Rethinking the Finality of and Democracy in the American...

Is the United States Constitution a sacred and absolute document? Dahl (2001) argued that the Constitution is not perfect or permanent in his book, How Democratic is the American Constitution. He stresses that his main aim is not to propose that the Constitution must be amended, but to facilitate readers in changing how they think about the Constitution. In order to help people rethink the Constitution, Dahl (2001) explained the limitations of its Framers and the Constitution’s not widely known undemocratic aspects. The strengths of the book are its ethos or reputation of the author that establishes his credibility, informal writing style that can appeal to more people, its consideration of a number of undemocratic aspects of the†¦show more content†¦Aside from these awards, he has authored twenty-three books and textbooks, a number of which are seen as seminal books of modern political thinking (Hertzberg, 2002). Apart from these distinct products on the political sc ience field, Dahl has earned the esteem of his peers. Fred I. Greenstein of Princeton described Dahl as â€Å"the premier democratic theorist of our time,† James S. Fishkin of the University of Texas called Dahl the premier analyst of democratic theory and democratic institutions writing today,† and Theodore J. Lowi of Cornell stressed that Dahl is the â€Å"foremost political theorist of this generation† (Hertzberg, 2002). From these impressive honors and esteemed praises, Dahl is argued as someone who knows his expertise. If Dahl thinks that something is wrong with the Constitution, his ethos gives him validity and credibility. Besides ethos, Dahl has created a book with an engaging writing style that fits the audience of educated students, whether they are in college, or whether they got their education from being wide readers. Dahl (2011) has a conversational approach to his writing that makes his theories and arguments easy to read and understand, even for first-year students who have a good, not advanced level, grasp of the American language. For instance, he says: â€Å"†¦we Americans are free†¦to alter our constitution by amendment and have often done so†¦our presentShow MoreRelatedT. S. Eliot The Waste Land Essay1551 Words   |  7 Pagesof industrial capitalism would fuel the catastrophic destruction of human life on an unprecedented scale. Multiple manifestations of the Progressive movement would emerge out of the need for a reevaluation of the human. Although this essential rethinking or reconfiguration remained a consistent and unifying element throughout Progressive thought, the target of legislation would become an object of dispute between differing political philosophies such as The New Nationalism (NN) of President TheodoreRead MoreProject on Risk Management46558 Words   |  187 Pagesfacts and several numbers of players like Andhra Bank, State Bank of Mysore, Allahabad Bank, Vijaya Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, UTI Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab, Citibank, Standard, HSBC, ABN AMRO and American Express. Basel Norms II The World Trade Organization (WTO), of which India is a member nation, requires the countries like India to get their banking systems at par with the global standards in terms of financial health, safety and transparency

What is scary in Frankenstein Essay examples - 2117 Words

What is scary in Frankenstein? In her 1831 introduction Mary Shelley relays her task, to â€Å"awaken thrilling horror- none to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart.† In the nineteenth century, horror, fear and disgust were the proper responses to creations that failed to conform to neoclassical aesthetic ideals of unified ideals, harmonious composition of parts in simple regularity and proportion. Victor’s overwhelming feelings of horror and disgust on seeing his hideously disproportionate creature come to life display the reaction of society to Frankenstein as a novel (Fred Botting.) In general, people were far more religious then and would have balked in horror at†¦show more content†¦To me the idea of an immediate union with my Elizabeth was one of horror and dismay.† The same may be said of his words to Elizabeth on their wedding night: â€Å"Oh!... this night is dreadful† as Victor knows that he can no longer avoid confronting sex. His spectacular misinterpretation of the monster’s threat to be â€Å"with [him] on his wedding night† could be seen as deliberate; it is quite clear to the reader that the threat is to Elizabeth and yet Victor interprets it as a threat against him, and leaves Elizabeth on her own, on the pretext of saving her life. Anne Mellor believes that the notion of the monster as Victor’s doppelganger is useful here as the monster can be seen as an externalisation of Victor’s sexual impulses, the ugliness of the monster suggesting Victor’s horror towards normal sexuality. Frankenstein also deals with the fear of Shelley herself, and she comments upon the catharsis of her novel, â€Å"what terrified me will now terrify others.† Victor refers to his sordid â€Å"workshop of filthy creation†, which symbolises the womb. Feminist criticism, such as that of Ellen Moers has seen Frankenstein as a ‘birth myth’. Shelley’s knowledge of birth was limited to disastrous consequences- such as her mother dying giving birt h to her and the death of her own baby. Victor’s terrible nightmare after the monster’s creation seems to support the idea that he is scared by normal reproduction. When he attempts to kiss Elizabeth, sheShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein - Fear of the Power of Science787 Words   |  4 Pagesreaders have seen the novel as an illustration of the fear of the power of science’ To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel? I agree to a certain extent with this view, because Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during the scientific revolution and therefore was influenced by many ideas and experiences of what science can do to you and how it can represent fear and bring about a change. Victor Frankenstein grabs hold of science and tests it boundaries as much as he can. Yet there is anRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Bride Of Frankenstein 1514 Words   |  7 Pagesand contrasting them to concluded which out of the two is a better horror movie. The first movie that I watched for this discussion is the Bride of Frankenstein, this movie was made in 1935 and directed by James Whale. The Bride of Frankenstein is a sequel to The movie Frankenstein which follows the after math of the suspected death of Frankensteins monster. The second movie that I watched was The Conjuring 2 released in June,2016 and directed by James Wan. The Conjuring 2 follows two paranormalRead MoreEssay about A Comparison of Frankenstein 1 994 to Frankenstein 1957520 Words   |  3 PagesA Comparison of Frankenstein 1994 to Frankenstein 1957 Over the past hundred years, Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein has been read worldwide, by many different audiences. In the original novel, the creature is given life by Frankenstein, and then he stretches out his arm to see if Frankenstein will accept him as a son. Whereas in the 1957 film he is in a box full of water, and is wrapped in bandages. The creature tries to strangle Frankenstein until he is stoppedRead MoreEdgar Allen Poe s Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, And The Tell Tale Heart1579 Words   |  7 PagesGothic Frankenstein The amount of scary books, dark video games and horror movies in the horror genre is unparalleled by any other single genre. People who take part in this genre enjoy the heart-pounding thrill of being scared or the long drawn out tension that causes them to sit on the edge of their seat. Historically many of the early examples of the horror or gothic genre like Dracula by Bram Stoker, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and The Tell Tale Heart by EdgarRead MoreMary Shelly s The Book Frankenstein1570 Words   |  7 PagesMary Shelly and her relations with her book Frankenstein. The book Frankenstein was given deep thought, and has a deeper meaning resembles a version of Mary Shelly. In the book we see very much of the similar resembles and life events what Shelly bypassed. As romanticism of Byron and Shelley and the struggle between the two Shelley’s themselves, and the struggles of Mary from Percy s shadow. In June, Mary Shelly was known to be writing her book Frankenstein. This book has been written when she wasRead MoreThe Significance of Chapter 5 in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley1008 Words   |  5 PagesThe Significance of Chapter 5 in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelly in 1816 and has become perhaps one of the most famous novels in the gothic, horror genre. Shelley was brought up in the 19th century where there were a lot of medical and scientific breakthroughs. These have influenced the novel because during the 19th century people had just discovered new information about the body and that electrical impulses were send via the body to Read MoreMary Shelley s Frankenstein - Romanticism And Enlightenment1233 Words   |  5 PagesMary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a true literary masterpiece and one of the best horror novels ever written. The book also allows for us to get a glimpse into the nineteenth century world and the society in which this novel was written in. Like most novels, Frankenstein was deeply influenced by the society in which it was written in. Ideas such as romanticism and post enlightenment are seen throughout the work and have a great impact upon the book. Now the story of Frankenstein is legendary and everyoneRead MoreFrankenstein : Outline : Frankenstein957 Words   |  4 PagesFrankenstein: Outline Introduction: We have all heard of the big scary monster of Frankenstein. It has been a story told through decades, each story a little different. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the original story of Frankenstein’s monster. She wrote the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Through decades of this story being told, society has stripped away Shelley’s original description of the monster and created an entirely new set of ideas. Victor Frankenstein’s creation has beenRead MoreFrankestein by Mary Shelley836 Words   |  4 Pageswhere published but Mary Shelley published her most famous novel Frankenstein. Her novel was very mysterious due to the fact that it related a lot with her personal life and her struggles with in that time she was writing Frankenstein. Before she began to write her story she was inspired by Lord Byron. Which one night her and a several group of friends who got together one night decided to tell scary stories and see who had the most scary story and would win. That night after everyone was asleep ShelleyRead MoreMary Shelley s Frankenstein : What Made The Monster Monstrous1751 Words   |  8 PagesRonald Britton is the writer and editorial manager of the article: Mary Shelley s Frankenstein: What Made the Monster Monstrous. All throughout this article Britton will talk about the genesis of the renowned story of Frankenstein, which emerged from a fantasy experienced by Mary Shel ley while on an occasion imparted to her spouse and her stride sister. The creator talked upon Shelley expressing that â€Å"She emphasizes that she was not confined to her own identity in these daydreams, she became others

