Adoptees Began The Adoption Reform - 979 Words

In the 1960s, adoptees began The Adoption Reform Movement to make sealed adoption records accessible. Before then, traditional or closed adoptions were thought to be the best option for everyone involved in the adoption triangle. This triad consists of the adoptee, adoptive parents, and biological parents. In a closed adoption, the adoptee is not allowed access to medical records and does not know their birth parents. Prior to the reform, people did not consider the ethical or moral problems that would arise from these kind of adoptions. The belief was that sealed records would protect everyone, but this is not the case. As adoptees grew into adults, the demand for more information on their birth parents increased. This led to the debate of whether or not adoptees were entitled to know the identity of their biological parents. The opposition from birth mothers appeared almost immediately after the reform set about. These mothers were not ready to give up their own rights to make the decision between open or closed adoption. Even though biological parents have the ability to choose, adoptees have the right to know their biological parents because of the search process being emotionally damaging, their need to access medical records, and their development as a child. Some people believe that it is the biological parents’ personal choice to stay hidden based on their situation. In defense of the birth mother and father, it is understandable that open adoption does not makeShow MoreRelatedIroquois Confederacy9092 Words   |  37 PagesNON-NATIVE AMERICANS The French had established a presence in Canada for over 50 years before they met the Iroquois. During that period, the Iroquois began to acquire European trade goods through raids on other Indian tribes. They found the metal axes, knives, hoes, and kettles far superior to their implements of stone, bone, shell, and wood. Woven cloth began to replace the animal skins usually used for clothing materials. The recurring raids prompted the French to help their Indian allies attack the

The Psychological Impact on Children Soldiers Free Essays

Some are abducted or forcibly recruited, others are driven to Join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against hem or their families. There is legislation in place that makes illegal any involvement of children under age 18 in hostilities, however it is still rampant throughout the world. The use of Children in war is an epidemic that has plagued humanity since the earliest civilizations and has developed through time. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Impact on Children Soldiers or any similar topic only for you Order Now In medieval times in Europe, young boys from about twelve years of age were used as military aids called squires, though their role in actual combat was supposed to be limited. In 1212, the Estevez 2 Children’s Crusade rounded up thousands of children, with the notion that they will ucceed in battle due to divine powers that will ensure their victory. In 1814, Napoleon was faced with an invasion and recruited many teenagers for his armies aged between fourteen and seventeen. During the 1800’s and the age of sail, young boys formed part of the crew of British Royal Navvy ships and responsible for many important tasks. Even during the Civil War a 15 year old received the Medal of Honor for his acts during the Civil War Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. People under the age of eighteen fought in world war one and world war two, even beside the fact it was illegal. They had age restrictions, but due to the patriotism, of the boys, and the conditions of England they accepted some and others passed by into the military. In Cambodia, during the Vietnam War, a communist group exploited thousands of desensitized children, recruiting them to commit mass murders and other inhuman acts during the genocide in Cambodia. They were brainwashed and taught to follow any orders without any hesitation. I find this a betrayal of the responsibility adults have towards children. In the 16th and 17th centuries, childhood began to be recognized as a different state then adulthood. Society began to see children not as miniature adults, but as a person of a lower level of maturity needing the protection, love, and nurturing of an adult to guide them through that stage of their lives. This was the change in society that transitioned to children being given less responsibility than adults. The division Estevez 3 of children and adults became officially recognized, however it didn’t eliminate the abuse of children. The use of children in battle and wars has been around for a long time, but has taken a new form in todays society due to the improvement of technology. The early 1900’s are regarded as a huge development of war weapons, with the creation of the fully automatic rifle. Through the century, they have involvement of children in modern conflicts that typically involve irregular forces; they usually target civilians. 80% of the fighting forces composed of child soldiers, this is one characterization of the ‘new wars,’ which constitute the dominant form of violent conflict that has emerged only over the last few decades† (Schauer and Elbert). The motivation for armies or soldiers to recruit children to be use in war is that children have a limited ability to asses risk. It is easier to manipulate the mind of a child than it is a min d of an adult. They have feelings of invulnerability, shortsightedness, and cost less money. Children receive fewer resources, including less and smaller weapons and equipment. They are more likely to get killed or injured in the front lines than their adult counter parts. Children and young adults who are facing poverty, starvation, unemployment, and ethnic or political persecution, can be lured by the idea of becoming a soldier to escape the pain they feel. In interviews from â€Å"The Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering† they say, â€Å"that hildren are more malleable and adaptable. Thus, they are Estevez 4 easier to indoctrinate, as their moral development is not yet completed and they tend to listen to authorities without questioning them† (Schauer and Elbert). The conflicts that use children in the battlefield usually start by the breakdown of a government. It becomes difficult to identify those who are recruiting and using children as soldiers, making it difficult to influence them to stop. Child soldiers typically raised in environments of severe violence are often made to commit the worst cruelties and atrocities. The children would be repeatedly exposed to these traumatic stress’, during the most crucial stages of development. This caused mental and physical damages changing their personalities. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is also a common disorder found in children solders, because they are so young they become deprived from a normal and healthy development, impairing their integration into society as a fully functioning being. During the twentieth century the proportion of civilian casualties in armed conflicts has continually increased and is now estimated to be more than ninety percent. Half of the casualties are children, and more than 2 million died as a result of armed conflicts over the last decade. In addition to that, at least 6 million children have been seriously injured and between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed by landmines every year (UNICEF, 2005). Seven of the ten countries with the highest rates of deaths of children under the age of five are due to the affects of armed conflicts in the countries. Estevez 5 In â€Å"The Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering†, they interview three people who had been child soldiers. The first interview was of a sixteen year old boy who had een an active recruit for three years since the age of thirteen, for the group, Mai- Mat. His recruitment process was a lot more civil than the other two. He stated that, â€Å"l was frightened, since our home was attacked almost every night by bandits and other rebel groups as well, what did I have to lose? Also my parents were too poor to send me to school anymore my mind was made up fast, I Joined my friends and from that boy had served five years after being recruited at age fourteen. He says, â€Å"350 strokes were given on my back and buttocks. After a while the pain was so big that I felt that t would be better if I was dead†¦.. But then I heard a loud voice: â€Å"Get up. † I tried, but I couldn’t sit. I kneeled for almost one hour. I realized that all other children around me had died in the beating. I could see them lying still and not breathing† (Schauer and Elbert 7-8). The next boy was recruited at 13 and served three years as a child soldier, he explains how they would kill other soldiers as punishment, â€Å"When people did something really wrong, they got killed as a punishment .. .1 have seen 5 people being killed for severe disobedience during my time with the group. They were crucified in the forest. Nailed to trees at their hands and feet higher up on tall trees. The nails were thick ones, you would first nail through the palms of the hand and later through the feet† (Schauer and Elbert). Estevez 6 It may seem to the individual that some children Join these groups with their own free will, but in a psychological and social point of view, children’s choices to Join and remain in armed groups cannot be considered Voluntary. There are reasons or circumstances that may lead children to be more accessible to Join a militant group. How to cite The Psychological Impact on Children Soldiers, Papers

