Promote Good Practice in Handing Information in Health and Social Care Settings

Promote Good Practice in Handing Information in Health and Social Care Settings Outcome 1 Understand requirements for handling information in health and social care settings 1. 1Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in health and social care The Data Protection Act 1998 Health and Social Care Act 2001 Article 8 for The European Convention on Human Rights 1. 2Summarise the main points of legal requirements and codes of practice for handling information in health and social care The Data Protection Act 1998.The Act defines personal data as information which relates to a living individual who can be identified from the data or from the data and other information that the data controller is in possession of or is likely to become in possession of. This information may be in electronic or manual form (i. e. paper). The main principals of the act are: †¢The data must be fairly and lawfully processed and shall not be processed if certain conditi ons are not met. †¢The data must only be obtained for one or more lawful purposes. The data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive to the purpose for which the data are required. †¢The data must be accurate and where necessary, kept up to date. †¢The data must be kept no longer than necessary. †¢The data must be processed in accordance with the rights of the individual. †¢The data must be kept secure against unlawful or unauthorised processing, accidental loss or erasure. †¢The data must not be transferred to a country outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) unless that country ensures an adequate level of protection. Health and Social Care Act 2001.Section 60 of this Act gives the Secretary of State for Health the power to make regulations to authorise or require health service bodies to disclose patient information, including data which is patient-identifiable, which is needed to support essential NHS activity, in the interests of improving patient care or in the wider public interest. Proposed regulations have been drafted to authorise or require disclosure in order to monitor diseases, including communicable diseases, for occupational health purposes and for medical research. Article 8 for The European Convention on Human RightsThe European Convention was brought into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998. Article 8 states: 1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.This means that an individual's wish to protect his or her privacy must be balanced against t he needs of the relevant public authority to obtain or use specified information. Outcome 2 Be able to implement good practice in handling information 2. 1 Describe features of manual and electronic information storage systems that help ensure security. A manual information storage system must be made of strong materials and have a lock, e. g. , a safe with a keypad code or a metal filing cabinet with a lock.An electronic information storage system should have password protection, encrypted and antimalware software. 2. 2 Demonstrate practices that ensure security when storing and accessing information. I have demonstrated this by storing manual data in a metal filing cabinet which has a key lock. When accessing data I ensure that there is not anybody around who could obtain any information, e. g. , whilst filling out paperwork at work there is a customer who will read what you are writing over your shoulder so I ensure that they are not there.If they are I go elsewhere, if they appr oach me I cover the data and put it away if I have to leave the location for any reason. 2. 3 Maintain records that are up to date, complete, accurate and legible. On each shift I complete daily support notes for each customer for that day, One to one activity support notes, medication records (MARS) and update care plans and Person Centred Plans as required. I ensure they are complete by carrying out a handover at the end of each shift.I put in all information and keep it factual so that it is accurate. I ensure I have enough time to fill out paperwork so that it is written legibly and not rushed. Outcome 3 Be able to support others to handle information 3. 1 Support others to understand the need for secure handling of information I refer staff to The Oaklea Trust Policy and Procedure regarding confidentiality. I explain the importance of keeping data locked away and not left lying around the house.When the need arises for me to pass on information of a personal nature I ensure the individual has given me permission and that I only inform people that need to know, e. g. , a disclosure of abuse must be passed on to my line manager or on call as the policy states. I inform the individual that I will have to do this and why. OR if a family member requests information I explain that it cannot be disclosed as it is confidential and advise them to speak to the customer, supervisor or line manager.When visitors are in the house I ensure that anybody holding a conversation regarding personal data i. e. a social worker and a key worker holding a meeting with a customer cannot be overheard by any staff, customers, visitors, workmen, other professionals, etc 3. 2 Support others to understand and contribute to records When a new member of staff starts I explain how the records are completed and stored and actively encourage them to fill in the paperwork. I carry out a handover at the end of each shift to ensure this has been done.I also encourage the staff member that ha s worked with each customer to complete the relevant paperwork. Regular staff meetings. Keep up to date with training. Individuals assessing care or support, it is the supervisors responsibility to organise reviews, however, when updating paperwork I regularly check the dates on care plans and reviews for the next due date and I pass it on to my supervisor when the date is near. The new care plans and reviews are placed in the relevant customer file and a note in the communication book to ensure everybody is aware and can then read it

How Organized Sports Affect Academics

Most countries in the world have facilitated sports for extra-curricular activities in schools. Sports provide an opportunity for which students can develop their physical fitness, mental stability, leadership qualities and teamwork skills. Sports play an integral part in the development of children. It teaches them how to compete fairly and how to handle pressure. Balancing sports and academics properly also teaches children proper time-management skills and balance of their activities. Organized sports can, however, also have negative effects relating to students’ academic load. Purpose of the research The assignment is a mandatory component of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Caribbean Studies course, in which a research project that addresses social issues must be carried out. This research is intended to explore the effects that organized sports have on students’ academic performance. The results from this research can prove useful in informing students that participating in organized sports can aid in their academic performance. Significance of the research Previous studies have shown that organized sports do indeed affect academic performance in schools. This study differs from others as it intends to outline the positive effects of participation in sports, and to show how they significantly outweigh the drawbacks of such activities. Research questions This research intends to find out: * What percentage of students do involve in sports as an extra-curricular activity? * What sports do students generally participate in? Definition of Technical Terms Cognitive Skills and Attitudes – Attention, concentration, memory, verbal ability. Academic Behaviors – Conduct, attendance, time on task, homework completion. Academic Achievement – Standardized test scores, grades. Literature Review This review will bring further clarity on what is being researched, and show the effectiveness of the sources in providing timely, relevant and reliable information. Some say the impact of the involvement of students in extra-curricular activities of a sporting nature on their academic performance is quite positive, others disagree. This issue has been debated by researchers, students and parents for many years. Extracurricular Activities and Academic Performance Numerous studies have been conducted concerning the relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance. Total extracurricular activity participation (TEAP), or participation in extracurricular activities in general, is associated with an improved grade point average, higher educational aspirations, increased college attendance, and reduced absenteeism† (Broh, 2002). Many extracurricular activities have proven to be beneficial in building and strengthening academic achievement, even if the activities are not obviously related to academic subjects. Guest and Schneider (2003), in looking at the previous research on this subject said, â€Å"Researchers have found positive associations between extracurricular participation and academic achievement†. Although researchers agree that extracurricular activities do, in fact, influence academic performance, the specific effect that various activities produce is debated. One study, conducted by the National Educational Longitudinal Study, found that â€Å"participation in some activities improves achievement, while participation in others diminishes achievement† (Broh, 2002). Formal versus Informal Extracurricular Activities Some researchers have divided extracurricular activities into informal and formal activities. The formal activities include activities which are relatively structured, such as participating in athletics or learning to play a musical instrument. Informal activities, on the other hand, also known as leisure activities, include less structured activities, such as watching television. The Relationship between Athletics and Academic Performance Some research indicates that physical activity not only improves academic performance, but has an actual physical benefit for the mind. Shepard, a world renowned neurologist said, â€Å"Regular physical activity might influence cognitive development by increasing cerebral blood flow, altering arousal and associate neruohormonal balance, changing nutritional status, or promoting the growth of interneuronal connections†. * U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division of Adolescent and School Health www. cdc. gov/HealthyYouth Revised Version — July 2010 (Replaces April 2010 Early Release) Results: Nineteen studies (reported in 14 articles) focused specifically on the relationship between academic performance and activities organized through school that occur outside of the regular school day. These activities included participation in school sports (interscholastic sports and other team or individual sports) as well as other after-school physical activity programs. All 19 studies examining the relationships between participation in extracurricular physical activities and academic performance found one or more positive associations. The evidence suggests that superintendents, principals, and athletic directors can develop or continue school-based sports programs without concern that these activities have a detrimental impact on students’ academic performance. School administrators and teachers also can encourage after-school organizations, clubs, student groups, and parent groups to incorporate physical activities into their programs and events. Children and adolescents engage in different types of physical activity, depending on age and access to programs and equipment in their schools and communities. Elementary school-aged children typically engage in free play, running and chasing games, jumping rope, and age-appropriate activities that are aligned with the development of fundamental motor skills. The development of complex motor skills enables adolescents to engage in active recreation (e. g. , canoeing, skiing, rollerblading), resistance exercises with weights or weight machines, individual sports (e. g. , running, cycling), and team sports (e. g. , basketball, baseball). Most youth, however, do not engage in the recommended level of physical activity. For example, only 17. 1% of U. S. igh school students meet current recommendations for physical activity (CDC, unpublished data, 2009). In addition to school-day opportunities, youth also have opportunities to participate in physical activity through extracurricular physical activities (e. g. , school sports, organized sports, recreation, other teams), which may be available through schools, communities, and/or after-school programs. Seventy-six percent of 6- to 12-year-olds reported participating in some sports in 1997, and in 2007, 56% of high school students reported playing on one or more sports teams organized by their school or community in the previous 12 months.

