Ibrahim Pasha Essay Example for Free

Ibrahim Pasha Essay Ibrahim Pasha makes the sculpturer he found make a sculpture of himself. Kanuni gets very angry with Ibrahim pahsa because of this disrespect of him and doesn’t share his feelings about this with anyone. But later on he shares his feelings with Ibrahim pahsa. As a result of this , he wants to resign since he is afraid of Kanuni’s anger. Then, Ibrahim pahsa comes back to the palace to pick his belongings from his servants. Ibrahim Pasha’s wife Hatice Sultan asks why he is going, whether he will come back to the palace or not. But he doesnt want to say anything about the situation despite of her insists then he leaves. Hatice Sultan has a nightmare, her nightmare is that: her husband is killed by Kanuni and the head of her wife is in a sack on the table . When she wakes up, she cries and goes to the salon; she opens the sack and sees the head of Ibrahim Pasha’s sculpture. She thinks her husband has been killed. Then, she goes to her Kanuni’s palace and asks him whether her husband has been killed or not. Kanuni says he is okay, nevertheless she doesn’t believe. Later, Mustafa leaded on his aunt and she went to her mothers room. When Valide Sultan saw Hatice Sultan, she went to speak with her son for this situation and she teaches that Ibrahim Pasche was well . Later; she mentioned this situation to her sister. I think this part was the resolution of this episode. At the same time, Ibrahim Pasche was together with his twin brother and he confessed that he didnt love Hatice Sultan and he loved Nigar.

Hydrosphere And The Hydrologic Cycle Environmental Sciences Essay

Hydrosphere And The Hydrologic Cycle Environmental Sciences Essay The purpose of this report is to describe the most important features of Earth from a scientific point of view. After investigating the Earth system, four components are identified. They are namely atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. Different components are interconnected so that no single part of the system can work without any other. This report will focus on the composition, operation and evolution of different components as well as an Earth system as a whole. The report will begin by describing the four spheres one by one, followed by a conclusive overview of how the four spheres work together. Hydrosphere and the hydrologic cycle Earth is a blue planet with a wide surface coverage of water. It is approximated that 75% of the Earth surface, which equivalents to about 361 million m2, is covered by ocean. The hydrosphere is important as lives cannot exist without water. Composition of hydrosphere The hydrosphere is composed of all of the water on or near the earth. The total stock of it is approximately 1400 million km3 (Bronstert et al. 2005). This includes all forms of water in the oceans, rivers, lakes, and even the moisture in the air. Ninety-seven percent of the earths water is in the oceans while the remaining three percent is fresh water for which three-quarters of the fresh water is solid and exists in ice sheets. The major reservoirs in the hydrologic cycle are surface water, groundwater and glacier (Bronstert et al. 2005). Water cycle The water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. It includes the processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow. The Sun is the main energy to drive the whole hydrological cycle. Water takes up heat and evaporates as water vapor into the air. Water can be released out from plants through evapotranspiration. Ice and snow can change to gaseous form by sublimation. Water vapor is transferred by air to different lattitudes. They condense and fall as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, hail and sleet. The water can be stored in solid form as ice caps and glaciers for thousands of years. Most water falls back into the oceans or onto land as rain. The water flows over the ground is known as surface runoff and part of it flows into rivers. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Runoff and groundwater are stored as freshwater in lakes. Over time, the water returns to the ocean, where our water cycle started. Hydrological cycle also involves the exchange of heat and contributes to temperature changes. For example, water takes up energy as latent heat when evaporates and thus lower the surrounding temperature. When it condenses, latent heat is released and warms the environment. By transferring water from one reservoir to another, the hydrological cycle purifies water through infiltration, replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports minerals to different parts of the globe. Erosion and sedimentation reshape the geological features of the Earth. Moreover, the hydrological cycle helps in maintain life and ecosystems on Earth. Evolution through history The hydrosphere has been changed and evolved over the geological time. The amount and distribution pattern of precipitation, salinity of water, glacial pattern and the quality of freshwater have all been changed. Some are natural evolution but some are altered by human. Precipitation Salinity Glacial retreat Glacial retreat is also an example of a changing water cycle, where the supply of water to glaciers from precipitation cannot keep up with the loss of water from melting and sublimation. Glacial retreat since 1850 has been extensive. Pollution and scarcity Freshwater resources have been severely polluted by human especially since the industrial revolution. Human activities like agriculture and industry discharge enormous untreated contaminants into freshwater system through rivers and ground water. This leads to scarcity of freshwater to human in some regions. Geosphere The outer layers of the Earth are composed of lithosphere and asthenosphere. The lithosphere is the rigid outermost part consists of the crust and the portion of the upper mantle. The asthenosphere is the weaker and deeper part of the upper mantle which flows more easily. The lithosphere is underlain by the asthenosphere. The boundary between them is defined by a difference in response to stress: the lithosphere remains rigid for very long periods of geologic time in which it deforms elastically and through brittle failure, while the asthenosphere deforms viscously and accommodates strain through plastic deformation. Plate Tectonics The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct tectonic plates, which ride on the fluid-like asthenosphere. Tectonic plates contain both oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere with its own kind of crust on top. There are seven, some say eight, major plates and many minor plates on Earth. There are three kinds of plate boundaries namely convergent, divergent and transform. Convergent boundary is where two plates collide; Divergent plate boundary is where plates move apart with each other; Transform boundary is where plates slide past each other. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries. Lithosphereà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s properties of bigger strength and lower density allow tectonic plates to float and move on asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection. The relative motion between the plates is accommodated by seafloor spreading and the creation of new plates at oceanic ridges, subduction of the surface plates at ocean trenches, and strike-slip motion at transform faults which allows plate motion without creating or removing surface plates. (Landuyt, William 2009) Evolution It is believed that the present continents once formed a single land mass Pangea. This supercontinent existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago and beginning to rift around 200 million years ago. In the Early Jurassic at 175 Ma, Pangea was begun to separate and form two supercontinents, which were Gondwana and Laurasia. Gondwana included most of the landmasses in todays Southern Hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar and the Australian continent, as well as the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent, which have now moved entirely into the Northern Hemisphere. The plates move slowly, leading to the positions of continents and oceans today by collision and separation. The break-up of Pangea still continues today. Therefore, the distribution of continents and ocean on Earth is very likely to be changed gradually in the future. Atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases retained by Earths gravity surrounding the planet. It can absorb ultraviolet solar radiation, warm the surface through greenhouse effect, and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. The importance of atmosphere is to sustain life on Earth. Structure The atmosphere can be divided it into several layers with different rate of change in temperature with height and composition. The Earths atmosphere consists, from the ground up, of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere and also the magnetosphere. Variation of properties through the layers of the atmosphere Figure 1 cr: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0090.shtml Composition nowadays The atmospheric composition on Earth is largely governed by the by-products of the very life that it sustains. Earths atmosphere contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, a variable amount (average around 1.247%) water vapor, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and traces of hydrogen, helium, and other noble gases. Additionally, among all layers of Earth atmosphere, only the troposphere is found to be suitable for terrestrial plants and terrestrial animals. Evolution The earliest atmosphere was mainly consisted of hydrogen. Moreover, it was likely that there were simple hydrides, especially methane, ammonia and water vapor. The atmosphere then evolved after some time, containing lots of nitrogen and carbon dioxide as well as inert gases. Outgassing from volcanoes contributed to the evolution of atmosphere at this stage. Besides, large asteroids bombarded the Earth, also producing gases took part in the evolution. Furthermore, much carbon dioxide exhalations were dissolved in ocean made up heavy rainfall. Nitrogen was the major component of the atmosphere 3.4 billion years ago. An influence of life has to be taken into account rather soon in the history of the atmosphere, since hints of early life forms are to be found as early as 3.5 billion years ago. Oxygen began to develop in atmosphere in the late Archaean eon about 2.7 billion years ago. Photosynthesizing