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The Impact Sociological Theories Have on Religion Essay

The Impact Sociological Theories Have on Religion Sociological theories are usually constructed from ideas of early sociologist through scientific research in regards to developing a better understanding of how our social world operates. By gaining this type of knowledge, sociologist can better explain (to those who are interested) the social world that we have grown accustom to, as well as make predictions of how the social world will develop and function in the future. Three are three major categories that are classified under sociological theories: functionalist theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction theory. All three of these theories are known to have an impact on social institutions such as families, healthcare,†¦show more content†¦All of these religions, or religious practices, operate to form a guide line for survival within its culture, along with providing a source of elegance, and/or harmony. Even though guide lines are known as rules, or laws, it is s till the concept of religion that provides the human race with an idea of what and how we are supposed to adhere to life’s general purpose. It helps to provide people with a greater understanding of true values and morals. Religion also supports the stipulations of why people should not life their life or conduct themselves in a certain manner, but this too, is quality that varies per religion and per society. The conflict theory is a theory that places more focus of competition, inequality, and differences in one’s perspective that others may challenge to prove their view to be beneficial, as well as accurate. Conventional wisdom suggests that religious armed conflicts are more intractable that nonreligious conflicts (Svensson, 2007). Could it be that the expectations that leads to the conflict within religion are due to perceptions that nothing is equivalent to the values that each denomination holds. As long as more than one religion exists in the world, there will always be a difference of opinion. Thus, causing a long line of debates, conflicts, and/or arguments to uphold which religion is truthfully of the correct doctrines, as well as interpretations. Also, many religions are constantly trying toShow MoreRelatedSociology as a Perspective 1332 Words   |  6 PagesSociologist argue that â€Å"the sociological perspective is a way of thinking; a form of consciousness that challenges familiar understandings of ourselves and of others, so we can critically asses the truth commonly held assumptions† (Micionis and Plummer 2008:10). This essay supports this statement by analysing and discussing the significance of sociological perspective in our everyday lives. According to Peter L. Berger sociological perspective is described as the link between societal events andRead MoreKarl Marx, Max Weber And Emile Durkheim1447 Words   |  6 PagesReligion has been, and forever will be a part of culture and society. Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emil e Durkheim are the top three most important figures in sociology; and although each of them viewed religion differently, I strongly believe that they understood its power, and demonstrated its importance to people and societies. As such, I will utilize all three of these great minds, to demonstrate religion as an important and permanent part of culture and society. Let s begin with Karl Marx, andRead MoreSexuality : The Behavioral And Sociological Theory Essay1587 Words   |  7 Pagessexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. 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In order to be able to study these influences in detail and thereby explain, analyse and predict entrepreneurial actions, economists like Schumpeter, Webber etc., proposed theories of entrepreneurship in the economic, social and psychological context. Although it is necessary to study entrepreneurs in all of thee contexts in order to develop a holistic understanding of them, this paper intends to concentrate on t he social influencesRead MoreEmile Durkheim and The Science of Sociology Essay1294 Words   |  6 Pagesat the Ecole Normale and then became the first chair of the science of Sociology in the early 1900’s. Durkheim published several works on different topics in sociology including suicide, religion, and the division of labor. Literature Review One of his many works, Le Suicide, looks into the sociological aspects of suicide. He did not want to predict individual suicide but rather to study suicide rates. He looked at it from more of a statistical and analytical method. Suicide was definedRead MoreEssay On Domestic Violence871 Words   |  4 Pages abuse and intimidation between people who are or have been in an intimate relationship. The perpetrator uses violence to control and dominate the other person. This causes fear, physical harm and/or psychological harm. Domestic violence is a violation of human rights, (the White Ribbon Australia). The domestic violence abuse includes sexual, verbal, physical, emotional, financial and psychological abuse. This essay will focus on the sociological imagination of the issue and will discuss the statisticRead MoreEssay about The Life of Emile Durkheim1371 Words   |  6 Pages a traditional Jewish ceremony held at age thirteen where a boy receives religious responsibility. He was interested in Catholicism for a short period of time but he decided to turn away from religion all together. This did not end his interest in the religion phenomena. He would continue to study religion from an agnostic stand point for the rest of his life. He began attending College d’ Epinal where he was able to skip two years of schooling and easily earn his diploma in Letters in 1874

