Need Statement

X is a socio-cultural organization     working for social reformations for over two decades. It is a registered NGO, a non-profit organization. Currently, the main thrust of the organization is drug demand reduction amongst the younger generation. Drug abuse and alcoholism are among major causes for social maladies and     they misdirect the youth to antisocial activities and terrorism. The program initiated by X is an exclusive Psycho Analytical Treatment Module, which works on the total personality of an individual (addict). The highlight of our program is craving for drugs and alcohol is erased from the mind of the addict. That prevents the relapse, which is the major cause of worry in most of the drug demand reduction program. The drug demand reduction program of X has changed the lives of many individuals, transformed and rehabilitated families. X therefore, wishes to set up a comprehensive centre for de-addiction as it is felt that with growing number of cases, makeshift arrangements are not enough. X wishes to establish a full-fledged treatment centre.   Many across the country as well as a sizeable number from abroad have enquired about and have suggested for a proper permanent centre for inpatients, which require treatment for a fairly long period. â€Å"It is better to have a world united than a world divided; but it s better to have a world divided than a world destroyed,† said Sir Winston Churchill at the time of Second World War! At that time, perhaps Mr. Churchill did not think about this new war, where the youth of all the countries will join together, the war objective being mutual destruction. Who’s fighting whom in this weaponless, ammunition less war of drug-addiction? The most unfortunate aspect of this war is youth are the Commanders and the Generals! Thousands are recruited, without sex-bias, to this army of self-annihilation.   Mostly, youth partake in this death-march, and one can often hear the beat of the muffled drums, because drug death rates among the youth are increasing alarmingly. Youth have another shameful situation to face. â€Å"Often it is the victims of peddling who are arrested and prosecuted (for solicitation) rather than the traffickers† (UNODC-2007) Youth took to the drugs at a very young age, and walked up to the grave! That is their achievement in life! They have nothing to look forward to in life! The moral collapse of the younger generation is the worst thing that can happen to any country and humanity as a whole. Constructive dynamism should be the watchwords for this generation, but they preferred the ‘warmth’ of the fire-place beside the drug-joints .To provide the complete drug statistics, will mean writing an encyclopedia. The situation is simply mind-boggling. Therefore, the goal of X Organization is to bring total reduction in drug demand among the addicts and transform our drug-afflicted society into a society that is totally liberated from drug and substance abuse and make it   morally strong to stand against the related evils under any and all circumstances. It is no use brooding over the statistics, whether drug addicts are 1 million or 10 million! The menace has assumed alarming proportions, with no signs of abating.   If it is not checked with extra-serious efforts, the disastrous results will be catastrophic!   Youth are caught in it, and the clutches are too strong. The combustible younger generation is burning itself in the fire of various types of drug addictions. The present efforts made by UNODC, Govt. agencies, medical practitioners and philanthropists in the area of drug demand reduction, are like blocking a furiously advancing avalanche with the fence of straw. Or trying to touch the moon by kite flying! Or controlling the rising flood waters of the river by filling pitchers! Statistical studies and data are no doubt needed, but it is no use digging the well when the house is on fire. When there is a war, your goal should be to win the war, no matter how you do it. The initiatives should be implemented by honest people on a massive     scale. The transformation from addiction to de-addiction is like driving a vehicle, in the reverse gear—it is slow; has to be done with extra care! â€Å"When it comes to drug abuse people within a community can be seen as belonging to three different zones. The three zones can be best compared to a traffic light. People in the green zone are those who do not use drugs presently. Those in the amber zone are the early users, who run a great risk of developing problems. Those in the red zone are persons who are addicted. People in the red zone need treatment that is expensive and requires a lot of effort, and relapses are frequent. Therefore, red zone strategies include detoxification and rehabilitation† (UNODC Thematic Pamphlets 9) Majority of the youth addicts are in the red zone! As already stated, X is a non-profit Organization, just covering up its expenses through small donations, but it has the stability and experience of two decades behind it. Some of the philanthropists have been approached and seized of the issue. The activities of the project will be divided into two years. The program chalked out is: 1. Acquisition and possession of land 2. Outpatient department of the de addiction centre will be constructed first to initiate the following activities. a) Specialist and Medical Staff. b) Medicine Room. c) Landscaping for Naturopathy. d) Herbal Garden e) Community Education Program. f) Residential facilities for inpatient treatment. Project Impact: The objective of this treatment is to provide a treatment that treats, cures, detoxifies, recovers and rehabilitates an addict. Also transforms the individual in such a manner that there is a total denial to and abstinence from Drugs, alcohol and any type of substance abuse. With the impact of the project there would be increase in the level of awareness among masses and the stakeholders that there is a technique besides customary medical techniques that can totally transform and reform an addict into a decent individual and make productive member of the society. Counseling has the dominant role to play in the cure of the youth drug-addict.   They are, improving study, deepening self-understanding, and solving personal problems, etc. Solutions and intervention: To treat youth drug-addicts is not like the treatment of patients with cold or headache. Each addict is a special person and his problems are his own and they are quite intriguing. You have to deal with a cluster of problems relating to an individual before he is cured finally. This is a job of great perseverance, apart from the medical knowledge about the treatment. Drug demand reduction is a co-operative effort. Several persons are involved in the treatment of a drug addict. The co-operation of the addict is all the more important. .Monitoring and Evaluation: Internal monitoring and evaluation of the program will be carried out by the Organization Management, evaluation staff will be appointed and trained. The Fund Utilization Certificate will be made available through a registered Chartered Accountant. Conclusion: When a drug addict is constantly nagged and abused, condemned and ostracized by society, he turns into a viler and bitter individual. In such cases showering of pity alone will not help much. Heartfelt care and concern, an understanding approach, and tender regard for feelings are necessary prerequisites to heal the inner wounds, the self-inflicted damage.   Coupled with this, everybody involved in the treatment, directly and indirectly, need to learn to forgive and forget the past of the patient in order to help him build a new identity. References: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime-Strategic Programs Framework-South Asia-2005-2007-Priority Problems –Page 4 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime-Thematic Pamphlets 9–Prevention in the Community-Role of a Community Worker. Word Count:1286

Orem

Strengths Orem’s theory provide a comprehensive base to nursing practice. It is functional in the different fields of nursing. May it be in clinical setting, education, research or administration. Moreover, this theory is as applicable for nursing by the beginning practitioner as much as the advanced clinician(George JB. , 1995). Another major strength of Orem’s theory is it’s advocacy for the use of the Nursing Process (Balabagno, et. al, 2006). Orem specifically identified the steps of this process.She also mentioned that the nursing process involves intellectual and practical phases. Limitations The ambiguity of applying theory to nursing practice may lie in the fact that one theory does not always specifically support all aspects of nursing care. Orem’s self care deficit theory may not encompass all aspects of care and needs of a specific client. For instance, some dilemma with Orem’s theory include having an unclear definition of family, the nu rse-society relationship and public education areas are weak.These issues are essential in the management and treatment plan in caring for patients. Although the family, community and environment are considered in self care action, the focus is primarily on the individual (Balabagno, et. al, 2006). Another limitation is the definition of health as being dynamic and ever changing with states ranging from health or non health, wellness or illness (Fitzpatrick JJ, 2005).This definition of health directly contradicts the experience of some patients with varying needs and levels of care requirements. One of the most obvious limitations of Orem’s theory is that throughout her work, it can be said that a limited recognition of an individual’s emotional needs is present within the theory (George JB. , 1995). It focuses more on physical care and gives lesser emphasis to psychological care. Other theories address this limitation quite adequately such as Jean Watson’s Theo ry of Caring.

Persuasive Speech About Protecting Animals

I am very pleased to be here to address the Animal Welfare Intergroup, and to discuss with you,in particular,the essential rights of animals. Even nowadays, in the most people’s eyes,animals have no consciousness,no thoughts,and no emotions . Therefore,human regard them as inferior species. People empower themselves to imprison the animals,to mistreat them,to eat them, and to kill them. Who gives the rights for human to do that?Human and animals have the same rights to live in the Earth. So today, I should say at the outset that I,like millions of citizens in China will share the view that animal welfare is an issue of very high importance.And I will speak on behalf of our friends, who also live in this planet—the animals. The current condition of many species of animals is very severe and the extinction rate of animals is increasing with an alarming speed. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),it calculated that the percentage of endang ered species as 40 percent of all organisms in 2008. Destructive human activities have led to the current rate of species extinction, which is at least 100–1,000 times higher than the expected natural rate.Although almost every country has their own laws and there are many organizations in the world to work toward the protection of endangered species. However,the work is far from done. Many countries have relatively effective laws and policies,but there is not a good way to enforce them. Therefore,destroying of habitats, killing and trading of endangered animals, eating of wild animals and mistreat of animals are still happen in the world. Do you know how many sharks died every year because people love to eat shark fins? Do you know what is the feeling of animals to be tested by human?Do you know the disasters of eating wild animals.Let me tell you the amazing data about them. There are more than seventy million of sharks died and people only killed them for their fins. Peopl e cut fins of sharks and put them back to sea. Shark can not live without their fins and their blood flow in water,sinking to the sea flow and slowly to be died. Why people are so cruel that killed sharks and only satisfy for their taste. The medical developed very fast in recently years and animals make a great contribution for medical researches. Does animals want to contribute to human medical development?Absolutely not.And why people force them and test them. Do you remember the SARS happened all over the world in 2004?A great number of people died because infected with this disease and the first one to get this disease because he ate one kind of wild animals. What can we so for animals?We can contribute to nature reserves and other wilderness areas. Habitat preservation is one of the best ways to help protect endangered animals. And we also need to buy environmentally friendly goods. Choose non-toxic cleaners and lawn care items that won't pollute streams, rivers or oceans.Avoi d any products that have been made from threatened or endangered animals. Buy foods and goods that are made from materials that do not harm endangered animals or their habitat. As you can see from this speech today, the suffering has not ended. Endless thousands of poultry. I'm sorry. That's really just kind of starting to distract me. And I got the shoe and the music going, and I couldn't concentrate there for a second. Okay. Outrageous cases of animal abuse that's just been a portion of what you've heard about today.I hope that you can see from the speech today how essential it is for the thousands and thousands and thousands of animals who are suffering endlessly, that an action be taken. Boiling alive. Humane? I don't think so. Being kicked and stomped and thrown against the wall repeatedly until you are dead. Humane? I don't think so. It is essential that we take an action to enforce animal slaughter rules and rites and regulations. Something has to be done for this billion dol lar industry will continue to go on and on without recourse. Please let's make a difference.