algae as stromatolite is believed to contribute to it. Free oxygen did not exist until about 1.7 billion years ago. The evidence of it is the existence of the red beds and the end of the banded iron formations. Iron was oxidized by oxygen and the oxygen content did not get high until the huge amount of iron had been oxidized. This marks a change from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. The accretion of continents about 3.5 billion years ago added plate tectonics, constantly rearranging the continents and also shaping long-term climate evolution by allowing the transfer of carbon dioxide to large land-based carbonate stores. There was a peak 280 million years ago, when the amount of oxygen was about 30%, much higher than today. The process of plants emitting oxygen and the volcanoes effect on sulphur affect the amount of oxygen. The break down of pyrite rocks cause sulphur to be added to the oceans. Volcanos cause this sulphur to be oxidized, reducing the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, volcanos also emit carbon dioxide which can be converted into oxygen by plants. Recent: Air pollution and increasing greenhouse gases Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to organisms into the atmosphere. Human activities emitted huge amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxides and methane into the atmosphere. It is believed that the anthropogenic alteration of the atmospheric gases causes global warming on Earth. In addition, the increase in CFCs usage by human is also believed ozone to be the reason for ozone depletion in the stratosphere. Biosphere It is estimated that the biosphere have begun to evolve 3.5 billion years ago. The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system. The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar flora and fauna. On land, biomes are separated primarily by latitude. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are relatively barren of plant and animal life, while most of the more populous biomes lie near the equator. Terrestrial organisms in temperate and Arctic biomes have relatively small amounts of total biomass, smaller energy budgets, and display prominent adaptations to cold, including world-spanning migrations, social adaptations, homeothermy, estivation and multiple layers of insulation. Evolution Origins of life There is a lot of research on the origin of life. One of the idea is that the beginning of life may have included self-replicating molecules such as RNA and the assembly of simple cells. Evolution of life Prokaryotes inhabited the Earth from approximately 3à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4 billion years ago.[255][256] No obvious changes in morphology or cellular organisation occurred in these organisms over the next few billion years.[257] The eukaryotic cells emerged between 1.6  Ãƒ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 2.7 billion years ago. The next major change in cell structure came when bacteria were engulfed by eukaryotic cells, in a cooperative association called endosymbiosis.[258][259] The engulfed bacteria and the host cell then underwent co-evolution, with the bacteria evolving into either mitochondria or hydrogenosomes.[260] Another engulfment of cyanobacterial-like organisms led to the formation of chloroplasts in algae and plants.[261] The history of life was that of the unicellular eukaryotes, prokaryotes and archaea until about 610 million years ago when multicellular organisms began to appear in the oceans in the Ediacaran period.[255][262] The evolution of multicellularity occurred in multiple independent events, in organisms as diverse as sponges, brown algae, cyanobacteria, slime moulds and myxobacteria.[263] Soon after the emergence of these first multicellular organisms, a remarkable amount of biological diversity appeared over approximately 10 million years, in an event called the Cambrian explosion. Here, the majority of types of modern animals appeared in the fossil record, as well as unique lineages that subsequently became extinct.[264] Various triggers for the Cambrian explosion have been proposed, including the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere from photosynthesis.[265] About 500 million years ago, plants and fungi colonised the land and were soon followed by arthropods and other animals.[266] Insects were particularly successful and even today make up the majority of animal species.[267] Amphibians first appeared around 364 million years ago, followed by early amniotes and birds around 155 million years ago (both from reptile-like lineages), mammals around 129 million years ago, homininae around 10 million years ago and modern humans around 250,000 years ago.[268][269][270] However, despite the evolution of these large animals, smaller organisms similar to the types that evolved early in this process continue to be highly successful and dominate the Earth, with the majority of both biomass and species being prokaryotes.[151] 3.6 billion years of simple cells (prokaryotes), 3.4 billion years of stromatolites demonstrating photosynthesis, 2 billion years of complex cells (eukaryotes), 1 billion years of multicellular life, 600 million years of simple animals, 570 million years of arthropods (ancestors of insects, arachnids and crustaceans), 550 million years of complex animals, 500 million years of fish and proto-amphibians, 475 million years of land plants, 400 million years of insects and seeds, 360 million years of amphibians, 300 million years of reptiles, 200 million years of mammals, 150 million years of birds, 130 million years of flowers, 65 million years since the dinosaurs died out, 2.5 million years since the appearance of the genus Homo, 200,000 years of anatomically modern humans, 25,000 years since the disappearance of Neanderthal traits from the fossil record. 13,000 years since the disappearance of Homo floresiensis from the fossil record. Conclusion The characteristics of the four components (atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere) of the Earth system have been summarized by discussing each of their composition and evolution history. The four spheres are linked to and interact with each other to sustain the Earth. The planet Earth has a history of 4.6 billion years. Lots of things have been changed and evolved since its formation. The evolution is going to continue. Landuyt,William, I.,II. (2009). The generation of plate tectonics on a planet. Yale University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 195. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305041644?accountid=14548. (305041644)) Axel Bronstert, Jesus Carrera, Pavel Kabat, Sabine Lutkemeier.(2005).Coupled Models for the Hydrological: CycleIntegrating Atmosphere, Biosphere, and Pedosphere. Springer Berlin Heidelberg

The Introduction And History Of Istanbul Tourism Essay

The Introduction And History Of Istanbul Tourism Essay Istanbul is the largest city of Turkey. It is the financial capital of Turkey, making it the busiest city in Turkey. It is located in the northwestern side of Turkey. In the Marmara region having a total area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi). The Sea of Marmara is connected to the Black Sea by the Bosphorus strait, which divides Istanbul into European that is the Thracian side, which is the economic and historic side, and Antolian side that is the Asian side. It has a population of 13.5 million due to which it is listed in one of the largest cities in the world for population in city limits. In the year 2008 in the terms of gross domestic product Istanbul was ranked 34th because of its GDP being US$182 Billion. 27 percent of Turkeys GDP is contributed by Istanbul. Two- fifths of the Turkish economy of the nations tax revenue, is contributed by Istanbul. INTRODUCTION TO THE DESTINATION The university of California, Berkley in the year 2008, September said that Istanbul is the Cultural capital of Europe. In the year 2010, The New York Times rated Istanbul on number 19th for the list of The 31 places to go in 2010. In the year 2010 around 7 million foreign tourists visited Istanbul, which made it worlds tenth- most visited city in the world. Istanbul itself has 17 palaces, 49 churches and 64 mosques, which makes it the most ideal place for cultural tourism. Istanbul is the city of history, culture and diversity. It is now being considered even as a place for educational tourism, as it has one of the worlds oldest universities. The administrative capital of Turkey has always been Istanbul. The worlds busiest waterway is Bosphorous, which is in Istanbul. It is located between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Sarayburnu had found Istanbul around 600 BC. Istanbul is a muslim dominated country. After the end of Ottoman Empire this city has become for cosmopolitan. A fter muslims this city is dominated by orthodox Christians. This city has always been considered as the cultural hub. In the 19th century it was considered the artistic center for regional purposes. Istanbul has a lot of shopping centers from the modern period as well as the historic period. The city has a Mediterranean climate. The northern part of the city has a lot of humidity due to the water bodies and the sea. Fog is a common site in the city. Winters are very cold. During winters black sea faces lake effect snow.Exhibition conducted in Tate Modern in the city of London on Global Cities on 27th August 2007 had Istanbul featured along with London, Cairo, Shanghai and Los Angeles. In which it was compared to all these cities for their size, speed, form density and diversity. The slogan that the Tourism board of Turkey uses to promote Istanbul is also Historically Dynamic. Making it the most apt city for foreigners to feel close to the culture and history. