The Indigo Spell Chapter Four

I FROZE. I didn't trust myself to respond. What was Adrian thinking? Putting aside all the drama between us, it was absolutely unforgivable to ask this here, in front of other Moroi and Alchemists. Maybe in Palm Springs, where things were a little more casual with my friends, it might not be that crazy a request. But here? He risked exposing that we knew each other, which in turn risked Jill. Almost as bad, it could be a tip-off of his feelings for me. Even if I insisted that I had no matching feelings, the fact that things had progressed this far could get me in serious trouble with the Alchemists. As all these thoughts raced through my mind, a more concerning one suddenly popped up. A good Alchemist shouldn't be worried about any of those things. A good Alchemist would have simply been horrified at the immediate problem: dancing with a Moroi. Touching a vampire. Realizing this, I quickly mustered an outraged expression, hoping I looked convincing. Fortunately, everyone else was too shocked to pay much attention to me. Good relations only went so far. Stanton and Ian wore legitimate looks of disgust. The Moroi nearby while not appalled, were astonished at the breach of etiquette. And yet . . . I also saw a couple exchange looks that said they weren't entirely surprised Adrian Ivashkov would suggest something so outrageous. This was an attitude I'd seen a lot with him. People often shrugged off his behavior with, â€Å"Well, that's Adrian.† Ian found his voice first. â€Å"She . . . no! She absolutely can't!† â€Å"Why not?† Adrian glanced between all our faces, his expression still sunny and unassuming. â€Å"We are all friends, right?† Abe, who was rarely shocked by anything, managed to shake off some of his surprise. â€Å"I'm sure it's not that big a deal.† His tone was uncertain. He knew that Adrian wasn't a total stranger to me but undoubtedly assumed I had the usual Alchemist hang-ups. As tonight had demonstrated, most Alchemists still struggled with handshakes. Stanton seemed to be waging a mental war. I knew she thought it was an outlandish request . . . yet she was still conscious of the need to keep things pleasant. She swallowed. â€Å"Perhaps . . . perhaps it would be a nice gesture.† She shot me a sympathetic look that seemed to say, Sometimes you have to take one for the team. Ian jerked his head toward her. â€Å"Are you crazy?† â€Å"Mr. Jansen,† she snapped, conveying a stern warning in just his name. All eyes turned toward me as everyone realized that ultimately, it was my decision. At this point, I didn't know if I should be shocked or scared – and the thought of dancing with Adrian made me feel both. I met Stanton's eyes again and slowly gave a nod. â€Å"Sure. Okay. Good relations, right?† Ian's face turned bright red, but another sharp look from Stanton kept him silent. As Adrian led me to the dance floor, I heard a few whispered comments from curious Moroi mentioning â€Å"that poor Alchemist girl† and â€Å"there's no predicting what he does sometimes.† Adrian put his arm around my waist, perfectly proper and distant. I tried not to think about the last time I'd been in his arms. Even with appropriate spacing between us, our hands were still clasped, our stances still intimate. I was hyperaware of every single place his fingers rested on my body. His touch was light and delicate but seemed to carry an extraordinary heat and intensity. â€Å"What were you thinking?† I demanded once we were moving to the music. I was trying to ignore his hands. â€Å"Do you know how much trouble you may have gotten me in?† Adrian grinned. â€Å"Nah. They all feel bad for you. You'll achieve martyrdom after dancing with a mean, wicked vampire. Job security with the Alchemists.† â€Å"I thought you weren't going to pressure me about . . . you know . . . that stuff. . . .† The look of innocence returned. â€Å"Have I said a word about that? I just asked you to dance as a political gesture, that's all.† He paused for impact. â€Å"Seems like you're the one who can't get ‘that stuff off your mind.† â€Å"Stop turning my words against me! That's not – no – that's not right at all.† â€Å"You should see that Stanton woman watching us,† he remarked with amusement, glancing behind me. â€Å"Everyone's watching us,† I grumbled. It wasn't like the entire room had come to a standstill, but there were certainly a number of curious onlookers, gawking at the unlikely sight of a Moroi and a human – an Alchemist, at that – dancing. He nodded and swept me into a turn. He was a good dancer, which wasn't entirely a surprise. Adrian might be brash and impertinent, but he knew how to move. Maybe dance lessons had been part of growing up in an elite tier of Moroi society. Or maybe he was just naturally skilled at using his body. That kiss had certainly show a fair amount of talent. . . . Ugh. Adrian was right. I was the one who couldn't get over â€Å"that stuff.† Unaware of my thoughts, he glanced over at Stanton again. â€Å"She's got the look of a general who just sent her army on a suicide mission.† â€Å"Nice to know she cares,† I said. For a moment, I forgot my dance floor woes as I thought angrily back to Stanton's â€Å"need to know† attitude. â€Å"I can pull you closer, if you want,† he said. â€Å"Just to see how much she cares. I'm always willing to help like that, you know.† â€Å"You're a real team player,† I said. â€Å"If putting me in danger is for the greater good, then Stanton probably wouldn't do anything about you moving in on me.† Adrian's self-satisfied smirk faded. â€Å"Did she ever come clean about that guy you were trying to find? Martin?† â€Å"Marcus,† I corrected. I frowned. Her denial still bothered me. â€Å"She keeps claiming she doesn't know him, and I can't push too hard if I don't want her to get suspicious.† â€Å"I thought of a way you might find him,† said Adrian. I would've thought he was joking if his face wasn't so serious. â€Å"You did?† I asked. The Alchemists had vast information at our disposal, with hands in all sorts of agencies and organizations. I'd been scouring them these last few weeks and found it unlikely that Adrian would have access to something I didn't. â€Å"Yup. You've got his picture, right? Couldn't you just do the same spell you did the other night? Locate him that way?† I was so surprised, I nearly tripped. Adrian tightened his grip to keep me from falling. I shivered as that small gesture brought us closer. The tension between us kicked up a notch, and I realized that along with our bodies being nearer, so were our lips. I had a little difficulty speaking, both because of how it felt to be so close to him and because I was still stunned by what he'd said. â€Å"That's . . . wow . . . that's not a bad idea. . . .† â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"I'm kind of amazed myself.† Really, the circumstances were no different from finding Ms. Terwilliger's sister. I needed to locate someone I'd never met. I had a picture, which was what the spell required. What was different was that I'd be initiating the spell myself. It was a difficult piece of magic, and I knew Ms. Terwilliger's coaching had helped me. There was also the moral dilemma of working that type of spell on my own. My conscience had an easier time handling magic when I felt coerced. â€Å"I couldn't try until next month,† I said, thinking back to the spell book. â€Å"I mean, I have the picture with me, but the spell's got to be done during a full moon. This is the last night for the current one, and I'd never be able to get the components in time.† â€Å"What do you need?† I told him, and he nodded along, promising he could get them. I scoffed. â€Å"Where are you going to get anise and hyssop at this time of night? In this town?† â€Å"This town's full of quirky boutique shops. There's some herbal place that sells soaps and perfume made of anything you can imagine. I guarantee they've got what you need.† â€Å"And I guarantee they're closed.† He swept me into another flourish-filled spin, and I kept up with him perfectly. The song was wrapping up. The time had flown by faster than I'd thought. I'd forgotten about the onlookers. I'd even forgotten I was with a vampire. I was simply dancing with Adrian, which felt easy and natural, so long as I didn't think about our audience. His roguish look returned. â€Å"Don't worry about that. I can find the owner and talk her into making an exception.† I groaned. â€Å"No. Not compulsion.† Compulsion was an ability vampires had to force their wills on others. All vampires had it to a small extent, and spirit users had it in excess. Most Moroi considered it immoral. Alchemists considered it a sin. The song ended, but Adrian didn't release me right away. He leaned a little closer. â€Å"Do you want to wait another month to find Marcus?† â€Å"No,† I admitted. Adrian's lips were a breath away. â€Å"Then we'll meet in two hours by the hotel's service door.† I gave a weak nod, and he stepped back, releasing my hands. â€Å"Here's one last sign of good relations.† With a bow that could've come straight out of a Jane Austen novel, he gestured to the bar and spoke loudly. â€Å"Thank you for the dance. May I escort you to get a drink?† I followed without a word, my head spinning with what I'd need to do in two hours. At the bar, Adrian astonished me by ordering ginger ale. â€Å"Nice restraint,† I said, realizing he'd need to stay sober to work spirit. I hoped he hadn't indulged too much already. For him, the only thing better than an open bar would be a case of cigarettes showing up at his door. â€Å"I'm a master of self-control,† he declared. I wasn't so sure of that but didn't contradict him. I sipped my Diet Coke, and we stood there in comfortable silence. Two Moroi men sidled up the bar near us, talking with the volume and exuberance of those who hadn't held back on sampling free liquor. â€Å"Well, no matter how liberal that girl is, she's certainly easy on the eyes,† one guy said. â€Å"I could look at her all day, especially in that dress.† His friend nodded. â€Å"Definitely an improvement over Tatiana. Too bad about what happened to her, but maybe a change of scenery was for the best. Did that woman ever smile?† They both laughed at the joke. Beside me, Adrian's own smile vanished, and he went perfectly still. Tatiana, the former Moroi queen, had been Christian's great-aunt. She'd been viciously murdered this summer, and though Adrian rarely spoke about her, I'd heard from a number of people that they'd been close. Adrian's lips twisted into a snarl, and he started to turn around. Without hesitation, I reached out and grabbed his free hand, holding it tightly. â€Å"Adrian, don't,† I said softly. â€Å"Sydney, they can't say that.† There was a dangerous look in his eyes, one I'd never seen. I squeezed his hand harder. â€Å"They're drunk, and they're stupid. They're not worth your time. Please don't start a scene here – for Sonya's sake.† I hesitated. â€Å"And for me.† His face was still filled with rage, and for a moment, I thought he would ignore me and throw a glass at one of those guys. Or worse. I'd seen angry spirit users, and they were terrifying. At last, that fury faded, and I felt his hand relax in mine. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, they were dazed and unfocused. â€Å"No one really knew her, Sydney.† The sorrow in his voice broke my heart. â€Å"They all thought she was some draconian bitch. They never knew how funny she was, how sweet she could be. You can't . . . you can't imagine how much I miss her. She didn't deserve to die like that. She was the only one who understood me – even more than my own parents. She accepted me. She saw the good in my soul. She was the only one who believed in me.† He was standing in front of me, but he wasn't with me. I recognized the rambling, consuming nature of spirit. It messed with its users' minds. Sometimes it made them scattered and distant, like he was now. Sometimes it challenged people's grip on reality. And sometimes, it could create a despair with devastating consequences. â€Å"She wasn't the only one,† I told him. â€Å"I believe in you. She's at peace, and nothing they say can change who she was. Please come back to me.† He still stared off into someplace I couldn't follow. After a few frightening moments, he blinked and focused on me. His expression was still sad, but at least he was in control again. â€Å"I'm here, Sage.† He removed his hand and glanced around to make sure no one had seen me holding it. Thankfully, the bride and groom had taken to the dance floor, and everyone was too mesmerized watching them. â€Å"Two hours.† He knocked back the rest of his drink and walked away. I watched him until he disappeared into the crowd, and then I returned to my own table, glancing at the clock along the way Two hours. Ian jumped out of his seat at my approach. â€Å"Are you okay?† No Moroi well-wishers were around, so only Stanton was nearby to hear him. She seemed to share his concern. â€Å"I'm sorry you had to endure that, Miss Sage. As always, your dedication to our work is admirable.† â€Å"I do what I can to help, ma'am,† I said. I was still worried about Adrian and hoped he wouldn't slip back into spirit's grip again. â€Å"Did he hurt you?† asked Ian, pointing. â€Å"Your hands?† I looked down and realized I'd been rubbing my hands together. They were warm from where Adrian had touched me. â€Å"Huh? Oh, no. Just, um, trying to rub the taint off. In fact . . . I should probably go wash up. Be right back.† They seemed to find this a perfectly reasonable idea and didn't stop me as I hurried to the restroom. Free of their concern, I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd dodged two bullets here, by not letting the Alchemists know that I was friendly with a vampire and also that I was plotting magic with him. â€Å"Sydney?† I was so distracted when walking out of the restroom that I hadn't noticed Rose standing nearby with Dimitri Belikov. They stood arm in arm, smiling at my surprise. I hadn't seen Dimitri tonight, and his black and white guardian attire told me why. He was on duty here and had undoubtedly been one of the shadows darting among the trees of the greenhouse, keeping a watch on everyone. He must be on a break now because there was no way he'd be standing so casually here, even with Rose, otherwise. And really, â€Å"casual† for Dimitri meant he could still leap into battle at any moment. They were a striking couple. His dark-haired, dark-eyed looks matched hers, and they were both dazzlingly attractive. It was no wonder Adrian had fallen for her, and I felt surprised at how uncomfortable that memory made me. Like Sonya and Mikhail, there was a bond of love between Rose and Dimitri that was almost palpable. â€Å"Are you okay?† asked Rose, eyes kind. â€Å"I can't believe Adrian did that to you.† She reconsidered. â€Å"Then again, I kind of can believe it.† â€Å"I'm fine,† I said. â€Å"I think the other Alchemists were more appalled than I was.