The Return: Nightfall Chapter 30

Matt had given up on clues. As far as he could tell, something had caused Elena to bypass the Dunstan house and barn completely, hopping on and on until she got to a squashed and torn bed of thin creeping vines. They hung limp from Matt's fingers, but they reminded him, disquietingly, of the feeling of the bug's tentacles around his neck. And from there on there was no sign of human movement. It was as if a UFO had beamed her up. Now, from making forays to all sides until he had lost the patch of creepers, he was lost in the deep Wood. If he wanted to, he could fantasize that all sorts of noises were all around him. If he wanted to, he could imagine that the light of the flashlight was no longer as bright as it had been, that it had a sickly yellowish tinge†¦. All this time, while searching, he had kept as quiet as possible, realizing that he might be trying to sneak up on something that didn't want to be snuck up on. But now, somewhere inside him, something was swelling up and his ability to stop it was weakening by the second. When it burst out of him, it startled him as much as it might have any possible listeners. â€Å"Ellleeeeeeeeeeeeeeenaaaa!† From the time when he'd been a child, Matt had been taught to say his nighttime prayers. He didn't know much else about church, but he did have a deep and sincere feeling that there was Someone or Something out there that looked after people. That somewhere and somehow it all made sense, and that there were reasons for everything. That belief had been severely tested during the past year. But Elena's return from the dead had swept away all his doubts. It had seemed to prove everything that he'd always wanted to believe in. You wouldn't give her back to us for just a few days, and then take her away again? he wondered, and the wondering was really a form of praying. You wouldn't – would You? Because the thought of a world without Elena, without hersparkle ; her strong will; her way of getting into crazy adventures – and then getting out of them, even more crazily – well, it was too much to lose. The world would be painted in drab grays and dark browns again without her. There would be no fire-engine reds, no flashes of parakeet green, no cerulean, no daffodil, no mercury silver – and no gold. No sprinkles of gold in endless blue lapis lazuli eyes. â€Å"Elllleeeeeeenaaaa! Damn you, you answer me! It's Matt, Elena! Elleeeeee – â€Å" He broke off quite suddenly and listened. For a moment his heart leaped and his whole body started. But then he made out the words he could hear. â€Å"Eleeeeeenaaa? Maaaatt? Where are you?† â€Å"Bonnie?Bonnie! I'm here! † He turned his flashlight straight up, slowly twisting it in a circle. â€Å"Can you see me?† â€Å"Can you see us?† Matt pivoted slowly. And – yes – there were the beams of one flashlight, two flashlights, three! His heart leaped to seethree beams. â€Å"I'm coming toward you,† he shouted, and suited the action to the word. Secrecy had been long ago left behind. He was running into things, yanking at tendrils that tried to grab his ankles, but bellowing all the while, â€Å"Stay where you are! I'm coming to you!† And then the flashlight beams were right in front of him, blinding him, and somehow he had Bonnie in his arms, and Bonnie was crying. That at least lent the situation some normality. Bonnie was crying against his chest and he was looking at Meredith, who was smiling anxiously, and at†¦Mrs. Flowers? It had to be, she was wearing that gardening hat with the artificial flowers on it, as well as what looked like about seven or eight woolly sweaters. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers?† he said, his mouth finally catching up with his brain. â€Å"But – where's Elena?† There was a sudden droop in the three people watching him, as if they had been on tiptoes for news, and now they had slumped in disappointment. â€Å"We haven't seen her,† Meredith said quietly. â€Å"Youwere with her.† â€Å"Iwas with her, yeah. But then Damon came.He hurt her , Meredith† – Matt felt Bonnie's arms clench on him. â€Å"He had her rolling on the ground having seizures. I think he's going to kill her. And – he hurt me. I guess I blacked out. When I woke up she was gone.† â€Å"He took her away?† Bonnie asked fiercely. â€Å"Yeah, but†¦I don't understand what happened next.† Painfully, he explained about Elena seemingly jumping out of the car and the tracks that led nowhere. Bonnie shivered in his arms. â€Å"And then some other weird stuff happened,† Matt said. Slowly, faltering sometimes, he did his best to explain about Kristin, and the similarities to Tami. â€Å"That is†¦just plain weird,† Bonnie said. â€Å"I thought I had an answer, but if Kristin hasn't had any contact with any of the other girls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You were probably thinking something about the Salem witches, dear,† said Mrs. Flowers. Matt still couldn't get used to Mrs. Flowerstalking to them. She went on, â€Å"But you don't really know with whom Kristin has been in the last few days. Or with whom Jim has been, for that matter. Children have quite a lot of freedom in this day and age, and he might be – what do they call it? – acarrier .† â€Å"Besides, even if this is possession, it may be an entirely different kind of possession,† Meredith said. â€Å"Kristin lives out in the Old Wood. The Old Wood is full of these insects – these malach. Who knows whether it happened when she simply stepped outside her door? Who knows what was waiting for her?† Now Bonnie was shaking in Matt's arms. They'd turned out all the flashlights but one, to conserve energy, but it sure made for spooky surroundings. â€Å"But what about the telepathy?† Matt said to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"I mean, I don't believe for a minute thatreal witches were attacking those Salem girls. I think they were repressed girls who had mass hysteria when they all got together, and somehow everything got out of hand. But how could Kristin know to call me – to call me – the same name that Tamra did?† â€Å"Maybe we've all got it all wrong,† Bonnie said, her voice buried somewhere in Matt's solar plexus. â€Å"Maybe it's not like Salem at all, where the – the hysteria spread out horizontally, if you see what I mean. Maybe there's somebody on top here, who's spreading it wherever they want to.† There was a brief silence, and then Mrs. Flowers murmured, â€Å" ¡Ã‚ ®Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings†¦'† â€Å"You mean you think that's right? But then who is it that's on top? Who's doing all of this?† Meredith demanded. â€Å"It can't be Damon because Damon saved Bonnie twice – and me once.† Before anyone could muster words to ask aboutthat , she was going on. â€Å"Elena was pretty sure that something was possessingDamon . So who else is it?† â€Å"Somebody we haven't met yet,† Bonnie muttered ominously. â€Å"Somebody we aren't going to like.† With perfect timing there was the crackle of a branch behind them. As one person, as one body, they turned to look. â€Å"What I really want,† Damon said to Elena, â€Å"is to get you warm. And that either means cooking you something hot so you'll warm up from the inside or putting you in the tub so you'll warm up from the outside. And considering what happened last time – â€Å" â€Å"I†¦don't feel I can eat anything†¦.† â€Å"Come on, it's an American tradition. Apple soup? Mom's homemade chicken pie?† She chuckled in spite of herself, then winced. â€Å"It's apple pie and Mom's homemade chicken soup. But you didn't do badly, for a start.† â€Å"Well? I promise not to mix the apples and the chicken together.† â€Å"I could try some soup,† Elena said slowly. â€Å"And, oh, Damon I'm so thirsty just for plain water. Please.† â€Å"I know, but you'll drink too much, get pains. I'll make soup.† â€Å"It comes in little cans with red paper on them. You pull the tab on top to make it come off†¦.† Elena stopped as he turned to the door. Damon knew she had serious doubts about the entire project, but he also knew that if he brought her anything passably drinkable she would drink it. Thirst did that to you. He was unliving proof of the example. As he went through the door there was a sudden horrendous noise, like a pair of kitchen choppers coming together. It nearly took off his – his rear from top to bottom, by the sound of it. â€Å"Damon!†A voice crying weakly through the door. â€Å"Damon, are you all right? Damon! Answer me!† Instead, he turned around, studied the door, which looked perfectly normal, and opened it. Anyone watching him open it would have wondered because he put a key in the unlocked door, said â€Å"Elena's room† and then unlocked and opened the door. When he got inside, he ran. Elena was lying in a hopeless tangle of sheets and blankets on the floor. She was trying to get up, but her face was blue-white with pain. â€Å"What pushed you off the bed?† he said. He was going to kill Shinichislowly . â€Å"Nothing. I heard a terrible sound just as the door shut. I tried to get to you, but – â€Å" Damon stared at her.†I tried to get to you, but – † This broken, hurting, exhausted creature had tried to rescuehim ? Tried so hard that she'd fallen off her bed? â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said, with tears in her eyes. â€Å"I can't get used to gravity. Are you hurt?† â€Å"Not as much as you are,† he said, purposely keeping his voice rough, his eyes averted. â€Å"I did something stupid, leaving the room, and the house†¦reminded me.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† said the woebegone Elena, dressed only in sheets. â€Å"This key,† Damon held it up for her to see. It was golden and could be worn as a ring, but two wings folded out and made a beautiful key. â€Å"What's wrong with it?† â€Å"The way I used it. This key has the power of the kitsune in it, and it will unlock anything and take you anywhere, but the way it works is that you put it into the lock, say where you want to go, and then turn the key. I forgot to do that in leaving your room.† Elena looked puzzled. â€Å"But what if a key doesn't have a lock in it? Most bedroom doors don't have locks.† â€Å"This key goes into any door. You might say it makes its own lock. It's a kitsune treasure – which I shook out of Shinichi when I was so angry about you being hurt. He'll be wanting it back soon.† Damon's eyes narrowed and he smiled faintly. â€Å"I wonder which of us will end up keeping it. I noticed another one in the kitchen – a spare, of course.† â€Å"Damon, all this about magical keys is interesting, but if you could let me get off the floor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was contrite at once. Then came the question of whether to put her on the bed or not. â€Å"I'll take the bath,† Elena said in a small voice. She unsnapped the top of her jeans and tried to scoot out of them. â€Å"Wait a minute! You might faint and drown. Lie down and I promise to get you clean, if you're willing to try and eat.† He had new reservations about the house. â€Å"Now undress on the bed and pull the sheet over you. I do wicked massages,† he added, turning away. â€Å"Look, you don't have to not look. It's something I haven't understood since I†¦came back,† Elena said. â€Å"Modesty taboos. I don't see why anyone should be ashamed of their body.† (This came to him in a rather muffled voice.) â€Å"I mean for anyone who says God made us, God made us without clothes, even after Adam and Eve. If it's so important, why didn't he make us with diapers on?† â€Å"Yes, actually, what you're saying reminds me of what I once said to the Dowager Queen of France,† Damon said, determined to keep her undressing while he gazed at a crack in one of the wooden panels of the wall. â€Å"I said that if God were both omnipotent and omniscient, then He surely knew our destinies beforehand, and why were the righteous doomed to be born as sinfully naked as the damned?† â€Å"And what did she say?† â€Å"Not a word. But she giggled and tapped me three times on the back of my hand with her fan, which I was later told was an invitation for an assignation. Alas, I had other obligations. Are you on the bed still?† â€Å"Yes, and I'm under a sheet,† Elena said wearily. â€Å"If she wereDowager Queen, I expect you were glad,† she added in a half-bewildered voice. â€Å"Aren't they the old mothers?† â€Å"No, Anne of Austria, Queen of France, kept her remarkable beauty to the end. She was the only redhead that – â€Å" Damon stopped, groping wildly for words as he faced the bed. Elena had done as he had asked. He just hadn't realized how much she would look like Aphrodite arising from the ocean. The ruffled white of the sheet came up to the warmer milk-white of her skin. She needed cleaning, certainly, but just knowing that under that thin sheet she was magnificently naked was enough to make him lose his breath. She had rolled her clothes into a ball and thrown them into the farthest corner of the room. He didn't blame her. He didn't think. He didn't give himself time. He simply held out his hands and said, â€Å"Lemon-thyme chicken consomm ¦, hot, in a Mikasa cup – and plum flower oil, very warm, in a vial.† Once the broth was duly consumed and Elena was lying on her back again, he began to gently massage her with the oil. Plum flower always made for a good start. It numbed the skin and the senses to pain, and it provided a basis for the other, more exotic, oils he planned to use on her. In a way, it was much better than dumping her in a modern bath or Jacuzzi. He knew where her injuries were; he could heat the oils to the appropriate temperature for any of them. And instead of a barely mobile Jacuzzi head spouting water against a bruise, he could avoid anything too sensitive – in the painful sense. He started with her hair, adding a very, very light coating of oil that would make the worst tangles easy to brush out. After the oiling, her hair shone like gold against her skin – honey on cream. Then he began with the muscles in her face: tiny strokes with his thumbs over her forehead to smooth it and relax it, forcing her to relax along with his movements. Slow, circular swirls at her temples, with only the lightest of pressure. He could see the thin blue veins traced here, and he knew that deep pressure could put her to sleep. He then proceeded to upper arms, her forearms, her hands, taking her apart with ancient strokes and the correct ancient essences to go with them, until she was nothing but a loose, boneless thing under the sheet: sleek and soft and yielding. He flashed his incandescent smile for a moment while pulling a toe until it popped – and then the smile turned ironic. He could have what he wanted of her, now. Yes, she was in no mood to refuse anything. But he hadn't counted on what the damned sheet would do tohim . Everyone knew that a scrap of covering, no matter how simple, always drew attention to the taboo area as pure nakedness did not. And massaging Elena by inches this way only focused him on what lay beneath the snowy fabric. After a while Elena said drowsily, â€Å"Aren't you going to tell the end of the story? About Anne of Austria, who was the only redhead to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦to, ah, remain a natural redhead to the end of her life,† Damon murmured. â€Å"Yes. It was said that Cardinal Richelieu was her lover.† â€Å"Isn't that the wicked Cardinal from theThe Three Musketeers ?† â€Å"Yes, but perhaps not so wicked as he was portrayed there, and certainly an able politician. And, some say, the real father of Louis†¦now turn over.† â€Å"It's a strange name for a king.† â€Å"Hm?† â€Å"Louis Now Turn Over,† Elena said, turning over and showing a flash of creamy thigh while Damon tried to eye various other parts of the room. â€Å"Depends on the naming traditions of the individual's native country,† Damon said wildly. All he could see were replays of that glimpse of thigh. â€Å"What?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I was asking you – â€Å" â€Å"Are you warm now? All done,† Damon said and, unwisely, patted the highest curve of terrain under the towel. â€Å"Hey!† Elena reared up, and Damon – faced by an entire body of pale rose-gold and perfumed and sleek – and with muscles like steel under the silken skin – precipitately fled. He came back after an appropriate interval with a calming offering of more soup. Elena, dignified under her sheet, which she had made into a toga, accepted. She didn't even try to swat him on the bottom when his back was turned. â€Å"Whatis this place?† she wondered instead. â€Å"It can't be the Dunstans' – they're an old family, with an old house. They used to be farmers.† â€Å"Oh, let's just call it a little pied--terre of my own in the woods.† â€Å"Ha,† Elena said. â€Å"I knew you weren't sleeping in trees.† Damon found himself trying not to smile. He'd never been with Elena when the situation hadn't been life-or-death. Now, if he said he'd found he loved her mind after having massaged her naked under a sheet – no†¦No one would ever believe him. â€Å"Feeling better?† he asked. â€Å"As warm as chicken-apple soup.† â€Å"I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?† He made her stay on the bed while he thought up nightgowns, all sizes and styles, and robes, too – and slippers, all in the instant of walking to what had been a bathroom, and was pleased to find that it was now a walk-in closet with everything anyone could want in terms of night attire. From silky lingerie to good old-fashioned sleeping gowns to night-caps, this wardrobe had it all. Damon emerged with a double armful and gave Elena her choice. She picked a high-necked white nightgown made out of some modest fabric. Damon found himself stroking a regal sky-blue gown trimmed with what looked like genuine Valenciennes lace. â€Å"Not my style,† Elena said, quickly tucking it under some other robes. Not your style aroundme , Damon thought, amused. And a wise little lass you are, too. You don't want to tempt me into doing anything you might be sorry for tomorrow. â€Å"All right – and then you can get a good night's sleep – † He broke off, for she was suddenly looking at him with astonishment and distress. â€Å"Matt! Damon, we were looking forMatt ! I just remembered. We were looking for him and I – I don't know. I got hurt. I remember falling and then I was here.† Because I carried you here, Damon thought. Because this house is just a thought in Shinichi's mind. Because the only permanent things inside it are we two. Damon took in a deep breath of air.

