A Dirty Job Chapter 17

17 WAS IT GOOD FOR YOU? The next morning, Jane's girlfriend Cassie heard someone in the hall and opened the door. Charlie stood there, covered in blood, black goo, and smelling of sandalwood and almond oil; he had a cut over his ear, blood crusted in his nose, the front of his pants were in shreds, and there were tiny black feathers stuck to him everywhere. â€Å"Why, Charlie,† she said, somewhat surprised, â€Å"it appears that I underestimated you. When you decide to get your freak on, you do not mess around.† â€Å"Shower,† Charlie said. â€Å"Daddy!† Sophie called from her bedroom. She came running out with arms thrown wide, followed by two giant dogs and a lesbian aunt in Brooks Brothers. Halfway across the living room she saw her father, turned, and went squealing out of the room in terror. Jane pulled up by the couch and stared. â€Å"Jesus, Chuck, what'd you do, try to fuck a leopard?† â€Å"Something like that,† Charlie said. He stumbled by her and went through his bedroom to the master bath. Jane looked at Cassandra, who was trying to keep her smile from breaking into laughter. â€Å"You wanted him to get out more.† â€Å"You tell him about Mom?† Jane said. â€Å"Thought that news should come from you,† said Cassandra. Well, guns suck, I can tell you that,† said Babd, the most recent of the three death divas to make an appearance Above. â€Å"Sure, they look great from down here, but up close – noisy, impersonal – give me a battle-ax or a cudgel any day.† â€Å"I like to cudgel,† said Macha, who had her claws up inside Madison McKerny's severed head and was working the mouth like a hand puppet. â€Å"It's your own fault,† scolded Nemain. She had one of Madison McKerny's silicone implants – bits of fuck-puppet gore still clinging to it – and was pressing it to Babd's wounds to heal them. Even as the black flesh regenerated, the red glow in the implant dimmed. â€Å"We're wasting the power in these. And after waiting years to get another soul?† Babd sighed. â€Å"I suppose in retrospect the hand job wasn't such a great idea.† â€Å"I suppose the hand job wasn't such a great idea,† mocked Macha's hand puppet. â€Å"I did that on the battlefields of the North, what, ten thousand times?† said Babd. â€Å"A final wank for the dying warrior – just seemed like the least I could do. I'm especially good at it, you know. It takes a powerful touch to keep a soldier hard when his guts are running between his fingers.† â€Å"She is good at it,† said Orcus. â€Å"I'll vouch for that.† He leaned back on his throne to display three feet of black, bull death-wood to show his enthusiasm. â€Å"Not now, I just did my lipstick,† puppeted Macha with the head, making its eyes bug out with her claws so it appeared that the dead girl was impressed by Orcus's prodigious unit. They all snickered. She'd had Orcus and her Morrigan sisters giggling all morning with her puppet show, putting the implants on a shelf and working the head above them. â€Å"Of course they're real, he really paid for them, didn't he?† They'd been giddy since pulling the soul vessels out of the fuck puppet's grave, that victory even overshadowing Babd's failure to kill the Death Merchant. But as the light ebbed out of the implants, their mood darkened. Nemain threw the useless implant against the bulkhead of the ship and it exploded and spattered the room with clear goo. â€Å"What a waste,† she growled. â€Å"We will take the Above, and I will eat his liver while he watches.† â€Å"What is it with you and eating livers?† Babd said. â€Å"I hate liver.† â€Å"Patience, Princesses,† said Orcus as he weighed the remaining implant in his talon. â€Å"We were a thousand years coming to this place, for this battle, a few more to gather our force will but make the victory sweeter.† He snatched the head away from Macha and took a bite out of it as if it were a crisp, ripe plum. â€Å"You really could have passed on the hand job, though,† he said, spraying bits of brain at Babd. I've got us on a flight to Phoenix at two,† Jane said. â€Å"We connect there to a commuter and we're in Sedona by suppertime.† Charlie had just come out of the shower and wore only a pair of fresh jeans. He was drying his hair with a beige towel, leaving red streaks on it from his still-bleeding scalp. He sat down on the bed. â€Å"Wait, wait, wait. How long has she known?† â€Å"They diagnosed her six months ago. It had already spread from her colon to her other organs.† â€Å"And she waited until now to tell us.† â€Å"She didn't tell us. A guy named Buddy called. Evidently they've been living together. He said she didn't want us to worry. He broke down on the phone.† â€Å"Mom's living with a guy?† Charlie was staring at the red stripes on the towel. He'd been up all night, trying to explain to Inspector Rivera what had happened in the alley, without actually telling him anything. He was bleeding, battered, exhausted, and his mother was dying. â€Å"I can't believe her. She flipped when Rachel moved in before we were married.† â€Å"Yeah, well, you can yell at her for being a hypocrite when you see her tonight.† â€Å"I can't go, Jane. I have the store, and Sophie – she's too little for something like this.† â€Å"I called Ray and Lily, they've got the shop covered. Cassandra will watch Sophie overnight and the Communist-bloc ladies can watch her until Cassie gets home from work.† â€Å"Cassie's not coming with you?† â€Å"Charlie, Mom still refers to me as her tomboy.† â€Å"Oh yeah, sorry.† Charlie sighed. He was nostalgic for the days when Jane was the freak in the family and he was the normal one. â€Å"You going to try to reconcile that with her?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't really have a plan. I don't even know if she's lucid. I've been on autopilot since I heard. I was waiting for you to get home so I could fall apart.† Charlie stood up, went to his sister, and put his arms around her. â€Å"You did great. I'm back, I got it from here. What do you need?† She hugged him back, then pushed back with tears in her eyes. â€Å"I need to go home and pack. I'll come by at noon with a cab to get you, okay?† â€Å"I'll be ready.† He shook his head. â€Å"I can't believe Mom is living with a guy.† â€Å"A guy named Buddy,† Jane said. â€Å"The slut,† Charlie said. Jane laughed, which is all that Charlie wanted right then. Lois Asher was sleeping when Charlie and Jane arrived at her home in Sedona. A potbellied sunburned man wearing Bermuda shorts and a safari shirt let them in: Buddy. He sat at the kitchen table with Charlie and Jane, and professed his love for their mother, told them about his own life as an aircraft mechanic in Illinois before he retired, then recited a play-by-play of what they had done since Lois had been diagnosed. She'd gone through three courses of chemotherapy, then, sick and hairless, she had given in. Charlie and Jane looked at each other, feeling guilty that they hadn't been there to help. â€Å"She didn't want to bother you two,† Buddy said. â€Å"She's been acting like dying was something she could do in her spare time, between hair appointments.† Charlie snapped to attention. That was the kind of thing he'd thought to himself several times when he was retrieving a soul vessel and had seen people who were so far in denial about what was happening to them that they were still buying five-year calendars. â€Å"Women, what are you gonna do with 'em,† Buddy said, winking at Jane. Charlie suddenly felt a great wave of affection for this sunburned little bald guy who his mother was shacked up with. â€Å"We want to thank you for being here for her, Buddy.† â€Å"Yeah.† Jane nodded, still looking a little dazed. â€Å"Well, I'm here for the whole shebang, and then some, if you need me.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"We will.† And they would, because it was immediately evident to Charlie that Buddy was going to hang on himself only as long as he felt he was needed. â€Å"Buddy,† said a soft female voice from behind Charlie. He turned to see a big, thirtyish woman in scrubs: another hospice worker – another of the amazing women that Charlie had seen in the homes of the dying, helping to deliver them into the next world with as much comfort and dignity and even joy as they could gather – benevolent Valkyries, midwives of the final light, they were – and as Charlie watched them at work, he saw that rather than become detached from, or callous to their job, they became involved with every patient and every family. They were present. He'd seen them grieve with a hundred different families, taking part in an intensity of emotion that most people would feel only a few times in their lives. Watching them over the years had made Charlie feel more reverent toward his task of being a Death Merchant. It might be a curse on him, but ultimately, it wasn't about him, it was about serving, and the transcendence in serving, and the h ospice workers had taught him that. The woman's name tag read GRACE. Charlie smiled. â€Å"Buddy,† she said. â€Å"She's awake and she's asking for you.† Charlie stood. â€Å"Grace, I'm Charlie, Lois's son. This is my sister, Jane.† â€Å"Oh, she talks about you two all the time.† â€Å"She does?† said Jane, a tad surprised. â€Å"Oh yes. She tells me you were quite the tomboy,† Grace said. â€Å"And you – † she said to Charlie. â€Å"You used to be nice but then something happened.† â€Å"I learned to talk,† Charlie said. â€Å"That's when I stopped liking him,† Jane said. Lois Asher was propped in a nest of pillows, wearing a perfectly coiffed gray wig tied back in the style she had always worn her real hair, a silver squash-blossom necklace and matching earrings and rings, a mauve silk nightgown that blended so well with the Southwestern decor of the bedroom that it looked as if Lois might be trying to disappear into her surroundings. And she did, except the space she'd made for herself in the world was a little bigger than she now required. There was a gap between the wig and her scalp, her nightgown hung almost empty, and her rings jangled on her fingers like bangles. It was clear to Charlie that she hadn't actually been sleeping when they'd arrived, but had sent Buddy out with the excuse to give Grace time to dress and arrange her for presentation to her children. Charlie noticed that the squash-blossom necklace was glowing dull red against Lois's nightgown and he felt a long, sad sigh rise in his chest. He hugged his mother and could feel the bones in her back and shoulders, as delicate and fragile as a bird's. Jane tried to fight down a sob as soon as she saw her mother, but managed only to produce what sounded like a painful snort. She fell to her knees at her mother's bedside. Charlie knew it was perhaps the stupidest question one could ask the dying, yet he asked: â€Å"How are you doing, Mom?† She patted his hand. â€Å"I could use an old-fashioned. Buddy won't let me have any alcohol, since I can't keep it down. You met Buddy?† â€Å"He seems like a nice man,† Jane said. â€Å"Oh, he is. He's been good to me. We're just friends, you know.† Charlie looked across the bed at Jane, who raised her eyebrows. â€Å"It's okay, we know you guys are living together,† Charlie said. â€Å"Living together? Me? What do you take me for?