Gender Essay

The history of gender and American policy is one crafted and based on historical events and changes in the men’s and societies’ view of women, especially as regards their roles in influencing policy change’s and implementation. According to scholars women roles for the past two centuries have improved remarkably if current events are to go by. Apparently, the study of gender as regards American foreign policy is a completely new aspect which has metamorphosed over the ages to became a crucial and significant approach of analyzing America’s foreign policies as regards, contribution to war, politics, economics and culture. In essence gender studies indicate the expectations, that the society holds to the different genders and the roles each group play. Dating back to the biblical times, the issue of gender and more so gender imbalance having been predominant in our society is, one coined on the society’s understanding and expectation of the male and female members of the society. It’s upon this that women over the ages have found themselves, marooned and dominated by men in major policies that have affected the society especially as regards warfare, diplomacy and violence. From ancient Greek, Roman, Babylonian empires, women have often being regarded as a weak gender compared to men, this has quite often led to maltreatment and abuse of women by the dominant male specie Braudy states â€Å"certainly the tradition of allying weakness with women and strength with men is a long one† (328). Its upon this conceptual thought that women have been destined, to play if any, a minimal role in matters of war. However it’s the statement of scholars and historians that though regarded as a marginalized group and less often actively involved in war, women â€Å"occupy a privileged place as an alternative source of national moral strength† (Braudy 328). In essence a good woman was always portrayed as pliant, submissive and subordinate. Thus the concept of gender imbalance has been with us for long, this was especially portrayed by the remarks and views held by male and society as regards women. For instance some scholars portrayed them as a â€Å"savagery within civilization† and as Braudy, states a â€Å"source of both fascination and disgust† (328). This is vehemently expressed by the 19th century view of women menstruation as a wound. However scholars do agree that progress has been witnessed over the ages as regards women role in society as research show that women have tremendously established themselves as a dominant force in society though, they still lack behind in a world where war, politics, economics, diplomacy issues are dominated by male. It’s thus upon this views that women remain less actively involved in war. According to scholars women have partly participated in wars and hence as history shows wars have been attributed to men. So is war a man’s affair. War and especially violence was, and still continues, to be a man’s affair in that men have always been attributed to intolerance and aggressive behavior, which is replicated in the art of war. Barash, states â€Å"if we could eliminate or even significantly reduce male violence we would pretty much get rid of violence† (1). For ages the art of war has been and still is dominated by men. For instance looking back at past war events ,its difficult to find any war which might have been instigated by a woman, on the contrary men have been responsible for all major wars and even violence related incidents in the society including genocide and homicide. Experts thus postulate that, war is a man’s affair in which men seek to dominate others, by the crudest of ways. It’s a concept that has been among the male species. The ancient warriors thus were taught to be strong and vicious, going contrally to that was risking ones sexuality in the sense that one would be braded as an â€Å"effeminate† a term often used to refer to men who were weak and coward. Thus it’s an agreed fact that a true warrior or man was identified on his possession of power attributed to ones manhood. Thus in order to show the effect of gender as regards war the male dominated societies used the most atrocious and ridiculous way such as castrating, homosexuality, masturbation and circumcision to humiliate individuals , thought to be weak, a trait that was attributed and reminisce of the women. This was done to portray other men as having qualities akin to women as demonstrated by the act of penetration. For instance during the ancient times homosexuality was used to render punishment on the male enemies. Sodomizing war captives was cogently used by Babylonians. Also studies indicate that war captives were treated on the basis of their gender in that women were raped, children enslaved while the males were subsequently killed and humiliated, in one incidence they were forced to masturbate while get the erect before being sodomized. This according to Trexler proofed to â€Å"show linkage between gender and humiliation in war fare† (20). By castrating the others scholars do ascertain that it was to be â€Å"a basic element in man’s fighting instincts. †(Trexler 19). To crowns it all, this acts were often instigated against other men in order to prove ones superiority over the others. Castrating and cutting the enemies manhood became a way of showing how the enemy had been subdued. This is depicted by the ancient Jewish society where warriors would cut their enemies private parts and foreskins to present to kings as a show of victory in war. In modern society violence and war is overwhelmingly dominated by male, for instance according to a researcher conducted in America, over 90% of homicide cases in America have been perpetrated by men. Moreover a great number of men are enlisted in the national army. What makes it more interesting is how terrorist groups are predominantly male established . In essence any where there is violence and war man is. It has thus been concluded that war is the art of man, as depicted by the studies of ancient history of warfare and current affairs. Barash cogently states that â€Å"what can be called killing establishment, soldiers, executioners, hunters, even slaughters is overwhelmingly male†(1). he concept of war and gender can thus be summarized as follows; war is a mans affair, violence and war is something that men direct at each other, men are the instigators and subsequently victims of their acts of violence, women are the victims of men’s warfare but not partakers or instigators and finally when people are murdered and slaughtered as in case of genocides and war, men are always the culprits. Religion and war According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary religion re fers to a personal set or institutionalized set of religious beliefs, attitudes and practices. In that point, the debate over whether religion is responsible for the many wars witnessed in the history of mankind has continued to rage with both critics and proponents ascertaining their views and subsequently providing proofs to justify and authenticate their claims. Before understanding this issues it’s important thus to define war. According to Merriam –Webster online dictionary war is thus a state characterized by hostility, conflict, or antagonism Thus the concept of intermarriage between religion and war and especially its contribution to war, its one which has found favour in the ideologies of atheist and scientist as such. So does religion cause wars? Religion has been the greatest threat to mankind and thus it’s been the cause of many bloody confrontations. Charles Kimball, states â€Å"It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history. †(1) This has often led to some critics of religion pointing that, if man is to live peacefully then religion should be scraped or rather the belief in God should be descanted. Timothy Fitzgerald quips that; â€Å"religion should be regarded as a form of mystification and scrapped† (26). The contemporary attitude on religious contribution to war arises due to a number of factors or rather reason that is religious conflicts, religious wars, religious ideologies based on teachings of some religions and modern fundamentalism attributed to different religious groups. It’s the statement of scholars that the history of religions contribution to war in modern world and as regards organized religions is to be traced to the Roman Catholic which was responsible for some of the greatest conflicts in history of mankind. During the dark reign of the Catholic Church in Europe many people were slaughtered and mercilessly killed due to their beliefs. According to Hitcher, the church has a history responsibility for the crusades, persecution of Catholics, Jews and deserters (17). Thus the Roman Catholic Church which represents Christianity is accountable for grave atrocities that culminated in the murder, persecution of millions of people based on its principle of heresy. It’s been the overwhelming statement and consensus of scholars that the blood birth witnessed during the dark reign of the church by far surpassed the jihads. Also the pope at the time is believed to have contributed tremendously in influencing major wars at the time. On another point, historians ascertain that, the competition for support and the fundamental believe that one religion is superior than the other has fueled animosity between religious groups, often leading to bloody confrontations that have often led to war. Moore in describing about this competition states â€Å"it had to be cruel in the general sense that any group identity is liable to be formed in hostile competition† (29). Its was this religious dreams of superiority that led to the Islamic conquest and expansion during the 18th century ,at that time, its estimated that millions of people were killed and others taken as slaves. This competition among religious groups has often led to war between the different opposing religions. For instance according to Price most of the greatest conflicts such as the Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and even 9/11 attack are as a result of religious differences. These facts are clearly demonstrated in the crusades that were responsible for fighting the spread of Islam in Europe . during this time the pope coined what was termed as â€Å"just war†. Thus it was believed that some wars were justifiable especially if it entailed safeguarding the very cores of the religion. On their part the Muslim desire for expansion was characterized by forced conversion through war commonly referred to as Jihad. What has come to be the greatest threat to mankind in this century it’s also attributed to religious fundamentalism . Following the aftermath of the 9/11, the world witnessed the rise of terrorism ,a new tool used by Muslim fanatics and which is based on Islamic fundamentalism though the 9/11 event has been regarded by some as not influenced by Islamic fundermentalism,the facts point to the contrary . For instance the known mastermind of the attack and the leader of Alquieda, Osama Bin Laden ,in his speech calling for the murder of citizens in western countries attributed his action to Islam and more so the holy book Koran. These proofs to show that despite the denials by some Islamic leaders, the calls of Osama seek to justify the views held by majority of the Islamic community. The Muslim have also used the word â€Å"Crusade† to describe the policy of western countries especially America to occupy Islamic states. This is a symbolic meaning to the crusades, organized to counter Islamic conquest during the 18th century. It’s thus the belief of scholars, that the Islamic fundamentalism is based on religious beliefs of Islamic faith though some Islamic scholars do oppose these beliefs. Scholars have thus argued that the terrorist attack on America that killed innocent civilians could not have happened if not for religious believes. The Palestinian and Jewish conflict has been continuing for long, this conflict has often led to bloody confrontation between the two groups. According to scholars this conflicts is the brain child of religious fundamentalism based on Islam and Judaism. Thus critics do argue that the history of enmity between this two religious groups, bases its root on hard core ideologies attributed to the groups religious affiliations, thus as long as the groups seek to identify themselves on religious background, it will be hard to tackle has been their for long hence as long as each group seeks to identify the other in terms of religious background, it will be hard to tackle. This conflict has led to the extend of isolating the Jewish state of Israel from the rest of Middle East countries with calls by some Muslim fanatics and religious leaders for the murder of Jewish citizens. It’s thus the statement of historians that the Yom Kippur war between Israel and other Arab countries was as result of religious differences. Thus critic’s quip that religion has led to nations forming alliances on bases of religious believes, thus leading to conflicts which have led to emergence of hardcore ideologies and conflicts across the world. It has also been said that, religion has been instrumental in influencing wars in Europe. for instance the French religious wars are attributed to religion , Holt, says â€Å"the French civil wars which began with the massacre at vassy in 1562 and concluded with peace of the alass 1629 was a conflict of religion†(56) Different religions also have been known to encourage war of such is the Buddhism religion in which the tales of Bhagavad-Gita are based on war and made to justify war as an act of self protection, in its case Judaism and especially the old testament depicted war as necessary in order to defend the convictions of their teaching, in the bible the Israelites who believe that they are Gods children and the chosen ones called on God to fight for their course According to some studies conducted it has further been established that some individuals use religion in order to advance their political ambitions ,for instance , having used Jews and Judaism as a ladder to ascend to political power Hitler gained the channel he so much needed to murder 6 million Jews, in our modern society prominent personalities and politician have been known to make grievous remarks based on religious conviction, the calling by Iranian president for complete annihilation of the state of Israel and calling of Musl ims to unite against Judaism that stands for the Jewish state of Israel is a sure way of describing how religion has been used to sphere head murder of innocent civilians. A true religious individual thus does not advocate for violence. Thus according to proponents of religion it has subsequently been ascertained that the absence of religion in the modern nations especially communist did not deter their leaders such as Stalin from leading any less violently.  Despite the growing claims that religion causes war, proponents and researchers have criticized, this claims by ascertaining that religion and especially organized religions are peaceful the teachings of most religion call for peaceful existence of individuals, this is depicted by the teachings of individuals who have been ardent followers of their respective religions. According to martin Luther king Jr, the knowledge of God brings inner peace, in his teaching also he advocated for tolerance and use of non violence. Also Gandhi one of the staunchest supporter and believer of Buddhism advocated for the use of non violence (ahisma) in his philosophies which have become instrumental in influencing the thoughts and ideas of modern leaders.

