Saturday, August 31, 2019

Associate Program Material Essay

Hard Drive Hard drives are complex storage devices in a computer. When installing a hard drive, you must consider numerous interface standards. You also must think about specific factors, such as the computer’s application, the type of motherboard, speed and noise, gigabyte barriers, subsystems, future storage needs, and archival issues. Refer to Ch. 8 of A+ Guide To Managing & Maintaining Your PC for a deeper understanding of these issues. You may measure hard drive performance by looking at three different sources of information. The first is the data rate, the number of bytes per second the driver can deliver to the processor. The second is the seek time, the amount of time it takes when the processor requests information from the driver and the first byte of information is delivered to the processor. The third is the memory capacity of the hard drive. For this assignment, you replace the internal hard drives from the computer featured in the Computer Hardware Simulator (CHS). The current internal hard drives are old and starting to fail. You need to replace the current hard drives with similar drives or drives with more storage capacity. Search the Internet for three types of hard drives compatible with the CHS computer, and enter your information for each drive into the New Hard Drive Chart below. After comparing the two drives, make a recommendation on which you would purchase and justify your decision. You only have a budget of $45 to work with, so choose carefully.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Salinity

Problems arise in the world due to salinity, as when the salt gets on to the top of the soil†¦.. it causes disaster to the plants and trees. Salt comes in many forms in the natural environment—calcium, magnesium, carbonate, sodium chloride, bicarbonate, and sulphate. Many landscapes are naturally saline, but secondary salinity isn’t so natural, occurring when salts from deep within the earth are dissolved and deposited into soil and water as a result of human activity. This can happen in one of two ways: Dryland salinity – from removal of deep-rooted plantsIn dry regions, deeply-rooted perennial plants, such as shrubs, trees, and grasses, play an important role in regulating groundwater levels. As water is applied to the soil, the plants drink it up and breath it out through a process called evapotranspiration. This ensures that the water table levels stay relatively stable. But this balance is thrown into chaos when farmers clear the land to gain more space for grazing animals and cultivating food crops. In doing so, they remove the deep-rooted plants and replace them with shallow-rooted annual crops.These plants do not take up as much water as once-plentiful native plants, and as a result, more water remains in the soil. Over time—up to 30 years—water accumulates in the land, causing the water table to rise. As it does so, it passes through layers of salt and dissolving the deposits that have existed in the land for centuries. The shallow-rooted plants can’t keep up with the rising water levels, which results in rising salt deposits in ever-increasing concentrations in topsoil. Irrigation salinity – from overirrigationMuch like dryland salinity, irrigation salinity results in a rising water table that brings deep deposits of salt upwards through soil layers. But instead of being caused by land clearing, it results from increased irrigation. As water soaks into the soil, it adds to existing water, raising t he water table, bringing salt along for the ride. During periods of irrigation, the water table will lower again, but salt will remain in surface soil, increasing the salt concentration with each irrigation cycle. What impact does it have? Contamination of ecosystems with excess saltBoth dryland and irrigation salinity result in similar environmental challenges: * Groundwater used for human consumption as well as agricultural and industrial applications becomes saline, making it unusable * Wetlands and bushland ecosystems are damaged, resulting in declines in wildlife biodiversity * Salt damages houses, pipelines, railways, buildings, roads, and water supply systems What has been done about it? Many conservation and regeneration options available There are many possible steps a community can take to prevent and/or reverse salinity: Identify areas where potential for biodiversity loss is significant due to salinity, setting targets to protect and bring back sensitive species * Protec ting key native vegetation species from being cleared and promoting reintroduction of these species in areas affected by salinity * Limit over-irrigation and the construction of dams in sensitive areas, such as wetlands and watercourses * Promote environmentally-sound property management planning * Educate farmers and the public about the risks of increasing salinity * Construct both surface and sub-surface drainage systems to prevent salinity that results from rising water levelsIs this action working? Reversing soil salinity a slow process – prevention is easier Progress in preventing and reversing the effects of salinization is slow and painstaking. Research is beginning to identify ways farmers can continue to cultivate their crops without increasing soil salinity. Planting salt tolerant, deep-rooted plants throughout agricultural lands in one way to see improvements, but like most solutions, it can be costly and requires by-in from farmers and communities alike. Further education of key stakeholders in communities at risk of salinization is required. Why is this? Effects of soil salinity take many years to appearIt can take up to 30 years for communities to begin to feel the effects of increasing salinity, making reversal of the problem equally time-consuming. It also requires significant funding. The Australian government, for instance, pledged to spend nearly $8 million on salinization remediation plans to 2008. Should it continue? On one side, there are those who are against Without remediation of soil salinity, great problems lie ahead Without long-sighted solutions, the problem of salinity, including loss of agricultural land, devastation of ecosystems, and the costs associated with damaged property, will continue to increase. In the US, it is estimated that 10 million hectares of land is lost to salinity every year. The challenge is equally serious in Australia.Environmentalists have been drawing attention to this growing crisis for years, an d only after seeing the effects of salinity are individuals and governments coming to terms with the magnitude of the problem. Failure to address salinity could result in widespread crop failures and even more devastating loss of biodiversity. Should it continue? On the other side, there are those who are all for it Hydro advocates oppose There are many who prefer to turn a blind eye to the problem of salinity, especially those with a vested interest in the industries responsible for the consequences. Salinity can increase in the presence of dams and other water reservoirs, making salinity an acceptable cost to advocates of large-scale hydro projects.The damming of the Colorado River, which flows into Mexico, has caused significant increases in the brackish (i. e. saline) quality of the water. Reversing these problems so that those down river can be supplied with high-quality water has been expensive for the US, resulting in costs upwards of several hundred million dollars every yea r. Farmers’ struggles Equally challenging is working with farmers who see the very long-range problem of salinity as minor compared to the desire to see short-term financial gains through over-irrigation of crops. Small and large-scale farmers alike struggle with the reality of spending money to prevent a problem that may not occur for decades.

Demonstrative Speech Fitness Program

TOPIC: â€Å"Mission H. A. R. D. Body† My Exercise Program GENERAL PURPOSE: Persuade SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To persuade my audience to perform my quick workout program for the amazingly fast and effective results CENTRAL IDEA: My workout program consist of a 15 minute morning and night exercise schedule, focuses on all the major muscle group areas, and includes a simple diet plan that leads to a lean, muscular, and sexy body, fast! INTRODUCTION I. Fellas envision your self with a toned six-pack and muscular physic grabbing all the ladies attention while at the beach. II.Ladies envision yourself looking like this, and think of all the jealous and envious girls who will hate on you because every guy breaks their neck when they see you. III. Hi, my name is Pierre Earlington, and Today I will be talking about a simple diet and exercise program, that will get you in shape, healthy, and sexy as ever in no time. IV. I am an athlete and model that is currently studying to become a personal trainer and have learned the incredibly quick and easy secrets to a sexy and healthy body. V. I will first talk about†¦ a. The scheduling time to perform the workout, . Next I will describe the workout activities to be done, c. And finally I will explain a simple way of dieting to keep your body fatless and looking good. BODY I. Many of us live extremely busy lives racing constantly against time and an increasing To-Do list that seems to never end, leading us to believe that we have no time to fit exercise in our schedule. a. What makes my exercise program so amazing is that it is broken down into two segments, Morning and night. Taking only 15 minutes in each segment, it can fit into anyone's schedule. i.You start by simply setting your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than you normally awake in the morning ii. And going to bed 15 minutes later than you normally do at night 1. As soon as you awake in the morning. Before you even head to the bathroom to brush your teeth, roll ov er on to that floor, and perform my workout. 2. When you end your day, right before you go to sleep. Hit the floor again and take 15 minutes to do the workout. Think of it as a nightcap. iii. Routinely done your body and mind will get use to this morning and night exercise program, and it will become a habit that you wont even think twice about it. Transition: Now here comes the fun part) II. In my exercise, we are targeting three sections of the body. b. The upper body, which consists of the arms chest, and upper back. c. The mid section, which consists of the abdominals and lower back. d. And finally the lower half of the body, your legs. iv. Now for the upper body we will perform Push-ups. Three sets of three different types that shred the fat from your upper body and leave you ripped. 3. First Set, Regular push ups 4. Second Set, Diamond push ups 5. And the Third set, Wide push ups v.Now the for the mid section and getting that tummy tight 6. First set Crunches. This targets the upper AB section 7. Second set, Leg lifts. This targets the lower AB section 8. Third set, Side crunches on both sides. Love handles, â€Å"Poof be gone. † vi. Finally the lower half, Legs. 9. First set: Lunges 10. Second set, Squats – Fellas this gets the Hamstrings right and ladies this gets that butt tight 11. The final set, Toe raises – This works out those beautiful Calves vii. Guys perform 20-25 reps of each exercise, and increase as desired. viii.Ladies perform 15-20 reps of each exercise, also increase as desired (Transition: Now that you’ve worked so hard for that beautiful body, you want to keep it don’t you? So lets talk dieting) III. There are many questionable diets and theories out there. This Here is the most simplest and effective way to diet. e. Cut out Carbs and excess sugar. ix. Carbs are things like bread, pancakes, doughnuts and etc†¦ 12. Carbohydrates turn into sugar when consumed in your body. 13. Sugar is then converte d into fat. (Transition: I know this may seem like an impossible task since we all love to please our taste buds, but its not that bad. f. Especially because my workout comes with a cheat day. x. One day out of the whole week you are free to eat all the sugar and carbohydrates that you want. You pick the day! (Transition: Your body will still be on the path to becoming marvelous. ) CONCLUSION I. In conclusion, I showed how my workout can fit into anyone’s schedule, II. Described the specific exercises to perform, III. And explained a simple diet to keep you in shape. IV. So ladies and gentleman follow these easy steps, break everyone’s neck, and lets get sexy for the summer.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Star Student Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Star Student - Case Study Example This is because the Star Student had not yet been fully employed and this was only a proposal. According to the law, if one has not signed a working contract, he or she is not a worker of the institution (100-379 (29 U.S.C. Â § 2101, et seq.). However, if the Star Student had indeed signed a working contract, the Big three company needs to pay him/her the compensation. If the Star student is brought with inconveniences, the compensation will be paid. The managing director also needs to give the Star student a notice so as not to bring any inconvenience to him/her. The law states that a notice should be given when laying off an employee (Boatright, 57). In such cases, the managing director of the Big Three Company is supposed to give a notice to the Star student. In the ethical perspective, according to the Ross theory, common sense dictates that when one makes a promise (in this case Big Three company making a promise to the Star student) it becomes imperative to fulfill the promise. In this situation, the company has two duties that both have an intrinsic value. The first is the moral obligation to fulfill the promise of work and the second one is fulfilling the company’s needs to prevent the collapse of the company and, consequently the retrenchment of many workers. Therefore, this case should be looked at in a way that would bring more intrinsic value to the society in general. Sometimes we do things, although not directly beneficial to us, for the benefit of the society. In this case, the greater good is the stability of the Big Three Company which would, therefore, means that no more people lose their jobs. Sometimes the law is unethical, it is considered to be too harsh. For example, if the Star student had not signed a contract, the Company is not legally obligated to pay compensation to the student. This is in contrast to ethical laws regarding promises.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Problems around the use of diminishing Musharaka in banking finance Research Paper

