How to Be a Better Listener Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

How to Be a Better Listener - Research Paper Example These are common natural sounds, yet they may sound unfamiliar, because we do not have the time or the inclination to listen to them. ‘Listening’ is not magic; it is simply an art that you will have to master, if you wish to succeed in life. Now the next question that will most obviously come to our minds will be, if listening is not hearing, then what do we do to listen? Yes, listening and hearing are entirely two different entities. How many times we have our ‘heard’ our mothers asking us to clean our rooms; and how many times we actually ‘listen’ to what she is trying to say and also do accordingly? How times do we ‘listen’ to our parents advising us to avoid doing certain things, or do we just hear them speaking some jargon, a language that we pretend we cannot understand and so can be easily forgotten? The basic difference between hearing and listening is in the amount of attention we pay to the person who is speaking to us, and in our attempts in trying to understand as to what he/she is actually saying. â€Å"My son never listens to what I say!†; â€Å"Will you for god’s sake please remain quiet and listen to what I am trying to say?† We have heard these complaints so many times that they sound quite clichà ©d to us by now. It is simply not in most people to listen to what others say. We love to speak, and have fallen in love with our voices so much, that we prefer to talk, even if it means speaking utter nonsense at times. Speaking one to a dozen does not help us much, and it is only in listening to what others say that we climb the ladder to success. So the next time your mother asks you to clean your room, or avoid doing certain things, just ‘listen’ to her. The training to acquire such basic skills start right from home, and once you are out in the world on your own, you may actually find that

Summary of Equity Securities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Summary of Equity Securities - Essay Example Equity security investments that do not form the part of the trading securities are referred as available-for-sale (AFS) securities. This are reported at the fair value with gains and losses that are unrealized and are excluded from the earnings of the company. The investments made in the equity securities are recorded at the cost that takes into account securities transaction taxes, brokerage fees and other costs that are related to the procurement of securities (Subramani 12). The investors invest in the company shares hoping to receive higher return on their cash outflows. The demand of the investors in the financial markets has invariably changed with the passage of time. The companies motivate these investors by providing higher future expected returns on the assets (equities). The equity securities and its features differ in case of different types of companies. The types of companies and the features of stocks are explained henceforth (Fabozzi 6-7). Defensive companies have th e ability to withstand the economic downturn and the future earnings are not affected. Hence, the business and financial risk is low in this case. Examples of such defensive companies are grocery chains or public utilities, which aims at providing its customers with necessity products. The rate of return of defensive stocks does not decline when there is an overall market decline. According to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the relevant risk of an asset has covariance with the market portfolio of risky assets. Hence, stocks with negative or low systematic risk (beta value) are considered as defensive stocks according to the theory of CAPM; the stock returns are not affected by the significant changes in a bear market (Scott 102). The earnings and sales of cyclical companies are significantly influenced by business activities. Examples of these

The Theories Of The New World Order

The Theories Of The New World Order Originally, the term conspiracy theory was used to describe any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning. To conspire means to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end. The term conspiracy theory is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from the people. A conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or mainstream story of events. But if one were to look into conspiracy theories today, they will largely find that thinking about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia. Some websites suggest it as an illness. I find it very strange as some of the greatest discoveries of all time were initially received as blasphemous conspiracy theories think of the revelation that the earth was not the center of the universe, or that the world was not flat but actually round. Novus Ordo Seclorum New World Order For decades, the New World Order has been a prominent conspiracy theory. The Oxford English Dictionary defines New World Order as: A new or alternative model of social organization, interaction, or control; (Polit.) a new balance of power among nations, sometimes as manifested in arrangements established internationally for preserving political stability; esp. (in recent use) the state of global politics and the global economy following the end of the Cold War. According to Wikipedia: In conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a bureaucratic collectivist one-world government. It is a worldwide conspiracy being devised by a group of extremely influential individuals, including many of the worlds wealthiest people, top political leaders and corporate elite, whose goal is to create a one-world fascist government, stripped of nationalistic and regional boundaries, obedient to their agenda. The elite of this group are united primarily by Satanism, Luciferianism or Spirit Worship. In truth, I believe, it is something far more sinister than what we are made to believe. In his documentary, End Game, Alex Jones has tried to explain that for the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Jones has researched on the global elites bloody rise to power, how they are behind the bloodiest of wars, the dictatorships, the tyrannies and the revolutions. From Islamic point of view, this idea of a New World Order is somewhat similar to that of the age of Dajjal. One which is ruled by confusion, tyranny and trials for Muslims. New World Order An Overview: Zionist banker Paul Warburg said: We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only question is whether that government will be achieved by conquest or consent. (February 17, 1950, as he testified before the US Senate). In 1992, Dr. John Coleman, an analyst of world affairs, identifies the New World Order agenda of world control as: A One World Government and one-unit monetary system, under permanent non-elected hereditary oligarchists who self-select from among their numbers in the form of a feudal system as it was in the Middle Ages. In this One World entity, population will be limited by restrictions on the number of children per family, diseases, wars, famines, until 1 billion people who are useful to the ruling class, in areas which will be strictly and clearly defined, remain as the total world population. There will be no middle class, only rulers and the servants. All laws will be uniform under a legal system of world courts practicing the same unified code of laws, backed up by a One World Government police force and a One World unified military to enforce laws in all former countries where no national boundaries shall exist. The system will be on the basis of a welfare state; those who are obedient and subservient to the One World Government will be rewarded with the means to live; those who are rebellious will simply be starved to death or be declared outlaws, thus a target for anyone who wishes to kill them. Privately owned firearms or weapons of any kind will be prohibited. (Conspirators Hierarchy: The Story of the Committee of 300, pg 161) In the preface to his book Descent into Tyranny, Alex Jones states that the New World Order system of world conquest has always been visible but it is so hulking and massive that it has remained hidden in plain sight: One of the most common pre-conditioned responses I hear from the average compartmentalized individual is that there couldnt be a society of people working for world government. Those in denial proclaim, Its too bigà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it would unravelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they couldnt keep it hiddenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The globalists plan is so far along that now they must admit that world government is a reality. Their propagandists are hailing the New World Order as the only system that will keep us safe and secure. In reality it is the world government itself which is conducting the terrorist acts. The Illuminati is the oldest term commonly used to refer to the 13 bloodline families that make up the core of these elite, the perpetrators of the New World Order, also believed to be Freemasons. In 1776, Dr. Adam Weishaupt founded the Bavarian Illuminati, a secret society modeled on Freemasonry, an Order of