Addiction: Effects of Playing on-Line Computer Games Essay

Introduction In present times , computer gaming has been popular mostly within the students’ societies worldwide. Like a virus , excessive gaming has also been contagious within the society , creating an indestructible and unstoppable problem concerning its effects. In local concept , students and non-students here in the Philippines has been massively influenced with the habit of computer gaming even it sometimes affects their daily productive activities such as work , studies or even family relations. Same as in other countries , computer gaming can only be declared as a problem , if and only if it is in excess. And this problem has been uncured until now , and this also affecting mostly the student society’s educative and productive activities. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Related Studies: Title:The Effects of playing on-line computer games in academic performance of students? Background of the study: The aim of this paper is to investigate a comparatively untouched area of research into games and education: whether or not there is a link between the frequency with which computer and video games are played, and academic achievement, as measured by traditional examination results, of those who play them. An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems. The expansion of online gaming has reflected the overall expansion of computer networks from small local networks to the Internet and the growth of Internet access itself. Online games can range from simple text based games to games incorporating complex graphics and virtual worlds populated by many players simultaneously. Many online games have associated online communities, making online games a form of social activity beyond single player games. The rising popularity of Flash and Java led to an Internet revolution where websites could utilize streaming video, audio, and a whole new set of user interactivity. When Microsoft began packaging Flash as a pre-installed component of IE, the Internet began to shift from a data/information spectrum to also offer on-demand entertainment. This revolution paved the way for sites to offer games to web surfers. Some online multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI and Lineage II charge a monthly fee to subscribe to their services, while games such as Guild Wars offer an alternative no monthly fee scheme. Many other sites relied on advertising revenues from on-site sponsors, while others, like RuneScape, or Tibia let people play for free while leaving the players the option of paying, unlocking new content for the members REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Most of our youth and students today are fond of going into internet shop to use computer, without knowledge of their parents what they are up to. They will ask money from their parents telling that they have something to search in the internet for their project or assignments, although others do so, but there are some who just make it as an alibi so that they can compete skills with their peers through playing games online like for example war craft, battle realms, DOTA etc. Related Literature Foreign Since Time named the microcomputer their â€Å"Man of the Year† in 1983 there has been a continued drive for public school teachers to become computer literate. A nationwide study concluded that although teachers have increased computer availability in their classrooms, they are not integrating computers into the standard curricula. The present study examined â€Å"technophobia† as an explanation for low levels of computer utilization. Elementary teachers (N = 171), secondary science teachers (N – 117), and secondary humanities teachers (N = 200) in 54 schools across five urban school districts completed three measures of technophobia and a measure of demographic characteristics, computer/technology experience, computer availability, and current computer use. Results indicated that: (1) computers are available at all schools, but are not being used by many teachers; (2) many teachers are technophobic, particularly elementary teachers and secondary humanities teachers; (3) teachers are most worried about dealing with the actual computer machinery in their classroom, about computer errors, and about learning to use computers; and (4) predictive models showed that although computer experience is the most prominent predictor of technophobia, it is not the only predictor — age, gender, teaching experience, computer availability, ethnicity, and school socioeconomic status also play an important role in predicting technophobia.

The education in Britain and China

The Education in Britain and China Abstract: Education plays an important role all over the world. A highly developed nation depends on educated professionals and a skilled workforce. Education is an absolute necessity for economic and social development. UK and China, sharing different culture, have two typically different education systems. This essay pays more attention to the diversity of two education systems. Some similarities and differences can be found, which can be classified as the comparison in eastern and western education. Key Words: Education; Britain; China;Introduction: The education system of the I-JK is quite special and has an old history of evolution. It differs from that of China, but there are also some connections and differences between two countries. As for which one is better, it depends. Just as a coin has two sides, both are better than each other in some areas. Body: 1 . Education System Education is a vital concern throughout Britain. The Britain educat ion system is divided into early years, primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. While in China the public education is run by the Ministry of Education.All citizens must attend school for at least nine years. The government provides free primary education and secondary education for the teenagers. And there is also pre- school education, higher education and other educations. 1 Pre- school Education Up to age 5, children in Britain may have some pre-schooling in nursery schools, day care or play groups. The government has no obligation to provide such facilities, so many schools are private enterprise arrangement. The condition is similar in China. While the government also provides some financial support for parents in Britain, hat we don't have in China. Primary School In Britain, primary education is given for the students aging from 5 to 11. In this period, students learn to read and write. It is similar to the educational system in China. 3 Secondary Educ ation In Britain, students from 11 to 16 years old receive secondary education. They follow a general syllabus which leads to the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). After passing this exam, there is a selection of subjects. Lessons are given together with assignments which need to be completed in order to pass this level. While in China, the aim of three-year middle education is to enter into a better high school.High school is essential for Chinese students to get into a better university. So it is necessary for Chinese students to study hard. 4 Higher Education After further studies in the I-JK, students can accept higher studies. There are about 90 universities, including the Open University, Oxford, and Cambridge, that were established in the 13th Century. Universities are funded indirectly by central government grants. They enjoy complete academic freedom, appoint their own staff, ecide what kind of students to admit, provide their own courses and award their ow n degrees.Admission is by selection, which is on the basis of A- level results, school reterences and an interview. Older students may quality tor admission through different examinations provided by fundamental courses of further education at colleges. Degrees are awarded after successful continuous work assessment and final examinations. The higher education in China is obviously different from I-JK. In China, it is commonly considered that public universities, especially those national universities are better than private ones, under great nfluence by the Soviet Union's higher education system.Universities in China generally select their students based on students' performances in the College Entrance Examinations; the entrance scores required by public universities are typically much higher than those of private ones. 2. Teaching Mode On the whole, we may use â€Å"flexibility' to describe British mode and â€Å"formality' to outline Chinese mode. This kind of mode is typical in the universities. In British, there is no fixed text books or bibliography, your texts are in the library and in every aspects of social life related to your specialty.The professor will choose his content of teaching in accordance with the latest trends and requirements of society. Apart from traditional classes and lectures, informal group work, presentation and manual practices also abound, which improve students' ability to pose new points as well as to analysis and solve practical problems. All of these make them more competitive in the Job market. In contrast, Chinese pattern of teaching is more systematic and rigorous, inheriting the legacy of feudal times. The majesty of teacher prevailing, few disciples dare to defer the supreme authority of their hierophant.This sort of manner ensures the accurate and effective inform of knowledge, while hampers the spirit of innovation. Despite new systems of appraisal of pupils imported from the west, exams still retains its dominant place in evaluating how a student is getting on. That is probably why Chinese â€Å"geniuses† sweep almost all the gold medals of ‘MO, but none manage to get a Nobel Prize in science technology. 3. Conclusion The British school children are not designed for the future to impart certain specialized knowledge, but the key to expand children's horizons, to develop good abits, for future acceptance of high level education.Children in the classroom learn what they want and how to learn. The class atmosphere is free with no unified regulations or formal syllabus, but with children's love to move, easy to transfer the characteristics of interest, whenever and wherever possible to replace the teaching content. In addition to simple reading, writing, calculating, music, dancing, painting, and handmade, they also carry out various activities whatever children like. â€Å"Open education† is the biggest characteristic of British school children. This kind of eaching method i s used in both group activities and individual activities.A flexible schedule and many self-education materials are used to cultivate children's independence and creativity. The Chinese education is a little bit different from Britain's. Children in China are a little more stressed than those in Britain. China's exam-oriented education is a huge burden for today's children. Designed to give the students hardly any time to breath, the Chinese education system is adept in teaching the children â€Å"summaries†, also teaching that it's perfectly acceptable not to uestion the status quo. (A Chinese Teacher's Perspective: China and the U.S. Education Systems Compared) In conclusion, the differences between Britain and China result from the culture differences. The western education puts emphasis on diversi ty, tree learning atmosphere and the lite principle ot playing, learning and growing. It is something that we lack and need to modestly study. While there is no strict core syst em in the content of the curriculum, happy growth reduces to follow one's own inclination. Each has its own merits. All we need to do is that†learn from ach other, take the essence and discard the dregs, and grow together.

Jane Eyre Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jane Eyre - Coursework Example On the very first page it is made clear that the prevailing upper class view of childhood is one of repression and dominance, since Jane finds herself in a new family, but not of the same status as the original children in that family. The mother, Mrs Reed makes it clear that Jane is an outsider, because of her birth, and that she is inferior and must learn to submit to those who are in some indefinable way superior to her when she says: â€Å"Jane, I don’t like cavillers or questioners: besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent.† (Bronte: 1922, p. 1) The tone of this cold mother figure is that of criticism and command, making it quite clear that Jane does not deserve the privileges of upper class childhood, because she does not possess the ability to hide her own feelings, keep quiet, and submit to the will of adults. The other children in the famil y, and their nurse Bessie, conspire to treat her with contempt and, at times violence, but the blame for any conflict always falls upon Jane. Appalled by the unjustness of it all, Jane’s instinct to use her reason against this â€Å"unupportable oppression† (Bronte: 1922, p. 9) is what saves her from being completely overcome. This shows a child who has developed a strong sense of right and wrong, and a firm determination to endure the hardships of childhood so that she can escape into a time where she can make her own decisions. There is a long tradition in European literature of works about childhood, and they often take the form of the Bildungsroman which is a German term meaning a novel of education. Kern defines this genre as follows: â€Å"The central feature of the Bildungsroman is the protagonist’s progress of psychological and moral growing and developing from childhood until finally maturity. The central figure has a good look at certain fields in lif e and works out his relation to them until he finally achieves true self-knowledge and is in accord with the world and himself.† (Kern: 2007, p. 4) The purpose of childhood in this genre is to provide a starting point for this journey of self-discovery. Jane’s unhappiness in her adoptive family is soon replaced by another kind of institutionalized unhappiness at the dreadful boarding school called Lowood. Here all the proper and dutiful attitudes of female childhood are drummed into the girls. The language used by the first person narrator makes it seem like a prison, and the religiosity of the regime is linked again and again with the extreme cold: â€Å"Sundays were dreary days in that wintry season. We had to walk two miles to Brocklebridge Church, where our patron officiated. We set out cold, we arrived at church colder †¦ â€Å" (Bronte: 1922, p. 55) Bronte stresses the cold and the poverty partly to emphasise the warmth and consoling power of human relation ships. In the absence of parents, Jane finds inspiration in her admiration for Miss Temple, and in the absence of brothers and sisters, she finds affection for Helen Burns. Eyre shows a childhood that is filled with physical hardship and yet an inner core of humanity remains within the child Jane,