ENERGY LOSSES IN BENDS ( Fluid Mechanics for Engineers ) Lab Report

ENERGY LOSSES IN BENDS ( Fluid Mechanics for Engineers ) - Lab Report Example the results have been obtained for three different runs and this will be important in obtained different results that will be crucial for computation of the different values of K loss coefficient. The data obtained will also be used to plot a graph of head loss Versus Dynamic Head. The extent of the errors will then be computed in order to determine the accuracy of the data obtained. Finally, the values computed will be compared against the values given in the textbooks and the observations made recorded. Energy losses in pipes normally result from friction that occurs between the walls of the pipe and the fluid and the internal friction in the particles of the fluid. On the location of the pipe whereby the streamlines are not straight such as the bends, piping junctions, valves contraction and expansion joints and the inlets and outlets of the reservoirs, minor head losses are experienced (Fluid mechanics: Online). In this experiment, we are going to measure the minor head losses through a section of pipe with a number of transitions, fittings and bends as shown in the figure below: The main purpose of this experiment is to study the head losses through common fittings and valves that are commonly found in piping systems. These head losses are referred to as minor losses and can be evaluated in the form of loss coefficient KL and compared with the theoretical values given in the textbook. Where pi is the static pressure in Pascal, is the specific weight of the fluid, z1 is the elevation in meters of point i , Vi is the velocity of the fluid at point i and g is the gravitational constant and hL is head loss. gives the static head of the pipe and gives the dynamic head (Armfield Instruction Manual, 2004). The sum of the static velocity and the elevation result into what is known as the piezometric head. This is measured with a manometer aboard the apparatus of this experiment. The head loss of the piping is the summation

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Case Study - Essay Example E.ON has shown good business sense when it adopted some serious almost desperate measures to control emissions for which its employees and their non operation actions were responsible. Employees cannot be restricted where daily work related operations are concerned. However when it comes to daily non-operations activities, the firm wants to ensure that its employees are seen as environment-caring souls. Thus E.ON has come up with a series of actions that is meant to reduce emissions and these measures include giving up expensive cars, car pooling, use of company’s hybrid cars and even preferring public transport or bicycles. E.ON understands that UK is currently facing an emission crisis. In a desperate attempt to reduce CO2 emissions, UK is planning to close almost one third of its power plants in next 12 years. By 2020, UK wants major reduction in emission to achieve a 60 percent reduction by 2050. Increasing concentrations of ‘greenhouse gases’ from human activities arc expected to cause a significant change in the earth’s climate. This may have important consequences for the environment of the UK. The main gases involved are carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), nitrous oxide (NO), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and ozone (O3 ). These gases absorb outgoing infra-red radiation which has been reradiated from the earth’s surface. Observed global temperature increases over recent years are consistent with estimated increases caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations. Although a molecule of CO2 is less potent than molecules of other greenhouse gases, the quantity of emissions is relatively so large that CO2 is the major contributor to global warming. Under its Climate Change Program, the UK is committed to reducing CO2 and CH4 emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Total UK emissions of CO2 fell by 7 per cent, and of CH4 by 15 per cent, between 1990 and 1995, largely reflecting the decreasing use of coal in

What impact are technologies such as iPlayer, 4OD and You Tube having Essay

What impact are technologies such as iPlayer, 4OD and You Tube having on audiences and broadcasters - Essay Example The current scenario is as Negroponte surmised in the mid-nineties, â€Å"wholly new content will emerge from digital, as will new players, new economic models and a likely cottage industry of information and entertainment providers† (1995, p. 18). In the recent years, emergence of new technologies like the iPlayer, 4OD and You Tube along with the merging of various market forces have led to contention over the fact as whether traditional form of broadcasting would be soon obsolete, owing to widespread Internet use, or whether the audience would switch over and browse Internet primarily through their televisions. The industries that function within the arena of mass media and communications face persistent pressure in the form of ever-growing demands from their audiences, and they must necessarily conform and evolve in order to meet these demands and survive the stiff market competition. In order to retain their audience, the television industry adopted the process of converge nce with Internet, where it became possible for â€Å"multiplexing - the ability to offer ancillary digital streams of data, image sound and interactivity simultaneously† .... Discussion The introduction of modern technology in the arena of television industry during the late 1990s signalled a sort of abundance, when the number of channels being aired increased, while simultaneously expanding their worldwide purview, along with the addition of new storage and interactive faculties. The complete switch over to digital TV from the older analogue version started region wise in UK, from 2008 and is expected to end by 2012. Even though the changeover to digital version is nearly over, the switch over to a high-tech Smart TV (that converged TV with internet) until the end of 2011 was relatively low, where observations reveal that until recently only 12% of the British people had a Smart TV in their homes, a figure which is now progressively increasingly (Brilot, 2012). Within communications and mass media sector, television is the last segment to have received internet connection (Brilot, 2012). It was viewed that the chief successor to the traditional form of t elevision broadcasting services would be the internet-based video streaming sites that would offer a revolutionary mode of interactive sessions, along with personalised television programs (Harries, 2002, 219). Therefore, it was regarded that the online video streaming websites would turn out to be a main competitor for the traditional form of television broadcasting. However, recent reports show otherwise, where it is observed that traditional live TV viewing is still more popular amongst UK audience (more than 90% of the total population prefer ‘live’ TV viewing), than the modern technological developments, that include iPlayer, 4OD and You Tube viewing (Bairamian, 2010). Besides this, despite various sites that offer direct viewing of videos (like YouTube or iPlayer)

Jewish art history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jewish art history - Assignment Example c tradition of providing lavish and elaborate cloths as dowry, wherein the cloths were originally used in the home for ceremonial reasons but eventually became incorporated into synagogue use due to the motifs and designs used in association with rituals and ceremonies practiced under Jewish customs and traditions (â€Å"Art and Ceremony† 197). Lastly, another example of adapting the surrounding culture and assimilating it into Jewish culture is the use of a printing press in publishing the Haggadah, along with the incorporation of related or unrelated illustrations beside the texts, resembling non-Jewish medieval scriptures and texts (â€Å"Jewish Texts† 109;Yerushalmi 18).Possible reasons for the gradual incorporation of iconography can come from the need to appease the empires or the majority of the population, as well as the acceptance of later generations to its use in religious contexts. In essence, based on the level of tolerance and the sophistication of the maj ority of the population surrounding Jewish societies, the gradual introduction of iconography through various aspects within the Jewish culture steadily grew as the result of an incorporation of non-Jewish customs or traditions that strongly-support the use or incorporation of images or stylized texts into religious settings, along with the changing ideals of the succeeding Jewish generations. Despite seeming very different and cut-off from one another, the relationship between Jews and Christians is actually strong. Apart from the incorporation of Jewish ancient texts into the holy books of Christians, with regards to the contributions of Christians into Jewish traditions and cultures, this relationship is better expressed seen through influences in the visual cultures of each one. For example, around the Renaissance era there have been many changes observed with the synagogues built during those times, wherein the buildings became larger and more elaborate, which can be compared to Christian

Policy proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Policy proposal - Essay Example As such, in order to proactively meet this challenge, it is the responsibility of the respective police department to not only retain a zero tolerance policy as has been exhibited in the University of Arizona’s police manual/handbook, but also to actively engage key shareholders within the university to work to educate and inform based on the unique threat that such incidents place on everyone involved in the university environment. It is therefore the recommendation of this brief analysis that the University of Arizona’s Police Department should engage in actively raising awareness among both faculty and staff with regards to the threats that exist as well as what efforts can be made on behalf of the community to reduce the threats that exist as a function of weapons safety and violation. It goes without saying that our current era has seen a drastically increased incidence of gun related university incidents. From the horrors of what happened at the Virginia Tech, the University of Alabama professor who shot and killed three of his colleagues during a faculty meeting, the Northern Illinois University incident involving the shooting death of 5 graduate students, and our very own University of Arizona School of Nursing incident in which 3 professors plus the gunman was killed. All of these incidents have taken place within the past 15 years and represent a vast increase in the number and severity of mass murder perpetrated within the university environment. Accordingly, a zero tolerance policy alone is not sufficient to provide deterrence to such acts of horror. Although it is incumbent upon other entities within the university setting to broach this topic with students via orientation programs and introductions to university etc., it is also incumbent upon the University Police Department to become closely involved with the student and faculty in eliciting their support and help with minimizing threats that are faced by all as a

2 questions about the Carlu in toronto Assignment

2 questions about the Carlu in toronto - Assignment Example It is also mostly used for fashion shows events and marketing award. The room is versatile and this ensures it serves its purpose effectively. Besides being a masterpiece of modern art, the room is circular with domed ceiling that have circular mouldings that add to the beauty of the place. At the centre of the room there is a fountain that is lit from below. The murals done on the wall show nice scenes of pastoral life and they add to the beauty of the place. The place is spacious, well arranged and well lit. This makes the venue versatile and suitable for the various events that are held in it. The staffs at the venue are attentive and well organised. They are friendly and they offer quality services. The role of the event manager at Carlu is ensuring the various events such as festivals, conferences, exhibition, fundraising, social events, product launches and promotions are successful. He produces detailed proposals for the events held at the venue. He provides the client with the timelines, legal obligation, budgets and the necessary staffing depending on the event at hand (Carlu, 2014). The manager also liaises with the clients to confirm the precise requirements of the events. Most importantly he schedules the events on a first come first served basis to ensure all clients are treated equally and fairly. The manager has a role to ensure legal, insurance, safety and health obligation are adhered to. The event manager oversees the coordination of venue management, stand designers, caterers and equipment hire. He has to ensure the clients’ demands are met before and after the events. The manager also organises for traffic direction and control, car parking, hospitality and security (Carlu, 2014). He has to ensure that the people who attend the events are safe and also their property is safe. This plays a big role in