Masons, descendants of the Knights Templers, who called themselves The Illuminated, whose initial aim was to abolish Christianity and overturn all civil government. Writers such as David Icke believe that the Illuminati survived and are still manipulating world events by infiltrating powerful governments of the world. The great strength of our Order ties in its concealment; let it never appear in anyplace in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. Adam Weishaupt Using their covert methods, they drove the people into conflict and war, fully realizing the potential of the divide and rule policy, profiting from the sale of arms in the process. Wars also served other purposes for them, like making the people easier to control and influence because in times of turmoil, people turn to their kings for protection. From the shadows they have engineered every major war, revolution and recession. They control everything you read, everything you hear and everything you see. They have managed to indoctrinate an entire populace to their way of thinking and have infiltrated key positions in places of authority and it is from the shadows they have created a new political order, a new economic order and most sinister a new religious order. Their ultimate aim is total global domination and they will stop at nothing to reach their goal. The goal that was outlined in a speech given by a former President of the United States, George Bush What is at stake is more than one small country it is a big idea a New World Order. Contrary to popular belief, the term New World Order was not coined by George Bush. It is an ancient plan of the secret and occult societies of the world. The illuminati are interconnected families who believe Lucifer is their spiritual father and they do his bidding. They plan their diabolical agenda through societies like the Freemasons, Bilderbergs, Zionists etc, never revealing themselves, always remaining behind the veil. Famous families believed to be members of this occult society include names like the Rockefellers, Rothschild and Vanderbilt families. The goal of the Illuminati is to destroy all governments and religions to bring the world under their own control. That is the central idea of the New World Order. The agenda is to have one world government with the biblical Antichrist as the ultimate world leader. The reach of these people stretches through all areas of society, from the production of food and medicine, to governments, banking institutions, entertainment, and what not. All major world events are carefully planned and carried out by them. World events that most people see as chance or coincidence are actually a deliberate plan to disempower people and gain more control. For example, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Almost the whole world knows by now, that the 9/11 attacks were not what they were made to appear. But still people are skeptic about the existence of secret societies and their involvement in major world events. The reason for this is that they have been programmed or brainwashed to react this way to these claims. What we believe to be public opinion is in fact carefully shaped and scripted propaganda designed to elicit a desired behavioral response from the masses. What influences our opinion the most? The media! And who controls the media other than the global elite. O f course they use it for their own agendas. The NWOs Role in Shaping History: Most of the major wars, political upheavals, economic depressions, recessions of the past centuries were carefully mapped out and prompted by these elites. Both the World Wars, the Great Depression, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the fall of the Soviet Union, the Iraq War and the French Revolution are examples of major events orchestrated by the elements of the New World Order, shaping the course of history. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was the work of Jewish planning and Jewish dissatisfaction. Our Plan is to have a New world Order. What worked so wonderfully in Russia, is going to become reality for the whole world. The American Hebrew Magazine, 10, Sept. 1920 The Rothschilds financed the American Revolution. Their aim was to strengthen their hand against the King of England. That is why Freemasonry is so central to American history. When their agents got control of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in 1913, they immediately began preparations for war. Armed with American wealth, they triggered World War I. They deluded the peace-loving Americans into the war by sinking the Lusitania. They were also able to subdue their long-term nemesis, Imperial Russia, by creating the Soviet Union. World War II was staged for several reasons: to reduce the worlds population, to gain profits and to scare the Jews out of Europe and into Palestine. At the end of World War II, the Masonic group tried to cement their control of the world by creating the United Nations. At the time, they controlled all 5 permanent Security Council members. They have since lost China and Russia. In America, the Rockefellers and their fellow barons began a long-term program to complete their enslavement of the American people. They quietly and systematically gained control of the media, the text-book publishing companies and, by spreading their wealth liberally and strategically, were able to distort education. How It Works: The NWO global conspirators carry out their agenda through the skilful manipulation of human emotions, especially fear. In the past centuries, they have repeatedly used a mechanism that NWO researcher and author David Icke has characterized in his book The Biggest Secret, as Problem, Reaction Solution. First, they create a problem , mostly by funding, assembling and training an opposition group to stimulate turmoil in an established political power that they wish to invade. In recent decades, the so called opponents are being identified as freedom fighters or liberators by the media, (for example, the most wanted, Taliban). At the same time the leader of the said state or country is vilified, (like the case of Saddam Hussein). The controlled media reports about the horrific atrocities suffered by the innocent civilians at the hands of the tyrants. The NWO puppeteers then provide the solution by sending in UN peace keepers or NATO forces. Once there, these troops never leave. They gain control. The goal is to control all major countries or strategic areas where significant resistance to the New World Order is likely to be encountered. The corporate portion of the NWO pyramid is dominated by international bankers, oil barons and major multinational companies. The United Nations, and all the agencies working under it are full-time players in this scheme. NATO is their military tool. The leaders of all major industrial countries like the United States, England, Germany, France, i.e. the members of the G7, G8 etc. are all active and fully cooperative participants in this conspiracy. The degree of influence exerted by the Illuminati or Freemasons has advanced to the point that only certain hand-picked individuals who are groomed and selected by them are even eligible to become the prime ministers or presidents of countries like the US and UK. Human rights infringements, a planned global economic meltdown, false war on terrorism, false war on global warming, oppressing the supposed terrorists, oppressing the remaining free world, are all part of their duties as heads of states or holders of other key positions in the government. There is a chance for the President of the United States to use this disaster to carry out what his father a phrase his father used I think only once, and it hasnt been used since and that is a new world order- Senator Gary Hart, Council on Foreign Relations meeting, 12 September 2001 Weapons of the New World Order: Historically, the control and manipulation of political opinion has been the main weapon in gaining control of states. The New World Order agents realize that their plan for a world government depends entirely on subduing the masses to their agenda and thus eliminating opposition to their cause. The greatest threat to their plan, greater than any army or law, is the threat of a free thinking mind. In order to eliminate this threat, they have devised plans to completely control every aspect of our lives. Your lives and the weapons they are using against you are in your very homes, entertaining you and gradually indoctrinating you without you even realizing. In todays society people are spending more and more time engaged with modern media. Television, Cinema, Computer Games, The Internet, Popular Fiction and Popular Music are integral part of their lives. Yet these provide a vast expanse on information which you are taking either consciously or subconsciously into your mind. Information on society ranging from ideals and morals and the difference between right and wrong to the way societies and economies should be structured is past before you every single day. The Antichrist/Dajjal cannot arise until and unless this paradigm shift in spiritual values has occurred. A closer look on our society reveals that this shift is in fact, taking place, whether we realize it or not.