The Impact of Online Selling on Small Businesses Essay - 1

The Impact of Online Selling on Small Businesses - Essay Example The paper tells that selling products on the Internet is just another method, in fact, one of the most modern means through which an entrepreneur can utilize the facilities of the Internet in his business. Apart from using it as a selling tool, the wide range of capabilities of the Internet can be made use of customer support, marketing, recruitment, procurement, communication, and for many other functions. Indeed, today there is hardly any business activity in this modern world that does not pass across the Internet. In the opinion of Adam, the most exciting function of the Internet these days is E-commerce and Online selling, where the provider uses the Internet as an intermediary to sell his products and services directly to the consumers in the global market. Online selling is expected to have a greater boom in the global village as the responsive audience is growing by millions every year. It is the process whereby customers are facilitated with the technology to directly buy go ods and services from a seller in real-time, over the internet without any intermediary service in between. While considering the benefits of online selling many seem to disagree that online shopping will affect the percentage of retail sales in the future, arguing that only a small percentage of online selling will only obscure the market potentials. However, as Adam points out, concentrating on this idea a little deeper reveals that even if the Internet sales constitute only 5 percent of total retail within a few years, that still amounts billions and billions of dollars spent on online selling. As more and more organizations and customers are making the use of the internet to collect information before they make the final decision and to purchase online, it is certain that all business firms must have a web presence. Leaving the online selling, if the firm is not existing on the Internet, it does not exist. Another advantage of the small business that uses online marketing is tha t they have the ability to sell a wide variety of products due to â€Å"infinite shelf space†. Afuah also comments that online stores can easily make a higher proportion of their income out of the low-volume items rather than traditional stores, a trend called as the long tail effect. It makes possible for the firm to reach new markets and new customers. On the other hand, buyers can search for information to decide their final purchase and compare the products to see which offer sounds adequate to him/her. Small business organizations, especially in the developing countries have the advantage of diminishing the costs of a search for information as well as costs of the transaction. It broadens the effectiveness of transactions by reducing the time taken for processing, payments and other functions. As Gingrich points out, a small business is highly benefited by information provided about customers and markets together with the valuable details of product design, financial res ources, and process technology. The widespread use of internet and its functions have changed the way the customers as well as the firms acquire information and operate their business.

Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument - Essay Example n and Yaron Brook) argue that human rights and interests are beyond animal rights, but this argument is totally invalid because human beings and animals have equal right to lead peaceful lives. First of all, the authors label the animal rights activists as terrorists and this proves their bias against activism based upon equality and compassion towards other living things. Alex Epstein and Yaron Brook state that, â€Å"It is common to write off terrorist activity and the vicious statements of animal rights leaders as â€Å"extremist†, while maintaining that majority of people in the animal rights movement have benevolent intentions† (n.pag.). Within this context, the authors depend upon Rational Appeals by pointing out the importance of scientific experimentation as tool for survival. To be specific, the authors attract the readers’ attention towards deadly diseases and declare that the activists are not allowing conducting experiments. Besides, the authors make use of Emotional Appeals to influence the readers. For instance, the authors point out the violence and bloodshed created by the activists, but conceals the grass-root level reasons behind the same. The authors proclaim that, â€Å"Ominously, the crimes against Huntingdon are not isolated incidents; animal rights terrorists commit more than 1,000 crimes annually† (n.pag.). Besides, the authors quote scientific journals to prove their argument. This can be considered as the visible example of manipulation, i.e. the misuse of available information to back-up one’s invalid argument. Similarly, the authors depend upon Ethical Appeals to influence the readers. For instance, the authors serve at The Ayn Rand Institute, and this esteemed status as experts within the field of reasoning is cunningly utilized to influence the readers in general. So, one can see that the authors try to create public opinion against animal rights activism and ignores the business interest behind the tests conducted by Huntingdon

The Development of Sustainable Energy Sources in the United States Essay

The Development of Sustainable Energy Sources in the United States - Essay Example Glaciers have been melting and shrinking, weather patterns are changing, sea levels and rising, mosquitoes are spreading and corals are dying from the acidification and warming of the oceans and seas (Hansen et al., 2008, p16). According to Hansen et al. (2008), the world needs to lower the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere by 350 ppm or lower in order to avoid further- and possibly catastrophic effects of climate change (p16). While other people may see such re-orientation of the power industry as an unnecessary and expensive push, I say that it is about time that the United States does its share in the global effort to mitigate climate change and its effects. In fact, such step is, from the global political perspective, long overdue. The United States has consistently avoided signing binding treaties on climate change mitigation. There is a certain level of global consensus, evident in the Kyoto Protocol, that developed nations must bear a heavier responsibility in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) as a result of more than a century of industrial activity. However, the United States (U.S.), as major world superpower refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which binded 37 industrialized countries and the European community in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2005. In the Copenhagen Accord, the U.S. only committed a 4% reduction of GHGs from 1990 levels by 202 0 (Biello, 2010, paragraph 1) a targeted way below the commitment of other countries such as China, Brazil and the European Union (paragraph 3). From a business- and rational economic perspective, investing in the development of new energy sources and abandoning oil reserves in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska may easily be seen as wasteful, and even risky. However, given the fact that fossil fuels are finite resources, the country has no choice but to develop renewable energy sources that could replace existing energy sources before the latter  totally becomes depleted.  

How has sept. 11th effected the economy in the united states Essay

How has sept. 11th effected the economy in the united states - Essay Example It is hardly possible to meet the person who is unaware about the events of September 11. Thousands of people became victims of the biggest terrorist attack in the history of United States. The single day has changed the life of Americans, their perception of security and human dignity. The attack was well planned and confidently carried out, it was impossible to foresee this tragedy. Or was it? Four years have passed since that time but the world is still talking about it. One of the major outcomes of September 11 has become the closer examination of visitors to United States. The concept of racial profiling has become an inevitable part of national security. Nevertheless, is it reasonable to label the whole Arabian world as potentially dangerous because of the action of several individuals? When the American nation has managed to overcome the terror, the cardinal actions had to take place. Among the first initiatives was to use racial profiling in screening out the potentially dangerous immigrants and visitors to the country. Of course, the Arabs have become number one suspects and were closely examined. Was this targeted screening justified or was only the way to hide discriminatory attitude towards Arabian nation? Most likely, American government was not ready for attack of such level and racial profiling was the only effective way to prevent further attack. However, some of the actions are hard to explain and understand. For example, prior to September 11 Americans have rejected racial profiling, but since that day the public opinion has reversed. More than 1000 Arabs and Arab Americans (those who were born and lived all their lives in United States) were detained even though not a single of them has been charged with any formal offense (Davis, N., 2001). Students were kindly invited to visit their Arabian families in native countries with the hope that they will never return to United

The Apex of Regional Civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Apex of Regional Civilizations - Essay Example In this context, the war was not inevitable. The Chronicle of the Incans also present the views of the Incan economy and redistributive early civilization. Nevertheless, as illustrated by Cieza de Leon’s, the document is an historical narrative of the events of the Spanish conquest of Peru and the civil wars among the Spaniards. The parallelism coming forth from the Aztec and Incan (Americans) and the European (Spanish) civilization is that while one was convinced at unionizing their cultural identity, others were rocked into civil wars allowing the Europeans to conquer them. The similarities in the way Duran and de Cieza view indigenous American civilizations begin by the modes of their colonization by Spain. The civil war and lack of coordinated cultural views and hypocritical combination of Christianity and their prehispanic religions amount to some of the similarities in the two documents. In conclusion, the presence of the strong American Indian empires in the 16th century was disrupted by European civilizations and civil wars among them. This made it easy for the Europeans (such as Spain) to introduce religious wars as an excuse f conquering them. Duran and de Cieza gives an illustrative accounts of how the indigenous Americans, Aztecs and Incans, lost their