Discuss the character of Holmes Essay

Discuss the character of Holmes, the construction  of the stories and why the stories were and are so popular  Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest and renowned detectives ever to exist, except for the fact that he is fictional, created by Sir Conan Doyle. Doyle began writing Sherlock Holmes from 1822. The character Sherlock Holmes, he devised was intensely influenced by one of his university professor encountered during a lecture. His works fascinated Doyle and we can see how it reflects to some of the things Sherlock Holmes does for e.g. his extraordinary deductive skills. Doyle has successfully prevailed upon the hearts of readers with his marvellous masterpieces. A famous museum has been dedicated on Holmes behalf for his outstanding temperament. One quite intriguing fact that proves just how phenomenal Sherlock Holmes is that Conan Doyle decided to withdraw Holmes in the year 1893, as he wanted to focus more on his other desires; however, he was unsuccessful as many readers protested upon this matter, while some even sent him death threats. Therefore, he was compelled to carry on and he did this by making the unstoppable detective Sherlock Holmes’ cheat a narrow death. So in this essay I will be analysing 3 stories: ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ in which I will be marking out the distinct characteristics of Holmes that seems to attract everyone and Conan Doyle’s brilliant techniques used to captivate vast number of people.  First, I shall discuss about Sherlock Holmes himself in detail. He enjoys his work and is incredibly determined. Motivated by the actual work and not wealth, he devotes all his time and effort into solving mysteries as Watson notifies at the start of the ‘The Speckled Band’, ‘†¦for, working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth.’ Shortly afterwards Holmes declares this himself when his client Helen Stoner admits she can only reward him in a few months time; â€Å"As to reward, my profession is its own reward.† Although he does require Helen to pay for any expense occurred during the case; â€Å"but you are at liberty to defray whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which suits you best.† I believe since Holmes does not accept (mostly) money as a payment to his practice, he does not have any money to pay for the expenses. I presume because of Holmes’ obsession towards his work, he will take any desperate measures he has to adopt in order to comprehend the truth as Watson encouragingly notifies in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’, â€Å"Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind would go for days, and even for week, without rest†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Due to this extreme dedication, he completes his objectives effectively and efficiently. Hence, the immortal figure and the eagerness for his position, awards Holmes a very positive effect on the reader. We learn about Holmes’ particular self-esteem, which to some extent can be very annoying and arrogant. For example, Sherlock Holmes cannot prevent himself from producing a soft amusement expression whenever someone fails to match his intelligence for e.g. in ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ Watson baffled, says, ‘He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long nervous hands together,’ subsequent to Holmes’ brilliantly mastered deduction. It illustrates Holmes as quite an egotistical arrogant person and takes Watson for granted since the mild vague snigger may have been a trifle mock. It was not that Watson was just some ordinary person. He had achieved the title Doctor but even his attributes was nowhere near identical to the wit of Holmes. Holmes is only passionate about cases containing strange and abnormities; in ‘The Speckled Band’, Watson comments, â€Å"he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic.† No wonder why all the cases seem to be of the most remarkable quality and from the fact that he worked in cases the official police discarded, â€Å"and clearing up those mysteries, which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police,† mainly because of too much intricacy. Thus, the extraordinary power he acquires makes him a valuable utility for the police force. This however also presents him as an arrogant person who believes he is too good for the cases he assumes low skilled.

Neoclassical Architecture

The Founding Fathers of the United States, especially the classically educated Thomas Jefferson, chose Neoclassicism as the country’s national architectural style as it is the amalgamation of all the ideals that the Founding Fathers had fought for in their journey to independence from their colonizers (â€Å"The Federal Style†).   Classical architecture was first inspired by the Greeks and later adopted by the Romans for their own unique designs when they conquered Greece (â€Å"Roman Architecture†). The great ancient society of Rome was specifically the inspiration of the newly formed America.   Rome to the United States was the epitome of a myriad of aspects such as its government, education, and the arts (â€Å"The Federal Style†).The neoclassical style of architecture which started in the mid-18th century in America  conveyed a forward thinking approach for the coming 19th century (â€Å"The Federal Style†).   In general neoclassical sty le displays symbolisms of democracy and philosophy (â€Å"The Classical†). When it was adopted by the Americans it evoked an analogy of young America to imperial Rome aiming to emulate the latter’s greatness (â€Å"Neoclassical architecture,†Ã‚   2006).I definitely believe that architecture can convey a message to the viewer as powerfully as a painting can.   Although it is often called â€Å"frozen music† or â€Å"mute poetry†, it does not mean they are totally void of meanings or implied ideas. They may not be explicit or literal in their message but architecture can still allude to nature.   Notice how the Sydney Opera House in Australia echoes the sails surrounding it. Architecture is unique in that the form cannot be separated from function especially in modern architecture.  The form itself communicates ideas or meanings even in their pristine state.   For example, a horizontal line is associated with a line where earth and sky meets or a reclining figure connotes stability, restfulness, peace.   Warm colors evoke the sun, fire, or summer, whereas cool colors suggest their opposites.ReferencesThe Classical Temple Architecture and Symbols of Washington, DC. N.d. STOPTHEThe Federal Style. (n.d.). holycross.edu. Retrieved 04 December 2006 from theNeoclassical architecture. (2006). In Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved December  4, 2006,from Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassical-architectureRoman architecture.   Wikipedia: The Free Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04 December2006 from the Web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_architecture Neoclassical Architecture The Founding Fathers of the United States, especially the classically educated Thomas Jefferson, chose Neoclassicism as the country’s national architectural style as it is the amalgamation of all the ideals that the Founding Fathers had fought for in their journey to independence from their colonizers (â€Å"The Federal Style†).   Classical architecture was first inspired by the Greeks and later adopted by the Romans for their own unique designs when they conquered Greece (â€Å"Roman Architecture†). The great ancient society of Rome was specifically the inspiration of the newly formed America.   Rome to the United States was the epitome of a myriad of aspects such as its government, education, and the arts (â€Å"The Federal Style†).The neoclassical style of architecture which started in the mid-18th century in America  conveyed a forward thinking approach for the coming 19th century (â€Å"The Federal Style†).   In general neoclassical sty le displays symbolisms of democracy and philosophy (â€Å"The Classical†). When it was adopted by the Americans it evoked an analogy of young America to imperial Rome aiming to emulate the latter’s greatness (â€Å"Neoclassical architecture,†Ã‚   2006).I definitely believe that architecture can convey a message to the viewer as powerfully as a painting can.   Although it is often called â€Å"frozen music† or â€Å"mute poetry†, it does not mean they are totally void of meanings or implied ideas. They may not be explicit or literal in their message but architecture can still allude to nature.   Notice how the Sydney Opera House in Australia echoes the sails surrounding it. Architecture is unique in that the form cannot be separated from function especially in modern architecture.   The form itself communicates ideas or meanings even in their pristine state.   For example, a horizontal line is associated with a line where earth and sky meets or a reclining figure connotes stability, restfulness, peace.   Warm colors evoke the sun, fire, or summer, whereas cool colors suggest their opposites.ReferencesThe Classical Temple Architecture and Symbols of Washington, DC. N.d. STOPTHERELIGIOUSRIGHT.ORG. Retrieved   04 December 2006 from the World Wide Web:http://community-2.webtv.net/westernmind/WASHINGTONDC/The Federal Style. (n.d.). holycross.edu. Retrieved 04 December 2006 from theWorld Wide Web:   http://www.holycross.edu/departments/classics/wziobro/ClassicalAmerica/federalistintrohp.htmlNeoclassical architecture. (2006). In Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved December  4, 2006,from Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9373222/Neoclassical-architectureRoman architecture.   Wikipedia: The Free Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04 December2006 from the Web:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_architecture

Benefits of and problems with information, entertainment and Research Paper

Benefits of and problems with information, entertainment and communication technologies - Research Paper Example Print. Powell, John, Lee Gunn, Pam Lowe, Bart Sheehan, Frances Griffiths, and Aileen Clarke. "New Networked Technologies and Carers of People with Dementia: An Interview Study." Ageing and Society 30.6 (2010): 1073–1088. Cambridge University Press. Print. Price, Monroe, Susan Haas, and Drew Margolin. "New Technologies and International Broadcasting: Reflections on Adaptations and Transformations." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616.1 (2008, March): 150–172. Public Diplomacy in a Changing World. Print. Riemer, Kai, and Stefan Klein. "Is the V-form the Next Generation Organization? An Analysis of Challenges, Pitfalls and Remedies of ICT-enabled Virtual Organizations Based on Social Capital Theory." Journal of Information Technology, 23 (2008): 147–162. Print. Williams, Peter. "Using Information and Communication Technology with Special Needs Students: The Views of Frontline Professionals." Emerald Publishing Group. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives 57.6 (2005): 539–553.

