Empress Wu’s rise to power is interesting

There is A Confucian dogma that pushes women ruling as â€Å"unnatural† (Empress Wu Zetian, 2008).   However, in China there lived one woman who rose to power. Wu Hou, also called Empress Wu Zetian, ruled China during the Tang dynasty, the only female to do so (2008). While some depict Empress Wu’s regime as autocracy, it could not be denied that she ruled China effectively, preserving the country’s diplomatic relationships with other nations (Hucker, 1975, p.143). Empress Wu’s rise to power is interesting. The Tang dynasty is described as a time when women experienced some freedom, at a time when women were not limited to being subservient (Empress Wu Zetian, 2008). It was a period where women became part of cultural and political endeavors (2008).   Wu came from a noble family and thus was taught music, how to write and read Chinese classics (2008).   Her father was one of Emperor Kao- tsu’s supporters while her mother descended from the Sui royal family (Safra, 2002, p.90). When she was 13 years old, she was sent to Emperor Tai Tsung’s court to be a servant (2008). Soon, Wu became Emperor Tai Tsung’s favorite concubine. When the emperor died, Wu was removed from the palace, as customary (Hucker, 1975,b p.142). The emperor’s son, Kau-Tsung became the emperor at age 21 (2002). However, the new emperor, as fate would have it, was also enamored with Wu, giving him sons (Empress Wu Zetian, 2008). Wu soon became the emperor’s favorite concubine and soon was hungry for power. Rumors have it that that Wu killed her own child and blamed Empress Wang (Kau- Tsung’s wife) of the crime (Walsh, 2003).   Kau-Tsung believed Wu and married her, making her the new empress (2008). Five years into their marriage, the emperor was struck with stroke and soon gave power to Empress Wu. When Emperor Kau-Tsung died, Empress Wu used her power to renounce the new emperors, her sons and by 690, Empress Wu was crowned as the Emperor of China (Walsh, 2003). She ruled China until 705 (Hucker, 1975, p.142). Empress Wu soon began her campaign to uplift the women in a relatively men-dominated environment. She ordered scholars to write biographies of prominent women (Empress Wu Zetian, 2008). She also saw to it that her mother’s clan was given high positions in the political arena (2008). The new empress favored religion and symbolism. Rituals were changed during her reign (Safra, 2002, p.90).   Names of officials were even altered, and the emperor or empress, in her case, was dubbed with the new title â€Å"Heavenly Emperor† (p.90).   Empress Wu manipulated the government to follow her, employing informers and agents (p. 90). She made Buddhism as the preferred state religion (Empress Wu Zetian, 2008). Empress Wu was able to engineer the Buddhist scripture into building a Ming T’ang or â€Å"Hall of Light†, a shrine to Heaven as depicted in the Classics (p. 90). She was even able to convince every prefecture to create a temple which alludes to Wu being an incarnation of Buddha (p.90). The empress’ given surname ‘Wu’ was also exploited. Everyone who had the same surname as the empress was exempted from paying taxes (p.90). In 690, Empress Wu changed the dynasty from T’ang to Chou (Safra, 2002,p. 90). She had become China’s female ruler. During Empress Wu’s reign, China was in the midst of foreign battles.   Despite being depicted as a dictator, Empress Wu was instrumental in China’s diplomatic relationships. Together with Kao-Tsung, Wu mediated in the Korean Civil War (Hucker, 1975,p.143). At that time, Koreans were able to dominate in the Korean state of Silla, they acknowledged Wu’s reign (p.143). When Empress Wu was 80 years old, her power had started to diminish. She was finally abdicated and the T’ang dynasty was restored (Safra, 2002,p. 91). Empress Wu is truly an interesting leader. For one, she is female. At a time when males where dominating the political arena, she rose to power. It is remarkable especially since Asian culture tends to be patriarchal and for a female to rule and succeed, that is exceptional. True, Empress Wu’s reign was plagued with intrigues and scandals.   She was a dictator, a usurper and while this is not new to some leaders, it is still rather surprising to find a woman who is such. That is not to say that only men can be dictators. Women can also be dictators but sometimes they simply do it subtly. Empress Wu was shrewd and she let the world knew it.   It is even shocking to discover that she may have murdered her own child just to fulfil her desire to become empress. Although this was never confirmed, the thought of parent harming his/her child is disturbing. It is something that people read in newspapers or see in the television now but to think that it happened way before it has become a norm, to say the least, it truly startling. Stories of leaders conning people to get what they want is normal, albeit wrong. This just goes to show that even during those times; power and greed were already present and destroying individuals. On a positive note, Empress Wu was one who paved the way for women empowerment. She used her position to uplift the status of women in her country.   It is interesting to know during a time when women were thought to be subservient; there rose a woman who wanted to change the norm. Leaders, regardless of gender, can learn something from Empress Wu- good traits and bad ones. References Empress Wu Zetian (2008). Retrieved 17 February 2008 Hucker, C. (1975). China’s Imperial Past. An Introduction to Chinese History And Culture. California: Stanford University Press. Safra, J. (Ed.). (2002). China. The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.16, pp.90-91. Walsh, J. (2002). The Empress Wu Hou- China’s Only Female Ruler, Retrieved 17 February 2008, from http://www.suite101.com   

Economic, Political, and Social Factors Related to Aids in Africa

Without a single doubt, one can say politics has been the main driving forces in the spread of this disease. Once the â€Å"triple cocktail† was discovered by doctors, it managed to signal an era in which AIDS was no longer a fatal disease. Nevertheless, the high costs of this drug meant that it was unaffordable to patients from the undeveloped countries where stigma and desperation flourished. Additionally, patients in developed countries such as America were incapable of being introduced to this remedy if they were incompetent in affording health care.Patients felt defeated, restless, isolated, and accepted that there is a social disorder accommodated with this disease. There was a political conflict in subordinating the expenses of this medicine in countries such as Brazil where health care is guaranteed for all its citizens. South African government further encountered a tragic failure in battling with this epidemic that was overwhelming its country. President Mbeki came i nto power with an unconventional message and promised solutions for AIDS.When Mbeki was leading a nation with more infections than any country in the world, he affirmed throughout his speech that HIV is not the causation of AIDS but an environmental or social condition such as poverty, and banned the cocktail claiming it was toxic for the population. Hence, the fundamental proposition that arose was if HIV doesn’t cause AIDS, then how would anti-HIV drugs lead to such dramatic improvement in one’s well-being and how does AIDS get passed on to a child from a mother who is infected with HIV.This evidently proved that denial and neglect in African government for covering the cost burden of these drugs in order to save the lives of its citizens. Indubitably there is a monumental controversy regarding the funding for AIDS drugs globally. If our mission is to reach equity and justice in our society, we must ensure funding for AIDS drugs and also ensure practical preventative factors are provided for all our citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Analysis of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning

An intergovernmental and national institution named as The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) has managed and owned by member of states for the purpose of application and generation for the early warning information. The RIMES has been evolved from the combined efforts of Asia and Africa, after 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. RIMES have established to generate the early warning information for identification of hazards and are responsive with trans-boundary hazards. On 30 th April 2009 RIMES has come to existence and 1 st July 2009 its gets registered with UN United Nation. In Thailand Pathumthani the Asian Institute of technology, the RIMES activities are operated as regional early warning center (warning, 2011). To building capacity and providing actionable information related to waning to forewarned, resilient and forearmed communities They are working with the concept of provides maximum benefits at the minimum cost, RIMES works to address both low frequency hazards and high-impact like tsunamis and high frequency hazards and low-impact like extreme weather event . They are utilizing their technological facilities in an optimum way and providing the state of members to support decision information at wider basis. The all the members of the states are urge to provide lower cost for the establishment of the individual early warning system for low frequency hazards and high-impact (Warning, 2011). They are working to meet the information that is need by the different users; they are integrating risk information at different time scale so that the diverse user’s early information warning need meet. They are working to generate the tangible benefits that will be demonstrated by identifying new promising technologies and research products to do pilot testing for powerful operations. The key services that have delivered by RIMES are discussed as follows: To the National Tsunami Warning Centers of States Members RIMES are delivering following services: To the National Hydrological Research and Development and Weather Climate RIMES are delivering following services: Localized and customized generation means that the short-term weather information and server weather generate for the contingency plan and for logistic plan medium-term on formation generated and for long-term planning and   management resources, seasonal climate outlook generated (Anny, 2016). The climate variability and change analysis of risk could be generated by them and identification of   management related risk would be made for the adaption of various options The decision support tool would be developed on timely basis and development for the new risk information product would be generated The Following services are provided by the RIMES to the local and national level institute For providing the regional benefits the observations are being maintained and established and stations are being monitored (Robin, 2016). They are providing proper training to scientist The tool that they are used includes risk assessment and interpretation and translation of early warning. In decision making process the application of risk information being tailored The early warning system is also done by RIMES on need basis The SWOT analysis of RIMES will be discussed under this heading so that the organizational behavior framework could conduct The strength of RIMES includes that it is a collaborative efforts of Africa and Asia to generate early warning to save from any sort of hazards. The members from all the states are ready to serve at any cost. The best scientists are working with in the premises of RIMES to deliver their best services to generate the warning that could be save people from high and low impact of hazards (Kurittal, 2000) The RIMES weaknesses are that the scientists are on some basis are not be able to generate the results that are useful because the provision of generating warning might be not corrected although they are working with high quality techs products (Pinder, 2013). The main opportunities of RIMES are that they members of state from the nations are working to provide more tech full resources and they are working to bring advancement in the risk assessment products so that the provision of delivering results will became more authentic and valuable and are useful for them to keep them save from any sort of difficulties (Kuyngus, 2000) As they are working on the global scale they are facing many of the threats from their competitive firms that they might steal their technologies that will be biggest threats to them as they are aiming to work to provide best quality provision The function that is made to achieve the organizational set goals are composed of two or more than two people is defined as the social system that forms an organization. The organization is a place where two or more persons works to gather for the accomplishment of organizational set goals. The way in which an organization structured and organization plays its fundamental role for accomplishment and achievement of organization and individual both. The play a role that is based on the efficacy and efficiency for organization success and satisfaction that is intended to both of an individual and organization (Miner, 2015). The Concept of OB is developed in to identify the behavior of each and every individual and how its affect the organization and individual behavior. The organizational behavior is concept that needs to focus on all perspective to find out its impact on the performance of employees and organization. The concept of OB is developed with purpose to study the human behavior that what basically human mind perceived in order to understand that how effective his thinking for the organization performance (Wagner, 2014). The theories of organizational behavior try to elucidate on the specific behavior of people and to identify environment of organization to find out the factors that affects the individual performance, to identify the level of commitment towards the achievement of goals, to identify the influences of managerial style and leadership style for formulating the overall performance of organization and most importantly to identify the interaction between employers and employees. Thus it has found that the impact of organizational theories found significant to the performance of the organization and these all factors are important to consider for the performance evaluation of organization. The organizations are focusing to use these theories so that the productive of the firm will increase in effective and efficient manner (Durbin, 2013). In the selected organization RIMES are looking significantly into the matters of having a good organization performance those results in better productivity within effective and efficient manner.   The two main theories that are used by RIMES in order to make their performance effective and productive and these two main concepts are planning and organizing. The first main concept that is needed to focus is planning is a very major step organization should have a very enrich concern regarding the planning because a careful planning would lead it to its destination. This planning provides a baseline to achieve the goal it is required to have a careful planning for every start to move towards achieving the goals. The goals are being divided into different task and each task need to be monitor time to time and for this organization should survey and communicate to each other for the better understanding (Greenberg, 2013) It is very important to monitor each task with an open eye; supervisor and upper   management should have to monitor each task for better performance than it is very important to evaluate the results and this result will help an organization to make decision where the need improvements and for this they need to communicate the result within the organization. The organizations performance not only depends on productivity, effectiveness of market, profitability, and customer satisfaction but also depends on employee morals so the performance   management is very necessary step in the organization which is highly influential for employee’s satisfaction then to the organization performance thus the RIMES are focusing on the core of their heart to carefully design their planning activities so that the stated long term goals could be achieved by formulating short term and midterm goals. The planning is the most important factor to look up because of the base is wrong than the results will not effective (Bolnio, 2013). The second perspective defines about the organizing the activities in an easiest way to accomplish the goals in more effective manner. The organizing task according to the set plan is fundamental to obtain effective and efficient result. Further the organizational structure is very important to focus. The design structure should be impairment in the sense that organizing will be beneficial for the firms (Wegite, 2013). The organization structure of RIMES is based on the leadership style design. The organization structure is designed in a way to be convenient for interaction between different firms in countries and headquarters.   The proper linked is required to maintain among countries and headquarters so that the overall objectives could be achieved in effective and efficient manner. RIMES are focusing to maintain the coordinating activities more profound so that the problem could be resolve and miscommunication gap could be minimized. RIMES has faced difficulties while maintain the coordinating activities between different countries and headquarters, they are developing strategies on early basis to get rid of this miscommunication issue so that the effective result generate which is the sign of efficient and effective productivity (Papio, 2016). RIMES are working with full efforts to organize its organizational structure in way that follows leadership style that is beneficial to them in order to eradicate the communication gap so that the communication between firms will become easier to interact with several issues so that the generated problems could overcome. RIMES have developed different strategies that are playing their effective role in order to remove the miscommunication gap (Benner, 2013). In this context the applied leadership theory and style that is focused by the RIMES is discussed. The author of the study stated that the leadership styles are fundamental to the organization performance that needs to be focused very sharply. The leadership is generic skills that are implemented in by leader to work as a team that is beneficial and supportive to organizational culture to maintain the performance. The leadership style is supportive to the performance of organization that working in a team would generate the effective performance. The author of the study stated that the leaders are the one who leads people and don’t emphasize on ordering them to do work, the leader work cohesiveness and guide each and every individual of organization in order to have better performance and they encourage to work as a team rather than to be alone (piner, 2013). The leadership style is defines by two main function of phases that are transitional phase of leadership and transformational phase of leadership. The phase of leadership that are based on the composition of team that defines mission and establish expectations with stated goals, plan and structure, develop the team and train them and provide feedback these all activities done under the active phase. These functions are evolve in monitoring of the team and set boundaries and solves problem with in the limited provide resources and second style of leadership style phase is transformational phase, this is the phase in which leadership style is based on the activities to enhance coordination between groups and its members in order to generate the effective and efficient result and they are working under the leadership style to resolve the conflict that arises due to the misconception and mismanagement. And another type of leadership style is also existing that is known as the laissez-fai re leadership style that emphasize in the learning of members of groups in order to have the efficient and effective results (Marion 2014). The RIMES leadership style is based on the all of the above leadership phases they have transformational leader in their organization that are emphasizing on the composition of team that defines mission and establish expectations with stated goals, plan and structure, develop the team and train them and provide feedback and the evolve the monitoring process in order to have an effective results. The RIMES also follows the transformational leadership style in which the leaders are emphasizing on activities to enhance coordination between groups and its members in order to generate the effective and efficient result and they are working under the leadership style to resolve the conflict that arises due to the misconception and mismanagement so that the better result could be generated and on some extent the RIMES are also focusing on the emphasizing of   laissez-faire leadership style that emphasize in the learning of members of groups in order to have the efficient and effective res ults for RIMES (walker, 2015). The management approaches that has been implemented by RIMES are stated as follows They are following this approach because the intend to make decision on the basis of team work they provide complete freedom to all of their groups members to participate in decision making process so that the effective result could be generated (Hock, 2016). They are following this approach that has been applied to the countries offices representatives. This type of leadership style is based on the process to follow rules and process and top structure of the organization usually make decision in premises of RIMES. They are following this approach and is usually applied on personal securities and accountant of RIMES that they have complete right to make their own decision to complete each task. It may on some extent make frustration for employees as well (Famdaze, 2014). The RIMES are focusing on this approach and providing their employees a learning sharing environment and they have right to make their own decision and prefer to work in a team (Corea, 2015). It has been analyzed in the end that the RIMES have proper planning system and well maintained organization structure in which all are playing their role in effective and efficient manner to generate the better performance in the firm they are focusing on the emphasizing of leadership style to have a complete command over employees so that the best possible result could made that is useful for the organization, RIMES is working to maintain their coordination will all the countries to have direct linked with the organization so that all types of problems that has been faced due to the communication gap could be resolve at early basis. Their leadership style is quite impressive and maintainable It has been concluded at the end that the report is based on the introduction of RIMES and their services and activities are present and SWOT analysis of RIMES is mention that is revealing about the performance of RIMES. The framework of organizational behavior in which the theories of organizational behavior has been discussed and two main concept of planning and organizing is discussed which is based on the premises of RIMES perspective that what are their planning style and concept and according to the them the planning is most important step that is the base of the organization performance and then the organization structure of RIMES has been discussed that is designed in way to cover the communication gap. Then the leadership style and phases are discussed in the other section of report that is defining that the RIMES emphasizes on all three forms of leadership style that is transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and laissez-faire leadership style that are playin g vital role for generating effective performance. Warning, R. I. M. H. E. (2011). System for Africa and Asia (RIMES). 2011.  Development of High-Resolution Regional Climate Model for the Maldives, through Statistical and Dynamic Downscaling of Global Climate Models to Provide Projections for Use in National and Local Planning. Report No. 3: Downscaling Process, Results, and Uncertainties. Anay aqnd Robbin (2016), working activities of The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES), the economic journal, p123-213. Kurttila, M., Pesonen, M., Kangas, J., & Kajanus, M. (2000). Utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in SWOT analysis—a hybrid method and its application to a forest-certification case. The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES)  Forest policy and economics,  1(1), 41-52. Miner, J. B. (2015).  Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Wagner III, J. A., & Hollenbeck, J. R. (2014).  Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge. DuBrin, A. J. (2013).  Fundamentals of organizational behavior: An applied perspective. Elsevier. Bolino, M. C., Klotz, A. C., Turnley, W. H., & Harvey, J. (2013). Exploring the dark side of organizational citizenship behavior.  Journal of Organizational Behavior,  34(4), 542-559. Greenberg, J., & Colquitt, J. A. (Eds.). (2013).  Handbook of organizational justice. Psychology Press. Pinder, C. C. (2014).  Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press. Greenberg, J. (Ed.). (2013).  Organizational behavior: The state of the science. Routledge. Weigelt, C., & Miller, D. J. (2013). Implications of internal organization structure for firm boundaries.  Strategic Management Journal,  34(12), 1411-1434. Papaioannou, G. I., Chatzis, D. G., Kotsanis, A., Sionis, D. G., Pavlides, G., Arampatzis, C. A., ... & Mihalis, L. (2014). Organization, structure and data of the Hellenic Heart Registry on Percutaneous Coronary Interventions: a step forward towards outcomes research.  Hellenic J Cardiol,  55(3), 227-234. Ben-Ner, A. (2013). Preferences and organization structure: Toward behavioral economics micro-foundations of organizational analysis.  The Journal of Socio-Economics,  46, 87-96. Pinder, C. C. (2014).  Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press. Moriano, J. A., Molero, F., Topa, G., & Mangin, J. P. L. (2014). The influence of transformational leadership and organizational identification on intrapreneurship.  International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal,  10(1), 103-119. Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Walker, L. S., & Woehr, D. J. (2014). Gender and perceptions of leadership effectiveness: A meta-analysis of contextual moderators. Hoch, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. W. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership.  Journal of applied psychology,  99(3), 390. Fernandez, L., Velasquez, M., & Sua, L. F. (2014). Endobronchial Interventions Used In The Managemet Of Malignant Central Airway Obstruction: Initial Experience At A Reference Center In South America. In  C39. THE SPY WHO LOVED BRONCHOSCOPY: ADVANCES IN INTERVENTIONAL PULMONARY PROCEDURES  (pp. A4399-A4399). American Thoracic Society. Correa, R., Basta, N., Andrade, A., & Flores, J. G. (2015, November). The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices. In  SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers.