Johnny Got his Gun :: Essays Papers

Johnny Got his Gun When I first started reading Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, I thought it would be more direct in its description of World War I. However, the entire novel takes place in one American soldier’s hospital bed. His name is Joe. He no arms, legs, or face, and he is deaf. Rendered this way after an explosive shell hit him, he has no way to communicate with the world. Joe dreams throughout the novel, mostly about his memories, and because of this, a great deal of the book is disjointed and contains a dreamlike quality. Through his dreams, I learned about Joe’s life before the war. I learned he lost his father fairly young, and about his boyhood romances. Joe worked at the railroad, and at a bakery. Before he left for the war, he had a girlfriend named Kareen who I believe he wanted to marry. When Joe is awake, he at first is unaware of his injuries. He realizes he is deaf, but he goes through several stages of denial and acceptance for his physical features. He thinks his face is only swathed in bandages, not gone. He thinks the doctors are injecting drugs into the heel of his hand, not the stub that was his arm. Only when Joe realizes he’s missing his arms and legs and face, does he realize the full extent of his situation. Joe doesn’t even know where he is, though he speculates that he could be in England, France, or possibly America. Joe knows that if his arms and legs didn’t make it through the shell blast that nearly killed him, his dog tags certainly didn’t. He knows he’ll never see his sister or mother, or Kareen, his girlfriend, again. He’ll never even know where he is. Joe learns to tell time by how often the nurses come. He first figures out when dawn is by the warming of the sun’s rays on his skin. He then keeps count of how often the day and night nurses come between two dawns. When Joe finally gets it right (it takes several tries) he feels as though he’s regained some sort of connection with the rest of the world. After five years, Joe is given a medal of honor for his efforts and losses in the war.

Evaluation of Maintenance Culture of Christian Cathedral Church Buildings

EVALUATION OF MAINTENANCE CULTURE OF CHRISTIAN CATHEDRAL CHURCH BUILDINGS BY OLAYINKA JOHN AJAYI NOVEMBER, 2012 ABSTRACT The study focused on maintenance culture of cathedral church buildings in Lagos Mainland Area of Lagos State Nigeria. It also assessed the operational state of these church buildings within the study area. In achieving these objectives, opinions of maintenance officers and users of selected cathedral church buildings were sampled through structured questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, upon which 100 respondent were surveyed.The analysis revealed that the operational state of some of these church buildings as been average. Maintenance officers and users of the buildings both ranked insufficiency of fund for maintenance programme as second most significant factor among other factors responsible for poor maintenance management of these church buildings. Other factors found to be highly significant by the maintenance officers a re; cost of maintenance by the operatives. The study recommended proactive measures to reduce the occurrence of defects in the buildings elements and services.The church board of trustee is to provide adequate funding for the implementation of their maintenance programme. Building elements should be regularly inspected to ensure their functionality. CHAPTER ONE 1. 0INTRODUCTION 1. 1Background of the Study Introduction of Christianity in Nigeria metamorphosed through different phases since the early missionaries stepped feet on the Nigerian soil in the 16th century (Ajayi, 2005), and this has given rise into Christian religious institutional buildings as the Christians need a place called church as a building to worship.Hence, old religious institutional buildings are considered symbolically and emotionally significant by community members (Cohen and Jaeger, 2008 & Vangelova, 2005), and public perception endows our environments with cultural values and in turn the perception is d ictated by these values. Numerous researchers and critics in architectural theory and historic preservation looked at these shared values, that humans’ â€Å"psychological necessity† to maintain their memory creates the desire for historic preservation Woodcock (2002).Likewise, the researchers argue that the on-going course of history that contains each generation’s culture should be preserved as the public is concerned with the preservation of their memory that has been fashioned in the relationship with their environments (Brand, 2005 and Downing, 2000). Geva (2002) demonstrates that various building types religious, national, residential are a function of the interaction of cultural, regional climate conditions and architectural forms. Geva analyzed the degree of architectural modifications of single family houses and community churches.From research carried out by Geva (2002), people spent more money in maintaining their personal residential building than re ligious institutional buildings (church). Thus, churches as a building type are significant to the public as they serve primarily as cultural symbols (Cantacuzino, 2009 & Jaeger, 2005). Church Buildings play an important role in the City by providing venues for a range of activities and services aimed at encouraging community interaction and participation.Church Buildings are important assets which contribute to the physical, social and moral wellbeing of the community, society at large and the subsequent development of social capital and community strength Robert (2001). The provision of church buildings promote a sense of community identity and â€Å"sense of place†. At the same time, there are significant cost factors associated with the upkeep (maintaining) and ongoing maintenance of these building assets. Maintenance involves fixing any sort of mechanical, plumbing or electrical device etc should it become out of order or broken (known as repair, unscheduled or casua lty maintenance).It also includes performing routine actions which keep the building in a working order (known as scheduled maintenance) or prevents trouble from arising (preventive maintenance). Maintenance may be defined as, â€Å"All actions which have the objective of retaining or restoring an item in or to a state in which it can perform its required function. The actions include the combination of all technical and corresponding administrative, managerial, and supervision actions. † The former of these represents a closed loop supply chain and usually has the scope of maintenance, repair or overhaul of the building.The latter of the categorizations is an open loop supply chain and is typified by refurbishment and remanufacture. The main characteristic of the closed loop system is that the demand for a product is matched with the supply of a used product. Neglecting asset write-offs and exceptional activities the total population of the product between the customer and t he service provider remains constant. Generally speaking, there are three types of maintenance in use: Preventive maintenance, where equipment is maintained before break down occurs.This type of maintenance has many different variations and is subject of various researches to determine best and most efficient way to maintain equipment buildings inclusive. Recent studies have shown that Preventive maintenance is effective in preventing age related failures of the equipment. For random failure patterns which amount to 80% of the failure patterns, condition monitoring proves to be effective. Corrective maintenance, where equipment is maintained after break down.This maintenance is often most expensive because worn equipment can damage other parts and cause multiple damage. Reliability centered maintenance, often known as RCM, is a process to ensure that assets continue to do what their users require in their present operating context. All these shall be looked into in detailed the lite rature review In addition, the management and community at large has a significant duty of care to ensure that these buildings are kept and maintained appropriately to ensure the safety of all users and compliance with all legislative requirements and standards.While the requirements for good practice in maintenance management of buildings have been established over a considerable period, the achievement of good practice is by no means universal (Turrell, 2007). Furthermore, the maintenance of these religious institutional buildings has a significant impact on the environment and on the whole nation at large. Additionally, the conditions of the surroundings in which we live and learn, is a reflection of the nation’s well being (Lee, 2007). 