Cloud Computing and Implications on Service

Question: Discuss about the Cloud Computing and Implications on Service. Answer: Introduction: The study includes the information regarding the implementation and development of the service level agreement, data backup, remote administration for Department of the Spatial Information regarding Online Spatial Delivery System or OSDS. DSI is responsible for providing the special information to the various department of the government. The remote organization alludes to the procedure of representing data innovation administrations or items from a remote area. As far as distributed computing, the remote organization is done through the foundation of a gateway that will make the overseer ready to get to administration and organization elements of the distinctive basic framework (Li et al., 2014) . SLA reflects the term Service Level Agreement that comprised of the information of the conditions, setting and duties regarding consumer and provider at the time when the services are active. The assets of the distributed computing basically allude to the fundamental prerequisites of equip ment and programming that permit the buyer to utilize the cloud for making the business more adaptable and beneficial (Garg, VersteegBuyya, 2013). Requirements of Remote Administration: DSI included into various new tasks to build up its business usefulness by expanding the interest for spatial information. The Management of the Department of the Spatial Information proposes to bolster fresh system called OSDS or Online Spatial Delivery System program by increasing the center DSI limit of the server farm with a specific end goal to have and in addition bolster their new proposed framework (Rajarajeswari Aramudhan, 2014). Keeping in mind the end goal to give more spatial data to general society and in addition government, DSI requires building up their web base and supporting administrations. The requirements are as following. The remote organization is the way to giving the concurred administrations to the shoppers. It essentially takes a shot at dealing with the assets and administration level understanding (Erl, PuttiniMahmood, 2013). The necessities of the cloud organization framework rely on upon different components, for example, the cloud conveyance and sendi ng demonstrate, the conceded level of access control, the interface of the remote organization framework, scope organization and substantially more. The delivery model and deployment model that the DSI is choosing for OSDS. Another crucial prerequisite of the remote organization is monitoring SLA or administration level assertion and nature of administrations precisely (Rajarajeswari Aramudhan, 2014). Continuously monitoring the cloud system's performance, usage, and status. Evaluations and plans on the basis of circumstances. Remote administration interface selection. It is the responsibility of the management system for selecting the interface (Erl, PuttiniMahmood, 2013). Release and delivery of the IT assets regarding on-demand cloud services. Settled access run level which has been settled upon by both the Amazon Web Service and DSI (Rajarajeswari Aramudhan, 2014). Morad and Dalbhanjans operational checklists: Amazon web services or AWS make utilization of the Morad and Dalbhanjan's operational checklists to execute conveyance framework for Department of the Spatial Information that furnishes with a group of foundation administrations that utilized for sending their applications (Benslimane et al. 2014). The operational agendas used to assess if the framework ought to offer advantages to the DSI. The checklists add their descriptions are as following. Security and Access Management: Has DSI built up the security methodology to oversee AWS, working frameworks, information access and additionally the system? Resilience: Does the AWS arrangement surpass the framework's high accessibility and also prerequisites of strength? Backup and Disaster Recovery: Does the AWS arrangement surpass the framework's debacle recuperation and additionally prerequisites of reinforcement? Configure and change: Does DSI have both setups and additionally change administration for the assets for ASW? Asset Management: Does DSI have ID system and in addition following the assets of ASW? Release and Deployment Management: Has DSI resolved to incorporate application discharges and also arrangements to design technique? Keeping track of event management: Has DSI arranged checking apparatuses to ASW possessions into episode administration forms? Invoicing and report governance: Has DSI created charging and report administration? Needs of Resource Management: Prior to the implementation of Online Spatial Delivery System within DSI, it is required to assess the product and also equipment prerequisites for the framework. While assessment of the product assets, it incorporates execution, authorizing and usefulness. In the spatial data framework programming, the exercises are charge driven, and it requires the clients to sort the summon in the framework with a specific end goal to execute the errands (Almutairi et al. 2012). The systems of the cloud assets administration are done on the premise of the cloud conveyance model, for example, data as an administration, stage as an administration and foundation as an administration. The equipment, programming, databases and the common gadgets are the different assets of the distributed computing administrations. The Virtual Machine can be a visitor or outsider assets which will contain visitor working framework (Sookhak et al., 2015). The requirements of the resource management are as following. The appropriate data of every last chose forms. As the data will help with relegating the best possible assets for the administrations (Almutairi et al. 2012). The data of the picked forms with respect to a get-together, putting away, overhauling and recovering information from the databases and reinforcement plates. The predictable nature of the administrations. The excellence is the whole thing while it goes to the industry. The assets will be doled out to the supplier according to the concurred nature of administration (Sookhak et al., 2015). Recognition of the arrangement in terms of actions that will be connected to particular assets. The asset will perform the procedures according to the sequence so that no neglectful gets made (Almutairi et al. 2012). Requirements of SLA: Administration stage assertion alludes to the certification that is available as verification of the concurred terms and clause as far as the cloud administration. The Amazon Web Service and the DSI require the SLA since it gives the advantage to them two (Garg, Versteeg Buyya, 2013). It will be permitted to DSI for suspending administration in the event that it feels disappointed by the administration. It will likewise permit the association to make legitimate strides if the supplier neglects to convey the concurred security gauges and framework in the base as the SLA can be utilized as verification. The information related to security, availability, activities of determining the issues and portability of the data (Kracheel, Bronzi, Kazemi, 2014). It additionally encompasses of the privileges with an exact end objective for reviewing their steadiness. The requirements of the SLA are as following. Division of responsibilities between DSI and AWS. The metrics and thresholds regarding the quality of service(Garg, VersteegBuyya, 2013). The continuous performance of SLS in terms of AWS. Control, definition, guarantees, reporting, validation and discount relating to service decrepitude (Kracheel, Bronzi, Kazemi, 2014). The power of AWS for taking steps against DSI while DSI will violate any of the approved SLS such as call and electronic mail. DSIs authority to stop getting service from AWS while it will not feel satisfied with the service (Garg, VersteegBuyya, 2013). Resilience: Flexibility figuring alludes to the structure that exhibits the appropriation of the dreary usage of the data innovation assets to the physical areas. The IT-assets are by and large pre-design. It is on the grounds that if the asset gets to be underprovided, then the undertaking of preparing is doled out to other access data innovation assets. The limit alludes to the system, stockpiling framework, server, equipment, programming and substantially more. The arranging period of the cloud usage venture incorporates the worry of the strength (Stankovski et al., 2015). The selected cloud provider for DSI, Amazon Web Services supplies an communications that constructs chunks to assist DSI to assemble their organizational needs cost efficiently. Successful application flexibility comprised of redundancy, a variety of availability region load balancing, observing, recuperation as well as auto extending within the section (Wu Buyya, 2012). The following are the entities that AWS that DSI regarded as at the time of leveraging regarding resilience: Operating on a variety of Amazon EC2 requests in diverse accessibility regions (Stankovski et al., 2015). Leveraging of coordinated data duplication expertises such as database reflecting Auto-scaling for instance automation recovery (Wu Buyya, 2012). Backup and Recovery: As data backup and recovery the DSI will be using RAID 6. RAID stands for redundant array of independent disks. RAID 6 utilizes two parities for each disk for that reason it is also known as double parity. RAID 6 is capable of providing very high drive failure and fault tolerance (Elerath Schindler, 2014). As DSI needs a long period of data retention, RAID 6 is perfect for data backup and recovery. DSI will be impending 30 tapes for storing their information. Among the 30 10 will be used for parity. Although RAID 6 is slow in terms of writing data to disk as the parities are calculated separately. Figure 1: Raid 6 Data Backup and Recovery for DSI (Source: Elerath Schindler, 2014) Disaster Recovery: Each of the application requires calamity recuperation prerequisites that require to recuperation point and also time targets. The catastrophe recuperation limits the physical nearness among both essential and also debacle recuperation locales (Nogueira, Medhi, Doverspike, 2014). Compelling catastrophe recuperation system incorporates provincial repetition, worldwide activity administration, and checking and in addition locale to-area recuperation. The accompanying is the methods of ASW that ought to be considered as a component of the fiasco recuperation methodology: Taking of intermittent Amazon previews and any outsider instruments for speedy recuperation from the loss of information (Sahebjamnia, TorabiMansouri, 2015). Utilizing of Amazon S3 forming keeping in mind the end goal to give insurance to putting away the information. Utilization of Amazon Glacier keeping in mind the end goal to accomplish the information (Nogueira, Medhi, Doverspike, 2014). Utilizing of offbeat information replication advances, for example, database log shipping (Sahebjamnia, TorabiMansouri, 2015). Putting away of information and expansion cases in different AWS areas. Erls SLA guidelines to facilitate SLA: The substance of the administration level assertion of DSI and cloud administration supplier will be as taking after. The correct and precise recognizable proof and reverence of the particular parameters to be utilized as a part of the cloud administration. The progressions to be taken against the partners in view of the mistake that created on account of not meeting the concurred assets and administrations (Garg, Versteeg Buyya, 2013). Slightest levels required for an individual part of the organization. The information concerning DSI's rights and costs for continuing and stopping the organization. In purpose of interest information of the safety controls and arrangement base. The rights to survey the consistency the data will be given in unobtrusive component. Assert DSI's proprietorship as for the data that will be secured in the organization supplier's system. Customer based: This conformity is done among the dealer as well as economics department for the services such as payroll arrangement, finance arrangement as well as a billing arrangement (Newcombe et al. 2015). Service based: It is a concurrence for all the customers using the services that are offered through the service suppliers. Corporate level: It covers ups all the SLA problems that are precise to the individual customers throughout the organization (Latif et al., 2014). Client level: It encompasses the SLA problems that are applicable to the client groups. It is mostly for reaching the customer's desires (Newcombe et al. 2015). Service level: It encompasses the entire Service Level Agreement problems that are particular to the services like customer groups. Conclusion: From the above study, it can be concluded that though setting up the cloud is very important. The official administration of the DSI concludes that they are required with two of appraisals, for example, specialized administration and administration level understanding. Though all the requirements are met at the end of everything but the need of constantly evolving the security is very crucial for DSI. It is important to observe that the data is perfectly flowing from the DSIs system to the database. The need of disaster recovery may seem like of no use as DSI will be using RAID 6 for backup and recovery but in reality I grave danger the data that will be stored in the disaster recovery will serve as the last resource for DSI. The remote administration is a crucial aspect for Amazon Web Services as it will be the key of allowing the agreed services to DSI. References: Almutairi, A., Sarfraz, M., Basalamah, S., Aref, W., Ghafoor, A. (2012). A distributed access control architecture for cloud computing.IEEE software,29(2), 36. Benslimane, Y., Plaisent, M., Bernard, P., Bahli, B. (2014). Key Challenges and Opportunities in Cloud Computing and Implications on Service Requirements: Evidence from a Systematic Literature Review. InCloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom), 2014 IEEE 6th International Conference on(pp. 114-121). IEEE. Elerath, J. G., Schindler, J. (2014). Beyond MTTDL: A closed-form RAID 6 reliability equation.ACM Transactions on Storage (TOS),10(2), 7. Erl, T., Puttini, R., Mahmood, Z. (2013).Cloud computing: concepts, technology, architecture. Pearson Education. Garg, S. K., Versteeg, S., Buyya, R. (2013). A framework for ranking of cloud computing services.Future Generation Computer Systems,29(4), 1012-1023. Kracheel, M., Bronzi, W., Kazemi, H. (2014). A Wearable Revolution: Is the smartwatch the next small big thing?.IT ONE Magazine 2014,7(December), 18-19. Latif, R., Abbas, H., Assar, S., Ali, Q. (2014). Cloud computing risk assessment: a systematic literature review. InFuture Information Technology(pp. 285-295). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Li, T., Keahey, K., Sankaran, R., Beckman, P., Raicu, I. (2014). A cloud-based interactive data infrastructure for sensor networks.IEEE/ACM Supercomputing/SC,14, 14-15. Newcombe, C., Rath, T., Zhang, F., Munteanu, B., Brooker, M., Deardeuff, M. (2015). How Amazon web services uses formal methods.Communications of the ACM,58(4), 66-73. Nogueira, M., Medhi, D., Doverspike, R. (2014). Disaster resilience in communication networks [Guest Editorial].Communications Magazine, IEEE,52(10), 44-45. Rajarajeswari, C. Aramudhan, M. (2014). Ranking Model for SLA Resource Provisioning Management.International Journal Of Cloud Applications And Computing,4(3), 68-80. Sahebjamnia, N., Torabi, S. A., Mansouri, S. A. (2015). Integrated business continuity and disaster recovery planning: Towards organizational resilience.European Journal of Operational Research,242(1), 261-273. Sookhak, M., Gani, A., Talebian, H., Akhunzada, A., Khan, S. U., Buyya, R., Zomaya, A. Y. (2015). Remote data auditing in cloud computing environments: a survey, taxonomy, and open issues.ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR),47(4), 65. Stankovski, V., Taherizadeh, S., Taylor, I., Jones, A., Mastroianni, C., Becker, B., Suhartanto, H. (2015). Towards an Environment Supporting Resilience, High-Availability, Reproducibility and Reliability for Cloud Applications. In2015 IEEE/ACM 8th International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing (UCC)(pp. 383-386). IEEE. Wu, L., Buyya, R. (2012). Service Level Agreement (SLA) in utility computing systems.IGI Global.

