Employee relation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee relation - Essay Example A smaller survey done in the UK found 27 per cent HR professionals following the practice and a discrepancy in the popularity of the practice between media and finance industries, and retailers and charities (Peacock 2008). No legislation restrains HRM from considering the applicants’ information displayed on their Facebook profiles in order to reach recruitment decisions. Use of social networks for recruitment decisions poses certain issues. Firstly, there is concern over privacy of the candidates and establishment of limits on the employers’ interest in the job applicants’ private lives. Such vetting processes can be interpreted as invasion in the privacy of the job applicants (Peacock 2008) given job applicants do not scrutinize their posts and shared material on social media with an intention of having them reviewed by the prospective employers. Secondly, use of social media to reach recruitment decisions makes the employers vulnerable to the charges of discrimination (Lynas 2007) as the rejected employees might feel that they have been rejected because the employer did not approve of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or political views. This imparts a need for the employers to act responsibly and self-regulate in order to comply with the employment legislation. Retrieving information from job applicants’ Facebook profiles to reach recruitment decisions has negative connotations on employer-employee relationship. Employees are often unaware that employers are checking their social networking profiles as part of the screening process. Employers do so in order to find traces or evidence for what to them is inappropriate social behavior in the job applicants’ Facebook profiles. Laws guarding people against discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, religion, sexual orientation, and other variables commence at the recruitment stage. An

How to Protect the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How to Protect the United States - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that considering the ever-evolving nature of terrorism and the risks posed by the terrorists to the American future, it becomes imperative that the nation should prepare itself for potential future attacks. The overall nature and modus operandi of the attacks can be uncertain however, it is important that a comprehensive and holistic strategy is developed to counter any potential threats and terrorist attacks. It is suggested that in future, the overall barriers to large and catastrophic events will be low and the individuals, as well as small groups, will have larger and better capacity to strike their targets. Such enemy can pose a greater level of threat to the security of the nation as compared to those enemies whose strength is almost known. The overall threats are not just limited to the man-made threats but the natural disasters can have an impact on the economy, people as well as the society at large of the United States. It is crit ical to note that the ideology and the Jihadist philosophy is still intact despite the fact that senior Al-Qaeda leadership has been killed. This continuity in the Jihadist ideology, therefore, offers a greater vitality to the overall Islamic Jihad and thus pose the greater level of threat in future. In order to dilute this ideological surge, it is critical that Homeland Security must evolve and develop a new strategy to deal with the ever-increasing level of terrorist threats.

Shakespeares treatment of evil in Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares treatment of evil in Macbeth Essay It is clear right from the beginning of the play that the witches play a key role in the play. The opening scene shows the witches planning their meeting with Macbeth. Not only does this scene hold suspense and capture the audiences attention from the start of the play, it sets the atmosphere also. They meet on a moor in thunder and lightening, this portrays an evil image. This is how Shakespeare portrays evil at the start of the play. Shakespeare used rhyming couplets for lovers and magical characters, as well as at the end of a scene to round it off. The Witches speak this certain way to stress their mysteriousness and sense of confusion. Some of their lines contradict each other and this can be very effective and powerful. All: Fair is foul, and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air. (1.1) This is to emphasise the witches hate for good, and love for evil. Also, this would have caused tension among an Elizabethan audience. Witches were believed to be associated with the evil powers of Hell, and that they had diabolical powers and could take demonic power over anybody they chose. The image of them being able to fly would frighten them. In the Royal Shakespeares Companys production, starring Anthony Sher and Harriet Walter, the witches are shown as extremely mentally unhinged and deranged. They run around Macbeth and Banquo as they tell them their prophecies. Their evil is portrayed by the camera shots used, and fuzzy effects that a stage performance could not achieve. This gives them a sense of mystery. The theatre production I saw did not have a very effective or powerful opening. The witches seemed disturbed but I felt they spoke too quickly, this could have been connected with evil forces, but I feel that if the audience did not know the script very well, it could be confusing. Though I felt the parts of the witches were not acted very well, they did depict their power over Lady Macbeth very well. This was achieved in the unsex me here speech in Act One, Scene Five. The witches were shown behind Lady Macbeth in green light, which both created an eerie atmosphere but showed that perhaps they were the evil behind all of Macbeth and Lady Macbeths