UK Arbitration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

UK Arbitration - Essay Example Amongst these methods are those that involve use of third parties that include arbitration1. Arbitration has evolved to become one of the more established methods of resolving disputes between parties and many countries or states have adapted it as a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons called the 'arbitrators' or 'arbitral tribunal', by whose decision called the 'award' the parties agree to be bound. The term is sometimes used in the context of describing alternative dispute resolution or ADR, a category that more commonly refers to mediation or a form of settlement negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party2. In the United Kingdom, the first law on arbitration was the Arbitration Act 1697 although arbitration had been common in England prior to its passing as by 1610, there already was a recorded judicial decision on arbitration, specifically the Vynior's Case3. Today, UK arbitration policies are guided by the Arbitration Act 1996 founded on the principles that: It is acknowledged that the institution of arbitration derives its force from the agreement of the parties and from the State as supervisor and enforces of the legal process5. Likewise, the contractual obligation of both parties enables the settlement process to override national differences in law and procedural obstacles that exist in local courts. Historically, arbitration became international and modern in character most notably due to the success of the Jay Treaty of 1794 between the United States and Britain resolving issues regarding debts and boundaries which took seven years6. Nevertheless, it was also claimed that mediation and arbitration preceded judicial settlement as exercised in ancient Greece, China and even among Arabian tribes. The Jay Treaty success re-awakened the practice and has been then adapted by the UK, US, and other European states. Once again, the process is strengthened in the Alabama Claims arbitration in 1872 that had three neutral governments Brazil, Italy and Switzerland appointed as members of the tribunal in a dispute between the UK and the US. The award had the UK pay compensation and duly complied with. The Hague Peace Conference of 1899 that tackled peace and armament a Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and the creation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.7 One of the more recent examples of arbitration proceedings of international character include the case of the European Union and Ecuador's banana dispute of which the World Trade Organisation has appointed an arbitrator to decide on the case. Ecuador is claiming to have lost $450 million dollars due to the restrictive banana import regime of the European Union of which the WTO earlier ruled twice to be discriminatory against Latin American banana producers.8 Another

Assignment Essay Example for Free

Assignment Essay Considering customer satisfaction as it applies to a university setting, what are some other areas in addition to those identified for the project that may contribute to students’ satisfaction/dissatisfaction with their education experience? The customer satisfaction survey seems to focus on academic resources only. It’s focusing on the classes, the advisors, the curriculum, and isn’t asking the students how they felt towards the school as a whole. After discussing all of the academic services and programs, they may also want to see if the students are satisfied with the environment and facilities beyond the library or computer lab. The survey should also include an area for the students to make suggestions on what would make them happier while attending this school. This would give the School of Business some suggestions on what changes could be made to make the school better. Does the current questionnaire provide information on students’ overall satisfaction with their undergraduate degree program? Explain. What revisions are necessary to this questionnaire to obtain an overall satisfaction rating? The questionnaire focuses on both undergraduate and graduate programs, but it seems to put more emphasis on graduate students. The questionnaire did provide a lot of information regarding how they felt about their classes and advisors, but it seems to be based on students who have already been attending the school for some time and have had experience with undergraduate advisors and curriculum. The questionnaire should be administered yearly in order to get a better idea of the overall satisfaction rating. They should also offer more open ended questions so that the students can provide feedback instead of just multiple questions. Can the School of Business use the results of this study to target the most important areas for improvement? Explain. Identify changes to the questionnaire that would allow the school to target areas based on importance. The School of Business can definitely use the results of this study to target the most important areas for improvement. As the results show there are several areas that the school could use improvement in. By determining what is most important will allow them to administer specific surveys or questionnaires regarding a certain issue such as the lack of advisors or not being able to register for classes. Changes they could make to the current questionnaire would be to add a space to provide your own suggestions on how to make things better. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using open-ended questions to identify the school’s strengths and weaknesses? Taking the responses in Exhibit 2, what system would you use for coding these responses? There are several advantages to using open-ended questions. Open-ended questions allow the students to share their feelings and the school will have a better idea of what they feel about certain subjects. The disadvantages of having open-ended questions are a lower response rate and it’s harder to compare their answers. It can also take much more time to go over questionnaires that offer open-ended questions instead of just close-ended ones.