Occupy Walstreet and Government Essays - Films, Margin Call, Broker

What would you do? Most people think that in similar situations they would behave differently. The truth is most people would do whatever they had to, to maintain their best interest. In the movie ?Margin Call? the investment bank brokers are faced with a difficult decision. They find out that the company that the work for is about to go under and managers and CEO make the decision to sell the company to other brokers as soon as possible so that they can save themselves. Kevin Spacey?s character is the manager of the Risk management department and seems more interested in the failing health of his dog than the fate of his employees that have been randomly selected to be terminated. Jeremy Irons plays the self absorbed CEO who?s only concern is his own financial stability. Simon Baker?s character is second in command and Demi Moore?s, Stanley Tucci?s character is fired after many years of service. Although he receives a severance package he is understandably upset when he learns that he has lost his job. Before leaving the building he gives Penn Badgley?s character a young broker some sensitive information and tells him that he has been working on it for a while but was unable to finish it and ask him to finish it but warns him to be careful. Because of the information the young broker finds the company his disassembled within twenty four hours. There are several dilemmas in this movie. Some of the dilemmas are obvious, but others are less noticeable. The first is should he tell and if so who should he tell. After spilling the beans he is quickly whisked into a meeting, where he witnesses the decision making process to sell a company because of his discovery. The choices made in the film could be seen as ruthless or necessary. Either way people were going to lose their jobs but the question could be if compromising their integrity and still losing their jobs was the best option. Decisions are often hard to make but in this instance the decisions had more losers than winners. Business minded people may thing the choice to sell before the company was worthless was the right decision, others may feel that people are more. Employees are people; many have families that rely on their income, and their benefits. Though this was a movie it was based on actual events, it had such real elements that it seems plausible that this scenario could have very well have played out in a conference room during the early stages of the housing crisis.

how i became to be an archeolo essays

how i became to be an archeolo essays It all began with the frequent rescue missions of the Fisher Price Little People. Being 1 Â ½ inches tall and a 1/2 inch wide, they were easily capable of being lost in all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies. Often when we arrived home from school, my sister Caylee and I, eighteen months apart and both in primary school, would abandon all other toys and scramble outside with pockets full of Little People. We would spend the afternoon, rolling them down hills, sending them on canoeing expeditions down streams, and tossing them down gopher holes. The best part about these escapades, was the satisfaction I felt, out of extracting the toys from the hazardous situations we put them in. As I grew older, the Little People missions turned into old barn exploring and back yard metal detecting. My best finds were, an ancient dilapidated milk bucket and a race horse medal from the 1930s. Those adventures I experienced, along with Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones movies, only added to my ambition to be an archaeologist. Coming from a family of genealogists, antique specialists, museum trompers and history buffs, I feel as my life is a whirlwind of adventure. Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to be an archaeologist.,Franciscan being a Catholic college offering an anthropology/ archaeology , became one of my top interests. We loved the ambiance of the small city and found the college to be both friendly and inviting. The tour guides at the college were very helpful and made me feel at home. I am not sure what life has in store for me, but I hope that it will be full of learning, adventure, and of course keep me digging in the dirt. ...

4 Steps to a Successful Interview

4 Steps to a Successful Interview Once your resume and cover letter are polished to perfection, you have to rely on your personal strengths to appeal to a hiring manager. The key is remembering that they want to hire you; their goal is finding the best person for the job, they already hope it’s someone they’ve identified already. Your role is just confirming their belief that it’s you. 1. Ask QuestionsIt is VITAL that you have thoughtful, relevant questions to ask. What is the interviewer’s favorite part about working there? What’s the collegial atmosphere like? How would your role fit into the company’s larger mission? What else would you need to know to feel confident about starting a new job there?2. Listen And FocusI always have a legal pad or notebook in my hands to jot down reminders of what I’m hearing- even if it’s already been mentioned in the job posting, it helps me to recall what we’ve already gone over. Job interviews can be stressful and ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s easy to feel like information is going in one ear and out the other unless you keep some kind of record. It’s also a great place to keep track of your questions until there’s a pause for you to ask them.3. Be The Best Representation Of YourselfAn overly casual interviewer can be  a hurdle. You’ve showed up in a suit, with a briefcase, and copies of your resume on fancy-pants paper†¦ and your prospective supervisor saunters in 15 minutes late wearing jeans and eating a bagel. Join in her self-deprecating laugh if you like, but do keep your professional feet on the floor. Stay grounded and remember she has a job already. You still need to show you can roll with the punches and stay collected when situations become unpredictable.On the flip side, don’t let an overly formal interview rattle you either; take lots of deep breaths and give thoughtful answers to any questions you’re asked.4. Negotiate Your Way To A Better SituationOnce youà ¢â‚¬â„¢ve received a job offer is the time to negotiate for anything you feel you need to do your job as well as you possibly can- flextime or a work from home option, for example, or the terms of your quarterly review. Be respectful and appreciative of what you’re offered, but don’t be shy about knowing your value.

Quality Tools in Decision Making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Quality Tools in Decision Making - Research Paper Example They exhibit the discrepancy of the production of a process with time, such as the width, temperature and length measurements. If they are fitting, then the process is believed to be in control, and the discrepancy between measurements, is measured standard random variation, which is inherent in the process. Nonetheless, when the variation is exterior of the limits, or it contains a dash or synthetic points, the process is measured to be past control. A control chart comprises of two graphs, upper and lower. These charts evaluate this difference against superior and lower limits to ascertain if it fits within the estimated, precise, predictable and standard variation phases. The assigned causes are correlated with variation because it is chief to statistical process control charts. The scope of variation in the method displays whether a process is working or performing as expected. When there is existence, which is large between the points identified, for the process to be exterior o f control, the variance can be resolved, to be because of synthetic or assignable causes (Cox, 2005). Strengths One of the integral strength of the control charts is that the process itself verifies the control perimeters. It is the process itself, which indicates what can and cannot be anticipated. In addition, these control boundaries are calculated automatically from the data acquired through the process, and they do not require to be calculated by hand (Cox, 2005). Additionally, the control charts indicates the abilities of a method that is in control. The outcomes of such a procedure can be correctly envisaged; thus, a person can clearly know what to anticipate from the process applied. In other cases, an organization’s needs, objectives and requirements are outside what the procedure is essentially proficient of producing. In this case, either the specifications should be altered to bout the abilities of the process or the process should be modified to result in the spe cifications within the limits of control (Latzko, 2006). Moreover, control charts assist in achieving and maintaining the stability of a process. The control charts enable a person to monitor the behavior of a person’s process in business and determine whether it is stable. Process stability involves a state whereby a process displays a certain degree of consistency in the past and is anticipated to progress doing the same in the future. Therefore, a control limit is critical in indicating limits of variation that it represents, which should be expected from a process in a situation of statistical control (Vallabhaneni, 2008). Weaknesses Sometimes control limits in a control chart are easily confused with specifications limits, which are representatives of the desired procedure performance. Furthermore, control charts are hectic and at times complicated to use, when data produced is not normally distributed, and, hence results in not producing a bell-curve form; thus making t he process an outside control, plus not being predictable. Therefore, in such a situation, ways must be searched for ensure that the process is guided into control. This may involve, for instance gathering data that are broad, which requires applying measurements, which result from various work shifts, which also contain varied process outcomes. This results into being cumbersome and complicated (Pham, 2006).

Discuss the main causes and effects of gun crime in the USA OR Discuss Essay

Discuss the main causes and effects of gun crime in the USA OR Discuss the problems of gun crime in the USA and possible solutions to it - Essay Example Nowadays, the United States of America is the country with the biggest rates of gun ownership (Boseley 2013). However, the Second Amendment has always caused a lot of discussions because of its contradictory roots and the ethical controversies it is based on. On the one hand, it is supposed to provide US citizens with safety and right to protect themselves; however, in fact it turns out that this right makes people violate other people’s right for safety, as many US citizens start using weapon for the purposes other than its intended use. Thus the first cause of gun crime in USA is people’s feeling of power and physical dominance. When people feel that they have right to use weapon, they know that they can hold others’ lives in their hands, which often makes people overestimate their rights and step over the rights of others. Another cause of gun crime in the USA is the specific features of the nation, which is appeared to consist of multiple nationalities, races, and ethnicities, who are supposed to coexist on the same territory. Thus there are a lot of cases of gun crimes when weapon is being used in order to segregate territories, which is people’s expression of personal freedom. However, the right to keep and bear arms in most cases leads to lethal outcomes and many innocent people die because of misusage of weapon in the United States. According to recent statistics, approximately 70 percents of crimes in the USA have been conducted with usage of guns which belonged to their legal owners. Moreover, the study revealed dramatically increased gun ownership rates within the past few decades (Duggan 2001). Researchers claim that as more guns find their owners in the US, the more crimes with their usage are being conducted, which literally means: more guns, more crime. Such statistical data points on the issue whether legalizing guns was such a good

Oceans Act of 2000 Essay Example for Free

Oceans Act of 2000 Essay From sea to shining sea, America has always been a country dependant on its coastal waters. We use the oceans and the abundant resources found in them for everything from physical exercise, food, and medicines, to a place to dump our garbage, dispose of toxic chemicals, and to travel to far off destinations. The oceans provide much for us, and without them, life on Earth would not be sustainable. The oceans are a vital resource for humankind, and sadly, we have put them in immediate danger. The majority of the population of the United States lives in coastal regions. Due to this, marine-related industries, such as fishing and shipping, play a significant role in our nation’s economy. Unfortunately, the fishing business in the United States has dwindled. Overfishing has caused the collapse of New England’s cod, flounder, and haddock fisheries. The Gulf of Mexico has what is known as a â€Å"dead zone†, (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327) which was likely caused by pollution from the Mississippi River. Pollution is another issue altogether†¦ Runoff from our farmlands and cities flows down our rivers into the Gulf of Mexico and contaminates the coastal areas of our southern states. Oil spills threaten our marine wildlife. Harmful algal blooms have taken over many underwater habitats. Overabundances of sediment and nitrogen from farms and factories upstream suffocate the water ecosystems of our lands. Without strict guidelines and stream-lined regulations set up to properly control our pollution problem, humans will, ultimately, destroy the oceans. The need for urgent action to protect our oceans and waterways has never been greater. Although people have attempted to investigate and lay down the groundwork for improving the condition of our oceans in the past, their attempts have not been enough. In 1966, Congress passed the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327), which was designed to lay out national objectives and programs regarding the oceans. Leading the commission was Dr. Julius A. Stratton, former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With Dr.  Stratton leading the way, along with advisors from congress including Senator Norris Cotton and Senator Warren Magnuson, the 1966 Act was a huge step forward for the country’s oceanic preservation efforts, yet for the next thirty years, it would be one of the only steps forward. The United States urgently needed to increase public awareness of the importance of the oceans to our nation. With that in mind, 1998 was declared the â€Å"International Year of the Ocean†. Spreading knowledge of the threats our oceans faced made it clear to Congress that we needed to take a second look at our ocean policies. On August 7, 2000, President Bill Clinton released a statement upon signing the Oceans Act of 2000. In it, he stated that â€Å"the legislation would establish a Commission on Ocean Policy, to make recommendations to the President and to Congress for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. † (Statement on Signing the Oceans Act of 2000) The Oceans Act itself was the law requiring the formation of a sixteen member commission, whose job was to research the issues regarding our coasts and waters and to present a detailed report on their findings, and any recommendations to solve the issues, to the President. In September 2004, the Commission introduced their final report, â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, and invited public comment on their findings. The report consisted of 212 recommendations for ocean policy. Members of the Alaska Oceans Program, American Littoral Society, Gulf Restoration Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Coastal Federation, People for Puget Sound, Sierra Club, and The Ocean Conservancy submitted their comments on the report. Public Comment on Final Report: An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Pre-Publication Copy) Although there were a few changes that these groups did not agree with, the majority of the information provided in the report was met with vast approval, especially the call for the implementation of a National Ocean Council, to consolidate the numerous agencies involved in the welfare of our waterways. Since the publishing of â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, President Bush called for a 13. percent increase in National Science Foundation funding for ocean sciences. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) However, much of the funding promised to support the National Ocean Council has been delayed and pushed back, making it very difficult to move forward with the recommendations of the Ocean Commission. In February 2008, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, comprised of former members from the Pew Oceans Commission and the National Ocean Commission, a ssessed the nation’s progress in ocean policy throughout 2007. The grade they presented was a â€Å"C†. Funding seems to be the largest issue our nation is facing in terms of moving forward more quickly with the recommendations from the Commission, yet, as Andy Solow, director of the WHOI Marine Policy Center says, â€Å"If enough people get involved politically and on a grass-roots level, we can make significant progress in some of these areas without it. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) The future of our oceans, as well as our planet, is still up in the air. Unless our priorities change, and funding is found to implement the changes needed to improve the status of our oceans, we may find ourselves on the verge of extinction.

