all sat down. â€Å"It wasn't serious, was it?† â€Å"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could,† said Hagrid dully, â€Å"but he's sayin' it's still agony†¦covered in bandages†¦moanin'†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He's faking it,† said Harry at once. â€Å"Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth.† â€Å"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course,† said Hagrid miserably. â€Å"They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later†¦one flobberworms or summat†¦Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson's all my fault†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!† said Hermione earnestly. â€Å"We're witnesses,† said Harry. â€Å"You said Hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened.† â€Å"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up,† said Ron. Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes. He grabbed both Harry and Ron and pulled them into a bone-breaking hug. â€Å"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid,† said Hermione firmly. She took the tankard from the table and went outside to empty it. â€Å"Ah, maybe she's right,† said Hagrid, letting go of Harry and Ron, who both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Hermione unsteadily outside. They heard a loud splash. â€Å"What's he done?† said Harry nervously as Hermione came back in with the empty tankard. â€Å"Stuck his head in the water barrel,† said Hermione, putting the tankard away. Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes. â€Å"That's better,† he said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching them all. â€Å"Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really –â€Å" Hagrid stopped dead, staring at Harry as though he'd only just realized he was there. â€Å"WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?† he roared, so suddenly that they jumped a foot in the air. â€Å"YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN, YOU TWO! LETTIN' HIM!† Hagrid strode over to Harry, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the door. â€Å"C'mon!† Hagrid said angrily. â€Å"I'm takin' yer all back up ter school an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!†