WHAT ARE THE PURCHASING ADDING VALUES TO A COMPANY AND WHAT CORE Assignment

WHAT ARE THE PURCHASING ADDING VALUES TO A COMPANY AND WHAT CORE PURCHASING ACTIVITIES CAN BE DONE TO MAXMIZE COMPANY'S PROFITABLITY - Assignment Example In the manufacturing sector, it is generally accepted that the value of inputs materials forms a high percentage of the ultimate product price – to the extent of as much as 60% and even more in highly competitive industries. In companies that execute major construction projects in the different engineering fields like civil, metallurgical/other process plants, power plants etc. the value of inputs will be equally high. In this background, the importance of economizing and strategizing procurement can not be over-emphasized. This essay examines the various aspects of procurement, developments in this professional activity and the scope for maximizing profits. In a regular manufacturing company, depending upon sales forecast, production plans and budgets are drawn up and these help the Procurement to anticipate and plan the routine as well as non-recurring purchases. Purchasing activities can be broadly identified as tendering, bid evaluation, negotiations, vendor selection, ordering and follow up. Make or buy decisions are taken at strategic management meetings and once a decision is taken to procure an item from vendors, Procurement receives the requests for purchase along with quantities and specifications. Tendering for non-standard purchases is more time consuming and involves calling for quotations based on buyer’s specifications and terms like quantities, delivery schedule, supply conditions, payment terms, guarantees and warranties etc. Quotations are evaluated for technical and commercial comparison and to identify the preliminary list of suppliers for further discussions. Negotiations cover the technical specifications as well as other terms that differ from tender documents and to arrive at mutually acceptable terms of supply. Based on the success of such negotiations, one or more suppliers are selected and the purchase orders for going ahead with the supplies are issued. Regular follow up is part of the

Determinants of Elasticity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Determinants of Elasticity - Assignment Example At the other hand, the focus of this document points out towards the growth in the prices of mattresses, sofas and beds, throughout the world. Rest is one of the basic human needs for sustainable existence (Mei-Se, Shu-Jung, & Hung-Ta, 2009), therefore people are forced to cope with rising prices of this important need, through forgoing other important desires. Mattresses and luxury sofa sets were luxuries during the course of past two decades, but in this modern era, they transformed into necessities for families to maintain their status symbol. At the same time, there is no suitable substitute available for them; along with this, there is a growing social pressure to acquire good to excellent quality sofa sets and mattresses to keep up with the changing trends. Therefore, it is wise to imply that, the demand of mattresses and other similar social necessities is not affected by the change in price largely. In parallel, it is recommended to the governments to provide firms producing these items with subsidies in order to, stabilize prices of their products, so that people can fulfill other desires as well. This paper focused on analyzing the price elasticity of necessities of human life, and painfully noticed that despite of their increasing prices, people are purchasing them. Therefore, governmental intervention is recommended in order to; control inflating price of mattresses and other similar

Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay Example for Free

Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay Q: Why did things on the island fall apart? When the boys landed on the island after their plane crash, they thought it was great and thought it was going to be fun to be without adults. However as the book went on the situation of the island slowly fell apart. There were very early signs in the book that things could fall apart for example Piggy was made fun of for being overweight and he also wore glasses and had asthma, these weaknesses where in my opinion a sign that things could go bad on the island. Further on in the book, when Ralph and Piggy met Jack and the choir, they had a clash of personalities, they didnt separate straight away but you could sense that they could and the clash of personalities was a big factor in things falling apart on the island. You could sense there was a clash in personalities because Jack Merridew was very arrogant and intimidating. this intimidated Piggy, which was straight away a negative thing on the island. As the book progressed Jack got more aggressive and became more obsessive about hunting, this was the major factor in the deterioration of things on the island. Ralph and the others were thinking far more logically by building shelters and building a fire to attract potential rescuers. Jack hunting aggravated Ralph because Ralph believed this was not helpful and wasnt going to get them off the island. Ralph was more concerned about getting off the island whereas Jack was more concerned about harming pigs and hunting. Basically I thought Ralph was using his common sense and saw rescue as most important. This would later become the main reason for why things on the island went so bad. At the start of the book Ralph gets voted Chief of the Island, and part of the rules were that everyone must listen to the person holding the conch. The conch was a symbol of peace, the exact opposite of what Jack represents, which is evil. Jack always wanted to be centre of attention and always wanted to put his point across. The conch prevented him from doing so, if someone said something he didnt agree with regardless whether he had the conch, this bothered Ralph and especially Piggy. The conch meant a lot to Piggy and he abided strictly by the rules of the conch. Jack however didnt want to and would continually break the rules and shout out when people where trying to speak. This lack of respect for the conch would really get to Piggy and Ralph because Jack would continually rebel against the ideas put forward. But no one would say anything because they feared Jack so much. As the book got on Jack became more obsessive about hunting, and even made up his own song Cut the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood This was evidence that Jack was becoming more twisted as an individual, and his passion for hunting started the rows and fights on the island. This aggravated Piggy a great deal, and Piggy confronted Jack by saying You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home Jack eventually retaliated by hitting Piggy. Jack would continually pick on Piggy because he was an easy target. Jack never really liked Ralph on the other hand but they had this mutual respect for each other, which was continually being tested. Jack was building up a kind of respect and following, people feared him, and he gained respect from them, he could do whatever he wanted because no one had the guts to confront him. For example he continued to talk without the conch, which was a rule that seemed not to apply to Jack, this was a sign that things were falling apart because they were forgetting about the rules. The longer they stayed on the island the boys started losing their minds and were becoming less logical. For example Ralph was forgetting his words, and