† â€Å"Never mind, Mom.† His mother waved off the thought as if she was shooing a fly. â€Å"And how is that little Jewish girl of yours, Charlie?† â€Å"Sophie? She's doing great, Mom.† â€Å"No, that's not it.† â€Å"What's not it?† â€Å"It wasn't Sophie, it was something else. Pretty girl – too good for you, really.† â€Å"You're thinking of Rachel, Mom. She passed on five years ago, remember?† â€Å"Well, you can't blame her, can you? You were such a sweet little boy, then I don't know what happened to you. Do you remember?† â€Å"Yeah, Mom, I was sweet.† Lois looked at her daughter. â€Å"And what about you, Jane, have you found yourself a nice man? I hate the idea of you being alone.† â€Å"Still looking for Mr. Right,† Jane said, giving Charlie the â€Å"we've got to get away and have an emergency meeting† head toss that she had practiced around their mother since she was eight. â€Å"Mom, Jane and I will be right back. We can call Sophie and talk to her then, okay?† â€Å"Who's Sophie?† Lois asked. â€Å"She's your granddaughter, Mom. You remember, beautiful little Sophie?† â€Å"Don't be silly, Charles, I'm not old enough to be a grandmother.† Outside the bedroom Jane fumbled around and in her purse and produced a pack of cigarettes, but couldn't figure out whether to smoke one or not. â€Å"Holy Motown Jesus with Pips, what the fuck is going on in there?† â€Å"She's got a lot of morphine in her, Jane. Did you smell that acrid smell? That's her sweat glands trying to take the poisons out of her body that her kidneys and liver would normally filter. Her organs are starting to shut down, it means that there's a lot of toxins going to her brain.† â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"I've read about it. Look, she never lived in reality completely, you know that? She hated the shop and hated Dad's work, even though it supported her. She hated his collecting, even though she was just as bad. And the thing with Buddy not living here – she's trying to reconcile who she's always thought she was with who she really is.† â€Å"Is that why I still want to punch her lights out?† Jane said. â€Å"That's wrong, isn't it?† â€Å"Well, I suppose – â€Å" â€Å"I'm a horrible person. My mother is dying of cancer and I want to punch her lights out.† Charlie put his arm around his sister's shoulder and started walking her toward the front door so she could go outside and smoke. â€Å"Don't be so hard on yourself,† he said. â€Å"You're doing the same thing, trying to reconcile all the moms that Mom ever was – the one you wanted, the one she was when you needed her and she was there, the one she was when she didn't understand. Most of us don't live our lives with one, integrated self that meets the world, we're a whole bunch of selves. When someone dies, they all integrate into the soul – the essence of who we are, beyond the different faces we wear throughout our lives. You're just hating the selves you've always hated, and loving the ones you've always loved. It's bound to mess you up.† Jane stopped and stepped back from him. â€Å"Then how come it's not messing you up?† â€Å"I don't know. Maybe because of what I went through with Rachel.† â€Å"So you think that when someone dies suddenly like that, that this face-reconciliation thing happens?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't think it's a conscious process. Maybe more for you than for Mom, you know what I mean? You feel like you have to put things right before she's gone, and it's frustrating.† â€Å"So what happens if she doesn't integrate all that before she dies. What happens if I don't?† â€Å"I think you get another chance.† â€Å"Really? Like reincarnation? What about Jesus and stuff?† â€Å"I think that there's a lot of stuff that's not in the book. In any of the books.† â€Å"Where's this coming from? I never got the impression you were spiritual. You wouldn't even go to yoga with me.† â€Å"I wouldn't go to yoga with you because I'm not bendy, not because I'm not spiritual.† They'd gotten to the door, and when Charlie pulled it open it made the same sound a refrigerator door makes. When they stepped out onto the front porch he realized why, as a wave of hundred-and-ten-degree heat hit them. â€Å"Jeez, did you accidentally open the door to hell?† Jane said. â€Å"I don't need to smoke this badly. Get inside, get inside, get inside.† She shoved him inside and closed the door. â€Å"That's heinous. Why would someone live in this climate?† â€Å"I'm confused,† Charlie said. â€Å"Did you start smoking again or not?† â€Å"I didn't really,† Jane said. â€Å"I just have one when I'm really stressed out. It's like thumbing your nose at Death. Haven't you ever felt like doing that?† â€Å"You have no idea,† Charlie said. With Charlie and Jane there, they sent the hospice nurse home at night and watched Lois in four-hour shifts. Charlie gave his mother her medication, wiped her mouth, fed her what little she would take in, but by now she was mostly having sips of water or apple juice, and he listened as she lamented losing her looks and her things, as she remembered being a great beauty, the belle of the ball at parties before he was born, an object of desire, which clearly she loved more than being a wife or a mother or any of the dozen other faces she had worn in her life. Sometimes she would actually turn her attention to her son†¦ â€Å"I loved you as a little boy. I would take you to cafs in North Beach and everyone would just dote on you. You were so sweet. Beautiful. Both of us were.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Remember when we dumped all of the cereal out of the boxes so you could get the prize out? A little submarine, I think? Do you remember?† â€Å"I remember, Mom.† â€Å"We were close then.† â€Å"Yeah, we were.† Charlie would take her hand then and let her remember great times that they had never really had. The time had long passed for correcting facts and changing impressions. When she exhausted herself he let her sleep, and read by a flashlight sitting in the chair at her bedside. He was there, in the middle of the night, reading a crime novel, when the door opened and a slight man of about fifty crept into the room, stopped by the door, and looked around. He wore sneakers and black jeans, a long-sleeved black T-shirt – but for the oversized wire-frame glasses, he was just short a hand grenade and a survival knife from looking like someone on a commando mission. â€Å"Just be quiet,† Charlie said softly. â€Å"She's sleeping.† The little man jumped straight up about two feet and came down in a crouch. He was breathing hard and Charlie was afraid he might faint if he didn't relax. â€Å"It's okay. It's in the top drawer of that dresser over there – it's a squash-blossom necklace. Take it.† The little man ducked behind the door, then peeked around the edge. â€Å"You can see me?† â€Å"Yes.† Charlie put his book down and got up from the chair, and went to the dresser. â€Å"Oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad.† â€Å"It's not that bad,† Charlie said. The little man shook his head violently. â€Å"No, it's really bad. Look away. Look over there. I'm not here. I'm not here. You can't see me.† â€Å"Here it is,† Charlie said. He took the squash-blossom necklace from its velvet case in the drawer and held it up. â€Å"What is?† â€Å"What you're looking for.† â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"Because I do what you do. I'm a Death Merchant.† â€Å"A what?† Then Charlie remembered that Minty Fresh said he had coined the term, so maybe only the Death Merchants in San Francisco knew it. â€Å"I collect soul vessels.† â€Å"No, you don't. You can't see me. You can't see me. Sleep. Sleep.† The little man was waving his hands up and down in the air like he was drawing a curtain of deception before him, or possibly clearing spiderwebs out of the room. â€Å"These are not the droids you seek,† Charlie said, grinning. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You don't have Jedi powers, you git. Just take the necklace.† â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"Come with me,† Charlie said. â€Å"It's time for my sister to watch her anyway.† He led the little guy out of his mother's room into the living room. They stood by the front window, looking at the sun coming up and casting shadows of the broken teeth of the red rock mountains around them. â€Å"What's your name?† â€Å"Vern. Vern Glover.† â€Å"I'm Charlie. Nice to meet you. How long does she have, Vern?† â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"How long on your calendar. How many days were left?† â€Å"How do you know about that?† â€Å"I told you. I do what you do. I can see you. I can see that necklace glowing red. I know what you are.† â€Å"But you can't. The Great Big Book says that horrible Forces of Darkness will rise if I talk to you.† â€Å"See this cut over my ear, Vern?† Vern nodded. â€Å"Forces of Darkness. Fuck 'em. Fuck the Forces of Darkness, Vern. How long does my mother have?† â€Å"It's your mother? I'm sorry, Charlie. She has two more days.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said, nodding. â€Å"Then we'd better go get a doughnut.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Doughnut! Doughnut! You like doughnuts, don't you?† â€Å"Yes, but why?† â€Å"Because the continuance of human existence as we know it depends on us having doughnuts together.† â€Å"Really?† Vern's eyes went wide. â€Å"No, not really. I'm just fucking with you.† Charlie put his arm around Vern's shoulder. â€Å"But let's go get one anyway. I'll wake my sister for her watch.† Charlie called home from his mobile phone to check on Sophie. Then, satisfied she was safe, he returned to the booth at Dunkin' Donuts, where Vern and a cruller were waiting for him. Vern had taken off his stocking cap and had a wild mop of silver gray hair over large, aviator-frame glasses that made him look like a tan and wiry mad scientist. â€Å"So like she was really hot?† â€Å"Vern, you wouldn't believe. I'm telling you, body of a goddess. Covered with really fine feathers, soft as down.† Charlie innately recognized another Beta Male like he recognized another Death Merchant, so he nearly stumbled over himself to tell the story of his adventure with the sexy sewer harpy, knowing he had a sympathetic audience. â€Å"But she was going to put her claw through your brain, right?† â€Å"Yeah, she said she was, but you know something, I think there was some chemistry there.† â€Å"You don't think it was just that she had your crank in her hand at the time, because that can cloud a guy's judgment.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that, but still, you have to think, of all the Death Merchants in all of the cities on the planet, she chose me to share the death wank. I think she had a thing for me.† â€Å"Well, you're in the City of Two Bridges,† said Vern, brushing a little maple glaze from the corner of his mouth. â€Å"That's where it's supposed to happen.† â€Å"Where what's supposed to happen?† Charlie had really enjoyed being the senior Death Merchant, acting as the elder statesman to Vern, who had been called to recruit souls only six months ago. Now he was thrown. â€Å"In The Great Big Book of Death, it says that we can't talk about what we do, or try to find each other, or the Forces of Darkness will rise up in the City of Two Bridges and there will be a horrible battle and the Underworld will rise and cover the land if we lose. You guys have two bridges in San Francisco, right?