Mask Work in Drama Essay Example for Free

Mask Work in Drama Essay Our mask work in drama was an experience that I very much enjoyed very much. It also made me a better drama student because I increased my body movement far more as my face could not be seen. It has also shown me that with a mask on you can go for it with your body movement but you should go for it just as much with out a mask on. Fragments This part of the portfolio is where I say what Fragments of Mask work I learnt and enjoyed. Key word Fragments: Fragments of movement we mainly made up our selfs but always had to keep them ritualistic and precise. The movement we were taught in certain lessons were from a ritual and had to be Ritualistic and precise so every move was important. Examples of fragments I learnt in the lessons regarding Mask work: I remember the first lesson that we did mask work I was so unsure weather I would like it or not. What we did was sat in a circle Miss Grenene did movements that we had to copy in a ritualistic style. Then she made up copy the ritual routine with sounds so eventually we were all doing the same movements and sounds making us a chorus. Then she made us carry on the ritual adding sounds and movements on to it as we go. Miss was also playing the drum, which made it sound like an ancient ritual war drum. I felt unsure while doing this but however my emotions became more confident as the class ritual got better and better. The feelings I had were that I had to keep together with the group like a chorus should. Real life sounds and memories of sounds and movements were used in that ritual to carry on to making our own ritual. Like clapping whistling stomping all kinds of sounds and movements. All these ideas ran through my h ead and I was thinking this is good so why not add this, this and this to the piece. This was the starting point for our work as next we had to do a ritual in masks, which really does complete the ritual. I had to team up with Ross, Jack, Lisa and Joe to perform a Ritual of travelling from a neutral calm place to a hot place, to a cold place and then a funny place. I discovered on this first performance with a mask that because my face was covered up I had to express my character with my body and even more so as I didnt have speech. We all had to huddle together as well to look like a chorus. Sadly I felt nervous on that performance as everyone was moving at different times and I could not keep up so it went badly. For the movements I thought I should look freezing and act it and look hot and act it for the others I did the same basis for the ritual. I understand that a ritual is to be a serious occasion and you should act serious and focused while acting out a ritual like for example in a funeral or wedding. Which brings me onto my next piece which was when me Jack, Lauren, Keeli, and Michelle were acting out a wedding. The manor of this performance had to be serious and precise which it was. We did slow clear-cut movements that flowed and were symbolic to a wedding. This was a good piece when we performed it however the white cloth got caught in Keelis hair and we all ended up laughing. When we performing it I saw weddings on t-v and in real life and saw how formal they were, so I decided to draw my performance from that. I played the vicar and with the mask on I felt that Ginny was gone and the Vicar of the wedding was there. I felt calm and good about this performance as it was done well but we all laughed which emphasized even more the need t be serious in a ritual. Not one of my fragments up until now has made me happy with Mask Work. Not because I dont like because I always couldnt do my role correctly in movement or voice. Now I was put in a group for my moch exam and I was brilliant and confident from the word go I had no problem expressing my self and loved it. I feel that if I did it once I can do it again maybe it was the pressure of the exam that made me do well, however I am far more confident with mask work after that. Response: My emotional response to mask work is to approach it in a willing way. I felt like I had failed whenever I didnt give a good performance, which was most of the time, which hindered y confidence. I felt down like I did not know what I was doing wrong for a long time this made me frustrated with the work. This made me more determined though because I love drama so much I was not going to be perturbed by improvements that could and were in the end made. Also while we were trying new things I felt happy or sad or angry and this was related to the movements. I found that moving a lot made me happy and I could do that a lot if I was down. My Intellectual response to the work was to always be prepared and try everything and improve. I always wanted to intellectually give a good input to work and get a good out put from it. Ideas were always flowing into my head to put into a drama piece, but sadly I didnt know when to stop. The movements that we explored were always ritualistic and expressi ve according to the character or ritual we were playing in. In our moch exam I was so pleased with the response I gave to the work, which were magical ideas, and ritualistic movements, which got a good response, back this made me pleased. I always felt ready to try but had varied emotions through out mostly of focus and confusion to the drama piece. Development: Fragments were connected and developed as we learned more and put our increasing mask work techniques together into a ritual piece. Like our sounds like drumming or humming were connected to movements. For example a scream sound+ hands trying to pull your hair out could = an insane person in ritual. Another example could be a person with clawed hands above their head + a long grunt could = a person in a ritual who is angry. Mask + Movement = A soundless piece of drama where only the body can interpret the ritual using serious prà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cis and ritualistic movement. Also you must always have your head forward and facing the audience. Then you should have your shoulders back and have clear ritualistic movements and if there is sound use it so its clear and relevant also loud or quite depending on the mood. Mask +Movement+ Sound= A Ritual with expressive movement and sounds were effective adding atmosphere depending on the ritual piece. Mask+ Movement+ Sound+ Music= For example a piece of mask work like Oedipus which was the play we did and turned into a ritual. Fro sound we used words from the play like death, marriage, hanging, the grouching of the eyes. Then we linked these to ritualistic movements like people dieing and the grouching of the eyes. We used the music when there was a lot of tension at a high peak of the ritual. The chorus did movements all together this looked very effective and I liked the way they all moved at different level but still looked like a chorus in a ritual. Evaluation: The moch exam we did was based on a play called Oedipus and which we had to extract 10 words and turn it into a ritual with movement and music. Our 10 words were: Death, Marriage, Hanging, Grouching, Suffering, Hurl me, Madness, stabbing daggers, pain, and loved ones. The chorus which was Niki, Chris, Kirsty, Joe and Michelle used slow movements and long drowning words which made the ritual sound like a world of despair. I was the narrator and I said about the Marriage, death and hanging and the gouging of the eyes in the beginning. This was very effective and then at the end I came on screaming madness. Then the madness the chorus came out and stabbed me to death then I said the madness is done like I was closing the ritual. I must say I loved the way every ones movements were so precise and ritualistic. This so effective and the sounds we used symbolized the movements we did which made it look really good. I liked it because it flowed well and the sounds were loud and expressive. If I had to change something about the ritual it would be the fact that we could have moved more in time and also that the music could have been used more to show tension. Also the clothes were good too Red symbolising blood and black is the madness of killing. The other groups were so good as well I learnt that from them practise makes perfect. They were so realistic in voice and movement. Especially Sheryl and Daniel in voice. The choruses in all the groups could have moved better though. From this the thing I have learned that everyone must work on is their movements. The audiences were so good they gave us a lot of claps and support to spur us on.

Theatre Evaluation of The Woman In Black Essay Example for Free

Theatre Evaluation of The Woman In Black Essay On December 11th 2001 we went to go and see a production of Woman In Black at the Lowry Centre in Salford, Manchester. The play was a thriller based on a story of man that he had to explain, and needed to tell some one about his experience. This man went to a theatre and asked for help in telling this story. Two male actors retold the story in the theatre using the theatrical effects available. It was set on a proscenium stage. When we were first introduced to the stage setting all we saw were drapes hanging at the back, which were later to be turned into gauze to help portray the later more frightening scenes in the house. The only props on the stage were a large basket, a hat stand, a clothes rail and a chair (later on in the play a door was introduced). Throughout the play these were the only props used, but with great effect. Each prop was brought into a scene and used in a different way. The gauze was used for projective images. This gave a chilling effect for example when the image of a cross was shone on to it. It was also used to create other images like a graveyard, the old house and also other parts of the house, like when you saw the woman in black on the stairs. The use of gauze had a more terrifying effect on what we were witnessing. There were only two actors in the play, but they played numerous characters throughout the different scenes. When they wanted to change characters they simply took clothes off the clothes rail, this was a very quick and swift way to change characters and was very effective, because it kept our minds constantly on the play as the action was constantly on stage. Each prop was used for different things. For example the basket was used as a bed, a basket, a train carriage and a horse and carriage. This moment was particularly effective; the basket was used to take the actor to the house. As approaching the house the horse seemed to become stuck, the use of good sound effects of the horse and carriage, then the use of lighting made this all seem very frightening and disturbing. When the carriage crashed into the marsh the goods sound effects took our imagination and it seemed very real. This was also helped by the skill of the actor driving the carriage. He was playing the old man and as soon as he took on the role he seemed to instantly become this old man. He changed his voice and his face in order to create a very realistic image of the scene. This helped to make the scene more believable. It seemed that the actors fears were being portrayed into the audience. I felt that the frightening scenes were in the house when the actor could hear noises and also saw the woman in black. He seemed very scared. The climax of this was when he finally entered the door into the childs bedroom and we saw the rocking of the chair and the playing of the childrens music toy. This was very disturbing and the actor made us feel his sense of edginess and that he was frightened. The actor helped build up the tension when he first stayed in the house, that the audience was very anxious about when he went back and the audience became very worried about what was going to happen next. There was a third actor, the woman in black. The woman said nothing, which made her even more terrifying. The woman appeared out of the darkness of the back of the audience when we first saw her. She also appeared out of the darkness when we saw her in the graveyard scene, this time she was accompanied by a scream when she appeared, this made the audience very scared and fearful of her. The woman was just an image of a white face and we only saw her as a distant shadow in the house, it made us feel very startled by her. She was very effective as a silent actor because this made the audience use our imagination as to what the woman really was, because we never heard her speak. The sound effects, the shrill scream, that accompanied her on the stage also added to the eerie effect. The screams were very shocking and we could feel it in the audience, they became very jumpy and weary of this ghostly apparition on stage. When the play first started it was very slow at taking up the story and did not really grip our attention straight away. But it soon grew in pace and fright, with each scene moving faster and becoming more and more effective in scaring the audience. The effects used in the play, the gauze, the visions, the sounds and the woman really helped in making the play very successful in creating the disturbing feel of the story. I think everyone left the theatre very jumpy, so the play was obviously successful, and I thoroughly enjoyed my fearful experience.

