How strategic business management can attain its objectives without Research Proposal

How strategic business management can attain its objectives without affecting employees and customers - Research Proposal Example The researcher states that in strategic business management, there are various guiding theories, principles and practices. These are intended to steer the fundamental goals and objectives of the company in the context of increasing sales and covering wider areas of the market. Additionally, the writer continues to state that, with well-stipulated management principles and theories, there are bound to be challenges. Alternatively, Drucker compliment what Cousins talks of the clear stipulation of corporate objectives. On that aspect, the two authors want managers and workers to understand the various concepts and principles of management and how to, effectively, utilize resources of the company. Furthermore, by understanding management, managers and employees are able to work in smooth coordination, which is beneficial for the business and company in terms of increased clients. Similarly, the authors call for constant evaluation of management goals through retrainings and adoption of m odern technology. On the other hand, Davenport mentions and explains the various approaches that are critical for both managers and workers in the strategic innovation of the economy on the basis of dynamic innovations. For example, the author explains the need to employ tools such as suitable technology, qualified workers and offering motivational incentives to workers. In addition, he explains about visionary leadership on the side of managers and response to complaints from the customers among others as the most paramount tools of effecting strategic change in business. (Davenport 2007, p.67). However, Steve, J (2009) have come up with five imperative disciplines when it comes to exemplary performance for any company. These disciplines include respect for clients, timely provisions of products and services, clear study of the market demands, motivation of the workforce through better wages and encouragement and effective leadership (Steve 2009, p.56). Furthermore, the writers obs erve that companies should accept modern challenges that afflict businesses hence affecting strategic management as ways of improving on their strong areas. On that perspective, Brutus (2006) discusses in depth the challenges that afflict organizational management in terms of the dynamics employed to increase sales and improve on profits. Similarly, the author delves into the setbacks that affect companies when they face challenges such as poor leadership from top management, unmotivated employees and slow response from customers, which in turn affects the market demand, and hence company sales (Brutus 2006, p.110). Additionally, this interferes with strategic management set by company executives and the obligation of meeting them on time. 2. The Conceptual Framework Therefore, in terms of a conceptual framework, several factors involved will be drawn from the literature studied previously. However, the research proposal must mention that effective strategic business management is p aramount for the success of any company that aspires to succeed (Carl, 2003, p.87). Similarly, utilization of resources, quick response to client complaints and adoption of initiatives targeted at advancement of the company has several benefits for long and short terms. Alternatively, business managers and other corporate executives should aim at incorporating the various stakeholders such as clients and competitors in the picture of drafting workable strategic business management. On that aspect, this research proposal cannot forget to mention the predicaments associated with strategic business management. For instance, undefined goals and objectives set by company executives and lack of through of the market pattern among other limitations. On that prospect, factors such as timely adoption of technology,

Police Brutality And Its Effects On Society Criminology Essay

Police Brutality And Its Effects On Society Criminology Essay 1. Introduction Police brutality has occurred all across the world and is still a major concern amongst society and police organisations. This brutality ranges from assaults, death as a result of use of force, harassment, Etc. It takes two forms (Thompson: 2004), which is physical brutality which includes assaults, and non-physical brutality which includes use of verbal language. In South Africa cases of brutality has been part of country history as it was happening during apartheid era because of protests, and at the present moment it is much worse as people have rights and most people have access to camcorders to record such incidents which at the later stage attract media attention. According to Burger (2011) public is slowly losing trust in the police because of amongst other things such as brutality itself, criminal behaviour and abuse of power. Sean & Tait (2011) explained that most brutality cases within the South African Police Service derived from members of public order policing (POP) as they normally deal with gathering and protests. Sharpville massacre is one of the example of which 69 people were killed and 180 injured as a result of police action on 21 March 1960 and recently is the killing of Andries Tatane and thirty four Marikana Lonmin striking miners by the members of South African Police Service. 