Problems around the use of diminishing Musharaka in banking finance and search for patricidal solution - Research Paper Example The Islamic banking has been popular over the ages and contributes a lot to the present world economy. In Islamic banking system Musharaka is the terminology use to denote the contract in the joint venture partnership. Our paper focuses on the concept of Musharaka and the diminishing Musaraka. The problem associated with the application of diminishing Musharaka is also studied in the current paper. A detailed analysis of the Islamic contracts and the terminologies are studied over here. Under the Islamic law which forms the guiding principle of the Islamic financial system there are seven different contracts in practice. According to Islamic system or Shariah the formation of contract requires both offer, which is termed as Ijab and acceptance which is termed as Qabul. The contracts are generally in verbal or in written form. The parties of the contract needs to be legally knowledgeable and should be in sound state of mind at the time of entering the contract. The contracting parties should not be forced to enter into the agreement under by any force or compulsion. The popular types of contracts are Al- Tamlikat, Al- Isqatat, Al –Itlaqat, Al- Taqdat , Al- Tauthiqat, Al- Ishtirak and Al- Hifz. The explanations of the different types of contracts are done below. Al- Tamlikat- The contract deals with the acquisition of properties and deals with the benefit associated with the properties. To classification of the contract is done as contract of exchange and contrcts of charity. The matters of dropping of right without exchange are handled by this contract. The release without compensation for the party is termed as absolute release whereas the release involving the compensation is known as release of exchange. Interest free finance is one of the basic guiding principles in Islamic banking. Among all forms of interest–free finance contract, mudaraba was considered the most suitable and practical mode for mobilizing financial resources to Islamic banks.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Does Ethics Require Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Does Ethics Require Religion - Essay Example Does Ethics Require Religion? Rough estimates put a figure of approximately 4,200 religions across the globe. Religion or an inquiry to religion is a common thing virtually across all humans. In all periods of history and corners of the globe, people have always wondered about life’s meaning, how to live it best, what will happen after life, and if there exists a supernatural being (Webster, 1). I have studied various religions in this course including indigenous religion, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. This paper seeks to highlight on a personal experience in studying these religions, how it relates to my life, and how the knowledge impact my life. When I came to California two years ago, I had difficulties in adapting to the new environment and lifestyle. It took me quite some time to get acquainted to the dissimilar culture, way of life, and traditions. With time, I realized that the world is a small place as we interacted and affected each other every day. Although were different , we are all humans who are subjected to the universal human existence conditions like loss, change, uncertainty, and death. However, our backgrounds, histories, languages, and cultures determine how we approach those conditions (Donahue 1). Truth is, we do not worship the same gods, think the same, have the same cultural values, or share our specific histories. We interpret ourselves and the world truly differently. I have since come to comprehend that according to the mainstream religions all people were created by God. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism teach that humans are children of Adam and Eve. They consider Satan as the common enemy who causes enmity and division among people. The mentioned religions in the first paragraph have had messengers and prophets who were send by God to teach people about love, friendship, and co-existence. They teach about worship and submitting to God as the master and creator (oup.com 1). I believe that any individual who recognizes is able to li ve with any society in affection and peace. This course has brought to me to understand the positive, cooperative, and constructive interactions between people from different faiths. Dialogue has promoted the understanding between the different religions with the acceptance of other people as they are instead of synthesizing new beliefs (oup.com 1). Most religious texts endorse peace and compassion. In fact, majority of the religions have peace as their key principle. While some laws and traditions permit killing and waging war in certain cases, it requires that one seeks peace and just before waging any war. The nonviolence philosophy has roots in the majority of the mentioned religions. The religions sharply restrict any form of violence. I look forward to teaching and sharing this knowledge with my fellow countrymen when I graduate. Most of the religious beliefs have components of ethics. They are derived from the purported supernatural guidance and revelation. The ethics are tie d up within religion and unconditionally settled therein. There is a code of instructions which directs followers on how to live Religion is sometimes viewed as the bedrock of ethical behavior. The relationship between ethics and religion is about reason and revelation. Religion has a basis on the idea that of God (or some deity) giving insights about the true meaning of life. The insights are based on collected texts (the Koran, the Torah, the Bible, etc.). Through these, people who can make decisions which maximize their

Monday, August 26, 2019

The U.S. financial system and its many complexities which are impacted Research Paper

The U.S. financial system and its many complexities which are impacted by several environmental factors, including federal regul - Research Paper Example The Federal Reserve situates the monetary policy of the nation in order to encourage the stable prices, objectives of highest employment, and reasonable interest rate for long-term basis. The biggest challenge for all the policy makers, is that pressure among the set goals might take place in short run as well as the information with respect to economy is accessible only with a delay and chances are that it might be inadequate. Financial markets assist in effectively directing the flow of investments and savings within the economy which facilitates the growth of capital along with production of products and services in different ways. The ideal blend of strong institutions and financial markets as well as different range of financial instruments and products, perfectly fits with the lenders and borrowers’ need and hence the entire economy. Financial Markets and Institutions A financial market includes bonds or trade stocks, an instrument includes derivatives and bank CDs and i nstitutions includes banks, insurance companies and funds. They all offer opportunities to investors so that they can specialize in diversify risks, specific market and/or services, or both and can exchange financial assets (Fabozzi, 2002). How Economy is affected by Monetary Policy? The preliminary connection in the chain among the economy and monetary policy is market for stability which takes place at Federal Reserve Banks. At reserve banks, depository institutions have their accounts, and they vigorously trade the balances which are kept in the accounts with an interest rate termed as federal funds rate. Federal Reserve has control on federal funds rate with an influence on demand and supply at Reserve Banks. Any change in expectation or in the rate of federal funds can affect other short and long term rate of interest, stock price and the value of dollar with respect to foreign exchange. This in turn affects spending decision of business and households which ultimately distress growth in the economy and aggregate demand. In Federal Reserve Act, the targets of monetary policy are shared which states that the Committee of Federal Open Market and the Board of Governors must look forward to encourage effectively the targets of highest employment rate along with stable prices and interest rates. When the prices are constant or stable and are expected to remain the same, inflation has no effect on the process of services, goods, labor and materials and thus helps in contributing in higher living standard. This also helps in capital formation by helping in saving because when threat of attrition of asset values minimized, business got the opportunity to invest more whereas households are encouraged for more saving. Influence of Interest Rate on U.S. and Global Financial Environment Interest rates are always been proposed as policy guide, not only they serve the role of spending decisions also because interest rates information is accessible on the basis of real- time. The proper level of rate of interest will differ with fiscal policy stance, changes in spending pattern of business and household, global economic development and productivity growth. Modifications in interest rate on long-term basis will affect on stock prices, which will create a remarkable effect on the wealth of household. Investors keep in line both their investment returns on

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Glaxo Smith Kline's Business Strategy Case Study

Glaxo Smith Kline's Business Strategy - Case Study Example 2004, p. 10). Two of the four elements of a strategy, internal competencies and shortcomings are within the organization and can be controlled by it, if properly appraised. The other two, changes in the environment and intelligent moves by competitors are external forces, and require adoption or modification of action sequences and determined policies to achieve organisational goals and fulfilling stakeholder expectations. Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), one of the largest companies operating in the "technically innovative" and highly competitive "global market" pharmaceutical industry. (Lynch 2006, p. 191). In the pharmaceutical industry, obsolescence is a constant challenge and companies are required to constantly replenish old drugs, which means that the research and development 'pipeline' should be kept flowing. The development of a single new drug is estimated to cost up to $ 500 million and takes several years. However once developed a new drug has patent protection which means the company that developed the drug can have exclusive marketing rights for a period of (generally) ten years from the time the patent is registered. The drugs are marketed to customers - as doctors, hospitals and government health agencies through large sales forces. Companies employ several thousand specialist sales personnel in North America alone. All these operations require large financial outlays. Therefore organisational size does matter as revenue generation normally corresponds to size. According to Michael Porter, five external forces impact businesses. They are industry competitors, potential new entrants, substitutes, suppliers and buyers. (Porter 2004, p. 4) He offers three generic strategies to meet the challenges of these forces: cost leadership, differentiation and focus (Porter 2004, p. 35). While questioning some of the premises on which Porter based his theory, in a provocatively titled box, "Bye, Mr. Porter", (Whittington 2001, p. 67), Whittington proposes three strategies for companies to achieve growth: they are innovation, diversification and internationalisation. (Whittington 2001, p. 73). As we have seen innovation is an intrinsic factor that is necessary for survival in the pharmaceutical industry, diversification implies diversification, integration and takeovers. During the nineties many pharmaceutical companies have taken the 'mergers and acquisitions' route to augment their c ompetitiveness and enhance financial outcomes such as revenue generation and profitability by: Increasing and consolidating organizational size for Achieving economies of scale and reducing costs Complementing/extending ranges of products and services Replenishing

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The Importance of Retail Information Systems Research Paper

The Importance of Retail Information Systems - Research Paper Example In a highly competitive environment, effective customer services as well as relevant products to the consumers assume a high position in retailers’ priority list in the event of profit maximization. One of the most effective ways to ensure relevant product and effective services to the customer is through collection of information regarding the customer, analyzing that information and finally placing the analyzed information into work by aiding in decision making processes. (Stair, 2010) Information systems include systems that deals with the process of raw data from databases, file storage and file sources to information which are later used by middle level, top level and operational level managers in decision making thus improving their output to the consumers inform of better services and relevant products which in turn increases their returns and profit. (Stair, 2010) Information systems and organizations influence one another. According to Lucey, Information systems are built by managers to serve the interest of their firms. At the same time organizations must be aware of and open to the influences from information systems to benefit from new technologies. The interaction between information technology, information systems and organizations is very complex and is influenced by many mediating factors, including the organization structure, business processes, politics, culture, surrounding environment and management decisions. (2005) All modern organizations have bureaucracies with clear-cut divisions of labor and specialization. The main reason for organization’s failure in implementing information systems is inability to

Friday, August 23, 2019

Mexican immigrants undocumented Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Mexican immigrants undocumented - Essay Example Most importantly, the social workers should know that immigrants or refugees despite the duration they will stay in the host country, they are most likely to be faced with a duality of cultures and hence do work with norms and expectations that conflict often. Although refugees and immigrants all seek new residence in a foreign country, their social and economic statuses differ and hence their adoption to the host country may also vary. Immigrants go to a host country on their own volition by attractiveness they see in that particular country. Usually they plan their entry carefully and selectively bringing some assets while relinquishing the assets at home (Abdulla, et al., 1997). Whether their reason for migrating is economic or political, they easily adopt since they at least have somewhere to start from. On the other hand, refugees are forced to flee their homelands and seek asylum from the host country for various reasons and would probably prefer to return if safety is permitted. Usually they flee home with little or no planning and with few belongings if any and are usually traumatized by the destruction they have witnessed and so it takes time for them to adapt to the new surroundings. With this knowledge, the social workers could know how to handle them and the issues that affects them for effective integration. Prior to the World War 11, the Mexicans accounted for less than 10 percent of the Florida immigration, and a quarter of Florida’s migrants in the early post war periods. In the 1960s, the Mexican immigrants percentage rose to 40 percent and by 1990s the figure rose to 50 percent of the total migrants in Florida. Prior to the 1970s, about 300,000 Mexican immigrants gained legal permanent residence in the United States yearly with most of them settling in Florida. In the last three decades, the number of legal permanent immigrants from Mexico to Florida has been doubling in each decade. This increasingly

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Intelligence Community Organization Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intelligence Community Organization - Coursework Example errorism Prevention Act of 2004 that lead in the creation of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) influencing in the birth of the current structure of the Intelligence. The U.S. Intelligence Community consists of 17 agencies that encompass the Intelligence Community itself. The paper describes the structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community and further illustrates whether its meeting its primary purpose. The structure of the U.S Intelligence Community consists of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) at the top, headed by the director of national intelligence (DNI); who is the principal intelligence adviser to the president. In addition, he guides other senior personnel such as the National Security Council (NSC), the Homeland Security Council (HSC) as well as leading the other 16 agencies that includes Intelligence Community (IC). According to Aldrich & Rawnsley(2013), the main agenda of the IC involves directing and coordinating the National foreign intelligence activities of the U.S. government. The principal deputy director is the second in command after the DNI then followed by four deputy directors that are responsible for the leadership in their specialized areas: office of the Deputy Director for Policy, Plans and Representatives, Office of the Deputy Director for Collection, Deputy Director for Analysis and Deputy Director for Future Capabilities (Freedman, 2014). The ODNI serves as the central Intelligence Community but all the other bodies are interconnected with the ODNI and with each other at different levels. Logan (2010) illustrates that each agency has been entitled to work independently at its own capacities and focus on area of duty but together as a unit to protect the national security. Other agencies include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); it is an independent agency known as the America’s spy Agency, involved in collection, analyzes and disseminates intelligences about foreign nations. The Federal