† Charlie tried to hide his surprise. Vern had obviously gotten a different version of the Great Big Book than they got in San Francisco. â€Å"Well, two main ones, yes. Sorry, it's been a long time since I read the book. Remind me why the City of Two Bridges is so important?† Vern gave Charlie the big â€Å"duh† look. â€Å"Because that is where the new Luminatus, the Great Death, will take power.† â€Å"Oh yeah, of course, the Luminatus.† Charlie thumped himself in the side of the head. He had no idea what Vern was talking about. â€Å"You think that they won't need us anymore, after the Great Death takes power?† Vern asked. â€Å"I mean, will there be layoffs? Because the Big Book makes it sound like the Luminatus rising is a good thing, but I've been making a ton of money since I got this gig.† Yeah, that's going to be our problem, layoffs, Charlie thought. â€Å"I think we'll be fine. Like the book says, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.† â€Å"Right, right, right. So this cop that shot the sexy-goddess babe, he didn't do anything?† â€Å"No, not nothing. First he put me in the back of his cop car and tried to get me to tell him what had been going on when he showed up, and what had been going on for these last few years he's been checking on me.† â€Å"And what did you tell him?† â€Å"I told him that it was as much a mystery to me as it was to him.† â€Å"And he believed that?† â€Å"No. He didn't. But he did believe it when I told him that if I told him more it would get worse, so we came up with a story that justified his firing his weapon. A guy with a gun taking a shot at me, then at him – descriptions, everything. Then when he was sure we had it straight, he took me to the station and I wrote out my statement.† â€Å"That's it, he let you go.† â€Å"No, then he told me stories about his career, and the weird stuff he's encountered, and why because of that, he was going to let me go. The guy is a complete nut job. He believes in vampires and demons and giant owls – he said that he once handled a call for a polar-bear attack in Santa Barbara.† â€Å"Wow,† said Vern. â€Å"You lucked out.† â€Å"I called him before we left the city. He's going to check on my building until I get home, make sure my daughter is okay.† Charlie hadn't told Vern about the hellhounds. â€Å"You must be worried sick about her,† Vern said. â€Å"I have a kid, she's a junior in high school, lives with my ex-wife in Phoenix.† â€Å"Yeah, so you know,† Charlie said. â€Å"So, Vern, you've never seen any of these dark creatures? Never heard voices coming out of the storm drains? Nothing like that?† â€Å"Nope. Not like you're talking about. We don't have storm drains in Sedona. We have a desert with rivers through it.† â€Å"Right, but have you ever missed getting a soul vessel?† â€Å"Yeah, at first, when I got the Great Big Book, I thought it was a joke. I skipped three or four of them.† â€Å"And nothing happened?† â€Å"Well, I wouldn't say that. I'd wake up early, and look up at the mountain above my house, and there'd be a shadow there, looked like a big oil slick.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, it would be on the wrong side of the mountain. It would be on the same side as the sun. And during the course of the day, it moved down the mountain. Oh, if you didn't look at it, watch it, you'd look right by it, but it was coming down into the city, hour by hour. I drove out to where I saw it going, and waited for it.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"You could hear crows calling. I waited until it got a half a block from me, moving so slow you could barely see it, but it got louder and louder, like a huge flock of crows. Scared the bejesus out of me. I went home, looked up the name I'd written down during the night, and they lived in the neighborhood I'd been in. The shadow was coming out of the mountain for the soul vessel.† â€Å"Did it get it?† â€Å"I guess. I didn't.† â€Å"And nothing happened?† â€Å"Oh yeah, something happened. The next time the shadow moved faster, like a cloud blowing over. And I followed it, and sure enough, it was heading right for a woman's house whose name was on my calendar. That's when I realized that the Great Big Book wasn't bullshitting.† â€Å"But the shadow thing, it never came for you?† â€Å"Third time,† Vern said. â€Å"There was a third time?† â€Å"Oh yeah, like you didn't think this was all a load of crap when it first started happening to you?† â€Å"Okay, good point,† Charlie said. â€Å"Sorry. Go on.† â€Å"So, the third time, the shadow comes down off a mountain on the other side of town, at night, during a full moon, and this time, you can see the crows flying in it. Not like really see them, but like shadows of them. Some people noticed it that time. I got in my car again, took my dog, Scottie, with me. I already knew where the thing was going. I pulled up a couple of doors down from the guy's house – to warn him, you know. I didn't realize yet what the book was saying about us not being seen, otherwise I would have just gone for the soul vessel. Anyway, I'm at the door, and the shadow is coming across the street, all the edges shaped like crows, and Scottie starts barking like mad, and runs at it. Brave little guy. Anyway, as soon as the shadow touches him he yelps and drops over dead. Meantime, a woman comes to the door, and I look in and see a statue, like a fake Remington bronze on the table in the foyer behind her, and it's glowing red, like red-hot. And I blow by her and grab it. And the shadow evaporates. Just like that, it's gone. That's the last time I was late getting a soul vessel.† â€Å"Sorry about your dog,† Charlie said. â€Å"What did you tell the woman?† â€Å"That's the funny thing, I didn't tell her anything. She was talking to her husband in the next room, and he wasn't answering her, and she runs back to see what happened to him. Didn't even look at me. Turns out the guy was having a heart attack. I took the statue, went and picked up Scottie's body, and left.† â€Å"That had to be tough.† â€Å"I thought I was Death for a while, you know, special. Because the guy croaked with me there, but it was just coincidence.† â€Å"Yeah, that happened to me, too,† Charlie said. But he was still disturbed by the whole â€Å"great battle† revelation. â€Å"Vern, would you mind if I took a look at your Great Big Book?† â€Å"I don't think so, Charlie. In fact, I think we'd better say goodbye. I mean, if the Great Big Book is right, and I don't have any reason to believe it's not, then we shouldn't even be talking.† â€Å"But it's a different version than I have.† â€Å"You don't think there's a reason for that?† Vern said. His eyes magnified in his big glasses made him look like a madman for a second. â€Å"Okay, then,† Charlie said. â€Å"But e-mail me, okay? That shouldn't hurt.† Vern looked in his coffee cup like he was thinking, as if by telling the story of the shadow that came down out of the mountains, he'd frightened himself. Finally he looked up and smiled. â€Å"You know, I'd like that. I could use some pointers, and if something weird starts to happen, we'll stop.† â€Å"Deal,† Charlie said. He drove Vern back to his car, which was parked around the block from his mother's house, and they said good-bye. Jane met Charlie at the door. â€Å"Where have you been? I need the car to go get her floss.† â€Å"I brought doughnuts,† Charlie said, holding up the box, maybe a little too proud. â€Å"Well, that's not the same, is it?† â€Å"As floss?† â€Å"Dental floss. Can you believe it? Charlie, if I'm still flossing on my deathbed, you have my permission to garrote me with it. No, I'm leaving you instructions to garrote me with it.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said. â€Å"So other than that, she's okay?† Jane was digging in her purse, had found her cigarettes and was looking for her lighter. â€Å"Like gum disease is the big danger at this point. Goddammit! Did they take my lighter at the airport?† â€Å"You still don't smoke, Jane,† Charlie said. She looked up. â€Å"So what's your point?† â€Å"Nothing.† He handed her the keys to the rental car. â€Å"Can you grab me some toothpaste while you're out?† She gave up searching for the lighter and threw the cigarettes back into her purse. â€Å"What is it with this family and the compulsive dental hygiene?† â€Å"I forgot to bring any.† â€Å"Okay.† Jane braced the keys in her hand, ready to go in the ignition, and tucked her purse under her arm like a football. She dropped into a crouch and pulled down her mirrored, wraparound sunglasses that, with her short platinum blond hair and Charlie's black pinstripe suit, made her look a little like a cyborg assassin from the future getting ready to dash out into the poisonous atmosphere of planet Duran Duran. â€Å"It's fucking hot out there, isn't it?† Charlie nodded and held up the doughnut box again. â€Å"The glazed have suffered.† â€Å"Oh,† Jane said, lifting her glasses again. â€Å"Cassandra called. After you called this morning she noticed your date book on the nightstand. Well actually, she said that Alvin and Mohammed dragged her in there and pushed it at her. She wondered if you needed it.† â€Å"What about Sophie, is she okay?† â€Å"No, she's been abducted by aliens, but I wanted you to digest the bad news about forgetting your date book first.† â€Å"You know, that right there is why Mom is ashamed of you,† Charlie said. Jane laughed. â€Å"Guess what? She's not.† â€Å"She's not?† â€Å"No, this morning. She told me that she always knew who I was, always knew what I was, and that she has always loved me, just the way I am.† â€Å"Did you card her? There's an impostor in our mom's bed.† â€Å"Shut up, it was nice. Important.† â€Å"She was probably just saying that because she's dying.† â€Å"She did say that she wished I wouldn't wear men's suits all the time.† â€Å"She's not alone on that one,† Charlie said. Jane fell back into assault mode. â€Å"I'm off on the floss mission. Call Cassandra.† â€Å"Done,† Charlie said. â€Å"And Buddy needs a doughnut.† Jane threw open the door and ran out into the heat screaming like a berserker charging the enemy. Charlie closed the door behind her so as not to let the air-conditioning out, and watched through the glass as his sister ran across the zero-scaped yard like she was on fire. He looked beyond her to the red rock mesa rising out of the desert. There seemed to be a deep crevasse in it that he hadn't seen there before. He looked again, and saw that it wasn't a crevasse at all, just a long, sharp shadow. Then he ran out into the driveway and looked at the position of the sun, then at the shadow. It was on the wrong side of the mesa. There couldn't be a shadow on this side – the sun was also on this side. He shaded his eyes and watched the shadow until he thought his brains were cooking in the sun. It was moving, slowly, but moving, and not the way a shadow moves. It was moving with purpose, against the sun, toward his mother's house. â€Å"My date book,† he said to himself. â€Å"Oh, shit.†

