Economic Development In Urban Areas

Economic change has helped lead America into urban crisis for the following reasons. First of all, because urban problems are no longer confined to the inner city, but are regional in nature. The federal government has, also, largely drawn from the urban policy arena, thereby having cities and sates to develop their own solutions to local problems. Furthermore, the economy of cities is no longer organized around a central business district, but is dispersed throughout a metropolitan region. Next, the national economy has experienced a fundamental reorganization and many cities have experienced the direct effects of deindustrialization and disinvestments. Additionally, the fiscal crisis within the public sector is unprecedented and has seriously negative effects for the provision of services at all levels of government. Finally, the nature of work itself has changed within cities as more women enter the labor market; the changing nature of work has affected the urban family in many ways, many of which have direct ramifications for social welfare and family policies. There is a great amount of inequality of income in some cities. Most of the those who fall bellow the poverty line are African Americans and Hispanics. This is because they are placed in low paying jobs. As more and more people immigrate into the country, there are less and less jobs to go around. This creates a larger poverty gap. People just coming here to America are placed in very low-income jobs. This is all they can get if they don’t speak any English. For example, here at Rider the cleaning people are all Spanish. They don’t speak any English, and their job is to be the cleaning crew. These are the only types of jobs that these people can get most of the time, and this makes our percentage of people who are in poverty go up. Another problem that is contributing to the urban crisis is the rise of single-parent families and ‘present-orientated’ values. The problem here is that the divorce rate in America is getting higher and higher, and also the amount of children being had out of marriage is greatly increasing also. This creates one parent raising a child. The problem here is that there is no proper care for children in this situation. The parent has too much responsibility. They are to provide for the family, as well as adequately care for their children. When the single parent has to go to work, to get money to pay for a place to live, food, and clothing, there leaves no time to watch and take care of the children, meaning children are left to take care of themselves after school is over, and this results in a lot of problems for the communities. These children cause trouble. They are the ones who commit most crimes in an urban environment. This is why in an urban city there is a lot more crime. There are a lot of children left unsupervised for most of the day and night. Another problem is the ethnic tensions that there are in America. There are many things that are wrong with this. The first problem is that because of racism, people are secluded. They are pushed to all live together, because people don’t want to live next to them. This is how a ghetto is started, and slums. All the people of low incomes live in the same neighborhood together. They also contain the high crime rates because these are the people who are also of single parent families and their children are left unsupervised. Another problem with racism is that people are given lower paying jobs because of their race, and also, they aren’t able to have to same amount of experience as other people. They don’t go to as good of schools, and they then might not be able to go to college, so they are stuck. They can only get a low paying job. This creates families to be stuck in poverty for generations, they can never get out, unless with government assistance of some sort. Then this makes the inner cities all full of low-income families, and creates a poverty stricken area that cannot be fixed in any way. If there were more integration within neighborhoods, then we wouldn’t have these areas. Another reason why urban America is in crisis is because of the underground urban economy. This also causes a lot of crime in urban cities. The people in these cities who are poor, and are trying to find a way out, usually try by doing something illegal. A big example of this is drug sale. People start selling drugs to get money. This creates a lot of problems. The selling of illegal materials results in murders, and robberies, to either get the drugs, pay for the drugs, or avoid getting caught selling them. Another example of this is people stealing things, like car parts, and selling it on the black market. All of these illegal acts always result in something that makes the cities look worse and worse to live in. I know that when I go into Trenton I am really afraid, because I know that there is a really high amount of crime there, and I am always thinking that someone is going to try to shoot me for my car, rob a store that I am in, or something else. Stereotypes of cities are easily created, and this doesn’t help the situation. Also, the advancement in technology has lead many people to be left without jobs. This technology had created more unskilled labor, and putted skilled labor to a minimum. People, who had been specialists at doing certain skilled work, are constantly being replaced by machines that can do the same work faster and cheaper. This creates a huge economy gap. It makes the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, by giving all the money from the profit of sales to the company owners, rather than to employees. So, the people who were already well off, have even more money, and those people who were middle class citizens are now jobless, and can not afford to take care of their families. The problem here is obvious, the more jobs that are lost because people are replaced by machines, the greater the amount of people who become in poverty. The numbers keep increasing.

Describe How to Interact, Respond, Communicate and Deal

When we are communicating with all children and younger people we must treat them all the same. We should be clear and concise. Instructions should be clear and the same E. G. please can you tidy up. Then we should keep repeating please can you tidy up, please can you tidy up, if a child (3-6years) was asked can you put toys away, they can get confused with what they have been asked to do. We can ask the younger child to repeat what the instruction was so we are aware that they have understood what was said to them. Children of the age3-6 are using their grammar a lot more.At this age they can exaggerate very well when telling something. If they are hurt they might tell fibs. Verbalising whilst playing is very common for 3-6 yrs. whilst communicating with these small children I would get down to their level. With the 6-12yrs they tend to ask lots of question. At this age most of the children set their own goals to achieve. Fact and fantasy are distinguished by now. The 6-12 age group s will need to have boundaries in place. They might also need support if they have a falling out with friends.This is the age when they speak about transitions in life. Use language to predict and draw conclusions. Use long and complex sentences. Understand other points of view and show that they agree or disagree. Understand comparative words e. g. ‘it was earlier than yesterday’. Keep conversations going by giving reasons and explaining choices? Start conversations with adults and children they don’t know. Understand and use passive sentences e. g. â€Å"the thief is chased by the policeman†. 12-18 yrs. olds will still look for adult support even though they are striving to be an adult.As teens seek independence from family and establish their own identity, they begin thinking abstractly and become concerned with moral issues. We need to be approachable and also remind them of confidentially. Not all children will like face to face talking so it might be best to speak at side of them. Teens should be able to process texts and abstract meaning, relate word meanings and contexts, understand punctuation, and form complex syntactic structures. However, communication is more than the use and understanding of words; it also includes how teens think of themselves, their peers, and authority figures.Resolving conflict with age groups. Ask each individual what happened and why. Encourage both children to come up with ideas to resolve the problem. Do not judge either child or be negative about their suggestions. Make it clear that you want to work toward a solution that will make them both happy. Encourage the children to listen to each other, including why they believe the conflict started. This effectively forces the children to accept that there is another person with feelings involved. Children are often totally unaware of how their behavior affects other people.Help both children understand what the end goal is; this may involve being v ery clear about what would be a good end result, an answer that suits both children. Ask both children to discuss the incident and to tell you how they have decided to handle it. Be sure to praise the children for handling the problem themselves and reassure them that you know there will be no future conflict between them. When your child gets angry, give them time and space to calm down before trying to resolve the situation. Explain later that it is difficult to think of good solutions when we are angry.We help children to learn the value of positive relationships in many ways. We promote and reward positive behaviour, encourage turn taking, we ensure we are good role models; we encourage sharing and build self-esteem of the use of praise and reward, with either sticker, certificates, merits ECT. We also encourage the children to be kind to each other. As adults we must respect other peoples view even if we don’t agree as everyone is entitled to their opinion. Always show y ou’re interested in what people are saying, show concern if needed and be a listening ear.Respect can be gained by talking to a child at their level and understanding them, for example looking at children at eye level whilst talking to them increases mutual respect. Keeping calm and talking in a â€Å"normal† friendly tone also increases mutual respect. Listening to children and addressing their needs. Role models are inspirational people who encourage others to progress and work toward self-improvement. They are especially important for today’s youth and can play an important role in shaping our society.Role models can influence a young one’s values, beliefs, and attitudes, which will shape the person that one will grow to be. Role models have the ability to focus their efforts on others rather than on themselves and they are selfless. Role models inspire others not only by their words, but more so by their actions that move us to do the same. Role model s help others by offering good examples, by inspiring others realize the endless possibilities to reach their goals, and by moving others to be the best that they can be. Children will copy behaviour so I use manners the children will copy.Influenced by the people around them affects children Reinforcement is used to help increase the probability that a specific behavior will occur with the delivery of a stimulus/item immediately after a response/behavior is exhibited. Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment. Positive reinforcement is a very powerful and effective tool to help shape and change behavior. Positive reinforcement works by presenting a motivating item to the person after the desired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior more likely to happen in the future.We do this with either thumb up, smiling, verbal praise. Negative reinforcement is when a certain stimulus/item is removed after a particular behavior is exhibited. We can change seat or room. The likelihood of the particular behavior occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative stimuli. Communication can be hard with young people as well as children. Each difficulty has its own effect. This could be how they learn, or understand what is being said to them. They will need time and to feel less pressured when speaking.Someone with Hearing difficulties would benefit from BSL( British sign Language), difficulty with attention or following complex directions in the classroom would benefit from being near the teacher or having 1-1, difficulty retaining information could have pictures or tape recorders,, poor vocabulary achievement could have extra time, difficulties with grammar, difficulties with organization of expressive language or with narrative discourse, difficulties with academic achievement, reading, and writing, unclear speech, persistent stuttering or a lisp.Most children tent to communicate through text and emails. Sometimes we n eed to change the way we communicate with people. This will depend on the individual. We often do this without knowing we have changed. Eye contact is best for non- hearing as they can lip read. Other ways we can communicate are via letters, email, using different color paper. We might need to speak slowly and more clearly. Depending on the type of visual impairment and what adaptations are necessary, I will produce reading books and class material in large print or braille.Touch typing programmers might be introduced, using a screen reader. Visual timetables, pictures, symbols or photographs are also a good way to communicate. For younger children, a visual time line can be effective, labels for equipment and places for specific activities, pictures, symbols, photographs or written labels. Visual displays of topics or current activities can for some children can cause overload.

Theories of Film Editing - Montage Mis-en-scene And beyond Essay

Theories of Film Editing - Montage Mis-en-scene And beyond - Essay Example Cinema is an art that developed from man’s incorrigible wish to record the movement and the moving objects because it was the moving and not static objects that interested him. The first film show, the Lumiere Show was just a shot of a train coming into the railway platform. Thus in the beginning Cinema was just only a recording medium and the movie camera only a recording machine. It functionally started as a medium to record theatre performances. The tragedy of the theatre is that every great performance by any actor goes into thin air just when the curtain is down. There is no record left. Cinema filled up this gap between the performance and the record for the posterity. As a recording machine, the camera stayed static, taking the position of a static audience in the theatre watching a play. Thus the recorded footage demanded no editing as the whole recording process was continuous. PARALLEL MONTAGE: It was the American film makers D .W Griffith, Edwin Porter who made the static camera vibrant. They invented what we call today the â€Å"close up†. A famous close-up shot of Griffith is Mae Marsh’s clasped hands in the trial episode of Intolerance, one of Griffith’s classics. The close up here adds on to the emotional tone of the film’s narrative. According to Siegfried Kracauer â€Å" It almost looks as if her huge hands with convulsively moving fingers were inserted for the sole purpose of illustrating eloquently her anguish at the most crucial moment of the trail.

Shakespeare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Shakespeare - Research Paper Example He grows more and more insane as the play progresses. displayed in the cast-away sister. In this way, Lear can be seen to be craving for the sort of blindness that he is already in the process of imposing upon himself when he says, â€Å"Old fond eyes, beweep this cause again, I’ll pluck ye out, and cast you, with the waters that you lose, to temper clay. Yea, is it come to this? Let it be so: I have another daughter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shakespeare I,iv,292-294). A close reading of these words show that Lear is still using emotion to convey meaning, and also to convey the theme of blindness mentioned above, which is strong throughout the work. Lear is the one being portrayed as blind. The work can be shown through a close reading of how Goneril talks to Lear. In a chosen scene, Goneril states, â€Å"I do beseech you To understand my purposes aright: As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires; Men so disorderd, so deboshd and bold, That this our court, infected with their manners, Shows like a riotous inn: epicurism and lust Make it more like a tavern or a brothel Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak For instant remedy† (Shakespeare, I, iv, 140-7). A close reading of this passage shows how Goneril starts off with a rhyming couplet that signifies important speech, and then goes on to flowery flattering of her father which is evident to the reader, but not to Lear, as false. This passage also shows that Goneril clearly thinks that she knows better than her father the king how the land should be ruled. â€Å"Angered by what he perceives as Cordelias insufficient love, Lear splits the kingdom be tween Regan and Goneril. Their treachery, however, soon becomes clear as they strip their father of all his authority and possessions. Lear then realizes the sincerity of Cordelias love† (King, 2000). Lear is essentially a tragic play. Its action focuses on a character through, surefit of pride,

Same-Sex Marriages Should be Legally Recognized Essay

Same-Sex Marriages Should be Legally Recognized - Essay Example Those people have to be given the possibility to legalize their relationships. As the relationship between gays and lesbians don't have any legal definition, and they aren't regulated by the government, those couples are left to se the parameters of their partnership by themselves, which sometimes has negative consequences, as Dorothy Pomerantz notes in her article about the legalization of the same-sex marriages published in The Advocate in 2000.1 Marriage has always been an important institution in the American society, as after tying the knot two people became able to make important decisions for each other, and the share the common responsibilities. For the U.S citizens marriage means that two people decided to share their money, resources, and responsibilities as well as their bed, a legal commitment made to the society. Almost any man and any woman in our country can register a marriage, despite of their age, social status, or their feelings towards each other. The few things that are needed to register an official union is being the representatives of the different genders, and being more or less mentally healthy. In the same time, two people who love each other, and want to share their lives, and, maybe, raise children together, are deprived of the possibility to legalize those intentions just because they are of the same gender. Eric Stoltz, the author of the article about Proposition 22, a law project that banned recognition of the same sex marriages in California, writes: I could, for example, fly to Las Vegas tonight, wed a prostitute in a drunken stupor, and return to Los Angeles tomorrow morning to have my marriage fully recognized by the law and society. Fifty women can vie on national television to marry a man they've never met for his money, and that union would be recognized by the state. Any man can marry a woman for her looks in a cynical but legally sanctioned form of concubinage, and that union would enjoy all the rights and privileges of marriage. But if two people of the same sex want to establish rights of inheritance or become legally empowered to make health-care decisions for one another, we are now told that the entire structure of Western civilization will come crashing down. (Commonweal, 2000).2 And, in fact, the situation indeed looks like it. The persuasion that marriage should be a union, which only the representatives of two different genders can enter, is a social norm that was established thousands of years ago, when people created families as they needed to unite in order to survive, and bring their children up. The social roles in the primitive society were very well-defined - men had to bring food, and women were to raise kids and maintain fire, thus such a union was perfectly justified (Sullivan, 2004). 3 As thousands of years passed after people left the caves, the distribution of social roles has changed. Today both men and women can be the breadwinners in the family, the same as both members of the family can stay home to care for the kids. The necessity in the different-gender unity nowadays is much weaker than it had been when this social norm was first formed.