† I remembered belatedly that even if Rose and Dimitri knew I knew Adrian from Palm Springs, I still couldn't act too at ease here. I put on my earlier look of outrage. â€Å"It was still out of line, though.† â€Å"Propriety's never been Adrian's strong suit,† Dimitri observed. Rose laughed at the understatement. â€Å"If it makes you feel any better, you guys looked really good together out there. Made it hard to believe you're mortal enemies . . . or whatever it is Alchemists think.† She gestured to my dress. â€Å"You even coordinated.† I'd totally forgotten what I was wearing. It was a short-sleeved silk dress, almost entirely black save for some splashes of royal blue on the skirt. That was a bolder color than I would normally wear, but the black tempered it. Thinking back to Adrian's shades of blue, I realized our palettes had indeed complemented each other. You guys looked really good together. I don't know what expression I wore, but it made Rose laugh again. â€Å"Don't look so panicked,† Rose said, eyes shining. â€Å"It was nice seeing a human and a Moroi look like they belong together.† Belong together. Why did she keep saying things like that? Her words were messing with the cool, logical demeanor I tried to maintain. I knew she was speaking in that friendly, diplomatic way that everyone was pushing so hard for. But as progressive as Rose and Dimitri were, I knew even they would be shocked if they knew the truth about Adrian's feelings and that monumental kiss. I spent the rest of the reception with a knot of anxiety building within me. Fortunately, I didn't have to hide it. Moroi and Alchemist alike expected me to feel that way. In fact, Stanton soon got her own share of â€Å"diplomacy† when a middle-aged Moroi guy asked her to dance, obviously taking a cue from Adrian's display of goodwill. Apparently, as outrageous as Adrian's behavior had been, some Moroi thought it had been a smart move and decided to follow suit. Stanton could hardly refuse after encouraging me, so she took the dance floor with gritted teeth. No one asked Ian to dance, which was probably just as well. He didn't look at all disappointed. Adrian stayed away, presumably to gather my spell components. Time ticked down, and as the two-hour mark approached, I realized that although I'd brought Marcus's picture with me on this trip (I rarely let it out of my sight), it was still in my room. I excused myself from Ian, telling him I needed to go back to the inn to change shoes and would take one of the cars that had been ferrying wedding guests around town. Ian's face immediately grew protective. â€Å"Do you want me to go with you? It's not safe out there.† I shook my head. â€Å"No, you need to stay here. Stanton's in more danger.† She was standing near the bar, speaking to two Moroi men. I wondered if she had another dance in her future. â€Å"Besides, it's early, so there's still more of them here than out there. At least the inn is run by humans.† Ian couldn't fault my Alchemist logic and reluctantly let me go. Catching a town car was easy, and I was able to make the round trip in almost the perfect amount of time. I even changed shoes so that I'd have proof for my story. Although I'd worn heels to the wedding, I'd packed flats in my suitcase, just in case. That was just smart planning for any occasion. When I reached the service door, however, I realized my clever planning had failed. Filled with haste and anxiety, I'd left my warm, heavy shawl in the car, which was probably long gone. Now, waiting for Adrian in the bitter Pennsylvania cold, I wrapped my arms around myself and hoped I wouldn't freeze before he showed up. He was good to his word, though, and arrived at exactly the appointed time with a tote bag over one shoulder. Even better, he was completely back to his normal self. â€Å"Ready to go,† he told me. â€Å"Seriously?† I asked, my teeth chattering. â€Å"You found everything?† He patted the bag. â€Å"You ask, I deliver. Now where do we need to do this?† â€Å"Somewhere remote.† I scanned around. Beyond the hotel's parking lot was a vacant field that I hoped would suffice. â€Å"There.† Walking across the well-salted parking lot wasn't a problem, but once we â€Å"off-roaded† into the snowy field, even my practical flats were of no use. I was also so cold that I suspected my skin was as blue as my dress. â€Å"Stop,† said Adrian at one point. â€Å"We need to go a little farther,† I protested. Adrian, who'd had the sense to put on a wool coat, was taking it off. â€Å"Here.† â€Å"You'll be cold,† I protested, though I didn't stop him when he stepped forward and helped me put the coat on. He was taller than me, so the three-quarter length was mercifully full length on me. Its scent was a mix of smoke and cologne. â€Å"There.† He pulled the coat more tightly around me. â€Å"I've got long sleeves and the jacket. Now come on – let's hurry.† He didn't have to tell me twice. Aside from the temperature, we had to do this before we were caught by others. Even I wasn't going to be able to explain this away to the Alchemists. The moon was still crisp and bright when we finally found an acceptable spot. I sifted through Adrian's bag, amazed that he'd come through with everything, from the mirror to the dried leaves and flowers. He stayed quiet as I set it all up, only speaking when I was just about ready to go. â€Å"Is there anything I can do?† he asked gently. â€Å"Just keep watch,† I said. â€Å"And catch me if I pass out.† â€Å"Gladly.† I'd memorized the spell when Ms. Terwilliger and I had performed it. Still, I was nervous about going solo, especially since the environment was so distracting. It was kind of hard to find the mental focus I needed while kneeling in snow. Then I thought back to Stanton and the lies the Alchemists were telling me. A spark of anger flared in me, creating warmth of a different sort. I used that to direct my thoughts as I stared at Marcus's picture. He was Adrian's age, with shoulder-length blond hair and a pensive look in his blue eyes. The tattoo on his check was a tangle of indigo crescents. Slowly, I managed to sink into the spell. I felt that same euphoria as the mirror shifted into a city image. No fog blocked me this time since presumably Marcus wasn't wielding the kind of protective magic that Ms. Terwilliger's sister had been using. The scene before me showed what looked like a very modest studio apartment. A mattress lay on the floor, and an ancient TV sat in one corner. I looked around for any identifying features but found nothing. The room's one window finally gave me a clue. Outside in the distance, I could see a Spanish-style building that looked like a church or monastery. It was made of white stucco, with red-roofed domed towers. I tried to get a closer look, to fly up like I had in the other spell, but suddenly, I became aware of the Pennsylvania cold seeping into me. The image shattered, and I was back to kneeling in the field. â€Å"Ugh,† I said, putting my hand to my forehead. â€Å"So close.† â€Å"Did you see anything?† Adrian asked. â€Å"Nothing that'll help.† I stood and felt a little dizzy but managed to stay upright. I could see Adrian ready and waiting to catch me in case I did indeed keel over. â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"I think so. Just a little light-headed from the blood sugar drop.† I slowly gathered up the mirror and bag. â€Å"I should've had you get orange juice too.† â€Å"Maybe this'll help.† Adrian produced a silver flask from his suit jacket's inner pocket and handed it toward me. So typical, Adrian helpfully offering alcohol. â€Å"You know I don't drink,† I said. â€Å"A few sips won't get you drunk, Sage. And it's your lucky night – it's Kahlua. Packed with sugar and coffee-flavored. Trade me and try.† Grudgingly, I handed him the bag and then took the flask as we began walking back to the hotel. I took a tentative sip and grimaced. â€Å"That is not coffee-flavored.† No matter how much people tried to dress up alcohol, it always tasted awful to me. I didn't understand how he could consume so much. But, I could taste the sugar, and after a few more sips, I felt steadier. That was all I drank since I didn't want to get dizzy for different reasons. â€Å"What'd you see?† asked Adrian, once we reached the parking lot. I described the spell's scene and sighed in frustration. â€Å"That could be any building in California. Or the Southwest. Or Mexico.† Adrian came to a halt and slung the bag over one shoulder. â€Å"Maybe. . . .† He took out his phone from his jacket and typed in a few things. I shivered and tried to be patient as he searched for what he needed. â€Å"Did it look like this?† I peered at the screen and felt my jaw drop. I was looking at a picture of the building from my vision. â€Å"Yes! What is it?† â€Å"The Old Mission Santa Barbara.† And then, just in case I needed help, he added, â€Å"It's in Santa Barbara.† â€Å"How did you know that?† I exclaimed. â€Å"What that building is, I mean.† He shrugged. â€Å"Because I've been to Santa Barbara. Does this help you?† My earlier dismay transformed into excitement. â€Å"Yes! Based on the window's position, I can get a pretty good idea of where the apartment is. You may have found Marcus Finch.† Caught up in my elation, I squeezed his arm. Adrian rested a gloved hand on my cheek and smiled down at me. â€Å"And to think, Angeline said I was too pretty to be useful. Looks like I might have something to offer to the world after all.† â€Å"You're still pretty,† I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them. Another of those intense moments hung between us, the moonlight illuminating his striking features. Then it was shattered by a voice in the darkness. â€Å"Who's there?† Both of us flinched and jerked back as a black-and-white-clad figure seemed to materialize out of the shadows. A guardian. It was no one I knew, but I realized I'd been foolish if I thought we could slip in and out of the hotel unseen. The grounds were probably crawling with guardians, keeping watch for Strigoi. They wouldn't have cared much about two people leaving, but our return would naturally be challenged. â€Å"Hey, Pete,† said Adrian, putting on that easygoing smile he excelled at. â€Å"Nice to see you. Hope you're not too cold out here.† The guardian seemed to relax a little upon recognizing Adrian, but he was still suspicious. â€Å"What are you two doing outside?† â€Å"Just walking Miss Sage back,† said Adrian. â€Å"She had to get something from her room.† I gave him a puzzled look. The inn wasn't in this direction. Pete looked dazed for a moment. Then he nodded in understanding. â€Å"I see. Well, you'd better get back inside before you freeze.† â€Å"Thanks,† said Adrian, steering me away. â€Å"Make sure you get a break and try the canapes. They're amazing.† â€Å"You compelled him,† I whispered, once we were safely out of earshot. â€Å"Only a little,† said Adrian. He sounded very proud of himself. â€Å"And being outside to walk you is a valid reason, one he won't think too much about later. Compelling someone into believing a story works best if there's a little truth – â€Å" â€Å"Adrian? Sydney?† We'd almost reached the back of the building now and were suddenly face-to-face with an ivory-clad figure. Sonya stood before us, a fur stole wrapped around her. Once again, I was struck by her beauty and the happy glow she seemed to radiate. She gave us a puzzled smile. â€Å"What are you two doing out here?† she asked. Both of us were speechless. Adrian had no brash words or tricks. Sonya was a spirit user too, and compulsion wouldn't work on her. Frantically, I groped for some excuse that wasn't: We were out using illicit magic in a continuing effort to uncover secrets the Alchemists don't want me to know about. â€Å"You can't tell,† I blurted out to her. I held up the flask. â€Å"Adrian was letting me sneak some of his Kahlua. Stanton'll kill me if she finds out.† Sonya looked understandably startled. â€Å"I didn't think you drank.† â€Å"Tonight's been kind of stressful,† I said. It was hardly a lie. â€Å"And it's coffee-flavored,† Adrian pointed out, as though that might aid our cause. I wasn't sure if Sonya was buying it, so I attempted a change in subject. â€Å"Congratulations, by the way. I didn't have a chance to talk to you earlier. You look beautiful.† Sonya let go of her inquisitiveness and offered me a smile. â€Å"Thank you. It's kind of unreal. Mikhail and I have been through so much . . . there were times I never thought we'd reach this moment. And now . . .† She glanced down at the diamond sparkling on her hand. â€Å"Well, here we are.† â€Å"What are you doing out here, Mrs. Tanner?† Adrian had recovered himself and was back to his outgoing self. â€Å"Shouldn't you be inside gazing adoringly at your husband?† She chuckled. â€Å"Oh, we've got a lifetime of that ahead. Honestly, I just needed to get out of the crowd.† Sonya took a deep breath of the crisp, cold air. â€Å"I should probably get back soon. We're about to throw the bouquet. You aren't going to miss your chance, are you?† That was to me. I scoffed. â€Å"I think I'll sit this one out. I've already caused too much speculation tonight.† â€Å"Ah, yes. Your infamous dance.† Sonya glanced between us, and a bit of her earlier puzzlement returned. â€Å"You two look very good together.† Awkward silence fell for a few seconds, and then she cleared her throat. â€Å"Well, I'm getting in where it's warm. Hope you'll change your mind, Sydney.† She disappeared through the service door, and I resisted the urge to beat my head against the wall. â€Å"She knows we're lying. She can tell.† Spirit users were good at reading subtle cues from people, with Sonya being one of the best. â€Å"Probably,† agreed Adrian. â€Å"But I doubt she's going to guess we were out working magic in a field.† A terrible thought came to me. â€Å"Oh God. She probably thinks we were off doing – you know – romantic type, um, things – â€Å" That amused Adrian far more than it should have. â€Å"See, there you go again. That's the first thought that comes to your mind.† He shook his head melodramatically. â€Å"I can't believe you keep accusing me of being the obsessed one.† â€Å"I'm not obsessed!† I exclaimed. â€Å"I'm just pointing out the obvious conclusion.† â€Å"Maybe to you. But she's right about one thing: we need to get inside.† He anxiously touched his hair. â€Å"I think my hair gel's frozen.† I handed him back the flask and opened the door. Just before stepping through, I hesitated and glanced back at him. â€Å"Adrian? Thanks for helping me.† â€Å"What are friends for?† He caught the door from me and motioned for me to go inside. â€Å"Yeah, but you went above and beyond tonight for something that has nothing to do with you. I appreciate that. You didn't have to help. You don't have the same reasons I have for cracking open the Alchemists.† Not knowing what else to say, I gave him a small nod of thanks and went inside. As the warmth and noise of the crowd swallowed us, I thought I heard him say, â€Å"I have different reasons.†