Concept Analysis

Concept Analysis Stephanie Hobbs NR 501: Theoretical Basis for Advanced Nursing Instructor: Dr. Patricia Fedorka September 30, 2012 Introduction According to McEwen & Wills (2011), concept analysis is an approach to clarify and define terms so that writers and readers have a common language. The process of a concept analysis is to: 1. Select a concept 2. Determine the aims or purposes of analysis 3. Identify all the uses of the concept possible 4. Determine the defining attributes 5. Indentify model case 6. Identify borderline, related, contrary, invented and illegitimate cases 7.Identify antecedents and consequences 8. Define empirical referents The concept health is referred to as the ability to function independently; adapt to life's stressors; achievement of one's full potential and unity of mind, body and soul. Jean Watson identified health as one of many concepts used to understand the theory or science of human caring (McEwen & Wills, 2011). Purpose of the Analysis The purpose of this analysis is to clarify and define the term health. Clarification of this concept is essential to the function of caregivers.Everyone responsible for providing care should be knowledgeable of what health is. Many believe they know what health is but after a closer look, it is revealed that at best, it is fleeting and partially understood. Also, it is necessary for medical personnel to understand the difference between health, care and nursing (Lee & Ross, 2008). Uses of the Health Concept According to Walker & Avant (2011), dictionaries, colleagues, thesauruses, and scholarly literature should be used to identify the uses of the concept. A search for the literature on health was done by using Medline, CINAHL and Google Scholar.An online dictionary and thesaurus was also used. Dictionary Definition The English version of this word has many meanings. Webster defines health as the condition of being sound in mind, body, or spirit; especially: freedom of physical disease or pain . Other definitions by Webster are the general condition of the body, a flourishing condition, and a general condition or state (Merriam-webster. com). Defining Attributes Attributes as described by Walker & Avant (2011) are characteristics or descriptors. These attributes will help distinguish health from nursing and care. A state of complete physical, mental and social well being * A dynamic state of functioning within the limitations of the person (Artinian, 1991) * Unity and harmony within the mind, body and soul (Watson, 1999) * The expanding of consciousness; an evolving pattern of the whole of life (Newman, 1999) Model Cases 1. A 17 year old has given birth to twins and been referred to the Following Baby Back Home Program. On the initial visit, the nurse finds the mother is withdrawn and displaying signs of depression. She knows very little about the babies behaviors and is not very concerned about what the nurse or social worker is saying.Upon further assessment, the mother reveals that she and the father are no longer together. The nurse also finds out later that mom was severely anemic at discharge and experiencing excruciating headaches. On the next visit, the nurse convinces mom to schedule her follow up appointment and she explains how anemia affects her and her ability to care for the babies. Although the client denied feeling depressed, the nurse discussed signs of post partum depression and got the client to sign a contract saying she would call for help if she felt like urting herself or the babies. After returning to the office, the nurse called the physician’s office to make him aware of her involvement with the client and her assessment. The nurse also refers the client to a program called ACCESS. This program provides parenting classes as well as counseling for teen parents and emergency help with diapers and formula. After visiting the client for a few months there is a noticeable difference in the way she interacts with the babie s as well as her overall appearance and energy level.The client is also attentive and interested in what the home visitors are talking about. The client states that she is taking medication for the anemia and on birth control. She is getting counseling and taking a parenting class through the ACCESS program. She also says she enjoys the program because she interacts with other teenager going through the same thing she is. This model reflects health because it contains many of the defining concepts. Any of the concepts missing could cause the client to not be in good health.It also demonstrates why the nurse must have good assessment skills and address as many areas as possible that affect the client’s health. 2. An elderly lady diagnosed with Hypertension and Type II Diabetes presents to a Community Health Center for a follow up appointment. During triage, the client’s blood sugar is 357mg/dl and her blood pressure is 180/206. After speaking with the nurse, it is revea led that the client has been evicted from her home, has little to no food to get her through the month and did not purchase her medication due to a lack of money.The nurse shares this information with the physician and the social worker. After the physician gets the blood sugar and blood pressure under control, the social worker enrolls the client into some med assistant programs and calls the nearest women’s shelter to secure her a bed. The nurse gives her enough samples to last until her meds come in. The client states she will follow the regimen prescribed by her physician. This model clearly demonstrates how social issues affect overall health. After the clients social needs were met, she was able to focus on taking care of her physical health.This model also reflects many of the defining concepts. Borderline Case A borderline case gives another example of the concept’s use, but some of the defining attributes are excluded. Borderline cases give readers an idea of what the concept is not (Speros, 2005). A 55 year old male attorney presents to PCP complaining of chest pain, fever and shortness of breath for 3 days. He is told that he has to be hospitalized for a cardiac workout because a myocardial infarction is suspected. He is also told that he will have to have a cardiac catheterization.The patient reads the consent and refuses to sign it because he does not understand the medical jargon. He leaves against medical advice but is told to take 2 propranolol 80mg and see his physician in 2 weeks. He takes 2 pills once a day and does not return to see his doctor. Contrary Case The following case is contrary to health because it does not reflect the defining concepts. A 26 year old mother from a very small rural community brings her 6 year old to clinic wheezing and short of breath. The mother smokes about 30 cigarettes a day, is very soft spoken, has a limited vocabulary and reads on a fifth grade level.Mom also has problems spelling words corre ctly, prints when writing and reverses some of the letters. The child is diagnosed with Asthma and sent home with a nebulizer with albuterol and saline, a peak flow meter, steroid inhalers with spacers, and oral medication. Before leaving mom is asked if she understands how to give the child her medication? Mom states she understands and is then told to stop smoking around the child and return to the clinic in 1 week. Mom verbalizes understanding and leaves. Three days later mom presents to the Emergency room with child in respiratory distress and smelling of smoke.She states she did not use the nebulizer because she could not â€Å"work it†, she gave the both medication twice a day as opposed to each medication daily and she did not have peak flow readings because she thought it look more like a toy. The child smelled strongly of smoke (Speros, 2005). This case clearly shows two people in poor health. It obviously is contrary to the defining attributes of health. Antecedents and Consequences Walker and Avant (1995) describe antecedents as events or incidents that must precede the occurrence of the concept. For some time there was very little theoretical clarity of health for nursing science.In 1946 The World Health Organization attempted to define health and has since changed or added to the definition a couple of times. Walker and Avant (2005) also described consequences as events or incidents that occur as a result of the concept. Defining or clarifying the health concept has been important and useful to the theoretical basis of nursing. It has helped developed theory, instrument and research (Wang, 2005). Empirical Referents According to Cheng, Foster& Huang, empirical references present how the concept is to be measured or what the observation of a phenomenon should in reality be (tzuchi. om). Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring defined three concepts with health being one of them. Margaret Newman’s Theory of Health as Expanding Cons ciousness model uses two concepts one of those being health. These theories demonstrate the existence of health and how it has helped the nursing profession. Conclusion The concept of health was selected because of the many changes and variations to its definition. The World Health Organization defines health as a complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (who. int).Regardless of the definition, health is a concept that has helped develop the nursing profession. The Reference Artinian, B. M. , (1991). The development of the intersystem model. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 164 -205. Lee, V. and Ross, J. , (2003). ‘What is Health? ’ Campaign. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 94(5), 360. Ne Newman, M. A. , (1999). Health as expanding consciousness (2nd ed. ). New York: National League for Nursing Press. http://userwww. service. emory. edu/~mrisjor/documents/Rethinking. pdf http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary /health http://www. tzuchi. com. w/file/DivIntro/nursing/content/92-3/3. pdf http://www. who. int/about/definition/en/print. html Speros, C. (2005). Health Literacy: Analysis Concept. Journal of Advance Nursing, 50(6), 633-640. Walker, L. O. & Avant, K. C. (1995). Strategies for Theory Construction in Nursing, 3rd ed. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Norwalk, CT. Walker, L. O. & Avant, K. C. (2010). Strategies for theory construction in nursing. Boston: Pearson Wang, Y. (2005). A concept analysis of health. Hu Li Za Zhi The Journal of Nursing, 52(1), 40-43. Watson, J. , (1999). Postmodern nursing and beyond. London: Churchill Livingstone. .