2. Literature Review Considering this body of literature, researches were conducted by different authors nationally and internationally to address issue of police brutality and its effects to society. Before going further with this topic police brutality, the term police brutality is defined as follows: Thompson (2004) defines Police brutality as any instance in which a police officer using unnecessary excessive force to or while interacting with members of public while performing his or her duties. These brutalities take two forms which is physical and non-physical, physical includes actions such as killing someone, E.g. thirty four mining strikers who were killed by the police at lonmin mine, and non-physical which includes verbally abusing the public. There is literature that are relevant to the topic and some of the findings were categorised as follows: Bruce (2003) explained that the statistics from South Africa Police Service watch dog, also known as independent complaints directorate (currently known as IPID) revealed cases of brutalities against members of the service and organisation from period April 1997 to March 2001. These brutalities were categorised as from death as a result of police action (excludes death in custody), torture, assaults and attempted murder. He further said besides reporting cases of brutalities the public are also not satisfied with the service rendered by the police. Gary (2003) argued that police brutality is also part of South African history. He mentioned that during apartheid regime many people of which majority were black people had suffered brutality from the hands of the police more especially in South African townships. His statement was supported by photographic images of one of the victim known as Hector Peterson, a thirteen year old who was shot by the police in Soweto. Apart from Peterson tragedy there were also photos of white police official beating and shooting black protesters and the death of Steve Biko who was murdered in police custody for political reasons. Gary (2003:9) believes that the past police also benefited from these brutalities and they were very effective than the present police force mainly because they were feared by the public. He said crime then was too low and it was likely that people were afraid to report cases because police then were not approachable. Masuku (2004) believes that Police Managers lack of monitoring of members conduct is one of the reasons why South Africa is having high number of cases of police violence. He mentioned that procedures are incorrectly followed in the service and records are not properly kept and as a result a member commits the same offence now and then. He said Independent complaints directorate (ICD) findings for the annual report 2002-2003 revealed number of cases whereby people were shot and killed by the police and to date it does not indicate how many were illegal and how many were legitimate. He said standing order 251 which requires factual reports of all shooting incidents is not practiced correctly within the service. He said that they are other cases of police misconduct such as torture and non-lethal force were also not monitored correctly and as a fact police officers gets off easily. Studies conducted by, Minaar & mistry (2006) showed that use of unnecessary excessive force by the police is mostly related to officers wellbeing such as stress. They conducted interviews with members based at Gauteng province and the finding were that members work circumstances such as interacting with suspects is the reason for police action of violence. He also mentioned that counselling and stress management should play a vital role in member wellbeing but criticised the member code of silence. Shawn & Tait (2011) studies revealed that most brutalities in South Africa derived from violent protests by public and involves member of public order policing within the police such as tactical response team and combat crime unit. He also mentioned that cases of brutalities had increased since 2006 as a result of protests by public. He said that these members resorts to the use of excessive force as last resorts more especially when they are outnumbered by the public and often leads to death of protesters and one example of that is marikana massacre. Other studies conducted by burger (2011) states that the brutalities, criminal behaviour and other misconducts by the police has negative effect on public trust and confidence. He further said that society must trust and also have faith in police for their own safety. It seems as this is impossible for the police as the recent reports and images of police brutalities speak another thing such as marikana lonhill miners massacre which was broadcasted on television for days, video footage of ficksburg protester andries tatane who lost his life in the hands of police, video of members of tactical response team at abar in Johannesburg and a restaurant in Melville which was shown on 3rd degree on e-tv and the recent case of Mozambican taxi driver who was tied at the back of police vehicle and dragged and later died in police custody. Again, Bruce (2011) on another article, beyond Section 49, says use of force by members of South African Police Service is being misused and it is uncontrollable and that the policy needs to be amended so that the police can work effectively. He again on this article mentioned the killing of Andries Tatane as one of the victim of such abuse of power by the police. 