A business plan for La Italia Ristorante italian restaurant Essay

A business plan for La Italia Ristorante italian restaurant - Essay Example CURRENT SALE MIX 8 III. MARKET AND COMPETITION 8 A. DESCRIPTION OF CUSTOMER 8 B. CUSTOMER OCCASSIONS, NEEDS AND BENEFITS 9 C. MARKET SEGMENTS 9 D. MARKET SIZE IN THE AREA 10 E. LOCATION OF CUSTOMER AND FLOWS 10 F. MARKET PROJECTS OVER THE PERIOD 10 G. COMPETITIONS 10 IV. COMPETITIVE BUSINESS STRATEGY 12 A. PRICING POLICY 12 B. PROMOTIONAL PLANS 12 V. FORECAST AND RESULTS 16 A. OPERATIONAL BUDGETS 16 B. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES AND ACTION PLANS 19 VI. CONCLUSION 19 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Passion for authentic Italian food is what prompted the management team to conceptualize La Italia Ristorante, the newest Italian full service restaurant located at the Edgware Station in London. Geared towards providing the target market with only the best when it comes to Italian cuisine, La Italia Ristorante’s operations will be focused on providing good food, served by an excellent team, within a restaurant that offers the perfect ambiance for fine dining. The crew will work towards making a mark among its customers by offering a unique type of service the ‘La Italia Ristorante’ way. As a start-up business, it recognizes the challenges that the team faces, first of which is the presence of many competitors within the area, and in the whole of London. The company has to have a way to get a chunk of the market share, develop loyal customers and achieve its business objectives. Financing will come mainly from personal savings, to be supported by a bank loan, which management sees to close within five years from start of operations, to do this, financial strategies focusing on cash flow and inventory management shall be implemented. Marketing and promotions will enjoy a huge chunk of the budget since management also sees the need and importance of a good promotional and marketing campaign. Other factors that management will employ are: effective human resources management and operations focusing on fulfilling the needs of the customers – looking at cost effic ient ways to operate without sacrificing product and service quality. II. THE BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT A. HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS TO DATE La Italia Ristorante is a full service Italian restaurant offering lunch, dinner and snacks from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Midnight, seven days a week. It is located at the Edgware Station, competing along the likes of II Mascalzone and Amaretto Pizza Restaurant. The restaurant sits 80 guests, with its 20 table sets. La Italia Ristorante has a designated non-smoking and smoking area, which are the restaurant interior and main hall, and the veranda area respectively. The company also accepts delivery service within London’s vicinity in two ways: one is through phone and the other, through their website. It implements a guaranteed 45-minute delivery time, and as a challenge, it offers 100% rebate for all those who waited for more than 45 minutes for the pizza and pasta deliveries. The food business offers cash and credit card payments. Food d elivery is available from 10:00 in the morning, to 10:00 in the evening. All food products are guaranteed fresh and cooked only upon receipt of order. The decision to establish an independent restaurant springs forth from the fact management wants to be able to offer a unique experience, set apart from those quick service establishments. They also would like to maximize the fact the clients have an inclination to support local independent restaurants (Independent Restaurant Appeal – unique menus and local atmosphere could lure patrons away from chains, reports Mintel 2011) B. CURRENT MISSION La Italia’s mission is to be the preferred dine in Italian Restaurant within the vicinity, and the most chosen in terms on delivery service. C. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS NEEDED A start-up company, it plans

Global War on Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global War on Drugs - Essay Example Global War on Drugs The drug prohibition laws prohibit, except under special circumstances and licenses the production, possession and distribution of substances that are recognized as drugs. This limits the circulation of anything that is considered a drug. By doing so they ensure that the country remains the drug-free zone that it was intended to be. One such person who has been very vocal and active in this issue is Richard Davenport-Hines. He is a historian and biographer who has accomplished so much in his time. He has spoken vocally against the issue of drugs and their use. He has constantly criticized the United States government of not doing all that it should in relation to the drug issue. The United States government in response to the issue of drug use and trafficking has created several sustainable policies. These policies will enable the government to effectively and efficiently deal with the issue. The United States categorically emphasize that drug use is the administering of any drug on an individual contrary to their intended use. The campaign that was started to discourage drug use in the states was criticized by Richard in his book. He propagated that the states and the policies that they were employing were not necessarily the way forward. The government devised some ways for example arrest and sentencing to deal with the drug barons and users. They also created drug prohibition laws that were to deal with the drug trade. In the book: The Pursuit of Oblivion, A Global History of Narcotics there are some issues addressed against the United States policies. The arguments state that the government does not deal effectively with the issue of arrests. He goes ahead to explain that there is always a high percentage of illegal drugs on the streets. The percentage could be as high as 100%. During the arrests and interception stage only a small percentage of the drugs are intercepted. The book’s author notes that by going with such statistics the drug war will never be won. If only 20% of the drugs are intercepted, the remainder that is still out can still keep the drug business afloat. This will obviously ensure that their profits continue soaring despite the drug intercepts (Gerber 31). He sees the drug policy as a sho w of might and the power between the interested stakeholders. The United States government is using the drug issue as a step stone to flex its muscles on other nations and its own citizens. He ponders why despite all the arrests and sentencing both local and international, drugs are still getting a way to the streets. He wonders when the government will internalize the urgent need to arrest the never known barons instead of the hired hirelings who sell the drug in small doses on the street The state has long been accused of using its military might in all the wrong ways. He deems the policy as an excuse to employ over exaggerated operations by the military. They use so much of the tax payers’ money yet they have little to show on the undertaken drug operations that they conduct (Gerber 37). The government is also accused by both citizens and the author of the text of being very hypocritical in the drug war. The government is noticed to be employing double standards in the sen se that it allows the pharmaceutical companies to continue advertizing their drugs. He considers this kind of advertizing as an attraction to drugs. This tempts users to use them. He suggests that companies should have some regulations in relation to advertising. In the television drama The Wire, the actors have carefully acted their thoughts on the policy of drug use in the states. The series in one of their episodes showed that the investigators tasked with the responsibility of investigating drugs and their use as being very incapable. It

My Obstacles and Outcomes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Obstacles and Outcomes - Essay Example The problem was that we needed to know what to do with children who are not bilingual and cannot understand the Korean language. I was an English teacher. My job was to lead the children through different activities and preach to them in English. This was a very frustrating experience since I had never preached before. There was also the problem of age differences. I had to handle children as young as 4-5 years of age as well as children who were in the 5th or 6th grade. I was used to smaller groups of children and these were larger. The first day was a nightmare. Firstly, I was not used to delivering a 25-minute sermon. Secondly, I could not get their attention. Thirdly, the preaching level was not up to par to their level of understanding. After brainstorming, matters improved. I came up with strategies. I created a PowerPoint presentation. I also searched for funny simple images that related to the bible story. For example, in telling the story of the blind man I found a picture o f a blind person. I used a strategy of questioning with storyboards and I also found short video clips from YouTube that related to the bible stories. Every child had a chance to answer and as a reward, I provided candy for answering the questions correctly. The final outcome was superb. The children paid attention to the bible study, during arts and crafts, and during their eating periods. The aim of the project was to have them get to know Christ. I was able to do this by creating a visual effect to catch their attention, providing different questions to match all ages, and rewarding them. In conclusion, the project was a challenge. The summer bible camp was an experience that increased my knowledge of teaching. These experiences made me think of new ideas. I am now a Sunday school teacher for 3rd and 4th graders at a new church. I am now able to handle international students more readily. I love teaching and getting to know the children. I hope to encounter other tasks to overcom e and gain knowledge from it, as a member of the Teach For America Corporation.

Starbucks's CSR (CORPORATE SOCIAL RESONSIBILITY) Essay

Starbucks's CSR (CORPORATE SOCIAL RESONSIBILITY) - Essay Example There is so much more to Starbucks than the Seattle reputation that is often synonymous with the logo, there is a legitimate series of changes being made both domestically and internationally that improves Starbucks’ reputation and therefore gives the business more clout with stakeholders who, today, are demanding much more responsible behavior for the contemporary corporate organization. Corporate social responsibility is the method by which Starbucks engages consumers and non-business stakeholders, the branding strategy that identifies Starbucks as a significant contributor to the social condition. Regardless of whether Starbucks is actually attempting to improve its reputation or whether the charity it provides is legitimate, such efforts gives the business the appropriate competitive edge that it desires in order to compete with other, localized coffee houses that attempt to build a mom and pop shop mentality for consumers that are interested in fine coffee experiences wit h knowledgeable staff members. What, though, does Starbucks actually do in order to ensure that its quality reputation for responsible business behavior brings value to the entire business model? Primarily, Starbucks establishes the agricultural supply chain utilizing foreign coffee producers that continues to bring extended value to citizens of the United States. The United States, currently, imposes zero or limited tariffs on coffee products that are procured from foreign nations in order to ensure that the American population maintains the volume desired for their consuming needs. This has many advantages for foreign coffee producers, as the product cannot be procured domestically due to climate and, thus, Starbucks is able to exploit opportunities for cheap importation. By giving more buying power to the producers along the supply chain, and then effectively utilizing promotion to, essentially, deceive the regulatory forces that attempt to drive compliance, they are able to buil d a positive brand reputation and negate the attitudes and regulatory powers of many domestic government entities. Giving buyers more power along the supply chain has considerable advantages to the Starbucks company, as they can control pricing and make the individuals working on foreign soils believe they are being done a favor by being expertly exploited for their resources, trust, and willingness to role model these corporate behaviors. Though much of this is simply subjective, there is evidence that such exploitations are known and applauded by the internal governance systems at Starbucks. The business makes considerable loans and grants to foreign coffee growers, which makes it favorable to delay sales of product until the pricing on the market for commodities is complimentary (Starbucks 26). Total commitment in loan guarantees for Starbucks exceeds $6 million, thus giving farmers and Starbucks the competitive advantages required to sustain a positive image in corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, Starbucks, having established that much of its competitive advantage comes from maintaining a positive CSR image, has established a supplier network code of conduct which ensures that product suppliers are keeping up with the corporate image that is so necessary for Starbucks to maintain its position in the market. The code of conduct ensures that Starbucks maintains some level of control over the procurement process and

The Importance of Slavery in the Development of Early America Research Paper

The Importance of Slavery in the Development of Early America - Research Paper Example They started to transport slaves from Africa to America during the sixteenth century. In the subsequent years, slavery became an economic, political and social factor in the development of early America, which resulted in the American Civil War or the American Revolution. This paper analyses the importance of slavery in the political and social development of early America and its contribution to the civil war. South America and North America were entirely different as far as the prominence of slavery was concerned. Negro slavery was absent in the North, whereas it occurred in many forms in the Southern parts of America in the last few centuries. â€Å"There has been one school of thought which regards presence of Negro slavery in the south and its absence in the north as the essence of sectional controversy† (Potter 30). From the onset, slavery had been the most serious cause of sectional conflict (Potter 52). In other words, the views and attitudes of the people in the south ern and northern parts of America were different. People in the North were more liberal in their nature, attitudes and beliefs, whereas people in the South were more conservative in their thoughts. It should be noted that European countries such as Britain were in control of Southren America in the eighteenth century. Britain had colonies in most parts of the world during this period. Africa was in control of Britain during this period, which made the slave transportation from Africa to America an easier task. Howe pointed out that â€Å"almost 14 million Negros were held in hereditary slavery during this period in America† (Howe 52). Slavery in the eighteenth century has created many social changes in America. Exports of slaves from Africa to America happened frequently during this period. Even though an independent American state was established in the eighteenth century, the process of exportation of slaves from Africa to America has not stopped. Americans were not in a mo od to give the luxury they enjoyed due to slavery. To sustain slavery as much as possible, they prevented black people from getting education, income and opportunities for employment. Even though human right issues were discussed very seriously in America during this period, nobody took slavery as a serious human right violation issue until the 1780s. In fact, the black community was not much interested in avoiding slavery in the eighteenth century. They were particular about improving their economic conditions rather than avoiding slavery or acquiring equal status with whites. Poverty was the biggest problem faced by the negros during this period. â€Å"For Negros, economic circumstances were more important than legal status (Slavery) in shaping their conditions of life† (Potter 31). It should not be forgotten that the negros were deprived of opportunities for education and, as a result of that, they were unaware of the things like human rights. For them, acquiring enough fo od at any cost was the major objective of their life. Even though dominant white people did everything possible to sustain slavery in America, they failed to prevent black people from becoming aware of freedom and liberty. For example, black people were used extensively for maritime employment by the white people in the eighteenth century. It was impossible for white people to execute maritime works without slaves. Maritime works were often done without much supervision from the