The Poetry Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Poetry Project - Essay Example The inner world of the lover will always be like the ocean in storm till such time the love is fructified. The imprint of her memory is so strong, the poet compares it to the fossil, which are the evidence of life since time immemorial that are preserved in sedimentary rocks. That imprint is impossible to erase because its vibrations are permanent and strong. Calligraphy is artistically and beautifully written words or features. He refers to her beauty as â€Å"rimmed calligraphy.† The beautiful frame adds to the beauty of the writing. Wise people say ‘silence is the sweetest sound on Earth.’ The poet refers to her invisibility as â€Å"a mouthing out of silence.† The poet creates a beautiful scenario, an appealing ambience when he writes, as if some important pronouncement emerges out of her silence. The lover does not have the benefit of her immediate presence in the bedroom. She is somewhere, out of his reach and the poet describes â€Å"where you lie a lone.† He presumes that she is suffering in silence just like him and both lead a lonely existence in their respective destined positions. Thus a picture is created, in which both the lovers are not in a happy position and time has broken the bond in which they used to remain together. Circle and label 5 of the formal poetic devices Alliteration happens when the opening resonances of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are repeated in close succession. Example: â€Å"Beyond the bedroom.† The words are close to one another and they highlight the beauty of language in a particular context. Alliteration is more or less is like the rhyme. Image is a picture or a carving, something tangible and depictive and literal images that appeal to our sense of representative perception. Example: â€Å"Like fossil shells embedded in a stone.† Such comparisons appeal to the emotions of the reader. Metaphor relates one object or idea with another. This is an impo rtant element for the success of a metaphor and adds to the grandeur of the poem. Example: â€Å"Rimmed calligraphy.† A good metaphor immediately adds dazzling effect to the poem. They are brilliant tools to communicate with the reader to win the approval and bring forth a confident picture before his mind’s curtain. Rhyme occurs when two words sound alike. It helps to link one concept to another. They may also thematically similar. Rhyme may occur in the same line or at the end of some other line. Example: â€Å"Cold gales; diving whales.† It is easy to identify the rhyme scheme in a poem and this poetic device is very popular in children poems. Symbol is an object or action that means more than its literal meaning. Example: â€Å"Go wreck yourself once more against the day.† The action indicates the state of mind and frustration of the lover The discussion of how these formal devices function Poetic devices electrify the reading experience and add to th e beauty of the poem. The canvass of the poem is limited and within the shortest possible time, the poet has to grab the attention of the reader through the flow of the poem. When the poet repeats the words he does so with a purpose, which is to enhance the development of the image created by the words and augments the fluency of the poem. They enable the poet to introduce a theme or mood noticeably and function as punch line and tender answer to the issue raised by the poet. They also assist the poet in the emotional buildup,

Statement of Purpose Essay Example for Free

Statement of Purpose Essay Firstly I would like to introduce myself as an undergraduate student of the bachelor of engineering program From the M.S.Ramaiah institute of technology, one of the most prestigious institutions of the Bangalore U university . I have completed my course of engineering in the field of Industrial Engineering’, which was for a period of four years. I graduated in the first class with distinction. I was ranked among the top five in the class. During these four years of my undergraduate course, I gained in-depth understanding of the various techniques involved in problem solving, mainly to cater to the services of the industries. Manufacturing Processes, Operations Research, Industrial Management, Quantitative techniques were the other subjects which enabled me to blend the required action whenever an problem was posed to me. Behavioral Science was the most interesting subject which I mastered during this four year peroid.This subject provided me with valuable information which helped me to develop leadership skills .The factor of empathy really coerced me to instigate leadership skills.. Since computers have become inseparable part of INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING I deemed it fit to learn more about computers and I am presently doing my course in C,C++. I have worked on software packages like MS Project,LINDO, LOTUS 123.To meet my B.E. Degree requirement ,I executed a project titled REDUCTION OF LEAD CYCLE FOR MANUFACTURE OF STEAM TURBINES under the expert guidance of N.V.R.Naidu and this project was presented in the O.R. Society of India. The main aim of the project was to reduce the lead cycle of manufacture of a particular class of turbine so as to reduce the inventory costs and enable the industry to forecast accurately for the period ahead. The techniques involved LINE OF BALANCE METHOD for scheduling and Controlling and Post college, I AM presently working in KIRLOSKAR ELECTRIC COMPANY WHERE IN I am going through a rigorous training program which will be completed very shortly. The undergraduate course as well as my training at KIRLOSKAR ELECTRIC COMPANY has provided me with a strong base for further growth in any of my desired fields. I would like to delve deeper into the fields of my choice and their technical aspects completely. I hope to acquire the requisite professional skills and develop a thorough understanding in these following areas. I wish to contribute towards these areas and indulge in research which ultimately should have a meaningful contribution to science and technology. I AM confident that my academic capability and analytical skills coupled with my perseverance and single minded devotion will see me through to this goal. To this end, the first step is a sound graduate study. I have chosen the graduate program to further my interests. It is my belief that knowledge gained has to be shared. I believe that imparting knowledge is an enjoyable and satisfying experience. I have enjoyed giving ideas, lectures and making presentations on technical/non technical topics at college and at the workplace. Hence, I am eager to obtain An assistantship.Consequently,I understand that the choice of the University is of paramount importance. After perusing your brochures and consulting my professors, I reached the conclusion that the with its reputed faculty, excellent facilities and tradition of academic excellence will be the ideal place to work towards the fulfillment o my goal. Moreover, I am confident that the wholesome education that I will receive at the will stand me in good stead throughout my career. Thanking you,

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection Essay With the advancement of technology and the rise in Internet usage amongst individual companies, businesses, and organizations, they are faced with new challenges in protecting their brand, trademark, and image from competitors (Clark, 2007). This has caused many businesses to take action in the protection of intellection property rights or IPR. For the week three assignment, the members of team A choose to discuss the case in which Premier Technologies wins intellectual property lawsuit. This paper would highlight details of the case. Doug Sayer, the owner of Premier Technologies, claimed that two of his former employees stole private information for trade secret infringement and future sabotage. The former men were members of top management at Premier Technologies. Orr and Schutte, the two men, downloaded the organizations insider information to external hard drivers, and shortly after that, left the organization to work for the competitor. According to Legal information Institute, Trade Secret is defined as the information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that derives independent economic value or potential, from not being generally known to or readily ascertainable through appropriate means by other persons who might obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. The issue is that Orr and Schutte had an intentional plan to use the operations of Premier Technologies against them to make the organization fall into the red and sale for a price less than what the business is worth. In Bannock County, Idahos Sixth Judicial District in December 2011 ruled in favor of Premier Technologies in the lawsuit Premier Technologies v. Chadd Orr, Jeff Schutte and Petersen, Inc. Doug Sayer, also Premier Technologys president and chief operating officer, argued that Chadd Orr and Jeff Schutte was conspiring with Peterson. This made Orr and Schutte breach their fiduciary duties that they owed to Premier Technology while they were high level managers at Premier Technologies. The jury unanimously voted in favor of Premier Technologies and agreed that both Orr and Schutte violated the Idaho Trade Secret Act, and that they both had a fiduciary relationship with  Premier. The jury also ruled in favor of Premier, implicating Petersen Inc. had, in fact, conspired with Orr and Schutte in breaching of their fiduciary responsibility to Premier Technologies. The ruling awarded a little over two million dollars to Premier Technologies. A $905,250 judgment was set against Schutte, while a $603,500 judgment against Orr was set for breaching their fiduciary duties. Punitive damages were awarded as such $172,000 against Schutte and $120,000 against Orr. The analysis of the case appears to be quite simple in nature. The courts decision ultimately stems from Orr and Schuttes fiduciary responsibilities that they owed to Premier during their employment with the company. The copy of protected data was not in itself the infraction, but when that information was subsequently provided to a direct competitor, an illegal activity had taken place and the two men were liable for their actions. The state laws of Idaho clearly protected Premier, and any business entity, from this form of intellectual property theft. It also awards that company money to satisfy the damages that were caused by these actions, and because of the intentional nature of the act, punitive damages were made possible as well. As there are often no formal means to protect the trade secrets that a company might have in their processes, litigation is sometimes the best option and, in this case, it certainly provided Premier with the chance to recoup their losses. As a future employee hiring procedure, it might be pertinent for Sayer to include an employee clause that gives up their right to work for a direct competitor in the future, as some highly competitive organizations do (Idaho State Journal). Through many trials and errors, laws have come to pass to protect each business from employees who wish to harm them. Orr and Schutte not only jeopardized Premier Technology’s operation, but they also jeopardized their integrity. Once they decided to work with a competitor, they stole valuable information from the Plaintiff in order to make the business fail. Their actions turned into a lawsuit that determined they breached their contract with Premier Technologies. Due to this infringement, both parties and competitor were liable for all damages incurred to Premier Technologies. For Premier Technologies to prevent this from happening again, they should  determine if a clause is needed to prevent employees from working with the competitor. Reference Clark, D. (2007). EBusiness and Intellectual Property. IBB Solicitors. Retrieved from http://www.ibblaw.co.uk/downloads/brochures/2010-05-27-15-05-41-ebusiness_and_intellectual_property.pdf Legal Information Institute, August 2010, Trade Secret. Cornell University law school.http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trade_secret