was getting confused with him self. Which wasnt the Ralph we read about in the start of the book, at the start of the book Ralph was confident and was logical e.g. starting the fire etc. However Piggy on the other hand continually thought logically and like an adult, and was becoming aware of the goings on around him. Ralph: Why do you hate me? Ralph realised that Jack hated him and confronted him trying to find out why he hated him; this showed Ralphs courage and strong personality. This is very important because they are two very well respected characters and if one decided to leave then he would take people from the other. Later on in the book Jack tried seizing power in page 139 Hands up, said Jack strongly, whoever wants Ralph not to be chief? There was a silent reaction and no one put their hands up, this humiliated Jack and he left the group. His last few words were interesting, he said Im not going to play any longer. Not with you. This was interesting because he said hes not going to play with them anymore, Golding is reminding us that they are still only kids. Jack separating from the island was the main reason in my opinion why everything fell apart on the island. Jacks hunters where very close to him, and they later left Ralph without telling him, this made a big division in the island and this started the problems, which led to violence and insanity. The separation was like two countries going into battle, which was ironic since the world war was going on at the time of which the book was written. It was like a civil discontent which eventually led to break down of respect for authority and fighting between the two rival powers. There was a great rivalry between the groups and Jacks group invaded Ralphs camp and attacked them, as a warning shot to what could later happen, they also took Piggys glasses as a kind of bait so Ralph and the others would go searching for Jack. This lead to the killing of Piggy, and the death of Piggy left Ralph to fend for his self because Samneric had been taken hostages. The death of Simon and Piggy resulted in Ralph fighting for his life, on his own. Jack and the others decided to set the island on fire and chase after Ralph, this proved they were just savages because they didnt think about the consequences of setting the island alight, this would matter in the end because Ralph escaped the fire along with the littluns and Jack and the others got trapped in the fire. Although the end seemed to cut off short and it took a while to get into the actual story I thought Lord Of The Flies was a great book and well written. I liked the way Golding wove secret messages throughout the book. I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Physics Instrumentation

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Physics Instrumentation TITLE : MRI IMAGE ARTIFACTS MOHAMAD AL-HAFIZ BIN IBRAHIM Name of Student: Mohamad Al-Hafiz bin Ibrahim TABLE OF CONTENTS (Jump to) LIST OF FIGURES 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 MRI ARTIFACTS 2.1 RF leakage 2.2 Aliasing 2.3 Patient motion 2.4 Gibbs Truncation 2.5 Chemical Shift 2.6 Magnetic Susceptibility 2.7 Flow Motion 3.0 CONCLUSION 4.0 REFERENCES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Zipper Artifact may appear as horizontal line across the image Figure 2: The part of the body that outside the FOV is mismapped within the FOV. Figure 3:The appearances of ghost lines at the anterior to the abdominal wall Figure 4: Image shown the effect of head movement or motion during MR scanning Figure 5: Bright and dark lines are visible in image Figure 6: Arrow show dark line at the interface of fat and water . Figure 7: MR image shown massive distortion of magnetic field . Figure 8: (a) CSF pulsation-related artifact in the phase encoding direction in T2-weighted image while (b) show reduction of flow artefact 1.0 INTRODUCTION Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the medical imaging and diagnosis technique which widely used due to its capability to produce high resolution of cross- sectional anatomical images and high tissues contrast. Eventhough MRI has various advantageous features, but still there are numerous sources of artifacts either patient-related, signal processing-dependent and hardware (machine) related (Erasmus, Hurter, Naudà ©, Kritzinger, Acho, 2004). Definitely, artifacts can degrade the image quality and may mimicking pathology or obscure the abnormalities which can lead to misdiagnosis of MRI images. The MRI artifact can be defined as a structure or feature appearing in MRI image produced by artificial means which is not originate within the scanned object (Erasmus et al., 2004). Commonly, MRI artifacts can be caused by RF leakage, aliasing, patient motion, Gibbs, truncation, chemical shift, magnetic susceptibility and flow motion. 2.0 MRI ARTIFACTS 2.1 RF leakage Cause This artifact also known as Zipper artifact. It occurs when there are leakage of RF or electromagnetic energy generated from certain equipment into MRI system (Stadler, Schima, Ba-Ssalamah, Kettenbach, Eisenhuber, 2007). This extrinsic RF came at a certain frequency then interferes with MRI signal produced by patient. The potential sources of the extrinsic RF are due to penetration of the RF into the shielded scanning room especially when the door is open during images acquisition (Ruan, 2013). After that, the RF will be picked up by the receiver chain of the image sub system (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). This RF perhaps generated by radio, illumination or electronic device such as monitoring equipment in the surrounding (Stadler et al., 2007). Remedy In order to overcome this artifact, the operator should identified and eliminate the possible source of the penetration. It can be done by ensure the door of the MR room remain closed during scanning, use only MR compatible MR monitor equipment, and remove the external RF source from the surrounding (Ruan, 2013). Figure 1: Zipper Artifact may appear as horizontal line across the image (Allen, n.d.). 2.2 Aliasing Cause Aliasing or wrap around artifacts can be describe as an artifacts that caused by anatomy that lies outside of field of view (FOV) mismapped within the FOV (Westbrook, Roth, Talbot, 2011). This is because of improper selection of parameter in MR systems especially FOV. The FOV in MRI means the anatomical area that should be covered or imaged during scanning (Morelli et al., 2011). When the selected FOV is smaller than the size of area that should be imaged means the data are under-sampled (Ruan, 2013). Therefore, there are high chances for signals from the outside FOV falsely detect then create an interference with signal within FOV and encode on the reconstructed images thus ‘wrap around’ to the opposite side of image which become aliasing artifacts (Erasmus et al., 2004). Westbrook et al., (2011) state that aliasing artefact can happen along frequency encoding axis (frequency wrap) and phase encoding axis (phase wrap). Remedy Basically, this aliasing artifacts can be eliminated through increase the sampling rate or oversampling along the frequency direction (Westbrook et al., 2011). However, high pass and low pass filter should be used as well in order to filter out frequency outside the FOV which can increase noise in image (Hiroshi, Schlechtweg, Kose, 2009). Besides that, selection of receiver coil which unable to excite or detect the signals from anatomical tissues that lying outside the FOV also important to minimise the artifacts (Ruan, 2013). Lastly, No Phase Wrap (NPW), Phase oversampling or Fold Over supression techniques is also preferred to avoid aliasing artefact by oversamples in phase direction, thus, the phase curve get to extends and cover wider signal producing structures (Westbrook et al., 2011). Figure 2: The part of the body that outside the FOV is mismapped within the FOV and located at the opposite side of the image (Prashant, 2014). 