Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 19~20

CHAPTER NINETEEN Scooter Don't Meep The whale tossed like a roller coaster moving through tomato soup – great gut-flopping waves of muscular motion. Quinn rolled to his hands and knees and urped his breakfast into a splatter pattern across the rubbery gray floor, then heaved in time with the rhythm of the whale's swimming until he was empty and exhausted. â€Å"Hurl patrol,† came a voice out of the dark. â€Å"Flush and gush, boys, the doc blew ballast back here,† came another voice. Quinn rolled onto his bottom and scooted away from the voices until he came against a bulkhead, which was warm and moist and gave at his touch. He felt huge muscles moving behind the skin and nearly jumped. He scooted away, then sat balled up near where he'd been sick. Cold seawater rolled down from the front of the whale and over his feet, taking his recently vacated breakfast with it. His ears popped with a pressure increase, and in a second the water was gone. The interior of the whale looked like a bad van conversion done by a latex freak: damp, rubbery skin over everything, lit by a light blue haze coming from the eyes up front, the rest dimly lit by bioluminescent strips of green that ran over the top of the teardrop-shaped chamber. At the front of the chamber, on either side by the eyes, two things sat in seats that wrapped around their bodies. Quinn didn't know what they were, and his mind felt as if it were ripping open trying to grasp the whole of the situation. Details like nonhuman humanoids decked out in gray skin couldn't register enough space in his consciousness to be examined or analyzed. In fact, he could keep his eyes open for only a few seconds before the nausea returned. Inside the whale smelled like fish. Standing, or sort of standing – riding was a more appropriate term, as everything inside the whale was moving – behind the seated creatures were two men, one about forty, the other twenty-five, both barefoot but wearing military khakis without insignias or any badges of rank, but the older man was obviously in command. Quinn had tried for five minutes to ask them the questions coming into his mind, but each time he opened his mouth, he had to stop himself from throwing up. He'd always considered himself pretty seaworthy until now. â€Å"What†¦?† he managed to get out before his gorge rose again. â€Å"It really helps with the incredulity if you accept that you're dead,† said the older man. â€Å"I'm dead?† â€Å"I didn't say that, but if you accept that you are, it sort of quells the anxiety.† â€Å"Yeah, if you're already dead, what bad can really happen?† said the younger guy. â€Å"Then I am dead?† â€Å"Nope. Breathe and go with the motion,† said the older guy. â€Å"It's not going to stop, so if you fight it, you'll lose.† â€Å"Your lunch,† added the young guy, and then he let loose a giggle at his own joke. â€Å"There's less motion toward the front. The head tracks close to level. But you knew that.† Quinn hadn't been able to apply any of his analytical powers to the situation because he flat couldn't accept it. Yes, in another world he realized that he knew that the whale's head would have less motion than the tail, but he'd never even considered that he might be thinking about it from the perspective of an internal organ. â€Å"I'm inside a whale?† â€Å"Ding, ding, ding, he's gotten the bonus answer.† The young guy leaned back against the back of the seat where one of the gray creatures was sitting, and a chairlike protrusion rose out of the floor to catch him. â€Å"Tell him what he's won, Captain.† â€Å"Hospitality, Poe. Help the doctor up to the front so we can talk without him tossing his cookies.† The younger guy helped Quinn to his feet and across the undulating floor to the chair thing that had risen behind one of the gray creatures facing the back of the ship. Once close to the creatures, Quinn couldn't take his eyes off them. They were humanoid, in that they had two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head, but their heads were like that of a pilot whale, with a large melon in the front – for transmitting and receiving sound underwater, Quinn guessed – and their eyes were set wide to the side, so the creatures would see with binocular vision. Their hands were inserted into consoles that rose out of the floor and appeared to have no instrumentation whatsoever except for some bioluminescent nodules that looked like cloudy eyeballs and emitted different colors of light. The creatures appeared as if they had become part of the whale. â€Å"We call them the whaley boys,† the older man said. â€Å"They pilot the whale.† â€Å"The one directly behind you is Scooter, the other one is Skippy. Say hi, guys.† The creatures turned as far as the chairs would allow them and made clicking and squeaking noises, then seemed to smile at Quinn. While smiling they showed mouthfuls of sharp, peglike teeth. With the teeth set against their dark gray skins and the melon above, the whaley boys put Quinn in mind of more cheerful versions of the creature from the Alien movies. Scooter saluted Nate with a hand consisting of four very long webbed fingers and only the suggestion of a thumb. â€Å"They say hi,† said Poe. â€Å"I'm Poe. This is Captain Poynter.† Poynter, the older man, tipped his hat and offered a hand to shake. Quinn took it and waggled it limply. â€Å"The whaley boys don't speak English as we know it,† Poe said, â€Å"although they have a few squeaks that come out like words. They're tapped directly in to the whale's nervous system. They steer it, control all the processes at any given time. We can't do much on the whales without them. Certainly could never drive one. The whales and the whaley boys are made for each other.† Poe pushed against the back of Skippy's seat, and another seat formed out of the floor to cradle him as he leaned back into it. â€Å"I love that,† Poe said. Poynter backed up to a rubbery bulkhead, and a seat formed out of the wall to catch him as well. â€Å"If they're paying attention, they'll never let you fall.† Poe grinned. â€Å"Of course, almost everything in here is soft – child safe, don't you know – except the spine, which runs over the top, so you wouldn't be hurt if you did fall. But just the same, we're secured when they're doing maneuvers. You think you're sick now – wait until we go for a breach. Don't freak out.† Poe turned to the whaley boys. â€Å"Secure the doc, boys.† The arms of the seat shape wrapped over Quinn's lap. Parts came over his shoulders and fused across his chest, then around his hips and over his lap. Quinn freaked out. â€Å"Get it off me! Get it off me! I can't breathe!† â€Å"Prepare for breach,† said Poynter. Scooter chirped. Skippy grinned. Similar restraints extruded from all their seats, securing them. The attitude of the whale changed, going up at a nearly sixty-degree angle – and then the angle went sharper as they moved. Quinn was looking backward at the tail section of the teardrop interior. The lurching movement of the luminescent strips was starting to nauseate him. He could feel his internal organs shifting with the acceleration, and then the whale ship went vertical and airborne. At the apex of the motion, Quinn's stomach tried to escape through his diaphragm, then shifted as they fell sideways. There was an enormous concussion as the ship hit the water. Slowly the whale came back around, and they were horizontal again. The whaley boys chirped and clicked gleefully, grinning back at Quinn, then at each other, then back at Quinn, nodding as if to say, Was that cool, or what? Their necks were nearly as wide as their shoulders, and Quinn could see heavy muscles moving under the skin. â€Å"They love that,† said Poynter. â€Å"I kind of like it, too,† said Poe. â€Å"Except when they go overboard and do twenty or thirty breaches in a row. Even I get sick when they do that. And the noise†¦ well, you heard it.† Quinn shook his head, closed his eyes, then opened them again. The only way to deal with this experience was to accept it at face value: He was in a whale, one that was somehow being used as a submarine by human and nonhuman sentient creatures. Everything he knew no longer applied, but then again, maybe it did. What put him on the less loopy side of sanity was noticing the whaley boys' thick necks. â€Å"They're amphibious, right?† Quinn asked Poynter. â€Å"Their necks are thick to take the stress of swimming at high speeds?† Quinn rose in his chair as far as the restraints would allow and saw that Scooter did indeed have a blowhole just behind his melon. He was a humanoid whale, or a dolphin creature. Scooter was impossible. All of this was impossible. The details, not the big picture, Quinn reminded himself. In the big picture there be madness. â€Å"They're like a whale/human hybrid, aren't they?† â€Å"Which would be why we call them the whaley boys,† said Poynter. â€Å"Wait, are you accusing us of something?† asked Poe. â€Å"Because these guys are not the love children of us and some whales. We don't do that kind of thing.† â€Å"Well, there was that one time,† said Poynter. â€Å"Okay, yeah, just that one time,† said Poe. But Quinn was studying Scooter, and Scooter was eyeing him right back. â€Å"Although they appear to be able to turn their heads, like beluga whales. Their neck vertebrae probably aren't fused like most whales'.† The scientist rising, Quinn was comfortable now, his fear taken away by curiosity. He was focused on finding out things, which was his home turf, even in this completely unreal situation. If he focused on the details, the big picture wouldn't throw him over the edge into drooling lunacy. â€Å"Let's ask them,† said Poe. â€Å"Scooter, are your vertebrae fused together, or are you just a big, no-necked gray thug?† Scooter turned his head to Poe and made a loud raspberry sound, spraying whaley spit all down the front of Poe's khakis and increasing the odor of decaying fish in the cabin by a factor of ten. â€Å"We don't know what they are, Dr. Quinn,† said Captain Poynter. â€Å"They were here when we got here, and we got here just like you did. We've all been on this ride.† â€Å"Meep,† said Skippy. â€Å"I taught him that,† said Poe. â€Å"That's from a Warner Brothers' cartoon,† Quinn said. â€Å"Road Runner.† â€Å"No, that would be two meeps. Skippy only does one. Therefore, it's original. Isn't that right, Skippy?† â€Å"Meep.† For some reason the meep did it. Some minds, particularly those with a scientific bent, a love of truth and certainty, have limits to how much absurdity they can handle. And here Quinn found himself well over the limit. â€Å"Skippy and Scooter and Poynter and Poe – I can't handle it!† he screamed. He felt as if his mind were a rubber band being stretched to breaking, and the meep had tweaked it. He screamed until he could feel veins pulsing in his forehead. â€Å"You let it out now,† said Captain Poynter. â€Å"Just go with it.† Then, to Poe, â€Å"You know, I wouldn't have thought the alliteration would have done it. You ever hear of that?† â€Å"Nope, I had an uncle who used to get nauseated at Reader's Digest article titles – you know, ‘Terrible Truths of Toxic Toe Jam' – but I thought it was more because he read them in the doctor's office than the alliteration. You sure it wasn't the meep that did it?† â€Å"This can't be happening. This can't be happening,† Quinn chanted. He was hyperventilating, and his vision had gone to a blur, his heart pounding like he'd been running a sprint across an electrified floor. â€Å"Anxiety attack,† said Poynter. He put his hand on Quinn's forehead and spoke softly. â€Å"Okay, Doc, here's the skinny. You are in a living ship that resembles a whale but is not a whale. There are two other guys aboard who have lived through this, so you can live through this. In addition, there are two guys who are not strictly human, but they won't hurt you. You are going to live and deal with this. This is real. You are not insane. Now, calm the fuck down.† And it was then that Poynter stepped back and Poe threw the bucket of cold seawater in Quinn's face. â€Å"Hey,† Quinn said. He sputtered and blinked seawater out of his eyes. â€Å"I told you to go with the dead thing, but you didn't listen,† Poe said. Nothing had changed, but things, his heart, slowed down, and Quinn looked around. â€Å"Where did that bucket come from? There was no bucket in here. There was nothing but us. And where did you get the water?† Poe held the bucket at ready. â€Å"You're sure you're okay? I don't want to freak you out again.† â€Å"Yeah. I'm okay,† said Quinn. And actually, he was. He'd decided to go with the idea that he was already dead, and that seemed to make everything fall into perspective. â€Å"I'm dead.† â€Å"That's the spirit,† said Poe. He held the bucket against a wall, and a small portal opened and sucked the bucket in. Quinn would have sworn there hadn't been any seams in the wall to indicate there'd been an opening there. â€Å"Hey,† said Poynter, taking on the tone of the deeply offended, â€Å"now that you're dead, I've got a bone to pick with you about not bringing me my sandwich.† Quinn looked at the sharp features and narrowed eyes of the captain – who now seemed genuinely angry – and a shiver ran through his body that had nothing to do with the cold seawater running out of his hair. â€Å"Sorry,† he said, shrugging as much as he could in the restraints. â€Å"Damn it, how hard could that have been? You've got a Ph.D. for Christ's sake – you can't get a fucking pastrami on rye? I've got a good mind to chuck you out the anus.