Life Insurance Sales Talk Essay Example

Life Insurance Sales Talk Essay What are the highlights of LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav? LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav is a Life insurance Plan especially designed to meet needs of †¢ Insurance †¢ †¢ Wealth creation and Liquidity What are the key features of LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav? Single Premium non-linked endowment assurance plan. Maturity Benefit : Sum Assured and Loyalty Addition#. Liquidity : Facility for loan. Life Cover : Full Sum Assured Payable on death during the term. # Loyalty Addition, if any, payable on Death, if it occurs during the last olicy year or on maturity. Please explain the Maturity and Life Cover Benefits under the plan. The Maturity Benefits under LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav plan include the Sum Assured and Loyalty Addition, if any. For a person aged 35 years, paying a premium of Rs. 95730/-, the Sum Assured shall be Rs. 200000/- .The Details of benefits payable are as under:- Jeevan Vaibhav Page 1 Benefit Illustration Age Policy Term Single Premium Amount 35 years 10 year s 95730/-* Sum Assured payable on death or 200000/maturity Loyalty Addition payable on death during the last policy year or on maturity: Assuming 6% p. a. eturn Nil 25,000/Assuming 10% p. a. return * Premium shown above is exclusive of service tax. Am I eligible to take the plan? The Plan is available for person between 8 to 65 years of age. Eligibility Conditions Age at entry Policy Term Sum Assured Premium Mode Others 8 years to 65 years 10 years Rs. 200000/- onwards in multiple of 10000/Single Service Tax at the prevailing rate applicable on premium. What is the maximum amount of premium that I can pay? There is no upper limit on the premium. Moreover you shall enjoy a rebate of Rs. 2. 00†° in case you opt for Sum Assured between 4 lacs to 5. 90lacs and a rebate of Rs3. 0†° for Sum Assured 6 lacs and above. Jeevan Vaibhav Page 2 Can I avail loan under LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav? Yes, Loan facility is available under this plan, after completion of one policy year. The L oan Value is to the extent of 70% of Surrender Value. What if I wish to surrender the policy before completion of the term? We would not advise you to surrender a policy because the risk cover ceases and the contract comes to an end besides it deprives you from enjoying the full returns under the plan. However we wish to inform you that the policy shall acquire surrender value after completion of one full year.On surrendering a policy the higher of Guaranteed Surrender Value and Special Surrender Value shall be paid. Guaranteed Surrender Value The Guaranteed Surrender Value shall be 90% of the Single premium paid excluding extra premium, if any. Special Surrender Value The Special Surrender Value will be the ‘discounted value’ of the Sum Assured. Why should I opt for LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav plan ? Because LIC’s Jeevan Vaibhav combines Security with Wealth Creation in a single plan. You deserve it to celebrate your achievements in 2022. ************* Jeevan Va ibhav Page 3

Feasibility Paper Essay Example

Feasibility Paper Essay Example Feasibility Paper Essay Feasibility Paper Essay Product/ Service Feasibility Analysis Being and feeling healthy has always been a major desire and while many people unreason ten Detentes AT Dealing inanely Ana not many nave Eden addle to Implement healthy habits into their daily lives. As technology has advanced and we have discovered more about diseases and disorders, we have also grown into the awareness that many of these are attributed to the food people eat and the environment they live in. Due to these discoveries a new trend of healthy eating and living has came about and this awareness has been spreading over the years among the population. A number of people definitely desire to enjoy life longevity and minimize their medical expenses. Unfortunately, not many businesses have responded to the demand of the population regarding healthy habits. The companies that have taken advantage of this trend have achieved to charge high prices, but limiting the segment of the population they can target Just to high income. This happens because many restaurants disregard using organic ingredients due to its slightly higher price and its least lasting life or conservation, thus limiting options for customers of choosing green organic food while relaxing in an environmentally friendly place. Green Addict offers to satisfy the need of the customers. Its products and services are unique and appealing to a large number of people who are health conscious. It is apparent that the consumers will get excited when they are served organic food in a cool and environmental-friendly restaurant. Green Addict takes advantage of an environmental trend of global warming and the publicity of environmental issues. Most people are aware of the dangers of genetically modified food and the carbon production. It is apparent that even small children are aware of the going green concerned because of the media publicity. Green Addicts idea of sing recycled materials is vital in the eye of the public who are already trying in their own level to reduce carbon emission. Green Addict therefore feels the environmental gap that is currently experienced in the market place. The introduction of products and services by Green Addict is timely because it comes at a time when almost everyone around the world is worried about global warming and are more willing to implement healthy habits. : Green Addict will be offering products that many consumers would want to buy because of the consciousness of helping to save the environment environment and staying healthy. Everyone asked about the importance of organic food has given a positive response. Offering organic meals and a healthy environmentally friendly experience will therefore lead to a competitive edge in the market thus increasing the chances of the business idea to be successful. Customers that are health and environmental-conservation conscious will even be willing to pay slightly higher price because of their understanding of the quality of products and services offered. The product design and services offered at Green Addict may have a challenge of obtaining raw material as well as other organic supplies because they are very limited and extremely expensive. Offering organic foodstuffs is very costly and the customers may not be willing to pay the higher cost of services. It is also likely that Green Addict may incorporate a few ingredients, which are not organic such as cheaper cooking oil that may contain food additive and chemicals that may turn away the consumers. Maintaining a purely green and organic product may therefore not easy to maintain unless the customers targeted are willing and able to pay for the higher costs associated with the product and services. We decided to see what reaction would University of Miami students would eave T Green Act winner to De opened Ana located close to ten coral Ga campus. We were able to interview 100 students in the library to whom we asked two questions. The first question said: How important is to you eating healthy in a scale from one to seven, one being not important at all and seven being it is very important? From 1 to 7, the average came to be a 5. 8; this number, tells us a lot about how important staying and eating healthy is to the University of Miami students. The second question was a simpler Yes/No asked given after providing the student with a brief explanation of what Green Addict had to offer. Would you be ailing to spend two to three dollars more in your meal if the food were to be hea lthy? Surprisingly, again we obtained a favorable number towards accepting Green Addict in the market. Approximately 74% of the students at the University of Miami would consider spending two to three dollars more in order to have a Green Addict meal. We can conclude that students at the University of Miami would have a positive attitude toward Green Addict if it were to be opened. 2. Industry/ Target Market Feasibility Analysis It is crucial to assess the overall appeal of the industry as well as the target market for the Green Addict. Industry/ Target Market feasibility analysis includes industry and target market attractiveness. The new venture Green Addict targets individuals of middle and high income, college educated residents, and family oriented zones because these communities are generally more interested in the benefits of eating natural and organic foods. For consumers who believe that there are not enough places to eat in Miami, Green Addict would satisfy and cater to their recycled, go green, and organic lifestyle. The restaurant and food services industry is expected to grow extensively by 2014 and cafes and restaurants represent almost over 50% of the vernal industry. The organic food demand is skyrocketing because of the increasing global population as well as the general migration from rural to urban that changes the lifestyle trend. It is undeniable that the eating habits are changing particularly amongst the middle class and the rich families as well as college students because of their healthy living awareness. The increased number of organic food campaigns plays an integral role in the great performance of organic food industry. Most people currently work in the offices and do not have time to prepare and eat organic food as including time to relax in their homes. Green Addict operates in an industry with many prospects because college students along with the rich and the middle class families will always want to have healthy food and relax in an environmentally friendly organization. Change in consumer preference positively affects the organic food industry. Most consumers prefer serving a healthy menu, which includes eating fresh organic, nutritious and low calorie food because of the healthiness, and the environmental friendliness linked with it. The organic food restaurant industry is a vapidly growing industry due to the rising health concerns with increased obesity awareness on top of other related diseases. Most restaurant menus are filled with organic foods and drinks because of the readily available market. Consumers in the high-income bracket are shifting their preferences to organic food and other related products that are served in an environmental friendly experience and that is exactly what the Green Addict offers. Although the industry is associated with expensive products, a large under AT roll Ana immune class populations cannot Ignore ten health benefits associated with the products. The target market, who are the middle class and the rich believe that the health benefits linked with organic foods and related experiences deserve the higher prices. It is therefore obvious that the organic food restaurant industry is still young and is rapidly growing thus providing numerous opportunities for the Green Addict. Currently, most people are beginning to be health conscious and are therefore willing to buy healthy food while enjoying similar experience. The industry is also early in the lifestyle due to the latest needs and campaigns regarding healthy living. However, the industry is fragmented cause only the middle and the rich class are only consumers capable of buying the costly products. The health conscious and environmentally conservative people believe that organic food products and green experience is a must have and therefore should not be avoided as much as possible. This segment of consumers is more concerned with their lives and environment than the price of the product. They think that there are no alternatives for healthy living and are ready to give it all Just to remain healthy. Presently, the industry is not crowded because of the higher costs and low operating margins involved. 3. Organizational Feasibility Analysis The need for sufficient management expertise, business competence and resources are crucial for the better performance of a business venture. In organizational feasibility analysis, management prowess and resource sufficiency are important as well. The Green Addict will satisfy the necessity of pleasant living including fresh air and organic food in a green self-sufficient environment thus making it differentiated from other restaurants in Miami. Green Addict will differentiate itself from its competitors by providing a healthy, CEO-friendly experience that is unique in the industry. This will be an important aspect of the organization as far as increasing its market share is concerned because it will appeal to the untapped but willing and able to buy market. Additionally, Green Addict will operate as a chain of restaurants thus leading to wider market coverage. It will operate in different geographical places hence creating place utility to various potential consumers in different positions. Moreover, Green Addict will focus on satisfying the customers wants, such as, offering a more intimate environment and simplifying the act of healthy eating thus satisfying the immediate needs of the consumers. The chain of restaurants will not let their consumers take home foodstuffs as their competitors like Whole Foods and Fresh Market do, instead they will make their own organic food that will be eaten right in the restaurant. Ambiance remains integral to the Green Addict unlike some of its fast food competitors such as, Eves and Jamb Juice, which do not pay attention to the environment. Management of Green Addict will serve its purpose appropriately because the team will carry what it takes to do its intended business venture. The chain of restaurants management comprises of the expounders who eave vast experience in various special fields. The expounders include Amy Fernando who is yoga, Palates and eating healthy addict who greatly understands the target market and therefore will enhance marketing and promotions. The other expounder is Nathalie Base who is expected to induce the experiences she gained Trot working In a restaurant Tort two conservative summer, as well as Mane Average who has served in a non-profit organization that provided crucial management techniques and skills. Finally, there is Daniel Buttock who has taken several nutrition courses at the University of Miami hence providing a great knowledge in providing he best organic nutrition. Green Addict will operate in an environmental friendly place that conforms the nature of business. However, there will be few suppliers of organic food to the organization because most suppliers supply food for home consumption and at a higher price, which may not earn much profit for the business. The industry is still growing and the fast food industry seems to enjoy a higher number of suppliers compared to the organic food industry. This may therefore force the Green Addict to have their own garden and grow some of their own organic food such as vegetables and fruit. Nevertheless, this may take place after long run and working at a higher scale. . Financial Feasibility Analysis Restaurant business has really been thriving in Miami with annual revenue of $2,000,000. By analyzing the purchase and a set of Restaurant start up and Feasibility spread sheets for various restaurants serving dinner and lunch, the total weekly sales may be $14,380 and maintain a steady rise in percentage of 5%. When weekly sales are multiplied by 52 weeks, the likely annual revenue will be around $1,000 ,000 during the peak sales in the first 5-7 years. This forecast incorporates both the peak and low season. Green Addict is planning to maintain their customers through distinctive quality services and products. The loyal customers will then help in marketing the restaurant resulting into recurring and increasing source of revenue. The revenues generated will be sufficient to cater for expenses and finance other internal projects that contribute in growth sustained. When the Green Addict venture utilizes the four As strategically, then it is definite that it will be successful. Green Addicts products and services are unique and are highly demanded. Green Addict should also utilize the social media and print media as well as leaflets promotions to boost their revenues. Social media is currently the most popular media especially Backbone and therefore its utilization may be useful in targeting the college students who form a bigger percentage of Backbone users. Moreover, the restaurant will provide services and products at various locations due to the environmental friendly surroundings that are associated with it. To prove the viability of Green Addict, a cash flow statement for the two first years is explained. The following cash flow is based on forecasting the first two years of the company, which are 2014 and 2015. It starts by calculating depreciation, dividing the initial cost by the useful life of the asset, the first year the company is estimated to spend around 100,000$ in equipment and furniture. Those assets are calculated to last for a period of 10 years. Finally we will get depreciation sums a total of 10,000$. For the next year, 201 5, we expect to spend in equipment 50,000, which will focus on expansion and quality control. As well as 2014, we expect that those assets last for 10 ears minimum, so the depreciation for 201 5 will be 5,000$. Then we calculate the decrease in account payable and the increase in account expenses. There is a Mullen amount In decrease AT account paddle as well as In Increase AT Inventory since is a new venture and also because the business is selling a service, where the product is sold right away and do not have people owing them. Furthermore, we calculate the decrease in inventory. We are expecting a sale of more the 500,000$ a year, and we calculate that our inventory for a year costs 100,000$.