Roles Of Botanical Garden In Plant Conservation Environmental Sciences Essay

The subject for this essay is the functions of botanical garden in works preservation. The essay will be divided into four chief parts. The first portion discuss about the botanical garden. This portion will include the debut, history and development, web and map of botanical garden. Second portion will explicate the importance of works preservation and the planetary scheme for works preservation. The 3rd portion is the function of botanical garden in works preservation. The 4th portion will be the illustration of botanical garden in Malaysia and its functions in works preservation. The last portion will be the decision of the essay. 2.0 Botanic Gardens 2.1 Introduction Botanic gardens or botanic gardens are by and large well-tended Parkss exposing a broad scope of workss labelled with their botanical names. They may incorporate specializer works aggregations such as cacti and succulent workss, herb gardens, workss from peculiar parts of the universe, and so on ; there may be nurseries, once more with particular aggregations such as tropical workss, alpine workss or other alien workss. Botanic gardens are frequently run by universities or other scientific research organisations and frequently have associated herbaria and research programmes in works taxonomy or some other facet of botanical scientific discipline. In rule their function is to keep documented aggregations of life workss for the intents of scientific research, preservation, show and instruction, although this will depend on the resources available and the particular involvements pursued at each peculiar garden.2.2 History and DevelopmentThe beginning of modern botanical gardens can be traced to European mediaeval medicative gardens known as physic gardens, the first of these being founded during the Italian Renaissance in the sixteenth century. This early concern with medicative workss changed in the seventeenth century to an involvement in the new works imports from geographic expeditions outdoors Europe as vegetation bit by bit established its independency from medical specialty. In the eighteenth c entury systems of terminology and categorization were devised by phytologists working in the herbaria and universities associated with the gardens, these systems frequently being displayed in the gardens as educational â€Å" order beds † . With the rapid rise of European imperialism in the late eighteenth century botanic gardens were established in the Torrid Zones and economic vegetation became a focal point with the hub at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London. Over the old ages botanical gardens, as cultural and scientific administrations, have responded to the involvements of vegetation and gardening. Nowadays most botanical gardens display a mix of the subjects mentioned and more: holding a strong connexion with the general populace there is the chance to supply visitants with information associating to the environmental issues being faced at the start of the twenty-first century, particularly those associating to works preservation and sustainability.2.3 NetworkWorldwide there are now about 1800 botanical gardens and botanical garden in approximately 150 states ( largely in temperate parts ) of which about 400 are in Europe, 200 in North America, 150 in Russia and an increasing figure in East Asia. These gardens attract about 150 million visitants a twelvemonth so it is barely surprising that many people gained their first exciting debut to the admirations of the works universe in a botanical garden. Historically, botanical gardens exchanged workss through the publication of seed lists. This was a agency of reassigning both workss and information between botanical gardens. This system continues today although the possibility of familial buccaneering and the transmittal of invasive species have received greater attending in recent times. The International Association of Botanic Gardens was formed in 1954 as a world-wide administration affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences. More late coordination has besides been provided by Botanic Gardens Conservation International ( BGCI ) which has the mission â€Å" To call up botanic gardens and engage spouses in procuring works diverseness for the wellbeing of people and the planet † . BGCI has over 700 membersA – largely botanic gardensA – in 118 states and strongly supports the Global scheme for works preservation by bring forthing a scope resources and publications, and by forming international conferences and preservation plans. Communication besides happens regionally. In the United States there is the American Public Gardens Association and in Australasia there is the Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand ( BGANZ ) .2.4 Role and FunctionBotanic gardens have had a altering function throughout history, get downing frequently as medicative gardens for the survey and cultivation of workss with mending belongingss and traveling through many stages including of class as pleasance gardens. But the fact that their aggregations are more or less scientific means they are continually accommodating and functioning the demands of their societies in germinating ways as new challenges face those societies. In current times, they are going cardinal participants in both the preservation of workss and in the instruction of the people who come to see them.A They are besides get downing to play a function in the extenuation of the effects of clime alteration, and could be perfectly critical to the endurance of the planet as they are absolutely placed to assist travel species around and assist ecosystems to accommodate to new climes in different parts.3.0 Plant preservation3.1 ImportancePlants are universally recognized as a critical portion of the universe ‘s biological diverseness and an indispensable resource for the planet. In add-on to the little figure of harvest workss used for basic nutrient and fibers, many 1000s of wild workss have great economic and cultural importance and potency, supplying nutrient, medical specialty, fuel, vesture and shelter for huge Numberss of people throughout the universe. Plants besides play a cardinal function in keeping the planet ‘s basic e nvironmental balance and ecosystem stableness, and supply an of import constituent to the home grounds for the universe ‘s carnal life. At present we do non hold a complete stock list of the workss of the universe, but it is estimated that the entire figure may be in the order of 300,000 species. Many of these species are in danger of extinction, threatened by habitat transmutation, over-exploitation, foreign invasive species, pollution and clime alteration. The disappearing of such critical and big sums of biodiversity poses one of the greatest challenges for the universe community: to hold the devastation of the works diverseness that is so indispensable to run into the present and future demands of world. Plant preservation, long the hapless relation of the preservation universe, has started to come into its ain since the rise of preservation biological science as a recognized subject in the 1980s. Plant preservation, and the heritage value of exceeding historic landscapes, was treated with a turning sense of urgency. Specialist gardens were sometimes given a separate or bordering site, to expose native and autochthonal workss.3.2 Off-site works preservationOff-site preservation is the preservation of workss off from their countries of natural happening. The term ex situ is often used to depict the off-site preservation. Off-site preservation non merely include turning the workss in botanic gardens, the construct extends every bit good to field cistron Bankss, clonal aggregations, and source plasma Bankss where propagating tissues and seeds are preserved for turning in the hereafter. Off-site preservation can affect a scope of works parts-the whole works, seed, other tissues, or famil ial stuff in civilization. Whole, populating workss have peculiar value for preservation and will go on to be a major concern of off-site preservation. But conserving whole workss is non simple. To capture the scope of familial fluctuation, such aggregations require big figure of workss ; these are expensive to set up and keep. If the workss are annuals, they will necessitate seasonal reproduction. Outside their natural habitat some workss may necessitate manus pollenation and particular intervention of fruit and seeds to guarantee sprouting. It is fortunate that bettering engineering is doing storage as seeds, seedlings, rootstocks, tissues in civilization, and even DNA an option for many workss.3.3 Global Strategy for Plant ConservationThe entry point for the scheme is works preservation ; other facets such as sustainable usage, benefit-sharing and capacity edifice are besides included. The Strategy provides an advanced model for actions at planetary, regional, national and local degrees. The scheme is suppo rted by a broad scope of organisations and establishments – authoritiess, intergovernmental organisations, preservation and research organisations ( such as protected-area direction boards, botanic gardens, and cistron Bankss ) , universities, research institutes, nongovernmental organisations and their webs, and the private sector. The most advanced component of the Strategy is the inclusion of 16 outcome-orientated marks, aimed at accomplishing a series of mensurable ends by 2010.3.3.1 AimsThe ultimate and long-run aim of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation is to hold the current and continuing loss of works diverseness. The Strategy will supply model to ease harmoniousness between bing enterprises aimed at works preservation, to place spreads where new enterprises are required, and to advance mobilisation of the necessary resources. The Strategy will be a tool to heighten the ecosystem attack to the preservation and sustainable usage of biodiversity and concentrate on the critical function of workss in the construction and operation of ecological system and assure proviso of the goods and services such systems provide.4.0 Role of Botanical Gardens in Plant ConservationBotanic gardens have jointly accumulated centuries of resources and expertness that now means they play a cardinal function in works preservation. Many of these activities contribute to ex situHYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bgci.org/ourwork/ex_situ/ † preservation, but botanic gardens besides play an of import function in in situHYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bgci.org/ourwork/Ecosystems/ † preservation Gardening and cultivation accomplishments allow us to turn workss that might be lost in nature, which means their workss ‘ diverseness can be conserved in the gardens, but besides allows us to see Restoration and rehabilitation of debauched home grounds. Populating aggregations of workss cod species under assorted groupings, to keep a life shop of familial diverseness that can back up many activities in preservation and research. Seed Bankss and aggregations of life workss allow species to be safeguarded. Plants must be carefully collected stored to guarantee maximal familial diverseness is retained, and much research is required to find the best manner of hive awaying each species. This is the preservation of works diverseness in situ, and botanic gardens are cardinal to this scheme ‘s capacity and success.. Research and development into works taxonomy and genetic sciences, phytochemistry, utile belongingss, informing choice of workss that can defy degraded and altering environments ( particularly of import in face of the menaces posed by clime alteration ) . Education is a strength of botanic gardens that allows them to pass on the importance of conserving workss, making out to diverse audiences, and besides to pass on how this may be achieved. Associating workss with the wellbeing of people, and besides assisting conserve autochthonal and local cognition, to promote the sustainable usage of works resources for the benefit of all, as portion of sustainable development. The preservation of works diverseness is critical for sustainable development and botanic gardens are playing a cardinal function as Centres of preservation action. Gardens maintain a broad scope of species as life workss, in seed Bankss and tissue civilization ; harmonizing to appraisal of BGCI, there are likely over 80,000 species in cultivation in botanic gardens of the current estimation of 270,000 known works species in the universe. Botanic gardens contain aggregations of workss for instruction, scientific intents and show ; they can be: Taxonomically-based – aggregations of a peculiar household, genus or group of cultivars ; Collections of native workss ; Plants which portion a common geographical or ecological beginning such as Mediterranean, desert or alpine ; Wild relations or cultivars of utile species such as medicative, aromatic or textile workss ; Shared wont or life signifier such as an grove, botanical garden or lush aggregation. Botanic gardens besides have of import preservation aggregations peculiarly of rare and threatened workss. Harmonizing to the IUCN Red List of threatened workss 34,000 taxa are considered globally threatened with extinction. Presently, over 10,000 threatened species, about a 3rd, are in botanic garden cultivation. These workss contribute to species recovery programmes and supply long-run backup aggregations. Botanic gardens undertake research – from works taxonomy, ecology to engendering systems. With their expertness in gardening, botanic gardens develop extension and cultivation methods for workss which have ne'er been in cultivation. All these countries are indispensable for species recovery programmes and reintroduction of workss into the wild, such as developing techniques to re-introduce the Dragon Trees into the natural state. A major cause of biodiversity loss is the over-collection of wild workss for gardening, medical specialty and nutrient. Bringing workss into cultivation can take the force per unit area off the wild populations, and besides back up supports by bring forthing income and promote trade Botanic gardens besides manage protected countries within and outside their garden to advance biodiversity. These ecosystems such as woods, shrub land, catchment countries, and coastal countries provide indispensable services from the coevals of H2O, cycling of foods and refilling of dirt birthrate and bar of eroding which are critical to the supports of all people. One of the major causes of species decline is invasive foreigner species which threaten workss, works communities and ecosystems. Botanic gardens with their accomplishments in designation and gardening proctor invasive species and work locally and nationally to reconstruct home grounds that are of import for diverseness. Botanic gardens work with their local communities and visitants on instruction and environmental preservation programmes which promote environmental consciousness and sustainable life. Globally, botanic gardens receive more than 200 million visitants a twelvemonth. Further, botanic gardens are cardinal establishments working with their authoritiess and other administrations on cardinal policies, national biodiversity schemes and action programs.5.0 Botanic Garden in Malaysia – Rimba Ilmu5.1 IntroductionRimba Ilmu is a tropical botanical garden, set up in the University of Malaya campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is modelled after a rain forest garden construct instead than a formal flower garden. It emphasises the vegetation of the Malaysian and Indonesian part. Together with the life aggregations of over 1,600 species, the Rimba Ilmu besides houses the University of Malaya herbarium ( acronym KLU ) and has its ain Environmental Education Programme. The Rimba Ilmu is a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International ( BGCI ) and the South East Asia Botanic Gardens Network.A Rimba Ilmu means â€Å" The Forest of Knowledge † in the Malay linguistic communication. The garden, established in 1974, occupies an country of 80 hectares. It is partially buffered by old gum elastic plantings and the life aggregations, largely from Malaysia, are one of the most of import biological conservatories in Malaysia. There are besides works species from other parts of tropical Asia, the Pacific islands, Australia, South America, Africa and Madagascar.A Rimba Ilmu ‘s mission is to bring forth and advance consciousness and cognition of tropical works life and its environment, ecology and preservation through the development and direction of installations and activities appropriate to its map in a university located within Malaysia ‘s most developed and populated landscape. The Herbarium ( a mention library of preserved works specimens ) is Malaysia ‘s largest university aggregation incorporating some 63,000 accessions. In the Garden, there are several chief show aggregations, including medicative workss, thenars, and the citrous fruit and citroid aggregation. The Conservatory of Rare Plants and Orchids, opened in 2000, and the Fernery, with seting constitutions made over several old ages and commissioned in 2003, are accessible merely to particular group visits and research contacts, and a new bambusetum ( populating aggregation of bamboos ) was completed at the terminal of 2003 and by and large accessible to the populace. There is besides a little research aggregation of bananas. A high spot in the development of the Rimba Ilmu is the constitution of a particular botanical garden ( populating aggregation of trees ) get downing in 2001 as the ground tackle for our â€Å" Millenium Forest † undertaking, which seeks to prosecute friends and concerned parties in set uping biologically diverse forest plantings in doing a new wood within the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur.A Besides holding a general aggregation of species from a assortment of works households selected for instruction, Rimba Ilmu is besides developing assorted particular aggregations runing from those of medicative workss, wild orchids, thenars, pandan, tropical fruit trees, gingers, aquatic workss, wild citrous fruit relations to rare and endangered workss in demand of preservation.5.2 Role in Plant ConservationRimba Ilmu is an of import depository for many types of workss, including preservation aggregations of rare and endangered workss, and particular aggregations of the utile workss ( such as citrous fruits and starch thenar ) and their wild relations. In 2001, two other particular aggregations, bamboos ( sponsored by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute ) and bananas ( anchored by one of the university ‘s research groups in banana cytology ) , were besides begun. Over 2004-5, with the aid of DHL and affecting their employees, a particular aggregation of Malayan wood trees has besides been established. Outside of the Rimba Ilmu, it may be really hard to detect so many different species of some groups, and the home grounds of some of these workss may hold already been altered or damaged. Conservation besides involves public consciousness, and visitants are foremost treated to a lasting exhibition on Rain Forests when they start to acquire familiar with the Garden.A6.0 DecisionBotanic gardens maintain a broad scope of species as life workss, in seed Bankss and tissue civilization. Therefore, botanic gardens contain aggregations of workss for instruction, scientific intents and show. In decision, the botanical garden drama an of import function as the ex situ preservation for works and besides in situ preservation site. The preservation of works diverseness is critical for sustainable development and botanic gardens are playing a cardinal function as Centres of preservation action.