The Representation of Masculinity in George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’

Silas Marner, A Tale of Two Cities. Essay subject: Silas Marner and maleness 1. – Introduction. This essay is about the building and representation of Silas’s maleness ( including some inquiries proposed in the essay subjects on the practical campus that I found interesting ) . I saw things that can do him look more like a adult female but it is non necessary or required to understand this affair in this manner ; I wanted to happen his good-will non as a failing or a adult female issue but as strong manner of demoing tenderness, because I think there is nil stronger that absolute tenderness and nil more stamp that true strength and I see Silas as a really strong individual – composure but strong. The chief subjects here are his isolation, the gender issue, and eventually how feasible or non-viable his manhood is. In the decision I have included some facets more related to Silas’s life. 2. – Silas’s isolation. About his household, it is merely mentioned in the book that he had a female parent and a small sister, both of them named Hepziba, but his sister was called Eppie, which is why he chooses this name for his adoptive girl. His period of isolation starts in Raveloe when he sends their neighbors off with a turning annoyance ( It started when he helped Sally Oats and after that he became person like the official herbal physician of the vicinity ) . From this minute on he spends his yearss working 16 hours a twenty-four hours and contemplating his gold every dark. He is like a anchorite merely concentrated on gaining money. It wasn’t ever like this. At first when he lived in Lantern Yard he was a sociable adult male who interacted with society, he lived a normal life, and was engaged to get married a adult female named Sarah. He besides had a friend, William Dane, and so both of them betrayed him. But at the minute he is an entity separated from the community, – self-sufficient. 3. – Silas in gender footings. What’s incorrect with Silas before the loss of his gold? This point has a connexion with Silas’s isolation as discussed in the old subdivision. He is considered an castaway by the community: at foremost he is described like a â€Å"spider† or a â€Å"spinning-insect† . This has no relationship with the issue of maleness but instead with the issue of humanity: through this description he is portrayed more as an insect than as a adult male, – this is a manner of dehumanising him. When he loses his gold he is obligated to travel and pass on it to the governments. At first, when he arrived, people thought he was a shade, is of import to advert that Silas’s visual aspect is a spot unusual, he shows a physical impairment, he has marks of aging and unwellness, and he is described as an old adult male. And as I commented antecedently, he was an stray anchorite obsessed with his gold, look up toing it every dark, and his universe is reduced to his work and his coins. This is the debatable that is established befor e the loss of his gold. – Why non allow him weave and bask his money until he’s excessively old to maintain on weaving? – Why pull this out for so long? In my sentiment, the thought I get from the book is that Silas earned more money on Raveloe than in Lantern Yard ( where he has to pay some money to the church ) and he saw this fact, after which began his compulsion and he lived like this for 16 old ages. And he could hold lived on this manner until his decease but when Eppie came to his place it brought about a alteration in his whole life. I think he draws it out because work and money becomes the Centre of his life ; he lives merely for work and to look up to his gold. 4. – Silas’s maleness in a feasible manner. – Is this one sort of maleness or maleness in general? I think this is one sort of maleness because non all work forces have a state of affairs like Silas’s. Other male characters like the Cass brothers have a masculine function and are seen more like a work forces than Silas is. I see this as a feasible manner because I believe that Silas is wholly masculine even if there are things that show him with a deficiency of manhood. I’ll start with the â€Å"negative† points against his maleness. Get downing with his business, it was established that whirling and weaving had a gender division and that it was a female undertaking, in this point, I don’t think that this occupation defines his maleness, – he is a adult male and here the lone of import thing is that he has an business and he is working to back up himself. In add-on, Silas’s behavior is interesting on a mental degree. I see his capacity for self-denial a masculine accomplishment excessively ; it is a feature of a great adult male. For illustration, when William and Sarah betrayed him, he knew it and acted softly and did nil ; merely travel on with his life. Another manner of demoing self-denial is in his isolation, and his high grade of reason. He has been injured, accused of robbery, abandoned by his fiancee, rejected by the community merely because he did non desire to be an ONG and after that he has the reason to do a determination. After that it is normal that he wishes to be entirely working and gaining money. And eventually, even if he is portrayed as an insect or a weak adult male, in an effort to decrease his maleness the capacity that he finds for being a male parent, a female parent and a defender of small Eppie is extremely admirable without inquiry. By holding adequate cognition for autonomy, to me he is a unafraid adult male who knows what he wants and merely acquires and achieves it. In add-on I’d like to state that doing his place more comfy for the kid, adorning it, – a â€Å"nest† for her- , is the sweetness manner in which a adult male can demo how capable of being stamp is. Fixing his place for Eppie’s demands is something to be expected from a really masculine adult male. In his ain manner, he did what every adult male must make: work, back up a family, have a household and protect his household ( harmonizing to this nineteenth-century period, – presents it is different, as adult females can make this alone excessively ) . And he did it ; h e is wholly a adult male. 5. – Decision. We have seen Silas’s journey, – non a physical journey, but throughout his life. At first he has a normal life, he subsequently becomes an castaway obsessed with gold and after Eppie’s reaching he undergoes a sort of societal rehabilitation into an ordinary member of the community. After run intoing the kid he wholly changes his function inside the vicinity, every topographic point or place he visits for work he must sit and speak with people about the kid. Through her his life alterations and he becomes another adult male. We see his domestic, societal and paternal side and how he achieves the function of maleness in the 19th century ; non precisely as it was imposed, but by in his ain manner. Through the acceptance of the kid we see Silas carry throughing both – a male and female function, because he is wholly devoted to the small miss, and how he passes from a wholly stray life to happening significance in all the things around him. In Eppie he finds a ground to populate, a household that was denied him ( his female parent and small sister died, and we do non cognize about his male parent ) , the comfort of being love unfeignedly by person, of being needed, and of being a male parent, and there is no minute, in my sentiment, where his maleness could be misunderstood. We can besides see, through the acceptance the morality and duty that Silas is prepared to presume paternity, which is excessively a masculine feature, it is necessary to stress that the responsibilities that Silas accepts are those that Godfrey Cass, Eppie’s biological male parent has no morality or duty to presume. Throughout the book there is no minute when I feel Silas is non accomplishing the function of a adult male. I merely felt esteem even if didn’t have obvious masculine features such as physical visual aspect of a strong and wealth adult male like Godfrey Cass. Even when he grows old he still has this powerful visual aspect that Silas, in contrast does non. Godfrey does non hold to work because he was inherited from his male parent and Silas worked as an independent adult male. This was a paradigm of industrial manhood and a new ideal for work forces. To complete, another point that I found interesting is that Silas didn’t want to accomplish the ideals of the perfect adult male harmonizing to society but he ended up making so, though his virtuous nature, his generous bosom, his bravery. By following the kid he was non merely taking on a duty but he was taking on the duty of another adult male. Bibliography.Silas Marner, A Tale of Two Cities. George Eliot.Silas Marner in Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.Silas Marner survey usher and literature.Virtual Campus.Class hand-outs.