US Intelligence Failure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

US Intelligence Failure - Research Paper Example ver did not carry out any immediate action such as keeping the terrorist by the name Khalid al-Mihdhar from entering the US even though they even had his passport number. They took that action too when he was already in the country and even registered as well as taking flying lessons (Zegart 96). There were several reasons that cause this failure in intelligence as will be discussed below in detail. The CIA is a very bureaucratic agency and had been so since the era of the cold war. The policies that had been formulated then were never changed even after the cold war was over. This therefore meant that they had no policies and directives of how to handle the terrorism situation if it arose or what mandate they had in the whole issue. Even though Clinton had formed an Al Qaida taskforce, it only handled issues to do with Osama bin Laden and it was still not an active group and would not have known how to handle the terrorist intelligence information about the 9/11 attacks. The bureaucracy in the federal government also led to delay in intelligence decisions and legislations and hence the reason there was delay in taking action in regards to the Khalid situation. Other than bureaucracy, the budgetary allocation for the CIA was limited hence leading to a flat budget. They could not therefore afford to start investigations on the terrorism planning meeting or even follow up on the situation in Afghanistan because they had limited agents in the field. The airport surveillance would also require a lot of money and manpower resources which they had a shortage of considering the number of work they had to tackle in the whole nation. Majority of the funds was dedicated to the defense and the wars ongoing in other parts of the Middle East and hence little remaining for intelligence purposes. The CIA and other intelligence organizations had their own fair share of other internal intelligence issues to deal with that demanded immediate attention. Since they had not

Compare and contrast snow crash to the matrix Essay

Compare and contrast snow crash to the matrix - Essay Example Bob Rife’s virus from spreading, Neo in the Matrix movie does the same but his fight is directed to machines. Hiro’s fight is simple as compared to the task that Neo engages into. The Matrix movie spreads a darker picture as compared to Snow Crash because of the heroic acts that Neo has to engage into to achieve justice. This paper will compare and contrast the Snow Crash novel and The Matrix Movie. As stated above, the two works present dystopian perspectives into the future where the societies in the two works are grappling with certain problems. The two societies face problems that must be urgently solved so that people can lead happy lives. The struggles can be seen in the main actors’ engagements trying to solve these issues. However, the problems are not entirely the same as in the Snow Crash, Hiro fights against the spread of the virus while in the Matrix, Neo fights with machines. Clearly, this puts The Matrix on the higher edge in terms of the magnitude of the problem. In the movie, The Matrix (1999), the audience has been put in a future dystopian society, where human beings are living a somewhat normal life but again different because they are enslaved and are used as powering gadgets for their rulers electrical requirements. They have been imprisoned and are misused to power the sentient machines. The problem arises from the fact that the sentient machines rebel against the human population because the stormy clouds blocked the sun, which acted as their main source of power. Therefore, for them to survive they have to get power from the human body heat and this is what Neo fights vehemently. Human beings are forcibly put in pods, from where the thermal energy and bioelectricity are taken out of the human beings for use by the machines. The machines also use control the minds of the human beings using cybernetic implants. This is clear in Neo’s statement where he says, â€Å"I don't like the idea that I'm not in control o f my life† (Wachowski and Wachowski). This misuse of the human beings links them to a simulated reality known as the Matrix and is what Neo tries so hard to fight against. This heroic act is like fighting against a ruler or something superior by many standards. This virtual reality world, simulated by the program characterizes the civilized world that has enslaved the minds of human beings, but cannot comprehend this. This is clearly seen when Morpheus says, â€Å"If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain† (Wachowski and Wachowski). Stevenson’s depiction of the future in unpleasant but is not forsaken as people like the one Morpheus and Neo are determined to destroy the entire ruling class having attained enlightenment. For example, Morpheus says, â€Å"I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it† (Wachowski and W achowski). Despite the fact that there is similar injustices in Snow Crash where bleak institutions have replaced the democratic ones, the injustice is not similar because the human beings show the ability to adapt to the changes. In his work, Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson, portrays a similar dystopian that is present in The Matrix. Just like in the movie, where the existence of the machines upsets human beings, the existence of the lethal drug known as the Snow Crash makes life unbearable because of the dependence and makes Hiro, the protagonist determined to des

Casestudy of westpac Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Casestudy of westpac - Case Study Example The approach is vital in the new age development of business. Shared values are different from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) because it focuses on innovation and support and not on financial support (Drucker, 2002, p. 78). Over the years, corporate social responsibility has been viewed as a financial burden for the company because it involves the use of money in the process. However, the current development of the shared value approach will not only solve the social problem but also help the companies overcome the various challenges existing in corporate responsibilities. Westpac bank is a powerful bank in Australia with the perfect approach in both the dealing with the social issue and also handling the problem of cost. Westpac has developed several approaches in the creation of shared values that have facilitated the success of the bank. The bank engages in other sectors that were initially viewed as not related to the banking industries. The bank has been involved on s everal fronts including carbon trading with the main goal of the approach to create a shared value with the society. The bank has managed to create an impact in the society using the new model of handling social issue. Issues addressed by Westpac In developing shared values by Westpac, three areas are identified by the bank to be the focus areas. The Bank’s approach depends on the ability, to handle the issues as well as develop partnerships that facilitate the development of the community, thereby reducing the cost of the corporate action, while encouraging participation. The three main areas of focus are community partnerships, employee involvement and capacity building (Crane and Matten, 2007, p. 98). The approaches involve the creation of strategies that ensure sustainability and society improvement. One sustainable product developed by the Bank is the creation of innovative products such as everyday banking through the creation of new Accounts focusing on several issues. The development of Sense Account, which received the 2010 Australian Banking and Finance Award for innovative Banking product of the year. The product targets helping the customer to budget and save. The development of the budget process is facilitated by the use of charts for expenditure and savings. The account offers assistance during financial difficulty such assistance when unemployed to customers who are financially committed. Additionally the products cover other banks such as the St George, BankSA and the Bank of Melbourne. The focus of the products is to deliver improvement on customer experience. The argument of Porter is true because the approach used in delivery of the Sense account has led to success for both the product as both a social product and companies focus product. The success of the Sense account is based on the ability to handle the problems of the society especially planning, budgeting, and financial assistance thus facilitates the development of the societ y (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2012, p. 104). The society requires support and, if a company can borrow forms the nonprofit approach to develop success the better. Apart from the sense account, the bank is engaging in other sectors of the society such carbon trading. The engagement in carbon trading does not only help in conservation of the environment but provides an opportunity to support the community. The involvement in socially responsible investment strategies has helped in the creation of shared values in the

Marriage (ritual) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marriage (ritual) - Essay Example "Ego conjungo vos in matrimonium in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. In this prayer the priest prays that â€Å"I unite you in marriage in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost† (Keefer & Rohret 59). Priest confirms marriage by saying the above prayer in front of the wed couple. Then groom receives a ring from the priest and places it in the ring finger of bride as a ritual. Then the ceremony is followed by benedictory prayer. "If, however, in any provinces, other laudable customs and ceremonies are in use besides the foregoing in the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony, the holy Council of Trent desires that they should be retained" ( Decreta Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, De Reformation, cap. 1). (Keefer & Rohret 93) The brilliant patience shown here towards variety of ritual is easy to gain. Wedding is reparation in which the contracting parties of both sides are assumed as ministers, it is simple that its vital forms must be uttered not in Latin but should be told verbally as well. Therefore this fact also introduces certain component of deviation (Rubio 51). The second stage after pre-liminal is known as liminal and Turner quotes it as â€Å"betwixt and between†, the other way around. Now this is the stage where proper ceremony takes place and bride is formally handed over to groom by the priest. A lot of love and gifts are exchanged to celebrate this happy moment of life. This ritual is performed in presence of a priest, in Roman Catholic variant, or a minister, in the Anglican Church (Rubio 68). After the marriage the next stage is liminal stage which brings certain changes in the life of wed couple. These changes can be related to financial affairs, health, sickness and other day to day problems which change the routine life of married people. Special prayers are made for this period in the wedding ceremony in England. The prayer is said in the following words. "I, N. take thee, N. for my

The RNL company HR management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The RNL company HR management - Essay Example At the same time as this form, the employee's boss writes a review of the employee as well. When all this is complete the employee meets with his or her boss to discuss what is on both of the forms. This is not how RNL has always done things. They asked a consultant how they could improve their company's performance and the consultant suggested this kind of formal review. The results have been good from the change. RNL now is more profitable and efficient and gets much better communication from its employees about how things are done as well as how they complete their own job. Although these reviews are improving the situation, the managers of the company still don't like the fact that when they get the form it is not labeled with a person's name. This is because occasionally the things that the employees write are just mean and don't really serve any sort of constructive purpose to make the company better. If this form was not filled out anonymously the managers think this would sto p because people would not want their names associated with that and so they would only write actual issues down. The feedback that they receive is also usually not specific enough to be really useful. Management would like this to change as well maybe by adding more specific questions on the form.

Virtual Learning Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Virtual Learning Environment - Essay Example There are various advantages associated with the use of ILT and the VLE as educational learning supporting tools. Accessibility is one such advantage associated with the use of VLE, mainly for students with special needs, and for those of part time and distance learning (Herman, 2004 p120). Since the tools associated with the VLE can be accessed from any point by the students, it allows tutors to address their students through channels such as videos, voice and sounds as well as pictures. Thus, this creates conveniences for students who cannot present themselves to class due to various reasons. Students with special needs who may have difficulties attending to such classes can sit at the convenience of their rooms and access the lesson from there. Better, is the convenience created for the distance-learning students who may not be able to travel to a certain country to access the education program but can easily access it from their mother countries through VLE. Part time students ca n also attend to the lessons at their convenient time, since they may not be able to present themselves during the class time, as they may be occupied with their jobs or other activities (Herman, 2004 p133). VLE is also beneficial to students who are slow learners, since it allows them to repeat the lessons taught later on, at their own pace, so they can understand better. The other advantage associated with VLE is the interactivity it provides the parties involved in the learning process. There is a great deal of interactivity between the students and their teachers, which involves instant feedbacks given to the questions asked by the students to their teachers. The teacher can easily access the progress of the student and thus correct them instantly on the mistakes they make in the process of undertaking their assignment, as there is no time lag between the presentation of the assignment and the marking (Herman, 2004 p125). VLE affords an opportunity for students to undertake thei r learning activities in a self-directed manner, thus allowing them to understand and synthesize all the details in a particular lesson. The other element of interactivity created by VLE is the customization of the learning process and activities, whereby the students learning process are individualized, enhancing their understanding of the content of the lessons taught (Herman, 2004 p118). Since the students are involved in the actual undertaking of the activities as prescribed in the VLE learning guide, they happen to understand the content better. Communication is a great advantage provided by VLE as a learning tool. Such facilities as the bulletin boards as provided by this tool serves to enhance the communication between the student and the tutor. This facility can be utilized as a means of evaluating the sources that the students can refer to regarding the lessons and topic they are learning (Herman, 2004 p130). This facility is an effective communication tool for distance lea rning, by offering real time communication. Communication is also enhanced through group work, which is a vital and relevant part of learning for students. More important is the alerts that this facility allows the students, notifying them when the teacher is available to address their issues (Herman, 2004 p119). Communication is enhanced through a structured program thus affording the students an opportunity to undertake revision throughout the

Why do I think that movies produced from books (Anna Karenina,Dorian Essay

Why do I think that movies produced from books (Anna Karenina,Dorian Grey) are bad - Essay Example The process of converting a textual piece of art into some kind of motion picture requires a great deal of creativity and tedious conceptualization. Novels and films use different mediums in conveying the message to the readers for the novel, and to the viewers for the film adaptation. Nevertheless, and sometimes, the whole idea of film adaptation compromises several things. Movies that are produced from books have more downside in so far as pure art is concerned. First, novels are typically lengthy and requires considerable amount of time to finish reading the whole text. Condensing it into a film would mean an exclusion of some possibly crucial parts of the story, which, as a result, could twist its overall thought. Normally, films last an hour and a half, or about 90 minutes for most Hollywood blockbuster films; hence, in an effort to fit the complete theme and the idea of the novel, scenes that do not really appeal so much to the audience will be omitted. Second, the inspiration of every film adaptation is definitely not merely for art’s sake but ultimately for financial success’ sake. This is the sad truth about film adaptations in that before producers get started to invest in the adaptation rights of a novel, it is a given that the novel is viewed as something with a â€Å"bankable† story. Of course, producers would always look at the economic side of things. Nevertheless, talking about pure art and art alone, film adaptation is not the best option there is for a real artist. Both cannot be consolidated at any point as both have very different afters: films would always go for profit; novels would always go for artistry. Because of the availability of both artworks – novels and film adaptations à ¢â‚¬â€œ people are also able to compare the quality and content of each piece of artwork. Oftentimes, because film adaptations use lavish graphic arts and visual effects, plus the inevitable tweak

Current Themes in Business Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current Themes in Business - Dissertation Example Public relations is also another important aspect of social media for firms. Firms that are smart know how to use social media to make sure that they are able to create a positive public image that the customers can relate to. This is actually very important because as Ernest (2011) says, it will not matter whether a firm actively uses social media or, not, the firms will be affected by the issue, negative if it does not have a proper social media strategy in place.As has already been identified, social media can offer the firm with feedback from customers, whether positive or negative. Social media today is the best way for any firm to measure the temperature out there in the market and therefore know how to react to the issues in the market. The objective of this research is to identify the ways in which the social media is effective with regard to affecting business and to identify how business can use social media to advance their interest, serve their customers in a better way a nd inverse their profits. It will seek to identify the ways in which the modern business, big or small can benefit from the social media while at the same time, taming the negatives of the social media. In this regard, it will seek to identify both the opportunities and the threats that the social media platforms provide the modern business and then identify the ways in which the business can take advantage of those opportunities and at the same time neutralize the threats.