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle

Question: How did you feel and what did you think prior to the experience? how did you feel and what did you think during the experience? how did you react during the experience? how did you feel and what did you think after the experience? Answer: Description: While during my placement, I used to work in the psychiatric department. I remember one incident where I have to deal with the 70-year-old female patient who had depression. She was on certain anti-depressants for her depression, but she still appeared to be low-esteemed and sad. She appeared to be neglecting herself, and was not interested in anything. She had continuous crying spells. She had no one in her family to look after as she lost her husband and son in an accident. Feelings: As it was the initial phase of my training, I was having mixed feelings at that time and was bit a nervous, as well as, excited at the same time. Before dealing with the patient, I was confident enough that I will handle the case easily. However, when I actually handled the case, I found that it was slightly complex, as the patient was having continuous crying spell and was not interested in talking too much. During her assessment, I kept myself calm and though I was irritated at some points but I did not let my expressions to be visible on my face. After the incidence, I realized that the foremost requirement in dealing with the depressed patient is polite and patient attitude (Gibbs, Brigden and Hellenberg, 2005). Evaluation: The counseling part went well with the patient. She began to discuss things and issues that were bothering her. However, after some time I realized that she was unable to express herself fully, as she used to be silent in between the process. Even my calm and patient nature did not work well in making her completely comfortable to discuss things in detail at certain times. Hence, the experience ended when the practitioner came and tried to access the problem. Analysis: From this experience, I analyzed that building the trust in between the patient is very important. Though my patient and calm attitude made her comfortable to discuss things with me, but she did not trust me completely to discuss things at certain times. To deal with the depressive patient is a challenging task. I also analyzed that she completely discussed all the problems with the practitioner without any suspicion. The difference in the reaction was that the practitioner was able to build that trust in her by creating healthier and trustworthy relationship with her (Tan, 2013). Conclusion: After the counseling, I realized that to deal with a depressive patient there is a requirement of real listening skills and interpersonal skills. I also realized that things could be handled differently too. I would have persuaded the patient that to get the effective result and output she also needs to put input. Moreover, I realized that I actually had contributed very little in the whole process, except for the listening part. I understood that besides listening I need to develop the skill of active monitoring and lateral thinking for better analysis (Gibbs, 2016). Action Plan: From this experience, I learnt that I need to work on my interpersonal skills in dealing with the depressed patients who have little or no interest in the interaction process. I should start handling more and more cases of psychiatric patients to become more skillful and efficient in dealing with them. Moreover, I learned that building a trustworthy relationship between the patient is very important for the better assessment and evaluation of them (Franklin, 2002). References Franklin, S. (2002). A Reflective Essay: Getting Along is Highly Overrated.Policy, Politics, Nursing Practice, 3(2), pp.93-96. Gibbs, A. (2016). The Power of One: Why auto-ethnography, solo service-user voice and reflective case study analysis are useful strategies for researching family-centred social work practice.ANZSWJ, 25(4), p.15. Gibbs, T., Brigden, D. and Hellenberg, D. (2005). Encouraging reflective practice.South African Family Practice, 47(7), pp.5-7. Tan, C. (2013). Reflective thinking for intelligence analysis using a case study.Reflective Practice, 15(2), pp.218-231.