The Essential Parts Of Project Quality Information Technology Essay

The Essential Parts Of Project Quality Information Technology Essay Quality is essential to our project because we need quality planning and quality work to meet the projects purpose and deliver the projects goal. In plain English, quality is what makes something good. In business, what is good is what adds value to the business, service or product. Deming, the creator of the field of total quality management (TQM), defined quality as conformance to specifications. According to recent work (Sid K., 2004), in project management, there is a fundamental connection from value, to purpose, to goal, to detailed requirements, to specifications, and from specifications to a working product and a successful project. Quality is what holds them together. Each project is unique and we must define quality differently for each project. We must make sure that the definition of quality is the customers, not just our own. When we have a picture and a set of requirements, we know what is really of value to the customer. If the requirements are right, then, we can build a good specification. Then, when we deliver a product or service conforming to that specification, we deliver quality and value. Following that formula is a recipe for success. Aims and objectives The main aim of this report is to design a quality management system which ensures continuous improvement for this company and enables them to alleviate the continuing quality issues that are inherent in their company at present. Analyze the prior information and make judgements as to possible causes of poor quality by using the statistics and using quality control tools such as; flowcharts check sheets, Pareto diagrams, histograms, cause and effect diagrams, scatter diagrams and control charts. Propose the solutions to improve quality on all levels of the value chain. Background Organization JEEVES PLC is a company, manufacturing and selling domestic robot, which is designed to carry out a wide range of domestic chores. The robot has human appearance as shown in the picture 1. Picture 1. Domestic robot. The factory operates all days, except Sundays and two weeks each Christmas and summer. Both manual and clerical staffs are members of National Union of Robot Constructors (N.U.R.C). The production system runs in 3 shifts, 8 hours per shift. Next chart shows the hierarchy of the company. ORGANISATION CHART Production Director Purchasing manager Production Control manager Shift 2 Manager Shift 3 Manager Assistant Works manager Stores Manager Chief Inspector Staff of 15 Total staff of approx. 150 each Works manager Cutting Supervisor 4 people Software Installation Supervisor 5 people Adhesives Supervisor 25 people Legs Assembly Supervisor 8 people Heads Assembly Supervisor 14 people Fronts Assembly Supervisor 18 people General machining Supervisor 9 people Jointing Supervisor 11 people Pressing Supervisor 3 people Shift 1 manager Final Assembly Supervisor 18 people Arms Assembly Supervisor 12 people Backs Assembly Supervisor 28 people Cleaning Spray shop Supervisor 17 people Product The robot equipped by the last word of technology and has modern voice programming and simple speaking abilities. It is made of light alloy and has sensory apparatus, which lets him not to bump into things. The robot also has a keyboard and hypercard storage system located underneath the panel in the chest. This makes him more flexible, due to its programmable ability. Several standard software applications for domestic chores are offered within the initial purchase price. Production process The production line consist of 13 sections: cutting, pressing, cleaning and spray, jointing, general machining, backs, fronts, heads, arms, legs assemblies, adhesives, final assembly and software. All production process can be finished in 4 5 weeks. Initially, sales department orders the robots from the factory. Ultra lightweight Kevlar and alloy sheet steel is ordered from the local steel stockholders and components such as the radar vision system, audio recognition, electric motor and battery are ordered from component suppliers and inspected at the second week. The sheet steel is cut on a guillotine. Any scrap is discarded. Special joints are precision machined, after these, the cut sheets are pressed into shapes (fronts, backs, arms, legs and heads) and drilled to facilitate assembly. The guillotines, presses, and other machinery are controlled by technologic operator. The shaped cases are then cleaned, burnished and sprayed in the appropriate colour. The cases proceed through a series of chemical treatments to prevent corrosion and to prime the surface. They are then normally blow dried using a hand held hose. Then, spraying is an automated process. Two coats are applied and after the first coat the casings are machine polished. Hand finishing and polishing completes the process. The joints must be able to rotate in 6 planes both clockwise and against clockwise. The company uses its own patented precision jointing system in order to increase the degree of freedom and its accuracy. The last stage of the production process is carry out sub assembly and final assembly and inspection and then transfer to the finished goods store on the 4 5 weeks. The analysis of the system Problems in production process Precision jointing This process is very complex, and needs very accurate skills for staff. In this section we use very sophisticated and expensive apparatus. Table 1 below shows the percentage rate of jointing mechanisms with the dates. Table 1: Percentage rejection rate of precision jointing mechanism. Graph 1: Rejection rate in percentage. From the above graph we can analyze that the rejection rate is at its peak on Mondays. Also we can evaluate that the morning shift supervisor have good competence and relationships with his personnel. We know that the production process operates in 3 shifts, 8 hours per shift, except Sundays and holidays. So, on the Mondays to start run the factory we need to spend more money and time, because several machines must to become warm before they will start to work. The productivity of the company increasing at these times, on the other hand it is strongly recommended to make one day break per week for all staff and factory.   Further analysis shows that the rejection rate during the night shifts is higher than the daily shifts. Table 2 shows the total rejection rate of each shift. Graf 2: Percentage rejection rate in each shift. From the above graph we can see percentage rejection rate in each shift. Night shift staff can be faced with some difficulties. In our opinion, due to human nature employees at this period of time dont give much attention on their work. Their body clocks are disconcerted. They need more motivation and teamwork. Component assembly The components assembly is done by semi-skilled workers using power tools. There are also some parts and connections where can be used only females, due to high sensitivity and carefulness. Females try to do their work more accurate than males, and give more attention. This is very important on all stages of the process. The rejection rate for loose components at this point is approximately 1.2 %. A further 0.5% is rejected at final inspection, causing expensive rework situations. There is a staff turnover of 25% per annum amongst such operatives in the back casing sub assembly section. This strongly affects all quality elements in the system. From the data given from case study we can build Pareto Diagram. Graph 3: Pareto diagram. This shows percentage of overall total rejects and cumulative percentage of rejects. The beneath diagram of the causes and effects in production process helps to produce deeper investigation of current situation. Diagram 1. Causes and effects in production process. Quality costs and productivity A recent estimate