Hartleys novel Essay Example for Free

Hartleys novel Essay Although appearing to have a cynical view of love in the poem Larkin does in fact not doubt love, but the expectations that we have of it. In the words of Andrew Swarbrick, Larkin expresses not feelings of bitterness or pessimism but of pathos, of a tender sympathy for the widow who recalls dreams knowing they are best forgotten. Though sometimes pleasurable reminiscing can reveal hopes that were unfulfilled, dreams never lived out, good times we can never experience again. Therefore what we perceive to be pessimism in Larkin is, in this instance, simply realism, an understanding of the illusions contained in the world, making him less deceived as a result. He once remarked, Poetry is an affair of sanity, of seeing things as they really are it was for him a way of being honest, not overestimating the value of things. Nonetheless, in the final poem of The Whitsun Weddings, An Arundel Tomb, Larkin hints at his belief in love. Despite not having a successful love life himself he still implies that he has faith in its existence, the ultimate word of the anthology being the abstract noun, love. This line is a testament to its endurance and strength, What will survive of us is love. John Saunders likens these lines containing the prove/love rhyme to Shakespeares attempt to define true love in Sonnet 73, Larkins concluding line echoing the rhyming couplet, If this be error, and upon me proved I never wrote, nor no man ever loved. An Arundel Tomb concentrates on the historical aspect of the past. The persona in the poem, which is in fact Larkin, examines the concept of artifacts, how something set in stone can withstand the test of time regardless of whether it actually existed in the first place. Visiting a Sussex churchyard Larkin sees an example of love that both moves and intrigues him, had it not been for the incongruity of two linked hands displayed on the tomb he would have walked by. It is a gesture small yet touching but the cynic in Larkin questions its validity presuming it to be a case of a sculptors sweet commissioned grace rather than a symbol of a long and devoted marriage. Together in death the couples faces blurred but the husband is still holding her hand. Over time their features have been weathered but their effigy remains as a reminder of their lives, a monument to their love. Archaic language is used to complement the subject matter of the poem, capturing a bygone time so unlike todays unarmorial age. Further manipulation of syntax is evident with the effective juxtaposition of the adjectives sharp and tender, conveying simply but perfectly Larkins confused and mixed reaction to the union of the stone hands. There is debate over Larkins true feelings towards the real meaning of the faithfulness in effigy. Whether or not he again intended the pun with the use of the verb lie just as lovers were lying together in bed is unclear. As Brother Anthony (An Sonjae) points out in his paper Without Metaphysics there is a huge diversity in the interpretations of Larkins intended meaning in his work, it is up to the reader to determine their own response which is good for the reader, but a challenge too. Does the poet believe that love survives not only in stone? Or as Andrew Swarbrick quite rightly points out does he almost believe it as the penultimate line suggests? Our almost-instinct almost true therefore cancels out the optimism of the following statement. Here we witness Larkin lowering his defenses, allowing himself to hope for the best, to want love to be that much mentioned brilliance but he cannot do so completely for fear of it being an illusion. Although hinting at what he truly believes it is as though he will not allow himself to trust it in case he is mistaken. Yet whether love survives or not it lives on in Arundel where only an attitude remains. This is also true of Larkins poetry, and in fact to the whole genre. Whereas fictional characters and places from novels are lost, forgotten, poetry allows thoughts to survive as art long after the death of the artist. Larkin wrote of this inspiring philosophy in 1955, contained in a statement to D. J. Enright he explained, I write poems to preserve things I have seen/thought/felt I think the impulse to preserve lies at the bottom of all art. Yet as mentioned previously the meaning of Larkins literature is not always clear, just like he could only assume the significance of the joined hands we can only guess at the thoughts of Philip Larkin which are contained and live on in his verse. The poem Dockery and Son relates the events and emotions that occur when Philip Larkin revisits his old college, steps back into the past only to be disappointed with what he finds there. An outsider there, he no longer belongs and finds himself a stranger in his own past, as well as physically being unable to enter his past residence the door of where (he) used to live is also locked metaphorically. However, the most disturbing thing for Larkin is the news that one of his peers now has at son at Oxford: Dockery unlike Larkin with no son, no wife, no house or land is a success story. The door to fatherhood is therefore also locked for Larkin. By starting with dialogue the poem is made more authentic as it adds an injection of reality to the verse. It also alerts Larkin to the fact that he is no longer part of that world, of public school boys and ranks, he, unlike Dockery, has no reason to revisit that part of his life. He feels ignored. As in The Whitsun Weddings Larkin philosophizes whilst on a train which is not only a vehicle in the normal sense of the noun but a vehicle for his thoughts and also a metaphor for direction, moving forward in life. The simplistic repetition in the third stanza How much How little conveys Larkins disappointment in himself as he contemplates his own achievements in comparison with those of Dockery. Whereas Leo Colston benefited from his nostalgic visit to the past it has been a negative experience for Larkin who should never have returned. Both Larkin and Hartley present philosophies on the past in two contrasting but equally effective genres, which themselves give insight into the pasts of the authors. The past is, as both pieces of literature show, inevitably significant to us all. How we are affected by it however, either negatively or positively, is to some extent in our own hands. Even a god cannot change the past (Agathon 445 BC) yet we can move on, learn from our experiences and in the future be less deceived. L. P. Hartleys novel is a message to us all that we should not dwell on what has come before, but concentrate on living the present, Leo recognized that he should not be sitting alone before it was too late. In reality the past does not fully exist; in the words of Larkin it is a love song that can never sound the same, a locked door which we can never be reopened, only an attitude that lives on in our minds. We may try to capture moments and emotions in stone, or in verse yet the only place where they truly exist is in our memory. We have the ability to dictate the significance the past holds for us. And so whilst we cannot change our pasts, we have the ability to change our future; Shakespeare declared that Whats past is prologue yet we can determine what is contained in the epilogue.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Retained Earnings and Share Price Relationship in Pakistan

Retained Earnings and Share Price Relationship in Pakistan The objective of this research paper is to study the relationship between retained earnings and share price in the Pakistan stock market. For analysis, a sample of 40 listed companies was taken from Karachi stock market. In this research, variables data was taken from the period of 2005-2008. Simple Linear Regression technique was used to analyze the relationship between share price and retained earnings. A positive relation was found between retained earning and stock price. This paper supports the fact that retained earning is relevant in determining share price for a sample of firms listed in the Karachi Stock Exchange. As far as my knowledge is concerned, this paper is first to show that corporate earnings is a key driver of stock price change in the Pakistan. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Overview: Earnings and dividends occupied an important role in financial accounting research and finance. It is the most extensively accepted measure of firm performance. Attention was also given to earnings because it is commonly used in evaluating management performance. Perhaps the biggest reason for the attraction to earnings, though, lies with the notion that retained earnings serves as a predictor of future cash flows. Many theories have represented that the accrual earnings represents the best predictor and of future cash flows than the historical cash flows. A companys existence depends on its ability to make positive cash flows, and research confirmed that share price directly related to an entitys cash flow prediction. Thus, because earnings of the company are viewed as a key determinant of share price. Mary, Cram and Nelson (2001) found that the systematic ability of earnings can be improved when disaggregated into its major accrual components. One of the components was sales revenu e, which unpredictably ignored in the literature as a predictor of share price. The degree of relationship of earnings and cash flow, sales with share price was a aim of this study. Empirical studies indicate that when share prices are related to the current dividends and retained earnings, higher dividends are associated with higher price earning ratio. Graham and Dood assert that the impact of dividend on price is four times that of retained earnings; moreover, the studies of Myron Gorden, David Durand and others indicate that dividend multiplier is several times the retained earning multiplier. A very recent study on this topic has been done by Friend and Puckett for USA they concluded that in general, there is little basis for the view that dividends have an impact on price which is several times that of retained earnings. A firms ability to generate cash flow affects the value of its securities, so the ability to assess future cash flow was important for the investment communit y, both shareholders and creditors. While shareholders may be concerned with the stream of cash flows to perpetuity, many creditors were concerned solely the short term cash generating ability of a company. Problem statement: To investigate the Impact of Retained Earnings, Dividends on Share Price. Hypothesis H1: There is a positive relationship between Retained Earnings and Share Prices. Outline of the Study: Next section 2 is Literature review, section 3, methodology and data collection, section 4 results and summary, section 5 conclusion remarks Definition Retained earnings refers to the portion of net income which is kept by the companies rather than distributed to its owners as dividends. CHAPTER: 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The study relates to examine the relationship of earning with share price. When conservative accounting practices are observed by firms, the quality of its earnings can be affected by the changes in the amount of its investments. Increase in investment decreases reported earnings and creates reserves. Dropping investment releases those reserves and earnings increase. If there is temporary change in investment then earnings are depressed or inflate temporarily, it means that investment is not a fine indicator of future earnings. This paper contributes to the research on how the quality of earnings is affected by accounting methods. We define the term to mean that reported earnings, before unusual items that are recognized on the income statement, is of good quality if it is a good sign of future earnings. Thus we consider good earnings to be sustainable earnings, as referred to in financial analysis (Mulford and Comiskey,1996). When an accounting treatment produces weak earnings, we consider those unsustainable earnings to be of poor quality. Changes in dividends informs the investors about the determination of past earnings changes. The determination of earnings is the extent to which an unpredicted change in earnings revises hope of future earnings for the periods in the same way as the unexpected change. This uncertainty about the of earnings is determined as later earnings announcements for following quarters provide additional information. Investors assessments of the persistence of past earnings can be revised by the change in dividends because the managers are unwilling to increase (decrease) dividends unless earnings increase (decrease) are determined. We examine whether investors recognize a change in dividends as a sign about the determination of past earnings changes by examining the statistical relation between the market reaction changes in dividends and recent past earnings changes. Healy and Palepus (1988) stated that dividend changes managers private information about future earnings changes. They found a positive relation between abnormal returns and following changes in earnings. Financial statement analysis advocates examining the accrual and cash basis components of current earnings for the purpose of predicting future earnings. The nature of the information contained in the cash basis and accrual and components of earnings and the degree to which this information is reflected in share prices. The results specify that earnings show attributable to the accrual component of earnings exhibits lower persistence than earnings show attributable to the cash basis component of earnings. The firms with comparatively high (low) levels of accruals experience negative (positive) future stock returns that are determined around future earnings announcements. Although there is unreliable evidence that stock prices respond positively to firms meeting expectations. We observe whether there is a market return to meeting current period earnings expectations, and whether any such return reflects the implications for following earnings of meeting expectations in the current period or shows a distinct market premium. It seems reasonable to say that there is a wide agreement that either favorable earnings or dividend announcements can persuade positive abnormal stock returns. The effect of earnings announcements on share price changes has been recognized by Ball and Brown, Foster, Watts and Rendleman et al. The effect of dividend announcement was first highlighted by Pettit. Miller and Scholes , in a study focused primarily on dividends and taxes as a result they found significant evidence of a dividend declaration effect. Figures of earnings can be manipulated by accounting practices, and so may be interpreted with uncertainty by the investment community (Kaplan and Roll ). Similarly, dividend declarations are only a crude way to communicate information to capital markets. While both dividend and earnings data have been shown to influence share performance that the capital market would be interested in the consistency by earnings and dividend announcements. This might show the way to a validation effect on share prices. Confirmation from a collection of studies shows that equity value is related to accounting earnings (e.g., Ball and Brown 1968; Barth et al. 1992). However, in more reasonable settings with market imperfections, accounting methods can provide complementary information about book value and earnings. Balance sheet information provides net worth of resources of the firm. These information are based mostly on historical market prices and is therefore mainly independent of the achievement with which the firm currently employs its resources. On the other hand earnings from the financial statement provide a measure of value which reflects that how much of the resources are being employed by the firm from this earnings. There is a relationship between insider trading and the information captured by annual earnings for a large sample of firms. Insider trading changes the annual unexpected earnings. Insider buying interactively confirms the positive information captured by unexpected positive earnings and this communication reduces the noise in unexpected earnings. The result with regard to the adverse information captured by the group with insider selling and negative unexpected earnings is similar but less prominent. The examination also suggests that insider buying and selling conveys information not fully captured by current earnings. From the Ball and Brown (1968) several studies have documented that unexpected changes in earnings are related with unexpected changes in firm. Their work recognize that market agents learn about earnings and valuation related events from many information sources throughout the year. The financial reports issued by companies are the output of a fairly complete measurement process which also involves some preventive recognition and valuation rules. Hence, annual accounting earnings, at the time of its declaration, may contain a summary of some of the information already communicated to the market by more timely non financial sources. Graham and Dood attempted to study the role of the factors which influence share prices of joint stock companies. One naturally feels that the price of the shares of a company at a point of time will be governed by its future growth potential and past earnings. The past earnings of the firm is measured by the dividends and the price will be determined by dividend payout. Future growth potential or the forthcoming earning of the firm is indicated by the current years retained earning; so, the price of the share at a point of time will be governed by the dividend and retained earnings of the firm. The studies indicate that when share prices are related to the retained earnings and current dividends, higher price earning ratio are associated with higher dividends. Graham and Dood assert that the impact of dividend declaration on share price is four times that of retained earnings. Several factors influence the fluctuations of share prices. Among them, corporate earnings stand greatest in the minds of speculators and investors. It is a common belief for many people that current earnings and prices of common stocks move in strongly related and that changes in current earnings largely explanation for the fluctuations of share prices. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS Retianed earning has significant influence on the determination of share prices. To that degree investment in shares show to be growth oriented. Graham and DL Dood ;(1934);Scurity Analysis, USA. The analysis utilized Simple Linear Regression. The most basic test involved regressing the dependent variable Share Prices against the independent variables Retained Earnings. This provided a basic test of the relationship between Share Prices and Retained Earnings. The following regression was adopted: y=a+bx where y is the value of the dependent scale variable Share Prices b is the value of the coefficient, x is the value of the predictor Retained Earnings a Constant The expectation was that the Retained Earnings would be positively related to Share Prices. That is, increases in retained earnings the firm will be associated with an increase in the firms stock price. By contrast, firms with relatively higher earnings volatility or higher leverage will tend to display higher price volatility. DATA All the firms that were listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2008 have been taken for the research purpose. The annual data of these firms were taken from the various issues of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Balance Sheet Analysisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? published by State Bank of Pakistan. Price data has been taken from the annual reports and other annual publications of Karachi Stock Exchange. Data of daily price were taken from the ZHV Securities Karachi. All of those firms taken into account which has no missing information of data of variable that was included in research. Sample size A sample of 38 companies of Textile Industry listed in Karachi stock exchange from the period of 200-2008. Research Model developed Y= a + bx SP= (constant) + RE Statistical Technique Simple Linear Regression was used. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA ANOVAb Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 13595.856 1 13595.856 21.319 .000a Residual 95659.112 150 637.727 Total 109254.968 151 a. Predictors: (Constant), Retained Earnings b. Dependent Variable: Share Prices The ANOVA Table suggested that Retained Earnings explained significant amount of the variance in the Share Price. In above in model table p