My Mother Essay Example for Free

My Mother Essay The film centers on Manuela, a nurse who oversees donor organ transplants in Ramà ³n y Cajal Hospital in Madrid and single mother to Esteban, a teenager who wants to be a writer. On his seventeenth birthday, Esteban is hit by a car and killed while chasing after actress Huma Rojo for her autograph following a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire, in which she portrays Blanche DuBois. Manuela has to agree with her colleagues at work that her sons heart be transplanted to a man in A Coruà ±a. After traveling after her sons heart, Manuela quits her job and journeys to Barcelona, where she hopes to find her sons father, Lola, a transvestite she kept secret from her son, just as she never told Lola they had a son. see more:speech about my mother In Barcelona, Manuela reunites with her old friend Agrado, a warm and witty transsexual prostitute. She also meets and becomes deeply involved with several characters: Rosa, a young nun who works in a shelter for battered prostitutes and is pregnant by Lola; Huma Rojo, the actress her son had admired; and the drug-addicted Nina Cruz, Humas co-star and lover. Her life becomes entwined with theirs as she cares for Rosa during her pregnancy and works for Huma as her personal assistant and even acts in the play as an understudy for Nina during one of her drug abuse crises. On her way to the hospital, Rosa asks the taxi to stop at a park where she spots her fathers dog, Sapic, and then her own father, who suffers from Alzheimers; he does not recognize Rosa and asks for her age and height, but Sapic is cleverer and knows Rosa. Rosa dies giving birth to her son, and Lola and Manuela finally reunite at Rosas funeral. Lola (whose name used to be Esteban), who is dying from AIDS, talks about how she always wanted a son, and Manuela tells her about her own Esteban and how he died in a car accident. Manuela then adopts Esteban, Rosas child, and stays with him at Rosas parents house. The father does not understand who Manuela is, and Rosas mother says its the new cook, who is living here with her son. Rosas father then asks Manuela her age and height. Manuela introduces Esteban (Rosas son) to Lola and gives her a picture of their own Esteban. Rosas mother spots them from the street and then confronts Manuela about letting strangers see the baby. Manuela tells her that Lola is Estebans father; Rosas mother is appalled and says: That is the monster that killed my daughter?! Manuela flees back to Madrid with Esteban; she cannot take living at Rosas house any longer, since the grandmother is afraid that she will contract AIDS from the baby. She writes a letter to Huma and Agrado saying that she is leaving and once again is sorry for not saying goodbye, like she did years before. Two years later, Manuela returns with Esteban to an AIDS convention, telling Huma and Agrado, who now run a stage show together, that Esteban had been a miracle by not inheriting the virus. She then says she is returning to stay with Estebans grandparents. When asking Huma about Nina, she becomes melancholic and leaves. Agrado tells Manuela that Nina went back to her town, got married, and had a fat, ugly baby boy.

Factors that Affect Self Esteem

Factors that Affect Self Esteem According to social psychological research, which factors affect self-esteem? How people regard themselves and evaluate their self-worth or self-esteem differs from one individual to the next. However, there are multiple factors that might affect an individuals self-esteem, these factors can include domestic treatment, group treatment and even the media. It can be hypothesized that one factor might affect self-esteem more significantly than the others. Social psychologists have seemed to agree that the social environment (while it does have its affects) has a minor influence on self-esteem. According to Schmitz, (2006) how children are treated domestically will have a significant influence on the development or lack thereof of self-esteem. Furthermore, other studies seem to also share similar conclusions; Belobrykin, (2003) conducted a study that explored self-esteem and its influencers, it was concluded that teachers and parents are the main influencers of self-esteem. Teachers and parents are both seen as authoritative figures, as well as much more knowledgeable. Therefore, how they treated children, especially during developmental stages will have a psychological effect. Although social influences might have an affect it can be inferred that the main influencers are authoritative figures due to how children might seek acceptance and validation. Hence forth if the child does not get what they intend as stated formerly it will aff ect them negatively. However, through the excess of information and communication in the modern age, a large emphasis is placed on the media and its role in affecting self-esteem. Although, the media does play a role in affecting self-esteem, according to Fernandez and Pritchard, (2012) social media influences how both men and women should look. However, although the media seemed to have the greatest effect, for women social pressure also affected self-esteem and for men it was internalization. Therefore, it can be assumed that social media simply acts upon peoples already existing self-esteem issues and that there is a different criterion such as social norms and standards or group treatment combined with how a person might view themselves to be. Self-esteem issues have always existed long before the media, however, it can be stated that the media is simply a catalyst that increases or aids in increasing low self-esteem. The media affects self-esteem though indirectly. For instance, how people perceive themselves versus how they want to be perceived, to elaborate further what people place on social media is what they want you to perceive them. Zuckerman, Li and Hall, (2016) conducted an experiment that explored what affects self-esteem between different genders. The research concluded that gender differences do not play a role in self-esteem, though it appears that these issues were more present in developed countries than in under-developed countries. This can be due to how more developed countries are characterized by values of equality or freedom, which in turn can affect how people perceive they should be treated versus how they are actually treated. Furthermore, other studies have also stated that how individuals perceiv e themselves also affects how they are aided in social situations, which can also affect self-esteem further. This implies that how people are treated can affect perception (Marshall, Parker, Ciarrochi, Heaven, 2013). In conclusion, self-esteem is not affected by just a single stimulus, however according to psychologists the main influence on self-esteem is domestic treatment in developmental stages of the child as it affects self-esteem on the long-term. Therefore, it is an individuals perception of what others might think of them which highly affect self-esteem. Furthermore, the media does not act a direct influencer of self-esteem, it is however an indirect cause of self-esteem issues. This is apparent as this issue is more present in highly developed countries. References Belobrykina, O. (2003). The Influence of the Social Environment on the Development of Older Preschoolers Self-Esteem. Russian Education Society, 45(5), 57-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/res1060-9393450557 Fernandez, S. Pritchard, M. (2012). Relationships between self-esteem, media influence and drive for thinness. Eating Behaviors, 13(4), 321-325. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.05.004 Schmitz, M. (2006). Influence of Social and Family Contexts on Self-Esteem of Latino Youth. Hispanic Journal Of Behavioral Sciences, 28(4), 516-530. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739986306293999 Shin, Y., Kim, M., Im, C., Chong, S. (2017). Selfie and self: The effect of selfies on self-esteem and social sensitivity. Personality And Individual Differences, 111, 139-145. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.02.004 Zuckerman, M., Li, C., Hall, J. (2016). When men and women differ in self-esteem and when they dont: A meta-analysis. Journal Of Research In Personality, 64, 34-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.07.007

Ways Children Looked After By Local Authority Social Work Essay

Ways Children Looked After By Local Authority Social Work Essay In the context of Shona and her family, this assignment will firstly review the powers and orders necessary to bring the children to be looked after by the local authority along with the governing principles. It will then discuss relevant areas for review and the required order to ensure good care for the children, including how and when these should be reviewed. Finally, looking at the significance to the case study of s17 of Children Act, 1989 along with considering the different services presented to each sibling whilst in care. Police Powers Shonas case is discovered by police officers under-taking ordinary duties when social services departments and the courts are closed (Masson, 2001). CA, 1989 s46(1) gives the police power, without going to court, to remove or detain children for 72 hours if they have reasonable cause to believe that the children are likely to suffer significant harm (Brammer, 2010; Powell, 2001). Social Service Managers recognise the value of s46 as an emergency intervention but have criticised its excessive use as a result of police anxiety (Masson, 2001). The principle is that courts should make a decision to remove children wherever possible; therefore, s46 is to be used in exceptional circumstances. The local authority should have in place with the Clerks to the Justices an out of hours Emergency Protection Order (EPO) application process (HO Circular, 2008). Emergency Protection Order EPO is a short-term emergency measure, lasting up to 8 days with a possible extension of a further 7 days, whilst the local authority under CA, 1989 s47 investigates the childrens welfare. S44(1) of the act outlines the grounds for applications for an EPO of which there are two forms (any person and likely to suffer significant harm). The local authoritys application for Shona and her siblings is on the grounds that they are likely to suffer significant harm due to domestic violence. Although the court may agree that there are grounds for an EPO, it still needs to apply the principles contained in Part 1 of the act. Principles governing the decision-making Welfare Principle CA, 1989 s1 states that, the childs welfare shall be the courts paramount consideration. The meaning of s1 has been closely examined and criticised due to its wide range of interpretations (Brammer, 2010; Brayne and Carr, 2010). Decisions based on the welfare of the child are ultimately value judgements (Ryan, 1998: 8) Therefore, a checklist was added to maintain consistency and provide clear understanding (Ryan, 1998 and Brammer, 2010). For an EPO the court must consider the welfare principle but it does not have to consider the checklist (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Non-Delay Principle CA, 1989 s1(2), supported by European Court of Human Rights article 6(1), emphasises that any delay in court proceedings is potentially harmful to the welfare of the child (Brayne and Carr, 2010), therefore, the court needs to have regard to the non-delay principle. The Public Law Outline (PLO), 2008 attempted to address case management and avoid delays in court proceedings by setting a timetable. Masson argues that Legislating against delay did not change working practices; adult parties continue to create advantageous delay (2010; 55). No-order Principle CA, 1989 s1(5) directs courts to make no order, even if the harm threshold condition is satisfied, unless it considers that making an order would be better for the child than making no order at all (known as the no-order principle). The principle recognises the need for proportionality with three foundational aims: 1) discourage unnecessary court orders, 2) to ensure that the order is granted only where it is likely positively to improve the childs welfare and 3) discourage the making of unnecessary applications (DCSF, 2008: 7). If government guidance discourages unnecessary applications, this may account for research findings showing a general misunderstanding of this principle amongst local authorities who interpret it to mean that cases should not be taken to court unless it is totally necessary. The recent increase in court applications may demonstrate that the principle is not preventing Social Workers from carrying out their duties (DCSF, 2008; Brayne and Carr, 2010). The majority of court proceedings have resulted in orders being granted, therefore Mason argues, Neither the public nor the courts themselves have accepted the no order principle (2010, 57). Areas Needing to be looked at: Threshold Question As Shona has been in care for approximately three years, the local authority would have applied for a court order. This cannot be obtained without meeting the threshold criteria of CA, 1989 s31: identifying significant harm, cause for the harm and no order principle (Ryan, 1998; DOH, 1999). Significant harm has to be found to exist before the court will intervene in family life, however, as the term is not defined it causes considerable problems of interpretation. The Adoption and Children Act, 2002 s120 broadened harm to include witnessing or hearing it, which would be relevant in the case of Shona (Brammer, 2010). Assessment The children would be assessed under the child protection structure due to the physical abuse Liam endured and his sisters witnessed. This structure has evolved through a series of reports and government circulars. In 2008, the Children Act Guidance Volume One was revised and issued under s7 of the Local Authority Social Service Act, 1970 which provided clarity for what should be completed before making an order application (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2010 provides interagency guidance on assessment and investigation. The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families, 2000 provided, under one structured system, a holistic assessment and planning tool for all children in need (Thomas, 2005: 83). Using the framework, the local authority, through the core assessment process, will need to consider both the childrens and parents needs along with those in the wider family and community, to reach a decision that an order is necessary to safeguard their welfare. The local authority would also need to seek legal advice and communicate to the parents their concerns (DCSF, 2008). Care Plan ACA, 2002 amended s31 of the CA, 1989 so that an order cannot be made until the court has considered a care plan (Brammer, 2010). A separate plan would be required for Shona, Liam and Siobhan so the court can consider their individual needs. The plans should be based on findings from the initial and core assessments with the structure, as guided by Local Authority Circular 99(29), 1999, being: 1) overall aim, 2) childs needs, 3) views of others, 4) detail on placement and 5) local authority management. The courts decision on the no-order principle will take into account the care plan for verification as to how the order would be applied (DOH, 2000). What Orders May Have Been Necessary Care Order In having met the threshold criteria, completed assessment and care plan the local authority under s31 would apply for a care order for the children. A care order, rather than a supervision order, involves the children being removed from their home and provides the local authority with shared parental responsibility for the children alongside the parents (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Reviews by Local Authority Upon granting an order, the court has no influence in the plan being carried out (Brammer, 2010). ACA, 2002 amended s25(a) CA, 1989 by requiring an Independent Review Officer (IRO) to be appointed to chair all review meetings of looked after children, ensure the child is involved in the review and will challenge poor practice, and any drift in implementing the Care Plan (HMG, 2003: 45). If the plan is not implemented the IRO can pass the case to CAFCASS who can now return it to court (Brammer, 2010). CA, 1989 s26 makes it a legal requirement for local authorities to regularly review the childrens care plans. Reviews ensure that it [plan] is being effectively implemented and to make any changes that have become necessary (Thomas, 2005: 76). All involved in the care of the children, including the child, should be involved in the review. The minimum requirements which reflect the no-delay principle, are set out in the Review of Childrens Cases Regulations 1991, amended in 2004. The first review should be held within four weeks of the children becoming looked after, followed by a further review at three months later and then six monthly (Brammer, 2010; Ryan, 1998). Relevance of s17 to case study Views of Parents Under s17 of CA, 1989, the local authority has a general duty to promote the upbringing of children in need by their families and with article 8 of the Human Rights Act, 1989; they would need to justify any interference in family life. Working Together, 2010 re-emphasized the commitment of partnership with parents in making plans for the welfare and protection of their children. There are a number of ways the local authority can work in partnership with Shonas parents; through consultation, taking into consideration their views, attendance at case conferences and being notified of any public proceedings (Brayne and Carr, 2010). CA 1989, s17 also makes clear that the first priority is to promote and safeguard the childrens welfare and then try to keep them within their family (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Provided that the welfare and safety of the children is paramount then potentially there should be no conflict between the principles of family support and child protection (Parton, 1997). However, research has shown that full partnership is difficult to reach when risks are high and families disagree with the perceived risks (Bell, 1999). The recent case of Baby Peter has highlighted the importance of Shonas Social Worker having the skill to recognize when partnership with the parents is failing to protect them (Brayne and Carr, 2010). The fathers violence towards the children could be a reason to exclude him from any conferences but his wishes can be obtained by other means (DCSF, 2010). It is also important to recognise that the childrens views and wishes may be different to their parents. Childs wishes The Children Act, 2004 s53 amended s17 of CA, 1989 making it a requirement that before deciding what services should be provided the childrens wishes should be obtained and given consideration (DCSF, 2010). CA, 1989 s22 by mentioning the child before the parents suggests that the childs wishes are to be the first consideration (Brayne and Carr, 2010). The law has also been criticised for assuming that it is possible to know objectively what is in a childs best interest but instead should give the children themselves a role in determining what happens (Thomas, 2005). However, the emphasis of listening to the childs wishes has recently been criticised as it undermines the courts authority to make a best interest decision (Times, 2010). Laws, policies and procedures continue to reflect he tension between these twin goals of safeguarding children and advocating their rights (Adams, 2009; 304). To ensure that the childs interests, wishes and rights are upheld in court, CA, 1989 s41(1) contains the duty, if required, for a Childrens Guardian to be appointed from CAFCASS (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Placement Details The local authority whilst taking into consideration the views of the children and parents, will have regards for s17 when considering placements for the children. The CA, 1989 s44(a) was amended by the Family Law Act, 1996 giving power to include exclusion requirement in emergency protection order. This could have been an option looked at in the case of Shona with the father being excluded from the family home (Brayne and Carr, 2010). Consideration of family members and friends as potential carers for Shona and her siblings should be explored and clearly demonstrated in their care plans before making a court order application (DCSF, 2008). S23(7) CA, 1989 promotes contact between parents and children with local authority, as is reasonably practicable, providing accommodation near to the family home and keeping siblings together. Under schedule 2 of CA, 1989 there are powers given to the local authority to assist in maintaining links between children and their family (Brayne and Carr , 2010). Options Available to each child Family Group Conference There are several methods for compiling the childrens care plans, with one such option being Family Group Conference (FGC) (Thomas, 2005). FGC has been described as a, realistic methods for merging the needs and interests of children and families and the protection concerns of public child welfare agencies, the courts, and the community (Chandler and Giovannucci, 2004: 217). Although there is no factual data, reviews of FGCs have implied that it is not a suitable option for domestic violence cases due to the welfare of the child. However, in the case of Shona, FGC may have been a viable option when initially becoming children cared for to help explore the welfare concerns, deciding what services are necessary and to take into consideration the children and parents views when considering permanency so to prevent the children becoming entrenched in the care system (Chandler and Giovannucci, 2004). Accommodation The local authority has a power under s20 CA, 1989 to provide accommodation to the three children (Ryan, 1998). From initially coming into care (the sisters going to foster care and Liam to residential care) up until their current situation (Shona and Siobhan different wishes to return home) decisions on the provision of accommodation have been paramount with the options to be explored being: kinship, foster care, residential, reunification, adoption and independence. ACA, 2002 provides guidance on the timescales for decisions about adoption with permanence, including adoption, needing to be considered at the second care plan review (Brayne and Carr, 2010: 378). Education / Crime Due to the highly publicised statistics of children in cares educational underachievement, crime rates and employability, the recent government has made a number of changes to legislation. Under s20 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 2008 all three children will have (had) a designated member of staff at their school responsibility for promoting the educational achievement. The local authority under s22 should provide for under 25 year olds assistance to pursue education or training which is relevant to Liam and Shonas current situation (Brammer, 2010: 356). Although the agenda for change is not without criticism, Its policy recommendations are framed within a social investment approach which values education as the route out of exclusion and into employability (Williams, 2004; 423). Schedule 2(7) of CA, 1989 puts an onus on the local authority to take reasonable steps designed to reduce the need to bring criminal proceedings against such children (Brammer, 2010: 369). Therefore the Youth Offending Team (YOT) could be a service considered for Liam. Adams argues that the number of detained children is high in the UK with, policy and practice regarding children and young people who have committed offences remain stubbornly resistant to welfare principles (2009; 318). Legal Requirements In 2003 the government published Every Child Matters (ECM) which introduced five outcomes for service providers to make arrangements to improve the well being of children: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic wellbeing (2003:6-7). CA, 2004 was passed to provide a statutory framework for applying ECM with the five outcomes included in s10(2) of the act (Brayne and Carr, 2010). The act also introduced the requirement for working together of statutory departments and other relevant bodies for achieving the five outcomes (Brammer, 2010). In theory this provides Shona, Liam and Siobham with greater opportunity for services from public, private and voluntary sectors, however, this legislative change did not come with an increase in budget (Williams, 2004). The responsibility of the local authority to provide services to the children is outlined in schedule 2 of CA, 1989. The wording is moderated for example reasonable steps or con sider appropriate, therefore the local authority can prioritise services based on what is available rather than having to meet every need (Brammer, 2010). When more than one agency is involved in the childrens care a lead professional will be appointed to be responsible for ensuring a coherent package of services to meet the individual childs needs (HMG, 2003: 9). Conclusion In the situation of Shona and her family, this assignment has highlighted the current social and political thinking towards safeguarding children with the balance in the CA, 1989 between welfare and childrens wishes; the emphasis on partnership with parents; the importance of accountability through reviews and the value placed on children remaining with their families. The five outcomes for children in care provide a framework for the provision of services, however, the limitation in budgets does not support the political agenda.

