Semantic and Functional Peculiarities of Preposition in Modern English free essay sample

Understanding the importance of the English language more and more people in the world want to learn and to know English. Prepositions pose more problems for the non-native speaker or learner of English than any other part of speech, because they are not used in the same way in different languages. This topic was investigated by such researchers and scientists as Tom Cole, Yates Jean, James Heaton, Seth Lindstromberg, O’Dowd Elizabeth, Prieur Charles amp; Speyer Elizabeth. Object – prepositions in Modern English. Subject – classification of prepositions in Modern English and their usage. Aim – to highlight different classification of English prepositions and explain their usage. Objectives – 1. Give general characteristics of the preposition as a part of speech. 2. Reveal the Morphological classification of English prepositions. 3. Characterize functional classes of the prepositions. 4. Examine the Idiomatic expressions with prepositions and their speech functions. Methods – 1. Analysis of the scientific literature on grammar of the English language 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Semantic and Functional Peculiarities of Preposition in Modern English or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Comparison, juxtaposition of the information and generalization of the research’s results. CHAPTER 1 1. 1. General characteristics of the preposition as a part of speech Learning about the parts of speech is the first step in grammar study just as learning the letters of the alphabet is the first step to being able to read and write. From learning the parts of speech we begin to understand the use or function of words and how words are joined together to make  meaningful communication. [13]. ‘In modern linguistics, parts of speech are discriminated on the basis of the three criteria: â€Å"semantic†, â€Å"formal† and â€Å"functional†. In accord with the described criteria, words on the upper level of classification are divided into notional and functional’ [5]. Preposition belongs to the functional parts of speech and expresses the dependencies and interdependencies of substantive referents. 1) Meaning. The meaning of prepositions is obviously that of relations between things and phenomena. 2) Form. Prepositions are invariable. 3) Function. (a) Prepositions enter into phrases in which they are preceded by a noun, adjective, numeral, stative, verb or adverb, and followed by a noun, adjective, numeral or pronoun. b) In a sentence a preposition never is a separate part of it. It goes together with the following word to form an object, adverbial modifier, predicative or attribute, and in extremely rare cases a subject. [7] A preposition is a word which shows the relationships between a noun or a pronoun and other word in the sentence. Prepositions are usually (but not always) placed before noun or pronoun which they govern. Prepositions are use in order to add up emphasis in the sentences. These words are often compound with other parts of speech like conjunctions, verbs and even with adverbs. When that happens, it gradually forms a new word which acts as a preposition and thus giving more meaning in the sentence. The lexical meaning of the preposition is rather unclear. The function of prepositions in English is to connect nouns (and noun-like constructions) to other parts of the sentence. It is impossible to speak or understand English well without a good knowledge of the use and meaning of prepositions, and this knowledge cannot be acquired from the dictionary; it ust be gained in practice and experience. Most prepositions are short words, and they are almost always spoken with weak stress in the sentence. The listener has to be alert for them. Nevertheless, these little words carry important elements of meaning, as we have seen. [9] They express such ideas as location, destination, direction of motion, time, manner, agent, and many others. Prepositions and prepositional phrase perform ten main grammatical functions within sentences in the English language. There are te n main functions of prepositions and prepositional phrases: 1. Head of preposition phrase 2. Noun phrase modifier 3. Noun phrase complement 4. Adjective phrase modifier 5. Adjective phrase complement 6. Verb phrase modifier 7. Verb phrase complement 8. Adjunct 9. Adverbial 10. Particle 11. These functions are discussed in the following paragraphs. Heads of Prepositional Phrases. Prepositions first function as the heads of prepositional phrases. The head of a phrase is the defining word type of that phrase. For example, the heads of noun phrases are nouns, and the heads of verb phrases are verbs. Modifiers of Phrases. Prepositional phrases secondly function as modifiers and complements of noun phrases, adjective phrases, and verb phrases. Words and phrases that function as modifiers modify or define other words and phrases. Complements of Phrases. Words and phrases that function as complements act to complete the meaning of other words and phrases. The main difference between modifiers and complements is that modifiers are optional and can be replaced by any number of other prepositional phrases while complements are often required. Adjuncts and Adverbials. Prepositional phrases also function as adjuncts and adverbials in sentences. Adjuncts frame an entire sentence and are optional. Adverbials are similar to adjuncts because adverbials also provide additional information about an entire sentence and are optional. Adverbials, however, express information such as time, place, manner, condition, reason, or purpose of an entire sentence. Adjuncts and adverbials are both optional because their addition and removal does not change the meaning of the main sentence. Particles. Finally, prepositions function as particles in phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs are verbs that consist of a verb and one or more prepositions. So, preposition is a functional part of speech which function is to connect nouns or pronouns to other word in the sentence. They can function in the sentence as heads of prepositional phrase, modifiers of phrases, complements of phrases, adjuncts, adverbials and particles. [12] 1. 2. Morphological classification of English prepositions There are a lot of classifications of the prepositions according to different criteria. Scientists have some differences in classification of this part of speech. On its shape the prepositions are divided on simple, complex or compound. It is the most common classification. The simple prepositions are those which are not dividable on componential parts. We refer here the most ancient English prepositions which are mostly monosyllabic, such as in, on, at, by, to, with, from, of etc. Simple prepositions can possess a varied number of semantic and contextual meanings. Compound prepositions can be divided into two groups: * two-word units (a word + a simple preposition), such as apart from * three-word units (a simple preposition + a noun + a simple preposition), such as by means of. 14] The Compound prepositions mainly have one meaning, corresponding to the meaning of a meaningful word falling into the compound of the preposition. Composite or phrasal prepositions include a word of another class and one or two prepositions, as in by virtue of, but for, because of, by means of, instead of, on account of, thanks to, with reference to, opposite to, in front of, for the sake of, in spite of, for the sake of, except for, du e to, in addition to, with regard to, on behalf of, in line with. A composite preposition is indivisible both syntactically and semantically, that is, no element of it can be varied, abbreviated, or extended according to the normal rules of syntax. There are also derived prepositions which are formed from other words, mainly participles: excepting, concerning, considering, following, including, during, depending, granted, past, except . [8] According to the† English Prepositions Explained† by Seth Lindstromberg there are following classification: Table 1. Classification by specificity of meaning[2] General| Specific| yinonunder | alongside, beside, next to, in front of†¦Into, inside, withinonto, on top ofbelow, beneath, underneath| Classification by shape of the Landmark [2] 1. The Landmark is seen as an container/enclosure, space, or medium (e. g. water, air): * It’s in/out of the room. (location) * It went into/out of/through the room. (movement along a path) * It scattered papers through out/all through the room. (distrib ution) 2. The Landmark is seen as a surface: * It’s lying on/off/across the carpet. (location) * It went onto/off/across the carpet. movement along a path) * It scattered papers all across the carpet. (distribution) 3. The Landmark is seen as long and narrow: * There’s a ditch along the road. (location) * Go along the road. (movement along a path) * They scattered litter all along the road. (distribution) 4. The Landmark is seen as a point on a potential or actual path: * It’s toward/at/away from the school. (location) * We went to/from/via the school. (movement along a path) The very different classification is shown in this table says relatively little about word meaning at all: Table 2. Classification by (in)transitivity [2] Grammaticalbehavior| Exampleprepositions| Exampleof normal usage| Exampleof odd usage| Transitive | into| He crashed into a tree. | He crashed into. (I. e. There must be a grammatical object)| Transitive orintransitive| in| Let’s go in the house. Let’s go in. | -| Intransitive| away| Go away. | Go away me. (I. e. there can be nogrammatical object. )| Table 3. Classification by number of quite distinct meanings [2] Few meanings| Several meanings| underneath toward(s) away below against of on| by| Table 4. Classification by frequency [2] High| Medium| Low| to, of, in, on, for, with, at, from, by, up, out* | below| alongside, underneath| *More or less in this order, these 11 prepositions are likely to appear in lists of the 50 highest frequency word forms of English (e. g. O’Keeffe, et al. 2007: 34–36). Table 5. Classification by register (~ degree of formality) [2] Formal| concerning, regarding| Usable in all registers| abou| Informal| ‘bout| Table 6. Classification by source languages [2] Germanic (Old Englishor Scandinavian):| Latin| Greek | at, by, for,to†¦ from, in, off, on, out, overthrough, till, to, under, with†¦| Direct from Latin:cum, per, qua, pro, versus, via†¦ | meta, parallel | | Via French:across,concerning, regarding†¦ | | We can see various classifications of English prepositions. They can be classified by shape, by specificity of meaning, by shape of Landmark, by (in)transitivity, by number of quite distinct meanings, by frequency, by register, by source language, etc. 1. 3. Functional classes of prepositions There is also semantic classification. Prepositions can be used to express a wide range of semantic relations between their complement and the rest of the context. The most popular classification single out three types of prepositions: 1. Preposition of Time; 2. Preposition of Place and location; 3. Preposition of Direction (Movement). Prepositions of time used to show when something happened. 1. For one particular point in time: Use on for the days of the week: * Joe will be leaving on Saturday. * Harvey gets paid on Friday. Use at for time of day and also for the words noon, night, midnight: * Peter’s friends are arriving at 10 a. m. * The class starts at noon. * The fireworks show will begin at midnight. Use in for other parts of the day, and with months, years, seasons: * It gets cold here in December. * Connie was born in the fall. 2. For other periods of time: since, for, by, from _____to, from _____until, during, within: * Samantha will be on vacation for three weeks. (She has three weeks of vacation time. ) * Cameron was busy painting his house from June to September. beginning in June and ending in September. ) [15] Prepositions of place are used to describe the place or position of nouns. Prepositions expressing place or location (spatial relations) are classed as: 1) prepositions of location and 2) prepositions of direction. They may be either positive or negative. Prepositions of location are used with verbs describing states or conditions (â€Å"be† and its forms are the most co mmonly used verbs), and prepositions of direction are used with action verbs. * The sale is at the mall. (the sale exists, isa state of being) * We went to the sale. we performed an action—we went) To express ideas about a place 1. Talking about something that is within the parameters of a place: Use in: * with spaces: in a house, in a field, in a bar, in a cafe Theres a strange sound in the basement. † * with bodies of water: in the pool, in the pond, in the ocean, in the bathtub * with lines: in a line, in a row Examples: * I dont want to wait on line at the bank. * When you get to the airport, get in line immediately, if you dont want to have to wait for 2 hours. Use on: 2. Talking about the surface of a place: * Larry left these books on the steps. * with surfaces: on the wall, on the floor, on the chair * with small islands:  I shopped on (the Isle of) Capri last year. When we went sailing, we stayed on     (the island of)   Bora Bora overnight. * with di rections: on ahead, on the left, on the side, on the top Use at: 3. Talking about the actual location of a place (point):    * â€Å"Martha met Donald at the movies. † * with places: at the store, at the races, at the movies * with places on a page: at the middle, at the top, at the