The Recycling Of Metals Engineering Essay

The Recycling Of Metals Engineering Essay In our report we are discussing about recycling of metals and why we go in for recycling it. Also we have chosen five metals namely steel, aluminum, copper, lead, and tungsten which are recycled efficiently during the recycling process and discuss about the method of processing and benefits of recycling process. Metals play an important part in modern societies and have historically been linked with industrial development and improved living standards. Society can draw on metal resources from Earths crust as well as from metal discarded after use in the economy [1]. Metals are highly recyclable materials because their intrinsic properties dont change much on repeated recycling. If we increase their reuse and recycling the metals have a potential to improve resource productivity, and to reduce energy use, some emissions, and waste disposal. Improper recovery of metals from the economy increases reliance on primary resources and can impact nature by increasing the dispersion of metals in ecosystems. What is metal recycling? Metal recycling is the process of reusing old metal material, mainly aluminum and steel, to make new products. Recycling old metal products uses 95% less  energy  than manufacturing it from new materials [2]. Why metal recycling? It is easy and cost-effective to recycle metal, and metal can be recycled continuously without losing its properties. Therefore recycling metal reduces the environmental impacts associated with metal mining and production.   2. Materials and Methods a. Aluminum Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the world and also one of the most recycled a fact that can be attributed to the strong price it commands in worldwide commodities markets. It is estimated that over 50% of aluminum cans produced will be recycled, with some countries having a recovery rate of greater than 90%. Aluminum is a sustainable metal because of its high recovery rate and recyclability, with 2/3 of all the aluminum ever produced in use today. i. Applications of aluminum Electrical conductors, transport, packaging, building and architecture, miscellaneous applications such as high pressure gas cylinders, machined components, sporting equipment, road barriers and signs and lithographic plates ii. Recycling of Aluminum The recycling of aluminum provides many environmental and economic benefits. Aluminum recycling saves a substantial amount of energy. Aluminum is a sustainable metal and can be recycled repeatedly for any number of times. It is also the most valuable recycled product that we humans consume. The marketing of aluminum enables the municipalities to reduce some of the cost of recycling of other less valuable products, which provides an economic necessity to recycle. In these days, it is cheaper, faster and more energy saving and also efficient to recycle aluminum than the olden days. Aluminum, being 100 percent recyclable can be recycled indefinitely. The process of recycling aluminum cans is described below [3]; Aluminum cans and other such wastes are collected from house wastes and by municipal garbage. Using a device called eddy current separator, the wastes are sorted when it arrives to company. The eddy current electrically charges and causes it to repel from the device in to a sorting stream and then is passed on in to an awaiting bin. Then these are condensed into highly dense, briquettes weighing 30-pound or bales of 1,200-pound. This is then shipped off to aluminum companies for melting and further processing. Once the condensed briquettes and bales arrives to the aluminum companies, it is shredded, crushed and torn off of their inside and outside decorations through a simple process of burning. Then, these palm sized pieces of aluminum are loaded into furnaces for melting, where the recycled metal is blended along with the new, virgin aluminum. Aluminum is melted and then poured ingot moulds and is cast in to ingots. It is then arranged in to 25-foot long ingots that weigh over 30,000 pounds. These ingots are then fed into rolling mills which reduce the thickness of the metal from about 20 inches into sheets that are about 10/1,000 of an inch thick. These metal sheets are then coiled and shipped to can makers that produce cans and other related products. These processed cans are then delivered for the filling of beverages to companies. Molten furnaceThe filled cans are then distributed to stores and supermarkets for sales. The consumers then consume it and is then put in to bins or collecting centres. Then the cans enter the recycling cycle and the whole process repeated. A used can gets back in to the stores shelves in as little as 60 days. Reverse mill products aluminum Aluminum plant plant Aliuminum plant process scrap Used aluminum products Aluminum ingot output Ingot cast Molten aluminum Aluminum scrap are collected iii. Applications of recycled aluminum Transportation Equipment, Containers and Packaging, Construction Materials, Durable Goods iv. Benefits of recycling aluminum [4] Conserves energy Manufacturing aluminum from virgin ore consumes a huge amount of energy in each and every step from metallurgy to casting which increases our dependence on fossil fuels. Recycling aluminum saves 92 percent of the energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore. A single aluminum can, when recycled saves the amount of energy that is equivalent to the energy that is needed to power a television set for 3 hours. Conserves raw material Main source for the aluminum industry is the aluminum scrap because of its recycling nature. The recycled aluminum saves 4 tons of bauxite ore and 1,500 pounds of petroleum coke and pitch for every ton of re-melted aluminum instead of extracting. Reduces Pollution Recycling aluminum requires only less energy than manufacturing so, it means reduced greenhouse emissions. Also it reduces secondary effects on the environment, such as global warming and acid rain. Therefore recycling aluminum instead of extracting virgin ore eliminates nearly about 95 percent of air pollution and 97 percent of water pollution. b. Copper Copper is the ancient and most used metal by man. After iron and aluminum, copper is the most leading metal produced in the market. Copper is very commonly used in electrical and plumbing applications. Since number of electrical components are used in our day to day life, the application of copper increases day by day. Copper is used directly or as an alloy with iron (Bronze). Many ancient aircrafts are made of bronze. Most of the raw materials have alloys added to their base metal. i. Applications of copper Comparing to other metals, copper is more often used in its pure form than alloys. Copper have high resistance to corrosion and high electrical and thermal conductivity in the pure form which makes it suitable for most of the electrical, heating and plumbing applications. ii. Recycling of copper Casting the molten metal Temp 11600C into billets Molten furnace 99% pure Cu Extrusion process into tubes Collection and sorting of the scrap In Europe, 41% of copper for its applications are obtained from recycling [5]. Recycling of copper is done by the following steps. The scraps rich in copper are waste electrical and electronic equipments, old taps, plumbing pipes and scraps from copper/copper alloy production and manufacturing. So these scraps are first collected, sized and sorted. These sorted scraps are then melted, casted and then made into new copper products. When the copper scraps are received for recycling, it is first visually inspected, graded and analyzed chemically if necessary. Loose scraps are baled and stored until processed. High grade copper scraps are melted directly, but in some cases it is brought to higher purity when it is in a molten state while refining. It is then followed by deoxidization and then casted into billets or ingots for further production process. Temperature is reduced to 6000C optimal extrusion Wired into different diameters for several applications iii. Benefits of copper recycling [5] Environment Continuous mining may reduce the strength of the soil. The refining process will emit some dust particles along with some waste gases such as sulphur dioxide etc which will have some harmful effects on the environment. Even though many copper producers are involved in minimizing these harmful effects (sulphur dioxide is captured and used to make sulphuric acid) it is not possible to eliminate them completely. So the recycling process will enhance for this as a whole. Landfill costs If the used materials are not recycled, it will be sent for landfills. It is same in the case of copper where the non recycled copper materials are dumped as a whole in the earth called landfill. Once if we are continuously involved in increasing the content of landfill, it becomes very difficult to dispose those materials if it becomes full. Energy saving In general, the energy required for extracting one ton of copper from its ore is approximately 100GJ. But the energy required for producing same amount of copper from recycling is only 10GJ, which is only 10% of the energy needed for extraction. This results in saving a number of valuable reserves such as coal, natural gas etc. Conservation Currently 12% of known copper resources have been mined. However the number is finite and it makes sense to conserve these ores by recycling. The recycling efficiency of copper is about 40 to 60%. Economics Recycling copper is very economical compared to mine and extract new copper. Recycled copper saves 90% of the cost of the original copper which obviously helps to keep the cost of copper products down. c. Steel Steel  is an alloy mostly consists of  iron and carbon  content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight [7]. Steel is normally produced by smelting iron ore which is a commercial process where it contains more carbon and to become steel, it must be melted and reprocessed to reduce the amount of carbon and other elements are added, the liquid is then  continuously cast  into long slabs or  cast  into  ingots .Steel is mostly used in engineering and construction materials. It is very friendly to the environment and completely recyclable due to high durability, less energy consumption. i. Applications of steel Iron and steel are most widely used in the construction of roads, railways, other infrastructure appliances and buildings.Steel is used in variety of other  construction  materials, such as bolts,  nails, and  screws [10]. ii. Recycling of steel The unique magnetic properties of steel make it an easy material to recover from the waste so it can be recycled. The properties of the steel remain unchanged no matter how many times they are recycled. Steel recycling saves 75 percent of the energy which would be used to create steel from raw materials, enough to power 18 million homes. Over 65 percent of the steel produced in the U.S. is recycled into new steel every year. Steel is recycled in the following process. Collecting: The steel scraps are collected first from the companies; households etc†¦Then are taken to the recycling industry. Shredding: After it has reached the recycling plant the collected scraps are shredded into pieces. Magnetic Separation: The shredded pieces reach the magnetic separation process where the steel is attracted to magnet and gets separated from other metals. De tinning:   Steel cans normally have a layer of tin on them, where tin can is recycled on its own. This is usually carried out in specialized steel company, such as a steel mill or a scrap dealer. Melting: The separated steels scarps are the kept in a furnace for melting and hence the melted steel is casted and rolled into flat sheets.   Reformation:   Once the steel is in sheet form, it can be molded into products such as new steel cans, car parts or construction materials. Steel can be recycled infinitely without losing its strength or quality. iii. Applications of Recycled steel The recycled steel are used in appliances, Bridges Cans, Cars/trucks, Construction materials, Desks, File cabinets, Fire hydrants, Guard rails, Utility poles. iv. Benefits of recycling steel [9] Conservation of Natural Resources The recycling process in less expensive when compared with the manufacturing and also ecofriendly. Therefore using scrap steel helps preserve natural resources and energy. According to the Steel Recycling Institute, for every ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved. By recycling, the steel industry also conserves a huge amount of energy, thus the energy can be used for other useful purposes. Landfill Space Recycling steel helps in saving landfill space by diverting steel from the waste stream. Reduces Air and water pollution Manufacturing steel from its virgin ore involves the emission of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. Therefore using recycled steel generates 85 percent fewer emissions. Using scrap steel as a raw material in a steel mill can diminish water pollution by 76 percent and its mining waste by 97 percent said by Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Economically Advantageous Recycling the old steel into new steel than manufacturing steel completely from virgin ore is more profitable. d. Lead Lead is an element with a symbol Pb and has an atomic number of 82. It is very soft and malleable in nature. It comes under the category of heavy metals. Lead as a metal has a bluish-white color when it is freshly cut, but the color soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when it is exposed to air. Lead forms in to a shiny chrome-silver luster when it is melted into a liquid. Melting point of lead is 327.46 degree Celsius and a boiling point of 1749 degree Celsius. It is also known for its density which is 11.34g/cubic meter. Another important property of lead is that it is resistant to corrosion [11] i. Applications of lead Lead is used in ballast keel of sailboats and also in scube diving belts due to its property of high density. It is also used to cast small arms and ammunition and shotgun pellets. Lead is also used in printing. Since it is a non corrosion metal it suitable for outdoor applications when in contact with water. It is used in statues and sculptures and also in construction industry. Apart from all these, more than half of the worldwide lead production is used as electrodes in the lead-acid battery used extensively as a car battery. ii. Recycling of lead [13] Following are the recycling process. Receiving Batteries and recyclable raw materials are unloaded, weighed and sent to raw material processing center. Separation Batteries are broken apart in the hammer mill, and separated into three main components-leads, plastic and acid-by screening and gravity separation. Each component moves into a separate processing stream. Containment After initial processing, recovered lead and other lead wastes are stored in a specially designed containment building with a double-lined floor and leak-detection system. Purification The Waste water purification and treatment system neutralizes, purifies and converts the sulphuric acid into a pH- neutral liquid that is safely released into the sewer system. Smelting and refining After the lead is melted in blast furnaces, we mix the reclaimed lead with other materials to produce lead alloys. Casting Refined lead is poured into molds and cooled. Ingot molds come in three size large blocks (hogs), rectangular bars (pigs), and tube-shaped (billets). iii. Benefits of recycling lead Mining of lead requires energy of about 1000 TJ whereas recovering of lead from batteries and other sources requires only about 12.9 TJ. We clearly see that we save nearly 77 times the energy in the recovering process. Recycling lead also releases less amount of carbon dioxide when compared to the process of mining of lead from ore. To be accurate, recycling process gives 1.5Kt CO2 while the mining process gives 163Kt CO2 .This clearly shows the reduction in the amount of emission of green house gases to more than 100 times. Mineral resources are saved. Land resources are also saved from making it in to landfills. Lead recycling gives almost 100% efficiency. e. Tungsten recycling [14] Tungsten is a chemical element with a chemical symbol W and an atomic weight of 74. Tungsten is a whitish-gray metal and is one of the heaviest metals that have the highest melting point of any element except carbon; excellent high-temperature mechanical properties. The average concentration of tungsten in the Earths crust is estimated to be approximately0.0001%. The available ores for extracting tungsten are Scheelite (CaWO4) and Wolframite [(Fe, Mn) WO4].The leading use was as tungsten carbide in cemented carbides are use to make cutting tools and also as wear-resistant components by the construction, metalworking, mining, and oil drilling industries. Tungsten alloy or pure tungsten metal contacts, electrodes, and wires are used in electrical, electronic, heating, lighting, and welding applications. Tungsten alloys and composites are used as a substitute for lead in bullets and shot. Tungsten chemicals are used to make catalysts, corrosion-resistant coatings, dyes and pigments, fir e-resistant compounds, high-temperature lubricants, and phosphors. As on today, the market rate for the tungsten ore is $16.25 per pound. This clearly shows the demand and the necessity for the metal. We have seen previously that only 0.0001 percent of ore is present over the earths crust and the price too being very expensive brings about the necessity of recovering and recycling from used mediums. This can save a lot of resources, energy required for mining ores and its processing to get the metal. Thus we clearly see recycling and recovering serves a great way for saving tungsten recourses. i. Recycling process Recycling of tungsten has been done since early 90s. We evidently are having a good progress in this recycling process. There are many ways to recycle the metal. But it depends on the type of scrap we choose to recover it from. The types of scraps are given below: Old scrap It consists of tungsten-bearing products that are worn out. Used cemented carbide parts like metal cutting tools, some tungsten metal and tungsten alloy parts from electrical equipments. Old super alloy scrap includes used turbine blades and other parts removed from jet engines. It also includes some tool steel components. New scrap It is generated during the processing of tungsten concentrates, scrap, and chemicals to make metal powder and during the fabrication of tungsten products from these materials. This includes hard scrap consisting of solid pieces, such as sub specification alloy parts and cemented carbide parts, soft scrap consists of fine particles, such as bag house dust from steel and alloy manufacture. Unrecovered scrap It represents tungsten in scrap that has not been recycled. Some of its examples include burned out lamps and lighting fixtures, electrical contact disks, land filled spent catalysts and low-grade grinding swarfs, non collectable carbide parts, tungsten carbide hard facing materials, and welding electrode stubs. Processing of alloy scraps The oxidation-reduction process is the preferred method for recycling tungsten heavy metal alloy turnings and powders. In this direct recycling process, the scrap is oxidized by heating it in air at 800 ° C, milled and screened, hydrogen reduced between 900 ° to 1,000 °C, screened, blended, and then mixed with virgin heavy metal alloy powder to make a ready-to-press powder for the production of new products. Processing of cemented carbide scrap Cemented carbide producers supply scrap directly to converters, who return recycled powders to them for reuse. The processing method involves oxidation followed by alkali leaching. Cemented carbide scrap could be recycled by semi direct methods, such as acid leaching, bloating followed by leaching, electrolysis, or leach-milling. Processing of pure tungsten powder scraps Pure tungsten metal scrap could be recycled by using the following method. Electrolysis, which uses the scrap as an anode in an electrolytic solution, then chemical processing in which melting is followed by oxidation-reduction. Processing of thoriated tungsten scrap Thoriated tungsten electrodes are also used in a variety of high-performance and special application lighting products, such as high-intensity discharge lamps. The scrap is oxidized in air and then either reduced with iron by using a silicothermic or aluminothermic process to make ferrotungsten or processed chemically to make APT. The thorium oxide, which ends up in the slag in the production process is sent to a low-level radiation depository. Cleaned thoriated tungsten powders, solids, and turnings, which are generated as new scrap during the production of thoriated tungsten products or, in the case of solids, as old scrap by consumers, are processed by using the oxidation-reduction method. ii. Benefits of recycling tungsten †¢Recovering tungsten this way enables us to save two-third of energy we spend for mining new tungsten from the ore. That is we spend only one-third of energy for recovering Tungsten when compared to mining. †¢Recycle efficiency of tungsten is 66% †¢CO2 emission is sustained there by contributing its merit to green house effect. †¢Saves mineral resource i.e 0.0001% of tungsten in earths crust What are the Benefits of metal recycling? Get paid for you give to scrap metal recycling facilities. Emission of green house gases gets reduced. Aluminum and steel can be recycled repeatedly. Decreases environmental damage caused by mining Conserves land and water resource. Things to be done The secondary metal production is been affected by environmental regulation through laws that control emissions and govern the classification and treatment of metal-loaded wastes. Also industry must develop better technology to isolate and recover maximum value from metals in waste streams, and governments must institute policies that remove barriers to their economically and environmentally. Only through a cooperative effort can society recover a maximum amount of metal from the industrial/social system to benefit the environment. Conclusions Recycling of metals helps us to make sustained use of metals. It conserves energy, natural resources, therefore reduces pollution. Due to the unique valuable properties metals will remain an integral part of future industrial society. Decades of increased productivity and more efficient technologies for metals production and use has decreased the share claimed by the primary and secondary metals industries. Many recycling techniques should be carried out so that the environmental benefits gets increasing on the reliance on secondary metal production include conserving energy, landscapes, and natural resources, and reducing toxic and nontoxic waste streams. If every country embraces it, a global impact will be achieved.