† â€Å"Shhhhhhhh, Cap,† Poe said. â€Å"That was gonna be a surprise.† â€Å"Meep,† said Skippy. CHAPTER TWENTY Missing Biscuit, Flopping Tuna â€Å"Bwana Clay, you seen the Snowy Biscuit?† Clay and Clair sat on the lanai of Clay's bungalow drinking mai-tais and watching smoke roll out the vents of a Weber kettle barbecue. Kona had his long board tucked underneath his arm and was heading for his Maui cruiser, a lime Krylon-over-rust 1975 BMW 2002, with no windows and seats that were covered in ratty blankets. Clay was two mai-tais south of lucid, but he could still talk, â€Å"She took Nate's truck into town this morning. Haven't seen her since.† â€Å"Sistah wanted me to teach her some surfing. Got some easy sets rolling on West Shore, good for that.† â€Å"Sorry,† said Clay. â€Å"We're smoking a big hunk of ahi tuna if you'd like to join us.† â€Å"No,† said Clair. â€Å"Tanks, but I'm going down to Lahaina town and see if I can find that Snowy Biscuit. We going to work tomorrow?† â€Å"Maybe,† said Clay, trying to think through a rum cloud. They'd pulled the Always Confused up out of the bottom of the harbor, and the boatyard had said it would be a week or so before it was ready to float again, although even then it would need some major cleaning. Still, they had Nate's boat. He looked at Clair. â€Å"You're not sitting home tomorrow whining to me about your hangover,† Clair said. â€Å"You get out there on the water and be sick like a proper man.† She'd revised her thoughts on Clay's staying off the water. He was who he was. â€Å"Yeah, plan on going out if it's not too windy,† Clay said. â€Å"Hey, we supposed to have wind?† It occurred to Clay that he hadn't checked the weather since Nate had disappeared. â€Å"Calm morning, trades in the afternoon,† Kona said. â€Å"We can work.† â€Å"Tell Amy when you see her, okay. Take my cell phone with you. Call me when you find her. You sure you won't have dinner with us?† â€Å"No,† said Clair. â€Å"No,† said Kona, grinning at Clair. â€Å"Auntie, you embarrassed that Kona seen you naked? You look fine, yeah.† Clair stood up. â€Å"You go ahead, call me ‘Auntie' again, see if I don't snatch out the rest of those dreads and use them to make cat toys.† â€Å"Ease up, I'm going to find the Biscuit.† And he loped to the Beemer, slid the long board in through the back window, hooked the skeg over the passenger seat to secure it, and then drove off to Lahaina to look for Amy. It was two in the morning when the phone in Clay's bungalow rang. â€Å"Tell me you're not in jail,† Clay said. â€Å"Not in jail, Bwana Clay, but maybe you need to sit down.† â€Å"I'm in bed sleeping, Kona. What?† â€Å"The truck, Bwana Nate's truck. It's here at the kayak rental in Lahaina. They say Amy rent a kayak this morning, about eleven.† â€Å"They're still there?† â€Å"I waked the guy up.† â€Å"They don't know where she went? They let her go alone? He didn't call us when it got dark?† â€Å"She said she was just using it to tow behind the boat, for research. He know she a whale researcher, so he didn't think nothing of it. Sometime they take kayaks two, three days.† â€Å"You checked? She's not on the boat?† â€Å"You mean the not sunk one?† â€Å"Yes, that would be the one.† â€Å"Yeah, I check. The boat in the slip. No kayak.† â€Å"Stay there. I'll be down in a few minutes. I have to get dressed and call the Coast Guard.† â€Å"This kayak guy says it not on him – she signed a wafer. That some kind of religious thing?† â€Å"Waiver, Kona, she signed a waiver. Are you high?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Of course. Sorry. Okay, I'll be right there.† Nate was three days inside the whale before he asked, â€Å"Your names aren't really Poynter and Poe, are they?† â€Å"What?† said Poynter. â€Å"You're eaten by a giant whale ship and you're worried that we might be traveling under assumed names? Go for it, Poe.† â€Å"Give us a flush, boys!† Poe said. Water came gushing down the floor of the whale from the front. Pantsless, Ensign Poe took three steps and went into a slide toward the tail like he was sliding into third base on a wet rain tarp. As he reached the end of the chamber, he spread his arms out to his sides at right angles. There was a sucking sound, and he sank up to his armpits into an orifice that only a second ago had appeared as just an impression in solid skin. â€Å"Wow, that's cold,† said Poe. â€Å"How deep are we?† Scooter clicked and whistled a couple of times. â€Å"Ninety feet,† said Poynter. â€Å"Can't be that bad.† â€Å"Feels colder. I think my ‘nads have crawled up inside my body.† Nate simply stared, gape-jawed, at the arms and head of the ensign, just above floor level. â€Å"You see, Doc,† said Poynter, â€Å"most of the time we call it the ‘back orifice' instead of the anus, you know, because otherwise, with us moving in and out of it, there's implications. His lower body is in the sea right now, at three atmospheres, yet the back orifice is sealed around him and it's not crushing his chest. It's not crushing your chest, is it, Poe?† â€Å"No, sir. It's snug for sure, but I can breathe.† â€Å"How is that possible?† asked Nate. â€Å"You're a diver. You've been down, what, a hundred and twenty, hundred and thirty feet?† â€Å"A hundred and fifty, by accident, but what does that have to do with this?† â€Å"You never had sphincter failure at that depth, did you? Blow up like a puffer fish?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Well, there you go, Nate. This here is just advanced poop-chute technology. We don't even understand it ourselves, but it's the key to sanitation on these small ships, and it's how we get in and out. Normally the mouth on these humpback ships doesn't even open, which gives us a lot more room, but this one was made specially to retrieve ‘Dirts. That's you people.† â€Å"Made? By whom?† Of course they were made. Nothing like this could have evolved. â€Å"Later,† said Poynter. â€Å"Poe, you done?† â€Å"Aye, aye, Captain.† â€Å"Get back in here.† â€Å"Mighty cold out here, sir. I'm telling you, my tackle's going to look like I'm posing for a baby picture.† â€Å"I'm sure the doc will take that into account, Poe.† Nate could feel a slight change in pressure in his ears, and Poe oozed back into the whale. The orifice sealed behind him, leaving almost no water on the floor. The ensign sidled, crablike, to the front of the ship, shielding his privates with his hands. He retrieved his pants from a storage nook that opened with a flap of skin like the blowhole on a killer whale. The whale's interior was lined with the storage nooks, but you couldn't even see the seams by the dim bioluminescence when they were closed. â€Å"You're going to learn how to do that, Nate. It's just the civilized thing to do until we transfer you to the blue. Can't have you doing your business in the ship.† When he'd had to go to the bathroom, they'd sent Nate to the back of the whale, where he'd gone on the floor. Seconds later the whaley boys had let a bit of water in through a crack in the mouth, which washed across the floor and effectively flushed the mess out the back orifice. â€Å"The blue?† Nate asked. â€Å"Yeah, we can't take you where they want you in this little thing. We'll transfer you to a blue and send you on. You'll have to go through the poop chutes.† â€Å"So there's a blue-whale ship as well?† â€Å"Ships,† Poynter corrected. â€Å"Yeah, and other species, too.† â€Å"Right whales are my favorites,† Poe said. â€Å"Slower than hell, but really wide. Plenty of room. You'll see.† â€Å"So they – the whaley boys – can regulate the pressure that precisely? They can let in water, expel it, keep the pressure in here from giving us the bends? Allow us to transfer from one of these ships to another?† â€Å"Yep, they're tapped in to the whale directly. They're like his cerebral cortex, I guess. The whale ships have a brain, but that only takes care of autonomic functions. Allows it to act like a whale for hours on end – diving, breathing, stuff like that. But without one of the whaley boys tapped in, they're just dumb machines, limited function. The pilots control higher functions – navigation and such. They really show off their stuff in these humpbacks – the breaching, the singing, you know.† â€Å"This thing sings?† Nate couldn't help himself. He wanted to hear a whale sing from the inside. â€Å"Of course it sings. You heard it sing.† Since Nate had been on, the only sound the whale ship had made was the beating of its enormous flukes and the explosive blow every ten minutes or so. â€Å"I hate it when they sing,† said Poe. â€Å"What's the purpose of the song?† Nate asked. He didn't care who these guys were or what they were doing. He now had the opportunity to get the answer to a question he'd pursued for most of his adult life. â€Å"Why do they sing?† â€Å"Because we tell them to,† said Poynter. â€Å"Why'd you think?† â€Å"No. It's not right.† Nate buried his face in his hands. â€Å"Kidnapped by morons.† Scooter let loose with a series of frantic chirps. The whaley boy was staring out the eye into the blue Pacific. â€Å"School of tuna outside,† said Poe. â€Å"Go, Scooter,† said Poynter. â€Å"Go get some.† The restraints retracted from around Scooter's waist, and the creature stood up for the first time since Nate had come on board. He was taller than Nate, maybe six-six, with lean gray legs that looked like those of a giant bullfrog crossbred with a fullback and terminated in long, webbed feet that resembled the rear flippers of a walrus. Scooter took three quick steps and dove at the floor in the back of the whale. There was a whooshing sound, and he disappeared, headfirst, through the back orifice, which sealed behind him with a distinct pop. Poe stepped into the seat that Scooter had vacated and looked out through the eye. â€Å"Nate, check this out. Watch how these guys hunt.† Nate looked out the whale's eye and saw Scooter's lithe form swim by at incredible speed, darting back and forth with astounding agility in pursuit of a twenty-pound tuna. In the water the whaley boy's eyes no longer bugged out as they did inside the whale. Like whales and dolphins, Nate realized, whaley boys possessed muscles that could actually change the shape of the eye for focusing in either air or water. Scooter did a rapid turn and snatched the tuna in his jaws not ten feet from the eye of the whale. Nate could hear the snap and saw blood in the water around Scooter's mouth. â€Å"Yes!† said Poe. â€Å"It's sashimi tonight.† Nate had eaten nothing but raw fish since he'd been on board the whale ship, but this was the first time he'd seen it caught. Still, he couldn't quite share Poe's enthusiasm. â€Å"Is this all you eat? Raw fish?† â€Å"It beats the alternatives,† said Poe. â€Å"The whale carries a nutrient paste that's like krill puree.† â€Å"Oh, my God,† said Nate. Poynter leaned in close to Nate, so he was only inches from the scientist's ear. â€Å"Thus the somewhat substantial demand for culinary variety, as in – oh, I don't know – a pastrami on rye!† â€Å"I said I was sorry,† Nate muttered. â€Å"Yeah, right.† â€Å"Drop me off anywhere. I'll go get you one.† â€Å"We don't land these things on shore.† â€Å"You don't?† â€Å"Except to paint ‘bite me' on the flukes,† said Poe. â€Å"Yeah, except for that,† said Poynter. Skippy meeped as Scooter scooted in through the poop chute with tuna in hand. Upon seeing the pilot's entrance, Nate started thinking, for the first time since he'd been eaten, about how to escape. This is just stupid, Amy thought. She'd been paddling like a madwoman for four hours and was still barely halfway to Molokai. She'd been past the channel wind line for two of those four hours and so battled four-foot swells and a crosswind that threatened to take her out to sea. â€Å"Who gives GPS coordinates for a meeting? Who does business like that?† She'd been shouting into the wind on and off for an hour, then checking the little liquid-crystal map on the display of the GPS receiver. The â€Å"you are here† dot never seemed to move. Well, that wasn't true. If she paused from paddling to take a drink of water or apply some sunscreen, the dot seemed to jump off course a mile at a time. â€Å"Are you guys on drugs?† she screamed into the wind. Her shoulders ached, and she'd drunk nearly all of the two-liter bottle of water she'd brought with her. She started to regret not having brought along some kind of snack. â€Å"An easy paddle. ‘Just rent a kayak. You won't need a power boat. I'm adrift on a piece of Tupperware, you nitwits!† She leaned back on the kayak to catch her breath and watched the direction and speed indicators change on the GPS. She could rest maybe five minutes without drifting too far. She closed her eyes and let the swells rock her into a light doze. It was quiet, just the white noise of wind and water, not even a slap of waves on the kayak – she was so light that it rode high in the water and over the tops of the waves without a sound. She thought about Nate, about how frightened he must have been in those last moments, about how much she'd started to enjoy working with him. Action nerd. She smiled to herself, a melancholy smile as she dozed off, but then the sound of a fusillade of bubbles breaking the surface near the kayak jolted her to alertness. It was a huge expulsion of air, as if someone had set off an explosion deep under the water. She started paddling away from the eruptions of bubbles, but even as she moved, the sea began to darken around her, the crystal blue turning to shadow in a huge pool under the kayak. Then something hit the little boat, tossing Amy into the air twenty feet before she hit the water and the darkness surrounded her.