Introduction & Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction & Conclusion - Essay Example overview of the history of my hometown and some information and trivia of note that helps make the Freetown, Sierra Leone area of West Africa a very interesting place to visit. Not everyone knows that Freetown is the capital city of Sierra Leone and as such, holds the distinction of having the Atlantic Ocean as its major port. This city, with a current population of over 1.2 million has an economy that relies heavily on the harbor for its jobs with the Sierra Leone River providing most income for the population thanks to having the worlds largest natural deep water harbor. As a historical landmark, Freetown is home to the founding history of Sierra Leone. Founded by African - Americans, it once also housed liberated West-Indian and African slaves. All symbolically represented by the Cotton Tree which once stood as the historic symbol of Freetown. Freetown exists with a mostly tropical climate that has only 2 seasons, wet and dry that is enjoyed by the Muslim and Christian residents of the area. All of whom are united by the Krio (Creole language) that is the first language of all Freeportians. English is also spoken widely among the more well educated members of the town society. Comprised of 6 municipalities and governed by a city council, its local government is composed of a typical heirarchy: a mayor with executive authority who also happens to be the city manager, and the elected members of the Freetown City Council who hold their offices for 4 years respectively. It has been led by the All Peoples Congress since the 2004 elections. As a modern 21st century town, Freeport continues to exercise its importance as the economic center of Sierra Leone. With the continued development of the Queen Elizabeth Quay II, the Freetown port is highly capable of receiving a vast number of ocean going vessels in support of the countrys export industry. Industrial developments covering food and beverage processing, fish packing, rice milling, oil refining, diamond

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil - Essay Example There are definite trends that social movements in the Americas face, issues that have united them. U.S. imperial aggression have increased, with the expansion of U.S. military bases, the revival of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet, and an increase in covert operations by the U.S. against South American nations like Venezuela and Bolivia. Social movements have had to fight bilateral trade agreements by the U.S. and the EU in individual nations throughout the region. Cities and towns throughout the Americas have been under attack for the exploitation and control (through trade, energy, and security agreements) of natural resources such as land, water, and energy; this has resulted in global warming, as well as other worsening environmental and health impacts. The most serious impact of the gap left by multinational organizations is the criminalization of social movements. Internal security laws, modeled after the U.S. Patriot Act and Homeland Security department, have been adopted by Latin American governments. In other words, political resistance to neoliberal strategies has been violently repressed, in the form of interrogations, the monitoring of social organizations by national governments, and political assassinations. As Hector de la Cuerva of the Mexican Network Against Free Trade (RMALC) has stated, â€Å"The face of neoliberalism is now militarism. In 1996, well before 9/11, Brazil used these kinds of tactics to suppress social movements. On April 17, 1,500 families of landless peasants making up one of these movements, the Movement of the Landless (MST), gathered near the town of Eldorado do Carajas, demanding land reform because in Brazil, only 1% of the population owns 50% of farmable land.3 The police opened fire on the prot estors, killing almost two dozen and wounding dozens more. Ever since, the MST has worked for justice for victims of the massacre. One way was declaring April 17 as International Day of Peasant Struggle and by fighting for agrarian reform, equality, justice, and peace for both the landless peasants in Brazil and throughout the world. In Cuba, the situation for social movements is a bit different. The fact that the Cuban government is socialist and shares many of the same values and beliefs as many of the country’s social movements helps the situation for these organizations. Fortunately for Brazil, Cuban-Brazilian relations have been â€Å"excellent† in May 2008 and Brazilian President Lula da Silva expressed desire for Brazil to be Cuba’s â€Å"number one partner.†4 One of the worst things that could have happen to social movements in Cuba was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, which as political scientist George Zarur has stated, â€Å"represent ed a national catastrophe for Cuba.†5 Up to that point, Cuba’s economy was entirely dependent upon the Soviet Union, which subsidized the Cuban economy between four and six billion dollars per year, making up 20-40 percent of its GNP. It also enjoyed a monopoly for sugar production for

Why is football the most popular sport in UK Essay

Why is football the most popular sport in UK - Essay Example Today many individuals are thoroughly involved in this game and the football fever has become so strong and viral that it has taken the height o0f obsession in many individuals. Football has many different forms which are actually seen in the past. Initially this sport started as a game for farmers who made use of a ball made out of animal skin for their entertainment purpose. This was the point where the game started and gained popularity among the local masses. The old school form of football can be traced back to the time when it started to be played in English schools around the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The game became so influential and famous that now it was not just confined to the British Empire but it started to spread abroad too. This game was altered and then was stitched according to the needs of the people who dwelled in the region. In the nineteenth century the first 'Football League' was established in England, which started to initiate football competitions on a professional level. This sport gradually became very popular and around the twentieth century it became one of the most popular sports played with a team throughout the world. Thus the game football which is renowned globally took its emergence from the contemporary football games of the British. Football is undoubtedly the most high profile and popular game in the United Kingdom and there is no second thought about that. This is not just the case now; football has had the same importance since generations. Today the case has just exaggerated a bit. The domination of football primarily in 1990's has emerged as a major threat to various other sports. In the United Kingdom many organs govern the football. 'The Football Association' primarily belonging to England and other bodies it has like Scottish, Irish, Welsh etc. these organizations are established so that they can run and look after their own national teams, work on football as a recreational sport and also to organize comp etitions for the cup. Although these association are not anymore quite significant as professional leagues have overshadowed their popularity. The home regions/nations are responsible to host their own club football tournaments within their district. There are four components in English football that contain a vast amount of football clubs which are merely based on a League system. The high class 'FA Premier League'comprises of20 teams and is the richest and successful football league present in the world. The remaining three completely professional components are then run by 'The Football League' which constitutes of the other seventy two clubs. Yearly growth,promotion and relegations work on the basis of these four components and apart from they also operate amongst the lowest of them and land the lower organs or the football not played within leagues. Apart from the professional clubs there are many small scale football clubs too that are outside the four main components,as well as many more clubs which are partially professional. In short England comprises of more than hundred clubs which are playing professionally altogether, hence England has the honor to house the most clubs than any region in Europe. The most famous and the main football cup competitions that are held in England is firstly the 'FA Cup' which is an open to all competition where all men can participate and battle on the field to win, despite only the major professional clubs are seen to reach the finale. The other famous cup competition that is held is known as the 'League Cup' which is now commonly referred to as the'Carling Cup', this cup competition is precisely for the 'ninety-two