Court observstion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Court observstion - Essay Example The court demonstrate great power relation in the exercise of its jurisprudence, this is symbolized by the setting of its procedures, to the architecture of the courtroom, the procedures, the presentation of oneself from the judges to the defendants. This is illustrated as stated below: The Architecture: this comprises of the structure of the courtroom in relation with the power relation within the courtroom, the judges position was raised above the rest with the depicting high authority of the judge towards the other members. This does not accommodate equal power distribution among the participants. The fundamental architecture design of courtroom, complimented by precisely calculated use and placement of furniture, did not accommodate equal power distribution among all courtroom participants (Carlen, 1976, pg50). Instead, such architectural features awarded the presiding judged with the position with the most superior power (Carlen, 1976, pg50). The judges place was elevated making the defendant inferior to the judge, the judges dock was the highest positioning of the courtroom having it also centrally placed, ritualized the judges position as equal and non-partisan to any side. The defendants dock was placed isolated with a police officer standing beside the dock this showed the position of defence as the case was to proceed. The furniture in the courtroom is set that the occupants are facing and focused on the witness box which is placed at a lower level than any other furniture item allowing all the members of the courtroom to have clear focus on the witness (Greenberg, 1976, pg87). Arguably, while looking down upon defendant extents intimidation to witness, which makes them to understand their position in the power hierarchy of the courtroom ensuring clear conscious of the need to comply with the laid down system of the will and codes of the court. The presentation: the judges presence was followed by a peculiar silence depicting authority,

The Direct Control of the Organization Coursework

The Direct Control of the Organization - Coursework Example As a part of this assignment, the researcher will be primarily analysis the macro-environment of Virgin Mobile  UK in view of highlighting the factors that affect its strategic decisions. Political Factors: Corporate tax rate is a factor that affects the financial performance of a company significantly. The corporate tax rate in the UK during the time period 1999 and 2007 was 30% which was considerably higher than the corporate tax rate recorded during the time period between 2008 and present (Trading Economics, 2014). The amount paid as corporate tax depleted the margin of profit realized by Virgin Mobile in between 1999 and 2007 however, the company still managed to be highly profitable. Virgin Mobile UK targeted the prepay customers within the age group 18-35. It enjoyed the advantages of mobile phone subsidies which gave them a three months payback as opposed to a three years contract. This regulation proved to be immensely beneficial for Virgin Mobile UK and was evident in the increased profit margin for the company. Other political factors that influenced the Telecom industry in the UK which in turn affected Virgin Mobile’s strategic decisions are: The present political scenario in the country facilitates an environment of deregulation. As a result of that, the intensity of competition in the UK telecom industry has amplified by a significant margin. The existence of a highly competitive environment has also increased the bargaining as well as negotiating power of buyers. Similarly, due to the deregulation from EU front, the mobile market in the UK is expected to face steep competition from telecom companies based in other countries within Europe. According to the predictions of the company, the political factors in the UK telecom industry will be in favor of the company in the upcoming years.As far as the challenges faced while conducting the internal environment analysis is concerned, word count proved to be the restricting factor in this case as well. The research could not explain the key resources of the company in depth and detail. In addition, other tangible assets that form the part of a company’s key resources could not be incorporated into the analysis. Furthermore, there was no scope for conducting any comparative analysis. A comparative analysis with a competing company could have induced robustness within the research, but the scarcity of data prevented the researcher from conducting any such analysis. The financial performance of the company was also not evaluated properly. However, the same was necessary in order to ensure that having appropriate resources and capabilities did benefit the company as had been mentioned in the case study analysis.                          

How has the concept of individual liberty changed throughout the Essay

How has the concept of individual liberty changed throughout the history of political thought Discuss and develop an argument based on the works of authors discussed throughout the course - Essay Example It also includes the state of indifference towards others’ political, social, economic, cultural, personal and religious activities. International politics, international law, state organisations, social justice, equality, liberty and social movements also come into the fold of liberalism. By critically examining the philosophies of all the great personalities, it becomes evident that all these personalities support individual liberty provided it is observed out of sound reasoning on the one hand, and is exercised with a good intention on the other. Individual liberty has always been the subject of great interest for the philosophers and political thinkers, and they strived for winning freedom of thought and action for all citizens on the foundation of equality and without any discrimination of caste, class, creed, community, race, region, religion, ethnicity and gender. Since thinkers and philosophers serve as the brain of a society, they do not accept inequalities and injustices committed by the rulers and powerful stratum of society on the suppressed masses. Consequently, they rebel against the man-made bonds and shackles and present the intellectual framework which offers a complete and just system to lead a happy and peaceful life. Since the foundations of their philosophy rests on human welfare, they awake the society from the sleep of ignorance and encourage them struggle to win their rights. Before the mighty French Revolution it were philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau and others who awoke the sleeping nation and foug ht for the noble cause of equality and justice by their wonderful writings. The philosophical theme behind the literature of that time paved the way towards equal distribution of power, pelf, possession and prestige for all strata of French Society. Thus unjust measures enforced by the French laws came to an end. The philosophers belonging to ancient Greece played the most formidable role in respect of obtaining individual

Ethical Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 10

Ethical Energy - Essay Example ore selecting a method that will generate adequate power for the present, have the potential for expansion to meet future needs and is minimally damaging to the environment. Due to the large investment involved, ethical issues that may result in selection of an inappropriate source or power generation is a factor that has to be considered. This is a preliminary report for the Board of Directors of Karsson arguing for a source that will be satisfactory regarding all the parameters mentioned above. It will take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages inherent in different methods of power generation along with ethical issues that have to be taken into consideration. (Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector). Greenhouse gases are those which absorb harmful radiation that is given off by the surface of the earth after it absorbs it from the sun’s rays. â€Å"Greenhouse [GH] molecules are those that absorb terrestrial radiation, that which is emitted by the Earth’s surface as a result of the warming effect of incoming solar radiation.† (Barrett 2005, p.1037). The greenhouse gases found in the earth’s atmosphere are water (vapour), CO2 or carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. This is given in the decreasing order of absorption with ozone having the least absorption capability. (Ozone plays a major role in blocking UV and other harmful rays from the sun rather than retaining or absorbing from the earth’s surface). This absorption is important to maintain life sustaining temperature. But when levels of these gases increase (due to pollution) the heat generated is more than what is required or safe and ultimately results in the phenomenon called global warming. The chart given above shows the greenhouse emission as per sector or industry. It can be seen that the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases is from power stations. It is true that some methods of generation are more harmful than others and this will be discussed later in this

Competing Apple Computers Inc management of innovation Assignment

Competing Apple Computers Inc management of innovation - Assignment Example The ability of a leader to identify strategies that can disrupt rivals’ innovative strategies is critical in organizations operating in highly competitive industries. For organizations trying to compete Apple, the challenges that need to be faced are many: Apple is popular for its emphasis on innovation, a fact that limits the chances for gaps in its strategic choices. Still, the literature published in this field shows that the promotion of innovation in businesses of different characteristics can be achieved in a range of ways, not necessarily related to rivals’ strategies. The business model and the strategies proposed below aim to show that even firms that are highly successful, such as Apple, may have gaps in their strategic framework; the identification of these gaps by rivals can increase competition in the industry reducing Apple’s hegemony in the global market. Apple has highly emphasized on research and development for the identification of unique products (Apple, Organizational website 2012). In fact, the firm’s strategy in regard to innovation seems to be based on the following three issues: a) the market for Apple’s i-products has still many prospects (Zeiler 2012), b) the firm highly emphasizes on advertising (Zeiler 2012) and c) new technologies, such as the i-TV, are continuously developed for enhancing the capabilities of the firm’s products. ... cation’ (Zeiler 2012), a technology that ‘transforms the i-Phone into a digital wallet’ (Zeiler 2012), is one of Apple’s latest strategies for securing its strategic position in the global market. 2.2 Gaps in Apple’s business model and product/ service strategy The current performance of Apple, as a key competitor in the global industry is significant, if taking into consideration Graph 1 (Appendix). Still, gaps can be identified in Apple’s strategies in regard to innovation: a) the products of the firm are rather expensive, if taking into consideration the financial status of the majority of people in the global market, b) the customer services schemes provided to customers are similar to those provided by other firms operating in the same industry, with no particular schemes for securing innovation in this business sector. 3. Competing Apple’s strategies and business model 3.1 Opportunities for disrupting innovation as promoted by App le In order to understand whether there are opportunities for disrupting Apple’s innovative strategies and business model, it would be necessary to explain primarily the key context of innovation, as related to business activities. According to Schermerhorn (2009) there are three modes of innovation: a) process innovation, which refers to the identification of effective techniques for developing business operations, in all their aspects, b) product innovation is related to the identification of unique products/ services and c) business model innovation focuses on the identification of ‘new ways to achieve profits’ (Schermerhorn 2009, p.188). This means that if a firm is interested in competing one or more of its rivals in regard to innovation, it has to focus on one, at least, of the above modes of innovation.