Manoeuvre Warfare And Its Applicability In Mountains History Essay

Manoeuvre Warfare And Its Applicability In Mountains History Essay 1. According to Richard Simpkin, there is normally a 50 year cycle in respect of radical changes in military equipment, force structure and doctrine. Historical evidence conclusively proves that there is a gestation period of 30 50 years before a radical thought process is fully accepted and adopted. This is because of the lengthening Research and development cycle, time lag in introduction and training with new equipment, and organisational inertia of armed forces leading to resistance to change. 2. If we take the thirties when Guderians mechanisation programmes were in full swing, as the effective apogee of a 50 year cycle we might now expect to be at the zenith of the next one. No wonder we find several of the advanced worlds major armed forces in a greater or lesser state of flux. On one hand technological changes in form of top attack systems, compound and reactive armour , rotary wing revolution , lethality of ground and air delivered precision guided munitions and advanced C3I systems are influencing warfare. On the other hand radical changes are taking place in military thought to switch over from Attrition Warfare to Manoeuvre Warfare. The shift away from attrition warfare was first thought about by Liddel Hart and Fuller in twenties. They gave prominence to manoeuvre employing mechanised forces. The Germans led by Guderian grasped these theories and put them into practice in the form of Blitzkreig. The Russians, concurrently with the Germans developed the Deep Operat ion Theory and seriously got down to further refinement of this concept with the help of technological advancements. Israel is a unique case where the Jewish army, recreated after 2000 years, adopted manoeuvre warfare at the onset without going through the agonies of bloodshed, stalemates and defeat through attrition warfare. The 1956, 67 and 73 Arab-Israeli wars now success models for manoeuvre warfare. Such is the inherent inertia of armed forces that it took the military reform movement in US to nearly a decade plus to convince them ti switch over to manoeuvre warfare in the form of Air Land Battle Doctrine which by their own admission was one of the major contributing factors for success in the Gulf War. 3. It is with deep regret that one has to say that the theory of war is not a subject of detailed study in our army leading to knee jerk approach to operational matters. At a time when all major armies are seriously debating and introducing manoeuvre warfare our understanding of the term is in theory only. 4. Today, we have a large standing army- larger than what the Germans had when they institutionalised Blitzkrieg. Technologically it is still shades below the the advanced countries, but when compared to our adversaries it is definitely more advanced. Our overall thinking is governed by attrition/positional warfare. We have not been able to institutionalise our concepts for employment of armed forces. In any future war, unless we have an institutionalised doctrine/concept for their employment, the immense potential of armed forces is unlikely to be fully exploited. 5. Indian army executed the most brilliant campaign based on manoeuvre warfare the Bangladesh War 1971 wherein Bangladesh was liberated at a relatively low cost and the Pakistan Army largely intact was defeated and 93.000 prisoners were captured. By manoeuvre in time and space, the enemy mind was paralysed into inaction. The Bangladesh campaign is taught in foreign countries as the most complete campaign based on manoeuvre warfare. Yet it is an irony that our Army is just loosely following manoeuvre, in both theory as well as practice, for decades now. 6. There is therefore a need to understand, institutionalise and apply the war fighting philosophy of manoeuvre warfare in the present times as it does not permit us a long battle  [2]  . The study focuses on the vital essentials of manoeuvre warfare and analysis how this approach can be satisfactorily applied in mountains and developed terrain in the Indian context. Manoeuvre Warfare 7. The art of achieving great victories at the least cost has been amply and repeatedly demonstrated in history. The single most pronounced factor recognisable in these campaigns and battles is the use of manoeuvre. Manoeuvre has been accepted as the most appropriate form of warfare as opposed to the more costly and rigid form of positional and attrition warfare as seen in First World War. In manoeuvre warfare, the goal is to incapacitate by systematic disruption and dislocation. The target is the coherence of the adversarys combat system, methods and plans. The hope is that a very selective action can have a cascading effect, an effect disproportionately greater than the degree of effort. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 8. The aim of the study is to examine the significance of manoeuvre warfare and to analyse its application in mountains and developed terrain in the Indian context. HYPOTHESIS 9. Manoeuvre warfare is a war fighting philosophy that seeks to shatter the enemys physical and psychological cohesion through a series of rapid and unexpected actions and can be successfully applied in any terrain or scenario from the tactical to the strategic level provided the basic tenets are adhered to. Thus, the concept can be equally and efficiently applied in mountains and developed terrain in the Indian context. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY 10. The Indian Army Doctrine Section 20: Para 7.14 directs our focus on the intellectual understanding, institutionalisation and implementation of manoeuvre warfare and Directive command  [3]  . The challenge before the Indian Army is to apply this sub doctrine of war fighting and command. The doctrine for war fighting for the future must dwell on What is the swiftest and economically cheapest way to achieve a victory? What is the likely future battlefield scenario in which a war on the sub-continent will be fought? How can this doctrine be applied at the strategic, operational, and tactical level? 11. The answers could lie in the concept of manoeuvre warfare, which seeks to pit own strength against enemys weakness and break his will to fight. Successful application of manoeuvre warfare by Rommel in the North African Deserts in World War II, by Israelis in the 1967 Yom-Kippur war and more recently in Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf war, seems to point out that the Indian Army could consider experimenting with this doctrine. Also, the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) today is about more than building new high-tech weapons, though that is certainly a part of it. Its also about new ways of thinking, new ways of fighting. Preparing for the future will require us to think differently and develop the kinds of forces and capabilities that can adapt quickly to new challenges and to unexpected circumstances  [4]  . The Gulf War is widely accepted as a transitional point to new kind of war. This new war was fought with precision weapons with minimal collateral damage and with vastly improved means of real-time information, surveillance and target acquisition. It was realised that destruction of the enemys means of command and control should be the prime canon of military doctrine. Thus, this kind of warfare, when fully developed would be knowledge based information age warfare characterised by manoeuvre rather than attrition warfare. Another reason due to which many armies have adopted or are considering adopting this style of warfare is due to pressing need to reduce the size of the army in the light of the rising costs of maintaining a large standing army. Manoeuvre warfare relies on speed and audacity rather than numerical superiority and thus meets the requirements of achieving victory with a leaner and smaller army. 12. In the light of the arguments given above the subject Manoeuvre Warfare and its Applicability in mountains and developed terrain has been chosen for the study. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 13. The research shall seek to study the essentials of manoeuvre warfare and its characteristics and to make it more meaningful the study will narrow down its focus on application of manoeuvre warfare in the developed terrain in Indian context. It will concentrate on the aspects needing attention in our thought process and the organisational and institutional changes necessary to facilitate this approach. The basic premise of the research is that manoeuvre warfare is a war fighting philosophy and can be successfully applied in any terrain or scenario from the tactical to strategic level provided the basic tenets are adhered to. ORGANISATION OF THE DISSERTATION 14. The dissertation has been divided into following chapters:- (a) Chapter I. Introduction. (b) Chapter II. Essential elements of Manoeuvre Warfare. (c) Chapter III. Institutionalising Manoeuver Warfare. (d) Chapter IV. Characteristics of Developed Terrain and Challenges in Application of Manoeuvre Warfare in Indian Context (e) Chapter V. Recommendations and Suggested Changes for Application of Manoeuvre Warfare in Developed Terrain. Higher Defence Organisation. Directive Style of Command. Training. Creating an Environment of Military Creativity. Changes at Strategic and Operational Level. Changes at Tactical Level. Application of Strike Corps. Information Dominance. (f) Chapter VI. Conclusion. CONCLUSION 15. The concept of manoeuvre warfare is as much a state of mind as it is a theory. It emphasizes the importance of seizing the initiative and maintaining the initiative. It is a style of warfare that encourages the degradation of the enemy through disorientation, disruption and dislocation and finally destruction of his tactical cohesion. It is a concept that is more psychological than physical. It is indirect rather than direct approach to conflict. Manoeuvre warfare has application across the entire spectrum of conflict from strategy to tactics. 16. Only the study of manoeuvre warfare as a theory will serve no purpose to professional soldier. The applicability of this concept, especially in developed terrain in the western sector, has been examined in this study. 17. Also, important institutional and organisational changes must follow and support doctrinal change, if new doctrine is to be fully realised in action. Manoeuvre warfare provides an excellent and economical method for successful execution of war fighting in futuristic battlefield scenario especially in developed terrain. We need to learn and understand its intricacies and implement its tenets in peace and war. We in the twentieth century have two thousand years of fighting experience behind us, and if we still must fight a war, we have no excuse for not fighting it well. TE Lawrence

Theories Of The Origin Of The Moon :: essays research papers fc

The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. The distance from Earth is about 384,400km with a diameter of 3476km and a mass of 7.35*1022kg. Through history it has had many names: Called Luna by the Romans, Selene and Artemis by the Greeks. And of course, has been known through prehistoric times. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial "planet" along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Origin of the Moon Before the modern age of space exploration, scientists had three major theories for the origin of the moon: fission from the earth; formation in earth orbit; and formation far from earth. Then, in 1975, having studied moon rocks and close-up pictures of the moon, scientists proposed what has come to be regarded as the most probable of the theories of formation, planetesimal impact or giant impact theory. Formation by Fission from the Earth The modern version of this theory proposes that the moon was spun off from the earth when the earth was young and rotating rapidly on its axis. This idea gained support partly because the density of the moon is the same as that of the rocks just below the crust, or upper mantle, of the earth. A major difficulty with this theory is that the angular momentum of the earth, in order to achieve rotational instability, would have to have been much greater than the angular momentum of the present earth-moon system. Formation in Orbit Near the Earth This theory proposes that the earth and moon, and all other bodies of the solar system, condensed independently out of the huge cloud of cold gases and solid particles that constituted the primordial solar nebula. Much of this material finally collected at the center to form the sun. Formation Far from Earth According to this theory, independent formation of the earth and moon, as in the above theory, is assumed; but the moon is supposed to have formed at a different place in the solar system, far from earth. The orbits of the earth and moon then, it is surmised, carried them near each other so that the moon was pulled into permanent orbit about the earth. Planetesimal Impact First published in 1975, this theory proposes that early in the earth's history, well over 4 billion years ago, the earth was struck by a large body called a planetesimal, about the size of Mars. The catastrophic impact blasted portions of the earth and the planetesimal into earth orbit, where debris from the

The Responsibility of a Catholic Citizen in a Free Society Essay

The Responsibility of a Catholic Citizen in a Free Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before we start to talk about our responsibilities we should be grateful that we are able to practice our own faith and we can stand up for our religion and speak up about it. We are here to be an example for the rest of the people out there who do not know any better and are falling in there lives. It is our responsibility to help them. We also have responsibilities of our own - respecting authority of both the church and government, evangelizing or spreading the word, donating time and money to church and those in need, tolerance and many more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We are surrounded by challenges like abortions, poverty, and violence which all destroy the lives of people that were put here by God and were not able to live because of our choices. It is our responsibility to help and support people who fall into these categories. We should now defend human life and dignity, to make people practice justice and peace, and maintain family life and moral values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abortion is a major issue today in our world. Thousands of people out there do it today. Our teachings call us to protect human life and here we are killing it just because we don’t want it. Violence also is sort of the same thing. We are hurting another human just because we don’t like them or are mad at something else and we take our anger out on them. We need to set an example for the people that are doing it so they start to realize that this isn’t what everyo...

