Morphology of Rural Settlements in Malda Essay

Abstract: The rural settlement within the Malda district highlights human attempts for the livelihood and building the habitat on the diverse geographical landscapes. The characteristics of its natural endowments, social conditionality and historical antecedents and most importantly the human efforts gave the rural countryside a certain kind of social and morphological characteristics. The morphological characteristics of the villages have been collected from the different natural regions of the districts in order to understand the divergent forces and feature of it. This paper has focused on understanding the settlement pattern in the Malda district in the three broad geographic regions of it namely Tal, Diara and Barind. Key Words: Village, Morphological structure, Geographical landscapes, landuse, The Malda district. Introduction: Settlement morphology is primarily concerned with the lay-out, plan and internal structure of the settlements. It not only views settled area in terms of physical space but identifies its various components in respect of socio-economic space which has its direct bearing in controlling the arrangement of buildings, patterns of streets and fields and functional characteristics of settlements in general. Types, Form and Pattern constitute the three basic elements of morphology of rural settlements. Type would refer to three sets of formal and functional relationship: I) house to house, II) street to street and III) street to street. The inherent principle of village morphology is the human instinct of gregariousness. To have a comprehensive view of settlement, it deals with the morphogenesis and the morphological structure of rural settlement. Besides the geometrical shape, this is visualized through air view or on a well drawn map, as one aspects of the form of a settlement, the intern al arrangement of lanes, houses, with varies relationship, provide another aspect, named as morphology, hence morphological structure. The morphological structure of villages, as concrete expression of human activity in space, involves five principles of settlement formation, advocated by Doxiadis. His hypothetical frame for any settlement consists of four parts: Homogenous parts, Central part, Circulatory part and Special part. These basic parts are closely associated with the dimensions of height, length, width and time, which are best explained by morphological analysis of the villages. The internal morphology naturally involves analysis of structural morphology and social morphology. Of these, the former concern with the description and interpretation of relationship involves and deals with the varied dwelling group, community structures and land or spaces. Literature Review: Agglomerate and isolated homestead would be the two extreme types intervened by a large number of intermediate types. While in an agglomerate type there is one habitation site on which are located all the buildings, in the dispersed or isolated type there would be as many habitation sites as the building. Form connotes the geometric shape of the aggregate of building and streets, and thus, is expressed through innumerable categories, such as circular, rectangular, square, quadrilateral and irregular. Finally, pattern would be indicating geometrical arrangement of large number of settlement suggestive of correlation with natural and cultural features of the landscapes. Form, type can be applied to individual settlements but pattern is applicable only to a set of large number of rural settlements (Mukerji A.B, 1976). Generally rural settlements spread over number of buildings and distribution of cultivated lands on several levels. Just as in the cases of scattered and dispersed village s, this type of settlements represents a typical form which there can be established a sequence of form and structure (Gh. Iordache, 1974). The tendency of grouped households, agglomerating in the heartland is typical for settlement within plain lands, with intensive agricultural economy and low relief intensity. The phenomenon of households agglomerating in the heartland is result of the complex historical, economic, social and demographical factors (V. Cucu, 1998). Study area: Malda district consists mainly of low lying plains, sloping towards the south with undulating areas on the north-east. Located between latitude 24040’20’’N to 25032’8’’N and longitude 87045’50’’E to 88028’10’’E. The Mahananda River divides the district into two regions. The western region is further subdivided by the river Kalindri into two areas. The northern is known as ‘Tal’- it is low lying and vulnerable to inundation during rainy season, the southern area consists of very fertile land and is thickly populated, commonly known as ‘Diara’. The region of mature alluvium that had given North Bengal its old historical name of varendri or barendri is known today as ‘Barind’. This region is made up of the ancient alluvial humps that are remnants of old riverine floodplains that remain unaffected subsequently by inundation and renewed silting. Fig 1: Broad physiographic map of Malda district Fig 2: Study area map Source: District Human Development Report, Malda Source: District Human Development Report, Malda Harischandrapur I & II, Chanchal I & II and Ratua I & II are located in Tal region. Gajol, Old Malda, Bamongola and Habibpur are located in Barind region and Diara region consist English Bazar, Manikchak, Kaliachak I, and II & III. For my study, I have studied on Harischandrapur I & II from Tal region, Adina from Barind region and Manikchak from Diara region. Objectives: The rural settlements within the Malda plain area highlight in the geographical landscape by specific features which give its individuality. The characteristics of its natural background (majorly plain area- sub-divided into Tal, Diara, and Barind etc.), social-historical evolution and conditions and human economic activities gave the villages certain morphological-structural features, which harmonize with the general features of rural settlements within the plain. The following subtypes of settlements are viewed in the area- agglomerated, compact and dispersed villages. The selective objectives are– * To analyze the Characteristics of rural house type; * To determine Characteristics of rural house building materials with their availability * To analyze rural road type and rural road network; * To determine the landuse pattern in different physiographic divisions. * To analyze rural economy with relation to land-use pattern and daily habits of the rural habitants; * To find the impacts of Physical environments on land use of the villages. Database and Methodology: Both primary data and secondary data have been used in this term paper. Secondary data related to physiographic map, satellite images from Google earth, census data 2001 etc. For this term paper, primary data collected from one selected blocks from each physiographic division and field survey has done on this areas. To analyze data a very simple statistical tool like bar graph has been used. Analysis: Characteristics of rural house type: At first this paper shows characteristics of rural house type in the district of Malda. In Malda district, houses in rural area express the basic relationship between human beings and their physical and social environment. A feature common throughout most of Malda is the courtyard. This is in the centre, in front of or behind the house. This open space alternates as living room, workplace and storage space. Rooms are built round the courtyard with doors opening into it. The rooms often surrounded by raised verandas. Fig 3: Rural houses are located around the courtyard Fig 4: Animal breeding in open space in front of house Source: Field Survey Source: Field survey The plinth of the rooms is often raised. When rooms are built along one side of the courtyard only, three sides are fenced or walled in with an entrance door at the front. Such layout provides both privacy and safety. The courtyard provides the division between the outer part of the house and the inner sanctum reserved for women. This kind of layout is common all over the rural area in Malda. Fig 5: Rural house with conical roof Source: Field survey In Malda district, another significant characteristic of rural houses are that their roofs are inclined because in rainy season, the sloping roofs allows water to drain off. On the other hand, some conical roofs are found in certain tribal and caste areas of Malda. In my study, I have seen this kind of roof characteristics in Harischandrapur in Malda. Characteristics of rural house building materials: different blocks of Malda district, rural dwellings are built of locally available materials. Generally houses in rural area have made by mud, bamboo and brick. Some hay made houses are also found in rural area. Very few number of pakka houses are found in rural area in which mainly Brahmin families and economically well developed families are lived. For making wall of the houses, people use brick, mud, hay etc. In the case of making roof portion of houses, dwellers use mainly tile (square brick for flooring or roofing), hay and tin etc. Fig 6: Brick made house with tile roof Fig 7: Hay made house with tile roof Source: Field survey Source: Field survey Fig 8: Bamboo made house with tile roof Fig 9: Mud made house with tile roof Source: Field survey Source: Field survey Due to non-availability of proper building materials, there did not allow for the growth of permanent of settlements. Tents made of skin or leather used by the various tribal groups in Harischandrapur block. They were the dwellings in this area before modern housing materials began to be used. So the mud and sundried brick houses with thatched or tiled roofs are the commonest in Malda district. The quality of house building materials used depends on the economic condition of the owners. In some areas of Malda district e.g. Adina, Harischandrapur etc, government also provides prefabricated building materials. The using of house building materials of dwellers in rural area depends on physical conditions of Malda, mainly the climatic condition. The climatic condition of Malda is very harsh throughout the year. For example, in this climatic condition people use mud for making their house in rural area because mud reflects the sun heat and makes the house relatively cool in summer season. Rural road type and rural network: Rural roads are the last link of the transport network, however, they often from the most important connection in terms of providing access for the rural population. In Malda district, permanent or seasonal absence of road access is a constraining factor in terms of providing rural communities with essential services such as education, primary health care, water supply, local markets as well as economic opportunities. The availability of such services and opportunities are difficult to sustain without a quality and well maintained rural network. In rural area of Malda district, both metalled and unmettaled roads are found. Cart tracks are also found in villages. The conditions of the roads are not very good. Especially in rainy season roads are broken as well as damaged. The common feature is that most of the houses in rural area are located besides the both sides of the roads. Fig 10: One unmettaled road of Adina Fig 11: One mettaled road of Harischandrapur Source: Field Survey Source: Field survey Fig 12: Village road joints with NH 34 Fig 13: Damaged village road in rainy season Source: Field survey Source: Field Survey In other hand, another common feature of the rural area is that roads under the villages are directly meet with the National highway. This common feature indicates positive aspect of village road network in Malda district. In Malda district, keeping in view the socio economic benefits accruing from providing road connectivity to the villages, there is a need to impart greater thrust to providing road connectivity. So government launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) in different blocks in Malda, with the objective of providing road connectivity through good all weather roads to all unconnected habitations. Landuse pattern of three broad physiographic divisions in Malda district: The differences in cross regional landuse pattern across the Tal, Barind and Diara reflect the same set of settlement intensities, agrarian features and agricultural constraints. According to 2001 census, landuse patterns of Malda district are as follows- LANDUSE PATTERN OF THREE BROAD PHYSIGRAPHIC DIVISIONS IN MALDA DISTRICT Divisions| Landuse in hectares| | Homestead land| Orchards & Pasture land| Culturable wasteland| Net cropped area| Net irrigated area| Multi cropped area| Tal| 4712| 140| 213| 92373| 16528| 68426| Barind | 3717| 161| 262| 109539| 