plans. Maybe they had some control over what was happening. In the witches foul is fair and fair is foul speech, it was sung in a way that made them sound very mentally disturbed. They also did mysterious movements with their arms. Both of these actions made the scene more powerful and interesting for the audience, and also created a feeling of evil and the unknown. The witches were not only in the play to put emphasis on evil; Shakespeare had intended to please King James I, which Macbeth was performed before. The king was very fascinated by witchcraft at the time, but witches were feared by almost everyone during the reign of Elizabeth I, as England was a Christian country, that believed literally in Heaven and Hell and as they thought that witches were associated with Hell, witches must have been evil, and if they were anything to do with them, they were to be condemned to eternity in Hell. Hundreds of people, many women were convicted as witches and tortured and executed. Towards the beginning of the play, King Duncan, his sons, and Lennox meet a captain who was wounded from a battle. Macbeth is well spoken of, and even though the audience have not yet seen Macbeth himself, they are given the impression he is a noble and respectable man. The captain tells of Macbeths victory in having captured the Thane of Cawdor, a traitor to the king. Hearing this, Duncan is overjoyed with Macbeth and gives Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor for himself. For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name) Distaining Fortune, with his brandishd steel, Which Smokd with bloody execution, (Like Valours minion) carvd out his passage. Captain (1.2) Macbeth therefore has good qualities at the beginning of the play that makes his abrupt change terrifying. He is simply a human being with human weaknesses, particularly his ambition, which makes him vulnerable when it comes to being tempted be the idea of having power He does not seem evil at all at the beginning of the play, infact he seems very far from it. He is a man who, as Lady Macbeth says: Too full o th milk of humane kindness to catch the nearest way. (1.5) From the opening scene, Macbeth is chosen as a target for temptation by the witches. This suggests that perhaps he was not an evil person, but just a victim of his ambition and moral weaknesses. He is tempted when he first meets the three witches when they say that he was to be king. But when Macbeth is told that he had been made Thane of Cawdor, he asks: The Thane of Cawdor lives, why do you dress me in borrowed robes? (1.3) This seems to suggest that at the stage, Macbeth wants no honour that is not rightfully his? At first, Macbeth does not want to murder Duncan, as his fears were that he would be eternally damned, especially as Duncan was a good king to his country. But eventually, ambition takes over and he does not let his thoughts get in the way. The witches are not the only reason for why Macbeth becomes so unhinged and obsessed with the idea of becoming king. Lady Macbeth was very responsible for Macbeths decision to kill Duncan; it was she, who mocked Macbeth when he did not want to carry on with their plans to kill him. Lady Macbeth says: When you durst do it, then you were a man: And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man. (1.7) Lady Macbeth is an extremely strong and power craving woman. She is tremendously ambitious for herself and who is astute enough to recognise her husbands strengths and weaknesses, and also ruthless enough to make the most of them, this is shown when as she mocks him when he did not want to murder. The idea of becoming queen is incredibly tempting to her, and she realises that without her, he will never win the Crown. She therefore calls on the powers of darkness for his and her sake. Come you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty (1.5) Lady Macbeth describes in violent terms what she herself would be prepared to do in this situation, she explains how willing she would be to kill for the Throne, by stating that she would go as far as murdering her own child if necessary. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, And dashd the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this. (1.7) The idea she expresses here certainly fits perfectly with the fair is foul and foul is fair speech. This shows that appearances may be deceitful. Lady Macbeth seemed like a very feminine, weak lady. This is shown when the murder of Duncan had just been discovered, Macduff says to Lady Macbeth: O gentle Lady, Tis not for you to hear what I can speak: The repetition in a womans ear, Would murther as it fell (2.3) She is also a very cautious criminal; she remembers details well such as in Act Two, Scene two, when Macbeth had just murdered Duncan, he forgets to leave the daggers back to the scene of the crime. Macbeth, at this point, is shocked after what he had just done. He is frightened, and very guilty, he is not in the state to return the daggers. So Lady Macbeth does it for him to cover their tracks. Not only does she influence Macbeth to such actions, but she is ambitious enough to finish off any things he had begun. At this stage, Macbeth still has a conscience, he panics after he had sinned. Ill go no more: I am afraid, to think of what I have done: Look ont again, I dare not. (2.2) But as time passes, he realises he will have to carry on killing people to cover up the truth that it was him who murdered Duncan. One of those people was his friend, Banquo, who knew about the witches prophecies. Banquo was suspicious, as he had always thought the witches were misleading Macbeth in some way. If anyone knew who had killed Duncan, it would be Banquo. Macbeth therefore needed to rid of him, and also his son, Fleance, as it was said by the witches that he would also become king. First Witch: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. Second