Effects of Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Effects of Terrorism Essay Victims of terrorist attacks by the year 1985 was at 816 people, in 2001 the number of deaths rose to 3,295 because of the attacks on the 11th of September, 2001. 2996 people died on this day. More than 1,000 people died because of acts of terror in 2003. Nobody expects this kind of stuff to happen. But since it does happy, people have to live in fear, and worry about â€Å"what if† this happens again. A lot of people are even the government are constantly asking themselves â€Å"are we ready? †. This can happen any time, and any day. There is no way to really prepare yourself since you don’t know when and what will happen next. It is believed that terrorist strike for a couple different reason. There are a lot of people in the world who hate the United States and would risk their life as a suicide bomber. They use murder, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombings to perform these attacks. â€Å"The single biggest threat to U. S. security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term,† President Barack Obama said April 11, is the possibility that terrorists might obtain a nuclear weapon. The second biggest threat to world history’s mightiest military state, it goes without saying, are terrorists without nuclear weapons but armed with box-cutters, rifles or homemade explosives. In order to solve the problem of terrorism , the root of the problem must be found. People start to apply terrorism to certain races, religions, and nationalities because the cause is not exactly known. Doing so and blaming one nation, may make them angry and want to fight back which will lead to terrorism. After the September 11 , 2001 attacks, the government knew that things had to be different. Security almost everywhere was stepped up and there was a lot of changes taking place. If you flew on an airplane before 9/11 and then flew again after, you would definitely notice the difference. There used to be a fairly fast security check out at the airports. Now, there are hours of security procedures that are required before you are able to pass security and board your flight. Simple things such as fingernail clippers could be confiscated because they pose a threat. This isn’t only limited to airports though. When you attend a large event, such as, lets say a football game, you will noticed a high presence of security there too. None of these security measures existed before terrorism. It’s all a matter of cause and effect. Terrorism has been around for a very long time, but has been on the rise in the last 10 years. Nobody knows what causes a terrorist attack. Some people say it has to do with race, nationality, or even religion. If a terrorist doesn’t like the way that a government works, that right there could be another reason. Due to all the terrorist attacks, security almost everywhere has been upped. Terrorism has no warnings, and can happen anytime. It endangers the life of every person in the United States. Since there is no warning, the best thing is to just know what to do when a terrorist hits, and with all the recent attacks, and the security being upped, hopefully we are just one step closer to solving this problem.