Agricultural science and practice

Agricultural science and practice REVIEW OF LITERATURE INTERCROPPING Intercropping of cereals and grain legumes is a neglected theme in agricultural science and practice in both conventional and organic farming systems (Dahlmann, and Von Fragstein2006). The fast rising population in many tropical countries is one of the reasons for enormous growing demand for food. The increasing urbanization due to world growing population has affected food production leading to irrevocable loss of arable land. Opening up new land for cultivation can enhance the decrease of agriculture. Farmers and researchers should be conscious that cost-benefit ratio bringing new land under cultivation is smaller than that of increasing production of already cultivated land, which may lead to increase in production per unit area. Intercropping tenders farmers the opportunity to engage natures principle of diversity on their farms. Spatial arrangements of plants, planting rates, and maturity dates must be considered when planning intercrops. Intercrops can be more fruitful than growing monocropping. Many different intercrop systems have been studied, including mixed intercropping, strip cropping, and customary intercropping provisions. Pest management benefits can also be realized from intercropping due to augmented diversity. Harvesting options for intercrops include hand harvest, machine harvest for on-farm feed, and animal harvest of the standing crop. Most grain-crop mixtures with similar ripening times cannot be machine-harvested to produce a marketable commodity since few buyers purchase mixed grains. Dispite its advantages intercropping is neglected due to complex nature of intercropping systems. In intercropping systems an LER measures 1.0, it tells us that the amount of land required for crops grown together is the same as that for these grown in pure stand (i.e., neither loss nor loss due to intercropping over pure stands). LERs above 1.0 demonstrate an advantage to intercropping, while numbers below 1.0 diplay a disadvantage to intercropping. For example, an LER of 1.25 tells us that the yield produced in the total intercrop system would have required 25% more land if planted in pure stands. If the LER was 0.75, we know the intercrop yield was only 75% of that of the same amount of land that grew pure stands. Pakistan is a subtropical country having sufficient resources with high intensity of sunlight required for plant growth. Therefore, possibility of intercropping of different crops on the same piece of land in a year needs to be explored for effective and efficient utilization of these natural resources. Intercropping is being looked as an efficient utilization of these natural resources and economical production system as it increases the production per unit area and time. Presently, interest in intercropping is increasing among the small growers because of their diversified needs and meagre farm returns from the monocropping system. Planning of cropping system should be done yearly on entire catchment basis. The type of planning should lead to a proper balance between food, fiber and fodder crops. When the rainfall is between 500-700 mm with a distinct period of moisture surplus, intercropping system should be adopted for improved crop production. Even in higher rainfall areas (750- 1100 mm) intercropping facilitates growing either cereal-legume or legume-legume system of different maturity patterns. Intercropping minimize risk of crop failure in drylands. Mixed cropping (mixing seeds of two or more crops and broad casting the mixture) should be avoided as it hinders post-sowing operations. Choice of varieties with in the crops is very important to harness total intercropping advantage. Cereal-legume intercropping systems should be advocated to minimize fertilizer use,.? reduce pest and disease incidence, produce balance foods, ?provide protein rich legume fodder for cattle,? take full advantage of growing seaso n. Cereal-legume intercropping plays an important role in subsistence food production in both developed and developing countries, especially in situations of inadequate water resources (Tsubo et al., 2005). Intercropping cereals and grain legumes can be very potential for both organic and conservative farmers. The use of land equivalent ratio (LER) as a measure for calculating the cropping advantage of intercrops over sole crops is simple, ignoring weed inhibition, yield reliability, grain quality, and minimum advantageous yield are all relevant factors for farmers perspective (Prins and de Wit 2005). Intercropped legumes secure most of their nitrogen from the atmosphere and not compete with maize nitrogen resources (Adu-Gyamfi et al. ,2007). Increased diversity of the physical structure of plants and increased leaf cover in an intercropping system facilitates to reduce weed infestations once crop are established (Beet1990). Having a variety of root system in the soil reduces water loss, enhances water uptake and reduce transpiration. The increased transpiration may make the microclimate cooler, which cools the soil and decrease evaporation (Innis 1997). In this way during times of water stress, intercropped plants utilize a larger percentage of available water from the field than monocropped plants. Creating windbreaks may also modify the microclimate. Rows of maize in a field with a short stature crop would reduce wind speed above the shorter crop and thus deceasechance of desiccation (Beet1990). Intercropped legumes fix most of their nitrogen from the atmosphere and not compete with maize for nitrogen resources (Adu-Gyamfi et al. ,2007; Vesterager et al.,2008). Diversification of cropping systems, i.e. smaller fields and mixtures of crop species (intercropping) was much more in vouge Pre World War II. Intercropping, the simultaneously cultivation of more than one species in the same field, is a cropping method, which often result in a more efficient use of resources, cause more stable yields in problematic environments and a method to reduce problems with weeds, plant pathogens and nitrogen losses post grain legume harvest.In this context a greater introduction of longterm rotations, intercrops and grain legumes play an important role (Jensen 1997; Karlen1994). Intercropping of cereal and legume crops facilitates to maintain and improve soil fertility (Andrew, 1979). Intercropping of legumes with cereals has been popular in tropics (Hauggaard-Nielsen et al.,, 2001; Tsubo et al.,,2005) and rain-fed tracts of the globe (Banik et al.,, 2000; Ghosh, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,,2007) due to its benefits for soil conservation (Anil et al., 1998), weed control (Poggio, 2005; Banik et al.,,2006), lodging resistance (Anil et al.,, 1998), yield enhancemnent (Anil et al.,, 1998; Chen et al.,, 2004), hay curing, forage preservation over pure legumes, more crude protein percentage and protein yield (Qamar et al.,, 1999; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004), and contols legume root parasite infections (Fenandez-Aparicio et al.,,2007). Different seeding ratios or planting patterns for cereal-legume intercropping have been accomplished by many researchers (Tsubo et al.,, 2001; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). Competition among mixtures is thought to be the major characteristic affecting yield as compared with monocropping of cereals. Species or cultivar selections, seeding ratios, and inter and intra specific competition among mixtures may influence the growth of the species grown in intercropping systems in rain-fed areas (Santalla et al.,, 2001; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004; Carr et al.,, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). Various competition indices such as land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding coefficient (RCC), competitive ratio (CR), actual yield loss (AYL), monetary advantage(MI) and intercropping advantage(IA) have been anticipated to portray competition within and economic advantages of intercropping systems (Banik et al.,, 2000; Ghosh, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). However, such indices have not been used for maize and common bean intercropping to determine the competition among species and also economic advantages of each intercropping system in the East Mediterranean region. Higher monetary returns were obtained compared to sole cropping when bush beans intercropped with sweet maize (Santalla et al.,, 2001). Higher seed yield and net income under planting pattern with changing mix-proportions may be explained in higher total productivity under intercropping with relatively less input investment (Banik et al.,, 2006). Tsubo et al., (2005) formed a simulation model to find out the best planting methods for maize and bean intercrops in sub-arid South Africa. Based on 52 years of weather data, they compared the best planting time, optimal water saturation at planting, maize plant density, and bean plant density to receive the highest LER, energy value (EV), and monetary value (MV) from the intercropped field. For every combination of factors, a LER greater than 1.0 was found, indicating that intercropping of maize and beans increases total yield. The simulations show that initial soil water content has the greatest influence on intercropping productivity. Bean plant density had no influence on maize or bean yields, indicating that maize yield is not affected by bean intercropping, although bean yields were decreased in the intercropped system (Tsubo et al., 2005). High densities of maize maximized maize yield and calorie production, but high densities of beans maximized financial return. Decline of e xternal inputs and increases of homegrown feed together with a more efficient nutrient use from leguminous symbiotic dinitrogen (N2) fixation (SNF) can result in a decrease of nitrogen and mineral losses. Maize-legume intercropping systems are able to lessen amount of nutrients taken from the soil in comparasion to a maize monocrop. Organizing the complication of exchanges that are possible due to the physical constraints of diversity are present in the farm system is vital part of reducing the need for external inputs and moving toward sustainability (Herrera, 1974). Increasing diversity often allows better resources use efficiency in agro ecosystem because with higher diversity, there is larger microhabitat differentiation, allowing the components species and varieties of the system to grow in an environment ideally fitting to its unique requirements (Mazaheri and Oveysi, 2004; Willey and Reddy1981; and Yancey, 1994). A key and straight way of rising diversity of an agro ecosystem is intercropping system that allows interaction between the individuals of the different crops and varieties (Mazaheri, 2004; Willey, 1981 and Venkatswarlu1981). Intercropping can add temporal diversity through the sequential planting of different crops during the same season (Yancey, 1994). Importance of multiple cropping is increasing world food supplies. An LER value of 1.0, indicating no difference in yield between the intercrop and the collection of monocultures (Mazaheri and Oveysi, 2004 and Kurata 1986). Any Value greater than 1.0 indicates a yield advantage for intercrop. A LER of 1.2 for example, indicates that the area planted to monocultures would need to be 20% greater than the area planted to intercrop for the two to produce the same combined yields (Laster and Furr,1972). Intercropping in cassava was beneficial in increasing the biological yield, tuber equivalent yield and land use efficiency. Cassava tuber equivalent yield, LER, ATER and AHER were higher in cassava + cowpea combinations.(Amanullah et al., 2006). Mixed culture (or intercropping) of legumes and cereals is an old practice in tropical agriculture that dates back to ancient civilization. The main objective of intercropping has been to maximum utilization of resources such as space, light and nutrients (Willey, 1990; Morris and Garrity, 1993; Li et al.,, 2003b), as well as to improve crop quality and quantity (Nel, 1975; Izaurralde et al.,, 1990; Mpairwe et al.,, 2002). Other benefits include water quality control through least use of inorganic nitrogen fertilisers that pollute the environment (Crew and Peoples, 2004). The contemporary drift in global agriculture is to search for highly productive, sustainable and environmentally safe cropping systems (Crew and Peoples, 2004). This has resulted into renewed interest in cropping systems research (Vandermeer, 1989). When two crops are grown in association, interspecific competition or facilitation between plants may take place (Vandermeer, 1989; Zhang et al.,, 2003).Different studies have shown that mixtures of cereals and legumes produce higher grain yields than either crop grown unaccompanied (Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1984; Tariah and Wahua, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1987a; Lawson and Kang, 1990; Watiki et al.,, 1993; Peter and Runge-Metzger, 1994; Skovgard and Pats, 1999; Rao and Mathuva, 2000; Olufemi et al.,, 2001; Mpairwe et al.,, 2002; Dapaah et al.,, 2003). In such crop mixtures, the yield increases were not only due to enhanced nitrogen nourishment of the cereal component, but also to other unexplored causes (Nel, 1975; Connolly et al.,, 2001). Many of the unknown and less research processes occur in the rhizosphere of mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003, 2004). The rhizosphere soil is the narrow zone of soil neighboring the roots where soil, micro-organisms and roots jointly play key roles in the soil ecosystem. Compared with the bulk soil, the rhizosphere has diverse biological, physical and chemical soil properties. It is rich in root exudates, and, therefore, play a major role in nutrient mobilisation and microbial activities (Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Dakora, 2003). So far however, little attention has been paid to rhizosphere effects on crops grown in mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003; 2004), where interaction between different organisms is high. The major management practices employed in mixed cultures to attain good yield includes the enhancement of microclimatic conditions, improved utilisation and recycling of soil nutrients, improved soil quality, provision of favourable hab itats for plants and stabilisation of soil, among others (Juma et al.,, 1997). Most of intercropping systems are intentionally made and manipulated to optimise the use of spatial, temporal, and physical resources both above-and belowground, by maximising positive interactions (facilitation) and minimizing negative ones (competition) among the components (Willey and Osiru, 1972; Willey, 1979; Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1986, 1987a, b; Jose et al.,, 2000; Silwana and Lucas, 2002). An understanding of the biological and chemical processes and mechanisms involved in the distribution of resources in such systems is indispensable. The complex interactions in legume/cereal cropping systems such as those used by traditional farmers have received little research attention (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2004) because quantitative rhizosphere studies in the field involving complex mixtures are notoriously complex and cumbersome. These conditions are achieved by manipulating management practices such as planting patterns of the mixtures with the selection of appropriate cropping systems. Interactions will occur in the growth process, especially when the component species are exploiting the resources above-and below-ground (Vandermer, 1989; Willey, 1990; Ong et al.,, 1996) from the same niche or at the same time. In crop mixtures, any species utilizing the same combination of resources will be in direct competition. However, based on differences in phenological characteristics of species in asocition, the interaction among them may lead to an increased capture of a limiting growth resource (Willey and Osiru, 1972; Willey, 1979; Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1986, 1987a,b; Silwana and Lucas, 2002) and then amassing larger total yield than the collective production of those species if they were