Junior College English Class Essay Essay

Poetry is basically the absolving of narrative from a subjective stance. The essence of good and meaningful poetry lies not just in the perfection of form, but also in the manner by which the theme is expressed at large. T. S. Eliot rejects the ambivalence commonly associated with poetry and speaks of it as being a transparent and meaningful medium of the poet’s subjectivity (Raine 122). But not all poems carry a strictly subjective expression in that numerous factors often belie the poet’s spontaneity and freedom of expression. The term ‘hegemony’ typically involves the phenomenon of getting institutionalized. In other words, it is the cultural hegemony of beliefs and conventionality that sometimes influences the society in a restricted way, causing it to pronounce misplaced ideologies the society thrusts upon its dwellers. This paper is going to focus on two modern poems for identifying the hegemonic elements in them. To analyze the rules of hegemony in works of literature, we have taken Dancing in Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky and A Song on the End of the World by Czeslaw Milosz. It is imperative that a certain amount of background researching is made into the aforementioned poems to swiftly bring out the hegemonic components in them, if any. Written by a Soviet emigrant to the United States of America, Dancing in Odessa tells a story of forlornness and despair. The poet Ilya Kaminsky looks back at the memories of a tormented childhood from the recesses of his powerful imagination, and documents them meticulously in the book. However, the poet’s authority or lack of it, over a foreign language like English does not take away the passionate rendering we enjoy in Dancing in Odessa. The creative force is articulated by repeating images and phrases – a poetic trend more common to the Victorian times. Such a method also highlights the ingenuity of art in terms of its realistic expressions and sometimes, tragic visions. The frequent imagery which haunts the poet is that of his previous dwelling place which he had to forsake in the beginning of the 1990s. Frequent references to the Russian city of Odessa in this lyrical masterpiece resonate with dark and somber moods typical of postmodern anguish. The narration is literally disrobed of excesses, thus allowing the readers to attain a position of first person viewers. The use of metaphors is sporadic and therefore, has an impressionistic sense of coherence. Now in relation to the thesis question, Dancing in Odessa can be interpreted as being a product of the cultural dominance of a changed society having a significant amount of hegemonic impact on the intellectual expressions of its time. Kaminsky family’s migration to the United States of America as political refugees left in the poet’s mind a profound sense of yearning for the city of Odessa and its myriad memories. The change of guards in terms of the social, political, administrative, religious and cultural controls had a radically shifting influence for the newly migrated segments in the US society. Almost a collage of imageries merges into each other in the poem to form a continuous loop of expressions suited to bring out the occasional allegories. It is apparent after reading the poem that the poet’s vision is shaped by the erstwhile social superstructure in Russia: â€Å"The German tanks on tractors,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kaminsky 12). Just as Kaminsky creates a crossbreed of forms and patterns in Dancing in Odessa, Czeslaw Milosz in A Song on the End of the World draws on from his personal experiences and pantheistic beliefs to paint a picture of universality. All the imageries used in this narrative provide a familiar yet ethereal representation of nature and its relationship with mankind. In this sense, this poem almost antecedes many of the earlier works of art, especially that of William Wordsworth. The richly meditative mood of the poem is captured perfectly by repeated lines that almost sound like a sacred hymn. As far as intellectual hegemony is concerned, it is the Christian convictions of the poet that urge him to muse over the outputs of life within a continuous cosmic framework. The fact that the constancy of nature is complemented by the routine course of our everyday lives goes to show how transcendence creates a sense of dilution. A strict adherence to the established rules of the society which we live in is unlikely to let us contemplate on an existence which is essentially evil and diabolic. So the poet advertently dismisses the evil influences working behind the impending end of the world by voicing his poignant Christian beliefs: â€Å"As long as the sun and the moon are above, As long as the bumblebee visits a rose As long as rosy infants are born No one believes it is happening now. † (Peakdesign, 2009) One of the striking aspects about Milosz’s craft is his ability to look beyond the petty problems of the temporal existence. This is evident in A Song on the End of the World which converges beyond the borderline of transient existence of being. The omnipotent Creator and His creations become unified as and when the end nears. This theological argument perfectly justifies the dichotomy between the songs of experience and that of innocence (Nathan and Quinn 22). Since both these two texts belong to contemporary times marked by lack of faith and tolerance in general and realism, it is quite obvious that they ought to accrue to certain social and intellectual rationales. So the thesis argument is met with in terms of finding plausible hegemonic correlatives in the works of Ilya Kaminsky and Czeslaw Milosz. What still remains to be seen, however, is the ensuing literature that is undoubtedly capable of producing more such heartrending documentations of life.