Types of inflation and the rate of Bangladesh

Types of inflation and the rate of Bangladesh In 1990 the inflation rate was highest rate 10.522 which average 20.47% after that from 1991 to 1993 the rate was going down slowly like (-21.26, -56.26, -17.80) In 1995 the rate was going little high like but that rate was not recover before rates. In 1996 the rate was again straight going down. From the 1997 to 1998 the rate was going up. After 1999 to 2001 the rate was again going down, and than the rate was going up on 2007. And the last 2 years (2008-2009) the inflation rate of Bangladesh was going down. Task 02: A) Inflation: Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation is also erosion in the purchasing power of money  ¿Ã‚ ½ a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy. A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time. B) Explanation: This area of economics has probably given rise to one of the most significant macroeconomic debates in recent history. There are essentially two causes of inflation.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Cause of Demand Pull Inflation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Cause of Cost Push Inflation Cause of Demand Pull Inflation Demand is influenced almost entirely by the amount of money in the economy, namely the money supply. They argue that inflation is caused by the amount of money in the economy and hence the spending power of the population exceeding the capacity of the country to produce goods and services. Increased money supply will lead to increases in spending through transmission mechanisms and this will invariably create a situation where aggregate demand for goods and services exceeds the aggregate supply resulting in demand pull inflation. This is shown by the shift of the short-run aggregate demand curve in the diagram below. Cause of Cost Push Inflation When firms costs increase they will raise their prices in order to maintain the real value of their profits. This will result in the real incomes of the owners of the factors of production e.g. wages, falling. In an attempt to maintain their real income labour will demand higher money wages and this will in turn raise costs. This is often referred to as cost push inflation and may be caused by:  ¿Ã‚ ½ Increases in factor prices e.g. oil price increase.  ¿Ã‚ ½ An increase in wage settlements in excess of any increase in productivity.  ¿Ã‚ ½ A devaluation or depreciation of currency leading to an increase in import prices.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Interest rate increases will increase the cost of borrowing.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Indirect taxation or the removal of subsidies. As in the diagram below. The Keynesian Argument They argue that keeping a tight control over money supply so as to control spending is highly questionable. They argue that increases in money supply will lead to increases in spending and providing there are unemployed resources firms will increase output in response. Finally they argue that basing economic problems, how do you actually go about controlling the amount of money. In a world where there many ways in which people can borrow money, can monetary policy successfully control the amount available for spending? The Monetarist View of Inflation Monetarists put forward two possible explanations of inflation. Firstly they recognise that increases in aggregate demand may lead to demand pull inflation. Increases in spending in excess of the full employment level of output will create shortages (overheating) and firms will raise their prices. This can be shown by a shift of the aggregate demand curve to the right. Task 03: A) Under the bed, Not a safe place for your savings My money at home is a high risk strategy, as most household insurance policies will only cover a limited amount of cash. The total value of Bank of England banknotes in circulation continues to rise, but their use in transactions is falling gradually. Most of all, furthermore, keeping your savings in cash will also mean that you are slowly losing money. Holding physical cash gives no protection against inflation, which official consumer prices index figures put at 1.5%. This means that in order to maintain the purchasing power of your hard earned money it needs to be attracting an interest rate of at least inflation, preferably plus whatever tax you pay. B) This was a predictable Budget which did nothing to simplify the tax regime so businesses are in for another heavy Finance Bill. May be it can increase the rate of interest. Every month it should be multi more rather than main money. C) It was tough to pay the leant money. If you lent money through Prosper back then, when most of its loans were extended, there ¿Ã‚ ½s a very high chance that you ¿Ã‚ ½ve lost money  ¿Ã‚ ½ in some cases, a lot of money.  ¿Ã‚ ½Of investors with a portfolio of loans that are an average of at least two years old, ¿Ã‚ ½ notes Gimein,  ¿Ã‚ ½folks who have lost money outnumber those who ¿Ã‚ ½ve earned 6 percent annual return by more than six to one. ¿Ã‚ ½ One of the big problems that Prosper ran into  ¿Ã‚ ½ the massive credit crunch and the ensuing Great Recession  ¿Ã‚ ½ could reasonably be considered to be a one-off event with a low likelihood of happening again. But another is endemic to the model: Prosper borrowers with a given FICO score are inevitably going to be more likely to default on their debts than most other people with the same credit score. It wasn ¿Ã‚ ½t meant to be that way. Peer-to-peer lending was meant to create a personal connection between borrower and lender, and therefore make borrowers more likely to repay their debts than people faced with large obligations to hated, faceless banks. But it seems that adverse selection effects overwhelmed the site ¿Ã‚ ½s attempts to be warm and fuzzy. Task 04: A) Inflation is a sustained rise in the average prices of goods within an economy; it can also be seen as a change in the purchasing power of money. Inflation can normally be divided into two types ¿Ã‚ ½ cost-push and demand-pull. Cost-push happens when prices are pulled up by rising costs, demand-pull happens when demand outstrips supply and prices will therefore have to rise to accommodate this. Monetarists argue that inflation is caused increases in the money supply, the total amount of money circulating in the economy at one time. This is as the believe that any increase in the money supply which is not in line with the growth in output of the economy will lead to inflation. If the money supply was increased in the short-run then consumer spending. When you introduce money into circulation out of nowhere, it lessens the value of everyones money. It is in everybodys best interest, then, to keep inflation low. In Germany after WW1, they purposefully hyper-inflated their money. People were bringing money into stores in wheelbarrows just to buy daily groceries. They used money to fuel the fire and even used it as toilet paper, because it was virtually worthless. We want to tackle inflation because we dont want that to happen. B) Cost Push Inflation Cost-push inflation occurs when businesses respond to rising production costs, by raising prices in order to maintain their profit margins. There are many reasons why costs might rise: Rising imported raw materials costs perhaps caused by inflation in countries that are heavily dependent on exports of these commodities or alternatively by a fall in the value of the pound in the foreign exchange markets which increases the UK price of imported inputs. Higher indirect taxes imposed by the government  ¿Ã‚ ½ for example a rise in the rate of excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes, an increase in fuel duties or perhaps a rise in the standard rate of Value Added Tax or an extension to the range of products to which VAT is applied. Demand Pull Inflation  ¿Ã‚ ½ A reduction in direct or indirect taxation. If direct taxes are reduced consumers have more real disposable income causing demand to rise. A reduction in indirect taxes will mean that a given amount of income will now buy a greater real volume of goods and services.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Rising consumer confidence and an increase in the rate of growth of house prices  ¿Ã‚ ½ both of which would lead to an increase in total household demand for goods and services  ¿Ã‚ ½ Faster economic growth in other countries  ¿Ã‚ ½ providing a boost to UK exports overseas. In the first diagram the SRAS curve is drawn as non-linear. In the second, the macroeconomic equilibrium following an outward shift of AD takes the economy beyond the equilibrium at potential GDP. This causes an inflationary gap to appear which then triggers higher wage and other factor costs. The effect of this is to cause an inward shift of SRAS taking real national output back towards a macroeconomic equilibrium at Yfc but with the general price level higher than it was before. Task 05: A) Supply-Side Economics: The term  ¿Ã‚ ½supply-side economics ¿Ã‚ ½ is used in two different but related ways. Some use the term to refer to the fact that production (supply) underlies consumption and living standards. In the long run, our income levels reflect our ability to produce goods and services that people value. Higher income levels and living standards cannot be achieved without expansion in output. Virtually all economists accept this proposition and therefore are  ¿Ã‚ ½supply siders. ¿Ã‚ ½  ¿Ã‚ ½Supply-side economics ¿Ã‚ ½ is also used to describe how changes in marginal tax rates influence economic activity. Supply-side economists believe that high marginal tax rates strongly discourage income, output, and the EFFICIENCY of resource use. B) Supply-Side Factors Bangladesh ¿Ã‚ ½s Factors: ? Rising world food prices The economy of Bangladesh is dependent on imports for most of the essential food items. Any increase in international prices is, therefore, expected to be passed on to domestic prices through the import channel. We notice a secular increase in the prices of four major food items (rice, wheat, soybean oil and sugar) in the international market during 2003-2007 (Table 3). Since Bangladesh is an import ¿Ã‚ ½dependent small economy, a positive relationship is expected to exist between world food prices and domestic inflation. As the weight of food items in the consumption is 58.84 percent at the national level, rising world food prices would influence overall inflation in Bangladesh. ? Changes in diesel prices Global oil prices have been rising steadily having macroeconomic impact on our economy. Recently, UNDP (2007) has rated Bangladesh as one of the high oil price vulnerable countries. However, two factors are pertinent to assess the impact of oil price change on inflation. Firstly, the current regime of administered pricing of petroleum products1 has involved significant lags in adjusting to world prices. Secondly, the existing construction of CPI excludes diesel, which constitutes more than 60 percent of total annual import of petroleum products. Consequently, its major impact is indirect through transport fares and irrigation costs. From Figure 5, we observe that generally every hike in diesel price is followed by a rising trend of point-to point inflation in one to three months lag. 1 The pass-through coefficient of diesel is 0.43 meaning that 43 percent of diesel price increase has been passed on to consumers (UNDP, 2007). ? Exchange rate fluctuations Among supply-side factors, exchange rate is found to be significant in explaining inflation in Bangladesh. A depreciation of exchange rate translates into a rise in the cost of imported commodities by making foreign goods more expensive, and thus induces an increase in the domestic price level. There is a close association between exchange rate fluctuations and inflation. Since the adoption of a floating exchange rate regime in May 2003, any depreciation of the exchange rate has been associated with a pickup in inflation by increasing the prices of imported goods. It is evident from Figure 6 that Bangladesh Taka shows a depreciating trend while Indian Rupee displays an appreciating trend during the period from FY98 to FY07. The depreciation of Taka makes imported commodities more expensive having bearing on the domestic price level. United Kingdom ¿Ã‚ ½s Factor: Supply side policies are govt measures to increase productivity in the economy and therefore shift LRAS to the right. Supply side policies usually involve reducing blockages to the free market or overcoming market failure. The key macroeconomic objectives of the govt include low inflation, low unemployment, increasing the sustainable rate of economic growth and minimising the balance of payments disequilibrium. Privatisation and deregulation were an important supply side policy of the 1980s; they involved selling state owned assets to the private sector and increasing competition within markets. Private companies have a profit incentive to cut costs and be more efficient. Greater competition also causes lower prices and more efficient methods of production, as firms compete for customers. This has enabled lower prices and greater productivity in some industries. However, this policy has been relatively unsuccessful in industries such as Rail and water because they are a natural monopoly and it is difficult to introduce competition into these industries Another example of supply side policies is education and training, if these policies are adopted then it enables higher labour productivity and improved economic performance. However, this policy may be subject to govt failure; for example, the govt may have poor information and set up inappropriate schemes which do not benefit workers Task 06: Economics The risk of inflation Contents:  ¿Ã‚ ½ Inflation rate of Bangladesh  ¿Ã‚ ½ Definition of inflation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Impacts of inflation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Controlling inflation  ¿Ã‚ ½ Supply side economics  ¿Ã‚ ½ Source of reference Inflation rate of Bangladesh since 1990 to 2009: In 1990 the inflation rate was highest rate 10.522 which average 20.47% after that from 1991 to 1993 the rate was going down slowly like (-21.26, -56.26, -17.80) In 1995 the rate was going little high like but that rate was not recover before rates. In 1996 the rate was again straight going down. From the 1997 to 1998 the rate was going up. After 1999 to 2001 the rate was again going down, and than the rate was going up on 2007. And the last 2 years (2008-2009) the inflation rate of Bangladesh was going down. Definition of inflation: Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation is also erosion in the purchasing power of money  ¿Ã‚ ½ a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy. A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time. Impacts of inflation: Keeping your savings in cash will also mean that you are slowly losing money. Holding physical cash gives no protection against inflation, which official consumer prices index figures put at 1.5%. This means that in order to maintain the purchasing power of your hard earned money it needs to be attracting an interest rate of at least inflation, preferably plus whatever tax you pay. If you lent money through Prosper back then, when most of its loans were extended, there ¿Ã‚ ½s a very high chance that you ¿Ã‚ ½ve lost money  ¿Ã‚ ½ in some cases, a lot of money.  ¿Ã‚ ½Of investors with a portfolio of loans that are an average of at least two years old, ¿Ã‚ ½ notes Gimein,  ¿Ã‚ ½folks who have lost money outnumber those who ¿Ã‚ ½ve earned 6 percent annual return by more than six to one. ¿Ã‚ ½ One of the big problems that Prosper ran into  ¿Ã‚ ½ the massive credit crunch and the ensuing Great Recession  ¿Ã‚ ½ could reasonably be considered to be a one-off event with a low likelihood of happening again. But another is endemic to the model: Prosper borrowers with a given FICO score are inevitably going to be more likely to default on their debts than most other people with the same credit score. It wasn ¿Ã‚ ½t meant to be that way. Peer-to-peer lending was meant to create a personal connection between borrower and lender, and therefore make borrowers more likely to repay their debts than people faced with large obligations to hated, faceless banks. But it seems that adverse selection effects overwhelmed the site ¿Ã‚ ½s attempts to be warm and fuzzy. Controlling inflation: A) Inflation is a sustained rise in the average prices of goods within an economy; it can also be seen as a change in the purchasing power of money. Inflation can normally be divided into two types ¿Ã‚ ½ cost-push and demand-pull. Cost-push happens when prices are pulled up by rising costs, demand-pull happens when demand outstrips supply and prices will therefore have to rise to accommodate this. Monetarists argue that inflation is caused increases in the money supply, the total amount of money circulating in the economy at one time. This is as the believe that any increase in the money supply which is not in line with the growth in output of the economy will lead to inflation. If the money supply was increased in the short-run then consumer spending. When you introduce money into circulation out of nowhere, it lessens the value of everyones money. It is in everybodys best interest, then, to keep inflation low. Supply side economics: The term  ¿Ã‚ ½supply-side economics ¿Ã‚ ½ is used in two different but related ways. Some use the term to refer to the fact that production (supply) underlies consumption and living standards. In the long run, our income levels reflect our ability to produce goods and services that people value. Higher income levels and living standards cannot be achieved without expansion in output. Virtually all economists accept this proposition and therefore are  ¿Ã‚ ½supply siders. ¿Ã‚ ½  ¿Ã‚ ½Supply-side economics ¿Ã‚ ½ is also used to describe how changes in marginal tax rates influence economic activity. Supply-side economists believe that high marginal tax rates strongly discourage income, output, and the EFFICIENCY of resource use. Source of Reference: Task 01: ? http://www.indexmundi.com/bangladesh/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html Task 02: ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation ? http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/dc/copper/theory/th17.htm Task 03: ? http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings-and-banking/ask-an-expert/article.html?in_article_id=495492in_page_id=111 ? By Self ? http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/01/19/the-problem-with-peer-to-peer-lending/ Task 04: ? http://blog.economics4development.com/how-to-tackle-inflation ? http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100611143716AAzABWG ? http://www.blurtit.com/q929238.html ? http://tutor2u.net/economics/gcse/revision_notes/big_picture_inflation_remedies.htm ? http://tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/a2-macro-causes-of-inflation.html Task 05: ? http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/SupplySideEconomics.html ? http://bdeconassoc.org/userfiles/pdf/27%20Sources%20of%20Inflation%20in%20Bangladesh-%20Nasiruddin%20Ahmed.pdf ? http://www.economicshelp.org/macroeconomics/as-essays/supply-side-policies-improving-econ.html

Causes and Treatments of ALS

Causes and Treatments of ALS What is ALS? Introduction ALS is not contagious and although life expectancy of a person with Amyotrophic Laterals Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, averages between two to five years after diagnosis. Up to 10 percent will survive more than ten years and five percent will live for 20 years. Approximately over 5,000 people in United States will be diagnosed with ALS every year. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries’ and can affect anyone. There can be significant cost associated for medical care, equipment, and home health care giving for this disorder. It is important to become knowledgeable about your health plan coverage and programs for which you may be eligible. Recently, my love was succumbed to this neurodegenerative disorder and after being diagnosed, he lived several months thereafter. It is because of our experience with his illness and this disease that I wanted to be the voice that he left behind. â€Å"He fought a good fight and ALS finished his course†. It is my mission to assist with the fight by bringing awareness through advocacy for those living with Lou Gehrig’s disease and their families that they can live fuller lives by accessing the resources available to them. Just What Is ALS? ALS is an incurable degenerative neurological disorder. The nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord, which control voluntary muscle movement, deteriorate – the muscles waste away leading to paralysis and eventually lead to death. In 1941, national attention was brought to the United States when a baseball player struggled with the disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Each year in the U.S., about 5,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. It is a rare disease and impact strikes those after the age of 40 and can affect more men than women. Lateral identifies the areas of the spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signals and control the muscles are located. As the area continues to degenerates, it can lead to both scarring and hardening (sclerosis) in the region. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS can eventually lead to their demise. As the motor neurons die, the brain ability to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. You may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe, and with ALS, the motor nerves affected are the motor neurons that provide our voluntary movements and muscle control. Forms of ALS There are three different types of ALS: Sporadic Familial Guamanian Sporadic is the most common form of the ALS disease and it affects between 90 and 95 percent of all the cases. Familial (FAL) means that the disease can be inherited and in these families, there are 50% chance that the offspring can inherit the genetic mutation and can develop the disease, and Guamanian is a high incidence of the ALS disorder that is observed in Guam and Trust Territories of the Pacific in the 1950’s. Causes of ALS ALS atrophy. Brain areas specifically affected in C9ORF72 cases (blue), in non-C9ORF72 cases (green), and all ALS cases (red). It has become clear that a number of defects can lead to motor neuron degeneration in ALS. In 2011, a researcher advance was made when scientists found that the defect in the C9orf72 gene is not only present in ALS patients but also in patients who suffer from a type of front temporal dementia (FTD). In searching for the cause of ALS scientists studies the role of environmental factors such as exposure to toxic or infections agents, as well as trauma or behavioral factors. Studies shows that during the 1991 war those deployed to the Gulf region were more likely to develop ALS compared to military personnel who were not in region. How is ALS treated? No cure has been found as of yet, but the Food Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995 approved the first drug treatment called Riluzole. Riluzole reduces the damage to the motor neurons by decreasing the release of glutamate. The clinical trials of ALS patients have shown that the drug Riluzole has prolonged their survival by months, mainly in the area of those who has difficulty in swallowing. Riluzole have extended the time before an individual has needed ventilation support. The drug has not reversed the damage done to motor neurons, and they must be monitored for damage to their lives and other side effects. However, this disease-specific therapy has offered hope that the progression of ALS maybe slowed with new medications of drugs. Other treatments for patients with ALS to improve the quality of life is best provided by a team of healthcare professionals such as physicians; pharmacists; physical, occupational, and speech therapists; social workers, home care, and hospice nurses. A physician prescribes the medication to ease fatigue while controlling spasticity, pharmacists monitor’s medication to avoid the risks of drug interactions. Physical therapy enhances their independence and help patients with their range of motion. The team of health professionals teaches ALS patients with the ability to help them speak louder and clearly. Nutritional support by a nutritionists helps them how to plan and prepare small meals that supply enough calories, fiber and how to avoid foods difficult to swallow. Intermittent positive pressure ventilation [IPPV] or bi-level positive airway pressure [BIPAP] is used to aid breathing during sleeping. The devices inflate their lungs from external sources when their muscles are no longer able to maintain normal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels the devices maybe used full time. The severity of ALS, the lack of effective treatments, and the progress in ALS research helps identify targets making it more tractable to develop therapies for ALS. ALS is linked to other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson. Supporting People and Projects The ALS Association offers grants and awards to private industries and scientists to accelerate the developments of treatments and a cure for ALS disease. The Association administers, The Milton Safenowitz Post-Doctoral Fellowship for ALS Research, the only post-doctoral fellowship for ALS research, and the ALS Association’s Sheila Essay Award recognizes premier achievement in research of ALS disorders. ALS Association holds workshops each year, which brings together scientist researching ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. All of the Association staff holds leadership positions on a national and international organization to assist with unlocking the mysteries of Amyotrophic Laterals Sclerosis (ALS). Public Policy Public efforts in Washington, D.C. has raised the profile of ALS in the White House, members of Congress, federal agencies, Centers for Medicare Medicaid (CMS), and including the National Institutes of Health. One of the signature accomplishments of the Public Policy Department is by eliminating the 24 months waiting period for those disabled with ALS and had to wait before they could begin receiving Medicare benefits. ALS is one of two diseases where the waiting period does not apply, and the waiver for ALS is the only change Congress made to the waiting period since it first began. Through public outreach, social media and the internet, The Association will continually raise awareness about ALS and the search for a cure. References Koroshetz, W. (June 2013). Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Fact Sheet. NINDS, (No. 13-916). Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov.com Madsen, A. (2010, March 29). The National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov.al.com Madsen, A. (2012, February 14). Lou Gehrig’s disease Info. Retrieved from http://www.diseaseinfosearch.org/LouGehrig.com ALS Association (2010). Retrieved from http://www.alsa.org/ Project ALS (2012). Retrieved from http://www.projectals.org/ Image courtesy of Bede P. Bokde A.L., Byrne S. Elamin M. McLaughlin R.L., Kenna K. Fagan A.J., Pender N. Bradley D.G., Hardiman O. Multiparametric MRI study of ALS stratified for the C9orf72 genotype. Neurology. 81 (published online ahead of print) p.4.