Prodigies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prodigies - Essay Example Teachers at Queensmill encouraged him to speak by taking away his art drawings so that he could ask for them when he needs them. He responded by making some sounds, which made him to eventually utter his first word paper and he finally, learned to speak when he was nine years old (Sacks, 2012). He is highly interested in American cars; Stephen became fascinated with architectural drawing of landmark London buildings. One of his teachers took him on a drawing excursion and entered his work in children’s competition, of which he won many of the awards. The media become impressed and suspicious on how a young child could sketch such masterful drawings. The interest from the local media became national when he attained eight years of age; thus, enabling him launch his lifelong career. When he turned nine, he received his first work from the Prime Minister Edward Heath to make an architectural drawing of Salisbury Cathedral. At the age of 10, Stephen embarked on his project dubbed, London alphabet, which was a group of pictures depicting landmark structures that are found in London starting from Albert hall to London zoo (HappeÃŒ  & Frith, 2009). He did many things correctly to achieve fan base, fame and financial stability that he enjoys currently. A mixture of good intuitive decisions and raw talent from that tender age was his recipe for success. He is much motivated and he feels encouraged when he makes other people feel happy thereby making him proud, he has a motto that says, â€Å"Do the best you can and never stop. He cannot live alone because he needs moral support from close family relatives; this is evident as he still lives with his mum (Sacks, 2012). Stephen is very confident and loves London. He is an ambassador for those suffering from autism and their parents. He also assists the disabled by talking to them and telling them how drawing changed his life. Wiltshire is

Administrative Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Administrative Ethics - Essay Example However, once that is established, the first dictum of the ASPA code of ethics tells us that service to the public is above service to oneself and that certainly applies in this case. If one is to remain quiet about this it is certainly possible that the boss would be very pleased and Tristate would also be very happy. Of course, there are plenty of vested interests in the construction of the mall simply because a lot of people have a lot to gain from the construction. It is basically a project worth billions of dollars to all the stakeholders and they are essentially serving themselves. Therefore, if we are to follow the code of ethics given by the ASPA, we have to consider what the best course of action would be to preserve the interest of the public. In this case, we can come with two different options of which the first option would be to report the matter to the higher authorities and see what they decide to do with it. Reports to the committee or reports to the council about the incident could be very useful in making sure that the right people have the right information about what is going on concerning the megamall project. In fact, the information could even be taken to the media since that would be more than likely to put an immediate halt to the process. The second option would be to see if the construction of the mall is really towards the benefit of the public. For example, there are many jobs to be created in the mall for the local community with white collar positions such store managers, financial accountants, legal advisors, logistics managers and several other managerial positions that would be needed by companies who setup operations in the mall. For the blue collared workers, there would be jobs in food courts, restaurants, mall security and other store positions that would do a lot for the economy of the region. Thus the public certainly has something to gain from the mall being there. The decision therefore becomes to tell or not

Possible effects of ginseng on blood glucose in diabetic patients Essay

Possible effects of ginseng on blood glucose in diabetic patients - Essay Example The plant is cultivated for its man shaped roots which form an important diet supplement in Asian countries and United States. Historical records reveal the use of ginseng root for effectively treating diseases with symptoms similar to diabetes. However, researches to investigate the antidiabetic effect of Ginseng root began only in the first half of 20th century. Studies conducted by Japanese scientists on the root of Ginseng in the 1920s led to reports confirming the traditional claims of Ginseng root being effective in reducing baseline blood glucose and alleviating hyperglycemia caused as a consequence of high intake of glucose. Ever since numerous in vitro studies, animal trials, clinical trials on the root and root extracts have supported the efficiency of ginseng in controlling blood sugar levels in diabetics and hence has been used for the treatment of diabetes (Xie et al., 2005). The constituents are ginseng root are 80%-90% organic and up to 10% inorganic with multiple acti ve ingredients namely saponins or ginsenosides, many carbohydrates, nitrogenous substances, phytosterols, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, peptides and organic acids. The active ingredients reported in the extracts effective in reducing blood glucose levls have been detected with ginsenosides and polysaccharides. Ginsenosides has been identified as the principal active ingredient of the plant and its concentration is highest in the leaf, followed by berry and then roots. Besides, the profile of ginsenosides with six main ginsenosides isolated from root berry and leaf is also different. Thus it has been speculated that the relative proportions of the some of these ginsenosides determines the hypoglycemic efficiency of ginseng extracts (Xie et al., 2005). Thus hypoglycemic effect of ginseng extracts has been well documented and supported by experimental evidences. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the effect of ginseng on blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. METHOD PARTICIPANTS 5 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus with mean values of age, BMI and weight being 62, 29kg/m2 and 81Kf were selected after informing them about the procedure and probable results of the experiment and obtaining their written consent. It was ensured that the Diabetes patients were reasonably controlled and were on a treatment procedure involving the drugs sulfonylurea, and a combination of sulfonylurea and metformin; which was continued during the period of experiment. Each of the participants was provided with instruction booklet to ensure that the other conditions are maintained uniform during the course of the experiment. TREATMENT The patients were given two categories of treatments; one gelatin capsule with 3g ginseng given either 40 minutes before a glucose intake of 25g of 300ml glucose or simultaneous with same concentration of glucose; both taken orally. The control treatment involved identical administration of all ingredients as in treatment group except ginseng being replaced by a placebo capsule containing corn sugar instead of ginseng. Four treatments, two tests and two controls were given to each participant in random order. PROCEDURE Maintaining every other condition of diet, activity and medication constant, participants were administered the above doses at intervals of 1 week after 10-12 hours of fasting in the morning. Each test was preceded with regular check up and complete dose of routine

Microeconomy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Microeconomy - Assignment Example In any market, it is obvious that the price of a commodity influences the demand. In the coffee market, other factors other than price do play a significant role in making a shift in coffee demand. They include Prices of other goods- this is the price individuals are willing to pay for the substitutes. Of the coffee price is higher compared to other products then the consumers will opt to purchase the substitutes There are two basic reasons put forth to explain the behavior of supply chain curve. As the production of goods is expanded, the consumers first turn to the resources and people whose opportunities costs of producing the good are lowest and only then to those whose opportunity costs are high. When the commodity price is high, the more likely the resources are relatively less efficient at producing the commodity. Secondly, it has been observed that the cost of good production rises as more of the good is produced hence the supply curve moving upward (Evans and Honkapohja 421). Much like the demand of coffee, its supply can be influenced by several shift factors of supply, which are the forces other than price that affects the quantity of the product to be supplied. When the global demand for coffee is high, its supply is good. In any way, when its demand declines in the global market then there is an automatic shift of its supply overall. Other factors include changes in technology meaning more production of the product. Changes in the price of raw materials or input resources, taxes and subsidies that are levied on the production meaning that the company can produce more of the product at cheaper costs also leads to curve

Saudi Airline Served Donkey Meat Research Paper

Saudi Airline Served Donkey Meat - Research Paper Example It has been revealed by many sources that Saudi Airline had been serving donkey meat during their flights in the past few months. 2. Reality Behind the Incident 2.1 Ignored Warnings from a Local Body In the month of June 2011, several sources reported that Saudi Airline had been serving donkey meat to their customers as a result of negligence to the warnings given by concerned authorities. A senior inspector at the Saudi Airlines supply department said that the airlines had received many warnings from Saudi Arabia’s General Food and Drugs Authority about their imports from Tunisia since the respective country was suffering from contagious diseases among their cattle (â€Å"Donkey meat on Saudi Arabian airline?†). The warnings also included aspects about the common sale of donkey and horse meat in the Arab country but the Saudi Airlines management did not pay attention to any of these warnings and reports. The senior inspector further said that these warnings made the ai rline stop importing meat from Tunisia when it had already been served to their customers for nearly a month. However, Chusid stated that the donkey meat was being served as beef and it continued for more than a single month. Alongside the possibility of it being donkey meat, the presence of diseased meat in Tunisia also did not alarm the authorities to stop the supply of the meat on an urgent basis. He stated that one of the reasons for such a late reaction can be the low price for which the meat was being bought. One factor that may have led to the lowering price of the meat was that the meat was near its expiration dates. Therefore, it can be stated that low priced meat was preferred by the management irrespective of the animal it came from. Lesser expense on the purchase of food might have increased their revenues but can certainly cause a crash in their customer loyalty. 2.2 Unexpected Behavior from a 3-Star Airline Saudi Airlines is a 3-Star airline (â€Å"The World’s 3-Star Airlines†). As per the standards of SkyTrax that has been set to provide rating for different airlines, 3-Star airlines provide â€Å"satisfactory standard† of mission critical services in numerous travel categories†. Food is one of the most important categories in the rating of any airline. Donkey meat is not expected to be served by any airline and definitely not from a 3-Star one as it is expected to meet certain criteria. Customers avail the services of airlines on the basis of their ratings; such irresponsible and appalling behavior from a 3-Star airline makes the customers doubt the credibility of the ratings, along with the respective airline. Chusid stated that it could not be known from the reporting of the local newspapers if it was served to the business class, the economy class or both. 2.3 Prohibition to Eat Donkey Meat in the Country’s Religion Saudi Airlines is owned by Muslims and is considered to be flag carrier airline of a Muslim c ountry, Saudi Arabia. Muslims follow the religion of Islam; Islam has allowed some foods, whereas some types of foods are forbidden for its followers. Donkey meat is considered to be forbidden to be eaten by Muslims (â€Å"The Fiqh of Halal and Haram Animals†). Their Holy Book of Quran states that these animals are designated for being ridden on, not for consumption. The usage of a forbidden meat in an airline of Muslim origin

Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Knowledge Management - Essay Example There are no doubts in the fact that the business environment of this globalised world has been changed radically due to the revolution that the world has witnessed in information technology. The marketplace has become increasingly competitive, competition is becoming cutthroat, suppliers have become intelligent, customers have become more demanding, and substitutes are increasing in number. General Electric is the only corporation which has been able to survive amongst the top 10 companies that appeared on the Dow Jones Index in 1900. Furthermore, only four out of the Fortune 500 companies of 1900 were able to make it to the 21st century (Davenport & Prusak, 2000, pp. 20-21). It appears that the marketplace is now operating on the principle that used to govern the earliest human societies, â€Å"survival of the fittest†. Alice Carol once wrote something which perfectly depicts the business environment of today. â€Å"Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep you in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that† (Rao, 2005, p. 36). In order to ensure that organisations are â€Å"running twice as fast†, they have come up with a variety of procedures and techniques to improve their profitability, productivity and exploit all possible opportunities. Knowledge management is amongst one of them. The raw material, which was made available to them, included steel drums, logs, pontoons, and some rope. However, the real catch was that these managers, from different countries, were not allowed to communicate with uttering a single word from their mouth (Voelpel & Han, 2005, pp. 55-56). Therefore, the communication was talking place with the help of diagrams and sentences on the flip charts.