Deep Water in Deep Trouble Essay

What type(s) of control- feedforward, concurrent, or feedback- do you think would have been most useful in this situation? Explain your choice(s) Feedforward control would have been a good start in this situation. It would have been wise to check all of the gages on the ship before heading out onto the water. After checking once it would not hurt to double check in case something was over looked. Since the job is already dangerous, there should have been action taken to check the things that could create any bad situations. Instead, these things were not checked and lives were lost, the economy and the environment were affected by this ordeal. When signs of the problems started showing up, there should have been action taken to get everyone off the ship safely and quickly. Concurrent control would be the next thing that should have happened. Since the ship was so large and going to do such as big job, someone should have been assigned to watch the gages carefully and check all of the little things that make the ship run. Maybe if the problems would have been addressed in a timely manner, the incident could have been prevented or not as tragic. After it was all said and done is where feedback control steps in to place. By taking notes of the signs, what happened and possible ways to prevent it in the future would have been significant information. These kinds of documents could help others in the future and be a lesson to BP to have an inspection before leaving the dock. Using exhibit 10-2 explain what BP could have done better. By measuring the actual performance there could have been a test run of the ship on the course to its destination. Upon taking off, there could have been smaller ships that followed alongside to make sure there was safety if the ship had any problems. In doing so, the operator of the ship could have learned about the glitches beforehand which may have prevented the explosion. By doing a practice run, they might have been able to see the problems and put this particular job on halt until the errors were repaired. Another key element would be making sure their CB radios worked and called the right location. Once the practice run was in progress, the leading manager could have assigned jobs to the other employees. These jobs could have included checking the bottom deck, watching gages, and watching for any potential threats in the water. Each employee could have filled out a report to show what they inspected and what the outcome was of the inspection. If a section did not pass the inspection, the manager would have knowledge of what needed attention. Then the ship could have been prepared to go on their journey. Once the manager gave out the instructions on what to fix and assigned people to those jobs, another inspection could have taken place. This inspection would be to re-check the problem areas for proper corrections. Then, if all of the parts passed inspection, they would know the ship is in top condition to set sail on their trip. Schedules could have been made out for certain people to check on the areas that had problems. By assigning certain individuals, it could have helped keep better track of complications. Why do you think company employees ignored the red flags? How could such behavior be changed in the future? I think there are several ways the red flags may have been overlooked. One possible way would be poor job training. If you aren’t trained to know what something is supposed to look like or how it is supposed to work then you wouldn’t know what a problem is you saw one. It seems more and more employees have little training when being hired on to a job. That, or they just do not pay attention to what their trainer tells them. By not knowing the proper ways to do things could lead to more on the job accidents, like what happened with the BP ship. Another reason that it could have been overlooked is laziness. While the report says the problem went unnoticed until after the fact, doesn’t necessarily mean that someone did not see the problem and think it wasn’t a big enough problem to hurt anything. I think this kind of practice is becoming more common which is a scary thought. There are several ways to prevent such behavior in the future. The way the employees interact when they are trained is most likely a glimpse into their work ethic. It is not wise to show them shortcuts or easier ways to do  things in case they are on the job and need to know the correct way of doing the job. If they were to be taught an easier way and a problem arose it could cause an even bigger problem or possibly an injury. It could also leave them clueless as to what to do when they are on their own in the job. Another idea, would be to have regular meetings on the ship that are mandatory for all staff to attend. In these meetings the management team could address the rules, what is expected of the other employees, and where the ship is headed. What could other organizations learn from BP’s mistakes? A few things that other organizations could learn from this mistake is to always check for red flags. When you check your work, you have less of a chance of something going wrong. Another thing would be communication. Communication is always important, but even more so in business. When employees communicate with one another they stay better informed and sometimes learn more about their jobs from others. Communication also helps employees to know what their job is and in what areas need progress. By enforcing strict rules, it would help companies to keep their employees more focused on their jobs which will help the company be more successful. When a company sticks by the enforced rules, there is less of a chance of employees thinking they are able to slack off or take advantage of their positions due to fear of consequences. I think when managers pick favorites they allow them to bend or even break the rules. I believe that all managers should treat all employees equally and not cut slack to certain people. When this happens, it causes other employees to be hostile towards those employees and the managers that do it, which makes a lot of them not want to do as good of a job.

Alignment of staffing strategy with organizational strategy Essay

Alignment of staffing strategy with organizational strategy - Essay Example Human resource professionals deal with such areas as employee recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits, professional development, safety and health, forecasting, and labor relations. Some of the challenges today in human resource management are maintaining a diverse workforce, dealing with major technological changes, keeping up with governmental regulations, handling corporate restructuring and downsizing, and formulating strategies essential to personnel management. As a result, many executives have suggested that effective Human Resources (HR) strategies are one of the most important aspects of successfully implementing organizational strategy within the company. For the past decades, there have been profound changes on how the role of the people in business success has been perceived. These changes have promoted the view that people management is important in maximizing organizational capabilities and should be integrated with the strategic aims of the business. One of these notable changes includes the reinvention of the government, which emphasizes on the need for performance measurement, increased efficiency and enhanced political accountability (Osborne and Gaebler, 1992). In the aspect of personnel administration, this change implies the significance of political efficiency and responsiveness as values. Moreover, the reinvention of the government had introduced the need for personnel administrators to work in coordination with other systems, which in turn leads to objective attainment and cost control. Change has brought about many important goals of HRM into view. For An example of which is the significance of labour productivity. Some authors have pointed out that labour productivity should be seen as the major goal of an organisation's labour management (Osterman, 1987). It is the touchstone against which every human resource policy should be evaluated. Thus, in formulating certain HR policies, integrating means that will promote greater productivity or cost-efficacy, should be taken into account. Aside from labour productivity, change has also introduced the need for organisational flexibility. Within this term, the word organisational is used as employers usually seek forms of flexibility that extend beyond, but cover, their employee relations (Streeck, 1987). Within the aspect of organizational flexibility, two related factors should be considered. These are short-run responsiveness and long-run agility. Short-run responsiveness involves financial and numerical flexibility. I t also includes the attempt to employ workers who are multi-skilled or cross-trained. This functional flexibility aids the organisation to maintain lower headcount but cope better with marginal improvements in production processes or product design. Long-run agility on the other hand, is more powerful yet conceptually ambiguous (Dyer and Shafer, 1999). This factor refers to the ability of the firm to learn within an environment that changes rather drastically. Strategic Staffing in an Organization It can be said that human-resource planning is a challenge because the needs of the organization are constantly changing and sometimes do not converge and such challenge can be greater if the Strategic Staffing pool is limited or

Is it possible for the architect of one culture to design for another Essay

Is it possible for the architect of one culture to design for another - Essay Example There are many architectural features which are inherent to different religions. But do the architect's faith and the style of the building designed always coincide The purpose of the paper is answering the following question: is it possible for the architect of one culture to design for another Are there such examples in the history of architecture 2. Interosculation of cultures, including religious, occurs rather often throughout history. "Initial attempts at training the Ottoman architects in contemporary building techniques and European styles were made in 1801, at the new Imperial College of Military Engineering. The first foreign instructor commissioned to teach young Muslim architects was probably the British architect, W.J. Smith" (1). So, in early 19th century (and even earlier) began the interaction of Ottoman and European architectural traditions that is very important for architectural development in the West (Christian culture) and in the East (Muslim culture basically). "The effects of Westernization upon the Ottoman Architecture commenced with the changes seen in applied decoration... Ottoman architects reinterpreted Western influences on the Ottoman manner" (1). As we see, interosculation of architectural styles leads to changes in architecture which can be very important. "More modern examples can be seen in th e works of Antonio Gaudi, the great Spanish architect who studied Islamic art and architecture and even incorporated its themes into Spanish church buildings, such as the school he built for a convent in Ejica, Spain" (2). So, Antonio Gaudi, transforming the main features of Islamic architecture for the European and Christian one, could use it designing church buildings. "Islamic architecture has influenced European culture even more than it has American culture, as is evident in Venice on Italy's Adriatic coast" (2). Interosculation of cultures gives the beginning of original architectural styles having features of both Christian and Islamic cultures, so it is not surprising that it can be possible for the architect of one culture to design for another. "In the mid-1920s, developer Glen Curtiss bought land north of Miami and built an entire city of Moorish buildings. Under Curtiss' plan, nearly every building in Opa-locka, Fla., had a dome and minaret. It became known as "the Baghd ad of the South" (2). This example also tells about interaction of two religious cultures in architecture. "The history of Islamic architecture will always be intertwined with the US, Europe and other continents Even during the Crusades Europeans who went to the Holy Land were changed by what they saw in Egypt, Syria and other countries" (2). Throughout the history of the Middle Ages Arabian influence on the European architecture was especially high. During the Crusades Europeans firstly touched to Islamic architecture and culture having apprehended its main features and canons. During the Arabian seizure of Spain Islamic architectural elements became widely spread in Europe in spite of differences between