Practice Makes Perfect free essay sample

Practice is the constant use of one’s intellectual and aesthetic abilities. Perfection refers to achieving excellence is a particular subject. Proper planning and practice promotes perfect performance. Practice is the quality that prepares one for all other qualities. Practice enables one to avoid errors that were done previously. Practice begins in the cradle and ends in the grave. Rights from childhood, man practices various activities. Perfection is necessary in every sphere of life which includes arts, medicine, law, defence, etc. Perfection makes art and literature survive the tests of time. A person cannot be perfect in every sphere of life. But repeated practice lessons one’s deficiencies. One should also learn from one’s failures. Failures are the stepping stones to success. Practice enables a person to reach the heights of success. It makes a man perfect. You cannot become a world-class musician unless you take up your instrument and play on it daily for hours together. We will write a custom essay sample on Practice Makes Perfect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You cannot become a Tendulkar merely through inborn skill. You have to go to the nets every day for hours to practise. You need a coach to guide you an tell you where you go wrong. Merit-holders in board examinations do not achieve their marks by pure inspiration. They have studied throughout the year and revisedand re-revised and made themselves perfect in whatever they have set out to study. It is only regular practice that makes one perfect. If you don’t practise your work regularly, you will, at the most, be average in your performance. You will not win prizes or medals or awards. the most difficult task can be performaed by anyone if they take the trouble to practise daily and regularly. In fact, you can achieve almost anything with practice. Practice makes perfect free essay sample Looking back on my first essay, I think to myself, what is that? It’s sort of like a huge puzzle missing a few pieces. My introduction was a mind boggling mess. Its question after question. And I obviously didn’t have a clue to what a thesis statement was considering I didn’t even include one in my first essay. Another huge mess was my conclusion paragraph. I was still focused on summarizing what I had already written because that was what I was taught in High School. Thankfully, I have learned how to write a good introduction, clear thesis statement, and a not so summarizing conclusion. I have struggled with writing introductions because I was taught that you should start with a question. Which I do, but sometimes I get carried away and ask too many, which makes it confusing for the reader. But once I was taught to just focus on one question as my attention grabber I began to do just that, essay four is a very good example of using just one question. We will write a custom essay sample on Practice makes perfect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Introductions used to be a weak point for me in my writing because I was worried about catching the reader’s eye that I would try to do it in many different way, which only caused confusion. In high school I was never taught how to write a thesis statement. I honestly didn’t even have a clue to what a thesis statement was as you can tell in essay one, because I didn’t include one. As I wrote each essay my thesis statements began getting better and better. By essay two I was pretty go at it, but by the forth essay I was a master. My weakest point in writing was always the conclusion paragraph. That is because I was taught that the conclusion paragraph was for summarizing what you already have written. Once I was taught that, it was hard to get out of the habit. In my first essay it was the toughest because I had no idea how to end my story. I struggled with that conclusion paragraph for two days, until I finally decided to wing it. That wasn’t a good idea at all considering I had to write a different ending when it came to revising it. My revision wasn’t any easier for me since I was struggling with the conclusion paragraph. Behind every weakness I have a strength in my writing. I am excellent at creating a title for each essay. For me titles are a huge part of the essay. The title is make it or break it in my opinion. It’s the first thing the reader reads, and if it doesn’t grab their attrition their probably not going to read any more of it. My motto is tostart out strong and finish stronger. From the start of my essays I think my titles are great. It’s sort of my way of giving the reader a sneak peak behind the story. I am also excellent at including tons of specific details in my writing. Right off the bat in my first essay just by reading the first few lines, you can already pictu re what you’re reading. You can see and feel the rage I’m going through. You can picture what my ideal wedding will be like. You can feel the love that my boyfriend and I share. But that’s only the first essay. In essay four, I wrote about pit bulls and how they are just like any other dog. This was a little bit more difficult to write specific details in because it was a research paper but I felt as if I mastered it. Throughout this semester we have been giving instructions on many different types of essays to write. This has help me get familiar with many different writing techniques and have made me into a better writer. We have written a research paper which has made me familiar with MLA format and how to quote a source in my paper. It has also taught me how to write longer papers instead of just a few pages. We has also written a book review for the Unlikely Disciple which has made me familiar with siting. I had trouble with this essay from the start because I was never assigned to write a book review before in High School, so I got paranoid about it. Even my revision for this particular essay wasn’t any good, because not only have I never written a book review I had never read one either. Although I struggled with writing a few of these essays, I really enjoyed writing them. My favorite essay that I wrote was the first essay about getting engaged to my boyfriend of two and a half years. I had a lot of fun writing this essay because it was so close to my heart. My least favorite essay was essay three, the book review on the Unlikely Disciple. It was by far the most difficult essay for me to write because I wasn’t familiar with siting things in my papers. But, I’m glad I was giving this assignment because I learned a lot from it and will definitely be using what I learned in the future. As I look back on all of these essays, I have begun to realize how much I have learned about writing in these sixteen short weeks. These essays have made me into a better writer, and have made me want to write a lot more just for fun. I stared this class thinking I already knew how to write a paper, and I came out of the class with a lot more knowledge on writing a better paper than I expected.

Night Nurse By Joyce Oates Essays - Grace, Will Grace,

Night Nurse By Joyce Oates After reading Joyce Carol Oates story, " The Night Nurse," revenge is what is found. This story starts off by a woman by the name of Grace Burkhardt, collapsing at a shopping mall because of a reason that was unknown at the time. She is taken in an ambulance to a hospital where she undergoes an emergency surgery for a blood clot that is in her leg that could have traveled to her heart. Grace's stay in the hospital that night was not how she expected. The worst pain a person can indure, is the one who is left out. In the beginning of the story Grace explains herself as being laid back. "I am behaving well, look how calm and civilized" (654). Grace never screamed out at the shopping mall. She tried to act as calm as possible. Even though Grace was in so much pain, she never sobbed to God or never did she ask, "Am I dying? Will I die" (654)? Shortly after the doctors took care of Grace, she went into surgery. After this is when her attitude begins to change. After surgery Grace just lied in bed in so much pain. She cried out "help me.... I'm so cold, I'm so frightened" (654)! This is when the reader notices the shift in Graces attitude. Her attitude shifts into a tone that can practically be heard by the reader. As many times as Grace cried out for help the reader could tell she was desperate. Once the day was over, Grace was about to go through a night that she would never forget. She began to beg God, unlike in the beginning of the story, "Help me through the night" (655). The pain from Grace's surgery was so severe, that she called for a nurse repeatedly. Finally a nurse came in to give her a bedpan so she could urinate. After Grace used the bedpan she waited for the nurse to come back and retrieve it, but she never came back. She needed a nurse also to bring her a blanket because she was freezing cold. Once again there was no nurse to be found. As Grace laid there waiting, she began to drift into her years at college. She thought about her several administrative positions she held during her years at Wells College. During these years people had always praised her. Grace always seemed to be favored by others. Finally Grace saw a nurse standing at the door. Grace wondered why the nurse was just standing there. The nurse finally told Grace her name. It was Harriet Zink. Harriet says her name so the reader can tell there is a conflict occurring. All Grace wanted was a blanket and her bedpan removed, but Harriet replied, "registered nurses aren't required to touch bedpans" (660). This is when the reader can tell Harriet is going to be difficult for Grace to deal with. Once Grace stated, "I am a good person, I am well-liked, respected" (660), is the time the reader finally gets to know what the conflict is between Grace and Harriet. Because of Graces comment about her Harriet begins to show she gets happy every time Grace shows how much pain she is in. This is how the writer lets the reader know revenge is taking place. Back in Harriet's college years she was suppose to be roommates with Grace, but Harriet came late twelve days late into the semester because her mother died. The residential advisor warned Grace and her friends what had happened so they could avoid bringing the subject up. Once Harriet came, her hall had already bonded with others. At this time Harriet was always treated as if she was in the way and there was no room for her. Because of the way she was treated in these college years, it has affected Harriet throughout her life. Deep down inside she knew she would forgive Grace, but she could not stop thinking of her years in college and the pain that she went. Harriet knows that she could stand there and enjoy the pain Grace was going through longer, but she is a better person than that. Grace was in so much pain that night from her surgery. She needed a nurse to come tend to her, but no one would come. After Grace called and called for a nurse, one finally came in to tend to her. This nurse happened to be a person she went to