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the entire world, cultural and historical heritage and tourism have had many links throughout. According to the economic justification given by people tourism is a tool used for the preservation of heritages, artifacts and the folk life of the destination (Hall, 1994). This report summarizes and focuses on the kind of tourism in Istanbul. It is known for its cultural tourism, since the government of Turkey also promotes Istanbul as the most historically sound city. LITERATURE REVIEW OF ISTANBUL John Cleave in the year 2008 described Istanbul as the city of two continents. The mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbas explains that Istanbul is a country not a city. In the year 1980 Istanbul did not even have enough electricity supply for the famous skyline. Few years back Istanbul had midnight curfews and even the supply of Turkish coffee had gone down. Today Istanbul is not just an immigrant city, it is much more than that, says Murat Guvenc, city planner and curator of Istanbul 1910- 2012. Kirsten Stamn in his online blog carry on in the year 2011 describes that, when some one thinks of Istanbul, people only think of the mosques, the bazaars and the architecture. But he discloses a fact that Turks love jazz. The biggest Jazz Festival every year is held in Istanbul. It is Istanbul where 15 million people come and visit the Grand Bazaar every year (Appleton. K, 2012). Istanbul has always had an East meets west history, due to the Bosphorous strait. The main selling point of Istanbul h as always been bridge between Asia and Europe. According to a survey done in April 2012 by PortTurkey.com the nationalities that visit this city the most re Germans. They took the top spot with 10.4 percent. According to Istanbuls Culture and Tourism Director Ahmet Emre Bilgili, Istanbul is a city, which has a very old history, culture and art, which a lot of people want to experience. It has a very diversified tourism, which makes it the most visited city by the tourists. PART 2 MAIN FORM OF TOURISM Tourism in Turkey mainly focuses on the various historical sites that the city has. In 2011 Istanbuls mainly attracted form of tourism was for culture, spa and health care, which helped it rank the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world. Istanbul just does not have vacationers tourist but even visiting professional literates, for its cultural grounds on literature. Istanbul even caters to the leisure travellers. The shopaholics can have a feast in this city, as Cevahir mall is the biggest mall in Europe and the seventh largest shopping center in the world. Peter Sommer describes that while describing Istanbul it is very hard for people not to speak in superlatives. Istanbul has one of the most finest architectural and art around the world. Istanbul is Turkeys commercial hub, which is also the social, and art capital. In the year 1970 the population of this city was 3 million, which has grown to around 11 million today. The head of Cultural and Social Affairs Department, Nu man Guzey shares that Istanbul has been the capital for three empires in the past that is Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, which makes it a center of history and culture having a history that is 3,000 years old. The mission statement of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipalitys Directorate of Tourism is that it is the city that has a lot of vibrancy, since a lot of cultures here have crossed and encountered in the centuries that have passed by. Their mission is to promote Istanbul more as a cultural destination known for its heritage making it the most visited and vibrant tourist destinations in the world. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISTS In the year 2012 the number of tourists that visited Istanbul increased at a very large scale. Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate released the figures of tourists visiting the city has increased by 18 percent compared to the year 2011. Around 4.2 million tourists visited Istanbul. Around 4 million tourists visited Istanbul by plane and the rest by ferries or ships. Wizard Istanbul is a travel guide developed by the Ministry of Culture and tourism is an online website which is available 24 hours to help the foreign tourists. Istanbul had a whooping number of 4,231,000 tourists. Around 26.8 percent of the tourists that entered Turkey visited Istanbul. 4,052,908 tourists arrived by plane and the rest 178,511 came by sea. The majority of tourists who visited Istanbul were from Germany, which was then followed by Russia, America, France, England and Iran. This year there was a decline in the tourists form Israel. Since the year 2007 Spaniards have visited Istanbul a lot more frequen tly. Istanbul has made Turkey the top 10 biggest revenue generators in the world due to tourism. Spending Capacity The Turkish Lira was not stable for quiet some years; euros and dollars are a common currency in most of the hotels and tour operators. Earlier it was a bargain destination, it still has a god value for money when it comes to travelling. A room for two people in three star hotels would cost around $80 per night in Sultanahmet. A decent meal would cost around TL20 to TL25. Public transportation is very cheap and efficient and some of the citys historical places people can visit for free. If the non-residents buy any expensive item from Istanbul they can participate in the national Global Refund. This means that at the time of departure the tourist can present the refund receipt at the airport tax return. This way the tourists get their tax back. DURATION OF STAY Tourists, who generally visit Istanbul, prefer staying there for 5 to 6 days. Tourists, which travel to Istanbul even travel to Cappadocia, which is not very far from Istanbul. The cultural tourists travel for 10 days since they visit the blue mosque. TIME AND SPACE Specific type of Tourist In the year 2004, the maximum people who visited Istanbul were travelling only for cultural perspective. Hence Istanbul had a very high amount of cultural tourism. In more recent years the cultural tourism in this city has increased to 30 percent. 40 percent of the tourists visit the museums and the mosques. The major target markets for Istanbul are cultural tourists. The total amount of visitors every year to the Istanbul museum is 3,932,852 (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2008). Lot of tourists visit this city for the festivals as well. After the year 2000 the government has taken important steps to celebrate festivals publically, so that not only the residents can take part but also the tourists can be a part of it. The European Union supports the cultural tourism, making this city more convenient for the culturally inclined tourists. The cultural tourists are generally rich and highly educated. The cultural tourists are generally known as upper level tourists. Cultural tourists who travel to Istanbul are dived into two groups according to the attractions they visit. The first groups of attractions are monuments, museums. Theme parks, architectural and sculptures. The second group of attractions is music and dance, events, theatre language, festivals. CONTRIBUTION TO GDP Turkey has become the 15th greatest economy of the world in the year 2012. Having a GDP of $729 billion. Istanbul has always been the economic center for Turkey, contributing a GDP of $174 billion. It generates 22 percent of the GDP just through tourism and 40 percent is generated through the travel and tourism tax. Istanbul has made carved a niche for itself and is now listed in the Global cities of the world. Due to the high GDP in Istanbul, it has started creating more jobs, further improving the countrys balance overall. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY TOURISM Travelling is something that everyone enjoys. Travelling makes life interesting, and can bring a new view of living life. The purpose of everyones travelling can be different like some people travel for rich culture, history and some to meet and come across interesting people. A lot of people travel and yet they would not be able to travel the whole world, as they might not have the correct resources. Travelling around the world gives people a better understanding of what is going around in the different parts of the world, and how different is every countries culture and heritage. Traveling even changes a persons perspective towards life. Travelling broadens a persons mind and soul. In basic words it has always been a human desire to travel to different places. Travelling changes a person inside out. Travel for people will always be an invaluable asset. Most of the common reasons why people travel is to try out new things. Different places have different things to see and try, and t his is the motivation which most of the people have. GLOBALIZATION- EFFECT ON TOURISM

The Stereotypical Old-West Hero :: American Culture Essays

The Stereotypical Old-West Hero Gunsmoke is a 1950's western series played on CBS radio station during the Vietnam war. It is about a U.S. Marshall named Matt Dillon who is in charge of keeping the law and respect in a town called Dodge City. Each episode has Matt Dillon dealing with problems such as murders, brawls, and gunfights that occur in the Wild West. Matt Dillon is personified as being inquisitive, independent, and not very emotional as a U.S. Marshall. He gives a view of the stereotypical old-west hero. In the series Gunsmoke, Matt Dillon had a very inquisitive nature. Everything that was talked about or anyone that he talked with always was confronted with questions to find out exactly what was going on. He questioned a lot concerning people he did not like. It seemed like when ever a problem or situation came to his attention, or if someone seemed suspicious he would start inquiring more. For example, in the first episode, Matt Dillon is confronted with a person he does not like called Web. He asks his sidekick, Chester, to gather more information about him concerning his past history. As the episode progresses listeners find out that another man wanted to kill Web. On the next story Dillon has to look for an ex-killer in another town. Before he goes on the mission he asks a lot of question such as, "What does this man look like", "When is the last time he was seen", etc. Questioning seems very typical of lawmen back than, and even today. Weather the questions were to start a figh t, or solve a dilemma questioning was a lawmen's best friend. Another point that was noticeable in Gunsmoke was the independence of Dillon. As the listeners hear the stories they cannot help but notice how Mat Dillon only has one partner named Chester. It also seems like Chester is more like Dillon's conscience, bringing up points or making suggestion depending on the circumstances. Near the end of the first story Matt Dillon suggest that Web leave town for a few days. As Chester and Dillon enter the saloon called Long Horn, Dillon turns and tells Chester to wait at the door as he goes after Web. Near the end of the second story Dillon leaves Chester to go tell a woman about her dead husband. In the third story Dillon leaves Chester, and goes after a man called, Pat, to arrest him.