2.3 Patient motion Cause Patient motion artifact is a very most common artefact in MRI. It is caused by movement of anatomical structure during imaging sequence (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). There is a broad range of examples of structure movement such as heart or arterial pulsations, respiration process, peristalsis, tremor (Parkinson’s disease) and gross movement of patient (Stadler et al., 2007). Hence, if there is a scanned anatomical part moved during the scanning, the phase gradient cannot predict and encode the signal, thus, that structures will be misplaced in phased encoding direction. As a result, it will causes MR images shown the appearances of mismapping, blurring and ghosting artefact within it (Westbrook et al., 2011). Remedy There are several ways to eliminate or avoid the patient motion artifacts. The remedies are nullifies signal by applying pre-saturation pulses over the area which have potential to produce artifacts (Stadler et al., 2007). This way is more effective to prevent ghosting during patient swallowing. Besides that, Westbrook et al (2011) proposed that attaching a set of bellows over patient’s chest in respiratory compensation which is also known as respiratory ordered phase encoding (ROPE) might help to minimize ghosting in longer sequences while in short sequences, cooperation from patient to hold their breath during scanning is preferred. Next,cardiac gating also plays role in reducing this kind of artefact. For example, electrocardiogram (ECG) gating used to monitors cardiac motion that trigger the excitation pulse. Hence, each excitation pulse in each slice can be timed and acquired at the same phase of cardiac cycle (Westbrook et al., 2011). In the other hand, asking for patient cooperation for keeping still, clear explanation about procedures, and optimize the patient’s comfortability are important to make them immobilize during scanning (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Figure 3:The appearances of ghost lines at the anterior to the abdominal wall indicate as motion artifact because of breathing (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Figure 4: Image shown the effect of head movement or motion during MR scanning (Hornak, n.d.) 2.4 Gibbs Truncation Cause Truncation artefact also can be called as Gibbs Ringing artefact (Czervionke, Czervionke, Daniels, Hauhgton, 1988). Its happen as result of It is causes by abrupt undersampling of data that results in incorrect representation of high and low signals interfaces (Westbrook et al., 2011). That problems lead to visibility of fine lines in MR image and also respectively caused by incomplete digitization of the echo (Ruan, 2013). However, according to Erasmus et al.,(2004), alternating dark and bright lines may visible in image due to a sharp transition in signal intensity. Remedy In order to correct this type of artefact, there are several ways that can be used. For example, increase the matrix size, 256 x 256 instead of 256 x 128 (Westbrook et al., 2011). Next, applying various filters to k-space data before Fourier transform also should be considered (Erasmus et al., 2004). Besides that, provide more phase encoding steps also preferred to make truncation or gibbs artifacts less intense and narrower (www.mr-tip.com, n.d.). Figure 5: Bright and dark lines are visible in image parallel and adjacent to the outer convexity of calvaria (Prashant, 2014). 2.5 Chemical Shift Cause This type of artifact commonly found in MRI image of abdominal and spine imaging. Since fat and water each consist of hydrogen protons but different combination of molecules, fat contain hydrogen binds with carbon,while in water, hydrogen combine with oxygen (Westbrook et al., 2011). Hence, that different chemical environment exist shown that there are different precession frequency between fat and water which fat has lower precessional frequency rather than water (Erasmus et al., 2004). Based on the Larmor equation, precessional frequency is proportional to the strength of magnetic field (Westbrook et al., 2011). Therefore, this chemical shift can become artifact due to that difference of the precessional frequency between fat and water at higher field of magnetic strengths during the frequency encoding or slice-select directions (Ruan, 2013). That frequency is basically used to encode their spatial positions, thus, any chemical shift can lead to spatial misregistration of the MR si gnal (Morelli et al., 2011). MR images will show the bright or dark outlines at fat-water interfaces as the artefact. Remedy To avoid this artefact , a few remedies should be considered such as perform scanning at low magnetic field strength, increase the receive bandwidth in keeping with good signal-noise-ratio (SNR) (Westbrook et al., 2011) . It is also suggested to use minimum FOV as possible. Lastly, swapping phase and encoding direction also may useful to reduce this artefact (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Figure 6: Arrow show dark line at the interface of fat and water indicate as chemical shift artefact (Javan, Rear, Machin, 2011). 2.6 Magnetic Susceptibility Cause Susceptibilty can be refer as characteristic of substance which be magnetized when exposed to magnetic field (Gary, n.d.). MRI physics explain magnetic susceptibility artifacts normally happens because of substance or material especially ferromagnetic materials and also at air-tissues interface which have different degree of magnetic susceptibility that can distort the external magnetic field when placed in large magnetic field. Besides that, the differences also lead to magnetic field inhomogeneity at the scanner region resulting in spins dephase faster and frequency shift between surrounding tissues (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Artifacts in the image will appear as bright and dark areas with spatial distortion of anatomical structures (Stadler et al., 2007). Remedy Generally, these artifacts can be reduced by ensure all metal objects that attached to the patient has been removed before the scan. Next, spin echo sequences are more preferred to be used instead of gradient echo because it use 180 ° RF rephasing pulse which ideal at compensating for phase differentiation between fat and water (Westbrook et al., 2011). Since fast spin echo techniques also contribute in reduction of this type of artefact, hence, short TE is used along with spin echo (Stadler et al., 2007). Metal Artefact Reduction Sequence (MARS) technique can be used in order to minimize the size and intensity of this artifact which developed by magnetic field distortion by introducing an additional gradient following the slice gradient during frequency encoding gradient is used (Olsen, Munk, Lee, 2000). Figure 7: MR image shown massive distortion of magnetic field due to implanted dental retention system (Schubert, 2012). 