Strategic Management and Leadership Development and Change

Question: Describe about the Report for Strategic Management and Leadership for Development and Change. Answer: Assessing monitoring and measurement techniques of change management within an organization After conducting a change management within the organization, it is essential for the top authorities and managers to monitor the changes at workplace over the course of time. It helps in understanding the mentality of the employees, their problems, and benefits with the changes occurred in the organization[1]. Monitoring of employees also facilitates the top authorities in gaining knowledge regarding employees outlook, attitude and performance after the change management has occurred. It should be done while the change process is going on within the organization as it helps in identification of places where further modification is required[2]. Based on it, further amendments can be implemented to make this change management successful across the workplace. It helps in improving the satisfaction level of employees and managers and hence their working quality and quantity both gets improved[3]. While making changes within the organization, it is important to focus on the employees at the workplace. Apart from taking decisions regarding the overall benefit of the organization's productivity and an output; it is equally necessary to take certain steps to provide comfort to employees[4]. It is because if the employees are content and satisfied with changes at the workplace, they are motivated to work better, and retention rate of employees also gets improved. So, the focus is to be given to human resources of the organization as they are one of the vital components of the organization. The changes made should be pertained to employee satisfaction and motivation to retain them within organization[5]. Both qualitative and quantitative measures are applied for judging the performance of employees. It assists the researcher in analyzing employee performance, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction, working capacity, improvements in working attitude and behaviors across the workplace[6]. The overall productivity of the organization and the rate of retention of employees clearly depict the satisfaction rate of employees. The measures applied are graphs, presentations, surveys and vivid analysis of collected information and data[7]. These measures help in better understanding of the changes that occurred within the organization and the level of success these changes have achieved among the employees. It, therefore, helps in identification of the change aspects that needs more modification or should continue within the organization[8] Figure 1: Measuring Techniques of Change Management within organization[9] Analyzing strategies for minimizing adverse effects of change Change within an organization is bound to face certain resistances from the stakeholders; that strongly impacts on the overall organizational operations and productivity. It is important for an organization to adopt strategies for minimizing the adverse effects of change[10]. One of the strategies that can be adopted for minimizing the adverse effect of change is constant monitoring of the employees working. It should be done to see whether employees are content with the change or need any other modifications for better workplace structure or culture[11]. Another method of minimizing the adverse change effect within the organization is through proper and meaningful communication. It, therefore, helps in avoiding ay miscommunication between the employees and top authorities. Proper training sessions are to be conducted within the organization to reduce the fear of employees in facing something new and unknown[12]. It is seen that some of these strategies as mentioned above have worked well, and some of them need modification. The strategies those went well with the change management are constant observation, the involvement of stakeholders, communication, usage of social media and training sessions[13]. It, therefore, involved the problems and troubles that occurred within the organization to which, appropriate solutions are given. On the other hand, the strategies like the creation of small wins, centralized decision-making process and laid back attitude towards conflict resolution were not strong enough to cope up with the change management. It may be due to improper training sessions of employees and miscommunication of the changes[14]. Force Field Analysis is a common tool that helps in systematic analyzing of diverse factors in identifying barriers or resistances in change management. It is done for understanding the reasons behind stakeholders acceptance and rejection of the changes within the organization[15]. Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are used that helps in understanding the forces that drive or restrains employees from the workplace. It is a five stepped procedure that comprises of defining a problem, defining the change objectives, identification of driving factors, identification of the restraining factors and developing a complete change strategy[16]. These steps help the organization in identifying areas of the problem after change management has occurred within the organization. A complete analysis of these processes also helps in avoiding any conflicts at the workplace and doesnt hamper the success and productivity of the organization[17]. Figure 2: Force Field analysis to identify the resistance or barriers[18] Identification of processes for reviewing the impact of change When a change has occurred within an organization, it is obvious that it will have an impact on the overall business. This impact is to be analyzed for identifying and understanding several potential consequences of change, estimation of requirements for the change and its effectiveness[19]. A change in a business process is reviewed through resource allocation, its effectiveness its application as well as through its scheduling. So, every organization should be prepared for change impact in the organization. The process of reviewing the impact of the change in an organization is a five stage process. The steps are, therefore: preparing for impact analysis, brainstorm major affected areas, identification of all areas, evaluating impacts and managing the consequences[20]. In the 1st step that is preparing for impact analysis, it is necessary to gather an alright team with correct access to information. The purpose and provided solution should be clearly defined as well as people involved in this change also need to be well-informed[21]. In the 2nd step that is brainstorming the major affected areas, the organization needs to think of the impact that change management may cause to the different departments. The 3rd step of the process is the identification of all areas those impacted by the change should be done. It, therefore, helps in mapping out the several business processes of operation as well as any modifications required to it[22]. The 4th step of the process is the evaluation of impacts on several stakeholders and businesses processes. This evaluation helps in enlisting the entire positive as well as negative impacts on organizational decisions along with its consequences. The 5th step of this process is the management of consequences as a par t of decision-making process. Several actions are to be taken that helps in managing and mitigating the consequences[23]. Figure 3: Process of reviewing the impact of change[24] After the change management has occurred, it is necessary to ensure that all departments of the organization are working well and are in harmony. McKinseys 7-S framework involves seven interdependent factors that help in improving organizational performance as well as the implementation of proposed strategy[25]. The strategy helps in maintaining as well as building competitive advantages over the competition. The structure should be well-defined to avoid confusion of the employees while reporting. The systems also include the daily activities as well as procedures for engaging the staff members[26]. In the share values, the organization's core values are shared by corporate ethics and culture. In the style and staff section, the leadership style, as well as general capabilities of the employees, are measured respectively after the change management process. The last section is skilled where actual competencies and abilities of employees are measured[27]. Figure 4: McKinseys 7-S framework[28] Analyzing results of the review In recent times, it is seen that change management is mainly focused towards organizational issues such as leadership, culture and motivation. These elements are the essential factors of an organizations success[29]. So, reviewing the results after change management has occurred within the organization is important. The review of several changes occurred within the organization signifies the levels of improvement of motivation and culture within the workplace. The hard factors like timely achievement, revenue growth, reduced cost and increased inquiries are measured through analysis of information and data[30]. The soft measures like motivation, behaviors and morale of employees and managers are measured through surveys, forums and feedback. While reviewing the hard measures like a timely achievement, it is to be seen that whether the organization has improved in is productivity as well as timely delivery of its products and services[31]. The revenue growth is measured through viewing the timely graph of its output and profit margin the organization sees after the change management. Both the graphs about before change and after the change are compared for analyzing the results. Moreover, the increased inquiries that are measured through analysis of data also shows the level of involvement of employees regarding their work[32]. It helps in estimating their level of motivation and involvement in organization growth after change management has occurred. The reduced cost also shows the maximum and effective utilization of resources. It means the resources are well allocated and is efficiently used by employees for maximum productivity[33]. On the other hand, the motivation of the employees is measured through periodic surveys and through taking feedback. It helps in understanding the employees outlook and mentality towards change management and their level of embracing it for business success[34]. The morale of the employees is also important to measure as it signifies the level of ethics, rules and regulations of employees and their adherence towards maintaining organizational culture. The behavior of the employees also needs to be measured as it helps in understanding the employees embracement towards changing behavior and culture within organization[35]. The higher satisfaction level of employees and managers clearly denotes the employees high level of encouragement and satisfaction with the organizational change management. Findings of the impact review The findings of the impact review are clearly depicted through discussion, Webinar, reporting and presentation. After the change has taken place in an organization, review of these changes is done periodically to analyze the effectiveness and demerits of the changes. It is done to provide solutions to the problems occurred during the change management[36]. Through discussion, the employees, managers, workers and top officials understand the purpose of change management and the aspects those are undergoing changes within the organization. It is an open method of communication that satisfies employees for involving them in the change. Moreover, the findings of the impacts of change management can also be done through webinars. It helps in providing new insights into the development as well as also encourages innovative ideas and framework regarding the better impact of the change[37]. It also signifies the principle behind the change and discusses the positive implementation of it in t he workplace. It also ensures that both senders and receivers have a clear understanding of the change and the communication between the two should be same without any modification. In addition to this, reporting is another method of understanding the impact of change management within the organizations. It, therefore, engages the employees and managers to adhere to the changes occurred within the organization. Any problems regarding the change management should be reported to the top authorities so that they can analyze the problems and take appropriate solutions to solve them[38]. Even more, the reporting can also be done if any of the changes is found appropriate and is easily embraced by the employees and managers; so that further modification can be done to it. Another method is providing a presentation to the employees and managers regarding the changes occurred in the organization. The graphs and diagrams are shown at the workplace regarding the troubles and positive vibes the employees have faced after the change management. It, therefore, helps in finding out certain opportunities as well as strategies for betterment and modification of the changes take n place in the organization. Through these findings, problems faced by the employees are discussed with appropriate solutions to these. It, therefore, makes the change management successful within the organization[39]. Moreover, it also reduces mistrust and disbelief of employees on the top management. Figure 5: Methods of finding impacts of change management within organizations[40] References Berlinger, L.R. and Sitkin, S.B., 2015. Paradox And Transformation-Toward A Theory Of Change In Organization And Management-Quinn, Re, Cameron, Ks. Burke, W.W., 2013. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications. Cameron, E., and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. Chang, J.F., 2016. Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC Press. Creasey, T., Jamieson, D.W., Rothwell, W.J. and Severini, G., 2016. Exploring the relationship between organization development and change management. Practicing Organization Development: Leading Transformation and Change, Fourth Edition, pp.330-337. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Davenport, T.H., 2013. Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. Doherty, B., Haugh, H. and Lyon, F., 2014. Social enterprises as hybrid organizations: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(4), pp.417-436. Frankland, R., Mitchell, C.M., Ferguson, J.D., Sziklai, A.T., Verma, A.K., Popowski, J.E. and Sturgeon, D.H., Applications In Internet Time, Llc, 2013.Integrated change management unit. U.S. Patent 8,484,111. Free, C., Phillips, G., Galli, L., Watson, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P., Patel, V. and Haines, A., 2013. The effectiveness of mobile-health technology-based health behavior change or disease management interventions for health care consumers: a systematic review. PLoS med, 10(1), p.e1001362. Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John Wiley Sons. Galvin, B.M., Lange, D. and Ashforth, B.E., 2015. Narcissistic organizational identification: Seeing oneself as central to the organization's identity.Academy of Management Review, 40(2), pp.163-181. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. pearson. Harmon, P., 2014. Business process change. Morgan Kaufmann. Hayes, J., 2014. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. He, H. and Brown, A.D., 2013. Organizational identity and organizational identification A review of the literature and suggestions for future research.Group Organization Helfat, C.E. and Peteraf, M.A., 2015. Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6), pp.831-850. Jones, D.J. and Recardo, R.J., 2013. Leading and Implementing Business Change Management: Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization: Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization. Routledge. Kerzner, H.R., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Kondalkar, V.G., 2013. Organization effectiveness and change management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. Langley, A., Smallman, C., Tsoukas, H. and Van de Ven, A.H., 2013. Process studies of change in organization and management: unveiling temporality, activity, and flow. Academy of Management Journal, 56(1), pp.1-13. Mostafavi, S., 2016. Study Effectiveness of Change Management in Government Organization (Case Study of Iran Telecommunication Company). International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS) ISSN 2356-5926, 3(1), pp.1954-1965. Paulsen, N., Callan, V.J., Ayoko, O. and Saunders, D., 2013. Transformational leadership and innovation in an RD organization experiencing major change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(3), pp.595-610. Pierce, J.R. and Aguinis, H., 2013. The too-much-of-a-good-thing effect in management. Journal of Management, 39(2), pp.313-338. Pyzdek, T. and Keller, P.A., 2014. The six sigma handbook (p. 25). McGraw-Hill Education. Rafferty, A.E., Jimmieson, N.L. and Armenakis, A.A., 2013. Change readiness a multilevel review. Journal of Management, 39(1), pp.110-135. Rei, M., 2012. Change Management: A Balanced and Blended Approach. BoDBooks on Demand. Rice, A.K., 2013. Productivity and social organization: The Ahmedabad experiment: Technical innovation, work organization and management. Routledge. Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process management. In Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Rosenbaum, D., More, E. and Steane, P., 2016. A longitudinal qualitative case study of change in nonprofits: Suggesting a new approach to the management of change. Journal of Management Organization, pp.1-18. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Rummler, G.A. and Brache, A.P., 2012. Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart. John Wiley Sons. Rushton, A., Croucher, P. and Baker, P., 2014. The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers. Samuel, K., 2013. The Effects Of Change Management in An Organization: A Case Study of National University of Rwanda (Nur). Wyno Journal of Management Business Studies, 1(1), pp.1-18. Schalock, R.L., Lee, T., Verdugo, M., Swart, K., Claes, C., van Loon, J. and Lee, C.S., 2014. An evidence-based approach to organization evaluation and change in human service organizations evaluation and program planning.Evaluation and program planning, 45, pp.110-118. Senge, P.M., 2014. The dance of change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in a learning organization. Crown Business. Speelman, E.N., Groot, J.C., Garca-Barrios, L.E., Kok, K., van Keulen, H. and Tittonell, P., 2014. From coping to adaptation to economic and institutional changetrajectories of change in land-use management and social organization in a Biosphere Reserve community, Mexico. Land Use Policy, 41, pp.31-44. Starbuck, W.H. and Hedberg, B., 2015. How organizations learn from success and failure. Available at SSRN 2708267. Turner, N., Swart, J. and Maylor, H., 2013. Mechanisms for managing ambidexterity: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(3), pp.317-332. Van der Voet, J., 2014. The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure. European Management Journal, 32(3), pp.373-382. [1] Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014.Organization development and change. Cengage learning. [2] Senge, P.M., 2014.The dance of change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in a learning organization. Crown Business. [3] Cameron, E., and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. [4] Langley, A., Smallman, C., Tsoukas, H. and Van de Ven, A.H., 2013. Process studies of change in organization and management: unveiling temporality, activity, and flow.Academy of Management Journal,56(1), pp.1-13. [5] Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. pearson. [6] Creasey, T., Jamieson, D.W., Rothwell, W.J. and Severini, G., 2016. Exploring the relationship between organization development and change management.Practicing Organization Development: Leading Transformation and Change, Fourth Edition, pp.330-337. [7] Van der Voet, J., 2014. The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure.European Management Journal,32(3), pp.373-382. [8] Hayes, J., 2014.The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. [9] Burke, W.W., 2013.Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications. [10] Speelman, E.N., Groot, J.C., Garca-Barrios, L.E., Kok, K., van Keulen, H. and Tittonell, P., 2014. From coping to adaptation to economic and institutional changetrajectories of change in land-use management and social organization in a Biosphere Reserve community, Mexico.Land Use Policy,41, pp.31-44. [11] Kondalkar, V.G., 2013.Organization effectiveness and change management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. [12] Frankland, R., Mitchell, C.M., Ferguson, J.D., Sziklai, A.T., Verma, A.K., Popowski, J.E. and Sturgeon, D.H., Applications In Internet Time, Llc, 2013.Integrated change management unit. U.S. Patent 8,484,111. [13] Berlinger, L.R. and Sitkin, S.B., 2015. Paradox And Transformation-Toward A Theory Of Change In Organization And Management-Quinn, Re, Cameron, Ks. [14] Samuel, K., 2013. The Effects Of Change Management in An Organization: A Case Study of National University of Rwanda (Nur).Wyno Journal of Management Business Studies,1(1), pp.1-18. [15] Rosenbaum, D., More, E. and Steane, P., 2016. A longitudinal qualitative case study of change in nonprofits: Suggesting a new approach to the management of change.Journal of Management Organization, pp.1-18. [16] Kerzner, H.R., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. [17] Jones, D.J. and Recardo, R.J., 2013.Leading and Implementing Business Change Management: Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization: Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization. Routledge. [18] Mostafavi, S., 2016. Study Effectiveness of Change Management in Government Organization (Case Study of Iran Telecommunication Company).International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ ISSN 2356-5926,3(1), pp.1954-1965. [19] Rei, M., 2012.Change Management: A Balanced and Blended Approach. BoDBooks on Demand. [20] Paulsen, N., Callan, V.J., Ayoko, O. and Saunders, D., 2013. Transformational leadership and innovation in an RD organization experiencing major change.Journal of Organizational Change Management,26(3), pp.595-610. [21] Schalock, R.L., Lee, T., Verdugo, M., Swart, K., Claes, C., van Loon, J. and Lee, C.S., 2014. An evidence-based approach to organization evaluation and change in human service organizations evaluation and program planning.Evaluation and program planning,45, pp.110-118. [22] Fullan, M., 2014.Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John Wiley Sons. [23] Rice, A.K., 2013.Productivity and social organization: The Ahmedabad experiment: Technical innovation, work organization and management. Routledge. [24] Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process management. InHandbook on Business Process Management 1(pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. [25] Rafferty, A.E., Jimmieson, N.L. and Armenakis, A.A., 2013. Change readiness a multilevel review.Journal of Management,39(1), pp.110-135. [26] Davenport, T.H., 2013.Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. [27] He, H. and Brown, A.D., 2013. Organizational identity and organizational identification A review of the literature and suggestions for future research.Group Organization Management,38(1), pp.3-35. [28] Free, C., Phillips, G., Galli, L., Watson, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P., Patel, V. and Haines, A., 2013. The effectiveness of mobile-health technology-based health behavior change or disease management interventions for health care consumers: a systematic review. PLoS med,10(1), p.e1001362. [29] Harmon, P., 2014.Business process change. Morgan Kaufmann. [30] Chang, J.F., 2016.Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC Press. [31] Helfat, C.E. and Peteraf, M.A., 2015. Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities.Strategic Management Journal,36(6), pp.831-850. [32] Pierce, J.R. and Aguinis, H., 2013. The too-much-of-a-good-thing effect in management.Journal of Management,39(2), pp.313-338. [33] Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. [34] Turner, N., Swart, J. and Maylor, H., 2013. Mechanisms for managing ambidexterity: A review and research agenda.International Journal of Management Reviews,15(3), pp.317-332. [35] Doherty, B., Haugh, H. and Lyon, F., 2014. Social enterprises as hybrid organizations: A review and research agenda.International Journal of Management Reviews,16(4), pp.417-436. [36] Rummler, G.A. and Brache, A.P., 2012.Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart. John Wiley Sons. [37] Pyzdek, T. and Keller, P.A., 2014.The six sigma handbook(p. 25). McGraw-Hill Education. [38] Rushton, A., Croucher, P. and Baker, P., 2014.The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers. [39] Galvin, B.M., Lange, D. and Ashforth, B.E., 2015. Narcissistic organizational identification: Seeing oneself as central to the organization's identity.Academy of Management Review,40(2), pp.163-181. [40] Starbuck, W.H. and Hedberg, B., 2015. How organizations learn from success and failure.Available at SSRN 2708267.