Development in the Hardware and Software Industries Tapped by GIS Appl Assignment

Development in the Hardware and Software Industries Tapped by GIS Applications - Assignment Example Hardware and software industries have catered to the needs of various areas defined in the marketplace. Software that is used to integrate geographical information with people and events, help in producing knowledge useful in the industrial operations and a basis of research outcomes. Examples are the GIS software and hardware used for libraries, museums, and schools that facilitate management, demographic/market analysis, asset mapping and inventories (Educational License Options n.d.).   Specific applications include ArcGIS for Desktop, Explorer, Mapping, Server, Server Image Extension and many others. In the case of Botanical Gardens and Zoological Parks, a software was developed specifically designed as a data model for mapping facilities and plant collections. It is called ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model. The hardware developments kept up with the industry standard or what was required for efficient data capture of GIS components. The digitizing tablets allowed the operator to record coordinates and scanners which convert analog source documents into digital raster form (Jackson and Woodsword 2012). GIS has been integrated into social networking. Ushahidi, for example, is a software that is used to collect information from multiple channels such as text messages, email, and Twitter (Dumbill 2010). It has been found useful in reporting disasters such as floods and aggregating reports from citizen journalists. The trend analysis provided by GIS in a combination of social data resulted in quick and effective disaster management. It has used information from social networking as sensors of the pending disaster, enabling the authorities to respond accordingly.

EXtensible Business Reporting Language Research Paper

EXtensible Business Reporting Language - Research Paper Example Currently, the SEC requires that all companies should utilize the XBRL format in presenting their financial statements and reports. Owing to the constant push for the use of the new business and finance communication mode, this paper explores potential advantages and disadvantages of XBRL implementation for business entities. Advantages of XBRL The proponents of XBRL have hinted that entrepreneurs and business entities stand to benefit greatly from XBRL implementation. Some of these befits include: i. It Is Accepted Globally As a Business Information Sharing Tool XBRL is readily accessible in many parts of the world and enhances information dissemination and sharing in various languages through electronic means. XBRL makes it possible for investors to conduct nearly real-time assessments because increases information accessibility. Data tagged in XBRL can be transformed into various formats such as HTML or spreadsheets, depending on the needs of the users. Owing to its global presenc e and high level of accessibility and acceptability, it reduces the cost of mechanizing business information (Gelinas, Dull & Wheeler, 2012). ii. XBRL Benefits Many Stakeholders XBRL can be utilized by investors to perform analysis of financial reports by corporation, thus making it a desirable tool. It allows corporations to automate their information and reduce manual processes of financial reporting. For the government, XBRL facilitate the collection of information about various businesses in the country. XBRL also ensures high level of information sharing efficiency (Stabryla, 2012). iii. XBRL Can Be Multi-Purpose XBRL functions beyond financial reporting role. It is applicable in many business information sharing scenarios. It is capable of streamlining the process of preparing and reporting tax returns. It also facilitates distribution of non-financial information such as production quantities as well as stock reserves among others. XBRL can also be fundamental for ensuring in ternal organizational efficiencies by facilitating smooth flow of information electronically from source to where they are needed most. It also facilitates data sharing between organizations and their customers, suppliers and strategic partners among others (Garner, McKee & McKee, 2008). XBRL can facilitate mechanization of purchase process and invoice reception and many other processes. iv. It Facilitates Substantiation and Reusability XBRL can speed up the process of financial reporting and information sharing process of an organization. It can greatly enhance spreadsheet functionalities through facilitation of electronic information access, which helps to alleviate human input inaccuracy during entry. Information conveyed through XBRL remains for a long period of time and can be re-used over and over again if needed (Bergeron, 2004). v. It Is an Open Source The last benefit of XBRL is that it is an open source. Corporations can create taxonomies that can be used at no cost for th eir users. Because it is freely accessible, corporations can maximize from it while at the same time ensuring low cost of its implementation (Bergeron, 2004). Disadvantages of XBRL In spite of all the benefits that come with XBRL, there are some disadvantages that are associated with the tool. Some of these disadvantages include: i. XBRL Amplifies the Likelihood of Error One of the most pointed out shortcomings of XBRL is its

Business model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business model - Assignment Example The company is one that focuses to make games that are easy to learn and still maintain the fun element. The company has differentiated the way it looks at the gaming market from its competitors. The company is focussing on providing gaming that is fun and easy to children and adults alike. There has also been an effort to incorporate both male and female players into the gaming experience The main point of focus with Nintendo games is in the simplicity of their products. The product’s simplicity can be looked at in two ways. On the one hand you have the devices that have few buttons for their operation, a good example is the Wii console. Despite this they are able to give the customer an experience like no other when it comes to gaming. Secondly the games that they offer to their clients are simple in terms of game play. These are usually easy to play. The company has been able to differentiate itself from the industry norm of only appealing to a few devoted gamers. It has been able to do this through offerings of consoles such as the lately released Wii which has beaten rivals in the gaming console market (Torres, 2013) The company has tried to ensure that it markets and delivers its products in a way that saves both on cost as well as delivery times for the products that they offer. It has therefore taken the approach of using already established retailers to bring their products to market in the different regions of the world. Such retailers include partnerships with the likes of Amazon that guarantee as U.S. wide presence for the company. This leaves the online store that they maintain to service only replacement parts for their products. The one thing that the company has invested heavily in is ensuring that they utilize the feedback that they get from consumers. On the one hand the company has heavily invested in ensuring that this information is shared