2.7 Flow Motion Cause Flow artefact can be categorized as one kind of motion artefact which mainly caused by natural motion of liquids such as blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the body. For example, hydrogen nuclei in blood flow within the scanned slice may trigger excitation from an incoming RF pulse, however, the signal perhaps cannot be readout due to possibility of that flowing blood have left the slice (Hiroshi et al., 2009). As a result, vessels image appear empty or low signal intensity (less bright). Generally, there are reasons of low signal intensity such as intravascular signal void by time of flight effects, first echo dephasing and fast flow (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Nevertheless, this artifacts also can appear bright or high signal intensity. This is because of the slow blood flow (flow related enhancement), even echo rephrasing and diastolic pseudogating (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Remedy The preferred solutions as remedies for flow motion artifacts are by reduction of phase shifts using flow compensation in order to produce gradient moment nulling, suppress the blood signal by apply saturation pulses parallel to slices and synchronization of imaging sequences with cardiac cycle using cardiac triggering (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Figure 8: (a) CSF pulsation-related artifact in the phase encoding direction in T2-weighted image while (b) show reduction of flow artefact with gradient moment nulling (Morelli et al., 2011). 3.0 CONCLUSION It is important for all operators, radiologist and engineers in MRI are able to recognize common MRI artifacts because there are a broad of range of cause that contributing to artefact. Eventhough, artifacts are unable to be totally eliminated but it can be minimized or avoided with specifics remedies in order to improve the MR image quality (Morelli et al., 2011). Therefore, basic knowledge of MRI artifacts should be learned and all MRI system operators should familiar with their MRI unit in department. 4.0 REFERENCES Allen, E. D. (n.d.). Zipper and Related Artifacts. Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://mri-q.com/zipper-artifact.html Czervionke, L. F., Czervionke, J. M., Daniels, D. L., Hauhgton, V. M. (1988). Characteristic features of MR truncation artifacts. American Journal of Roentgenology, 151, 1219–1228. http://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.151.6.1219 Erasmus, L. J., Hurter, D., Naudà ©, M., Kritzinger, H. G., Acho, S. (2004). REVIEW ARTICLE: A Short Overview of MRI Artefacts. SA Journal of Radiology, 8(August), 13–17. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp1019944 Gary, P. L. (n.d.). What is MRIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯? Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI ). Hiroshi, Y., Schlechtweg, P., Kose, K. (2009). Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Imaging of Arthritis and Metabolic Bone Disease:Expert Consult Online and Print, p34–48. http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511549854.007 Hornak, J. P. (n.d.). The Basics of MRI: Image Artifacts. Retrieved May 9, 2015, from https://www.cis.rit.edu/htbooks/mri/chap-11/chap-11.htm Javan, R., Rear, J. R. O., Machin, J. E. (2011). Fundamentals Behind the 10 Most Common Magnetic Resonance Imaging Artifacts with Correction Strategies and. European Society of Radiology, 1–78. http://doi.org/10.1594/ecr2011/C-1248 Morelli, J. N., Runge, V. M., Ai, F., Attenberger, U., Vu, L., Schmeets, S. H., †¦ Kirsch, J. E. (2011). An image-based approach to understanding the physics of MR artifacts. Radiographicsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: A Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc, 31, 849–866. http://doi.org/10.1148/rg.313105115 Olsen, R. V, Munk, P. L., Lee, M. J. (2000). Metal Artifact Reduction Sequence: Early Clinical Applications. Radiographicsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: A Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc, 20, 699–712. Prashant, M. (2014). Aliasing artifacts. Retrieved May 11, 2015, from http://radiopaedia.org/cases/aliasing-artifacts Ruan, C. (2013). MRI Artifactsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: Mechanism and Control. Personal Conclusion, 1–9. Schubert, R. (2012). Magnetic susceptibility artifact. Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://radiopaedia.org/cases/magnetic-susceptibility-artifact Stadler, A., Schima, W., Ba-Ssalamah, A., Kettenbach, J., Eisenhuber, E. (2007). Artifacts in body MR imaging: Their appearance and how to eliminate them. European Radiology, 17, 1242–1255. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-006-0470-4 Westbrook, C., Roth, C. K., Talbot, J. (2011). MRI In Practice (4th Editio, pp. 225–260). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. www.mr-tip.com. (n.d.). MRI Artifacts. Retrieved May 8, 2015, from http://www.mr-tip.com/serv1.php?type=artsub=Gibbs Artifact Zhuo, J., Gullapalli, R. P. (2006). AAPM/RSNA physics tutorial for residents: MR artifacts, safety, and quality control. Radiographicsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: A Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc, 26, 275–297. http://doi.org/10.1148/rg.261055134

Village Volvo Case Study Essay -- Business Analysis Automobile Industr

Village Volvo Case Study 1. Village Volvo is an independent service operation that provides quality repair service on out of warranty Volvo at reasonable cost. The shop was build in suburb in the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, it is not centrally and conveniently located for all of the customers, however a daily shuttle service is considered, since no alternate transportation is presently available. Village Volvo is based in a new butler building that has four work bays, plus the office, storage and the waiting room. They designed the waiting area with comfortable chairs, with TV sets, coffee, soft drinks, magazines and local newspaper. With 22 years of training and great deal of experience, Volvo is known for their satisfactory service. This operation offers a custom car service that is not normally available at the local service. They consistently maintain the set schedule for the clients who need a quick routine service, but they push clients to make appointments for repair of detailed problem. For example 3-5 PM on Wednesday and 8-10 AM on Thursday for a quick jobs. They don’t do any repairs between 7-8 AM and 5-6 PM. Each appointment is very detailed planned. There is a mechanic assigned to every client who will work on the car as well as discussing the problems and concerns of the client. The mechanic has access to the CCVD, history of the file records on each vehicle it services. After the diagnosis made by mechanic the service manager, who is the main contact provides the owner with all the detail cost and the time frame of the repair. Each repair comes with notes for the client of any potention... ...r issue is their location, perhaps I would choose more centralized place for the next Village Volvo shop. Finally, due to its location and no alternate transportation offered maybe they could think of something like a family package or little entertaining service for the kids. Many parents or single parents may consider and run their â€Å"car errands† on the weekends, when there is no school. The ideal situation would be to drop off the car and have a little time to play or put the kid in the â€Å"car school† where the children can drive a little plastic cars, learn the road rules and the signs, play the bus/ car/ gas station†¦etc. The kids would love it and parents can easily run the errands with their children and spend some more time together. This way the Village Volvo would definitely differentiate from Volvo dealers.

Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay -- Alienation Capitalist Socie

Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation THE TERM "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society. Alienation, in Marxist terms, refers to the separation of the mass of wage workers from the products of their own labor. Marx first expressed the idea, somewhat poetically, in his 1844 Manuscripts: "The object that labor produces, its product, stands opposed to it as something alien, as a power independent of the producer." Most of us own neither the tools and machinery we work with nor the products that we produce--they belong to the capitalist that hired us. But everything we work on and in at some point comes from human labor. The irony is that everywhere we turn, we are confronted with the work of our own hands and brains, and yet these products of our labor appear as things outside of us, and outside of our control. Work and the products of work dominate us, rather than t... Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation Essay -- Alienation Capitalist Socie Karl Marx - Capitalist Alienation THE TERM "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society. Alienation, in Marxist terms, refers to the separation of the mass of wage workers from the products of their own labor. Marx first expressed the idea, somewhat poetically, in his 1844 Manuscripts: "The object that labor produces, its product, stands opposed to it as something alien, as a power independent of the producer." Most of us own neither the tools and machinery we work with nor the products that we produce--they belong to the capitalist that hired us. But everything we work on and in at some point comes from human labor. The irony is that everywhere we turn, we are confronted with the work of our own hands and brains, and yet these products of our labor appear as things outside of us, and outside of our control. Work and the products of work dominate us, rather than t...

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 HAVE YOURSELF A NASTY LITTLE CHRISTMAS Josh wiped the tears off his face, took a deep breath, and headed up the walk to his house. He was still shaking from having seen Santa take a shovel in the throat, but now it occurred to him that it might not be enough to get him out of trouble. The first thing his mom would say was, Well, what were you doing out so late anyway? And dumb Brian, who was not Josh's real dad but Mom's dumb boyfriend, would say, â€Å"Yeah, Santa would probably still be alive if you hadn't stayed so long at Sam's house.† So, there on the front step, he decided to go with total hysteria. He started breathing hard, pumping up some tears, got a good whimpering sob going, then opened the door with a dieseling back sniffle. He fell onto the welcome mat and let loose with a full fire-truck-siren wail. And nothing happened. No one said a word. No one came running. So Josh crawled into the living room, trailing a nice fiber-optic string of drool from his lower lip to the carpet as he chanted a mucusy â€Å"Momma,† knowing that it would completely disarm her temper and get her all fired up to protect him from dumb Brian, for whom he had no magic manipulation chant. But nobody called him, nobody came running, dumb Brian was not sprawled across the couch like the great sleepy slug that he was. Josh wound it down. â€Å"Mom?† Just the hint of a sob there, ready to go full bore again when she answered. He went into the kitchen, where the memo light was blinking on Mom's machine. Josh wiped his nose on his sleeve and hit the button. â€Å"Hi, Joshy,† his mom said, her cheerful overtired voice. â€Å"Brian and I had to go out to eat with some buyers. There's a Stouffer's mac and cheese in the freezer. We should be home before eight. Do your homework. Call my cell if you get scared.† Josh couldn't believe the luck. He checked the clock on the microwave. Only seven-thirty. Excellent! Latch-keyed loose like a magic elf. Yes! Dumb Brian had come through with a business dinner. He grabbed the Stouffer's out of the freezer, popped it – box and all – into the microwave, and hit the preset time. You didn't really have to peel the plastic back like they said. If you just nuke it in the box, the cardboard will keep it from exploding all over the microwave when the plastic goes. Josh didn't know why they didn't just put that in the instructions. He went back into the living room, turned on the TV, and plopped down on the floor in front of it to wait for the microwave to beep. Maybe he should call Sam, he thought. Tell him about Santa. But Sam didn't believe in Santa. He said that Santa was just something the goys made up to make them feel better about not having a menorah. That was crap, of course. Goys (a Jewish word for girls and boys, Sam had explained) didn't want a menorah. They wanted toys. Sam was just saying that because he was mad because instead of Christmas they had snipped the tip of his penis off and said mazel tov. â€Å"Wow, sucks to be you,† said Josh. â€Å"We're the Chosen,† said Sam. â€Å"Not for kickball† â€Å"Shut up.† â€Å"No, you shut up.† â€Å"No, you shut up.† Sam was Josh's best friend and they understood each other, but would Sam know what to do about a murder? Especially a murder of an important person? You were supposed to go to an adult in these situations, Josh was pretty sure of it. Fire, an injured friend, a bad touch, you were supposed to tell an adult, a parent, a teacher, or a policeman, and no one would be mad at you. (But if you found your mom's boyfriend lighting a giant chili-dog-and-beer fart in the garage workshop, the police absolutely did not want to know about it. Josh had learned that lesson the hard way.) A commercial came on, and Josh's mac and cheese was still surfing the microwaves, so he debated calling 911 or praying, and decided to go with the prayer. Like calling 911, you weren't supposed to pray for just anything. For instance, God did not care whether or not you got your bandicoot through the fire level on PlayStation, and if you asked for help there, there was a good chance that he would ignore you when you really needed help, like for a spelling test or if your mom got cancer. Josh reckoned it was sort of like cell-phone minutes, but this seemed like a real emergency. â€Å"Our Heavenly Father,† Josh began. You never used God's first name – that was like a commandment or something. â€Å"This is Josh Barker, six-seventy-one Worchester Street, Pine Cove, California nine-three-seven, five-four. I saw Santa tonight, which was great, and thank you for that, but then, right after I saw him, he got killed with a shovel, and so, I'm afraid that there's not going to be any Christmas and I've been good, which I'm sure you'll see if you check Santa's list, so if you don't mind could you please make Santa come back to life and make everything okay for Christmas?