3. Rationale/ Significance of research The study is important as it is focused on the difference between the police and the general public mainly because of police brutalities and use of unnecessary excessive force and is also aimed at benefiting both the police and the society to refrain from problem. One organisation such as South African Police Service (SAPS) has its tasks and one is to mobilize the community to act against local crime in terms of newly implemented sector policing and this seems to be unachievable because of the recent cases of brutalities by its members. The objective was to have the police and the public to work together but now because of the police brutality images such as marikana lonmin massacre that were view by the society nationwide this seems to be impossible. Police brutality affects everyone, such as the government, police, organisation and the public, and this proposed study is aimed at preventing future brutalities and improve police-society working relationship. The above categories will benefit from the study as follows: Police Officers: The study will benefit officer as these brutalities normally have consequences and might ruin the future career. Society: The society will also benefit as they depend on police for their safety and be brutalised as a result. Organisation: The organisation will also benefit as it will finally realise the seriousness of this brutalities and also to deal with culprits to set an example to other police officers and again to ensure that their members are well trained and equipped to deal with the public in a peaceful manner. Other researchers: This study will also benefit future researchers and hopefully brings new developments. 4. Research Problem Statement In a country like South Africa the citizens expect police to do their work in a professional manner and also be accountable to their actions. They expect police officers to protect them and their properties and also uphold the law of the country. These police officers have powers invested to them and are governed by certain legislation to perform their duties and the public are also have to be treated in a dignified manner in terms of the rights given by the constitution. It then becomes a problem because criminal procedure act section 49 gives police officer powers to use force to overcome any situation and such powers are the misused by certain police officers as they use them where it is not necessarily. Police officer as members of public themselves work under extreme situations, such as members of public order policing who deal with public violence and protests as they are used to violence and whenever approached they may also use the force which may result in death of citizens such as ficksburg protester Andries Tatane. Independence directorate complaints statistics (Bruce: 2003) reveals number of citizens who suffered as a result of these brutalities, although most of them were not covered by the media but it affect the community in such a way that they lose trust in the police. 5. Research Question or Hypothesis Statement The main research question of this study is: Can Police managers better reduce or prevent brutalities and unnecessary use of excessive force and how serious is this to the society? There are researchers in South Africa such as Shawn and Tait (2011) who have identified factors such situational, individual and organisational as reason that may influence other Police officers to unreasonably use excessive force and brutality against the public. The following Hypothesis statements (Akdogan, 2009:3) clearly explain the problem of police brutality: They are Job satisfaction and work related stress usually affects police official attitudes towards avoiding or put an end to brutality and unreasonable use of excessive force; Police Official post such as a member who is based at Tactical Response Team (TRT) and Combat Crime Unit (CCU), who have low attitude than those who are posted at stations because they deal with riots and are likely to apply excessive use of force. Lastly, Laws relating to police conduct towards society such as section 49 of Criminal Procedure Act and citizen Bill of Rights in terms of the Constitution. 6. Aim and objectives This study aims to provide all police officials with information on how to serve its public and also how to avoid brutalities and their consequences thereof, how it impacts the organisation, the government and the community as a whole. This study also intends to highlight areas within the police force such a development of employees that needs to be improved and assessed to avoid such brutalities in future. 7. Research Design and Methodology This proposed study will employ triangulation mixed method, De Vos (2012: 442) meaning that it will employ both qualitative and quantitative methods. In a case of quantitative research theories are tested and confirmed by means of measured numbers and statistical analysis such as those statistics revealed by independent directorate complaints (ICD). Whereas, in a case of qualitative research words are important than numbers and also involvement of people in studies plays a vital role and an example is a research done by, Minaar & mistry (2006) which involved members. 