1. 2Statement of the problemMost existing religious institutional buildings in Lagos State lack adequate maintenance attention and as result of this, these buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structural and decorative di srepair Ogunlana (1999),. While considerable research have been carried out on factors responsible for the poor maintenance of these religious institutional buildings in Lagos State but only scant attention has been given to the key parameters affecting the implementation of maintenance programmes for these religious institutional buildings.There is therefore a need to establish and evaluate the factor affecting maintenance of these religious institutional buildings. 1. 3Aim and Objectives of the Study The aim of this study is to evaluate the maintenance culture of Christian institutional buildings in Lagos State. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are adopted. 1. To identify the maintenance problem of religious institutional buildings and provide solutions to the problem. 2. To examine the physical conditions of these religious institutional buildings so as to ascertain the level of their maintenance. . To examine the maintenance principle in use for Christian religious institutional buildings in Lagos state. 4. To evaluate the effect of maintenance on the performance of religious institutional buildings in Lagos State. 1. 4Significance of the Study The study will state how significant the maintenance of our religious institutional buildings is in social economic development of our country at large and the research finding will contribute to solving problems regarding maintenance culture of these institutional buildings.The findings of this study will contribute to the improvement of poor maintenance culture of these buildings and lukewarm attitude of maintenance managers in charge of these buildings. The result of the study will determine the quantity of maintainable items supplied to this building. The study will further educate maintenance manager of the building to broaden their horizon in planning day to day maintenance. Furthermore, the outcome of the study will create awareness in maintenance culture in relation to the basic demands of the d ifferent subject or maintenance areas. . 5Research Question In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the following questions have to be answered. 1. What are the maintenance problems facing these religious institutional buildings? 2. Are these religious institutional buildings in good physical condition? 3. What are the maintenance principles implore by the maintenance managers in maintaining these institutional buildings? 4. What are the effects of maintenance on the performance of these religious institutional buildings? 1. 6Scope and Limitation of the StudyThere is no doubt about the significance Christian Institutional buildings in Lagos State as they also serve as social and moral heritage and they must be maintained properly. Hence the scope of this study shall be limited to Cathederal Churches in Lagos Mainland of Lagos State. HAPTER TWO 2. 0REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2. 0Preamble Geva (2002) demonstrates that various building types religious, national, residential are a function of the interaction of cultural, regional climate conditions and architectural forms.Geva analyzed the degree of architectural modifications of single family houses and community churches. From research carried out by Geva (2002) that the people spent more money in maintaining their personal residential building than religious institutional buildings (church). Thus, churches as a building type are significant to the public as they serve primarily as cultural symbols (Cantacuzino, 2009 & Jaeger, 2005). 2. 1What is Maintenance? History is about the preservation of the past, so that a good use may be made of the future.Fifty years ago, the challenge was to get people to identify and care about institutional religious buildings while twenty-five years ago, the challenge was to avert development. Today, the challenge is to stop the unnecessary loss of historic religious institutional buildings through neglect, Onifade (2000). There are a substantial number of people wh o do not know the meaning of maintenance. At least the way they practice it would indicate this. In practice, prevalent interpretation of maintenance is to â€Å"fix† it when â€Å"it breaks†. This is a good definition for repair, but not true maintenance. This style of maintenance is reactive.Maintenance, according to Smith (2003) means to keep in its existing state, preserve, continue in good operating condition. Maintenance is defined as work undertaken in order to keep, restore or improve every facility, to an acceptable standard and to sustain the utility and value of the facility. This is a proactive maintenance. Historically in both the public sector and the private sector, maintenance was seen by many as an avoidable task which was perceived as adding little to the quality of the working environment, and expending scarce resources which could be better placed, Smiths (2008).To some maintenance is war. The enemies are the triumvirate of breakdown, deterioration, and all the types of unplanned events. The soldiers are the maintenance departments, in our organization and as many civilians as we can recruit. Military historians study battles with an eye towards identifying the pattern of conditions that dominated the outcome. As maintenance leaders, we have many strategies and weapons at our disposal, some new, some old, some complex and some simple, some defective as one theater of operations and some better in another.Each strategy to consider works only with the support of the correct weapons and the logistics. Institutional buildings, which form an integral part of the environment, are severely exposed to agencies such as moisture, intense solar radiation and prevailing winds, which directly change their physical attributes (Ikpo, 2006). The prime effects of these environmental agencies include discoloration, abrasion, cracks, stains and fungal growth. Therefore, regular or periodic maintenance is required to preserve the physical form of severely exposed religious institutional buildings, and landforms among others.Apart from exposure to weather, biochemical agencies also accelerate decay of institutional buildings. It has become factual that these physical and social changes have affected sites of cultural and historical importance. In the process, potential tourist sites of local and national interest comprising historical and peculiar architectural buildings, archaeological excavations, palaces, groves, monuments, open spaces and town squares are lost while some are wasting away. The issue is not that of causation of deterioration but of poor response to maintenance demands. 2. 2Maintenance of Institutional BuildingsReligious Institutional buildings today are confronted by unique challenges that threaten their very existence (Stolzenberg, 2004). The characteristics and the structure of these institutional buildings, by their nature lack the capacity to compete with the changing whether again. According to Shohet (2003), the performance of religious institutional buildings and their components depends to a large degree on continuous and planned periodical maintenance. The Built environment expresses in physical form the complex, social and economic factors, which give structure and life to a community (Lee, 2005).According to Banful (2004) the financial consequences of neglecting maintenance is often not only seen in terms of reduced asset life and premature replacement but also in increased operating cost and waste of related and natural and financial resources. Maintenance is related to the background of any project, unfortunately development plans and approved recurrent and capital estimates in religious institutional buildings in Lagos state have revealed that thought have not be given to maintenance work (Onifade, 2003). 