Literature and It’s Relevance in Modern Times Essay

Before the importance of literature is discussed we must ask ourselves: â€Å"What is literature?† Many individuals that are asked that question will often give a complex answer for it seems to be a complex word. Some of the answers may include â€Å"it involves reading† or â€Å"it’s when you write†. These are both true, but when you actually think about it, literature is so much more than that, especially with how often we use it in our day-to-day lives; we speak it, we observe it, we use it in science, etc. Ever since the beginning of time, literature has always been present among men. It has been useful to depict their feelings, thoughts, desires, tragedies, and history. Before the technological advancements and benefits that we use today for entertainment or learning existed, learning was in one way or another completely tied in with literature. As time progressed, mankind eventually found other ways to display their feelings, ideals or thoughts without the use of literature, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not important. The best overall way to describe literature today is that it is lost in transition with the rise of technology and other forms of popular entertainment. Literature is just as important as it always has been; it’s just not as popular and as it once was. It should still be a top priority for society, considering the first things we learn in school are how to read and write. In old times, when a child started attending school, the first things they learned were how to read and count. Nowadays, that hasn’t seemed to change; methods might be different, but literature makes its presence known to us even when we are young and is a great asset to developing other skills needed to be successful later in life. In a recent study undertaken by Literary Research and Instruction, the observed second-grade teacher Mae Graham used â€Å"class readings to foster engagement and student-initiated talk with open discussions†¦.emphasizing the power of dialogue in providing a space for students to meaningfully use language.† (Worthy 308). Literature is just as important and meaningful in our lives from the very first time we begin to use it. From the days of elementary school to college, there is reading and writing involved. Even if one doesn’t realize it, literature is present almost everywhere, but it’s just hiding in plain sight. It can be located in items such as digital environments, films, graphic novels, and comic books. Movie and the famous lines within them are derived from literature, comic books and graphic novels may have pictures, but there are words to go along with the plot, and even when you use take a photo, pictures can be worth a thousand words. Any individual that believes they don’t experience enough literature in their lives needs to realize that books and essays are not its only limitations. When you attend a play, such as Hamlet, you are experiencing literature. If you read a Batman comic book, you’re taking in literature. If you go to the theatres and watch a Harry Potter movie, literature is related to the film at hand. If you take a picture of a typical downtown setting, literature is helping tell the story from what the viewer’s eyes can see. Literature does exist everywhere, but it doesn’t influence individuals as much as it did in the past. In order to understand how important literature is in modern times, we must also understand how it has taken a huge drop in terms of daily importance. Before TV, internet, video games, and other advancements in society were developed, the only forms of entertainment were as such, but not limited to; storytelling, reading, and plays. Many of them were mainly told, written, or performed to so that the audience could use their imagination and let it run wild to interpret the meaning. In modern society, if one doesn’t understand the story, play or text at all, they just look up the answer on the internet. There isn’t anything wrong with this strategy, but over time, one eventually becomes dependent on the â€Å"newer† resources over the oldest and most genuine resource; the brain. Literature is present in films, especially the ones made after novels and book but nowadays, it’s easier and more fun to watch the film rather than to read the book. If you were to ask someone if they would prefer to watch the film â€Å"Troy† starring Brad Pitt as Achilles or reading Homer’s â€Å"The Iliad†, nine times out of ten they will respond with the movie instantly. Not because they prefer movies over reading, but in actuality the movie just seems more entertaining and the movie requires less strain on the brain. Back then, the epic surrounding this tale was read and analyzed by individuals all over the world for were very entertained by it. Today, all someone has to do is just look at Sparknotes or Cliff-notes to trick themselves into thinking they truly understand the story or the message the author is trying to convey. By using these sources, you are not making your own opinion what the story means, but rather just borrowing it from someone who actually analyzed the story in-depth. With the way things are going, literature will soon be a thing of the past and irrelevant to the future. All that will matter is if someone has internet handy to look up a theme or analyze a plot that they can’t muster their brain to figure out. So why does literature still matter? Well it is very important in the sense of not being able to grasp it while at a very young age will result in irrelevance to an individual in later life. Recent research in England suggested that little explicit attention has been paid, either in research or policy documentation, to why literature still has a clear role to play in English education. In the study, teachers themselves were looked at along with their reading habits to see if that had any reflection on how the students were grasping literature and reading. Students that were interviewed on the matter at hand said they have reasons for reading in the first place such as entertaining themselves, to imagine, feel and reflect (Cliff Hodges 60, 67). The mind is so fresh at a very young age and it is very hungry for knowledge. If we feed the right materials to the young throughout the world, they will have so many opportunities ahead of them to succeed. By denying the young individual the chance to use their thought to interpret or imagine what is occurring as they read will only limit the extent of their abilities as they go on with their lives. Many may think that technology and the newer styles of teaching are â€Å"easier† for the youth, but in actuality, we are going to make it harder for them later in life. Anglo-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie once said â€Å"Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart.†(Introduction to World Literature). Without literature, there would be no imagination or heart to what we do in our daily lives. Literature has been present since the beginning of time, and although it is being driven out by the new advancements in technology, we must do our best to preserve the older traditions that help make us better at thinking and understanding. Literature is all around us in our everyday lives, and even though we sometimes can’t see it, it is involved either directly or indirectly with what we do. It is still very important, particularly in the education field. Teaching young individuals to read and write is the biggest part of the foundation being laid out for the house of their future. Math and science might be at top priority right now in the learning environment, but even math and science involve writing and reading. Literature is still important, with its only downside being its decline in popularity. Sources Cliff Hodges, Gabrielle. â€Å"Reasons for Reading: Why Literature Matters.† Literacy: UKLA. 44.2 (2012): 60,67. EBSCO:Host. Web. 3 Feb. 2013 http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8211ba49-180a-4590-9183-1f76a451f34b@sessionmgr11&vid=12&hid=25>. â€Å"Introduction to World Literature.† Invitation to World Literature. Annenberg Foundation, n.d. Web. 2 Feb 2013. . Worthy, Jo, Katharine Chamberlain, et al. â€Å"The Importance of Read-Aloud and Dialogue in an Era of Narrowed Curriculum: An Examination of Literature Discussions in a Second-Grade Classroom.† Literacy Research and Instruction. (2012): 308-310. EBSCO:Host. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=8211ba49-180a459091831f76a451f34b%40sessionmgr11&hid=25&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d

American Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

American Presidency - Essay Example While this makes the presidency smooth to function, it also creates a fault line between the presidency and the other arms of the government, making the sharing of power by these three arms of the government more difficult. Needless to say, synergetic functioning of these three arms of the government is important because of a number of issues. First, the presidency is the only part of the government that is held by one individual and in cases where the individual fails to hold this office in high esteem such as was the case with Richard Nixon’s presidency, there is likely to be a very big damage. Secondly, the presidency needs checks and balances to be in place to always make sure that the integrity of the government is maintained. This leads to a paradox where the executive privilege of the presidency is needed abut at the same time is the risk that this privilege may be abused by office holders. The only solution, therefore, is to create boundaries that define which aspects of the presidency can benefit from these presidential privileges. However, creating these boundaries may not be easy since the functions that the president plays on a daily basis are versatile and not easy to handle. There have been many situations where the issue of presidential executive privilege has been put to trial. One of the most significant of this was the Richard Nixon’s presidency during his trial after he was charged with abuse of the presidential office. The court ruled that although the office of the president enjoyed the presidential privilege, this privilege was not absolute. In this case, where the court feels that the presidential privilege has more negative implications than positive ones, it may require the peeling off of these privileges. A similar decision was reached in Bill Clinton’s time where the court decided that the number of advisers that the president can have who are

Informative Speech (1 page outline and 2 page speech) Essay

Informative Speech (1 page outline and 2 page speech) - Essay Example Finally, giving an overview of how it came to be widely manufactured and consumed all over the world. A. According to mythical origins, cocoa originated from the sacrifice of an Aztec princess who preferred death by the enemy to revealing the secrets of her kingdom. From her blood sprung the delicate cacao plant (Verna, 2013). From the early Aztec cultures, western civilization came in when Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Guanaja and received the gift of a cup of chocolates (Verna, 2013). He then introduced the beans in Spain by offering them to the king and queen. Progressively over the years, it went on to spread and acquired by everyone. C. In the United States, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. This was motivated by World War II and as discovered chocolate played a role in motivating the armed forces (Szogyi, 1997). With the understanding of where chocolate is from and its history, we are able to appreciate it. Certainly, after this, we will all rush to the store to grab a bar of chocolate and while munching the bar, it is imperative to remember the culture of the Aztec

People management practices adopted in Innocent Essay

People management practices adopted in Innocent - Essay Example 78). The recent years in the company have been marked by an increased need to change in the human resource management functions. The changes includes more focus being put on managing people to take part in the implementation and formulation of business strategy to meet the company’s objectives. These changes have been effected in the business environment following the revolution in globalization, information technology and competition. The environmental changes have been effected on the company as it needs to quickly adapt and deal with the general strategies and practices in important areas like productivity, marketing, human resources and employment structure. Innocent Drinks management tends to direct its investment in the employees considering them as partners so as to have the business grow and gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Innocent business falls in a complex and dynamic environment. Just like most of the businesses in the market, Innocent has taken more cons ideration in external factors like economic, political and legal environment in an effort to keep growing and maintain its competitive advantage. One of the key management practices employed by innocent is cost leadership that is commonly associated with Porters approach of gaining competitive advantage. ... One of the key management strategies that has ensured success in Innocent is its innovative approaches to leadership, induction, recruitment development, communication and engagement. The innovative approaches have led Innocent Drinks Company to grow to the extent of enjoying an 80 per cent share in the UK market (Kotler and Armstrong 2000, p. 34). This strategy that has been primary designed to assist managers and leaders within the company to employ a new mindset for the success of the business has also been adapted in the induction, communication, cultural change and training based on team work. As a result, Innocent Drink Company has managed to bring out the best of its people through adopting unique approaches. Such approaches challenge the leaders in the organization to review the manner in which they operate. Innocent has moved to shape a supportive, informal and fun environment in its work place and has also come up with an authentic culture of respect and trust that is based on its core values. The management strategy includes the recruitment of enthusiastic, energetic and passionate people as well as engages, motivates and empowers the people to work with autonomy and freedom. The company’s strategy is an illustration of a leadership style that is relaxed and it has been managed in a manner to avoid its internal silos. Innocent’s communication strategy has been effected such that it cuts across the business and it instigates enjoyable and lively team meetings. This approach has resulted to Innocent being regarded as an engaging and attractive working environment. The basic working principle of Innocent is to produce smoothie drinks that are simply made from fresh juice and fruits,

Market Analysis for TESCO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Market Analysis for TESCO - Essay Example That was exactly the case with Tesco having over 450,000 employees and over 3,200 stores today. A very humble beginning in 1919 when Jack Cohen began this journey gradually transformed the fortunes. Strong Government support: It was the state patronage which encouraged the promoters of Tesco to plan for future. Not many hurdles were created by the political class. In fact Tesco also kept the ruling class in good humor by taking politically correct steps from time to time. Minimal competition during those early days: Those were the golden days when Tesco came out with its first branded tea in 1924, not many competitors were around and terms like 'cut-throat competition' were not even introduced. Satisfied customer: Grabbing customer attention is not a big deal but retaining customer loyalty requires sound thinking at the top. A satisfied customer often takes pride in becoming a goodwill ambassador for the company. Tesco team says1, "Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty." By all accounts it can be said that they are indeed working, quite successfully, towards that. Reigns in the hands of able management and shrewd strategists: It is said that 'Winners don't do different things, they do things differently'. This statement gives full credit to strategists of successful enterprises. Strategic decisions provide a direction in which the organisation is to move. Organisation's mission and objectives find a reflection of strategists. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts: growth in the Core UK, to expand by growing internationally, to be as strong in non-food as in food and to follow customers into new retailing services. Committed workforce: Organisations are not passive components. They are live, full of activity and environment-responsive like living beings. With time organisations acquire a character and develop a typical personality and we tend to make an image of the employee depending on the organisation he/ she works for. This very personality of the organisation considerably influences the functions of organisation in the long run. Reasonably good industrial relations: Keeping the workforce in good humour by providing them with adequate benefits and considering them as an inseparable part of the organisation helps in resolving the disputes quickly. Good investor relations: This becomes all the more important when general public has a stake in any. After becoming Tesco PLC from Tesco Stores (Holdings) in 1983, Tesco became a public company and it has been sharing good amount of its profits with investors. Understanding the environment: Continuously monitoring the environment and following the leads is the key to a successful business. Continuously studying the different aspects of environment (social, political, legal, technological, etc) and taking corrective and adaptive steps accordingly helps in growing of an organisation. Tesco started computerised check-out counters as early as 1982 and this stride continued with opening of www.tesco.com and its online operations. On the societal front Tesco states, "One of our most important values is to treat people how we would like to be treated."2 With this in mind Tesco makes a