Phrases to Use to Confirm Information

Phrases to Use to Confirm Information There are certain times in our lives that we need to make sure we understand everything. That’s when clarifying information becomes important. If we want to double-check, we can ask for clarification. If we want to make sure that someone has understood, you can request confirmation that someone has received the message. This type of clarification is especially useful in business meetings, but also in everyday events like taking directions over the telephone or checking an address and telephone number. Use these phrases to clarify and check information.   Phrases and Structures Used to Clarify and Check that You Understand Question Tags Question tags are used when you are sure you have understood but would like to double check. Use the opposite form of the helping verb of the original sentence at the end of the sentence to check. S Tense (positive or negative) Objects , Opposite Auxiliary Verb S You’re going to attend the meeting next week, aren’t you?They don’t sell computers, do they?Tom hasn’t arrived yet, has he? Phrases Used to Rephrase to Double Check Use these phrases to indicate that you would like to rephrase what someone has said in order to make sure you have understood something correctly. Can I rephrase what you said/have/said?So, you mean/think/believe that ...Let me see if I’ve understood you correctly. You ... Can I rephrase what you mean? You feel it’s important to enter the market now.Let me see if I’ve understood you correctly. You would like to hire a marketing consultant. Phrases Used to Ask for Clarification Could you repeat that?I’m afraid I don’t understand.Could you say that again? Could you repeat that? I think I may have misunderstood you.I’m afraid I don’t understand how you plan to implement this plan. Phrases Used to Make Sure Others have Understood You It’s common to ask for clarifying questions after you presented information that might be new to those listening. Use these phrases to make sure everyone has understood. Are we all on the same page?Have I made everything clear?Are there any (more, further) questions? Are we all on the same page? I’d be happy to clarify anything that’s not clear.Are there any further questions? Let’s take a look at a few examples to help clarify. Phrases Use these phrases to repeat information to make sure everyone has understood. Let me repeat that.Let’s go through that again.If you don’t mind, I’d like to go over this again. Let me repeat that. We’d like to find new partners for our business.Let’s go through that again. First, I take a left at Stevens St. and then a right at 15th Ave. Is that correct? Example Situations Example 1 - At a Meeting Frank: ... to end this conversation, let me repeat that we don’t expect everything to happen at once. Are we all on the same page?Marcia: Can I rephrase just a bit to make sure I’ve understood? Frank: Certainly.Marcia: As I understood, we’re going to open up three new branches over the next few months. Frank: Yes, that’s correct.Marcia: However, we don’t have to make all the final decisions right now, do we? Frank: We only need to decide who should be responsible for making those decisions when the time comes.Marcia: Yes, Let’s go through how we’re going to decide that again. Frank: OK. I’d like you to choose a local supervisor you feel would be up to the task.Marcia: I’m supposed to let him or her choose the location, aren’t I? Frank: Yes, that way we’ll have the best local knowledge.Marcia: OK. I think I’m up to speed. Let’s meet again in a few weeks. Frank: How about Wednesday in two weeks?Marcia: OK. See you then. Example 2 - Getting Directions Neighbor 1: Hi Holly, could you help me out?Neighbor 2: Sure, what can I do? Neighbor 1: I need directions to the new supermarket.Neighbor 2: Sure, that’s easy. Take a left on 5th Ave., turn right on Johnson and continue straight ahead for two miles. It’s on the left. Neighbor 1: Just a moment. Could you say that again? I’d like to get this down.Neighbor 2: No problem, take a left on 5th Ave., turn right on Johnson and continue straight ahead for two miles. It’s on the left.Neighbor 1: I take the second right on Johnson, don’t I?Neighbor 2: No, take the first right. Got it? Neighbor 1: Uh, yes, let me just repeat. Take a left on 5th Ave., turn right on Johnson and continue straight ahead for two miles.Neighbor 2: Yes, that’s it. Neighbor 1: Great. Thanks for your help.Neighbor 2: No problem.

Sensory Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sensory Perception - Essay Example There is no doubt that sensory information will always often be subjected to (personal) interpretation of the individual, and these personal interpretations will most likely affect the cognitive process regardless of whether the information processed is correct or not. Fortunately there are a number of reasons to believe in the accuracy (or even in the inaccuracy) of sensory information. The first reason talks about the source of the information and the cognitive capacity of the individual to interpret the data fed to him/her. In order for an information/data to be considered accurate, it must first be received through the senses of touch, sight, sound, smell and taste. The second reason pertains to the reliability of the data/information observed. The formation of â€Å"reliable† sensory data depends on how accurate the â€Å"observation† process was, and whether it would be able to provide enough supporting facts and data that is important to sensory perception. The third reason simply states that the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of sensory information is linked to the interpretation of the brain regarding the information observed or received from the senses. Naturally the ability to correctly analyze and interpret sensory information is affected by whether your brain is considered to be healthy or not. If inaccurate data is sent to the brain and the brain is not able to analyze that there is something wrong with the information, misinterpretation would surely be the result and the view of a person about a certain issue of problem would be greatly affected. Aside from reasons to help an individual decide whether to believe that a particular sensory data is accurate or inaccurate, there are also factors that affect the quality and/or accuracy of sensory data gathered. The sensory data may be affected by objects that are external to it and the individual doing the sensory information gathering, such as amplifiers, various forms of

Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for Germany 11101 - Essay Example For example the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (2014) noted that global FDI flows increased by 4.5% in 2013. According to Radice (2012), even though the value does not represent a very highly anticipated growth, it still gives an indication that FDIs have been growing. IMF (2013) observed that even though FDIs are largely initiated by businesses and investors, the countries involved in these FDIs, whether they are home countries or host countries have ways in which the international investments through FDIs affect them. To get a better understanding of how FDI affects a country however, Frankel (2012) advised on the need to separate outward direct investment from inward investment. A preliminary search through literature has revealed that most researchers have focused their attention about FDI on how individual companies and investors benefit or loss out from FDI (Alguacil, 2002 and Imani, 2003). This leaves very little room for discussion about how countries as entities and stakeholders in international investments are impacted by FDIs. For the few available researches that put countries on the focus, they tend to concentrate on what the countries earn by way of acting as host countries to foreign companies that invest in those countries (Meier and Stiglitz, 2012). This makes knowledge very limited on how countries are impacted by FDI when these international investments take place with the countries acting as home countries. That is, when companies or investors from one country go to other countries to invest, there are both advantages and disadvantages to their countries of origin that needs to be researched into. As Germany is considered an important globa l player in the FDI engagements, it is important that research is performed on not just how Germany is benefits from the international