Business profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business profile - Essay Example Poffertjes are always sold in portions which can contain one or two dozens of them. These food products can be packed and sold in plastic plates, or cardboards, and are always accompanied by a disposable fork. It is possible to sale poffertjes when they are ready made; all that a customer needs to do is to microwave them. Poffertjes can be sold when they are ready made, and on this basis, they will always be accompanied by small portions of butter, and powdered sugar. Some business people can also produce poffertjes but serve it with milk and eggs. This type of poffertjes contains a leavening agent such as baking powder. Apart from butter and powdered sugar, poffertjes can also be served with strawberry and white whipped cream (Moor, 2012). Poffertjes can also be referred to as the Indonesian cuisine. This is because Indonesia has some very strong historical ties with the Netherlands. This is because Indonesia was a colony of Netherlands. Why the name Poffertjes: This term poffertjes first appeared in the 1700s, when the first recipe for the cuisine was developed. During this period, this cuisine was considered a poor man’s food, and was made from water, yeast and buckwheat flour. This is because buckwheat only grew in arid areas, and on most occasions, it is the poor people who resided in these areas (Moor, 2012). When producing it for domestic use, the product is baked on a cast iron pan. When producing it commercially, the product is baked on dimpled large copper plates. However, there are special materials developed to bake these products. These facilities are referred to as poffertjespan. For a chef to know if these products are actually baking, they usually produce a puff like sound, when they are being turned around (Moor, 2012). That is why they are called the poffertjes, derived from the puff like sound they produce while they are being prepared. Recipe: To produce this cuisine, the following are the requirements (Moor, 2012); 1 cup of warm milk . Three quarters of teaspoon dry yeast. 2 cups of buckwheat flour. Butter. Powdered sugar 2 eggs. Pinch salt. Method of Preparation: The first step is to sprinkle yeast on the warm milk, and thereafter setting it aside so that it should proof. When this milk product is ready, then the next step is to mix it with flour and eggs, slowly adding milk to it (Moor, 2012). During this process, it is important to stir it well, as this will ensure that there aren’t any lumps on the product. After this is done, then the next step is to cover the product, and leave it for about 45 minutes. This is for purposes of making it to rise. After the 45 minutes are over, then the chef has to heat the pan, and thereafter butter each dimple. The cook should use small portions of butter during this process (Moor, 2012). When bubbles begin appearing on the surface, and sides dry up, then they are ready to be served. How to sale the product in Dubai: Dubai is a cosmopolitan Arabian country, and as su ch, it hosts a variety of foreigners who came from Europe, Asia, America and Africa. Since this is a European delicacy, my target market will mostly center on the Europeans. However, I will also seek to sale this cuisine to the native people of Dubai. I believe, they will like the new experience. I intend to sale this cuisine as a ready made food product. This is because I will be operating a kiosk, and therefore it will be very expensive to hire cooks, who will be making it,

Management and Leadership Analysis for TESCO Company Essay

Management and Leadership Analysis for TESCO Company - Essay Example But in terms of foreign establishment, it is recommended that TESCO should apply Behavioral Leadership approach along with its Task Performance and Maintenance Performance categories. Democratic style of leadership is recommended in general conditions but to counter the high internal and external threat, autocratic leadership style would beneficial to TESCO. TESCO plc is a UK based international grocery and general products retail chain. With respect to worldwide sales and UK market share, Tesco is the largest British retailer that currently has profit greater than 03 billion pounds while at the same time it is 3rd largest global retailer based on revenue, after United State’s Wal-Mart and France’s Carrefour. Presently TESCO is operating 923 grocery stores and approximately 240,000 workers. During the last decade, the company has expanded its network to new UK supermarkets in new territories. Moreover, from 1994 to 2004, the company had launched its operations in 12 international markets including Central Europe and Asian markets. TESCO’s internationalization has direct repercussions on its operational management. It includes a variety of planning, retail designing and process, operational management and controlling, stock management, and human resource management. Several internal and external factors have created serious implications for TESCO during recent years. Along with other UK and US markets, TESCO has also been affected by the global recession and has economic concerns through the credit crunch. Rising prices of raw material used for food and non-food products has created an overall negative impact on profit margins. As far as market competitors are concerned, United State’s Wal-Mart is a persisting threat for TESCO that may take over the market with respect to profit and share.

Managing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing - Assignment Example Jacques Derrida similarly presents his lingual dilemma in an influential phrase. H says that although he uses a particular language, he does not own the very language. Jacques is interested in language as a mark of identity and view the two spheres as inseparable. These quotes provides a philosophical onset which an organization can use in fine-tuning their management. Wittgenstein’s view and Derrida’s views are irreconcilable because of notable reasons. Wittgenstein argues that individuals still confront the same philosophical problems because language does not change to reflect new realities. Although the philosopher’s arguments are abstract, he believes that language should adapt to transforming social contexts rather than inform the social contexts. Language arises to express the meaning already embedded in the social contexts. He explains that words have a role beyond representing objects (Wittgenstein 1973, p. 43). This higher role pertains to meaning, which is the most essential part of philosophical discussions. Wittgenstein aspires to give language a liberating from the traditional perceptions that binds its growth. In addition, he emphasizes on the role of contexts in bringing out different meanings of the same word. The philosopher, therefore, pays attention to the contexts from which language grow. In this sense, l anguage may not have any distinct formula as espoused by Western traditional standards. In the contemporary context, Wittgenstein explains the meaning of a word as referring to the sense in which individuals hold the meaning as true. This explains why the philosopher highlights logic as only concerned with the conforming meaning of a sign. The meaning that comes forth emanate from the given rules that guide the usage of the sign (Muhr, Sorensen & Vallentin 2010, p. 82). This refers to the common term of grammatical sense. By describing the use pf

Children's Social Behavior And Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Children's Social Behavior And Education - Essay Example It is natural that children have a tendency to revolt against social restrictions imposed on them. They usually have a tendency to only reluctantly submit to social conditioning that happens to them in early years. But in Samuel’s case, his behavior shows an upward trend towards socially unacceptable behavior which has reached a stage in which he might even lose his opportunity for education. It is in this context that Samuel’s behavior should be analyzed and remedies sought. The expectations that others keep regarding a child’s behavior is one factor affecting the behavior itself. There is also the danger of labeling Samuel as a â€Å"bad boy†, which might aggravate his situation (Mah 2007, pp.13). It seems that the English teacher of Samuel has already labeled him as a bad boy, which is evident from their mutual hatred. But this kind of labeling can have a seriously negative impact (Mah 2007). Labeling is also related to the language that is being used to describe a child who has some kind of behavioral problem (Lee 2010). Lee has opined that â€Å"the language used to describe behavior [†¦] can cause problems in schools† (2010, pp.5). Porter has observed, â€Å"issue with language is that terms such as ‘misbehavior’ or ‘inappropriate behavior’ do not specify to whom those acts are ‘inappropriate’ (2006, pp.4). Porter has also noted an important point when he said this kind of judgment of the child â€Å" implies that teacher’s judgment on this issue is sacrosanct† (2006, pp.4). It is also noted, â€Å"the implication is that, when there is a disruption in a classroom, the offending students are to blame-there is something wrong with them† (Porter 2006, pp.4). Factors like family, early years setting, living atmosphere and social attitudes and value systems have been found to affect children’s behavior in a given context (Papatheodorou 2005).

Appalachian Culture and Health Awareness Essay Example for Free

Appalachian Culture and Health Awareness Essay According to Kruger et al. (2012), the Appalachian region, consisting of 13 states along the east coast border, is a high risk area for cardiac, pulmonary, and cancer conditions related to smoking and coal mining. This rural population has ultimately higher rates of heart disease, stroke, COPD, asthma, lung cancer, and diabetes. Substantially higher rates of smoking, as well as the relevance of coal mining, are two major contributors to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality amongst this large population (Kruger et al. , 2012). Insufficient education, poor behavior choices, and lack of adequate health care are major contributors to the overall unhealthy lifestyles of these individuals. Unfortunately, this begins at a young age. According to Short, Oza-Frank, and Conrey (2012), there are major differences regarding preconception health awareness amongst Appalachian women as compared to non-Appalachian women. Appalachian women have higher rates of smoking, diabetes, and obesity than do non-Appalachian women. These women have poorer rates of prenatal care and higher rates of birthing and congenital complications, such as pulmonary hypertension, insufficient lung development, and cardiac abnormalities. Often due to lack of insurance, these mothers often lack appropriate health care and health awareness, thus increasing their child’s risk of further cardiac and pulmonary conditions down the road. Unfortunately, these babies grow up in an environment that, as a population, has inadequate health care, low income, and poor health. This detrimental sequence of events is what has maintained the subpar health status of the Appalachian population (Short et al., 2012). As these children grow into their teens, poor behavioral choices further substantiate detrimental risk factors. A study by Pettigrew, Miller-Day, Krieger, and Hecht (2012), conducted research study of primary and secondary health prevention in Appalachian adolescents. According to this study, this population has higher rates of smoking, drinking, and drug use as compared to non-Appalachian adolescents. These risky behaviors are so prevalent because of lifestyles these children have grown to know; these behaviors are considered normal in many homes. As do their parents, many of these children lack insurance and health care (Pettigrew et al., 2012). Obesity and diabetes is also substantially high in the Appalachian population as compared to the rest of the nation as shown in a study by Wenrich, Brown, Wilson, and Lengerich (2012). The authors pinpoint Appalachia as a low-income group of individuals who receive poor nutrition, thus further contributing to the preexisting risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Poor health, along with behavioral risk factors, have ultimately led to detrimental health status. Yes, we love the STEELers, but steel mills and coal mining has only contributed to these health risks. The Appalachian culture is at risk for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, these risk factors will not decline quickly. Primary prevention and health awareness programs would make a huge impact on this population. Low income is a struggle that will not be overcome easily. However, primary prevention and health awareness are often available at low cost and are highly efficient measures of decreasing risk factors by focusing on healthy lifestyles. Smoking cessation would obviously be of major importance, but compliance would be of great struggle (Kruger et al., 2012). References Kruger, T., Howell, B., Haney, A., Davis, R., Fields, N., Schoenberg, N. (2012). Perceptions of smoking cessation programs in rural Appalachia. American Journal of Health Behavior, 36(3), 373-84. Pettigrew, J., Miller-Day, M., Krieger, J., Hecht, M. (2012). The rural content of illicit substance offers: a study of Appalachian rural adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 27(4), 523-50. Short, V., Oza-Frank, R., Conrey, E. (2012). Preconception Health Indicators: A comparison between non-Appalachian and Appalachian women. Maternal Child Health Journal, 16(1), 238-49. Wenrich, T., Brown, J., Wilson, R., Lengerich, E. (2012). Impact of a community-based intervention on serving and intake of vegetables among low-income, rural Appalachian families. Journal of Nutrition Education Behavior, 44(1), 36-45.