Let It Pour: My First Assignment as Executive Assistant :: Critical Thinking Case Study

Introduction Just starting a new position as executive assistant, working directly for the CEO of Faith Community Hospital I receive my first assignment as executive assistant. I am charged with solving specific problems, delivering the solutions and describing my rationale for my proposed solutions, my boss, the CEO of the Community Hospital is requiring the information next Monday. In my following report I will take steps to identify the problems and to solve each of the problems described using the critical thinking skills I have learned at State University. I will be using my decision making skills along with a brainstorming technique to help me solve these problems. The two problems that I have identified are as follows: The first problem I have identified to solve is the moral and ethical differences our practitioners have towards administering care to patients resulting in different levels of care provided by different practitioners. The second problem that I have identified is our increa sed costs per patient. I need to brainstorm what we can do to reduce or avoid the potential continuing increased costs. Critical Thinking Case Study To begin, I need to study the problems thoroughly and efficiently. Then I will need to isolate each of the problems that the CEO and I discussed in the meeting. I will need to analyze each problem and evaluate alternatives for each problem. After that is done, I will make recommendations with corrective actions prepared for the CEO by Monday. In my CEO's assignment I have identified the two separate problems and I will be evaluating them each independently. Problem #1 First, I have to identify the problem. The hospital and regulators are seeing inconsistent decisions that are implemented for the patients based on the particular doctors' or nurses morals, and ethical beliefs. As the CEO said "On one hand, we have particular patients who refuse to take certain medical services, and on the other hand, particular staff members who refuse to provide certain services." The doctors are not following any set standards for issuing care for our patients. This problem needs to be immediately rectified. To solve this issue I need to break down the problem into its different elements. I have identified the problem, now I have to define the goals. Goals The goals that we need to accomplish are to have each practitioner administer consistent care for our patients regardless of personal morals and ethics. We also need to make sure that no patient is refused care, regardless of the doctors' beliefs, medical coverage or lack of coverage.

HG Wells †The War Of The Worlds Essay -- English Literature

HG Wells – The War Of The Worlds HG Wells uses literacy techniques in The War Of The Worlds to add tension and create a better more frightening atmosphere. He uses four main types of literacy techniques that are:  · Juxtaposition  · Pathetic fallacy  · Omniscient viewpoint  · And cliffhangers The meaning of these are as followed:  · Juxtaposition – this is where two completely different facts are put next to each other to make a comparison that stands out clearly and completely changes the atmosphere.  · Pathetic fallacy – this is where the weather matches the mood of some one.  · Omniscient viewpoint – the author and the reader knows what is going to happen but the character does not.  · Cliffhanger – this means main things 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. A contest so closely matched that the outcome is uncertain until the end. Examples of these four techniques are found in the HG Wells The War Of The Worlds. The examples I picked out especially for this work are the ones I feel are most important and best show what these techniques. These were picked out of the book. Juxtaposition: â€Å"And this was the little world in which I had been living in securely for years, this fiery chaos!† â€Å"About six in the evening, as I sat at tea with my wife in the summerhouse talking vigorously about the battle that was lowering upon us, I heard a muffled detonation from the common, and immediately after a gust of firing†. â€Å"The heavy firing that had broken out while we were driving down Maybury Hill ceased as abruptly as it began, leaving the evening very peaceful and ... ...t smite", swiftly means quick, agile and nimble and smite meaning striking and powerful, which is constructed to make the Martians look strong and powerful. Wells also uses a contrasting pair to create a sense of optimism where he says "This was printed in enormous type on paper so fresh that it was still wet", which shows optimism in the way that an announcement had been made to assure the safety in the people of London. A fast pace is created in this episode by having the city chaotic at one time, but then an assurance is made that the people will be safe, but some may not believe that they are safe, which causes great tension in this episode, and for the next chapter of the book. This passage describes why the Martian invasion failed, and how the Martians were destroyed. The atmosphere created in this episode is one of rising optimism and reflection.

Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride -- Wedding Toasts Roasts S

Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride Thank you for that welcome, I haven’t had applause like that since Frank’s bachelor party in Angels lap dancing club! Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you who don’t know me I’m Mike, Claire’s Dad and on behalf of my wife Angela and I, I would like to welcome you all here today to celebrate the marriage of our daughter Claire to Frank I would like to welcome Frank’s Mum, Margaret, partner Don, sister Helen and husband Simon as well as all our relatives and friends. I know a few have travelled considerable distances to be here. Thank you, its very much appreciated. At this point I would like to mention three important people who are not here today. Firstly Frank’s Dad who died a few years ago when Frank was a boy. Of course I never knew Dave but I have recently seen a photograph and could hardly believe it wasn’t a photo of Frank, they were so alike. I believe that’s where Frank gets his passion for fast cars and motor bikes from. I would also like to mention Claire’s Grandfather Les, who also passed away about ten years ago. Claire and Les shared the same birthday He doted on Claire and vice versa. And I would like to mention Doris, Claire’s grandmother, who died just a month ago, she was so looking forward to seeing Claire walking down the aisle today but unfortunately she succumbed to her illness. They are all here in spirit and I’m sure they are ... ... morning. At our silver wedding celebrations, we brought the box down from the loft, you know the one with the wedding album , order of service sheets etc. I also came across these (produce two L Plates) As I said I’m fully qualified now and I was going to throw them away, but then I thought I know who could do with these (give one each to the bride and groom.) Just before I close, ladies and gentlemen, some of you will know my own parents will celebrate their own Golden Wedding in February. My Mother was born Molly Robson and became a Bartle , now fifty years later it’s typical of Claire to address the inbalance. So ladies and Gentlemen would you please be upstanding†¦ the toast is Mr and Mrs Robson.

Self Assesment

Self Assessment What I have learnt I feel that I have learnt a lot from this course and hopefully by gaining such knowledge I can take it further, most of the things I picked up on through this course are included in the list below Confidentiality; do not share clients information unless they are in danger of themselves N.V. C (non verbal communication) S. O. L. E. R (sitting squarely, open posture, Leaning forward) Listening techniques, active listening skills Self Actualization (Mascots Hierarchy of basic needs) ? Counselor's introduction for a session Focusing Managed silence Boundaries Rapport building A. G.E (acceptance genuineness and empathy) Ethical principles; Fidelity, Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficent, Justice, Self- Respect Mirroring What counseling is and is not My feelings and experiences To begin with I would like to state that my experiences gained on this course, has grasp a reality on how things work in the world of counseling in terms of contracting agreements boundaries and the important skills needed to help the client adjust to the circumstances.Towards the end of the course we did an exercise covering important factors of our lifeline's explaining the ups and downs of our life. I found this very interesting because reflecting on the past and present helped me to see the transformation from then to now. Which became an important piece of evidence of the changes I have been through from the negative to the positive aspects and all importantly it has shown me about he person I have become today.What I have learnt from receiving and giving constructive feedback The feedback gained through triads helped me to understand counseling more and enabled me to improve on the skills I needed to. Once you have hands on experience of counseling another person you tend to see how interesting the session is and how important the skills are to create an effective counseling session. The skills I used were as follows; restating, paraphrasing, reflecting , summarizing and I also incorporated other things such as S. O. L. E.R and effective opening questions. If these methods are applied then the client will feel more relaxed and comfortable with the counselor enabling them to open up and form a bond of trust which is very important for progression and growth. When the roles switched around within the triads we had to experience the role of a client, which was interesting at first I wasn't even sure what to expect or what to even talk about but once you feel comfortable with someone those things you were roaring about go out the window and the words seem to come freely.From then I realized how important it is for a counselor to use the sufficient skills needed to interact with the client. It felt good to talk to someone about the things that were bothering me but also it helped me to understand the self governing feeling, as I had more and more sessions I came to a conclusion with my problems. And that was encouraged by talking to som eone and realizing what is needed to be done by myself through reflecting and summarizing.