The Beginnings of Greek Philosophy Essay -- Science Math Stars Papers

The Beginnings of Greek Philosophy The Milesians and Heraclitus Long before the time of Thales, a citizen of Miletus, in the district of Ionia on the west coast of Asia Minor, Chaldaen astrologers had listed data on the position of the stars and planets. As Thales studied these tables he thought he discerned a pattern or regularity in the occurrence of eclipses, and he ventured to predict a solar eclipse that occurred on May 28th 585BC. Some scholars think that this was just a lucky empirical guess, but if it was the discovery of an astronomical regularity or natural law, then Thales may be credited with distinguishing Greek philosophy and science from the somewhat aimless observations and disjointed information of the Eastern wise men. When a law is formulated, Man's wonder at the phenomenon is supposed to be satisfied, and nature is said to be explained and understood. Thales is also credited with the discovery of several theorems of geometry and with diplomatic, engineering, and economic exploits. If there is a difference between science and p hilosophy, it is that the regularities of science are relatively restricted, whereas the more general principles, called 'philosophic' apply to wider areas. Thales's more general speculations concerned the constitution of the universe. What is the world made of? Are there many elements or is there but one? And if one, what is it? These questions dominated the entire Pre-Socratic period; and they are still live issues today; and if Thales's answer seems crude to a so-called sophisticated 21st century mind, his motivation and procedure may prove as profound as any contemporary inspiration. As a matter of fact, Thales taught that all things are made of water, and we may imagine re... ...uch a person, so hardy as to suggest that reality is spiritual and not material, would have to be a genius as great as Plato. There is a much easier choice that can be made. The great minds of ancient Greek thought with all their scientific acumen, so it may be concluded, have failed to find any truth. The reason for their failure is simply that there is no truth to be found. Knowledge is impossible. This conclusion is a welcome relief after such arduous philosophising; and besides, it offers great opportunities for ambitious young thinkers. Thus there arose in Greece the movement known as Sophism. Bibliography: JOHNS, B. Early Greek Philosophical Thought New York, 1976 MARTIN, K. A History of Greek Philosophy New York and London, 1981 McCONNELL, T. The Pre-Socratic Philosophers Dublin 1988 CARSON, N. Exploring the Pre-Socratics London, 1985

Police Code of Silence Essay

When a new recruit joins a police force he is bursting with excitement and anticipation to fulfill all of the principles and standards that come with being a police officer: dedication, loyalty, trust and integrity. He has a high set of standards and a set of goals he wants to achieve as an officer of the law such as stopping crime, improving the moral of the neighborhoods and becoming a positive mentor to the youth of the community. He has a new sense of belonging; he is now a member of a team, a brotherhood, an official member of an elite club; he is an officer of the law. What this new officer will soon discover is that there is an unwritten law amongst his fellow officers; a law that does not bode well with his fresh sense of principles and standards. This law is called the Blue Wall of Silence. It is an expectation that an officer will overlook or not speak about the misconduct violations of another officer. Why Officers Keep Silent One of the reasons a police officer might go against his own moral code is because of his internal dilemma of whether to be loyal to the officer code of conduct or to be loyal to his fellow officers who he has formed a friendship and a brotherly bond with. The dilemma might also be enforced when the corrupt officer is a supervisor or is superior in rank. Another reason an officer might keep silent when there is misconduct present within the force is because he is afraid of retribution. When an officer â€Å"snitches† on a fellow officer there may be a whole plethora of concerns that come from the corrupt officer’s indiscretions. Will he be fired? Will his family be affected? Will there be negative impact on the precinct? Will there be further legal actions taken? The officer that is snitching also has to fear harassment from his fellow officers. He has to worry if his fellow brothers will continue to have his back and support him in the line of duty if he rats out a fellow officer. There may also be scenarios where the officer will question his morals and what is the ethical path to take. There might be â€Å"Robin Hood† type  situations where an officer is doing wrong to create a means to a positive end. An example would be of an officer falsifying documents to be sure that the serial rapist that he apprehended is held in custody. If an officer were to snitch that the arresting officer falsified the documents then a dangerous serial rapist may be set free to continue to commit harmful crimes against others. Leaderships Role The management and leaders in a department play a large part in the ethical behavior of that department. Leaders are mentors, role models, leading examples of what type of behavior is to be expected at that particular police station. How management reacts to misconduct will set the standard for what is acceptable and unacceptable conduct. Rookie officers look to their leaders and management to set the ethical guidelines for the station and to enforce the written code of conduct. When leadership and/or management are corrupt themselves, it is likely that they will not be held accountable for their unethical actions nor will they hold their fellow officers accountable for misconduct. When the leaders and management of a force are a positive example and conduct themselves in an ethical manor then their subordinates will be more likely to follow suit and hold themselves to the standards of their leaders. When leaders enforce responsibility and accountability for unethical actions there is an understanding that misconduct will not be tolerated and neither will silence of other officers misconduct. Breaking Down the Wall Even though the Blue Wall of Silence is an ethical issue for nearly every police precinct around the world, there are steps that can be taken to help reduce misconduct and corruption by police officers. As stated before, a strong and ethical leadership and management system must be in place to be able to enforce ethical standards and accountability and set proper examples. Next, hiring practices need to include procedures that screen for critical thinking skills; these skills allow officers to think and react quickly and to be able to react in an ethical manner when in a stressful situation. This skill can also help officers think out of the box and come up with ways to perform their duties without stepping outside their moral boundaries. Psychological evaluations before hiring can help determine if  an individual is likely to give into peer pressure or to choose solidarity with his peers over police integrity. Training from the beginning of a police career and throughout on how to deal with moral dilemmas, ethical situations, and reporting the misconduct of fellow officers. Training and information must also be conducted to teach what is the expected behaviors and what the repercussions will be for misconduct. Management and leaders also need to be trained to identify early warning signs of unethical behavior. Citizen reports of misconduct and a high number of incidents involving excessive force are a couple of warning that management needs to intervene. A written code of conduct and a discipline guide line should be set in place so that expectations are known and disciplinary actions for unethical behavior are also known. A disciplinary guideline gives management less discrimination on how to handle misconduct so that they will be less likely to be swayed or perform unethically themselves. No matter how strong a police officer’s moral and ethical values are, there will always be a time in his career when he will have to question whether his loyalty to his fellow officer or the police code of conduct is more important. It is the officer that has had the good example and backup of ethical leadership and management, the training to deal with those difficult situations, and the resources to know how to deal with those situations that is going to make the right choice to not hide behind the blue wall of silence.