Malinowskis Participant-Observation in Modern Anthropology free essay sample

Where does Malinowskis conceptualization of participant-observation sit in the landscape of modern anthropological fieldwork? A primary objective of the modern ethnographer is to glean insights into the ways people relate to and interact with one another and the world around them. Through participant-observation, Malinowski (1922) offered a valuable tool with which to uncover these insights and understandings, the ethnographer. The ethnographer as research tool has become the basis of much modern anthropological research. As a method, it was a radical departure from the typical approach to fieldwork used in Malinowskis time which nvolved techniques that kept the ethnographer distanced and distinct from those they studied (McGee Warms, 2008). In his conceptualization of participant- observation, Malinowski identified three primary objectives for the fieldworker. First, to record the feel and flow of daily life as a member of the community; second, to create a framework of community organization based on a scientific perspective; and third, to collect detailed personal information particular to the community of study (Malinowski, 1922). We will write a custom essay sample on Malinowskis Participant-Observation in Modern Anthropology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These goals and methodologies remain principal to the design and analysis of modern anthropological research. However, they also raise a number of questions about the practical, paradigmatic and ethical difficulties associated with anthropological fieldwork. Discussed below are the goals identified by Malinowski, some of the issues they raise, and how they have come to be interpreted within modern anthropological practice. The premise of participant-observation draws the researcher inside the daily life of those they study, with the many small experiences, interactions, intimacies and resulting integration providing an entr ©e into cultural life not afforded the lone observer or outsider. Malinowski took great pains to ensure hat he eventually came to feel part of the tribe, an insider, Joining in himself in what is going on rather than simply recording the proceedings (Malinowski, 1922, p. 21). Achieving insider, as opposed to outsider, status within a community of study is a primary goal for many anthropologists in the field. However, the concept of a dichotomous insider/outsider positionality is a complex issue that is coming under increasing scrutiny within the field (Kirby, Greaves Reid, 2006). Malinowskis (1922) methodology of ethnographer as tool is based in two contradictory imperatives, each centered on location. First, the researcher must locate themselves intimately within the group under study in order to gain a complete and fleshed out account of community life and second, that it is not possible, when located within and as a member of a group, to have the necessary perspective to interpret community life (Malinowski, 1922). Claire Sterk (1996) challenges the ethnographer as insider viewpoint through her work with prostitutes in New York and New Jersey. Sterks own realization of her ability to extricate herself from the community and rejoin her own World, a world of safety and stability confirmed her status as outsider Sterk, 1996, p. 92). Nancy Kalow (1996) supports Malinowskis assertion of the importance of distance when analysing data. She reports her research experience something she only identified once she stepped outside of the role of participant- observer and became an observer of her data. This raises the issue of transition from participant-observer to observer/interpreter. By positioning oneself as interpreter or analyst, the researcher creates an academic distance from those they observe, voiding their participant status. Susan Krieger (1996) extends this argument hrough her experience as a functioning member of the community under study. Krieger found her membership identification did not automatically afford her insight into the group and, through her efforts to interpret data, she came to realize that she had become estranged from her participants and her study. It was only through a process of reengagement that she was able to again locate herself within the group and successfully analyze her data, a process at odds with Malinowskis second imperative (Krieger, 1996, p 183). Thus, Malinowskis ethnographer as tool is still a guiding principle of anthropological fieldwork. However, the location and position of this tool with relation to the community under study has evolved from Malinowskis limited perception of its scope. To simply be positioned right among the natives (Malinowski, 1922, p. 6) does not automatically provide the ethnographer with an insiders view. It is this realization that has shaped and is still shaping the way fieldwork in modern anthropology is approached. The focus of anthropology can also been seen to have evolved in terms of the premises upon which Malinowski based his anticipated outcomes of research when compared to those of modern ethnographers. The primary purpose of anthropological research identified by Malinowski was that of understanding tribal life objectively and scientifically, in terms of systems of social machinery and presenting this for consumption to a Western audience (Malinowski, 1922, p. 109; McGee Warms, 2008). This raises two issues apparent in modern anthropology. First, the relevance, usefulness and problematic nature of a purely objective paradigm within anthropology; and second, the motivations underlying anthropological research and fieldwork. Striving for the scientific view of things, a central tenet of Malinowskis (1922, p. ) anthropology, has been challenged by modern anthropologists. The challenge raises two primary questions. First, is it possible or useful within such a personal contextual field as anthropology to discount subjectivity as an authentic mode of analysis. Krieger (1996) identifies this as a problem inherent in the writing of social science and argues that through ethnography we are not writing about the other but, in fact, writing about the self. She also touches on the second question, from where have our acceptable scientific/ob]ective truths originated? The objective paradigm underlying ocial science denies self-expression, narrowing the scope of understanding to that ofa predominately male, middle-class, Western, academic one. This point appears to lie outside the realm of Malinowskis consideration and is indicative of his socio- historical epoch. The purpose of research for Malinowski (1922, p. 25) was to shed light on our own (Western) mentality, informing Western science and academia. While modern anthropology still endeavours to uncover systems and social structures it does so from the standpoint of advancement or empowerment of those communities it studies, not to exclusively inform Western science (Kirby, Greaves, Reid, 2006). For example, Annette Lareaus (1996) study seeks to reveal patterns of an intention to inform educational policy and effect change within schooling systems. Similarly, Sterks (1996) study of prostitutes examines the relationship between prostitution, drugs use and AIDS, searching for cross-cultural patterns in order to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. In this way, anthropology is still approached from a scientific paradigmatic orientation. However, what drives the research has changed. Considering the needs of the community, and how a study is designed to identify and ddress those needs, has become a powerful impetus for anthropological research. Thus, while modern anthropology shares a similar scientific goal with Malinowski, the goalposts have shifted. The question of who benefits from anthropological study has become an important consideration for any modern anthropological researcher (Kirby, Greaves Reid, 2006). This leads the discussion to the issue of ethics. Malinowskis (1922, p. 24) third goal involves collection of ethnographic statements to be used as documents of native mentality. These documents consist of information that is personal and belonging to those of whom he is studying. At no time during Malinowskis description of ethnographic methodology does he address the ethical issues of participant consent, or to what extent his role as researcher will affect the community he is studying. These are all areas of central importance and concern for the modern anthropologist (Kirby, Greaves Reid, 2006). Before undertaking any anthropological study, it is standard modern practice to obtain consent from those that are being studied. In her study involving school children, parents, teachers and administrators, Lareau (1996) describes in detail the difficulties nherent in this process, but also recognizes that it is a necessary component of fieldwork. The extensive trail of consent outlined by Lareau (1996) raises questions identified by Philippe Bourgois (1991) that are yet to be answered how far back does the line of consent extend? And how does consent, with regards to participant- observation, colour the relationship between observer and observed? These questions are closely related to the role of researcher and their effects on the community which are highlighted by Sterk (1996), who describes grappling with how involved she is willing to become with her participants and how involved her articipants have already become with her. One ethical dilemma identified by Sterk (1996) is that of her role as researcher and what responsibility that carries in terms of intervention. Sterk (1996) cites the dilemma of if and how to intervene when participants who are known to be sharing hypodermic needles are also HIV positive. She cannot address this ethical dilemma other than to retreat to the role of outsider, researcher, ethnographer. This problem is explored by Nancy Scheper-Hughes (1995). Through her work in the field, she raises important questions about the ethnographers role within the community. She argues that one must be willing to contribute and give back to the community, not from the perspective of what the anthropologist identifies as the needs of the community, but what the community itself identifies. These ethical questions and difficulties do not lie within the scope of Malinowskis consideration and highlight the progressive nature of ethnography as a mode of cultural and social (human) analysis. Participant-observation, as Malinowski (1922) conceptualized it, was a process through which the ethnographer entrenched themselves in the daily life and living of the community under study. To grasp the (1922, p. 23) used to summarise this approach to anthropological research. This ideology has shaped modern ethnography more than almost any other influencing factor to date and provides the framework for modern ethnography. However, Malinowskis vision is one that is situated within the colonial, ethnocentric and localized milieu of his time. Anthropology and the world as we know it today has, in many ways, moved on from a perspective that privileges a solely Western view. It now seeks a richer insight into the ways of others by situating the self as other, outsider, intruder, subject. The difficulty of becoming a true insider looms large for ny ethnographer in the field, even when the field is situated within ones own community. The scope of expected outcomes of anthropological research and ethnography has changed considerably since Malinowskis (1922) study of Trobriand Islanders. The purpose of his study can be seen as solely to inform Western culture, not as a way of informing or effecting change for those of whom he studied. Today, participant-observation and ethnography are increasingly becoming based on understanding and knowledge relating to effecting positive change within the community of study. Through ethnography the anthropologist, community and wider ocio-political powers become informed in ways that are designed to benefit those they study. Finally, an area that reveals itself through its omission from Malinowskis work is the ethical issue of subject participation in ethnographic research. The concern of ethical fieldwork has become of paramount importance within anthropological research and has serious ramifications in terms of subject consent and the changing role of researcher within the field. In conclusion, Malinowski was a man who, in many ways, was ahead of his time. His contribution to ethnographic method in anthropological research is arguably the most important thus far. However, as peoples understanding and expectation of social science and cultural difference expands, the way in which participant-observation is interpreted also expands and evolves into something that Malinowski may have found difficult to conceive. Malinowski provided a solid framework upon which todays anthropologists can weave a new interpretation to address an ever changing world of humanity. References Bourgois, P. (1991). Confronting the Ethics of Ethnography: Lessons from fieldwork in Central America. In F. Harrison (Ed. ), Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving further toward an anthropology of liberation.