Draft Report 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Draft Report 1 - Essay Example Notably, Valentine’s day also marks a remarkable consumption rate of chocolate and candy. This is because of the gift-culture in the United States, whereby many people prefer buying chocolates for those they love and treasure ("Hot Chocolates" 182). Many of those buying gifts are usually consumers themselves. Without doubt, chocolate and candy have a ready market more than in any other country across the globe. As highlighted above, the United States registers the highest consumption of chocolate and candy. However, it is worth noting that some brands of chocolate consumed by many Americans have lasted for the last 50 years. They are established chocolate and candy brands with a unique taste and quality (Research and Markets). They are given reverence as premium chocolates because of their outstanding taste and quality over the years. Companies such as Hershey and Mars have the leading percentage of the market share and are the main suppliers of chocolate and candy in the United States. Although chocolate is a preferred snack in the United States, this does not mean that businesses operating in this industry do not have to indulge in rigorous research. Notably, the American consumer is very specific with taste when it comes to snacks and chocolate (Kim, Lopetcharat, and Drake 4850). Moreover, there is a varied preference for either dark chocolate or milk chocolate. These are some of the factors that companies with the leading market share have often considered in a bid to maintain their market position. There is evidence that the packing of the chocolate has the potential to evoke different feelings to the consumer. This gives manufacturers of candy and chocolates a new task of ensuring that the packaging of the chocolate evokes emotions such as desire, satisfied, joy, and pride. Chocolate packs evoking such emotions are likely to have a higher chance compared to others in the market (Johnson). Moreover, the health

Humanities (General) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Humanities (General) - Research Paper Example Above all, it helps in gaining a distinctive insight into individual community, in addition to, the wider global perspective of the world’s diverse cultures. This paper presents a study of two cultural events, the Carnival in Rio de Janiero and the Hogbetsotso Festival in Ghana. In addition, it presents how these events are related to what is learned about ideas, culture and the arts in humanities. These cultural events were experienced through watching internet videos (YouTube), which is an available form of media. In this regard, it was possible to see and hear the events. This paper also presents a description of the main cultural event (the Carnival in Rio de Janiero) as it reflects the culture of origin. This entails the ideas, beliefs and practices of the people. It presents the historical accounts of the cultural event and the similarities it has to another selected cultural event (the Hogbetsotso Festival) in a separate part of the world – Ghana. This is, in add ition to, whether the Carnival in Rio de Janiero event is influenced by other cultures or whether it influenced other cultures. Finally, this paper presents a conclusion of its findings. The Carnival in Rio de Janiero is a 4 day cultural event that occurs annually 40 days previous to Easter – which symbolizes the beginning of Lent. However, the set dates for this cultural event alternate annually with regard to the date of Easter. In most cases, this cultural event is commemorated towards the end of February (Camà µes, 2012). I did not attend this event in person but acquired the opportunity to watch the activities via internet video (YouTube). Though, experiencing the event live would have been more appealing as compared to watching a recorded event, I still managed to acquired a brilliant experience considering that the video recordings were most recent and much more professionally

Did the Treaty of Versailles cause World War II Essay

Did the Treaty of Versailles cause World War II - Essay Example oposals were effective in ending the first war and initiated a peaceful dialogue among the nations2.  However, France’s Georges Clemenceau,  supported by David Lloyd of Britain, wanted revenge. Germany  could not compromise  its superiority. France’s intentions were mainly to suppress Germany and did not consider its grievances. Among the main driving factors to WW2 is the provision of the treaty that Germany was to pat for the damage. The provision in article 231 of the treaty, known as war guilt clause, had a major role in initiating WW2. Economic rebuilding of Europe was a key provision of the treaty3. France  attempted to devise strategies that impose limitations on the economic recovery and consequent rearmament of Germany. To achieve its mission,  French administration advocated that  Germany should  account for the damage caused by the war. The economic suppression caused an inward rebellion on the treaty and making Germans seek any possible opportunity to break away from the treaty. This had the effect of making the Germans give total support to any  radical  leader who would  promise  to offer them freedom from the liability such as Adolf Hitler. Another humiliation to Germany was on the directive to disarm and the limitation on army. They were not supposed to have an air force while opening crime cases on its leaders suspected to have caused ww1. Sovereignty of Germany was undermined by the condition that the ships its mercantile marine were to be taken by the allies and there were to make more for them henceforth. According to the treaty, boundaries of Germany were to be reestablished as well as lose its colonies. This instilled further economic strain on Germany while causing shame to it. This resulted in resentment against the treaty and its provisions. As a result, political parties were formed. This made Germans have the urge to secure more land, which was seen in the invasion of such as Poland and Russia. The League of Nations was supposed

HACCP MENU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

HACCP MENU - Essay Example Check for temperature and sign of defects Lower the cooler temperature setting. PREPARE Contamination No Use of clean utensils. Ensure all utensils are clean before use. Inform dishwasher if any utensils are not clean. SERVE Contamination Yes Serve chilled at 10 Check serving temperature Discard if temperature limit is exceeded Hard Boiled Egg RAW MATERIALS: Fresh Eggs (1-2 weeks old) Water PROCESS 1. Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. 2. Cover with at least one inch of cold water over tops of shells. 3. Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Critical Step! 4. As soon as the water comes to a full boil, remove from heat and let stand. Time must not exceed 25 minutes. (Common Recipe: No Source) Flow Chart Hard Boiled Egg PROCESS STEP HAZARD(S) CCP (Y/N) CRITICAL LIMITS MONITORING CORRECTIVE ACTIONS RECEIVE Contamination Growth of pathogens Yes 100% no visual defects. Age must be less than 1 week Visual inspection. Reject for signs of defects and over aged eggs STORE Growth of pathogens No Cool and dry (Room temp or bet 20-30 C) Check food cracks & defects Discard for signs of defects COOKING Pathogen survival and overcooking Yes Bring to a full boil then remove (max time=25 minutes) Check maximum cooking time Discard for other use if overcooked SERVE Contamination Yes Single time service Check for wholeness of forms & darkening of yolk. Discard if yolks and whites are crushed, deformed, or discolored LUNCH: Entre: Salmon Salad Sandwich and Macaroni & Cheese Soup: Vegetable Soup Salad: Caesar Salad Dessert: Fruit Cocktail Vegetable Soup Recipe INGREDIENTS 1 bunch of chopped celery 2 dry onion soup mix packages (1 ounce each) 1 chopped zucchini 6 chopped onions 1 large chopped green bell pepper 8 chopped... 6. Whisk in egg and add lemon juice, then add reserved oil (warm or at room temperature) in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Ensure egg must be free from contamination and from trusted source. 3. Pile the mass into a well-greased baking dish. With the back of a spoon, make pretty waves (like you would a meringue) in the potatoes and sprinkle with paprika. Also, dot with extra butter, if desired.