bottom of the page * for groups of people: at the front of the audience, at the side of the crowd, at he front of the congregation    Note: In / at / on the corner: You can say in the corner of a room, but at or on the corner of the street. In / at / on the front:  Ã‚  You can say in the front or in the back of a bus, or a plane, or a car, BUT at the front of a store, or at the front of a crowd, or at the front of a line of people. Something is on the front /on the back of a sheet of paper, BUT you write in a notebook, or on the cover of the notebook. Note: When you say I just wrote it on my notebook. , that means that you just wrote something on the cover of the book, not inside the book on a page. Other prepositions used for location: higher, lower, closer to, and farther from a point:    1. Talking about an object higher than a particular point: over, above * The horse jumped over the fence. * The balloons were floating above our heads, but I couldnt catch any of them. 2. Talking about an object lower than a point: under, *underneath, beneath, below. In American English, when we use the word underneath, theres a subtle meaning of many things having been put on top of whatever is underneath. When we use under, most of the time (not always) theres only one thing over, or on top of whatever is under it. If Im under the bed, the bed is the only thing over me. If my diamond ring is lost at a garbage dump, the ring is buried underneath tons and tons of garbage. * â€Å"Victoria already looked under the sofa for Jerrys glasses. † * â€Å"Pete hid under the bed when he heard thunder. † * â€Å"The papers youve been looking for are underneath that pile of books. †    3. Close to a point: near, by, (nearby) next to, between, among, opposite, against, beside, along, around, inside of, across, within * â€Å"Belinda lives near an air base. † (not near to! ) â€Å"Theres a gas station next to the grocery store. † * â€Å"Love is all around us. † 4. Approaching or leaving a point: toward, ahead of, behind, from, out of, through * â€Å"He came toward the house with a grim look on his face. † * â€Å"It came from outer space and landed in New Mexico. † [15] Prepositions of Movement are used to show movement. The most common preposition o f movement or direction is to. To indicates orientation toward a goal. If the goal is a physical one (the store, a party, the kitchen, etc. ), to shows movement toward that point. If the goal is not an actual place, but is an action or a thought, to is used with another verb in the infinitive form and expresses purpose (in order to). Both meanings of the word  to can be used in the same sentence: â€Å"Paul went to Lucy’s house to deliver the gift. † (Lucy’s house is the physical destination, and Pauls purpose is in order to deliver the gift. ) Uses of to: a) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of communication such as listen, speak, relate (as in telling someone something), appeal (meaning pleading, not as in be attractive to) * Betty began to speak on the microphone. ) The preposition to is used as an ordinary preposition with verbs of movement such as move, go, transfer, walk, run, swim, ride, drive,   fly, travel. *    Maryann needed to drive to the cabin. She had planned to fly there, but then changed her plans. Note: All these verbs (except transfer) can be used with toward, as well as with to. Be a ware that to  suggests movement toward a specific point, and toward suggests movement in a general direction without actually arriving at a specific goal or destination. * I have to go home now. (I must arrive at my home. ) ) The preposition to can be added to a verb in order to create an infinitive. (to walk, to think, to eat, etc. ) This use of to shows: willingness, purpose, obligation, desire, or intent. * I will agree to let you join us. (I am willing to allow you to be with us. ) [15] Some scientists single out some more types: 1. Preposition for Time 2. Preposition for Place 3. Preposition for Direction 4. Preposition for Agent 5. Preposition for Instrument 6. Prepositional Phrase Preposition for agent is used for a thing which is cause of another thing in the sentence. Such prepositions are by, with etc. Following examples will help in better understanding. [16] Examples: * This book is written by Shakespeare. * The tub is filled with water. So, according to the semantic classification of the prepositions they divided into three types: prepositions of time, place and direction. The first are used to show when something happened. The second are used to describe the place or position of nouns. The third are used to show movement. 1. 4. Idiomatic expressions with prepositions and their speech functions The Prepositional Idioms A prepositional idiom consists of a verb followed by a preposition, but unlike an ordinary prepositional phrase, it forms an expression with a nonliteral or idiomatic meaning. Some grammarians consider the prepositional idiom a type of a phrasal verb, others call it the phrasal verb itself, and still others call it a verb phrase. Anyway we call it, however, the distinguishing characteristic of a prepositional idiom is that its meaning is largely determined by the preposition that comes after the verb; in fact, a single verb can yield as many as five or many more meanings depending on the preposition that comes after it. For example, the verb â€Å"back,† which literally means â€Å"to support by material or moral assistance† or â€Å"to cause to go back or in reverse,† yields at least nine different meanings when followed by different prepositions, as follows: * back down – cease defending one’s position in a debate or argument. Example: He’s not the type who’ll back down from a fight because of veiled threats. * back away – get out from a previous commitment. Example: The consortium partner backed away from the deal for undisclosed reasons. * back out – renege from a promise or deal. Example: The boxer backed out from the title fight due to disagreements over the prize money. * back up (1) – provide support to someone or something. Example:   The reporter was asked to back up his expose with documentary evidence. * back up (2) – move backwards or in reverse. Example: She backed up the car so fast that it hit the lamppost. * back out of – not keep a promise or deal. Example:   His lawyer backed out of the case the day before the trial. * back into – hit something while moving backwards. Example: She backed into a lamppost while getting out of the parking slot. back off – escape or run away from something. Example: The police told the demonstrators to back off or face dispersal. * back of – unspoken self-knowledge about the outcome of something Example: He decided to fight, but back of his mind he knew that it was a losing battle. [10] The prepositional idioms or phrasal verbs are much more vulnerable to misuse than ord inary prepositional phrases because the specific preposition to use for each of them isn’t intuitive and doesn’t always follow a definite logic; in fact, their nonliteral meanings can be learned only after one gets adequate immersion in the language. They should therefore be used with caution—and only when the writer or speaker has sufficiently internalized their meaning and the situations or occasions for which they are appropriate. The English language actually has thousands of prepositional idioms or phrasal verbs and there’s really no way for us to know all of them all at once. Indeed, to be able to use them with confidence in our writing or speech, we have no choice but to seriously study them and commit them to memory. [10] A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or more prepositions plus possible other words in addition. A key feature of a phrasal verb is that the whole combination of words should function as a lexical unit that has its own meaning. This meaning may be relatively literal as in pick up (litter) ~ ‘gather and remove (litter)’, or not. But when students and teachers speak of phrasal verbs, it is generally the ones which are (semi) idiomatic that they have mind – e. g. the semi-idiomatic get over (a cold) and the very idiomatic put up with (bad behaviour). As it happens, grammarians tend to divide multi-word verbs into the following three classes: –– True phrasal verbs: e. g. look up a word/look word up, in which up is considered to be a ‘particle’ rather than a full-blooded preposition. –– Prepositional verbs: e. g. look after a cat (look a cat after), in which after is considered to be a preposition whose grammatical object is a cat. –– Phrasal-prepositional verbs: e. g. put up with bad behavior, each of which i s considered to consist of a phrasal verb (put up) followed by a prepositional phrase (with bad behavior). Phrasal verbs function as semantic units; that is to say, they have a meaning as a whole. Often their meaning cannot be inferred from the sum of the meanings of the individual words. For this reason, the meaning of phrasal verbs must be memorized as a whole. For example, run into = meet (someone) by accident, talk over = discuss (something), look up = seek (a word) in a reference book, turn on = start the operation of (an appliance), turn off = stop the operation of (an appliance), wait on = serve (someone at a restaurant), look over = examine (a test), look into = investigate. Likewise, phrasal verbs are grammatical units that fulfill normal English verb functions in sentences. They may be transitive or intransitive verbs; i. e. , they may or may not be followed by noun phrases or object pronouns (direct objects). E. g. , I wanted to call up the department store, but I didn’t have its number. He got off at the corner. I haven’t seen my dog for a while; I’m looking for him. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, look it up in a dictionary. Phrasal verbs must be differentiated from normal verb + preposition sequences (also referred to as verb + prepositional phrases). Firstly, phrasal verbs have a stress-placement pattern similar to that of compound words; they have the secondary stress on the verb (the first word) and a primary stress on the function word (the second word). Secondly, unlike phrasal verbs, in verb + preposition combinations both the verb and the prepositions are generally used in their literal meanings. On the other hand, although the meaning of two-word verbs cannot be guessed from the individual meanings of their component words, they can often be paraphrased by using another (usually single-word) verb. For instance, bring about = cause, bring up = raise, care for (someone) from childhood, call off = cancel (a meeting), call on = visit, carry on = continue, carry out = fulfill, complete; come across = discover accidentally. Thirdly, in preposition + verb combinations, the preposition and the following noun phrase form an adverbial prepositional phrase, which can be used as an answer to a question with where. With phrasal verbs, we ask questions with what or who(m) and the answer is usually the direct object, if the verb is transitive. [11] So, the prepositional idiom or phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or more prepositions plus possible other words in addition. This whole combination of words should function as a lexical unit that has its own meaning. Phrasal verbs are grammatical units that fulfill normal English verb functions in sentences. But they must be differentiated from normal verb + preposition sequence. Conclusions to the chapter Learning about the parts of speech is the first step in grammar study just as learning the letters of the alphabet is the first step to being able to read and write. Prepositions pose more problems for the non-native speaker or learner of English than any other part of speech, because they are not used in the same way in different languages. Preposition belongs to the functional parts of speech and expresses the dependencies and interdependencies of substantive referents. The function of prepositions in English is to connect nouns (and noun-like constructions) to other parts of the sentence. They can function in the sentence as heads of prepositional phrase, modifiers of phrases, complements of phrases, adjuncts, adverbials and particles. There are a lot of classifications of the prepositions according to different criteria. They can be classified by shape, by specificity of meaning, by shape of Landmark, by (in)transitivity, by number of quite distinct meanings, by frequency, by register, by source language, etc. According to the semantic classification of the prepositions they divided into three types: prepositions of time, place and direction. The first are used to show when something happened. The second are used to describe the place or position of nouns. The third are used to show movement. A prepositional idiom consists of a verb followed by a preposition, but unlike an ordinary prepositional phrase, it forms an expression with a nonliteral or idiomatic meaning. Resume In terms of the present-day importance of learning English, people should know how to use prepositions. Educational significance of the problem of using the prepositions in the speech defines the choice of the topic for our investigation: â€Å"Semantic and functional peculiarities of prepositions in Modern English† The course paper consists of the introduction, one part and six tables. The general number is 23 pages. The list of the used literature consists of 17 sources. The work contains general characteristics of the preposition as a part of speech, morphological and semantic classifications of the preposition and idiomatic expressions with the prepositions.