9563| 32751| Diara| 7176| 134| 196| 78098| 8480| 38225| Source: Census 2001 HOMESTEAD LAND DISTRIBUTION ORCHARDS & PASTURE LAND DISTRIBUTION CULTURABLE WASTELAND DISTRIBUTION NET CROPPED AREA DISTRIBUTION NET IRRIGATED DISTRIBUTION MULTI CROPPED AREA DISTRIBUTION In the Diara where settlement densities and regional land pressures are the highest, the quantum of land used for homestead purpose is nearly as high as the sum of homestead lands in the Tal and Barind. The extent of Culturable wastelands available for potential future cultivation in the Diara is correspondingly low. However, while the Net Cropped Area (NCA) is highest in the Barind, the irrigation and multi cropping intensity here is relatively low. Thus unlike the Tal where virtually all agricultural lands are multi cropped, a large portion of farming operations in the Barind are carried out on monocrop land. Cropping intensity in Diara for entirely different reasons, this has to do with the seasonal flooding and region experiences, as a result of which agricultural land becomes inaccessible for a certain part of the year. In recent times, the spread of mango cultivation, brinjal cultivation, chestnut cultivation etc. across the Diara has also been a factor in reducing cropping int ensity. Fig 14: Canal irrigation in Harischandrapur Fig 15: Irrigation through shallow machine Source: Field survey Source: Field survey Generally the main source of irrigation is rainwater. Others irrigation facilities like canal, shallow machines are also found in some part of Tal region like Harischandrapur. Due to these facilities, agricultural lands are mainly multi cropped as well as cropping intensity is also high in Tal region than Barind and Diara region. The cropping intensity of Tal region is about 205% where 156% in Barind region and 167% in Diara region. Rural economy with relation to land-use pattern and daily habits of the rural habitants: Rural economy is directly related with the livelihood pattern of this particular region. The differing characteristics in rural settlements and their habitant have seen across in Malda district seem directly related to livelihood pattern and work opportunities in different sub regions. Work participation is highest in Diara which has the highest density of settlement. However, the livelihood stress caused by rapid growth of district population against a limited land resource base means that work participation rates are well below 50% in all three regions of the district, and are lowest in Tal region at just under 37%. Each worker in the Tal thus has to support an average of 1.7 dependents, against 1.4 dependents in Barind regions and 1.2 in the Diara. According to 2001 census, in Tal and Barind region almost 75% of rural people are engaged in agricultural activities. Household Industries are mainly concentrated on Kaliachak I and Kaliachak III. Almost 50% people in total workers are engaged in Household industry activities. In other hand, in Old Malda, Englishbazar, Kaliachak I and Kaliachak II, almost 50% people are engaged in other economic activities. So, mainly rural economy depends on agricultural activities. Outside, the Barind region, therefore, land scarcity is a major problem in the district. Agricultural and in Tal and Diara regions is mostly irrigated and already intensively cropped and cultivated. The scope of generating additional employment for the landmass in agricultural sector in this region has become progressively limited since each hectare of farmland in Tal and Barind blocks already engages between 2-4 agriculture on the average. In the Barind where the land situation is more favourable, most farmland is mono cropped because of terrain factor, low water table and resulting difficulty in providing in supplementary irrigation on such lands to generate additional work opportunities in agriculture. Consequently, the district is now poised for a major shift of workers from cultivation to non agricultural sector. Impact of physical environments on land use of the villages: Physical environments directly affect on land use pattern of the villages. In Malda district, the soils of the Barind regions are hard silty clays of a reddish hue that has developed through the sesquioxides. Organic residues in this soil are highly decomposed, leading to no acidic soil pH at levels as low as 6.8 in the Barind tracts of Malda. Organic carbon content is also generally low at 0.54% in these Malda tracts, as a result of which overall soil fertility remains at modest level under unirrigated conditions. Since the undulating terrain in the Barind promotes a fair amount of runoff and the hard impervious clayey Barind soil permit little percolation, most of the monsoon runoff accumulates in the large natural bills or pools in the ravines formed by the courses of the Tangan and Punarvava rivers, covering the low lands here until long after the monsoon is over. Spanning Manikchak, Kaliachak I, II, III and Englishbazar blocks within the district, the Diara is relatively well defined flatland formed by the fluvial deposition of newer alluvium in the transitional zone between the Barind upland and marshy Tal tracts. The Tal is mostly composed of Bog lands formed in mainly marshy pockets around vestigial inland drainages. Consequently, Tal is strewn with innumerable marshes, bils and oxbow lakes. The uplands of Barind gradually slope downwards towards the north-east and north of Malda district in the region lying beyond the Mahananda. The six development blocks situated here. They are bounded by the Mahananda to their east, by the Ganga to west and the river Kalindri to the south. Since the tract is bounded by the river, soil conditions improve considerably, providing favourable for mango orchard and for the cultivation for jute and several other kharif and Rabi crops. However although the geophysical situation of the Tal is relatively favourable compared to that of the Barind. Being the largest of three sub regions, the Barind also has the largest number of habitation. However, these are widely dispersed and their populations are smaller. The reasons for the lower scale of human settlement in Barind lie in its semi arid and water deprived character, with upland soils that supports a lower intensity of cultivation. Conversely the Tal and Diara, which are better endowed with water and also with fertile sedimented soils, have supported more diversified cultivation, more work related migration, and greater intensities of human settlement, which is reflected particularly in the Diara by higher masculinity within the regional population. Cross regional differences also occur in agricultural yields across the Tal, Barind and Diara, which reflect intrinsic differences in soil quality, water availability and land husbanding practices. Except for the yields of the main aman rice that grows in rainfed condition over the monsoon months, agricultural yields are uniformly higher in the well watered Tal region. Again the yields overall for the Barind is actually a consequence of the vast extent of land cultivated during the rainfed aman season when differences in crop yields across the three regions are minimal. Major findings: * Common feature in the most of the rural area in the Malda district is courtyard base rural houses. This is in the centre; houses are built up around this courtyard. * In the Malda district, rural settlements are mainly semi-compact and disperse type. * In rural area, people build their houses with the help of locally available materials. Their houses patterns depend on both their economic condition and the physical condition. * In Malda district, keeping in view the socio economic benefits accruing from providing road connectivity to the villages, there is a need to impart greater thrust to providing road connectivity. In rural area of Malda district, both metalled and unmettaled roads are found. * The landuse patterns are different in different physiographic divisions in Malda district. Homestead lands are well distributed in Diara tracts, where In Barind region, orchards and pasture lands, net cropped area and Culturable wastelands are well distributed. On the other hand, irrigat ion facilities and multi cropped area are well distributed in Tal region. * The rural work participation rates are highest in Kaliachak I block. In other Kaliachak blocks, Harischandrapur II, work participation rates exceeds uniformly but WPR is very low in Englishbazar, Manikchak, old Malda and other blocks of Tal regions. * Mainly rural economy depends on agricultural activities. Majority of rural people in Tal and Barind region are engaged in agricultural activities. Household industries are mainly concentrated on Kaliachak I and III blocks. In other hand, in Englishbazar, Manikchak, Kaliachak II and old Malda blocks, half of the worker people engage in other economic activities. * In Barind region, overall soil fertility remains at modest level under unirrigated condition. Upland of Barind is bounded by the river, soil condition improving considerably, providing favourable for mango orchards, and for the cultivation for jute and several others kharif and Rabi crops. * In the Tal and Diara region have supported more diversified cultivation due to fertile sediment soil. These conditions occur more work related migration and greater intensities of rural settlements which reflect on Diara by higher masculinity. * Agricultural yield in Tal, Diara and Barind regions differ due to intrinsic differences in the soil, availability of water and land husbanding practices. Agricultural yields are uniformly higher in Tal region. Conclusion: Malda district is mainly lower part of the Gangetic plain as well as southern part of the North Bengal plain. The three broad subregions can be defined physiographically within Malda district like Tal, Diara and Barind. The village economy of the Malda district is based on agricultural activities, orchards etc. Agricultural features of Malda district depends on monsoon climate. Irrigation facilities are also available in the Malda district. Major portion of agricultural lands in Malda district are multi cropped. Traditional houses pattern in rural area has been changed by the economy. All over morphology of the rural areas are almost similar to each other in three physiographic regions. Agricultural crops are mainly jute, paddy and wheat. Mango orchards spread large portion of the Malda district. Rural houses types are almost similar all over the Malda district. But in the case of livelihood pattern, some regional variations are followed. In Tal and Barind region, large number of people engages in agricultural activities, on the other hand household industries and other economic activities are developed in Diara region. In rural area of Malda district, half of the people have engaged in agricultural activities which indicate the agriculture based rural economy. At present time, government has taken some steps for development of rural area in Malda district like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sarok Yojna; Jatio Gramin Kormosangsthan Prokolpo etc. this kind of project control the morphology of rural settlements in Malda district. Another feature of village area in Malda district is that some tribal people have been lived in periphery of the villages. This tribal people are not permanent, they are come at a particular time of the year for some work and after finish their work, they go back. In my study, In Harischandrapur block, this kind of sight has been showed. So at a glance, rural morphology in Malda district is much diversifi ed. References: * Bylund, E., ‘Theoretical Considerations regarding the Distribution of Settlement in Inner North Sweden’ in Geografiska Annaler, Vol. 42, No. 4, Advance and Retreat of Rural Settlement: papers of the Siljan Symposium at the XIX th International Geographical Congress (1960), pp. 225-231. * Desai, A. R. (1961), Rural India in Transition. Popular Book Dept., Bombay, 1961. * Doxiadis, C. A. (1969) ‘ Ekistics, An attempt for a Scientific Approach to the Problems of Human Settlements’ in Science and Technology and the Cities (eds.), Committee on Science and Astronautics, U. S. House of Representatives Washington, D. C., U. S. Govt., p. 9. * Ghosh, S., Introduction to Settlement Geography. Orient BlackSwan, 2008. * Mandal, R. B., Introduction to Rural Settlement. Concept Publishing Company, 2009. * Mukerji, A. B., ‘Rural Settlements of the Chandigarh Siwalik Hills (India): A Morphogenetic Analysis’ in Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, Vol. 58, No.2 (1976), pp. 95-115. * Siddique, A., Rajbongshi, B., ‘An Analytical Study on Design and Analysis of Stabilised Rural Roads’ in Proceeding of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 5, pp. 813-828, 2005. * Singh, R. Y., Geography of Settlement. Rawat Publication, 1994.