Helping Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Helping Others - Essay Example This work has led me to another volunteer opportunity and I presently volunteer at the community senior citizens’ home where I am a valued member of the non-permanent staff. Global warming is an international phenomenon with planet-wide repercussions. Although very controversial, with detractors arguing that global warming does not exist and alarmist headlines warning us that the end of the planet is near, global warming is an environmental phenomenon which has just recently received near-universal acceptance by the scientific community. Climate change is a hot topic these days and has been a key issue all over the world. Critics of the global warming phenomenon argue that global warming is in fact not an environmental crisis but a manufactured issue artificially created for a variety of unsavory and politically-inspired reasons. Despite the shrinking number of detractors, global warming is a phenomenon which affects our planet every single day. Global warming and climate change are two terms which are often used interchangeably. Has a link between global warming and climate change been established? Yes, global warming is caused by an increase in greenho use gases in the atmosphere and the effects of global warming include changes in atmospheric temperatures and rainfall, which can lead to climate change. Global warming is most generally described as an average increase in the Earth’s temperatures. Importantly, global warming is not only a present phenomenon but is perceived as something which is expected to continue and increase annually. Global warming is the reputed cause of climate change on an international scale leading to extreme weather, ranging from uncharacteristic snowfall in autumn to extremely mild winter temperatures, major changes to precipitation trends, glacial retreat, species extinction, desertification and a rise in sea  levels.  Ã‚  

The Characteristics Of Culture Theology Religion Essay

The Characteristics Of Culture Theology Religion Essay Biologically speaking, we humans are social beings. We need our parents to be born, and once that happens; even though we are considered single individuals with a brain and mind that let us think and learn, we do not isolate ourselves from the rest of the people. On the contrary, all we do is to follow our peers. We gather in groups, and these groups constitute subgroups again. This is the basic method we follow to successfully organise and build up our social structure to satisfy our several needs. The first of these groups is our family, and from here we span to neighbourhoods; communities of different kinds, that we joined based on a particular interest, such as: religious, sports, academic, musical, labour, political, ideological, etc. These groups grow in number to form states and then countries or nations. All these people together establish a society. Societies differ from one another and every single one of them is unique, particular and characterised for a distinctive feature that we call culture. Culture is that complex absoluteness that we learn day by day. It is everything with which we fill and give sense to our existence. The way we wear, think, believe, act, speak, perceive are all framed and shaped by the ideas, concepts, values that are part of a specific culture. Through culture we learn to adapt ourselves in this physical world, manipulating the available resources for our own welfare and we also shape our behaviour to avoid a social chaos. Concepts of Culture Culture is neither natural nor artificial. It stems from neither genetics nor rational thought, for it is made up of rules of conduct, which were not invented and whose function is generally not understood by the people who obey them. Some of these rules are residues of traditions acquired in the different types of social structure through which each human group has passed. Other rules have been consciously accepted or modified for the sake of specific goals. Yet there is no doubt that, between the instincts inherited from our genotype and the rules inspired by reason, the mass of unconscious rules remains more important and more effective; because reason itself is a product rather than a cause of cultural evolution. Claude LÃ ©vi-Strauss, 1983. Culture means the whole complex of traditional behavior which has been developed by the human race and is successively learnt by each generation. A culture is less precise. It can mean the forms of traditional behavior which are characteristic of a given society, or of a group of societies, or of a certain race, or of a certain area, or of a certain period of time. Margaret Mead, 1937. Culture is the integral whole consisting of implements and consumers goods, of constitutional charters for the various social groupings, of human ideas and crafts, beliefs and customs. Whether we consider a very simple or primitive culture or an extremely complex and developed one, we are confronted by a vast apparatus, partly material, partly human, and partly spiritual, by which man is able to cope with the concrete specific problems that face him. Bronislaw Malinowski, 1944. Culture embraces all the manifestations of social behavior of a community, the reactions of the individual as affected by the habits of the groups in which he lives, and the product of human activities as determined by these habits. Franz Boas, 1930. Characteristics of Culture Culture is learnt: as soon as we are in contact with other members of our culture, we start learning all about it; therefore, we can assume that culture is learnt rather than inherited biologically. A human being will learn the culture of the society where he is raised; thus, a person that is born in Australia would not practise the same culture if he had been born in Poland. In this context we are different from animals since they are biologically built in a way that they will know how to behave and act naturally even if they grew in isolation. Culture is shared: if culture is learnt, we can state that it is also shared. We share all knowledge among the members of the same society. This way we pass on the standards of our culture along years keeping it alive. As we are social beings, we have a high tendency of sharing and this feature let us improve as a whole. By sharing we provide the necessary tools that are used for a gentle adaptation in all stages and environments we go through in our lives. Culture is integrated: culture itself is not a single unit. It is a complex whole in which every feature that characterizes it has an important role that makes that culture distinctive and peculiar. All these features function integrated and not separately from one another. This way when a feature changes, it affects to the whole system making it also swift. Culture is dynamic: there are some reasons such as: population growth, technological innovation, environmental crisis, intrusion of outsiders, modification of behaviour, etc; that have made cultures change. That is why cultures must be flexible and dynamic in order to adapt constantly to the new changes and avoid repression of his members. Culture is based on symbols: culture has been transmitted among its members along the years through a set of different symbols. Symbols are then the instrument used to pass on culture and keep it alive from generation to generation, and language is the most important one. Functions of Culture According to Bronislaw Malinowski (1884 1942) the function of culture is to fulfill certain biological and psychological needs people share. Cultures are expected to fulfill certain functions in order to lead a society successfully and some of them might me: Guarantee the biological continuity of its members. Provide practical means to pass on knowledge among members. Meet the psychological and emotional needs of its members. Being flexible enough in order to survive the increasing shifting conditions. Offer strategies for the rational production and distribution of goods and services considered necessary for life. Provide an organised and diverse social structure so that all its members can fit in it and also understand the world in their own means. Facilitate social interactions among its members and offer reasonable ways to avoid or resolve conflicts that might rise within the group as well as with outsiders. Allow human beings to adapt the environment to their own purposes. Social interactions do not refer to only relationships among human beings but also and deeply with nature. The survival of all cultures depends on the way they use and treat nature. A well-working culture is the one that satisfies the different groups within the society as equally as possible; thus, its individual members can all have access to the resources available in the community and achieve their personal and collective goals. This will avoid the members to feel unsafe and unattached; therefore, they will not easily fall into anti-social behaviours, such as: violence, crime, suicide, depression, abuse of drugs, etc. Enculturation and Acculturation Every single culture is learnt by their members and transmitted from person to person and from generation to generation to avoid its absolute disappearance. The most important instrument used to carry this out is language. The process of passing on knowledge among people is what we call enculturation. This process is vital to guarantee the survival of the culture, but it is also significant to do it in the most smoothly manner to avoid any disruption among members and also among the features of the culture being transmitted. Enculturation let us understand the past so that we can make a better sense of the present and therefore plan a more sustainable future for the welfare of our species. This process also gives us the opportunity to find out more about ourselves; our ancestors and origin; where the way we think and perceive the world, our values and beliefs come from. When enculturation is carried out in the proper manner, the members of all cultures grow up closer to their past, revitalizing the core values that make their cultures unique and distinct from all others. They also grow up in an environment characterized by the deep pride of belonging to one particular culture and behave with strong ideas of maintaining their culture alive; albeit the irrevocable changes they must go through. There is also another phenomenon that cultures might experience, consisting on the absorption of one culture over another one, called acculturation. This usually happens when industrialized or capital societies influence highly over traditional small societies to the point of modifying them completely. Once they are in contact, the former shapes and converts the latter one. The small society adopts the culture of the powerful one as the final outcome. This process is similar to that of colonization. It is especially more noticeable now that we live in a globalized world; where the small societies are usually the most affected ones. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism There is generally a bad habit of criticising other peoples behaviour but most of all to judge the way other cultures function. When we find ourselves interacting with people from other cultures, or simply see it on the media; we get surprised by the different manners they behave, think and express in similar situations. There is nothing wrong with comparing cultures, in fact, this way we learn more about others and value ours, too. We must keep in mind that when comparing, we should adopt an unbiased position in order to understand the best way possible why other people do things in the way they do, and avoid unsupported preconceptions. The term that refers to what it is mentioned in the paragraph above is ethnocentrism: the belief that the way that ones own culture functions is the only proper and correct one, while all others are wrong. In order to avoid making fast judgements or simply incorrect conclusions; anthropologists, when studying cultures, always put into practice what they call cultural relativism which is the idea that we must suspend or postpone judgement of other peoples practices until we acquire a full understanding of the culture in which we are interested; so as to understand them in their own cultural terms. It is important to clarify that in this process what it is done is to put off ones judgement towards another culture, it is neither precipitated nor cancelled. Through cultural relativism it is possible to hold our judgements and perceptions about the culture being observed to the last stage; in order to take down accurate data and keep valid records; furthermore, avoid preconceptions influenced by ethnocentrism. Conclusion Along history not only humans have changed, but also the way we live. In our search for a better and more comfortable world for us to inhabit; we have made an irrational and abusive use of natural resources. We have damaged nature to such extreme points to threaten our own survival. Most of the societies around the world, influenced by the western fashion have turned into very consumerist ones; the ideas and values that used to grasp societies together are now stirring political discomfort and creating social inequality because the leaders and members of our societies are more tented to achieve personal and individual profits at any cost to work collectively so that every member can accomplish his personal and collective needs. The process of changing is unstoppable; everything needs to keep changing constantly to stay alive; therefore a culture that does not adjust its features simple disappears. The most important affected feature of a culture is its language. Language is that particular faculty that differentiates us from animals and makes us a unique and rational species. Through language we humans are able to express our feelings, thoughts, ideas and most importantly to transmit our culture from one generation into another one, assuring its survival along years. Many languages have already disappeared, mainly as a result of the process of acculturation; and with the languages, also ways of thinking, expressing, seeing, perceiving are gone. This way the world becomes small and intrinsic, losing authenticity and variety provided for the distinct and diverse manners of receiving, understanding, analyzing, shaping and living this world. For a culture to survive is not enough to shift. It should do it in a way that it can guarantee that its members will satisfy their biological and social needs; thus, the whole society will feel competent and safe; therefore, it will behave proudly and mutually to keep it alive.