The Conflict Perspective of Deviance and Deviants Essay -- Deviance So

The Conflict Perspective of Deviance and Deviants Works Cited Not Included  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When it comes to the conflict perspective and deviance, researchers have discovered one of the most influential lines of theory and research (Quinney, 1980; Chambliss and Seidman, 1982; Swaaningen, 1997; Arrigo, 1999). Marxist criminologists see deviance as a product of the exploitative nature of the ruling class. Deviance is a behavior that the rich and powerful see as threatening to their interests. An example of the conflict perspective relating to deviance is white- collar crimes. (Edwin Sutherland {1940,1983}) White-collar crime is any crime committed by respectable and high status people in the course of their occupations. (Lower status people commit crimes of the streets; higher status people engage in ?crimes of the suites?). (Nader and Green, 1972; D.R. Simon, 1998). Examples of these crimes include: price fixing, illegal rebates, embezzlement, manufacture of hazardous products, toxic pollution and more. ( Geis Meier, and Salinger, 1995; J.W. Coleman, 1977; Calavita,Pontell, and Tillman, 1999). Although the costs of these crimes are higher than lower status crimes, and these crimes are more harmful to society, tolerance is shown and leniency is shown because of their high-class position. In the end penalties are both tougher and more likely to be imposed for crimes committed by lower class people than those of higher social classes. The conflict approach to deviance underscores the relativity of deviance. The conflict perspective when applied to the study of deviant behavior emphasizes social inequality and power differentials. The most powerful members of society are said to determine group norms, and consequently who will be regarded as deviant. Conflict theorists relate deviance to capitalism pointing the relationship between race, ethnicity, and crime. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Please explain deviance and discuss the relationship between race and deviance as it relates to crime and criminal behavior. Please consider differences in perception among groups or people who define persons as deviant.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Deviance is any behavior that departs from societal of group norms. (Ex: criminal behavior; violations of significant social norms) These significant norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or to the members wit... ...s another person would), and game stage (children learn to engage in more sophisticated role taking. Mead believes the self is composed of two separable parts: the ?me? and the ?I?. The ?me? is self- formed through socialization. The ?I? interacts constantly with the ?me? as we conduct ourselves in social situations. Cooley believed self- concept is an image of oneself as an entity separate from other people--- that still stands today. He also believes that children learn to judge themselves in terms of how they imagine others will react to them. We serve as mirrors for the development of self. (Cooley). He called this concept the looking glass self. (A self-concept based on our perception of others? judgments of us.) We use others as mirrors reflecting back our imagined reactions of them to us. According to Cooley, the, looking glass self is the product of a three-stage process that is constantly taking place. First we imagine how we appear to others. Next, we imagine the reaction of others to our imagined appearance. Finally, we evaluate ourselves according to how we imaged others have judged us. The result of this process is negative or positive self-evaluation.

Dantes Inferno - A Religious and Morally Challenging Experience :: Divine Comedy Inferno Essays

Dante's Inferno - A Religious and Morally Challenging Experience      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages, was born in Florence, Italy on June 5, 1265.   He was born to a middle-class Florentine family.   At an early age he began to write poetry and became fascinated with lyrics.   During his adolescence, Dante fell inlove with a beautiful girl named Beatrice Portinari.   He saw her only twice but she provided much inspiration for his literary masterpieces. Her death at a young age left him grief-stricken.   His first book, La Vita Nuova, was written about her. Sometime before 1294, Dante married Gemma Donati.   They had four children.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dante was active in the political and military life of Florence. He entered the army as a youth and held several important positions in the Florence government during the 1290's.   During his life, Florence was divided politically between Guelphs and Ghibellines.   The Guelphs supported the church and liked to keep things as they were, unlike the Ghibellines. The Ghibellines were mostly supporters of the German emperor and at the time Dante was born, were relieved of their power. When this change took place, the Guelphs for whom Dante's family was associated took power. Although born into a Guelph family, Dante became more neutral later in life realizing that the church was corrupt, believing it should only be involved in spiritual affairs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the turn of the century, Dante rose from city councilman to ambassador of Florence.   His career ended in 1301 when the Black Guelph and their French allies seized control of the city.   They took Dante's possessions and sentenced him to be permanently banished from Florence, threatening the death penalty upon him if he returned.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dante spent most of his time in exile writing new pieces of literature.   It is believed that around 1307 he interrupts his unfinished work, Convivio, a reflection of his love poetry philosophy of the Roman tradition, to begin The Comedy (later known as The Divine Comedy).   He writes a book called De Vulgari Eloquentia explaining his idea to combine a number of Italian dialects to create a new national language.   In 1310 he writes De Monarchia presenting Dante's case for a one-ruler world order.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Among his works, his reputation rests on his last work, The Divine

Why Accountability Is Important

Why Accountability Is Important It is important to note first, what accountability is. I will state why it is important as well as go over scenarios in dealing with accountability. Accountability means being liable to being called to account; answerable. A good military definition of the word would be and usually means to be liable for paperwork and or property, and personnel; usually of lesser grade and rank. When dealing with army leadership and duties; being a soldier and or a leader means being accountable for what you do or don’t do as well as implied duties and responsibilities.As a leader, being one means to be accountable not only for one’s actions, but for the actions of the soldiers for which you are assigned. One is to be accountable for equipment that is assigned to one’s-self as well. The department of defense states and defines accountability to be an obligation imposed by law or lawful order or regulation on an officer or other person for keeping a ccurate record of property, documents, or funds. The person having this obligation may or may not have actual possession of the property, documents, or funds.Accountability is concerned primarily with records, while responsibility is concerned primarily with custody, care, and safe-keeping. But again, let us not get the definitions confused. The term accountability differs from the term of responsibility. There is a big difference. There are reporting procedures and processes for recording and accounting for personnel and equipment. There are different types and ways of reporting within different sizes and types of elements of a command.There are also ways in which one will report to one who is in a designated duty position and or of higher rank and grade within different elements of commands. The ways in which a soldier may report can be orally or written in order to account for property, equipment, and or personnel. Soldiers must always be accountable for their actions. For every action there is a reaction. Soldiers are to be held to accountable for their actions because they represent the United States of America within the states as well as overseas in other parts of the world.Sometimes, we are the only source of information as to how people may think what our behavior is and how all other Americans may behave in their own country based off of even one soldier’s sole actions whether negative or positive. We must be accountable for what we do or don’t do. If we, as soldiers, are assigned a task that is to be completed, but we fail and do not get it accomplished, then we have to account and answer for it. If we lose a piece of equipment, it becomes lost or destroyed, we have to be held accountable for it and solve the problem to correct the situation however it may need to be corrected.Mission readiness is the answer to why accountability is so important. We must accomplish the mission at all costs with the least amount of loss whether it be so ldiers or equipment. Without all of the soldiers or equipment present the mission may not be able to be accomplished. Even if only one soldier or piece of equipment is not present the mission may not be fully capable of being accomplished as the lack of either one would be detrimental to the mission.If a piece of equipment or a soldier is not on time at the start or finish of a mission, it may determine the outcome of the mission in regards to it being accomplished and a success or not. Either way, to be accountable for the pieces of equipment or the lack of soldiers present means providing an answer to someone else whom will have to be accountable for them to another. One will wish to know why a mission was not accomplished. A superior ranking individual will wish to know for sure. One who is accountable must have an answer.If we are not held accountable for our actions then someone else takes the blame or we never except responsibility for them and may become a pattern. If this ha ppens, then we cannot correct the problem that causes the accountability error from the start. This would be due to a cognitive lethargic display of thought processes and or apathy. If it is not the sole cause, but a contributing factor then other problems that affect a soldiers or leaders life may be the main causal factor in not being held accountable for their actions. Someone is always accountable and answerable to the next one in a chain of command.When the answer is needed, an entire chain of command as to why and how a mission did not attain a status of successful or completed, it affects the entire chain of command and the army itself when you really think about it. One could debate about it in regards to the butterfly effect; or the chaos theory. The theory that one small move such as the flap of a butterfly wing or a car accident effects all of us on a world-wide level even though it may seem miniscule in nature. Leaders must be accountable for discipline, leadership, and training of the soldiers.While soldiers are accountable for their actions, equipment, and sometimes when directed, the actions of others; so are leaders for their subordinates actions and so forth up the chain of command. This is all an example of accountability. If we did not have this accountability in process as a standard in the United States Army then we would not be the successful fighting force that we are today. Leaders are under the most stress as they are held accountable for more actions than their soldiers. They are also responsible for training and mentorship of soldiers.They must lead and develop them to become better soldiers and future leaders themselves. Leaders have many duties and responsibilities that they must be accountable for. Keeping accountability of not only people, but equipment also helps cut down on waste. Fraud waste and abuse is a big deal in the army as there are rules and regulations to address these concerns within the army as it is written doctrin e. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to replace all the equipment and people lost if leaders simply never noticed they were gone and constantly had to replace them?One of the United States military's biggest concerns is to never leave a man behind, dead or alive. It is perhaps this knowledge that they will never be left which keeps many troops confident in their job. How hard would you fight if you knew that your life was expendable and should you go missing, you would be written off and forgotten? I know for myself that I would not fight very hard if nobody cared about me in general. Accountability is one of those ways to show subordinates that you do care about them. Others may look at it in a negative way.They may say that, â€Å"Man, he is always on my case about where I am and this and that†, but this is a way to know that one is being cared for. Knowing where items and troops are keeps superiors able to know what can be accomplished and planned as far as missi ons and tasks. How could a plan be carried out to its full potential if the equipment type and capability and an account for soldiers is not known as well? It would be impossible to get an accurate account in order to plan with without knowledge of this information. Having an account of this information also keeps the army nformed of how many more or less soldiers are needed to accomplish a mission or task. There is paperwork to be processed to help keep accountability for all of the personnel and equipment within any given unit or command group. If property is lost damaged or stolen, one will be held accountable for those issues in regards to them as well. If there is an investigation on the soldier(s) or piece(s) of equipment, CID will be in charge and held accountable for the investigation. Everyone plays a part in accountability on some level, one way or the other.