Botswana :: essays research papers

Botswana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, roughly the size of Texas. It covers 224,607 square miles, yet contains only 1,444,000 people, making it one the most thinly populated countries in Africa. The eastern portion is where most people reside, because the Kalahari Desert covers almost all the rest of the nation. Botswana's climate is a semiarid one, consisting of very hot summers, and warm winters. Flat and rolling land make up the topography of Botswana, with the Kalahari in the southwest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several major ethnic groups in Botswana. Most Botswanans are black Africans called Tswana, and the largest group of the Tswana are the Bamangwato. The Bamangwato make up almost one third of Botswana's population. The majority of the Tswana are farmers. There are also about 10,000 of the San people, or â€Å"Bushmen†. Some San are hunter-gatherers, and some are farmers. Several thousand whites are also included in Botswana's population. Most are of British descent. Most whites earn more money then the blacks, and this causes some racial tension. Although English is the official language of Botswana, most people speak Setswana, a Bantu language. Eighty-five percent of Botswana's people practice traditional African religions, while the rest are Christian. Most Botswanan children attend elementary school, but only fifteen percent will go on to high school. The small percent of people that go to college attend the University of Botswana in Gaborone, the nation's capital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Great Britain once had control over Botswana. South Africa wanted Botswana, then called Bechuanaland, as part of their country. But Great Britain refused. On September 30,1966, Botswana was declared independent. It's official name is The Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama became the nation's first president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of Botswana's chief resources are diamonds,copper,nickel, and salt. The economy of Botswana was based on cattle and crop raising, but now diamond mining is controlling the economy, despite a 25 percent unemployment rate due to slow diamond sales in 1994. In 1994, Botswana made 1.8 billion dollars in exports of diamonds,copper, nickel, and meat. Botswana has it's own currency: the pula. One pula is equal to about 1.8 U.