The Cardiovascular System

Intrinsic Conduction System1. The intrinsic conduction system consists of __autorhythmic cardiac______ cells that initiate and distribute __impulses___ throughout the heart. 2. The intrinsic conduction system coordinates heart activity by determining the direction and speed of _heart depolarization___. This leads to a coordinated heart contraction. 3. List the functions for the following parts of the intrinsic conduction system: a. SA Node __initiates the depolarizing impulse and sets the pace for the entire beat___ b. Internodal Pathway __link between the SA node and the AV node__ c. AV Node __delay occurs allowing atria to contract___ d. AV Bundle (Bundle of His) _link between atria and ventricles__ e. Bundle Branches __convey impulses down the interventricular septum___ f. Purkinje Fibers ___convey the depolarization throughout the ventricular walls_____4. The action potentials spread from the autorhythmic cells of the intrinsic conduction system (electrical event) to the _contractile__ cells. The resulting mechanical events cause a heartbeat.5. A tracing of the electrical activity of the heart is called a/an __electrocardiogram__.6. What do the following wave forms reflect? . P wave ___atrial depolarization___ b. QRS complex ___ventricular depolarization____ c. T wave __ventricular repolarization___7. In a normal ECG wave t racing, atrial repolarization is hidden by __QRS Complez__.8. Note: Electrical events lead to mechanical events. For example, the P wave represents __atrial_ depolarization, which leads to atrial _contraction___.9. A left bundle branch block would have a wider than normal wave for the __QRS complex_. (Quiz section) 10. An abnormally fast heart rate (over 100 beats per minute) is called: __tachycardia___. (Quiz section)

Environmental Speech Essay

My speech will be about Global warming, this is the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. In 2011 the emission of carbon dioxide and was the highest it had ever been before and it had also taken a similar jump in 2012. Over all, emissions of carbon dioxide had jumped 3 percent in 2011 and in 2012 it was estimated that it had jumped another 2. 6% in 2012. Scientists are 90% sure that Humans are the cause global warming from producing greenhouse gases produced by human activity like using a car which is burning fossil fuels and also is caused deforestation. Since the early 20th century the Earth’s average temperature has increased by 0. 8 degrees centigrade. The effect of an increased temperature will result in the rise of sea levels. Global warming is strongest in the arctic and causes a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts and species extinction. How do we stop Global Warming? Turning the thermostat down a few degrees can make a big difference in decreasing our carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing a regular light bulb with compact florescent lights will save you ? 15 over the life of the bulb and reduce global warming. Driving less and using public transport more often will reduce the carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels which are burnt every day from transportation vehicles. Decorating your house with plants and trees will help as they take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