Court Case Number 15: Bowers V. Hardwick (june 30, 1986) :: essays research papers

Court Case Number 15: Bowers v. Hardwick (June 30, 1986)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In August of 1982, Michael Hardwick was charged with violating the Georgia statute criminalizing sodomy by committing that act with another adult male in the bedroom of Hardwick's home. Hardwick then brought suit in the Federal District Court, therefore challenging the constitutionality of the statute as it criminalized sodomy. Hardwick asserted that he was a practicing homosexual, that the Georgia statute, as administered by the defendants, placed him in imminent danger of arrest and that the statute for several reasons violates the Federal Constitution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I oppose the Court of Appeals decision that Michael Hardwick's complaint was dismissed by evidence seen through rights readily identifiable in the Constitution's text involved much more that the imposition of the Justices' own choice of values on the States and the Federal Government, the Court sought to identify the nature of rights for heightened judicial protection. Such landmark court decisions as Palko v. Connecticut stated this category includes those fundamental liberties that are â€Å"implicit in the concept of ordered liberty,† such that â€Å"neither liberty nor justice would exist if any fundamental liberties were sacrificed.† In Moore v. East Cleveland, fundamental liberties are characterized as those liberties that are â€Å"deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proscriptions against a fundamental right to homosexuals to engage in acts of consensual sodomy have ancient roots. Sodomy was a criminal offense at common law and was forbidden by the laws of the original thirteen States when they ratified the Bill of Rights. In 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, all but five of the thirty-seven States in the Union had criminal sodomy laws. In fact, until 1961, all fifty States and the District of Columbia continue to provide criminal penalties for sodomy performed in private and between consenting adults.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As his honorable Justice John Paul Stevens opinion stated, sodomy was condemned as an odious and sinful type of behavior during the formative period of the common law. That condemnation was equally damning for heterosexual and homosexual sodomy. Moreover, it provided no special exemption for married couples. The license to cohabit and to produce legitimate offspring simply did not include any permission to engage in sexual conduct that was considered a â€Å" crime against nature.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One the more prominent features of Bowers v. Hardwick involved the Georgia statute, â€Å"the presumed belief of a majority of the electorate in Georgia that homosexual sodomy is immoral and unacceptable.† The Georgia electorate enacted a law that presumably reflects the belief that all sodomy is immoral and unacceptable. Unless the Court is prepared to conclude that such a law is

Night Essay: Examples of Night

â€Å"I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name. † (42) Elie Wiesel’s Night is about a young Jewish boy and his experiences through the Holocaust in the 1940’s. Any human being should never experience the hell-like terror that Elie had to go through. He is separated from his mother and his sister and is deported to Auschwitz, one of Hitler’s most depressing concentration camps. Wiesel uses night not only as the title but also as a symbol of time, a world without God, and man’s inhumanity to man. Night is defined as a time of day when the sun is dormant, but for Elie Wiesel, night is eternal.While stuck inside the camp, hope is quickly diminished in Elie’s mind, overtaken by the deep darkness that night brings. This can be clearly seen when Ellie explains his last night in Buna. â€Å"Yet another last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the train, and, now the last night in Buna. How much lo nger were our lives to be dragged out from one ‘last night’ to another? †(79) The question that Elie repeats shows that light in the camp can be seen as sign of hope, but sadly no light shines in the gloomy, depressing place.Elie explains how he encounters a complete darkness, no matter what time of day it is, when he enters Auschwitz. â€Å"Never shall I forget the night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night. †(32) The horrid sights he has to live through in the camp can be seen as the scary, evil, eerie feeling that you get when nightfall arrives, almost like a time of day were there is no presence of God. When forced to evacuate the camp, Elie explains how the darkness swallowed people’s lives as they were marched to death. â€Å"Pitch darkness. Every now and then, an explosion in the night.They had orders to fire on any who could not keep up. †(81) With the sound of gunshots and people dying, night hove red over every single one of them marching for their own lives. The gloomy, dark, fright-filled nighttime can be closely related to the horrid journey of Elie Wiesel in Auschwitz were no light can be seen, even in the daytime. If God could be seen as light, then the loss of faith is his darkness. On page 60, Elie experiences a young boy being hanged as a punishment inside the camp. From witnessing the awful sight it reminds Elie of the harsh reality of the Nazi’s and how they have deteriorated his faith, a vital omponent for staying alive in the camp. Elie then hears a question come from behind him. â€Å"Where is god now? And I heard a voice within me answer him: Where is he? Here he is- He is hanging here on his gallows . . . † (62) Elie felt as though God no longer had his support and that he had lost faith within him. He explains the young, innocent boy dying in front of him as his faith slowly slipping away. Elie began to doubt the support from God. â€Å"I did n ot deny God’s existence, but I doubted His absolute justice. †(42) God was no longer meaningful and helpful towards Wiesel’s struggles; he had nothing to turn to when deeply in need.Nighttime can be seen as a time when God is no longer there, when the evil emerges from their dwellings in which they hid from the light in. Auschwitz is an eternal night, where evil doesn’t need to hide because no light is visible. The horror and inhumanity of the Nazi’s left million of innocent people trapped in a place of darkness without the slightest sign of light or hope. This can be seen numerous times throughout the whole book. Disturbing sights that Ellie experienced will remain with him and haunt him forever because of how brutal they are.The Nazi just threw out the dead corpses. They undressed him, the survivors avidly sharing out his clothes, then two ‘gravediggers’ took him, one by the head and one by the feet, and threw him out of the wagon lik e a sack of flour. † The way they just threw around the dead as though they were useless, inanimate objects was something no normal minded person could do. As they made their evacuation, the SS screamed and yelled at the poor people saying things like, â€Å"Faster, you swine, you filthy sons of bitches! †(81) The Nazi’s showed little to no sympathy towards the people that were different from them.They felt superior to all and dehumanized those who weren’t. When finally being released from imprisonment, Ellie wanted to see what he had looked like. â€Å"I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse glazed back at me. †(109) The fact that Ellie had not seen himself since he had entered the ghetto is unreal. He barely recognized his standing ‘corpse’. Dehumanization does extremely awful things to people and the Nazis did a textbook job of doing so. Leaving people suffering under the wrath of the horror an d inhumanity with a result of innocent people dying.Man’s inhumanity to man, a world without God, ad night as a symbol of the time of day, symbolizes night in Ellie Wiesel’s novel. In additions to the time of day, night can be seen as an everlasting darkness Elie has to endure while stuck inside the camp with no sign of light or hope in sight. Elie Wiesel shares his story to educate the world of the harsh reality of dehumanization. Sadly this is still active in our world today. They say that knowledge is power; ignorance is bliss, so hopefully Elie’s story will reach the souls of humanity and potentially keep history from repeating itself in the near future.

Profitability & Morality

Can profitability and morality coexist? Explain the statement In detail The largest companies in the nation have evolved over the years to find more ways to streamline operations, reduce waste, Increase the productivity of their employees, preached corporate ethics to their employees, try to be involved with local communities by giving to the local youth clubs or donations to a regional cancer research center. But Is this to be a good citizen of the community, or Is It a show? There's a view that soaring profits and ethics are mutually exclusive concepts, forever, the two can co-exalts.The world of business Is generally perceived as Jungle where the bottom line takes precedence over all other matters. While it is certainly true that profits are the true measure of success, commercial ruthlessness doesn't necessarily lead to unethical practices, There sometimes arises an Inevitable conflict in the company between their moral obligations and improving the bottom lines. But ultimately c ompanies following the path of ethical value system succeed in long run as sooner or later consumers learn to separate fact from fiction.Hence In situations such as these referring to morality to help decide what needs to be done should take precedence. Nowadays Money and Ethics are seen to be diametrically opposed to each other but it turns out money and ethics do have much in common. Any corporation large or small ultimately lives by Its reputation. Ethics must sit at the top of the mountain for any successful company that wants the trust of the consumers and investors. There are very few second acts once the public perceives the organization flawed by soonest or Inferior quality.As Is very rightly said by Henry Ford – A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. Ethical decision-making gets especially interesting when organizations must reconcile their core values and show a healthy bottom line which end up in conflict with one another. The company a nd its management might get diversified to malpractices. Enron. World, Astray, Xerox and other scandals shook public confidence in ethical value system of organizations. But it must understood very Leary Relativity applies to physics, not ethics (Albert Einstein) Profits and ethics are in reality part of the same equation.A corporation that wishes to grow and Increase its financial return to its owners must balance ethics and operations. This Is a complex journey especially during tremendous economic pressures. The drive for success in the marketplace and to maximize return of capital can lead a company astray with disastrous results. Successful businesses fail, profitably running businesses suffer from a downfall and some seemingly effective report receive a great fall in their profits and popularity all due to the lack of business ethics.There are companies that have crossed ethical lines in the pursuit of toy 2 pronto, Ana momentarily gal. EAI Tame Ana Torture out want was teen A na result† Many companies strive for and achieve ethical behavior. Looking at names like Data group, Ford India, Rockwell Automation, Informs Technologies, Hindustan Milliner, TIC, ONCE it is inferred that Ethics remain being important in business and strong ethical values takes the business a long way. Ethics are important not only in business but in all aspects of life because it is an essential part of the foundation on which civilized society is build.A business that lacks ethical principles is bound to fail sooner or later. Informs Technologies is among seven international companies chosen to be in the first annual list of â€Å"top brands with a conscience† Informs is the only Indian company to be part of this select group. Brought out by the Mending Group, an international collective of brand experts who meet annually, the sit is based on principles of humanity and ethics rather than financial worth.Companies are evaluated on various parameters ranging from the e vidence of ethical programmer and human implications of the brand to the ability of the brand to take risks in line with its beliefs. Informs Technologies recently won two other awards recognizing its financial performance as well as overall management. The Far Eastern Economic Review rated Informs the best company in India for the sixth consecutive year and Asia Money selected Informs as the best managed company in India.