A New Road to Transportation Essay -- Hybrid Electric Car, Smart Car

The United States goes through about 19,600,000 barrels of oil a day, and a barrel of oil is around a $100. In a day, just for oil, we spend $1.96 billion dollars worth of oil, and yes that was with a â€Å"b†. Gas is now up to $3.65 per gallon and is rising. I pay $120 for insurance for one month and I use 8 gallons of gas a week average. That means I spend almost $3,000 a year! I’m only sixteen and that is not even adding all the costs. I could add oil, tires, air filters, battery, and windshield wiper fluid. The list could continue on forever. A person who is auto dependent spends 25% of their income on their transportation (Boelte 2). This shows we need to cut our spending on transportation. On the news I saw that people were buying electric cars and cars that get 40mpg. What people need to do is find a transportation that is suitable for them. When a traveler is traveling a far distance, it gets really pricey. I could pay $600 for a round trip flight and be there in an hour or drive 600miles. In a car with 40mpg, that would only be only $146. More people would rather fly though because they will get there and back. What we really need is something cheap, suitable, and fast. Having bullet trains, car pools, and bike lanes will provide cheaper transportation. People seem to be amazed when they see a high performance car roar down a street. Yes, it may seem like the car is amazing, but when the price comes at hand a driver wouldn’t want to pay for it. I paid $800 for my car because it was reposed. It’s a 1996 dodge neon with only 70,000 miles on it, and gets 32.9 mpg highway at 75mph. Not everyone can get a deal like that, but we need to make a way for transportation to be like the deal I got. A hybrid, electric car, and cars that ... ...th a carpool lane at hand these cars would be saving a ridiculous amount of money. By adding just one lane to the highway Americans will cut spending in half by taking someone with them. Another way to cut spending is by creating a system of super trains. The system would run through each capital. The price of this would be hefty but in time it would pay for itself. Super trains are extremely same and never have had any fatal accidents ever. Speaking of safety, biking on the road isn’t very safe. By adding a bike lane to separate a rider from the road will be safe. A person can ride a bike to any place close and still save money. If a rider rides their bike 5miles a day they can save $600 or more on gas. The rider will stay in shape and save money at the same time. There are many ways to save money and help the environment. So stop wasting money and get to saving.

Effects of Desertification

Environmental problems Of all the global environmental problems, desertification is, perhaps, the most threatening for poor rural people. The most accepted definition of desertification states that it is land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Drylands cover almost 40 percent of the total land surface of the world and are inhabited by approximately 1 billion humans dispersed over more than 100 countries. These people include many of the world's most vulnerable, marginalized, and politically weak citizens. In spite of the progress in the understanding of the ecological dimension of this phenomenon, few communities' wellbeing has improved by the myriad action plans and activities carried out by local, regional, or national organizations, particularly in Africa. A growing body of evidence suggests that a closer look at the social system and the role of its components is critical to understanding this frequent outcome. Drylands are characterized by water scarcity stemming from the conjunction of low water offer (i. e. , precipitation) and high water demand (i. . , water lost to the atmosphere as water vapor from soil via evaporation and from plants through transpiration). Drylands' precipitation is highly variable through the year and occurs in infrequent, discrete, and largely unpredictable events. In turn, the high evaporative demand of the atmosphere, resulting from high air temperatures, low humidity, and abundant solar radiation, determines that water availability is the dominant con trolling factor for biological processes such as plant growth and herbivore productivity. Thus drylands, though not barren, are ecosystems of low and highly variable productivity capable of limited human settlement and vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. The proximate causes of desertification are complex and vary from region to region. The European Mediterranean region has a long history of human misuse. War, urbanization, farming, and tourism have, over the years, altered vegetation to such an extent that, at present, virtually no natural vegetation exists there and soil erosion is ubiquitous. In contrast, Australian drylands have experienced extensive degradation only recently. The introduction of domestic livestock by Europeans in the late 1880s, together with the fences used to concentrate these animals and the suppression of fire, drastically reduced the abundance of perennial grasses, leaving more soil exposed to erosion by water or wind, and triggered shrub encroachment. In the Sahelian region of Africa, where the concept of desertification was first coined at the beginning of the 20th century, the replacement of the original vegetation by crops, the increase of grazing pressure over the remaining lands, and the collection of wood for fuel resulted in a reduction of the biological or economic productivity of the land. In particular, inappropriate use of heavy machinery, deficient irrigation schemes, and grazing management practices led to soil erosion, salinization, and overgrazing. Any attempt to assess the impact of desertification on human societies should first acknowledge the difference between the ways water-limited ecosystems shape the functioning of social systems and the effects of desertification itself. Desertification imposes an additional constraint on human well-being by further reducing the limited ecosystem goods (e. g. , food, timber, water) and services (e. g. , soil maintenance, erosion control, carbon sequestration) that drylands provide. Failure to address this difference would lead to an overestimation of the desertification effects. Additionally, the manifestations of desertification vary widely, depending on the capacity of each country to mitigate its impacts. For example, in Africa it resulted in declining productivity and intensifying food insecurity and widespread famines, whereas in the Mediterranean region desertification seriously threatens water supply, while many regions of northern Europe are experiencing an increase in dust deposition due to north African soil erosion. In poor countries with a large proportion of their territory in arid and semiarid regions, desertification may trigger a downward spiral where a significant amount of a nation's human and financial resources are devoted to combating past desertification effects, leaving less available to invest in health, education, industry, and governmental institutions. The ultimate precarious social conditions thus developed generally lead to migrations, exacerbating urban sprawl, and may bring about internal and cross-boundary social, ethnic, and political strife. Approaches to the desertification problem broadly fall into two competing perspectives: the predominant global environmental management (GEM) discourse and the populist discourse. Whereas the former discourse rests on neoliberal values and Malthusian thinking, the latter has its philosophical roots in the self-reliant advocacy derived from the dependency schools of the 1970s and 1980s. The GEM discourse depicts overpopulation in drylands as the main problem leading to the degradation of the ecosystems on which they depend. As seen in the GEM discourse, the global problem of desertification requires a global solution. Therefore, GEM supporters promote topdown, interventionist and technocentrist solutions implemented through international institutions and conventions, such as the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. On the contrary, the populist discourse–populist in the sense that it positively portrays the acts of local people–emphasizes that the marginalization of smallholders and pastoralists started during the colonial period and was subsequently deepened by global capitalism, transnational corporations, and northern consumers as the principal causes of land overexploitation and degradation. International assistance in the form of debt per nature exchanges or technological transferences is regarded as part of the problem itself. Rather, the populist discourse focuses on local or traditional knowledge and community-based action as major sources to overcome environmental problems. However, despite its diametrically opposed explanations of the desertification problem, neither discourse denies an impending crisis caused by desertification. Why, almost a century after its first detection, does desertification continue to be among the most important environmental problems faced by humankind? Though no single answer exists, there are some arguments to sketch an answer. Undoubtedly the inherent complexity of the desertification phenomenon hampers almost every phase of the sequence leading to the mitigation or control of an environmental problem (i. e. , first detection, general recognition, agreement on regulation). For instance, a long period elapsed between when French foresters first perceived what they called â€Å"the desert advance† and the widespread diffusion of the desertification tragedy that took place in the Sahelian region of Africa after a series of drought years at the beginning of the 1970s; today improvements in our understanding of rangelands functioning and climatic variability allow for faster detection and prevention. These advances show that vegetation dynamics in drylands may remain seemingly unaffected by an increase in land use pressure until there is a sudden shift to a lower-productivity stable state, with stochastic climate events, such as severe droughts, acting as triggers. Additionally, incomplete or inadequate scientific knowledge, together with the urgent need of integrative solutions for the Sahelian drama, may have driven actors to resort to the first workable options, leading to erroneous regulations at that time. However, regulations of this kind are not dependent on scientific knowledge alone but also on political pressure mechanisms. Thus an explanation of the failure to achieve sound regulation needs to consider political issues as well. The predominance of the GEM discourse, despite the poor performance of top-down solutions to â€Å"unsustainable† resource management, can be explained by its convenience for the interests of three main groups involved in the desertification issue: national governments, international aid donors, and scientists. National governments benefit not only from foreign financial aid but also from the use of desertification as the basis for severely repressive social control. International donors and institutions find the problem of desertification a reason unto itself for their involvement, whereas scientists may highlight the global nature and severity of the desertification problem as a means to obtain research funds. On the contrary, the bottom-up approaches promoted by the populist discourse do not fit the terms and conditions of bilateral and multilateral funding and instead stress the principles of participation and decentralization. It is apparent that the progress achieved in our comprehension of desertification has not been matched by an improvement in the regulations aimed at mitigating its consequences. While the accumulation of knowledge generated during the past decades provides evidence against both discourses' main tenets, they nonetheless remain influential in the political and scientific arenas. Future contributions to the solution of the desertification problem require the synthesis of recent social and ecological advances into a new synthetic framework that overcomes the constraints upon the solutions imposed by the GEM and populist discourses. Social scientists hope that a new desertification paradigm–that is, the dryland development paradigm, which represents a convergence of insights from both discourses–is emerging. Bibliography: 1) Adger, W. Neil, Tor A. Benjaminsen, Katrina Brown, and Hanne Svarstad. 2001. Advancing a Political Ecology of Global Environmental Discourses. † Development and Change 32:681-715. 2) Herrmann, Stefanie M. and Charles F. Hutchinson. 2005. â€Å"The Changing Contexts of the Desertification Debate. † Journal of Arid Environments 63:538-55. 3) Reynolds, James F. and D. Mark Stafford-Smith. 2002. Global Desertification: Do Humans Create Deserts? Berlin: Dahlem University Press. 4) Veron, Santiago R. , Jose M. Paruelo, and Martin Oesterheld. 2006. â€Å"Assessing Desertification. † Journal of Arid Environments 66:751-63.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Two