of quality costs showed that they were distributed as follows, Failure prevention cost 4% Appraisal and inspection cost 44% Internal in plant failure cost 22% External field failure cost 30% Total 100% Table 3: Quality costs Graph 4: Quality costs pie chart Quality costs pie chart illustrates data from Table 3. From the case study we know, that staff turnover has averaged 15% and has been fairly consistent over a period of time. Absenteeism has averaged 6% peaking in August and December but consistent over several years. After the initial spurt of investment the amount of capital employed in the factory has been flagging expressed in terms of  £ per employee. Productivity, expressed in terms of output per direct (factory) employee has been as follows: Year Output per Person Capital Employed 2016 15.3 units/annum  £47,000 p.p 2017 10.1 units/annum  £32,000 p.p 2018 10.4 units /annum  £34,000 p.p 2019 9.7 units per annum  £31,000 p.p 2020 8.8 units per annum  £30,000 p.p Table 4: Productivity, expressed in terms of output per direct (factory) employee. Vigour of productivity is decreasing while the capital employed per / person / per unit / per annum gradually increases over the years. Warranty and claims management Track warranty information and expirations, determine whether equipment is covered by warranty, monitor warranty repairs and customer claims, capture and analyze warranty-service costs, and file and track warranty claims against OEMs. The following  business goals and objectives  can be achieved through the implementation of these processes: Improving Customer Service Improving Service Delivery Increase Speed Efficiency From the case study, the data sheet for Warranty claims we are building Pareto diagram. Graph 5: Pareto diagram for Warranty claims. As a result we can identify major types of complaints and claims from Pareto diagram. 1. Robots responding incorrectly to commands 2. Robots crashing into obstacles 3. Burnt out electric motors 4. Robots not responding to commands 5. Intermittent power lost The solutions for analyzed system Ahead of the providing with the suggestions, we must be familiar with the impact of HF on the system and the playing role in it. In relation to current paper (Baybutt P.), people are key components of processes and there is no step in the process life cycle without human involvement. According to (SearchSOA.com, 2000), in industry, HFs is the study of how humans behave physically and psychologically in relation to particular environments, products, or services. Vast amount of organizations have HF department, to analyze how designed new product or service will be accepted by the users, how the organizations personnel can work more effectively without accidents and human errors. The system we have studied is very complex and integrated. It is automated, but not automatic due to participation of human factor. In decomposition we can see two main elements: technology process and human factor. They affect the system very strongly. We must understand the role of human factor on all levels of the value chain. It can be all staff, customers, rivals, and etc. The main role in productivity also plays human factor. Below fishbone breakdown strategy shows causes mainly affecting the organizations objectives. Figure 1: Fishbone diagram. Human factor is very important, because on manufacture always exist human error. Human is very unpredictable, due to its behavior, physiology, history, culture, and etc. These all can affect people and change their moods; as a result we have human errors, decreasing productivity, increasing all costs, wasting time and money. All positive indicators in the systems will be reduced. We need to motivate people, and make all conditions for productively work. Every person is unique and every person needs individual approach of motivation. For somebody monetary motivation is good, another one needs motivations like little break, vacation or just warm words. The best solution is, if managers will try to understand their personnel, collaborate, interact, and support them. Building teamwork, try to work together is also one way of motivation. It will give energy and spirit, increase productivity in all dimensions. Costs will be reduced and staff turnover will decrease. To sustain competitive advantage over rivals, to reduce number of technological and economical processes we need to automate all stages of production process. As a result, we can use personnel in other organizational needs. Technology powerfully supports business strategies and makes obstacles to enter the market other competitors. Our company trying to use the latest technology and software engineering to have competitive advantage, which will benefit for long period of time. If most processes within systems will be automatic, the workers can develop and upgrade their knowledge and skills. These issues are very important for our staff. All departments should collaborate and try to make warm and happy atmosphere. There must be other department, who will learn about customers and clients. Focus on the target markets and try to look for new potential users. Our product is an innovation in technology. Ideas and collaboration are the fuel for innovation. And organizations that can tap into and quickly leverage the collective creativity of their employees and customers have greater potential to disrupt the status quo and leapfrog the competition. (IBM, 2007, pp. 2-8) The organizations must to have immunity to rapidly changing environment. The linkage between business and technology is very important issue. Where the technology needs to have; an optimal combination of scalability, flexibility and serviceability, keeping in mind the requirements and stakeholders expectations to support the business for organisations and satisfy the needs of consumers as defined in Shraddha Tilloos (2006, pp 1 12) study. Moreover, we need to control major elements within system like time, quality, functions, resources and risks. Reorganisation of the manufactures management and the way they operate is required. The structure of the organization must be flatter; to decrease the way the signal proceeds from top to down. Thus, it will make easier to control major elements. The new departments must be open like; Research and Development and Human Resources departments. They can consist from two and more employees due to our budget. Sometimes its better to involve independent specialists, who have fresh view on the current situations, and have deep knowledge and understanding in stringent fields. Not enough to have just purchasing manager. We must mind advertising and promotion part of the strategy. It is very complex concept in purchasing process. Must be done external and internal assessment of the environments, it will help to select most optimal target market, increase income and save our budget. Our product will be well known and easy selling. To integrate the subsystem of low quality of robots jointing compounds, we need to follow the operational techniques and the activities which will sustain a quality of product and service that will satisfy given needs. The quality management system must be developing with continuous improvement, to sustain quality and business objectives. Conclusion We analyzed the JEEVES PLC Company, which produces innovative product the robot, designed to help our customers in domestic chores. To maintain quality and to analyze current dilemmas on all phases in production and trending processes we have been used the statistics from case study and quality control tools such as; flowcharts check sheets, Pareto diagrams, cause and effect diagrams, scatter diagrams and control charts. Above recommendations will affect the organization effectively, and will lead to continuous improving quality on all levels of the value chain and sustain competitive advantage over opponents.