ENGL WEEK 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ENGL WEEK 1 - Assignment Example The similarities of these two types of writings is that they both are effective when it comes to communicating something clear enough to the audience it is meant for (Ellis, et al, 45). The main similarity that they also tend to share is that they all require the competence in grammar for proper written communication. Due to official setting that both academic work and business work require, it is then necessary to deduce that there is requirement for the written communication to be competent in order to avoid issues that may arise regarding misinformation. There are also differences that can be pointed out as far as these two types of writings are concerned. The first is that students write with the purpose of learning whereby in business, writers has the intention to get work done. In scholarly material, the writing is done to demonstrate to which level learning has been accomplished whereby in business setting the writing is to prompt some sort of action to be undertaken by the relevant bodies concerned. The instructor prompts scholarly work whereas business writing is for the complex groups or people that correlate with the company in the likeness of the stakeholders. The content of business writing is based on the thesis of the work provided by the student instructor whereas the in business scenario only what is intended for the audience is included in writing and everything else is added in the

Identify and discuss all of the relevant employment law issues raised Research Paper

Identify and discuss all of the relevant employment law issues raised in the above scenario. What advice would you give to Chris Be sure to substantiate your answer by reference to decided cases - Research Paper Example However both the employer and employee are governed by and have different rights, duties and responsibilities under various laws concerning health and safety, discrimination etc. Benefits such as salary, overtime and other compensation must also be worked out and paid. The case at hand will focus on the rights and duties of Chris and Bill under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 & 2005 and the Equality Act 2010, also referring to decisions in related cases as to the remedies available for both employer and employee. A contract of employment is a written document given by the employer to the employee governing the terms of employment. The general terms often relate to nature of work, duties and responsibilities, place of work and compensation and benefits etc. If there is no written contract of employment, the terms of employment are then governed by the law of the land and the general conditions of employment as applicable in that specific sector of industry that the employee is working under. It is important that the employee know his rights and duties and wherever possible insist that the terms of employment be in writing. This helps in the quick resolution of disputes should any occur later on. The employee can demand that the terms of employment be put in the form of a written agreement after two weeks of commencing employment at a new workplace (www.direct.gov.uk). Previously there was hardly any written law governing the terms of employment in the UK. Cases used to be decided by precedent or in the light of the particular individual circumstances applicable to the case as deemed by the Judge presiding over it. However certain extenuating circumstances demanded that the law be codified. For example, the right to serve notice or terminate an employee, the right to claim rights and damages for unfair dismissal, keeping trade secrets, not joining certain competitors and so forth all called for the laws

Ethnic Diversity of Counseling Clients Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethnic Diversity of Counseling Clients - Essay Example California has been one of the leading states of the United States of America in terms of diversified ethnicity. The state has wide range of population which includes major proportion of African – Americans, Hispanics and Asians along with the white populace. The need of counseling is observed more in to the lower strata of the society especially among those who have immigrated from the lesser developed nations. The fight for the survival often takes toll of those struggling minds. It is observed that they often need counseling because of drug over dose, alcoholism and other social curses that they become part of. In the broader perspective, the need of the counseling is felt in two ways namely voluntary counseling and that mandated by the judicial system. The voluntary counseling is such counseling, the need of which, the recipient himself can understand. On the other hand, the judicially mandated counseling is that which the court of law orders the recipient to receive (the treatment of counseling) as it deems fit. The diversifying need of the mental health treatment in the state of California is high among the Africans – Americans, Hispanics and Asians. A report of the year 2001 suggested that 16.3% of the entire population of the state needed mental health treatment which was a hopping figure of 4 million adults (Lund, 2005). Another important report in the mental health care segment, which is also directly related with counseling, depicts those more than 600,000 persons to receive health care treatments in the state of California itself in between 2004 to 2005 (Jew-Lochman, 2008). Mental counseling has been one of the fastest upcoming sectors in the health industry. It has been observed that almost every day the number of affected person increases. The requirement of well trained professionals is on the rise. The other important aspect of the counseling is that sometimes the client himself can feel the need of counseling while many

Online Instruction versus Face to Face Instruction Essay

Online Instruction versus Face to Face Instruction - Essay Example Classrooms may now be visited by logging in to virtual sites, teachers send through instruction via emails and forum posts, and, that picture of the pretty girl one is staring at may actually belong to his classmate’s daughter. Indeed, while online instruction offers convenience, portability, and arguably the same amount of â€Å"contact hours† and learning resources, face to face instruction tends to cater to a wider range of learning styles and a more secure and valid method of performance assessment. Online and face to face instruction differ on how they are attended. Online instruction is a system wherein students simply log on to their school’s website where they are provided with a myriad of options, from logging in to their online classes to checking out campus updates. On the other hand, usual face to face instruction requires the student to be in an actual concrete classroom, listening to an actual lecture or presentation conducted by a physically presen t instructor.. Face to face instruction is also referred to as â€Å"traditional instruction† or â€Å"chalk and talk† instruction (Smith, Ferguson and Caris). The concept of distance education offered by online instruction is not new as distance learning has been offered in earlier decades through the television and the mail. With the advancements in technology, online instruction has a tendency to mimic face to face instruction in many aspects (Aragon, Johnson and Shaik). After the initial birthing pains, online instruction has adapted more and more characteristics of face to face instruction. Before classes start in both online and face to face instruction, students are provided with a class syllabus and a list of requirements for the course such as textbooks and reading materials. In both cases, students are given options to purchase hardcopies of these materials or download electronic copies from indicated sources. In terms of course requirements, both online and face to face instruction require students, to a certain degree, to submit the same amount of term papers and research reports as part of their grades. Attendance to online classes is monitored by requiring students a certain number of discussion posts at different days of the week. In the same manner, the length of time required to take either online or face to face instruction are roughly the same. The direction of learning in the two modes of instruction is also a critical difference. To a certain degree, online instruction process is initially one-way, with the student going over all the learning materials before throwing a question through email or an online forum designated for their respective concerns. This one-way direction of instruction has long been discouraged by experts in the field of education because it does not cater to the different learning styles that students may have (Smith, Ferguson and Caris). Online instruction greatly limits the interactions between student s and the teacher and venues for spontaneous ideas and debates are unavailable. Due to the limited interaction, teachers likewise have limited venues to properly assess a student’s progress in online instruction compared with face to face instruction. In a face to face setup, students who are more comfortable of expressing their thoughts verbally are able to participate better during class discussions, thereby demonstrating that he or she is indeed familiar with the topics. Teachers may also be able to use a wider range of

Choosing a New Director of Research Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing a New Director of Research - Case Study Example Although the three candidates seem to be worthy candidates, Alexa and Kelsey tend to be more focused on elements of comfort and creativity than results (Northouse, 2010). In this regard, Thomas had previously shown similar traits through his accomplishments at GLF, which earned him the respect of his fellow colleagues. It is apparent that a good leader should be free with other workers in order to establish a good working relationship. Thomas is free with the other colleagues and shares ideas with them because of his vast experience in the company. Sandra Coke should go for someone who is skilled and understands the market dynamics in order to capitalize on the new trends in the industry (Collins, 2014). Thomas deserved the promotion because of his previous experiences and honesty when dealing with other workers (Northouse, 2010). This shall enable to influence changes without resistance from the workers who also understand his abilities to produce good results. The trait approach is useful in the type of recruitment because it makes it easy to recognize the leadership abilities of different individuals. Workers possess varied traits from each other that enable the management to identify the strengths of each party. The trait approach is also suitable since it aids in narrowing down the qualities of candidates on the managerial list. Organizations need to monitor the performance of their workers before promoting them to managerial positions (Northouse, 2010). This makes it appropriate for the management to enhance a smooth transition in the policymaking and distribution of tasks. Considering this, the trait approach is unique and helpful to choose candidates that show good qualities and experience in their duties. Choosing of workers based on traits is suitable than using the academic criteria that only focus on the skills acquired (Weth, 2007).  

Drawing from either transactional or transformational leadership Essay

Drawing from either transactional or transformational leadership theories, critically reflect on the main differences between a - Essay Example He divides a manager’s duty into five primary functions that are planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling, which in the 1900s, commanding was an accurate description of the relationship between a manager and the subordinates. On a practical perspective, managerial decisions form complex decision functions and especially when leading is one of them as it is such a complex matter. Managers as well as leaders have to take into considerations some important aspects that include goals/outcomes that need to be accomplished. The goals to be met need to be included in order to meet the challenges and gain full advantage of opportunities as well as set the stage for consideration of approaches to situations. Communication with internal and external stakeholders should be effective to prepare way for other people to become involved and for effective responses to questions that may follow. Ensuring the participation of those who can and should contribute to decision s and plans is a key component as well as the highest competence in all the activities being carried out. It is also expected that the shareholders and staff members as well as others feel satisfied with decisions and hence achieve the highest levels of cooperation and coordination. Norms are important in an organisation as they affect ethics and diversity. Finally the need for performance reviews cannot be left behind as they are a significant factor in the evaluation of critical decisions. Discussion on management and leadership Godfrey (1994, p.58) asserts that it is human nature to wish to sojourn comfortably in an adequately feathered nest but the world is restless and change is imperative. The skilled manager will accept this and, against all the inertia, work to cope with and to improve all that lies before him and he must accept that â€Å"stability† may not be his – but successful survival can be. It is useful for managers occasionally to review their attitude s and experiences and this article attempts to assist that process. It is couched in general terms so as to be as widely helpful as possible, irrespective as to whether the matter in hand is as it is a truism that any action of management may be badly planned, or otherwise mishandled, almost without being noticed by anyone until it is too late. But much management activity has always been and still is inadequate in some aspect, mainly because of the decay of old-fashioned virtues – â€Å"business acumen† is one that is often in very short supply. In any management situation the agenda for operation must be set as to what is involved; what is to be done and how is it all to be improved. The good manager will realize from the outset that it may be not only staff skills, available capital, business field, market complications and so on, but also management limitations which restrict his operations – and these are in his own hands. These limitations often surface as inadequate consideration of alternatives in the market, in associations such as with third parties, in technicalities, in the financial approach and in staff deployment. A promising activity can be sunk by insufficient attention, or perhaps by traditional attitude-taking, in any of these elements – all of which betrays an unwillingness to think things through with an open mind: not trying to be continually inventive, but nevertheless being always alive to new opportunities in every