Early History of South Africa: A Climatological Case Study Essay

Early History of South Africa: A Climatological Case Study The early history of Cape Town shares little with the experience of the rest of Africa. The patterns of colonization and the relationship between black Africans and nationalized Europeans are unique to the area. The timing and speed of settlement were possible only because of the local disease environment. The system of racial interaction, a system of Aparthide unique to the area, acted differently than other systems because of farming patterns dictated by the fertility of the land. The above are instances of the apparent adaptation of South African cultural development to its climate environment. They show the history and culture of the area are inseparable aspects of the climate in which they formed. Once the Portuguese had made the trip around the horn of Africa and had started to trade with the Indian Ocean world it was clear that a port capable of re-supplying and repairing the trading ships was necessary. Towns sprang to life up and down the West African coast, their numbers increasing as other European powers began to claim their share of the trade with India. In most of these towns, European mortality was horrendous. Even England, notorious for colonizing with Criminals, did not send its prisoners to the West African coast for long. Malaria and other African diseases killed them as effectively as a hangman’s noose. But there was one glaring anomaly: Cape Town. Here, Europeans could survive. The reason had everything to do with Climate. One of the biggest causes of European mortality was Malaria. A parasitic disease carried by mosquitoes, Malaria has a high mortality rate among first exposure victims. Even today, it is the fourth most common cause for c... ..., settlements remained small and ineffectual. The African natives were able to maintain their own lifestyles, and the Europeans were prevented from expanding. This was not the case in South Africa, where insufficient rainfall forced the population to spread out and interact with the natives to such an extent as to alter their language. The divisions this interaction created were not easily thrown aside, and have persisted to modern times. Without the knowledge of the climate of the area, there would be no explanation for the unique nature of South African culture. Climate dictated the development of this culture. Works Cited: 1 http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/facts.htm 2 http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/distribution_epi/distribution.htm 3 http://cybercapetown.com/CapeTown/climate.php 4 http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=68816&Units=both

Motivation Case Study on Gp Essay

When people join an organization, they bring with them certain drives and needs that affect their on-the-job performance. Sometimes these are immediately apparent, but often they not only are difficult to determine and satisfy but also vary greatly from one person to another. Understanding how needs create tensions which stimulate effort to perform and how effective performance brings the satisfaction of rewards is useful for managers. Several approaches to understanding internal drives and needs within employees are examined in the chapter. Each model makes a contribution to our understanding of motivation. All the models share some similarities. In general, they encourage managers not only to consider lower-order, maintenance, and extrinsic factors but to use higher-order, motivational, and intrinsic factors as well. Behavior modification focuses on the external environment by stating that a number of employee behaviors can be affected by manipulating their consequences. The alternative consequences include positive and negative reinforcement punishment, and extinction. Reinforcement can be applied according to either continuous or partial schedules. A blending of internal and external approaches is obtained through consideration of goal setting. Managers are encouraged to use cues—such as goals that are accepted, challenging, and specific—to stimulate desired employee behavior. In this way, goal setting, combined with the reinforcement of performance feedback, provides a balanced approach to motivation. . : . Additional approaches to motivation presented in this chapter are the expectancy and equity models. The- expectancy model states that motivation is a product of how much one wants something-and the probabilities that effort will lead to task accomplishment and reward. The formula is valence X expectancy X instrumentality = motivation. Valence is the strength of a person’s preference for an outcome. Expectancy is the strength of belief that one’s effort will be successful in accomplishing a task. Instrumentality is the strength of belief that successful performance will be followed by a reward. The expectancy and equity motivational models relate specifically to the  employee’s intellectual processes. The equity model has a double comparison in it a match between an employee’s perceived inputs and outcomes, coupled with a comparison with some referent person’s rewards for her or his input level. In addition, employees use the procedural justice model to assess the fairness of how rewards are distributed. Managers are encouraged to combine the perspectives of several models to create a complete motivational environment for their employees. Motivation: Motivation is the set of internal & external forces that cause an employee to choose a course of action and engage in certain behavior. A Model of Motivation : Although a few spontaneous human activities occur without motivation, nearly all conscious behavior is motivated or caused. Growing hair requires no motivation, but getting a haircut does. Eventually, anyone will fall asleep without motivation (although parents with young children may doubt this), but going to bed is a conscious act requiring motivation manager’s job is to identify employees’ drives and needs and to channel their behavior, to motivate them, toward task performance. The role of motivation in performance is summarized in the model of motivation in Figure 5.1. Internal needs and drives create tensions that are affected by one’s environment. For example, the need for food produces a tension of hunger. The hungry person then Environment Opportunity Needs and drive Tension Effont Performance Rewards Goals and incentive Ability Need satisfaction FIGURE 5.1 A Model of Mitivation examines the surroundings to see which foods (external incentives) are available to satisfy that hunger. Since environment affects one’s appetite for particular kinds of food a South Seas native may want roast fish, whereas a Colorado rancher may prefer grilled steak. Both persons are ready to achieve their goals, but they will seek different foods to satisfy their needs. This is an example of both individual differences and cultural influences in action. As we saw in the formulas in Chapter 1, potential performance (P) is a product of ability (A) and motivation (M). Results occur when motivated employs are provided with the opportunity (such as the proper training) to perform and the resources (such as the proper tools) to do so. The presence of goals and the awareness of incentives to satisfy one’s needs are also powerful motivational factors leading to the release of effort. When an employee is productive and the organization takes note of it, rewards will be distributed. If those rewards are appropriate in nature, timing, and distribution, the employee’s original needs and drives are satisfied. At that time, new needs may emerge and the cycle will begin again. It should be apparent, therefore, that an important starting point lies in understanding employee needs. Several traditional approaches to classifying drives and needs are presented first; these models attempt to help managers understand how employees’ internal needs affect their subsequent behaviors. These historical approaches are logically followed by a discussion of a systematic way of modifying employee behavior thought the use of rewards that satisfy those needs. Achievement Motivation Achievement motivation is a drive some people have to pursue and attain goals. An individual with this drive wishes to achieve objectives and advance up the ladder of success. Accomplishment is seen as important primarily for its own sake, not just for the rewards that accompany. A number of characteristic define achievement-oriented employees. They work harder when they perceive that they will receive personal credit for their efforts, when the risk of failure is only moderate, and when they receive specific feedback about their past performance,. People with a high drive  for achievement take responsibility for their actions and results, control their destiny, seek regular feedback, and enjoy being part of a winning achievement through individual or collective effort. As managers, they tend to export that their employees will also be oriented toward achievement. These high expectations sometime make it difficult for achievement-oriented managers to delegate effectively and for â€Å"average† employees to satisfy their manager’s demands. Affiliation Motivation : Affiliation motivation is a drive to relate to people on a social basis. Comparisons of achievement-motivation employees with affiliation-motivation employees illustrate how the two patterns influence behavior. Achievement-oriented people work harder when their supervisors provide detailed evaluations of their work behavior. But people with affiliation motives work better when they are compli9mentions of their work behavior. But people with affiliation motives work better when they are complimented for their favorable attitudes and cooperation. Achievement-motivated people select assistants who are technically capable, with little regard for personal feelings about them; those who are affiliation-motivated tend to select friends and likable people to surround them. They receive inner satisfactions from being with friends, and they want the job freedom to develop those relationships. Managers with strong needs for affiliation may have difficulty being effective managers. -Although a high concern for positive social relationships usually results in a cooperative work environment where employees genuinely enjoy working together, managerial overemphasis on the social dimension may interfere with the vital process of getting things done-. Affiliation-oriented managers may have difficulty assigning challenging tasks, directing work activities, and monitoring work effectiveness. Power Motivation Power motivation is a drive to influence people, take control, and change situations. Power-motivated people wish to create an impact on their organizations and are willing to take risks to do so. Once this power is obtained, it may be used either constructively or destructively. Power-motivated people make excellent managers if their drives are for  institutional power instead of personal power. Institutional power is the need to influence others’ behavior for the good of the whole organization. People with this need seek power through legitimate means, rise to leadership positions through successful performance, and therefore are accepted by others. However, if an employee’s drives are toward personal power, that person tends to lose the trust and respect of employees and colleagues and be an unsuccessful organizational leader. Managerial Application of the Drives Knowledge of the differences among the three motivational drives requires managers to think contingently and to understand the work attitudes of each employee. They can then deal with employees differently according to the strongest motivational drive that they identify in each employee. In this way, the supervisor communicates with each employee according to that particular person’s needs. As one employee said, â€Å"My supervisor talks to me in my language.