How to Write a Creative Assignment

How to Write a Creative Assignment Writing Effective Assignments Research has shown that the more detailed a writing assignment is, the better the student papers are in response to that assignment. Often it is necessary to make explicit for students the process or steps necessary to complete the assignment because many students tend to treat assignments as though they were step-by-step instructions. Instructors can use that tendency to help students write more effective papers. For example, explicit descriptions of assignments on the syllabus or on an assignment sheet tend to produce the best results. Such assignment sheets should detail the kind of writing expected, the scope of acceptable subject matter, the length requirements, formatting requirements, documentation format, the amount and type of research expected (if any), the writers role, and deadlines for the first draft and its revision. Providing questions or needed data in the assignment helps students get started. For instance, some questions can suggest a mode of organization to the students. Other questions might suggest a procedure to follow. The questions posed should require that students assert a thesis. The following areas should help you create effective writing assignments. Examining Your Goals for the Assignment How exactly does this assignment fit with the objectives of your course? Should this assignment relate only to the class and the texts for the class, or should it also relate to the real world? What do you want the students to learn or experience from this writing assignment? Should this assignment be an individual or a collaborative effort? What do you want students to show you in this assignment? To demonstrate mastery of concepts or texts? To demonstrate logical and critical thinking? To develop an original idea? To learn and demonstrate the procedures, practices, and tools of your field of study? Defining the Writing Task Is the assignment sequenced so that students write a draft, receive feedback (from you, fellow students, or staff members at the Writing and Communication Center), and then revise it? Does the assignment include so many sub-questions that students will be confused about the major issue they should examine? Can you give more guidance about what the papers main focus should be? Can you reduce the number of sub-questions? What is the purpose of the assignment (e.g., review knowledge already learned, find additional information, synthesize research, examine a new hypothesis)? What is the required form (e.g., expository essay, lab report, memo, business report)? What mode is required for the assignment (e.g., description, narration, analysis, persuasion)? Defining the Audience for the Paper Can you define a hypothetical audience to help students determine which concepts to define and explain? When students write only to the instructor, they may assume that little, if anything, requires explanation. Defining the whole class as the intended audience will clarify this issue for students. What is the probable attitude of the intended readers toward the topic itself? toward the student writers thesis? toward the student writer? What is the probable educational and economic background of the intended readers? Defining the Writers Role Can you make explicit what persona you wish the students to assume? For example, a very effective role for student writers is that of a professional in training who uses the assumptions, the perspective, and the conceptual tools of the discipline. Defining Your Evaluative Criteria If possible, explain the relative weight in grading assigned to the quality of writing and the assignments content: organization focus critical thinking original thinking use of research logic appropriate mode of structure and analysis (e.g., comparison, argument) format correct use of sources grammar and mechanics professional tone correct use of course-specific concepts and terms the depth of coverage professionals are ready to help you at any stage of the writing process. Feel free to place your request here!

CDA Assignments

CDA Assignments Essay ?COMPETENCY GOAL I To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment 1. Provide a summary of the legal requirements in your state regarding child abuse and neglect (including contact information for the appropriate agency) and also your program’s policy regarding your responsibility to report child abuse and neglect. 2. Include the current certificate of completion of a certified pediatric first-aid training course (that includes treatment for blocked airway and for providing rescue breathing for infants and young children). Certification must have been within the past 3 years. . Use the Internet, the public library, or your program’s professional library to obtain the name and contact information for an agency that supplies information on nutrition for children and/or nutrition education for families. 4. Provide a sample of your weekly plan that includes goals for children’s learning and development, brief descriptions of planned learning experience s, and also accommodations for children with special needs (whether for children you currently serve or may serve in the future). COMPETENCY GOAL II To advance physical and intellectual competence 5. Select 4 songs, fingerplays, word games, or poems that you can use to promote phonological awareness. Describe strategies to promote phonological awareness among children whose home language is other than English. 6. Describe 9 learning experiences for 3-, 4-, and 5-year old children (3 for 3-year olds, 3 for 4-year olds, 3 for 5-year olds). Each learning experience should promote physical, cognitive, and creative development. Describe the goals, materials, and teaching strategies used. COMPETENCY GOAL III To support social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance 7. Provide the titles, authors, publishers, copyright dates, and short summaries of 10 age-appropriate children’s books that you use to support development of children’s self-concept and self-esteem and to help children deal with life challenges. 8. Use the Internet, the public library, or your program’s professional library to obtain at least 2 resources designed to assist teachers in constructively dealing with children with challenging behaviors (such as aggressive behavior like hitting or biting, or shyness). 9. Provide the name and telephone number of an agency in the community where you work for making referrals to family counseling. COMPETENCY GOAL IV To establish positive and productive relationships with families 10. Find out where to obtain resources, materials, and translation services for families whose home language is other than English. Provide the agency name and contact information. 11. Document your program’s policies that specify parents’ responsibilities and what the program does for parents. COMPETENCY GOAL V To ensure a well-run, purposeful program responsive to participant needs 12. Provide 3 samples of record-keeping forms used in early childhood programs. Include an accident report, emergency form, and a 3rd form of your choice. COMPETENCY GOAL VI To maintain a commitment to professionalism 13. Use the Internet, the public library, or your program’s professional library to obtain the name, address, and phone number of your state’s agency that regulates child care centers and homes. Describe 2 important requirements related to your job responsibilities. 14. Review the websites of 2 or 3 national early childhood associations (1 with a local affiliate) to obtain information about membership, their resources, and how to order. Download at least 2 resources from the Internet that will enhance your work. 15. Obtain 4 pamphlets or articles designed to help parents understand how young children develop and learn. Articles must help parents understand development and learning of 3- to 5-year olds. At least 1 article must relate to guidance. 16. Locate an observation tool to use in recording information about children’s behavior. One copy should be blank; the other one should be filled out as a sample of your observation of an individual child. 17. Obtain contact information for at least 2 agencies in the community that provide resources and services for children with disabilities.

The Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Financial Crisis - Essay Example The valuable lessons learned from the crisis will also be discussed herein. Bear Stearns, AIG, Lehmann Brothers, Northern Rock, and Goldman Sachs are some elite names that suffered most because of the economic crisis also known as recession. Lehmann Brothers filed for bankruptcy while AIG and a few other elites just hung in there with the skin of their teeth. This economic crisis is still having repercussions on countries such as Greece and Spain; the whole of Euro Zone is facing a financial turmoil. There are a few other countries that have been not so severely affected by the same. The crisis was triggered off because of unchecked debt; banks kept issuing loans to people who invested heavily in buying assets; several things were taken for granted but when proved otherwise, there was hardly a place in the world to hide. Overvaluation in real estate is perhaps the biggest cause of the current economic crisis. It is better known as the subprime crisis in the US. The likes of Lehmann B rothers and other financial services went bust because they kept issuing credit to the people who thought the property price would increase and they would be easily able to pay off the debt that they are borrowing. It did not turn out that way and there was a short of equity. This is exactly why the financial institutions went bankrupt. The overvaluation is the biggest factor that caused the current economic crisis. Factors such as bad income tax practices have added insult to injury, bad mortgage lending also contributed heavily to this current economic crisis. â€Å"The way to address the root cause is to let house prices drop to where an average house is within the means of an average household.   (Or, alternatively, boost the income of the average household to the point that they can afford an average house.   But that's very hard.   Letting houses prices go on falling, although painful for everyone who owns a house or who has lent money to someone who owns a house, is ve ry easy)† (â€Å"Root Cause of the Financial Crisis†). Role of Monetary Policy Some of the main plausible reasons that caused the recent financial crisis have been identified in the above sections. According to Brunnermeie, cheap mortgage financing to sub-standard borrowers fuelled the boom in the U.S. housing market. Three factors were primarily responsible for the fall of the housing market in the U.S. (which, in essence, constituted a very small segment of the financial market in the country) transforming into a global contagion. First, the â€Å"originate and distribute† banking model, together with the high rate of securitization, led to declining lending standards and made it impossible to re-price the complex structured products. This significantly eroded the confidence level of banks, thereby disrupting the inter-bank markets and credit flow. Second, banks relied heavily on short-term funding sources, hence raising the risk of funding. Finally, the ever-g rowing integration of global financial systems and the increasing interest towards structured financial instruments quickly transmitted the crisis to all the major regions of the world. Gourinchas focused on the role of monetary policy in the recent financial contagion as well as the role played by exogenous influences, particularly the rising external deficits referred to as â€Å"Global Imbalances.† According to Gourinchas, both explanations are not satisfactory as the sole reason behind the crisis. This opinion has

Strategies for Success in the Online Learning Environment Essay

Strategies for Success in the Online Learning Environment - Essay Example â€Å"In online learning environment, most communications will be done in written format† (Harvard, 2010). Therefore, every student studying in online environment should be able to communicate with teachers through writing. Another way for students to achieve success in online learning environments is to get perfection in web navigation. As most of the communication between teachers and students is done through internet, so students should be proficient in using different internet applications. Perfection in web navigation is essential in order to participate in online discussions and online quizzes and assignments. Time management is also necessary for online learning students. Students studying in online environments need to schedule their time properly in order to avoid mismanagement. Time management plays an important role in the success of students because they have to submit quizzes and assignments within deadline considering all technological issues, such as, network failure or site overload. Before going into the discussion regarding online learning, let us get a better understanding of what online learning environment actually is. Online learning refers to the environment where students and teachers communicate with each other using communication technologies, such as, video tapes, television, and internet. â€Å"Distance learning is a course or program completed remotely from the school or university which offers the educational opportunity† (Rogers, n.d.). Online learning is getting more and more fame these days because it is proving to be very beneficial for students. It not only helps students manage their studies in accordance with other commitments of life but also provides a good way to the students to learn independently. To be successful in an online learning environment, a student needs to have some key skills and abilities. There exist a number of strategies for students to prosper in online learning environments. Some of the main

The culture of caution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The culture of caution - Essay Example What does Patterson mean by the culture of caution Use his analysis of the life of Marcus Garvey and the immigrants' experience to illustrate how that theory plays out. How does he link the life of Garvey, Powell and Farrakhan and immigrants to that culture of caution This insecurity has also brought about a theory that Caribbeans, especially the Anglophone Caribbeans perform much better abroad than they do on their homeland. For example, Marcus Garvey of Jamaica was able to galvanize Black Americas into action, to defend their human rights, decades ago George Padmore of Trinidad was also able to champion postwar African independence movement, has brought about a high degree of paternity for the nation of Ghana, as the first nation to be independent in Black Africa. Arthur Lewis of Saint Lucia was unable to gain employment or opportunities that fit his talents at home, so he migrated to England and then the United states, where he had an outstanding public service career and was also a distinguished academician which led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for his amazing work on Third World economics.The functions of the immigrant organizations in North America include the implementation of the various immigration laws, issuance of travel documents, carrying out Checks for Case Processing Fees, and the checking of immigrants into the US to ensure ensure that they qualify under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.The immigrant organizations also make sure that criminal aliens and immigrants involved in crime, who have been incarcerated within the federal, state or local prison facilities are not just let into the community again, after they might have completed their sentences. Immigrant organizations avail field level law enforcement officers of the training programs required of them, like programs for correctional personnel, and providing certified instructors to conduct such trainings. Immigrant authorities use the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) to determine when a high-risk alien overstays his visa or fails to report his address and activities after 30 days in the United States. It is vital for state and local police officers have access to information, and are able to act upon such information when they meet an NSEERS violator, for example, in a traffic stop. Also, if a criminal alien is purposely avoiding contact with law enforcement agencies, this might be the only possible way to stop him, and maybe defuse a possible terrorist attack. Other functions of immigration authorities include the Arrest of Suspected Terrorists, Observations of Potential Terrorist Activity, Interception of immigrant or Alien Smuggling and Arrest of Absconders The immigrant organizations in the United States also serve to ensure that immigrants into the United States qualify under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The second half of the 19th century was characterized by an increase in westward expansion, and industrialization. Also, there was an influx of millions of immigrants. A lot of native-born Americans began to clamor for implementation if immigration restrictions, but others supported the Americanization of these