Importance of Breakfast Essay

Studies have shown that person who take breakfast are more alert, with higher level of concentration and better problem-solving skills, and generally perform better in quality of work. The best time to eat breakfast is within an hour after waking up. After 10am, if people feel it is too late to eat breakfast, they can eat a healthy snack to give them some energy for the morning until lunch. If people having breakfast and develop a healthy breakfast routine, they will realize and understand the importance of breakfast. Let’s find out the importance of eating breakfast. To start the day, people need energy. One healthy way to get energy is through eating breakfast. The word â€Å"breakfast† literally means â€Å"to break the fast.† Breakfast provides your body and brain the nourishment it craves after an overnight fast. Having a meal in the morning helps you feel satisfied longer and helps deter snacking later in the day. Breakfast is essential to kick-starting your metabolism for the day. While you are sleeping and fasting, your body slows down many processes and burns less calories. Eating breakfast helps send the signal that it is time to bring these systems back up to speed so you burn more calories throughout the day. Now, you have know ones of other importance of breakfast, so let’s look another important of breakfast. Breakfast can produce brain power. Breakfast is your brain meal. When you wake up you have been fasting for about 8 hours. Energy giving glucose levels in your brain have dropped. The energy of the brain must be restored. Simply eating the right foods in the morning can maximize your brain power. Having a breakfast also can make your brain functioning at its optimal level. Your brain needs glucose to function, and after a night of not eating, your body’s stores have been depleted. Breakfast helps raise your blood glucose levels back to normal to give plenty of fuel for your brain to perform its best. The benefits of breakfast don’t just to get energy and to produce brain power. Regularly eating a healthy breakfast also help you to control the body weight. Eating breakfast may reduce your hunger later in the day, which may make it easier to avoid overeating. When the persons skip a healthy meal in the morning, that persons will pick snacks high in sugar and fat to curb the hunger. Another is healthy choices. Eating breakfast may get you on track to make healthy choices all day. When you eat breakfast, you tend to eat a healthier overall diet, one that is more nutritious and lower in fat. When you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to skip fruits and vegetables the rest of the day, too. Bear in mind that eating breakfast is important for your health. Without breakfast, it’s like climbing a mountain without any necessary equipment thus puts you at risk. The importance of breakfast is to get the energy, to produce brain power and help you lose excess weight and maintain your weight loss.