Witch: Not so happy, yet much happier. Third Witch: Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none. (1.3) This is the point where Macbeth gets carried away with his ambition. He tries to stop what the witches said would happen. This is proved impossible when Fleance flees from the murders, leaving his father, dying. Macbeth carries on murdering innocent people including Lady Macduff and her son. Macbeth returns to the witches to hear more of what was going to happen, in Act Four, Scene One. His ambition had already taken over by then. He is obsessed with keeping the throne. The apparitions one by one tell him bad news, but Macbeth is over confident and is now almost certain he would not be defeated. The power of man: for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. Macbeth shall never vanquishd be, until Great Birnam Wood, to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him. Apparitions two and three (4.1) Again, not all things are what they seem. This is again, another example of the half-truths that Shakespeare uses. They play a large role in Macbeth, and are what was used to draw Macbeth into doing evil deeds. Evil is also emphasized by clothing in productions and films. In the production that I saw, and in the RSC production, the actors were wearing mostly black all of the time. Lighting was very effective in the live performance; green lighting was used for the witches which gave a supernatural atmosphere. Smoke was also used to create a feeling of mystery in the opening scene. The consequences of evil develops drastically throughout the whole play, starting off with doubts and indecisions, and ending with empty, ruthless cruelty. If Macbeth is viewed as a psychological study of a murderers mind, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both show symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is defined as a psychotic disorder characterised by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of feeling, thought, and conducts. They may also hallucinate, and can not distinguish between what is real and what is not. Macbeth imagines Banquos ghost at the dinner. This scene was done very effectively in the live performance. Banquo appeared onstage, and slipped in and out of the stage through the iron gates, which normally, the actors would have to open to walk through. Stepping through the gate broke the boundaries and gave a very supernatural edge to the scene. Some schizophrenics withdraw emotionally, for example, their outlook on life is deadened and they show little or no warmth. This is exactly what happens to Macbeth near the end of the play. I have livd long enough; my way of life Is falln into the sear, the yellow leaf. I have almost forgot the taste of fears (5.5) Lady Macbeth is so mentally disturbed by what she and her husband have done that she cannot sleep peacefully, resulting in her sleep walking. This signifies that she can not get it out of her head, and she is beginning to become crazy because of it. She is even re-acting some of the past out, including the letter writing, which symbolises the letter that her loving husband wrote to her to inform her of the news that he was to be king. She feels unclean after touching the daggers and the blood of the king. She has hallucinations that her hands are covered in blood and that she cannot remove the smell of blood from her hands either. Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. The Thane of Fife, had a wife: where is she now? What will these hands neer be clean? Heres the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (5.2) She also knows her husband is getting out of control, and she feels that it is all getting unbearable. This is first shown when Macbeth is planning to kill Banquo. Lady Macbeth tries to discourage him, but fails: Lady Macbeth: You must leave this. Macbeth: O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife: Thou knowst, that Banquo and his Fleance lives. (3.2) It is towards her death, when she is seriously psychologically damaged by the events. Shakespeare shows this through the way that she speaks. While throughout most of the play, Lady Macbeth spoke in unrhymed iambic pentameter. At the end when she was sleep talking, she spoke in prose, which showed how disjointed her mind was: Wash you hands, put on your nightgown, look not so pale: I tell you yet again Banquos buried; he cannot come out ons grave. (5.1) In conclusion, I think Macbeth was extremely influenced by the witches. They were the main reason for spread of evil. There is certainly with little doubt, without the witches, and their prophecies, Macbeth would not have murdered Duncan. Though the witches were the main reason, the others was also his ambition, his weakness to temptation, and the power his wife had over him to tempt him to do what his conscience knew was wrong. Lady Macbeth is incredibly determined, and powerful, and eventually, the two of them lost their passion they had for each other because of their evil deeds and desire for control Your hand, your tongue, look like th innocent flower, But be the serpent under t. He thats coming, Must be provided for: and you shall put This nights business into my dispatch, Which shall to all out nights, and days to come, Give solely sovereign swat, and masterdom. Lady Macbeth. (1.5) Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself, And falls on th other. Macbeth (1.7)

Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