World War I, World War II Essay Example for Free

World War I, World War II Essay Technological innovation has played a significant role in most modern twentieth century armed conflicts In both the great wars- World War I, World War II and in the consequent Cold War era ,technology was used to enhance and develop weapons to garner military advantage and turn the conflict in favour of a particular country or respective front. In fact technology has helped to revolutionize the manner in which both the great wars were fought and eventually won. The cold war was actually more of a foreign policy exercise than an actual war. After the Second World War the new world order stipulated the polarization of most of the world into two blocs- the Capitalist Bloc headed by the United States and the Communist Bloc headed by the USSR. Though the cold war was never fought as a military battle the accumulation of weapons of destruction was a major feature of the foreign policy tactics of both the USSR and the US. Known aptly as the arms race this tactic was a key factor that helped determine regional power play in the thirty to forty odd years of the cold war. Some of the weapons introduced by various countries to secure military advantage in the first and Second World War as well as the cold war have been developed and widely adopted to form the military arsenal of most countries world wide Today when we look at armed conflict it is difficult to imagine a battlefield without machine guns, grenade and tanks. But prior to world war one most battles were fought with bayonets, swords, rifles and muskets. The use of technology to develop new weapons to be used in conflict revolutionized combat in World War One. Combat underwent a metamorphosis from a battle fought by infantrymen on a battle ground to a new model: trench warfare. This new style of warfare is attributable to technological development that was taking place in the factories of an industrial Europe. The innovative weapons that helped changed the course of the First World War can be essentially categorized as follows: Machine guns: Though machine guns were first developed and employed in the American Civil War to achieve a devastating effect it was in World War One that the effectiveness of these weapons reached a new height. These weapons achieved the capability to fire up to 600 bullets a minute- the equivalent of 250 men firing bullets with rifles and were classified as a weapon of mass destruction. This was highly beneficial to the armies deploying the weapons because it increased both effectiveness and reduced the number of infantry men employed in combat. These additional infantry could be trained and deployed in Ariel and naval combat Artillery: The First World War set a new standard in the number of cannons used. Never before were so many cannons used in one war. German scientists were responsible for developing Big Bertha the deadliest artillery of the time. This cannon was so powerful it had the potency to fire into the heart of Paris from a distance as far away 120 kilometres away. The scientists of the time did not only work on improving the cannons they also developed high-explosive shells. Instead of using the conventional materials these shells used thin casings filled with tiny lead pellets. These shells were highly effective and artillery power killed hundreds and thousands of men during the course of the war. The artillery was also used to blow up the ground and render trench warfare ineffective as it mad hiding underground in trenches more difficult. Gas Warfare: the First World War introduced humanity to the horrors of gas warfare. Invented by the Germans gas grenades were extremely toxic and highly effective in wiping out battalions of enemy soldiers. There were 3 main types of gas warfare which was used in the First World War. The first type of warfare employed a tearing agent which was responsible for causing temporary blindness and resulted in greatly inflaming the nose and throat of the victim. The second type of Warfare employed poisonous gases, including chlorine, phosgene and diphosgene which were highly toxic and resulted in almost certain death. Though gas masks were used during the war to protect against these gases they did not prove to be very effective. The third type of warfare employed the most dreaded of all chemical weapons in World War I mustard gas. Mustard gas burnt the lungs and skin of the inhaler leaving them to die a slow agonizing and extremely painful death. Thousands of troops were forced to die a painful death as a result of the gas warfare employed in the First World War. Tanks: Manufactured and deployed during the First World War to aid trench warfare the early tanks were no more than giant blocks of metal that could carry 1-2 people and travelled at 5 kilometres per hour. The benefits of these early tanks were that they served as moving armour car that could stand machine gun fire and could move over bared wire and destroy the machine gun nests of the enemy. Though they still required considerable developments the early version of the tank did meet with some success and created a permanent place for itself in the contemporary battle field. Planes: In the First World War planes were not armed and air combat did not play an active role in the war. Warplanes were developed in 1914 and were used primarily to observe enemy troop movements provide support to ground troops and provide information about artillery deployment. The Germans in particular deployed a number of aircrafts to help their war efforts including mini scout planes to huge floating blimps called Zeppelins that were used to carry bombs and throw them at the unsuspecting enemy. Naval Units: Naval combat played a very important and significant role in the First World War. The majority of the conflicts were fought at sea with the Allied powers aiming to negotiate a blockade of the Central Powers by sea and the Central powers attempting to break this blockade. Technoloy was used to create and deploy battleships that could carry weapons and engage in naval warfare. While the British excelled at producing and deploying Battleships the Germans developed the initial version of a submarine which would attack these battleships with stealth and speed and benefit from the element of surprise by submerging itself in the water. Technological warfare played a crucial role in determining the outcome of World War II. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939 Scientists and researchers had already developed most of the weapons that were initially deployed in the First World War including tanks, and submarines and also developed new technology to accommodate a new brand of warfare known as aerial combat. The war greatly escalated technological development in most nations throughout the world and when the war ended many nations found them in possession of invaluable technological knowledge. This research and technological knowledge initially carried out during the war to develop new weapons of technological warfare later lead to several new sciences and developments after the war ended like cybernetics and the production of nuclear energy to name a few some innovative weapons that defined and characterized the course and outcome of the Second World War include Air Bombs Torpedoes and Missiles. Air combat was one of the biggest strategies used during the Second World War to bomb and eliminate enemy targets. Considerable research was put into developing aerial â€Å"smart bombs† which could be manoeuvred to destroy enemy targets. The German Military lead the development and deployment of these aerial weapons. Some of the weapons developed for air combat by Germany include the Glide bombs which were the world’s first smart bombs and the Fritz X anti-shipping missile, which was operated using radio remote control. The German Military also developed and deployed the world’s first jet fighter known as Messerschmitt 262 as well as the first jet bomber called Arado 234 as well as first operational military helicopters known as Flettner Fl 282 and the worlds first rocket-powered fighter (Messerschmitt 163) The war also witnessed the development of the worlds first cruise missile known as the Pulse jet powered V-1 flying bomb as well as the creation of self guiding weapons such as Torpedoes. Considerable research and development was also done on aiming devices for bombs, torpedoes, artillery and machine guns. Radar The development of digital electronics was given a massive boost by war-related research one such important invention which was used to garner significant military advantage during the Second World War was an instrument known as the radar. The UK and the US achieved prominent breakthroughs in the development and deployment of these devices which were used to track and destroy enemy aircraft, ships, submarines and carriers these devices proved to be very useful and extremely strategic in helping the Allies win the various battles. After the war these radars were deployed in various capacities for policing, monitoring and supervisory purposes in the civilian context. Submarines and Air craft Carriers Though submarines were initially deployed during the First World War they developed increased capability during the Second World War and helped change the face of naval combat. Another major development which changed the manner in which naval battles were fought was the production of the world’s first aircraft carrier. These ships made it easy for fighter planes to launch aerial attacks on enemy battleships and destroy them. Atomic Bomb: The extensive research and the quest to develop new and dangerous weapons to advance the cause of the war lead to the institution of what came to be known as the Manhattan Project which was dedicated to the endeavour of developing an atomic bomb. Today the atomic bomb remains the most profound military development of the Second World War and the ultimate weapon which helped the allies win the war irrevocably. Though there is evidence that Germany was endeavouring to develop the bomb before America the German atomic Bomb project did not come to fruition. The world’s first atomic bomb was developed and deployed by the American military against Japan in 1945. The use of the nuclear bomb against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the turning point and also the virtual end of the Second World War. The devastating effects of the bomb in these two cities made the bomb a horrendous weapon of mass destruction which grew to be feared by most nations. The atomic bomb thus became a symbol of the ultimate power the possession of which gave a country significant leverage over others. After the Second World War ended the new world order was dominated by a conflict between two ideologies: communism and Capitalism. After the defeat of Nazism and fascism the Allied forces of the Western World found a new enemy: the USSR and its doctrine of Communism. Though the USSR had been among the allied nations during the Second World War it soon became apparent that the ideological differences between the country and its neighbours could mot let them exist together peacefully? The ensuing cold war between the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union was essentially a clash of the two rivalling ideologies of Communism and Capitalism. The cold war never played out an actual war between the two super powers. It was manifested in the arenas of espionage diplomacy and to some extent in the early 80’s in the field of sports. It was also manifested in lands ravaged by internal strife and struggling to find a new political system to function under. Over the course of the cold war there were several conflicts and wars which were connected and influenced by this ideological conflict. These wars include The Korean War of 1952, the Cuban Missiles Crises 1962, the Vietnam War of 1969 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980 to name a few. The majority of the weapons used in these wars were developed and manufactured by the US and the USSR The Cold War witnessed the development of may new weapons ranging from improved fire arms to new technology deployed in tanks , jets submarines ships helicopters , explosives and missile guidance systems. In the Korean War the American military supplied technologically advanced weapons to the UN forces as well as the South Korean forces. Since the battles in South Korea and Vietnam involved jungle warfare the weaponry involved in both battles followed a similar pattern. However the weapons used in Vietnam were more technologically advanced than those used in Korea. Some of these weapons include: M1 Garand the world’s first successful semiautomatic rifle which had the capability to dominate the battle field. A more advanced variation of these rifles was used in military hand combat in Vietnam. The Sioux and Huey Helicopters these were used predominantly by Allied troops in Korea to ferry troops to battle fields. Advanced versions of these helicopters were also used in Vietnam by the American troops T-34 Tanks These technologically advanced tanks were designed in Russia and used by the Communist forces in North Korea. A highly technological advanced version of this tank was also used in Russia Fighter Jets F-86 Sabres and the MIG-15 Fagot The Korean War is known for some of the intense jet fights which took place between USAF pilots flying their F-86 Sabres and North Korean and Russian pilots flying the MiG-15 â€Å"Fagot†. Both of these planes incorporated the latest technology and set the standard for future jet planes designed and deployed by both the countries Napalm Gas: Used as a biological weapon of mass destruction by American troops in the Vietnam War, the Napalm gas was developed for use in the Second World War but was never deployed. It gained notoriety in Vietnam for destroying both the agricultural lands of Vietnam and poisoning the Vietnamese people. The Cold war also led to the development of technology to aid espionage activity. The U2 spy plane was one such weapon which was developed in the United States to record and photograph military activity in the USSR and other communist States. These planes used especial technology that was not easily distinguishable on the radar and could easily take pictures and document confidential activity without detection. The pictures from one of these spy planes had led to the escalation of Cuban Missiles Crises of 1962 when the US discovered that Cuba was building a missiles program with USSR’s backing The so-called stealth bomber should be able to penetrate the Russian air defence system better than existing American bombers. The Cuban Missiles Crises was perhaps the closest the world ever came to a nuclear confrontation. The Cold war and the policy of brinkmanship often cantered on the crucial deployment of both the super powers ability to use nuclear bomb. In 1949 the US lost its monopoly over the atomic or hydrogen bomb as it was called at the time when the tested their first nuclear weapon The importance of the hydrogen bomb, and its even more powerful successors lead to a competition between the two superpowers to develop the most deadliest weapon first . This mad rush to build nuclear weapons lead to an arms race with each nation spending billions of dollars to build a military arsenal designed to effectively eliminate enemy weapons. One of the weapons that were given considerable importance from both sides was the ballistic missile. This is essentially a rocket which shoots its warheads into space and then guides them towards the desired targets. The ballistic missiles were developed by both sides at a cost of billions of dollars to ensure that neither party retains the upper hand in the arms race. The development and search for elusive technology to create weapons deployed in the First World War second war and the cold war has left an enduring legacy. Though these weapons help determine the fate of the war they also left humanity with a source to wreck endless destruction and havoc. The negative effects of the race to build nuclear weapons were witnessed in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. With the end of the cold war the endless arsenal of weapons of mass destruction that both the USSR and the US spend billions of dollars to build was rendered useless. However as evidenced in history as one conflict ends another begins and the US has found other battles and causes to fund more development of new weapons to fight new enemies. Many of the weapons used in all three of the conflicts are the predecessors of the modern weapons deployed in modern military combat throughout the world and therefore present considerable historical significance Works Cited History on the Net dot com. World: War One Weapons Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website, http://www.historyonthenet. com/WW1/weapons. htm First World War dot com: Weapons of War Retrieved. May 27 2010 from the website, http://www. firstworldwar. com/weaponry/machineguns. htm World War Two dot net :Weapons . Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website http://www. worldwar-two. net/armamento/ Military Discovery dot com: Korean War Weapons and Vehicles. Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website http://military. discovery. com/history/korean-war/weapons/weapons. html