† Although various tests can be used to identify the strength of employee drives, direct observation of employees’ behavior is one of the best methods for determining what they will respond to. HUMAN NEEDS When a machine malfunctions, people recognize that it needs something. Managers try to find the causes of the breakdown in an analytical manner based on their knowledge of the operations and needs of the machine. Types of Needs Needs may be classified in various ways. A simple classification is (1) basic physical needs, called primary needs, and (2) social and psychological needs, called secondary needs. The physical needs include food, water, sex, sleep, sir, and reasonably comfortable temperature. These needs arise from the basic requirements of life and are important for survival of the human race. They are, therefore, virtually universal, but they vary in intensity from one person to another. For example, a child needs much more sleep than an older person., . Needs also are conditioned by social practice. If it is customary to eat three meals a day, then a person tends to become hungry for three, even  though two might be adequate. If a coffee hour is introduced in the morning, then that becomes a habit of appetite satisfaction as well as a social need. Secondary needs are more vague because they represent needs of the mind and spirit rather than of the physical body. Many of these needs are developed as people mature. Examples are needs that pertain to self-esteem, sense of duty, competitiveness, self-assertion, and lo giving, belonging, and receiving affection. The secondary needs are those that complicate the motivational efforts of managers. Nearly any action that management takes will affect secondary needs; (here/ore, managerial planning should consider the effect of any proposed action on the secondary needs of employees, Here are seven key conclusions about secondary needs. They: 0 Are strongly conditioned by experience 1 Vary in type and intensity among people 2 Are subject to change across time within any individual 3 Cannot usually be isolated, but rather work in combination and influence one another. 4 Are often hidden from conscious recognition 5 Are vague feelings as opposed to specific physical needs 6 Influence behavior in powerful ways Whereas the three motivational drives identified earlier were not grouped in any particular pattern, the three major theories of human/needs -presented in the following sections attempt to classify those needs. At least implicitly, the theories of Maslow, Hertzberg, and Alerter build on the distinction between primary and secondary needs. Also, there are some similarities as well as important differences among the three, approaches. Despite their limitations, all three approaches to human needs help create an important basis for the more advanced motivational models to be discussed later. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs According to A. H. Maslow, human needs are not of equal strength, and they emerge in a definite sequence. In particular, as the primary needs become reasonably well satisfied, a person places more emphasis on the secondary needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs focuses attention on five levels.This  hierarchy is briefly presented and then interpreted in the following sections. Lower-Order Needs First-level needs involve basic survival and include physiological needs for food, air, water, and sleep. The second need level that tends to dominate is bodily safety (such as freedom from a dangerous work environment) and economic security (such as a no-layoff guarantee or a comfortable retirement plan). These two need levels together are typically called lower-order needs, and they are similar to the primary no discussed earlier. Higher-Order Needs There are three levels of higher-order needs. The third level ia the hierarchy concerns love, belonging, and social involvement at work (friendships and compatible associates). The needs at the fourth level encompass those for esteem and status, including one’s feelings of self-worth and of competence. The feeling of competence, which derives from the assurance of others, provides status. The fifth-level need is self-actualization, which means becoming all that one is capable of becoming, using one’s skills to the fullest, and stretching talents to the maximum. Interpreting the Hierarchy of Needs Maslow’s need-hierarchy model essentially says that people have needs they wish to satisfy and that gratified needs are not as strongly motivating as unmet needs, Employees are more enthusiastically motivated by what they are currently seeking than by receiving more of what they already have. A fully satisfied need will not be a strong motivator. Interpreted in this way, the Maslow hierarchy of needs has had a powerful impact on contemporary managers, offering some useful ideas for helping managers think about motivating their employees. As a result of widespread familiarity with the model, today’s managers need to: ‘ Identify and accept employee needs 7 Recognize that needs may differ among employees  8 Offer satisfaction for the particular needs currently unmet 9 Realize that giving more of the same reward (especially one which satisfies lower-order needs) may have a diminishing impact on motivation. The Maslow model also has many limitations, and it has been sharply criticized. As a philosophical framework, it has been difficult to study and has not been fully verified. From a practical perspective, it is not easy to provide opportunities for self-actualization to all employees. In addition, research has not supported the presence of all five need levels as unique, nor has  the five-step progression from lowest to highest need levels been established. There is, however, some evidence that unless the two lower-order needs (physiological and security) are basically satisfied, employees will not be greatly concerned with higher-order needs. The evidence for a more limited number of need levels is consistent with each of the two models discussed next. Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Model On the basis of research with engineers and accountants, Frederick Hertzberg, in the 1950s, developed a two-factor model of motivation. He asked his subjects to think of a time when they felt especially good about their jobs and a time when they felt especially bad about their jobs. He also asked them to describe the conditions that led to those feelings. Hertzberg found that employees named different types of conditions that produced good and bad feelings. That is, if a feeling of achievement led to a good feeling, the lack of achievement was rarely given as cause for bad feelings. Instead, some other factor, such as company policy, was more frequently given as a cause of bad feelings. Maintenance and Motivational Factors Hertzberg concluded that two separate sets of factors influenced motivation. Prior to that time, people had assumed that motivation and lack of motivation were merely opposites of one factor on a continuum. Hertzberg upset the traditional view by stating that certain job factors, such as job security and working conditions, dissatisfy employees primarily when the conditions are absent. However, their presence generally brings employees only to a neutral state. The factors are not strongly motivating. These potent dissatisfies are called hygiene factors, or maintenance factors, because they must not be ignored, They are necessary for building a foundation on which to create a reasonable level of motivation in employees. Other job conditions operate primarily to build this motivation, but their absence rarely is strongly dissatisfying. These conditions are known as motivational factors, motivators, or satisfiers. For many years managers had been wondering why their custodial policies and wide array of fringe benefits were not increasing employee motivation. The idea  of separate motivational and maintenance factors helped answer their question, because fringe benefits and personnel policies were primarily maintenance factors, according to Hertzberg. Job Content &Context: Motivational factors such as achievement and responsibility are related, for the most part, directly to the job itself, the employee’s performance, and the personal recognition and growth that employees experience. Motivators mostly are job-centered; they relate to job content. On the other hand, maintenance factors are mainly related to job context, because they are more related to the environment surrounding the job. This difference between job content and job context is a significant of is. It shirrs that employees are motivated primarily by what they do for themselves. When they take responsibility or gain recognition through their own behavior, they are strongly motivated. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators The difference between job content and job context is similar to the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in psychology. Intrinsic motivators are internal rewards that a person feels when performing a job, so there is a direct and often immediate connection between work and rewards. An employee in this situation is self-motivated, Extrinsic motivators are external rewards that occur apart from the nature of work, providing no direct satisfaction at the defter the work is performed Examples are retirement plans, health insurance, and vacations. Although employees value these items, fey are not effective motivators. Interpreting the Two-Factor Model Harrier’s model provides a useful distinction between maintenance factors, which are necessary but not sufficient, and motivational factors, which have the potential for improving employee effort. The two-factor model ‘ broadened managers’ perspectives by showing the potentially powerful role of intrinsic rewards that evolve from the work itself. (This conclusion ties in with a number of other important behavioral developments, such as job enrichment, empowerment, self-leadership, and quality of work life, which are. discussed in later chapters.) Nevertheless, managers should now be aware that they cannot neglect a wide rare. go of facers that create at least a neutral work environment. In addition, unless hygiene factors are reasonably adder; their absence will serve as significant distractions to workers. The Hertzberg model, like Maslow’s, has been widely criticized. It is not universe applicable, because it was based on and applies best to  managerial, professional, an; upper-level white-collar employees. The model also appears to reduce the motivation* importance of pay, status, and relations with others, since these are maintenance facto; This aspect of the model is counterintuitive to many managers and difficult for them k , accept. Since there is no absolute distinction between the effects of the two major factors the model outlines only general tendencies,† maintenance factors may be motivators to some people, and motivators may be maintenance factors to others. Finally, the model also seems to be method-bound, meaning that only Hertzberg’s approach (asking for self-reports of favorable and unfavorable job experiences) produces the two-factor model. In short, there may be an appearance of two factors when in reality there is only one factor. Alderfer’s E-R-G Mode: Building upon earlier need models (primarily Maslow’s) and seeking to overcome some their weaknesses, Clayton Alderfer proposed a modified need hierarchy—the E-R-G model—with just three levels three levels. He suggested that employees are initially interested in satisfying their existence needs, which combine physiological and security factors. Pay, physical working conditions, job security, and fringe benefits can all address these needs. Relatedness needs are at the next level, and these involve being understood and accepted by people above, below, and around the employee at work and away Growth needs are in the third category; these involve the desire for both self-esteem at self-actualization. The impending conversation between the president and the marketing manager could be structured around Alderfer’s E-R-G model. The president may first wish to identify which level or levels seem to be satisfied. For example, a large disparity between their salaries could lead the marketing manager to be frustrated with his existence needs, despite a respectable salary-and-bonus package. Or his immersion in his work through long hours and heavy travel as the stores prepared to open could have left his relatedness needs unsatisfied. Finally, assuming he has mastered his present job assignments, he may be experiencing the need to develop his no marketing capabilities and grow into new areas. In addition to condensing Maslow’s five need levels into three that are more consistent with research, the  E-R-G model differs in other ways. For example, the E-R-G model does not assume as rigorous a progression from level to level. Instead, it accepts the likelihood that all three levels might be active at any time—or even that just one of the higher levels might be active. It also suggests that a person frustrated at either of the two higher levels may return to concentrate on a lower level and then progress again. Finally, whereas the first two levels are somewhat limited in their requirements for satisfaction, the growth needs not only are unlimited but are actually further awakened each time some satisfaction is attained. Comparison of the Maslow, Hertzberg, and Alderfer Modes The similarities among the three models of human needs are quite apparent,but there are important contrasts, too. Maslow and Alderfer focus on the internal needs of the employee, whereas Herzberg also identifies and differentiates the conditions (job content or job context) that could be provided for need satisfaction. Popular interpretations of the Masiow and Herzberg models suggest that in modern societies many workers have already satisfied their lower-order needs, so they are now motivated mainly by higher-order needs and motivators. Alderfer suggests that the failure to satisfy related-ness or growth needs will cause renewed interest in existence needs. Finally, all three models indicate that before a manager tries to administer a reward, he or she would find it useful to discover which need or needs dominate a particular employee at the time. In this way, all need models provide a foundation for the understanding and application of behavior modification. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION The models of motivation that have been discussed up to this point are known as content theories of motivation because they focus on the content (nature) of items that may motivate a person. They relate to the person’s inner self and how that person’s internal state of needs determines behavior. The major difficulty with content models of motivation is that the needs people have are not subject to observation by managers or to precise measurement for monitoring purposes. It is difficult, for example, to measure an employee’s esteem needs or to assess how they change over time. Further, simply knowing about an employee’s-needs does not directly suggest to managers what they  should do with that information. As a result, there has been considerable interest in motivational models that rely more heavily on intended results, careful measurement, and systematic application of incentives. Organizational behavior modification, or OB Mod, is the application in organizations of the principles of behavior modification, which evolved from the work of B. F. Skinner. OB Mod and the next several models are process theories of motivation, since they provide perspectives on the dynamics by which employees can be motivated.

Bag of Bones EPILOGUE

It snowed for Christmas a polite six inches of powder that made the carollers working the streets of Sanford look like they belonged in It's a Wonderful Life. By the time I came back from checking Kyra for the third time, it was quarter past one on the morning of the twenty-sixth, and the snow had stopped. A late moon, plump but pale, was peeking through the unravelling fluff of clouds. I was Christmasing with Frank again, and we were the last two up. The kids, Ki included, were dead to the world, sleeping off the annual bacchanal of food and presents. Frank was on his third Scotch it had been a three-Scotch story if there ever was one, I guess but I'd barely drunk the top off my first one. I think I might have gotten into the bottle quite heavily if not for Ki. On the days when I have her I usually don't drink so much as a glass of beer. And to have her three days in a row . . . but shit, kemo sabe, if you can't spend Christmas with your kid, what the hell is Christmas for? ‘Are you all right?' Frank asked when I sat down again and took another little token sip from my glass. I grinned at that. Not is she all right but are you all right. Well, nobody ever said Frank was stupid. ‘You should've seen me when the Department of Human Services let me have her for a weekend in October. I must have checked on her a dozen times before I went to bed . . . and then I kept checking. Getting up and peeking in on her, listening to her breathe. I didn't sleep a wink Friday night, caught maybe three hours on Saturday. So this is a big improvement. But if you ever blab any of what I've told you, Frank -if they ever hear about me filling up that bathtub before the storm knocked the gennie out I can kiss my chances of adopting her goodbye. I'll probably have to fill out a form in triplicate before they even let me attend her high-school graduation.' I hadn't meant to tell Frank the bathtub part, but once I started talking, almost everything spilled out. I suppose it had to spill to someone if I was ever to get on with my life. I'd assumed that John Storrow would be the one on the other side of the confessional when the time came, but John didn't want to talk about any of those events except as they bore on our ongoing legal business, which nowadays is all about Kyra Elizabeth Devore. ‘I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry. How goes the adoption battle?' ‘Slow. I've come to loathe the State of Maine court system, and DHS as well. You take the people who work in those bureaucracies one by one and they're mostly fine, but when you put them together . . . ‘ ‘Bad, huh?' ‘I sometimes feel like a character in Bleak House. That's the one where Dickens says that in court nobody wins but the lawyers. John tells me to be patient and count my blessings, that we're making amazing progress considering that I'm that most untrustworthy of creatures, an unmarried white male of middle age, but Ki's been in two foster-home situations since Mattie died, and ‘ ‘Doesn't she have kin in one of those neighboring towns?' ‘Mattie's aunt. She didn't want anything to do with Ki when Mattie was alive and has even less interest now. Especially since ‘ ‘ since Ki's not going to be rich.' ‘Yeah.' ‘The Whitmore woman was lying about Devore's will.' ‘Absolutely. He left everything to a foundation that's supposed to foster global computer literacy. With due respect to the numbercrunchers of the world, I can't imagine a colder charity.' ‘How is John?' ‘Pretty well mended, but he's never going to get the use of his right arm back entirely. He damned near died of blood-loss.' Frank had led me away from the entwined subjects of Ki and custody quite well for a man deep into his third