Edward Snowden: The Most Famous Whistleblower

Edward Snowden: The Most Famous Whistleblower Whistleblowers are some of the most important people to have in a democracy. They provide information that the government doesnt want to get out, while this could be dangerous in the case of Edward Snowden he released information that was valuable to the citizens of the united states. Snowden is not the first person to do something like this and has previously stated he was inspired by Daniel Ellsberg who leaked pentagon papers in the 1970s. Even though hes wanted by the government to some people Snowden is a hero. Edward Snowden who was born in North Carolina but later mover to Massachusetts had dropped out of of high school but was no degenerate. A bad case of mononucleosis kept him out of school for 9 months so instead of falling behind he decided that he would drop out. After dropping out he began studying computers at Anne Arundel Community College which was located in Maryland. His father was quoted saying We always considered Ed the smartest one in the family. and this was clear when Edward scored a 145 on two different IQ tests. He later enlisted into the special forces because he wanted to learn new languages, but never made it out of basic because he either broke both legs or washed out because of shin splints, it depends on who you ask. After this he was a security guard at a college in maryland that had ties to the NSA. After this he landed a job with the C.I.A.(Central Intelligence Agency) but quit after being suspected of attempting to break into classified files. While still with the C.I.A. he was on a mission in Switzerland where he first discovered corruption in the Government. This is where he first wanted to become a whistleblower but with Obama being soon elected he was optimistic about the changes he was going to make. After working for the C.I.A. for some time he moved to a private IT company where he worked as a contractor and would later work in a few offices for the N.S.A. this is where he notices a breach in security and got his hands on the classified information that he would leak. The definition of a hero is someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. When he was younger, saw sergeant Frank Ford reveal the information about the war in Iraq he thought of him as a hero for being honest, and letting the people know what was really going on in Iraq. Even though Ford was once Snowdens hero Snowden would make a bigger impact than Ford. Sowden and Ford are not the only whistleblowers who have made themselves public. Manning had leaked hundreds of documents that had to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before any of them Ellsberg had leaked a ton of information in the early seventies. Nixons administration alienated Ellsberg much like Obamas administration has done to Snowden but now Ellsberg is considered a hero. Now Snowden is considered the hero to some people but a lot of people within the government or who listen to the government would disagree. He has inspired many other anonymous leaks from within the U.S. Government. Snowden receives credit for most of these but he has said that many leaks come from another source or other sources. The U.S. government has made it clear that they know about the the copycats when a representative, Adam Schiff who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee claiming that it is a big concern of theirs. Schiff also said The degree that people have been lionizing Snowden, it encourages people to make a name for themselves by leaking which is true. Even Some Government officials have publicly claimed that they went too far. Though many people think the Government was in the wrong for so intensely tracking suspected terrorist it makes sense for the Government to do that because some 9/11 hijackers were tracked but then nothing was done about them. Officials say that this could have put the country in more danger by showing potential terrorist how the government tracks them it allows them to b ypass those methods. Schiff also claimed that the Government should be more careful with who gets access to what by saying Snowden should have never had access in the first place. The Pentagon has approved as many as 3.2 million people access to highly classified information from 2006 to 2011 (CNN). After fleeing the country Snowden got ahold of journalists and offered them an unprecedented scoop(PBS). Even though the two journalists had received the documents it was not until they were on a plane and out of the country when they felt safe to open them and look at the things Snowden had shared. Greenwald, one of the journalists was quoted saying I didnt sleep one second for the next 16 hours because the adrenaline made that impossible. He said that he understood that this would be a story like hed never written before and one that people would talk about for decades. The journalists were given thousands of documents that showed what the Obama administration had been doing to regular citizens who had no criminal records and were not suspected terrorists. They were simply eavesdropping on regular citizens who had not done anything wrong. Some of the eavesdropping was justified but a surprising amount was not. Snowdens leaks shed a serious amount of light on this problem and it le d to a two part series on Frontline that dove into the topic from after 9/11 all the way to when things were leaked by Snowden. This series went even further than Snowden when they had revealed the extent that the government went to to keep these secrets hidden. It was during this time where Snowden had revealed that the worst of the wiretapping and eavesdropping had come from when Bush was president. Snowden still cares about America though saying that he would like to return one day and I told the government Id volunteer for prison, as long as it served the right purpose, he says I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we cant allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. Im not going to be part of that. (Wired). These statements show his true character and that he really does care about America. Snowden claimed that he had tried to leave clues for the N.S.A. to show him what documents were actually copied and which ones were just looked at. Despite these efforts the N.S.A. had missed the clues and reported that he took over a million documents when in reality he on took a few thousand. Snowden sounded disappointed when speaking on the fact that the government had missed his clues because he had thought that they were obvious. Sponsors from both major political parties c an agree that this has shown that the U.S. government needs to stop their mass surveillance for clear reasons. This was such a big deal that President Obama himself as well as congress have both publicly talked about the issue and the Supreme Court has hinted at making a decision about the governments use of unwarranted surveillance. This was never Snowdens intention he had just wanted to share what the government was doing because he felt that it was unjust. Despite the efforts by the government to make Snowden out to be the bad guy more than half the population agrees with what he did. Many government officials have spoken on this but not in the favor of snowden, N.S.A. director Keith Alexander claimed that the russian government had manipulated him while the secretary of state called him a coward and a traitor.

American Teenagers and Plastic Surgery Essay -- Health Medicine Beauty

American Teenagers and Plastic Surgery Plastic surgery is not a new field of medicine. Traditionally, plastic surgery dealt with fixing abnormalities of the body, but recently people are enjoying the luxury of plastic surgery simply because they are not happy with their appearance. People make appointments with plastic surgeons for procedures such as rhinoplasty, liposuction, tummy tucks, face lifts, and most commonly breast augmentation. These people look forward to desired results from such procedures without considering the risks. Many risks accompany plastic surgery, but they are rarely discussed in the media. Death is even a possible conclusion of the surgery. Why would people subject themselves to such conditions as having their face swollen for weeks, barely being able to walk, and the excruciating pain that comes after they awaken from surgery? Even more important is the question, why are teenagers becoming more and more eager to get plastic surgery operations performed on themselves? Sometimes teenagers have certain features that can benefit from plastic surgery, but most of the time society makes teenagers have an altered sense of the perfect body image. In reality, the perfect body image is something that does not exist. Plastic surgeons comment about how common it is to meet a young patient who would like to have features of their favorite celebrities. Young women want Jennifer Lopez’s bottom, Jennifer Aniston’s nose, and Britney Spears’ facial features. Young men would like to have Brad Pitt’s facial features. To me, such expectations seem implausible. God made me the way I am. I would not change a thing. But I am sure that at one time the teenagers who are receiving these procedures believed th... ... life is simply to learn to love yourself just the way you are. So the bottom line is: Teenagers should be educated by society on the dangers of plastic surgery. They should be aware of the bad as well as the good. But, when it comes down to the decision whether or not to have plastic surgery, I hope that teenagers will use their better judgment and not the judgment of other people as a factor. Works Cited Bermant, Michael, â€Å"Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Teens.† American Board of Plastic Surgery (2004). 31 Aug. 2004 . Davis, Robert, â€Å"Teens' cosmetic dreams don't always come true.† USA Today (2004). 2 Oct. 2004 . Dolan, Deidre, â€Å"The Kindest Cut: Teens and Plastic Surgery.† The New York Observer (2004). 4 Oct. 2004 .

Corporate Culture: Help or Hindrance Essay

â€Å"The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.† Edgar Schein, professor MIT Sloan School of Management Nowadays, in the end of 2011, we can make a clear overview of the remarkable events that took place not a long time ago. And though some people might argue that the hardest economic crisis since 1929 still hasn`t finished, and is going to be continued, we are able to make certain conclusions and ask a couple of thrilling questions: â€Å"Why, when all other companies experienced dramatic collapse, some of them even managed not to reduce, but to increase their sales and market share?† Or â€Å"Why a company that has been operating for 200 years already is pushed out of its market by some barely known firm?† What makes these events possible? Magic? Well, you definitely will not believe it if you are older than 8 years old. Some highest creatures? Well, it is quite unlikely too. Santa Claus? Who knows, maybe†¦ But science believes that there are more realistic reasons for such events that in general are called invisible strategic assets. One of such assets, supposed b y most of the scientists as the most important one, is called corporate or organization culture [1]. To begin with, let us formulate, what is corporate or organization culture. By Edgar H. Schein organizational culture is defined as â€Å"A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems† [2]. As we can see, concept of corporate culture is of great importance for adaptation and general comfort of employees. But in nowadays tough economic conditions, this is definitely not the highest priority for an organization. Much more important is whether corporate culture can be a help for a company, and whether it can save money or make firm more profitable. To answer this complicated question that was a theme for creating of dozens of scientific books and hundreds of pages and years of research we will start with some facts from the history of development of this concept. Due to Naomi Stanford, the concept of organization dates its popular roots from 1980s. Then in 1982 two first books on importance of organization culture were published, and despite the fact, that they were strongly criticised, they attracted attention of business and became setters of new management trends. But at that moment of time these concepts were understood in not quite proper way, managers were trying to implement some cultural principles and waited for some kind of miracle. And though it hasn`t happened, scientists have developed the theory body and researched main aspects [3]. As we see, corporate culture has been existing for 25 years already, but does it actually work? To my personal opinion – yes, it does. It is intangible, you can hardly measure it or state whether it exists or not. You can not definitely say that: â€Å"these sales increased† or â€Å"our company has succeeded in this project because we have such great organization culture†. But all that events actually took place because of it. Because if not, how you can explain what has differentiated extraordinary successful firm that produce relatively same products from the others? For example, quite small studio Pixar that has confronted Disney marketplace has produced 11 hits cartoons out of 11 attempts. Every film of it was nominated for an Academy Award and Pixar has won the awards about three quarters of the time [5]. What these facts tell us about if not a specific, unique organization culture, that is implemented in this organization. Unfortunately, corporate culture is a phenomenon that is very hard to establish and moreover, to control if any aspects of the company`s functioning are to be changed, what creates a wrong impression about its necessity and productivity in general. However, despite all arguments we can confidently assert that corporate culture works and it is of great help for an organization. List of references: 1. Eric Flamholtz, Yvinne Randle – â€Å"Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset†; 2. Edgar H. Schein – â€Å"Organizational Culture and Leadership†; 3. Naomi Stanford – â€Å"Corporate Culture: Getting It Right†. 4. John P. Kotter – â€Å"Corporate Culture and Performance† 5. Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn – â€Å"Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework†.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 21