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Factors influencing entrepreneurial intention

Factors influencing entrepreneurial intention Purpose- the purpose of this research is to investigate what the causes influenced among students in Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam branch in entrepreneurial intention and to make an evaluation for their entrepreneurship orientation by comparing them with non-entrepreneurially inclined students. Design/methodology/approach- Findings- the result of this test showed that Research limitations/implications- the study comprises respondent 300 of students at all course fields in Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam branch and the percentage of students in the sample who wish to be entrepreneurs is Practical implications This study provides insight into entrepreneurship education, as to which entrepreneurial characteristics can be developed to raise good entrepreneurs. Originality/value This study contributes to understanding the differences between characteristics of entrepreneurially inclined and non-inclined students at the edge of graduation. Nowadays entrepreneurship has captured their attention among people especially teenagers in all over the world. The main reason of this concern is the growing need for entrepreneurs who accelerate economic development through generating new ideas and converting them into money-making ventures. However, it has a more critical role for economies of developing countries since entrepreneurship is seen as an engine of economic progress, job creation and social adjustment. Thus, small business growth or new business formation is widely encouraged by national economic policies to stimulate economic growth and wealth creation. In parallel with developing interest in entrepreneurship throughout the world, Malaysia has also witnessed an increasing interest in entrepreneurship fields both among their academic scholars and amongst government policy makers and business leaders. Obviously, understanding perceptions of students at higher education level is a necessary step in this process. The purp ose of the current study is to analyze the entrepreneurial intention of university students in Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam . Scope of study The scope in this study is the students in Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam. It comprises all the students in all field of study. The respondent involved 300 students and this amount is using for sample survey in this study. Problem statement The interest making money among the teenagers nowadays make intention in entrepreneurship is getting higher. But have a few of them have a desire to open the business but because of lack of entrepreneur knowledge. Research objective Objective in doing this research is to identify: The factor that influenced student in university to do the business before they done their study. The opinion from the students that already have their own business. How they balance their study and business at the same time. Those who have business experiences in their background Research questions What the factors that influenced university student to do the business? Who you prefer to borrow money to open the business? Significance of study The significant of this study is to analyze the entrepreneurial intention of university students. In this study, a model that mainly focuses on the impacts of some contextual factors was proposed and empirically tested on university students. Furthermore, the study contributes to the literature by theorizing and empirically testing how some factors affect entrepreneurial intention of university students. It is believed that the results of study may have some significant implications for the policy makers and educators. INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurship has captured the attention of both scholars and policy makers during the last decades. The main reason of this concern is the growing need for entrepreneurs who accelerate economic development through generating new ideas and converting them into profitable ventures. Entrepreneurial activities are not only the incubators of technological innovation; they provide employment opportunity and increase competitiveness also (Reynolds, 1987; Zahra, 1999). Some scholars primarily focus on the effect of personality characteristics on decision making process (Bonnett and Furnham, 1991; Brockhaus, 1980; Johnson,1990). Although the results vary across the studies, they often indicate a link between entrepreneurial intention and some personality factors, such as self-confidence, risk-taking ability, need to achievement, and locus of control. However, a person is surrounded by an extended range of cultural, social, economical, political, demographical, and technological factors. Therefore, personality traits cannot be isolated from these contextual factors. In the literature, there are some studies that take into account the role of these factors also. For instance, according to Hisrich (1990), people can be pushed or pulled by the situational factors, which are related with their personal backgrounds and present lives. From a broader point of view, the cultural and institutional frameworks also affect entrepreneurship (Wennekers and Thurik, 1999). The review of literature on entrepreneurship shows that most of the scholars have focused on adult entrepreneurs. In these studies, adult entrepreneurs were examined after choosing their entrepreneurial careers. Since people are likely to start a business within the age range of 25 to 44 (Liles, 1974), it is also critical to focus on people who are younger than 25 and understand which factors affect their intentions to start-up a business in the future. As Henderson and Robertson (2000) also stated . . . the future working environment will depend on the creativity and individuality of the young. However, indeed relatively little is known about young adult views on entrepreneurship (p.279). The purpose of the current study is to analyse the entrepreneurial intention of university students. In the study, a model that mainly focuses on the impacts of some contextual factors was proposed and empirically tested on university students. Therefore, the study contributes to the literature by theorizing and empirically testing how some factors affect entrepreneurial intention of university students. It is believed that the results of study may have some significant implications for the policy makers and educators. VARIABLES Dependent variable: Entrepreneur intentions among students. Independent variables: Educational support, structural support and relational support Educational support The first dimension of model is educational support. It is obvious that professional education in universities is an efficient way of obtaining necessary knowledge about entrepreneurship. Although, in their study, Wang and Wong (2004, p. 170) mainly focused on personality characteristics of students, they also pointed out the fact that the entrepreneurial dreams of many students are hindered by inadequate preparation; . . .their business knowledge is insufficient, and more importantly, they are not prepared to take risk to realize their dreams.. In the literature, some studies analyse how these entrepreneurial interests of universities affect entrepreneurial inclination of students. The study of Gorman and Hanlon (1997) showed that entrepreneurial attributes can be positively influenced by educational programmes. It is clear that an effective education on entrepreneurship can be a factor to push people towards an entrepreneurial career (Henderson and Robertson, 2000). Structural support The second factor in the model is structural support which are we are social, cultural, economical, political and technological factors. The current context of entrepreneurship is mainly shaped by economical and political mechanisms, which are governed by the actors in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors. In such a system, there can be some opportunities or threats for entrepreneurs. For instance, if there are some barriers to entry into the market, people might show a lower tendency for entrepreneurship. However, if they find the given conditions adequate and favourable, it might be expected that they are more likely to start a business. Relational support The study of Henderson and Robertson (2000) showed that family was the second factor influencing career choice of respondents after their personal experience. Therefore, the support of family and friends is likely to affect ones career selection. In the current study, this relational support mainly indicates the sentimental and monetary supports of family and friends. If someone knows that there will be such type of support when s/he starts a business, she or he might be encouraged to choose an entrepreneurial career. Moderating variable: Self Confidence The model also considers the impact of one personality trait, self-confidence, as moderator variable. However, the level of self-confidence that is generally defined as believing in oneselfmay influence ones perception as well. Self-confidence is widely accepted as avaluable individual asset and a key to personal success. In their study, BeÂÂ ´nabou and Tirole(2002) explained why an optimistic self-view is seen as a good thing. According to them, self-confidence is valuable because it makes people happier, it makes it easier to convince others (rightly or wrongly) and improves the individuals motivation to undertake projects and persevere in the pursuit of his goals (p.877). Based on this conceptualization, it might be expected that more self-confident people may perceive their environment more favourably than others and have more optimistic perspective about their future. Therefore, if a person has a high level of self-confidence, the strength of the proposed link between educa tional support, structural support, relational support and entrepreneurial intention may also increase. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK Self-Confidence Entrepreneur Interest Structural Support Relational Support Educational Support INDEPENDENT VARIABLES MODERATING DEPENDENT VARIABLE VARIABLE TABLE 1.1: THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK RELATIONSHIP Hypothesis 1: Entrepreneurial intention of university students positively relates with perceived educational support. Hypothesis 2: Entrepreneurial intention relates with perceived structural support. Hypothesis 3: The entrepreneurial intention positively relates to perceived relational support. Moderating hypothesis: 1) The strength of the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and perceived educational support is affected by the level of self-confidence. 2)The strength of the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and perceived structural support is affected by the level of self-confidence. 3) The strength of the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and perceived relational support is affected by the level of self-confidence. 3.1 Research Design 3.1.1 Purpose of study Fostering entrepreneurship needs a twofold policy that should focus on both the current situation and future prospect of entrepreneurship. Although many scholars and policy makers devote their attention to the first foci of issue, it is equally important to map out the future context of entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to fill this void by analyzing the impacts of some contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention of university students. 3.1.2 Type of investigation The type if investigation for this research is correlation study. This is because the researchers want to identify the important of the factors or variables associated with the problem. It is to determine whether relational support, structured support and educational support and the intention to become an entrepreneur among student is correlated. The researchers also want to know what are the significant amount of the independent variables in the intention to become an entrepreneur among student. If they are significant between these two variables, which among these three variables examined is the one that has the greatest association with it, which is the next and which is the third? It is to see if there is any relationship exist among the variables investigated. The answer to this correlational study will help to determine the extent of the intention to become an entrepreneur or to start a business among UiTM students are influenced by the relational support, structured support an d educational support. 3.1.3 Extend of researcher interference with the study. We have study the intention among students towards entrepreneur. In other words, we want to do a correlational study. Here, we will collect data among UiTM students to indicate how much factors of relational, educational and structural influence them to have intention to be an entrepreneur or start the business. By correlating three variables the answer being sought can be found. In this case, beyond administering a questionnaire to the student, we have not interfered with the students` normal activities. In other words, our interference has been at minimal because the variables are beyond our control. It is depends on each of respondents background. 3.1.4 Study setting The study setting of our research is field study. We want to analyze the relationship between the relational, structural and educational support with the intention to become an entrepreneur. We try to correlate between dependent and independent variables by looking at whether the respondents have high level of education, received full support from family members and also the economic situation as the intention to be an entrepreneur increase. Therefore this is a field study. Research here is done in a non contrived setting with no interference with the five independent variables. 3.1.5 Unit of analysis In this study, we want to know factors that influence intention among customers of Bank Islam. For this purpose, data will have to be collected from the sample which is 150 students and the units of analysis are individual. 3.1.6 Time frame The time frame for our research is one-shot or cross-sectional studies. Date was collected from to students between September and October to study the factors that influence intention among UiTM students to participate in entrepreneurship. This is because we only need to gather our data just once that is over a period of weeks, in order to answer the research question. Data with respect to this research had not been collected before, nor will they be collected again for this research. 3.2 Sampling design/case In our research, the sampling design that be used is non probability sampling which is convenience sampling. Convenience sampling refers to the collection of information from members of the population who are conveniently available to provide it. We used these types of sampling design because it is the best way of getting basic information quickly and efficiently and it is also less expensive. In addition, these types of sampling are the most easily accessible to our respondents as subject. These types of sampling are most often used during the exploratory phase of a research project. We do not have the knowledge or predetermine chance of respondents being selected as subject. In thousands of UiTM students, we do not know who the 300 respondents are. 3.3 Data Collection Method 3.2.1 Primary data Primary data refer to information obtained first-hand by the researcher on the variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study. In this research the sources from our primary data is our respondents where we obtained the data through the administered questionnaire. 3.2.2 Secondary Data Secondary data refer to information gathered from sources that already exist. Our secondary source of data is through the analysis of industry offered by the media in the internet which is in form of journal. This information gathered by someone other than the researcher. The advantages of seeking secondary data sources is savings time and costs of acquiring the information. 5.00 Conclusion and Recommendation 5.1 Conclusion The results of survey revealed that only two subsets of proposed model were significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention. The first factor is educational support that indicates mainly a supportive university environment. According to the results, if a university provides adequate knowledge and inspiration for entrepreneurship, the possibility of choosing an entrepreneurial career might increase among young people. It is obvious that this result confirms the key role of education in the development of entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, in the light of the current study, it might be stated that entrepreneurship can be fostered as a result of a learning process. This result is not only interesting from the theoretical point of view, but it is also a challenge for the educators and policy-makers. Since entrepreneurial activities are becoming vital to the economic development of a country, both of these groups might focus on the design of more effective educational policies. Alt hough there is no consensus on the content and structure of entrepreneurship education, the findings of current study showed that universities should, at least, encourage the development of creative ideas for being an entrepreneur, provide the necessary knowledge about entrepreneurship, and develop the entrepreneurial skills. However, the strength of the link between educational support and entrepreneurial intention was not affected by the level of self-confidence. Second factor, which also emerged significant in the survey, is structural support. It is obvious that fostering entrepreneurship requires a more comprehensive support including the collaboration of all sectors in the society. Despite its weak explanatory power, the analysis also showed that this type of structural support might affect entrepreneurial intention of university students. One of the interesting results in the study is the impact of moderating variable on the proposed link between perceived structural support and entrepreneurial intention. The hypothesis test confirmed that self-confident respondents perceive structural support more favorable than others. In this case, the level of self- confidence might affect ones perception on external environment. Although the structural conditions are similar for everyone living in the same context, the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors might vary. Therefore, the structural support for entrepreneurship is very significant to stimulate people to be an entrepreneur. Another interesting result of survey appears when comparing the explanatory powers of educational and structural supports; the former has slightly higher beta coefficient than the latter. In this case, educational support was perceived more important than structural support. The possible reason for this result might be the timing differences between these two support factors. It is clear that the main focus of structural support is existing entrepreneurs in the economy. Although studen ts are currently aware of this support, they might think that this type of large scale supports will affect them in the future. On the other hand, educational support might be perceived as an immediate factor. Therefore, it is logical that the impact of educational support was higher than structural support. 5.2 Limitation of study The current study is subject to some limitations. Firstly, similar to the previous studies in the literature, the study focuses on the intentionality. It is clear that intentions may not turn into actual behaviors in the future. Therefore, even if one respondent stated a high entrepreneurial intention in the survey, s/he might choose a completely different career path in the future. In fact, it has been a common problem for almost all study in the literature and currently there is no other accurate way to measure the tendency for entrepreneurship. Therefore, the statements of respondents about their entrepreneurial intention were taken as a reliable source of information. However, it might be more useful to measure this variable through multiple items in order to reduce measurement error in the further studies.Since the collected data was based on the perceptions of the students, a second limitation might appear on a possible difference between perceptions and reality.Obviously, ther e is always a risk that the perceptions of students on outside world might be different than the reality. The studies that aim to show such realities may indicate that, for instance, the universities are successful to stimulate entrepreneurship or financial system are supporting entrepreneurs sufficiently etc. These types of studies are highly valuable to take a picture of entrepreneurial environment. However, it is equally important to analyse how these given conditions are perceived by entrepreneurs or potential entrepreneurs even if they have limited knowledge of outside world. The current study aims to understand the perceptions of students on the context.Another limitation is that some factors in the model were broadly defined and so broadly measured in the survey. For instance, educational support factor were measured through three broad statements, which assess the education support for stimulating creative ideas, providing knowledge about entrepreneurship, and developing en trepreneurial skills and abilities. The main reason of such broadness is to increase the generalizability of the model and make it available for the use of new studies in different contexts. When considering the variety of entrepreneurship education in all around the world, it might be more reasonable to analyse the general nature of entrepreneurship education, rather than focusing on a specific context. As it is mentioned previously, there is a great variety among universities on the entrepreneurial education even in the same country (GuÂÂ ¨ rol and Atsan, 2006, p. 27).