Richard Rodriguez

Richard Rodriguez Theme in Hunger of Memory: Scholarship Boy Theme in Hunger of Memory: Scholarship Boy The author, Richard Rodriguez uses his education background as a central theme in his work to depict how his private life is different from his public life. He particularly revolves around language and education illustrating how they influenced his transition from childhood to adulthood. During his school years, English was enforced as the mode of communication. At his early days, he was a poor performer and this caught the attention of his teachers. However, this was not the case as he becomes a book warmer and English becomes the preferred mode of communication. The student who did not understand a single English word at the age of six, twenty years later, can proudly summarize his education career with one sentence. He progresses through life in a mindset of achievement to become a renowned individual in the same thing that he poorly performed (the English language). Being of a Spanish origin, Rodriguez quest for education tears him apart from his native culture. This is particularly seen as he laments of the success he gained at the expense of his family ties. From one level of education to the next, he would receive awards and everyone congratulated him saying â€Å"Your parents must be very proud†. This, however, made him feel guilty and sleazy as he remembered that the relationship with his parents and siblings was not that tight. He had forfeited their relationship at the expense of his education. The boy had an intimate relationship with his books. His parents were even worried about his social life. On the other hand, his siblings would make jokes about him and his reading habits. Despite his success, the author feels to have attained it in an odd way. He had the feeling that he was a bad scholarship student.   Being a member of the Spanish speaking countries, his endeavors alienated him from his cultural heritage. The members of his society felt betrayed by him acquiring formal education and his criticism to both bilingual education and affirmative action (Rodriguez 1983). Rodriguez ability of retracing his childhood memories brings to his attention the inevitable reality. School had challenged him for the better. Although it had taken him many years to come to terms with the truth, it finally hit him that the primary reason for his success in the classroom was that he enjoyed that kind of life as opposed to his former. Through this, Richard Rodriguez is able to display the power of education and extensive use of language. The hero attributes these two aspects as the greatest pillars contributing to his transition to adulthood. Although he criticizes education, he does it in a peculiar way that depicts his appreciation of the role the subject played in transforming him from the past to the present. His lack of knowledge in the subject matter during his early schooling days made him dormant and a sleeping dog in the classroom. The author, however, rose from setbacks and insecurities as a child to a strong and educated individual. Rodriguez depicts that he was to become an ugly person and had a mentality of viewing himself as ugly. As a child he struggles after the discovery that his dark completion is similar to those of poor in the streets, servants who served at his friend’s houses and various workers of the field. It was because of the education that Rodriguez begins to define himself as a respected person and stops taking into account his skin color. Despite the view from his parents and community that dark is ugly, he is able to see the difference between him and the other people whom he used to compare himself with. The difference was brought about by a change of his attitude, imagination and view of himself. The realization that the inner self is what makes him dawns on him and he determines what he can achieve. After these thoughts, the author realizes that people around him do not picture him as ugly. The change in the mindset of the author culminates the main purpose of the book. It highlights how Rodriguez attain s more confident and better person with a positive view. All these changes are primarily based on education. The theme of education is further rooted in the text as the hero depicts becoming alienated from his family as his desire for education grew. The different phases of Rodriguez life including his early days at the Catholic Church indicate the pain that he was going through as an individual. The most important point to consider is his outright rejection in the staunchest manner. This is why the author criticizes affirmative action. This is expressed in the most candid and vivid ways. However, they do not end as nobody pays attention to what the teacher has to say in the ghetto classroom. Rodriguez rejection is aimed at alleviating racial and ethnic minorities in America. Being engrossed in his educational transition, he views everyone as unable to understand him. Rodriguez argues that he experiences difficulties in separating his classroom life from that of home. The rejection can also be seen as arising from Richard. For example, when his father could not assist him with an assignment , he resolves in doing everything alone henceforth. He seems to forget that his parents had limited education and, therefore, views them as not understanding him (Marquez 1984). The more he quests for education, the more the gap between him and his family widens. From an intellectual point of view, this gap loosens the family and social values that were once held in common. The scholarship betters his life at the expense of his family and culture. The mindset that it offers clearly indicates that this is the central point of the book. The transformation of Rodriguez from a private to a public life can be attributed to the opportunities that most Americans enjoy today. This is from the affirmative action that the author criticizes. He elevates his success as a minority student and illustrates the requirements needed for attaining a successful stature in the American society. It is, however, ironical seeing, the author criticizes the very same thing that enabled him to rise to the public domain (Rivera 1984). Like majority ego-centric individuals, Rodriguez fails to see how the bilingual system has clouded his judgment and philosophy. His criticism is biased a s he speaks with contempt towards the very same nature of the Spanish culture, which he is a part of. The author tries to deny his roots and culture and his social place of America’s minorities. Rodriguez forgets he is part of the minorities that are criticized by him as a result of the success. Despite this, his appreciation of the importance of language is a vivid expression in his work. He, therefore, strives to disassociate himself with the poor class of the uneducated. From Rodriguez point of view, assimilation occurs due to the bilingual system that offered him the chance that hasn’t been prompt to many American minorities. In conclusion, Rodriquez is, however, of the view that education, success and chances that accompanied it, is the root for his alienation from his family, relations and culture. This clearly shows how the book has advanced in the exploration of the theme of education. â€Å"Haunted by the knowledge that one chooses to become a student, education is not an inevitable or natural step in growing up†. The author recounts and regrets how his choice separated him from the life once loved and enjoyed. His view indicates that he would have preferred being in the monolingual system (Sollors 1986). live CHAT

Characterize the Daily Life of a Woman in the West Essays

Characterize the Daily Life of a Woman in the West Essays Characterize the Daily Life of a Woman in the West Essay Characterize the Daily Life of a Woman in the West Essay Facts About the West- Where Are the Black Folks Or, for That Matter Where Is the Vaquero the Essential By learnings unit Three Chapter 18 Writing Assignment During the late sasss to early SASS women In the west were valued In their work In the home, on the streets and some women during this time played the same roles as men being Cowgirls. However, women mainly held their responsibilities In the home. Women played the role of a wife, a mother, a seamstress and often nurses. Their domestic duties Including gassing their children, farm work, gathering food and milk along with utilizing their sewing skills. These women had much to do while often their husband is out looking for gold, working from dusk to dawn laboring and doing the other duties that were not as common for the wives to be doing. Often there was so much work to be done in the home that women would have their children assist them with household duties and work on the farm by age nine. Women of this time spent many hours at home and away from their husbands. Labor Jobs seemed to be an excellent job during the right season. The Cowboy and the migrant worker; Mexicans, Chinese, and even African Americans would round up cattle. In return of the labor of walking thousands of miles and herding asss of cattle they would get paid a hefty amount of money. There were about 25% of black cowboys that would work as Cowboys during the years of 1870-1885. Some African Americans were so skilled that one particularly Bill Pickett being called the Greatest Cowboy winning competitions with the reputation of his tricks and stunts. Many of these cowboys during this time were making a lot of money. With the money that they would make they would often go Into town and spend or blow their money on working women. Many women now have en tired of working in the home and not feeling respected. They were tired of not being paid the amount they felt was necessary to survive. Many teens and younger unmarried women would work the streets and be paid per visit by another man, usually a cowboy. Women that were predominantly In the Mexican communities were quickly entering a new era close to the end of the century. Selling produce, working as seamstresses and laundresses was how they were able to make ends meet. However, It was shortly after when women lost status wealth the community. Mexicans found fewer options and quickly they were making below what was average pay for that time. Even though these times were tough, Mexicans still manage to preserve their heritage and religious beliefs which kept their community and heritage growing and strong. Although it appears that women mainly stayed at home, there was a portion of the population where the women fought just as hard as the men. These women built reputations of being the wildest of them all. With a quo KC craw or Just as Drive as a man, teen would ROR Tanks or ROR ten roll to gain power and support of their needs for their families. Some women were so talented that they were able to travel and put on shows like Anne Oakley. This was the new rend of what was consider a win in the war. There was entertainment and celebrations of Winning of the West. At the turn of the century, many American imagined this land as a promise for opportunities. Even with this positive movement, there were still many outlaws that fled towns and caused havoc. The outlaws played another percentage in history that included Women to be involved in. These women were also outlaws and running from the law taking their families and traveling state to state once they feared of being caught. Overall, women were still not as respected and times were still ahead of fighting to have be treated more equal.

Curriculum Development Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Curriculum Development Assignment - Essay Example Prior studies have acknowledged that GCSE students have a limited knowledge of science (i.e., concerning medicine and drugs) with no positive reception of the responsibility played by scientists ideas in guiding inquiry. Therefore, this study tests the argument that the GCSE students can make significant progress in developing a more refined, constructivist epistemology of science, if given a Kagan structure was used in school science curriculum (Kagan, 2004,p.1606). In this essay I chose to objectively discuss the Kagan structure on cooperative learning versus independent learning. In this case, the two class units taught will be medicine and drugs using the two methods to determine which one is more effective (Kagan, 2008,p.5). This will help to provide information concerning how GCSE students can further progress in methods of teaching. On the same note, the essay will helps one to identify aims of what is to be discovered and achieved. Also there will be a reflective account and discussions of findings and data analysis based on engagement, attitude and motivation. The rationale behind this Kagan structure is that those teachers who try it find it easy to make their students understand learning procedures and it also make it easier for teachers teach. Teachers confess that the structures have made more difference that any other innovation in teaching methods. Students on the other hand say that they are a fun to use while administrators report that it has led to positive outcomes to their schools and districts. In fact, the structures foster wide range of skills and virtues allowing learners to function successfully and with dignity in all in all of their life situations. This has helped in developing the whole student by inculcating thinking skills, social character and societal skills into the learners. In this regard, mission is to prepare students with the relationship

System of Structuring Cities and Understanding Interactions between Essay

System of Structuring Cities and Understanding Interactions between Individual Components within Sets - Essay Example Jane Jacobs illustrates this point most clearly in her chapter in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, â€Å"Uses of Sidewalks: Safety.† In this chapter, Jacobs attempts to analyze the ways in which sidewalks serve as a safety network for various cities. They do this in several ways, from the most basic, elevating and separating pedestrians from bikes and cars which could be dangerous to them, to much more complex systems. It is incredibly important, however, that Jacobs recognizes that the sidewalks in and of themselves do very little to create or destroy a safe environment. Jacobs indicates that people are not merely â€Å"passive beneficiaries of safety or helpless victims of danger† on sidewalks (30), but rather, everyone who participates in the interactions involved on sidewalks, from people in houses and businesses bordering the sidewalk, to the cars bordering the other side, to the pedestrians actually on the sidewalk, all have an important part to play i n keeping these sidewalks safe. She then identifies the human factors that help to keep a feeling of safety or un-safety on sidewalks. Things like high turnover of housing, little community feeling and empty streets with occasional traffic but easy access all lead to feeling (and reality) of un-safety – people are not likely to intervene on each other’s behalf and there is not a high enough mass of people and inter-person respect to provide a feeling of safety. But Jacobs is quick to point out that this safety is not merely a reflection of population density, because if it was, Los Angeles, which is nearly entirely suburban, would have a low rather than high crime rate (32). She also makes it very clear that police cannot solve this problem, and that in fact places with high police presence tend to be the most dangerous – police cannot solve the problems of unsafe cities (31). So to Jacobs the problems of creating safety in cities must rest with people – how to create public spaces in streets and sidewalks that discourage feelings of un-safety while encouraging feelings of community that create a safer environment for everyone. The idea of people being the fundamental unit of architecture appears in the works of Christopher Alexander and Le Corbusier as well, though they take almost opposite tracks to understanding how to fascilitate people’s use of cities. Both recognize very clearly that the living, breathing city is created by people – not the physical spaces, but the people that inhabit them. Alexander takes a natural view of cities, using semilattice and set theory to describe the ways a cities parts interact, through people. He strongly dislikes artificial cities, saying that there is something necessarily missing from them, and that artificial cities tend to create a â€Å"tree† system, where each component is only interrelated to each other through its connection to the whole (80). Each leaf is only conn ected to each other leaf because they are connected to the tree – not because they have any particular relationship to each other.