Honecker and the Belated Reforms

Honecker and the Belated Reforms Introduction The formation and collapse of the German Democratic Republic is a significant chapter in the history of Western Europe and the world at large. Germany was the principal aggressor in World Wars I and II, and its unification and reintegration formed part of the major activities in the wars. The integration of West and East Germany signified the end of the Cold War. During the Cold War, Germany was split into different zones so as to weaken its powers that came by virtue of unity (Childs, 90). Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Honecker and the Belated Reforms specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The developments during the Cold War era were marked by several events and different actors. The activities and policies of Honecker and Gorbachev have been argued to have had a significant contribution to the fall of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Some people argue that the policies of Honecker had much significa nce to the collapse of the GDR. On the other hand, other people cite the policies of Gorbachev as the chief contributors (Thomas, 382). Thus, this essay will focus on the fall of the GDR during the Cold War period. It will discuss the contribution of Honecker, as well as those of Mikhail Gorbachev in the collapse of the GDR. The paper will establish the main forces between the policies of the two leaders and identify the force with significant contribution to the GDR collapse (Opp, Voss and Gern, 29). Scope of the essay The essay will concentrate on the main factors that led to the collapse of the GDR. The main questions that will be explored in the essay include: was the downfall of the GDR a foreseen gesture or did it come as a surprise? The other question is: which events led to the collapse of the GDR? The last question is: whose policies and activities are resulted in the collapse of the GDR? The Berlin wall and its significance to the GDR The Berlin wall was built as a preven tative measure to the conflicts that were prevailing in Europe at that time. It subdivided Germany into two countries: East German and West German. Each of these countries pursued policies basing on different philosophies. East Germany pursued the socialist philosophy. The East Germany was influenced and supported by the Soviet Union in establishing a socialist government. On the other hand, Western powers supported West Germany in establishing a democratic government. This happened immediately after the end of the Second World War. These two Germany states denoted the opposing ideologies that marked the beginning of the Cold War. These opposing ideologies were capitalism and communism. West Germany was able to attain development achievements that were attributed to capitalism as a political ideology. People of East Germany regarded their counterparts from West Germany as considerably free and developed (Kitchen and Kitchen, 352).Advertising Looking for essay on history? L et's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Honecker administration and the collapse of the Berlin wall The Berlin wall was constructed in 1961 to bar people of Eastern German from escaping to West Germany. The regime of Honecker continued to commit itself to socialism, which was the soviet style of administration. The part under the Honecker’s administration continued with the execution of tough measures against those perceived to be â€Å"rebels†. East Germany continued to face tough economic times characterized by the economic structures that were growing weaker day by day. The central government became incapacitated and could not discharge its duties efficiently. This was eminent in the year 1977 when the country faced what is referred to as the â€Å"Coffee Crisis†. This, together with a couple of many other political problems, culminated into a revolt or opposition to the government by the citizenry (Baker, 24 ). Leading Events to the collapse of GDR In the late 1980s, there were growing problems in the economy coupled by flaws and a weakening Soviet system. These factors were hindrances to the government of the Soviet Union in respect to spreading its tentacles to the neighbouring countries. In the year 1986, the then leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev devised two crucial reform movements. One of them was referred to as â€Å"Glasnost† meaning openness. The other one was known as â€Å"Perestroika†. The first multiparty election was held in the year 1989. Gorbachev urged East European countries that were practicing communism to embrace the reform movements he had established. The Eastern European countries were called upon by Gorbachev to raise the standards of their economies through interactions. The call for change by Gorbachev was opposed by hard-lined communists in Eastern Europe (Fleron, Hoffmann and Laird, 649). The developments in Eastern Europe had larg e impacts on the economy of East Germany. These events culminated into a financial crisis in the country. This forced the government of East Germany to squeeze finances out of the population. This was done through the imposition of rationing and other austerity measures to the citizens. The citizens were angered by these measurers that were considered to be exploitative. They launched demonstrations across the country calling for reforms. The citizens called for the election of a democratic government that would guarantee them the freedom. These demands were ignored by Honecker who was the leader of the government of East Germany. The government of East Germany continued to be insensitive to the citizens’ demands. Moreover, the government increased its hostility towards the populace. The pressure continued to pile up on the government. The government was forced to heed to the mounting pressure on 9th of November, 1989. The refugees were allowed to exit East Germany via the crossing points that were on the Berlin wall. This resulted in the collapse of the wall (Plock, 87).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Honecker and the Belated Reforms specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Gorbachev’s Influence Prior to the 1980s, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union was informed by the fear it had over Germany. The country feared that an independent Germany would dominate it. This is what informed the policies of leaders who came to power in the Soviet Union before Mikhail Gorbachev. The leaders stuck to the traditional concept that was held by Moscow. Gorbachev proposed changes that were aimed at untangling the country from the traditional concept of governance that was held by all his predecessors. The proposals for change made by Gorbachev resulted to the change of the political climate within the East Bloc. The reform-minded communists were receptive to the changes and reforms that were prop osed by Gorbachev in the change policies which he had crafted (Kitson, 8-10). The proposed changes were also critical as they aided in unnerving the rigid communists who strongly believed in Moscow’s philosophy. The adoption of â€Å"Sinatra Doctrine† was among the supportive activities to the change policies of Gorbachev. Sinatra is an attitude of no interference to the internal affairs of the satellite states of Russia. The new reforms by Gorbachev reduced the interference of Russia in East Germany. The citizens of East Germany began to get a room to pressure the government for reforms. Therefore, the signs for political changes were in the offing. If Gorbachev had chosen to go as per the former leaders of the Soviet Union, a room for political changes in East Germany would not have been easily created. Russia would have continued to strengthen its policies and monitoring of the satellite states (Hyde-Price, 145). Gorbachev allowed satellite states to pursue their o wn paths of socialism. In fact, he pushed for this against the will of the hard-liner socialists. He ended up declaring that the satellite states were free to disintegrate and pursue their own matters. This was a significant blow to the staunchest communists such as Egon Honecker who was the then leader of East Germany. It became clear to such leaders that change was imminent in the Soviet Union bloc. The declaration accelerated the infiltration of news from West to East Germany. The East Germans got information about the wellbeing of the people in West Germany. Therefore, most of them were motivated to mount pressure by making spirited attempts to cross over the Berlin wall to join their counterparts in West Germany. The events taking place in Russia were tracked by television stations in West Germany. These events were leaked to the East Germans through the guards who were manning the Berlin wall. A bigger percentage of the population in West Germany managed to track the develop ments taking place in the Soviet Union (Gert-Joachim, 35).Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, most people see the actions and policies of Gorbachev as the main motivating factors towards the demise of East Germany. However, the true motives, intensions and implications of the policies of Gorbachev are still subject to debate. A number of scholars have tried to link the policies of Gorbachev to the actions that the Soviet undertook to disintegrate from the political ideology that marked the Cold War. They try to justify that the policy was not related to the participation of Russia in the politics of Western Europe and the world at large. The collapse of East Germany could have come as a result of the indirect effects of the policies that were proposed by Gorbachev. Others argue that the policies of Gorbachev just came at the right time for the political situation in East Germany. Germany had an awful rigid eco-political atmosphere that required an invigorating factor to spark efforts or demand for change. However, it was not expected that the actions of Gorbache v could spark such a strong mass movement leading to the collapse of the Berlin wall. The collapse of the Berlin wall marked the end of a split Germany. This led to the unification of the two states to form a united Germany (Engel, 71-76). Mikhail Gorbachev – was he a real contributor to the collapse of the Germany Democratic Republic The collapse of the GDR is often termed as an unanticipated event in the history of Western Europe. It generated a lot of questions, one of them being the reason as to why the republic was formed in the first place. This question is what could lead to the understanding of the basis on which the republic existed and forces behind its collapse. It is presumed by some historians that the collapse of the GDR was an extraordinarily massive event that could not be likened to actions of a single person. For one to establish the main reasons for the collapse of East Germany with certainty, he or she must be critical in assessing the events that happened before the collapse. Of course, the issue of Gorbachev’s participation or role in the event cannot be ignored. The collapse of East Germany marked the collapse of the communistic rule in East Germany. It was also a leading force behind the collapse of communism in the entire Europe. It was a pointer to the ending of communism (Nuechterlein, 215-220). One must also assess the genesis of the internal wrangles in the GRD that were boosted by other external factors leading to the massive action and the collapse of the GDR. The problems in the GDR emanated from economic forces and governance, which were putting a lot of burden on the citizens of the republic. External developments like the political developments in the USSR only impacted on the forces or wrangles that prevailed within East Germany (White, Batt and Lewis, 29). However, how could the events taking place in the USSR fail to be of significance to Eastern Germany? This is the question that many people ask by arguing that political developments in the Soviet Union would have a direct effect on the existence of the GDR. This is because the USSR was the main architect in the establishment of the GDR. Therefore, any political developments in the Soviet Union would impact on the GDR. It is unrealistic for any person to try to dismiss the fact that the ascendance of Gorbachev to power signified a change of political events in East Germany. The most significant contribution of Gorbachev to the collapse of East Germany came from the policies he invented. The policies were associated with revolutionary forces. Glasnost and Perestroika policies released these forces to the political climate of Eastern Europe. These philosophies negated most of the principles of communism that had been held up by USSR and her satellites states. The internal order that had been established through the practice of communism in East Germany was shaken due to the pressures that resulted from the policies of Gorbachev. Glasn ost encouraged people to think over issues, and this resulted to the desire for change. These aspects acted as triggering factors for a political discourse in the GDR (Gedmin, 56-60). The citizens of the GDR had gotten used to obeying the Soviet in an unequivocal manner. Therefore, with the change brought about by the Gorbachev policies, the citizens began demanding similar changes in East Germany. They wanted reforms that would lead them to freedom. The Soviet Union conducted its first ever election on 26th of March the year 1989. It was evident that the satellite states were going to follow similar steps. The political reforms of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union