Genetically Foods Essay Example for Free

Genetically Foods Essay Genetically-modified foods (GM foods) have made a big splash in the news lately. European environmental organizations and public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods for months, and recent controversial studies about the effects of genetically-modified corn pollen on monarch butterfly caterpillars1, 2 have brought the issue of genetic engineering to the forefront of the public consciousness in the U. S. In response to the upswelling of public concern, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held three open meetings in Chicago, Washington, D. C., and Oakland, California to solicit public opinions and begin the process of establishing a new regulatory procedure for government approval of GM foods3. I attended the FDA meeting held in November 1999 in Washington, D. C. , and here I will attempt to summarize the issues involved and explain the U. S. governments present role in regulating GM food. What are genetically-modified foods? The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of B. t. genes in corn and other crops. B. t. , or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. B. t. crystal protein genes have been transferred into corn, enabling the corn to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the European corn borer. For two informative overviews of some of the techniques involved in creating GM foods, visit Biotech Basics (sponsored by Monsanto) http://www. biotechknowledge. monsanto. com/biotech/bbasics. nsf/index or Techniques of Plant Biotechnology from the National Center for Biotechnology Education http://www. ncbe. reading. ac. uk/NCBE/GMFOOD/techniques. What are some of the advantages of GM foods? The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways: Pest resistance Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B. t.corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market4, 5. Herbicide tolerance For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesnt harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup  ®6. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off7. Disease resistance There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases8, 9. Cold tolerance Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings10. (Note: I have not been able to find any journal articles or patents that involve fish antifreeze proteins in strawberries, although I have seen such reports in newspapers. I can only conclude that nothing on this application has yet been published or patented.) Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places11, 12. Nutrition Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of golden rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A)13. Since this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation14, a non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the golden rice seed free to any third world country that requests it. Plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content. However, the grant that funded the creation of these two rice strains was not renewed, perhaps because of the vigorous anti-GM food protesting in Europe, and so this nutritionally-enhanced rice may not come to market at all15. Pharmaceuticals Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes16, 17. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines. Phytoremediation Not all GM plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil18. How prevalent are GM crops? What plants are involved? According to the FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are over 40 plant varieties that have completed all of the federal requirements for commercialization (http://vm. cfsan. fda. gov/%7Elrd/biocon). Some examples of these plants include tomatoes and cantalopes that have modified ripening characteristics, soybeans and sugarbeets that are resistant to herbicides, and corn and cotton plants with increased resistance to insect pests. Not all these products are available in supermarkets yet; however, the prevalence of GM foods in U. S. grocery stores is more widespread than is commonly thought. While there are very, very few genetically-modified whole fruits and vegetables available on produce stands, highly processed foods, such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals, most likely contain some tiny percentage of genetically-modified ingredients because the raw ingredients have been pooled into one processing stream from many different sources. Also, the ubiquity of soybean derivatives as food additives in the modern American diet virtually ensures that all U. S. consumers have been exposed to GM food products. The U. S. statistics that follow are derived from data presented on the USDA web site at http://www. ers. usda. gov/briefing/biotechnology/. The global statistics are derived from a brief published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) at http://www. isaaa. org/publications/briefs/Brief_21. htm and from the Biotechnology Industry Organization at http://www. bio.org/foodag/1999Acreage. Thirteen countries grew genetically-engineered crops commercially in 2000, and of these, the U. S. produced the majority. In 2000, 68% of all GM crops were grown by U. S. farmers. In comparison, Argentina, Canada and China produced only 23%, 7% and 1%, respectively. Other countries that grew commercial GM crops in 2000 are Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Spain, and Uruguay. Soybeans and corn are the top two most widely grown crops (82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000), with cotton, rapeseed (or canola) and potatoes trailing behind. 74% of these GM crops were modified for herbicide tolerance, 19% were modified for insect pest resistance, and 7% were modified for both herbicide tolerance and pest tolerance. Globally, acreage of GM crops has increased 25-fold in just 5 years, from approximately 4. 3 million acres in 1996 to 109 million acres in 2000 almost twice the area of the United Kingdom. Approximately 99 million acres were devoted to GM crops in the U. S. and Argentina alone. In the U. S. , approximately 54% of all soybeans cultivated in 2000 were genetically-modified, up from 42% in 1998 and only 7% in 1996. In 2000, genetically-modified cotton varieties accounted for 61% of the total cotton crop, up from 42% in 1998, and 15% in 1996. GM corn and also experienced a similar but less dramatic increase. Corn production increased to 25% of all corn grown in 2000, about the same as 1998 (26%), but up from 1. 5% in 1996. As anticipated, pesticide and herbicide use on these GM varieties was slashed and, for the most part, yields were increased (for details, see the UDSA publication at http://www. ers. usda. gov/publications/aer786/). What are some of the criticisms against GM foods? Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods. Even the Vatican19 and the Prince of Wales20 have expressed their opinions. Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns. Environmental hazards Unintended harm to other organisms Last year a laboratory study was published in Nature21 showing that pollen from B. t. corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants, not corn, but the fear is that if pollen from B. t. corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields, the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish. Although the Nature study was not conducted under natural field conditions, the results seemed to support this viewpoint. Unfortunately, B. t. toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; it is not possible to design a B. t. toxin that would only kill crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects. This study is being reexamined by the USDA, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other non-government research groups, and preliminary data from new studies suggests that the original study may have been flawed22, 23. This topic is the subject of acrimonious debate, and both sides of the argument are defending their data vigorously. Currently, there is no agreement about the results of these studies, and the potential risk of harm to non-target organisms will need to be evaluated further. Reduced effectiveness of pesticides Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B. t. or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides. Gene transfer to non-target species Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These superweeds would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops. The possibility of interbreeding is shown by the defense of farmers against lawsuits filed by Monsanto. The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have harvested GM crops. Monsanto claims that the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to Monsanto. The farmers claim that their unmodified crops were cross-pollinated from someone elses GM crops planted a field or two away. More investigation is needed to resolve this issue. There are several possible solutions to the three problems mentioned above. Genes are exchanged between plants via pollen. Two ways to ensure that non-target species will not receive introduced genes from GM plants are to create GM plants that are male sterile (do not produce pollen) or to modify the GM plant so that the pollen does not contain the introduced gene24, 25, 26. Cross-pollination would not occur, and if harmless insects such as monarch caterpillars were to eat pollen from GM plants, the caterpillars would survive. Another possible solution is to create buffer zones around fields of GM crops27, 28, 29. For example, non-GM corn would be planted to surround a field of B. t. GM corn, and the non-GM corn would not be harvested. Beneficial or harmless insects would have a refuge in the non-GM corn, and insect pests could be allowed to destroy the non-GM corn and would not develop resistance to B. t. pesticides. Gene transfer to weeds and other crops would not occur because the wind-blown pollen would not travel beyond the buffer zone. Estimates of the necessary width of buffer zones range from 6 meters to 30 meters or more30. This planting method may not be feasible if too much acreage is required for the buffer zones. Human health risks Allergenicity Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals. A proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans was abandoned because of the fear of causing unexpected allergic reactions31. Extensive testing of GM foods may be required to avoid the possibility of harm to consumers with food allergies. Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance, which I shall discuss later. Unknown effects on human health There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health. A recent article published in Lancet examined the effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tract in rats32, 33. This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes. Yet critics say that this paper, like the monarch butterfly data, is flawed and does not hold up to scientific scrutiny34. Moreover, the gene introduced into the potatoes was a snowdrop flower lectin, a substance known to be toxic to mammals. The scientists who created this variety of potato chose to use the lectin gene simply to test the methodology, and these potatoes were never intended for human or animal consumption. On the whole, with the exception of possible allergenicity, scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk to human health. Economic concerns Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process, and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment. Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations. Patent enforcement may also be difficult, as the contention of the farmers that they involuntarily grew Monsanto-engineered strains when their crops were cross-pollinated shows. One way to combat possible patent infringement is to introduce a suicide gene into GM plants. These plants would be viable for only one growing season and would produce sterile seeds that do not germinate. Farmers would need to buy a fresh supply of seeds each year. However, this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season. In an open letter to the public, Monsanto has pledged to abandon all research using this suicide gene technology35. How are GM foods regulated and what is the governments role in this process? Governments around the world are hard at work to establish a regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. Yet depending on the political, social and economic climate within a region or country, different governments are responding in different ways. In Japan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that health testing of GM foods will be mandatory as of April 200136, 37. Currently, testing of GM foods is voluntary. Japanese supermarkets are offering both GM foods and unmodified foods, and customers are beginning to show a strong preference for unmodified fruits and vegetables. Indias government has not yet announced a policy on GM foods because no GM crops are grown in India and no products are commercially available in supermarkets yet38. India is, however, very supportive of transgenic plant research. It is highly likely that India will decide that the benefits of GM foods outweigh the risks because Indian agriculture will need to adopt drastic new measures to counteract the countrys endemic poverty and feed its exploding population. Some states in Brazil have banned GM crops entirely, and the Brazilian Institute for the Defense of Consumers, in collaboration with Greenpeace, has filed suit to prevent the importation of GM crops39,. Brazilian farmers, however, have resorted to smuggling GM soybean seeds into the country because they fear economic harm if they are unable to compete in the global marketplace with other grain-exporting countries. In Europe, anti-GM food protestors have been especially active. In the last few years Europe has experienced two major foods scares: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Great Britain and dioxin-tainted foods originating from Belgium. These food scares have undermined consumer confidence about the European food supply, and citizens are disinclined to trust government information about GM foods. In response to the public outcry, Europe now requires mandatory food labeling of GM foods in stores, and the European Commission (EC) has established a 1% threshold for contamination of unmodified foods with GM food products40. In the United States, the regulatory process is confused because there are three different government agencies that have jurisdiction over GM foods. To put it very simply, the EPA evaluates GM plants for environmental safety, the USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to grow, and the FDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to eat. The EPA is responsible for regulating substances such as pesticides or toxins that may cause harm to the environment. GM crops such as B. t. pesticide-laced corn or herbicide-tolerant crops but not foods modified for their nutritional value fall under the purview of the EPA. The USDA is responsible for GM crops that do not fall under the umbrella of the EPA such as drought-tolerant or disease-tolerant crops, crops grown for animal feeds, or whole fruits, vegetables and grains for human consumption. The FDA historically has been concerned with pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products and additives, not whole foods. Under current guidelines, a genetically-modified ear of corn sold at a produce stand is not regulated by the FDA because it is a whole food, but a box of cornflakes is regulated because it is a food product. The FDAs stance is that GM foods are substantially equivalent to unmodified, natural foods, and therefore not subject to FDA regulation. The EPA conducts risk assessment studies on pesticides that could potentially cause harm to human health and the environment, and establishes tolerance and residue levels for pesticides. There are strict limits on the amount of pesticides that may be applied to crops during growth and production, as well as the amount that remains in the food after processing. Growers using pesticides must have a license for each pesticide and must follow the directions on the label to accord with the EPAs safety standards. Government inspectors may periodically visit farms and conduct investigations to ensure compliance. Violation of government regulations may result in steep fines, loss of license and even jail sentences. As an example the EPA regulatory approach, consider B.t. corn. The EPA has not established limits on residue levels in B. t corn because the B. t. in the corn is not sprayed as a chemical pesticide but is a gene that is integrated into the genetic material of the corn itself. Growers must have a license from the EPA for B. t corn, and the EPA has issued a letter for the 2000 growing season requiring farmers to plant 20% unmodified corn, and up to 50% unmodified corn in regions where cotton is also cultivated41. This planting strategy may help prevent insects from developing resistance to the B.t. pesticides as well as provide a refuge for non-target insects such as Monarch butterflies. The USDA has many internal divisions that share responsibility for assessing GM foods. Among these divisions are APHIS, the Animal Health and Plant Inspection Service, which conducts field tests and issues permits to grow GM crops, the Agricultural Research Service which performs in-house GM food research, and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service which oversees the USDA risk assessment program. The USDA is concerned with potential hazards of the plant itself. Does it harbor insect pests? Is it a noxious weed? Will it cause harm to indigenous species if it escapes from farmers fields? The USDA has the power to impose quarantines on problem regions to prevent movement of suspected plants, restrict import or export of suspected plants, and can even destroy plants cultivated in violation of USDA regulations. Many GM plants do not require USDA permits from APHIS. A GM plant does not require a permit if it meets these 6 criteria: 1) the plant is not a noxious weed; 2) the genetic material introduced into the GM plant is stably integrated into the plants own genome; 3) the function of the introduced gene is known and does not cause plant disease; 4) the GM plant is not toxic to non-target organisms; 5) the introduced gene will not cause the creation of new plant viruses; and 6) the GM plant cannot contain genetic material from animal or human pathogens (see http://www. aphis. usda.gov:80/bbep/bp/7cfr340 ). The current FDA policy was developed in 1992 (Federal Register Docket No. 92N-0139) and states that agri-biotech companies may voluntarily ask the FDA for a consultation. Companies working to create new GM foods are not required to consult the FDA, nor are they required to follow the FDAs recommendations after the consultation. Consumer interest groups wish this process to be mandatory, so that all GM food products, whole foods or otherwise, must be approved by the FDA before being released for commercialization. The FDA counters that the agency currently does not have the time, money, or resources to carry out exhaustive health and safety studies of every proposed GM food product. Moreover, the FDA policy as it exists today does not allow for this type of intervention. How are GM foods labeled? Labeling of GM foods and food products is also a contentious issue. On the whole, agribusiness industries believe that labeling should be voluntary and influenced by the demands of the free market. If consumers show preference for labeled foods over non-labeled foods, then industry will have the incentive to regulate itself or risk alienating the customer. Consumer interest groups, on the other hand, are demanding mandatory labeling. People have the right to know what they are eating, argue the interest groups, and historically industry has proven itself to be unreliable at self-compliance with existing safety regulations. The FDAs current position on food labeling is governed by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act which is only concerned with food additives, not whole foods or food products that are considered GRAS generally recognized as safe. The FDA contends that GM foods are substantially equivalent to non-GM foods, and therefore not subject to more stringent labeling. If all GM foods and food products are to be labeled, Congress must enact sweeping changes in the existing food labeling policy. There are many questions that must be answered if labeling of GM foods becomes mandatory. First, are consumers willing to absorb the cost of such an initiative? If the food production industry is required to label GM foods, factories will need to construct two separate processing streams and monitor the production lines accordingly. Farmers must be able to keep GM crops and non-GM crops from mixing during planting, harvesting and shipping. It is almost assured that industry will pass along these additional costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Secondly, what are the acceptable limits of GM contamination in non-GM products? The EC has determined that 1% is an acceptable limit of cross-contamination, yet many consumer interest groups argue that only 0% is acceptable. Some companies such as Gerber baby foods42 and Frito-Lay43 have pledged to avoid use of GM foods in any of their products. But who is going to monitor these companies for compliance and what is the penalty if they fail? Once again, the FDA does not have the resources to carry out testing to ensure compliance. What is the level of detectability of GM food cross-contamination? Scientists agree that current technology is unable to detect minute quantities of contamination, so ensuring 0% contamination using existing methodologies is not guaranteed. Yet researchers disagree on what level of contamination really is detectable, especially in highly processed food products such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals where the vegetables used to make these products have been pooled from many different sources. A 1% threshold may already be below current levels of detectability. Finally, who is to be responsible for educating the public about GM food labels and how costly will that education be? Food labels must be designed to clearly convey accurate information about the product in simple language that everyone can understand. This may be the greatest challenge faced be a new food labeling policy: how to educate and inform the public without damaging the public trust and causing alarm or fear of GM food products. In January 2000, an international trade agreement for labeling GM foods was established44, 45. More than 130 countries, including the US, the worlds largest producer of GM foods, signed the agreement. The policy states that exporters must be required to label all GM foods and that importing countries have the right to judge for themselves the potential risks and reject GM foods, if they so choose. This new agreement may spur the U. S. government to resolve the domestic food labeling dilemma more rapidly. Conclusion Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the worlds hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.