Autobilography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic

â€Å"I AM ZLATAN† By Zlatan Ibrahimovic as told to David Lagercrantz ————————————————————————— This book is dedicated to my family and friends, to those who have stood by my side, on good days and bad. I also want to dedicate it to all the kids out there, those who feel different and don't fit in. Those who are seen for the wrong reasons. It's OK to be different. Continue being yourself. It worked out for me. ————————————————————————— CHAPTER 1Pep Guardiola, the coach in Barcelona, with his grey suits and troubled face, came up to me looking concerned. I thought he was all right at that time, certainly not a Mourinho or Capello, but an ok guy. This was way before we started our war. It was the fall of 2009 and I was living my childhood dream. I was playing in the best team in the world and had been welcomed by 70 000 people at the Camp Nou. I was walking on clouds. Well maybe not entirely, there were some bullshit in the papers. I was the bad boy and all that. I was difficult dealing with. But still, I was here. Helena and the kids were also good.We had a nice house in Esplugues de Llobregat and I felt fully charged. What could go wrong? â€Å"Hey you†, Guardiola said. â€Å"Here in Barca we keep our feet down on the ground. † â€Å"Sure†, I said. â€Å"Fine. † â€Å"Here we don't drive any Ferraris or Porsches to training. † I nodded, didn't go cocky on him, like how the fuck is what car I'm driving your concern? But I thought â€Å"What does he want? What message is he giving me? Believe me, I don't need any fancy cars or parking on the sidewalk to show off anymore. That w asn't it. I love my cars. They're a passion of mine, but I sensed something else behind his words.Kind of: don't think you're so special. I had already at that point understood that Barca is like a school. The players were all nice, nothing wrong with them, and there was Maxwell, my old friend from Ajax and Inter. But honestly, none of the guys acted like superstars, and I thought that was odd. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, the whole gang, was like school kids. The world's best players stood there nodding, and I couldn't understand that. It was ridiculous. If a coach in Italy says â€Å"jump†, the players ask â€Å"what? Why should we jump? † Here, everyone jumped at any command. I didn't fit in, not at all.But I was thinking: Accept the situation. Don't confirm their thoughts about you. So I started adapting. I became too kind. It was insane. Mino Raiola, my agent, my friend, said: â€Å"What's wrong with you Zlatan? I don't recognize you. † No one recognized me, not m y buddies, no one. I became boring, bland, and you should know that ever since Malmo FF I've had one philosophy: I run my own race. I don't give a damn what people think and I've never felt comfortable with authority. I like guys who run the red light, if you know what I mean. But now†¦ I didn't say what I wanted. I said what I thought people expected of me. It was wack.I drove the club's Audi and stood there nodding like back in school, or like I should have stood nodding back in school. I didn't give my team mates any crap. I was boring. Zlatan wasn't Zlatan, and that hadn't happen since back in school when I saw chicks in Ralph Lauren shirts for the first time and almost shit my pants when I was asking them out. But still, I started the season great. I scored goal after goal after goal. We won the UEFA Super Cup. I was shining. I dominated. But I was somebody else. Something had happened, nothing serious, not yet. I had been silenced, and that's dangerous, believe me. I have to be mad to play well.I have to shout and make scenes. Now I kept all that within me. Maybe it had to do with all pressure. I don't know. I was the second most expensive transfer in history, and the papers kept saying I was a problem child and had issues with my personality, all kinds of bullshit, and unfortunately I felt the weight of it all – in Barca we don't stick out, and I guess I wanted to show that I could fit in. It was the most stupid decision of my entire life. I was still killing on the field. But it wasn't as fun anymore. I even thought about quitting football. Not that I would break my contract, I'm a professional. But I lost the fun.And then came Christmas break. We went to Are and I rented a snowmobile. Whenever life stands still, I want action. I always drive like a maniac. I've gone 325 km/hr in my Porsche Turbo, leaving chasing cops behind. I've done so many fucked up things I barely want to think about them. And now in the mountains I was giving it my al l on the snowmobile, got freeze burns and had the time of my life. Finally some adrenaline! Finally the old, the real Zlatan, and I were thinking to myself: Why am I doing this? I have money. I don't have to feel shit with idiot coaches. I can have fun instead and take care of my family.It was a great time, but it didn't last long. When we returned to Spain disaster struck. Not immediately, but slowly. Disaster was in the air. A light snowfall came. It was like the Spaniards had never seen snow before, and in our hood, in the hills above Barcelona, cars were smashing to the left and right, and Mino, the fat idiot – the wonderful fat idiot I should add if anyone would misunderstand me – froze like a dog in his summer shoes and light jacket and convinced me to take the Audi. It almost ended in disaster. On a downhill street we lost control of the car and smashed into a stone wall.The whole right side of the car was demolished. Many had crashed during the bad weather, but no one as badly as me. I won the crash contest too, and we laughed a lot about that. And I was actually feeling like myself sometimes. I felt ok. But then Messi started talking. Messi is awesome. Fucking unbelievable. I don't know him very well. We are very different personalities. He came to Barca 13 years old and is brought up in their culture. He doesn't have any problems with that school shit. In the team, the play revolves around him, which is natural really. He's brilliant, but now I had come, and I was scoring more than he did.He went to Guardiola and said: â€Å"I don't want to play on the right side, on the wing, anymore. I want to be in the middle. † That was where I was. But Guardiola didn't give a shit. He changed tactics. From 4-3-3 he switched to 45-1 with me on top and Messi right behind, leaving me in the shadow. All balls went through Messi and I couldn't play my game. I have to be free as a bird on the field. I'm the guy who wants to make a difference on al l levels. But Guardiola sacrificed me. That's the truth. He locked me in up there. OK, I can understand his situation. Messi was the star. Guardiola has to listen to him.But come on! I had scored goal after goal in Barca, I was lethal too. He couldn't adapt the team after one single guy. I mean: why the hell did he buy me then? No one pays that kind of money just to strangle me as a player. Guardiola had to think of both of us, and of course, the mood amongst the club management became nervous. I was their biggest investment ever, and I didn't feel good in the new lineup. I was too expensive not to feel good. Txiki Begiristain, the sports director, was pushing me; he said I had to speak with the coach. â€Å"Work it out! † I didn't like it. I'm a player who accepts the situation.But sure, fine, I did it! A friend of mine said â€Å"Zlatan, it's like if Barca bought a Ferrari but are driving it like a Fiat†, and I thought, yeah, that's a good argument. Guardiola had tra nsformed me into a simpler, worse player. And the whole team was losing from that. So I went to the coach. I approached him on the pitch, during training, and I was careful about one thing. I didn't want a fight, and I told him: â€Å"I don't want to fight. I don't want a war. I just want to discuss things. † He nodded. But maybe he looked a bit frightened, so I repeated: â€Å"If you think I want a fight, I will leave.I just want to talk. † â€Å"Good! I like talking with the players. † â€Å"Listen! † I continued. â€Å"You are not using my capacity. If it was a goal scorer you wanted, you should have bought Inzaghi or someone. I need space, and to be free. I can't run up and down constantly. I weigh 98 kilos. I don't have the physique for it. † He was thinking. He was often doing that. â€Å"I think you can play like this. † â€Å"No, then its better if you bench me. With all due respect, I understand you, but you are sacrificing me for other players. This isn't working. It's like you bought a Ferrari but are driving it like if it was a Fiat. He continued thinking. â€Å"OK, maybe it was a mistake. This is my problem. I will work it out. † I was happy. He would work it out. But then the ice cold came. He would barely look at me, and I'm not one who really cares about such things, and despite my new position I continued to be great. I scored more goals. Not as nice ones as in Italy. I was too high up on the pitch. It wasn't Ibracadabra anymore, but still†¦ Against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League we outplayed them completely. The stadium was boiling. The first twenty minutes were amazing, and I scored one goal†¦ two goals.Beautiful goals, and I was thinking: Screw Guardiola! I'll run my own race! But then I was substituted, Arsenal came back and scored two goals. It was shit and afterwards my thigh hurt. Normally a coach cares about such things. An injured Zlatan is a serious thing for any team. But Guardiola was ice cold. He didn't say a single word, and I was out for three weeks. Not once did he face me and ask â€Å"How are you feeling, Zlatan? Can you play the next game? † He didn't even say hello. Not a word. He avoided looking at me. If I entered a room, he would leave. What's going on? I was thinking.Have I done something? Do I look strange? Am I speaking strange? My mind was spinning in circles. I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about it constantly. Not that I needed Guardiola's love or anything. He could hate me all he wanted. I'm triggered by hate and revenge. But now I lost focus, and I talked to the other players. No one understood what was going on. I asked Thierry Henry, who was on the bench during this time. Thierry Henry is the top scorer in the history of the French national team. He's cool. He was still amazing, and he was also having problems with Guardiola. â€Å"He doesn't greet me.He doesn't look me in the eyes, what has happ ened? † I asked. â€Å"No idea†, Henry said. We started joking about it. â€Å"Hey, Zlatan, has he looked at you today? † â€Å"No, but I saw his back! † â€Å"Congratulations, things are improving! † Shit like that, and it helped a little bit. But it was really getting on my nerves, and I asked myself every hour: What have I done? What's wrong? But I never got any answers. Nothing more than that the ice storm must have had to do with our talk about my position. There couldn't be any other explanation. But that would be twisted. Was he psyching me out because a chat about my position?I tried confronting him, I'd walk towards him try looking him in the eyes. He turned around. He seemed scared, and sure I could have booked an appointment and asked â€Å"What is this about? † But never. I had done enough crawling for that guy. This was his problem. Not that I knew what it was. I still don't know it. Or, well†¦ I don't think the guy can hand le strong personalities. He wants nice school boys. And worse: he runs away from his problems. He can't look them in the eye, and that made everything so much worse. It got worse. The ash cloud from the volcano on Iceland came.No flights at all in Europe and we were going to San Siro to face Inter. We took the bus. Some brain-dead person in Barca thought that was a good idea. I was free from injuries then. But the trip became a disaster. It took 16 hours and we were all worn out when we arrived in Milano. It was our most important game so far that season, semifinal in the Champions League, and I was prepared for mayhem, booing and whistling at my old arena, no problems, that drive me. But the situation a part from that was terrible. And I think Guardiola had a hang up on Mourinho. Jose Mourinho is a big star.He had won Champions League already with Porto. He was my coach in Inter. He's cool. The first time he met Helena he whispered to her: â€Å"Helena, you only have one mission. Feed Zlatan, let him sleep, keep him happy! † The guy says what he wants. I like him. He's the leader of an army. But he also cares. He was sending me text messages all the time in Inter asking how I was feeling. He's the opposite of Guardiola. If Mourinho lights up a room, Guardiola pulls the blinds. † I guess Guardiola now tried to measure up to him. â€Å"It's not Mourinho we are facing. It's Inter†, he said, like we thought we'd play ball with the coach.And then he pulled his philosophy crap. I was barely listening. Why would I? It was advanced crap about blood, sweat and tears, shit like that. I've never heard a coach talk like that. Pure garbage. But now he finally came up to me. It was during the practice at San Siro, and people were there watching, like â€Å"Wow, Ibra is back! † â€Å"Can you play from start† Guardiola asked. â€Å"Definitely†, I answered. â€Å"But are you prepared? † â€Å"Definitely. I feel fine. † â €Å"But are you ready? † He was like a parrot, and I got some nasty vibes. â€Å"Listen, it was a terrible trip, but I'm in good form. The injury is gone.I'll give it my everything. † Guardiola looked as though he doubted me. I didn't understand him, and afterwards I called Mino Raiola. I call Mino all the time. Swedish journalists use to say: Mino is bad image for Zlatan. Mino is this and that. You want the truth? Mino is a genius. I asked him: â€Å"What does the guy mean? † None of us understood. We started losing it. But I got to play from start and we scored 1-0. Then the game turned, I was substituted after sixty minutes and we lost 3-1. It was shit. I was furious. But in the earlier days, like Ajax, I could dwell on a loss for days or even weeks.Now I have Helena and the kids. They help me forget and move on. And I was focusing on the return game at Camp Nou. The return game was incredibly important and the excitement was building up, day by day. The pres sure was incredible. It was like thunder in the air, and we had to win big to advance. But then†¦ I don't even want to think about it, or, well, I do. It made me stronger. We won by 1-0. But that wasn't enough. We were eliminated from the Champions League, and afterwards Guardiola looked at me like it was my fault, and I was thinking: The bottle is empty now. We're out of playing cards.After that game it felt like I wasn't welcome in the club anymore, and I felt bad driving their Audi. I felt like shit sitting in the dressing room and Guardiola would stare at me like I was a problem, some freak. It was insane. He was a wall, a stone wall. I didn't get a single sign of life from him, and I wanted to get far away every second. I was no longer part of the team, and when we played Villa Real he let me play five minutes. Five minutes! I was boiling inside, not because I was on the bench. I can deal with that if the coach is man enough to say: You're not good enough, Zlatan.But Guard iola didn't say a single word, nothing, and at this point I'd had it. I could feel it in my entire body, and if I was Guardiola, I would have been scared. Not that I'm a fighter. I've done all kinds of crazy shit. But I don't fight, well, on the pitch I've knocked one or two out. But still, when I get angry, my eyes turn black. You don't want to be anywhere near. And let me tell you in detail what happened. After the game I went into the dressing room, I hadn't exactly planned some raging attack†¦ But I wasn't happy, to use mild words, and in the dressing room my enemy stood, scratching his bald head. Few others were in there.Toure and a few others, and the big metal box where we put our clothes, and I was staring at the box. Then I kicked it. I think it flew like three meters, but I wasn't done yet. Far from it. I yelled: â€Å"You have no balls†, and probably some worse things, and added: â€Å"You shit yourself in front of Mourinho. You can go fuck yourself! † I went insane, and maybe you'd expect Guardiola to say something, maybe: Calm down, you don't talk like that to your coach! But he's not like that. He's a weak coward. He just picked up the box, like a little cleaner, and then he left and never talked about it again, nothing at all.But of course words spread. In the bus everyone was crazy: â€Å"What happened, what happened?! † Nothing, I thought. Just a few words of truth. But I didn't have the energy talking about it. I was so pissed off. My coach had frozen me out week after week without explaining why. It was sick. I've had some bad fights before. But the day after we'd always sorted things out and moved on. Now the silence and terror just continued, and I thought: â€Å"I'm 28 years old. I've scored 22 goals and 15 assists only here in Barca, and still I'm treated like I don't exist, like air. Should I accept this?Should I continue adapting? No way! When I understood I'd be on the bench against Almeria, I remembered tho se words: â€Å"Here, in Barca, we don't drive Ferrari or Porsche to the practice! † What bullshit was that anyway? I drive what I want, at least if it pisses off some idiot. I jumped into my Enzo, floored it and parked outside the door at practice. Of course it resulted in a circus. The papers wrote that my car cost as much as the monthly salary for the entire Almeria squad. But I didn't care. Media bullshit meant nothing at this point. I had decided to give back.I decided to fight back seriously, and you should know one thing, that's a game I can play. I've been a bad boy before, believe me. But I didn't want to mess with the preparations just because of that, so obviously I called Mino. We always plan the smart and dirty tricks together. I also called my buddies. I wanted different perspectives on the situation, and oh god, I got all kinds of advice. The Rosengard guys wanted to come down and â€Å"trash stuff†, and of course that was nice of them to offer, but it d idn't feel like the right strategy at that point. And of course I discussed everything with Helena.She's from another world. She's cool. She can also be tough. But now she tried encouraging me: â€Å"You've become a better dad. When you don't have a team where you feel good, you team up with us†, she said, and that made me happy. I played some ball with the kids and tried to make sure everyone was feeling alright, and of course I spent time with my video games. It's like a disease for me. They eat me up. But since the time in Inter when I could play until four, five in the morning and go to practice after just a couple of hours sleep, I've set some rules for myself: no Xbox or Playstation after 10 at night.I can't let time run away from me, and during these weeks in Spain I really tried to spend time with my family and just chill in our garden. I even had a Corona now and then. That was the good side of it. But at nights when I would be lying awake, or at practice when I saw Guardiola, the dark side of me woke up. The anger was pounding inside my head and I planned my next move and my revenge. No, I realized it more and more, there was no turning back. It was time to stand up for myself and become the real me again. Because don't forget: You can take the kid away from the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto away from the kid. —————————————————————— The feet Ibra & Sanela on dad's blue Opel Kadett CHAPTER 2 My brother gave me a BMX bike when I was little. I called it Fido Dido. Fido Dido was a tough little bastard, a cartoon guy with spiky hair. I thought he was the coolest. But the bike got stolen quickly outside the Rosengard bathhouse and my dad went there , with open shirt and sleeves rolled up. He's the kind of guy who says: No one touches my kids! No one steals their stuff! But not even a tough guy like him could do anything about it. Fido Dido was gone, and I was devastated.After that I started stealing bikes. I'd smash the locks. I became great at it. Bang, bang, bang, and the bike was mine. I was the bicycle thief. It was my first â€Å"thing†. It was pretty innocent. But sometimes it got out of control. Once I dressed up in all black, went out into the night like fucking Rambo and got a military bike using a huge bolt cutter. And sure, that bike was cool. I loved it. But honestly, it was more the kick I got out of it than the bike. It