I had no boyfriend. Despite all the uncertainties in my world, that at least was one thing I could feel confident about. Unfortunately, this nephilim apparently had a more optimistic view of my love life. â€Å"I don't know who you're talking about,† I shouted to my empty office. â€Å"Do you hear me, you son of a bitch? I don't know who you're fucking talking about!† No one responded. Paige, passing by a moment later, stuck her head inside. â€Å"Did you call me?† â€Å"No,† I grumbled. She wore a dress that clung distinctly to her swelling belly. It didn't help my mood any. â€Å"Just talking to myself.† I closed the door after she left. My immediate impulse was to run for help. Carter. Jerome. Somebody. Anybody. I couldn't deal with this alone. Fail – or involve any of your immortal contacts – and no amount of â€Å"safekeeping† will do him any good. Damn it. I didn't even know who â€Å"he† was. Frantically, I tried to figure out who among my mortal acquaintances could have been mistaken by the nephilim as something more. As if it wasn't hard enough being my friend already. Surprisingly – or perhaps not – my thoughts promptly strayed to Seth. I thought about our recent rapport. Censored and proper certainly, but still warm. Still right and natural. Still occasionally making me catch my breath when we touched. No, that was stupid. My fascination with him was shallow. His books made me suffer from hero worship, and our friendship had become a sort of rebound from Roman. Whatever crush or minor attraction he'd had for me had to be fading fast. He'd shown no other indications of more-than-friends feelings, and my distancing had to be having an effect. Besides, he still kept disappearing for mysterious meetings, probably for some girl he was too shy to tell me about. It was presumptuous of me to even consider him in a boyfriend category. Yet†¦ would the nephilim know any of that? Who knew what the bastard was thinking? If it had observed Seth and me having our coffee chats, it might assume anything. Fear clenched me, making me want to immediately run upstairs and check on Seth. But no. That would be a waste, for now at least. He was writing, in public, surrounded by people. The nephilim would not attack him in such a setting. Who else then? Warren perhaps? That voyeur nephilim had watched us have sex. If that didn't count as some sort of relationship, I didn't know what did. Of course, the nephilim would have also observed that Warren and I almost never interacted in any other intimate way. Poor Warren. Sex with me had already wiped him out; it would be beyond cruel if he became a target for the nephilim's bizarrely misplaced humor. Fortunately, I had already seen Warren come in today. He was busy in his office, but perhaps that still counted as safe. Alone he might be, but any screams from a nephilim attack would immediately draw attention. Doug? He and I had always had a perky flirtation. Certainly one might consider his sporadic pursuit of me indicative of something more than friendship. Yet, in the last few weeks, he and I hadn't talked very much. I'd been too distracted by the nephilim attacks. Those, and Roman. Ah, Roman. There it was, the possibility that had been hovering in the back of my mind. The reality I'd been avoiding because it meant contacting him, breaking the silence I'd tried so hard to maintain. I didn't know what was between us, other than a scorching attraction and the occasional tug of solidarity. I didn't know if it was love or the start of love or whatever. But I knew I cared about him. A lot. I missed him. Cutting myself off completely had been the safest way to recover, to get over my longing and move on. I feared what reinitiating contact could do. And yet†¦ because I cared about him, I could not let this nephilim prey upon him. I could not risk Roman's life in this because, really, he probably was the most likely candidate. Half the bookstore staff still considered us an item; why not the nephilim ? Especially in light of how touchy-feely we'd been on a number of outings. Any stalking nephilim would be well justified in reading that as romantic attachment I picked up my cell phone and called him with bated breath. No answer. â€Å"Shit,† I swore, listening to his voice mail. â€Å"Hi Roman, it's me. I know I wasn't, uh, going to call you anymore, but something's come up†¦ and I really need to talk to you. As soon as possible. It's really weird, but it's really important too. Please call me.† I left him both my cell and the bookstore numbers. I disconnected, then sat and pondered. Now what did I do? On impulse, I glanced at the staff directory and dialed Doug's home number. He had the day off. No answer, just like Roman. Where was everybody? Shifting my attention back to Roman, I tried to figure out where he would be. Work, most likely. Unfortunately, I didn't know where that was. What a negligent pseudo-girlfriend I was. He'd said he taught at a community college. He referred to it all the time, but it was always â€Å"at school† or â€Å"at the college.† He'd never mentioned the name. I turned to my computer and did a search for local community colleges. When the search returned several hits for Seattle alone, I swore again. More existed outside of the city too, in the suburbs and neighboring sister cities. Any of them could be possibilities. I printed out a list of all of them, with phone numbers, and stuffed the paper in my purse. I needed to get out of here, needed to take this search to the field. I opened my office door to leave and flinched. Another identically written note hung on my door. I peered around in the offices' hallway, half hoping to see something. Nothing. I pulled the note down and opened it. You're losing time and men. You've already lost the writer. You'd best get a move-on with this scavenger hunt. â€Å"Scavenger hunt indeed,† I muttered, crumpling the note. â€Å"You're such an asshole.† But†¦ what did he mean about losing the writer? Seth? My pulse quickened, and I raced up to the cafe, earning a few startled looks along the way. No Seth. His corner was empty. â€Å"Where's Seth?† I demanded of Bruce. â€Å"He was just here.† â€Å"He was,† concurred the barista. â€Å"Then he suddenly packed up and left.† â€Å"Thanks.† I definitely needed to get out of here. I found Paige in New Books. â€Å"I think I need to go home,† I told her. â€Å"I'm getting a migraine. â€Å" She looked startled. I had the best track record for attendance of any employee. I never called in sick. Yet, for that very reason, she could hardly refuse me. I was not a worker who abused the system. After she'd assured me I should go, I added, â€Å"Maybe you can get Doug to come in.† That would kill two birds with one stone. â€Å"Maybe,† she said. â€Å"I'm sure we'll manage, though. Warren and I are here all day.† â€Å"He's here all day?† When she reiterated that he would indeed be there, I felt somewhat relieved. Okay. He was off the list. As I walked home to my apartment, I called Seth's cell phone. â€Å"Where are you?† I asked. â€Å"Home. I forgot some notes I needed.† Home? Alone? â€Å"Do you want to get breakfast with me?† I asked suddenly, needing to get him out. â€Å"It's almost one.† â€Å"Brunch? Lunch?† â€Å"Aren't you at work?† â€Å"I went home sick.† â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. Just meet me.† I gave him an address and hung up. As I drove to the rendezvous, I tried Roman's cell again. Voice mail. I pulled out the community college phone numbers and started with the first one on the list. What a pain. First, I had to start with campus information and try to get to the right department. Most community colleges didn't even have linguistics departments, though almost all had at least one introductory class taught through some other related area – like anthropology or humanities. I made it through three colleges by the time I reached Capitol Hill. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Seth waiting outside the place I'd indicated. After I parked and paid the meter, I walked up to him, trying to smile in some semblance of normality. It apparently didn't work. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Nothing, nothing,† I proclaimed cheerfully. Too cheerfully. His look implied disbelief, but he let the matter drop. â€Å"Are we eating here?† â€Å"Yup. But first we have to go see Doug.† â€Å"Doug?† Seth's confusion deepened. I led him to an apartment building next door and climbed to Doug's floor. Music blared from inside his apartment, which I took as a good sign. I had to beat on the door three times before anyone answered. It wasn't Doug. It was his roommate. He looked stoned. â€Å"Is Doug here?† He blinked at me and scratched his long, unkempt hair. â€Å"Doug?† he asked. â€Å"Yeah, Doug Sato.† â€Å"Oh, Doug. Yeah.† â€Å"Yeah, he's here?† â€Å"No, man. He's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The guy squinted. Lord, who got high this early in the day? I hadn't even done that back in the 1960s. â€Å"He's practicing.† â€Å"Where? Where do they practice?† The guy stared at me. â€Å"Where do they practice?† I repeated. â€Å"Dude, did you know you have, like, the most perfect tits I've ever seen? They're like†¦ poetry. Are they real?† I clenched my teeth. â€Å"Where. Does. Doug. Practice?† He dragged his eyes from my chest. â€Å"West Seattle. Over by Alki.† â€Å"Do you have an address?† â€Å"It's by†¦ California and Alaska.† He blinked again. â€Å"Whoa. California and Alaska. Get it?† â€Å"An address?† â€Å"It's green. You can't miss it.† When no other information came, Seth and I left. We went to the restaurant I had indicated. â€Å"Poetry,† he reflected along the way, amused. â€Å"Like an ee cummings poem, I'd say.† I was too preoccupied to process what he was saying, my mind racing. Even waffles with strawberries couldn't keep me from worrying about this idiotic scavenger hunt. Seth attempted conversation, but my answers were vague and distracted, my mind clearly not with him through the meal. When we finished, I unsuccessfully tried Roman again, then turned to Seth. â€Å"Are you going back to the bookstore?† He shook his head. â€Å"No. I'm going home. I realized I need too much of my research to write this scene. Easier to stay in my own office.† Panic blazed through me. â€Å"Home? But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What could I say? Tell him that if he stayed at home, he might be in danger of attack by a sociopathic, supernatural creature? â€Å"Stay with me,† I blurted out. â€Å"Run errands with me.† His polite complacency finally broke. â€Å"Georgina, what in the world is going on? You go home sick when you're not. You're clearly agitated about something, desperately so. Tell me what this is about. Is something wrong with Doug?† I closed my eyes for a second, wishing this was all over. Wishing I was somewhere else. Or someone else. Seth must think I was out of my mind. â€Å"I can't tell you what's wrong, only that something is. You have to leave it at that.† Then, hesitantly, I reached out and squeezed his hand, turning my eyes pleadingly toward his. â€Å"Please. Stay with me.† He tightened his grip on my hand and took a step forward, face concerned and compassionate. For a moment, I forgot about the nephilim. What did other men matter when Seth looked at me like that? I had the urge to embrace him and feel his arms enclose me. I almost laughed. Who was I kidding? I didn't need to worry about leading him on. I was the one getting hooked here. I was the one in danger of escalating this relationship. I needed to stop procrastinating on my â€Å"clean break† with him. I hastily broke apart and lowered my eyes. â€Å"Thank you.† He offered to drive to West Seattle, freeing me up to keep calling colleges. I had nearly finished by the time we reached the intersection of Alaska and California. He slowed slightly, and we both peered around, searching for a green house. You can't miss it.It was a stupid piece of advice. What constituted green anyway? I saw a sage house, a forest green house, and a color that could have been green or blue. Some houses had green trim, green doors, or – â€Å"Whoa,† said Seth. A small, run-down house painted a glaring shade of mintish lime stood there, nearly obscured by two much nicer houses. â€Å"You can't miss it,† I muttered. We parked and walked toward it. As we did, the sounds of Doug's band clearly emanated from the garage. When we reached the open door, I saw Nocturnal Admission in full glory, Doug belting out lyrics in that amazing voice of his. He cut off abruptly when he saw me. â€Å"Kincaid?