One night, Gatsby waylays Nick and nervously asks him if he would like to take a swim in his pool; when Nick demurs, he offers him a trip to Coney Island. Nick, initially baffled by Gatsby's solicitousness, realizes that he is anxiously waiting for Nick to arrange his meeting with Daisy. Nick agrees to do so. Gatsby, almost wild with joy, responds by offering him a job, a "confidential sort of thing," and assures Nick that he will not have to work with Meyer Wolfsheim. Nick is somewhat insulted that Gatsby wishes to reimburse him for his help, and so declines Gatsby's offer. It rains on the day that Gatsby and Daisy are to meet, and Gatsby becomes extremely apprehensive. The meeting takes place at Nick's house and, initially, their conversation is stilted and awkward. They are all inexplicably embarrassed; when Gatsby clumsily knocks over a clock, Nick tells him that he's behaving like a little boy. Nick leaves the couple alone for a few minutes; when he returns, they seem luminously happy, as though they have just concluded an embrace. There are tears of happiness on Daisy's cheeks. They make their way over to Gatsby's mansion, of which Gatsby proceeds to give them a carefully rehearsed tour. Gatsby shows Daisy newspaper clippings detailing his exploits. She is overwhelmed by them, and by the opulence of his possessions; when he shows her his vast collection of imported shirts, she begins to weep tears of joy. Nick wonders whether Gatsby is disappointed with Daisy; it seems that he has made of her a goddess, and  ­ though Daisy herself is alluring  ­ she cannot possibly live up to so grandiose an ideal. Gatsby has Ewing Klipspringer, a mysterious man who seems to live at his mansion, play "Ain't We Got Fun" (a popular song of the time) for himself and Daisy: In the morning, in the evening Ain't we got fun! Got no money, but oh, honey Ain't we got fun! As Klipspringer plays, Gatsby and Daisy draw closer and closer together; Nick, realizing that his presence has become superfluous, quietly leaves. Analysis The exchange between Nick and Gatsby that opens this chapter highlights the uncertainty at the heart of their relationship: is Gatsby's friendship with Nick merely expedient  ­ that is, is he merely using him to draw closer to Daisy  ­ or is he genuinely fond of him? The question cannot be absolutely decided: while it becomes clear that Gatsby has great affection for Nick, it is also true that he uses his money and power as leverage in all of his personal relationships.

Genetically Modified Foods Essay

Genetically modified foods have recently been in the new headlines for both their positive attributes and the negatives of genetic modification, this essay will look at the effects Genetically Modified foods have on the economy, environment and you. Genetically modified (GM) foods refer to crop plants which have been created for human or animal consumption, these foods have had their genetic material modified in a way that would not occur naturally within the food. Desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content are some ways food can and have been genetically modified. Traditionally, modifying plant to have a desired trait has been undertaken through breeding, conventional plant breeding methods are time consuming and are often inaccurate. (Better Health Channel, 2013) Genetic modification can create crops with the specific traits rapidly and accuracy. For example, the gene responsible for drought tolerance can be inserted into a different plant species, the GM plant will become drought tolerance as well as the host plant previously was. Experts say 60% to 70% of processed foods on Australian shelves have genetically modified ingredients. The most common genetically modified foods are soybeans, maize, cotton, and rapeseed oil. That means many foods made in Australia containing corn or high-fructose corn syrup, such as breakfast cereals, and snack foods, these ingredients appear frequently in animal feed as well. Today’s techniques of genetic modification provide innovative and infinite of improving specific traits in different crops. For example, physical means of removing weeds is time and cost consuming for farmers, they will often spray their crops with a variety of herbicides to destroy the weeds, this process takes great care to ensure the crop isn’t affected by the herbicide, GM plants modified to be resistant to a variety of herbicides could prevent damage to the environment by reducing the amount of herbicides required. Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off. (Kartha, 2013) Third world counties where malnutrition is major issue, could benefit greatly from GM crops. Impoverished people in Africa and Asia rely on a single staple crop such as rice for the majority of their diet. Rice, however is not an adequate staple with the correct amount of vitamins and nutrients to fully nourish a human. If rice where to be genetically modified with additional vitamins and minerals, malnutrition wouldn’t be an issue for third world countries. (Csa. com, 2013) As this issue grew it became a concern for Professor Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyerin who created The Golden Rice project, Potrykus and Beyerin in a collaborative effort were able to show that production of ? -carotene could be turned on in rice grains using Genetic Modification, Potrykus enabled golden rice to be distributed free to subsistence farmers. Free licenses for developing countries were granted quickly due to the positive publicity that golden rice received. Golden rice was said to be the first Genetically Modified crop that was unarguably beneficial. (Mayer, 2013) Environmental activists, professional associations and other officials have all raised concerns about Genetically Modified foods, and criticized laboratories for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards to humans and the environment. Genetically Modified foods have a long list of benefits, but along with the positive comes the negative, one concern for Genetically Modified foods is increased toxicity, most of the flora that is consumed by humans produce low level toxins, low enough that they don’t cause any adverse health effects. The concern is that inserting an exotic gene into a crop plant may cause its toxicity levels to rise significantly due