Storm Born Chapter Sixteen

I slept the rest of the day and most of the following one as well. Only the essentials got me out of bed – food, the bathroom, one phone call, and a meeting with Volusian after Kiyo had to leave for Phoenix. I was dozing around dinnertime that second day when Tim's angry voice in the living room woke me up. â€Å"No! I don't care. She needs to sleep, okay? I'll give her the message, but stop calling.† I'd heard Tim use that tone only on a few people, so I had a good idea whom he spoke to. For whatever reason, despite having never met, he and Lara hated each other. Throwing on my robe, I shuffled out to the living room and saw him talking on my cell phone. The only progress we'd made in cleanup thus far was to sort of clear a walking path through the debris. He pulled the receiver from his face. â€Å"It's that bitch secretary of yours. I wouldn't have answered except that she keeps calling and calling. I told her you can't take – â€Å" I reached for the phone. â€Å"It's fine. I need to talk to her.† Glaring, he handed it over. â€Å"Did your asshole roommate just call me a bitch?† demanded Lara. â€Å"He has no right – â€Å" â€Å"Let it go,† I ordered. â€Å"Tell me what's up.† â€Å"Well, I got your message. Did the shoes show up?† â€Å"Yeah, they're great. What about the witch?† â€Å"I set it up. He's going to come ward the place tonight. He'll need you to let him in.† â€Å"No prob. I won't be here, but Tim will.† â€Å"Okay, and about the other thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah?† A long pause. â€Å"Well, I don't think I heard that part of the message right. It sounded like you said you needed a dress too.† â€Å"I do need a dress.† Silence. â€Å"What's the matter? Didn't I leave you my size?† â€Å"Yeah, you did, it's just that†¦a dress? I mean, you've asked me to get you some pretty crazy stuff before – and I'm still kind of uneasy about that one time with the nitroglycerin – but this is really out there, even for you.† â€Å"Oh, stop it. Just take care of this.† I wasn't keen on the dress either, but Volusian had insisted during our earlier bedside strategy session. If things fell into place with Dorian, I'd be attending an Otherworldly party on Beltane rather than waiting for an attack back here. Volusian had insisted I start making arrangements. What an age we lived in when spirit minions advised on fashion. â€Å"Any special requirements?† I considered. â€Å"Nothing bridesmaid or prom-ish. Think cocktail party. Simple. But elegant.† â€Å"Sexy?† â€Å"Moderately.† â€Å"Color?† â€Å"As long as it looks good.† â€Å"All right. Got it. I'll have it by next week. Oh, yeah, Wil Delaney called again.† â€Å"You don't have to let me know anymore. I sort of take it as a given by now.† â€Å"So you don't want to return it?† â€Å"No.† We disconnected, and I hit the shower. Beltane eve, the big night, was fast approaching. Tonight was the warm-up. The night I made my deal with the devil. After digging out my dusty blow-dryer, I dried and brushed my hair until it gleamed. I didn't usually go for makeup – not having the patience – but a little foundation went a long way to hide the small bruises on my face from yesterday's blowout. I considered mascara superfluous with already dark eyelashes, but when combined with some smoky eye shadow, it did make my eyes look bigger. More lipstick, and I barely recognized myself. I didn't look slutty or anything, but it had certainly been a long time since I'd looked so polished. I considered a skirt but couldn't go that far. Instead, I opted for tight jeans and the new half-heeled sandals. The tank top I selected was olive green, the same color as my moleskin coat, with thin straps meant to rest slightly off the shoulder. Each strap had a tiny ruffle along its edge, as did the low, cleavage-showing scoop neckline. Examining my reflection, I couldn't help a wistful sigh. I looked better tonight than I had when I met Kiyo. If only he could see me now. I spritzed on some Violetta di Parma, grabbed my coat and weapons, and headed for the door. Tim nearly fell out of his chair when he saw me. â€Å"What are you doing? Are you going out? You can't do that! Not after what happened yesterday.† â€Å"I'm feeling better,† I lied. Actually, it was only partially a lie. Did I feel good? No. Did I feel better than yesterday? Yes. â€Å"You're crazy.† â€Å"Sorry. Got business that can't wait.† â€Å"Dressed like that?† he asked skeptically. Ignoring him, I drove out to the gateway in the desert. The transition to the Otherworld was a little rough in light of my weakened physical state, but I managed. Volusian and Nandi waited for me at the crossroads when I arrived. Finn hadn't felt like showing. It was one of the downsides of not having him bound to me. We set out along the road. Shortly into the walk, I realized wearing heels was the Worst Idea Ever. I took them off and carried them the rest of the way. If I was going to keep seeing Dorian, I would need to leave an anchor at his place to facilitate crossings. â€Å"Don't cross his threshold without asking hospitality first,† warned Volusian. â€Å"They'll disarm you before you can enter. You don't want to do that without protection.† I agreed, though I didn't like the idea of disarming in the first place. No one ambushed us this time, and I practically walked up to the gates without incident. The guards recognized me and locked into a defensive stance, weapons drawn. â€Å"Our mistress comes in peace,† said Nandi mournfully. â€Å"She would speak with the Oak King and ask his hospitality.† â€Å"Do you think we're stupid?† asked one of the guards, eyeing me watchfully. â€Å"Not exactly,† I said. â€Å"But I do think you were here last time and saw that I didn't cause any trouble. Maybe you also noticed I spent a lot of time in your king's bedroom. Trust me, he'll want to see me.† They conferred briefly and finally sent one of their number away. He returned minutes later, granting me admittance and hospitality – once they had indeed disarmed me. They walked me through the same hallway as before but not up to the throne room door. Instead, we wound deeper into the keep until we stood at a set of glass doors leading out to some sort of garden or atrium. â€Å"Our lord is outside,† explained one of the guards, about to open the doors. Volusian blocked his way. â€Å"Get a herald to announce her. She's not a prisoner anymore. And use her titles.† The man hesitated, glanced at me, and then called for a herald. Moments later, a stout man dressed head to foot in teal velvet hurried in. He looked at me and swallowed nervously before opening the doors. A handful of elegantly dressed gentry stood out in the gardens, glancing up at our entrance. â€Å"Your majesty, I present Eugenie Markham, called Odile Dark Swan, daughter of Tirigan the Storm King.† I winced. Yikes. I'd had no idea I'd had that much appended to my name now. The soft conversation dropped. Apparently I should get used to having this effect while attending social events in the Otherworld. From inside, I had expected a small courtyard type of garden, but this looked like it stretched out indefinitely. The grass was still green, but many of the trees had leaves in orange, yellow, and red. None were the dying brown of late autumn. These showed the perfect, beautiful hues one saw at autumn's finest. Heavy apple trees laden with fruit clustered in corners, and in the air, I could just faintly smell a bonfire and mulling spices. It was earlier in the day here than when I'd left Tucson. The end of the afternoon was giving way to twilight, the sky painted in shades of gold and pink that rivaled the leaves' splendor. Torches on long poles were set up to offer light. The group parted, and Dorian strode forward. His red hair streamed behind him, and over a simple shirt and pants, he wore a robe-type garment made of wine-colored satin and gold brocade. I approached him, and we met in the middle. My spirits waited near the doorway. â€Å"My, my. What a lovely surprise. I didn't think I'd see you again so soon.† Dorian reached for my hand, and this time I let him take it. A flicker of mischievous amusement glinted in his eyes at this small concession, and I knew I had already piqued his curiosity. â€Å"I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this.† He kissed my hand, just as Kiyo had yesterday. Only Dorian's kiss was less of a hope you get better kiss and more of an imagine my lips in other places kind of kiss. â€Å"Not at all.† He drew his lips back and laced his fingers with mine. â€Å"Come. Join us.† I recognized a couple of the gentry standing there from dinner. The other two people hanging around looked like servants, waiting anxiously with long mallet-type things in their hands. I peered at them, then at the wickets spread out in the grass. â€Å"Croquet? You're playing croquet?† Dorian's face broke into a grin. â€Å"Yes. Do you play?† â€Å"Not in years.† The gentry played croquet? Who knew? I supposed it was technologically simple as far as games went. It made more sense for them to play that than video games. â€Å"Would you like to now?† I shook my head. â€Å"You're already in the middle of something. I'll just watch.† â€Å"As you like.† He took a proffered stick from one of the servants. Watching him line up a shot, I could see he intended to hit his ball and knock out an opponent's near a wicket. A faint breeze ruffled his hair and the folds of his robe, and he had to take a moment to brush the fabric out of his way. When he finally hit his ball, it went wide, considerably away from his opponent's ball. â€Å"Ah, well. It was close. I nearly had it, don't you think so, Muran?† Muran, a lanky guy dressed in lavender, jumped at being addressed. â€Å"Er, uh, y-y-yes, your majesty. Very close. You were almost there.† Dorian rolled his eyes. â€Å"No, I wasn't. It was an abominable shot, you wretched man. Let Lady Markham have your turn. Give her your mallet.† Now I jumped. Lady Markham? But the aforementioned Muran practically shoved the thing at me. Hesitantly, I approached his ball. I was pretty sure I'd been ten the last time I'd played, off visiting one of my mom's aunts in Virginia. Remembering Dorian's hang-ups on his robe, I paused to slip off my coat. A servant immediately raced over to take it from me, folding it neatly over his arms. I turned back to the ball and mallet, sizing up the shot. I tossed my hair back over one shoulder and hit. The ball half-skittered, half-rolled through the grass and went through one of the wickets. â€Å"Exquisite,† I heard Dorian say. I glanced back at him but saw he wasn't watching the ball at all. His eyes were all over me. I tried to return the mallet to poor Muran, but Dorian wouldn't hear of it. He made me finish the game in Muran's stead. As we played, I immediately picked up on something peculiar. Dorian was a terrible player – too terrible to be real. He was obviously faking it, but his subjects could not bring themselves to do better than their king. So they too faked their own sort of appalling game play. Watching it was comical. I felt like I was in a scene from Alice in Wonderland. Having no such qualms about winning, I played normally, and even with aching muscles and no practice, I won pretty handily. Dorian couldn't have been happier. He clasped his hands together, laughing. â€Å"Oh, outstanding. This is the best game I've played in years. These sheep won't know what to do now.† He glanced at his fellow players and beckoned them toward the building. â€Å"Go, go, your shepherd is tired of you all.† I watched them go. â€Å"You don't really treat them†¦respectfully.† â€Å"Because they deserve none. Did you see the preposterous way they acted in that game? Now imagine that happening every second, every day of your life. That's what it's like to be royalty, to live at court among courtiers. Be happy you have no true throne yet. It's all simpering and groupthink.† I almost heard a touch of bitterness in his light voice. Almost. A servant handed my coat back, and Dorian addressed her and a couple of guards. â€Å"Lady Markham and I are going to take a walk now through the eastern orchard. Seeing as she's dressed for business, I imagine she wants to speak alone. Follow, but keep your distance.† Turning, he offered me his arm again and led me off into one of the garden's winding turns, into a dense apple orchard. Like the other trees I'd seen, these were filled with fruit. Still more apples lay on the ground, round and red and waiting to be eaten. When we were sufficiently alone, I said, â€Å"I'm not dressed for business, not in these shoes. I was dressed for business the last time I was here.† He gave me a sidelong look. â€Å"Women who show up looking as lovely as you do after barely stomaching my presence last time do not come on pleasure. They come for business.† â€Å"You're a cynic.† â€Å"A pragmatist. But, business or pleasure, it becomes you.† He sighed happily. â€Å"I do so wish more of our women would wear pants like those. The warriors often do but not nearly so tight.