Faust: Book Review :: essays research papers

Faust: Book Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This novel written originally by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and translated by Walter Kaufmann. There are 201 pages in this novel.. This book is a poem divided into two parts and has many adventures in it. The point of view is from the writer of the play, 3rd person narration. The theme of this novel is Don't always take the easy way out of things because in the end you will pay for them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This novel starts off with Mephisto the Devil asking God to be able to tempt a scholar named Faust. Mephisto talks with angels and God. Mephisto tells God that Faust is loyal to him but will no be for long. Mephisto is going to take Faust from him. Faust is sitting in his study most of the poem. He looks up information to gain more knowledge. When he is looking one day through his study he notices a book that he has never seen before. Faust takes it out and examines it and finds out it is a book of spells, With this spell book he calls on Mephisto. Faust finds out that Mephisto never wants to say his name just describe his great power and plans that he can give Faust. Mephisto fails the first time to get Faust to give in. He comes back the next day and tries again but doesn't gain his  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hand in this deed. After Faust calls on Mephisto they make a deal. Mephisto would serve Faust in this life and when Faust would die he would come to hell and help Mephisto in return for giving Faust all this power. Faust agrees and this is the start of the deed. Mephisto would do anything in his power for Faust. These things that Mephisto did was to try to get Lady Gretchen (that Faust liked dearly) to notice him. Mephisto would give Gretchen diamonds and other assortment of jewelry to tempt her. This did not work. Over the years of Mephisto doing all these deeds for Faust, He gained a lot of knowledge. Faust started to get real old and very ill. He started to see ghosts and other kinds of unnatural things in front of his eyes that he never saw before. Over more time Faust becomes blind and can no longer do anything. When Faust is dying Mephisto gets ready to take him to hell to serve him in eternity. When Faust dies God comes into the picture again. He gets angels to distract Mephisto and take Faust into Heaven. God forgives Faust for all he has done.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Hell Breaks Loose A wave of anxiety washed over Jody as she woke up. â€Å"Tommy,† she called. She leaped out of bed and went into the living area, not stopping to turn on the light. â€Å"Tommy?† The loft was quiet. She checked the answering machine: no messages. I'm not going to do this again, she thought. I can't handle another night of worrying. She'd cleaned up the mess from the police search the night before, put lemon oil on the wood, scrubbed out the sinks and the tubs, and watched cable TV until dawn. All the time she thought about what Tommy had said about sharing, about being with someone who could understand what you saw and how you felt. She wanted that. She wanted someone who could run the night with her, someone who could hear the buildings breathe and watch the sidewalks glow with heat just after sundown. But she wanted Tommy. She wanted love. She wanted the blood-high and she wanted sex that touched her heart. She wanted excitement and she wanted security. She wanted to be part of the crowd, but she wanted to be an individual. She wanted to be human, but she wanted the strength, the senses, and the mental acuity of the vampire. She wanted it all. What if I had a choice, she thought, if that medical student could cure me, would I go back to being human? It would mean that Tommy and I could stay together, but he would never know the feeling of being a god, and neither would I. Never again. So I leave; what then? I'm alone. More alone than I've ever been. I hate being alone. She stopped pacing and went to the window. The cop from the night before was out there, sitting in a brown Dodge, watching. The other cop had followed Tommy. â€Å"Tommy, you jerk. Call me.† The cop would know where Tommy was. But how to get him to tell? Seduce him? Use the Vulcan nerve pinch? Sleeper hold? Maybe I should just go up there and knock on the door, Rivera thought. â€Å"Inspector Alphonse Rivera, San Francisco PD. If you have a few minutes, I'd like to talk to you about being dead. How was it? Who did it? Did it piss you off?† He adjusted himself in the car seat and took a sip from his coffee. He was trying to pace his smoking. No more than four cigarettes an hour. He was in his forties now and he couldn't handle the four-pack-a-night stakeouts – going home with his throat raw, his lungs seared, and a vicious ache in his sinuses. He checked his watch to see if enough time had passed since he'd last lit up. Almost. He rolled down the car window and something caught him by the throat, cutting off his breath. He dropped his coffee, feeling the scald in his lap as he reached in his jacket for his gun. Something caught his hand and held it like a bear trap. The hand on his throat relaxed a bit and he sucked in a short breath. He tried to turn his head and the clamp on his throat cut off his breath again. A pretty face came through the window. â€Å"Hi,† Jody said. She loosened her grip on his throat a degree. â€Å"Hi,† Rivera croaked. â€Å"Feel the grip on your wrist?† Rivera felt the bear trap on his wrist tighten, his hand went numb, and his whole arm lit up with pain. â€Å"Yes!† â€Å"Okay,† Jody said. â€Å"I'm pretty sure I can crush your windpipe before you could move, but I wanted you to be sure too. You sure?† Rivera tried to nod. â€Å"Good. Your partner followed Tommy last night. Do you know where they are now?† Again Rivera attempted to nod. On the seat next to him, the cell phone chirped. She released his arm, snatched the gun out of his shoulder holster, flipped off the safety, and pointed it at his head, all before he could draw a single breath. â€Å"Take me there,† she said. Elijah Ben Sapir watched the red dots moving around on the video screen above his face. He had awakened feeling gleeful about killing the fledgling's toy boy, then he saw that his home had been invaded. He was hit with an emotion so rare it took him a while to recognize it. Fear. It had been a long time since he'd been afraid. It felt good. The dots on the screen were moving around on the stern of the boat, scrambling in and out of the main cabin above. Every few seconds a dot would disappear off the screen, then reappear. They were getting in and out of a raft at the stern. The vampire reached up and flipped a series of toggle switches. The big diesels on either side of his vault roared to life. Another toggle and an electric winch began grinding in the anchor. â€Å"Move, move, move!