How Smoking in Public Places Is Harmful Essay Example for Free

How Smoking in Public Places Is Harmful Essay Many studies and surveys have been researched and prove rather or not smoking in public places can be harmful to others. Studies have proven that smoking is hazardous to our health. When the person who smokes is active that makes the person that’s near him and inhale the smoke passive smokers However, people have been smoking for many years smoking draws people in by using some type’s advertisement to draw them to smoking. Smoking is not a good habit smoking causes serious health issue to the smokers and also the people around them that inhale the smoke. Cigarette also contains ammonia and other carbons which could cause other respiratory infection and lung cancer. The particles from smoke may cause cancers, emphysema and other side affects. Blood vessels raise blood pressure and give the effects the nervous system, which can lead to reproductive disorders in the long run. Smoking in public places can be harmful to the heart by banding smoking in public places you significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks among the young people and young people and nonsmokers. Studies have proven that by banning smoking in public places that rate of people having heart attacks have been reduced by 26 percent per year. Studies have really proven that smoking in public places can be harmful to our health in many ways even breathing in low doses of cigarette smoke can increase one’s risk of heart attack. Second hand smoke really increases the chance o heart attacks. Smoking in public places is not only harmful for people that don’t smoke nut harmful, to young children and older people. Second hand smoke is extremely harmful to older people and young children. Smoking can be dangerous and deadly rather it’s first hand or second hand smoke the laws banning smoking might convince some people to quit smoking. In conclusion smoking in the public really causes bad health issues. Heart attacks, strokes and other health problem. Smoking cigarettes can be deadly. Cigarettes are known as the silently killer. Smoking should be banned in some public places to help prevent heart attacks and other health issues. Studies have researched and shown how smoking in public places can be harmful to your health.

Protestantism vs. Catholicism in XVII Century England :: Religion Essays

Protestantism vs. Catholicism in XVII Century England â€Å"The English nation grew increasingly more Protestant during the XVII century, while the monarchy moved ever closer to Rome.† The keen train spotter—spotting trains of thought rather than locomotives—will certainly spot a good deal of redundancy in this unequivocal statement, for it is, beyond doubt, a proclamation framed by the historian rather than the philosopher. The Stuarts—certainly some more than others—were Catholics not in the manner that Henry VIII took his mid-life faith, but rather in the manner that Elizabeth was always a Protestant. Similarly, the general population of the land viewed their faith as they viewed their nation: with pride. We should perhaps initially note that religion was, to those of the 17th century, something cognate to sex to the present day paramour, charity to the philanthropist, money to the niggard: it was a serious business. In the seventeenth century, Protestantism in England was as safe as houses: secure with a firm chronological and doctrinal and popular foundation. Within the larger European context, however, the established National religion was exposed to the rigours of Catholic tempest and seemed far from fixed. It is in this respect that we might tackle the monarchical populous split. The English Restoration was no minor re-establishment of monarchy: it was rather a restatement of the national character. Regicide was abhorrent to most—we need only peruse the emotive power of Macbeth or Hamlet to gain some understanding of the general sentiment—and the execution of Charles I was an extreme act of an extreme sub-minority. The arrival of Charles II, therefore, was not only a restoration of the natural and Godly order, but, in effect, an appeasement of the national conscience; a way to bury the crisis of revolution once and for all. With so much at stake, it was no simple task to recreate the circumstances of the revolution, but this is precisely what Charles II and James II managed. It is certainly an oversimplification to suggest that this came about solely from religious discord, but similarly it is erroneous to suggest that this was not—if we might resort to religious terminology—the â€Å"prime mover.† Charles II had spent mu ch of his life upon the continent, and was, therefore, more a continental than an Englishman. In terms of religion, particularly, his views were consummately European: cosmopolitan and decidedly Catholic.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER TEN