† â€Å"Thanks†¦I think.† We walked on at a leisurely pace while the sky turned orange and scarlet. â€Å"So I imagine you've changed in other ways since our last encounter. The very fact that you've come here so congenially indicates as much.† â€Å"Yes.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"You know, I don't appreciate you telling me that Storm King bedtime story when all the time you knew I didn't know what was going on.† â€Å"Mean, perhaps. But also amusing – were you in my place. Besides, I did you a service of sorts. I provided necessary background information, Lady Markham.† â€Å"Don't say ‘Lady Markham.' It sounds weird.† â€Å"I've got to call you something. Our normal rules of etiquette don't exactly outline anything for your situation. You are the daughter of a king without a kingdom. You are royalty but not quite royal. So you are addressed like a noble.† â€Å"Well, then, only use it in public. Or stick to ‘Odile.'† â€Å"What about ‘Eugenie'?† â€Å"Fine.† Silence fell between us. The orchard seemed to go on forever. â€Å"Do you want to tell me why you're here yet? Or should I think up some other pleasantries to discuss?† I repressed a laugh. Dorian played flamboyant and scattered, but he wasn't a fool. â€Å"I need a favor.† â€Å"Ah, so it is business after all.† I stopped walking, and he stopped with me. Looking down at me, he waited patiently, his face pleasantly neutral. I shivered as another breeze stole through, and he took my coat from me, helping me slip it on. I wrapped my arms around myself, grateful for the coat's warmth. Sexy was cold. â€Å"I conjured a storm yesterday.† â€Å"Did you now?† His voice held less levity and more calculation. â€Å"What happened?† I told him the story, just as I had for Maiwenn and Kiyo. â€Å"What were you thinking when it happened?† At first, I thought he was chastising me. Sort of like when you do something stupid and your mom asks, Are you insane? What were you thinking? â€Å"Like how I felt? What was going through my head?† He nodded. â€Å"I don't know. I guess I went through a lot of moods. When it all started†¦I mean, I felt the same as for any other attack. Planned out what I would do, focused for a banishing. But once my mom got involved†¦I started to lose it.† â€Å"And when Corwyn had you trapped?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The elemental. He was one of Aeson's men. The spirits you banished came back telling tales, though admittedly, no one's heard this part, seeing as you didn't leave any witnesses.† â€Å"I felt†¦scared. Weak. Defenseless.† â€Å"You don't strike me as someone who's scared a lot.† â€Å"No, actually. I'm scared all the time. Stupid not to be. What's that saying? Only the dead are without fear? Or is that hope? Dunno. At that point, I sure as hell didn't have any hope either. I felt like I was out of options.† â€Å"And so you chose the only option left to you.† â€Å"I didn't choose it exactly. Not consciously.† â€Å"No. But sometimes our souls and the secret parts of our minds know what we need.† He walked over to a large, sheltering maple tree. Presumably it too had those wonderful colors, but the near-darkness made such things impossible to see. Taking off his robe, he spread it on the ground and sat down, leaving space beside him. A moment later, I sat down as well. â€Å"So what have you come to ask me, Eugenie Markham?† â€Å"You already know. I can hear it in your voice.† â€Å"Hmm. So much for crafty subterfuge.† â€Å"I need you to teach me how to use the magic. So it doesn't take over again. I don't want to kill someone the next time I freak out.† â€Å"Or,† he added, â€Å"you just might want to kill someone with it. On purpose, that is.† â€Å"Maybe.† I shivered. â€Å"I don't know.† He didn't speak right away. The darkness around us grew deeper. â€Å"What you did to Corwyn was akin to using a brick to swat a fly when much finer, much simpler methods would suffice. The storms you can conjure are great and powerful things, absolutely. The gods know your father made effective use of them. But I think you'll find your real power is in controlling the storm's finer elements. A child can throw paint on a canvas; a master works with fine brushstrokes. You learn the small things, and then the storms will be second nature.† I took a deep breath. â€Å"So can you teach me? Will you teach me?† Even in the dark, I knew he had that laconic smile on his face. â€Å"If someone had told me during our last meeting that we'd have this conversation, I would have flogged him for insolence.† â€Å"I don't have anyone else to go to. Maiwenn offered, but she doesn't have – â€Å" â€Å"Maiwenn?† he interrupted. His tone startled me. â€Å"When did you talk to her?† â€Å"After the attack.† I explained the circumstances of our meeting. When he didn't respond, I grew defensive. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with that. If anything, it's kind of nice to have someone on my side who doesn't want to see me get pregnant and take over the world.† â€Å"And for that very reason, you shouldn't trust her. I want to see Storm King's heir born. Therefore, I have good reason to make sure you stay alive. She does not.† I remembered thinking how Maiwenn would have had a lot less to worry about had I died in the attack. â€Å"She didn't seem so sinister,† I replied haltingly, suddenly struck by a thought. If Maiwenn's noble philosophy involved killing me, then would Kiyo follow her in that? â€Å"The sinister ones never do.† â€Å"You're just trying to sway me to your side.† â€Å"Well, of course. I'd be trying to do that regardless of her involvement.† I sighed. It was all plots and posturing after all. Above all else, Dorian was still one of the gentry. â€Å"Maybe coming here was a mistake.† â€Å"Coming here was the smartest thing you've done so far. So tell me, what will you give me for teaching you to control your power?† â€Å"You can't get something for nothing, huh?† â€Å"Oh, please. Don't sound so superior. I helped you last time without asking anything in return, and now here you are again asking more of me. You demand a lot of the gentry you consider so greedy.† â€Å"Fair enough.† I leaned against the tree a little. â€Å"If you'll help me†¦I'll let†¦I'll let people think we're, you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a pause, and then his warm laughter filled the orchard. â€Å"Sleeping together? Oh, you really have made my night. That's not fair. Not fair at all.† I blushed furiously in the dark. â€Å"You'll one-up Aeson. He'll think I'm willingly giving you what he tried to take by force.† â€Å"And all the while, I'll actually be getting nothing except tantalizing glimpses of you in outfits like this.† â€Å"I'll cover up more if it makes a difference.† â€Å"What would make a difference is if you were sleeping with me for real.† â€Å"That's not fair either. Not for a few magic lessons.† â€Å"‘A few'?† He laughed again, his voice carrying the kind of incredulity that seemed to amuse rather than upset him. Jesus. Did nothing bother this guy? â€Å"My dear, it's going to take more than ‘a few' lessons to quell that storm in you, pun intended. Especially with your temper. It's going to make focus hard.† I felt indignant. â€Å"Hey, I've been focusing since I was a kid. I can clear my mind in the middle of a fight to banish spirits. I go to trance in seconds.† â€Å"Perhaps,† he conceded grudgingly. â€Å"But I'm still not sure this is fair. You'll be getting more than lessons. Assuming you are my ‘lover,' people will be hesitant to assault you. You'll find your status soaring.† â€Å"Christ. Nothing gets past you, does it? Apparently Volusian and I have a lot more to learn about subterfuge too.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"My servant.† â€Å"Ah. The sullen one with red eyes?† â€Å"Yes.† He made a disapproving click with his tongue. â€Å"He's both dangerous and powerful. You're brave to keep him.† â€Å"I know. I couldn't send him to the Underworld, so I bound him to me.† â€Å"If I helped you, we could probably send him on.† The thought astonished me. With Volusian securely in the world of death, I'd probably be a lot safer. As though reading my mind, Dorian added, â€Å"Things will get nasty if he ever breaks loose on you.† â€Å"I know. He tells me on a regular basis – in graphic detail. Still†¦he's been useful. I think I'll keep him around for a while.† We sat quietly in the darkness again. I realized it must be getting past the castle's dinner hour. Part of the reason for showing up at this time had been to get invited to dinner. With gentry pride in hospitality, Volusian had thought it would please Dorian to show off his resources, especially since being half-gentry meant I could safely eat in this world now. Finally, a legitimate perk to all this insanity. I half-smiled imagining a hall full of hungry gentry, pounding their silverware on the table. With the way everyone danced around Dorian's moods, however, I had no doubt they'd wait hours if need be. â€Å"If you're going to pretend to be my lover, it will involve more than just say-so. You've seen how free we are with our affections in public. If you keep ten feet away from me, no one's going to believe it.† I froze, suddenly remembering that other dinner. I hadn't entirely considered the implications. He chuckled softly, a low and dangerous sound beside me. â€Å"Oh, yes, you didn't think about that, did you?† He was right. I'd figured Dorian and me disappearing into his bedroom for lessons would be convincing enough. But now I had to picture sitting on his lap, letting him touch me and kiss me. I had trouble with the image. He was one of the gentry, the beings I'd hitherto kept a wary eye on and tracked down my whole life. Discovering Kiyo's true nature had been a shock to my system, one I was slowly starting to reconcile. How could I handle someone who was completely of the Otherworld? Yet†¦the more I hung around Dorian, the easier it became to think of him as just a person. Weird or not, there was something comfortable about being with him. So, yeah. I could handle this. Maybe. It was just a little making out, right? It wasn't sex. And wasn't it a small thing to ensure I didn't tear anyone else apart inadvertently? â€Å"I'm not going down on you or anything,† I warned, using flippancy to cover my discomfort. He laughed again. â€Å"As saddening as that is, it might actually be too much. You're human enough that they'll expect some modesty.† Small blessings. â€Å"All right. I'll hold up my half if you hold up your half.† â€Å"Well, in distribution, I think I'm actually doing three-quarters of the work here. But yes, I'll do the same. Shall we shake on it? Isn't that how you humans seal a deal?† I extended my hand in the darkness, and he took it. Suddenly, he pulled me to him and kissed me. I immediately pulled back, aghast. â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"What? You don't expect to have our first kiss in public, do you? We want to be convincing, remember?† â€Å"You're a sleazy bastard, you know that?† â€Å"If you truly believe that, then maybe you'll feel better finding another teacher.† I thought about that. Then I leaned forward and tried to find his lips in the darkness. I didn't realize I was shaking until his hands gripped my arms. â€Å"Relax, Eugenie. This won't hurt.† I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Our lips found each other. His reminded me of flower petals, soft and velvety. Whereas Kiyo was all about animal passion and aggression, Dorian seemed more about†¦precision. I suddenly remembered his metaphor about the difference between slapping paint on a canvas and fine brushstrokes. Don't get me wrong, Dorian wasn't exactly sweet and chaste. There was heat in those soft lips. He seemed to want to draw out the experience, almost in a taunting way, so much so that I found myself impatient and eager when his tongue finally darted in between my lips. He pushed it farther into my mouth, the rest of the kiss intensifying. He smelled like cinnamon and cider, like all the good things in an autumn night. Finally, he pulled away. â€Å"You're still afraid of me,† he noted, amused by that fact just like everything else. â€Å"Your body still won't relax.† â€Å"Yes.† I swallowed. It had felt good, the kind of good that sends heat down your body and makes your toes – and other parts – curl. But my fear had underscored it all, that fear of gentry and otherness that I still couldn't quite shake. It was a weird combination, physical pleasure mingling with fear. Very different from the way it was with Kiyo – physical pleasure mixed with a larger, all-encompassing sense of chemistry and mutual affection, despite my unease over his half-kitsune heritage. â€Å"I can't help it. This is all still strange for me. Part of me says it's wrong. It's hard to change what I've always believed overnight, you know.† â€Å"Do you want to go back on the deal?† I shook my head. â€Å"I don't go back on my deals.† I could feel him smiling in the darkness. He leaned over and kissed me again.