Response to the Critical Thinking Exercise Research Paper

Response to the Critical Thinking Exercise - Research Paper Example Though no previous research on these specific methods is available, wound management theories are diverse and available to nurses through Google search, and databases such as PubMed, in deciding which method to use (McManus, 2007, p.9). For example, in chronic wounds some types of methods such as moist wound healing might not work due to the recurrence of necrotic tissues (McManus, 2007, p.10). Thus, literature review on known methods can serve to design the methodology for testing the research question whether some new methods are more efficient than other methods. Moreover, quantifiable study design, samples and data collection techniques can be borrowed from the already existent body of knowledge. Though a nurse might be faced with absence of previous research on a method that arose from nurse’s experience and observations, previous theories can be used to design one’s own experiment and thus scientifically evaluate the efficiency of these

WANs in Organisations Essay Example for Free

WANs in Organisations Essay 1. WHY ARE WANS USED? Wide Area Networks, or WANs as theyre commonly known, are networks with the ability to span quite a distance; usually 5 kilometres or more. The main reason for any network usually to allow the sharing of resources and WANs are no exception to this; whether it is sharing resources with an employee of your business or a customers business, a WAN will allow data exchanges to be made. They also offer connectivity between both regional and global sites but differ from the Internet. This is looked at later in this information sheet. WANs allow for centralisation, particularly in administration which is important to allow a good level of control and security. 2. NETWORK DIFFERENCES WIDE AREA NETWORKS Wide Area Networks are networks that span a wide area. This is considered to be anything over around 5km meaning that a several site company will be using a WAN. METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORKS This is a network that covers between 2km and 5km and is often found in metropolitan cities. These networks are usually owned by a single company but are provided for use by everybody. Occasionally a network such as this will be implemented by a public company such as the local council. Generally speaking, a MAN is any type of network that connects computers together in an area of around 2km 5km. CAMPUS NETWORKS A Campus network is a network of less than 2km that is operated by a single entity. The buildings connected together may all be owned by the same company, or several companies in this small area. This type of network is frequently found at university campuses and hospitals. Campus networks usually connect the entire site together to allow the sharing of information. LOCAL AREA NETWORK A LAN is a network that covers a single building. This could include a home network or an office network. It has a range of around 300m. PERSONAL AREA NETWORK This is any network that is in your immediate area; usually a network with a maximum distance of around 15m. It is important to note that this is usually a very simple network that it usually only has a temporary use. Wireless PANs are created by systems such as Bluetooth whilst USB and Firewire are both considered wired PANs when used to directly connect devices to each other. Distance Location Uses WAN 5km + Several Locations Connections private computers together over a large area. MAN 2km 5km Several Buildings Part of a City Connections between several buildings possibly covering the same area. This could cover an entire city or just a smaller area. Campus 2km Several Buildings University Campus Style Most used in an area such as a campus. This could be either an actually college/university campus or a group of buildings that require access to each other. LAN 300m Home A Building This is quite a small area and so is most often found in small business and home type networks. PAN 15m Between Computer and Phone/PDF/etc. Sending data such as photos or backups between computer and portable devices such as phones. Table showing the distances, location and uses of the five networks. 3. WAN AND THE INTERNET The Internet and WANs are two very different things but the majority of WANs will require the Internet, just as the Internet relies of WANs. The Internet is a special network that consists of many interconnected networks to provide access to world wide resources and nobody owns it and so nobody can govern its uses unless other laws are broken. A WAN will have a company controlling it and is therefore much more controlled in who can access and how. A WAN also connects much fewer computers and has a smaller coverage area. 4. DEVELOPMENTAL IMPACT ON WANS There are many things that could impact the development and uses of WAN. The major five are; maintenance, costs, expansion, technology, bandwidth and planning. MAINTENANCE Maintenance is important for any part of a system. Good maintenance will keep the WAN usable whereas no maintenance will lead to an unusable system. COSTS Costs are an extremely important part of network development. Lower costs means that more things can be changed at once, but costs also impact quality. TECHNOLOGY WANs can only develop at the speed that the technology is developed. At each network based technological breakthrough; the support for WANs is increased and improved. If technology does not keep up to speed with the needs of WAN users then the network will not work as effectively as it should. BANDWIDTH Bandwidth is very important for the network; without it nothing can be sent. If the amount of bandwidth needed by the network exceeds the amount of bandwidth that is available then problems concerning speed and errors are likely to arise. As bandwidth is improved (and the technologies needed to deliver said bandwidth), so are the speeds offered to business for their networks

Gel electrophoresis Essay Example for Free

Gel electrophoresis Essay The explosion of molecular biology techniques that began in the mid-1970s (and continues today) has provided tools to examine the physical structure of DNA, its nucleotide sequence and how genes are read and regulated. One key tool is the ability to visualize DNA molecules and determine their length by using a technique called gel electrophoresis. Introduction to gel electrophoresis In gel electrophoresis, DNA fragments move through a porous matrix made of agarose, a gelatin-like substance purified from seaweed. The agarose is melted like Jell-O and then poured into a plastic tray to harden into a slab called a gel. A plastic comb inserted at one end while the gel is hardening forms wells where DNA samples can be placed. The DNA is mixed with a loading buffer that contains glycerol—this makes it heavier than water, so it will sink to the bottom of the well. The gel is then covered with a buffer solution that can carry electric current, and electrodes are placed at each end of the gel and connected to a power supply. Because DNA is negatively charged (each nucleotide has a negatively charged phosphate attached to it), it will move toward the positive electrode. Larger molecules move through the agarose more slowly, while smaller ones  can slip through the pores faster. So, the fragments wind up arranged in order according to size, with the smaller ones having moved farther toward the positive pole. Figure 47 shows an example. Because the DNA is invisible, the loading buf fer also contains two dy e s : bromophenol blue (a small dye molecule that behaves like a DNA fragment about 600 bases long) and xylene cyanol (a larger dye that acts like a DNA fragment of about 4000 bases). These dyes form lines that give you an idea of how far your DNA has moved. Some loading buffers also have a third dye, behaving like a very small DNA molecule (50 bases or so). As the DNA migrates, the different fragments will form bands; each band is composed of many identical copies of a particular-size piece of DNA (you can’t do gel electrophoresis with one DNA molecule: you need millions or billions of identical molecules). The last step is to make the DNA bands visible, using a fluorescent molecule that inserts between the bases in the DNA helix. We use a commercial loading buffer called EZ-Vision which includes the fluorescent molecule, so the gel is already stained when it’s done running. Another method is to soak the gel in ethidium bromide after running it. Either way, the bands can be seen using ultraviolet light and photographed to make a permanent record. Sample preparation Of course, gel electrophoresis requires some kind of DNA sample—a plasmid, a PCR product, a segment of a chromosome, etc. If the molecule is circular, enzymes are used to cut the DNA (see the section on restriction digestion, page 87), because circular molecules can be either tightly or loosely coiled and don’t wind up at the same place on a gel as a linear molecule of the same size. Whatever your sample is, it must be mixed with loading buffer (containing glycerol and dyes, as described above) before electrophoresis. Add a volume of loading buffer equal to 1/5 the volume of your sample and mix it well before loa