resulted to the doubt by the East Germany citizens. They doubted the level of commitment of the Soviet Union to guaranteeing the existence of the GDR. Thus, the USSR became a source of hope for the people of East Germany where Mikhail Gorbachev becoming their icon of change (Glaessner, 136). The presence of Gorbachev led to t he decline of support for Honecker who was the leader of East Germany. The decline of support for the East Germany leader weakened his regime. Protest had been earlier witnessed in the Eastern European. However, the collapse of the GDR can be strongly linked to the position and policies of Gorbachev that transformed the whole of Eastern Europe. The policies of Gorbachev brought about the reform spirit. However, this was devoid of many other external events that were taking place in Eastern Europe. The external events included opposition movements, which failed in fostering the real spirit of change among the citizenry (Glaessner, 140). Counter argument to Gorbachev Contribution In the same breadth, some people argue that the spirit of change in Gorbachev policies was extrapolated as it was not the main intention of Gorbachev. It is argued that Gorbachev aimed at healing communism, as opposed to eliminating communism as was interpreted by many people. There were many problems that were facing the communistic regime of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Gorbachev was seeking to devise solutions through the formulation of policies that would help in improving the communistic administration. These changes led to the opening up of the communist societies. However, reformers did not get satisfaction thereby pushing for a further course that resulted in the collapse of the GDR. At this level, it was not easy to continue thriving in communism, and if so, it meant that the only option could have been the use of coercion. Gorbachev could not resort to this as it could have watered down all the reforms that had been achieved through his change policies (Lisiak, 57). The economic policies of the Soviet Union also led to the collapse of East Germany. The Soviet Union had a weak economy at that point in time. The weak economy could not support the maintenance of its satellite states and the Cold War. There were serious cutbacks in the substantial expenditures such as military and defence, which were critical in maintaining the political power. The expenditure in the leading departments had become unsustainable. This left Gorbachev with no other option, but the need to reduce the financial burden. This is what informed the change policies. This was followed by the collapse of communism and the activation of the â€Å"Sinatra Doctrine†. This called for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from controlling Eastern Europe. This is how the GRD lost its military might. Political support became deficient, and the government would no longer hold up control of citizens. From these developments, Gorbachev found himself in a tight situation that pushed him to do what he did. He did not develop policies with the aim of creating a strong base of reforms that would free the GDR. Indeed, the GDR had been enjoying the support of the Soviet Union, and this had killed the possibility of opposition (Manghani, 138 –141). There was strong support from the gover nment. However, Gorbachev made a decision of moving away from supporting East Germany. This paved way to the flourishing of economic and legitimacy problems. Therefore, opposition rose beyond the level at which it could be contained by the government of East Germany. The Soviet leaders further made pronouncements of totally pulling out their support. This facilitated the collapse of the satellite states. Therefore, the massive opposition received a boost from the actions of Gorbachev (Gorbachev, 250). Other political Developments and their significance to the reunification of Germany As the influence of Gorbachev on the collapse of the GDR is analysed, it is necessary to look into the relative importance of the external factors. These factors are deemed to have integrated with the influence of Gorbachev to compound problems to East Germany. Such factors include the improvement of the relations between the two sections of German with the Western powers. The west played a part in th e collapse of East Germany. There were allegations of spread of propaganda by allies from Western Europe. Also, the development of Western Europe was an enticing factor to the movement in the East Germany. The West provided credit to the East, and this ended up worsening the economic situation in the East. The West helped in improving relations between the GDR and GFR. There was a reduction in the hostility that characterized the relations among the two republics. This paved way for the two parts of Germany to reunite. However, the West did not apply a lot of pressure on the East as some political analysts argue (Ruth, 1-10). The issue of reunification of Germany was well documented in the political priorities of West Germany. Therefore, it was just a matter of time before the East could be fully compelled to join the West. The culminating events in Europe also pointed to the fact that the Cold War was approaching an end. This would not have happened with a division still existing between Germany. The essence of having a unified Europe was becoming a key priority among European powers. The only thing that was holding a divided Europe was the divided ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union. Therefore, the moves of Gorbachev only propelled what had been identified by the people of Europe as the factor for change. It is the people of the GRD who translated the views to action by indulging in some activities. The changes in Poland and Hungary relayed a warning to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union became aware that such a change could not be easily tamed through force (Cross, 3). The citizens of East Germany had found a path to get into West Germany and learn of the developments on the other side. They went through Hungary to Austria. From Austria, they got transportation services to West Germany and other Western Europe Countries. These people were escaping from the oppressive socialist regime in East Germany. Many other people managed to esc ape the country via Czechoslovakia. The remaining population was unusually active in conducting demonstrations against the regime. The government of East Germany had to act quickly to curtail the situation. Otherwise, it risked losing its control and popularity over the population. The government of East Germany had to resort to a desperate action: opening up the travelling to West Germany. The announcement of the authorization of travel to West Germany resulted to a vast population escaping to West Germany (Cross, 5). Thousands of East Germans flocked the wall as they sought to cross to West Germany. The guards who were manning the Berlin wall could not contain or control the masses. The population from the West met the population from the East as they exchanged pleasantries. It was evident that the Germans were happy to be reunited once again. This development was the greatest culminating event that resulted to the abolition of the Berlin wall. The population was reunified leadi ng to the reunification of the two countries. This event sealed the fate of the dual existence of Germany (Ruth, 1-10). When the GBR was totally immersed into changes that were taking place in Eastern Europe, communism had lost significance. It was no longer attractive to even the people who were behind it in the first place. Gorbachev policies were supported by West Germany. If West Germany would not have collaborated with East Germany, then the effect of the policies could not have gone to that extend. Therefore, it can be said that Gorbachev alone did not cause the collapse of the Soviet Union. His policies set a track for the collapse. It was the backing of the policies by external forces that made them significant to the collapse of GDR. Thus, Gorbachev was not exclusively responsible for the collapse of GDR. He is a collective participant in the development of this event (Manghani, 138-140). Strong presence and contribution of Honecker to GBR Collapse The failures of the gove rnment of East Germany under Honecker paved way for radical developments of the revolution. If Honecker had responded appropriately to the crisis by stiffening his governance, then maybe the events would not have turned out the way it did. Honecker needed to respond positively to the demands of the population. However, his leadership was stubborn. He chose to stick to the socialistic tendencies that were attributed to dictatorship. This fuelled the population in their quest for reforms. The actions of SED were provoking to the population as they led to reduction of the tolerance levels among citizens. On May seventh, the year 1989, the election results were nullified by the SED. This increased anger amongst the population thereby facilitating the pace at which they were resenting to the actions of the government. This resulted to the increase in the number and magnitude of demonstrations. This led to the weakening and collapse of the Government. Therefore, when compared to the con tributions of Gorbachev, the SED had a direct impact to the collapse of the Berlin wall. The policies of Gorbachev had an indirect effect on the course of activities in East Europe. Therefore, SED was the most direct contributor to the reuniting of the two sides of Germany (Pond, 35-66). Conclusion From the discussion and analysis in this paper, one factor cannot be proclaimed exclusively as the major cause of the collapse of the GDR. The collapse of the GDR can be linked to many events that occurred before this occasion. Both Mikhail Gorbachev and Honecker necessitated the collapse of the GDR. Honecker had direct contributions to the collapse of the East Germany. As a leader of the SED party, he made a number of decisions that triggered the opposition and demonstration against the government. Honecker was non responsive to the demands of the citizenry. He also strengthened the socialist policies in the country and against the will of the citizens. Furthermore, Honecker refused to embrace the changes that were proposed by Gorbachev. These actions filled the citizens with anger and agitation to push for changes. His actions resulted in a series of demonstrations that eventually culminated in the removal of the Berlin wall. On the other hand, the reform policies of Gorbachev are argued to have been a force in the reunification of Germany. The two main change policies that were proposed by Gorbachev had a sizeable impact on the disintegration of communism in East Europe. They sparked many other developments including the revolt against Honecker. Gorbachev and his policies had immense impacts to the collapse of the GDR. Baker, Barrie. Theatre Censorship in Honeckers Germany: From Volker Braun to Samuel Beckett. Oxford: P. Lang, 2007. Print. Childs, David. The Falssl of the Gdr: Germanys Road to Unity. Harlow: Longman, 2001. Print. Cross, Sharyl. The New Chapter in United States-Russian Relations: Opportunities and Challenges. Westport, Conn. u.a: Praeger, 1994. Print. Engel, Jeffrey A. Fall of the Berlin Wall: The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. Fleron, Frederic J, E.P. Hoffmann, and R.F. Laird. Contemporary Issues in Soviet Foreign Policy: From Brezhnev to Gorbachev. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 2009. Print. Gedmin, J. (1992). The hidden hand: Gorbachev and the collapse of East Germany. Washington, D.C: AEI Press. Glaessner, Gert-Joachim. German Democracy: From Post-World War Ii to the Present Day. Oxford: Berg, 2005. Print. Glaessner, Gert-Joachim. The Unification Process in Germany, From Dictatorship to Democracy. London, 1992 Gorbachev, Mikhail S. Mikhail Gorbachev: Prophet of Change: from the Cold War to a Sustainable World. Forest Row: Clairview, 2011. Print. Hyde-Price, Adrian G. V. The International Politics of East Central Europe. Manchester [u.a.: Manchester Univ. Press, 1996. Print. Kitchen, Martin, and M. Kitchen. A History of Modern Germany: 1800 to the Present. Chich ester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print. Kitson, Alison. Germany 1858-1990: Hope, Terror and Revival. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Lisiak, Agata A. Urban Cultures in (post)colonial Central Europe. West Lafayette, Ind: Purdue University Press, 2011. Print. Manghani, Sunil. Image Critique the fall of the Berlin Wall. Bristol: Intellect, 2008. Print. Nuechterlein, Donald E. A Cold War Odyssey. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1997. Print. Opp, Karl-Dieter, P. Voss, and C. Gern. Origins of a Spontaneous Revolution: East Germany, 1989. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1995. Print. Plock, Ernest D. East German West German Relations and the fall of the Gdr. Boulder, Colo. [u.a.: Westview Press, 1993. Print. Pond, Elizabeth. ‘A Wall Destroyed: The Dynamics of German Unification in the GDR’, International Security, 15, 2, (1999): 35 – 66. Print. Ruth, Dockrill Saki. The End of the Cold War Era. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Pri nt. Thomas, A. Baylis. Explaining the GDRs economic strategy. International Organization, 40, (1986): 381-420. Print. White, Stephen, J. Batt, and P.G. Lewis. Developments in Central and East European Politics 4. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007. Print.

Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommuncation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommuncation - Essay Example Historically, the region served as a military base for the Second World War, and since then, the importance of the island to USA has never diminished. This research paper looks at the Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommunication, drawing materials from internet sources. It looks at the history of telecommunication network of the island, its significance in the Trans-Pacific Telecommunication and roles that Guam plays in facilitating this. Introduction Historically, the importance and significance of Guam cannot be underrated. Strikingly very important to America, the island won recognition of many people. Musicians sang about Guam, while historians and scholars studied and wrote history about it. The size of the islands is quite small, with a very little population. Yet, it is highly regarded due to the military base in San Diego among other factors. Historically, Guam has served as the biggest military base in America especially in the Second World War. The military base, so big and well eq uipped, has the likelihood of controlling half of Africa and Asia by the year 2015. The importance of Guam has constantly been increasing with time. Currently, Guam is the hub of trans-pacific telecommunication. This paper will discuss the significance of Guam in the Trans-Pacific telecommunication network. Importance of telecommunication In the modern world, the importance of telecommunication cannot be underestimated. Everything happening in the world is because of proper communication networks. Effects of good communication networks cannot be underestimated. Globalization for instance entirely relies on solid telecommunication network, which facilitate cross boarder business. The many American businesses that have global in the recent past can attribute this success to the telecommunication sector. Educationally, people take online classes, and still receive support from their instructors through good communication networks. The government on the other hand remains in contact wit h the rest of the world especially its ambassadors and agents through good telecommunication networks. The government, citing the unlimited importance of telecommunication, has increasingly invested in laying down a solid telecommunication network. History of Communication System of Guam Historically, Guam had close relations with the United States. In the year 1899, the local postage stamps were overprinted â€Å"Guam† as was the norm with the former Spanish colonies. However, after this period, the trend stopped and the United States stamps started took effect ever since that time. The mailing system of the United States charges was set at a domestic fee instead of an international fee. Up to date, the island uses postage stamps of the United States, which has increasingly revolutionized the way locals of the island operate their businesses. Significance of Guam in the American Telecommunication Network According to â€Å"International Business Pub USA† (236), Guam I sland, due to its strategic geographical placement serves America in a number of ways and most significantly the current boom in the telecommunication sector. Lying in the western part of the pacific ocean and close to three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines, it Guam is one of the largest island among the Mariana group of islands archipelago, located at the furthest

The war between Georgia and Ossetia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The war between Georgia and Ossetia - Essay Example The key issue of the conflict is the history of the two nations. It is important to determine who the original settlers in the region are. Georgia believes that they are the initial settlers of the place given that Ossetia settlement began two to three centuries before the war. The Ossetia nationals however believe they are a descendant of the Alans, a tribe that occupied the Caucasus in ancient times. In 1918, Georgia declared its independence and signed a friendly treaty with Russia in 1920 where it recognized South Ossetia as its integral part (Sammut and Cvetkovski 7). In 1918 Georgia left Russia and South Ossetia declared independence as a Soviet republic on 8th June 1920. Conflict arose after the separation with each nation justifying its move. The people believed that the issue would rise again, but the central question was how and when (Sammut and Cvetkovski 8). The causes of the war are complex and multifaceted. The Caucus has faced territorial struggles since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since the 20004 election of the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili tension in the region has been high. Mikhaels’s national policies were to further democratic reforms in Georgia and also pushed for the accession of Georgia to NATO. He tightened border controls and hence increased pressure on South Ossetia and what was called the Rose Revolution. He dismantled a smuggling operation organized by Russia and which included corrupt Georgia officials. He further gave military, police and intelligence personnel in South Ossetia arguing it was aimed at enhancing peacekeeping. Russia also sent its paramilitary to South Ossetia and also assisted those form Abkhazia and Transintria to gain access to South Ossetia. Clashes between the paramilitaries by late 2004 led to Russia and Georgia withdrawing most of their paramilitary forces. The internat ional community intervened and helped

Buying fashion apparel (fashion merchandising) Essay

Buying fashion apparel (fashion merchandising) - Essay Example , and constrictive clothes and accessories that were characteristic of the fashion that existed in the nineteenth century (Sterlacci and Arbuckle 41). Various fashion models and celebrities from all over the world have personified the products from this fashion house. The House of Chanel is synonymous with the little black dress and the suit along with a perfume that has recorded a lot of success (Willett 86). The company’s utilization of jersey fabrics created comfortable garments which were affordable for the target market. The company transformed the fashion industry including the high fashion and everyday fashion through switching the structured silhouettes that were based on the corset with clothing that was functional while maintaining flattery of the figure of a woman. During the 1920s, the simple designs associated with Chanel popularized the flat chested fashions that were dissimilar from the hour-glass figure which had been popularised in the late nineteenth century (Willett 86). The company utilized manly hues like grey and navy blue to demonstrate fashion boldness of personality. The clothes associated with the company included quilted fabric as well as leather trimmings where this quilted construction is meant to reinforce the fabric, design, finish to create a cloth that maintains its form, and function when it has been worn. A case in point of such a garment is the woollen Chanel suit that entails a skirt and cardigan styled suit which is knee-length, cropped with black embroidery decorations and golden buttons. The accessories that complement this garment were two-tone pump shoes together with jewellery, typically pearl necklaces and a handbag made from leather material. Brand positioning starts with clearly understanding of the customers being targeted and describe them in terms of the prevailing usage patterns, demographic attributes as well as general objectives. Insight in the objectives of the target population is particularly critical as

Importance of Expanding Knowledge Throughout Nursing Career

Importance of Expanding Knowledge Throughout Nursing Career Professional development Continuing Professional development is where health care professionals maintain and develop a range of learning activities throughout their career to ensure competency and ability to practice safely, effectively and legally within their field of practice (Health and Care Professions Council 2014a). This essay will discuss a range of ethical, cultural, legal, managerial topics and their theory basis, highlighting the importance of expanding knowledge and experience throughout my career, in order to continually develop as a professional. Demonstrate moral reasoning and the application of legal frameworks in the discussion of ethical issues in healthcare practice Ethics are the collective belief and value system of communities, social and professional groups (Reeves and Orford 2003). Such ethical values can determine a healthcare professional’s behaviour through internally motivated standards for example goals of nursing can be based on a moral goal, value of seeking good and doing right (Raines 1994). Similarly, moral reasoning is when an individual uses moral goals and values to inform their decisions, attitudes and behaviour. Nevertheless, legal frameworks are also in place to protect the public when the moral reasoning of healthcare professionals produces poor care or harm (Wheeler 2012). During our PD2 (Professional development 2) Problem based learning (PBL) we saw an example of how health professionals’: morals, ethics, beliefs and values, have negatively affected patient care (See Appendix 1) due to the ethical principles of autonomy, benefice, non-maleficence and justice Beauchamp and Childress being breached (2001). The physiotherapist who refused to treat the patient, the head of rehabilitation and, the clinical manager who chose not to act on the physiotherapists’ decision, caused maleficence to the patient as they didn’t receive the care required. Justice and autonomy were also overlooked as the patient was treated unfairly, having their freedom and rights taken away. Subsequently, under the Human Rights Act 1998, the patient is permitted to have recourse to the UK courts; as authority have not respected their rights. Furthermore the Equality Act 2010, describes those diagnosed with HIV as disabled, thus they’re entitled to protect ion against discrimination; which the patient experienced in this situation (UK Gov 2014). Furthermore, it is the Nursing and Midwifery Code (NMC) and the Health Care Professionals Councils’ (HCPC) responsibility to protect the public, thereby determining the professional standards which nurses and physiotherapists must work to (Wheeler 2012). However, in this situation the healthcare professionals have not adhered to the codes, for example the HCPC code of conduct, performance and ethics states that ` You must act in the best interests of service users` (HCPC 2014b) where instead, the healthcare professionals have adapted a judgemental and biased attitude as a result of their own morals and beliefs. The NMC (2014) states that, `you are personally accountable for actions and omissions in your practice and must always be able to justify your decisions` therefore as health professionals they can be held accountable by the law, endangering their fitness to practice and professional registration (Reeves and Orford 2003). The breaches of UK legislation and nursing conduct means the health professionals involved would have no place in the law courts, with the Bolam test also in place to recognise the medical negligence. Furthermore the philosophical concept of rule utilitarianism means that the law courts would focus on the codes of practice which have been prescribed as the optimum set of rules within healthcare practice, further highlighting the misconduct of the healthcare professionals. Utilitarianism within other situations however could be criticised as rule utilitarianism is willing to cause more suffering than happiness to avoid violating a generalised rule (Mason and Whitehead 2005). This situation highlights the importance of selectiveness of personal, moral and, ethical values when in practice. Furthermore, it also highlights the negative and positive impact of moral reasoning, where the act of whistleblowing has a positive impact on patient care. I feel that as a developing health professional I should increase my knowledge of the law and continue to abide strictly to my code of professional conduct, to ensure I practice in a reasonable, responsible and rational manner when ethical issues arise. Discuss factors of cultural competence and ethnicity and identify your particular learning needs to enable you to help a named minority group of your choice overcome inequalities in healthcare. Cultural competence is the understanding of; values, beliefs, traditions and customs of diverse groups. Ethnicity is defined as; a social group of people who identify with each other based on common experiences, such as cultural heritage, language and religion (Ingram 2011). Diverse multi-ethnic groups require diverse healthcare needs, challenging health professionals to be culturally competent in order to provide appropriate care (Patel et. al 2007). During our PD2 PBL a scenario (See Appendix 2) highlighted the importance of being culturally competent in order to meet the healthcare needs of a culturally diverse community. Josepha Camphina-Bacote, 1998 developed;’ The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Healthcare Services model’, which views cultural competence as an ongoing process through Health Professional Development striving to effectively work with the cultural context of the client by seeing themselves as ‘becoming’, rather than ‘being’ culturally competent. The model focuses on the constructs of; cultural awareness, knowledge, skill, encounters, and desire which can be applied to the PD2 situation when discussing improvements in cultural competence of the health professionals involved (Camphina-Bacote 2002). A number of inner-cities throughout Britain are experiencing a growing population of multi-ethnic groups, in 2011, 3.9% of Sparkhill were classed as having a multiple ethnicity, compared to 2.3% of Englands’ Population. 