triggered me sneaking around in the dark, and I'd throw eggs at windows and that kind of stuff and I was only caught sometimes.One embarrassing thing happened at the Wessels department store out at Jagersro, for example. But honestly, I deserved it. Me and a friend were wearing huge winter down jackets in the middle of summer, quite fucked up, and under those jackets we had four table tennis rackets and some other crap we picked up . â€Å"You guys, aren't you paying for those† said the guard who caught us. I pulled out a few pennies from my pocket: â€Å"With these? † But the guy didn't have a sense of humor, so I decided to be more professional from then on. And I guess I became quite a skilled maniac in the end. I was a small kid.I had a big nose and I lisped and went to a speech coach. A woman came to my school and taught me how to say S and I thought it was demeaning. I guess I wanted to assert myself somehow. And it was like I was boiling inside. I couldn't sitt still for more than a second and I was running around all the time. It was like nothing bad could happen to me if I ran fast enough. We lived in Rosengard outside of Malmo and it was full of Somalis, Turks, Yugoslavs, Poles, all kinds of immigrants, and Swedes. We were all acting cocky. The smallest thing got us fired up, and it wasn't easy at home, to say the least.We lived on the fourth floor up on Cronmans Road, and we didn't run around hugging each other. No one asked â€Å"How was your day today little Zlatan†, nothing like that. No grown-ups would assist with homework or ask if you had any problems. You were on your own, and you couldn't whine about someone being mean to you. You just had to bite the bullet, and there was chaos and fights and some punches. But sure, sometimes you'd wish for some sympathy. One day I fell off the roof at the kindergarten. I got a black eye and ran home crying expecting a pat on the head or at least some kind words. I got a slap in the face. What were you doing on the roof? † It wasn't like â€Å"Poor Zlatan. † It was â€Å"You fucking idiot, climbing up a roof. Here's a slap for you†, and I was shocked and ran away. Mom didn't have time for comforting, not at that time. She was cleaning and struggling to make money, she was really a fighter. But she couldn't take much else. She had it tough, and all of us had a terrible temper. It wasn't like the normal Swedish chat at home, like â€Å"Honey, can you please pass me the butter†, more like: â€Å"Get the milk you jerk! † There were doors slamming and mom crying. She cried a lot. She has my love.She's had a tough life. She was cleaning like fourteen hours a day, and sometimes we'd tag along, emptying trashcans and stuff like that and got some pocket money. But sometimes mom lost it. She'd hit us with wooden spoons, and sometimes they broke, so I had to go buy a new one, like if it was my fault she'd hit me that hard. I remember one day in particular. I had thrown a brick at kindergarten that somehow bounced and broke a window. Mom freaked out when she heard about it. Everything that cost money freaked her out, and she hit me with spoon. Bang, boom! It hurt and maybe the spoon broke again.I don't know. Sometimes there were no spoons at home, and then she'd come after me with a rolling pin. But then I got away, and I talked with Sanela about it. Sanela is my only f ull sibling. She's two years older. She's a tough girl, and she thought we should play some games with mom. Fuck, hitting us in the head! Insane! So we went to the store and bought a bunch of those spoons, really cheap ones, and gave them to mom as a Christmas present. I don't think she got the irony. She didn't have room for that. There had to be food on the table. All her energy was consumed by that.We were quite a bunch at home, also my half-sisters who later disappeared and broke all contact with us, and my younger brother Aleksandar, we'd call him Keki, and the money wasn't enough. Nothing was enough and the older ones to care of the younger, otherwise we wouldn't have made it. There was a lot of instant macaroni and ketchup, and eating at friends’ homes or at my aunt Hanife's who lived in the same building. She was the one of us who came to Sweden first. I wasn't even two years old when my mom and dad got divorced, and I don't remember anything about it. That's probably good. It wasn't a good marriage, I've heard.There were a lot of fighting, and they had gotten married for my dad to get a residence permit. I guess it was natural for all of us to end up living with mom. But I missed my dad. He had more going for him and there was always something fun going on with him. Me and Sanela would meet dad every other weekend and he used to come in his old blue Opel Kadett and we'd go to Pildammsparken or out on the island in Limhamn to get hamburgers and soft ice cream. One day he made a splurge and got us each a pair of Nike Air Max, the cool sneakers that where like over a thousand kronor, really expensive.Mine were green, Sanela's pink. No one in Rosengard had shoes like that, and we felt so cool. We had it nice with dad and we'd get some money for pizza and Coca-Cola. He had a decent job and only one other son, Sapko. He was our fun weekend-dad. But things would change. Sanela was awesome at running. She was the fastest at running 60 meters in her age in all of Skane [ed note: region of southern Sweden] and dad was proud as a peacock and used to drive her to practice. â€Å"Great, Sanela. But you can do better†, he said. That was his thing, â€Å"Better, better, don't settle†, and this time I was in the car.Dad remembers it like that anyway, and he noticed it immediately. Something was wrong. Sanela was quiet. She struggled not to cry. â€Å"What's wrong? † he said. â€Å"Nothing†, she answered and then he asked again and she told. W e don't have to go into details, that's Sanela's story. But my dad, he's like a lion. If something happens to his kids he goes wild, especially when it comes to Sanela, his only daughter. And it became a huge circus, with interrogations, social welfare investigations, custody battles and shit. I didn't understand too much of it. I was turning nine.It was the fall of 1990 and they kept that stuff away from me. But I had my hunches of course. It was turbulent at home. Still , not the first time. One of my half-sisters did drugs, some heavy shit, and kept stashes at home. There was always chaos around her, and creepy people calling and a lot of fear that something bad would happen. Another time my mom was arrested for stashing stolen goods. Some friends had told her: â€Å"Take these necklaces! † and she did it. She didn't understand. But the stuff was stolen and the police came bombarding in and took her.I remember it vaguely like a weird feeling: Where's mom? Why is she gone? But after that latest thing with Sanela she was crying again, and I just ran away from it. I was messing around outside or playing football. Not like I was the most balanced guy, or the greatest promise. I was just one of the kids kicking ball, or actually worse. I had some terrible outbursts. I'd headbutt people and lash out against my teammates. But I had the football. It was my thing, and I was playing all the time, in our yard, on the field, during school breaks. We we nt to the Varner Ryden school at that time.Sanela in fifth grade, and me in third, and no one doubted which one of us was well-behaved! Sanela had to grow up at young age and become an extra-mom for Keki and take care of the family when the sisters left. She took a huge responsibility. She behaved. She wasn't the girl who got called to the principal's office, and that's why I became worried immediately when I got the call. We were both asked in for talks, and like, if only me had been called, it'd been normal, just routine. But now it was me and Sanela. Had someone died? What was going on? I got stomach pains, and we walked through the corridor.It must have been late fall or winter. I felt paralyzed. But when we came into the office my dad was sitting there with the principal, and I felt happy. Dad used to mean fun stuff. But wasn't fun. Everything was stiff and formal and I felt very uncomfortable, and honestly, I didn't get much of what was said, only that it was about dad and mom , and it wasn't any pleasant stuff. But now I know. Now, much later, when working on this book, the pieces of the puzzle have come in place. In November 1990 the social services had done their investigation, and dad had gotten custody of me and Sanela.The environment at mom's place was decided bad for us, not so much because of her, I have to say that. There were other things, but it was a huge thing anyway, a major disapproval, and mom was devastated. Would she lose us as well? It was a disaster. She cried and cried and sure, she had been hitting us with spoons, given us beatings and not listened to us, and she'd had bad luck with her men and there was no money and all that. But she loved her kids. She was just raised under tough conditions, and I think my dad understood that. He went to her the same afternoon: â€Å"I don't want you to lose them, Jurka. But he demanded some improvement, and dad isn't to play games with in situations like that. I'm sure there were harsh words. â⠂¬Å"If things don't improve, you'll never see the kids again†, stuff like that, but I don't know exactly what happened. But Sanela iived with dad for a few weeks, and I stayed with mom, despite everything. It wasn't a good solution. Sanela didn't like it at dads. She and I found him sleeping on the floor around that time, and the table was full of beer cans and bottles. â€Å"Dad, wake up, wake up! † But he kept sleeping. It was a strange thing for me. Like, why does he do this?We didn't know what to do. But we wanted to help. Maybe he was freezing? We covered him with towels and blankets to get him warm. But I didn't understand anything. Sanela probably understood more. She had noticed how his mood could swing and how he could explode and scream like a bear and I think that frightened her. And she missed her little brother. She wanted to go back to mom and I wanted the opposite. I missed my dad, and one of those nights I called him, probably sounding desperate. I felt lonely without Sanela. â€Å"I don't wanna live here. I wanna be at your place. † â€Å"Come here†, he said. â€Å"I'll call a cab. There were new investigations by the social services, and in March 1991 mom got custody of Sanela and dad of me. We separated, me and sis, but we have always stayed close, or let's say, it's been up and down. But we are very close. Sanela is a hairdresser now and sometimes people come to her salon and say: â€Å"My god, you look like Zlatan! † and she always answers: â€Å"Bullshit, he looks like me. † She's tough. But none of us have had an easy ride. My dad, Sefik, moved from Hards road in Rosengard to Varnhems squre in Malmo in 1991, and you have understood this – he's got a big heart, he's prepared to die for us.But things didn't turn out the way I had expected. I knew him as weekend-dad who got us hamburgers and ice cream. Now we were to share every day and I noticed immediately: it was empty at his place. Someth ing was missing, maybe a woman. There was a TV set, a sofa, a book shelf, and two beds. But nothing extra, no comfort, no well-being, and there were beer cans on the tables and trash on the floor, and sometimes when he got going and started wallpapering, he'd only do one wall. â€Å"I'll do the rest tomorrow! † But it never happened, and we also moved a lot, and never really got settled anywhere.But it was also empty in another way. Dad was a caretaker with the worst working hours and when he came home with work pants with all those pockets with screwdrivers and things he'd sit down by the phone or the TV, and didn't want to be bothered. He was in his own world, and often with headphones listening to Yugoslavian folk music. He's crazy about Yugo music. He's recorded some tapes himself. He's a showman when he's in the right mood. But most of the time he was in his own world and if my friends called he'd hiss at them: â€Å"Don't call here! † I couldn't take my friends t here and if they had asked for me I never found out.The phone wasn't important to me, and I had no one to speak with at home really, or, well, when there was something serious, dad was there for me. Then he could do anything for me, run downtown with his cocky style trying to settle stuff. He had a way of walking which made people go, like â€Å"Who the fuck is that? † But he didn't care about all the normal stuff, what happened in school, in football and with friends, so I had to talk to myself or get outside. Sapko, my half-brother, lived with us during the first time, and sure I must have talked with him sometimes, he must have been seventeen then.But I don't remember much of it, and soon my dad would throw him out. They had some horrible fights. That's also a sad thing of course and it was only me and dad left. We were alone on our own sides, so to say, because the strange thing was that he didn't have any friends coming visit either. He was sitting by himself drinking. T here was no company. But most of all, there was no food. I was outdoors most of the time playing football and riding stolen bikes, and I would often come home hungry as a wolf and open the fridge thinking: Please, please, let there be something!But no, nothing, just the usual stuff: milk, butter, some bread, and if I was lucky some juice, Multivitamin, the 4 liter pack, bought at the Arabian store because they were the cheapest, and beer of course, Pripps Bla and Carlsberg, six-packs with that plastic wrap around them. Sometimes there was only beer, and my stomach was screaming for food. There was a pain in that which I'll never forget. Ask Helena! I always say that the fridge has to be jam-packed. That will never change. The other day my kid, Vincent, cried, because he didn't get his pasta, but it was already cooking on the stove.The guy was yelling because he didn't get his food quick enough so I wanted to scream: If you only knew how well your life is! I could search every drawer , every corner, for one single macaroni or a meatball. I could fill my stomach with toast. I could eat a whole loaf of bread, or I'd run over to mom's place. I wasn't always welcomed with open arms. It was more like â€Å"Fuck, is Zlatan coming too? Doesn't Sefik feed him? And sometimes she'd yell at me: Are we made of money? Are you gonna eat us out on the street? But still, we helped each other, and at dad's place I started a little war against the beer.I poured out some of them in the sink, not all of them, that would have been too obvious, but a few. He rarely noticed anything. There was beer everywhere, on the tables, in the shelves, and often I'd collect the empty cans in big black plastic trash bags and went to recycle them. I'd get 50 ore per can. Still I'd sometimes collect 50 or 100 kronor [ed note: that's 100 or 200 cans]. That was a lot of cans and I was happy for the cash. But of course, it was a sad thing, and like all kids in a situation like that, I'd learn to read his mood. I knew exactly when I could talk to him. The day after he'd been drinking it was quite cool.Second day was worse. In some situations he could strike like lightning. Other times he was incredibly generous. Gave me five hundred kronor just like that. At that time I was collecting football pictures. You'd get a chewing gum and three pics in a little package. Oh, oh, which guys would I get? I wondered. Maradona? I was often disappointed, especially when I only got Swedish players I didn't know anything about. But one day he came home with a whole box. It was a blast and and I tore them all open and got all kinds of cool Brazilians. Sometimes we'd watch TV together, talking. Then it was all great. But other days he was drunk.I have some horror images in my head, and when I got older, I started facing him. I wouldn't back off, like my brother. I told him: â€Å"You're drinking to much, dad†, and we'd have some insane fights, sometimes meaningless, to tell you the truth. B ut I wanted to prove that I could speak for myself, and then we'd have a freaking chaos at home. But he never touched me physically, never. Well, once he lifted me two meters up in the air and dropped me in my bed, but that was because I had been mean to Sanela, his jewel. Inside he was the kindest man in the world, and I understand now that he didn't have the easiest life. He drinks to bury his sorrow†, my brother said and maybe that wasn't the whole truth. The war really affected him a lot. The war was a strange thing. I never found out anything about it. I was being protected. Everyone really made an effort. I didn't even understand why mom and my sisters dressed in black. It was weird, like some new fashion thing. But it was our grandmother who had died in a bomb attack in Croatia and everyone mourned, everyone except me, who never found out about anything and never would care if people were Serbs or Bosnians, or whatever.But it was worst for my dad. He came from Bijeljina in Bosnia. He used to be a mason down there, and all his family and old friends lived in the city and now suddenly hell had come there. Bijeljina was more or less raped, and it wasn't strange that he called himself a muslim again, not at all. The Serbs invaded the town and executed hundreds of muslims. I think he knew many of them, and all his family had to escape. The whole population in Bijeljina was replaced, and Serbs moved into all the empty houses, also in my dad's old house.Someone else just entered the house and took over, and I can really understand he didn't have much time for me, especially not at nights when he sat waiting for the news on TV or some phone call from down there. The war ate him, and he became obsessed with following the news. He sat alone, drinking and mourning, listening to his Yugo-music, and I tried to stay outdoors or went over to mom's place. It was a different world. At my dad's it was only him and me. At mom's it was a circus. People coming and lea ving, loud voices and doors slamming.My mom had moved five floors up on the same street, Cronmans road 5A, the floor above my aunt Hanife, or Hanna as I called her. Me, Keki and Sanela were really close. We made a pact. But there was some shit going on at mom's place too. My half-sister sank deeper and deeper into the drugs and mom would twitch every time the phone rang or someone was at the door: No, no, kind of. Haven't we had enough accidents? What now? She grew old too soon, and is rabid against all kinds of drugs. Not a long time ago, and I'm talking recently as we speak, she called me, totally freaked out: â€Å"There are drugs in the fridge! â€Å"My god, drugs! † I got going too. Not again, you know, so I called Keki, kind of aggressively: â€Å"What the fuck, are there drugs in mom's fridge!? † He didn't understand a thing. But then it hit us. She talked about snus [ed note: swedish chewing tobacco]. â€Å"Chill, mom, it's just snus. † â€Å"The same shit†, she said. Those years really marked her, and we should have behaved better. But we didn't know how to. We only knew the rough style. The half-sis and her drugs moved out quite soon and went to a rehab place, but always came back into the shit and eventually mom cut her off, or the other way around.I don't know the details there. Anyway, it was quite tough, but we have that tendancy in our family. We hold our grudges, we're dramatic and say: â€Å"I never wanna see you again! † stuff like that. Anyway, I remember one time when I was visiting her and her drugs in her own little apartment. It could have been on my birthday. I think so. I had bought her some gifts, and she was acting very kind. But when I was going to the bathroom, she panicked and stopped me. â€Å"No, no†, she yelled and ran in there and started moving stuff around. I knew something was wrong. There was like a secret.Lots of stuff like that happened. But like I said, they kept it away from m e, and I had my own stuff, my bikes and my football, and my dreams about Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. I wanted to be like them. Dad had an older brother named Sabahudin in the old Yugoslavia. They called him Sapko, my older brother was named after him. Sabahudin was a boxer, a real talent. He was fighting for BK Radnicki in the city Kragujevac and became Yugoslavic Champion with his club, and a national team boxer. But in 1967, when the guy was just had gotten married, and only twenty three years old, he swam out into the Neretva river.There were some currents and stuff