Facial Recognition Biometrics Essay

Traditional personal identification and authentication methods always have the danger of being stolen, duplicated or forgotten. Hence, biometrics was introduced as an identification and authentication technology, where physical features would be used for recognizing a person. This technology uses many features for unique identification like fingerprints, face, irises and voice. Fingerprints are by far the most popular techniques used for i8dentification, because of their traditional use in forensics. However, face recognition is considered to be the more direct, friendly and convenient method for identification as compared to fingerprint identification. This has made face recognition system as the second most widely used biometric technology after fingerprinting with a projected revenue of $429 million in 2007, according to Raicu & Strandburg (2005). This growth in the use of this technology is attributed to the sharp rise in the number of digital cameras and camcorders and inconsequence surveillance cameras. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this technology, explain its basic principle, look into the limitations of the technology and the research work being done in this field. Face Recognition Face recognition consists of two steps: face detection and location; features extraction and face recognition. Figure below shows a flowchart of the face recognition system: Fig -1 Flow chart of a basic face recognition system (Zhang, 2000) Face Detection and Location – This step checks if the given image or image sequence includes faces. It yes, then it locates the position of the faces and segments each face from the background Features extraction and face recognition – This step checks the various features that distinguish different individuals. It figures whether the people in the image are the given person or if he / she are in the database. Needless to say, the face recognition system depends upon the input of the system. The importance of the input and picture background is explained by Zhang (2000) by giving the following example. The picture taken during log in on a system and passing custom are controlled. That is to say the background is uniform for the images or image sequences. The pose, orientation etc is also known and well controlled. This makes the process of face recognition is accurate and faster. However, in case of an input environment which is universal for all situations, there might be number of faces and also a complex background. The location of the face and its size is not known, the illumination on the different faces in a picture is different and their expressions might be different too. In such cases, the face detection and location is difficult. Face recognition can be made difficult due to different expressions, orientations and age, making the process of feature extraction and face recognition all the more difficult (Zhang, 2000) One important parameter in the evaluation of a face-processing system is the performance evaluation. The basic measurement parameters are the same as that for pattern recognition system FA i. e. false acceptance or false positive and FR i. e. false rejection or false negative. As in case of a pattern recognition system, an ideal face-recognition system should have very low scores of FA and FR, but a practical system usually makes trade-offs between these two factors. History of Face Processing Systems Development According to Zhao & Chellappa (2006), the earliest work on face recognition can be traced to the early 1950s in psychology and 1960s in engineering literature. However, the research on automatic machine recognition of faces started in 1970s after the work of Kanade and Kelly. For over 30 years extensive research has been conducted on various aspects of face recognition by humans and machines. During early and mid 1970s typical pattern-classification techniques using measured attribute of features for instance the distances between important points in faces or profiles were used. In 1980s, the work in this field remained largely dormant. The interest in this field was renewed in 1990s due to an increase in commercial opportunities, availability of real-time hardware and emergence of surveillance related applications. During this time the research was focused on how to make the face-recognition systems fully automatic by tackling various underlying problems like localization of a face in a given image or a video clip and extraction of features such as eyes, mouth etc (Zhao & Chellappa, 2006) Applications of Face processing The applications of face processing vary, leading to different features extraction and face recognition. For instance, one application is the face verification, which means that the person is who he claims to be. This is used in places like banks for identity confirmation. Another application is to check if the person exists in the database and if yes than which one. This is known as face recognition and used in surveillance systems in offices. A variation of this is when we wish to have a list of candidates with a specific set of specified features. This is used in the police department (Zhang, 2000) The table below gives some applications of face processing including detection and tracking, recognition of identity and expressions, and also personalized realistic rendering (Zhao & Chellappa, 2006).