7.1. Research Design: For quantitative studied survey designs is suitable for these proposed study as the topic itself is not concerned about police brutality alone, it is also concerned about how it affect society and then a population group needs to be identified to gather data. 7.2. Unit of Analysis: This proposed study includes more than one unit analysis which is individual within the organisation such as police officers, organisation which these individual represents and the social interaction or behaviour of these individual such as police use of violence and brutality. These mention units need to be analysed to carry out the study. 7.3. Identification of Variables: For the sake of this research independent variable is identified which is section 49 of criminal procedure act which give police officers powers to use force and the dependent variable which is the bill of rights which gives citizen right to be treated in a dignified manner, In simple term is that use of force violates human rights. 7.4. Sample and sample type: For sampling purpose, other stakeholders will be included such as community, police officers or organisation, department of justice, etc. by means of simple random sampling which will give others opportunity to participate and that will be determined by using table of random numbers from the population. 7.5. Data Collection Methods: Methods of collecting data will vary based on types of people affected by police violence for the purpose of quantitative research and the most suitable method for this proposed study is survey questionnaire (welman 2005:152) as it is concerned about the background of individual and the difference will however determine whether everyone understands the seriousness of the effects and for qualitative research method that will be utilised is interviews. 7.6. Data analysis: For the purpose of this proposed study data information will be gathered from statistics and interviews and will be used to answer the research question. In a case of quantitative research information will be gathered from statistics and reports and then analysed according to categories such as the total number of fatal force used by police officers quarterly, and in a case of qualitative research (De Vos 2011:402) information will be gathered from interview recordings, visual materials, etc. 8. Ethical consideration/ constraints: Before studies commences, ethical issues needs to be identified and reviewed to ensure that potential participant are not exposed to harm. De Vos (2011: 115-126) and Welman (2005: 182) identified ethical issues that needed to be taken into consideration to ensure that all participants are protected and information gathered is legitimate. An approval from research ethics committee is also important as it will protect participants from researchers who conduct studies in an unethical manner. At the end of the study all findings and results that will be presented will be that obtained during the study. 9. Overview of the Chapter Structure This chapter started by focusing on the research main question which was directed to the managers of the organisation, that what can they do better to better the situation or problem the society is facing and also how to render effective service. The chapter was further discussed and three components (hypothesis) were highlighted that managers should look into when addressing the problem and finally the methods were identified to carry out the studies in order to reach the aims and objective of this proposal. 10. Research Time Schedule According to, De Vos et al (2011:111) a project should include a work plan. As organisation is responsible for behaviour of its members, then a time frame for this project is one year. Then an organisation can make analysis of reported cases and then used its findings to compare to the previous to determine the difference to achieve the aims of the proposal. 11. Budget This study does not require any financial planning as lack or insufficient training was seen as factor that is needed to educate and provide police officers with skills on how to handle the public and that has been done by the organisation for a period of time. 12. Preliminary List of Reference/ Bibliography BRUCE, D. 2011. Beyond Section 49: control of the use lethal force. SA Crime Quarterly, 36: 3-12 BRUCE, D. 2003. What the Independent Complaints Directorate Statistics tell us (or not): Gripes or grievances? SA Crime Quarterly, 4: 23-30 BURGER, J. 2011. To Protect and Serve: Restoring Public Confidence in the SAPS. SA Crime Quarterly, 36: 13-22 DE VOS, A. S, STRYDOM, H. FOUCHE, C. B & DELPORT, C. S. L. 2011. Research at Grass Roots: For the social sciences and human service professions. 4th ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik. KYNOCH, G. 2003. Personal Security concerns in South African Townships: Apartheid Nostalgia. SA Crime Quarterly, 5: 7-10 MASUKU, T. 2004. National Monitoring of Police Misconduct: number that counts. SA Crime Quarterly, 8: 5-10 MINAAR, A & MISTRY, D .2006. Dealing with the use of force and stress related violence by members of the police: some observation from selected case studies in Gauteng province, South Africa. Acta criminological, 19(3): 29-63 TAIT, S, & MARKS, M. 2011. You strike a Gathering, You Strike a rock- current debate in the Policing of Public Order in South Africa. SA Crime Quarterly, 38: 12-22 WELMAN, J. C, KRUGER, S. J & MITCHEL, B. 2005.Research Methodology. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Oxford.