and I think he had a problem with his heart or his lungs. He was drawn down by the currents and drowns. You can imagine, it was quite a blow for the family, and after that my dad became sort of a fanatic. He had all the great games recorded on video and it wasn't just Sabahudin, but also Ali, Foreman and Tyson, and all the Bruce Lee- and Jackie Chan-flicks on those old tapes. Those were the things we'd watch when we h ung out in front of the telly. Swedish TV was crap. It wasn't on the map. We lived in a totally different world. I was twenty years old when I watched my first Swedish film, and I ad no clue about Swedish heroes or sport guys, like Ingemar Stenmark and guys like that. But I knew Ali! What a legend! He did his own thing no matter what people said. He never apologized and that's something I'll never forget. That dude was cool. He did his thing. That was the way to be, so I copied some stuff, I'm the greatest, kind of. You needed a tough attitude in Rosengard, and if you heard some shit, the worst was being called a cunt, and then you couldn't back down. But usually we didn't mess around. You don't take a shit in your own bed, we used to say. It was more Rosengard against everyone else.I was there watching and screaming against the racist fuckers who demonstrate on November 30th, and once, at the Malmo Festival, I saw a huge gang from Rosengard, like two hundred of them, chasing a lone guy. It didn't really look fair, honestly. But since they were guys from my neighborhood I ran along, and I don't think that guy felt too good afterwards. We were all cocky and wild. But sometimes that's not so easy. When me and dad lived by the Stenkula School I often stayed until late at mom's, and then I had to walk home through a dark tunnel which crosses Amiral street and is across the Annelunds bridge.Once, years before, my dad had robbed and badly beaten there and gone to the hospital with a punctured lung. Although I didn't want to, I often thought about that. The more I tried to repress it, the more often it popped up in my head, and in this neighborhood there were some railroad tracks and a street. There's also a disgusting alley and some bushes and two lamp posts, one before the tunnel and one after. A part from that it was dark, and creepy vibes. That's why those lamp posts became my beacons.Between them I'd run like crazy with a pounding heart, and all the time I was t hinking: I'm sure there are some creepy dudes in there, like the ones who attacked my dad, and I thought: If I run fast enogh things will be alright, and I came home breathless, and surely was no Muhammad Ali. Another time dad took me and Sanela to go swimming in Arlov and afterwards I was at a friend's place. When I was going home it started to rain. It was pouring down and I biked like crazy and stumbled home all wet. We lived at Zenith Street then, a bit away from Rosengard, and I was very tired. I was shaking and had stomach ache. I was in so much pain.I could barely move and lay in bed all rolled up. I threw up. I had cramps. I freaked out. Dad came in and sure, he is like he is, his fridge was empty and he drank too much. But when the shit hits the fan, there's no one like him. He called a cab and lifted me up in the only position I could be in, like a little schrimp, and carried me down to the car. I was light as a feather back then. Dad was big and powerful and totally crazy , he was like a lion again a screamed at the female cab driver: â€Å"He's my boy, he's my everything, screw all the traffic rules, I'll pay the fines, I'll take care of the cops†, and the woman, she did what he asked.She ran two red lights and came to the childrens section of Malmo Hospital. The whole situation had become en emergancy, I've been told. I was getting a shot in my back, and dad had heard some shit about people getting paralyzed by things like that, and he said some aggressive stuff, I'm guessing. He would tear the city upside down if something went wrong. But he calmed down and I was lying belly down sobbing and got that shot in my spine. We found out I had meningitis, and the nurse pulled down all the blinds and turned off all lights. It should be all dark around me and I got some meds and dad was watching by my side.Five in the morning the next day I opened my eyes and the crisis was over, and still I don't know, what caused that? Maybe I wasn't taking care o f myself well enough. I didn't exactly eat well. Physically I was small and weak at that time. Still, I must have been strong in other ways. I forgot about it and moved on and instead of sitting at home dwelling on things I went looking for kicks. I was running around all the time. There was like a fire inside me, and just like my dad, I got going for nothing: Like, who the hell are you? Those were tough years, I've realized that now.My dad was on a roller coaster, often totally absent or furiously mad: â€Å"You have to be home by this or that time. † â€Å"You can't fucking do that. † If you were a guy in dad's world and got in trouble, you should stand up for yourself and be a man. Not exactly some softy shit, not â€Å"I have stomach pain today. I'm a bit sad. † Nothing like that! I learned how to bite the bullet and move on, and also, don't forget that, I learned some stuff about sacrificing yourself. When we bought a new bed for me at Ikea, dad couldn't af ford the transport. It was like five hundred extra or something. So what could we do?It was simple. Dad carried the bed on his back all the way from Ikea, totally insane, mile after mile, and I walked after him with the bed headboards. Those were light, like nothing, Still I couldn't keep up with him: â€Å"Take it easy, dad, stop. † But he just walked on. He had that macho style, and sometimes he'd turn up in school at parents meetings with his cowboy thing going on. Everyone wondered: Who is that? People noticed him. He got respect, and the teachers probably didn't dare complaining about me as much as they had planned. Kinda like, we have to be careful with that guy!People have asked me: What would I be doing if I hadn't become a football player? I have no idea. But maybe I would have become a criminal. There were a lot of crimes at that time. Not like we were going out just to steal or rob. But some shit still happened, not just bikes. It was in and out of department store s also, and I often got a kick out of that. The thefts triggered me, and I should be so happy my dad never found out. He was drinking, sure, but there were still rules. You should do the right thing. And definitely not steal things, not a chance. Then he'd be pulling down the sky, sort of.But the time we were caught at Wessels department store wearing our winter jackets I was lucky. We had taken stuff worth one thousand four hundred kronor. It wasn't the ordinary stealing candy thing. But my friend's dad had to come pick us up, and when the letter arrived at home, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been arrested for theft, bla bla bla, I could tear it up before dad got to see it. I was lucky and I continued stealing, so okay, it could have ended badly. But I can say one thing for sure, it wouldn't have had anything to do with drugs. I was obviously totally against them. I didn't just pour out dad's beer. I threw away mom's cigarettes.I hated all drugs and poisons and I was seventeen or eighteen when I got drunk the first time and threw up in some stairs like any other teenager, and after that I haven't gotten drunk many times, only one collapse in a bathtub after the first scudetto with Juventus. It was Trezeguet, the snake, who pushed me into drinking shots. Me and Sanela also pushed Keki hard in Rosengard. He wasn't allowed to smoke or drink because then we'd be coming after him. It was a special thing, with my younger brother. We took care of him. With sensitive stuff he'd go to Sanela. With tougher things he'd turn to me. I stood up for him.I took responsibility. But a part from that I wasn't exactly being a saint, and I haven't always been too kind to friends and teammates. I did some aggressive things, the kind of shit that would make me go insane today if someone did it to Maxi and Vincent. But there's a fact we can't forget. I was double already back then. I was disciplined and wild, and I was figuring out philosophies about that. My thing was that I would both ta lk and perform. So, not just talking: I'm the best, who the fuck are you? Of course not, there's nothing more childish, but not either performing or saying chicken shit like the Swedish stars.I wanted to become the best while being cocky. Not that I thought I'd become a superstar or anything like that. Jesus, I came from Rosengard! But maybe those things made me a bit different. I was trouble. I was crazy. But I had character. I wasn't always in time to school. I had problems getting up in the mornings, I still do, but I did my homework, at least sometimes. Math was the easiest. Bam, bam, bam and I saw the solution. It was a bit like on the football field. Images and solutions just came to me like lightning. But I sucked at writing down the solutions so the teacher thought I cheated.I wasn't exactly the guy you'd expect doing well in school. I was more like the guy you kick out of school. Still, I really studied. I read everything before the tests, and forgot everything the day afte r. I wasn't really a bad boy. I just had trouble sitting still, and I threw some rubbers and stuff like that. I had ants in my pants. Those were turbulent years. We moved all the time, I don't really know why. But we rarely lived in one place for more than a year, and the teachers used that. You have to switch to a school near your home, they said, not because rules mattered much to them, but because they saw a chance of getting rid of me.I went to different schools all the time and had problems getting friends, and dad had was on call on his caretaker job and had his war and his drinking, and the worst thing was the tinnitus in his ears. It would be ringing in his head, and I was taking care of myself more and more, trying not to care about the chaos in my family. There was always some shit. You know, we from the Balkan are tough. My sister and her drugs had cut off contact with mom and us, and maybe that was to expect after all the fights with the drugs and rehab centers. But also my other halfsister was struck out from our family.Mom just erased her, and then I barely knew why. It was some crap about a boyfriend, a guy from Yugoslavia. Him and my sister had a fight and mom took his side for some reason, and then my sister freaked out and she and mom yelled some terrible shit at each other, and of course that wasn't good. But still, it shouldn't have been like the end of the world. It wasn't like it was the first time we were fighting in my family. But mom was proud, and I guess she and my sister got some kind of lock up. I recognize that. I don't forget things either. I remember a bad tackle for years.I remember shit that has been done to me, and I can hold grudges for a long time. But this time things went too far. We had been five siblings at mom's place, and suddenly we were only three; me, Sanela and Aleksandar, and things couldn't be repaired. They were like written in stone. The half-sis no longer belonged to us, and years went by. She was gone. But f ifteen years later her son called our mom. My half-sister had a son, a grandson to mom in other words. â€Å"Hi granny†, he said, but mom didn't want to have anything to do with him. â€Å"I'm sorry†, she said and hung up. I couldn't believe it when I heard. I felt very bad.I can't describe the feeling. I wanted to disappear. You don't act like that! Never, ever! But there is a lot of pride in my family that fucks things up for us, and I'm happy I had the football. ————————————————————————— At dad's place in Rosengard, years later CHAPTER 3 In Rosengard we had different areas (enclosures), and no area was better or worse than the other, well the one that was called the Gipsy area had a low status. But it wasn’t like all the Albanians or Turks hanged around at one place. It was the area that counted, not the country your parents where from.But you had to stay at your own area, and the area where my mom had her house was called Tornrosen. It had a swing, a playing ground, a flag pole and a football court where we played every day. Sometimes they didn’t let me play. I was to little. Then I flipped out in an instant. I hated to be left outside. I hated to lose. But still, the most important thing wasn’t winning. It was the tricks and the awesome stuff. There was a lot of â€Å"wow! Look at that! †. You could impress the guys with tricks and flicks, and you had to practice until you were the best, and often the mom’s yelled from the windows: â€Å"It’s late.The food is ready. Come inside. † â€Å"Soon, soon†, we said and continued playing, and it could get late and start raining and general chaos. But we continued playing. We never got tired and it was close spaces. You had to be quick in both head and feet, especially for m e since I was little and weak and could easily be get tackled, and I learned cool stuff all the time. I had to. Or else I wouldn’t get any â€Å"wow’s†, nothing that triggered me, and often I slept with the ball and thought of new tricks I would do the next day. It was like a movie that kept on going. My first club was MBI, Malmo Boll och idrottsforening.I was six years when I started there. Vi played on gravel behind a couple of green barracks, and I biked to the training on stolen bikes and wasn’t always that well behaved I guess. The coaches sent me home a couple of times, and I screamed and swore at them, and I heard all the time: â€Å"Pass the ball, Zlatan! †. It pissed me off, and I felt awkward. In MBI you had both foreigners and Swedes, and a lot of parents whined about my tricks from the block. I told them to go to hell and changed club several times and came to FBK Balkan, and that was something else! In MBI the Swedish dads stood and ye lled: â€Å"Come on, guys.Good work! † In Balkan it was more: â€Å"I will fuck you mother up the ass†. They were crazy Yugoslavs who smoked a lot and threw shoes around them and I thought: Wonderful, exactly like home. I belong here! The coach was a Bosnian. He had played on a high level down there in Yugoslavia, and he became some kind of a dad to us. He drove us home sometimes, and could give me a couple of Kronor to buy ice cream or sometime to straighten up my hunger. I was a goalie for a while. I don’t know why really. Maybe I had flipped out on the old goalie and said something like: â€Å"You suck, I can do this better myself†.It was probably something like that. But one game I let in a lot of goals, and then I became furious. I screamed that everyone was shit. That football was shit. That the whole world was shit, and that I would start playing hockey instead: â€Å"Hockey is a lot better, you fucking idiots! I will become a hockey pro! Go drown yourselves! † It was just that: I looked hockey up, and damn, all the stuff you needed! You had to have money. The only thing I could do was to continue with that shit sport called Football. But I stopped being a goalie and went up to the attack, and became kind of good.One day we were going to play a game. I wasn’t there and everybody was screaming: â€Å"Where’s Zlatan? Where’s Zlatan? † There was only one minute to the start, and the coach and my team mates probably wanted to kill me: â€Å"Where is he? How the fuck can be the absent from a important game like this? † But then they saw a crazy guy that biked like a idiot on a stolen bike and was riding straight towards the coach. Was that mad man going to run him over? No, just in front of the old man I stood on the brakes and ran into the field, and I guess that the coach went mad.He got sand in his eyes. He got splashed. But he let me play, and I guess we won. We were a good gang. One t ime i was punished for some other shit, and had to sit on the bench in the first half. We were down 4-0 against a snob team, Vellinge, it was us the immigrants against the good boys, there was a lot of aggression in the air and I was so pissed of that I was about to explode. How could that idiot put me on the bench? â€Å"Are you stupid? † I asked the coach. â€Å"Easy, easy, you’ll get to play soon† He let me play in the second half and I scored eight goals.We won with eight-five and mocked the snobs and sure, I was good. I was technical and saw openings in the game all the time and at block were my mom lived I had become a little champion when it came to doing the unexpected stuff on narrow spaces. But I’m still tired of all the Donald Duck characters that go around and say: I immediately saw that Zlatan would become something extra, bla bla bla. It’s like they breast fed me. He was my best friend. That’s just bullshit. Nobody saw anything . At least, not as much as they said they did afterwards. No big clubs were knocking at my door.I was a punk ass little kid. It wasn’t all: â€Å"Ohh, we must be nice to that talented little boy! † It was more: â€Å"Who let the immigrant in†? And already back then it was a lot of ups and downs. I could score eight goals in one game, just to be really bad in the next. I hanged around with a guy called Tony Flygare. We had the same home language teacher. His parents are also from Balkan and we was something of a tough guy also. He didn’t live in Rosengar, he live just outside at Vitemollegatan. We were born the same year, he was born in January and I in October, and that probably meant something.He was bigger and stronger and was seen as the bigger talent. It was a lot of Tony: â€Å"Look at him, what a player† and I stood in his shadow. Maybe it was good, what do I know. I had to be the underdog. But like I said, at the time I wasn’t a big t alent. I was a savage, a maniac, and I really didn’t get control over my temper. I continued to yell at players and referees and I changed clubs all the time. I played in Balkan. I came back to MBI and then again Balkan and then to BK Flagg. It was a mess and no one took me to training, so to speak, and sometimes I look at the parents standing there.My dad was never there, not amongst the Yugoslavs nor the Swedes, and I really don’t know what I thought. That was just the way it was. I didn’t need anyone. I had gotten used to that. But still, it pained me. I don’t know. You get used to your life, and I kept that on a distance. Dad was dad. He was hopeless. He was fantastic. He was up and down. I didn’t count on him, not like other kids counted on their parents. But still, I guess I had some hope for him. Damn, imagine if he had seen that awesome stuff, that Brazilian thing? Dad had his moments when he was extremely involved.He wanted me to become a lawyer. I can’t say that I believed in it. In my circles you didn’t become a lawyer. You did crazy stuff and dreamt of becoming the tough guy, and we really didn’t have any support from the parents either, it wasn’t all: â€Å"Should I explain the Swedish story for you? † It was all Yugoslavian music and beer cans and empty fridges and the Balkan war. But sometimes, you know, he took his time and talket about football with me and it made me happy every time. I mean, he was dad one day, and one day he said, I don’t forget it, there was something ceremonial in the air: Zlatan, it’s time for you to start playing in a big club† â€Å"What do you mean big club? † â€Å"A good team, Zlatan. Like Malmo FF†. I don’t think I really understood. What was so special with Malmo FF? I didn’t know anything about stuff like that. But I knew about the club. I had played against them with Balkan, and thought: Why not? If my dad says so. But I didn’t know where the stadium was, or anything else in the city for that matter. Malmo where close. But it was another world. I reached the age of seventeen before I went to the city central, and I didn’t understand anything about the life there.But i learned the road to the training, and it took me thirty minutes to bike there with my clothes in a plastic bag, and of course, I was nervous. In Malmo FF it was serious. It wasn’t the usual: Come and play, kid! Here you had to go on trial and take a place and I noticed at once, I wasn’t like the others, and I prepared myself to pack my stuff and go home. But on the second day, coach Nils told me: â€Å"You’re welcome to the team† â€Å"You really mean that? † I was thirteen back then, and there was a couple of foreigners there already, Tony was amongst them.Other than that there were only Swedes, somewhere Limhamn’s types, high class kids. I felt like