grown separately on an equivalent land area (Mead and Ndakidemi 2527 Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1984; Tariah and Wahua, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1987a; Lawson and Kang, 1990; Watiki et al.,, 1993; Peter and Runge-Metzger, 1994; Myaka, 1995; Asafu-Agyei et al.,, 1997; Skovgard and Pats, 1999; Rao and Mathuva, 2000; Olufemi et al.,, 2001; Dapaah et al.,, 2003). Thus, mixed cropping systems between cereals and legumes may face a complex series of inter- and intra-specific interaction (Izaurralde et al.,, 1990; Giller and Cadisch, 1995; Evans et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 2003c) geared by modifications and utilisation of light, water, nutrients and enzymes. Most annual crop mixtures such as those involving cereals and legumes are grown almost at the same time, and develop root systems that acquire the same soil zone for resources (Horwith, 1984; Chang and Shibles, 1985a,b; Reddy et al.,, 1994; Jensen et al.,, 2003). Under such circumstances, below-ground competition for resources such as nutrients is most likely to take place. For example, research has shown that activities in maize + cowpea intercropping take place between the top 30-45 cm of soil, and their intensity decreased with depth (Maurya and Lal, 1981; McIntyre et al.,, 1997). Because of these interactions, cowpea yields can be reduced significantly in relationto that of maize (Watiki et al.,, 1993). In contrast to some negative effects on yield, root systems in mixtures may provide some of the major favorable effects on soil and plants. These include, amongst others, carbon enrichment through higher carbon return (Ridder et al.,, 1990; Vanlauwe et al.,, 1997), discharge of phenolics, phytosiderophores and carboxylic acids as root exudates by companion plants (Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Dakora, 2003). These compounds play a major role in the mineral nutrition of plants. For instance, some studies have displayed that, in P-deficient soils, pigeon pea roots utilize piscidic, malonic, and oxalic acids to solubilise Fe-, Ca- and Al-bound P (Ae et al.,, 1990). Once mobilised, P and Fe then become available for uptake by the pigeon pea plant as well as by plant species grown in association and micro flora in the cropping system.This is due to the fact that, thus far, research efforts on mixed cultures has centered on the intra- and inter-specific competition for light and water, and re search reports on competition for nutrients in legumes and cereal mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003, 2004). It is, therefore, imperative to discover how the rhizosphere systems of the associated plant species in mixtures interact under different legume-cereal cropping systems. Rhizospheric pH changes in different management systems in legume/cereal mixtures Many plants have the ability to alter the pH of their rhizosphere (Hoffland et al.,, 1989, 1992; Raven et al.,, 1990; Degenhardt et al.,, 1998; Muofhe and Dakora, 2000; Dakora and Phillips, 2002) and improve nutrient availability such as P, K, Ca, and Mg, which are otherwise fixed and not available to plants (Vandermeer, 1989; Hauggaard- Nielson and Jensen, 2005). For instance, legumes induce numerous reactions that modify the rhizosphere pH (Jarvis and Robson, 1983; McLay et al.,, 1997; Tang et al.,, 1998, 2001) and influence nutrient uptake (Brady, 1990; Vizzatto et al.,, 1999). For example, Dakora et al., (2000) have shown that due to pH changes in the rhizosphere, Cyclopia genistoides, a tea-producing legume native to South Africa, increased nutrient availability in its rhizosphere by 45 120% for P, 108 161% for K, 120 148% for Ca, 127 225% for Mg and 117 250% for boron (B) compared to bulk non-rhizosphere soil. Hence, legumes may take up higher amounts of base cations, and in the process of balancing internal charge, release H+ ions into the rhizosphere that results in soil acidification (Jarvis and Robson, 1983; McLay et al.,, 1997; Tang et al.,, 1998, 2001; Sas et al.,, 2001; Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Cheng et al.,, 2004). Other legumes such as alfalfa, chickpea, lupines, and cowpea can release considerable amounts of organic anions and lower their rhizospere pH (Liptone et al.,, 1987; Dinkelaker et al.,, 1989, 1995; Braum and Helmke, 1995; Gilbert et al.,, 1999; Neumann et al.,, 1999; Rao et al.,, 2002; Li et al.,, 2004b), a condition favorable for the hydrolysis of organic P and hence improving P2O5 nutrition for plants and micro organism in the soil. In the same context, white lupine (Lupinus albus) exuded organic acids anions and protons that lowered rhizosphere pH and recovered substantial amount of P2O5 from the soil and made them more available to wheat than when it was grown in solitary cropping system (Horst and Waschkies, 1987; Kamh et al.,, 1999). Similarly, pigeon pea increased P2O5 uptake of the intercropped sorghum by exuding piscidic acid anions that chelated Fe3+ and subsequently released P2O5 from FePO4 (Ae et al.,, 1990). In a field trial, faba bean facilitated P2O5 uptake by maize (Z hang et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 1999, 2003b; Zhang and Li, 2003). In another comparative study, the ability of chickpea to mobilise organic P2O5 was shown to be greater than that of maize due to greater exudation of protons and organic acids by chickpea in relation to maize (Li et al.,, 2004a). Thus, in mixed cultures, plants such as cereals, which do not have strong rhizosphere acidification capacity can benefit directly from nutrients solubilised by legume root exudates. What is, however, not clearly known is the extent of rhizosphere pH changes in mixed cultures involving nodulated legumes and cereals and their influence on other biological and chemical processes in the soil. N2 FIXATION IN LEGUMES AND THE ASSOCIATED BENEFITS TO THE CEREAL COMPONENT Biological nitrogen fixation by grain legume crops has received a lot of attention (Eaglesham et al.,, 1981; Giller et al.,, 1991; Izaurralde et al.,, 1992; Giller and Cadisch, 1995; Peoples et al.,, 2002) because it is a considerable N source in agricultural ecosystems (Heichel, 1987; Dakora and Keya, 1997). However, studies on N2 fixation in complex cereal-legume mixtures are few (Stern, 1993; Peoples et al.,, 2002). Intercropping usually includes a legume which fixes N2 that benefits the system, and a cereal component that depends heavily on nitrogen for higher yield (Ofori and Stern, 1986; Cochran and Schlentner, 1995). Controlled studies have shown a significant direct transfer of fixed-N to the associated non-legume species (Eaglesham et al.,, 1981; Giller et al.,, 1991; Frey and Schà ¼epp, 1993; Stern, 1993; Elgersma et al.,, 2000; Hà ¸gh-Jensen and Schjoerring, 2000; Chu et al.,, 2004). There was evidence that the mineralisation of decomposing legume roots in the soil can b oost N availability to the allied crop (Dubach and Russelle, 1994; Schroth et al.,, 1995; Evans et al.,, 2001). In mixed cultures, where row arrangements and the distance of the legume from the cereal are far, nitrogen transfer could decrease. Research has shown that competition between cereals and legumes for nitrogen may in turn kindle N2 fixation activity in the legumes (Fujita et al.,, 1990; Hardarson and Atkins, 2003). The cereal component effectively drains the soil of N, forcing the legume to fix more N2. Therefore it is important to manipulate and establish how the management practice in legume-cereal mixtures may influence N2 fixation and nutrition in cropping systems. The microbial biomass is influenced by biological, chemical, and physical properties of the plant-soil system. Generally, soil and plant management practices may have greater impact on the level of soil microbial C (Gupta and Germida, 1988; Dick et al.,, 1994; Dick, 1997; Alvey et al.,, 2003). For instance, soil microbial C tend to show the highest values in cropland and grassland soils and the lowest in bare cultivated soils (Brookes et al.,, 1984; Gupta and Germida, 1988).Monoculture systems are expected to contain less amounts of microbial biomass and activities in comparison to those in mixed cultures (Moore et al.,, 2000). Studies have indicated that legumes accumulated larger amounts of soil microbial C in the soil than cereals (Walker et al.,, 2003). This is attributed to lower C : N ratio of legume than that of cereal (Uriyo et al.,, 1979; Brady, 1990). Microbial biomass activities could increase after the addition of an energy source. The stimulation of soil microbial biomas s activity by organic amendments is elevated than that induced by organic fertilisers (Bolton et al.,, 1985; Goyal et al.,, 1993; Hà ¶flich et al.,, 2000). Soil organic matter content and soil microbial activities, vital for the nutrient turnover and long term productivity of soil, are enhanced by the balanced application of nutrient and/or organic matter/manure (Bolton et al.,, 1985; Guan, 1989; Goyal et al.,, 1993; Hà ¶flich et al.,, 2000; Kanchikerimath and Singh, 2001). Under conditions of adequate nutrient supply such as P2O5, the microbial biomass C will be increased due to improved plant growth and increased turnover of organic matter in the soil (Bolton et al.,, 1985). Whether the management practices in mixed cultures involving legumes and cereals may favour the stimulation of biological soil activity and, thus, result in a higher turnover of organic substrates in the soil that are utilized by micro-organisms is a good subject to be investigated. Although there is a lot o f information that show the relationship between soil management and soil microbial activity, little is known about these effects under mixed cropping systems as practised by farmers in the tropical/ subtropical environments (Dick, 1984; Dick et al.,, 1988; Deng and Tabatabai, 1996). In this context, the measurement of their activities could provide useful information concerning soil health, and also serve as a good index of biological status in different crop production systems. PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY IN LEGUME/CEREAL MIXTURES Plants have evolved many morphological and enzymatic adaptations to bear low phosphate availability. This includes transcription activity of acid phosphatases, which tends to increase under P2O5 starvation (Tarafdar and Jungk, 1987; Goldstein, 1992; Duff et al.,, 1994; del Pozo et al.,, 1999; Haran et al.,, 2000; Baldwin et al.,, 2001; Miller et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 2002). Phosphatase enzymes in the soil serve several important functions, and are good indicators of soil fertility (Dick and Tabatai, 1992; Eivazi and Tabatabai, 1997; Dick et al.,, 2000). Under conditions of P2O5 deficiency, acid phosphatase secreted from roots is greater than before (Nakas et al.,, 1987; Chrost, 1991;Hayes et al.,, 1999; Li et al.,, 1997). Gilbert et al., (1999) found that white lupin roots from P-deficient plants had significantly superior acid phosphatase activity in both the root extracts and the root exudates than comparable samples from P-sufficient plants. At various starvation levels, these e nzymes release phosphate from both cellular (Bariola et al.,, 1994) and extra cellular (Duff et al.,, Ndakidemi 2529 1994) organic compounds. The transcripts and activity of phosphate transporters are increased to optimise uptake and remobilisation of phosphate in P-deficient plants (Muchhal et al.,, 1996; Daram et al.,, 1999; Kai et al.,, 2002; Karthikeyan et al.,, 2002; Mudge et al.,, 2002; Versaw and Harrison, 2002). It is thought that these morphological and enzymatic responses to P starvation are coordinated by both general stress-related and P-specific signaling systems. The amount of acid phosphatase secreted by plants is genetically controlled, and differs with crop species and varieties (Izaguirre-Mayoral and Carballo, 2002) as well as crop management practices (Patra et al.,, 1990; Staddon et al.,, 1998; Wright and Reddy, 2001). Some studies have shown that the amount of enzymes secreted by legumes were 72 % higher than those from cereals (Yadav and Tarafdar, 2001). Li et al., (2004a) found that, chickpea roots were also able to secrete greater amounts of acid phosphatase than maize. The activity of acid phosphatases is expected to be higher in biologically managed systems because of higher quantity of organic C content found in those systems. In fact, the activity of acid and alkaline phosphatase was found to correlate with organic matter in various studies (Guan, 1989; Jordan and Kremer, 1994; Aon and Colaneri, 2001). It is, therefore, anticipated that management practices in mixed cultures that induce P stress in the rhizosphere, may also affect the secretion of these enzymes. To date, there have been few studies examining the influence of cropping system on the phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere of most legumes and cereals grown in Pakistan. Understanding the dynamics of enzyme activities in these systems is crucial for their assessment their interactions as in turn their activities may regulate nutrient uptake and plant growth in the ecosystem. EFFECT OF ORGANIC, BIOLOGICAL ANDCHEIMCAL FERTLIZERS ON CROPS AND SOIL Application of organic manures has various advantages such as increasing soil physical properties, water holding capacity, and organic carbon content apart from supplying good quality of nutrients. The addition of organic sources could increase the yield through improving soil productivity and higher fertilizer use efficiency (Santhi, and Selvakumari, 2000). High and sustained yield could be obtained with judicious and balanced fertilization combined with organic manures (Kang, B.T. and V. Balasubramanian, 1990). Protecting long-term soil fertility by maintaining soil organic matter levels to certain extent, sustaining soil biological activity and careful mechanical intervention, providing crop nutrient directly by using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made available to the plants by the action of soil micro-organisms, nitrogen self sufficiency through the biological nitrogen fixation (Hossain et al.,,2004) as well as effective recycling of organic materials including livestock wastes organic manuring (Safdar, 2002).Soil degradation which is brought about by loss of organic matter accompanying continuous cropping becomes aggravated when inorganic fertilizers are applied repeatedly. This is because crop response to applied fertilizer depends on soil organic matter (Agboola and Omueti, 1982). Among differnret manues poultry manure is highly nutrient enriched organic manure since solid and liquid excreta are excreted simultaneously resulting in no urine loss. In fresh poultry excreta uric acid or urate is the most plentiful nitrogen compound (40-70 % of total N) while urea and ammonium are present in petite amounts (Krogdahl, and Dahlsgard. 1981). Cooperband et al., (2002) assessed phosphorus value of different- age poultry litter composts and raw poultry litter. Available soil P was the highest in plots amended with 15-month old compost, followed by raw poultry litter amended plots. Poultry manure is an excellent organic fertilizer, as it contains high nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other essential nutrients. In contrast to mineral fertilizer, it adds organic matter to soil which improves soil structures, nutrient retention, aeration, soil moisture holding capacity, and water infiltration (Deksissa et al.,, 2008). It was also indicated that poultry manure more readil y supplies P to plants than other organic manure sources (Garg and Bahla, 2008). As the use of poultry manure becomes an integral part of sustainable agriculture, demand for poultry products increases and pasturelands as well as croplands become nutrient saturated, which has ultimately increased water quality and public health concerns. In addition to high N and P content, raw poultry manure has a potential source of pathogen or E .coli (Jamieson et al.,, 2002; Bustamante et al.,, 2007) and endocrine disruptors (Deksissa et al.,, 2007). High and sustained crop yield can be obtained with judicious and balanced NPK fertilization combined with organic matter amendment (Kang and Balasubramanian, 1990).The benefits