to the new gene casing the host plant to stress and produce toxins as a defense or altering the plants toxin producing cells completely causing it to produce toxins at a rate dangerous to human health. Although these effects have not been observed in Genetically Modified crop plants, they have been observed through conventional breeding methods, causing scientist to become concerned with the safety of Genetically Modified plants. (Enhs. umn. edu, 2013) Another health concern for Genetically Modified foods is an increase is food allergies. Food Allergy affects approximately 6% of children and 3% of adults in Australia and lately has become a major public health issue (Bakshi, 2003). Allergic reactions occur when a usually harmless proteins enter the body and causes an immune response (Bernstein et al., 2003). If the protein in a Genetically Modified food originates from a source that is known to cause allergic reactions in humans or a source that has never been consumed by humans as food, the protein could evoke the immune response in humans increases. No allergic reactions to Genetically Modified foods by the public have been confirmed, evidence suggesting that some Genetically Modified food products could cause an allergic reaction has motivated a number of biotechnology companies to discontinue their development (Bakshi, 2003). Another serious concern for Genetically Modified foods is the production of â€Å"super bugs†, scientists are finding that Genetically Modified crops are a breeding ground for bacteria and virus’s and that they are extremely resilient to antibiotics and able to overrun the â€Å"good† bacteria in a healthy humans digestive system causing severe and irreversible damage after they have been consumed through Genetically Modified foods, there is documented proof that the digestive system of lab controlled mice fed these â€Å"super bugs† become enlarged and caused the mice to die after it’s digestive track was over run by the bacteria in turn causing its immune system to weaken. Government authorities across the world have strict regulations in place on genetically modified foods. In the U. S, agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration supervise projects that involve Genetically Modified crops. Although the U. S government doesn’t require farmers and retailers to label Genetically Modified foods, each product must go through a strict regulation test in order to be sold to the public. (Curiosity, 2013) Genetically Modified foods are new to the Australian food supply, a cautious and in depth approach is taken when assessing the safety of Genetically Modified foods for consumption by humans. FSANZ (Food Standard Australia and New Zealand) carry out safety checks on a CBC (case by case) basis, this means each new Genetic Modification is assessed individually for any potential impact on the foods safety, â€Å"We compare the Genetically Modified food with a similar, commonly eaten conventional food from a molecular, toxicological, nutritional and compositional point of view. The aim is to find out if there are any differences between the GM food and its conventional counterpart, which we already know to be safe to eat. † -FSANZ official (Foodstandards. gov. au, 2013) Although there are many health issues concerning Genetically Modified foods, rigorous and in-depth research has been done to ensure Genetically Modified foods that are available to the public are totally safe and healthy to be consumed, as more and more foods are becoming Genetically Modified more safe and sustainable procedures are being put in place to ensure that the public and the environment benefit from Genetically Modified Foods.

Research Methods Essay

In case where I am taking part in a community mentoring program and have been assigned to help a local high school student who is experiencing difficulty in writing research papers, I am most likely to discuss the research methods that I utilized and why they worked best for me. First of all is experimental method. I will explain to the student that experimental research is a method of research wherein it aims to test a hypothesis in controlled circumstances, which means, â€Å"that all the causes/independent variables are controlled separately from a test variable to investigate the effect on a dependent variable† (Oulu.. 2000). I will also inform the student that the simplest model of laboratory experimentation is where two independent variables are contrasted (Oulu.. , 2000). I will provide examples for the student to understand it better, for instance, subjects are exposed to two different sound stimuli such as tones of different frequencies, to compare the effects on the dependent variable, which in this case is, heart rate (Oulu.. , 2000). It works best for me because the experimental method as a way to research because laboratory experimentation has been used to take a more in-depth look at human and animal behaviors basically because the effects of confounding variables including the influence of observation are controlled (Oulu.. , 2000). Another method of research that I will reintroduce to the student is the one which is technically referred to as â€Å"qualitative research† wherein its findings are not deduced by statistical or any other quantitative procedures (Bureau.. , n. d. ). I prefer this and it works best for me as well because it entails â€Å"detailed verbal descriptions of characteristics, cases, and settings or data deduced from observation, interviews, and document review† (Bureau.. , n. d. ). I will also inform the student about the objectives of the aforementioned method of research including the fact that it aims to: a) develop hypothesis or theory; b) understand behavior in a natural setting; c) study phenomena in their entirety rather than concentrating on narrow aspects of the phenomena referred to as independent or dependent variables (Ipsos, 2007).