Political Awareness Essay

Social media become an important medium of communication in the modern time in which it is provide powerful channels of information between politician and citizens. Besides that, the social media act as proactive devices for encouraging the citizen to participate in democratic process. The social media an important medium of information have influence people’s thought and action about politics and encouraged people to give opinions, critics and suggestions as well as participate in politics. Therefore, the social media is one of the primary mechanism in the political scene and capable of making political issues. However, it gives a negative aspects on political issues in which people may give wrong information and it also enjoys a positive function by spreading information across society quickly and enjoys freedom of speech. The development of new technology encourages youth to engage in politics. Youth today most likely to use the social media like Facebook, twitter, blog and you tube as medium of communication to interact with others. For example, blogs play an important role in political communication and in forming the opinions of political actors and politically interested users. Their ability to facilitate active interaction, present opinions, mobilize voters, as well as influence public opinion and eventually election outcomes makes political blogs an interesting. Online social networks provide us with convenient platform for such analysis. The data from many social networks is publicly available. Furthermore, social media has emerged as a significant platform for discussion and dissemination of political information. For example, Pew surveys (Smith, 2011) found that 22% of adult Internet users participated in political campaigns through at least one of the major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace during the 2010 U.S. elections. However, people would not use social media regularly for interaction that lead to political engagement. People usually discuss about politic in social media only time of election in which political parties, political activists and organizations promote, persuade and wishing to increase participation by citizen. There is an analysis of social media usage for political purposes by young people during the United Kingdom general election in 2005. It  emphasized that the role of social media for reinforcing existing democratic awareness rather than as an alternative mode of political socialization. Interestingly, the percentages of the youth are much likely use social media in accessing political information for news and information about parties as well as candidates than older users. Thus, the social media plays an important role as strategies by political parties to target young voters are a valuable approach in attracting disaffected citizens. However, it also indicates that political engagement by young people may show signs of becoming misuse to the new social media where mobilization and activism may be more increase if they are social media users.

Introduction to Human Settlements

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN SETTLEMENTS Why people build environments? In order to understand built environments, one should know how the human mind works. The human mind imposes an order on the world. The world is chaotic and disorderly which; the human mind classifies, orders and onto it, imposes cognitive schemata. Settlements, buildings and landscapes are results of this activity. Hence, built environments including settlements are one way of ordering the world. INTRODUCTIONVancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976) defined human settlements as â€Å"the totality of the human community – whether city, town or village – with all the social, material, organizational, spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it. The fabric of human settlements consists of physical elements and services to which these elements provide the material support†. The physical components comprise, Shelter, i. e. the superstructures of different shapes, size, type and materi als erected by mankind for security, privacy and protection from the elements and for his singularity within a community; Infrastructure, i. . the complex networks designed to deliver to or remove from the shelter people, goods, energy or information; Services cover those required by a community for the fulfilment of its functions as a social body, such as education, health, culture, welfare, recreation and nutrition. All settlements essentially involve the making of places. Each place is a differentiated portion of the earth’s surface of previously undifferentiated space, a portion that is distinguishable from other such portions and has a specific meaning. What makes a place is always some schema, some ordering principle, which varies in different cultures.In most traditional cultures these schemata are related to the sacred. The purpose of place is to create a space that is habitable and usable in terms acceptable to the culture. All settlements are ordered and organized. Settlements not only impose an order on the larger domain but also are themselves organized. There is an ordering system both in the settlement, ceremonial centre or whatever and at the larger scale; there are systems within systems. All settlements are designed. Settlements are designed in the sense that they embody human decisions, choices and specific ways of doing things.Designed environments include places that are cleared and planted, areas where rivers have been diverted and fields that have been fenced in certain patterns. In fact many apparently commonplace activities have a greater impact on the earth than design in the traditional sense. The way cities, regions and countries look depends in the final analysis on the design activity of many individuals and groups at different times. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS Origin of settlements can be traced back to the caves where people gathered for protection against the natural forces or for defence against rival trib es.These places of communal living gave way to the village. The village was a by-product of the development of agriculture in areas where there was an adequate water supply and fertile soil. Many of these earliest villages arose adjacent to what are now the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers. In addition to the role of providing shelter to its people, the village was also an appropriate sanctuary for the altar of their Deity, a meeting place for assembly, and a centre for trade. As this environment became increasingly populated, urbanization resulted.Communities larger than the village came as a result of the growth of crops and the breeding of stock on a more permanent basis than before. The production of hard grains that could be stored for a longer period of time offered stability, since it assured insurance against starvation. The ability of these urban areas to preserve food made it possible to diversify into other activities. With a development of div ersified economy not totally dependent on food production, it became possible to attract people into a labour pool, thus providing employment in a variety of forms.This brought about the enlargement of villages or hamlets into towns and cities, which operated on different political and economic bases than had not been possible in the simpler forms. CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS The Influence of Geography Natural factors played an important part in the development and growth of settlements. The danger or fire and flood, extreme climatic conditions, the possibility of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, lack of natural resources or fertile soils – all influenced decisions either to settle in a given area or to move to a more favourable site.Moderate climates were always preferred to settle. Most of the settlements are located between the latitudes 60-degree North and 45-degree South. Although extreme temperatures are found within these boundaries, as the climate is favou rable for habitation for major parts of the year. Geographic studies indicate that settlements seldom form where the topography is steep. Some cities are located at high altitudes, but the slope of the land is relatively level. For example, Denver, Colorado and Mexico City are around 5000 feet above sea level but the terrain at these sites is relatively flat.Accessibility to other settlements also plays a role in the location and development of settlements. Political and Social Organization The village brought something new to the lives of primitive people: the need for mutual responsibility and cooperation. Various social and political organizations emerged as a direct result. People did not adjust easily to the self-discipline that community life required. Personal rivalry flared within the village and the most powerful individual assumed the role of tribal leader. Rivalry between villages often resulted in armed conflict.Several villages might come under the domination of the vic torious tribe with that tribe’s leader rising to the position of ruler. In time empires were created and rulers took the titles of king and emperor. What distinguishes the early city from the primitive village is its higher degree of political and social organization. The more sophisticated social structure allows people to live together in relative peace. Social, economic and political organization is essential to the growth and development of a city. As a result of the more advanced social structure, bold aesthetic changes took place.Temples and other structures of the ruling group became permanent. Tremendous amounts of energy were expended to produce great edifices, such as palaces and cathedrals, which became a source of pride to the public and the seat of power for its rulers. In the mean time, most of the people lived as slave labour in mud huts or worse where none of the basic amenities existed. Such situations still exist in many parts of the world today, where great numbers of people live in slums. Evolution of Physical Form Two basic forms of settlements are noticeable: the walled town and the open city.Within these basic forms a wide variety of patterns are woven. Each form and design is shaped by the character of the society at the time. Few cities that thrived with great cultures began with a plan. They developed by a process of accretion; the growth was irregular, responsive to the changes in the habits of people and dynamic in character. They began as free cities settled voluntarily. Their external form and the physical pattern were introduced according to the structure of the land itself or the manner in which the land was apportioned among the inhabitants.Cities have been subjected to the process of continuous remodelling through the ages and the variety of their forms is the result of the particular force or forces that were dominant during the successive periods of their history. In order to discern the characteristics of a civilizat ion, attention cannot be confined only to the rulers but also to the affairs of the people. More than the great and the impressive structures, common dwellings of the people mark the culture of the cities.

The Nutcracker

Essay One Waltz of the Flowers† from The Nutcracker â€Å"Waltz of the Flowers† from The Nutcracker I watched Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker online for my first choice in my performance paper. This magnificent piece was composed by Peter Llyich Tchaikovsky during the Romantic period in 1892. This performance is performed by about 12 Ballerinas with the music being played in the background. â€Å"The Waltz of the Flowers† is actually ACT II from The Nutcracker, which is a very well known and amazing song. Tchaikovsky wrote this piece about a young girl named Clara that cannot wait for Christmas morning to arrive. She spends the whole night dreaming of intense dreams with extroidinary characters. This is why the ballet is always performed during the Christmas season. This piece is called a Waltz because the song is done in ? meter. The introduction starts with the amazing sound of the beautiful harps being played. This song has four different themes that repeat themselves. The first theme at the beginning, after the introduction, starts with a melody heard in French horns and clarinets and is repeated, but differently the 2nd time. The second them consists of violins. This theme adds drama and tension to the performance. The flutes start in on the third theme and repeated again with a more illuminated timbre. The fourth theme is heard only once and that is where the cellos come in for the melody. This melody is eloquent and passionate. There is so much detail in every part of this piece that you really have to pay attention to the music, which is what Tchaikovsky’s plan was when he wrote it. I really enjoyed watching this performance because the ballerinas moved so beautifully. They moved their hand to the music perfectly, which is where the Waltz come into the name. My favorite section of this piece is the introduction when you hear the harps playing. The ballerinas move so eloquently with the harps and it just amazed me. I also found myself swaying to the sound of the music without even realizing it because it is so relaxing. I am so thankful that this was one of our choices because I really enjoyed watching this and hopefully I will get a chance to watch it in a live performance one day.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 21 VERDICT