21.7% of Sparkhills’ population had no member of their household with the first language being English compared to 4.4% of the population of England. These statistics highlight the importance of cultural competency for healthcare professionals working within Sparkhill due to the various values, beliefs, and languages they will encounter. In order to be culturally competent, Camphina-Bacote (2002) recognises that healthcare professionals need to gain cultural knowledge on health-related beliefs, values and traditions so they will be able to recognise how patients interpret and understand their illness (Lavizzo-Mourey 1996), determining the required actions for the patient to receive appropriate care. For example Muslims have Salat; obligatory Muslim prayers performed five times each day, healthcare professionals working in Sparkhill need cultural knowledge on this practice to avoid arranging clinics or appointments during these times which would result in patient absence, thus absence of patient care. Furthermore Camphina-Bacote (2002) recognises the need for cultural awareness; the act of reflecting and exploring personal cultural and professional background involving recognition of prejudices, stereotypes and assumptions which could affect the care delivered to patients. When reflecting on my own cultural competence I feel that I know little about the values and traditions of other cultures, as highlighted by an incident on placement; a lady refused to remove her religious attire when asked to put on a theatre gown. I was unaware of the patients’ culture and the importance of the dress to her. Additionally the trust holds its own policy on religious attire; I was unsure how to handle the situation and stepped back. On my reflection ability of clinical situations I feel that I should increase my cultural knowledge and awareness on trust policies in order to make sure patients in my care do not receive unfair, discriminatory treatment based on their culture to further devel op as a professional. Identify a particular theory of change, outline briefly and discuss it critically showing how it may be useful/helpful to bring about service improvement in your work as nurse or physio Healthcare revolves around increasingly ambiguous and turbulent times, where culture innovation of change is essential in order to meet the changing healthcare needs of the population and the advancements in research and technology (Broome 1990). In our PD2 PBL groups we looked at a scenario (See Appendix 3) which suggested a need for change in the way care was delivered on the ward. These changes could be implemented through using models of change such as the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) four stage model. The first stage `plan’, highlighting the change to be implemented, `Do’ stage is the action of carrying out the change, `study’ stage, collecting the data before and after the change and reflection upon it. The final stage `Act’ is the full implementation of the change or the plan of additional changes (National Health Service 2008). The PDSA model can be applied to any healthcare setting and allows multidisciplinary involvement. The model allows the use of measurable goals so that the effectiveness of quality improvement can be reviewed throughout (Nakayama et al 2010). Wonderlich (2007) recognises how the model uses a simple `bottom up’ approach to change with the ongoing PDSA cycle or repetition of the PDSA process allowing continuous small scale improvement. Testing on a small scale; for example, implementing change on the stroke ward within the scenario and learning from it before advancement to service improvement on a broader scale within the trust reduces risk making it a highly effective, recommended model which is used frequently. The model however requires leadership from a professional with adequate stature; clinical director, to ensure tasks are communicated across teams. These tasks also take priority in order to be completed; meaning without effective leadership some healthcare professionals may not be committed (Nakayama et al 2010). An alternative model is Lewins three stage theory of change; `unfreeze, moving and refreeze’. Although, Lewins model previously dominated change theory, as a core basis for many models due to its history, it is now often overlooked by modernised approaches such as the PDSA cycle or the NHS change model (NHS Change Model 2013). Further criticism of Lewins model is that it takes a top-down, management-driven approach to change, in scenarios such as the one looked at in our PBL groups where frontline health care staff such as staff nurses will be the agents of change upon the ward meaning Lewins approach to change would be inappropriate (Burnes 2004). As I develop as a professional I feel it is important that I continue to increase my knowledge on the process of change, service improvement and the models which can support this. Through my role as a Student Nurse I am part of the healthcare system and therefore, in the position to bring about change. What do the concepts of group and group dynamics mean to you? Using your theoretical understanding of the notions of groups and group dynamics, critically discuss your own contribution and that of your peers in problem based learning. Groups are defined as a number of people who share objectives, identity and a frame of reference. The way the group acts and responds to changing situations is defined by group dynamics. Within the PD2 model we were separated into sets of fifteen people, each set forming a group due to our shared purpose and goal of being developing health professionals who wish to complete the module (Forsyth 2010). Group establishments such as these can be outlined by Tuckman whi developed a model in 1965 explaining his theory of group development through 4 stages. `Forming’ , the first stage; a team make contact, develop trust and agree on similarities or common goals. Second stage; `Storming’, differences in opinion are expressed meaning power, control and resource issues are identified and communication skills developed. In the `Norming’ stage, decisions are made through negotiation, group roles and problem solving processes which are agreed. Finally the group works collaboratively producing effective results; ‘Performing’ stage. Although one of the most commonly used models for group development, it consists of a number of criticisms; not all groups will follow these stages so clear cut, theorists also argue that groups often repeat stages throughout their time rather than completing each cycle once as Tuckman suggests. It could also be argued that the stages should not stop at ‘Performing’ and should consider the stages of evaluation and reflection (Tuckman 1965)(Forsyth 2010)(Elwyn and Greenhalgh et al. 2001). This evaluation and reflection process was used within our PD2 groups including evaluating our own contribution. Within our group there was minimal interaction between members, with evident subgroups; all nursing students sat together, separated from physiotherapy students. Subgroups often occur due to previously established connections in social and emotional bonds and can affect the group dynamics; for example a physio may dismiss a comment from a student nurse due to the isolation caused by the subgroups. However our group facilitator evaluated the dynamics of the group throughout the sessions emphasising the possibility of the Hawthorne Effect (Forsyth 2010) as participants knew they were being evaluated, so may not have taken on their natural role. On reflection I feel that if I was involved in another group I would encourage a mix of group members who have no established connection in order to create cohesion, improve team work, the group dynamics and group outcomes. I would also recommend that the group are kept unaware of the facilitator’s evaluation to prevent the Hawthorne effect and encourage members to take on a natural role in the group. Moreover, researcher Belbin (1981) recognises nine different roles within groups which can be adapted by the members; bringing skills and expertise to the group and affecting the groups’ dynamics as roles are influenced by personality and self-perception. However Belbins roles include criticisms that they’re limited to management groups, although, the identified weaknesses and positive qualities of the roles are transferrable to other groups such as those within healthcare (Belbin, 1981). In order to reflect on our contributions within the PBL groups we carried out Belbins’ self-perception inventory which allowed me to recognise my roles; `The company worker’ and ‘The complete-Finisher’. Before I was unsure as to what my role was within the team, but I agree with the self-perception inventory findings and feel that I can now build on my suited roles when participating in future groups allowing for professional development.

Heathcliff as Byronic Hero of Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay

Heathcliff as Byronic Hero of Wuthering Heights      Ã‚   It is difficult if not impossible to find a character in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights that is 100% convincing as the hero -- until one applies the qualities of the Byronic hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When considering Wuthering Heights Heathcliff immediately jumps to mind as the villainous character.   Upon his return he wickedly orchestrates Hindley's economic demise and takes control of the Heights.   He attempts to win Catherine, now a married woman, back and when that fails takes in marriage Isabelle Linton, Edgar's sister, with the sole intention of torturing her as a way of avenging himself on Edgar for marrying the woman he loved.   When Hindley died Heathcliff took his son, Hareton, in order to treat him as cruelly as Hindley had treated Heathcliff, thus taking his revenge on Hindley.   To further punish Edgar, Heathcliff kidnaps Cathy, forces her to marry his son, Linton, and in so doing gains possession of Thruschcross Grange and has the authority to treat Cathy as he desires.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Heathcliff obviously has a nasty vengeful side but that makes his character perfect to bear the mantle of the Byronic hero.  Ã‚   He rebels against the social order in his world by attempting to defy Hindley and associate with Catherine and later in his attempt to woo her from Edgar's arms and home and make her his own.   He is very definitely self-destructive and cares for no one but himself and Catherine, which at times seem debatable.   His passion in life is not life but to avenge himself upon everyone that has ever slighted him.   He systematically destroys the lives of the people who hurt him but he refuses to stop there - insisting upon further punishing those individuals through... ...nder the earth until he can join her in death so that he need not endure a single day without the knowledge of her close by.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of Heathcliff's actions sprung from his desire to be with Catherine.   When he was denied this, primarily because of his social standing and background, he sets about to ruin the lives of those who assume they are better than he because of their position in society.   Heathcliff cannot be categorized a villain but rather is dubbed Byronic Hero and to some extent, the victim of a spoiled manipulative brat.    Works Cited Damrosch, David, et al., ed.   The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Vol. B.   Compact ed.   New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. Bronte, Emily.   Wuthering Heights. Norton Critical ed.   3rd ed.   Ed. William M. Sale, Jr., and Richard J. Dunn.   New York:   W. W. Norton, 1990.   

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 35