Opposing School Uniforms Essay -- essays research papers

School Uniforms In 1993, Will Rogers Middle School in California’s Long Beach County School District began discussing the idea of a school-wide uniform policy. That fall, Will Rogers became the first school in Long Beach County to have a mandatory uniform policy. Other schools in the district soon followed drawing national attention, including a personal visit from then President Clinton. Recent memories of school shootings around the nation caused President Clinton to urge other school districts to move to uniforms in his 1996 State of the Union Address. This started a seemingly endless debate over school uniforms in public schools. In order to be legal, every uniform policy has to have an option to not participate. Students that â€Å"opt-out† attend other schools that do not have uniform policies. Most Republicans and the more moderate Democrats are in favor of uniforms while the more liberal Democrats oppose them. People in favor of uniforms support them for several reasons cited in a US Government manual on school uniforms: †¢ decrease in violence and theft—even life threatening situations—among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers, †¢ prevention of gang members wearing gang colors and insignias at school, †¢ instilling students with discipline, †¢ helping parents and students resist peer pressure to buy expensive clothing, †¢ helping students concentrate on their school work, and helping school officials to recognize intruders who come to the school. (â€Å"Manual† par. 2) People against uniforms oppose them for several reasons: uniforms violate the first amendment right to freedom of expression, the claims of the supporters are not true, and problems in the schools are much bigger than a little ans... ...lace, I think a big part of the improvement in statistics was due to the implementation of uniforms. While a strict dress code, or uniforms, would probably improve the statistics, it is not the best option. I think the best option is a mandatory identification badge. Students would be required to wear a visible photo I.D. at all times when on campus. One school I visited had badges worn on a necklace. This policy has a few of the benefits of uniforms, like intruders being easily recognizable, but it does not impose on the student. This is a very realistic option. A great deal of employers require their employees to wear name badges while they are on the job (Nurses, Factory workers, etc.). Most employers do not specify a uniform to be worn. Uniforms are not the one-word answer to today’s problems, but uniforms and/or ID badges could be used as part of the solution