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STRATEGIC AUDIT OF A CORPORATION - Assignment Example In 1955, Sony successful released its first commercial transistor radios that dominated both domestic and international market, hence building international recognition in the field of electronics (Nagle 45). In 1958, TTK was changed to Sony, a Latin word which means sound. This was in line with the fact that the company initially opted to specialize in sound and electronic gadgets before undertaking a massive restructure in the line of its products. Given the increasing competition and market dominance, the company was forced to advance from mere production of digital and analogue electronic and communication devices. After conductive a comprehensive market search, Sony invested in advanced technology in the production of electronic with the latest innovation being the discovery of computer video gaming consoles. Besides, Sony has heavily invested its resources on technological integration and innovation that has made the company be successful in producing modern technology devices including laptops, video recorders, and PlayStations (Sony 92). The modern computer gaming is considered as one of the most successful technological innovation ever made by Sony. The popular PlayStation games have attracted interest from a large number of youths and from the sales of these games, Sony has made a great progress in terms of profitability and financial performance. PlayStations among others are examples of consumer revolutionary products launched by Sony. Sony ventured into console computer games in 1994 through Sony Computer Entertainment department (Nagle 51). This department is charged with the responsibility of developing, publishing, marketing, and distributing PlayStation software. SWOT Analysis of Sony PlayStation This involves investing internal and external factors and how these environmental factors impacts on the market performance of Sony. Strengths Having established itself as one of the most successful companies, Sony has since then developed a strong pos itive reputation and brand name among its potential customers internationally (Nagle 65-9). Sony is a multinational corporation that has emerged as one of the most respectful and successful firm in the field of electronics. Besides, Sony has therefore developed strong customer base and loyalty owing to the quality of its other products such as T.V, DVD and other electronic devices. For this reason, the introduction of PlayStation will heavily attract a good number of consumers from the current customer base of Sony. A survey conducted among the consumers in 2011 tagged Sony as being the most value corporation especially in Asia. Secondly, having been in this field for decades, Sony boasts of strong skills and expertise production techniques that are essential in developing quality computer gaming consoles. This implies that the company is associated with quality products that make it more preferred by the consumer. Through its technical and professional experts, Sony’s consol e games are very quality and diversified depending on the needs of the consumers. The company therefore produces games of high definition quality to match the taste of the consumers. Sony Company is synonymous for its technological excellence and rich heritage of technological expertise that is has made in successful in this competitive market for decades. Through such skills, Sony has managed to guarantee its customers quality gaming products. Sony Company always

Alternate Energy Engineering - Turbine Blades Research Paper

Alternate Energy Engineering - Turbine Blades - Research Paper Example Both the types of wind turbines have the different orientation of blades. For three blade design of either VAWT or HAWT, there is a 120o angular difference between the blades. For two blade design, the angular difference between the blades is 180o and for four-blade design, the angular difference between the blades is 90o. Importance of turbine bladesTurbine blades are the most important part of the wind turbine. Conventionally turbine blades are manufactured with tensile metals which are then reinforced with ceramics, other metals, fiberglass or then some materials to enhance the durability of the blades and reduce the metallic characteristics of fatigue, rupture, and corrosion (Quarton, 6). Turbine blades collect the kinetic energy of wind and transform it into mechanical energy by reacting against the kinetic energy of the wind. The energy transferred from the wind is directly proportional to the speed of the wind. On the other hand, the reacting surface area of the wind turbine b lades also matters a lot. On the other hand, it is important to design the turbine blades in the manner that they produce no hurdle in transferring energy from the wind to the rotor. A wind turbine may have multiple turbine blades but wind turbine should have at least two turbine blades that should be properly balanced with respect to each other and with respect to the rotor of the wind turbine. Any imperfection in the wind turbine blades results in effective power loss and rupturing with continuous use.

Customer Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Management - Essay Example For instance, CRM vendors are integrating functions of business intelligence via internal product enhancement; in fact, this process is involving seeking support from third parties. In this case assessment of CRM capability is considered as a way of bolting on analytics to operational CRM in order to create work for enterprises. In situations, where CRM customers are involved capability assessment becomes indispensable due to identification if crucial word that would drive vendor features set. There are situations where integration trend in the CRM systems that may render business-intelligence vendors unnecessary; thus, there is need for CRM capability assessment. Moreover, this serves as a way of identifying new opportunities for enterprises to identify substantial ROI from the costly implementation of CRM systems (Woodcock, 2005, 270). Therefore, this assessment enables the organization to identify things that are missing and determining whether capability is still turning data int o insights that surpass technology enhancements. CRM capability assessment is also undertaken due to increasing variety of companies, who are concentrating on one or more aspects of analytical CRM. These aspects include clarity in identification of customer preferences, perceptions and opinions. Information gathered during this assessment is fed into critical processes within the entire CRM for increased improvements (Woodcock, 2005, 270). CMR capabilities assessment has enables realization of the contribution made by technological advancement into CRM systems (Woodcock, 2005, 220). In this case, it is affiliating the process of ensuring that CRM systems are meeting firms' requirements. Therefore, CMR capabilities assessment can be regarded as a way facilitating effectiveness of CRM systems, thereby leading to better performance of the business (Woodcock, 2005, 138). Consequentially, this can lead to maximization of profitability in the short term; in fact, this enables identificati on of growth opportunities and building competitive advantages (Woodcock, 2005, 138). Therefore, CRM capability assessment is regarded as a way of applying strategies that maximize shareholders value by identifying and eliminating short term strategies that destroy assets and failing to capitalize on the companies' core capabilities (Woodcock, 2005, 138). ii. Reducing Risk through CRM Capability Assessment Companies have been subjected to serious attacks from customers due to issues concerning relationship and their way of doing business (Woodcock, 2005, 409). These attacks involves attempts by employees to get involved in activities such as fraud, money laundering, illegal trading and exploitation of loopholes in credit or insurance products. In this case, CRM capability assessment involves use of technology advancement in order to ensure that companies are facing fewer chances for face-to-face for processes such as validation of identities and determining credit worthiness(Woodcoc k, 2005, 409). Besides, perpetrators of illegal activities in businesses are likely to work in teams through the internet and model telephony for communication in ways that are difficult for authorities to indentify. Therefore, capability assessment of CRM is utilized as a way of bridging this security

Markting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Markting - Essay Example The J & J’s company structure mainly revolves along its services to pharmaceuticals, consumer Medicare and health equipment diagnostics. The company brings forth a range of products for the care of the skin; infants, self-inflicted injury and oral care, as well as the ladies’ care (Form 10-K 2). There is a range of functionalities of the products produced from those of skin, baby, and oral, among others. The skin products are utilized to augment and maintain the skin’s natural protection against germs and other skin infections; baby for reducing the irritations on the baby’s skin and for the well being of the infant’s health. The Johnson & Johnson Company is a well-known company, due to the company’s great history in quality consumer products. The sales of J&J products are ever in the rise, thanks to the company’s positive responses from patients and physicians. (Datamonitor 35). J & J has high profiled brands in the market. It has a number of strong products. They include, Aveeno, Band-Aid, Carefree, Clean & Clear, Johnson’s baby and kids care, Neutrogena and Stayfree. These brands enabled the company to attain 7.5% growth revenue in the year 2008. (Datamonitor 35). The strong brand image by J&J products comes in handy when the company launches a new product to the market, because people trust most of their products. (Datamonitor 35). J&J revenue has been growing consistently from 2002 to 2006. This consistent growth has made the company be in a financially strong position. (Datamonitor 36). The healthy financial position has enabled the company to grow, and provide necessary resources for exploitation of opportunities such as promotions and in licensing. (Datamonitor 36). It has maintained a stabilized financial environment. J & J has enjoyed strategic product marketing stewardship, organizational management and structure, an efficient product supply chains, stakeholder engagement, proper public policies in marketing its products and steady

Comparing analytical themes Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparing analytical themes - Thesis Example The origin of Transnationalism in Africa can be traced back to the post independence period in the 1960s. Most countries in Africa got their independence from their colonial masters and this ushered in a new set of leadership throughout the continent. The political class emerged as the de facto custodians of the post colonial state and thus took most of the national resources. The civil class that comprised of educated and informed citizens was left out of the decision making process and this generated intense struggles for power and influence (Okome & Olufemi, 2012). This gave rise to transnational dynamics as some citizens struggled to cope with national and global forces. The authors argue that globalization preceded transnationalism. Globalization can be defined as the process through the world has integrated through interchange of ideas, trade and culture. Further, advances in technology have made it possible for people from diverse geographic locations to communicate with other. Imperatively, geographical boundaries no longer restrict the flow of communication and ideas among all the people in the globe. It can be argued that indeed there has been a high level of interconnectedness as has been witnessed in the recent past. Globalization was also fuelled by the inevitable interdependence of countries for trade under other aspects of cooperation. With the realization that no country can prosper alone, the concept of globalization was slowly established as countries strived to be linked. Inevitably, Africa had to play its role in the globalized world. The world economy is interconnected and all the regions have a stake in it. After colonialism, African countries had to grapple with the new realities of managing themselves. This responsibility of African states managing themselves came with the requirement that the countries had to be economically empowered. The poor infrastructure in most post colonial African countries meant that the countries