Video Game Effect Essay Example for Free

Video Game Effect Essay There are millions of people who play highly controversial games like Grand Theft Auto and other violence video games, realize that it is a game and do not do things they do in the game in real life. If people believe that video games cause behavior problems, they are underlying issues with the gamer himself, and not with the software, but according to American Psychological Association, almost ninety percent of kids between the ages eight and sixteen are addicted to video game especially the violent one. The average girls spends almost six to eight hour week’s playing video games which does not sound bad comparing to boys who spends an average of thirteen hours a week. Some parents reported that video games only describe virtual reality, and should not translate into real world problem. However, children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with which they classify themselves with. In all violent video games, players are often required to take point of view of the shooter or perpetrator, which show a change of their behavior. Study shows that repetition increases learning and video games required repetition in order to master control characters movement. If the game is violent, then the effect is a behavioral practice for a violent activity. These children who are involve in playing violent video games are more aggressive than who are not involve with these game, which at some point of their life, they will get heart or might die because of their action. Recently, parents become unaware with their kids behavior in real life. Some of them let their kids do whatever they like to do like playing violent video games for long hours or watching brutal shows on television. Report by American Psychological Association â€Å"disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems, because the choices people make cause violent behavior. Video games, even the violent once, can be good experience. † But parents need to teach their kids those video games need to be separate from reality. The choices they make in their daily life have absolutely nothing to do with video games. In fact they may be able to take out any aggressions that they have on a video game, rather than go out and beat someone up, that what their parents believe, but what they do not know is playing video game frequently for long hours has a huge negative on kids because it feed their brain with aggression, violence, and fighting which creates problems such as poor social skills from kids to their parents and the outside world. Sociology studies shows that boys by the age of twenty-one had spend more than 10000 hours or more just by playing video games American Psychological Association wrote â€Å"97% between the age 12 to 17 in the US played video game†¦ top 10 out of 20 were violent. † USA today made study twenty years ago about sixty percent of American family had sat down as family dinners, same study last year the number drop down to twenty percent. Because kids are spending their times on video game, it creates huge problems such as poor social skills, poor grade in school, and live in hostile environment. Psychologist concludes, that video game is nature requirement activities, because it based on reward system and as human we try to be satisfied and achieved all requirements. For example, in video game Mafia 2, the character is required to rob bank which is the basic objective. But if the player kills all securities without triggering the alarm, the player will receive bounce. Since all players love to achieve more, they will do the mission, after completing the mission they will play it again in order to get the bounces. If parents are worried that their children are addicted to violent video game and spending so much time playing it, they should set limits, like playing video game for an hour after completing their homework, also try to encourage their children to play outside, and do other activity. Parents must check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to learn about the video game’s content and what age range it belongs to. Parents should strongly monitor their children about video games that they are buying, and from online games. Violent video games have been blamed for increase bullying, assaulting women, and school shooting, because violent games teach children that violence is way to solve problems and it is acceptable in this world. Studied showed that sixty percent of middle school children who played at least one video game that rated mature has hit, beat, and assault other students. Also it shows that students who committed this violence act were enjoying inflected pain and become less forgiving. For example, in Bully the character have to fight with teacher and other student in order to be popular in school. In other word, this video game encourages kids to be disrespectful to the elder and to the other student. Female in violent video games are mostly present as explore to sexual contact, like being rape, get killed, and thrown behind the bushes. What make it ironic is the player is rewarded by getting some extra feature. For example, in LA Noire the character is homicide, in one of his chapter the player must solve several of cases that women been rape, nude, murder, and thrown in dumpster or tree. In 1998 study shows that thirty percent of violent video games involve women been attacked and rape. Another example, in Grand Theft Auto, which considers one of the best seller games in 2008, player must gain money to be able to buy armor or guns so the player will target female for two reasons. First, they carry more cash, and second they weak. Schools shooting have been connected to shooting video games. Students who have been exposed to violent video games held more violent attitudes, had more hostile personalities, were less forgiveness, and believed that being sadistic with other is normal. Seung-Hui Cho the student who opened fire at Virginia Tech incident. He was addicted to shooting game called Counter Strike, the objective of that game is to kill the other team where character are allowed to buy guns, armor, and grenade. Every time the character kill member of the other team he rewarded with money. If parents and schools are affected by kids who play violent video games for long hours, it means media and society are affected too. Societies are concern with violence and media including the internet have extend worlds of video game, especially the violent one, such as the Hitman series, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and more. The character in video games may get away when he committed crime or brutal events. As adults they know the different between real life and fiction one, but kids do not know that. Kids might steal money or attack other kids believing they will get away. For example, in Grand Theft Auto player can steal car, run over pedestrian, and hit another car. With kind action the police well attempt to arrest you character. However, if the character were able to drive fast or hide inside building for couple of minutes police will ignore you and let you free.

Mathematics in Daily Life Essay Example for Free

Mathematics in Daily Life Essay People use math in their daily life. When you go to the grocery story you have to find out if you have enough money. When there are sales how much money it is and how much you save!! People use math every day. You use math whenever money, time, weight, height, calories or distance are involved for starters. Money You are going to book a hotel room for a trip. You have a coupon for a 15% discount. The rate is $120 before your discount. What is your rate ($102) and is it better than the internet rate, of $99.95? You will also want to consider the 10% hotel tax rate and the fees charged by the internet travel site (tax + $5.00.) With tax the room with the coupon is now $112.20, but with taxes and fees the rate for the internet room is $114.95. Good thing we know math. Time You get home at 4:15pm and you have a friend coming to pick you up to go to a party at 8:30. If you need to switch the laundry (10min), walk the dog (20min), take out the trash (15min), cook and eat dinner (60min) and do the dishes (20 min). How much time do you have to pick out clothes (?), shower (10min), iron clothes (10min), do your hair (?), do makeup (?), find shoes (?) and if you do the laundry first will there be enough time to use a piece of clothing that you put in the dryer earlier? Weight Your child is 4 and weighs 35lb and has tended to be of average weight/height. You want to buy something for your child that will hold up to 75lb. How many other kids can play on the item also? If 11 year olds weigh about 77lbs how long will he be able to use the item? Height If you have a 9ft ceilings,your tree topper is 7 tall and your tree stand adds 9 in height, what is the tallest Christmas tree you can fit? What if you get an artificial tree with its own stand that adds 0 to the height? Calories If you are serving a 600 calorie meal and you want to serve spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, wine and desert you will need to know how much they all are. 1 serving of spaghetti (5oz) is about 182c and sauce adds another 93c. Salad is only 17c a serving but dressing adds calories. If you let people add their own they tend to use two servings. Ranch adds 73c per serving , Italian only has 43c. Garlic bread is 170c per piece. You want to serve either tiramisu or poached pears for dessert. Tiramisu is about 450c per serving and the pears would be about 112xc per pear. The wine adds about 120c per glass and most people will have 2 glasses. What dessert should you serve? Does changing the dressing or adding it to the salad (so you limit the amount people get) change anything? What if you only serve wine with dinner (1 glass) and coffee (black = 0c, cream + 39c, whole milk + 18c, skim milk + 11c, sugar + 18c) with dessert? What if you serve smaller portions? Distance If you average 50mph on a day long trip and you need to go about 420 miles to visit your grandparents, how long will you be driving. If you stop for 30min for lunch and have two buy gas/use restroom/walk around breaks that are about 10-15min long, what time will you arrive if you leave at 7am? If you need to be there by 3pm, what time do you need to get going?

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Health Promotion is the process of motivating people and empowering communities to adapt lifestyle and behavioural changes to improve their health. This process involves various interventions to reach individuals, high-risk groups, communities, health sectors and law makers to engage in adapting behaviours relative to improved health and wellness. Disease Prevention concentrates on ways or strategies to lessen the risk of growing continual illnesses and other incidence of morbidities. It consists of different levels of prevention that involves measures to eradicate diseases, diagnose diseases, learn the causal factors and signs to look after, treatment, rehabilitation and reduction of disability to live a normal lifestyle as possible. Health promotion and disease prevention addresses different health determinants (personal, social, environmental, economic factors) that affect health status which changes manageable risk behaviours. There are different approaches for health promotion that aims to improve health by bringing change in an individuals health perspective and that of the community. These are: 1) Medical, 2) Lifestyle Behavioural, 3) Social/Political 4) Environmental, 5) Educational Empowerment. An attempt to change health perspective amongst individual is by communicating messages that is relevant to them. For a positive change to arise, people should understand why an area of concern is significant and that the practices different from their current ones need to be pursued. I. Initiatives for Disease Prevention (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Prevention) Primary Prevention It focuses on preventing the onset of the diseases. That means minimizing exposure to hazards and increase immunity/resistance to diseases that can affect an individuals health. Of all the disease prevention levels, primary prevention targets larger populations. Example: Health campaigns, encouraging children with regular tooth brushing to avoid tooth decay, improving physical activities, mass media campaigns. Increasing knowledge through education. Promote lifestyle changes. Mandating health policies (use of personal protective equipment, no smoking, liquor ban). Immunization programs. Health programs for high-risk groups (Maori, youth, children under five years, non-immune migrants). Handwashing to avoid contamination. Secondary Prevention/Early Detection It aims to detect diseases before any manifestations and early treatment to control the progress of the disease. Hence, reduce complications and preventing relapse. Interventions include early diagnosis through screening and teaching people early signs of disease and what symptoms to watch for. Example: Regular GP visits, routine blood sugar monitoring, screening tests (Pap Smear, Newborn Screening, HIV, Blood tests, Colonoscopy, Mammography), chemoprophylaxis to prevent infection (administering antibiotics) Tertiary Prevention It is concerned on rehabilitation and reduce disability for re/irreversible conditions and late stage diseases. The goal of tertiary prevention is to improve a persons quality of life, providing comfort, and reduce suffering. Example: Physical therapy, Cardiac rehabilitation following heart surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), stroke rehabilitation, follow-up examinations to identify metastasis, support groups, hospice care, palliative care. Continuous research for better treatment. II. Initiatives for Health Promotion Approaches (Medical, Lifestyle Behavioural, Social/Political, Environmental, Educational Empowerment) Lifestyle Behavioural Approach It aims to influence high risk people of developing sedentary lifestyle to adapt healthy lifestyle to improve health. This approach implies that each individual is responsible for their health. Example: Health promotions about proper nutrition, adequate rest, increase physical activity. Smoking and substance cessation programs. Mass media campaigns. Community centres providing various physical activity programs open to locals Educational Empowerment Approach It provides people thorough information and hones their decision making skills to choose healthy living. With greater understanding of importance of health comes change in attitude followed by a change in behavior. Example: Providing education material of cause and effects of health behaviours, counseling, group discussions, health related videos, health promotion in school setting Social/Political Approach It targets group of people or community rather than individuals. It requires support from the policy makers to formulate and implement policies to promote health. The commitment of the government to promote health policies will engage the people in the implementation of the said policies. Example: No smoking policy in public areas, within school, hospital, and work premises. Increasing tax on cigarettes/tobacco and alcoholic beverages. Anti-smoking media advertisements. Designate areas where cigarettes can be sold and a policy against sales to minors. Government subsidies on Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Food labels on imported products. The need for GP prescription for access on use of certain medications. Conclusion Disease prevention compliments health promotion efforts. Prevention is more efficient and cost effective rather than treatment. Health promotion provides people increase knowledge and understanding of the significance of taking control over their health to improve wellness. When diseases are prevented, it results to prolonged longevity of life. There will be increase independence with care, less reliance to long-term treatment, less hospitalization which means less healthcare expenditure. By choosing to address on the underlying health determinants the health problems can be lessened. Morbidity and mortality can be minimized by modifying risk factors. There is a link between people and its environment, working together as a society has a greater impact on health. Health promotion is a shared responsibility to contribute on health changes to live a purposeful and enjoyable life for everyone. REFERENCES Whoint. (2017). World Health Organization. Retrieved25 January, 2017, from http://www.who.int/topics/health_promotion/en/ Ruralhealthinfoorg. (2017). Ruralhealthinfoorg. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/community-health/health-promotion/1/definition Iwhonca. (2017). Iwhonca. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from https://www.iwh.on.ca/wrmb/primary-secondary-and-tertiary-prevention Afmcca. (2017). Afmcca. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from http://phprimer.afmc.ca/Part1-TheoryThinkingAboutHealth/Chapter4BasicConceptsInPreventionSurveillanceAndHealthPromotion/Thestagesofprevention Uottawaca. (2017). Uottawaca. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from https://www.med.uottawa.ca/sim/data/Prevention_e.htm Vincesalibacom. (2017). Vincesalibacom. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from http://vincesaliba.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/02_Approaches_to_Health_Promotion.22350043.pdf Slidesharenet. (2017). Slidesharenet. Retrieved 25 January, 2017, from http://www.slideshare.net/snaptite/strategies-for-promoting-health