Peter Paul Rubens :: essays research papers

Peter Paul Rubens was the painter of the first part of the 17th Century in Catholic Europe. How he became so is an interesting story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rubens was educated to be a humanist but like all great artists choose his profession for himself. The combination of first-rate classical education with an innate visual genius made for an unprecedented combination in an artist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It has been said that no artist has ever been as well educated as Rubens. After training with three minor artists in Antwerp. Rubens set off for Italy to complete his education; a position at the court of the Duke of Mantua was quickly accepted and he stayed in Italy for eight years. His job was to travel to all the major artistic collections, especially Rome and Venice painting copies of famous works of art, especially paintings of beautiful women, for the Duke's collection. He was also sent to Spain where he had an opportunity to study the enormous collection of Titian masterworks in the Royal Collection in Madrid. Copying the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance especially and the recently unearthed sculptures of classical antiquity, Rubens sketched and painted and encompassed all that was best in Italian and Classical art. Rubens combined the lessons of Antique Sculpture with the vaunting ambition of the High Renaissance giants in an unprecedented way. He used the plastic less ons of sculpture as a composition model but insisted that flesh should look like flesh in a painting thus developing his breakthrough approach to the naked body. In this he never forgot the earthy luminous realism of the old Netherlandish tradition of the 15th and 16th century (Van Eyck, Van Weyden, Breughel). You won't appreciate Rubens the master of the female nude until you consider that he was the greatest influence on French painting from the 18th to the 20th century: Watteau, Fragonard, Delacroix, and Renoir were his among his loyal followers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rubens was to develop a phenomenal ability to analyze the different styles of painting and sculpture and then synthesis them into whatever his clients wanted. His clients included just about every Catholic monarch, as well as Catholic leaning Protestants like King Charles I of England, and every major religious order in Western Europe. Not to mention every wealthy connoisseur of painting. To satisfy an ever growing demand Rubens opened the largest art workshop Europe has ever seen: he would paint an small initial oil sketch which when approved and contracted for would be given over to one or more of his students to paint the full length canvas, finally Rubens would add the finishing touches and sign it.

Parliament carries out none of its functions Essay

â€Å"Parliament carries out none of its functions adequately†. Discuss. With democracy on the incline and other countries catching up to where the UK once lead it can be argued that parliament does not carry out its functions adequately. Many would say there are not enough checks and balances on the government to insure its parliament is run legitimately being argued that a cross on a ballot paper every four years is hardly a true expression of our will. Current circumstances have lead to his enquiry of the people, most significantly the freedom of information act 2000 introduced by Blair’s government allowing transparency and putting the government under some scrutiny resulted in the daily telegraphy uncovering the expense scandal, including the duck house this exploitation of the government sparked an unanimous felling of not only anger but also disappointment bringing the questioning of the effectiveness of parliament. However not all of parliament can be looked upon in negative light, parliament can be seen as efficient and it is unfair to cla im that â€Å"none† of its functions are adequate because the surely there would be a collapse in parliament and government. Predominately and most obviously parliaments â€Å"main function† is legislation and passing bills, and in all fairness that’s what parliament does, far more bills are efficiently passed through parliament and become law compared to the US who struggle to pass anything with such a variation of opinions. The majority government that Britain almost always has, despite labour government in 1974-79 which was weak and short lived, always been able to provide stability and efficient law-making; a core function of parliament. Counter-arguing this it could be suggested that such a strong majority government who does not have to debate or compromise in laws could eventually result in an elective dictatorship, meaning that we are effectively controlled by the government on a vote that was made for 4/5 years. A current example of other people outside of the direct governing bodies not being able to gain control over parliament is the private members bill of bedroom tax. Although the taxation proposals has reached the second stage it has taken a long time getting there, but at least it proves that  their are other influences in parliament and parliament is being scrutinized in some aspects even if it is only 13 Fridays a year. I personally believe that the bills that are past have been done so to benefit the country and not as a way of a party leaving their mark on government so that when next election time occurs they can claim how they have influenced parliament- a slightly more cynical view. The very fact we consistently pass bills shows strength and progress however more needs to be done to incorporate the public, the referendum in Scotland with a turnout of 84.5% just shows how willing the public are to be involved in politics and legislation suggesting more referendums would destroy doubt in the parliament as accountability is distributed evenly and decentralized. To be democratic parliament should come under as many forms of scrutiny as possible to insure certain issues don’t go under the radar. Possibly the most forceful form of scrutiny is the opposition, they are have the power, time and money to fully scrutinize and fault the current government in order to secure