Around nine o'clock, a pickup came down the driveway and parked behind my Chevrolet. The truck was new a Dodge Ram so clean and chrome-shiny it looked as if the ten-day plates had just come off that morning but it was the same shade of off-white as the last one and the sign on the driver's door was the one I remembered: WILLIAM ‘BILL' DEAN CAMP CHECKING CARETAKING LIGHT CARPENTRY, plus his telephone number. I went out on the back stoop to meet him, coffee cup in my hand. ‘Mike!' Bill cried, climbing down from behind the wheel. Yankee men don't hug that's a truism you can put right up there with tough guys don't dance and real men don't eat quiche but Bill pumped my hand almost hard enough to slop coffee from a cup that was three-quarters empty, and gave me a hearty clap on the back. His grin revealed a splendidly blatant set of false teeth the kind which used to be called Roebuckers, because you got them from the catalogue. It occurred to me in passing that my ancient interlocutor from the Lakeview General Store could have used a pair. It certainly would have improved mealtimes for the nosy old fuck. ‘Mike, you're a sight for sore eyes!' ‘Good to see you, too,' I said, grinning. Nor was it a false grin; I felt all right. Things with the power to scare the living shit out of you on a thundery midnight in most cases seem only interesting in the bright light of a summer morning. ‘You're looking well, my friend.' It was true. Bill was four years older and a little grayer around the edges, but otherwise the same. Sixty-five? Seventy? It didn't matter. There was no waxy look of ill health about him, and none of the falling-away in the face, principally around the eyes and in the cheeks, that I associate with encroaching infirmity. ‘So're you,' he said, letting go of my hand. ‘We was all so sorry about Jo, Mike. Folks in town thought the world of her. It was a shock, with her so young. My wife asked if I'd give you her condolences special. Jo made her an afghan the year she had the pneumonia, and Yvette ain't never forgot it.' ‘Thanks,' I said, and my voice wasn't quite my own for a moment or two. It seemed that on the TR my wife was hardly dead at all. ‘And thank Yvette, too.' ‘Yuh. Everythin okay with the house? Other'n the air conditioner, I mean. Buggardly thing! Them at the Western Auto promised me that part last week, and now they're saying maybe not until August first.' ‘It's okay. I've got my Powerbook. If I want to use it, the kitchen table will do fine for a desk.' And I would want to use it so many crosswords, so little time. ‘Got your hot water okay?' ‘All that's fine, but there is one problem.' I stopped. How did you tell your caretaker you thought your house was haunted? Probably there was no good way; probably the best thing to do was to go at it head-on. I had questions, but I didn't want just to nibble around the edges of the subject and be coy. For one thing, Bill would sense it. He might have bought his false teeth out of a catalogue, but he wasn't stupid. ‘What's on your mind, Mike? Shoot.' ‘I don't know how you're going to take this, but ‘ He smiled in the way of a man who suddenly understands and held up his hand. ‘Guess maybe I know already.' ‘You do?' I felt an enormous sense of relief and I could hardly wait to find out what he had experienced in Sara, perhaps while checking for dead lightbulbs or making sure the roof was holding the snow all right. ‘What did you hear?' ‘Mostly what Royce Merrill and Dickie Brooks have been telling,' he said. ‘Beyond that, I don't know much. Me and mother's been in Virginia, remember. Only got back last night around eight o'clock. Still, it's the big topic down to the store.' For a moment I remained so fixed on Sara Laughs that I had no idea what he was talking about. All I could think was that folks were gossiping about the strange noises in my house. Then the name Royce Merrill clicked and everything else clicked with it. Merrill was the elderly possum with the gold-headed cane and the salacious wink. Old Four-Teeth. My caretaker wasn't talking about ghostly noises; he was talking about Mattie Devore. ‘Let's get you a cup of coffee,' I said. ‘I need you to tell me what I'm stepping in here.' When we were seated on the deck, me with fresh coffee and Bill with a cup of tea (‘Coffee burns me at both ends these days,' he said), I asked him first to tell me the Royce Merrill-Dickie Brooks version of my encounter with Mattie and Kyra. It turned out to be better than I had expected. Both old men had seen me standing at the side of the road with the little girl in my arms, and they had observed my Chevy parked halfway into the ditch with the driver's-side door open, but apparently neither of them had seen Kyra using the white line of Route 68 as a tightrope. As if to compensate for this, however, Royce claimed that Mattie had given me a big my hero hug and a kiss on the mouth. ‘Did he get the part about how I grabbed her by the ass and slipped her some tongue?' I asked. Bill grinned. ‘Royce's imagination ain't stretched that far since he was fifty or so, and that was forty or more year ago.' ‘I never touched her.' Well . . . there had been that moment when the back of my hand went sliding along the curve of her breast, but that had been inadvertent, whatever the young lady herself might think about it. ‘Shite, you don't need to tell me that,' he said. ‘But . . . ‘ He said that but the way my mother always had, letting it trail off on its own, like the tail of some ill-omened kite. ‘But what?' ‘You'd do well to keep your distance from her,' he said. ‘She's nice enough almost a town girl, don't you know but she's trouble.' He paused. ‘No, that ain't quite fair to her. She's in trouble.' ‘The old man wants custody of the baby, doesn't he?' Bill set his teacup down on the deck rail and looked at me with his eyebrows raised. Reflections from the lake ran up his cheek in ripples, giving him an exotic look. ‘How'd you know?' ‘Guesswork, but of the educated variety. Her father-in-law called me Saturday night during the fireworks. And while he never came right out and stated his purpose, I doubt if Max Devore came all the way back to TR-90 in western Maine to repo his daughter-in-law's Jeep and trailer. So what's the story, Bill?' For several moments he only looked at me. It was almost the look of a man who knows you have contracted a serious disease and isn't sure how much he ought to tell you. Being looked at that way made me profoundly uneasy. It also made me feel that I might be putting Bill Dean on the spot. Devore had roots here, after all. And, as much as Bill might like me, I didn't. Jo and I were from away. It could have been worse it could have been Massachusetts or New York but Derry, although in Maine, was still away. ‘Bill? I could use a little navigational help if you ‘ ‘You want to stay out of his way,' he said. His easy smile was gone. ‘The man's mad.' For a moment I thought Bill only meant Devore was pissed off at me, and then I took another look at his face. No, I decided, he didn't mean pissed off; he had used the word ‘mad' in the most literal way. ‘Mad how?' I asked. ‘Mad like Charles Manson? Like Hannibal Lecter? How?' ‘Say like Howard Hughes,' he said. ‘Ever read any of the stories about him? The lengths he'd go to to get the things he wanted? It didn't matter if it was a special kind of hot dog they only sold in L.A. or an airplane designer he wanted to steal from Lockheed or Mcdonnell-Douglas, he had to have what he wanted, and he wouldn't rest until it was under his hand. Devore is the same way. He always was even as a boy he was willful, according to the stories you hear in town. ‘My own dad had one he used to tell. He said little Max Devore broke into Scant Larribee's tack-shed one winter because he wanted the Flexible Flyer Scant give his boy Scooter for Christmas. Back around 1923, this would have been. Devore cut both his hands on broken glass, Dad said, but he got the sled. They found him near midnight, sliding down Sugar Maple Hill, holding his hands up to his chest when he went down. He'd bled all over his mittens and his snowsuit. There's other stories you'll hear about Maxie Devore as a kid if you ask you'll hear fifty different ones and some may even be true. That one about the sled is true, though. I'd bet the farm on it. Because my father didn't lie. It was against his religion.' ‘Baptist?' ‘Nosir, Yankee.' ‘1923 was many moons ago, Bill. Sometimes people change.' ‘Ayuh, but mostly they don't. I haven't seen Devore since he come back and moved into Warrington's, so I can't say for sure, but I've heard things that make me think that if he has changed, it's for the worse. He didn't come all the way across the country 'cause he wanted a vacation. He wants the kid. To him she's just another version of Scooter Larribee's Flexible Flyer. And my strong advice to you is that you don't want to be the window-glass between him and her.' I sipped my coffee and looked out at the lake. Bill gave me time to think, scraping one of his workboots across a splatter of birdshit on the boards while I did it. Crowshit, I reckoned; only crows crap in such long and exuberant splatters. One thing seemed absolutely sure: Mattie Devore was roughly nine miles up Shit Creek with no paddle. I'm not the cynic I was at twenty is anyone? but I wasn't naive enough or idealistic enough to believe the law would protect Ms. Doublewide against Mr. Computer . . . not if Mr. Computer decided to play dirty. As a boy he'd taken the sled he wanted and gone sliding by himself at midnight, bleeding hands not a concern. And as a man? An old man who had been getting every sled he wanted for the last forty years or so? ‘What's the story with Mattie, Bill? Tell me.' It didn't take him long. Country stories are, by and large, simple stories. Which isn't to say they're not often interesting. Mattie Devore had started life as Mattie Stanchfield, not quite from the TR but from just over the line in Motton. Her father had been a logger, her mother a home beautician (which made it, in a ghastly way, the perfect country marriage). There were three kids. When Dave Stanch-field missed a curve over in Lovell and drove a fully loaded pulptruck into Kewadin Pond, his widow ‘kinda lost heart,' as they say. She died soon after. There had been no insurance, other than what Stanchfield had been obliged to carry on his Jimmy and his skidder. Talk about your Brothers Grimm, huh? Subtract the Fisher-Price toys behind the house, the two pole hairdryers in the basement beauty salon, the old rustbucket Toyota in the driveway, and you were right there: Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her three children. Mattie is the princess of the piece poor but beautiful (that she was beautiful I could personally testify). Now enter the prince. In this case he's a gangly stuttering redhead named Lance Devore. The child of Max Devore's sunset years. When Lance met Mattie, he was twenty-one. She had just turned seventeen. The meeting took place at Warrington's, where Mattie had landed a summer job as a waitress. Lance Devore was staying across the lake on the Upper Bay, but on Tuesday nights there were pickup softball games at Warrington's, the townies against the summer folks, and he usually canoed across to play. Softball is a great thing for the Lance Devores of the world; when you're standing at the plate with a bat in your hands, it doesn't matter if you're gangly. And it sure doesn't matter if you stutter. ‘He confused em quite considerable over to Warrington's,' Bill said. ‘They didn't know which team he belonged on the Locals or the Aways. Lance didn't care; either side was fine with him. Some weeks he'd play for one, some weeks t'other. Either one was more than happy to have him, too, as he could hit a ton and field like an angel. They'd put him at first base a lot because he was tall, but he was really wasted there. At second or shortstop . . . my! He'd jump and twirl around like that guy Noriega.' ‘You might mean Nureyev,' I said. He shrugged. ‘Point is, he was somethin to see. And folks liked him. He fit in. It's mostly young folks that play, you know, and to them it's how you do, not who you are. Besides, a lot of em don't know Max Devore from a hole in the ground.' ‘Unless they read The Wall Street Journal and the computer magazines,† I said. ‘In those, you run across the name Devore about as often as you run across the name of God in the Bible.' ‘No foolin?' ‘Well, I guess that in the computer magazines God is more often spelled Gates, but you know what I mean.' ‘I s'pose. But even so, it's been sixty-five years since Max Devore spent any real time on the TR. You know what happened when he left, don't you?' ‘No, why would I?' He looked at me, surprised. Then a kind of veil seemed to fall over his eyes. He blinked and it cleared. ‘Tell you another time it ain't no secret but I need to be over to the Harrimans' by eleven to check their sump-pump. Don't want to get sidetracked. Point I was tryin to make is just this: Lance Devore was accepted as a nice young fella who could hit a softball three hundred and fifty feet into the trees if he struck it just right. There was no one old enough to hold his old man against him not at Warrington's on Tuesday nights, there wasn't and no one held it against him that his family had dough, either. Hell, there are lots of wealthy people here in the summer. You know that. None worth as much as Max Devore, but being rich is only a matter of degree.' That wasn't true, and I had just enough money to know it. Wealth is like the Richter scale-once you pass a certain point, the jumps from one level to the next aren't double or triple but some amazing and ruinous multiple you don't even want to think about. Fitzgerald had it straight, although I guess he didn't believe his own insight: the very rich are different from you and me. I thought of telling Bill that, and decided to keep my mouth shut. He had a sump-pump to fix. Kyra's parents met over a keg of beer stuck in a mudhole. Mattie was running the usual Tuesday-night keg out to the softball field from the main building on a handcart. She'd gotten it most of the way from the restaurant wing with no trouble, but there had been heavy rain earlier in the week, and the cart finally bogged down in a soft spot. Lance's team was up, and Lance was sitting at the end of the bench, waiting his turn to hit. He saw the girl in the white shorts and blue Warrington's polo shirt struggling with the bogged handcart, and got up to help her. Three weeks later they were inseparable and Mattie was pregnant; ten weeks later they were married; thirty-seven months later, Lance Devore was in a coffin, done with softball and cold beer on a summer evening, done with what he called ‘woodsing,' done with fatherhood, done with love for the beautiful princess. Just another early finish, hold the happily-ever-after. Bill Dean didn't describe their meeting in any detail; he only said, ‘They met at the field she was runnin out the beer and he helped her out of a boghole when she got her handcart stuck.' Mattie never said much about that part of it, so I don't know much. Except I do . . . and although some of the details might be wrong, I'd bet you a dollar to a hundred 1 got most of them right. That was my summer for knowing things I had no business knowing. It's hot, for one thing '94 is the hottest summer of the decade and July is the hottest month of the summer. President Clinton is being upstaged by Newt and the Republicans. Folks are saying old Slick Willie may not even run for a second term. Boris Yeltsin is reputed to be either dying of heart disease or in a dry-out clinic. The Red Sox are looking better than they have any right to. In Derry, Johanna Arlen Noonan is maybe starting to feel a little whoopsy in the morning. If so, she does not speak of it to her husband. I see Mattie in her blue polo shirt with her name sewn in white script above her left breast. Her white shorts make a pleasing contrast to her tanned legs. I also see her wearing a blue gimme cap with the red W for Warrington's above the long bill. Her pretty dark-blonde hair is pulled through the hole at the back of the cap and falls to the collar of her shirt. I see her trying to yank the handcart out of the mud without upsetting the keg of beer. Her