† Tommy shouted into the cabin. â€Å"The engines started.† Barry came through the hatch carrying a bronze statue of a ballerina. Tommy waited at the stern of the yacht with Drew. Troy Lee, Lash, Jeff, Glint, and the Emperor and his troops were already in the raft, trying to find room to move around the paintings and statues. â€Å"Over,† Tommy said, taking the statue from Barry as the squat diver went over the side into the arms of the waiting Animals, almost capsizing the raft. Tommy threw the statue down to the Emperor, who caught it and went to the floor of the raft with its weight. Tommy threw a leg over the railing, and looked back. â€Å"Light it, Drew. Now!† Drew bent and held his lighter to the end of a wax-coated strip of cloth that ran across the stern deck and through the hatch to the main cabin. He watched the flame follow the trail for a few feet, then stood and joined Tommy at the rail. â€Å"It's going.† They went over the rail backward and the Animals obliged them by stepping aside and letting them both hit the floor of the raft unimpeded. The raft lurched and righted itself. Tommy fought for breath to give a command. â€Å"Paddle, men!† the Emperor shouted. The Animals began to beat the water with their paddles. There was a loud clunking noise from the yacht as the transmission engaged and the raft was rocked as the twin screws engaged and began pushing the yacht away from them. â€Å"Rivera,† Rivera said into the cell phone. â€Å"The yacht is moving,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I think I just aided these guys in looting it.† He unzipped a leather case on the car seat, revealing a huge chrome-plated automatic pistol, a Desert Eagle.50-caliber. It fired bullets roughly the weight of a small dog and kicked like a jackhammer. One shot could reduce a cinder block to gravel. â€Å"I'm on my way,† Rivera said. â€Å"What about the girl?† Cavuto slammed a clip into the Desert Eagle, dropped another one into his jacket pocket. â€Å"She's – she'll be fine. I'm at Van Ness and Lombard. I'll be there in about three minutes. Don't call in backup.† â€Å"I'm not – oh Jesus Christ!† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The fucking thing just blew up.† A fountain of flame shot from the stern of the Sanguine II, a second passed, and the rest of the yacht disappeared in a cloud of flame that rose into the sky above her. She had cleared the breakwater and was perhaps three hundred yards out into the bay when the fuse reached Drew's incendiary cocktail. The raft had just made the dock when the explosion went off. Tommy leaped onto the dock and watched the mushroom cloud dissipate. The shock wave rolled in and Tommy reached back to the raft and caught the Emperor before he went into the water. Debris rained down around them. A pool of fire and unexploded diesel fuel spread out across the water, illuminating the whole area with a dancing bright orange. â€Å"Is this a party boat, or what?† Drew shouted. The Animals scrambled out of the raft onto the dock and began handing up the objets d'art. Tommy stood aside and watched the burn. Bummer cowered in the Emperor's arms. â€Å"Do you think we got him?† Jeff handed the Degas ballerina to Troy and looked over his shoulder. â€Å"Fucking A, we got him. Nice mix, Drew.† Drew took a bow and almost went over the edge of the dock. The Emperor said. â€Å"I can't help but think that the explosion may have attracted the attention of the authorities, gentlemen. I would recommend a speedy retreat.† Drew looked at the burning slick. â€Å"I wish I had some acid. This would be great on acid.† Jeff jumped down into the raft and handed up the last painting, the Miro. He looked past Troy Lee, who was wrestling up the heavy frame, and said, â€Å"Whoops.† â€Å"What?† Troy said. Jeff nodded past him and the Animals turned around. Cavuto had a very large, very shiny pistol pointed at them. â€Å"No one move!† They didn't. The spearguns were stacked on the dock. Glint held the shotgun loosely at his side as he prayed. He dropped it. â€Å"Drop it,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I did,† said Clint. â€Å"That's true, he did,† Tommy said. â€Å"And before you asked. He should get extra credit for that.† Cavuto motioned with the pistol. â€Å"Everybody down. On your faces. Now!† The Animals dropped. Lazarus barked. The Emperor stepped forward. â€Å"Officer, these young men have – â€Å" â€Å"Now!† Cavuto screamed. The Emperor dropped to the dock with the Animals. The screens went dark an instant before he was slammed against the side of the vault. He tumbled inside, feeling his flesh burn on the steel with every turn. The vault glowed red with the heat and had filled with smoke from the seared wires and the vampire's clothing. After a few seconds the tumbling stopped. The vampire was jammed into one end of the vault, his face against his knees. His skin was stinging and he tried to will it to heal, but it had been days since he had fed, so the healing came slowly. He located the lid by finding the smashed CRT and radar screens. Salt water sprayed in a fine mist from behind the screens. He pushed on the lid but it didn't move. He felt for the latches and released them, then heaved against the lid with force that would have crumpled a car fender, yet the lid stayed fast. The heat of the explosion had welded it shut. I should have killed him last week, the vampire thought. This is what I get for indulging my pleasures. He reached into the broken CRT, looking for the source of the spraying water, then concentrated his will and went to mist. The transition was slow, weak as he was, but when he had finally lost his solid form he followed the path of the water and wormed his way through the pinhole to the open ocean. The vault lay on the bottom in a hundred and twenty feet of water and as soon as the vampire escaped, the pressure of four atmospheres condensed him to his solid shape. He tried to force himself to mist, failed, then swam toward the orange glow at the surface, thinking, The boy dies first, then a new suit. He broke the surface in the midst of the flame slick, then scissor-kicked hard enough to bring himself completely out of the water and tried to go to mist. His limbs dissolved in the air, their vapor whipped by the flame and standing out white in the rolling black diesel smoke, but he could not hold. He fell back into the water, followed by a vortex of vapor that condensed back to solid form under water. Frustrated and angry, he began the swim around the breakwater toward the yacht club. Cavuto panned the Desert Eagle back and forth across the heads of the prostrated Animals as he moved forward to get their weapons. Lazarus growled and backed away as the big cop approached. Sirens sounded in the distance. Crew members and yacht owners were popping out of the hatches of nearby yachts like curious prairie dogs. â€Å"Inside!