Scotch, and I was willing enough to go. I could hardly bear to think of her long days and longer nights in those homes where the Department of Human Services stores away children like knickknacks nobody wants. Ki didn't live in those places but only existed in them, pale and listless, like a well-fed rabbit kept in a cage. Each time she saw my car turning in or pulling up she came alive, waving her arms and dancing like Snoopy on his doghouse. Our weekend in October had been wonderful (despite my obsessive need to check her every half hour or so after she was asleep), and the Christmas holiday had been even better. Her emphatic desire to be with me was helping in court more than anything else . . . yet the wheels still turned slowly. Maybe in the spring, Mike, John told me. He was a new John these days, pale and serious. The slightly arrogant eager beaver who had wanted nothing more than to go head to head with Mr. Maxwell ‘Big Bucks' Devore was no longer in evidence. John had learned something about mortality on the twenty-first of July, and something about the world's idiot cruelty, as well. The man who had taught himself to shake with his left hand instead of his right was no longer interested in partying 'til he puked. He was seeing a girl in Philly, the daughter of one of his mother's friends. I had no idea if it was serious or not, Ki's ‘Unca John' is closemouthed about that part of his life, but when a young man is of his own accord seeing the daughter of one of his mother's friends, it usually is. Maybe in the spring: it was his mantra that late fall and early winter. What am I doing wrong? I asked him once this was just after Thanksgiving and another setback. Nothing, he replied. Single-parent adoptions are always slow, and when the putative adopter is a man, it's worse. At that point in the conversation John made an ugly little gesture, poking the index finger of his left hand in and out of his loosely cupped right fist. That's blatant sex discrimination, John. Yeah, but usually it's justified. Blame it on every twisted asshole who ever decided he had a right to take off some little kid's pants, if you want,' blame it on the bureaucracy, if you want,' hell, blame it on cosmic rays if you want. It's a slow process, but you're going to win in the end. You've got a clean record, you've got Kyra saying ‘I want to be with Mike' to every judge and DHS worker she sees, you've got enough money to keep after them no matter how much they squirm and no matter how many forms they throw at you . . . and most of all, buddy, you've got me. I had something else, too what Ki had whispered in my ear as I paused to catch my breath on the steps. I'd never told John about that, and it was one of the few things I didn't tell Frank, either. Mattie says I'm your little guy now, she had whispered. Mattie says you'll take care of me. I was trying to as much as the fucking slowpokes at Human Services would let me but the waiting was hard. Frank picked up the Scotch and tilted it in my direction. I shook my head. Ki had her heart set on snowman-making, and I wanted to be able to face the glare of early sun on fresh snow without a headache. ‘Frank, how much of this do you actually believe?' He poured for himself, then just sat for a time, looking down at the table and thinking. When he raised his head again there was a smile on his face. It was so much like Jo's that it broke my heart. And when he spoke, he juiced his ordinarily faint Boston brogue. ‘Sure and I'm a half-drunk Irishman who just finished listenin to the granddaddy of all ghost stories on Christmas night,' he said. ‘I believe all of it, you silly git.' I laughed and so did he. We did it mostly through the nose, as men are apt to do when up late, maybe in their cups a little, and don't want to wake the house. ‘Come on how much really?' ‘All of it,' he repeated, dropping the brogue. ‘Because Jo believed it. And because of her.' He nodded his head in the direction of the stairs so I'd know which her he meant. ‘She's like no other little girl I've ever seen. She's sweet enough, but there's something in her eyes. At first I thought it was losing her mother the way she did, but that's not it. There's more, isn't there?' ‘Yes,' I said. ‘It's in you, too. It's touched you both.' I thought of the baying thing which Jo had managed to hold back while I poured the lye into that rotted roll of canvas. An Outsider, she had called it. I hadn't gotten a clear look at it, and probably that was good. Probably that was very good. ‘Mike?' Frank looked concerned. ‘You're shivering.' ‘I'm okay,' I said. ‘Really.' ‘What's it like in the house now?' he asked. I was still living in Sara Laughs. I procrastinated until early November, then put the Derry house up for sale. ‘Quiet.' ‘Totally quiet?' I nodded, but that wasn't completely true. On a couple of occasions I had awakened with a sensation Mattie had once mentioned that there was someone in bed with me. But not a dangerous presence. On a couple of occasions I have smelled (or thought I have) Red perfume. And sometimes, even when the air is perfectly still, Bunter's bell will shiver out a few notes. It's as if something lonely wants to say hello. Frank glanced at the clock, then back at me, almost apologetically. ‘I've got a few more questions okay?' ‘If you can't stay up until the wee hours on Boxing Day morning,' I said, ‘I guess you never can. Fire away.' ‘What did you tell the police?' ‘I didn't have to tell them much of anything. Footman talked enough to suit them too much to suit Norris Ridgewick. Footman said that he and Osgood it was Osgood driving the car, Devore's pet broker did the drive-by because Devore had made threats about what would happen to them if they didn't. The State cops also found a copy of a wire-transfer among Devore's effects at Warrington's. Two million dollars to an account in the Grand Caymans. The name scribbled on the copy is Randolph Footman. Randolph is George's middle name. Mr. Footman is now residing in Shawshank State Prison.' ‘What about Rogette?' ‘Well, Whitmore was her mother's maiden name, but I think it's safe to say that Rogette's heart belonged to Daddy. She had leukemia, was diagnosed in 1996. In people her age she was only fifty-seven when she died, by the way it's fatal in two cases out of every three, but she was doing the chemo. Hence the wig.' ‘Why did she try to kill Kyra? I don't understand that. If you broke Sara Tidwell's hold on this earthly plane of ours when you dissolved her bones, the curse should have . . . why are you looking at me that way?' ‘You'd understand if you'd ever met Devore,' I said. ‘This is the man who lit the whole fucking TR on fire as a way of saying goodbye when he headed west to sunny California. I thought of him the second I pulled the wig off, thought they'd swapped identities somehow. Then I thought Oh no, it's her all right, it's Rogette, she's just lost her hair somehow.' ‘And you were right. The chemo.' ‘I was also wrong. I know more about ghosts than I did, Frank. Maybe the most important thing is that what you see first, what you think first . . . that's what's usually true. It was him that day. Devore. He came back at the end. I'm sure of it. At the end it wasn't about Sara, not for him. At the end it wasn't even about Kyra. At the end it was about Scooter Larribee's sled.' Silence between us. For a few moments it was so deep that I could actually hear the house breathing. You can hear that, you know. If you really listen. That's something else I know now. ‘Christ,' he said at last. ‘I don't think Devore came east from California to kill her,' I said. ‘That wasn't the original plan.' ‘Then what was? Get to know his granddaughter? Mend his fences?' ‘God, no. You still don't understand what he was.' ‘Tell me, then.' ‘A human monster. He came back to buy her, but Mattie wouldn't sell. Then, when Sara got hold of him, he began to plan Ki's death. I suspect that Sara never found a more willing tool.' ‘How many did she kill in all?' Frank asked. ‘I don't know for sure. I don't think I want to. Based on Jo's notes and clippings, I'd say that there were perhaps four other . . . directed murders, shall we call them? . . . in the years between 1901 and 1998. All children, all K-names, all closely related to the men who killed her.' ‘My God.' ‘I don't think God had much to do with it . . . but she made them pay, all right.' ‘You're sorry for her, aren't you?' ‘Yes. I would have torn her apart before I let her put so much as a finger on Ki, but of course I am. She was raped and murdered. Her child was drowned while she herself lay dying. My God, aren't you sorry for her?' ‘I suppose I am. Mike, do you know who the other boy was? The crying boy? Was he the one who died of blood-poisoning?' ‘Most of Jo's notes concerned that part of it it's where she got started. Royce Merrill knew the story well. The crying boy was Reg Tidwell, Junior. You have to understand that by September of 1901, when the Red-Tops played their last show in Castle County, almost everyone on the TR knew that Sara and her boy had been murdered, and almost everyone had a good idea of who'd done it. ‘Reg Tidwell spent a lot of that August hounding the County Sheriff, Nehemiah Bannerman. At first it was to find them alive Tidwell wanted a search mounted and then it was to find their bodies, and then it was to find their killers . . . because once he accepted that they were dead, he never doubted that they'd been murdered. ‘Bannerman was sympathetic at first. Everyone seemed sympathetic at first. The Red-Top crowd had been treated wonderfully during their time on the TR that was what infuriated Jared the most and I think you can forgive Son Tidwell for making a crucial mistake.' ‘What mistake was that?' Why, he got the idea that Mars was heaven, I thought. The TR must have seemed like heaven to them, right up until Sara and Kito went for a stroll, the boy carrying his berry-bucket, and never came back. It must have seemed that they'd finally found a place where they could be black people and still be allowed to breathe. ‘Thinking they'd be treated like regular folks when things went wrong, just because they'd been treated that way when things were right. Instead, the TR clubbed together against them. No one who had an idea of what Jared and his prot? ¦g? ¦s had done condoned it, exactly, but when the chips were down . . . ‘ ‘You protect your own, you wash your dirty laundry with the door closed,' Frank murmured, and finished his drink. ‘Yeah. By