2. Maintenance Problems of Religious Institutional Buildings There are so many problems being faced by attempts to maintain institutional buildings. Aradeon (2006) lis ted some of these problems to include inadequate professionals and the closeness of these sites to urban centres thereby making the land occupied by them to attract high value for alternative investment. The major problems confronting the maintenance of institutional buildings revealed by the study are related to finance basically. Repair cost of Religious institutional buildings is usually higher than a modern home.Some common maintenance needs seen in home are problems such as peeling paints and foundation cracks; minor structural problems such as crack plaster to small movement in the foundation; drainage and grading problems due to the installation of new roof gutter; insufficient electrical system; poorly installed plumbing; older leaking roof; older heating and cooling system; poor ventilation: excessive moisture from un-vented bathrooms and cooking areas causing damaged plaster and deteriorated windows; and excessive air leakage, Onifade (2006). 2. 3. 1Finance Maintenance is essential for the conservation of religious institutional buildings.Those who participate in the maintenance of religious institutional buildings like the church management committee need to know their likely financial commitment before work commences. This early-stage cost advice can establish realistic budget for decision making (Smith, 2005). The cost of maintenance of a religious institutional building could be high or lower depending on the structure at the beginning and invariably, it is usually high because of the materials that were used in the first place which may not meet current standard. It is therefore difficult for these properties to be maintaining properly (Mandal, 2004).The increasing abandonment of these properties by those who were originally responsible for them informed the need for government, NGOs and religious bodies’ participation in their maintenance. Finance is the major factor that inhibits the conservation of religious institutional buildings. Th e maintenance of institutional buildings requires a lot of money that cannot be provided by a single body. Other maintenance problems are; according to Adenuga (1999), various problems of varying magnitudes and origins are encountered in the process of maintenance. Some of these would include: 2. 3. Design Problems Some fundamental maintenance problems originate from the design of the building. These types of problems are usually hard to solve as it may involve complete reconstruction of the entire building or large section of it. It may be avoided or, at least, drastically reduced by involving at the design stages professional experts, including highly competent and experienced Maintenance Managers. 2. 3. 3Problem of Skill Some Maintenance Managers and their crew of craftsmen and technicians lack the desired skills (which include experience, technical know-how, etc) required on the job. . 3. 4Research and Development Problems There is lack of adequate funds and interest in this dir ection. In fact, research and development directed towards building maintenance is non-existent or at best, very minimal. 2. 3. 5Overcrowding Another characteristic common to most homes of poorer groups is crowded, cramped conditions. Many health problems affecting poorer groups are associated with overcrowding, including household accidents, acute respiratory infections (of which pneumonia is perhaps the most serious), tuberculosis and other airborne infections.In the predominantly low-income residential areas in Third World cities, there is often an average of four or more persons per room and in many instances less than one square metre of floorspace per person. Diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza and meningitis are easily transmitted from one person to another. Their spread is often aided by low resistance among inhabitants due to malnutrition and by frequent contact between infected and susceptible people. Acute bacterial and viral respiratory infections and lots of others are diseases caused by overcrowding Horner (2007). 2. 3. 6Indoor Air PollutionWhere open fires or relatively inefficient stoves are used indoors for cooking and/or heating, smoke or fumes from coal, wood or other biomass fuels can cause or contribute to serious respiratory problems. Chronic effects include inflammation of the respiratory tract which in turn reduces resistance to acute respiratory infections, while these infections in turn enhance susceptibility to the inflammatory effects of smoke and fumes. Exposure to carcinogens in emissions from biomass fuel combustion has been confirmed in studies in which exposed subjects wore personal monitoring equipment.Women who may spend 2-4 hours a day at the stove must be at risk. Infants and children may be heavily exposed because they remain with their mothers; the added exposure to pollutants combined with malnutrition may retard growth, leading to smaller lungs and greater prevalence of chronic bronchitis Harvey (2009) 2. 3. 7Disea se Vectors A large range of vectors live, breed or feed within or around houses and settlements. The diseases they cause or carry include some of the major causes of ill health and premature death in many cities – especially malaria (anopheles mosquitoes) and diarrhea diseases (cockroaches, blowflies and houseflies).But there are also many other diseases caused or carried by insects, spiders or mites including bancroftian filariasis (culex mosquitoes), Chagas disease (triatomine bugs), dengue fever (Ardes mosquitoes), hepatitis A (houseflies, cockroaches), leishmaniasis (sand-fly), plague (certain fleas), relapsing fever (body lice and soft ticks), scabies (scabies mites), trachoma (face flies), typhus (body lice and fleas), yaws (face flies), and yellow fever (Aegypti mosquitoes). Urban expansion may also change the local ecology in ways which favour the emergence or multiplication of particular disease vectors.For instance, Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector for dengue feve r and yellow fever is often found to breed in polluted water sources such as soak-away pits and septic tanks. Anopheline mosquitoes generally shun polluted water but certain species have adapted to the urban environment and now breed in swamps and ditches in or close to urban areas Horner (2007). 2. 4Maintenance System The selection of maintenance system to be operated in the building should take into consideration in terms of the life cycle of the building materials, services installation provided space function or activities to be carried out in that particular building.In some cases, when the material has reached the ‘wear and tear’ condition, the maintenance work is then required to rectify those defects. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the design team understands materials performance in order to reduce the running cost during building operation. Using so called ‘heavy duty’ materials and yet producing high quality building fabric, Arade on (2006). By knowing the physical and detail life span of the materials will allow the maintenance team to forecast the budget allocated for replacement work and planned the maintenance work as per schedule.With a detail record of the previous maintenance work, it will act as a benchmark to the future maintenance activities where decision be made through this. It shows that, the maintenance work should not only rectify and making good all defects at the affected area but also at the same time should be properly recorded. It is a way to closely monitor the severity of the defects occurring in the building; Arazi (2009). Referring to the previous record will assist the maintenance team to overcome and provide an effective remedial works.In spite of planned maintenance, emergency maintenance will involve urgent and immediate work prior to the problem. It is to avoid the resultant consequences to other activities which may cause severe failures; Oloyede (1991). By considering those pla nned and unplanned maintenance, the management should provide a realistic budget and come out with some emergency plans in dealing with uncertainties cases. Therefore, the implementation of an effective maintenance practice must inculcate some indicators to improvise the traditional maintenance management system to reach the needs and nature of the work. . 