† Cavuto shouted, and the yachters ducked for cover. Cavuto heard footsteps on the dock behind him and swung quickly around. The gate guard, looking down the cavelike barrel of the Eagle, stopped as if he'd hit a force field. Cavuto swung back to cover the Animals. Over his shoulder Cavuto said, â€Å"Go back to the gate and call nine-one-one. Tell them to send me some backup.† â€Å"Right,† the guard said. â€Å"All right, scumbags, you're under arrest. And if any of you even twitches, I'll turn you into a red stain. You have the right†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The vampire came out of the water like a wet comet and landed on the dock behind the Animals. He was burned black and his clothes hung in sooty shreds. Cavuto fired without thinking and missed. The vampire looked up long enough to grin at him, then reached down and snatched Tommy by the back of his shirt and yanked him up like a rag doll. Cavuto aimed and fired again. The second shot hit the vampire in the thigh, taking out a three-inch chuck of flesh. The vampire dropped Tommy, turned on Cavuto, and leaped. The third bullet caught the vampire in the abdomen, the impact spraying flesh and spinning him in the air like a football. He landed in a heap at Cavuto's feet. The big cop tried to back away to get another shot off, but before he could aim, the vampire snatched the gun out of his hand, taking most of the skin off his trigger finger. He leaped backward, clawing inside his jacket for his detective special as the vampire tossed the Desert Eagle over his shoulder and climbed to his feet. â€Å"You are a dead man,† he growled. Cavuto watched the gaping wounds in the vampire's leg and stomach pulsing, bubbling, and filling with smoke. He caught the butt of his revolver just as the vampire leaped, his fingers outstretched to drive into Cavuto's chest. Cavuto ducked, heard a hiss and a loud thunk, and looked up, amazed that he was still alive. The vampire had stopped an inch from him. A gleaming spear through his leg had pinned him to the dock. The black kid stood a few yards away, a gas-powered speargun in hand. The vampire wrenched himself around and clawed at the spear. Cavuto yanked out his gun, but with his damaged finger he ended up flinging it off the dock. He heard the sound of tires behind him, then a car coming down the dock. A second spear thunked through the vampire's shoulder. Tommy threw the speargun aside. The Animals were all on their feet. â€Å"Troy, throw me the sword!† Troy Lee picked up the fighting sword from the deck and threw it at Tommy. Tommy sidestepped; the sword whizzed by him and clattered on the dock near Cavuto, who was standing motionless, stunned at almost seeing his own death. â€Å"Handle first, you doofus,† Tommy said as he ran after the sword. The vampire yanked the spear out of his shoulder and reached for the one in his leg. The Emperor picked up his wooden sword from the deck and charged the vampire. Lash caught him by the collar, yanking him aside as Barry fired a third spear, hitting the vampire in the hip. Jeff let go with a blast from the shotgun. The vampire jerked with the impact of the shot and screamed. Tommy dived for the fighting sword at Cavuto's feet. The big cop lifted him to his feet. â€Å"Thanks,† Tommy said. â€Å"You're welcome,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I didn't kill those people.† â€Å"I'm figuring that out,† Cavuto said. A brown car skidded to a stop on the dock. Tommy looked up for an instant, then turned and headed toward the vampire, who was clawing at the spear in his leg. His wounds bubbled and seethed with vapor; his body was trying to heal even as new damage was inflicted on it. Tommy raised the sword over the vampire's head and closed his eyes. â€Å"No!† It was Jody's voice. Tommy opened his eyes. Jody was on her knees, shielding the vampire, who had given up the struggle and was waiting for the final blow. â€Å"No,† Jody said. â€Å"Don't kill him.† Tommy lowered the sword. Jody looked at Jeff, who still held the shotgun. â€Å"No,† she said. Jeff looked at Tommy, who nodded. Jeff lowered the shotgun. â€Å"Kill the fiend, now!† cried the Emperor, still struggling against Lash's hold on his coat. â€Å"No,† Jody said. She pulled the spear out of the vampire's leg and he screamed. She patted his head. â€Å"One more,† she said quietly. She yanked the spear out of his hip and he gasped. Jody propped the vampire up on her lap. The Animals and Cavuto stood watching, not sure what to do. Clint prayed quietly, barely audible over the approaching siren. â€Å"Blood,† the vampire said. He looked into Jody's eyes. â€Å"Yours.† â€Å"Give me that sword, Tommy.† Jody said. He hesitated and raised the sword to strike. â€Å"No!† She covered the vampire with her body. â€Å"But Jody, he's killed people.† â€Å"You don't know anything, Tommy. They were all going to die anyway.† â€Å"Get out of the way.† Jody turned to Cavuto. â€Å"Tell him. All the victims were terminally ill, weren't they?† Cavuto nodded. â€Å"The coroner said that none of them had more than a few months.† Tommy was almost in tears. â€Å"He killed Simon.† â€Å"Simon had AIDS, Tommy.† â€Å"No way. Not Simon. Simon was the animal of the Animals.† â€Å"He was hiding it from you guys. He was scared to death. Now, please, give me the sword.† â€Å"No, get out of the way.† Tommy reared back for the killing blow. He felt a hand on his shoulder, then another one catch his sword arm and pull it down. He looked around to see the Emperor. â€Å"Let him go, son. The measure of a man's power is the depth of his mercy. Give me the sword. The killing is over.