Communist state of north korea

Communist state of north korea Communist state North Korea is a Communist state, with a policy of diplomatic and economic self-reliance, fronted by the dictator Kim Jong-Il (2010). Choosing to shun the outside world, the government promotes fear and paranoia through propaganda, surveillance and censorship. Through this, Kim maintains his iron grip on his country and its people, with the regime being compared by Ben MacIntyre (2010), to George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four. The citizens of North Korea have no privacy and the absence of individual rights many of us take for granted. For more than 50 years North Korea has been ready to go to war, with their ‘military first policy making it mandatory for citizens to participate in a minimum of six years military service (Aljazeera 2010). They have the worlds fourth largest armed forces, and spend the majority of their GDP on the military, relying on aid agencies for food handouts to keep the population from starvation (Aljazeera 2010). North Koreas nuclear weapon testing, large armies and xenophobia openly affects the rest of the world, not to mention Kims ‘Big Brother like regime influencing other would be dictators to make Orwells fiction a reality. My understanding of the situation in North Korea is shaped by the society I live in. As an 18 year old, Australian, Caucasian female, I have the basic rights of freedom. We have limited censorship laws, a democratic voting system and freedom of speech. With all these basic freedoms that I often take for granted, its quite difficult to believe how anyone could live in a controlled society like North Korea. We assume that, because the people of North Korea dont live in a society like ours, that their lives are a misery, proving that without first hand experience its impossible to put ourselves in their position. The society I live in is also relatively safe. Kim has given his people a false sense of security, declaring outsiders as the enemy and himself as a protector. Living under a dictatorship is a hard concept to grasp. I have seen Nineteen-Eighty Four and read Animal Farm, and these novels help paint a picture of what life might be like for the citizens of North Korea. North Koreas control over information is quite similar to Chinas censorship laws. The Great Firewall of China, blocks out any searches pertaining to Tiananmen Square, democracy, freedom of speech, police brutality and many social networking sites. China, on a scale, is not as oppressed as North Korea, but is still incredibly censored. Michael Atkinson, former Attorney-General, caused controversy when he made it a law to post names and postcodes on any internet comments or blogs about the state election. Due to public outcry and message boards comparing the act to the extreme censorship in North Korea and Nazi Germany (Dowdell McGuire 2010), it was promptly reversed. Censorship is creeping into our society, with the likes of Stephen Conroy, the current Minister of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy, trying to enforce stronger internet laws (Moses 2010). With these proposed censorship laws, I have to question our ‘freedom of speech, although it comforts me to know that through mass public outrage laws can be reversed. People born into Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Ils regime wouldnt known life any other way; they cant understand freedom and real safety because they havent experienced it. I cant comprehend living in such a controlled country because I have lived in a democratic society. Totalitarianism, extreme censorship and surveillance are very important issues and just because theyre not prevalent in our government, doesnt mean that theyre not concerning and problematic issues, which could extend to our society and change our political identities. Reference List Central Intelligence Agency 2010, The World Factbook: North Korea, United States, viewed 20 March 2010 MacIntyre, B 2010, ‘North Korean Regime Truly Orwellian, Australian 1 March, p.9. North Korea: A state of war 2010, Aljazeera.net, viewed 17 March 2010, Dowdell, A McGuire, M 2010, ‘Outrage as Rann government, Opposition unite to gag internet state election debate, Advertiser 2 February, viewed 20 March 2010, Moses, A 2010, ‘Google baulks at Conroys call to censor YouTube, Age February 11, viewed 20 March 2010

Varieties Of English Accents Cockney English English Language Essay

Varieties Of English Accents Cockney English English Language Essay Cockney English is probably the most commonly known variety of English in Modern day times. Cockney English is the type of English that is generally found in many movies so that directors can help the audience to distinguish between the working class and the upper, richer class when watching said movies. Although it is true that Cockney English is generally that which is spoken by the working class, Cockney English has a long and extensive history which most people know little about. The earliest record of the use of the word cockney was found in the book the Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman By William Langland. The term cockney was first found in Middle English. It was created from two separate words, cocken meaning rooster and eye meaning egg. This then gave us the meaning of a small, deformed egg. The word then later experienced a change in spelling and appears as cockenay. This word as well as evolving and changing the word itself has also taken on new meanings. It now means a homosexual man, a timid person (milksop) or a child who is said to be childish. The idea for this word being used for a homosexual man continued and in 1521, it became a derogatory term for these people as well as for male prostitutes. Finally, in the 1600s, the word had another semantic shift and as far as history can tell, a shift in the way the word was spelt. It is now spelt as we know it to be now, cockney, and it is now used to describe those Londoners who are born in th e vicinity of Bow Bells. Bow Bells are those rang in the historic church of St Mary-le-Bow in London. In this time, it was said that for a person to be considered a true Cockney, they must live within earshot of these Bow Bells. Nowadays, the area in which people with Cockney accents are said to reside has not been clearly outlined by any historians. The belief, as stated in the previous paragraph, is that one must live in the vicinity of the famous Bow Bells. In todays society, it is now believed that the Cockney people are those of the working class and it is therefore believed that people with Cockney accents are the working class of London living in the east End of London. However, due to migration and emigration of people who have Cockney accents, a migration of the Cockney dialect has occurred. In the 18th century, the area in which people had Cockney accents was limited, but due to this Migration and emigration, the accent and its dialect has spread across not only London, but through other countries as well. Within a short amount of time during the 18th century, areas in London which had other dialect influences such as Kentish were taken over by this Celtic dialect. In todays society however, areas which were highly associated with Cockney English are slowly declining in their use of the dialect and the Cockney accent is slowly dying out due to the preference of the proper English dialect due to its higher level of classiness. Nevertheless, many of the idioms associated with Cockney such as the famous glottal stops and double negatives are still commonly used in todays society. People with Cockney accents are very distinct from those who have the more popular, general English accent. The Cockney accent itself also has very distinct features such as rhyming slang and the use of the double negative. Although it is believed that many of the word in Cockney accent were made up by the people with said accent, many of their words, like other languages, were borrowed from other languages including Yiddish, a dialect of High German. Words that were borrowed from Yiddish for example were Kosher meaning legitimate and Stumm meaning quiet. These words, although seeming meaningless, were an important part of the Cockney Dialect. Some of the more well known features of the Cockney accent are; the dropping of the letter R e.g. if a person is a sinner, if a person had a Cockney accent, they would be a sinna. Cockney English also includes the famous Glottal stop. This means that the consonant is stopped quickly and the speaker then moves straight to the vowel e.g. this can be found in the word uh-oh which people use in everyday life. The speaker cuts of the h consonant and move directly onto the o vowel. Another common feature of Cockney English is the changing of the th syllable to an F e.g. the word beneath becomes beneaf due to the changing of the th syllable. Another famous stylistic marker of Cockney English is the dropping of the consonant H. One of the more famous examples of this is in the musical My Fair lady when Eliza Doolittle calls Henry Higgins Enry Iggins due to her Cockney accent. An example of Cockney English that people still use today is the double negative e.g. I dont got no pens. The use of the words dont and no are both negative and therefore cancel themselves out. In the years of Shakespeare, the double negative was used in his performances for humour but in the Cockney accent, it was used unintentionally. People with Cockney accents were considered to be those of the working class and therefore had very little education. They used the double negative not knowing what they were doing. Nowadays, the double negative is considered to be a mistake. Rhyming slang, another feature of Cockney English is still known in todays society but not as well as it once was. Rhyming slang such as Dear Horse, Tomato Sauce is an example of rhyming slang. This idea of rhyming slang is slowly dying out of society and eventually will probably not be known at all. As time went on and the word Cockney experienced its final known semantic shift, the accent of Cockney was looked down upon by many people as it was believed to be the accent of the working class and therefore it was seen to be inferior to that of the proper, upper class accent. Cockney English was that which was spoken by the working class and homeless due to their lack of education. Nowadays, the Cockney accent as such is not longer looked down upon by people. It is now believed to be an important part of British culture. This was shown in a survey conducted on 2000 British people by Coolbrand in autumn of 2008. The Cockney accent was voted the equal fourth coolest accent, with 20% of the total votes. This shows that although people prefer the accent of the Queen, that of the upper class, people no longer believe that Cockney is an accent that should be looked down upon and therefore the Cockney accent should continue to live throughout society for many years to come.

An Analysis of Marks and Spencer Essay -- BTEC Business Marketing GCSE

An Analysis of Marks and Spencer INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRM AND ITS INDUSTRY Marks and Spencer is one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom, and is also known as a major retailer selling diverse product ranges under their own exclusive brand in more than thirty countries. Customer confidence in the Marks and Spencer brand remains second to none. According to recent research undertaken by the Company, it shows that, in clothing, Mark and Spencer has a clear lead over all its major competitors in the key areas of fit, quality, trust, breadth of range and customer service. In November of 2000, Marks and Spencer will launch a trial of three new lingerie-only outlets in Paris, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. According to industry statistics, Marks & Spencer remains the clear leader in the UK lingerie market, with over thirty percent of the market share. These pilot stores, distinctly branded 'msl', are designed to showcase the product range, taking the very best of Marks & Spencer lingerie to the Continent. Moreover, twenty-five percent of the 'msl' range has been designed exclusively for the continental market (Marks & Spencer PG). According to David Norgrove, Marks & Spencer Executive Director, the new stores developed by Marks and Spencer "clearly show how we can give customers what they want in the way they want it. Today we have both depth of product and a variety of retail formats, so that we can encompass factory outlet stores and designer clothing under the Marks & Spencer brand. Our new concept stores carry a wide range of products and services tailor-made for its local customers but, at the same time, we are also launching the European pilot of a specialist retail format which builds on our core strength in lingerie. All of these products and formats are being in response to customer research, to meet a proven need" (Marks & Spencer PG). THE COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY The British retailer Marks & Spence decided to close its one Edmonton store, along with fourteen others across Canada, with the eight remaining stores being closed just one month later. This marked the ending of Marks and Spencer's 26-year run in Canada. The chain announced its Canadian pullout, which will affect only sixteen staff, was a surprise for Canadian shoppers. Heritage Mall manager Kirby Nishikawa said "the shutdown hurts the shopping cen... ...rnational expansion plans and probably sell U.S. clothing chain Brooks Brothers. EXPAND E-COMMERCE Sell online through partnerships with Microsoft Network, the BBC's beeb.com, and digital-television providers such as Telewest (Capel 35). A Marks & Spencer spokesman confirmed that its non-executive directors changed their minds over who should lead the company last autumn because of the huge changes within the business. Over the next five years the company is expanding its selling space by nearly a fifth in Britain and by forty percent in overseas markets (Rankine PG). By the year 2005, Marks & Spencer should once again be on the top of their category. Works Cited: Author not Available. "Outlook: M&S investors don their hair shirts." Independent, (1999), 21. Capell, Kerry. "Britain: lighting a fire under Marks & Spencer." Business Week International, (2000): 35. Le Riche, Timothy. "Closure date set of M&S leaves voide at Heritage Mall." Edmonton Sun, (1999): July, 44. Marks and Spencer. "Marks & Spencers Launches Two New Formats." (2000), October: PG. Rankine, Kate. "M&S asks outsiders to review strategy." The Daily Telegraph, (1998), PG.