the time the Red-Tops played the Castle County Fair, their little community down by the lake had begun to break up this is all according to Jo's notes, you understand; there's not a whisper of it in any of the town histories. ‘By Labor Day the active harassment had started so Royce told Jo. It got a little uglier every day a little scarier but Son Tidwell flat didn't want to go, not until he found out what had happened to his sister and nephew. He apparently kept the blood family there in the meadow even after the others had taken off for friendlier locations. ‘Then someone laid the trap. There was a clearing in the woods about a mile east of what's now called Tidwell's Meadow; it had a big birch cross in the middle of it. Jo had a picture of it in her studio. That was where the black community had their services after the doors of the local churches were closed to them. The boy Junior used to go up there a lot to pray or just to sit and meditate. There were plenty of folks in the township who knew his routine. Someone put a leghold trap on the little path through the woods that the boy used. Covered it with leaves and needles.' ‘Jesus,' Frank said. He sounded ill. ‘Probably it wasn't Jared Devore or his logger-boys who set it, either they didn't want any more to do with Sara and Son's people after the murders, they kept right clear of them. It might not even have been a friend of those boys. By then they didn't have that many friends. But that didn't change the fact that those folks down by the lake were getting out of their place, scratching at things better left alone, refusing to take no for an answer. So someone set the trap. I don't think there was any intent to actually kill the boy, but to maim him? Maybe see him with his foot off, condemned to a lifetime crutch? I think they may have gotten that far in their imagining. ‘In any case it worked. The boy stepped in the trap . . . and for quite awhile they didn't find him. The pain must have been excruciating. Then the blood-poisoning. He died. Son gave up. He had other kids to think about, not to mention the people who'd stuck with him. They packed up their clothes and their guitars and left. Jo traced some of them to North Carolina, where many of the descendants still live. And during the fires of 1933, the ones young Max Devore set, the cabins burned flat' ‘I don't understand why the bodies of Sara and her son weren't found,' Frank said. ‘I understand that what you smelled the putrescence wasn't there in any physical sense. But surely at the time . . . if this path you call The Street was so popular . . . ‘ ‘Devore and the others didn't bury them where I found them, not to begin with. They would have started by dragging the bodies deeper into the woods maybe up to where the north wing of Sara Laughs stands now. They covered them with brush and came back that night. Must have been that night; to leave them any longer would have drawn every carnivore in the woods. They took them someplace else and buried them in that roll of canvas. Jo didn't know where, but my guess is Bowie Ridge, where they'd spent most of the summer cutting. Hell, Bowie Ridge is still pretty isolated. They put the bodies somewhere; we might as well say there.' ‘Then how . . . why . . . ‘ ‘Draper Finney wasn't the only one haunted by what they did, Frank they all were. Literally haunted. With the possible exception of Jared Devore, I suppose. He lived another ten years and apparently never missed a meal. But the boys had bad dreams, they drank too much, they fought too much, they argued . . . bristled if anyone so much as mentioned the Red-Tops . . . ‘ ‘Might as well have gone around wearing signs reading KICK US, WE'RE GUILTY,' Frank commented. ‘Yes. It probably didn't help that most of the TR was giving them the silent treatment. Then Finney died in the quarry committed suicide in the quarry, I think and Jared's logger-boys got an idea. Came down with it like a cold. Only it was more like a compulsion. Their idea was that if they dug up the bodies and reburied them where it happened, things'd go back to normal for them.' ‘Did Jared go along with the idea?' ‘According to Jo's notes, by then they never went near him. They reburied the bag of bones without Jared Devore's help where I eventually dug it up. In the late fall or early winter of 1902, I think.' ‘She wanted to be back, didn't she? Sara. Back where she could really work on them.' ‘And on the whole township. Yes. Jo thought so, too. Enough so she didn't want to go back to Sara Laughs once she found some of this stuff out. Especially when she guessed she was pregnant. When we started trying to have a baby and I suggested the name Kia, how that must have scared her! And I never saw.' ‘Sara thought she could use you to kill Kyra if Devore played out before he could get the job done he was old and in bad health, after all. Jo gambled that you'd save her instead. That's what you think, isn't it?' ‘Yes.' ‘And she was right.' ‘I couldn't have done it alone. From the night I dreamed about Sara singing, Jo was with me every step of the way. Sara couldn't make her quit.' ‘No, she wasn't a quitter,' Frank agreed, and wiped at one eye. ‘What do you know about your twice-great-aunt? The one that married Auster?' ‘Bridget Noonan Auster,' I said. ‘Bridey, to her friends. I asked my mother and she swears up and down she knows nothing, that Jo never asked her about Bridey, but I think she might be lying. The young woman was definitely the black sheep of the family I can tell just by the sound of Mom's voice when the name comes up. I have no idea how she met Benton Auster. Let's say he was down in the Prout's Neck part of the world visiting friends and started flirting with her at a clambake. That's as likely as anything else. This was in 1884. She was eighteen, he was twenty-three. They got married, one of those hurry-up jobs. Harry, the one who actually drowned Kito Tidwell, came along six months later.' ‘So he was barely seventeen when it happened,' Frank said. ‘Great God.' ‘And by then his mother had gotten religion. His terror over what she'd think if she ever found out was part of the reason he did what he did. Any other questions, Frank? Because I'm really starting to fade.' For several moments he said nothing I had begun to think he was done when he said, ‘Two others. Do you mind?' ‘I guess it's too late to back out now. What are they?' ‘The Shape you spoke of. The Outsider. That troubles me.' I said nothing. It troubled me, too. ‘Do you think there's a chance it might come back?' ‘It always does,' I said. ‘At the risk of sounding pompous, the Outsider eventually comes back for all of us, doesn't it? Because we're all bags of bones. And the Outsider . . . Frank, the Outsider wants what's in the bag.' He mulled this over, then swallowed the rest of his Scotch at a gulp. ‘You had one other question?' ‘Yes,' he said. ‘Have you started writing again?' I went upstairs a few minutes later, checked Ki, brushed my teeth, checked Ki again, then climbed into bed. From where I lay I was able to look out the window at the pale moon shining on the snow. Have you started writing again? No. Other than a rather lengthy essay on how I spent my summer vacation which I may show to Kyra in some later year, there's been nothing. I know that Harold is nervous, and sooner or later I suppose I'll have to call him and tell him what he already guesses: the machine which ran so sweet for so long has stopped. It isn't broken this memoir came out with nary a gasp or missed heartbeat but the machine has stopped, just the same. There's gas in the tank, the sparkplugs spark and the battery bats, but the wordygurdy stands there quiet in the middle of my head. I've put a tarp over it. It's served me well, you see, and I don't like to think of it getting dusty. Some of it has to do with the way Mattie died. It occurred to me at some point this fall that I had written similar deaths in at least two of my books, and popular fiction is heaped with other examples of the same thing. Have you set up a moral dilemma you don't know how to solve? Is the protagonist sexually attracted to a woman who is much too young for him, shall we say? Need a quick fix? Easiest thing in the world. ‘When the story starts going sour, bring on the man with the gun.' Raymond Chandler said that, or something like it close enough for government work, kemo sabe. Murder is the worst kind of pornography, murder is let me do what I want taken to its final extreme. I believe that even make-believe murders should be taken seriously; maybe that's another idea I got last summer. Perhaps I got it while Mattie was struggling in my arms, gushing blood from her smashed head and dying blind, still crying out for her daughter as she left this earth. To think I might have written such a hellishly convenient death in a book, ever, sickens me. Or maybe I just wish there'd been a little more time. I remember telling Ki it's best not to leave love letters around; what I thought but didn't say was that they can come back to haunt you. I am haunted anyway . . . but I will not willingly haunt myself, and when I closed my book of dreams I did so of my own free will. I think I could have poured lye over those dreams as well, but from that I stayed my hand. I've seen things I never expected to see and felt things I never expected to feel not the least of them what I felt and still feel for the child sleeping down the hall from me. She's my little guy now, I'm her big guy, and that's the important thing. Nothing else seems to matter half so much. Thomas Hardy, who supposedly said that the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones, stopped writing novels himself after finishing Jude the Obscure and while he was at the height of his narrative genius. He went on writing poetry for another twenty years, and when someone asked him why he'd quit fiction he said he couldn't understand why he had trucked with it so long in the first place. In retrospect it seemed silly to him, he said. Pointless. I know exactly what he meant. In the time between now and whenever the Outsider remembers me and decides to come back, there must be other things to do, things that mean more than those shadows. I think I could go back to clanking chains behind the Ghost House wall, but I have no interest in doing so. I've lost my taste for spooks. I like to imagine Mattie would think of Bartleby in Melville's story. I've put down my scrivener's pen. These days I prefer not to.