Monday, August 19, 2019

Virtual Communities, Open Communication, and the End of Nationalism :: Functions of Communication

People have boundaries that are constructed by them to keep unwanted intruders from penetrating. Similarly, countries have the same type of boundaries and borders, both serve as checkpoints and to identify what is trying to penetrate their borders. If we would be willing to create a stronger sense of tolerance and equality, rather than such a strong sense of nationalistic views that tend to separate people, using the technology of the 21st century, then we can actually harness the power, and break down our boundaries both physical and emotional in nature. From Gutenbergs printing press to Thomas Edisons telephone, technology has advanced our lives in many ways. The 21st century is considered to be the computer age, because of the advancement of computers. Whether you go to a school or use a public facility, there are computers at the read for almost anyone who needs one. Computers have paved the way for a stronger communication link between people, whether its across the street or across the world. Computers, also, have helped create a sense of togetherness by creating what has been dubbed as a Virtual Community. In these communities people can come together and unite to share their common characteristics or thoughts, regardless of who is on the other end. John Perry Barlow, a writer and the author of , Is There a There in Cyberspace? describes virtual communities as, A new locale of human community-never mind that the whole thing was being conducted in were words by minds from whom the bodies had been amputated. Never mind that all these people were deaf, dumb, and blind as paramecia or that their town had neither four seasons nor sunsets nor smells (165). Barlows thoughts are that no matter who you are, you can be apart of a community that fits you. The bonds that hold the communities together are a strong relationship and common level for a particular thing, view, and or person. John Hockenberry, who is a news correspondent for NBC, and was a host for the MSNBC show Edgewise, wrote the article, The End of Nationalism?, which speaks about how computers can help countries come together and end our strong sense of nationalism and break down the walls that we put up. To allow people to communicate with those who they traditionally would not socialize would be a real step toward a more peaceful society. In Hockenberrys article End of Nationalism he says, Today it is possible to address the world without having to show a passport that identifies you culturally, ethnically, and religiously (264).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Reasoning and Communication Essay -- Communication

REASONING AND COMMUNICATION The word reasoning comes from the sense of the mind which is closely related to critical thinking. Reasoning can be expressed as the way of making a decision or deciding if a proposed claim is true, partly true, totally untrue or false. Reasoning is an important aspect of our daily life for survival, in educational institutions and in our professions. Reasoning is essential for progression from kindergarten school level to a graduate school level. The definition and meaning are much debated by many educators, but having in these few meanings, It is described as "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication as a guide to belief and action. More recently, critical thinking has been described as the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which uses reasoned consideration of evidence, context, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria. Reasoning is attached to analytic philosophy and pragmatist constructivism dated back to more than 2,000 years ago, then in the Buddha’s lectures and in the Greek Socratic tradition. Reasoning is used to determine so many issues, it sets goals, to determine assumptions, and dig out buried values, to check out and determine evidence, and to assess conclusions. Reasoning helps formulate a solution and also create a desk to critical and complex problems, finding the solution within the mind, what the next action to take, analyzing and synchronizing the best and most quality methods of approach. Reasoning and Critical thinking are related terms. Richard Paul in 1995 articula... ...M., Mericle J., Frush K., Meliones J. (2008). Using Six Sigma Methodology to Improve Handoff Communication in High Risk Patients. In: Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches. Vol. 3. Performance and Tools. AHRQ Publication No. 08-0034-3. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; August 2008. Ruggerio, V.R., "Neglected Issues in the Field of Critical Thinking" in Fasko, D. Critical Thinking and Reasoning: Current Research, Theory, and Practice (2003). ISBN 978-1-57273-460-9 Schramm, W. (1954). How communication works. In W. Schramm (Ed.), The process and effects of communication (pp. 3-26). Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. "So We Need Something Else for Reason to Mean", International Journal of Philosophical Studies 8: 3, 271 — 295. The Origins of the Modern Mind p. 173 see also A Mind So Rare p. 140-1