35 BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS Rachel was drawing figures in the dirt of the cave floor with a dagger when she heard something flutter by her ear. â€Å"What was that?† â€Å"A bat,† Catch said. He was invisible. â€Å"We are out of here,† Rachel said. â€Å"Take them outside.† Effrom, Amanda, and Jenny were sitting with their backs against the cave wall, tied hand and foot, and gagged. â€Å"I don't know why we couldn't have waited at your cabin,† Catch said. â€Å"I have my reasons. Help me get them outside, now.† â€Å"You're afraid of bats?† Catch asked. â€Å"No, I just feel that this ritual should take place in the open,† Rachel insisted. â€Å"If you have a problem with bats, you're going to love it when you see me.† A quarter mile down the road from the cave, Augustus Brine, Travis, and Gian Hen Gian were waiting for Howard and Robert to arrive. â€Å"Do you think we can pull this off?† Travis asked Brine. â€Å"Why ask me? I know less about this than the two of you. Whether we pull it off depends mostly on your powers of persuasion.† â€Å"Can we go over it again?† Brine checked his watch. â€Å"Let's wait for Robert and Howard. We still have a few minutes. And I don't think that it will hurt to be a little late. As far as Catch and Rachel are concerned, you are the only game in town.† Just then they heard a car down-shifting and turned to see Howard's old black Jag turning onto the dirt road. Howard parked behind Brine's truck. He and Robert got out and Robert reached into the backseat and began handing things to Brine and Travis: a camera bag, a heavy-duty tripod, a long aluminum lens case, and finally, a hunting rifle with a scope. Brine did not take the rifle from Robert. â€Å"What's that for?† Robert stood up, rifle in hand. â€Å"If it looks like it isn't going to work, we use it to take out Rachel before she gets power over Catch.† â€Å"What will that accomplish?† Brine asked. â€Å"It will keep Travis in control of the demon.† â€Å"No,† Travis said. â€Å"One way or another it ends here, but we don't shoot anyone. We're here to end the killing, not add to it. Who's to say that Rachel won't have more control over Catch than I do?† â€Å"But she doesn't know what she is getting into. You said that yourself.† â€Å"If she gets power over Catch, he has to tell her, just like he told me. At least I will be free of him.† â€Å"And Jenny will be dead,† Robert spat. Augustus Brine said, â€Å"The rifle stays in the car. We are going to do this on the assumption that it will work, period. Normally I'd say that if anyone wants out, they can go now, but the fact is, we all have to be here for it to work.† Brine looked around the group. They were waiting. â€Å"Well, are we going to do this?† Robert threw the rifle into the backseat of the car. â€Å"Let's do it, then.† â€Å"Good,† Brine said. â€Å"Travis, you have to get them out of the cave and into the open. You have to hold the invocation up long enough for Robert to get a picture, and you have to get the candlesticks back to us, preferably by sending them down the hill with Jenny and the Elliotts.† â€Å"They'll never go for that. Without the hostages, why should I translate the invocation?† â€Å"Then hold it as a condition. Play it the best you can. Maybe you can get one of them down.† â€Å"If I make the candlesticks a condition, they'll be suspicious.† â€Å"Shit,† Robert said. â€Å"This isn't going to work. I don't know why I thought it would.† Through the whole discussion the Djinn had remained in the background. Now he stepped into the circle. â€Å"Give them what they want. Once the woman has control of Catch, they will have no need to be suspicious.† â€Å"But Catch will kill the hostages, and probably all of us,† Travis said. â€Å"Wait a minute,† Robert said. â€Å"Where is Rachel's van?† â€Å"What does that have to do with anything?† Brine said. â€Å"Well, they didn't walk here with hostages in tow. And the van isn't parked here. That means that her van must be up by the cave.† â€Å"So?† Travis said. â€Å"So, it means that if we have to storm them, we can go in Gus's truck. The road must come out of the woods and loop around the hill to the caves. We already have the recorder, so the invocation can be played back fast. Gus can drive up the hill, Travis can throw the candlesticks into the truck, and all Gus has to do is hit the play button.† They considered it for a moment, then Brine said, â€Å"Everyone in the bed of the truck. We park it in the woods as close to the caves as we can without it being seen. It's the closest thing to a plan that we have.† On the grassy hill outside the cave Rachel said, â€Å"He's late.† â€Å"Let's kill one of them,† the demon said. Jenny and her grandparents sat on the ground, back to back. â€Å"Once this ritual is over, I won't have you talking like that,† Rachel said. â€Å"Yes, mistress, I yearn for your guidance.† Rachel paced the hill, making an effort not to look at her hostages. â€Å"What if Travis doesn't come?† â€Å"He'll come,† Catch said. â€Å"I think I hear a car.† Rachel watched the point where the road emerged from the woods. When nothing came, she said, â€Å"What if you're wrong? What if he doesn't come?† â€Å"There he is,† Catch said. Rachel turned to see Travis walking out of the woods and up the gentle slope toward them. Robert screwed the tripod into the socket of the telephoto lens, tested its steadiness, then fitted the camera body on the back of the lens and turned it until it clicked into place. From the camera bag at his feet he took a pack of Polaroid film and snapped it into the bottom of the Nikon's back. â€Å"I've never seen a camera like that,† said Augustus Brine. Robert was focusing the long lens. â€Å"The camera's a regular thirty-five millimeter. I bought the Polaroid back for it to preview results in the studio. I never got around to using it.† Howard Phillips stood poised with notebook in hand and a fountain pen at ready. â€Å"Check the batteries in that recorder,† Robert said to Brine. â€Å"There are some fresh ones in my camera bag if you need them.† Gian Hen Gian was craning his neck to see over the undergrowth into the clearing where Travis stood. â€Å"What is happening? I cannot see what is happening.† â€Å"Nothing yet,† Brine said. â€Å"Are you set, Robert?† â€Å"I'm ready,† Robert said without looking up from the camera. â€Å"I'm filling the frame with Rachel's face. The parchment should be easily readable. Are you ready, Howard?† â€Å"Short of the unlikely possibility that I may be stricken with writer's cramp at the crucial moment, I am prepared.† Brine snapped four penlight batteries into the recorder and tested the mechanism. â€Å"It's up to Travis now,† he said. Travis topped halfway up the hill. â€Å"Okay, I'm here. Let them go and I'll translate the invocation for you.† â€Å"I don't think so,† Rachel said. â€Å"Once the ritual has been performed and I'm sure it has worked, then you can all go free.† â€Å"You don't have any idea what you're talking about. Catch will kill us all.† â€Å"I don't believe you. The Earth spirit will be in my control, and I won't allow it.† Travis laughed sarcastically. â€Å"You haven't even seen him, have you? What do you think you have there, the Easter Bunny? He kills people. That's the reason he's here.† â€Å"I still don't believe you.† Rachel was beginning to lose her resolve. Travis watched Catch move to where the hostages were tied. â€Å"Come, do it now, Travis, or the old woman dies.† He raised a clawed hand over Amanda's head. Travis trudged up the hill and stood in front of Rachel. Very quietly her said to her, â€Å"You know, you deserve what you are going to get. I never thought I could wish Catch on anyone, but you deserve it.† He looked at Jenny, and her eyes pleaded for an explanation. He looked away. â€Å"Give me the invocation,† he said to Rachel. â€Å"I hope you brought a pencil and paper. I can't do this from memory.† Rachel reached into an airline bag that she had brought and pulled out the candlesticks. One at a time she unscrewed them and removed the invocations, then replaced the pieces in the airline bag. She handed Travis the parchments. â€Å"Put the candlesticks over by Jenny,† he said. â€Å"Why?† Rachel asked. â€Å"Because the ritual won't work if they are too close to the parchments. In fact, you'd be better off if you untied them and sent them away with the candlesticks. Get them out of the area altogether.† The lie seemed so obvious that Travis feared he had ruined everything by putting too much importance on the candlesticks. Rachel stared at him, trying to make sense of it. â€Å"I don't understand,† she said. â€Å"Neither do I,† Travis said. â€Å"But this is mystical stuff. You can't tell me that taking hostages so you can call up a demon is consistent with the logical world.† â€Å"Earth spirit! Not demon. And I will use this power for good.† Travis considered trying to convince her of her folly, then decided against it. The lives of Jenny and the Elliotts depended on Catch maintaining his charade as a benevolent Earth spirit until it was too late. He glared at the demon, who grinned back. â€Å"Well?† Travis said. Rachel picked up the airline bag and took it to a spot a few feet down the hill from the hostages. â€Å"No. Farther away,† Travis said. She slung the bag over her shoulder and took it another twenty yards down the hill, then turned to Travis for approval. â€Å"What is this about?† Catch asked. Travis, afraid to push his luck, nodded to Rachel and she set the bag down. Now the candlesticks were twenty yards closer to the road that ran around the back of the hill – the road that Augustus Brine would drive when the shit hit the fan. Rachel returned to the hilltop. â€Å"I'll need that pencil and paper now,† he said. â€Å"It's in the bag.† Rachel went back toward the bag. While she was retrieving the pencil and paper from the airline bag, Travis held the parchments out before him, one at a time, counting to six before he put the first one down and picked up the next. He hoped he had the angle to Robert's camera right and that his body was not in the way of the lens. â€Å"Here.† Rachel handed him a pencil and a steno pad. Travis sat down cross-legged with the parchments out in front of him. â€Å"Sit down and relax, this is going to take some time.† He started on the parchment from the second candlestick, hoping to buy some time. He translated the Greek letter by letter, searching his memory first for each letter, then for the meaning of the words. By the time he finished the first line, he had fallen into a rhythm and had to make an effort to slow down. â€Å"Read what he has written,† Catch said. â€Å"But he's just done one line-† Rachel said. â€Å"Read it.† Rachel took the steno pad from Travis and read, â€Å"Being in possession of the Power of Solomon I call upon the race that walked before man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped. â€Å"That's all there is.† â€Å"It's the wrong paper,† Catch said. â€Å"Travis, translate the other one. If it's not right this time, the girl dies.† â€Å"That's the last time I buy you a Cookie Monster comic book, you scaly fucker.† Reluctantly Travis shuffled the parchments and began to translate the invocation he had spoken in Saint Anthony's chapel seventy years before. Howard Phillips had two Polaroid prints out on the ground before him. He was writing a translation out on a notepad while Augustus Brine and Gian Hen Gian looked over his shoulder. Robert was looking through the camera. â€Å"They've made him change parchments. He must have been translating the wrong one.† Brine said, â€Å"Howard, are you translating the one we need?† â€Å"I am not sure yet. I've only translated a few lines of the Greek. This Latin passage at the top appears to be a message rather than an invocation.† â€Å"Can't you just scan it? We don't have time for mistakes.† Howard read what he had written. â€Å"No, this is wrong.† He tore the sheet from the notepad and began again, concentrating on the other Polaroid. â€Å"This one seems to have two shorter invocations. The first one seems to be the one that empowers the Djinn. It talks about a race that walked before man.† â€Å"That is right. Translate the one with two invocations,† the Djinn said. â€Å"Hurry,† Robert said, â€Å"Travis has half a page. Gus, I'm going to ride up the hill in the bed of the truck when you go. I'll jump out and grab the bag with the candlesticks. They're still a good thirty yards from the road and I can move faster than you can.† â€Å"I'm finished,† Howard said. He handed his notebook to Brine. â€Å"Record it at normal speed,† Robert said. â€Å"Then play it back at high speed.† Brine held the recorder up to his face, his finger on the record button. â€Å"Gian Hen Gian, is this going to work? I mean is a voice on a tape going to have the same effect as speaking the words?† â€Å"It would be best to assume that it will.† â€Å"You mean you don't know?† â€Å"How would I know?† â€Å"Swell,† Brine said. He pushed the record button and read Howard's translation into the recorder. When he finished, he rewound the tape and said, â€Å"Okay, let's go.† â€Å"Police! Don't anyone move!† They turned to see Rivera standing in the road behind them, his.38 in hand, panning back and forth to cover them. â€Å"Everybody down on the ground, facedown.† They stood frozen in position. â€Å"On the ground, now!† Rivera cocked his revolver. â€Å"Officer, there must be a mistake,† Brine said, feeling stupid as he said it. â€Å"Down!† Reluctantly, Brine, Robert, and Howard lay facedown on the ground. Gian Hen Gian remained standing, cursing in Arabic. Rivera's eyes widened as blue swirls appeared in the air over the Djinn's head. â€Å"Stop that,† Rivera said. The Djinn ignored him and continued cursing. â€Å"On your belly, you little fucker.† Robert pushed himself up on his arms and looked around. â€Å"What's this about, Rivera? We were just out here taking some pictures.† â€Å"Yeah, and that's why you have a high-powered rifle in your car.† â€Å"That's nothing,† Robert said. â€Å"I don't know what it is, but it's more than nothing. And none of you are going anywhere until I get some answers.† â€Å"You're making a mistake, Officer,† Brine said. â€Å"If we don't continue with what we were doing, people are going to die.† â€Å"First, it's Sergeant. Second, I'm getting to be a master at making mistakes, so one more is no big deal. And third, the only person who is going to die is this little Arab if he doesn't get his ass on the ground.† What was taking them so long? Travis had dragged the translation out as long as he could, stalling on a word here and there, but he could tell that Catch was getting impatient and to delay any long would endanger Jenny. He tore two sheets from the steno pad and handed them to Rachel. â€Å"It's finished, now you can untie them.† He gestured to Jenny and the Elliotts. â€Å"No,† Catch said. â€Å"First we see if it works.† â€Å"Please, Rachel, you have what you want. There's no reason to keep these people here.† Rachel took the pages. â€Å"I'll make it up to them once I have the power. It won't hurt to keep them here a few more minutes.† Travis fought the urge to look back toward the woods. Instead he cradled his head in his hands and sighed deeply as Rachel began to read the invocation aloud. Augustus Brine finally convinced Gian Hen Gian to lie down on the ground. It was obvious that Rivera would not listen to anyone until the Djinn relented. â€Å"Now, Masterson, where in the hell did you get that metal suitcase?† â€Å"I told you, I stole it out of the Chevy.† â€Å"Who owns the Chevy?† â€Å"I can't tell you that.† â€Å"You can tell me or you can go up on murder charges.