Hip Hop :: Rap Music Hip-hop essays research papers

Hip-hop as a musical form began among the youth of South Bronx, New York in the mid- 1970’s. Individuals such Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash were some of the early pioneers of this art form.(Fernando 43) Through their performances at clubs and promotion of the music, hip-hop consistently gained in popularity throughout the rest of the 1970’s. The first commercial success for hip-hop was a song â€Å"Rapper's Delight† by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979.(Potter 45) This helped bring hip-hop into the national spotlight. The 1980’s saw the continued success of hip-hop with many artists such as Run DMC (who had the first rap album to go gold in 1984), L.L. Cool J, Fat Boys, and west coast rappers Ice-T and N.W.A becoming popular. Today, in the late 1990’s rap music continues to be a prominent and important aspect of African- American culture. Hip-hop was a way for youths in black inner city neighborhoods to express what they were feeling, seeing, and living and it became a form of entertainment. Hanging out with friends and rapping or listening to others rap kept black youths out of trouble in the dangerous neighborhoods in which they lived. The dominant culture did not have a type of music that filled the needs of these youth, so they created their own. So, hip-hop originally emerged as a way "for [black] inner city youth to express their everyday life and struggles" (VOT, 125). Hip-hop is now seen as a subculture that, includes a large number of middle to upper white class youths, which have grown to support and appreciate it. Many youth in America today are considered part of the hip-hop subculture because they share a common love for a type of music that combines catchy beats with rhythmic music and thoughtful lyrics to create songs with a distinct political stance. Hip-hop lyrics are about the problems rappers have seen, such as poverty, crime, violence, racism, poor living conditions, drugs, alcoholism, corruption, and prostitution. These are serious problems that many within the hip-hop subculture believe are being ignored by mainstream America. Those within the subculture recognize and acknowledge that these problems exist. Those within this subculture consider "the other group" to be those people who do not understand hip-hop and the message its artists are trying to send. The suppresser, or opposition, is the dominant culture, because it ignores these problems and perhaps even acts as a catalyst for some of them.

Immigration and Immigrants in America Essay -- American History

Immigration and Immigrants in America Most Americans place their pride in being apart of a country where a man can start at the bottom and work his way to the top. We also stress the fact that we are â€Å"all created equal† with â€Å"certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.† (Jefferson 45) During the early 1900s white Americans picked and chose who they saw fit to live in America and become an American. â€Å"Those that separate the desirable from the undesirable citizen or neighbor are individual rather than race.† (Abbott 307) In the 1900s the desired immigrant was one who spoke English and practiced customs who were similar to ours. Whereas an undesirable was one whose â€Å"customs he (Americans) understood, whose language is quite unrelated to English, the American finds â€Å"strange† and even â€Å"suspicious†.† (Abbott 307) The biggest debate today would be what could the individual/race can contribute to the American economy. â€Å"The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas and form new opinions.† (Crevecoeur 26) With Crevecoeur’s definition anyone with half of a brain could be an American. This statement is basically contradicted by everything that is American. American society only wants people that can contribute to our economy. For decades people in America were sure of two things concerning immigrants. They came for the opportunity to build a better life for their families and they would not seek nor would they accept a handout. The drive and attitude of immigrants who came to America during the nineteen twenties through the nineteen sixties built strong work ethics that created our now famous American melting pot. But for the past thir... ...d to the building of America; Therefore other races can only but add on to the good things that are happening in America. Works Cited Abbot, Grace. â€Å"The Immigrants Place in a Social Program.† Primis. Michigan: McGraw-Hill, 1997. 304-309 Crevecoeur, Hector St. Jean De. â€Å"What is an American?† Primis. Michigan: McGraw-Hill, 1992. 23-40 Hall, Prescott F. â€Å"The Future of American Ideals† Primis. Michigan: McGraw-Hill. 300-303 Thompson, Ginger. â€Å"U.S. and Mexico to Open Talks on Freer Migration for Workers.† Handout from newspaper. **no date or name on handout*** Ward, Robert De Courcey. â€Å"Race Betterment and Our Immigration Law.† Proceedings of the First National Conference on Race Betterment, January 8,9,10,11,12,Battle Creek, Michigan. Battle Creek: Gage, 1914. 543-544, 545 CD-ROM. American Identity Explorer Immigration and Migration. McGraw-Hill, 2000.

The Trebuchet Essay examples -- medieval siege machine

Used by castle commanders during times of peace to hurl roses to ladies during tournaments, trebuchets proved a deadly weapon in the field of ancient warfare. Flinging a wide variety of objects hundreds of yards, the trebuchet became the weapon of choice for laying siege to a castle. Its incredible range could often place it beyond the effectual defense range of the castle archers, thereby permitting the besiegers to destroy the defender's walls with little interference. During extended sieges, trebuchets were often used to hurl large quantities of dung, dead animals, and other such items to encourage disease throughout the besieged city. Trebuchets earned a reputation for being much more accurate and precise than their onager and catapult counterparts. Not only was this accuracy a benefit, but being based on rotational motion and leverage rather than torsion (spring power) and lacking in a throwing arm stop, the trebuchet proved a much safer alternative for the personnel operating it. Onagers and Mangonels would literally explode on occasion when the torsion proved too great or a crack developed in the throwing arm due to the rapid stops it experienced. All in all, the Trebuchet was a fearsome weapon of mass destruction during the Middle Ages, a force to be reckoned with. Trebuchets only lost favor when cannons emerged, and the primary benefit of the cannon that the trebuchet lacked was not in fact power, but rather mobility. Smaller, more maneuverable cannons rapidly overran the position of the trebuchet in most armies across the world. Warwolf, the legendary trebuchet built by the English Army to destroy Castle Urquhart, which was located in the Highlands of Scotland, on the shores of the also infamous Loch Ness. Par... ...elease and a more horizontal trajectory, with higher velocity. In an attempt to better understand the components of the trebuchet and to permit the viewer a better idea of the manner in which the firing of a trebuchet occurs, a trebuchet constructed entirely of K-nex was built this past week. The counterweight consisted of 5000 steel bb's wrapped in plastic and duct tape, while the sling itself was made of duct tape and twine. The remaineder of the trebuchet, including the throwing arm, were constructed purely from K-nex. Standing some 3 feet tall, this trebuchet could repeatedly launch a 2-3oz object in excess of 20 feet. Lengthening the sling proved valuable, increasing velocity and range considerably. However, a point was reached at which the sling length could be said to be optimized, and lengthening it further only created unpredictable release angles.

Importance of a Budget to a School

A budget can be defined as an itemized listing of the amount of all estimated revenue or income which the school anticipates receiving, along with a listing of the amount of all estimated costs and expenses that will be incurred during a given period of time (Wango Geoffrey, 2009:211). A school budget can be defined as a document or statement outlining a school’s revenue (income) projections against expenditure. A school budget can also be defined as a financial plan of funds that a school expects to receive and the expenditure it will take to achieve its educational objectives.The head teacher is charged with the prime duty of preparing a school budget. The budget is drawn based on the Board of Governors (BOG), School Management Committee (SMC) and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) resolutions on the school development and operations. A well-prepared budget should consist of three key components namely: revenue plan, expenditure framework and educational strategy which is a long term plan. A budget is important to an educational institution in the following ways: First, Budgeting ensures that actions are carried out according to a budget plan.Through the use a budget as a standard, the school ensures that programmes are implemented according to set plans and objectives. The actual performance is measured against budgeted performance. Secondly, a budget facilitates proper administration of financial revenues and other school resources. A budget is the basis for accounting for funds spent to achieve educational objectives. The budget also inspires confidence in the parents, education officials and the school community about the school’s leadership and general management.Fourthly, budgeting facilitates a systematic plan for evaluating the quality and quantity of services needed in a school. Next, a budget helps in the attainment of purposes. The budget states clearly the purposes for which the school was founded. Sixth, a budget confers authority t o head teachers to source for funds and expend it on approved expenditures. Finally, it enables teachers to obtain fairly accurate estimates of receipts and expenditures. These estimates help in balancing the budget and thus prevent budgetary deficits. Importance of a Budget to a School A budget can be defined as an itemized listing of the amount of all estimated revenue or income which the school anticipates receiving, along with a listing of the amount of all estimated costs and expenses that will be incurred during a given period of time (Wango Geoffrey, 2009:211). A school budget can be defined as a document or statement outlining a school’s revenue (income) projections against expenditure. A school budget can also be defined as a financial plan of funds that a school expects to receive and the expenditure it will take to achieve its educational objectives.The head teacher is charged with the prime duty of preparing a school budget. The budget is drawn based on the Board of Governors (BOG), School Management Committee (SMC) and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) resolutions on the school development and operations. A well-prepared budget should consist of three key components namely: revenue plan, expenditure framework and educational strategy which is a long term plan. A budget is important to an educational institution in the following ways: First, Budgeting ensures that actions are carried out according to a budget plan.Through the use a budget as a standard, the school ensures that programmes are implemented according to set plans and objectives. The actual performance is measured against budgeted performance. Secondly, a budget facilitates proper administration of financial revenues and other school resources. A budget is the basis for accounting for funds spent to achieve educational objectives. The budget also inspires confidence in the parents, education officials and the school community about the school’s leadership and general management.Fourthly, budgeting facilitates a systematic plan for evaluating the quality and quantity of services needed in a school. Next, a budget helps in the attainment of purposes. The budget states clearly the purposes for which the school was founded. Sixth, a budget confers authority t o head teachers to source for funds and expend it on approved expenditures. Finally, it enables teachers to obtain fairly accurate estimates of receipts and expenditures. These estimates help in balancing the budget and thus prevent budgetary deficits.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Health And Social Care Essay