Diversity and Human Capital and Indias Workforce

Diversity and Human Capital and Indias Workforce A diverse ethos like India not only showcases unity in diversity but also the potential to create waves in innovative thinking. India, largely an agro-based economy has undergone a massive facelift in the recent decade due to the dotcom boom, giving the economy a phenomenal push. Statistics reveal that India will be a youth country in the coming decades. Given the immense knowledge pool, diversity and youth population at the countrys disposal, it is only natural to predict that India will be the global leader. At the same time, amendments are required to manage these great resources effectively to deliver what we dream to achieve. Challenges faced by India Inc. are not only population burst, corruption, terrorism, etc but also management of youth the immense knowledge base available along with attitude refinement to facilitate retention of knowledge. The country which boasts of a plethora of natural resources should reinforce ways to utilize these depleting resources and the talent pool available to the best of its potential. This paper looks into few of these issues and suggests methodologies for managing the diversity. INTRODUCTION A country like India is a perfect example of unity among diversity with a mix of cultures, languages, religions, age groups, etc offering a tremendous opportunity to learn and garner knowledge. The country has evolved over centuries into a multi-dimensional ethos, learning and assimilating a vast pool of knowledge. But have we succeeded in managing and utilizing this talent pool to its full potential? This provoking question leads us to the topic, Managing Diversity: The Challenges Faced By India Inc. A key distinguisher and common asset, knowledge is of importance. The healthy diversity along with a huge population does India an opportunity to grow fast. New ideas and fresh perspectives are natural offshoots of diversity and should be seen as blessings in disguise, rather than a challenging hurdle towards growth. But in this age of information technology and speed, application of knowledge, will majorly contribute to the countrys growth story. Diversity in India and its implicationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Between 2003 and 2050, India will add about 250 million people to its labour pool à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ By 2020, 61% of Indians will be under 35, i.e. about 780 million Indians will be in this age group. The statistics indicate that future India will be home to more young minds, thus increasing the average disposable income, and facilitating greater youth participation in decision making activities with fresh outlook. The youth and baby-boomer generations together can contribute a lot in adding value to the knowledge chain. The acquired knowledge should be practiced or else the country cannot thrive on the potential knowledge leaders diverse knowledge pool available. The concept of Knowledge Learnt, Used Thrown, entrenched in the young minds will have to be given up to produce innovators and thought leaders, and stress on practical application of knowledge is quintessential. Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. -Anton Chekhov LITERATURE REVIEW A knowledge economy and its attributed index primarily depend upon 4 key pillars listed by The World Bank as Innovation, Education, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Economical Incentive Regime (EIR) under the Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) and Knowledge Economy Index (KEI). This index ranked India at 101 indicating a large scope for improvement on the knowledge front. As per our analysis, innovation has the highest weightage in the methodology used. Sample data shown below Innovation or the pioneering application of knowledge has a great impact on the countrys overall knowledge economy index. The contribution towards patents is closely related. Patent data largely by the US (KEI Rank 10). In context with the categories of knowledge-based assets, two broad classifications have been made explicit or tacit. Included among the former are patents, trademarks, etc i.e. things that can be archived and codified. Much harder to grasp and record is tacit knowledge, which leads to knowledge creation. The challenge inherent with tacit knowledge is figuring out how to recognize, generate, and share it. The basic framework that employs knowledge creation as a black box driving economic growth is usually called the endogenous growth model. The literature using this black box includes Shell (1966), Romer (1986, 1990), Lucas (1988), Jones and Manuelli (1990), etc. The basic variable of study is a knowledge worker (or K-worker). Every time a K-worker researches with their best partner(s); the new knowledge jointly created becomes shared knowledge, thus dynamically builds up knowledge in common. Heterogeneity in K-workers provides an opportunity to cooperate and is endogenous to the model. In this way, the heterogeneity or diversity of all K-workers changes endogenously over time. Thus, a partnership in knowledge creation is most productive when common and differential knowledge are in balance. From a birds eye view, the ability of a nation to use, synergize and create knowledge capital determines its capacity to empower its citizens. Aptly in the words of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, The time has come to create a second wave of institution building, and of excellence in the fields of education, research and capability building so that we are better prepared for the 21st century. India today needs a well defined knowledge-oriented paradigm of development to provide a competitive advantage in all the fields. The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) in India has been entrusted to study the parameters and suggest corrective measures to give India the competitive knowledge edge in the coming decades. The KEI model of World Bank has been re-visited from the Indian context introducing various parameters which make plausible sense in the country. The model: METHODOLOGY The paper explores both tangible and intangible parameters for enhancing the knowledge capital in India. The world in future will be driven by a knowledge-base economy and this notion is not foreign to India. Indias history is marked with events that reinforce the countrys potential to learn and showcase unity through diversity. Think about the Indian War of Independence and it will make sense. India is and will remain for some time one of the youngest countries in the world. This demographic dividend is seen as an opportunity to accelerate the countrys rate of growth. We have a critical mass of skilled, English-speaking knowledge workers. The knowledge economy of the twenty-first century demands competencies not only in the area of ICT but also in group learning, risk-taking ability, tolerance to multicultural views, learning from nature and synergizing to innovate. The gathered knowledge needs to be effectively channelized, applied and disseminated to the people of this country. This eventually increases the common knowledge pool and benefits the economy as large. The scriptures, traditional knowledge and the baby boomer generation help us to think in a holistic manner for applying the knowledge. The attitude of young minds, if nurtured in the right way, can produce a positive impact. Like Victoria Abril puts ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Keep your ears open, your eyes open, grab everything you can, react, and learn The countrys youth should be encouraged to research and get an insight on various subjects to tackle real life challenges through innovative methodologies. Traditional scriptures like the Vedas are treasure chests of knowledge and teach us how to deal with state problems, how to teach and grow, etc. They should be shared with the common man, to enable him to think and utilize age old wisdom in an age of intense competition. In Sanskrit, the importance of knowledge is quoted as Nahi Jnanena Sadrsham Nothing is equivalent to knowledge FINDINGS ANALYSIS A burgeoning young human capital is bound to have positive implications on the economy. If not tended well, this boon can turn into a bane. The age distribution of India is projected to change by 2020. The population in the age group 15 -59 years (currently 58 percent) is projected to increase to nearly 64 percent. This shift is shown below India would then have a handsome mix of youth and grey-haired wise men to share different views and synergize to suggest solutions by application of their acquired knowledge. But, this upcoming bulge will also have its own set of ideologies thoughts and would thus have to develop a tolerance level and attitude to learn from their older generations about the vanities and gyan of life. The baby boomers have retained knowledge imparted to them about 80 years back and continue to apply them in real life problems. The youth needs to appreciate this and concentrate on application of gathered knowledge rather than garner degrees. The flip side is that the countrys education system forces one to memorize more and remember the same till exams. The classroom learning limits the students perception. The lessons are merely learnt, used thrown today. More nature and environment based learning would give students a fresh perspective. QUALCOMM has pioneered and introduced solutions inspired from nature like Low-friction ship hulls inspired by shark skin, etc. If all the young minds of India can be guided to think this way, imagine what wonders can be created. The knowledge imparted and discussed should be taught along with examples from diverse backgrounds. At graduation level, students should be encouraged to pursue research work apply knowledge creatively, and indulge in good communication. These are imperative for attitude refinement of individuals which needs tendering to keep them receptive to ideas. This could proactively nurture entrepreneurs at an early stage. Today with a demand driven economy, there is a tendency of people to learn, use throw (forget) the acquired knowledge and comment it doesnt matter well start afresh and learn fast. For facilitating retention, reframing teaching patterns is equally important along with grooming of students. This grooming would include exercise based teaching, vocational training and soft skills training. The habit of reading gaining perspective about varied issues is dwindling and should be emphasized at an early age. We need to strike a healthy balance between self made efforts outsourced tasks to help develop a rational outlook on activities around us. This is imperative for creating a sustained cadre of knowledge workers. It is clear that workers with equal unequal skill sets create better synergy and lead to value addition in knowledge pool. The overall literacy rate in India is highly unsatisfactory. There are areas in India where the abundance of knowledge gets eclipsed by the inability to communicate. Due to this disparity, thoughts and ideas are stalled without getting discussed. Such barriers need to be removed, to educate and tap the knowledge base available. Socrates subtly quotes, The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Illiteracy is one of the acclaimed evils in society. The initiative to educate is not with the Government alone but requires active support from every citizen. Empowering minds and sharing knowledge will corroborate the Indian growth story and make it flourish. Management of gargantuan diversities like India will be effective only when citizens rightfully learn, teach apply acquired knowledge for betterment of the country at large. Diversity in population provides an excellent opportunity to explore and learn. A clichà ©d process might be holistically applied for a different cause to apply, learn and grow. If, like the IT companies the concept of collating ideas can be practiced at the national level it would keep the minds of people busy and help everyone learn more from the surroundings and contribute more. Heterogeneity plays a major role in this context. The quote below from Mahatma Gandhi states how important it is to share knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ If you give me rice, Ill eat today; if you teach me how to grow rice, Ill eat every day. Innovation in a developing nation requires a favorable climate, one that is free from bureaucratic regulatory obstacles and fosters interactions across boundaries. The sources of knowledge might be universities, research institutes, think tanks, etc but the right to information is the prerogative of every individual. With this, we conclude our paper and hope to ignite thoughts through an insightful Sanskrit shloka about knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ CONCLUSION India has showcased unity integrity for umpteen causes. Now she is faced with the new challenges of growing population and managing knowledge. For the nation to become a leader in knowledge based economies, the same commitment and unity needs to be shown by each citizen. Today in an intense global market, few variables will give India a competitive advantage. Lifelong learning, youth population and synergy between diverse cultures and attitude to learn, to name a few. In the next few decades, India will have a large youth base. Given this demographic advantage over other countries, we are optimally positioned to establish a knowledge-oriented paradigm of development. An economy that creates, acquires, manages, adapts, and uses knowledge effectively for its economic development, can overcome many challenges while its individuals learn, retain and re-use the knowledge base to innovate and grow perpetually. In the words of our Prime Minister, to leapfrog in the race for social and economic development. The attitude towards learning would also differentiate a country as a trend-setter. Inventive education patterns, fighting illiteracy, and application of knowledge are important tasks for India Inc. amidst exiting challenges. The proactive involvement of elder generations in designing learning programs for students and future managers, to incorporate their traditional wisdom and insights on real life challenges is important. In short, the message is to learn, share, apply and manage through diversity and adversity. Hope and inspiration along with dedication to the task are equally important to the success of a vision. This thought has been beautifully quoted by the former Indian President and visionary Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam in his book Wings of Fire, For all your days prepare, And treat them ever alike, When you are the anvil bear, When you are the hammer strike