† â€Å"Murder? Who was murdered?† â€Å"About a thousand people, it looks like. Where is the owner of that suitcase? Is it one of these guys?† â€Å"Rivera, I will tell you everything I know about everything in about fifteen minutes, but now you've got to let us finish what we started.† â€Å"And what was that?† Brine spoke up, â€Å"Sergeant, my name is Augustus Brine. I'm a businessman here in town. I have done nothing wrong, so I have no reason to lie to you.† â€Å"So?† Rivera said. â€Å"So, you are right. There is a killer. We are here to stop him. If we don't act right now, he will get away, so please, please, let us go.† â€Å"I'm not buying it, Mr. Brine. Where is this killer and why didn't you call the police about him? Take it nice and slow, and don't leave anything out.† â€Å"We don't have time,† Brine insisted. Just then they heard a loud thump and the sound of a body slumping to the ground. Brine turned around to see Mavis Sand standing over the collapsed detective, her baseball bat in hand. â€Å"Hi, cutie,† she said to Brine. They all jumped to their feet. â€Å"Mavis, what are you doing here?† â€Å"He threatened to close me down if I didn't tell him where you went. After he left, I got to feeling like a shit about telling him, so here I am.† â€Å"Thanks, Mavis,† Brine said. â€Å"Let's go. Howard, you stay here. Robert, in the bed of the truck. Whenever you're ready, King,† he said to the Djinn. Brine jumped into the truck, fired it up, and engaged the four-wheel drive. Rachel read the last line of the invocation with a grandiose flourish of her arm. â€Å"In the name of Solomon the King, I command thee to appear!† Rachel said, â€Å"Nothing happened.† Catch said, â€Å"Nothing happened, Travis.† Travis said, â€Å"Give it a minute.† He had almost given up hope. Something had gone horribly wrong. Now he was faced with either telling them about the candlesticks or keeping his bond with the demon. Either way, the hostages were doomed. â€Å"Fine, Travis,† Catch said. â€Å"The old man is the first to go.† Catch wrapped one hand around Effrom's neck. As Travis and Rachel watched, the demon grew into his eating form and lifted Effrom off the ground. â€Å"Oh my God!† Rachel put her fist to her mouth and started backing away from the demon. â€Å"Oh no!† Travis tried to focus his will on the demon. â€Å"Put him down, Catch,† he commanded. From somewhere down the hill came the sound of a truck starting. Gian Hen Gian stepped out of the woods. â€Å"Catch,† he shouted, â€Å"will you never give up your toys?† The Djinn started up the hill. Catch threw Effrom to the side. He landed like a rag doll, ten yards away. Rachel was shaking her head violently, as if trying to shake away the demon's image. Tears streamed down her cheeks. â€Å"So someone let the little fart out of his jar,† Catch said. He stalked down the hill toward the Djinn. An engine roared and Augustus Brine's pickup broke out of the tree line and bounced up the dirt road, throwing up a cloud of dust in its wake. Robert stood in the bed, holding onto the roll bar for support. Travis darted past Catch to Amanda and Jenny. â€Å"Still a coward, King of the Djinn?† Catch said, pausing a second to look at the speeding truck. â€Å"I am still your superior,† the Djinn said. â€Å"Is that why you surrendered your people to the netherworld without a fight?† â€Å"This time you lose, Catch.† Catch spun to watch the truck slide around the last turn and off the road to bound across the open grass toward the candlesticks. â€Å"Later, Djinn,† Catch said. He began to run toward the truck. Taking five yards at a stride the demon was over the hill and past Travis and the women in seconds. Augustus Brine saw the demon coming at them. â€Å"Hold on, Robert.† He wrenched the wheel to the side to throw the truck into a slide. Catch lowered his shoulder and rammed into the right front fender of the truck. Robert saw the impact coming and tried to decide whether to brace himself or jump. In an instant the decision was made for him as the fender crumpled under the demon and the truck went up on two wheels, then over onto its roof. Robert lay on the ground trying to get his wind back. He tried to move, and a searing pain shot through his arm. Broken. A thick cloud of dust hung in the air, obscuring his vision. He could hear the demon roaring behind him and the screeching sound of tearing metal. As the dust settled, he could just make out the shape of the upside-down truck. The demon was pinned under the hood, ripping at the metal with his claws. Augustus Brine hung by his seat belt. Robert could see him moving. Robert climbed to his feet, using his good arm to push himself up. â€Å"Gus!† he shouted. â€Å"The candlesticks!† came back. Robert looked around on the ground. There was the bag. He had almost landed on it. He started to reach for it with both hands and nearly passed out when the pain from his broken arm hit him. From his knees he was able to scoop up the bag, heavy with the candlesticks, in his good arm. â€Å"Hurry,† Brine shouted. Catch had stopped clawing at the metal. With a great roar he shoved the truck up and off of him. Standing before the truck, he threw his head back and roared with such intensity that Robert nearly dropped the candlesticks. Every bone in Robert's body said flee, get the hell out of here. He stood frozen. â€Å"Robert, I'm stuck. Bring them to me.† Brine was struggling with the seat belt. At the sound of his voice the demon leapt to the driver's side of the truck and clawed at the door. Brine heard the skin of the door go with the first slash. He stared at the door in terror, expecting a claw to come through the window at any second. The demon's claws raked the support beam inside the door. â€Å"Gus, here. Ouch. Shit.† Robert was lying outside the passenger side window, pushing the bag with the candlesticks across the roof of the truck. â€Å"The play button, Gus. Push it.† Brine felt the pocket of his flannel shirt. Mavis's recorder was still clipped there. He fumbled for the play button, found it, and pushed, just as a daggerlike claw ripped into his shoulder. A hundred miles south, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, a radar technician reported a UFO entering restricted air space from over the Pacific. When the aircraft refused to respond to radio warning, four jet fighters were scrambled to intercept. Three of the fighter pilots would report no visual contact. The fourth, upon landing, would be given a urinalysis and confined to quarters until he could be debriefed by an officer from the Air Force Department of Stress Management. The bogey would be officially explained as radar interference caused by unusually high swell conditions offshore. Of the thirty-six reports, filed in triplicate with various departments of the military complex, not one would mention an enormous white owl with an eighty-foot wingspan. However, after some consideration, the Pentagon would award seventeen million dollars to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a secret study on the feasibility of an owl-shaped aircraft. After two years of computer simulations and wind-tunnel prototype tests, the research team would conclude that an owl-shaped aircraft would, indeed, be an effective weapon, but only if the enemy should ever mobilize a corps of field-mouse-shaped tanks. Augustus Brine realized that he was going to die. In that same moment he realized that he was not afraid and that it did not matter. The monster clawing to get at him didn't matter. The chipmunk chatter of his voice playing back double-speed on the recorder didn't matter. The shouting of Robert, and now Travis, outside the truck didn't matter. He was acutely aware of it all, he was part of it all, but it did not matter. Even the gunfire didn't matter. He accepted it and let it go. Rivera came to when Brine had started the truck. Mavis Sand was standing over the policeman with his revolver, but she and Howard were watching what was going on up the hill. Rivera glanced up the hill to see Catch materializing in his eating form, holding Effrom by the throat. â€Å"Santa Maria! What the hell is that?† Mavis trained the gun on him. â€Å"Stay right there.† Ignoring her, Rivera stood and ran down the road toward his patrol car. At his car he popped the trunk lid and pulled the riot gun out of its bracket. As he ran back past Howard's Jag, he paused, then opened the back door and grabbed Robert's hunting rifle. By the time he was again in view of the hill, the truck was upside down and the monster was clawing at the door. He threw the riot gun to the ground and shouldered the rifle. He braced the barrel against a tree, threw the bolt to jack a shell into the chamber, sighted through the scope, and brought the cross-hairs down on the monster's face. Resisting the urge to scream, he squeezed the trigger. The round hit the demon in his open mouth and knocked him back a foot. Rivera quickly jacked another shell into the chamber and fired. Then another. When the firing pin clicked on an empty chamber, the monster had been knocked back from the truck a few feet but was still coming. â€Å"Santa fucking Maria,† Rivera said. Gian Hen Gian had reached the top of the hill where Travis knelt by Amanda and Jenny. â€Å"It is done,† the Djinn said. â€Å"Then do something!† Travis said. â€Å"Help Gus.† â€Å"Without his orders I may carry out only the command of my last master.† Gian Hen Gian pointed to the sky. Travis looked up to see something white coming out of the clouds, but it was too far away to make out what it was. Catch recovered from the rifle slugs and went forward. He hooked his huge hand behind the reinforcement beam of the truck's door, ripped it off, and threw it behind him. Inside the truck, still hanging from the seat belt, Augustus Brine turned calmly and looked at the demon. Catch drew back his hand to deliver a blow that would rip Brine's head from his shoulders. Brine smiled at him. The demon paused. â€Å"What are you, some kind of wacko?† Catch said. Brine didn't have time to answer. The reverberation of the owl's screech shattered the windshield of the truck. Catch looked up as the talons locked around his body, and he was swept into the air flailing at the owl's legs. The owl climbed into the sky so rapidly that in seconds it was nothing more than a tiny silhouette against the sun, which was making its way toward the horizon. Augustus Brine continued to smile as Travis released the seat belt. He hit the roof of the truck with his injured shoulder and passed out. When Brine regained consciousness, they were all standing over him. Jenny was holding Amanda's head to her shoulder. The old woman was sobbing. Brine looked from face to face. Someone was missing. Robert spoke first. â€Å"Tell Gian Hen Gian to heal your shoulder, Gus. He can't do it until you tell him. While you're at it, tell him to fix my arm.† â€Å"Do it,† Brine said. As he said it, the pain was gone from his shoulder. He sat up. â€Å"Where's Effrom?† â€Å"He didn't make it, Gus,† Robert said. â€Å"His heart gave out when the demon threw him.† Brine looked to the Djinn. â€Å"Bring him back.† The Djinn shook his head balefully. â€Å"This I cannot do.† Brine said, â€Å"I'm sorry, Amanda.† Then to Gian Hen Gian, â€Å"What happened to Catch?† â€Å"He is on his way to Jerusalem.† â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"I have lied to you, Augustus Brine. I am sorry. I was bound to the last command of my last master. Solomon bade me take the demon back to Jerusalem and chain him to a rock outside the great temple.† â€Å"Why didn't you tell me that?† â€Å"I thought you would never give me my power if you knew. I am a coward.† â€Å"Don't be ridiculous.† â€Å"It is as Catch said. When the angels came to drive my people into the netherworld, I would not let them fight. There was no battle as I told you. We went like sheep to the slaughter.† â€Å"Gian Hen Gian, you are not a coward. You are a creator – you told me that yourself. It's not in your nature to destroy, to make war.† â€Å"But I did. So I have tried to vindicate myself by stopping Catch. I wanted to do for the humans what I did not do for my own people.† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† Brine said. â€Å"It's finished.† â€Å"No, it's not,† Travis said. â€Å"You can't chain Catch to a rock in the middle of Jerusalem. You have to send him back. You have to read the last invocation. Howard translated it while we were waiting for you to wake up.† â€Å"But Travis, you don't know what will happen to you. You may die on the spot.† â€Å"I'm still bound to him, Gus. That isn't living anyway. I want to be free.† Travis handed him the invocation and the candlestick with the Seal of Solomon concealed in it. â€Å"If you don't, I will. It has to be done.† â€Å"All right, I'll do it,† Brine said. Travis looked up at Jenny. She looked away. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Travis said. Robert went to Jenny's side and held her. Travis walked down the hill, and when he was out of sight, Augustus Brine began reading the words that would send Catch back to hell. They found Travis slumped in the backseat of Howard's Jaguar. Augustus Brine was the first to reach the car. â€Å"I did it, Travis. Are you all right?† As Travis looked up, Brine had to fight the urge to recoil. The demonkeeper's face was deeply furrowed and shot with broken veins. His dark hair and brows had turned white. But for his eyes, which were still young with intensity, Brine would not have recognized him. Travis smiled. There were still a couple of teeth left in front. His voice was still young. â€Å"It didn't hurt. I expected one of those wrenching Lon Chaney transformations, but it didn't happen. Suddenly I was old. That was it.† â€Å"I'm glad it didn't hurt,† Brine said. â€Å"What am I going to do?† â€Å"I don't know, Travis. I need to think.†