Context: Benign paroxysmal positional dizziness ( BPPV ) is characterized by brief enchantments of dizziness, sickness and/or positional nystagmus during head positional motions, and may impact on patientis activity of day-to-day lifes. Purposes: The intent of this survey was to find the efficaciousness of using postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre on curative success in patients with posterior semicircular canal BPPV ( p-BPPV ) . Puting and Design: The survey was conducted among 53 patients with p-BPPV between the ages of 27 and 68 old ages old, at Khatamol Anbia infirmary in Zahedan metropolis, Iran. Materials and Methods: At first, patients who complained of positional dizzinesss were examined by Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre to find the being of p-BPPV and so, Epley manoeuvre was performed for them. These patients were indiscriminately divided in two groups based on the prescribed postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre, one group with postural limitations and the 2nd with no limitations. Datas Analysis: Chi-square trial was performed to compare two groups ‘ results. Consequences: Consequences did non demo any important difference between with and without limitation groups. Decision: In general, despite of earlier suggestions about reding postural limitation after Epley manoeuvre for patients with p-BPPV, the present survey showed that these instructions had no important consequence on the patients ‘ intervention results. Hence, as using any limitation might has a direct consequence on patients ‘ quality of life, so this issue should be noticed in intervention plans for patients with p-BPPV. Keywords: Benign paroxysmal positional dizziness, Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre, Epley manoeuvre, Postural limitation, dizziness. Introduction Benign paroxysmal positional dizziness ( BPPV ) is one of the most common diseases of the interior ear, reported in the literature as being responsible for about 17 % of the clinical diagnosings of giddiness [ 1 ] and was foremost described in 1921 by Barany [ 2 ] . It is characterized by brief onslaughts of dizziness, sickness and/or positional nystagmus during caput motions. Vertigo enchantment makes a obscure feeling of floating-like giddiness and may go on for hours, or even yearss. The perennial nature and clinical badness of BPPV may impact the patientis activity of day-to-day lifes [ 3 ] . BPPV may be found in all age ranges, but it increases with aging and its extremum of incidence is within 50 and 70 old ages [ 4 ] . BPPV may be resulted from job in any semicircular canal ( SCC ) , and most often from the posterior semicircular canal ( p-SCC ) [ 2 ] . In this instance, dizziness largely is manifested when lying down in bed and particularly, with caput rotary motion to affect ed side. The natural clinical class of BPPV is self-limited and by and large does non react to antivertigo drugs. Dix and Hallpike in 1952 described in item the marks and symptoms of BPPV ( the descriptive term of ibenign paroxysmal positioning vertigoi foremost used by these writers ) . They besides proposed the Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre to arouse the dizziness onslaught and corroborate the diagnosing [ 2 ] . There are assorted interventions for BPPV including ; the canalith repositioning process ( CRP ) , libratory manoeuvres, Semont manoeuvre, vestibular addiction preparation, and surgical interventions such as remarkable neurectomy or occlusion of posterior semicircular canal [ 2 ] . The most common manoeuvre is the CRP or Epley manoeuvre which is based on the canalolithiasis theory [ 6 ] . There is some contention about the rate of intervention effects by Epley manoeuvre in different surveies [ 7-18 ] .This variableness might be caused by different techniques used in these surveies. Significant differences in these techniques are ( 1 ) placement and intermission continuance in each place, ( 2 ) the usage of mastoid oscillation, and ( 3 ) postural limitation after manoeuvre. Some writers proposed using postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre to forestall symptoms ‘ backslidings. In this instance the patient is instructed to avoid caput and bole motion, utilizing a cervix neckband and kiping in semi-seated place, with the caput inclined at 45 grade from the horizontal program for two yearss. Then, in the 5 subsequent yearss, the patient is instructed to avoid sleeping over the affected ear. However, there are some contentions about the efficaciousness of these postural limitations on meeting intervention ends in patients with BPPV [ 9-14 ] . This survey was done to look into the efficaciousness of using postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre on curative success in patients with p-BPPV in Zahedan, the centre of Sistan and Baluchestan state at southeasterly Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS -Subjects and Procedure This survey was performed from March 2005 to September 2007, in rhinolaryngology clinic of Khatamol Anbia infirmary in Zahedan metropolis. Otologic, neurologic and audiometric scrutinies were performed on patients who ab initio reported vertigo symptoms. Then, Dix-Hallpike trial was performed for diagnosing of p-BPPV on these patients except for whom with history of drug intervention. Besides, presence of nystagmus was detected by have oning a Frenzle Glasses during Dix-Hallpike trial. The Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre was done by an experient clinician while patient sitting on the bed. Then the clinician rotated the patient ‘s caput to one side, and quickly changed his/her sitting place to a lying one, while caput hanging 45 degree below skyline, with each ear alternately undermost [ Figure – 1 ] . A positive response was considered when a explosion of dizziness accompanied by a characteristic nystagmus of p-SCC. 57 patients icluding 31 female and 26 male with the ages from 27 to 68 old ages old ( Mean ; 43 ) who had positive Dix-Hallpike partcipated in the survey. Then, the patients were indiscriminately assigned in two groups based on the considered intervention method. -Treatment method CRP begins with the patient sitting on the scrutiny tabular array with the caput turned 45 grade to the affected ear. Then the patientis organic structure is rapidly brought backwards, into a little head-hanging place, maintaining the caput turned to the same side. The following phase includes revolving the caput easy towards the unaffected ear, which is now undermost. Then the patient is rolled to a side-lying place with the caput turned 45 grade more towards the same ( unaffected ) ear and downward to the floor. Finally, the patient is brought easy back to the sitting place [ Figure – 2 ] . Harmonizing to the intervention method, the patients in this survey were indiscriminately assigned in two groups ; first group including 29 patients who recived postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre and the 2nd group dwelling of 28 patients who had no limitations after the manoeuvre. Then, one hebdomad after intervention manoeuvre, the patients were followed up and evaluated once more utilizing the Dix-Hallpike trial by another tester. Besides there was losing of 3 patients from the first and 1 from 2nd group due to non coming back for rating. Finally, negative Dix-Hallpike ( symptomless ) was considered merely for patients who had no dizziness symptoms and nystamus This survey was confirmed by the local ethic commission and the informed consent was taken from all topics. Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square trial to compare between group differences. Consequences Distribution of the patients in two groups has been shown based on the gender and affected ear in [ Table, 1 ] . 84 per centum of the patients in the first group ( group with limitations ) and 78 per centum of the 2nd group patients ( group without limitations ) were improved after intervention and their Dix-Hallpike trial was negative ( symptomless ) . The post-maneuver consequences for two groups are indicated in [ Table, 2 ] . However, the intervention outcomes did non demo a statistically important difference between two groups ( P & gt ; 0.05 ) . Discussion In general, this survey was conducted to look into the efficaciousness of using postural limitation after Epley manoeuvre in patients with p-BPPV. Our survey findings were similar to the surveies conducted by Nuti, 2000 [ 11 ] , Simoceli, 2004 [ 14 ] , Moon & A ; Gananca, 2005 [ 10 ] , [ 12 ] . In their surveies, Nuti and collegues Epley manoeuvre for p-BPPV patients alonghwith some postural limitations and concluded that these limitations have no consequence upon intervention end products. [ 11 ] Besides, a survey conducted by Simoceli et al [ 14 ] showed that Post-maneuver limitations do non heighten the efficaciousness of Epley Maneuver for BPPV management.Our findings is similar to this survey, with this presentment that patients in Simoceli et Al survey were reassessed during 72 +/- 24 hours after manoeuvre. Consequences of the survey by Gananca et al [ 12 ] showed that utilizing from postural limitations in patients with p-BPPV did non act upon on their result steps, one hebdomad after a alone Epley manoeuvre. Moon et al [ 10 ] used modified Epley in intervention of p-BPPV and prescribed postural limitation after this manoeuvre. Besides, their findings showed that using postural limitation did non hold a important consequence on the concluding intervention results for p-BPPV patients. Burak in 2006, investigated the efficaciousness of postural limitation after modified Epley manoeuvre in handling p-BPPV. Consequences showed that postural limitation enhances the curative consequence of the modified Epley manoeuvre in the intervention of p-BPPV and should be applied in immune instances. [ 13 ] Although both groups were improved by having Epley Maneuver, this survey showed that adding postural limitations after Epley manoeuvre had no more important effects on patients with p-BPPV. Therefore, as using limitation, might attach to with restrictions in patientis activity of day-to-day life and burthen some unneeded undertakings on patients and his/her household, so this issue should be noticed by doctors in be aftering intervention for patients with p-BPPV.

The Rise and “Fall” of Xerox Organization

In 1960 the Xerox Corporation was in a position where it could corner the copy machine industry for the next 15 years. Xerox had practically invented the copy machine, and had secured its dominate stake in the copy machine industry with patents. However, this security backfired on Xerox because it didn't allow them to focus on new product development. During this period, their research and development goals diminished, and the quality of their products remained the same if not worsened. The strategy Xerox had remained stagnant. Xerox found itself in the mid 1970's with a loss in profit, market share, and competitive stance. By effective supply chain management, Xerox would be able to revamp its structure. In order to confront new competitors such as Ricoh and Canon, Xerox was going to have to make major changes within its organization. First, Xerox management sought to simplify the purchasing process. By consolidating its supply base, it was able to reduce overhead, pass lower costs onto customers, improve quality of its products, and work better with suppliers. Next, the â€Å"commodity teams† were designated to reduce defect parts per million through a five step program it developed. Thirdly, internal restructuring brought about the â€Å"circle groups† which resulted in a new system of competitive benchmarking and customized products. Finally, with a new research and development approach Xerox was able to delve into new product development, bringing them brand recognition. And, with a new â€Å"central logistics and asset management† program the company was able to reduce excessive inventory and related costs.  · Determine how Xerox's strategies transformed from the late 1970's to the 1980's.  · Determine how the change in strategies and organization allowed Xerox to be competitive.  · Identify the source of guidance it received for its restructuring , and what this revealed about the advantages of a multinational firm.  · Determine how taking a global perspective make it more competitive in the global marketplace.  · Evaluate the role of global manufacturing, materials management, and R & D in better performance in the 1980's. Once Xerox found themselves in a poor competitive position in the mid to late 1970s, they were forced to make general changes in strategy and structure or organization. In the late 70s, the copier environment consisted of just a couple of competitors with a rapidly declining market share. Xerox's new strategy was segmentation-to keep their three main legs (Fuji, Rank, and Xerox) as separate entities. Therefore, structural and organizational areas were decentralized. In the 1980s, the copier environment consisted of even more competitors who had superior products at lower prices. The market was more hostile, and if Xerox didn't make a significant change in its strategies, they would lose the battle. At this stage, Xerox's strategy was aimed at streamlining supply ties and reduce production costs by improving the supply chain. Bringing together the three entities was the new centralized approach for structure and organization. Moreover, by using Fuji-Xerox as a guide to restructure, Xerox benefited by having various cultural organizations to choose from and achieving global learning. In addition, by taking on a singular identity rather than a three leg multinational, Xerox was able to capitalize on location economies in relation to the product life cycle. Therefore, both Xerox and the local suppliers were able to achieve economies of scale. Also, a global perspective resulted in more uniform products. In regards to performance, restructuring global manufacturing allowed them to deal with suppliers more effectively and to get one or a few suppliers for one global product. Effective materials management helped Xerox gain closer supplier and customer ties, which in turn reduced inventory costs. By staying in sync with customer demands and needs, Xerox's R & D division was able to come out with customized product lines, which in turn gave Xerox a first mover advantage and resulted in a stronger competitive position. Finally, the internal restructuring regarding the â€Å"quality circles† involved all areas of the company. With an encompassing implementation of the Leadership Through Quality groups, Business Area Work Group, and â€Å"Quality of WorkLife† Circles, Xerox increased in performance. By allowing workers to find quality shortfalls and generate ideas about problems, these programs allowed them to find better solutions to those problems, for example, via the process of competitive benchmarking. Our team consensus is that Xerox shouldn't have relied solely on their patents and previous technological know-how to maintain their large market share. Because of this reliance, Xerox paid less attention to quality and new product development. If they would have focused on developing newer, higher quality products, their market share would have remained the same or better once the patents expired. They should have foreseen the expiration of the patents, and been better prepared with a stronger product line and global strategy to confront the competitive market in which they were going to enter in the 1970s. The competitive benchmarking allowed them to integrate the most efficient practices of other global companies. This integration, as well as the efficient supply chain management and emphasis on quality, was a smart move which enabled Xerox an efficient structure for years to come.