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Franchising Commerce Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Franchising Commerce Essay An arrangement for a continuing relationship in which one party a franchisor provides an accredited opportunity to another party the franchisee to do business using its trade name and offers assistance in organizing, training, producing, marketing and managing a good or service in adherence to certain specifications, in return for monetary exchange. Franchising is a style of business which has a lot of different but same branches throughout the world .The franchisee usually pays a one-time franchise fee plus a percentage of sales revenue as royalty, and in turn gains instant name and recognition, tried and tested products, standard infrastructural design and interior dà ©cor, detailed techniques in running and promoting the business, training of employees and on-going help in promoting and improving the product A franchise is usually a main agreement between the franchise owners and the government. Question 1 answers : The advantages of franchising from the franchisees point of view are myriad, most important among them are: First, the franchisee can benefit from the widely recognised by the style of branding name of the franchisers around everywhere. When a franchiser is around ,it can only mean one thing that is the franchise is well known around and among people, reputed company with extensive customer base and immense brand name recognition. Brand equity is important so that the franchises can always gain the specific benefits from the main consumers awareness ,faithfulness and loyalty; on the other hand, it lessens competition during recession. The franchisee does not have to waste all the time, cost of expenditure and the effort in building up company goodwill and establish a famous brand name. A branded restaurant chain will maintain its sales and competitive power even in times of recession and huge competitivenesss will be around in the catering or cooking industry as the whole brands name is clearly widely well knowned and recognized and favoured by the people. Second, franchisee can have a lot of access to the main big kinds of business management skills which are rarely easy to get a grip on. The franchiser usually has important business skills like: production management, financial management and marketing management. This in turn, increases the possibility of success of the business. A franchisee is always populated in every part of the world as they are very well known for what so ever they do as in catering or multi level marketing and so on. The bigger the power of dependingness of the franchisor company, which definitely has the big organization globally, which has a bigger organization, proves beneficial to the franchisee company, because, the franchisor company has a proven business concept and a thriving operational profile. Like the advantages, there are many disadvantages too as can be in any form of business, however in this context the disadvantages. The disadvantages to franchising are that the franchisor will lose control over certain aspects of the job.  Ã‚  The franchisor will also lose hands-on involvement with the individual operations and the franchisor will also be limited by contract to the actual changes which can and may incur in the franchise units operation structure.   The prerequisite to compensate the franchisee payment and it expenditure to the franchisor can be too large a sum (in some cases). The bigger and famous the brands name the larger the amount to be paid. Such Second, all the goodwill accumulated by the franchisee in the local market will be transferred to the franchisor once the franchise contract expires or terminates. Years of hard work melts in moments with the transfer. Third, the franchisee does not have much freedom in his business. It is necessary that he has to adhere to the standards, policies, procedures and functioning systems of the franchisor. Creativity in ones own business is curtailed completely. Fourth, corporate profit margin reduces because of payment of royalties and other associated levies. Many entrepreneurs think that owning and running a franchise business guarantees more revenue, profit and returns; this is not always be the case, while it may be true for the short term but long term case studies show that starting your own business will be cheaper to run and pay off better than franchising. Communication is one of the most important things between a franchiser and franchisee, when there is some sort of miscommunication the business is likely to fail. Which will end up costing the franchisee a lot of time effort and money just as it will the franchiser. Especially if the franchise is opened in a country overseas. The cost will automatically increase due to taxes imposed by respective governments. As a franchisee you will not be able to operate your business to your fancy because the franchiser will already have some sort of business plan. Even though the franchisee may be better able to handle and organise the business but because they are tied to the brand theyre representing therefore makes business operations difficult. Furthermore, if the franchisee isnt able to uphold the franchisers image and standards, it will reflect poorly on the brand itself, which will then slow business down for both the franchiser and franchisee and in addition will make future entrepreneurs think poorly of the company and will lead them to not invest in the particular franchise as well. The success of a franchise depends on both the franchisor and the franchisee, on the product and the business strategies. To run a successful franchise one has to study the market, the franchisor and the product carefully and judiciously. Question 1 conclusion : After doing my research, what I can conclude is that franchising is a great way to expand a business and spread the name of the franchiser far and wide. A lot of thought must go into owning and running a franchise and is not an easy job and it is a lot to consider. But if it is done the right way and is organised for example, if its operating system is being run smoothly, it will surely prosper . Many companies have become successful by opening their branches across the country and in some cases the world. These companies are not stopping to open their franchisors around the world because these franchisee knows very well that the market globally demands the franchisors to be around. These can only tell one thing is that franchisors are upcoming throughout the entire world and it will not stop blooming due to the fact of its importance around as all the researches shows. Question 2 : 2. Identify one franchise property in your local market. discuss about the operation of it and how this property helps to improve the economic of your area. Question 2 introduction : In this modern era of globalization, a companys operations segment is the unit that manages and supports the company. Employees take care of all of the background activities that keep a company running efficiently behind the scenes. Operations employees dont usually come in direct contact with customers and end users, though they are responsible for helping to ensure that customers ultimately receive the product or service that the company promises. The  operating cycle  of a business is the average period of time required for a business to make an initial outlay of cash to produce goods, sell the goods, and receive cash from  customers  in exchange for the goods. If a company is a reseller, then the operating cycle does not include any time for production it is simply the date from the initial cash outlay to the date of cash receipt from the customer. Companies dont arbitrarily decide an operating cycle because it reflects how in reality business transactions progress from start to finish. The operating cycle is also referred to as the cash-conversion cycle, which is the length of time that a company takes to convert its inventory purchase to sales revenue. A typical operating cycle includes the days of inventory outstanding before sales, the days of accounts receivable outstanding before cash collection, and the days of accounts payable outstanding before cash payments. The operating cycle is useful for estimating the amount of  working capital  that a company will need in order to maintain or grow its business. A company with an extremely short operating cycle requires less cash, and so can still grow while selling at relatively small margins. Conversely, a business may have fat margins and yet still require additional financing to grow at even a modest pace, if its operating cycle is unusually long. Question 2 answers : The following are all factors that influence the duration of the operating cycle: The extended payment terms to the company by its  suppliers since the company can delay paying out cash. longer payment terms shorten the operating cycle. The order fulfilment policy, since a higher assumed initial fulfilment rate increases the amount of  inventory on hand, which increases the operating cycle. The credit policy and related payment terms, since looser credit equates to a longer interval before customers pay, which extends the operating cycle. Thus, several management decisions (or negotiated issues with business partners) can impact the operating cycle of a business. McDonalds is a great example of a franchise, many people have opened this chains of fast food all over their respective countries and to bring benefits to themselves and economies in which theyve started this .Here are some of the factors of the famous fast food chain we visit frequently, McDonalds. Common Operations Units Management is one of the most important operational part of a moving business. Management is responsible most of everything. The management would handle the production duties and make various and different strategic plans for the company to follow. The marketing unit is in charge of the side of how to attract the customers towards the companies .As in example ,the marketing unit would be the people who publish stuffs about the company in newspapers and magazines. The administrative unit of the company is in charge of ordering supplies, hiring employees, and managing communication within (and outside of) the firm. If you have a secretary to run your small office, this person commonly handles all of your administrative support activities. Quality Management Employees who work in operations have various kinds of responsibilities, but the most common and the most important job to handle is the quality management. All of the operational units in the business will have to keep an eye on the quality management. This is due to the fact that if quality management is not handled properly with an oderly manner, there could be a very bad image upon the companies which in the end would be blamed on the operational units. Considerations To have a functional and well-run operations unit, the company must be structured and its foundation must be strong in order to run like a well-oiled machine. Communication to and from the various operational units of the business is key because they all work together to help generate a profit for the company. This is especially true for a very small company one cog in the wheel can jam up operations. There is usually as written operations procedure manual distributed among all the employees to clear out all the confusions. This helps a lot because then the employee doesnt need to disturb the employers for any information but just directly go through the manual. When a franchisee invests in a host country, the scale of the investment is likely to be very large and cause a lot of economic activity in whichever market it establishes itself in. Improving the balance of payments   Inward investment will usually help a countrys balance of payments situation. The investment itself will be a direct flow of capital into the country and the investment is also likely to result in import substitution and export promotion. Export promotion comes due to the franchise using their production facility as a basis for exporting, while import substitution means that products previously imported may now be bought domestically. Providing employment   FDI will usually result in employment benefits for the host country as most employees will be locally recruited. These benefits may be relatively greater given that governments will usually try to attract firms to areas where there is relatively high unemployment or a good labour supply. Source of tax revenue   Profits of franchises will be subject to local taxes in most cases, which will provide a valuable source of revenue for the domestic government. Technology transfer   Franchises will bring in the best technology and all the kinds of methods that would be new to the host country. In contrary ,by doing this method, the host country would learn a lot from all these kinds of techniques which are very valuable to them. National reputation   The presence of any one of these franchises may bring out the best of the country and also improve the high status of the host country. This would be very good because all the other host countries which would see the difference, would definitely follow up with their own franchises Question 2 conclusion : Given all the information, a owning and running a franchise is a risky business as is with all business but people do so with government encouragement and because they think that running a franchise will guarantee a bigger or higher profit or income. This may not always be the case and it is often found that in the long run running an original business gives higher returns. Though all business have their pros and cons, franchising and running a franchise has with it a lot to consider and the proper decisions and actions must be taken in order for the business to succeed and prosper.

Their eyes were watching God :: Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of many dreams and ambitions that were setback due to the slavery age. Nanny, Janie's grandmother, being a slave in her youth is an example of this fact. Always wishing for what she could've had, she tries to stress to Janie the importance of freedom. Although Nanny dies after the first couple of chapters, it is seen throughout the book that other characters that counteract with Janie, have common thoughts and emphasize on the idea that Nanny ones had. When it comes to love Nanny believed that wealth and protection came before the actual meaning of love, the idea that a strong emotional bond exists between a man and a woman. As much as Nanny cared for Janie and what she stands for, she wanted Janie to marry a man who can give her a lifetime of luxury and protection. This idea only stands due to the fact that Nanny never had this in her life, being a slavery made her always fight for what she had and look out for her well-being as well as her c hildren?s. Consequently Nanny grew to teaching the idea to Janie that marriage should be about power, wealth, and protection even if the emotional part of the relationship doesn?t exist. Janie marries Logan Killicks for she believes he offers protection, she then marries Jody Starks for she believes he brings vibrant wealth and power, but not so much do these two bring emotional bond Janie utterly desires and as a result Janie spends the rest of her life trying to experience the emotional side of love. Logan Killicks was Janie?s first husband. He was chosen by Nanny because she thought he offered a black woman everything she would want, a lifetime protection from the outside world. Logan was an older man who knew what was good and what was bad just as Nanny did. He wanted Janie to love him and feel his importance because he offered her a home in which she can feel safe. Nanny being forced to have sex with her master at an early age as a result gave her Leafy. Furthermore Leafy was raped at an early age as well which brought about Janie. From these two facts one can conclude that Nanny feared the idea that Janie can be a repeating cycle of her and her child Leafy, thus giving Janie?