5Maintenance Needs and Nature It is highly desirable but hardly feasible to produce buildings that are maintenance-free, although much can be done at the design stage to reduce the amount of subsequent maintenance work. All elements of buildings deteriorate at a greater or lesser rate depending on material and methods of construction, environmental conditions and the use of the building. A prime aim of maintenance is to preserve a building in its initial stage, as far as practicable, so that it effectively serves its purpose. The main purposes of maintaining buildings are; Apwa (2001) i.Retaining value of investment. ii. Maintaini ng the building in a condition in which it continues to fulfill its function. iii. Presenting a good appearance. Maintenance work has also been categorized as â€Å"predictable† and â€Å"avoidable. Predictable maintenance is regularly periodic work that may be necessary to retain the performance characteristic of a product, as well as that required to replace or repair the product after it has achieved a useful life span. Avoidable maintenance is the work required to rectify failures caused by poor design, incorrect installation or the use of faulty materials.The function of maintenance can be divided into three (3) groups; * Cleaning and servicing, * Rectification and repair and * Replacement. Timely expenditure on the first two can postpone the need to replace materials or components, a very expensive business. Cleaning and servicing should be carried out regularly and may be combined with a system of reporting faults when become apparent, thereby avoiding the need for mo re expensive repairs or even replacement at a later stage. Apwa (2001) 2. 6Type of MaintenanceAccording to Avedesian (2006) maintenance can be divided into the following categories:- Breakdown maintenance: It means that people waits until equipment fails and repairs it. Such a thing could be used when the equipment failure does not significantly affect the operation or production or generate any significant loss other than repair cost. Planned maintenance: This is maintenance organized and carried out with forethought, control and the use of records to a predetermined plan, Unplanned maintenance Ad hoc maintenance carried out to no predetermined plan. Preventive maintenanceMaintenance carried out at predetermined intervals, or corresponding to prescribed criteria, and intended to reduce the probability of failure, or the performance degradation of an item. Preventive maintenance initiated as a result of knowledge of the condition of an item from routine or continuous monitoring. It is a daily maintenance (cleaning, inspection, oiling and re-tightening), design to retain the healthy condition of equipment and prevent failure through the prevention of deterioration, periodic inspection or equipment condition diagnosis, to measure deterioration.It is further divided into periodic maintenance and predictive maintenance. Just like human life is extended by preventive medicine, the equipment service life can be prolonged by doing preventive maintenance. | Preventive maintenance as scheduled overhaul or scheduled replacement provides two of the three proactive failure management policies available to the maintenance manager. Common methods of determining what Preventive (or other) failure management policies should be applied are; OEM ecommendations, requirements of codes and legislation within a jurisdiction, what an â€Å"expert† thinks ought to be done, or the maintenance that's already done to similar equipment, and most important measured values and perfo rmance indications. To make it simple: * Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment. * Corrective maintenance, sometimes called â€Å"repair,† is conducted to get equipment working again. 2. 7Goals of a Successful Maintenance Programme According to Iyagba R.O (2004) Successful maintenance programs should achieve these goals: 1. Help buildings function as they were intended and operate at peak efficiency, including minimizing energy consumption. Because maintenance keeps equipment functioning as designed, it reduces inefficiencies in operations and energy usage. 2. Failures of building systems that would interrupt occupants’ activities and the delivery of public services. Buildings that operate trouble-free allow public employees to do their jobs and serve the public.Because maintenance includes regular inspections and replacement of equipment crucial to operating a building, maintenance staff reduces the proble ms that might otherwise lead to a breakdown in operations. 3. Sustain a safe and healthful environment by keeping buildings and their components in good repair and structurally sound. Protecting the physical integrity of building components through preventive maintenance preserves a safe environment for employees and the public. 4. Provide maintenance in ways that are cost-effective.Preventive maintenance can prevent minor problems from escalating into major system and equipment failures that result in costly repairs. In avoiding costs of major repairs, preventive maintenance creates efficiencies. Increasing preventive maintenance can reduce time spent reacting to crises, which is a more cost-effective way to operate buildings. Deferring preventive maintenance can generate higher costs over the long term. 2. 8Building Performance This is a comprehensive whole house approach to identifying and fixing comfort and energy efficiently.Building performance or home performance is a compreh ensive whole-house approach to identifying and fixing comfort and energy efficiency problems in a home. Energy audits are performed by energy auditors, also known as building analysts or consultants, which, in the United States, are usually certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI). The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy started a national program â€Å"Home Performance with ENERGY STAR† to offer a comprehensive, whole-house approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort at home, while helping to protect the environment.The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program has 40 programs, to date, across the country which are administered by various utilities and state energy offices. Home performance applies building science to address the following issues: Efficient energy use, Durability, Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort, Indoor Moisture sources and solutions Diagnostic equipment includes: Blower door, Duct blaster, Thermogr aphic camera Combustion analyzer.A home performance energy audit results in home energy retrofit recommendations to improve the comfort and efficiency of the home, the most common of which include: Sealing air holes and gaps in the building envelope and subsequently adding insulation. Sealing ducts. Upgrading heating and cooling systems, appliances and lighting by replacing them with energy efficient equipment such as ENERGY STAR appliances or devices, compact fluorescent lamps, or LED lamps. Adding heat recovery ventilation or other means to control and upgrade fresh air ventilation, Retrieved from Google (2012). CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY PreambleThis chapter housed the method used in gathering the necessary information and source of data used on the research project. The study examines the techniques used in analyzing the data. This research is based on the evaluation of maintenance culture of Christian religious institutional buildings in Lagos State, Nigeria, and the fo llowing were looked into, research design, population, sampling technique, instrument for data collection, administration of instrument and technique of data analysis. Technique of Data Analysis The data collected was analyzed with simple percentage for respondents’ bio-data, Arithmetic mean for research.This was done in respects to the four points Likert scale, Analysis of Research Questions Research Question 1:what are the maintenance problems facing Christian institutional buildings? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | 1| The church building is in a detoration state| -| 3Ãâ€"39| 2Ãâ€"65130| 1Ãâ€"3232| 1. 71| Disagree| 2| The church building needs certain level of repair generally| -| 3Ãâ€"35105| 2Ãâ€"4590| 1Ãâ€"2020| 2. 15| Disagree | 3| Most of the roofing, paints and some parts of the church needs repair| 4Ãâ€"37148| 3Ãâ€"3399| 2Ãâ€"1530| 1Ãâ€"1515| 2. 5| Agree | Source; Field Survey, 2O12 From the table above, the respondents disagreed with statement o ne and statement two respectively with the mean score level of 1. 71 and 2. 