Reflection paper Essay Example for Free

Reflection paper Essay ‘3 Idiots’ is one of the most meaningful movies that I have seen throughout my life. Infused with some wacky sense of comedy at times, it stars the widely-acclaimed Aamir Khan alongside Sharman Joshi and R.Madhavan as the main characters in the movie. Kareena Kapoor is the lead actress. Dont get put-off by the name of the movie, for the movie is anything but about three idiots. Many people, me included, thought this was going to be a foolish movie with petty comedy but that surely wasnt the case. Thus, it is no surprise that this movie has broken the Bollywood box-office record. I like the movie most because of its messages which can be closely related to our daily lives. For instance, parents who pre-determine the fate of their children’s careers the moment they are born. The other messages range from students who commit suicide due to the pressure of education to the rigid education system in which nerdy individuals who memorize textbooks are rewarded whilst visionary budding talents are wasted. The movie also showed that people’s lives were like a seesaw. Sometimes you’re up; sometimes you’re down or you remain the same. Moreover, it was also stated in the film to â€Å"follow excellence and let success chase us† wherein we are free to choose. We should feel free to decide well and don’t let others manipulate you from what you want to do. God has given us the freedom and the knowledge to use it wisely. ‘3 Idiots’ is one of the most meaningful movies that I have seen throughout my life. Infused with some wacky sense of comedy at times, it stars the widely-acclaimed Aamir Khan alongside Sharman Joshi and R.Madhavan as the main characters in the movie. Kareena Kapoor is the lead actress. Dont get put-off by the name of the movie, for the movie is anything but about three idiots. Many people, me included, thought this was going to be a foolish movie with petty comedy but that surely wasnt the case. Thus, it is no surprise that this movie has broken the Bollywood box-office record. I like the movie most because of its messages which can be closely related to our daily lives. For instance, parents who pre-determine the fate of their  children’s careers the moment they are born. The other messages range from students who commit suicide due to the pressure of education to the rigid education system in which nerdy individuals who memorize textbooks are rewarded whilst visionary budding talents are wasted. The movie also showed that people’s lives were like a seesaw. Sometimes you’re up; sometimes you’re down or you remain the same. Moreover, it was also stated in the film to â€Å"follow excellence and let success chase us† wherein we are free to choose. We should feel free to decide well and don’t let others manipulate you from what you want to do. God has given us the freedom and the knowledge to use it wisely. ‘3 Idiots’ is one of the most meaningful movies that I have seen throughout my life. Infused with some wacky sense of comedy at times, it stars the widely-acclaimed Aamir Khan alongside Sharman Joshi and R.Madhavan as the main characters in the movie. Kareena Kapoor is the lead actress. Dont get put-off by the name of the movie, for the movie is anything but about three idiots. Many people, me included, thought this was going to be a foolish movie with petty comedy but that surely wasnt the case. Thus, it is no surprise that this movie has broken the Bollywood box-office record. I like the movie most because of its messages which can be closely related to our daily lives. For instance, parents who pre-determine the fate of their children’s careers the moment they are born. The other messages range from students who commit suicide due to the pressure of education to the rigid education system in which nerdy individuals who memorize textbooks are rewarded whilst visionary budding talents are wasted. The movie also showed that people’s lives were like a seesaw. Sometimes you’re up; sometimes you’re down or you remain the same. Moreover, it was also stated in the film to â€Å"follow excellence and let success chase us† wherein we are free to choose. We should feel free to decide well and don’t let others manipulate you from what you want to do. God has given us the freedom and the knowledge to use it wisely.

The History And Background Of Ethical Egoism

The History And Background Of Ethical Egoism Introduction Ethics, in Greek language means morals. In fact, ethics is de ¬Ã‚ ned as the re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ection on what is moral Ethical theories deal with the question of how human beings ought to behave in relation to one another. (Dontigney, 2012 They attempt to systemize, defend and recommend concepts of right and wrong behaviour. They can be applied both individually and on a bigger scale like in companies. Different companies make their decisions based on various sets of theories. These theories are more like viewpoints from which guides them when making a decision. Each theory influences decisions made by an individual or company like predicting an outcome or following duties to reach what is called an ethically correct decision.For a company to zero in on a single theory to follow, it is important for the company to realize that not everyone makes decisions in the same way. There are mainly two different sets of ethical theories. Teleological which are consequential theories and deontological which are non-consequential theories. These can be further broken down into ethical egoism, utilitarianism and virtue ethics for teleological theories and for deontological theories; it would consist of Kantian and justice ethics. Let us take a detailed look into all these theories before making a statement on which theory is the most useful in making company decisions. Teleological Theories The word teleology in Greek language means ends. It is more concerned about the end product of a decision made rather than the actions.The goodness or badness of the outcome makes or breaks the decision made. However, the actions undertaken have no say. An example according to this theory can be, killing a bad person is morally correct if it is for the greater good. Ethical Egoism Ethical egoism is a standardized or an accepted philosophical view. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their self-interest. It does not describe how people behave but how they are supposed to behave. Ethical egoism is the normative theory whereby people ought to act exclusively in their self-interest (Jones et al., 2007). Therefore, the moral principle of ethical egoism suggests that an act is ethical when it promotes the individuals long-term interest. It is possible for people to help others, follow the rules of society, and even grant gifts if they believe that those actions are in their own best interest. Ethical egoism is different from the other ethical positions as it portrays that other peoples interests is or should never be considered in making a moral decision. An ethical egoist believes sacrificing something for others is not a moral action unless it makes them happy or if the sacrifice gives himself benefits. This could satisfy a person in the short term, but in the long run it is not advisable as if everyone is just as egoistic, nobody would want to help when in times of need. An example would be that this individual who loves to shop. She sees this dress in a shop and wants to buy. However, she only has enough money to buy food for her household. So in an act of ethical egoism, she decides to spend the food money on the dress instead of getting food for her family as it benefits her and does not care about the people at home who have not had their food. Utilitarianism A utilitarian considers doing something is right if the action proves useful in bringing about the best consequences in the end. Utilitarian decision makers are required to estimate the effect of each alternative on all parties concerned, and to select the one that optimizes the satisfaction of the greatest number (Velasquez, 1998). Utilitarianism represents the dominant and most influential consequence based or teleological theory. Utilitarianism focuses on ends and not on the means required to achieving those ends and it takes into account all present and future benefits and harms that accrues or might accrue to anyone who is affected by the action, including items that may be difficult to evaluate accurately (Schumann, 2001). So in this theory, it is clear that as long as the work is done or the outcome of an action is desirable, one can undertake any methods. The flaw of this method is that it does not assume that all individuals should be treated in the same way. An real life ex ample would be the Americans bombings in Japan during World War 2. The Americans point is that the Japanese were developing the same kind of weapon to wage war so if that happened, many other countries could be affected. So before such a disaster could happen, they acted early and dropped a bomb of their own, killing thousands rather than sacrificing millions. Virtue Ethics The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it focuses on what the individual should choose for his/her own personal inward behaviour or character rather than the individual relying solely on the external laws and customs of the persons culture, and if a persons character is good then so ought the persons choices and actions be good. (Gowdy, 2010) This theory as it suggests, is used to make moral decisions. This method is based on the person having moral character and intentions, and their actions being ethical on that basis. It relies on an individual and not on other factors such as religion, society or culture. It is based on the question what sort of person should I be rather than what should I do. In simple terms, it is more of ones character and integrity. Its about what you are, rather than what you do. This is more of a practice knowledge. The more you practice, the more virtuous you are. The more virtuous you are, the more you will more likely make moral decisions. Ther e are many examples to this theory like, not stealing, not taking medical leave unless you are legitimately sick, showing up to meetings or work on time and not lying unless it is for a good cause. Deontological Theories Deontological theories, or duty-based theories, hold that human beings have a moral obligation to follow certain principles. Deontology is one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted. (Alexander et, al, 2008) According to these theories, the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfil our duty. Justice Ethics According to Rawls (1971), under a veil of ignorance, rational, self-interested, and equal individuals will agree that each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties. Moreover, social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, and attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity (Budd, 2004). In Rawlss opinion, the first virtue of social institutions is justice for the individual and not aggregate welfare. He is concerned more with how the pie is divided than with how large it is. Inequalities are just only if they result in benefits for everyone, with particular emphasis on the least advantaged (Jones, 2007). The theory of justice requires decision makers to be guided by equity, fairness, and impartiality (Cavanagh et al., 1981). It relies on three types of moral prescriptions: (a) that individuals who are similar i n a relevant respect should be treated similarly and individuals who are different in a relevant respect should be treated differently in proportion to the difference between them; (b) that rules should be administrated fairly and clearly; and (c) that individuals should not be held responsible for matters over which they have no control, and should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by those responsible for these injuries (Cavanaugh et al., 1981). Decision making and reasoning based on the theory of justice focus on the distributional effect of actions (Cavanagh et al., 1981). Statement and Conclusion Now since all the theories have been explained and analysed, it is time to make a statement on which ethical theory is the most useful in guiding company decisions and why so. Based on my research, I feel that utilitarianism is the most useful and quite important in guiding company decision making. One can argue that utilitarianism does not please everyone emotionally and only takes the big picture into account. An act or choice is morally right if, in carrying out the act, one exercises, exhibits or develops a morally virtuous character. It is morally wrong to the extent that by making the choice or doing the act one exercises, exhibits or develops a morally vicious character. (Garrett, 2005) Every theory has its very own pros and cons. But for a company to make the correct decision in moving forward, they have to be utilitarian. In these times, a company is judged on how much profits they make and what is the position of the company. To be the best, you cannot give in to your emoti ons and set of rules of what to do and what not to do. The main aim here is to reap the sows. Business managers have to realise that when it comes to business decisions, its always a win-lose situation. Like for example, in order for gaining market share, a company must make its competitors to lose their shares. One cannot refuse to do such an act saying that it is morally wrong and giving in to their emotions. Another example would be increasing the value of a long term shareholder may require sacrificing of short term profits such as bonuses or monetary rewards to a companys employees or even the employer himself. But in the long term, there would be much more profits and monetary rewards to share. Lastly, I feel that the utilitarian approach is the best as a utilitarian is much more flexible in responding to different situations. A utilitarian only has two mind-sets varying from short term to long term goals or financial to non-financial goals. So when faced with a problem, a uti litarian will weigh up options and consider the corporate profitability instead of other factors such as employees or the community. Virtue Ethics A Basic Introductory Essay, by Dr. Garrett Latest minor modification November 28, 2005 Garrett, 2005 http://www.ethicsmorals.com/ethicsvirtue.html http://www.ehow.com/info_8404891_pros-cons-ethical-theories.html Alexander, Larry and Moore, Michael, Deontological Ethics, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .

Coca Cola Essay -- essays research papers

Coca Cola was created by Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton. He developed the formula for the famous soft drink in his backyard on May 8, 1886. Dr. Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, came up with the idea for the unique cursive logo that has been the trade mark ever since. On May 29, 1886 the very first ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal: Coca-Cola. Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating! The New and Popular Soda Fountain Drink, containing the properties of the wonderful Coca plant and the famous Cola nuts. For sale by Willis Venable and Nunnally & Rawson. Dr. Pemberton died shortly after this ad and sales plummeted. Robinson didn’t want the business to fail and decided advertising was at fault- â€Å"people did not know what they were missing.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the Coca Cola trademark had been patented, Asa G. Candler, an Atlanta businessman, purchased the rights to the product and formed the corporation, â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company.† He began the push on Coca-Cola advertising by giving thousands of tickets away for free glasses of Coca- Cola, and advertising on outdoor posters, calendars, soda fountain urns, and wall murals and making Coke available everywhere. The invention of bottling in 1894 increased availability of the soft drink.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The company hired William D’Arcy in 1906 to head up advertising and he believed that advertising should show that Coca-Cola is a part of happy times in everyday life. This type of advertising was used for decades. One of the first newspaper ads showed a picture of Ty Cobb, a baseball star up at bat and said: Something’s bound to happen—nerves a tingle—head whizzing. Crack!! Good boy Ty!! Safe!! And then you shout yourself hoarse. When it’s all over you’re hot, thirsty and limp. A cold, snappy drink of Coca-Cola will put you back in the game- relieve the thirst and cool you off. D’Arcy found this baseball ad to be a success because everyone loves baseball. He felt as though it affected the reader’s senses which made him or her feel thirsty for a Coca-Cola. Other ads that appealed to the consumer’s sense of pleasure in associations with Coke included an ideal American girl drinking Coke, business men drinking Coke aboard an American Pullman train car and young people enjoying Coke out on a boat ride. In 1929 Coca-Cola’s most famous slogan, â€Å"The Pause That Refreshes... ...ecial featuring Edgar Berger and Charlie McCarthy. Shortly after this came the sponsorship of Walt Disney’s TV premiere on Christmas Day of the same year. After fifty years D’Arcy closed its account with Coca-Cola and responsibilities for advertising was transferred to McCann-Erickson. They used everything that TV offered such as animation, stop motion and live action ads and coined the nationally known slogan â€Å"Things Go Better With Coke.† The first color ad was called the â€Å"Refrigerator-Man† and other famous TV ads were the â€Å"Hilltop† commercial, â€Å"Mean Joe Green†, and the â€Å"Northern Lights† which used the famous polar bear. In 2000 Coca-Cola launched an ambitious new international campaign using the slogan â€Å"Coca-Cola. Enjoy.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After ninety nine years Coke had become such a part of American life, that when the company tried to introduce â€Å"new Coke† the public protested so strongly that the company had to bring back the original renamed â€Å"Coca-Cola classic.† Coca-Cola and its â€Å"Red, White and You† theme and its pleasant associations with people’s everyday happy family life made it a classic symbol of America. â€Å"Unmistakably Coca-Cola. Unmistakably American.†

sleeping at the wheel :: essays research papers

Sleeping At the Wheel The dangers of sleepiness when driving. Sleepiness affects the ability to concentrate and maintain attention and vigilance particularly when physically inactive. These effects may expose the sleepy individual to potentially dangerous consequences, particularly in sedentary and monotonous situations such as while driving a vehicle. Sleepiness is a major contributing factor to road traffic accidents. Studies of motorway accidents indicate that 20 to 25% appear to be due to drivers falling asleep at the wheel and are these are particularly likely to occur in the early morning or mid afternoon. Accidents in which the driver has fallen asleep tend to be particularly serious because of the lack of reaction of the driver to the impending collision. Furthermore, sleepy drivers report a high incidence of near-misses on the road while driving, which suggests that they have an awareness of the driving risks related to sleepiness short of being involved in an actual collision. A Gallup poll carried out by the British Sleep Foundation found that 19% of male drivers admitted to having fallen asleep while driving . Occupations such as long-haul truck driving are particularly associated with sleepiness while driving which may not be surprising given the time they spend on the road. These findings are particularly worrying because of the likelihood of a fatal accident where a large truck driven by a driver who falls asleep is involved. Many spectacular multiple vehicle collisions that have occurred on motorways have been traced to drivers falling asleep at the wheel. US government figures indicate that 31% of lorry accidents in which the driver is killed are due to sleepiness. Avoiding sleeping at the wheel. All drivers should be made aware of the serious dangers of driving when sleepy and should take active measures to minimise the risks. Drivers should not start out at all if they are sleepy. Overnight drives are a particular danger and every effort should be made to have a sleep before setting out. If a driver becomes sleepy at the wheel they should stop and ideally another driver should take over. If this is impossible they should rest and take a nap. Research has shown that a short (10 - 20 minutes) nap can be refreshing in this situation. Indeed if one has to drive on, the best measure may be to stop, have a cup of a caffeine containing drink and then a 20 minute nap.

Reading Towards New Heights :: Education Educating Teaching Essays

Reading Towards New Heights Envision a world wherein many students are lost when a college instructor opens a textbook filled with the works of authors from the ancient world. Does this even happen in colleges and universities? This does happen in classrooms around the world, and I want to be able to impact the future generations that will one-day grace the halls of a college or university. Education impacts an individual’s life every day, and I have always envisioned myself educating students to a greater extent than many students would feel capable of accomplishing. Yet how did a child who once dreamt of being a lawyer ever decide to become a teacher? In middle school, I began to read novels and write short stories. The literacy rate to me seemed to be diminishing. Students no longer found joy in picking up a book and becoming engrossed in a novel. At that point in my life, I wanted to my fellow classmates to find the pleasure in reading and writing that I did, but no one would really listen. As long as I can remember I have desired to make a difference in someone’s life, and the opportunity finally prevailed in high school. I had the opportunity to tutor a young child in reading and when she had finally accomplished the feat of reading, I was overjoyed because she grew to love reading. But when I looked at my classmates, they were all groaning about the selections that our teachers had given us. I suppose that seeing a young child enjoy reading inspired me to want to teach high school literature. I wanted older students to feel the passi on of reading a novel that they actually connected with. I wanted to be the teacher that bridged the gap between reading and teenagers. But how will I engage their minds for the great works of literature that will acquire them reasoning skills? In order to engage my students in the joys of reading, I plan to use a philosophy renowned for its able to focus on ideas, concepts, and books. My love for the great works of literature from the ancient world has allowed me to accept the philosophy of perennialism as my teaching philosophy. The Great Books are a selection of world-renowned books that I want my students to read and thoroughly attain knowledge from. Mortimer Adler once said, "The Great Books of ancient and medieval as well as modern times are a repository of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which must initiate each generation (356, Teachers, Schools, and Society).