Free Essay on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 65 :: Shakespeare Sonnet 65

Here's Shakespeare's sonnet no. 65. I'm going to (a) space it out and (b) add in a running commentary that might be helpful to suggest the kinds of reactions one might have in reading it. Let me know if this helps. Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea "nor"="and not". A list . . . a slowly paced list. Of what sorts of things? what scope? what do they have in common?. . . Sentence is just beginning . . . But sad mortality o'er-sways their power, Ah . . . none of them last. And yet they sure seem strong and long-lasting. Is it true what he says? And anyway, so what? why mention this? Sentence not yet reached its main clause . . . How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Aha: here's the point: the sad pathetic vulnerability of "beauty". Very general though. Does he mean any particular beauty? "Hold a plea" is nice: a sort of legal image, no? Whose action is no stronger than a flower? Beauty doesn't have much going for it to oppose time. "Action" seems to continue the legal metaphor. The image gets more particular--"a flower"--though it's still relatively general. We're most conscious of the tone of the lamenting speaker, less so of any particular things he's naming. . . Poor pathetic beauty . . . Sentence has ended. Oh, how shall summer's honey breath hold out Against the wreckful siege of battering days, Fresh start: new sentence. Saying it again, more intensely. It's getting better, more specific. Lovely fresh sensuous appeal in "honey breath". Summer is a sweet-smelling person, a beloved presumably (you'd hardly enjoy smelling the sweet breath of anyone else). Its breath can hardly "hold out": wonder what that means? Last long enough? A singer sustaining a long note or phrase needs breath that will "hold out." And to "hold out against a siege" means to withstand a siege: so now the summer has turned into a besieged fortress or city. And the besieging enemy is using battering rams, and trying to wreck everything. Imagery: note that we're not totally visualizing summer as a person; it's a delicate suggestion that glides into the next image, that of the besieged town. And we don't visualize summer as a town, either. In fact "visualize" is too crude a term for what imagery this subtle does.

Helen Keller Essay -- Helen Keller Blind Mute Death Essays Bio

Helen Keller Imagine a life without being able to see or hear and not knowing how to communicate with anyone around you. That world of darkness is what Helen Keller lived in for six years. Helen Keller has been an inspiration to people ever since she turned six. From 1886-1960, she proved herself to be a creative and inspiring woman of America. She was a writer and lecturer who fought for the rights of disadvantaged people all over the world. Most importantly, she overcame her two most difficult obstacles, being blind and deaf. Helen Keller devoted her life to improving the education and treatment of the blind, deaf, and mute and fighting for minorities as well. Miss Keller was one of the first to educate the public and make them aware of inflicted individuals' potential. Because of her persistence and strength, she is considered a creative and unique spirit by many people of the world, especially those who can relate to her physical impairments. Helen Keller was born a healthy child. When Helen was 19 months old, she became ill with what was known as acute congestion of the brain and stomach; this is now known as scarlet fever. As a result, she was left blind, deaf, and mute. For many of her earlier years Helen lived in darkness with very few ways to communicate with others around her. Obviously her attempts were not always successful. When she failed to communicate she would throw fits and have outburst that would upset not only her, but her family as well. Because of these violent fits, she appeared to be a very unruly child, but underneath all of the tragedy was a future inspirational figure that would surprise the world with amazing and countless abilities. A large amount of Helen's accomplishments would not have been possible if it weren't for her mother and father. Her parents read about Samuel Gridley Howe's accomplishments with the deaf and blind at the Perkins Institution in Boston. With this knowledge, her father brought his daughter to Alexander Graham Bell, a family friend who was well known in society. Bell was so fascinated by six year old Helen that he recommended that she contact the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. Anne Sullivan, who was also a recent Perkins graduate, was suggested to be Helen's teacher by Michael Anagnos. Michael Anagnos was the professor of Samuel Gridley Howe, a gentleman who ... ...ce movement before World War I. Many agencies and institutions have been named after Helen Keller as well. Helen Keller International was set-up to fight blindness in the world. Currently, Helen Keller International is one of the biggest organizations that works with the blind overseas ("The Life" 3). In 1986, the Industrial Home for the Blind was renamed to Helen Keller Services for the Blind. This agency provides special services for the blind in New York. Because of her attempts and struggles, the blind now have better care, training, and employment. "I am a beneficiary of her work. Because of her example, the world has given way a little," says David Jackson, a blind jazz singer (Shuur 2). Works Cited Ashby, Ruth, and Deborah Gore Orhn. Herstory. New York: The Penguin Group, 1995. Briggs, ASA. A Dictionary of 20th Century World Biographies. New York: Oxford, 1992. Shuur, Diane. "The Miracle: Helen Keller." Time. 1999 http://www.time.com (2 Feb. 2000) "The Life of Helen Keller." RNIB. 1999 http://www.rnib.org.uk (28 Jan. 2000) "The Life of Helen Keller: An American Hero." Helen Keller International. 1999 http://www.hki.org (4 Feb. 2000)

Business Vocabulary Mix Essay

1. Instant messaging- a form of communication in which typed text is sent from one person to another over the internet. 2. Spam- unsolicited electronic junk mail or advertisements, sent as an e-mail 3. Emoticon- an expression composed of ordinary characters on a phone or computer that represent the writer’s mood or facial expressions. 4. Signature- a block of text automatically appended at the bottom of e-mails. The text may include the sender’s name, title, etc. 5. Tagline- a slogan or memorable phrase attached to the end of an email that conveys a message from the sender 6. Threads- a series of newsgroup messages dealing with the same subject. 7. Social Networking- the use of a wav space to connect with people who share personal or professional interests 8. E-mail- a message sent electronically from one person to another via links between computers or terminals 9. Blog- a type of web site that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings 10. Search Engine Optimization- the process of improving the traffic to a web site from search engines 11. Social Norms- the rules that a society uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors 12. Sexting- the act of sending sexually explicit and/or suggestive content via text messaging. 13. Inflection- Modulation of the voice; change in pitch or tone of voice to help convey meaning. 14. Cyber Bullying- when a child or teen is threatened, harassed or otherwise targeted by another child or teen using a form of technology 15. Flaming- a virtual term for venting emotion or sending inflammatory e-mails. 16. Attachments- Computer files sent along with an e-mail message which can be accessed by the recipient of the e-mail. 17. Snail mail- a term used to refer to letters carried by traditional postal delivery services. 18. Texting- sending brief written messages from one person to another via cellular phones.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 8 ADRENALINE