head is down; the shadow thrown by the bill of the cap obscures all of her face but her mouth and small set chin. ‘Luh-let m-me h-h-help,' Lance says, and she looks up. The shadow cast by the cap's bill falls away, he sees her big blue eyes the ones she'll pass on to their daughter. One look into those eyes and the war is over without a single shot fired; he belongs to her as surely as any young man ever belonged to any young woman. The rest, as they say around here, was just courtin. The old man had three children, but Lance was the only one he seemed to care about. (‘Daughter's crazier'n a shithouse mouse,' Bill said matter-of-factly. ‘In some laughin academy in California. Think I heard she caught her a cancer, too.') The fact that Lance had no interest in computers and software actually seemed to please his father. He had another son who was capable of running the business. In another way, however, Lance Devore's older half-brother wasn't capable at all: there would be no grandchildren from that one. ‘Rump-wrangler,' Bill said. ‘Understand there's a lot of that going around out there in California.' There was a fair amount of it going around on the TR, too, I imagined, but thought it not my place to offer sexual instruction to my caretaker. Lance Devore had been attending Reed College in Oregon, majoring in forestry the kind of guy who falls in love with green flannel pants, red suspenders, and the sight of condors at dawn. A Brothers Grimm woodcutter, in fact, once you got past the academic jargon. In the summer between his junior and senior years, his father had summoned him to the family compound in Palm Springs, and had presented him with a boxy lawyer's suitcase crammed with maps, aerial photos, and legal papers. These had little order that Lance could see, but I doubt that he cared. Imagine a comic-book collector given a crate crammed with rare old copies of Donald Duck. Imagine a movie collector given the rough cut of a never-released film starring Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe. Then imagine this avid young forester realizing that his father owned not just acres or square miles in the vast unincorporated forests of western Maine, but entire realms. Although Max Devore had left the TR in 1933, he'd kept a lively interest in the area where he'd grown up, subscribing to area newspapers and getting magazines such as Down East and the Maine Times. In the early eighties, he had begun to buy long columns of land just east of the Maine-New Hampshire border. God knew there had been plenty for sale; the paper companies which owned most of it had fallen into a recessionary pit, and many had become convinced that their New England holdings and operations would be the best place to begin retrenching. So this land, stolen from the Indians and clear-cut ruthlessly in the twenties and fifties, came into Max Devore's hands. He might have bought it just because it was there, a good bargain he could afford to take advantage of. He might have bought it as a way of demonstrating to himself that he had really survived his childhood; had, in point of fact, triumphed over it. Or he might have bought it as a toy for his beloved younger son. In the years when Devore was making his major land purchases in western Maine, Lance would have been just a kid . . . but old enough for a perceptive father to see where his interests were tending. Devore asked Lance to spend the summer of 1994 surveying purchases which were, for the most part, already ten years old. He wanted the boy to put the paperwork in order, but he wanted more than that he wanted Lance to make sense of it. It wasn't a land-use recommendation he was looking for, exactly, although I guess he would have listened if Lance had wanted to make one; he simply wanted a sense of what he had purchased. Would Lance take a summer in western Maine trying to find out what his sense of it was? At a salary of two or three thousand dollars a month? I imagine Lance's reply was a more polite version of Buddy Jellison's ‘Does a crow shit in the pine tops?' The kid arrived in June of 1994 and set up shop in a tent on the far side of Dark Score Lake. He was due back at Reed in late August. Instead, though, he decided to take a year's leave of absence. His father wasn't pleased. His father smelled what he called ‘girl trouble.' ‘Yeah, but it's a damned long sniff from California to Maine,' Bill Dean said, leaning against the driver's door of his truck with his sunburned arms folded. ‘He had someone a lot closer than Palm Springs doin his sniffin for him.' ‘What are you talking about?' I asked. †Bout talk. People do it for free, and most are willing to do even more if they're paid.' ‘People like Royce Merrill?' ‘Royce might be one,' he agreed, ‘but he wouldn't be the only one. Times around here don't go between bad and good; if you're a local, they mostly go between bad and worse. So when a guy like Max Devore sends a guy out with a supply of fifty- and hundred-dollar bills . . . ‘ ‘Was it someone local? A lawyer?' Not a lawyer; a real-estate broker named Richard Osgood (‘a greasy kind of fella' was Bill Dean's judgment of him) who denned and did business in Motton. Eventually Osgood had hired a lawyer from Castle Rock. The greasy fella's initial job, when the summer of '94 ended and Lance Devore remained on the TR, was to find out what the hell was going on and put a stop to it. ‘And then?' I asked. Bill glanced at his watch, glanced at the sky, then centered his gaze on me. He gave a funny little shrug, as if to say, ‘We're both men of the world, in a quiet and settled sort of way you don't need to ask a silly question like that.' ‘Then Lance Devore and Mattie Stanchfield got married in the Grace Baptist Church right up there on Highway 68. There were tales made the rounds about what Osgood might've done to keep it from comin off I heard he even tried to bribe Reverend Gooch into refusin to hitch em, but I think that's stupid, they just would have gone someplace else. ‘Sides, I don't see much sense in repeating what I don't know for sure.' Bill unfolded an arm and began to tick items off on the leathery fingers of his right hand. ‘They got married in the middle of September, 1994, I know that.' Out popped the thumb. ‘People looked around with some curiosity to see if the groom's father would put in an appearance, but he never did.' Out popped the forefinger. Added to the thumb, it made a pistol. ‘Mattie had a baby in April of '95, making the kiddie a dight premature . . . but not enough to matter. I seen it in the store with my own eyes when it wasn't a week old, and it was just the right size.' Out with the second finger. ‘I don't know that Lance Devore's old man absolutely refused to help em financially, but I do know they were living in that trailer down below Dickie's Garage, and that makes me think they were havin a pretty hard skate.' ‘Devore put on the choke-chain,' I said. ‘It's what a guy used to getting his own way would do . . . but if he loved the boy the way you seem to think, he might have come around.' ‘Maybe, maybe not.' He glanced at his watch again. ‘Let me finish up quick and get out of your sunshine . . . but you ought to hear one more little story, because it really shows how the land lies. ‘In July of last year, less'n a month before he died, Lance Devore shows up at the post-office counter in the Lakeview General. He's got a manila envelope he wants to send, but first he needs to show Carla DeCinces what's inside. She said he was all fluffed out, like daddies sometimes get over their kids when they're small.' I nodded, amused at the idea of skinny, stuttery Lance Devore all fluffed out. But I could see it in my mind's eye, and the image was also sort of sweet. ‘It was a studio pitcher they'd gotten taken over in the Rock. Showed the kid . . . what's her name? Kayla?' ‘Kyra.' ‘Ayuh, they call em anything these days, don't they? It showed Kyra sittin in a big leather chair, with a pair of joke spectacles on her little snub of a nose, lookin at one of the aerial photos of the woods over across the lake in TR-100 or TR-110 part of what the old man had picked up, anyway. Carla said the baby had a surprised look on her face, as if she hadn't suspected there could be so much woods in the whole world. Said it was awful cunnin, she did.' ‘Cunnin as a cat a-runnin,' I murmured. ‘And the envelope Registered, Express Mail was addressed to Maxwell Devore, in Palm Springs, California.' ‘Leading you to deduce that the old man either thawed enough to ask for a picture of his only grandchild, or that Lance Devore thought a picture might thaw him.' Bill nodded, looking as pleased as a parent whose child has managed a difficult sum. ‘Don't know if it did,' he said. ‘Wasn't enough time to tell, one way or the other. Lance had bought one of those little satellite dishes, like what you've got here. There was a bad storm the day he put it up hail, high wind, blowdowns along the lakeshore, lots of lightnin. That was along toward evening. Lance put his dish up in the afternoon, all done and safe, except around the time the storm commenced he remembered he'd left his socket wrench on the trailer roof. He went up to get it so it wouldn't get all wet n rusty ‘ ‘He was struck by lightning? Jesus, Bill!' ‘Lightnin struck, all right, but it hit across the way. You go past the place where Wasp Hill Road runs into 68 and you'll see the stump of the tree that stroke knocked over. Lance was comin down the ladder with his socket wrench when it hit. If you've never had a lightnin bolt tear right over your head, you don't know how scary it is it's like havin a drunk driver veer across into your lane, headed right for you, and then swing back onto his own side just in time. Close lightnin makes your hair stand up makes your damned prick stand up. It's apt to play the radio on your steel fillins, it makes your ears hum, and it makes the air taste roasted. Lance fell off the ladder. If he had time to think anything before he hit the ground, I bet he thought he was electrocuted. Poor boy. He loved the TR, but it wasn't lucky for him.' ‘Broke his neck?' ‘Ayuh. With all the thunder, Mattie never heard him fall or yell or anything. She looked out a minute or two later when it started to hail and he still wasn't in. And there he was, layin on the ground and lookin up into the friggin hail with his eyes open.' Bill looked at his watch one final time, then swung open the door to his truck. ‘The old man wouldn't come for their weddin, but he came for his son's funeral and he's been here ever since. He didn't want nawthin to do with the young woman ‘ ‘But he wants the kid,' I said. It was no more than what I already knew, but I felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach just the same. Don't talk about this, Mattie had asked me on the morning of the Fourth. It's not a good time for Ki and me. ‘How far along in the process has he gotten?' ‘On the third turn and headin into the home stretch, I sh'd say. There'll be a hearin in Castle County Superior Court, maybe later this month, maybe next. The judge could rule then to hand the girl over, or put it off until fall. I don't think it matters which, because the one thing that's never going to happen on God's green earth is a rulin in favor of the mother. One way or another, that little girl is going to grow up in California.† Put that way, it gave me a very nasty little chill. Bill slid behind the wheel of his truck. ‘Stay out of it, Mike,' he said. ‘Stay away from Mattie Devore and her daughter. And if you get called to court on account of seem the two of em on Saturday, smile a lot and say as little as you can.' ‘Max Devore's charging that she's unfit to raise the child.' ‘Ayuh.' ‘Bill, I saw the child, and she's fine.' He grinned again, but this time there was no amusement in it. †Magine she is. But that's not the point. Stay clear of their business, old boy. It's my job to tell you that; with Jo gone, I guess I'm the only caretaker you got.' He slammed the door of his Ram, started the engine, reached for the gearshift, then dropped his hand again as something else occurred to him. ‘If you get a chance, you ought to look for the owls.' ‘What owls?' ‘There's a couple of plastic owls around here someplace. They might be in y'basement or out in Jo's studio. They come in by mail-order the fall before she passed on.' ‘The fall of 1993?' ‘Ayuh.' ‘That can't be right.' We hadn't used Sara in the fall of 1993. †Tis, though. I was down here puttin on the storm doors when Jo showed up. We had us a natter, and then the UPS truck come. I lugged the box into the entry and had a coffee I was still drinkin it then while she took the owls out of the carton and showed em off to me. Gorry, but they looked real! She left not ten minutes after. It was like she'd come down to do that errand special, although why anyone'd drive all the way from Derry to take delivery of a couple of plastic owls I don't know.' ‘When in the fall was it, Bill? Do you remember?' ‘Second week of November,' he said promptly. ‘Me n the wife went up to Lewiston later that afternoon, to ‘Vette's sister's. It was her birthday. On our way back we stopped at the Castle Rock Agway so ‘Vette could get her Thanksgiving turkey.' He looked at me curiously. ‘You really didn't know about them owls?' ‘No.' ‘That's a touch peculiar, wouldn't you say?' ‘Maybe she told me and I forgot,' I said. ‘I guess it doesn't matter much now in any case.' Yet it seemed to matter. It was a small thing, but it seemed to matter. ‘Why would Jo want a couple of plastic owls to begin with?' ‘To keep the crows from shittin up the woodwork, like they're doing out on your deck. Crows see those plastic owls, they veer off.' I burst out laughing in spite of my puzzlement . . . or perhaps because of it. ‘Yeah? That really works?' ‘Ayuh, long's you move em every now and then so the crows don't get suspicious. Crows are just about the smartest birds going, you know. You look for those owls, save yourself a lot of mess.' ‘I will,' I said. Plastic owls to scare the crows away it was exactly the sort of knowledge Jo would come by (she was like a crow herself in that way, picking up glittery pieces of information that happened to catch her interest) and act upon without bothering to tell me. All at once I was lonely for her again missing her like hell. ‘Good. Some day when I've got more time, we'll walk the place all the way around. Woods too, if you want. I think you'll be satisfied.' ‘I'm sure I will. Where's Devore staying?' The bushy eyebrows went up. ‘Warrington's. Him and you's practically neighbors. I thought you must know.' I remembered the woman I'd seen black bathing-suit and black shorts somehow combining to give her an exotic cocktail-party look and nodded. ‘I met his wife.' Bill laughed heartily enough at that to feel in need of his handkerchief. He fished it off the dashboard (a blue paisley thing the size of a football pennant) and wiped his eyes. ‘What's so funny?' I asked. ‘Skinny woman? White hair? Face sort of like a kid's Halloween mask?' It was my turn to laugh. ‘That's her.' ‘She ain't his wife, she's his whatdoyoucallit, personal assistant. Rogette Whitmore is her name.' He pronounced it ro-GET, with a hard G. ‘Devore's wives're all dead. The last one twenty years.' ‘What kind of name is Rogette? French?' ‘California,' he said, and shrugged as if that one word explained everything. ‘There's people in town scared of her.' ‘Is that so?' ‘Ayuh.' Bill hesitated, then added with one of those smiles we put on when we want others to know that we know we're saying something silly: ‘Brenda Meserve says she's a witch.' ‘And the two of them have been staying at Warrington's almost a year?' ‘Ayuh. The Whitmore woman comes n goes, but mostly she's been here. Thinkin in town is that they'll stay until the custody case is finished off, then all go back to California on Devore's private jet. Leave Osgood to sell Warrington's, and ‘ ‘Sell it? What do you mean, sell it?' ‘I thought you must know,' Bill said, dropping his gearshift into drive. ‘When old Hugh Emerson told Devore they closed the lodge after Thanksgiving, Devore told him he had no intention of moving. Said he was comfortable right where he was and meant to stay put.' ‘He bought the place.' I had been by turns surprised, amused, and