Atheism vs Theism Essay

The problem Atheists have with Theists and the premise of God, a Being who is all good, omniscient, omnipotent and eternal, is that they believe that since science and the world cannot prove that such a being exists and since life seems to sustain itself without any external help, then this Being probably does not exists nor can this Being ever be proven to exist. This method of thinking stems directly from a belief, not that science is god, but more that mankind is a self-sufficient, self-reliant being along with the philosophy of materialism and evolution which denies the possibility of soul or the immaterial. This resulted in the hijacking of science to prove what materialists already believed, that everything is relative and truth exists only if it can be proven by science. This is, as a materialist already knows, an issue that can only relate to the corporeal. The conflict that occurs is many theists belief that there is a truth and it can be known by reason which includes science but also can be discovered using every aspect of the human person. This includes the spiritual, corporeal, and even the emotive aspect of the man. The another debate in this issue pits the clinging to classical thought by the theists against claim that classical thought is unsubstantiated, old fashioned and that only modern thought is relevant because it is the most progressive. So there seems to be an intrinsic impossibility for a materialist atheist to believe in God because it is diametrically opposed to the dogmatic belief in science, materialism, and man as a creature of nature not of the immaterial. The Atheists’ beliefs The atheists’ core beliefs have already been brought to attention but in order for a complete argument to take place, a simple overview is not sufficient, so a more in depth analysis is needed to better understand this ideological battle. To be fair to atheists, there is a diversity of ideas and beliefs why God cannot exist. Some of these reasons behind this belief can be simple and unfounded arguments or elaborate systems which argue God out of the picture. While it would be easy to discredit and disprove the simple arguments, such as â€Å"I don’t see God’s involvement in the world and it seems like the world functions on its own, therefore, God doesn’t exist,† there are plenty of arguments that have shown this type of thinking as shallow and wrong. The more significant arguments are the views of atheism include a mechanistic view of the world along with a materialist understanding of the operations of the world. This is the view, according to Edward Feser, that most serious atheists hold and is responsible for the understanding that God does not exist in the world, that the world is self sufficient and that man is simple a creature of evolution. Of course what follows from this belief is the understanding that man is not bound to anything spiritual or moral since there is no such thing as morals since that entails something immaterial. They believe instead that morality is either a construct of the mind, which is influenced by Kant, or that morality is the conditioning of the culture to make man feel guilty, which is influenced by Nietzsche. Feser points to the origin of this mode of thinking, explaining that it stems from the removal of the formal and final cause of things of Aristotle’s natural science in which all things have a material, efficient, formal and final cause. When the formal and final cause is removed then people don’t have a final end other than survival nor does anything have a nature or is there a correct form. What this does is it removes the importance of religion. When there is no afterlife or purpose of a person to be moral then there is no need for God or religion. Feser also claims that once formal and final causes were removed, and then it paved the way to materialism, which, if there is a formal or final cause of things, is the only reasonable understanding of the world. Materialism is the belief that everything can be reduced to their material function and there is nothing outside of empirical evidence. There means there is no soul or spiritual aspect of a human person. People are given the impression that science can explain everything, but Feser explains that â€Å"For the reason science has â€Å"explained† almost everything other than the mind is precisely because everything that doesn’t fit the mechanistic model has been swept under the rug of the mind, treated as a mere projection. † The very essence of today’s atheism is that the world can be explained and if there is something that cannot be explained then they say that science will explain it after we have a better understanding of the object in question. This belief that science can and will explain everything is held so strongly that atheists become as Feser describes them, â€Å"the very thing they argue against† namely, dogmatic and irrational. This is a result of the belief that there is no truth. Science, although it has improved the quality of life and has led to many discoveries, is to blame for a particular mentality that is felt all over the world, that of progress. Along with thinkers like Hegel, who believe that all of history is progress and that everything has been leading up to our point in time today, the mentality within science is that progress is always good. This is another assumption held by atheists in that they believe that science is progress and if there is progress then the time this progress was a lesser time and held views that were lesser and imperfect. So from this understanding, Christianity and religion in general is old fashioned and wrong, while science is right and the only truth that is, if there can even be truth. It is science that focuses on the efficient and material causes of things. In other words, it is science that ignores formal or final causes. Because of this belief it makes the place of religion irrelevant. Materialist atheists use science, the study of material objects with their molecular makeup and the like and use what we have discovered by means of science to explain questions of metaphysical nature. Feser explains that â€Å"empirical science of its very nature cannot give us the full story about these matters; but metaphysics just is the rational investigation if them. † Also on the same topic of the separation between religion and science, Stephen Jay Gould explains that â€Å"the net of science covers the empirical realm: what he universe is made of and why does it work this way. The net of religion extends over question of moral meaning and value. † (Gould p. 522) A conflict has occurred however because as was mentioned previously, when the final and formal cause is removed, then the nature’s of things don’t exist but so does purpose and without purpose then going beyond the what is impossible. Atheists hold central to their beliefs that there is nothing beyond this world and that all operations of the world are contained within it. Richard Dawkins believes rather that our â€Å"morality† has been changing and that the Old Testament God is â€Å"will not be adopted as a literal role model by anybody you or I would wish to know. † He means that social norms have been changing and that our morality can be explained through science of culture and society, not dependent on God or scripture. Dawkins continues saying that other aspects of the Christian religion are in conflict with science. He claims that the assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven is false and assumes that heaven is a â€Å"physical reality – how else could the physical body of a woman go there? Dawkins brings this up to make the point that everything is under the realm of science; he even goes as far as to say that the â€Å"sudden injection if an immortal soul in the time-line is an anti-evolutionary intrusion into the domain of science. Dawkins’ point is that there is not a separation of religion and science; metaphysical claims are even under the claims of science. In the case of the mind, Dawkins and others believe it can be explained. And even though there is religion, it is a simple social construct to control the ignorant. Their truth is that science can explain everything even prove that a metaphysical world cannot exist. The Theist’s Side The theists fall back on something a little different, tradition. Now contrary to atheist’s beliefs, theism does use reason to justify keep God in the discussion but also to keep other metaphysical claims. Christianity has an understanding that the world is a transitory with God as its creator. From an understanding that God is creator, it is reasonable to expect everything in nature to abide by a law, to be ordered and have the ability to be understood. Also from the tradition of the philosophers of history, this belief has been thought over and many rational arguments have been made in favor of theism. These arguments even came from antiquity. Plato and Aristotle gave many arguments defending the immaterial. Both philosophers believed that the soul was immaterial and that all life had a soul or rather, the soul was the life giving principle. Now along with the idea of the soul, Aristotle provides an in depth account of the four causes mentioned earlier, namely material, efficient, formal, and final. This encompasses all aspects of substances. This provided a very thorough description of life. From the four causes, it gave reason to the nature of things and that there is a definite correct way of acting for any particular thing. So with the four causes, especially the formal and final cause, man now has a purpose and a proper way of acting. In other words, man then must have a morality it must adhere to. This morality has been lived out by people before philosophy influenced people; it is pre-science and therefore more â€Å"natural† to man. The fact that it is backed up by metaphysical observations only strengthens the argument for theists. Natural science, the understanding of the natural world is something lost upon atheists. It is essential to the proper understanding of this life to understand that there are, in fact, natures. As Feser puts it, â€Å"admit formal and final causes into the world and at once you are stuck –with God, the soul, and natural law. † This natural law is also vital to an understanding of life on earth as well as an understanding of the human person. While atheists struggle with an understanding of how the mind works (not the brain), have a very weak argument for morality, and have no argument for why anyone should have rights or respect shown to anyone, the theists however, have strong, well founded arguments for these very things which come natural to everyone. A theist understands natural law as participating in eternal law, this gives natural law authority. It is something which all men must abide by. Natural law is the respect and dignity which all men are due. It is what assures man that he shouldn’t kill one another. Robert Adams even uses this principle of the morality from natural law as a proof of God’s existence; he claims that â€Å"the moral rightness and wrongness consist in agreement and disagreement, respectively, with the will or commands of a loving God. † There are many laws within natural law that when broken are recognized as going against natural order, granting men the authority under God to rebel against whomever or whatever threatens to take away the privileges given by natural law. It is how we understand concepts of justice. This follows from the fact that God is just and any disobedience of this law is seen as unjust. God is the foundation of morality; natural law is the foundation of morality. Along with natural law, the theists also are able to give a better account of the mind. It is held that the mind is immaterial; it is directly tied to the soul. When the body dies, the soul continues on and we retain our â€Å"mind† because we retain rationality in the afterlife. In the same way Aristotle believed that the soul is the life giving aspect to all creatures and plants, so the human soul is also responsible for the mind and the intellect. Otherwise if the materialist view was to be accepted, we would have a similar thought process to any other intelligent creature without rationality. The mind is also responsible for the specific function of contemplation. No animal, even with a larger, more advanced brain would ever be able to understand concepts such as justice, peace, and generosity, it must be related to the form that humans have and the soul which humans have been given. This goes so beyond any physical aspect of our bodies that to confine the mind to ability within the brain seems foolish. Even the ability to learn concepts is a mystery. J. J. Haldane provides an analysis of the topic and explains that some concepts, especially early on, must be taught. Someone must have taught concepts to people. The example he gives is the example of a cat. One might see a cat and understand the concept of cat, but what if one had never seen a cat? It would be necessary to explain the concept of cat to that person, after which the person would be able to recognize a cat if he saw one. The same applies to all concepts. Now the tricky part is, if evolution is taken back to the origin of man or even if God created man, then how did man learn all of these concepts? Haldane’s solution to the question is that God must have been responsible, regardless of whether evolution is responsible for man or not. The reasoning behind this is that God must have taught the 1st man all these concepts which he could then pass down to his children. While this explanation requires an open mindedness of the listener, it is very plausible and would account for many of the questions that atheists still deal with today. So Who’s Right? So while some might claim that there isn’t even a right answer and that choosing to be an atheist or theist is just personal preference. However, according to the theists, there is truth and there is a right answer. As for atheists, while some of their positions were explained, they still have gaps within their arguments. When confronted with these gaps, it seems that atheists are unable to provide an answer other than resorting to science which asks how and why, but not â€Å"that† something is. As mentioned earlier, there is the question of morality and why people act as they do. Even Atheists believe in some sort of morality even they do not wish to call it by its name. Feser cleverly points out that â€Å"An atheist or naturalist can believe in morality – that is a psychological fact – but he cannot have a rational justification for his belief – that is a philosophical fact. † It is impossible to limit the natural drive for morality in people. Again, â€Å"where morality was concerned, Kant’s aim was to show that there is just something in the nature of reason itself that requires that we be moral. † This seems oolish to believe that something material explains something as complicated as human emotions and the free will to do good or bad and the consequences it has on the person itself. Feser points out that the understanding of modern atheists of morality is a conditioning itself, all of modern philosophy tries to prove that everything can be contained by science, even the topic of morality. He is convinced that this is due to a rejection of formal and final causes. He explains that â€Å"the bottom line is that by abandoning formal and final causes, modern philosophy necessarily denied itself any objective basis for morality. This points to how modern philosophy has gotten to this point and it is simply that modern philosophers have ignored the question of whether there are formal and final causes and have considered the topic as irrelevant. What this means however that â€Å"First, the modern â€Å"mechanistic understanding of the natural world has led to problems, paradoxes, and absurdities that are far more egregious than anything the scholastics were ever accused of. Second, Aristotelian formal and final causes are simply unavoidable if we are to make sense of modern science and reason themselves. Now as has been shown, theists hold on the Aristotelian views of formal and final causes not only does it make sense, but it provides a foundation for a host of other arguments. These arguments cannot be explained away by science, Feser points out why, which is because â€Å"empirical science of its very nature cannot give us the full story about these matters; but metaphysics just is the rational investigation of them. † to make a further point, as has been suggested, it seems that an atheist’s account of the mind is also insufficient as it is a series of poor and confusing arguments which try to prove the existence of mind within a person. Feser claims that the reason for the misunderstanding of the mind by atheists is that it is â€Å"the denial of final causes that most clearly poses an absolutely insurmountable obstacle to any attempt to explain the mind in purely material terms. † What this means is that with this understanding of purpose for the human person beyond survival, then there is new meaning to a person’s life and that each person should and ought to work to fulfill this purpose. If not, then it is impossible to explain the mind sufficiently. The reason for intellect, the purpose of the mind, is contemplation but also to use reason to become virtuous. Once morality is believed to exist, then it follows that morality should be followed but the only way to do that is to form habits of virtue, which is only possible through the mind. It also hints at the soul, which is also taken to exist in that it is the principle of life but more specifically, nothing corporeal could be the principle of life or â€Å"every body would be a living thing. † More specifically, Aquinas explains that since the intellect has an operation apart from the body â€Å"per se† then we must conclude, therefore, that the  human soul, which is called the  intellect  or the  mind, is something incorporeal and subsistent. So according to Feser, the only way to solve this problem that the atheist’s have of the mind, is to â€Å"return to the Aristotelian –Thomistic conception of the soul as the form of the body, having certain immaterial operations but nevertheless â€Å"interacting with the material world as formal rather than efficient cause. † Feser also hints at there being a need to be intellectually honest about some of these arguments. Since many Atheists have ignored the arguments or Aristotle and Aquinas, Feser has been calling for them to actually refute them and that instead of wanting something to be true and trying to argue for it, to instead accept truth as an objective reality and something to be sought after. The point that Feser wants to make is not to â€Å"determine whether this project was good or bad, but rather to emphasize that to a very great extent it was a desire to further the project, and not an actual refutation of Aristotle, that moved modern thinkers away from his metaphysics. The agenda determined the arguments rather than the other way around. This is ultimately the solution to the question to atheism because it seems as though Atheism is artificial, Denys Turner implies that atheism has to be ‘worked at or practiced in his article â€Å"How to be an Atheist. † It is the mentality of trying to convince others that your reality is truth instead of being receptive to truth as the classical and medieval philosophers were.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 21