â€Å"And that's all I remember,† Bonnie concluded as she and Meredith walked down Sunflower Street between the rows of tall Victorian houses. â€Å"But it was definitely Elena?† â€Å"Yes, and she was trying to tell me something at the end. But that's the part that wasn't clear, except that it was important, terribly important. What do you think?† â€Å"Mouse sandwiches and open graves?† Meredith arched an elegant eyebrow. â€Å"I think you're getting Stephen King mixed up with Lewis Carroll.† Bonnie thought she was probably right. But the dream still bothered her; it had bothered her all day, enough to put her earlier worries out of her mind. Now, as she and Meredith approached Caroline's house, the old worries returned with a vengeance. She really should have told Meredith about this, she thought, casting an uneasy sideways glance at the taller girl. She shouldn't let Meredith just walk in there unprepared†¦ Meredith looked up at the lighted windows of the Queen Anne House with a sigh. â€Å"Do you really need those earrings tonight?† â€Å"Yes, I do; yes, absolutely.† Too late now. Might as well make the best of it. â€Å"You'll love them when you see them,† she added, hearing the note of hopeful desperation in her own voice. Meredith paused and her keen dark eyes searched Bonnie's face curiously. Then she knocked on the door. â€Å"I just hope Caroline's not staying home tonight. We could end up stuck with her.† â€Å"Caroline staying home on a Saturday night? Don't be ridiculous.† Bonnie had been holding her breath too long; she was starting to feel lightheaded. Her tinkling laughter came out brittle and false. â€Å"What a concept,† she continued somewhat hysterically as Meredith said, â€Å"I don't think anybody's home,† and tried the knob. Possessed by some crazy impulse Bonnie added, â€Å"Fiddle-dee-dee.† Hand on doorknob, Meredith stopped dead and turned to look at her. â€Å"Bonnie,† she said quietly, â€Å"have you gone completely through the ozone?† â€Å"No.† Deflated, Bonnie grabbed Meredith's arm and sought her eyes urgently. The door was opening on its own. â€Å"Oh, God, Meredith, please don't kill me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Surprise!† shouted three voices. â€Å"Smile,† Bonnie hissed, shoving the suddenly resistant body of her friend through the door and into the bright room full of noise and showers of foil confetti. She beamed wildly herself and spoke through clenched teeth. â€Å"Kill me later-I deserve it -but for now just smile.† There were balloons, the expensive Mylar kind, and a cluster of presents on the coffee table. There was even a flower arrangement, although Bonnie noticed the orchids in it matched Caroline's pale green scarf exactly. It was a Hermes silk with a design of vines and leaves. She'll end up wearing one of those orchids in her hair, I'll bet, Bonnie thought. There were balloons, the expensive Mylar kind, and a cluster of presents on the coffee table. There was even a flower arrangement, although Bonnie noticed the orchids in it matched Caroline's pale green scarf exactly. It was a Hermes silk with a design of vines and leaves. She'll end up wearing one of those orchids in her hair, I'll bet, Bonnie thought. â€Å"Nothing I can't break with an iron crowbar,† Meredith replied. But she smiled back with wry warmth and Bonnie relaxed. Sue had been a Homecoming Princess on Elena's court, along with Bonnie, Meredith, and Caroline. She was the only girl at school besides Bonnie and Meredith who'd stood by Elena when everyone else had turned against her. At Elena's funeral she'd said that Elena would always be the real queen of Robert E. Lee, and she'd given up her own nomination for Snow Queen in Elena's memory. Nobody could hate Sue. The worst was over now, Bonnie thought. â€Å"I want to get a picture of us all on the couch,† Caroline said, positioning them behind the flower arrangement. â€Å"Vickie, take it, will you?† Vickie Bennett had been standing by quietly, unnoticed. Now she said, â€Å"Oh, sure,† and nervously flicked long, light brown hair out of her eyes as she picked up the camera. Just like she's some kind of servant, Bonnie thought, and then the flashbulb blinded her. As the Polaroid developed and Sue and Caroline laughed and talked around Meredith's dry politeness, Bonnie noticed something else. It was a good picture; Caroline looked stunning as ever with her auburn hair gleaming and the pale green orchids in front of her. And there was Meredith, looking resigned and ironic and darkly beautiful without even trying, and there she was herself, a head shorter than the others, with her red curls tousled and a sheepish expression on her face. But the strange thing was the figure beside her on the couch. It was Sue, of course it was Sue, but for a moment the blond hair and blue eyes seemed to belong to someone else. Someone looking at her urgently, on the verge of saying something important. Bonnie frowned at the photo, blinking rapidly. The image swam in front of her, and a chilling uneasiness ran up her spine. No, it was just Sue in the picture. She must've gone crazy for a minute, or else she was letting Caroline's desire for them â€Å"all to be together again† affect her. â€Å"I'll take the next one,† she said, springing up. â€Å"Sit down, Vickie, and lean in. No, farther, farther-there!† All of Vickie's movements were quick and light and nervous. When the flashbulb went off, she started like a scared animal ready to bolt. Caroline scarcely glanced at this picture, getting up and heading for the kitchen instead. â€Å"Guess what we're having instead of cake?† she said. â€Å"I'm making my own version of Death by Chocolate. Come on, you've got to help me melt the fudge.† Sue followed her, and after an uncertain pause, so did Vickie. The last traces of Meredith's pleasant expression evaporated and she turned to Bonnie. â€Å"You should have told me.† â€Å"And that makes it all worthwhile?† â€Å"Well, it helps,† Bonnie said, with an air of being reasonable. â€Å"And really, it probably won't be so bad. Caroline's actually trying to be nice, and it's good for Vickie to get out of the house for once†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It doesn't look like it's good for her,† Meredith said bluntly. â€Å"It looks like she's going to have a heart attack.† â€Å"Well, she's probably just nervous.† In Bonnie's opinion, Vickie had good reason to be nervous. She'd spent most of the previous fall in a trance, being slowly driven out of her mind by a power she didn't understand. Nobody had expected her to come out of it as well as she had. Meredith was still looking bleak. â€Å"At least,† Bonnie said consolingly, â€Å"it isn't your real birthday.† Meredith picked up the camera and turned it over and over. Still looking down at her hands, she said, â€Å"But it is.† â€Å"What?† Bonnie stared and then said louder, â€Å"What did you say?† â€Å"I said, it is my real birthday. Caroline's mom must have told her; she and my mom used to be friends a long time ago.† â€Å"Meredith, what are you talking about? Your birthday was last week, May 30.† â€Å"No, it wasn't. It's today, June 6. It's true; it's on my driver's license and everything. My parents started celebrating it a week early because June 6 was too upsetting for them. It was the day my grandfather was attacked and went crazy.† As Bonnie gasped, unable to speak, she added calmly, â€Å"He tried to kill my grandmother, you know. He tried to kill me, too.† Meredith put the camera down carefully in the exact center of the coffee table. â€Å"We really should go in the kitchen,† she said quietly. â€Å"I smell chocolate.† Bonnie was still paralyzed, but her mind was beginning to work again. Vaguely, she remembered Meredith speaking about this before, but she hadn't told her the full truth then. And she hadn't said when it had happened. â€Å"Attacked-you mean like Vickie was attacked,† Bonnie got out. She couldn't say the word vampire, but she knew Meredith understood. â€Å"Like Vickie was attacked,† Meredith confirmed. â€Å"Come on,† she added, even more quietly. â€Å"They're waiting for us. I didn't mean to upset you.† Meredith doesn't want me to be upset, so I won't be upset, Bonnie thought, pouring hot fudge over the chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. Even though we've been friends since first grade and she never told me this secret before. pouring hot fudge over the chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. Even though we've been friends since first grade and she never told me this secret before. Then Bonnie shook her head determinedly. She couldn't think about this right now; she had a party to think about. And I'll make sure it's a good party and we all get along somehow, she thought. Strangely, it wasn't even that hard. Meredith and Vickie didn't talk much at first, but Bonnie went out of her way to be nice to Vickie, and even Meredith couldn't resist the pile of brightly wrapped presents on the coffee table. By the time she'd opened the last one they were all talking and laughing. The mood of truce and toleration continued as they moved up into Caroline's bedroom to examine her clothes and CDs and photo albums. As it got near midnight they flopped on sleeping bags, still talking. â€Å"What's going on with Alaric these days?† Sue asked Meredith. Alaric Saltzman was Meredith's boyfriend-sort of. He was a graduate student from Duke University who'd majored in parapsychology and had been called to Fell's Church last year when the vampire attacks began. Though he'd started out an enemy, he'd ended up an ally-and a friend. â€Å"He's in Russia,† Meredith said. â€Å"Perestroika, you know? He's over there finding out what they were doing with psychics during the Cold War.† â€Å"What are you going to tell him when he gets back?† asked Caroline. It was a question Bonnie would have liked to ask Meredith herself. Because Alaric was almost four years older, Meredith had told him to wait until after she graduated to talk about their future. But now Meredith was eighteen-today, Bonnie reminded herself-and graduation was in two weeks. What was going to happen after that? â€Å"I haven't decided,† Meredith said. â€Å"Alaric wants me to go to Duke, and I've been accepted there, but I'm not sure. I have to think.† Bonnie was just as glad. She wanted Meredith to go to Boone Junior College with her, not go off and get married, or even engaged. It was stupid to decide on one guy so young. Bonnie herself was notorious for playing the field, going from boy to boy as she pleased. She got crushes easily, and got over them just as easily. â€Å"I haven't seen the guy so far worth remaining faithful to,† she said now. Everyone looked at her quickly. Sue's chin was resting on her fists as she asked, â€Å"Not even Stefan?† Bonnie should have known. With the only light the dim bedside lamp and the only sound the rustle of new leaves on the weeping willows outside, it was inevitable that the conversation would turn to Stefan-and to Elena. Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert were already a sort of legend in the town, like Romeo and Juliet. When Stefan had first come to Fell's Church, every girl had wanted him. And Elena, the most beautiful, most popular, most unapproachable girl at school, had wanted him too. It was only after she'd gotten him that she realized the danger. Stefan wasn't what he seemed-he had a secret far darker than anyone could have guessed. And he had a brother, Damon, even more mysterious and dangerous than himself. Elena had been caught between the two brothers, loving Stefan but drawn irresistibly to Damon's wildness. In the end she had died to save them both, and to redeem their love. Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert were already a sort of legend in the town, like Romeo and Juliet. When Stefan had first come to Fell's Church, every girl had wanted him. And Elena, the most beautiful, most popular, most unapproachable girl at school, had wanted him too. It was only after she'd gotten him that she realized the danger. Stefan wasn't what he seemed-he had a secret far darker than anyone could have guessed. And he had a brother, Damon, even more mysterious and dangerous than himself. Elena had been caught between the two brothers, loving Stefan but drawn irresistibly to Damon's wildness. In the end she had died to save them both, and to redeem their love. â€Å"I still can't believe she's gone,† Sue said quietly, shaking her head and shutting her eyes. â€Å"She was so much more alive than other people.† â€Å"Her flame burned brighter,† said Meredith, gazing at the patterns the rose-and-gold lamp made on the ceiling. Her voice was soft but intense, and it seemed to Bonnie that those words described Elena better than anything she'd ever heard. â€Å"There were times when I hated her, but I could never ignore her,† Caroline admitted, her green eyes narrowed in memory. â€Å"She wasn't a person you could ignore.† â€Å"One thing I learned from her death,† Sue said, â€Å"is that it could happen to any of us. You can't waste any of life because you never know how long you've got.† â€Å"It could be sixty years or sixty minutes,† Vickie agreed in a low voice. â€Å"Any of us could die tonight.† Bonnie wriggled, disturbed. But before she could say anything, Sue repeated, â€Å"I still can't believe she's really gone. Sometimes I feel as if she's somewhere near.† â€Å"Oh, so do I,† said Bonnie, distracted. An image of Warm Springs flashed through her mind, and for a moment it seemed more vivid than Caroline's dim room. â€Å"Last night I dreamed about her, and I had the feeling it really was her and that she was trying to tell me something. I still have that feeling,† she said to Meredith. The others gazed at her silently. Once, they would all have laughed if Bonnie hinted at any-thing supernatural, but not now. Her psychic powers were undisputed, awesome, and a little scary. â€Å"Do you really?† breathed Vickie. â€Å"What do you think she was trying to say?† asked Sue. â€Å"I don't know. At the end she was trying so hard to stay in contact with me, but she couldn't.† There was another silence. At last Sue said hesitantly, with the faintest catch in her voice, â€Å"Do you think†¦ do you think you could contact her?† It was what they'd all been wondering. Bonnie looked toward Meredith. Earlier, Meredith had dismissed the dream, but now she met Bonnie's eyes seriously. â€Å"Is that the only way to communicate with dead people? What about a Ouija board or something?† Sue asked. â€Å"My parents have a Ouija board,† Caroline said a little too loudly. Suddenly the hushed, low-key mood was broken and an indefinable tension filled the air. Everyone sat up straighter and looked at each other with speculation. Even Vickie looked intrigued on top of her scaredness. â€Å"Would it work?† Meredith said to Bonnie. â€Å"Should we?† Sue wondered aloud. â€Å"Do we dare? That's really the question,† Meredith said. Once again Bonnie found everyone looking at her. She hesitated a final instant, and then shrugged. Excitement was stirring in her stomach. â€Å"Why not?† she said. â€Å"What have we got to lose?† Caroline turned to Vickie. â€Å"Vickie, there's a closet at the bottom of the stairs. The Ouija board should be inside, on the top shelf with a bunch of other games.† She didn't even say, â€Å"Please, will you get it?† Bonnie frowned and opened her mouth, but Vickie was already out the door. â€Å"You could be a little more gracious,† Bonnie told Caroline. â€Å"What is this, your impression of Cinderella's evil stepmother?† â€Å"Oh, come on, Bonnie,† Caroline said impatiently. â€Å"She's lucky just to be invited. She knows that.† â€Å"And here I thought she was just overcome by our collective splendor,† Meredith said dryly. â€Å"And besides-† Bonnie started when she was interrupted. The noise was thin and shrill and it fell off weakly at the end, but there was no mistaking it. It was a scream. It was followed by dead silence and then suddenly peal after peal of piercing shrieks. For an instant the girls in the bedroom stood transfixed. Then they were all running out into the hallway and down the stairs. â€Å"Vickie!† Meredith, with her long legs, reached the bottom first. Vickie was standing in front of the closet, arms outstretched as if to protect her face. She clutched at Meredith, still screaming. â€Å"Vickie, what is it?† Caroline demanded, sounding more angry than afraid. There were game boxes scattered across the floor and Monopoly markers and Trivial Pursuit cards strewn everywhere. â€Å"What are you yelling about?† â€Å"It grabbed me! I was reaching up to the top shelf and something grabbed me around the waist!† â€Å"No! From inside the closet.† Startled, Bonnie looked inside the open closet. Winter coats hung in an impenetrable layer, some of them reaching the floor. Gently disengaging herself from Vickie, Meredith picked up an umbrella and began poking the coats. â€Å"Oh, don't-† Bonnie began involuntarily, but the umbrella encountered only the resistance of cloth. Meredith used it to push the coats aside and reveal the bare cedarwood of the closet wall. â€Å"You see? Nobody there,† she said lightly. â€Å"But you know what is there are these coat sleeves. If you leaned in far enough between them, I'll bet it could feel like somebody's arms closing around you.† Vickie stepped forward, touched a dangling sleeve, then looked up at the shelf. She put her face in her hands, long silky hair falling forward to screen it. For an awful moment Bonnie thought she was crying, then she heard the giggles. â€Å"Oh, God! I really thought-oh, I'm so stupid! I'll clean it up,† Vickie said. â€Å"Later,† said Meredith firmly. â€Å"Let's go in the living room.† Bonnie threw one last look at the closet as they went. When they were all gathered around the coffee table, with several lights turned off for effect, Bonnie put her fingers lightly on the small plastic planchette. She'd never actually used a Ouija board, but she knew how it was done. The planchette moved to point at letters and spell out a message-if the spirits were willing to talk, that is. â€Å"We all have to be touching it,† she said, and then watched as the others obeyed. Meredith's fingers were long and slender, Sue's slim and tapering with oval nails. Caroline's nails were painted burnished copper. Vickie's were bitten. â€Å"Now we close our eyes and concentrate,† Bonnie said softly. There were little hisses of anticipation as the girls obeyed; the atmosphere was getting to all of them. â€Å"Think of Elena. Picture her. If she's out there, we want to draw her here.† The big room was silent. In the dark behind her closed lids Bonnie saw pale gold hair and eyes like lapis lazuli. â€Å"Come on, Elena,† she whispered. â€Å"Talk to me.† The planchette began to move. None of them could be guiding it; they were all applying pressure from different points. Nevertheless, the little triangle of plastic was sliding smoothly, confidently. Bonnie kept her eyes shut until it stopped and then looked. The planchette was pointing to the word Yes. Vickie gave something like a soft sob. Bonnie looked at the others. Caroline was breathing fast, green eyes narrowed. Sue, the only one of all of them, still had her eyes resolutely closed. Meredith looked pale. â€Å"Keep concentrating,† Bonnie told them. She felt unready and a little stupid addressing the empty air directly. But she was the expert; she had to do it. â€Å"Is that you, Elena?† she said. The planchette made a little circle and returned to Yes. Suddenly Bonnie's heart was beating so hard she was afraid it would shake her fingers. The plastic underneath her fingertips felt different, electrified almost, as if some supernatural energy was flowing through it. She no longer felt stupid. Tears came to her eyes, and she could see that Meredith's eyes were glistening too. Meredith nodded at her. â€Å"How can we be sure?† Caroline was saying, loudly, suspiciously. Caroline doesn't feel it, Bonnie realized; she doesn't sense anything I do. Psychically speaking, she's a dud. The planchette was moving again, touching letters now, so quickly that Meredith barely had time to spell out the message. Even without punctuation it was clear. CAROLINE DONT BE A JERK, it said. YOURE LUCKY IM TALKING TO YOU AT ALL â€Å"That's Elena, all right,† Meredith said dryly. â€Å"It sounds like her, but-† â€Å"Oh, shut up, Caroline,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Elena, I'm just so glad†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her throat locked up and she tried again. BONNIE THERES NO TIME STOP SNIVELING AND GET DOWN TO BUSINESS And that was Elena too. Bonnie sniffed and went on. â€Å"I had a dream about you last night.† TEA â€Å"Yes.† Bonnie's heart was thudding faster than ever. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you, but things got weird and then we kept losing contact-â€Å" BONNIE DONT TRANCE NO TRANCE NO TRANCE â€Å"All right.† That answered her question, and she was relieved to hear it. CORRUPTING INFLUENCES DISTORTING OUR COMMUNICATION THERE ARE BAD THINGS VERY BAD THINGS OUT HERE â€Å"Like what?† Bonnie leaned closer to the board. â€Å"Like what?† NO TIME! The planchette seemed to add the exclamation point. It was jerking violently from letter to letter as if Elena could barely contain her impatience. â€Å"Danger?† Vickie repeated, looking as if she might jump off the chair and run. WAIT LISTEN FIRST THE WHOLE TOWN IS IN DANGER â€Å"What do we do?† said Meredith instantly. YOU NEED HELP HES OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE UNBELIEVABLY STRONG NOW LISTEN AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS YOU HAVE TO DO A SUMMONING SPELL AND THE FIRST INGREDIENT IS H- Without warning, the planchette jerked away from the letters and flew around the board wildly. It pointed at the stylized picture of the moon, then at the sun, then at the words Parker Brothers, Inc. â€Å"Elena!† The planchette bobbed back to the letters. ANOTHER MOUSE ANOTHER MOUSE ANOTHER MOUSE â€Å"What's happening?† Sue cried, eyes wide open now. Bonnie was frightened. The planchette was pulsing with energy, a dark and ugly energy like boiling black tar that stung her fingers. But she could also feel the quivering silver thread that was Elena's presence fighting it. â€Å"Don't let go!† she cried desperately. â€Å"Don't take your hands off it!† MOUSMUDKILLYOU, the board reeled off. BLOODBLOODBLOOD. And then†¦ BONNIE GET OUT RUN HES HERE RUN RUN RU- The planchette jerked furiously, whipping out from under Bonnie's fingers and beyond her reach, flying across the board and through the air as if someone had thrown it. Vickie screamed. Meredith started to her feet. And then all the lights went out, plunging the house into darkness.