angered over the last twenty minutes, but never exactly dumbfounded. Now I was. ‘He bought Warrington's Lodge so he wouldn't have to move to Lookout Rock Hotel over in Castle View, or rent a house.' ‘Ayuh, so he did. Nine buildins, includin the main lodge and The Sunset Bar; twelve acres of woods, a six-hole golf course, and five hundred feet of shorefront on The Street. Plus a two-lane bowlin alley and a softball field. Four and a quarter million. His friend Osgood did the deal and Devore paid with a personal check. I wonder how he found room for all those zeros. See you, Mike.' With that he backed up the driveway, leaving me to stand on the stoop, looking after him with my mouth open. Plastic owls. Bill had told me roughly two dozen interesting things in between peeks at his watch, but the one which stayed on top of the pile was the fact (and I did accept it as a fact; he had been too positive for me not to) that Jo had come down here to take delivery on a couple of plastic goddam owls. Had she told me? She might have. I didn't remember her doing so, and it seemed to me that I would have, but Jo used to claim that when I got in the zone it was no good to tell me anything; stuff went in one ear and out the other. Sometimes she'd pin little notes errands to run, calls to make to my shirt, as if I were a first-grader. But wouldn't I recall if she'd said ‘I'm going down to Sara, hon, UPS is delivering something I want to receive personally, interested in keeping a lady company?' Hell wouldn't I have gone? I always liked an excuse to go to the TR. Except I'd been working on that screenplay . . . and maybe pushing it a little . . . notes pinned to the sleeve of my shirt . . . If you go out when you're finished, we need milk and orange juice . . . I inspected what little was left of Jo's vegetable garden with the July sun beating down on my neck and thought about owls, the plastic god-dam owls. Suppose Jo had told me she was coming down here to Sara Laughs? Suppose I had declined almost without hearing the offer because I was in the writing zone? Even if you granted those things, there was another question: why had she felt the need to come down here personally when she could have just called someone and asked them to meet the delivery truck? Kenny Auster would have been happy to do it, ditto Mrs. M. And Bill Dean, our caretaker, had actually been here. This led to other questions one was why she hadn't just had UPS deliver the damned things to Derry and finally I decided I couldn't live without actually seeing a bona fide plastic owl for myself. Maybe, I thought, going back to the house, I'd put one on the roof of my Chew when it was parked in the driveway. Forestall future bombing runs. I paused in the entry, struck by a sudden idea, and called Ward Hankins, the guy in Waterville who handles my taxes and my few non-writing-related business affairs. ‘Mike,' he said heartily. ‘How's the lake?' ‘The lake's cool and the weather's hot, just the way we like it,' I said. ‘Ward, you keep all the records we send you for five years, don't you? Just in case IRS decides to give us some grief?' ‘Five is accepted practice,' he said, ‘but I hold your stuff for seven in the eyes of the tax boys, you're a mighty fat pigeon.' Better a fat pigeon than a plastic owl, I thought but didn't say. What I said was ‘That includes desk calendars, right? Mine and. Jo's, up until she died?' ‘You bet. Since neither of you kept diaries, it was the best way to cross-reference receipts and claimed expenses with ‘ ‘Could you find Jo's desk calendar for 1993 and see what she had going in the second week of November?' ‘Td be happy to. What in particular are you looking for?' For a moment I saw myself sitting at my kitchen table in Derry on my first night as a widower, holding up a box with the words Norco Home Pregnancy Test printed on the side. Exactly what was I looking for at this late date? Considering that I had loved the lady and she was almost four years in her grave, what was I looking for? Besides trouble, that was? ‘I'm looking for two plastic owls,' I said. Ward probably thought I was talking to him, but I'm not sure I was. ‘I know that sounds weird, but it's what I'm doing. Can you call me back?' ‘Within the hour.' ‘Good man,' I said, and hung up. Now for the actual owls themselves. Where was the most likely spot to store two such interesting artifacts? My eyes went to the cellar door. Elementary, my dear Watson. The cellar stairs were dark and mildly dank. As I stood on the landing groping for the lightswitch, the door banged shut behind me with such force that I cried out in surprise. There was no breeze, no draft, the day was perfectly still, but the door banged shut just the same. Or was sucked shut. I stood in the dark at the top of the stairs, feeling for the lightswitch, smelling that oozy smell that even good concrete foundations get after awhile if there is no proper airing-out. It was cold, much colder than it had been on the other side of the door. I wasn't alone and I knew it. I was afraid, I'd be a liar to say I wasn't . . . but I was also fascinated. Something was with me. Something was in here with me. I dropped my hand away from the wall where the switch was and just stood with my arms at my sides. Some time passed. I don't know how much. My heart was beating furiously in my chest; I could feel it in my temples. It was cold. ‘Hello?' I asked. Nothing in response. I could hear the faint, irregular drip of water as condensation fell from one of the pipes down below, I could hear my own breathing, and faintly far away, in another world where the sun was out I could hear the triumphant caw of a crow. Perhaps it had just dropped a load on the hood of my car. I really need an owl, I thought. In fact, I don't know how I ever got along without one. ‘Hello?' I asked again. ‘Can you talk?' Nothing. I wet my lips. I should have felt silly, perhaps, standing there in the dark and calling to the ghosts. But I didn't. Not a bit. The damp had been replaced by a coldness I could feel, and I had company. Oh, yes. ‘Can you tap, then? If you can shut the door, you must be able to tap.' I stood there and listened to the soft, isolated drips from the pipes. There was nothing else. I was reaching out for the lightswitch again when there was a soft thud from not far below me. The cellar of Sara Laughs is high, and the upper three feet of the concrete the part which lies against the ground's frost-belt had been insulated with big silver-backed panels of Insu-Gard. The sound that I heard was, I am quite sure, a fist striking against one of these. Just a fist hitting a square of insulation, but every gut and muscle of my body seemed to come unwound. My hair stood up. My eyesockets seemed to be expanding and my eyeballs contracting, as if my head were trying to turn into a skull. Every inch of my skin broke out in gooseflesh. Something was in here with me. Very likely something dead. I could no longer have turned on the light if I'd wanted to. I no longer had the strength to raise my arm. I tried to talk, and at last, in a husky whisper I hardly recognized, I said: ‘Are you really there?' Thud. ‘Who are you?' I could still do no better than that husky whisper, the voice of a man giving last instructions to his family as he lies on his deathbed. This time there was nothing from below. I tried to think, and what came to my struggling mind was Tony Curtis as Harry Houdini in some old movie. According to the film, Houdini had been the Diogenes of the Ouija board circuit, a guy who spent his spare time just looking for an honest medium. He'd attended one s? ¦ance where the dead communicated by ‘Tap once for yes, twice for no,' I said. ‘Can you do that?' Thud. It was on the stairs below me . . . but not too far below. Five steps down, six or seven at most. Not quite close enough to touch if I should reach out and wave my hand in the black basement air . . . a thing I could imagine, but not actually imagine doing. ‘Are you . . . ‘ My voice trailed off. There was simply no strength in my diaphragm. Chilly air lay on my chest like a flatiron. I gathered all my will and tried again. ‘Are you Jo?' Thud. That soft fist on the insulation. A pause, and then: Thud-thud. Yes and no. Then, with no idea why I was asking such an inane question: ‘Are the owls down here?' Thud-thud. ‘Do you know where they are?' Thud. ‘Should I look for them?' Thud! Very hard. Why did she want them? I could ask, but the thing on the stairs had no way to an Hot fingers touched my eyes and I almost screamed before realizing it was sweat. I raised my hands in the dark and wiped the heels of them up my face to the hairline. They skidded as if on oil. Cold or not, I was all but bathing in my own sweat. ‘Are you Lance Devore?' Thud-thud, at once. ‘Is it safe for me at Sara? Am I safe?' Thud. A pause. And I knew it was a pause, that the thing on the stairs wasn't finished. Then: Thud-thud. Yes, I was safe. No, I wasn't safe. I had regained marginal control of my arm. I reached out, felt along the wall, and found the lightswitch. I settled my fingers on it. Now the sweat on my face felt as if it were turning to ice. ‘Are you the person who cries in the night?' I asked. Thud-thud from below me, and between the two thuds, I flicked the switch. The cellar globes came on. So did a brilliant hanging bulb at least a hundred and twenty-five watts over the landing. There was no time for anyone to hide, let alone get away, and no one there to try, either. Also, Mrs. Meserve admirable in so many ways had neglected to sweep the cellar stairs. When I went down to where I estimated the thudding sounds had been coming from, I left tracks in the light dust. But mine were the only ones. I blew out breath in front of me and could see it. So it had been cold, still was cold . . . but it was warming up fast. I blew out another breath and could see just a hint of fog. A third exhale and there was nothing. I ran my palm over one of the insulated squares. Smooth. I pushed a finger at it, and although I didn't push with any real force, my finger left a dimple in the silvery surface. Easy as pie. If someone had been thumping a fist down here, this stuff should be pitted, the thin silver skin perhaps even broken to reveal the pink fill underneath. But all the squares were smooth. ‘Are you still there?' I asked. No response, and yet I had a sense that my visitor was still there. Somewhere. ‘I hope I didn't offend you by turning on the light,' I said, and now I did feel slightly odd, standing on my cellar stairs and talking out loud, sermonizing to the spiders. ‘I wanted to see you if I could.' I had no idea if that was true or not. Suddenly so suddenly I almost lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs I whirled around, convinced the shroud-creature was behind me, that it had been the thing knocking, it, no polite M. R. James ghost but a horror from around the rim of the universe. There was nothing. I turned around again, took two or three deep, steadying breaths, and then went the rest of the way down the cellar stairs. Beneath them was a perfectly serviceable canoe, complete with paddle. In the corner was the gas stove we'd replaced after buying the place; also the claw-foot tub Jo had wanted (over my objections) to turn into a planter. I found a trunk filled with vaguely recalled table-linen, a box of mildewy cassette tapes (groups like the Delfonics, Funkadelic, and. 38 Special), several cartons of old dishes. There was a life down here, but ultimately not a very interesting one. Unlike the life I'd sensed in Jo's studio, this one hadn't been cut short but evolved out of, shed like old skin, and that was all right. Was, in fact, the natural order of things. There was a photo album on a shelf of knickknacks and I took it down, both curious and wary. No bombshells this time, however; nearly all the pix were landscape shots of Sara Laughs as it had been when we bought it. I found a picture of Jo in bellbottoms, though (her hair parted in the middle and white lipstick on her mouth), and one of Michael Noonan wearing a flowered shirt and muttonchop sideburns that made me cringe (the bachelor Mike in the photo was a Barry White kind of guy I didn't want to recognize and yet did). I found Jo's old broken treadmill, a rake I'd want if I was still around here come fall, a snowblower I'd want even more if I was around come winter, and several cans of paint. What I didn't find was any plastic owls. My insulation-thumping friend had been right. Upstairs the telephone started ringing. I hurried to answer it, going out through the cellar door and then reaching back in to flick off the lightswitch. This amused me and at the same time seemed like perfectly normal behavior . . . just as being careful not to step on sidewalk cracks had seemed like perfectly normal behavior to me when I was a kid. And even if it wasn't normal, what did it matter? I'd only been back at Sara for three days, but already I'd postulated Noonan's First Law of Eccentricity: when you're on your own, strange behavior really doesn't seem strange at all. I snagged the cordless. ‘Hello?' ‘Hi, Mike. It's Ward.' ‘That was quick.' ‘The file-room's just a short walk down the hall,' he said. ‘Easy as pie. There's only one thing on Jo's calendar for the second week of November in 1993. It says ‘S-Ks of Maine, Freep, 11 A.M.' That's on Tuesday the sixteenth. Does it help?' ‘Yes,' I said. ‘Thank you, Ward. It helps a lot.' I broke the connection and put the phone back in its cradle. Yes, it helped. S-Ks of Maine was Soup Kitchens of Maine. Jo had been on their board of directors from 1992 until her death. Freep was Freeport. It must have been a board meeting. They had probably discussed plans for feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving . . . and then Jo had driven the seventy or so miles to the TR in order to take delivery of two plastic owls. It didn't answer all the questions, but aren't there always questions in the wake of a loved one's death? And no statute of limitations on when they come up. The UFO voice spoke up then. While you're right here by the phone, it said, why not call Bonnie Amudson? Say hi, see how she's doing? Jo had been on four different boards during the nineties, all of them doing charitable work. Her friend Bonnie had persuaded her onto the Soup Kitchens board when a seat fell vacant. They had gone to a lot of the meetings together. Not the one in November of 1993, presumably, and Bonnie could hardly be expected to remember that one particular meeting almost five years later . . . but if she'd saved her old minutes-of-the-meeting sheets . . . Exactly what the fuck was I thinking of? Calling Bonnie, making nice, then asking her to check her December 1993 minutes? Was I going to ask her if the attendance report had my wife absent from the November meeting? Was I going to ask if maybe Jo had seemed different that last year of her life? And when Bonnie asked me why I wanted to know, what would I say? Give me that, Jo had snarled in my dream of her. In the dream she hadn't looked like Jo at all, she'd looked like some other woman, maybe like the one in the Book of Proverbs, the strange woman whose lips were as honey but whose heart was full of gall and wormwood. A strange woman with fingers as cold as twigs after a frost. Give me that, it's my dust-catcher. I went to the cellar door and touched the knob. I turned it . . . then let it go. I didn't want to look down there into the dark, didn't want to risk the chance that something might start thumping again. It was better to leave that door shut. What I wanted was something cold to drink. I went into the kitchen, reached for the fridge door, then stopped. The magnets were back in a circle again, but this time four letters and one number had been pulled into the center and lined up there. They spelled a single lower-case word: hello There was something here. Even back in broad daylight I had no doubt of that. I'd asked if it was safe for me to be here and had received a mixed message . . . but that didn't matter. If I left Sara now, there was nowhere to go. I had a key to the house in Derry, but matters had to be resolved here. I knew that, too. ‘Hello,' I said, and opened the fridge to get a soda. ‘Whoever or whatever you are, hello.'