† No, no, no, that sounded really selfish. Quickly he added: â€Å"And a Happy Hanukkah to you and all the Jewish people like Sam and his family. Mazel tov.† There. Perfect. He felt a lot better. The microwave beeped and Josh ran to the kitchen, right into the legs of a really tall man in a long black coat who was standing by the counter. Josh screamed and the man took him by the arms, picked him up, and looked him over like he was a gemstone or a really tasty dessert. Josh kicked and squirmed, but the blond man held him fast. â€Å"You're a child,† said the blond man. Josh stopped kicking for a second and looked into the impossibly blue eyes of the stranger, who was now studying him in much the same way a bear might examine a portable television while wondering how to get all those tasty little people out of it. â€Å"Well, duh,† said Josh. The Christmas tree took a wide left onto Cypress Street. Finding that somewhat suspicious, Constable Theophilus Crowe pulled in behind it as he dug the little blue light out of the glove compartment of his Volvo and stuck it on the roof. Theo was relatively sure that there was a vehicle under the Christmas tree somewhere, but all he could see right now were the taillights shining through the branches in the back. As he followed the tree up Cypress, past the burger stand and Brine's Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines, a pinecone the size of a Nerf football broke loose and rolled off to the side of the street, bouncing and thumping into one of the gas pumps. Theo hit the siren one time, just a chirp, thinking he'd better stop this before someone got hurt. There was no way that the driver under the Christmas tree could see the road clearly. The tree was driving trunk first, so the widest, thickest branches were covering the front of the vehicle. The tree's tires chirped with a downshift. It killed the lights and screeched around the corner on Worchester Street, leaving a trail of rolling pinecones and pine-fresh exhaust. Under normal circumstances, if a suspect tried to elude Theo, he would have called it into the county sheriff's immediately, hoping a deputy in the area might provide backup, but he'd be damned if he was going to call in that he was in hot pursuit of a fugitive Christmas tree. Theo turned the siren onto full shriek and took off up the hill after the fleeing conifer, thinking for the fiftieth time that day that life had seemed a lot easier when he'd smoked pot. â€Å"Boy, you don't see that every day,† said Tucker Case, who was sitting at a window table at H.P.'s Caf, waiting for Lena to come back from freshening up in the rest-room. H.P.'s – a mix of pseudo Tudor and Country Kitchen Cute – was Pine Cove's most popular restaurant, and tonight it was completely packed. The waitress, a pretty redhead in her forties, glanced up from the tray of drinks she was delivering and said, â€Å"Yeah, Theo hardly ever chases anyone.† â€Å"That Volvo was chasing a pine tree,† Tuck said. â€Å"Could be,† said the waitress. â€Å"Theo used to do a lot of drugs.† â€Å"No, really – † Tuck tried to explain, but she had headed back to the kitchen. Lena was returning to the table. She was still in the black tank top under an open flannel shirt, but she had washed the streaks of mud from her face and her dark hair was brushed out around her shoulders. To Tuck she looked like the sexy but tough Indian guide chick in the movies, who always leads the group of nerdy businessmen into the wilderness where they are assaulted by vicious rednecks, bears gone mutant from exposure to phosphate laundry detergent, or ancient Indian spirits with a grudge. â€Å"You look great,† Tuck said. â€Å"Are you Native American?† â€Å"What was the siren about?† Lena asked, sliding into the seat across from him. â€Å"Nothing. A traffic thing.† â€Å"This is just so wrong.† She looked around, as if everyone knew how wrong it was. â€Å"Wrong.† â€Å"No, it's good,† Tuck said with a big smile, trying to make his blue eyes twinkle in the candlelight, but forgetting where exactly his twinkle muscles were located. â€Å"We'll have a nice meal, get to know each other a little.† She leaned over the table and whispered harshly, â€Å"There's a dead man out there. A man I used to be married to.† â€Å"Shh, shh, shh,† Tuck shushed, gently placing a finger against her lip, trying to sound comforting and maybe a little European. â€Å"Now is not the time to talk of this, my sweet.† She grabbed his finger and bent it back. â€Å"I don't know what to do.† Tuck was twisted in his seat, leaning back to relieve the unnatural angle in which his finger was pointing. â€Å"Appetizer?† he suggested. â€Å"Salad?† Lena let go of his finger and covered her face with her hands. â€Å"I can't do this.† â€Å"What? It's just dinner,† said Tuck. â€Å"No pressure.† He had never really dated much – gone on dates, that is. He'd met and seduced a lot of women, but it was never over a series of evenings with dinner and conversation – usually just some drinks and vulgarity at an airport hotel lounge had done the trick. He felt it was time he behaved like a grown-up – get to know a woman before he slept with her. His therapist had suggested it right before she'd stopped treating him, right after he'd hit on her. It wasn't going to be easy. In his experience things went a lot better with women before they got to know him, when they could still project hope and potential on him. â€Å"We just buried my ex-husband,† Lena said. â€Å"Sure, sure, but then we delivered Christmas trees to the poor. A little perspective, huh? A lot of people have buried their spouses.† â€Å"Not personally. With the shovel they killed him with.† â€Å"You may want to keep it down a little.† Tuck checked the diners at the nearby tables to see if they were listening, but they all seemed to be discussing the pine tree that had just driven by. â€Å"Let's talk about something else. Interests? Hobbies? Movies?† Lena tossed her head as if she didn't hear him right, then stared as if to say, Are you nuts? â€Å"Well, for instance,† he pressed on, â€Å"I rented the strangest movie last night. Did you know that Babes in Toyland was a Christmas movie?† â€Å"Of course, what did you think it was?† â€Å"Well, I thought, well – now it's your turn. What's your favorite movie?† Lena leaned close to Tuck and searched his eyes to see if he might be joking. Tuck batted his eyelashes, trying to look innocent. â€Å"Who are you?† Lena finally asked. â€Å"I told you.† â€Å"But, what's wrong with you? You shouldn't be so – so calm, while I'm a nervous wreck. Have you done this kind of thing before?† â€Å"Sure. Are you kidding? I'm a pilot, I've eaten in restaurants all over the world.† â€Å"Not dinner, you idiot! I know you've had dinner before! What, are you retarded?