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Bag of Bones CHAPTER TEN

Around nine o'clock, a pickup came down the driveway and parked behind my Chevrolet. The truck was new a Dodge Ram so clean and chrome-shiny it looked as if the ten-day plates had just come off that morning but it was the same shade of off-white as the last one and the sign on the driver's door was the one I remembered: WILLIAM ‘BILL' DEAN CAMP CHECKING CARETAKING LIGHT CARPENTRY, plus his telephone number. I went out on the back stoop to meet him, coffee cup in my hand. ‘Mike!' Bill cried, climbing down from behind the wheel. Yankee men don't hug that's a truism you can put right up there with tough guys don't dance and real men don't eat quiche but Bill pumped my hand almost hard enough to slop coffee from a cup that was three-quarters empty, and gave me a hearty clap on the back. His grin revealed a splendidly blatant set of false teeth the kind which used to be called Roebuckers, because you got them from the catalogue. It occurred to me in passing that my ancient interlocutor from the Lakeview General Store could have used a pair. It certainly would have improved mealtimes for the nosy old fuck. ‘Mike, you're a sight for sore eyes!' ‘Good to see you, too,' I said, grinning. Nor was it a false grin; I felt all right. Things with the power to scare the living shit out of you on a thundery midnight in most cases seem only interesting in the bright light of a summer morning. ‘You're looking well, my friend.' It was true. Bill was four years older and a little grayer around the edges, but otherwise the same. Sixty-five? Seventy? It didn't matter. There was no waxy look of ill health about him, and none of the falling-away in the face, principally around the eyes and in the cheeks, that I associate with encroaching infirmity. ‘So're you,' he said, letting go of my hand. ‘We was all so sorry about Jo, Mike. Folks in town thought the world of her. It was a shock, with her so young. My wife asked if I'd give you her condolences special. Jo made her an afghan the year she had the pneumonia, and Yvette ain't never forgot it.' ‘Thanks,' I said, and my voice wasn't quite my own for a moment or two. It seemed that on the TR my wife was hardly dead at all. ‘And thank Yvette, too.' ‘Yuh. Everythin okay with the house? Other'n the air conditioner, I mean. Buggardly thing! Them at the Western Auto promised me that part last week, and now they're saying maybe not until August first.' ‘It's okay. I've got my Powerbook. If I want to use it, the kitchen table will do fine for a desk.' And I would want to use it so many crosswords, so little time. ‘Got your hot water okay?' ‘All that's fine, but there is one problem.' I stopped. How did you tell your caretaker you thought your house was haunted? Probably there was no good way; probably the best thing to do was to go at it head-on. I had questions, but I didn't want just to nibble around the edges of the subject and be coy. For one thing, Bill would sense it. He might have bought his false teeth out of a catalogue, but he wasn't stupid. ‘What's on your mind, Mike? Shoot.' ‘I don't know how you're going to take this, but ‘ He smiled in the way of a man who suddenly understands and held up his hand. ‘Guess maybe I know already.' ‘You do?' I felt an enormous sense of relief and I could hardly wait to find out what he had experienced in Sara, perhaps while checking for dead lightbulbs or making sure the roof was holding the snow all right. ‘What did you hear?' ‘Mostly what Royce Merrill and Dickie Brooks have been telling,' he said. ‘Beyond that, I don't know much. Me and mother's been in Virginia, remember. Only got back last night around eight o'clock. Still, it's the big topic down to the store.' For a moment I remained so fixed on Sara Laughs that I had no idea what he was talking about. All I could think was that folks were gossiping about the strange noises in my house. Then the name Royce Merrill clicked and everything else clicked with it. Merrill was the elderly possum with the gold-headed cane and the salacious wink. Old Four-Teeth. My caretaker wasn't talking about ghostly noises; he was talking about Mattie Devore. ‘Let's get you a cup of coffee,' I said. ‘I need you to tell me what I'm stepping in here.' When we were seated on the deck, me with fresh coffee and Bill with a cup of tea (‘Coffee burns me at both ends these days,' he said), I asked him first to tell me the Royce Merrill-Dickie Brooks version of my encounter with Mattie and Kyra. It turned out to be better than I had expected. Both old men had seen me standing at the side of the road with the little girl in my arms, and they had observed my Chevy parked halfway into the ditch with the driver's-side door open, but apparently neither of them had seen Kyra using the white line of Route 68 as a tightrope. As if to compensate for this, however, Royce claimed that Mattie had given me a big my hero hug and a kiss on the mouth. ‘Did he get the part about how I grabbed her by the ass and slipped her some tongue?' I asked. Bill grinned. ‘Royce's imagination ain't stretched that far since he was fifty or so, and that was forty or more year ago.' ‘I never touched her.' Well . . . there had been that moment when the back of my hand went sliding along the curve of her breast, but that had been inadvertent, whatever the young lady herself might think about it. ‘Shite, you don't need to tell me that,' he said. ‘But . . . ‘ He said that but the way my mother always had, letting it trail off on its own, like the tail of some ill-omened kite. ‘But what?' ‘You'd do well to keep your distance from her,' he said. ‘She's nice enough almost a town girl, don't you know but she's trouble.' He paused. ‘No, that ain't quite fair to her. She's in trouble.' ‘The old man wants custody of the baby, doesn't he?' Bill set his teacup down on the deck rail and looked at me with his eyebrows raised. Reflections from the lake ran up his cheek in ripples, giving him an exotic look. ‘How'd you know?' ‘Guesswork, but of the educated variety. Her father-in-law called me Saturday night during the fireworks. And while he never came right out and stated his purpose, I doubt if Max Devore came all the way back to TR-90 in western Maine to repo his daughter-in-law's Jeep and trailer. So what's the story, Bill?' For several moments he only looked at me. It was almost the look of a man who knows you have contracted a serious disease and isn't sure how much he ought to tell you. Being looked at that way made me profoundly uneasy. It also made me feel that I might be putting Bill Dean on the spot. Devore had roots here, after all. And, as much as Bill might like me, I didn't. Jo and I were from away. It could have been worse it could have been Massachusetts or New York but Derry, although in Maine, was still away. ‘Bill? I could use a little navigational help if you ‘ ‘You want to stay out of his way,' he said. His easy smile was gone. ‘The man's mad.' For a moment I thought Bill only meant Devore was pissed off at me, and then I took another look at his face. No, I decided, he didn't mean pissed off; he had used the word ‘mad' in the most literal way. ‘Mad how?' I asked. ‘Mad like Charles Manson? Like Hannibal Lecter? How?' ‘Say like Howard Hughes,' he said. ‘Ever read any of the stories about him? The lengths he'd go to to get the things he wanted? It didn't matter if it was a special kind of hot dog they only sold in L.A. or an airplane designer he wanted to steal from Lockheed or Mcdonnell-Douglas, he had to have what he wanted, and he wouldn't rest until it was under his hand. Devore is the same way. He always was even as a boy he was willful, according to the stories you hear in town. ‘My own dad had one he used to tell. He said little Max Devore broke into Scant Larribee's tack-shed one winter because he wanted the Flexible Flyer Scant give his boy Scooter for Christmas. Back around 1923, this would have been. Devore cut both his hands on broken glass, Dad said, but he got the sled. They found him near midnight, sliding down Sugar Maple Hill, holding his hands up to his chest when he went down. He'd bled all over his mittens and his snowsuit. There's other stories you'll hear about Maxie Devore as a kid if you ask you'll hear fifty different ones and some may even be true. That one about the sled is true, though. I'd bet the farm on it. Because my father didn't lie. It was against his religion.' ‘Baptist?' ‘Nosir, Yankee.' ‘1923 was many moons ago, Bill. Sometimes people change.' ‘Ayuh, but mostly they don't. I haven't seen Devore since he come back and moved into Warrington's, so I can't say for sure, but I've heard things that make me think that if he has changed, it's for the worse. He didn't come all the way across the country 'cause he wanted a vacation. He wants the kid. To him she's just another version of Scooter Larribee's Flexible Flyer. And my strong advice to you is that you don't want to be the window-glass between him and her.' I sipped my coffee and looked out at the lake. Bill gave me time to think, scraping one of his workboots across a splatter of birdshit on the boards while I did it. Crowshit, I reckoned; only crows crap in such long and exuberant splatters. One thing seemed absolutely sure: Mattie Devore was roughly nine miles up Shit Creek with no paddle. I'm not the cynic I was at twenty is anyone? but I wasn't naive enough or idealistic enough to believe the law would protect Ms. Doublewide against Mr. Computer . . . not if Mr. Computer decided to play dirty. As a boy he'd taken the sled he wanted and gone sliding by himself at midnight, bleeding hands not a concern. And as a man? An old man who had been getting every sled he wanted for the last forty years or so? ‘What's the story with Mattie, Bill? Tell me.' It didn't take him long. Country stories are, by and large, simple stories. Which isn't to say they're not often interesting. Mattie Devore had started life as Mattie Stanchfield, not quite from the TR but from just over the line in Motton. Her father had been a logger, her mother a home beautician (which made it, in a ghastly way, the perfect country marriage). There were three kids. When Dave Stanch-field missed a curve over in Lovell and drove a fully loaded pulptruck into Kewadin Pond, his widow ‘kinda lost heart,' as they say. She died soon after. There had been no insurance, other than what Stanchfield had been obliged to carry on his Jimmy and his skidder. Talk about your Brothers Grimm, huh? Subtract the Fisher-Price toys behind the house, the two pole hairdryers in the basement beauty salon, the old rustbucket Toyota in the driveway, and you were right there: Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her three children. Mattie is the princess of the piece poor but beautiful (that she was beautiful I could personally testify). Now enter the prince. In this case he's a gangly stuttering redhead named Lance Devore. The child of Max Devore's sunset years. When Lance met Mattie, he was twenty-one. She had just turned seventeen. The meeting took place at Warrington's, where Mattie had landed a summer job as a waitress. Lance Devore was staying across the lake on the Upper Bay, but on Tuesday nights there were pickup softball games at Warrington's, the townies against the summer folks, and he usually canoed across to play. Softball is a great thing for the Lance Devores of the world; when you're standing at the plate with a bat in your hands, it doesn't matter if you're gangly. And it sure doesn't matter if you stutter. ‘He confused em quite considerable over to Warrington's,' Bill said. ‘They didn't know which team he belonged on the Locals or the Aways. Lance didn't care; either side was fine with him. Some weeks he'd play for one, some weeks t'other. Either one was more than happy to have him, too, as he could hit a ton and field like an angel. They'd put him at first base a lot because he was tall, but he was really wasted there. At second or shortstop . . . my! He'd jump and twirl around like that guy Noriega.' ‘You might mean Nureyev,' I said. He shrugged. ‘Point is, he was somethin to see. And folks liked him. He fit in. It's mostly young folks that play, you know, and to them it's how you do, not who you are. Besides, a lot of em don't know Max Devore from a hole in the ground.' ‘Unless they read The Wall Street Journal and the computer magazines,† I said. ‘In those, you run across the name Devore about as often as you run across the name of God in the Bible.' ‘No foolin?' ‘Well, I guess that in the computer magazines God is more often spelled Gates, but you know what I mean.' ‘I s'pose. But even so, it's been sixty-five years since Max Devore spent any real time on the TR. You know what happened when he left, don't you?' ‘No, why would I?' He looked at me, surprised. Then a kind of veil seemed to fall over his eyes. He blinked and it cleared. ‘Tell you another time it ain't no secret but I need to be over to the Harrimans' by eleven to check their sump-pump. Don't want to get sidetracked. Point I was tryin to make is just this: Lance Devore was accepted as a nice young fella who could hit a softball three hundred and fifty feet into the trees if he struck it just right. There was no one old enough to hold his old man against him not at Warrington's on Tuesday nights, there wasn't and no one held it against him that his family had dough, either. Hell, there are lots of wealthy people here in the summer. You know that. None worth as much as Max Devore, but being rich is only a matter of degree.' That wasn't true, and I had just enough money to know it. Wealth is like the Richter scale-once you pass a certain point, the jumps from one level to the next aren't double or triple but some amazing and ruinous multiple you don't even want to think about. Fitzgerald had it straight, although I guess he didn't believe his own insight: the very rich are different from you and me. I thought of telling Bill that, and decided to keep my mouth shut. He had a sump-pump to fix. Kyra's parents met over a keg of beer stuck in a mudhole. Mattie was running the usual Tuesday-night keg out to the softball field from the main building on a handcart. She'd gotten it most of the way from the restaurant wing with no trouble, but there had been heavy rain earlier in the week, and the cart finally bogged down in a soft spot. Lance's team was up, and Lance was sitting at the end of the bench, waiting his turn to hit. He saw the girl in the white shorts and blue Warrington's polo shirt struggling with the bogged handcart, and got up to help her. Three weeks later they were inseparable and Mattie was pregnant; ten weeks later they were married; thirty-seven months later, Lance Devore was in a coffin, done with softball and cold beer on a summer evening, done with what he called ‘woodsing,' done with fatherhood, done with love for the beautiful princess. Just another early finish, hold the happily-ever-after. Bill Dean didn't describe their meeting in any detail; he only said, ‘They met at the field she was runnin out the beer and he helped her out of a boghole when she got her handcart stuck.' Mattie never said much about that part of it, so I don't know much. Except I do . . . and although some of the details might be wrong, I'd bet you a dollar to a hundred 1 got most of them right. That was my summer for knowing things I had no business knowing. It's hot, for one thing '94 is the hottest summer of the decade and July is the hottest month of the summer. President Clinton is being upstaged by Newt and the Republicans. Folks are saying old Slick Willie may not even run for a second term. Boris Yeltsin is reputed to be either dying of heart disease or in a dry-out clinic. The Red Sox are looking better than they have any right to. In Derry, Johanna Arlen Noonan is maybe starting to feel a little whoopsy in the morning. If so, she does not speak of it to her husband. I see Mattie in her blue polo shirt with her name sewn in white script above her left breast. Her white shorts make a pleasing contrast to her tanned legs. I also see her wearing a blue gimme cap with the red W for Warrington's above the long bill. Her pretty dark-blonde hair is pulled through the hole at the back of the cap and falls to the collar of her shirt. I see her trying to yank the handcart