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-Two

I OPENED MY EYES, groggy from the sudden shock of being pulled out of the dream. My body felt sluggish, and I squinted against the light. The lamp I'd left on last night was joined by sunlight streaming in through the window, but my phone's display still showed a freakishly early hour. Someone knocked at my door, and I realized that was what had woken me up. I ran a hand through my disheveled hair and rose unsteadily from the bed. â€Å"If she needs a geography tutor now, I really am going to Mexico,† I muttered. But when I opened the door, it wasn't Angeline standing outside my door. It was Jill. â€Å"Something big just happened,† she said, hurrying in. â€Å"Not to me it didn't.† If she noticed my annoyance, she didn't show it. In fact, as I studied her more closely, I realized she probably had no idea (yet) about what had happened between Adrian and me. From what I'd learned, spirit dreams weren't shared through the bond unless the shadow-kissed person was directly brought into it. I sighed and sat down on my bed again, wishing I could go back to sleep. The heat and excitement of the dream was fading, and mostly I felt tired now. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Angeline and Trey.† I groaned. â€Å"Oh, lord. What's she done to him now?† Jill settled into my desk chair and put on a steely look of resolve. Whatever was coming was bad. â€Å"She tried to get him to sneak into our dorm last night.† â€Å"What?† I really did need more sleep because my brain was having trouble understanding the reasoning behind that. â€Å"She's not that dedicated to her math grade . . . is she?† Jill gave me a wry look. â€Å"Sydney, they weren't working on math.† â€Å"Then why were they – oh. Oh no.† I fell backward onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. â€Å"No. This can't be happening.† â€Å"I already tried saying that to myself,† she told me. â€Å"It doesn't help.† I rolled over to my side so that I could look at her again. â€Å"Okay, assuming this is true, how long has it been going on?† â€Å"I don't know.† Jill sounded as tired as me – and a lot more exasperated. â€Å"You know how she is. I tried to get answers out of her, but she kept going on about how it wasn't her fault and how it just happened.† â€Å"What'd Trey say?† I asked. â€Å"I never got a chance to talk to him. He got hauled away as soon as they were caught.† She smiled, but there wasn't much humor in it. â€Å"On the bright side, he got in a lot more trouble than she did, so we don't have to worry about her getting expelled.† Oh no. â€Å"Do we have to worry about him getting expelled?† â€Å"I don't think so. I heard about other people trying this, and they just get detention for life. Or something.† Small blessing. Angeline was in detention so much that they'd at least have bonding time. â€Å"Well, then I guess there isn't much to be done. I mean, the emotional fallout's going to be a mess, of course.† â€Å"Well . . .† Jill shifted nervously. â€Å"That's just it. You see, first Eddie needs to be told – â€Å" I shot up out of my bed. â€Å"I am not doing that.† â€Å"Oh, of course not. No one would ever expect you to do that.† I wasn't so sure but let her continue. â€Å"Angeline's going to. It's the right thing to do.† â€Å"Yes. . . .† I still wasn't letting down my guard. â€Å"But someone still needs to talk to Eddie afterward,† she explained. â€Å"It's going to be hard on him, you know? He shouldn't be left alone. He needs a friend.† â€Å"Aren't you his friend?† I asked. She flushed. â€Å"Well, yeah, of course. But I don't know that it'd be right since . . . well, you know how I feel about him. Better to have someone more reasonable and objective. Besides, I don't know if I'd do a good job or not.† â€Å"Probably better than me.† â€Å"You're better at that stuff than you think. You're able to make things clear and – â€Å" Jill suddenly froze. Her eyes widened a little, and for a moment, it was like she was watching something I couldn't see. No, I realized a moment later. There was no â€Å"like† about it. That was exactly what she was doing. She was having one of those moments where she was in sync with Adrian's mind. I saw her blink and slowly tune back into my room. Her eyes focused on me, and she paled. Just like that, I knew that she knew. Rose had said that sometimes in the bond, you could sift through someone's recent memories even if you hadn't actually been tuned into the bond at that moment. As Jill looked at me, I could tell she'd seen it all, everything that had happened with Adrian last night. It was hard to say which of us was more horrified. I replayed everything I'd done and said, every compromising position I'd literally and figuratively put myself in. Jill had just â€Å"seen† me do things no one else ever had – well, except for Adrian, of course. And what had she actually felt? What it was like to kiss me? To run her – his? – hands over my body? It was a situation I had in no way prepared for. My occasional indiscretions with Adrian had come through to Jill as well, but we'd all brushed those off – me in particular. Last night, however, had taken things to a whole new level, one that left both Jill and me stunned and speechless. I was mortified that she'd seen me so weak and exposed, and the protective part of me was worried that she'd seen anything like that at all, period. She and I stared at each other, lost in our own thoughts, but Jill recovered first. She turned even redder than when she'd mentioned Eddie and practically leapt out of the chair. Turning her eyes away from mine, she hurried to the door. â€Å"Um, I should go, Sydney. Sorry to bother you so early. It probably could've waited. Angeline's going to talk to Eddie this morning, so whenever you get a chance to find him, you know, that'd be great.† She took a deep breath and opened the door, still refusing to make eye contact. â€Å"I've gotta go. See you later. Sorry again.† â€Å"Jill – â€Å" She shut the door, and I sank back into the bed, unable to stand. It was official. Whatever residual heat and lust I'd felt from being with Adrian last night had completely vanished in the wake of Jill's expression. Until that moment, I hadn't really and truly understood what it meant to be involved with someone who was bonded. Everything Adrian said to me, she heard. Every emotion he had for me, she experienced. Every time he kissed me, she felt it. . . . I thought I might be sick. How had Rose and Lissa handled this? Somewhere in my addled mind, I recalled Rose saying she'd learned to block out a lot of Lissa's experiences – but it had taken a few years to figure it out. Adrian and Jill had only been bonded for a few months. The shock of understanding what Jill had seen cast a shadow over everything that had been sensual and thrilling last night. I felt like I had been on display. I felt cheap and dirty, especially as I remembered my own role in instigating things. That sickening feeling in my stomach increased, and there was no stopping the avalanche of thoughts that soon followed. I'd let myself spin out of control last night, carried away by desire. I shouldn't have done any of that – and not just because Adrian was a Moroi (though that was certainly problematic too). My life was about reason and logic, and I'd thrown all of that out the window. They were my strengths, and in casting them aside, I'd become weak. I'd been high on the freedom and risks I'd experienced last night, not to mention intoxicated by Adrian and how he'd said I was beautiful and brave and â€Å"ridiculously smart.† I'd melted when he'd looked at me in that absurd dress. Knowing he'd wanted me had muddled my thoughts, making me want him too. . . . There was no part of this that was okay. With great effort, I dragged myself from the bed and managed to pick out some clothes for the day. I staggered to the shower like a zombie and stayed in for so long that I missed breakfast. It didn't matter. I couldn't have eaten anything anyway not with all the emotions that were churning inside me. I barely spoke to anyone as I walked through the halls, and it wasn't until I sat down in Ms. Terwilliger's class that I finally remembered there were other people in the world with their own problems. Specifically, Eddie and Trey. I was certain there was no way they could be as traumatized as Jill and I were by last night's events. But it was obvious both guys had had a rough morning. Neither one spoke or made eye contact with others. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen Eddie neglect his surroundings. The bell cut me off before I had a chance to say anything, and I spent the rest of class watching them with concern. They didn't look like they were going to engage in any testosterone-driven madness, so that was a good sign. I felt bad for both of them – especially Eddie, who'd been wronged the most – and worrying on their behalf helped distract me from my own woes. A little. When class ended, I wanted to talk to Eddie first, but Ms. Terwilliger intercepted me. She handed me a large yellow envelope that felt like it had a book inside. There was no end to the spells I had to learn. â€Å"Some of the things we discussed,† she told me. â€Å"Tend to them as soon as you get the chance.† â€Å"I will, ma'am.† I slipped the envelope into my bag and glanced around for Eddie. He was gone. Trey was in my next class, and I took my usual seat beside him. He gave me a sidelong look and then turned away. â€Å"So,† I said. He shook his head. â€Å"Don't start.† â€Å"I'm not starting anything.† He stayed silent a few moments and then turned back to me, a frantic look in his eyes. â€Å"I didn't know, I swear. About her and Eddie. She never mentioned it, and obviously, they don't talk about it around here. I never would've done that to him. You have to believe that.† I did. No matter what Trey's other faults were, he was good-hearted and honest. If anyone was at fault for bad behavior here, it was Angeline. â€Å"I'm actually more surprised that you'd get involved with someone like her, period.† I didn't need to elaborate that â€Å"someone like her† referred to her being a dhampir. Trey put his head on his desk. â€Å"I know, I know. It all just happened so fast. One day she's throwing a book at me. The next, we're making out behind the library.† â€Å"Ugh. That's a little more information than I needed.† Glancing up, I saw that our chemistry teacher was still getting organized, giving Trey and me a little more time. â€Å"What are you going to do now?† â€Å"What do you think? I have to end it. I shouldn't have let it get this far.† The Sydney from three months ago would have said of course he needed to end it. This one said, â€Å"Do you like her?† â€Å"Yes, I – † He paused and then lowered his voice. â€Å"I think I love her. Is that nuts? After only a few weeks?† â€Å"No – I don't know. I'm not really good at understanding that stuff.† And by not really good, I actually meant terrible. â€Å"But if you feel like that . . . maybe . . . maybe you shouldn't throw it away.† Trey's eyes widened, and surprise completely replaced his blue mood. â€Å"Are you serious? How can you say that? Especially you of all people. You know how it is. You've got the same rules as us.† I could hardly believe what I was saying. â€Å"Her people don't, and they seem to be fine.† For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes, but then he shook his head again. â€Å"I can't, Sydney. You know I can't. It would eventually end in disaster. There's a reason our kinds don't mix. And if my family ever found out . . . God. I can't even imagine. There'd be no way I'd ever get back in.† â€Å"Do you really want to?† He didn't answer that. Instead, he just told me, â€Å"It can't work. It's over.† I'd never seen him look so miserable. Class started, and that ended the discussion. Eddie wasn't in our cafeteria at lunch. Jill sat with Angeline at a corner table and looked as though she was delivering a stern lecture. Maybe Jill hadn't felt comfortable consoling Eddie, but she certainly had no problem speaking out on his behalf. I didn't really want to hear Angeline's excuses or meet Jill's eyes, so I grabbed a sandwich and ate outside. I didn't have enough time to check Eddie's cafeteria, so I sent him a text. Want to go out for coffee later? Don't feel sorry for me, he responded. I hadn't known if he'd answer at all, so that was something. I just want to talk. Please. His next text wasn't nearly so fast, and I could almost imagine his mental battle. Okay, but after dinner. I have a study group. A moment later, he added, Not Spencer's. Trey worked at Spencer's. Now that the Angeline drama was on hold, I was able to return to my own messed-up love life. I couldn't shake that image of Jill's expression. I couldn't forgive myself for losing control. And now, I had Trey's words bouncing around my head. It would eventually end in disaster. There's a reason our kinds don't mix. As though summoned by my thoughts, Adrian texted me. You want to get the dragon today? I'd forgotten all about the callistana. He'd stayed with Adrian during my St. Louis trip, and now it was my turn. Since Adrian couldn't transform him back into quartz, the dragon had been in his true form all weekend. Sure, I wrote back. My stomach was in knots when I drove to Adrian's place later. I'd had the rest of the day to think about my options, and I'd finally reached an extreme one. When he opened the door, his face was aglow – until he saw mine. His expression transformed to equal parts exasperation and sadness. â€Å"Oh no. Here it comes,† he said. I stepped inside. â€Å"Here what comes?