â€Å"OKAY, WHERE'S YOUR CLUTCH?† I pointed to the lever on my left handlebar. Letting go of the grip was a mistake. The heavy bike wobbled underneath me, threatening to knock me sidewise. I grabbed the handle again, trying to hold it straight. â€Å"Jacob, it won't stay up,† I complained. â€Å"It will when you're moving,† he promised. â€Å"Now where's your brake?† â€Å"Behind my right foot.† â€Å"Wrong.† He grabbed my right hand and curled my fingers around the lever over the throttle. â€Å"But you said† â€Å"This is the brake you want. Don't use the back brake now, that's for later, when you know what you're doing.† â€Å"That doesn't sound right,† I said suspiciously. â€Å"Aren't both brakes kind of important?† â€Å"Forget the back brake, okay? Here† He wrapped his hand around mine and made me squeeze the lever down. â€Å"That is how you brake. Don't forget.† He squeezed my hand another time. â€Å"Fine,† I agreed. â€Å"Throttle?† I twisted the right grip. â€Å"Gearshift?† I nudged it with my left calf. â€Å"Very good. I think you've got all the parts down. Now you just have to get itmoving.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† I muttered, afraid to say more. My stomach was contorting strangely and I thought my voice might crack. I was terrified. I tried to tell myself that the fear was pointless. I'd already lived through the worst thing possible. In comparison with that, why should anything frighten me now? I should be able to look death in the face and laugh. My stomach wasn't buying it. I stared down the long stretch of dirt road, bordered by thick misty green on every side. The road was sandy and damp. Better than mud. â€Å"I want you to hold down the clutch,† Jacob instructed. I wrapped my fingers around the clutch. â€Å"Now this is crucial, Bella,† Jacob stressed. â€Å"Don't let go of that, okay? I want you to pretend that I've handed you a live grenade. The pin is out and you are holding down the spoon.† I squeezed tighter. â€Å"Good. Do you think you can kick-start it?† â€Å"If I move my foot, I will fall over,† I told him through gritted teeth, my fingers tight around my live grenade. â€Å"Okay, I'll do it. Don't let go of the clutch.† He took a step back, and then suddenly slammed his foot down on the pedal. There was a short ripping noise, and the force of his thrust rocked the bike. I started to fall sideways, but Jake caught the bike before it knocked me to the ground. â€Å"Steady there,† he encouraged. â€Å"Do you still have the clutch?† â€Å"Yes,† I gasped. â€Å"Plant your feetI'm going to try again.† But he put his hand on the back of the seat, too, just to be safe. It took four more kicks before the ignition caught. I could feel the bike rumbling beneath me like an angry animal. I gripped the clutch until my fingers ached. â€Å"Try out the throttle,† he suggested. â€Å"Very lightly. And don't let go of the clutch.† Hesitantly, I twisted the right handle. Though the movement was tiny, the bike snarled beneath me. It sounded angry and hungry now. Jacob smiled in deep satisfaction. â€Å"Do you remember how to put it into first gear?† he asked. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Well, go ahead and do it.† â€Å"Okay.† He waited for a few seconds. â€Å"Left foot,† he prompted. â€Å"I know,† I said, taking a deep breath. â€Å"Are you sure you want to do this?† Jacob asked. â€Å"You look scared.† â€Å"I'm fine,† I snapped. I kicked the gearshift down one notch. â€Å"Very good,† he praised me. â€Å"Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch.† He took a step away from the bike. â€Å"You want me to let go of the grenade?† I asked in disbelief. No wonder he was moving back. â€Å"That's how you move, Bella. Just do it little by little.† As I began to loosen my grip, I was shocked to be interrupted by a voice that did not belong to the boy standing next to me. â€Å"This is reckless and childish and idiotic, Bella,† the velvet voice fumed. â€Å"Oh!† I gasped, and my hand fell off the clutch. The bike bucked under me, yanking me forward and then collapsing to the ground half on top of me. The growling engine choked to a stop. â€Å"Bella?† Jacob jerked the heavy bike off me with ease. â€Å"Are you hurt?† But I wasn't listening. â€Å"I told you so,† the perfect voice murmured, crystal clear. â€Å"Bella?† Jacob shook my shoulder. â€Å"I'm fine,† I mumbled, dazed. More than fine. The voice in my head was back. It still rang in my earssoft, velvety echoes. My mind ran swiftly through the possibilities. There was no familiarity hereon a road I'd never seen, doing something I'd never done beforeno deja vu So the hallucinations must be triggered by something else I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins again, and I thought I had the answer. Some combination of adrenaline and danger, or maybe just stupidity. Jacob was pulling me to my feet. â€Å"Did you hit your head?† he asked. â€Å"I don't think so.† I shook it back and forth, checking. â€Å"I didn't hurt the bike, did I?† This thought worried me. I was anxious to try again, right away. Being reckless was paying off better than I'd thought. Forget cheating. Maybe I'd found a way to generate the hallucinationsthat was much more important. â€Å"No. You just stalled the engine,† Jacob said, interrupting my quick speculations. â€Å"You let go of the clutch too fast.† I nodded. â€Å"Let's try again.† â€Å"Are you sure?† Jacob asked. â€Å"Positive.† This time I tried to get the kick-start myself. It was complicated; I had to jump a little to slam down on the pedal with enough force, and every time I did that, the bike tried to knock me over. Jacob's hand hovered over the handlebars, ready to catch me if I needed him. It took several good tries, and even more poor tries, before the engine caught and roared to life under me. Remembering to hold on to the grenade, I revved the throttle experimentally. It snarled at the slightest touch. My smile mirrored Jacob's now. â€Å"Easy on the clutch,† he reminded me. â€Å"Do you want to kill yourself, then? Is that what this is about?† the other voice spoke again, his tone severe. I smiled tightlyit was still workingand ignored the questions. Jacob wasn't going to let anything serious happen to me. â€Å"Go home to Charlie,† the voice ordered. The sheer beauty of it amazed me. I couldn't allow my memory to lose it, no matter the price. â€Å"Ease off slowly,† Jacob encouraged me. â€Å"I will,† I said. It bothered me a bit when I realized I was answering both of them. The voice in my head growled against the roar of the motorcycle. Trying to focus this time, to not let the voice startle me again, I relaxed my hand by tiny degrees. Suddenly, the gear caught and wrenched me forward. And I was flying. There was wind that wasn't there before, blowing my skin against my skull and flinging my hair back behind me with enough force that it felt like someone was tugging on it. I'd left my stomach back at the starting point; the adrenaline coursed through my body, tingling in my veins. The trees raced past me, blurring into a wall of green. But this was only first gear. My foot itched toward the gearshift as I twisted for more gas. â€Å"No, Bella!† the angry, honey-sweet voice ordered in my ear. â€Å"Watch what you're doing!† It distracted me enough from the speed to realize that the road was starting a slow curve to the left, and I was still going straight. Jacob hadn't told me how to turn. â€Å"Brakes, brakes,† I muttered to myself, and I instinctively slammed down with my right foot, like I would in my truck. The bike was suddenly unstable underneath me, shivering first to one side and then the other. It was dragging me toward the green wall, and I was going too fast. I tried to turn the handlebar the other direction, and the sudden shift of my weight pushed the bike toward the ground, still spinning toward the trees. The motorcycle landed on top of me again, roaring loudly, pulling me across the wet sand until it hit something stationary. I couldn't see. My face was mashed into the moss. I tried to lift my head, but there was something in the way. I was dizzy and confused. It sounded like there were three things snarlingthe bike over me, the voice in my head, and something else â€Å"Bella!† Jacob yelled, and I heard the roar of the other bike cut off. The motorcycle no longer pinned me to the ground, and I rolled over to breathe. All the growling went silent. â€Å"Wow,† I murmured. I was thrilled. This had to be it, the recipe for a hallucinationadrenaline plus clanger plus stupidity. Something close to that, anyway. â€Å"Bella!† Jacob was crouching over me anxiously. â€Å"Bella, are you alive?† â€Å"I'm great!† I enthused. I flexed my arms and legs. Everything seemed to be working correctly. â€Å"Let's do itagain.† â€Å"I don't think so.† Jacob still sounded worried. â€Å"I think I'd better drive you to the hospital first.† â€Å"I'mfine.† â€Å"Um, Bella? You've got a huge cut on your forehead, and it's gushing blood,† he informed me. I clapped my hand over my head. Sure enough, it was wet and sticky. I could smell nothing but the damp moss on my face, and that held off the nausea. â€Å"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jacob.† I pushed hard against the gash, as if I could force the blood back inside my head. â€Å"Why are you apologizing for bleeding?† he wondered as he wrapped a long arm around my waist and pulled me to my feet. â€Å"Let's go. I'll drive.† He held out his hand for the keys. â€Å"What about the bikes?† I asked, handing them over. He thought for a second. â€Å"Wait here. And take this.† He pulled off his T-shirt, already spotted with blood, and threw it to me. I wadded it up and held it tightly to my forehead. I was starting to smell the blood; I breathed deeply through my mouth and tried to concentrate on something else. Jacob jumped on the black motorcycle, kicked it to a start in one try, and raced back down the road, spraying sand and pebbles behind him. He looked athletic and professional as he leaned over the handlebars, head low, face forward, his shiny hair whipping against the russet skin of his back. My eyes narrowed enviously. I was sure I hadn't looked like that on my motorcycle. I was surprised at how far I'd gone. I could barely see Jacob in the distance when he finally got to the truck. He threw the bike into the bed and sprinted to the driver's side. I really didn't feel bad at all as he coaxed my truck to a deafening roar in his hurry to get back to me. My head stung a little, and my stomach was uneasy, but the cut wasn't serious. Head wounds just bled more than most. His urgency wasn't necessary. Jacob left the truck running as he raced back to me, wrapping his arm around my waist again. â€Å"Okay, let's get you in the truck.† â€Å"I'm honestly fine,† I assured him as he helped me in. â€Å"Don't get worked up. It's just a little blood.† â€Å"Just a lot of blood,† I heard him mutter as he went back for my bike. â€Å"Now, let's think about this for a second,† I began when he got back in. â€Å"If you take me to the ER like this, Charlie is sure to hear about it.† I glanced down at the sand and dirt caked into my jeans. â€Å"Bella, I think you need stitches. I'm not going to let you bleed to death.† â€Å"I won't,† I promised. â€Å"Let's just take the bikes back first, and then we'll make a stop at my house so I can dispose of the evidence before we go to the hospital.† â€Å"What about Charlie?† â€Å"He said he had to work today.† â€Å"Are you really sure?† â€Å"Trust me. I'm an easy bleeder. It's not nearly as dire as it looks.† Jacob wasn't happyhis full mouth turned down in an uncharacteristic frownbut he didn't want to get me in trouble. I stared out the window, holding his ruined shirt to my head, while he drove me to Forks. The motorcycle was better than I'd dreamed. It had served its original purpose. I'd cheatedbroken my promise. I'd been needlessly reckless. I felt a little less pathetic now that the promises had been broken on both sides. And then to discover the key to the hallucinations! At least, I hoped I had. I was going to test the theory as soon as possible. Maybe they'd get through with me quickly in the ER, and I could try again tonight. Racing down the road like that had been amazing. The feel of the wind in my face, the speed and the freedom it reminded me of a past life, flying through the thick forest without a road, piggyback while he ranI stopped thinking right there, letting the memory break off in the sudden agony. I flinched. â€Å"You still okay?† Jacob checked. â€Å"Yeah.† I tried to sound as convincing as before. â€Å"By the way,† he added. â€Å"I'm going to disconnect your foot brake tonight.† At home, I went to look at myself in the mirror first thing; it was pretty gruesome. Blood was drying in thick streaks across my cheek and neck, matting in my muddy hair. I examined myself clinically, pretending the blood was paint so it wouldn't upset my stomach. I breathed through my mouth, and was fine. I washed up as well as I could. Then I hid my dirty, bloody clothes in the bottom of my laundry basket, putting on new jeans and a button-up shirt (that I didn't have to pull over my head) as carefully as I could. I managed to do this one-handed and keep both garments blood-free. â€Å"Hurry up,† Jacob called. â€Å"Okay, okay,† I shouted back. After making sure I left nothing incriminating behind me, I headed downstairs. â€Å"How do I look?