† The Emperor worked the sword out of Tommy's grip and handed it to Jody. She took it, ran the blade across her wrist, then held the wound to the vampire's mouth. He took her arm in his hands and drank. Jody looked at Cavuto. â€Å"Your partner is handcuffed to the wheel of the car. Get him and walk away before anyone else gets here. I need the car. I don't want to be followed either.† Cavuto dropped back into cop mode. â€Å"Bullshit.† â€Å"Go get your partner and go. Do you want to explain this?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"All this.† Jody pulled her arm out of the vampire's mouth and gestured around the dock. â€Å"Look, the murders will stop. I promise. We're leaving and we're never coming back. So let it drop. And leave Tommy and these guys alone.† â€Å"Or what?† Cavuto said. Jody cradled the old vampire and lifted him as she stood up. â€Å"Or we'll come back.† She carried the vampire to the cruiser and put him in the back seat and crawled in with him. Rivera was sitting in the front seat. Cavuto came to the side of the car and handed his handcuff key through the window to Rivera. â€Å"I told you,† Rivera said. Cavuto nodded. â€Å"We're fucked, you know? We have to let them go.† Rivera unlocked the handcuffs and got out of the car. He stood next to Cavuto, not sure what to do next. Jody stuck her head out the back window of the cruiser. â€Å"Come on, Tommy, you drive.† Tommy turned to the Emperor, who nodded for him to go, then to the Animals. â€Å"You guys, get that stuff off the dock. In Troy's car. Get out of here. I'll call you at the store tomorrow.† Tommy shrugged, got in the car, and started it. â€Å"What now?† â€Å"To the loft, Tommy. He needs a dark place to heal.† â€Å"I'm not comfortable with this, Jody. I want you to know that. I'd like to know what your relationship is to this guy.† The vampire moaned. â€Å"Drive,† she said. They pulled off the dock, leaving the Animals scrambling around collecting the art and the two policemen staring at them in amazement. She said, â€Å"I love you, Tommy, but I need someone who's like me. Someone who understands. You know how that is, right?† â€Å"So you run off with the first rich older guy that comes along?† â€Å"He's the only one, Tommy.† She stroked the vampire's burned hair. â€Å"I don't have any choice. I hate being alone. And if he died, then I'd never know about what I am.† â€Å"So you two are going away? You're leaving me?† â€Å"I wish I could think of some other way. I'm sorry.† â€Å"I knew you'd break my heart.†

Account for the Geographical Characteristics of the Southern Chesapeake colonies at the end of the eighteenth century

The Southern Chesapeake colonies consist of Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina and Georgia. The settlement of the Southern Colonies started at Jamestown Virginia and it was led by Captain John Smith who also became the first Governor of Virginia. The Southern and Northern Settlements both grew up for different reasons. Whilst the Northern settlements grew up to seek refuge from Religious persecution (Jenkins, P, 1997) the Southern Colonists went out to make money and produce goods for England, mainly Mediterranean goods such as citrus fruits, wines and silk. Richard Hakluyt, who was a geographer for the court of James 1st and advisor to the London Plymouth Company, advised that the Southern Colonies would be ideal place to settle. However his choice of settlement was based purely on assumptions and it was not taken into account the East coast of a country was very different to the West coast (Mitchell, R, D, 1983). As a result tobacco became the staple crop and Virginia, which has been described as growing from smoke. This essay will look at how the Southern colonies continued to grow during the 18th Century and the geographical characteristics of that growth. At the start of the 18th century the population of the colonies was only 250,000, however by 1785 this had risen to around 2. 5 million. The population was growing fast and by 1820 the population of the United States had overtaken Britain. Due to the rapid explosion of the population, it was forced to distribute over a greater area of land. In the Southern colonies the population occupied almost all of the land east of the Appalachians, which included many fertile mountain valleys, ideal for growing crops and rearing animals (McIlwraith, T. F, et al, 2001). After about 1740 Maryland and Virginia experienced settlement change. The Piedomont and Great Valley regions filled with settlers that imitated the Northern colonies with a mixture of grain and livestock farming. The population of the South was rapidly increasing yet it was still predominately rural as people took up more land than they actually needed. This was due to the fact that there was a big lust for ownership of land at the time and it was desirable to own land. In 1786, 3 years after the Treaty of Paris, there was a surge to claim it as there was a cadastrol survey of the land, by the Land Ordnance. Middleton, R, 2002). People wanted to claim the land before it was surveyed in the hope that they could claim the rights to it. The urbanization of the Chesapeake region up to the 1700's had been very slight, as it had been built up as a fragmented and rural society. As opposed to the North, who were there to be independent from England, the Southern Colonies were there to produce goods for England and the rest of the world. Thomas Jefferson said â€Å"We have no Towns of any significance† (Thomas Jeffereson, 1801), because of how fragmented the Chesapeake society was and because there was very little social cohesion. Thomas Jefferson proposed that the land be split up into rectangles and the land, along with the title, be given free to the yeomanary (Earle, C, 2003). However this is not how it happened, and Congress intervened insisting that land would be sold in order to produce revenue for Government. Consequently, speculators, land companies and individuals eyed obvious town sites, rivers, fording points, junctions of two rivers, harbours and defensive positions that lay well ahead of the frontier and surveyed land. Actual Settlers, as they were known, were confronted by angry natives not happy at their land being squatted on by these hopefuls. As a result battles ensued and the army was called in to enforce order and in some cases expel settlers from the land that they had tried to lay claim too. The South, which was dominated by a labour intensive agricultural system, had a much longer growing season than the Northern Colonies. As a result of this they convinced themselves of the need for slave labour and continued to use imported