† â€Å"Okay, now everybody is looking. You can't just say ‘retarded' in public like that – people take offense because, you know, many of them are. You're supposed to say ‘developmentally disabled. â€Å" Lena stood up and threw her napkin on the table. â€Å"Tucker, thank you for helping me, but I can't do this. I'm going to go talk to the police.† She turned and stormed through the restaurant toward the door. â€Å"We'll be back,† Tuck called to the waitress. He nodded to the nearby tables. â€Å"Sorry. She's a little high-strung. She didn't mean to say ‘retarded. † Then he went after Lena, snatching his leather jacket off the back of his chair as he went. He caught up with her as she was rounding the corner of the building into the parking lot. He caught her by the shoulder and spun her around, making sure that she saw that he was smiling when she completed the turn. Blinking Christmas lights played red and green highlights across her dark hair, making the scowl she was aiming at him seem festive. â€Å"Leave me alone, Tucker. I'm going to the police. I'll just explain that it was just an accident.† â€Å"No. I won't let you. You can't.† â€Å"Why can't I?† â€Å"Because I'm your alibi.† â€Å"If I turn myself in, I won't need an alibi.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Well?† â€Å"I want to spend Christmas with you.† Lena softened, her eyes going wide, the swell of a tear watering up in one eye. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Really.† Tuck was more than a little uncomfortable with his own honesty – he was standing like someone had just poured hot coffee in his lap and he was trying to keep the front of his pants from touching him. Lena held out her arms and Tuck walked into them, guiding her hands inside his jacket and around his ribs. He rested his cheek against her hair and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of her shampoo and the residual pine scent picked up from handling the Christmas trees. She didn't smell like a murderer – she smelled like a woman. â€Å"Okay,† she whispered. â€Å"I don't know who you are, Tucker Case, but I think I'd like to spend Christmas with you, too.† She buried her face in his chest and held him until there was a thump against his back, followed by a loud scratching noise on his jacket. She pushed him back just as the fruit bat peeked his little doggie face over the pilot's shoulder and barked. Lena leaped back and screamed like a bunny in a blender. â€Å"What in the hell is that?† she asked, backing across the parking lot. â€Å"Roberto,† Tuck said. â€Å"I mentioned him before.† â€Å"This is too weird. Too weird.† Lena began to chant and pace in a circle, glancing up at Tuck and his bat every couple of seconds. She paused. â€Å"He's wearing sunglasses.† â€Å"Yeah, and don't think it's easy finding Ray-Bans in a fruit-bat medium.† Meanwhile, up at the Santa Rosa Chapel, Constable Theophilus Crowe had finally caught up to the fugitive Christmas tree. He trained the headlights of the Volvo on the suspect evergreen and stood behind the car door for cover. If he'd had a public-address system he would have used it to issue commands, but since the county had never given him one, he shouted. â€Å"Get out of the vehicle, hands first, and turn and face me!† If he'd had a weapon he would have drawn it, but he'd left his Glock on the top shelf of his closet next to Molly's old nicked-up broadsword. He realized that the car door was actually only providing cover to the lower third of his body, and he reached down and rolled up the window. Then, feeling awkward, he slammed the door and loped toward the Christmas tree. â€Å"Goddammit, come out of the tree. Right now!† He heard a car window whiz down and then a voice. â€Å"Oh my, Officer, you are so forceful.† A familiar voice. Somewhere under there was a Honda CRV – and the woman he had married. â€Å"Molly?† He should have known. Even when she stayed on her meds, as she had promised she would, she could still be â€Å"artistic.† Her term. The branches of the big pine tree shuffled and out stepped his wife, wearing a green Santa hat, jeans, red sneakers, and a jean jacket with studs down the sleeves. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail that trailed down her back. She might have been a biker elf. She rushed out of the branches as if she were ducking the blades of a helicopter, then ran to his side. â€Å"Look at this magnificent son of a bitch!† She gestured to the tree, put her arm around his waist, pulled him close, humped his leg a little. â€Å"Isn't it great?† â€Å"It certainly is – uh, large. How'd you get it on the car? â€Å"Took some time. I hoisted it up on some ropes, then drove under it. Do you think there'll be a flat spot where it dragged on the road?† Theo looked the tree up and down, back and forth, watched the car exhaust boiling out of the branches. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he had to ask. â€Å"You didn't buy this at the hardware store, did you?† â€Å"No, there was a problem with that. But I saved a ton of money. Cut it myself. Completely totaled my broadsword, but look at this son of a bitch. Look at this glorious bastard!† â€Å"You cut it down with your sword?† Theo wasn't so worried about what she had cut it down with, but from where she'd cut it. He had a secret in the forest near their cabin. â€Å"Yeah. We don't have a chain saw that I don't know about, do we?† â€Å"No.† Actually they did, in the garage, hidden behind some paint cans. He'd hidden it when her  «artistic » moments had been more frequent. â€Å"That's not the problem, sweetie. I think the problem is that it's too big.† â€Å"No,† she said, walking the length of the tree now, pausing to jump through the branches and turn off the Honda's engine. â€Å"That's where you're wrong. Observe, double doors into the chapel.† Theo observed. The chapel did, indeed, have double doors. There was a single mercury lamp illuminating the gravel parking lot, but he could clearly see the little white chapel, the shadows of gravestones showing dimly behind it – a graveyard where they'd been planting Pine Covers for a hundred years. â€Å"And the ceiling in the main room is thirty feet tall at the peak. This tree is only twenty-nine feet tall. We pull it through the doors backward and stand that baby up. I'll need your help, but, you know, you don't mind.† â€Å"I don't?† Molly pulled open her jean jacket and flashed Theo, exposing his favorite breasts, right down to the shiny scar that ran across the top of the right one, cocked up like a curious purple eyebrow. It was like unexpectedly running into two tender friends, both a little pale from being out of the sun, a tad humbled by time, but with alert pink noses upturned by the night chill. And as quickly as they appeared, the jacket was pulled shut and Theo felt like he'd been shut out in the cold. â€Å"Okay, I don't mind,† he said, trying to buy time for the blood to return to his brain. â€Å"How do you know the ceiling is thirty feet tall?