Someone was still knocking on Stefan's door. â€Å"It's a woodpecker,†Elena said when she could speak. â€Å"They knock, don't they?† â€Å"On doors inside houses?†Stefan said dazedly. â€Å"Ignore it and it wil go away.† A moment later the knocking resumed. Elena moaned, â€Å"I don't believe this.† Stefan whispered, â€Å"Do you want me to bring you its head? Unattached from its neck, I mean?† Elena considered. As the knocking continued, she was getting more worried and less confused. â€Å"Better see if it is a bird, I guess,†she said. Stefan rol ed away from her, somehow got on his jeans, and went reeling to the door. In spite of herself, Elena pitied whoever was on the other side. The knocking started again. Stefan reached the door and nearly wrenched it off its hinges. â€Å"What the – â€Å"He stopped, suddenly moderating his voice. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers?† â€Å"Yes,†Mrs. Flowers said, deliberately not seeing Elena, who was wearing a sheet and directly in her line of vision. â€Å"It's poor dear Meredith,†Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"She's in such a state, and she says she has to see you now, Stefan.† Elena's mind switched tracks as suddenly and smoothly as a train. Meredith? In a state? Demanding to see Stefan, even if, as Elena was sure she must have, Mrs. Flowers had delicately indicated just how†¦busy Stefan was at the moment? Her mind was Stillsolidly linked with Stefan's. He said, â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers. I'l be down in just a moment.† Elena, who was slipping into her clothes as fast as she could, while crouching on the far side of the bed, added a telepathic suggestion. â€Å"Maybe you could make her a nice cup of tea – I mean, a cup of tea,†Stefan added. â€Å"Yes, dear, what a good idea,†Mrs. Flowers said gently. â€Å"And if you should see Elena, perhaps you could say that dear Meredith is asking for her, too?† â€Å"We wil ,†Stefan said automatical y. Then he turned around and hastily shut the door. Elena gave him time to put his shirt and shoes on, and then they both hurried down to the kitchen, where Meredith was not having a nice cup of tea, but pacing around like a caged leopard. Stefan began, â€Å"What's – â€Å" â€Å"I'l tel you what's wrong, Stefan Salvatore! No – you tel me! You were in my mind before, so you must know. You must have been able to see – to tel – about me.† Elena was Stillmindlocked with Stefan. She felt his dismay. â€Å"To tel what about you?†he asked gently, pul ing out a chair at the kitchen table so Meredith could sit. The very simple act of sitting down, of pausing to respond to civility, seemed to calm Meredith slightly. But StillElena could feel her fear and pain like the taste of a steel sword on her tongue. Meredith accepted a hug and became a little calmer yet. A little more herself and less like a caged animal. But the struggle was so visceral and so clear within her that Elena couldn't bear to leave her, even when Mrs. Flowers deposited four mugs of tea around the table and took another chair Stefan offered. Then Stefan sat down. He knew Elena would stand or sit or share a chair with Meredith, but whatever it was, she would be the one to decide. Mrs. Flowers was gently stirring honey into her mug of tea and then passing the honey along to Stefan who gave it to Elena who put just the little bit that Meredith liked into Meredith's mug and stirred it gently, too. The ordinary, civilized sounds of two spoons quietly clinking seemed to relax Meredith Stillfurther. She took the mug Elena gave her and sipped, then drank thirstily. Elena could feel Stefan's mental sigh of relief as Meredith floated down another few levels. He politely sipped his own tea, which was hot but not burning hot and made from natural y sweet berries and herbs. â€Å"It's good,†Meredith said. She was almost a human now. â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers.† Elena felt lighter. She relaxed enough to pul over her own cup of tea and squeeze lots of honey in and stir it and take a gulp. Good! Calming down tea! That's chamomile and cucumber, Stefan told her. â€Å"Chamomile and cucumber,†Elena said, nodding wisely, â€Å"for calming down.†And then she blushed, for Mrs. Flowers's bright smile had knowledge in it. Elena hastily drank more tea and watched Meredith have more tea and everything began to feel almost al right. Meredith was completely Meredith now, not some fierce animal. Elena squeezed her friend's hand tightly. There was just one problem. Humans were less frightening than beasts but they could cry. Now Meredith, who never wept, was shaking and tears were dripping into the tea. â€Å"You know what morcillo is, right?†she asked Elena at last. Elena nodded hesitantly. â€Å"We had it sometimes in stew at your house?†she said. â€Å"And for tapas?†Elena had grown up with the blood sausage as a meal or a snack at her friend's house, and she was used to the bite-sized pieces as a delicious food only Mrs. Sulez made. Elena felt Stefan's heart sinking. She looked back and forth from him to Meredith. â€Å"It turns out my mother didn't always make it,†Meredith said, looking at Stefan now. â€Å"And my parents had a very good reason for changing my birthday.† â€Å"Just tel it al ,†Stefan suggested softly. And then Elena felt something she hadn't before. A surge, like a wave – a long gentle swell that spoke right into the center of Meredith's brain. It said: Just tell it and be calm. No anger. No fear. But it wasn't telepathy. Meredith felt the thought in her blood and bones, but didn't hear it with her ears. It was Influence. Before Elena could brain her beloved Stefan with her mug for using Influence on one of her friends, Stefan said, just to her, Meredith's hurting, feeling scared and angry. She has reason to, but she needs peace. I probably won't be able to hold her anyway, but I'll try. Meredith wiped her eyes. â€Å"It turns out that nothing was like what I thought happened – that night when I was three.†She described what her parents had told her, about everything that Klaus had done. Tel ing the story, even quietly, was undoing al the calming influences that had helped Meredith maintain herself. She was beginning to shake again. Before Elena could grab her, she was up and striding around the room. â€Å"He laughed and said that I'd need blood every week – animal blood – or I'd die. I didn't need much. Just a tablespoon or two. And my poor mother didn't want to lose another child. She did what he told her to. But what happens if I have more blood, Stefan? What happens if I drink yours?† Stefan was thinking, desperately trying to see if in al his years of experience he'd come across anything like this. Meanwhile he answered the easy part. â€Å"If you drank enough of my blood you'd become a vampire. But so would anyone. With you – Well, it might take less. So don't let any vampire trick you into blood exchange. Once might be enough.† â€Å"So I'm not a vampire? Now? Not any kind? Are there different kinds?† Stefan answered seriously. â€Å"I've never heard of ‘different kinds'of vampires in my life, except for Old Ones. I can tel you that you don't have a vampire's aura. What about your teeth? Can you make your canines sharp? Usual y it's best to test over human flesh. Not your own.† Elena promptly stuck out her arm, wrist vein-side up. Meredith, eyes closed in concentration, made a great effort, which Elena felt through Stefan. Then Meredith opened her eyes, mouth also open for a dental inspection. Elena stared at her canines. They looked a little bit sharp, but so did anybody's, didn't they? Careful y Elena reached a fingertip in. She touched one of Meredith's canines. Tiny pinch. Startled, Elena pul ed back. She stared at her finger where a very smal drop of blood was well ing up. Everyone watched it, mesmerized. Then Elena's mouth said without pausing to consult her brain, â€Å"You have kitten teeth.† The next moment Meredith had brushed Elena aside and was pacing wildly al around the kitchen. â€Å"I won't be one! I won't be! I'm a hunter-slayer, not a vampire! I'l kill myself if I'm a vampire!†She was deadly serious. Elena felt Stefan feeling it, the quick thrust of the stave between her ribs and into the heart. She would go on the Internet to find the right area. Ironwood and white ash piercing her heart, Stilling it forever†¦sealing off the evil that was Meredith Sulez. Be calm! Be calm! Stefan's Influence flooded into her. Meredith was not calm. â€Å"But before that I have to kil my brother.