out of the mud without upsetting the keg of beer. Her head is down; the shadow thrown by the bill of the cap obscures all of her face but her mouth and small set chin. ‘Luh-let m-me h-h-help,' Lance says, and she looks up. The shadow cast by the cap's bill falls away, he sees her big blue eyes the ones she'll pass on to their daughter. One look into those eyes and the war is over without a single shot fired; he belongs to her as surely as any young man ever belonged to any young woman. The rest, as they say around here, was just courtin. The old man had three children, but Lance was the only one he seemed to care about. (‘Daughter's crazier'n a shithouse mouse,' Bill said matter-of-factly. ‘In some laughin academy in California. Think I heard she caught her a cancer, too.') The fact that Lance had no interest in computers and software actually seemed to please his father. He had another son who was capable of running the business. In another way, however, Lance Devore's older half-brother wasn't capable at all: there would be no grandchildren from that one. ‘Rump-wrangler,' Bill said. ‘Understand there's a lot of that going around out there in California.' There was a fair amount of it going around on the TR, too, I imagined, but thought it not my place to offer sexual instruction to my caretaker. Lance Devore had been attending Reed College in Oregon, majoring in forestry the kind of guy who falls in love with green flannel pants, red suspenders, and the sight of condors at dawn. A Brothers Grimm woodcutter, in fact, once you got past the academic jargon. In the summer between his junior and senior years, his father had summoned him to the family compound in Palm Springs, and had presented him with a boxy lawyer's suitcase crammed with maps, aerial photos, and legal papers. These had little order that Lance could see, but I doubt that he cared. Imagine a comic-book collector given a crate crammed with rare old copies of Donald Duck. Imagine a movie collector given the rough cut of a never-released film starring Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe. Then imagine this avid young forester realizing that his father owned not just acres or square miles in the vast unincorporated forests of western Maine, but entire realms. Although Max Devore had left the TR in 1933, he'd kept a lively interest in the area where he'd grown up, subscribing to area newspapers and getting magazines such as Down East and the Maine Times. In the early eighties, he had begun to buy long columns of land just east of the Maine-New Hampshire border. God knew there had been plenty for sale; the paper companies which owned most of it had fallen into a recessionary pit, and many had become convinced that their New England holdings and operations would be the best place to begin retrenching. So this land, stolen from the Indians and clear-cut ruthlessly in the twenties and fifties, came into Max Devore's hands. He might have bought it just because it was there, a good bargain he could afford to take advantage of. He might have bought it as a way of demonstrating to himself that he had really survived his childhood; had, in point of fact, triumphed over it. Or he might have bought it as a toy for his beloved younger son. In the years when Devore was making his major land purchases in western Maine, Lance would have been just a kid . . . but old enough for a perceptive father to see where his interests were tending. Devore asked Lance to spend the summer of 1994 surveying purchases which were, for the most part, already ten years old. He wanted the boy to put the paperwork in order, but he wanted more than that he wanted Lance to make sense of it. It wasn't a land-use recommendation he was looking for, exactly, although I guess he would have listened if Lance had wanted to make one; he simply wanted a sense of what he had purchased. Would Lance take a summer in western Maine trying to find out what his sense of it was? At a salary of two or three thousand dollars a month? I imagine Lance's reply was a more polite version of Buddy Jellison's ‘Does a crow shit in the pine tops?' The kid arrived in June of 1994 and set up shop in a tent on the far side of Dark Score Lake. He was due back at Reed in late August. Instead, though, he decided to take a year's leave of absence. His father wasn't pleased. His father smelled what he called ‘girl trouble.' ‘Yeah, but it's a damned long sniff from California to Maine,' Bill Dean said, leaning against the driver's door of his truck with his sunburned arms folded. ‘He had someone a lot closer than Palm Springs doin his sniffin for him.' ‘What are you talking about?' I asked. †Bout talk. People do it for free, and most are willing to do even more if they're paid.' ‘People like Royce Merrill?' ‘Royce might be one,' he agreed, ‘but he wouldn't be the only one. Times around here don't go between bad and good; if you're a local, they mostly go between bad and worse. So when a guy like Max Devore sends a guy out with a supply of fifty- and hundred-dollar bills . . . ‘ ‘Was it someone local? A lawyer?' Not a lawyer; a real-estate broker named Richard Osgood (‘a greasy kind of fella' was Bill Dean's judgment of him) who denned and did business in Motton. Eventually Osgood had hired a lawyer from Castle Rock. The greasy fella's initial job, when the summer of '94 ended and Lance Devore remained on the TR, was to find out what the hell was going on and put a stop to it. ‘And then?' I asked. Bill glanced at his watch, glanced at the sky, then centered his gaze on me. He gave a funny little shrug, as if to say, ‘We're both men of the world, in a quiet and settled sort of way you don't need to ask a silly question like that.' ‘Then Lance Devore and Mattie Stanchfield got married in the Grace Baptist Church right up there on Highway 68. There were tales made the rounds about what Osgood might've done to keep it from comin off I heard he even tried to bribe Reverend Gooch into refusin to hitch em, but I think that's stupid, they just would have gone someplace else. ‘Sides, I don't see much sense in repeating what I don't know for sure.' Bill unfolded an arm and began to tick items off on the leathery fingers of his right hand. ‘They got married in the middle of September, 1994, I know that.' Out popped the thumb. ‘People looked around with some curiosity to see if the groom's father would put in an appearance, but he never did.' Out popped the forefinger. Added to the thumb, it made a pistol. ‘Mattie had a baby in April of '95, making the kiddie a dight premature . . . but not enough to matter. I seen it in the store with my own eyes when it wasn't a week old, and it was just the right size.' Out with the second finger. ‘I don't know that Lance Devore's old man absolutely refused to help em financially, but I do know they were living in that trailer down below Dickie's Garage, and that makes me think they were havin a pretty hard skate.' ‘Devore put on the choke-chain,' I said. ‘It's what a guy used to getting his own way would do . . . but if he loved the boy the way you seem to think, he might have come around.' ‘Maybe, maybe not.' He glanced at his watch again. ‘Let me finish up quick and get out of your sunshine . . . but you ought to hear one more little story, because it really shows how the land lies. ‘In July of last year, less'n a month before he died, Lance Devore shows up at the post-office counter in the Lakeview General. He's got a manila envelope he wants to send, but first he needs to show Carla DeCinces what's inside. She said he was all fluffed out, like daddies sometimes get over their kids when they're small.' I nodded, amused at the idea of skinny, stuttery Lance Devore all fluffed out. But I could see it in my mind's eye, and the image was also sort of sweet. ‘It was a studio pitcher they'd gotten taken over in the Rock. Showed the kid . . . what's her name? Kayla?' ‘Kyra.' ‘Ayuh, they call em anything these days, don't they? It showed Kyra sittin in a big leather chair, with a pair of joke spectacles on her little snub of a nose, lookin at one of the aerial photos of the woods over across the lake in TR-100 or TR-110 part of what the old man had picked up, anyway. Carla said the baby had a surprised look on her face, as if she hadn't suspected there could be so much woods in the whole world. Said it was awful cunnin, she did.' ‘Cunnin as a cat a-runnin,' I murmured. ‘And the envelope Registered, Express Mail was addressed to Maxwell Devore, in Palm Springs, California.' ‘Leading you to deduce that the old man either thawed enough to ask for a picture of his only grandchild, or that Lance Devore thought a picture might thaw him.' Bill nodded, looking as pleased as a parent whose child has managed a difficult sum. ‘Don't know if it did,' he said. ‘Wasn't enough time to tell, one way or the other. Lance had bought one of those little satellite dishes, like what you've got here. There was a bad storm the day he put it up hail, high wind, blowdowns along the lakeshore, lots of lightnin. That was along toward evening. Lance put his dish up in the afternoon, all done and safe, except around the time the storm commenced he remembered he'd left his socket wrench on the trailer roof. He went up to get it so it wouldn't get all wet n rusty ‘ ‘He was struck by lightning? Jesus, Bill!' ‘Lightnin struck, all right, but it hit across the way. You go past the place where Wasp Hill Road runs into 68 and you'll see the stump of the tree that stroke knocked over. Lance was comin down the ladder with his socket wrench when it hit. If you've never had a lightnin bolt tear right over your head, you don't know how scary it is it's like havin a drunk driver veer across into your lane, headed right for you, and then swing back onto his own side just in time. Close lightnin makes your hair stand up makes your damned prick stand up. It's apt to play the radio on your steel fillins, it makes your ears hum, and it makes the air taste roasted. Lance fell off the ladder. If he had time to think anything before he hit the ground, I bet he thought he was electrocuted. Poor boy. He loved the TR, but it wasn't lucky for him.' ‘Broke his neck?' ‘Ayuh. With all the thunder, Mattie never heard him fall or yell or anything. She looked out a minute or two later when it started to hail and he still wasn't in. And there he was, layin on the ground and lookin up into the friggin hail with his eyes open.' Bill looked at his watch one final time, then swung open the door to his truck. ‘The old man wouldn't come for their weddin, but he came for his son's funeral and he's been here ever since. He didn't want nawthin to do with the young woman ‘ ‘But he wants the kid,' I said. It was no more than what I already knew, but I felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach just the same. Don't talk about this, Mattie had asked me on the morning of the Fourth. It's not a good time for Ki and me. ‘How far along in the process has he gotten?' ‘On the third turn and headin into the home stretch, I sh'd say. There'll be a hearin in Castle County Superior Court, maybe later this month, maybe next. The judge could rule then to hand the girl over, or put it off until fall. I don't think it matters which, because the one thing that's never going to happen on God's green earth is a rulin in favor of the mother. One way or another, that little girl is going to grow up in California.† Put that way, it gave me a very nasty little chill. Bill slid behind the wheel of his truck. ‘Stay out of it, Mike,' he said. ‘Stay away from Mattie Devore and her daughter. And if you get called to court on account of seem the two of em on Saturday, smile a lot and say as little as you can.' ‘Max Devore's charging that she's unfit to raise the child.' ‘Ayuh.' ‘Bill, I saw the child, and she's fine.' He grinned again, but this time there was no amusement in it. †Magine she is. But that's not the point. Stay clear of their business, old boy. It's my job to tell you that; with Jo gone, I guess I'm the only caretaker you got.' He slammed the door of his Ram, started the engine, reached for the gearshift, then dropped his hand again as something else occurred to him. ‘If you get a chance, you ought to look for the owls.' ‘What owls?' ‘There's a couple of plastic owls around here someplace. They might be in y'basement or out in Jo's studio. They come in by mail-order the fall before she passed on.' ‘The fall of 1993?' ‘Ayuh.' ‘That can't be right.' We hadn't used Sara in the fall of 1993. †Tis, though. I was down here puttin on the storm doors when Jo showed up. We had us a natter, and then the UPS truck come. I lugged the box into the entry and had a coffee I was still drinkin it then while she took the owls out of the carton and showed em off to me. Gorry, but they looked real! She left not ten minutes after. It was like she'd come down to do that errand special, although why anyone'd drive all the way from Derry to take delivery of a couple of plastic owls I don't know.' ‘When in the fall was it, Bill? Do you remember?' ‘Second week of November,' he said promptly. ‘Me n the wife went up to Lewiston later that afternoon, to ‘Vette's sister's. It was her birthday. On our way back we stopped at the Castle Rock Agway so ‘Vette could get her Thanksgiving turkey.' He looked at me curiously. ‘You really didn't know about them owls?' ‘No.' ‘That's a touch peculiar, wouldn't you say?' ‘Maybe she told me and I forgot,' I said. ‘I guess it doesn't matter much now in any case.' Yet it seemed to matter. It was a small thing, but it seemed to matter. ‘Why would Jo want a couple of plastic owls to begin with?' ‘To keep the crows from shittin up the woodwork, like they're doing out on your deck. Crows see those plastic owls, they veer off.' I burst out laughing in spite of my puzzlement . . . or perhaps because of it. ‘Yeah? That really works?' ‘Ayuh, long's you move em every now and then so the crows don't get suspicious. Crows are just about the smartest birds going, you know. You look for those owls, save yourself a lot of mess.' ‘I will,' I said. Plastic owls to scare the crows away it was exactly the sort of knowledge Jo would come by (she was like a crow herself in that way, picking up glittery pieces of information that happened to catch her interest) and act upon without bothering to tell me. All at once I was lonely for her again missing her like hell. ‘Good. Some day when I've got more time, we'll walk the place all the way around. Woods too, if you want. I think you'll be satisfied.' ‘I'm sure I will. Where's Devore staying?' The bushy eyebrows went up. ‘Warrington's. Him and you's practically neighbors. I thought you must know.' I remembered the woman I'd seen black bathing-suit and black shorts somehow combining to give her an exotic cocktail-party look and nodded. ‘I met his wife.' Bill laughed heartily enough at that to feel in need of his handkerchief. He fished it off the dashboard (a blue paisley thing the size of a football pennant) and wiped his eyes. ‘What's so funny?' I asked. ‘Skinny woman? White hair? Face sort of like a kid's Halloween mask?' It was my turn to laugh. ‘That's her.' ‘She ain't his wife, she's his whatdoyoucallit, personal assistant. Rogette Whitmore is her name.' He pronounced it ro-GET, with a hard G. ‘Devore's wives're all dead. The last one twenty years.' ‘What kind of name is Rogette? French?' ‘California,' he said, and shrugged as if that one word explained everything. ‘There's people in town scared of her.' ‘Is that so?' ‘Ayuh.' Bill hesitated, then added with one of those smiles we put on when we want others to know that we know we're saying something silly: ‘Brenda Meserve says she's a witch.' ‘And the two of them have been staying at Warrington's almost a year?' ‘Ayuh. The Whitmore woman comes n goes, but mostly she's been here. Thinkin in town is that they'll stay until the custody case is finished off, then all go back to California on Devore's private jet. Leave Osgood to sell Warrington's, and ‘ ‘Sell it? What do you mean, sell it?' ‘I thought you must know,' Bill said, dropping his gearshift into drive. ‘When old Hugh Emerson told Devore they closed the lodge after Thanksgiving, Devore told him he had no intention of moving. Said he was comfortable right where he was and meant to stay put.' ‘He bought the place.' I had