a place as the next winning party. This kind of faulting can lead to governments being forced to change as issues are brought to the public eye. As we have very recently seen in the autumn statement George Osborne claiming and exenterating how well the government is doing finically was soon brought down o the reality when the shadow chancellor Ed Balls was able to prove how much the government was still in debt by. This kind of scrutiny means that the government cannot disguise anything from the public and there should be a sense of transparency. However it could be argued that even if an issue is brought to light in parliament there is not a lot the opposing party can do about an issue if the government is a minority they will always be voted out even on things that they so strongly believe in. take the current collation, one of the promises liberal democrats made was to introduced free tuition fees, the divide was made clear when backbench revolts resulted in 21 Lib Dems voting against tuition fees despite whips advising them to join the vote of conservatives meaning they where voting against their won cause. Ultimately it shows how powerless other parties are in minority governments and also in a coalition as a smaller party and surely if they are so powerless how can we know that the majority government is not just taking advantage of their position. I personally believe that  coalitions benefit the UK because they allow room for debate and opinion as a pose to a parties single mind view however often to many parties ar e left too powerless and not able to scrutinize the government efficiently. Scrutiny of the opposition does not encompass all scrutiny, and it can be said that the more scrutiny there is the better it is, as we know that the government that governs our lives is being run correctly. Select comities are set up by the government to check the government. Each committee are devoted to every aspect of our lives making sure we are content with the current government and how parliament is ran, this is effective as it provides a layer of support and reassurance. Select comities can highlight an issue and bring it to the public attention by enquiring in current situation and encouraging government change, however all they can do is encourage government change, they can’t actually enforce policies. Whips have less power over select comities because select comities do not hold that much power however with technology on the inline select comities have become extremely good at unearthing and bringing to the publics attention faults in the current parliament and als o resolutions to these faults. A most recent example of this would be phone hacking; a select committee put an emphasis on issues within media, particularly news of the world. New of the world listen to the voice mail of missing girl Millie Dowler, the enquire then successfully resulted in the news of the world collapse and shutdown, it was then found out that Andy Carlson, who previously worked in news of the world was David Cameroons press sectary who after the enquiry was let go. Select comities are a very good form of scrutiny because they can find fault in parliament, government and the media however they do not have very little power to act upon findings and cant fully scrutinize the government as they are still under some influence for their party. Introduced a new law meaning parliament must always be consulted before military action is taken, because this is the result of the peoples word and the government should stay legitimate to avoid elective dictatorship it proves how efficient the current parliament are in tackling current. However it could be argued that prime ministers question time once every week, which has recently been shortened, further is not enough to put  legitimacy under enough scrutiny. Not all the government’s actions are properly debated and scrutinized with a majority government it is often the case of the biggest party winning. The unelected house of lords, although of recent times not hereditary peers due to Blair’s house of lords reform act 1998, still are not elected and therefore have no democratic legitimacy. A lot of respect for parliamentary legitimacy has been lost because of the unearthing of issues such as cash for questions, discovered in 2011 it was found MPs where paid to ask other MPs questions that would reflect well on their party, giving the public a bias view of the world and manipulating our perceptions. This kind of foul play in parliament takes away what legitimacy some parties have. Personally I think that not enough is done to scrutinize parliaments legitimacy, although candidates have been ‘democratically’ voted into power and should hold the trusteeship of the public it can still be argued as to what extent they have the right to this power as in some peoples view first past the post is not a democratic voting system to begin with and therefore the candidate is not legitimate. To conclude, I think that despite some major drawbacks parliament and its functions are carried out adequately and too say that none are is a major over statement. It is easy to see why someone people might lose faith in parliament, majority parties become too strong to control, desperate to leave their mark without fully discussing current issues. Young politicians going straight into the job with no really concept of life’s hardships, not fully representing what others really wants and need. However having said this parliament passes laws, it does so efficiently meaning that currant issues can be solved whilst they are still current. This kind of speedy and strong government creates a stable base to build a democracy upon and although many have lost faith given recent scandals like the expenses scandal, the fact that most voters still believe their party will deliver on their manifesto shows hope. Scrutiny is in my opinion of its highest form in select comities as they can pinpoint specific problems and resolve them such as the phone hacking 2012 however I also don’t believe they have enough power to influence the government. Having said this the government is currently stable even in a coalition, which suggest that parliaments functions are at the very least adequate.