Essays --

You all probably celebrate this December time with caroling kids to decorating your Christmas tree. We all love Christmas and its holiday cheer. But today I want to talk about a place that holds many great traditions, the country we all know and love...France. You may have heard of France because of ts very famous city called Paris. French citizens also celebrate Christmas but they also celebrate traditions and celebrations that are very different from how we usually preform occasions here. France is located above Spain, below the United Kingdom, and to the right of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, I would say that the biggest celebrated tradition is known as "le reveillon" the holiday with a feast fit for ten kings. Aside from the holidays and stuff, lets talk about France's goverment. France's type of goverment is a semi-presidental system. Do you have a religion? Well here is some of the religions practiced in France. Some of Frances major religions are Catholicism, Islam, and Ju dasim. French people also have a different language than we do. French is an italic language descended from the spoken Latin language of the Roman Empire. We will get into all this later. So sit back and relax and listen to a more about France's points of goverment, language, religion and stuff like that. France has a very different overall perspective than the United States. So now lets go into detail about France's goverment. Like I said France's goverment is a semi-presidential system. Semi-presidential system is defined as a powerful president when there is a unified majority. The Prime Minister becomes secondary to the President in all legislative and diplomatic areas. If a President is weakened by having two opposing parties, presidental an... ...is also shares similar attributes. They elect a President by popular vote just like we do. But it seems to me that the Prime Minister has more control. We also have more religions than France does. The United States as I see it is more diverse, the freedom in our country is unmatched by any other. We have Catholicism, Judasim, Baptist, Muslim, Protestant, Methodist, Pentacostal, Non-Denominational, Buddahism, Scientology, Hinduism, etc. Proving that we accept all religious freedoms throughout our country. We may not all agree but atleast the freedom is there. Also I have learned alot on the other traditions and pratices in France. Like the french Ballet, it is the dance always associated with France when it did not begin with french origins. I would have to conclude in saying that I would love to visit France and see for myself what I have only read about.