been by turns surprised, amused, and angered over the last twenty minutes, but never exactly dumbfounded. Now I was. ‘He bought Warrington's Lodge so he wouldn't have to move to Lookout Rock Hotel over in Castle View, or rent a house.' ‘Ayuh, so he did. Nine buildins, includin the main lodge and The Sunset Bar; twelve acres of woods, a six-hole golf course, and five hundred feet of shorefront on The Street. Plus a two-lane bowlin alley and a softball field. Four and a quarter million. His friend Osgood did the deal and Devore paid with a personal check. I wonder how he found room for all those zeros. See you, Mike.' With that he backed up the driveway, leaving me to stand on the stoop, looking after him with my mouth open. Plastic owls. Bill had told me roughly two dozen interesting things in between peeks at his watch, but the one which stayed on top of the pile was the fact (and I did accept it as a fact; he had been too positive for me not to) that Jo had come down here to take delivery on a couple of plastic goddam owls. Had she told me? She might have. I didn't remember her doing so, and it seemed to me that I would have, but Jo used to claim that when I got in the zone it was no good to tell me anything; stuff went in one ear and out the other. Sometimes she'd pin little notes errands to run, calls to make to my shirt, as if I were a first-grader. But wouldn't I recall if she'd said ‘I'm going down to Sara, hon, UPS is delivering something I want to receive personally, interested in keeping a lady company?' Hell wouldn't I have gone? I always liked an excuse to go to the TR. Except I'd been working on that screenplay . . . and maybe pushing it a little . . . notes pinned to the sleeve of my shirt . . . If you go out when you're finished, we need milk and orange juice . . . I inspected what little was left of Jo's vegetable garden with the July sun beating down on my neck and thought about owls, the plastic god-dam owls. Suppose Jo had told me she was coming down here to Sara Laughs? Suppose I had declined almost without hearing the offer because I was in the writing zone? Even if you granted those things, there was another question: why had she felt the need to come down here personally when she could have just called someone and asked them to meet the delivery truck? Kenny Auster would have been happy to do it, ditto Mrs. M. And Bill Dean, our caretaker, had actually been here. This led to other questions one was why she hadn't just had UPS deliver the damned things to Derry and finally I decided I couldn't live without actually seeing a bona fide plastic owl for myself. Maybe, I thought, going back to the house, I'd put one on the roof of my Chew when it was parked in the driveway. Forestall future bombing runs. I paused in the entry, struck by a sudden idea, and called Ward Hankins, the guy in Waterville who handles my taxes and my few non-writing-related business affairs. ‘Mike,' he said heartily. ‘How's the lake?' ‘The lake's cool and the weather's hot, just the way we like it,' I said. ‘Ward, you keep all the records we send you for five years, don't you? Just in case IRS decides to give us some grief?' ‘Five is accepted practice,' he said, ‘but I hold your stuff for seven in the eyes of the tax boys, you're a mighty fat pigeon.' Better a fat pigeon than a plastic owl, I thought but didn't say. What I said was ‘That includes desk calendars, right? Mine and. Jo's, up until she died?' ‘You bet. Since neither of you kept diaries, it was the best way to cross-reference receipts and claimed expenses with ‘ ‘Could you find Jo's desk calendar for 1993 and see what she had going in the second week of November?' ‘Td be happy to. What in particular are you looking for?' For a moment I saw myself sitting at my kitchen table in Derry on my first night as a widower, holding up a box with the words Norco Home Pregnancy Test printed on the side. Exactly what was I looking for at this late date? Considering that I had loved the lady and she was almost four years in her grave, what was I looking for? Besides trouble, that was? ‘I'm looking for two plastic owls,' I said. Ward probably thought I was talking to him, but I'm not sure I was. ‘I know that sounds weird, but it's what I'm doing. Can you call me back?' ‘Within the hour.' ‘Good man,' I said, and hung up. Now for the actual owls themselves. Where was the most likely spot to store two such interesting artifacts? My eyes went to the cellar door. Elementary, my dear Watson. The cellar stairs were dark and mildly dank. As I stood on the landing groping for the lightswitch, the door banged shut behind me with such force that I cried out in surprise. There was no breeze, no draft, the day was perfectly still, but the door banged shut just the same. Or was sucked shut. I stood in the dark at the top of the stairs, feeling for the lightswitch, smelling that oozy smell that even good concrete foundations get after awhile if there is no proper airing-out. It was cold, much colder than it had been on the other side of the door. I wasn't alone and I knew it. I was afraid, I'd be a liar to say I wasn't . . . but I was also fascinated. Something was with me. Something was in here with me. I dropped my hand away from the wall where the switch was and just stood with my arms at my sides. Some time passed. I don't know how much. My heart was beating furiously in my chest; I could feel it in my temples. It was cold. ‘Hello?' I asked. Nothing in response. I could hear the faint, irregular drip of water as condensation fell from one of the pipes down below, I could hear my own breathing, and faintly far away, in another world where the sun was out I could hear the triumphant caw of a crow. Perhaps it had just dropped a load on the hood of my car. I really need an owl, I thought. In fact, I don't know how I ever got along without one. ‘Hello?' I asked again. ‘Can you talk?' Nothing. I wet my lips. I should have felt silly, perhaps, standing there in the dark and calling to the ghosts. But I didn't. Not a bit. The damp had been replaced by a coldness I could feel, and I had company. Oh, yes. ‘Can you tap, then? If you can shut the door, you must be able to tap.' I stood there and listened to the soft, isolated drips from the pipes. There was nothing else. I was reaching out for the lightswitch again when there was a soft thud from not far below me. The cellar of Sara Laughs is high, and the upper three feet of the concrete the part which lies against the ground's frost-belt had been insulated with big silver-backed panels of Insu-Gard. The sound that I heard was, I am quite sure, a fist striking against one of these. Just a fist hitting a square of insulation, but every gut and muscle of my body seemed to come unwound. My hair stood up. My eyesockets seemed to be expanding and my eyeballs contracting, as if my head were trying to turn into a skull. Every inch of my skin broke out in gooseflesh. Something was in here with me. Very likely something dead. I could no longer have turned on the light if I'd wanted to. I no longer had the strength to raise my arm. I tried to talk, and at last, in a husky whisper I hardly recognized, I said: ‘Are you really there?' Thud. ‘Who are you?' I could still do no better than that husky whisper, the voice of a man giving last instructions to his family as he lies on his deathbed. This time there was nothing from below. I tried to think, and what came to my struggling mind was Tony Curtis as Harry Houdini in some old movie. According to the film, Houdini had been the Diogenes of the Ouija board circuit, a guy who spent his spare time just looking for an honest medium. He'd attended one s? ¦ance where the dead communicated by ‘Tap once for yes, twice for no,' I said. ‘Can you do that?' Thud. It was on the stairs below me . . . but not too far below. Five steps down, six or seven at most. Not quite close enough to touch if I should reach out and wave my hand in the black basement air . . . a thing I could imagine, but not actually imagine doing. ‘Are you . . . ‘ My voice trailed off. There was simply no strength in my diaphragm. Chilly air lay on my chest like a flatiron. I gathered all my will and tried again. ‘Are you Jo?' Thud. That soft fist on the insulation. A pause, and then: Thud-thud. Yes and no. Then, with no idea why I was asking such an inane question: ‘Are the owls down here?' Thud-thud. ‘Do you know where they are?' Thud. ‘Should I look for them?' Thud! Very hard. Why did she want them? I could ask, but the thing on the stairs had no way to an Hot fingers touched my eyes and I almost screamed before realizing it was sweat. I raised my hands in the dark and wiped the heels of them up my face to the hairline. They skidded as if on oil. Cold or not, I was all but bathing in my own sweat. ‘Are you Lance Devore?' Thud-thud, at once. ‘Is it safe for me at Sara? Am I safe?' Thud. A pause. And I knew it was a pause, that the thing on the stairs wasn't finished. Then: Thud-thud. Yes, I was safe. No, I wasn't safe. I had regained marginal control of my arm. I reached out, felt along the wall, and found the lightswitch. I settled my fingers on it. Now the sweat on my face felt as if it were turning to ice. ‘Are you the person who cries in the night?' I asked. Thud-thud from below me, and between the two thuds, I flicked the switch. The cellar globes came on. So did a brilliant hanging bulb at least a hundred and twenty-five watts over the landing. There was no time for anyone to hide, let alone get away, and no one there to try, either. Also, Mrs. Meserve admirable in so many ways had neglected to sweep the cellar stairs. When I went down to where I estimated the thudding sounds had been coming from, I left tracks in the light dust. But mine were the only ones. I blew out breath in front of me and could see it. So it had been cold, still was cold . . . but it was warming up fast. I blew out another breath and could see just a hint of fog. A third exhale and there was nothing. I ran my palm over one of the insulated squares. Smooth. I pushed a finger at it, and although I didn't push with any real force, my finger left a dimple in the silvery surface. Easy as pie. If someone had been thumping a fist down here, this stuff should be pitted, the thin silver skin perhaps even broken to reveal the pink fill underneath. But all the squares were smooth. ‘Are you still there?' I asked. No response, and yet I had a sense that my visitor was still there. Somewhere. ‘I hope I didn't offend you by turning on the light,' I said, and now I did feel slightly odd, standing on my cellar stairs and talking out loud, sermonizing to the spiders. ‘I wanted to see you if I could.' I had no idea if that was true or not. Suddenly so suddenly I almost lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs I whirled around, convinced the shroud-creature was behind me, that it had been the thing knocking, it, no polite M. R. James ghost but a horror from around the rim of the universe. There was nothing. I turned around again, took two or three deep, steadying breaths, and then went the rest of the way down the cellar stairs. Beneath them was a perfectly serviceable canoe, complete with paddle. In the corner was the gas stove we'd replaced after buying the place; also the claw-foot tub Jo had wanted (over my objections) to turn into a planter. I found a trunk filled with vaguely recalled table-linen, a box of mildewy cassette tapes (groups like the Delfonics, Funkadelic, and. 38 Special), several cartons of old dishes. There was a life down here, but ultimately not a very interesting one. Unlike the life I'd sensed in Jo's studio, this one hadn't been cut short but evolved out of, shed like old skin, and that was all right. Was, in fact, the natural order of things. There was a photo album on a shelf of knickknacks and I took it down, both curious and wary. No bombshells this time, however; nearly all the pix were landscape shots of Sara Laughs as it had been when we bought it. I found a picture of Jo in bellbottoms, though (her hair parted in the middle and white lipstick on her mouth), and one of Michael Noonan wearing a flowered shirt and muttonchop sideburns that made me cringe (the bachelor Mike in the photo was a Barry White kind of guy I didn't want to recognize and yet did). I found Jo's old broken treadmill, a rake I'd want if I was still around here come fall, a snowblower I'd want even more if I was around come winter, and several cans of paint. What I didn't find was any plastic owls. My insulation-thumping friend had been right. Upstairs the telephone started ringing. I hurried to answer it, going out through the cellar door and then reaching back in to flick off the lightswitch. This amused me and at the same time seemed like perfectly normal behavior . . . just as being careful not to step on sidewalk cracks had seemed like perfectly normal behavior to me when I was a kid. And even if it wasn't normal, what did it matter? I'd only been back at Sara for three days, but already I'd postulated Noonan's First Law of Eccentricity: when you're on your own, strange behavior really doesn't seem strange at all. I snagged the cordless. ‘Hello?' ‘Hi, Mike. It's Ward.' ‘That was quick.' ‘The file-room's just a short walk down the hall,' he said. ‘Easy as pie. There's only one thing on Jo's calendar for the second week of November in 1993. It says ‘S-Ks of Maine, Freep, 11 A.M.' That's on Tuesday the sixteenth. Does it help?' ‘Yes,' I said. ‘Thank you, Ward. It helps a lot.' I broke the connection and put the phone back in its cradle. Yes, it helped. S-Ks of Maine was Soup Kitchens of Maine. Jo had been on their board of directors from 1992 until her death. Freep was Freeport. It must have been a board meeting. They had probably discussed plans for feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving . . . and then Jo had driven the seventy or so miles to the TR in order to take delivery of two plastic owls. It didn't answer all the questions, but aren't there always questions in the wake of a loved one's death? And no statute of limitations on when they come up. The UFO voice spoke up then. While you're right here by the phone, it said, why not call Bonnie Amudson? Say hi, see how she's doing? Jo had been on four different boards during the nineties, all of them doing charitable work. Her friend Bonnie had persuaded her onto the Soup Kitchens board when a seat fell vacant. They had gone to a lot of the meetings together. Not the one in November of 1993, presumably, and Bonnie could hardly be expected to remember that one particular meeting almost five years later . . . but if she'd saved her old minutes-of-the-meeting sheets . . . Exactly what the fuck was I thinking of? Calling Bonnie, making nice, then asking her to check her December 1993 minutes? Was I going to ask her if the attendance report had my wife absent from the November meeting? Was I going to ask if maybe Jo had seemed different that last year of her life? And when Bonnie asked me why I wanted to know, what would I say? Give me that, Jo had snarled in my dream of her. In the dream she hadn't looked like Jo at all, she'd looked like some other woman, maybe like the one in the Book of Proverbs, the strange woman whose lips were as honey but whose heart was full of gall and wormwood. A strange woman with fingers as cold as twigs after a frost. Give me that, it's my dust-catcher. I went to the cellar door and touched the knob. I turned it . . . then let it go. I didn't want to look down there into the dark, didn't want to risk the chance that something might start thumping again. It was better to leave that door shut. What I wanted was something cold to drink. I went into the kitchen, reached for the fridge door, then stopped. The magnets were back in a circle again, but this time four letters and one number had been pulled into the center and lined up there. They spelled a single lower-case word: hello There was something here. Even back in broad daylight I had no doubt of that. I'd asked if it was safe for me to be here and had received a mixed message . . . but that didn't matter. If I left Sara now, there was nowhere to go. I had a key to the house in Derry, but matters had to be resolved here. I knew that, too. ‘Hello,' I said, and opened the fridge to get a soda. ‘Whoever or whatever you are, hello.'