WE WERE IN A BRIGHTLY LIT, UNREMARKABLE HALLWAY. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling. It was warmer here, for which I was grateful. This hall seemed very benign after the gloom of the ghoulish stone sewers. Edward didn't seem to agree with my assessment. He glowered darkly down the long hallway, toward the slight, black shrouded figure at the end, standing by an elevator. He pulled me along, and Alice walked on my other side. The heavy door creaked shut behind us, and then there was the thud of a bolt sliding home. Jane waited by the elevator, one hand holding the doors open for us. Her expression was apathetic. Once inside the elevator, the three vampires that belonged to the Volturi relaxed further. They threw back their cloaks, letting the hoods fall back on their shoulders. Felix and Demetri were both of a slightly olive complexionit looked odd combined with their chalky pallor. Felix's black hair was cropped short, but Demetri's waved to his shoulders. Their irises were deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black around the pupil. Under the shrouds, their clothes were modern, pale, and nondescript. I cowered in the corner, cringing against Edward. His hand still rubbed against my arm. He never took his eyes off Jane. The elevator ride was short; we stepped out into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. The flowers' smell reminded me of a funeral home. In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter. I gawked in astonishment at the woman behind it. She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes. She would have been very pretty in any other companybut not here. Because she was every bit as human as I was. I couldn't comprehend what this human woman was doing here, totally at ease, surrounded by vampnes. She smiled politely in welcome. â€Å"Good afternoon, Jane,† she said. There was no surprise in her face as she glanced at Jane's company. Not Edward, his bare chest glinting dimly in the white lights, or even me, disheveled and comparatively hideous. Jane nodded. â€Å"Gianna.† She continued toward a set of double doors in the back of the room, and we followed. As Felix passed the desk, he winked at Gianna, and she giggled. On the other side of the wooden doors was a different kind of reception. The pale boy in the pearl gray suit could have been Jane's twin. His hair was darker, and his lips were not as full, but he was just as lovely. He came forward to meet us. He smiled, reaching for her. â€Å"Jane.† â€Å"Alec,† she responded, embracing the boy. They kissed each other's cheeks on both sides. Then he looked at us. â€Å"They send you out for one and you come back with two and a half,† he noted, looking at me. â€Å"Nice work.† She laughedthe sound sparkled with delight like a baby's cooing. â€Å"Welcome back, Edward,† Alec greeted him. â€Å"You seem in a better mood.† â€Å"Marginally,† Edward agreed in a flat voice. I glanced at Edward's hard face, and wondered how his mood could have been darker before. Alec chuckled, and examined me as I clung to Edward's side. â€Å"And this is the cause of all the trouble?† he asked, skeptical. Edward only smiled, his expression contemptuous. Then he froze. â€Å"Dibs,† Felix called casually from behind. Edward turned, a low snarl building deep in his chest. Felix smiledhis hand was raised, palm up; he curled his fingers twice, inviting Edward forward. Alice touched Edward's arm. â€Å"Patience,† she cautioned him. They exchanged a long glance, and I wished I could hear what she was telling him. I figured that it was something to do with not attacking Felix, because Edward took a deep breath and turned back to Alec. â€Å"Aro will be so pleased to see you again,† Alec said, as if nothing had passed. â€Å"Let's not keep him waiting,† Jane suggested. Edward nodded once. Alec and Jane, holding hands, led the way down yet another wide, ornate hallwould there ever be an end? They ignored the doors at the end of the halldoors entirely sheathed in goldstopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. It wasn't locked. Alec held it open for Jane. I wanted to groan when Edward pulled me through to the other side of the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again. The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret which was probably exactly what it was. Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street. The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As I watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls. The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirtsthings that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, I thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak. â€Å"Jane, dear one, you've returned!† he cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing. He drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace that I gawked, my mouth hangmg open. Even Alice, whose every motion looked like dancing, could not compare. I was only more astonished as he floated closer and I could see his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach us alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards). I couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. I suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from me. His skin was translucently white, like onionskin, and it looked just as delicateit stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. I felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was softer than Edward's or Alice's, or if it was powdery, like chalk. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; I wondered if his vision was affected by the haze. He glided to Jane, took her face in his papery hands, kissed her lightly on her full lips, and then floated back a step. â€Å"Yes, Master.† Jane smiled; the expression made her look like an angelic child. â€Å"I brought him back alive, just as you wished.† â€Å"Ah, Jane.† He smiled, too. â€Å"You are such a comfort to me.† He turned his misty eyes toward us, and the smile brightenedbecame ecstatic. â€Å"And Alice and Bella, too!† he rejoiced, clapping his thin hands together. â€Å"This is a happy surprise! Wonderful!† I stared in shock as he called our names informally, as if we were old friends dropping in for an unexpected visit. He turned to our hulking escort. â€Å"Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this.† â€Å"Yes, Master.† Felix nodded and disappeared back the way we had come. â€Å"You see, Edward?† The strange vampire turned and smiled at Edward like a fond but scolding grandfather. â€Å"What did I tell you? Aren't you glad that I didn't give you what you wanted yesterday?† â€Å"Yes, Aro, I am,† he agreed, tightening his arm around my waist. â€Å"I love a happy ending.† Aro sighed. â€Å"They are so rare. But I want the whole story. How did this happen? Alice?† He turned to gaze at Alice with curious, misty eyes. â€Å"Your brother seemed to think you infallible, but apparently there was some mistake.† â€Å"Oh, I'm far from infallible.† She flashed a dazzling smile. She looked perfectly at ease, except that her hands were balled into tight little fists. â€Å"As you can see today, I cause problems as often as I cure them.† â€Å"You're too modest,† Aro chided. â€Å"I've seen some of your more amazing exploits, and I must admit I've never observed anything like your talent. Wonderful!† Alice flickered a glance at Edward. Aro did not miss it. â€Å"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced properly at all, have we? It's just that I feel like I know you already, and I tend get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday, in a peculiar way. You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not.† Aro shook his head; his tone was envious. â€Å"And also exponentially more powerful,† Edward added dryly. He looked at Alice as he swiftly explained. â€Å"Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he hears much more than I do. You know I can only hear what's passing through your head in the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had.† Alice raised her delicate eyebrows, and Edward inclined his head. Aro didn't miss that either. â€Å"But to be able to hear from a distance† Aro sighed, gesturing toward the two of them, and the exchange that had just taken place. â€Å"That would be so convenient.† Aro looked over our shoulders. All the other heads turned in the same direction, including Jane, Alec, and Demetri, who stood silently beside us. I was the slowest to turn. Felix was back, and behind him floated two more black-robed men. Both looked very much like Aro, one even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hairthe same shade as his facethat brushed against his shoulders. Their faces had identical, paper-thin skin. The trio from Carlisle's painting was complete, unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted. â€Å"Marcus, Caius, look!† Aro crooned. â€Å"Bella is alive after all, and Alice is here with her! Isn't that wonderful?† Neither of the other two looked as if wonderful would be their first choice of words. The dark-haired man seemed utterly bored, like he'd seen too many millennia of Aro's enthusiasm. The other's hice was sour under the snowy hair. Their lack of interest did not curb Aro's enjoyment. â€Å"Let us have the story,† Aro almost sang in his feathery voice. The white-haired ancient vampire drifted away, gliding toward one of the wooden thrones. The other paused beside Aro, and he reached his hand out, at first I thought to take Aro's hand. But he just touched Aro's palm briefly and then dropped his hand to his side. Aro raised one black brow. I wondered how his papery skin did not crumple in the effort. Edward snorted very quietly, and Alice looked at him, curious. â€Å"Thank you, Marcus,† Aro said. â€Å"That's quite interesting.† I realized, a second late, that Marcus was letting Aro know his thoughts. Marcus didn't look interested. He glided away from Aro to join the one who must be Caius, seated against the wall. Two of the attending vampires followed silently behind himbodyguards, like I'd thought before. I could see that the two women in the sundresses had gone to stand beside Caius in the same manner. The idea of any vampire needing a guard was faintly ridiculous to me, but maybe the ancient ones were as frail as their skin suggested. Aro was shaking his head. â€Å"Amazing,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ he said. â€Å"Absolutely amazing.† Alice's expression was frustrated. Edward turned to her and explained again in a swift, low voice. â€Å"Marcus sees relationships. He's surprised by the intensity of ours.† Aro smiled. â€Å"So convenient,† he repeated to himself. Then he spoke to us. â€Å"It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you.† I looked at Marcus's dead face, and I believed that. â€Å"It's just so difficult to understand, even now,† Aro mused, staring at Edward's arm wrapped around me. It was hard for me to follow Aro's chaotic train of thought. I struggled to keep up. â€Å"How can you stand so close to het like that?† â€Å"It's not without effort,† Edward answered calmly. â€Å"Butstillla tua cantante! What a waste!† Edward chuckled once without humor. â€Å"I look at it more as a price.† Aro was skeptical. â€Å"A very high price.† â€Å"Opportunity cost.† Aro laughed. â€Å"If I hadn't smelled her through your memories, I wouldn't have believed the call of anyone's blood could be so strong. I've never felt anything like it myself. Most of us would trade much for such a gift, and yet you† â€Å"Waste it,† Edward finished, his voice sarcastic now. Aro laughed again. â€Å"Ah, how I miss my friend Carlisle! You remind me of himonly he was not so angry.† â€Å"Carlisle outshines me in many other ways as well.† â€Å"I certainly never thought to see Carlisle bested for self-control of all things, but you put him to shame.† â€Å"Hardly.† Edward sounded impatient. As if he were tired of the preliminaries. It made me more afraid; I couldn't help but try to imagine what he expected would follow. â€Å"I am gratified by his success,† Aro mused. â€Å"Your memories of him are quite a gift for me, though they astonish me exceedingly. I am surprised by how it pleases me, his success in this unorthodox path he's chosen. I expected that he would waste, weaken with time. I'd scoffed at his plan to find others who would share his peculiar vision. Yet, somehow, I'm happy to be wrong.† Edward didn't reply. â€Å"But your restraint!† Aro sighed. â€Å"I did not know such strength was possible. To inure yourself against such a siren call, not just once but again and againif I had not felt it myself, I would not have believed.† Edward gazed back at Aro's admiration with no expression. I knew his face well enoughtime had not changed thatto guess at something seething beneath the surface. I fought to keep my breathing even. â€Å"Just remembering how she appeals to you† Aro chuckled. â€Å"It makes me thirsty.† Edward tensed. â€Å"Don't be disturbed,† Aro reassured him. â€Å"I mean her no harm. But I am so curious, about one thing in particular.† He eyed me with bright interest. â€Å"May I?† he asked eagerly, lifting one hand. â€Å"Ask her,† Edward suggested in a flat voice. â€Å"Of course, how rude of me!† Aro exclaimed. â€Å"Bella,† he addressed me directly now. â€Å"I'm fascinated that you are the one exception to Edward's impressive talentso very interesting that such a thing should occur! And I was wondering, since our talents are similar in many ways, if you would be so kind as to allow me to tryto see if you are an exception for me, as well?† My eyes flashed up to Edward's face in terror. Despite Aro's overt politeness, I didn't believe I really had a choice. I was horrified at the thought of allowing him to touch me, and yet also perversely intrigued by the chance to feel his strange skin. Edward nodded in encouragementwhether because he was sure Aro would not hurt me, or because there was no choice, I couldn't tell. I turned back to Aro and raised my hand slowly in front of me. It was trembling. He glided closer, and I believe he meant his expression to be reassuring. But his papery features were too strange, too alien and frightening, to reassure. The look on his face was more confident than his words had been. Aro reached out, as if to shake my hand, and pressed his insubstantial-looking skin against mine. It was hard, but felt brittleshale rather than graniteand even colder than I expected. His filmy eyes smiled down at mine, and it was impossible to look away. They were mesmerizing in an odd, unpleasant way. Aro's face altered as I watched. The confidence wavered and became first doubt, then incredulity before he calmed it into a friendly mask. â€Å"So very interesting,† he said as he released my hand and drifted back. My eyes flickered to Edward, and, though his face was composed, I thought he seemed a little smug. Aro continued to drift wnh a thoughtful expression. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes flickering between the three of us. Then, abruptly, he shook his head. â€Å"A first,† he said to himself â€Å"I wonder if she is immune to our other talents Jane, dear?† â€Å"No!† Edward snarled the word. Alice grabbed his arm with a restraining hand. He shook her off. Little Jane smiled up happily at Aro. â€Å"Yes, Master?† Edward was truly snarling now, the sound ripping and tearing from him, glaring at Aro with baleful eyes. The room had gone still, everyone watching him with amazed disbelief, as if he were committing some embarrassing social faux pas. I saw Felix grin hopefully and move a step forward. Aro glanced at him once, and he froze in place, his grin turning to a sulky expression. Then he spoke to Jane. â€Å"I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to you.† I could barely hear Aro over Edward's furious growls. He let go of me, moving to hide me from their view. Caius ghosted in our direction, with his entourage, to watch. Jane turned toward us with a beatific smile. â€Å"Don't!† Alice cried as Edward launched himself at the little girl. Before I could react, before anyone could jump between them, before Aro's bodyguards could tense, Edward was on the ground. No one had touched him, but he was on the stone floor writhing in obvious agony, while I stared in horror. Jane was smiling only at him now, and it all clicked together. What Alice had said about formidable gifts , why everyone treated Jane with such deference, and why Edward had thrown himself in her path before she could do that to me. â€Å"Stop!† I shrieked, my voice echoing in the silence, jumping forward to put myself between them. But Alice threw her arms around me in an unbreakable grasp and ignored my struggles. No sound escaped Edward's lips as he cringed against the stones. It felt like my head would explode from the pain of watching this. â€Å"Jane,† Aro recalled her in a tranquil voice. She looked up quickly, still smiling with pleasure, her eyes questioning. As soon as Jane looked away, Edward was still. Aro inclined his head toward me. Jane turned her smile in my direction. I didn't even meet her gaze. I watched Edward from the prison of Alice's arms, still struggling pointlessly. â€Å"He's fine,† Alice whispered in a tight voice. As she spoke, he sat up, and then sprang lightly to his feet. His eyes met mine, and they were horror-struck. At first I thought the horror was for what he had just suffered. But then he looked quickly at Jane, and back to meand his face relaxed into relief. I looked at Jane, too, and she no longer smiled. She glared at me, her jaw clenched with the intensity of her focus. I shrank back, waiting for the pain. Nothing happened. Edward was by my side again. He touched Alice's arm, and she surrendered me to him. Aro started to laugh. â€Å"Ha, ha. ha,† he chuckled. â€Å"This is wonderful!† Jane hissed in frustration, leaning forward like she was preparing to spring. â€Å"Don't be put out, dear one,† Aro said in a comforting tone, placing a powder-light hand on her shoulder. â€Å"She confounds us all.† Jane's upper lip curled back ever her teeth as she continued to glare at me. â€Å"Ha, ha, ha,† Aro chortled again. â€Å"You're very brave, Edward, to endure in silence. I asked Jane to do that to me oncejust out of curiosity.† He shook his head in admiration. Edward glared, disgusted. â€Å"So what do we do with you now?† Aro sighed. Edward and Alice stiffened. This was the part they'd been waiting for. I began to tremble. â€Å"I don't suppose there's any chance that you've changed your mind?† Aro asked Edward hopefully. â€Å"Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company.† Edward hesitated. From the corner of my eye, I saw both Felix and Jane grimace. Edward seemed to weigh each word before he spoke it. â€Å"I'd rather not.† â€Å"Alice?† Aro asked, still hopeful. â€Å"Would you perhaps be interested in joining with us?† â€Å"No, thank you,† Alice said. â€Å"And you, Bella?† Aro raised his eyebrows. Edward hissed, low in my ears. I stared at Aro blankly. Was he joking? Or was he really asking me if I wanted to stay for dinner? It was the white-haired Caius who broke the silence. â€Å"What?† he demanded of Aro; his voice, though no more than a whisper, was flat. â€Å"Caius, surely you see the potential,† Aro chided him affectionately. â€Å"I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?† Caius looked away with a caustic expression. Jane's eyes sparked with indignation at the comparison. Edward fumed beside me. I could hear a rumble in his chest, building toward a growl. I couldn't let his temper get him hurt. â€Å"No, thank you,† I spoke up in barely more than a whisper, my voice breaking in fright. Aro sighed. â€Å"That's unfortunate. Such a waste.† Edward hissed. â€Å"Join or die, is that it? I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws.† The tone of his voice surprised me. He sounded irate, but there was something deliberate about his deliveryas if he'd chosen his words with great care. â€Å"Of course not.† Aro blinked, astonished. â€Å"We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you.† â€Å"Aro,† Caius hissed. â€Å"The law claims them.† Edward glared at Caius. â€Å"How so?† he demanded. He must have known what Caius was thinking, but he seemed determined to make him speak it aloud. Caius pointed a skeletal finger at me. â€Å"She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets.† His voice was papery thin, just like his skin. â€Å"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well,† Edward reminded him, and I thought of the pretty receptionist below. Caius's face twisted into a new expression. Was it supposed to be a smiled. â€Å"Yes,† he agreed. â€Å"But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not,† he scoffed. â€Å"I wouldn't,† I began, still whispering. Caius silenced me with an icy look. â€Å"Nor do you intend to make her one of us,† Caius continued. â€Å"Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit. You may leave if you wish.† Edward bared his teeth. â€Å"That's what I thought,† Caius said, with something akin to pleasure. Felix leaned forward, eager. â€Å"Unless† Aro interrupted. He looked unhappy with the way the conversation had gone. â€Å"Unless you do intend to give her immortality?† Edward pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before he answered. â€Å"And if I do?† Aro smiled, happy again. â€Å"Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carlisle.† His expression turned more hesitant. â€Å"But I'm afraid you would have to mean it.† Aro raised his hand in front of him. Caius, who had begun to scowl furiously, relaxed. Edward's lips tightened into a fierce line. He stared into my eyes, and I stared back. â€Å"Mean it,† I whispered. â€Å"Please.† Was it really such a loathsome idea? Would he rather die than change me? I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. Edward stared down at me with a tortured expression. And then Alice stepped away from us, forward toward Aro. We turned to watch her. Her hand was raised like his. She didn't say anything, and Aro waved off his anxious guard as they moved to block her approach. Aro met her halfway, and took her hand with an eager, acquisitive glint in his eyes. He bent his head over their touching hands, his eyes closing as he concentrated. Alice was motionless, her face blank. I heard Edward's teeth snap together. No one moved. Aro seemed frozen over Alice's hand. The seconds passed and I grew more and more stressed, wondering how much time would pass before it was too much time. Before it meant something was wrongmore wrong than it already was. Another agonizing moment passed, and then Aro's voice broke the silence. â€Å"Ha, ha, ha,† he laughed, his head still bent forward. He looked up slowly, his eyes bright with excitement. â€Å"That was fascinating!† Alice smiled dryly. â€Å"I'm glad you enjoyed it.† â€Å"To see the things you've seenespecially the ones that haven't happened yet!† He shook his head in wonder. â€Å"But that will,† she reminded him, voice calm. â€Å"Yes, yes, it's quite determined. Certainly there's no problem.† Caius looked bitterly disappointeda feeling he seemed to share with Felix and Jane. â€Å"Aro,† Caius complained. â€Å"Dear Caius,† Aro smiled. â€Å"Do not fret. Think of the possibilities! They do not join us today, but we can always hope for the future. Imagine the joy young Alice alone would bring to our little household Besides, I'm so terribly curious to see how Bella turns out!† Aro seemed convinced. Did he not realize how subjective Alice's visions were.' That she could make up her mind to transform me today, and then change it tomorrow? A million tiny decisions, her decisions and so many others', tooEdward'scould alter her path, and with that, the future. And would it really matter that Alice was willing, would it make any difference if I did become a vampire, when the idea was so repulsive to Edward? If death was, to him, a better alternative than having me around forever, an immortal annoyance? Terrified as I was, I felt myself sinking down into depression, drowning in it â€Å"Then we are free to go now?† Edward asked in an even voice. â€Å"Yes, yes,† Aro said pleasantly. â€Å"But please visit again. It's been absolutely enthralling!† â€Å"And we will visit you as well,† Caius promised, his eyes suddenly half-closed like the heavy-lidded gaze of a lizard. â€Å"To be sure that you follow through on your side. Were I you, I would not delay too long. We do not offer second chances.† Edward's jaw clenched tight, but he nodded once. Caius smirked and drifted back to where Marcus still sat, unmoving and uninterested. Felix groaned. â€Å"Ah, Felix.† Aro smiled, amused. â€Å"Heidi will be here at any moment. Patience.† â€Å"Hmm.† Edward's voice had a new edge to it. â€Å"In that case, perhaps we'd better leave sooner rather than later.† â€Å"Yes,† Aro agreed. â€Å"That's a good idea. Accidents do happen. Please wait below until after dark, though, if you don't mind.† â€Å"Of course,† Edward agreed, while I cringed at the thought of waiting out the day before we could escape. â€Å"And here,† Aro added, motioning to Felix with one finger. Felix came forward at once, and Aro unfastened the gray cloak the huge vampire wore, pulling from his shoulders. He tossed it to Edward. â€Å"Take this. You're a little conspicuous.† Edward put the long cloak on, leaving the hood down. Aro sighed. â€Å"It suits you.† Edward chuckled, but broke off suddenly, glancing over his shoulder. â€Å"Thank you, Aro. We'll wait below.† â€Å"Goodbye, young friends,† Aro said, his eyes bright as he stared in the same direction. â€Å"Let's go,† Edward said, urgent now. Demetri gestured that we should follow, and then set off the way we'd come in, the only exit by the look of things. Edward pulled me swiftly along beside him. Alice was close by my other side, her face hard. â€Å"Not fast enough,† she muttered. I stared up at her, frightened, but she only seemed chagrined. It was then that I first heard the babble of voicesloud, rough voicescoming from the antechamber. â€Å"Well this is unusual,† a man's coarse voice boomed. â€Å"So medieval,† an unpleasantly shrill, female voice gushed back. A large crowd was coming through the little door, filling the smaller stone chamber. Demetri motioned for us to make room. We pressed back against the cold wall to let them pass. The couple in front, Americans from the sound of them, glanced around themselves with appraising eyes. â€Å"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!† I could hear Aro sing from the big turret room. The rest of them, maybe forty or more, filed in after the couple. Some studied the setting like tourists. A few even snapped pictures. Others looked confused, as if the story that had led them to this room was not making sense anymore. I noticed one small, dark woman in particular. Around her neck was a rosary, and she gripped the cross tightly in one hand. She walked more slowly than the others, touching someone now and then and asking a question in an unfamiliar language. No one seemed to understand her, and her voice grew more panicked. Edward pulled my face against his chest, but it was too late. I already understood. As soon as the smallest break appeared, Edward pushed me quickly toward the door. I could feel the horrified expression on my face, and the tears beginning to pool in my eyes. The ornate golden hallway was quiet, empty except for one gorgeous, statuesque woman. She stared at us curiously, me in particular. â€Å"Welcome home, Heidi,† Demetri greeted her from behind us. Heidi smiled absently. She reminded me of Rosalie, though they looked nothing alikeit was just that her beauty, too, was exceptional, unforgettable. I couldn't seem to look away. She was dressed to emphasize that beauty. Her amazingly long legs, darkened with tights, were exposed by the shortest of miniskirts. Her top was long-sleeved and high-necked, but extremely close-fitting, and constructed of red vinyl. Her long mahogany hair was lustrous, and her eyes were the strangest shade of violeta color that might result from blue-tinted contacts over red irises. â€Å"Demetri,† she responded in a silky voice, her eyes flickering between my face and Edward's gray cloak. â€Å"Nice fishing,† Demetri complimented her, and I suddenly understood the attention-grabbing outfit she wore she was not only the fisherman, but also the bait. â€Å"Thanks.† She flashed a stunning smile. â€Å"Aren't you coming?† â€Å"In a minute. Save a few for me.† Heidi nodded and ducked through the door with one last curious look at me. Edward set a pace that had me running to keep up. But we still couldn't get through the ornate door at the end of the hallway before the screaming started.