† â€Å"The part where you tell me last night was a mistake and that we can't ever do it again.† I looked away. That was exactly what I'd been going to say. â€Å"Adrian, you know this can't work.† â€Å"Because Moroi and humans can't be together? Because you don't feel the same way about me?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Well, not entirely. Adrian . . . Jill saw it all.† For a moment, he didn't seem to understand. â€Å"What do you – oh. Shit.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"I never even think of that anymore.† He sat down on the couch and stared off into space. The callistana came scurrying into the room and perched on the arm of the couch. â€Å"I mean, I know it happens. We even talked about it with other girls. She understands.† â€Å"Understands?† I exclaimed. â€Å"She's fifteen! You can't subject her to that.† â€Å"Maybe you were an innocent at fifteen, but Jill's not. She knows how the world works.† I couldn't believe what I was hearing. â€Å"Well, I'm not one of your other girls! I see her every day. Do you know how hard it was to face her? Do you know what it feels like to know she saw me doing that? And, God, what if there'd been more?† â€Å"So, what's this mean exactly?† he asked. â€Å"You finally come around, and now you're going to just end things because of her?† â€Å"Kissing you isn't exactly ‘coming around.'† He gave me a long, level look. â€Å"There was a lot more than kissing, Miss ‘I'm a Quick Study'† I tried not to show how embarrassed I was about that now. â€Å"And that's exactly why this is all over. I'm not going to let Jill see that again.† â€Å"So you admit it could happen again?† â€Å"Theoretically, yes. But I'm not going to give us the chance.† â€Å"You're going to avoid ever being alone with me again?† â€Å"I'm going to avoid you, period.† I took a deep breath. â€Å"I'm going to go with Marcus to Mexico.† â€Å"What?† Adrian jumped up and strode over to me. I immediately backed up. â€Å"What happened to you working undercover?† â€Å"That only works if I can stay undercover! You think I can pull that off if I'm sneaking around with you?† â€Å"You're with me half the time already!† I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, but he was clearly upset. â€Å"Nobody notices. We'll be careful.† â€Å"All it takes is one slipup,† I said. â€Å"And I don't know if I can trust myself anymore. I can't risk the Alchemists finding out about you and me. I can't risk exposing Jill to what we'd do together. They'll send another Alchemist to look after her, and hopefully Stanton will take precautions against the Warriors.† â€Å"Jill knows I can't put my life on hold.† â€Å"You should,† I snapped. Now he was angry. â€Å"Well, you'd know all about that since you're an expert in denying yourself the things you want. And now you're going to leave the country to make sure you can deprive yourself even more.† â€Å"Yes, exactly.† I walked over to the callistana and spoke the incantation that turned him back into his inert form. I put the crystal into my purse and summoned all my will to give Adrian the coldest look I could manage. It must have been a powerful one because he looked as though I'd slapped him. Seeing that pain on his face made my heart break. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to leave him! But what choice did I have? There was too much at stake. â€Å"This is done. I've made my choice, Adrian,† I said. â€Å"I'm leaving this weekend, so please don't make it any more difficult than it has to be. I'd like us to be friends.† The way I spoke made it sound like we were closing a business arrangement. I walked toward the door, and Adrian hurried after me. I couldn't bear to face the agony in his eyes, and it took all my resolve not to avert my gaze. â€Å"Sydney, don't do this. You know it's wrong. Deep inside, you know it is.† I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. I walked away, forcing myself not to look back. I was too afraid my resolve would falter – and that was exactly why I needed to leave Palm Springs. I wasn't safe around him anymore. No one could be allowed to have that kind of power over me. All I wanted to do after that was hide in my room and cry. For a week. But there was never any rest for me. It was always about others, with my feelings and dreams shoved off to the side. Consequently, I wasn't in the best position to give Eddie romantic advice when we met up that night. Fortunately, he was too caught up in his own emotions to notice mine. â€Å"I should never have gotten involved with Angeline,† he told me. We were at a coffee shop across town that was called Bean There, Done That. He'd ordered hot chocolate and had been stirring it for almost an hour. â€Å"You didn't know,† I said. It was hard maintaining my half of the conversation when I kept seeing the pain in Adrian's eyes. â€Å"You couldn't have known – especially with her. She's unpredictable.† â€Å"And that's why I shouldn't have done it.† He finally set the spoon down on the table. â€Å"Relationships are dangerous enough without getting involved with someone like her. And I don't have time for that kind of distraction! I'm here for Jill, not me. I should never have let myself get caught up in this.† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with someone,† I said diplomatically. Unless that person turns your world upside down and makes you lose all self-control. â€Å"Maybe when I've retired, I'll have the time.† I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. â€Å"But not right now. Jill's my priority.† I had no business playing matchmaker, but I had to try. â€Å"Have you ever thought about seriously being with Jill? I know you used to like her.† And I was absolutely certain he still did. â€Å"That's out of the question,† he said fiercely. â€Å"And you know it. I can't think of her like that.† â€Å"She thinks about you like that.† The words slipped out before I could stop them. After my own romantic disaster today, a part of me longed for at least someone to be happy. I didn't want anyone else hurting the way I did. He froze. â€Å"She . . . no. There's no way.† â€Å"She does.† A whole range of emotions played through Eddie's eyes. Disbelief. Hope. Joy. And then . . . resignation. He picked up the spoon again and returned to his compulsive stirring. â€Å"Sydney, you know I can't. You of all people know what it's like to have to focus on your work.† This was the second time today someone had said â€Å"you of all people† to me. I guess everyone had a preconceived idea of who I was. â€Å"You should at least think about it,† I said. â€Å"Watch her the next time you're together. See how she reacts.† He looked as though he might consider it, which I took as a small victory. Suddenly, alarm flashed on his face. â€Å"Whatever happened with you and Marcus? The St. Louis trip? Did you find out anything about Jill?† I chose my next words very carefully, both because I didn't want to alarm him and because I didn't want him taking some drastic action that could accidentally reveal my dealings with Marcus. â€Å"We found some evidence that the Warriors have talked to the Alchemists, but nothing that shows they're working together or have actual plans for her. I've also taken some steps to make sure she's protected.† I hadn't heard anything from Stanton today and wasn't sure if that last part would actually pan out. Eddie looked relieved, though, and I couldn't bear to stress him out any further today. His gaze shifted to something behind me, and he pushed the untouched hot chocolate away. â€Å"Time for us to go.† I looked back at a clock and saw he was right. We still had a comfortable window before curfew, but I didn't want to push it. I finished off the last of my coffee and followed him out. The sun was sinking into the horizon, coloring the sky red and purple. The temperature had finally cooled off to normal levels, but it still didn't feel like winter to me. There'd been a bunch of badly parked cars in the front of the lot, so I'd parked Latte in the back in case some careless person opened a door too fast. â€Å"Thanks for the moral support,† Eddie told me. â€Å"Sometimes it feels like you really are a sister – â€Å" That was when my car exploded. Sort of. I have to admit Eddie's response time was amazing. He threw me to the ground, shielding my body with his. The boom had been deafening, and I cried out as some sort of foam landed on the side of my face. Foam? Cautiously, Eddie rose, and I followed. My car hadn't exploded in flames or anything like that. Instead, it was filled with some sort of white substance that had blasted out with such force that it had blown the doors off and broken the windows. We both approached the mess, and behind us, I heard people coming out of the coffee shop. â€Å"What the hell?† asked Eddie. I touched some of the foam on my face and rubbed my fingertips together. â€Å"It's sort of like the stuff you'd find in a fire extinguisher,† I said. â€Å"How did it get in your car?† he asked. â€Å"And how did it get there so fast? I glanced over at it when we first walked out. You're the chemical expert. Could some reaction have happened that fast?† â€Å"Maybe,† I admitted. At the moment, I was too shocked to really run any formulas. I rested a hand against Latte's hood and wanted to burst into tears. My emotions were at a breaking point. â€Å"My poor car. First Adrian's, now mine. Why do people do stuff like this?† â€Å"Vandals don't care,† said a voice beside me. I glanced over and saw one of the baristas, an older man who I believed was the owner. â€Å"I've seen stuff like this before. Damn kids. I'll call the police for you.† He took out his cell phone and backed away. â€Å"I don't know if we'll make curfew now,† I told Eddie. He gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. â€Å"I think if you show a police report at the dorm, they'll be lenient with you.† â€Å"Yeah, I hope that – ugh. The police.† I hurried over to the passenger side and stared bleakly at the wall of foam. â€Å"What's wrong?† Eddie asked. â€Å"I mean, aside from the obvious.† â€Å"I have to get to the glove compartment.† I lowered my voice. â€Å"There's a gun in there.† He did a double take. â€Å"A what?† I said no more, and he helped me dig through the foam. Both of us ended up covered in it by the time I reached the compartment. Making sure no one was behind us, I quickly retrieved the gun and slipped it into my messenger bag. I was about to shut the lid when something shiny caught my eye. â€Å"That's impossible,† I said. It was my cross, the gold one I'd lost. I grabbed it and then immediately dropped it, yelping in pain. The metal had burned me. Considering the foamy substance was cool, it didn't seem likely it had heated up the cross. I wrapped my sleeve around my hand and gingerly picked up the cross again. Eddie peered over my shoulder. â€Å"You wear that all the time.† I nodded and continued staring at the cross. A terrible feeling began to spread over me. I found a tissue in my purse and wrapped the cross up before adding it to the bag. Then I retrieved my cell phone and dialed Ms. Terwilliger. Voice mail. I hung up without leaving a message. â€Å"What's going on?† asked Eddie. â€Å"I'm not sure,† I said. â€Å"But I think it's bad.† I hadn't yet developed the ability to sense magical residue, but I was almost certain something had been done to the cross, something that had resulted in Latte's foamy demise. Alicia hadn't been able to find the cross. Had Veronica doubled back and taken it? If so, how had she located me? I knew personal items could be used to track back to a person, though the most common ones were hair and nails. As advanced as Veronica was, it was very likely an object – like this cross – would serve just as well. Veronica might very well have found me. But if so, why vandalize my car instead of sucking out my life? The police came soon thereafter and took our statements. They were followed by a tow truck. I could tell from the driver's face that it wasn't looking good for Latte. He hauled my poor car away, and then one of the officers was nice enough to return Eddie and me to Amberwood. Against all odds, we made it back just in time. As soon as I got to my room, I tried Ms. Terwilliger again. Still no answer. I emptied out my bag onto my bed and found it had gathered a number of items today. One of them was a donut I'd picked up at the coffee shop. I put it and the quartz crystal into the aquarium and summoned the callistana. He immediately went after the donut. I found the cross and discovered it was now cool. Whatever spell it had been used in was gone. The gun was near it, and I quickly hid that back in the bag. That left Ms. Terwilliger's envelope, which I'd neglected all day. Maybe if I hadn't been so distracted by personal matters, I could have saved Latte. I pulled the latest spell book out of the envelope and heard something jangle. I removed the book and then saw another, smaller envelope inside. I pulled it out and read a message Ms. Terwilliger had written on the side: Here's another charm to mask your magical ability, just in case. It's one of the most powerful out there and took a lot of work, so be careful with it. That same guilt I always felt about her helping me returned. I opened the small envelope and found a silver star pendant set with peridots. I gasped. I had seen this charm before, this powerful and painstakingly made charm that could allegedly hide strong magical ability. I had seen it around Alicia's neck.