†She flung down a photograph on Mrs. Flowers's kitchen table. â€Å"It turns out that Klaus or someone has been sending these since Cristian was four – on my real birthday. For years! And in every picture you could see his vampire teeth. Not ‘kitten teeth.'And then they stopped coming when I was about ten. But they had shown him growing up! With pointed teeth! And last year this one came.† Elena leaped for the photo, but it was closer to Stefan and he was faster. He stared in astonishment. â€Å"Growing up?†he said. She could feel how shaken he was – and how envious. No one had given him that option. Elena looked at the pacing Meredith and around at Stefan. â€Å"But it's impossible, isn't it?†she said. â€Å"I thought that if you were bitten, that was it, right? You never got any older – or bigger.† â€Å"That's what I thought too. But Klaus was an Old One and who knows what they can do?†Stefan answered. Damon will be furious when he finds out, Elena told Stefan privately, reaching for the picture even though she'd already seen it through Stefan's eyes. Damon was very bitter about Stefan's height advantage – about anyone's height advantage. Elena brought the picture to Mrs. Flowers and looked at it with her. It showed an extremely handsome boy, with hair that was just Meredith's dark color. He looked like Meredith in his facial structure and olive skin. He was wearing a motorcycle jacket and gloves, but no helmet, and he was laughing merrily with a ful set of very white teeth. You could easily see that the canines were long and pointed. Elena looked back and forth from Meredith to the picture. The only difference she could see was that this boy's eyes seemed lighter. Everything else screamed â€Å"twins.† â€Å"First I kil him,†Meredith repeated tiredly. â€Å"Then I kil myself.†She stumbled back to the table and sat, almost knocking over her chair. Elena hovered near her, snatching two mugs from the table, to prevent Meredith's clumsy arm from sweeping them to the floor. Meredith†¦clumsy! Elena had never seen Meredith ungraceful or clumsy before. It was frightening. Was it somehow due to being – at least partly – a vampire? The kitten teeth? Elena turned apprehensive eyes on Stefan, felt Stefan's own bewilderment. Then both of them, without consultation, turned to look at Mrs. Flowers. She gave them an apologetic little-old-lady smile. â€Å"Gotta kil †¦find him, kil him†¦first,†Meredith was whispering as her dark head lowered to the table, to the pil ow of her arms. â€Å"Find him†¦where? Grandpa†¦where? Cristian†¦my brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena listened silently until there was only soft breathing to be heard. â€Å"You drugged her?†she whispered to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"It was what Ma ma thought best. She's a strong, healthy girl. It won't harm her to sleep from now through the night. Because I'm sorry to tel you, but we have another problem right now.† Elena glanced at Stefan, saw fear dawning on his face, and demanded, â€Å"What?†Absolutely nothing was coming through their link. He'd shut it down. Elena turned to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm very worried about dear Matt.† â€Å"Matt,†agreed Stefan, looking around the table as if to show that Matt wasn't there. He was trying to protect Elena from the chil s racing through him. At first Elena wasn't alarmed. â€Å"I know where he might be,†she said brightly. She was remembering stories that Matt had told of being in Fel ‘s Church while she and the others had been in the Dark Dimension. â€Å"Dr. Alpert's place. Or out with her, making the rounds of home visits.† Mrs. Flowers shook her head, her expression bleak. â€Å"I'm afraid not, Elena dear. Sophia – Dr. Alpert – cal ed me and told me she was taking Matt's mother, your own family, and several other people with her and escaping Fel ‘s Church entirely. And I don't blame her a bit – but Matt wasn't one of those going. She said he meant to stay and fight. That was around twelve thirty.† Elena's eyes automatical y went to the kitchen clock. Horror shot through her, flipping her stomach and reverberating out to her fingertips. The clock said 4:35 – 4:35 P.M.! But that had to be wrong. She and Stefan had only joined minds a few minutes ago. Meredith's rage hadn't lasted that long. This was impossible! â€Å"That clock – it's not right!†She appealed to Mrs. Flowers, but heard at the same time Stefan's telepathic voice, It's the mind-blending. I didn't want to rush. But I was lost in it too – it's not your fault, Elena! â€Å"It is my fault,†Elena snapped back aloud. â€Å"I never meant to forget about my friends for the entire afternoon! And Matt – Matt would never scare us by keeping us waiting for his cal ! I should have cal ed him! I shouldn't have been – â€Å"She looked at Stefan with unhappy eyes. The only thing burning inside her right now was the shame of failing Matt. â€Å"I did cal his mobile number,†Mrs. Flowers said very gently. â€Å"Ma ma advised me to do so, al the way back at half past twelve. But he didn't answer. I've cal ed every hour since. Ma ma won't say more than that it's time we looked into things directly.† Elena ran to Mrs. Flowers and wept on the soft cambric lacework at the old woman's neck. â€Å"You did our job for us,†she said. â€Å"Thank you. But now we have to go and find him.† She whirled on Stefan. â€Å"Can you put Meredith in the first-floor bedroom? Just take off her shoes and put her on top of the covers. Mrs. Flowers, if you're going to be alone here, we'l leave Saber and Talon to take care of you. Then we'l keep in touch by mobile. And we'l search every house in Fel ‘s Church – but I guess we should go to the thicket first†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Wait, Elena my dear.†Mrs. Flowers had her eyes shut. Elena waited, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. Stefan was just returning from putting Meredith in the front room. Suddenly, Mrs. Flowers smiled, eyes Stillshut. â€Å"Ma ma says she wil do her utmost for you two, since you are so devoted to your friend. She says that Matt is not anywhere in Fel ‘s Church. And she says, take the dog, Saber. The falcon wil watch over Meredith while we are away.†Mrs. Flowers's eyes opened. â€Å"Although we might plaster her window and door with Post-it Notes,†she said, â€Å"just to make sure.† â€Å"No,†Elena said flatly. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I won't leave Meredith and you on your own with only a bird for protection. We'l take you both with us, covered in amulets if you like, and then we can take both animals, too. Back in the Dark Dimension, they worked together when Bloddeuwedd was trying to kil us.† â€Å"Al right,†Stefan said at once, knowing Elena well enough to realize that a half-hour-long argument could ensue and Elena would never be moved an inch from her position. Mrs. Flowers must have known it too, for she rose, also immediately, and went to get ready. Stefan carried Meredith out to her car. Elena gave a tiny whistle for Saber, who was instantly underfoot, seeming bigger than ever, and she raced him up the stairs to Matt's room. It was disappointingly clean – but Elena fished a pair of briefs from between bed and wal . She gave these to Saber to delight in, but found she couldn't stand Still. Final y, she ran up to Stefan's room, snatched her diary from under the mattress, and began scribbling. Dear Diary, I don't know what to do. Matt has disappeared. Damon has taken Bonnie to the Dark Dimension – but is he taking care of her? There's no way to know. We don't have any way to open a Gate ourselves and go after them. I'm afraid Stefan will kill Damon, and if something – anything – has happened to Bonnie, I'll want to kill him too. Oh, God, what a mess! And Meredith†¦of all people, Meredith turns out to have more secrets than all of us combined. All Stefan and I can do is hold each other and pray. We've been fighting Shinichi so long! I feel as if the end is coming soon†¦and I'm afraid. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan's shout came from below. â€Å"We're al ready!† Elena quickly stuffed the diary back under the mattress. She found Saber waiting on the stairs, and fol owed him down, running. Mrs. Flowers had two overcoats covered in amulets. Outside, a long whistle from Stefan was met by an answering keeeeeeee from above and Elena saw a smal dark body circling against the white-streaked August sky. â€Å"She understands,†Stefan said briefly, and took the driver's seat of the car. Elena got into the backseat behind him, and Mrs. Flowers into the front passenger seat. Since Stefan had buckled up Meredith into the middle of the backseat, this left Saber a window to put his panting head through. â€Å"Now,†Stefan said, over the purring of the engine, â€Å"where are we going, exactly?†