Nursing Management

Contents GLOSSARY ABSTRACT/SUMMARY INTRODUCTION DM 45 DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT STYLE 1. Self- assessment analysis 2. Stakeholders analysis 3. S. W. O. T analysis DM 46 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION DM 47 MANAGING PERFORMANCE DM 48 DEVELOPING TEAMS & INDIVIDUALS RECOMMENDATION REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX Glossary D. O. H – Department Of Health N. H. S – National Health Service N. S. F – National Service Framework P. E. S. T. O – Political Economical Social Technological Others 7 S – Shared Values Strategy Structure System Staff Style Skill S. M. A. R. T – Specific Measurable Achievable RealisticTime-bound S. W. O. T – Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Abstract/Summary I am currently working as a Charge Nurse/ Deputy Ward Manager on Ward X , a Diabetic and Renal ward based at a North London Hospital. The ward contains 21 acute medical male beds and a team of 28 staffs which includes 6 student nurses, 2 domestics, 1 ward clerk, 7 h ealth care assistants, 6 junior nurses, 4 senior nurses and 2 ward sister/charge nurse. Some of my main responsibilities on the ward includes the assessment of care needs for patients, the development of programmes of care and their implementation and valuation and most importantly carrying out all relevant forms of care without direct supervision, and demonstrate procedures to, and supervise qualified and unqualified staff and contribute to the overall good of the organisation by being a positive role model and treating all staff, visitors and service users with courtesy (Appendix 1). In this assignment I will demonstrate the use of knowledge, management concepts and theories that I have acquired while undertaking this module of Managing People and relate them to my clinical area.Certain area of practice will be identified, analysed and evaluated through effective people management using the CLINLAP model (Jumaa (1997) ), ( Jumaa & Alleyne (2001) ) within the ward setting. ‘C LINLAP is defined as a strategic nursing leadership and learning process that positions strategic learning as a driving force within health and social care organisations, on a day to day basis, in the management of nursing goals; nursing roles; nursing processes; and nursing relationships’ (Jumaa & Alleyne, 1997 & 2001)Introduction The National service frameworks (NSFs) are long term strategies for improving specific areas of care. They set measurable goals within set time frames. NSFs: †¢ set national standards and identify key interventions for a defined service or care group †¢ put in place strategies to support implementation †¢ establish ways to ensure progress within an agreed time scale †¢ form one of a range of measures to raise quality and decrease variations in service, introduced in The New NHS and A First Class Service.The NHS Plan re-emphasised the role of NSFs as drivers in delivering the Modernisation Agenda. Each NSF is developed with the a ssistance of an External Reference Group (ERG) which brings together health professionals, service users and carers, health service managers, partner agencies, and other advocates. ERGs adopt an inclusive process to engage the full range of views. The Department of Health supports the ERGs and manages the overall process. (DOH, (2005) )The NSF makes it clear that the NHS is committed to building a modernisation programme to provide high quality patient care and improving the working lives of all NHS staff. In terms of patient care, it draws the attention to the need to look at each service from the patient’s point of view and to ensure that a patient focus is embedded in the culture. In order to achieve this, new and better ways of working are required through, for example: – Investing in the workforce in terms of more staff and better training Giving frontline staff responsibility, freedom, skills and resources to do a better job, using their initiative for local inno vation within national standards – Reducing bureaucracy whilst increasing accountability so that there are clear and transplant process for holding the NHS to account for their delivery of services – Requiring staff to work effectively in teams, for example, through managed clinical networks – Working in partnership with staff and involving them through representationNHS is critically dependent on its employees for delivering the strategic and operational goals at corporate, departmental, functional and team levels and managing people efficiently and effectively has become a central part of the ward manager/sister/charge nurse’s task at all levels particularly with a view to improving the performance of employees and thereby the performance of the NHS in delivering services. Ward managers increasingly are being expected to take great responsibility or the personnel management aspects of their work. This implies that we are able to function effectively in 4 key aspects of managing people : – Developing our own management style – Employee recruitment and selection – Managing performance by motivating and developing staffs – Developing Teams and Individuals by improving staffs performance at both individual and team levels. Dm 45 Developing Management Style In this unit I will identify 3 ways of assessing my current skills and competence as a manager.These methods will allow me to discern clearly my strenghs and weaknesses and thereby identify areas on the ward in which improvements can be made and devise action plans which will then be monitored for progress. The 3 methods chosen will be, firstly self-assessment and analysis through appraisal, secondly the stakeholder analysis tool and thirdly the SWOT analysis tool. Self- assessment analysis Self-assessment steps :- 1. Arrange a meeting with Ward Manager to agree on an appraisal date. 2. Ward Manager distributes pre-appraisal meeting self-assessment form. Appendix 2) 3. Work through the pre-appraisal form making notes and identifying potential areas for improvement. (Appendix 2) 4. Meeting with Ward Manager on agreed appraisal date. Work through the Personal Development Plan form (Appendix 3) to reach agreement on the current performance and potential areas for improvement 5. Following the meeting the Ward Manager distributes completed Personal Development Plan and list of potential areas for improvement 6. Ward Manager agrees and complete draft action plan to forward to Matron 7.Matron follows up and verifies the Personal Development Plan. (Appendix 3) 8. Action plan agreed with matron. Ensure that all points on the action plan meet the SMART (Jumaa & Alleyne, (1998))criteria: Specific, Measurable, Action based, Realistic and Time bound. (Appendix 3) Stakeholders analysis An integral part of the clinical governance review process is feedback from stakeholders. The Hospital’s definition of stakeholders includes staff, patients , relatives of patients, carers, other local NHS organisations, voluntary groups and other people with an interest in the trust.The information provided through stakeholder work helps shape some of the areas that the clinical governance review will concentrate on. Clinical Governance is a framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish. It aims to create not only a culture, but systems and ways of working which assure that the safety and the quality of care is at the heart of the business at every level. Appendix 1, Unit 5) As a Deputy ward manager it is important for me to take into account feedback from stakeholders for effective managerial performance and to provide high standards of care. In order to do so the table that I have produced below will help me to identify the role of individuals, or st akeholder groups who are involved or affected by the clinical governance programme and can thereby affect its success or failure. Stakeholder analysis chart | |Programme |Organisation |External | | | | | | | | | |Clinical Governance |Hospital |Diabetes UK , Patients | | | | |Staffs, Patients |Relatives, carers, PCTs| |Who wants the team to: |Succeed | |Yes |Yes | | |Fail | |No |No | |Who is betting on the |Succeeding | |Yes |Yes | |team: | | | | | | |Failing | |No |No | |Who is supporting the |Visibly | |Yes |No | |team: | | | | | | |Invisibly | |No |Yes | |Whose success: |Affects the team | |Yes |No | | |Does the team affect | |Yes |Yes | |Who does the team’s |Benefit | |Yes |No | |change: | | | | | | |Damage | |Yes |No | |Who can the team’s |Happen without | |No |Yes | |change: | | | | | | |Not happen without | |Yes |Yes |In the above table it can be noted that the group of stakeholder who are mostly involved and influence a programme are mainly the patients and the staffs. As part of my objectives I will in future concentrate on feed back from my staff on the ward and our group of patients. This can be achieve by organising ward meetings with staffs or actually having a one-to-one interview with them at least once in a month. As for feedback from patients this can be organised by their allocated staff nurse in the form of an informal one-to-one interview at some point prior to the patient being discharged home. SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis is a tool, used in management and strategy formulation. It can help to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of an organisation.Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that create or destroy value. They can include assets, skills or resources that the ward has at its disposal to provide care to patients. They can be measured using an internal assessment tool such as Peters & Waterman’s 7S’s. The table below will help me assess the internal factors of the ward and identify my goals and make them SMART (Jumaa & Alleyne (2001)) This will help me to identify areas for development. Shared Values Current: The ward believes in team working providing quality care Goal: To support staffs and encourage them to carry on working as a team Provide them with feedback from patient on quality of care on the ward. StrategyCurrent: The ward believes in staffs further development and clinical skills. Goal: To send every qualified staff on in–house study days to develop their clinical skills Structure Current: Staffs does not communicate clearly between each other to promote continuity of Care. Goal: To meet up with staffs on a one-to-one basis or ward meeting and discuss appropriate communication. System Current: Staff appraisals only being carried out once in a year Goal: To discuss with manager if appraisals can be done every 6 months Staff Current: The trust is introducing Senior Health Care Assistant posts.Goal: Identify if any of the present Health Care Assistants on the ward are suitable candidates for the post by appropriate supervision. Style Current : The ward has a team with multicultural staffs Goal: Encourage staffs to respect each others cuture and thereby work more efficiently. Skill Current: The ward has staffs with different skill mix. Goal: Give positive feedback on their skills and encourage them to share their knowledge and attend study days to expand them. Opportunities and threats are external factors that create or destroy value. Usually an organisation cannot control them and they emerge from Political, Economical, Social, Technological and Others.The assessment below using PESTO will help me to identify the goals set up by external factors and which needs to be included on the ward to meet expectations and thereby identify areas for my own professional development. Political Current: The NHS Plan outlines a new delivery system for the NHS and changes for social services, and changes for NHS staff groups. It also sets out plans for cutting waiting times, clinical priorities and reducing inequality. Goal: Have regular ward meetings to discuss with team how to incorporate changes on the ward. Economical Current: The NHS budget has doubled since 1997, and will have almost trebled by 2008.All NHS organisations including my ward are receiving above inflation funding increases, both this year and next. Goal: Meet up with team and prioritise our expenses so we can work within our budget Sociological Current: The Hospital accommodate patients from different ethical background and beliefs. Goal: Ensure that the trust can meet certain requirements for its ethnic minority group. For example providing them with special diet like halal meal in the case of muslim patients. Technological Current: The trust is currently using advance computer system to handle patients’ data. Goal: Ensure that members of the staffs who are not computer literate attend IT course for quicker access to patient†™s data. OtherCurrent: The Hospital has performed well in maintaining and encouraging ‘The clean our hands campain’ and reducing the risk of cross infection Goal: Encourage the team by giving them positive feedback and reinforce infection control policy. DM 46 Recruitment and Selection Once a trust has decided on its goals, it is essential that it identifies whether it has the people necessary to achieve them. Trusts need to develop ways of assessing the number of employees that they need to provide specific services. The implications of the recent policy changes in the NHS are that there will be further major changes in the numbers and deployment of employees across trusts. DOH, (2005)) As a Deputy Ward Manager part of my responsibilities is also to have a clear view of the number of staffs that we have on the ward and the number that we need to deliver the trust’s objectives. Currently on my ward we have vacancies for 2 permanent Senior Staff nurses post prev iously known as grade E. The new post which is now named Band 5b according to the agenda for change has been created by the trust due to our increase in bed turnover and high demand of standards of care. Before the posts were advertised I had a meeting with my Ward Manager and Matron so we can focus on the basic stages of recruitment which are: 1. Agree the vacancy 2. Prepare a job description 3. Prepare a person specification 4. Attract applicants through good advertisement(Appendix 4a) 5. Selection 6. InductionIt is important for us team leaders to use vacancies as an opportunity for re-assessing people’s needs and the organisation’s structure so objectives can be achieved. Therefore an agreement between team leaders is important to reach our goals. – After the agreement me and my ward manager we devised the job description and person specification taking into account an analysis of the following criterias (Kneeland, (1999)) : – the present or expected duties of the job – changes which might impact on the job in the future – existing duties which might be done more effectively or efficiently by some one else – new duties that could be added to the job While preparing the job description my manager and I focused on 5 important aspects which were: Accuracy in order not to understate or overstate the role and duties associated with the post. (Appendix 4b, Section A) – Clarity in terms of tasks, duties, roles and responsibilities(Appendix 4, Section B) – Up-to-date (Appendix 4b, Section A, E) – Flexibility (Appendix 4b, Section A, B) – Non-discriminatory particularly in terms of gender,marital status or ethinic background The use of person specifications have a different purpose and it actually aims to identify the qualifications, skills, experience and abilities which are seen as essential or desirable in the post-holder and is used primarily to assist those involved in the selection p rocess. (Appendix 5)After the posts were advertised and the applications received me and my ward manager short-listed 8 candidates out of 23 applications. This was undertaken by eliminating those who did not meet the pre-agreed essential requirements as set out in the person specification. (Appendix 5). For example some candidates did not have the knowledge of the KSF of Diabetes which is an essential requirement for the post as we specialise in this area or did not have a minimum of 12 months experience as a qualified staff nurse. We made sure that the necessary information about the selection process were recorded and appropriate feedback given to unsuccessfull candidates about their performance at the interview.Once the 2 candidates out of the 8 were successfull and appointed, it was important for me to plan induction and development for them. Given the investment made in new employees it is important that they should receive an appropriate induction so they can bring maximum con tribution to the trust. At the Whittington Hospital, the trust induction covers areas such as the trust objectives so that the employee understands what they are trying to achieve, personal objectives so that the staff understands what is expected from them and relevant immediate training so that the person can properly undertake their job. Though it is a policy for every new employees to attend the trust nduction, I would personally recommend that all new starters on my ward should have a mentor to supervise them for at least the first 2 weeks of employment or even suggest an informal visit to the ward prior to interview so that candidates feel that the working environment is appropriate for their futur development. DM 47 Managing Performance Performance management encompasses a range of standard management techniques and is not necessarily a formal system and is not necessarily the same as an appraisal system. (Templar, (2001)). On my ward, performance management systems is a comm on benefit which enable my staffs to see more clearly their role on the ward and the trust’s objectives. The key elements of managing my group of staffs involve setting objectives for the ward, assessing their development needs, making it happen, review it and doing better. Staffs on the ward need to know what is expected of them. Setting objectives which are S. M. A. R.T for action means that they can be sure what they should deliver, when and how. (Appendix 6). Discussion about individual objectives will also enable my staffs to understand why they should do the things that they have to do and how they fit into and contribute to the wider goals and aims of the trust. It is important to assess the training and development needs of my staffs to improve their ability to reach the standards of performance expected of them in their jobs. This process should result in planned actions to meet individual needs, and will, where appropriate. (Appendix 6). In order to make the assessm ent happened, communication between me and my staffs should be improved.Many tangible and intangible factors contribute to an effective working environment. As a deputy manager it is important for me to focus on the creation of a shared understanding and sense of purpose in my workplace, in particular, communication,culture and climate. Good communication is essential for effective performance management. For example on my ward internal communication such as team briefings, staff meeting, noticeboards and emails enables me and my ward manager to ensure that all our staffs are clear about the ward’s goals and that messages are given and received to and from staffs. This include aims and objectives as well training and development opportunities.People’s performance is affected by their working environment. Morale,motivation, frustration, enthusiasm and commitment all influence the performance that the trust can achieve, so understanding what is important to staffs and li stening to and acting on their views is an essential part of organising effectively. (Templar, (2001)). Having set objectives for individual staffs it is essential that performance and progress are regularly reviewed with individuals so that staffs feel recognised for their achievement and can identify areas where performance can improve. Reviews are necessary to improve individual and organisational performance but at the same time identify poor performance.The scenario below will demonstrate a situation where one of my junior staff nurse was constantly showing poor performance on the ward and the action taken against her. Scenario: Miss X, a junior staff nurse on the ward has been persistently coming late to work and is very slow in carrying out her daily tasks. Several members of Senior staff nurses have been reporting to me that standard of care for the group of patient she was looking after, has been deteriorating. I had a formal meeting on a one-to-one basis with Miss X where her poor performance issues were raised and an action plan was devised. It was discussed that she will be on a 3 months probation and will be supervised at all times by a senior member of staff and feedback will be given to me if her performance was improving.A copy of her job description and a self-assessment form was provided to her so she can set her personal objectives and discuss it with my manager or myself. The disciplinary and grievance process of the trust states that no disciplinary action will be taken against an employee until the case has been fully investigated. However, it should be recognised that there may be occasions when a full investigation is impossible e. g imprisonment. For example individuals will be informed of specific complaints against them in writing and will be given the opportunity to state their case directly to those who are considering disciplinary action before any decisions are made.Individuals and their Trade Union representative will be given a written explanation of any penalty imposed and its duration and in the case of written warnings , will have the right to appeal against this penalty. Usually no employee will normally be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in cases of gross misconduct where summary dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice will be appropriate sanction. It, should, however, be recognised that there will be occasions, not covered by gross misconduct, when it will be necessary, because of the seriousness of the offence, for disciplinary action to begin at any stage of the procedure up to and including dismissal with notice for a first offence. (The Hospital disciplinary and grievance policy, (2006) )In the case of a first offence or disciplinary measures my role will be to discuss it first with my line manager as they are the one who are allowed to issue oral warning, dismissals and discuss the circumstances with Human Resources. DM 48 Developing Teams & individuals To get the be st from employees, managers need to know who will be doing what, where the strengths and weaknesses of staffs are and which skills need to be developed by their teams. Properly set, achievable objectives that make clear what is expected, by when and to what standard, benefit both staffs and managers by clarifying roles and responsibilities, and assist in delivering value for money in the use of people resources.Setting performance objectives with staffs will also enable us managers to assess how our team can be best be used productively and identify any areas where staffs are producing different results and output. This can be useful in benchmarking performance and identifying individual, team and departmental areas for improved productivity. (Templar, (2001)) When performance objectives and standards are set for a team, it is necessary to assess whether the team has the skills to meet the standards being set and to agree how skills will be developed if they do not already exist. Th is is particularly important when ways of working are being changed.The Developmental plan below which has been devised with a team member and also reflect the team’s objectives as a whole, demonstrate the organisational and individual needs that can be met in many ways: Development Plan Individual/Team |Work shadowing |Get full support from Senior members of the team and provide | | |feedback. | |Special Projects |Encourage staffs to actively get involve with hospital projects such| | |as campaings. |Planned self-development |Meet at least every 6 months for appraisal and plan self | | |-development | |Mentoring |Offer support to newly qualified staff in the form of | | |mentorship/preceptorship for the first 2 weeks of joining the team | |Coaching and guidance |Provide staffs with support and guidance whenever and wherever | | |required. |Study for professional qualifications |Encourage staff to go for further studies for example encourage | | |Diploma holder to complete th eir Degree or send people for | | |specialist course such as the Diabetic Course. | |Planned delegation |Ensure that Senior staff nurses take responsibility in delegating | | |tasks to junior staffs, H. C. As and student nurses | |On-the-job training |Encourage staffs to attend in-house clinical skills study days. |New responsibilites |Allocate new rsponsibilities to members of the team. For example | | |making each member of the staff responsible for certain part of the | | |ward like for instance in charge of the treatment room’s general | | |tidiness. | |Off –the- job training |Negociate with staffs if there is any external training they want to| | |attend and provide them with leave or day off. |Job rotation/secondment |Senior staff nurses to act as team leader in the absence of myself | | |or the ward manager. | |Membership of professional societies |Encourage staffs to join professional bodies like the Royal College | | |of Nursing and UNISON | In the above table it can be noted that the individual development needs add up to the team development needs and trust-wide development needs.Individual managers must have a view of the team needs across the trust so that common needs can be met in the most cost-effective way and competing needs can be prioritised. Recommendations Staff development should be linked to the achievement of the trust’s goals and targets. If a key priority for the trust is to improve patient care, development plans at individual, team, departmental and corporate level should reflect that goal by focusing on enhancing the skills of staffs to deliver the required levels of patient care. Staffs will know which aspects of their work need support and development and are well placed to identify training and development needs to help them perform better in their jobs ReferencesDepartment of Health (2005), ‘The New NHS plan’ London D. O. H Jumaa, M. O & Alleyne, J. (2001), ‘Managing and Leading in a con stanly changing contexts in Health and Social Care’ Middlesex University Kneeland, S. (1999), ‘Recruiting for Results’ How To Books Ltd Templar, R. (2001), ‘Fast Thinking : Appraisal’ Pearson Education Ltd The Hospital (2006)‘Disciplinary and Grievance policy’ The Whittington Hospital Bibliography Belbin, R. M. (1996). ‘Managing Teams: Why they succeed or fail. ’ Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Johnson, G. & Scholes, K. (2001). ‘Exploring Corporate Strategy 6th Edition’ Prentice-Hall Martin, V. & Henderson, E. (2001). ‘Managing in Health and Social Care’ Routeledge