15 respectively. But agree with the last statement to show the level of maintenance needed by these church buildings. From the analysis above we discovered that these church buildings are maintained but there are still levels of maintenance needed in the area of roofing due to wear and tear and moisture, which also is applicable to the church painting.Research Question 2: are these Christian institutional buildings in good physical conditions? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | 4| The building equipments has been audited several time to ascertain level of maintenance needs| 4Ãâ€"67268| 3Ãâ€"2369| 2Ãâ€"36| 1Ãâ€"77| 3. 50| Agree| 5| There are certain amounts allocated for the maintenance of this building by the authority. | 4Ãâ€"78312| 3Ãâ€"2266| -| -| 3. 78| Agree| 6| Periodic preventive maintenance is carried out on this church building| 4Ãâ€"85340| 3Ãâ€"1854| 2Ãâ€"510| -| 4. 4| Agree| Sour ce; Field Survey, 2O12 The table above shows that the respondents agreed with all of the statements made. The mean scores are 3. 50, 3. 78 and 4. 04 respectively which mean that the majority of the churches surveyed are kept under good conditions with amount allocated for maintenance and periodic preventive maintenance carried out. Research Question 3: what are the maintenance principles implore by the maintenance managers in maintaining these buildings? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | | There is a facility maintenance plan for this building| 4Ãâ€"55220| 3Ãâ€"45135| -| -| 3. 55| Agree| 8| The facility maintenance plan includes long and short term objectives and budgets? | 4Ãâ€"27108| 3Ãâ€"1545| 2Ãâ€"2448| 1Ãâ€"3434| 2. 35| Disagree| 9| The facility manager carry out preventive maintenance regularly| 4Ãâ€"85340| 3Ãâ€"1854| 2Ãâ€"510| -| 4. 04| Agree| Source; Field Survey, 2012 The table above shows that the respondents agreed with statements 7 and 9 with mean scor e of 3. 55 and 4. 04 respectively, thereby disagreeing with statement 8 made with mean score of 2. 5, which shows an indication that there is facility maintenance plans for all the church building and that there is preventive maintenance carried out by the manager, but there are no adequate budget to execute this maintenance plan. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary Maintenance is regarded to be the most pragmatic and philosophically appropriate conservation method (Forsyth, 2007). Regular maintenance is critical to the survival of any building, be it cultural, heritage or non-heritage and church buildings.This recognition was made as early as 1877 by William Morris the founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), an organization entrusted with caring and preserving United Kingdom’s heritage buildings. He considered regular maintenance as â€Å"the most practical and economic form of conserving heritage buildings†. Kerr (2000) als o emphasized that â€Å"of all the processes of conserving ancient church buildings, maintenance is the single most important process†. To date, regular maintenance is still considered as the most sustainable way of preserving church buildings (Dan and Cantell, 2007).However, a large number of heritage buildings are decaying due to age, neglect, high maintenance cost and lack of comprehensive guidelines and understanding of heritage buildings’ maintenance management practices 5. 2Conclusion The study has revealed that the operational state (physical-functional condition) of church buildings in Lagos State as carried out by the maintenance department was found to be good, The analysis discloses that the Cathedral church buildings in Lagos State are in a good state of existence in terms of the physical and functional conditions of the building elements and services that constitute these buildings.But for better performance, a proactive rather than reactive approach shoul d be adopted for effective maintenance practices as some Cathedral church buildings out of the surveyed ones are not properly maintained. This study has raised awareness on the practice and cost of neglect of maintenance of our Cathedral Church buildings. It is not intended to frighten the church owner or user, it is to sound the alarm for the need of imbibing the culture of maintenance of our church buildings as opposed to the culture of lawlessness and arbitrariness that have characterized past management of our building stock.The research work is wake-up to arresting the menace and embarrassment of the Sick Building Syndrome. 5. 3Recommendations Cathedral church buildings are places of worship as such more has to be done by both the maintenance management staff and the users to improve the operational state (physical-functional condition) more in maintaining those which are not properly maintained as they are place which give moral lessons to the people. Recommendations for these churches cannot be over emphasized.Hence upon this the following recommendations are made to preserve these church buildings under survey. Maintenance managers and their team should adopt more proactive approach to reduce the occurrence of defects, which will consequently bring about better physical and functional Cathedral church buildings elements and services. The governing councils of these churches should always set aside adequate fund for the running of these Cathedral church buildings as the study shows that there are no long time budgets for these buildings.Maintenance managers should equally give the narrow managerial span of control a trial in use as this may likely bring about a more effective organizational structure leading to better maintenance management of public hospital buildings. It is also important that maintenance management work together with top administration management so as to secure sufficient funds for maintenance works as well as ensure that such funds is judiciously utilized. Maintenance manager should use authentic materials and skills in repairing and retrofitting these church buildings.Older buildings require constant maintenance. Current funding programs cover the initial conversion costs, but not longer-term maintenance. Perhaps additional funds for maintenance could be made available when conserving built heritage is part of a housing project’s objectives. Building managers should also * coordinate preventive maintenance with other maintenance projects, * prepare a checklist of preventive maintenance tasks, * schedule a timeline for the tasks, * prepare procedures for managing the program, and include preventive maintenance among activities for controlling the quality of air inside buildings As building managers determine what maintenance projects are needed, they should use an objective process for setting priorities among them. For cost effectiveness, building managers should calculate total costs over the expecte d lifetime of building and facilities. As a prelude to preventive maintenance, building managers should oversee periodic inspections of buildings’ conditions and create an inventory of buildings’ components and equipment.References Adenuga, O. A. (1999): Building maintenance in Nigeria: Structural Deterioration, Recognition Diagnosis of Causes and Remedies. (01), 5-25). Ajayi, L. A. (1987): Concern for collapse of building in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers, 1(2). Akinsola, O. E. , Adenuga O. A. , and Iyagba R. O. (2004): Strategic maintenance practices: Effective loots for improved productivity and efficiency of plants and equipments in construction industry. Journal of Building Quarterly, 3(1), 10-15. Allen, D (2003), Facilities management, Bradford, Vol. 11, Iss 3, pg. 7. Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International, School Facilities Maintenance and Operations Manual (Reston, VA: ASBO International, 2008). Avedesi an, (2006) How to Design and Manage Your Preventive Maintenance Program. APWA and Building Research Board of the National Research Council, Committing to the Cost of Ownership: Maintenance and Repair of Public Buildings (Chicago: APWA, 2001). Alexander, B. Atkin, J. Brochner, T. Haugen (2004), Facilities Management, Innovation and Performance. Barret, P. (2005), Facilities Management: Towards Best Practice, Oxford:Blackwell Science. British Standard Institution (1998): BS 79813: The principle of the Construction of Historic Buildings. BSI, London. Chanter, P. , Swallow B, (2000), Building Maintenance Management, Blackwell Science, Ltd. David G. Cotts, (2009). The Facility Management Handbook, 2d ed. (New York: American Management Association.