Amitraz Poisoning Management | Case Study

Amitraz Poisoning Management | Case Study Title of the article: Amitraz Poisoning – A rare pesticide Poisoning Abstract: Amitraz, an insecticide/acaricide of the formamidine pesticide group, is a alpha 2 adrenergic agonist used to a great extent in veterinary and agricultural products for the treatment of ectoparasitic manifestations. In the current article we report the findings of a case of 22 year old female who consumed about 50 ml Amitraz poison by oral route as a suicidal attempt. On arrival to Emergency Department the patient presented in deep comatose state, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, miosis, hypothermia, and hyperglycemia.she recovered completely within 48 hours with adequate supportive care. The case report throws considerable light on the management of Amitraz poisoning, good prognosis with early recognition, initial stabilisation, reducing absorption, supportive management with Iv fluids, airway management, monitoring urine output and other supportive care, very few cases of intoxications in human beings due to the pesticide have been published in literature It has be come imparative to intruct the pesticide manufacturers to initiate suitable measures to decrease the incidence of Amitraz poisoning by prominent and clear warning labels on the containers and potential hazards of the compound. Key-words: Amitraz; poisoning ; alpha 2 adrenergic agonist; miosis Key Messages [D1]: Introduction Amitraz, a triazapentadiene compound and a member of the amidine chemical family is a formamidine pesticides which is increasingly being used as an insecticide and an acaricide to control animal ectoparasites [1-3]. The formulations available for chemical use contain 12.5-50% in an organic solvent called xylene, which itself is used in plant cleaners and glues[4].Amitraz is a Alpha 2 adrenergic agonist stimulating alpha 2 adrenergic receptors in the Central Nervous System(CNS).and both alpha 1 and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors in the periphery. Poisoning occurs throgh oral, inhalational (the mostpotential), and dermal routes and is accompanied by numerous signs and symptoms varying from CNS depression (drowsiness, coma, and convulsion), to miosis, or rarely, mydriasis, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, hypothermia or fever, hyperglycemia, polyuria, vomiting, decreased gastrointestinal motility, and intestinal distension [4].Adverse effects and side effects have been re ported in animals exposed to the product : however only few cases of human toxication have been published in Indian literature. we present a young female patient with Amitraz poisoning who was conservatively managed with complete recovery hence significantly contributing to the limited human toxicological data. Case History[D2]: An 22 year old female was brought to our Emergency Department (ED) with a history of suicidal consumption of about 50 ml Amitraz poison eight hours before being brought to our ED, her first symptom had begun about 30 minutes post ingesion and included nausea and vomiting, thus she was taken to a hospital in their locality where intravenous crystalloids were started and referred to our centre. On arrival to our department the patient was deeply comatose with a GCS scale of 4/15. Her pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and temperature were 50/min, blood pressure was 92/64 mm of Hg, 16/minand 36.8 degree celsius respectively. On examination of CNS her pupil were bilaterally constricted, all four limbs had hypotonia and there was bilateral flexor plantar response. Other systemic examination were normal, there was no exessive oral secretions or any fasciculations.Gastric lavage with activated charcoal was given and patients airway was secured with endotracheal intubation due to l ow GCS.she was then admitted to ICU for further management her lab tests (Complete blood count, serum electrolytes, renal function tests, liver function tests), serum pseudocholinestrase levels, electrocardiography, routine urine tests and chest xray were normal except glucose level of 192 mg/dl.A urine test for drugs of abuse was negative and blood alcohol levels were normal. Ct brain plain was done which was normal.She was treated with supportive care in the ICU with IV Flluids, respiratory and cardiac monitoring, Atropine (once 2mg stat) was adminitered for transient bradycardia.over the next 24 hours she gradually improved and was extubated. Her vitals signs were Heart rate of 70/min and blood pressure was 110/70 mm of Hg. By the following day she was completely concious and was able to answer the question and she was shifted to general ward and was discharged after consultation with a psychiatrist. Discussion: Amitraz is increasingly being used worldwide in veterinary and agricultural products for the treatment of ectoparasitic manifestations. Formamidines show reversible toxic effects on both animals and humans [1]. The present knowledge about Amitraz and Foramine pesticides is usually built on animal studies as the available human intoxication is limited. It can cause poisoning in animals and humans via oral, inhalational or dermal routes. The toxicity from this poisoning can be attributed both Amitraz and the solvent, xylene. Although the ingested dose of Amitraz can not be determined because it is diluted 1 part in 500 before usage. The acute oral medical lethal dose(LD50) for the rats is 800/kg body weight.[3, 4]. The clinical features of this poisoning reported in previous reports include CNS depression, drowsiness, vomiting, miosis, bradycardia, hypotension, and hyperglycemia. The duration of CNS depression has ranged from a few hours to 24 h [4]. CNS symptoms began within 120-180 m inutes and resolved within 12-24 hrs in our case. Sedative effects of ÃŽ ±2-agonists are dose dependent[1]. Coma, absence of light reflex, and respiratory failure are due to the ingestion of greater amounts of amitraz supporting its dose-dependent effects. Our patient was fully conscious after 48hrs. This time has been reported to be 2-48 h in previous reports. The effect of amitraz on ÃŽ ±1– and ÃŽ ±2-receptors causes bradycardia [5]. In addition, literature reported hyperglycemia, hypotension, and bradycardia in amitraz poisoning and attributed them to the alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist action of amitraz [6]. In our case, bradycardia was also present accompanying with miosis. Co-existence of bradycardia, miosis, and the respiratory depression leads to confusion with organophosphate or opioid poisonings, both of which should be excluded. Using atropine for treatment of bradycardia is controversial. Most studies, however, have reported atropine to resolve both miosis and bradycardia. Atropine is the first line therapy for the bradycardia resulted from vagal stimulation and atrioventricular blocks. Alpha-2 adrenergic drugs can also cause bradycardia by stimulating the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve. Studies have shown that atropine increases the heart rate and prevents Amitraz induced bradycardia in Animals(2). In our patient atropine was given once with the adult dose. Amitraz and its active metabolites inhibits insulin and stimulate glucagon secretion, hyperglycemia was detected in our case as reported in previous studies by Demirel and colleagues[7] Kalyoncu and colleagues have reported hyponatremia in their three cases[9], Usually BUN, creatinine, serum sodium and potassium do not change with this poisoning, in our case creatinine, serum potassium and sodium were normal. Kalyoncu and associates have reported respiratory alkalosis in two, respiratory acidosis in three and metabolic acidosis in five cases[9], in our patient the analysis of blood gases were normal. Avsarogullari et al reported hyperglycemia and fast deterioration of the patients with amitraz poisoning(within 5 minutes of ingestion of toxin)[8] Whenever a patient presents with bradycardia and miosis, organophosphorus compound poisoning should be considered as a differential diagnosis a along with Amitraz. Other signs and symptoms of organophosphorus compound should be looked for and a cholinesterase level should be done. Amitraz levels in blood was not done because it was unavailable at our institute and other referral laboratories. It is made clear that the basic approach to a patient with amitraz poisoning involves initial stabilisation, reducing absorption and increasing elimination of the toxin. there is no specific antidote[2] medical management involves supportive measures like gastric lavage, activated charcoal administration and securing the airway. Depending on the patients condition additional measures like oxygen supplementation or mechanical ventilation for respiratory depression, atropine for severe bradycardia, intravenous fluids and vasopressors for hypotension, diazepam or lorazepam for seizures. This case report throws considerable light on the management of Amitraz poisoning, good prognosis with early recognition and timely supportive management as the available human toxicological data are limited. When appropriate timely supportive treatment is given, Amitraz intoxication in humans caries a low morbidity and mortality inspite of rapidly progressing and life threatening clinical picture. It has become imperative to instruct the pesticide manufacturers to initiate suitable measures to decrease the incidence of Amitraz poisoning  by placing prominent and clear warning labels on containers. References[D3]: Queiroz-Neto A, Zamur GSC, Carregar O AB, 182 Motoqueiro MI, Harkins JD, Tobin T. Characterization of the 183 antinociceptive and sedative effect of amitraz in horses. J Vet 184 Pharmacol Ther 1998; 21:400-5. 1852. Agin H, Calkavur S, Uzun H, Bak M. Amitraz poisoning: clinical and laboratory findings. Indian Pediatr 2004; 41:482-6. Eizadi-Mood N, Sabzghabaee AM, Gheshlaghi F, Yaraghi A. Amitraz Poisoning Treatment: Still Supportive? Iran J Pharmaceut Res 2011; 10:155-8. Shitole DG, Kulkarni RS, Sathe SS, Rahate PR. Amitraz poisoning-an unusual pesticide poisoning. J Assoc Physicians India 2010; 58:317-9. Jorens PG, Zandijk E, Belmans L, Schepens PJ, Bossaert LL. An unusual poisoning with the unusual pesticide amitraz. Hum Exp Toxicol 1997; 16:600-1. Jones RD. Xylene/amitraz: a pharmacologic review and profile. Vet Hum Toxicol 1990; 32:446-8. Demirel Y, Yilmaz A, Gursoy S, Kaygusuz K, Mimaroglu C. Acute amitraz intoxication: retrospective analysis of 45 cases. Hum Exp Toxicol 2006; 25:613-7. Avsarogullari L, Ikizceli I, Sungur M, Sà ¶zà ¼er E, Akdur O, Yà ¼cei M. Acute amitraz poisoning in adults: clinical features, laboratory findings, and management. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2006; 44:19-23. Kalyoncu M, Dilber E, Okten A. Amitraz intoxication in children in the rural Black Sea region: analysis of forty-three patients. Hum Exp Toxicol 2002; 21:269-72. [D1]1 Provide appropriate messages of about 35-50 words to be printed in centre box [D2]1 Include the tables/charts at appropriate places in the text it self. Do not include images in the text. Mark the point of insertion of images (e.g. Figure 1) along with the legends. Send the images separately as jpeg files (not larger than 100 kb each) [D3]1 Follow the punctuation marks carefully. Do not include unnecessary bibliographic elements such as issue number, month of publication, etc. Include names of six authors followed by et al if there are more than six authors.