slaves well into the 19th Century (McIlwraith, T. F, et al, 2001). Slaves were a major factor behind the growth of the South, without them there would have been a great shortage of labour. Plantation owners found that slaves were cheap when compared to indentured labour. This was labour that would work for their employer for a set number of years and then be free to go and work where ever they wanted. The cost to a plantation owner of a free white servant would be ar ound i20 per year. For an extra i7-8 a planter could have â€Å"a slave for life! † (Middleton, R, 2002). This reliance on slaves left the South with a very unskilled labour force, the full affect of this not being felt until the start of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. In the South skilled workers like smiths, joiners, wheelwrights and leather workers were all moving out to the countryside to become plantation owners. The expense of free labour forced people into this (Middleton, R 2002). Not only was it a skilled labour force that was missing but also there was a lack of merchants, traders and artificers, these people being crucial in exporting and selling the goods. However this did not cause a problem in the tobacco region of Virginia because they exported directly from their plantations. It was is the Carolinas that this lack of merchants was apparent because they did not ship from their own plantations but had to transport their goods to central warehouses. As the Southern colonies adopted a more northern approach to agriculture, the need for slave labour should have been reduced, but this was not the case due to the fact that there was a big demand for cotton, which was very labour intensive. This was a result of the revolution in America and the industrial revolution in Britain, This had a big impact on the industry in the southern colonies both socially and spatially. One aspect of this industrialisation process was the iron industry. In 1775 the colonial iron industry turned out 15% of world production (McIlwraith, T. F, 2001). The geographical influences of iron was bog ore, which was used to produce the iron, which was reduced in furnaces. These furnaces were heated by hardwood, located in the hill country, which was cut to make charcoal. The owners were able to control large areas of woodland and also influence settlement due to the huge demand that the iron industry had on labour. The products that they produced remained mainly in America but it was important process in the industrialisation of America. Another aspect was the huge demand for cotton and Britain became a major importer of American Cotton. The cotton industry had its origins in the coastal regions of South Carolina. Cash crops like Rice, Indigo and cotton were plantation crops grown on the chain of Sea Islands situated along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia (McIlwraith, T,F, et al, 2001). However due to market and environmental factors rice and indigo quickly vanished as cash crops but as settlements moved further inland it was cotton that was deemed to be the staple crop. It was suited well to the climate and the soil conditions and the people readily exploited this by mono cropping. By doing this they were never giving the soil a chance to recover and its implication on settlements was that it pushed them further and further west in search of quality fertile land. Further South stood the capital, Charleston, which was established in 1692. Originally it experienced very slow growth but from about 1730 onwards it steadily grew and by 1775 the population had grown to 12,000. Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading port and trading centre of the South. There the settlers quickly learned to combine agriculture and commerce, and the marketplace became a major source of prosperity. The naval stores industry was very important to the Southern Colonies. The South was an area that had a rich supply of pine trees, pitch, tar and resin that was required by the Royal Navy (Knox, P et al, 1998). It was able to provide some of the best ship building materials in the world. Up until the 18th century the Royal navy had obtained its supplies from the Baltic, but due to uncertainties of supply they switched their source to the Carolinas. The production soon shifted to North Carolina as rice production became of greater importance in South Carolina. Unlike Virginia, the Carolinas were not bound to a single crop, making them a more economically sound area to settle. The land enabled them to extract raw materials but also grow goods that could be exported. As a result of the Carolinas producing different crops, and the need to keep moving on, there was a difference in the type settlements that emerged. In contrast to South Carolina, the urbanization of North Carolina was very slight and it was only a very few inland areas that urbanized, an example being Salem, whilst its coastal areas, such as Wilmington, remained very small. This can be put down to the fact that North Carolina was not concentrating on a crop but extracting raw materials, so movement would have been regular (Earle, C, 1992). The late 18th Century southern colonies can be characterized in many different ways geographically. At Virginia, the major geographical characteristic was the land. The Jamestown Settlement was made up as a profit orientated trading station rather than a socially cohesive agricultural settlement. People needed to grow tobacco to sell to England, so the rich planters had a lot of control over society. This meant that their plantations doubled up as urban places offering many services that you would expect to find (Middleton, R (2002). Further South, as well as the need of land for the cotton industry, was the need of the raw materials, needed for the naval industry. Due to the high use of slave labour, rurality of the settlements was not a problem. If labour was short they imported it, they never had to go looking for it. In the Southern regions they liked to invest in areas where they knew they could make the most money from the land that was available. Major outside influences on the Southern Colonies was the industrial revolution in England, which meant that there was big demand for cotton. As a result people were constantly on the look out for good fertile land and the population continued to spread. The industrial revolution brought with it factories and demand for products which added momentum to the spread and organization of the Southern Colonies.