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 25. Battle Worn

Plink. Plink. Plink. Beep. Beep. Beep. The many noises of the machines were slowly making their way down the hallway towards room four-oh-eight. Emotions were flooding me, my body not knowing which ones to recognize. Alice was eyeing me with apprehension, the future obvious in her mind. You're not going to like this. Alice stood up and paced back and forth, becoming impatient with the slowness of the nurse pushing Bella down the hall. I was still standing, my hand resolutely on the door, afraid to open it, afraid of what I'll see. I dove into her mind for only a fraction of a second to see that Bella was hooked up to so many machines it almost made her look like she was some sort of mechanical apparatus or contrivance. My many threads of thought were lost when I caught a scent that was unfamiliar to me, yet I knew it all the same. I finally yanked on the door, flinging it open to see Carlisle walking quietly behind the nurse, a despondent look upon his face. My eyes ignored him and everything else that was going on around the busy nurses' station. The only room I had in my brain right now, in my heart, was for the precious soul laying in the bed, beaten and battle worn. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to find the scent that would reassure me that she was still Bella, still okay†¦still mine. But, the scent was off, wrong†¦possibly vulgar. For a moment I thought there was something wrong with me, that maybe my brain was fooling me†¦tricking me, a mere product of my own mental invention. Possibly a fantastic notion ?C like her blood finally was unappealing to me. Shaking my head, I realized the only scent in the world I wished for right now was her scent, her very human, very Bella scent. My eyes followed a red tube from her arm up to a blood red bag. Blood. Not any blood, but human blood. Sitting there ?C for the taking. But the aroma was off, offensive†¦extremely unpleasant. Ignoring the now erroneous smell wafting off of her, I concentrated on her face, her bandages†¦her wrist. My teeth automatically clenched so hard that if steel were to meet them it would be ripped in half. James. Pushing my angry thoughts aside, I brought myself back to the angel, the beauty that was lying in this bed, unconscious and broken. At the sight of her my extremities felt like they were going numb. She was broken. I broke her. The nurse had finally made sure she was hooked up to all the appropriate machines, that everything was working correctly before checking her pulse and her temperature. Carlisle and Bella's doctor were standing outside the door talking. I was barely paying attention to the conversation, choosing to pick key words from their minds. She'll be fine. Probably another pint of blood. Temporary medically induced coma until she heals more. My head snapped up. Coma? †¦ Coma? What? I reached for Bella's hand, bringing it to my lips, kissing her lightly, caressing her face. Automatically I began to try and probe her mind, even though I knew the effort was useless. Maybe I could reach into her brain, pull out her thoughts. Did she forgive me? Was she okay? How was the pain? Silence. Fear bubbled like acid in my stomach. The only thing that slightly soothed my frenzied nerves was her warmth†¦her pulse in the air, on my skin. I was seeing double, watching Bella from two different views, mine and Alice's. How revolting. She didn't care much for the blood being forced into Bella's veins either. We both continued to watch Bella's check's lightly turn a tinge of pink as the blood swirled under her clear skin. Every second the pain at her broken body lashed at me. I tried to form some kind of enchantment, to make it so we could magically change places; that I could feel the pain, that it was me lying there unconscious. To think how this could have happened, how she was almost reduced to ash†¦to a cold and fiery death. The picture of a fleshless Bella entered my mind and the feeling of disgust was present on my tongue. Each second I felt like I was becoming emotional deranged. I needed an outlet, some way to focus my thoughts. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. I whipped around to see Alice flipping a tiny video in her hands. Resentment began bubbling to the surface. Without thinking I rounded on her. â€Å"What happened? How did you let this happen? Bella†¦Ã¢â‚¬  my voice was overly accusatory. My hostility began swelling in the air, slowly consuming me. Alice stepped back two steps before sitting down. She placed her head in her tiny hands and very quiet sobs escaped her lips. The afternoon's events were finally catching up to her. â€Å"After you boarded the plane†¦I saw it. Bella, in the ballet studio. I saw it all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked up at me as her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, tears that would never come. â€Å"I†¦I didn't realize it was because she planned to meet him.† â€Å"You left her alone with Jasper? Seriously†¦Jasper? Come on Alice!† I kept my voice low, not wanting to upset anyone outside this room. â€Å"Jasper can handle himself,† she cut across me. â€Å"Maybe she hadn't completely made up her mind, but when she did, she was already on her feet, running towards the exit. By the time this future presented itself to me I knew I'd be too late.† She breathed in a quick breath, trying to calm her nerves. â€Å"She wrote a letter to her mom. It was still in my hand. On a hunch I opened it. That's when I very nearly ran into you. Edward†¦ I'm†¦I'm so sorry.† â€Å"Not as sorry as I am,† I barely muttered. My anger had left as quickly as it had come on. Sorry†¦ â€Å"It's not your fault, it's mine.† I whispered. I turned to bring myself back to Bella. My eyes followed every bruise, every bump and every blackened spot. Each second little quiet explosions of pain were erupting through my body. Now, more than ever, I was vividly aware of her fragile, breakable body. How is this your fault? Alice challenged. â€Å"If it wasn't for me, she would never be in this hospital. She would be safely in Forks, probably having a nice dinner with her father. Instead†¦she's here, broken†¦comatose.† Her arm wrapped around my shoulder. â€Å"No, this is his fault.† She waved the tape in front of me. â€Å"Do you want to see what Bella was talking about?† I looked at Bella and then looked at Alice, giving her a pleading look. â€Å"Carlisle,† Alice called over her shoulder. â€Å"Excuse me, Dr. Jones.† Carlisle said politely. â€Å"Yes, of course. I'll check on Ms. Swan later,† Dr. Jones responded. Carlisle strode into the room. â€Å"Alice?† â€Å"Carlisle, will you please stay with Bella while Edward and I watch this tape?† He looked over her to see my face. I wasn't looking, my face was resolutely focused on Bella, my focal point, the one I cherished, loved and adored above all others. No, I wasn't leaving this room. â€Å"You guys go ahead,† I waved them away. Alice huffed lightly. â€Å"I'll watch it outside the hospital.† You can just watch it through my mind. â€Å"Okay,† I answered blandly. They both left me, not another thought in their minds about my decision. Carlisle had already known that I wouldn't leave her side. Not now, not when she needed me more than ever. Fear fluttered in my chest at the thought of what she might think when she does wake. Would this be the thing that finally makes her snap? Another sharp stab of pain prickled my insides. Bella continued to lay there, silent and still†¦unmoving except her tiny chest movements. There was a light rapt on the door before the Doctor walked in with his clipboard in hand. I rose, hand out. â€Å"I'm Edward Cullen. Thank you for taking care of her.† I spoke reverently, more thankful than he will ever know or understand. Love. â€Å"Yes, of course. You're welcome. Dr. Cullen wanted me to stop in and explain what will happen with her next.† â€Å"Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I pressed. Eager chap, isn't he? â€Å"She has many injuries. Her skull is fractured, she has several broken ribs and her leg was badly mangled, but we were able to fix that with surgery. A few pins will hold her bone in place until it heals,† he answered while taking her vitals. â€Å"Why isn't she waking up?† I coaxed, trying to get him to get to the coma part. â€Å"Yes, well, because of the extensive damage I have purposefully had her placed in a comatose state to help her heal. I'm not sure how long she will need to be in a coma. It could be a day, it could be several. Don't worry, she'll be okay.† Clumsy girl. You ain't kidding, I thought. â€Å"Well, thank you, Dr. Jones.† He nodded once and exited the door. He had good timing, because as soon as he shut the door a thought burst through my mind. Edward! Pay attention! I'm about to watch this video. Alice shouted from her head. They found a cord to plug into one of their laptops and were sitting outside in our car that Jasper brought back for us to use. This is going to be hard to watch, son. Please keep your cool. Carlisle warned. Sitting, I pulled Bella's hand back into mine. To watch this video, I knew I would have to feel her warmth to remind me she was still alive, that she was still with me†¦even if she was unconscious. Watching her actions like they were my own, Alice's finger slowly appeared in my vision as she pressed the play button. I felt a pang of unease. Accompanying my thoughts were Alice's and Carlisle's. A face appeared on the screen. James. I took in a heavy breath, preparing myself for the onslaught of pain†¦torture that watching this will cause me. Deep down, I probably deserve to watch this, to make me see what I did to her. â€Å"Edward, I'm so sorry we couldn't meet today, but I have a prior appointment with your Bella.† A sick laugh. â€Å"I hope you enjoy the show. Hope to†¦see you very soon.† I could hear the thoughts of revulsion radiating off of Carlisle. The screen shook, as I could imagine James placing it upon the stereo. His face was now facing the camera again. â€Å"I just got off the phone with Bella. Looks like she will be here shortly. You shouldn't have let her out of your sight. She's all mine now.† He licked his lips. My stomach jolted, I felt sickened at the thought. The screen no longer showed what he was doing, but I heard him fiddling with something. My fault, Alice thought again. Another minute had passed. I focused on Bella, reminding myself once more that she was here, safe. I heard the door crack open slowly in the video as the air conditioner thrummed quietly in the background. â€Å"Bella? Bella?† I heard a voice call out. Suddenly Bella was running through the studio, looking around in alarm. â€Å"Bella, you scared me! Don't you ever do that to me again! â€Å" There was a trill of a laugh and Bella whirled around, looking for the noise. I watched as Bella slowly walked towards something out of the camera lens' vision. There was a sudden blue light and she backed away, the light reflecting off her perfect face and her white shirt. She turned around slowly, anxiety obvious in her deep depths. Oh no, Alice thought weakly. My heart ached to watch her panic. She must have been terrified. My desire to throttle James had reached such a pitch, but there was no vampire left to kill, to rip apart and burn. Bella's eyes focused on something past the camera. â€Å"Sorry about that, Bella, but isn't it better that your mother didn't really have to be involved in all this?† His voice was mellow. He really is a cruel creature, Carlisle added to my already angry thoughts. Poison rippled through my veins. He had no right to even talk to her, to even look in her direction. I wanted to reach out and bring death to him. A sudden surge of jealousy hit me as I realized I didn't get this opportunity and never will. â€Å"Yes,† Bella answered as relief broke across her face. She was†¦relieved? My teeth met with an audible snap as I realized she was being selfless, sacrificing herself for her mother. A trait I loved in Bella, yet hated all at the same time. And she truly is a magnificent creature, Carlisle added to his previous thought. â€Å"You don't sound angry that I tricked you.† A light laugh. â€Å"I'm not.† She actually sounded brave. Brave little Bella, Alice sniffled. â€Å"How odd. You really mean it† James appeared in the picture now. He was slowly walking towards Bella. â€Å"I will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing — some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all.† He had no idea how selfless she actually was. He also had no idea how she was absolutely unique, different, not like any human he would have encountered before. He was standing a few feet away from her now, arms folded, looking at her curiously. â€Å"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?† James asked. Avenge? If only I were so lucky! The thought of bringing my teeth to his neck to rip him to pieces, slowly†¦ the satisfaction was almost overwhelming in my sick fantasy. My wish was for him to suffer my retribution and it pained me more to not be able to rip him to shreds with my bare hands. â€Å"No, I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to.† Bella's voice trembled. My heart plummeted while a sick feeling swept over me. â€Å"And what was his reply to that?† James looked hopeful at the prospect. â€Å"I don't know. I left him a letter.† I could feel it slowly burning in my pocket, I placed my free hand over the letter. It would be a keepsake, a reminder of how close this angel got to death. I should have known†¦Alice tormented. â€Å"How romantic, a last letter. And do you think he will honor it?† His voice was dripping with sarcasm marring his polite tone. â€Å"I hope so.† Bell was a fool to think I would honor that letter. Of course I would kill him. I would probably play golf with his appendages just for fun. The surge of savage pleasure rippled through me. Sometimes she is so blind, Alice stifled a small laugh, understanding exactly what I was thinking without reading my mind. â€Å"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck.† Silence. â€Å"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I talked to Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you should be when you're hiding — the place that you said you'd be. â€Å"But of course I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. I listened to your message when I got to your mother's house, but of course I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by.† Oh course, Carlisle practically shouted in his head. Realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. â€Å"Then your boyfriend got on a plane to Phoenix.† I wanted to hit myself for my stupidity! â€Å"Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And so they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff. â€Å"Very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend. Edward, isn't it?† Memories flooded me as I remembered our pointless and rambling journey to Canada, Victoria's odd behavior. Each second she was searching†¦looking. I became instantly angry at myself. Why didn't I see this? I should have known. I read his mind. He never failed†¦his special gift was tracking. Bella stayed silent. Secretly I wished she would have taunted him, called him names†¦at least argued with him. Put up a fight, even if it were a feeble attempt. â€Å"Would you mind, very much, if I left a little letter of my own for your Edward?† Sick, Alice thought angrily. His hand reached out to grab the camera. He was going to gloat†¦to show her that he was doing this to get to me. I didn't want to murder him anymore, I wanted to slice him into pieces and cook them one at a time. Feed it to the furry creatures of the forest. He readjusted the camera a few times. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add.† The camera moved closer to Bella†¦he moved closer to Bella. â€Å"Before we begin†¦I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me. â€Å"You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked — I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans — and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature.† There was an audible gasp from Alice, as she realized he was talking about her. â€Å"She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then.† He sighed. â€Å"I destroyed the old one in vengeance.† Alice's thoughts were running wild. Her mind trying to reach back into her old memories to try to find her human times. There was nothing but velvety blackness. It all makes sense now, why she was left alone. Her creator was killed before she awoke! Carlisle was fitting the puzzle pieces together in his mind. â€Å"Alice,† Bella gasped, sadness in her tone. A rush of affection came flooding out of Alice as she realized how much Bella loved her, too. â€Å"Yes, your little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually.† A growl ripped up Alice's throat at his comment. Mine wasn't far behind. Honor, scoffed Carlisle. â€Å"And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste†¦ She smelled even better than you do. Sorry — I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  To think of him even being close enough to smell her about drove me mad. I could slowly feel the savagery creeping into my veins. Many violent brutal acts flashed through my mind. The camera moved so close to Bella's perfect features that he was probably only inches away from her. Violence was struggling to break free of my body, but there was no one to fight, no one to beat. His hand reached out and grabbed a strand of her hair; he sniffed it and patted it back in place. At this, I stood, letting go of Bella's hand. Fury was bursting out of me. I wanted to inflict a punishment so brutal, so horribly unthinkable that he would have to suffer for years in horrid pain. He reached up to stroke her cheek once quickly with his thumb. The hospital cup that was lying next to Bella's bed was suddenly in my grasp, crunched like it was a soda can and slowly crumbled into little pieces. Choice swear words came shooting out of my mouth. â€Å"No,† he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, â€Å"I don't understand.† He sighed. â€Å"Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message.† Absolutely revolting, Carlisle's thoughts were almost incoherent with disgust. Slowly I could see the camera backing away from her face. Her body was quavering in fear. I brought my hand out in mid air, like I could soothe her; tell her everything would be okay, though I knew any minute that the pain would be inflicted, that she would be violently hurt and bitten by a vicious and cruel vampire. Every particle of my body was screaming in protest. The camera was circling around her†¦he was circling around her. The movement of the camera was almost like I could tell he had just crouched, preparing to spring. Her pupils dilated in terror. She bolted. In all my anger I almost laughed at the comical move. It was humorous for two reasons. One, trying to outrun a vampire? She knew better. Two, she actually feared a creature she should be afraid of. So, her braveness did have a limit. I sat back down, holding Bella's hand again. I closed my eyes, knowing the next little bit was going to be rough. I might not even make it through it all. He flew in front of Bella, where there was then a loud thud and the camera whipped around to show Bella almost slowly sliding down the glass mirror as it rippled and broke, falling to the floor. Anger throbbed through me as did sadness, pain. I wanted to make him†¦suffer. The fury that was pounding through my body was so violent it was shocking me like a jolt of electricity, each time burning me. James walked slowly towards her; the camera bringing Bella's dazed expression into view. What kind of creature†¦Carlisle was full of despair. A growl ripped up my throat, long and feral. â€Å"That's a very nice effect. I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?† Bella began crawling on the floor. Without thinking I slowly propped myself up on her bed, lightly tracing the features of her face which was now only inches from mine. How could I ever let her out of my sight? What happened next burned me so much that I begged that we could trade places, or that I could suddenly go back in time. The camera lowered, to show what his next move would be. He lifted his foot, and stomped on her leg. There was a sickening snap as Bella's scream came flying out of her mouth. I could feel an exertion of force or power slowly brewing inside me as violence pulsed through me. â€Å"Would you like to rethink your last request?† A smile obviously in his voice. With a light flick on his foot he nudged her leg while another piercing scream echoed through my brain. A cry echoed through all our thoughts at once. â€Å"Wouldn't you rather have Edward try to find me?† I would have found you, James. If I would have just arrived a little earlier I would have pulled his eyes out of his sockets and chewed them, spit them out and stomped them into the dirt. â€Å"No!† Bella barely croaked. â€Å"No, Edward, don't–â€Å" Before Bella could finish her plea she was being thrown into the broken mirrors. Through Alice's vision I could tell she had flinched, and suddenly her hand went up to cover her eyes. Not Bella†¦ Alice sighed a lament as her hand slowly slid back down her face. Each torture continued to hit me relentlessly. When my vision was restored I watched as each second the darkness ran down her face and flooded her white shirt, staining it red. Blood. Beads of blood were trickling at an alarming rate through her hair. I could remember the outrageous flavor floating on the air around her when I arrived at the studio. It was easy to ignore the thought as explosions of agony possessed me, like I was bursting with the pain of it all. I brushed my fingers lightly over her face again, a reminder she was still here, safe†¦protected. â€Å"It's entirely my fault,† I whispered to Bella. In the video her eyes began to close as James dropped the camera. The angle was not good, so the view was distorted, but that was a good thing. Bella slowly melted onto the floor, bringing her hand up to her face as protection. There was a guttural noise, the sound of flesh breaking. That's when he bit her. Seeing this, knowing how close she was to death felt like I was being pierced with scalding hot knives. This video just made it that much more horribly vivid. Each blow felt like I had been fatally wounded. As if it were my own hand, Alice reached out and pressed the stop button. I was thankful, I didn't think I could watch those painful moments when I thought she was possibly dead or dying, the memory was clear enough, no need to add to the agony†¦though I deserved it. Alice and Carlisle began talking with each other about what they just saw. I pushed their thoughts and their conversation from my mind. I couldn't think about it anymore. It was bad enough she was lying here, broken, mangled†¦bruised†¦unconscious. Grief began weighing on my heart. I wished, prayed, even that this was all just a horrible nightmare; that I could sleep so I could wake from this. My stance around Bella was a continuance of looking like a body guard in hostile territory, even though she was safe in this hospital. I felt the ripping of my heart, slowly being shredded. Halfway curling myself up on her bed, I kept my face close to hers. Kissing her every minute, just to feel the warmth on my lips. A reminder of how precious the life was that was laying here in front of me. My love†¦my existence. Each second realizing that she was my life, without her I would die. Not only would I die, I would beg for it, embrace it. Other thoughts swam through my already troubled mind. I couldn't keep her. To have her be in my life would be like keeping her in the line of danger. She deserved more than me†¦she deserved marriage, kids, a family†¦college. Each thought lashed at me, leaving angry lacerations. I couldn't leave her now, but one day I will have to leave her. It pained me to think it, to know it had to be that way, but that is the only way it could be. I loved her too much to damn her to this existence, to take away her soul. Hadn't I already been selfish enough? Hadn't Bella proven how unselfish, brave, and trusting she is already? I kissed her forehead once more as hopelessness threatened to engulf me. Hey, bro, it's me. Can I come in? I sat up. Emmett? â€Å"Come in.† He came bursting through the door with a smile on his face, which slid away quickly once he saw Bella. He noticed the blood hanging down and held his breath quickly, though it didn't bother him like it would Jasper. â€Å"Here ya go!† Emmett threw a bag towards me. Man, he looks bad. â€Å"Wash up. You look how I do when I get done fighting a grizzly.† He chuckled. â€Å"Thanks,† I rummaged through the bag, glad to see clean clothes. â€Å"Alice told me that Rene will be here in half an hour and it would probably be prudent if you didn't look like a train wreck.† Another chuckle. â€Å"Yes, I guess it would be best if I wasn't covered in her daughter's blood.† I looked back at Bella. I'll stay here with her if you want me too, Emmett added, coaxing me to clean myself. â€Å"Okay, yeah. I'll just be right in here. There's a shower†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† he interrupted. When I was in the bathroom I could feel the contacts slowly dissolving in my eyes. Having red eyes would probably scare her mother. I dug through my bag, hoping Alice would have predicted this. Bingo. Contacts. Thank you, Alice! Before I put my new contacts in, I threw all of my dirty clothes away, making sure I kept the letter she wrote me. I turned the water on hot, hoping it might actually ease some of the tension and strain I was under. At the same time, I was looking through Emmett's eyes as he watched over Bella. Though he barely knew her, he was slowly learning to love her, to appreciate who she was. It was so easy to be in Emmett's mind sometimes. I let the warm water trickle over my body, cleaning any remaining blood off of my skin. The water tinged pink for a few moments and then the luscious scent swirled down the drain. I could still feel a heavy weight on my chest, as if there was something constricting my heart from healing from the lashes that were constantly being engraved on my tethered and worn body. She was so close to death, so close to not living. Her heart†¦my heart was on the verge of never beating again. Searching for her face, I found it instantly in Emmett's view. I sighed, turned off the water and began toweling off. Rene would be here shortly and I needed to look my best. Quickly dressing, I placed the contacts in my eyes, letting them obstruct my vision once again before I exited, relieving Emmett of his duty. â€Å"Thanks,† I put my hand on his shoulder. â€Å"Oh, it's no problem,† he smiled, winked and then strode from the room. Again, I waited by her bedside, holding her hand gently, caressing her face lightly. The blood that was slowly dripping in her veins had started to mix with her blood, the scent finally beginning to smell more like Bella. The luxurious, the delicious, the palatable aroma progressively growing stronger. Then, there was a sudden awareness as I heard thoughts that were so overwhelmed with fear that they were producing nothing but hysterical ramblings. It had to be Rene. No one else in this whole hospital knew what it was like to love someone like Bella. She was different, amazing†¦wonderful. The door flew open and I stood, the doctor hurriedly following behind Rene's ever impatient noises. Rene, completely ignoring my presence, flew towards Bella, though her touch was gentle, her sobs loving. Her panicking seemed to clear my thoughts. â€Å"Oh, Bella. Bella!† she turned to face the doctor. â€Å"When will she be awake?† â€Å"I'm keeping her in a medically induced coma until I feel she has healed some.† He stated. She turned away from the doctor, her eyes finally meeting my presence. â€Å"And you must be†¦Edward?† He sure is handsome. I didn't realize Bella†¦ Oh, well, maybe I'm wrong. I tried not to smile at her thoughts. â€Å"Yes,† I held out my hand. She gripped my hand for a second before plopping down next to Bella. â€Å"My baby, please get better. I love you,† she murmured. Went through a window! I just can't believe Charlie let her leave like that. So irresponsible. I'm just going to have to take her home†¦back to Florida. And I would let her.