Talk Show

TALKSHOW SCRIPT Dr. X:Hello and welcome to Your Life Sucks, Get Over It. Today’s topic will be violent relationships and why the heck people stay in them. We have 5 very special people on the show today. Now, first we have to get to know you. Please state your name and blood type. Tom: What does blood type have to do with ANYTHING? Dr X: Just answer the question. Tom: Uh†¦Tom†¦and I don’t know my blood type†¦ Dr X: Right then. And you, please state your name and blood type Elsa: Elsa, and why do YOU have to know my blood type? Dr. X: Because it’s MY show.YOU’RE just on it because your life sucks! Elsa: No. That’s Caitlin. NOT ME!! Dr. X: O†¦k†¦and you, name and blood type. Saint: My name’s Saint†¦and I love football. Dr. X: Wait, REAL name and BLOOD TYPE!! Saint: Patrick, and I love FOOTBALL!! Dr X: Ok, we know you like football. Now state your blood type. Saint: FFFOOOOOOTTTTTTTBBBBBBAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! Dr X: You know what, forget it. And you, name and blood type. Mario: Mario Ortega, blood type AB negative. Dr X: Ok, good. And you? AJ: (Starts to cry)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Mario: That’s AJ. He’s a little EMOtional.AJ: AHHHHHHHHH, what? Dr X: All right then. Let’s get started. So, who actually has BEEN in a violent relationship? All:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. AJ†¦AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Dr X: Anyone? Mario:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Me. Dr X: All right, now we got a show going! So tell us, Mario, what role did you play in the violent relationship? Mario: The violent one. Audience: OOOOOOOOOOOO!! Dr X: Hmm. What did you do to her†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. or him? Mario: Uh, her, and I pushed my pregnant wife out a moving car. Audience: BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Dr X: Why? AJ: TO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Mario: O†¦k†¦My father got on my nerves.D r X: Oh, I see. You were mad at your FATHER so you pushed your WIFE out a moving car. That makes PERFECT sense!! Moving on! Mario: No, wait, that’s not what I†¦ Dr X: Tom, you’ve been quiet. What’s up with you? AJ: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Tom: SHUT UP!!!!!! AJ: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Tom: Thank you. Anyway†¦. AJ: (stabs self with pencil) Tom: (Looking at AJ) Uhhhh†¦ Can I move? Dr X: NO!! As you were saying. Tom: (Still looking at AJ) My best friend Nick was in a violent relationship. Dr X: (rubbing chin) Interesting. So how did this affect you? Tom: Ummm, I felt uncomfortable?Dr X: GOOD!!! AJ: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! All (including audience): SHUT UP!!!!!!!! AJ: (whimpers) Dr X: Ok, Eliza†¦. Elsa: It’s ELSA!!! Dr X: How do you fit into all this? Elsa: MY best friend Caitlin was in the violent relationship with HIS best friend Nick. (Points to Tom) Tom: Don’t you point at ME like that!!!! I didnâ €™t have ANYTHING to do with it!!! Elsa: (Still pointing at Tom) I’ll point where it want to!!! AJ: AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Saint: I like football! Dr X: THIS IS NOT THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW! THIS IS MY SHOW AND THERE WILL BE NO FIGHTING ON MY SHOW!DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR! (Everyone but AJ is absolutely quiet. AJ is still crying. Someone in the audience coughs. ) Dr X: We’ll be right back after this commercial break. Dr X: Welcome back to Your Life Sucks, Get Over It. (Looks to Tom and Elsa, who are on opposite sides of the stage. ) We were just getting to Saint. Saint: Foot†¦ Dr X: DON’T YOU SAY FOOTBALL!!!!!!! Saint†¦soccer†¦. Dr X: (dirty look to Saint) All right now. How do you fit into this? Saint: I’m Caitlin’s new boyfriend. Dr X: And how did this come about? Saint: After Nick beat Caitlin up, I asked her out.Dr X: So you were taking advantage of that vulnerability she was going through just after she and Nick broke up. Saint: Noâ € ¦ Dr X: Now, Mario, do you know anything about this particular violent relationship? What’s your connection to it? Mario: I was Nick’s anger management teacher when Caitlin got a restraining order on Nick. Dr X: So you teach an anger management class when you have your own anger problems? Mario: I got over my anger problems. Dr X: Right. So, since you’re in charge of the anger management class, why do you think that Nick beat up Caitlin?Mario: She did something he didn’t want her to do and felt like he needed to take control of her by showing her that he was in charge. Dr X: I see. Now, AJ, you’ve done nothing but cry and stab yourself with a pencil. Just where do you come into this? AJ: AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Dr X: STOP THAT CRYING!! (AJ stops crying) Now, answer the question. AJ: †¦I was in Nick’s anger management class. Everyone in there was under court orders to take the class. Everyone in there had hit his girlfriend. We all felt like we needed to control something, or someone, so we tried to control our girlfriends.Dr X: Hmm. Eliza†¦ Elsa: IT’S ELSA!! Dr X: What do you think caused Nick to feel the need to control people? Elsa: How am I supposed to know? I don’t know him; I don’t even like him! Dr X: Tom, you were Nick’s best friend, what do you think caused it? Tom: Problems at home. He and his dad didn’t exactly get along. Dr X: What do you think caused that? Tom: Nick’s dad beat him up. Dr X: Elizabeth†¦ Elsa: IT’S ELSA!! Dr X: Were there any signs before Nick beat Caitlin up that Caitlin was in a violent relationship? Elsa: Yes. Dr X: What were they?Elsa: Nick made Caitlin spend all her spare time around him, Nick made her stop hanging out with me, he always had to know where she was, he told her what to do, he even slapped her and left a big red nark on her face. Then Caitlin tried to break up with Nick, but he gave her a ring and she went out with him again, even though I confronted them both about that mark on her face. They both denied that he did that to her, but I know he did it. Dr X: Well, now you know the signs and the reasons. Make sure your life doesn’t suck because of a violent relationship. Until next time!