† I asked him. â€Å"Better,† he admitted. â€Å"But do I look like I tripped in your garage and hit my head on a hammer?† â€Å"Sure, I guess so.† â€Å"Let's go then.† Jacob hurried me out the door, and insisted on driving again. We were halfway to the hospital when I realized he was still shirtless. I frowned guiltily. â€Å"We should have grabbed you a jacket.† â€Å"That would have given us away,† he teased. â€Å"Besides, it's not cold.† â€Å"Are you kidding?† I shivered and reached out to turn the heat on. I watched Jacob to see if he was just playing tough so I wouldn't worry, but he looked comfortable enough. He had one arm over the back of my seat, though I was huddled up to keep warm. Jacob really did look older than sixteennot quite forty, but maybe older than me. Quil didn't have too much on him in the muscle department, for all that Jacob claimed to be a skeleton. The muscles were the long wiry kind, but they were definitely there under the smooth skin. His skin was such a pretty color, it made me jealous. Jacob noticed my scrutiny. â€Å"What?† he asked, suddenly self-conscious. â€Å"Nothing. I just hadn't realized before. Did you know, you're sort of beautiful?† Once the words slipped out, I worried that he might take my impulsive observation the wrong way. But Jacob just rolled his eyes. â€Å"You hit your head pretty hard, didn't you?† â€Å"I'm serious.† â€Å"Well, then, thanks. Sort of.† I grinned. â€Å"You're sort of welcome.† I had to have seven stitches to c lose the cut on my forehead. After the sting of the local anesthetic, there was no pain in the procedure. Jacob held my hand while Dr. Snow was sewing, and I tried not to think about why that was ironic. We were at the hospital forever. By the time I was done, I had to drop Jacob off at his home and hurry back to cook dinner for Charlie. Charlie seemed to buy my story about falling in Jacob's garage. After all, it wasn't like I hadn't been able to land myself in the ER before with no more help than my own feet. This night was not as bad as that first night, after I'd heard the perfect voice in Port Angeles. The hole came back, the way it always did when I was away from Jacob, but it didn't throb so badly around the edges. I was already planning ahead, looking forward to more delusions, and that was a distraction. Also, I knew I would feel better tomorrow when I was with Jacob again. That made the empty hole and the familiar pain easier to bear; relief was in sight. The nightmare, too, had lost a little of its potency. I was horrified by the nothingness, as always, but I was also strangely impatient as I waited for the moment that would send me screaming into consciousness. I knew the nightmare had to end. The next Wednesday, before I could get home from the ER, Dr. Gerandy called to warn my father that I might possibly have a concussion and advised him to wake me up every two hours through the night to make sure it wasn't serious. Charlie's eyes narrowed suspiciously at my weak explanation about tripping again. â€Å"Maybe you should just stay out of the garage altogether, Bella,† he suggested that night during dinner. I panicked, worried that Charlie was about to lay down some kind of edict that would prohibit La Push, and consequently my motorcycle. And I wasn't giving it upI'd had the most amazing hallucination today. My velvet-voiced delusion had yelled at me for almost five minutes before I'd hit the brake too abruptly and launched myself into the tree. I'd take whatever pain that would cause me tonight without complaint. â€Å"This didn't happen in the garage,† I protested quickly. â€Å"We were hiking, and I tripped over a rock.† â€Å"Since when do you hike?† Charlie asked skeptically. â€Å"Working at Newton's was bound to rub off sometime,† I pointed out. â€Å"Spend every day selling all the virtues of the outdoors, eventually you get curious.† Charlie glared at me, unconvinced. â€Å"I'll be more careful,† I promised, surreptitiously crossing my fingers under the table. â€Å"I don't mind you hiking right there around La Push, but keep close to town, okay?† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Well, we've been getting a lot of wildlife complaints lately. The forestry department is going to check into it, but for the time being† â€Å"Oh, the big bear,† I said with sudden comprehension. â€Å"Yeah, some of the hikers coming through Newton's have seen it. Do you think there's really some giant mutated grizzly out there?† His forehead creased. â€Å"There's something. Keep it close to town, okay?† â€Å"Sure, sure,† I said quickly. He didn't look completely appeased. â€Å"Charlie's getting nosy,† I complained to Jacob when I picked him up after school Friday. â€Å"Maybe we should cool it with the bikes.† He saw my objecting expression and added, â€Å"At least for a week or so. You could stay out of the hospital for a week, right?† â€Å"What are we going to do?† I griped. He smiled cheerfully. â€Å"What ever you want.† I thought about that for a minuteabout what I wanted. I hated the idea of losing even my brief seconds of closeness with the memories that didn't hurtthe ones that came on their own, without me thinking of them consciously. If I couldn't have the bikes, I was going to have to find some other avenue to the danger and the adrenaline, and that was going to take serious thought and creativity. Doing nothing in the meantime was not appealing. Suppose I got depressed again, even with Jake? I had to keep occupied. Maybe there was some other way, some other recipe some other place. The house had been a mistake, certainly. But his presence must be stamped somewhere, somewhere other than inside me. There had to be a place where he seemed more real than among all the familiar landmarks that were crowded with other human memories. I could think of one place where that might hold true. One place that would always belong to him and no one else. A magic place, full of light. The beautiful meadow I'd seen only once in my life, lit by sunshine and the sparkle of his skin. This idea had a huge potential for backfiringit might be dangerously painful. My chest ached with emptiness even to think of it. It was hard to hold myself upright, to not give myself away. But surely, there of all places, I could hear his voice. And I'd already told Charlie I was hiking â€Å"What are you thinking about so hard?† Jacob asked. â€Å"Well† I began slowly. â€Å"I found this place in the forest onceI came across it when I was, um, hiking. A little meadow, the most beautiful place. I don't know if I could track it down again on my own. It would definitely take a few tries† â€Å"We could use a compass and a grid pattern,† Jacob said with confident helpfulness. â€Å"Do you know where you started from?† â€Å"Yes, just below the trailhead where the one-ten ends. I was going mostly south, I think.† â€Å"Cool. We'll find it.† As always, Jacob was game for anything I wanted. No matter how strange it was. So, Saturday afternoon, I tied on my new hiking bootspurchased that morning using my twenty-per-cent-off employee discount for the first timegrabbed my new topographical map of the Olympic Peninsula, and drove to La Push. We didn't get started immediately; first, Jacob sprawled across the living room floortaking up the whole roomand, for a full twenty minutes, drew a complicated web across the key section of the map while I perched on a kitchen chair and talked to Billy. Billy didn't seem at all concerned about our proposed hiking trip. I was surprised that Jacob had told him where we were going, given the fuss people were making about the bear sightings. I wanted to ask Billy not to say anything about this to Charlie, but I was afraid that making the request would cause the opposite result. â€Å"Maybe we'll see the super bear,† Jacob joked, eyes on his design. I glanced at Billy swiftly, fearing a Charlie-style reaction. But Billy just laughed at his son. â€Å"Maybe you should take a jar of honey, just in case.† Jake chuckled. â€Å"Hope your new boots are fast, Bella. One little jar isn't going to keep a hungry bear occupied for long.† â€Å"I only have to be faster than you.† â€Å"Good luck with that!† Jacob said, rolling his eyes as he refolded the map. â€Å"Let's go.† â€Å"Have fun,† Billy rumbled, wheeling himself toward the refrigerator. Charlie was not a hard person to live with, but it looked to me like Jacob had it even easier than I did. I drove to the very end of the dirt road, stopping near the sign that marked the beginning of the trailhead. It had been a long time since I'd been here, and my stomach reacted nervously. This might be a very bad thing. But it would be worth it, if I got to hear him. I got out and looked at the dense wall of green. â€Å"I went this way,† I murmured, pointing straight ahead. â€Å"Hmm,† Jake muttered. â€Å"What?† He looked at the direction I'd pointed, then at the clearly marked trail, and back. â€Å"I would have figured you for a trail kind of girl.† â€Å"Not me.† I smiled bleakly. â€Å"I'm a rebel.† He laughed, and then pulled out our map. â€Å"Give me a second.† He held the compass in a skilled way, twisting the map around till it angled the way he wanted. â€Å"Okayfirst line on the grid. Let's do it.† I could tell that I was slowing Jacob up, but he didn't complain. I tried not to dwell on my last trip through this part of the forest, with a very different companion. Normal memories were still cangerous. If I let myself slip up, I'd end up with my arms clutching my chest to hold it together, gasping for air, and how would I explain that to Jacob? It wasn't as hard as I would have thought to keep focused on the present. The forest looked a lot like any other part of the peninsula, and Jacob set a vastly different mood. He whistled cheerfully, an unfamiliar tune, swinging his arms and moving easily through the rough undergrowth. The shadows didn't seem as dark as usual. Not with my personal sun along. Jacob checked the compass every few minutes, keeping us in a straight line with one of the radiating spokes of his grid. He really looked like he knew what he was doing. I was going to compliment him, but I caught myself. No doubt he'd add another few years to his inflated age. My mind wandered as I walked, and I grew curious. I hadn't forgotten the conversation we'd had by the sea cliffsI'd been waiting for him to bring it up again, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. â€Å"Hey Jake?† I asked hesitantly. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"How are things with Embry? Is he back to normal yet?† Jacob was silent for a minute, still moving forward with long paces. When he was about ten feet ahead, he stopped to wait for me. â€Å"No. He's not back to normal,† Jacob said when I reached him, his mouth pulling down at the corners. He didn't start walking again. I immediately regretted bringing it up. â€Å"StillwithSam.† â€Å"Yup.† He put his arm around my shoulder, and he looked so troubled that I didn't playfully shake it off, as I might have otherwise. â€Å"Are they still looking at you funny?† I half-whispered. Jacob stared through the trees. â€Å"Sometimes.† â€Å"AndBilly?† â€Å"As helpful as ever,† he said in a sour, angry voice that disturbed me. â€Å"Our couch is always open,† I offered. He laughed, breaking out of the unnatural gloom. â€Å"But think of the position that would put Charlie inwhen Billy calls the police to report my kidnapping.† I laughed too, glad to have Jacob back to normal. We stopped when Jacob said we'd gone six miles, cut west for a short time, and headed back along another line of his grid. Everything looked exactly the same as the way in, and I had a feeling that my silly quest was pretty much doomed. I admitted as much when it started to get darker, the sunless day fading toward a starless night, but Jacob was more confident. â€Å"As long as you're sure we're starting from the right place† He glanced down at me. â€Å"Yes, I'm sure.† â€Å"Then we'll find it,† he promised, grabbing my hand and pulling me through a mass of ferns. On the other side was the truck. He gestured toward it proudly. â€Å"Trust me.† â€Å"You're good,† I admitted. â€Å"Next time we bring flashlights, though.† â€Å"We'll save hiking for Sundays from now on. I didn't know you were that slow.† I yanked my hand back and stomped around to the driver's side while he chuckled at my reaction. â€Å"So you up for another try tomorrow.'† he asked, sliding into the passenger seat. â€Å"Sure. Unless you want to go without me so I don't tie you down to my gimpy pace.† â€Å"I'll survive,† he assured me. â€Å"If we're hiking again, though, you might want to pick up some moleskin. I bet you can feel those new boots right now.† â€Å"A little,† I confessed. It felt like I had more blisters than I had space to fit them. â€Å"I hope we see the bear tomorrow. I'm sort of disappointed about that.† â€Å"Yes, me, too,† I agreed sarcastically. â€Å"Maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow and something will eat us!† â€Å"Bears don't want to eat people. We don't taste that good.† He grinned at me in the dark cab. â€Å"Of course, you might be an exception. I bet you'd taste good.† â€Å"Thanks so much,† I said, looking away. He wasn't the first person to tell me that.