† â€Å"From our wedding pictures. I cut you out and used you to measure the whole building. It was just under five Theos tall.† â€Å"You cut up our wedding pictures?† â€Å"Not the good ones. Come on, help me get the tree off the car.† She turned quickly and her jacket fanned out behind her. â€Å"Molly, I wish you wouldn't go out like that.† â€Å"You mean like this?† She turned, lapels in hand. And there they were again, his pink-nosed friends. â€Å"Let's get the tree set up and then do it in the graveyard, okay?† She jumped a little for emphasis and Theo nodded, following the recoil. He suspected that he was being manipulated, enslaved by his own sexual weakness, but he couldn't quite figure out why that was a bad thing. After all, he was among friends. â€Å"Sweetheart, I'm a peace officer, I can't –  » â€Å"Come on, it will be nasty.† She said nasty like it meant delicious, which is what she meant. â€Å"Molly, after five years together, I'm not sure we're supposed to be nasty.† But even as he said it, Theo was moving toward the big evergreen, looking for the ropes that secured it to the Honda. Over in the graveyard, the dead, who had been listening all along, began to murmur anxiously about the new Christmas tree and the impending sex show. They'd heard it all, the dead: crying children, wailing widows, confessions, condemnations, questions that they could never answer; Halloween dares, raving drunks-invoking the ghosts or just apologizing for drawing breath; would-be witches, chanting at indifferent spirits, tourists rubbing the old tombstones with paper and charcoal like curious dogs scratching at the grave to get in. Funerals, confirmations, communions, weddings, square dances, heart attacks, junior-high hand jobs, wakes gone awry, vandalism, Handel's Messiah, a birth, a murder, eighty-three Passion plays, eighty-five Christmas pageants, a dozen brides barking over tombstones like taffeta sea lions as the best man gave it to them dog style, and now and again, couples who needed something dark and smelling of damp earth to give their sex life a jolt: the dead had heard it. â€Å"Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!† Molly cried from her seat astraddle the town constable, who was squirming on an uncomfortable bed of plastic roses a few feet above a dead schoolteacher. â€Å"They always think they're the first ones. Ooooo, let's do it in the graveyard,† said Bess Leander, whose husband had served her foxglove tea with her last breakfast. â€Å"I know, there are three used condoms on my grave from this week alone,† said Arthur Tannbeau, citrus farmer, deceased five years. â€Å"How can you tell?† They heard everything, but their vision was limited. â€Å"The smell.† â€Å"That's disgusting,† said Esther, the schoolteacher. It's hard to shock the dead. Esther was feigning disgust. â€Å"What's all the racket? I was sleeping.† Malcolm Cowley, antique book dealer, myocardial infarction over Dickens. â€Å"Theo Crowe, the constable, and his crazy wife doing it on Esther's grave,† said Arthur. â€Å"I'll bet she's off her meds.† â€Å"Five years they've been married and they're still at this kind of thing?† Since her death, Bess had taken a strong antirelationship stance. â€Å"Postmarital sex is so pedestrian.† Malcolm again, ever bored with provincial, small-town death. â€Å"Some postmortem sex, that's what I could use,† said the late Marty in the Morning, KGOB radio's top DJ with a bullet – a pioneer carjack victim back when hair bands ruled the airwaves. â€Å"A rave in the grave, if you get my meaning.† â€Å"Listen to her. I'd like to slip the bone to her,† said Jimmy Antalvo, who'd kissed a pole on his Kawasaki to remain ever nineteen. â€Å"Which one?† Marty cackled. â€Å"The new Christmas tree sounds lovely,† said Esther. â€Å"I do hope they sing ‘Good King Wenceslas' this year.† â€Å"If they do,† spouted the moldy book dealer, â€Å"you'll find me justly spinning in my grave.† â€Å"You wish,† said Jimmy Antalvo. â€Å"Hell, I wish.† The dead did not spin in their graves, they did not move – nor could they speak, except to one another, voices without air. What they did was sleep, awakening to listen, to chat a bit, then, eventually, to never wake again. Sometimes it took twenty years, sometimes as long as forty before they took the big sleep, but no one could remember hearing a voice from longer ago than that. Six feet above them, Molly punctuated her last few convulsive climactic bucks with, â€Å"I – AM – SO – GOING – TO – WASH – YOUR – VOLVO – WHEN – WE – GET – HOME! YES! YES! YES!† Then she sighed and fell forward to nuzzle Theo's chest as she caught her breath. â€Å"I don't know what that means,† Theo said. â€Å"It means I'm going to wash your car for you.† â€Å"Oh, it's not a euphemism, like, wash the old Volvo. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?† â€Å"Nope. It's your reward.† Now that they were finished, Theo was having a hard time ignoring the plastic flowers that were impressed in his bare backside. â€Å"I thought this was my reward.† He gestured to her bare thighs on either side of him, the divots her knees had made in the dirt, her hair played out across his chest. Molly pushed up and looked down at him. â€Å"No, this was your reward for helping me with the Christmas tree. Washing your car is your reward for this.† â€Å"Oh,† Theo said. â€Å"I love you.† â€Å"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick,† said a newly dead voice from across the woods. â€Å"Who's the new guy?† asked Marty in the Morning. The radio on Theo's belt, which was down around his knees, crackled. â€Å"Pine Cove Constable, come in. Theo?† Theo did an awkward sit-up and grabbed the radio. â€Å"Go ahead, Dispatch.† â€Å"Theo, we have a two-oh-seven-A at six-seven-one Worchester Street. The victim is alone and the suspect may still be in the area. I've dispatched two units, but they're twenty minutes out.† â€Å"I can be there in five minutes,† Theo said. â€Å"Suspect is a white male, over six feet, long blond hair, wearing a long black raincoat or overcoat.† â€Å"Roger, Dispatch. I'm on my way.† Theo was trying to pull his pants up with one hand while working the radio with the other. Molly was on her feet already, naked from the waist down, holding her jeans and sneakers rolled up under her left arm. She extended a hand to help Theo up. â€Å"What's a two-oh-seven?† â€Å"Not sure,† said Theo, letting her lever him to his feet. â€Å"Either an attempted kidnapping or a possum with a handgun.† â€Å"You have plastic flowers stuck to your butt.† â€Å"Probably the former, she didn't say anything about shots fired.† â€Å"No, leave them. They're cute.†