Vacant Chapter 3 Involved

â€Å"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Ethan.† She's wrapped tightly in one of my towels, and I feel a†¦ stirring. I wonder if she understands she's half-naked in front of a stranger. I try not to be obvious in my perusal of her form; her body is small, but her tits are high, round, and a little large for her frame, though no complaints. I briefly wonder what her nipples look like, and lick my lips but catch myself before my ogling turns creepy. â€Å"It's no problem,† I answer hastily, refusing to look further at her. I stop short before making my next statement. No matter how much I tell myself to mind my own business, I can't seem to help dispensing advice. â€Å"You know, you can't live without utilities, Emily.† I wonder where this girl comes from that she thinks living with no water or electricity isn't a problem; my level of concern is now elevated a notch or two. â€Å"I know, but – † she stops herself. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† I have this feeling that there's something off here, and I can't ignore the fact she seems to be without essentials. â€Å"I typically shower in the morning, so if you want to come over at night and shower until you get the utilities turned on, that's cool.† I turn away, wanting to give her privacy to dress because she needs to get dressed; I need her to get dressed. â€Å"So like, what do you do all day?† I can hear the snap of the elastic on her panties against her hip as she finishes putting them on. Shit, these duplex units are too small! Or is my hearing that good? I can't help the thoughts that run through my head. Thinking about her body is a complication I do not need or want. However, chiding myself doesn't stop me from picturing the slight curve of her hips, her shapely thighs, or perfectly muscled backside. â€Å"I go to work,† I snap, feeling guilty. Seconds later, her voice is right behind me. â€Å"Oh yeah? Where do you work?† Her tone is light and her remark impulsive. â€Å"I need to get a job.† I turn so we're face to face and she can see my eyes. Sometimes, emotion seeps out through the eyes. I don't want her to see any vulnerability in mine. Once you're seen as weak, people are quick to take advantage. â€Å"I work down at the grocery store.† She smiles and looks down. She doesn't want me to see her eyes. â€Å"That's really close, so I could walk there. You think they're hiring?† â€Å"Don't know.† I have to keep it uncomplicated. Expanding on my answers will only lead to pulging more than I intend to offer. We stare at each other for a few more seconds before I break the silence. â€Å"Well, I – â€Å" â€Å"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I've done it again. You must have to get ready for your day. I come barging in here and ruin your routine!† â€Å"It's fine; I just have to take a cold shower before work.† The words are heavy in the air. They aren't meant as they sound as I'm sure she's used all the hot water in the small hot water tank, but after thinking about her showering and changing in my bathroom, perhaps a cold shower for another reason isn't a bad idea. â€Å"Yeah, okay. I'll see you later.† Great†¦ now, she thinks I'm a pervert. I don't see her for two days. . . And for 48 hours, I worry. – Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! DAMN IT! It's 10 p.m., and I can't stand it anymore. I know something isn't right. No utilities, no furniture, wears the same clothes, and I can hear her. I hear the sobbing every night through the thin-ass sheetrock. â€Å"Emily,† I say in a slightly raised voice. Fucking non-existent walls. â€Å"Yeah?† she sniffles. â€Å"Can I come over?† The pause seems to go on forever before she answers. It's a â€Å"yes† mingled with sobs. Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! It's too late. . . I sit on the edge of her mattress not knowing what to do. â€Å"Thanks for coming over. Nights†¦they're the hardest.† â€Å"Emily? What's going on? Tell me the truth. I'm not going to rat you out or anything.† I chance a look at her face and the fear is evident. I refuse to focus on her in her thread bare tank and panties. â€Å"You're not renting this place, are you?† I surmise aloud. I think I've known this for some time but just didn't want to admit it. Admitting it makes it real. Making it real means I'm stuck; I can't walk away now, realizing what I know. â€Å"Please! Please don't tell anyone!† She's frantic, on the edge of mania. I scoot closer in hopes of easing her. Not too long after I moved into my first group home, the baseball my father gave me when I was seven, got stolen. It was one of the few personal items I owned. A staff from the group home tried to comfort me when I discovered it was missing by hugging me and patting my hair. I attempt to mimic the same gestures for Emily, because it's the only comfort I know. She clings to me like a lost swimmer gripping a buoy in an endless sea. Finally, she quiets and the knot in my stomach comes back. I know I have to find out what's really going on. I need to press her for more information since it seems I'm intent on helping her. â€Å"Tell me.†