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An Enemy Called Violence essays Even though the Hebrews believe God to be loving, he is not found pleasant in all situations. God is helpful, rewarding, and caring in the Bible toward the people who have faith in him; and is also known to be devastating, and at times overwhelming to his opponents when God inflicts forces of violence. The force of violence plays a major roll in Genesis and Exodus. Three main events in Genesis/Exodus come to mind when discussing the privileges of Gods followers or the violence against Gods opponents. God regrets his creation of mankind and exercises force against the wicked and evil people by creating a flood to cover up his error. This error shows how God relates to humans by making mistakes. God, however, finds Noah to be faithful and spares his life to reward him. Joseph also finds favor in Gods eyes and is kept safe through his hardship. The force is inflicted by Josephs brothers because they are jealous of Joseph and it would be beneficial for them if he was out of the way. God exercises force a second time in Exodus against the Pharaoh and Egypt, because God cares about his faithful people and wishes to free them from the Pharaoh. His intentions are also to show Egypt that he is real and is also extremely powerful. One of the first forces of violence in biblical history is when God decides to create a flood to destroy all of mankind to eliminate his error. It is believed that he creates the flood by releasing the window of the heavens. He decides that the people he created are evil and wicked, which originated in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The people are not faithful and do not have a relationship with God. He regrets created mankind, because they are the reason for corruption in his new world (Genesis Noah and his family are the only humans that God wants to survive. God favors Noah because he has proved himself to be a ritous man ...

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