† His fellow band members looked on quizzically as he jumped down and sprinted over to me. Seth discretely took a few steps away, studying some nearby hydrangea bushes. â€Å"What are you doing here?† asked Doug, not offended so much as astounded. â€Å"I called in sick,† I said stupidly. What did I do now? â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. I – I had something to do. Still do. But I'm†¦ I'm worried about leaving the store. How long will you be here? Can you fill in for me after this?† â€Å"You came here to ask me to cover for you? Why'd you call in sick? Are you finally running away with Mortensen?† â€Å"I – no. I can't explain it. Just promise me, after this, you'll swing by the store and see if they need help.† He was staring at me with a look Seth had been shooting me all afternoon. One that sort of implied I needed a tranquilizer. â€Å"Kincaid†¦ you're freaking me out here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I looked up at him with the same baleful expression I'd used on Seth. Succubus charisma in action. â€Å"Please? You still owe me, remember?† His dark eyes frowned in understandable consternation. At last he said, â€Å"Okay. But it'll be a few hours before I can go.† â€Å"That's all right. Just go there straight afterward. No stops. And don't†¦ don't tell them you saw me. I'm supposed to be sick. Make up some reason to go there.† He shook his head in exasperation, and I thanked him with a quick hug. As Seth and I departed, I saw Doug glance at Seth questioningly. Seth shrugged, answering the other man's silent inquiry with shared confusion. I made more phone calls as we drove away, finishing my college list and leaving yet another desperate message for Roman. â€Å"What now?† asked Seth when I lapsed into silence. Hard to say what he thought of my harassment of both Roman and Doug. â€Å"I†¦I don't know.† I had reached the end of my options. Everyone was accounted for except Roman, and I had no way to reach him. The clock was ticking. I didn't know where he lived. I thought he'd mentioned Madrona once, but that was a big area. I could hardly start knocking on all those doors. The nephilim had said I had until the end of my shift. Despite bailing on work, I assumed that still meant nine o'clock. I had almost three hours left. â€Å"I guess I'll pick up my car and go back home.† Seth dropped me off at the restaurant and followed me back to Queen Anne. A traffic light stopped him, so I made it to my apartment about a minute before he did. On my door was another note. Nice job. You'll probably end up alienating all of these men with your erratic behavior, but I admire your pluck. One left to go. I wonder how fast on his feet your dancer truly is. I was crumpling this note up when Seth reached me. I pulled my key out of my purse and feebly attempted to put it in my lock. My hands shook so badly, I couldn't do it. He took the key from me and opened the door. We entered, and I collapsed on to the couch. Aubrey slithered out from behind it and jumped on my lap. Seth sat nearby, taking in my apartment – including my prominently displayed collection of his books on the new shelf – then returned his worried gaze to me. â€Å"Georgina†¦ what can I do?† I shook my head, feeling helpless and defeated. â€Å"Nothing. I'm just glad you're here.† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated. â€Å"I hate to tell you this, but I've got to leave in a little while. I'm meeting someone.† I looked up sharply. Another of those mysterious meetings. Curiosity temporarily replaced my fear, but I couldn't question him. Couldn't ask if he was meeting some woman. At least he said he was meeting someone. He wouldn't be alone. â€Å"You'll be with†¦ them†¦ for a while then?† He nodded. â€Å"I could come back late tonight, if you wanted. Or†¦ maybe I could cancel.† â€Å"No, no, don't worry about it.† By then, it would all be over. He stayed awhile longer, again attempting conversation I couldn't participate in. When he finally stood up to leave, I could see anxiety written all over him and felt terrible I'd involved him in this. â€Å"This will all be resolved tomorrow,† I told him. â€Å"So don't worry. I'll be back to normal then. I promise.† â€Å"Okay. If you need anything, let me know. Call me, no matter what. Otherwise†¦ well, I'll see you at work.† â€Å"No. I have tomorrow off.† â€Å"Oh. Well. Do you mind if I stop by?† â€Å"Sure. Go ahead.† I would have agreed to anything. I was too tired to hold to my earlier notion of distancing. I'd worry about that later. Honestly. One thing at a time. He left reluctantly, no doubt baffled when I told him to spend a lot of time with whoever he was meeting. As for me, I paced all over my apartment, not knowing what to do. Maybe I couldn't get ahold of Roman because the nephilim had already found him. That would hardly be fair since I'd never even had a chance to genuinely warn him, but this nephilim didn't really seem like the type to care about right or wrong. Struck by inspiration, I called Information, realizing I'd missed the obvious way to find him. It didn't matter. Unlisted. Two hours before my shift would have ended, I left Roman another message. â€Å"Please, please, please call me,† I begged. â€Å"Even if you're really mad at me for what happened. Just tell me you're out there and okay.† No return call came. Eight o'clock rolled around. With one hour remaining, I left him another message. I could feel hysteria creeping in. God, what was I going to do? All I did do was continue pacing, pondering how soon would be too soon to call Roman one more time. Five minutes before nine, utterly frantic, I grabbed my purse, desperate to leave my apartment and do something. Anything. Time was almost up. What would happen? How would I know if I'd successfully jumped through the nephilim's hoops? When I saw Roman's murder plastered across the paper tomorrow? Would there be another note? Or maybe some gruesome token? What if the nephilim hadn't even meant any of the people I'd considered? What if it was someone completely out of the realm of – I opened my door to leave and gasped. â€Å"Roman!† He stood there, mid-knock, as surprised to see me as I was him. I dropped my purse and ran to him, flinging myself at him in a fierce embrace that nearly toppled him. â€Å"Oh God,† I breathed into his shoulder, â€Å"I'm so glad to see you.† â€Å"I guess,† he replied, pulling slightly away to look down at me, his turquoise eyes concerned. â€Å"Lord, Georgina, what's wrong? I've got like eighty messages from you – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know,† I told him, still not letting go. Seeing him stirred up all the old, queasy feelings I had thought were buried. He looked so good. He smelled so good. â€Å"I'm sorry – it's just, I thought something had happened to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hugged him again, catching sight of my watch as I did so. Nine o'clock. My shift was over, as was the nephilim's ridiculous game. â€Å"Okay, it's all right.† He patted me awkwardly on the back. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"I can't tell you.† My voice shook. His mouth opened to protest, but he reconsidered. â€Å"Okay. Let's take this slow. You're pale. Let's go get something to eat. You can explain all this then.† Yeah, that would be a fun conversation. â€Å"No. We can't do that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on. There's no way you can leave me all those desperate messages and then start playing the ‘we need space' game. Seriously, Georgina. You're a wreck. You're shaking. I wouldn't want you to be by yourself anyway if I'd found you like this, let alone after those calls.† â€Å"No. No. No going out.† I sat down on the couch, needing to let him go, reluctant to do so. â€Å"Let's stay here.† Still looking distressed, Roman fetched me a glass of water, then sat down by me, holding my hand. As time passed, I calmed down, listening as Roman talked about inconsequential things in an effort to make me feel better. For his part, he was quite nice about my psycho phone calls. He continued trying to tease out an explanation, but when I remained evasive, only saying I had cause to worry about him, he stopped pushing – for now. He continued cheering me up, telling me funny things as well as his usual political soliloquies, complaining about the irrational rules and hypocrisy of the powers that be. By late in the evening, I was relaxed again, left only with embarrassment for the way I'd behaved. Damn, I hated that nephilim. â€Å"It's getting late. You going to be okay if I go?† he asked, standing with me near my living room window, overlooking Queen Anne Avenue. â€Å"Probably better than if you stay.† â€Å"Well, that's a matter of opinion,† he chuckled, running a hand over my hair. â€Å"Thanks for coming by. I know†¦ I know†¦ it seems crazy, but you've just got to trust me on this one.† He shrugged. â€Å"I don't really have a choice. Besides†¦ it's kind of nice to know you were worried about me.† â€Å"Of course I was. How could I not be?† â€Å"I don't know. You aren't easy to read. I couldn't figure out if you really liked me†¦ or if I was just something to pass the time. A diversion.† Something in his words rang a bell in my head, something I should have paid attention to. Instead I was more caught up in how close he suddenly stood to me, how his hand ran down my cheek to my neck and to my shoulder. He had long, sensuous fingers. Fingers that could do a lot of good in a lot of good places. â€Å"I do like you, Roman. If you don't believe anything else I tell you, believe that.† He smiled then, a smile so full and beautiful, it made my heart melt. God, I had missed that smile and his funny, breezy charm. Moving his hand back up to my neck, he pulled me toward him, and I realized he was going to kiss me again. â€Å"No†¦ no†¦ don't,† I murmured, squirming out of his grasp. He backed off from the kiss, still holding on to me as he exhaled, disappointment all over his face. â€Å"Still worried about that?† â€Å"You can't understand. I'm sorry. I just can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Georgina, nothing traumatic happened the last time we kissed. Short of your reaction, I mean.† â€Å"I know, but it's not that simple.† â€Å"Nothing happened,† he repeated, an unfamiliar hardness in his voice. â€Å"I know, but – â€Å" My mouth hung there mid-sentence as I replayed his words. Nothing happened. No, something had happened that night at the concert, kissing in the back hallway. I'd seen Roman stagger from the kiss. But me†¦ what had happened to me? What had I felt? Nothing. A kiss that intense, a kiss with someone strong, a kiss with someone I wanted so badly should have triggered something. Even with a low energy yield like Warren, a deep kiss would wake up my succubus instinct, start to connect us, even if no significant transfer took place. Kissing Roman like that – especially when he ostensibly had a reaction – should have resulted in some kind of feeling on my end. Some sensation. Yet, there had been nothing. Nothing at all. I had written it off to too much alcohol at the time. But that was ridiculous. I drank all the time before getting a fix. Alcohol could muddle my senses – as it obviously had that night – but no amount of intoxication could completely negate the sensation of anima transfer. Nothing could. I had been too trashed to realize the truth. Alcohol or no, I would always feel something from sexual or intimate physical contact unless†¦ Unless I was with another immortal. I jerked away from Roman, breaking his hold on me. His expression registered surprise, immediately replaced by sudden understanding. Those beautiful eyes sparkling dangerously, he laughed. â€Å"Took you long enough.†