Irelands Big Wind, 1839

Ireland's Big Wind, 1839 In rural Irish communities of the early 1800s weather forecasting was anything but precise. There are many tales of people who were locally revered for accurately predicting turns in the weather. Yet without the science we now take for granted, weather events were often viewed through the prism of superstition. One particular storm in 1839 was so peculiar that rural folk in the west of Ireland, stunned by its ferocity, feared it could be the end of the world. Some blamed it on the â€Å"fairies,† and elaborate folk tales sprang from the event. Those who lived through the â€Å"Big Wind† never forgot it. And for that reason the horrendous storm became, seven decades later, a famous question formulated by the British bureaucrats who ruled Ireland. The Great Storm Battered  Ireland Snow fell across Ireland on Saturday, January 5, 1839. Sunday morning dawned with cloud cover that amounted to a typical Irish sky in winter. The day was warmer than usual, and the snow from the night before began to melt. By midday it began to rain heavily, and the precipitation coming in off the north Atlantic slowly spread eastward. By early evening heavy winds began to howl. And then on Sunday night an unforgettable fury was unleashed. Hurricane force winds began to batter the west and north of Ireland as a freak storm roared out of the Atlantic. For most of the night, until just before dawn, the winds mauled the countryside, uprooting large trees, tearing thatched roofs off houses, and toppling barns and church spires. There were even reports that grass was torn off hillsides. As the worst part of the storm occurred in the hours after midnight, families huddled in total darkness, terrified by the relentless howling winds and sounds of destruction. Some  homes caught fire when the bizarre winds blasted down chimneys, throwing hot embers from hearths throughout cottages. Casualties and Damage Newspaper reports claimed that more than 300 people were killed in the wind storm, but accurate figures are difficult to pin down. There were reports of houses collapsing on people as well as houses burning to the ground. There’s no doubt there was considerable loss of life as well as many injuries. Many thousands were made homeless, and the economic devastation inflicted on a population that was nearly always facing famine must have been massive. Stores of food meant to last through the winter had been destroyed and scattered. Livestock and sheep were killed in vast numbers. Wild animals and birds were likewise killed, and crows and jackdaws were nearly made extinct in some parts of the country. And it must be kept in mind that the storm struck in a time before government disaster response programs existed. The people affected essentially had to fend for themselves. The Big Wind In a Folklore Tradition The tural Irish believed in the â€Å"wee people,† what we think of today as leprechauns or fairies. And tradition held that the feast day of a particular saint, Saint Ceara, which was held on January 5, was when these supernatural beings would hold a great meeting. As the mighty wind storm had struck Ireland on the day after the feast of Saint Ceara, a storytelling tradition developed that the wee people held their grand meeting on the night of January 5, and decided to leave Ireland. As they left the following night, they created the Big Wind. Bureaucrats Used  The Big Wind as a Milestone The night of January 6, 1839 was so profoundly memorable that it was always known in Ireland as the Big Wind, or The Night of the Big Wind. The Night of the Big Wind forms an era, explained a reference book published in the early 20th century. Things date from it: such and such a thing happened before the Big Wind, when I was a boy. A quirk in Irish tradition was that birthdays were never celebrated in the 19th century, and no special heed was given to precisely how old someone was. Records of births were often not kept very carefully by civil authorities. This creates problems for genealogists today (who generally have to rely on church parish baptismal records). And it created problems for bureaucrats in the early 20th century. In 1909 the British government, which was still ruling Ireland, instituted a system of old age pensions. When dealing with the rural population of Ireland, where the written records might be scant, the ferocious storm that blew in from the north Atlantic 70 years earlier proved to be useful. One of the questions asked of elderly people was if they could remember the Big Wind. If they could, they qualified for a pension.