The Ultimate Study Guide for ACT Science Tips, Practice, and Strategies

The Ultimate Study Guide for ACT Science Tips, Practice, and Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We've written the best ACT Science guide available anywhere.This is not an exaggeration- we've studied dozens of ACT prep books and online resources, both paid and free, and we believe this is the best resource available right now, by far. In this guide, we cover every question type on the ACT Science section and give you strategies to attack them. In addition, we provide you with our best ACT Science tips and teach you how to get the most out of your ACT Science practice and ACT prep. If you're serious about raising your ACT Science score, read through every link. Bymastering all the key concepts, engaging with realistic practice questions, and reviewing your mistakes, you'll dramatically improve your ACT Science score. I've organized the guides logically, based on how you'll proceed through your ACT Science prep. We'll start off by looking at the ACT at a high level and getting yourself in the right mindset. Next, we'll dive into the individual skills tested on ACT Science. Finally, we'll explore study plans and explain how you should spend your time in order to maximize your score improvement. In your first pass, try to read these guides roughly in this order. As you study, you can then come back and use this article as a reference to keep your ACT Science prep on track! High-Level Guidance for ACT Science These guides set the stage for your learning. How should you think about ACT Science? What high-level strategies should you keep in mind? In addition, we'll go over the overarching structure of the ACT as well as the types of content you'll see on it. What's Actually Tested on the ACT Science Section? Skills and Topics The first step is to make sure you understand the basic format and requirements of ACT Science. It might be different from what you think! This article explains what kinds of concepts you'll see on it and how questions will look on test day. The 3 Types of ACT Science Passages: What You Must Know The ACT Science section has the same number and types of passages on every single test, so it's important to familiarize yourself with what these might look like. Read this guide to learn the three types of Science passages and the types of questions that are unique to each one. The Big Secret of ACT Science: It's More Reading Than Science It's a common misconception that ACT Science requires you to be a science genius. This is 100% false!In reality, you simply need to know how to read scientific passages effectively as well as how to interpret data. With this guide, learn how to excel on the ACT Science section through reading comprehensionand focused practice. How to Do Well on ACT Science for Non-Science People Are you intimidated by ACT Science because you haven't done that well in your high school science classes? Don't fret! In this guide, weshow you how you can excel on this section, even if you don't know anything about quantum physics. The 5 Best Strategies for Reading ACT Science Passages Doing well on the ACT Science section doesn't require just answering questions well- it involves approaching the reading passages both efficiently and effectively. Learn how you should be reading the ACT Science passages and answering the questions that follow them using this guide. How to Get 36 on ACT Science: 13 Strategies From a Perfect Scorer If you're already doing well on ACT Science but want perfection, this is the article for you. Written by a perfect scorer, this essential guide will give you tips on motivation, strategies, and everything else you need to know in order to get your Science score to the highest level possible. ACT Science Skills and Topics These guides break down every single question type on ACT Science. You'll learn how questions work, get strategies and tips on how to answer them, and work with real ACT practice problems. Working With Data Factual Questions in ACT Science: How to Read Graphs, Tables, and Data This is the most fundamental skill you'll need for ACT Science. If you can't read graphs reliably, it's impossible to do well on this section. Read this guide to ensure you know the best strategies for interpreting data from Science reading passages. Interpreting Trends in ACT Science: Relationships Between Data Points ACT Science questions often ask you to understand how data points relate to each other. Are they directly or inversely correlated? What are the trends? Learn the patterns of how data appears with this guide. Calculating Questions on ACT Science: Interpolating and Extrapolating From Data You'll also get questions dealing with finding values that don't actually appear on the graph. You'll need to infer what the values are from the data. Read this guide to learn how to do it right. Understanding Experiments Experimental Design Questions in ACT Science The ACT Science section tests your understanding of the scientific method.You need to be able to understand why an experiment was set up in a certain way, and what the experiment is meant to show. We teach you how to do all of this here. Interpreting Experiments Questions in ACT Science When you conduct an experiment, understanding the results and conclusion is the final goal. Therefore, you'll often run into questions asking you to interpret conclusions from an experiment and decide whether the data supports those conclusions or not. Learn the skills with this guide. Special Guides Conflicting Viewpoints in ACT Science: Strategies and Tips There's always one conflicting viewpoints passage on ACT Science, and many students find it the most difficult of all. Multiple scientists will share their theories and you need to find the differences and commonalities between them. The Only Actual Science You Have to Know for ACT Science On every ACT, there are always a few questions (three to four) that require you to know alittle basic science outside of what's given in the passage.While thesearen't hard concepts, you do need to be familiar with them. We've studied dozens of tests and compiled all the facts you need to know in this guide. ACT Science Strategies and Tips Now that you understand how the ACT Science works in-depth, it's time to put together everything you've learned and start to work on improving your skills. These guides take you through how to structure your ACT Science prep, focus your studying, and perform your best on test day. The Best Way to Study and Practice for ACT Science You only have a limited number of hours to prep for ACT Science; thus, you'll need to maximize the efficiency of your prep so you don't waste time. Read our core study principles here. ACT Science Practice Tests: What to Use and What to Avoid It's important to practice for ACT Science using the right materials. If you were training for baseball, you wouldn't practice with Wiffle balls, right? Find out what practice questions and tests you should be using so you can train yourself correctly. Time Management Tips and Section Strategy on ACT Science Constantly running out of time on ACT Science? This is a common problem. Try these strategies to save yourself time on every passage and as you answer questions. The 11 ACT Science Strategies You Must Be Using More than any of the other sections on the ACT, the Science section rewards strategy more than knowledge. Read this article to learn the top 11 strategies you should definitely implement in your ACT Science prep. How to Improve ACT Science Scores: 6 Tips From a Perfect Scorer The strategies you’ll need to use if you’re aiming for a 26 on ACT Science arenotthe same as those you'll need if you're aiming for a perfect 36. If you’ve already taken an official ACT practice test and are currently scoring below 26, read this article to learn how to boost that score and get yourself to the level at which you want to be. The 9 Reasons You Miss ACT Science Questions We all make mistakes. The important part is understanding why you made a mistake and how you can avoid making it again in the future.Here, we break down the most common reasons test takers miss ACT Science questions and offer advice on what to do. The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them Over the many years of ACT Science, some questions have been truly difficult and head-scratching for even the most experienced test takers. We've collected the most difficult Science questions we've ever seen on real ACT tests and present them here. Go ahead and challenge your skills! The Top 6 ACT Science Tips You Must Use Need a quick fix to improve your ACT Science score? Read our expert tips to quickly improve your score without deep prep. Want to learn more about ACT Science? Check out our new ACT Science prep book. If you liked this lesson, you'll love our book. It includes everything you need to know to ace ACT Science, including deep analysis of the logic behind ACT Science questions, a full breakdown of the different passage and question types, and tons of expert test-taking and study tips. Download our full-length prep book now: Conclusion: How to Use This Ultimate ACT Science Guide This is a lot to take in- I know. But there's a lot to understand about the ACT Science section if you want to do well on it. After you read these guides, the hard work starts. You need to gather high-quality resources to work with and diagnose your specific weaknesses on every practice test you take. You also need to train these weaknesses through focused practice and then adjust your study plan accordingly so that every hour is giving you results. Above all, you need to stay motivated and be held accountable for your prep. What's Next? Need help on other ACT sections? Take a look at our ultimate study guides for ACT English, ACT Math, ACT Reading, and ACT Writingto get the best tips and resources available anywhere. Not sure what ACT score to aim for? Read our in-depth guide to learn what a good ACT score is based on the schools you're applying to. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Taking Advantage of Educational Opportunities †English 2 page Essay

Taking Advantage of Educational Opportunities – English 2 page Essay Free Online Research Papers Taking Advantage of Educational Opportunities English 2 page Essay Prompt How have you taken advantage of educational opportunities you have had to prepare for college? There are a number of ways I have taken advantage of educational opportunities to prepare for college. One way I have done this is by taking some of the advanced placement college level courses at school. I have gone through an advanced placement course in Chemistry, and I am currently taking advanced placement courses in Physics and Calculus BC. Also, I completed college level Geometry at a local community college over a summer vacation. I thought it would be of great advantage to me to challenge myself and experience college-level classes and honor classes as well as to prepare myself for the rigorous courses that are offered at Universities. Secondly, I was Chosen as one of the three students from my school out of many applicants to attend an after school pre-engineering course. In this course, I was able to experience what engineers really do on the job. I see engineering as potential career path, and I applied for this course because I wanted to find out what engineering is all about to establish a fundamental knowledge of the many different career opportunities, benefits of the occupation, and ultimately to prepare myself for a potential engineering major. Also, during one summer vacation, I eagerly signed up for a speed-reading course to improve my reading and comprehension skills and to learn how to read more quickly and efficiently. This reading class stressed that being able to read quickly, more efficiently, and with better understanding, proves to be invaluable skills for high school and college students. As part of my school math competition team, I learned very useful skills in how to attack certain problems, usually difficult ones, which are given on the tests taken by our team. The team adviser taught my teammates and me how to attack problems more quickly and accurately, by minimizing error, and breaking down the problems into parts instead of tackling the problem as a whole. I signed up for the school math competition team wanting to test my math skills and improve them as well, knowing that having better math skills would give me a jump start in college. When my friends and sister rely on me to tutor them and help them with their homework, I see it as an educational opportunity to prepare for college because I can establish a more solid understanding of a certain subject, whether it is math problems or grammar and spelling. I help my sister and my friends frequently with their schoolwork that they don’t understand. This way, my knowledge becomes broader. Whenever I help them with something, I re-learn the material in the process, and therefore I establish a more solid understanding. Not only have I taken advantage of educational opportunities in classes, but also on the Internet. I hold a strong interest in computers, and it is my strongest ambition right now to major in computer science, and engineering is a strong ambition as well. I wanted to have a basic start in computers, so I found some tutorials online that taught certain things. HTML, a computer language read by Internet browser software to display a web page in many different ways, was one language I put a lot of concentration into. I know most of that language, and I have started a little into other languages as well. The numbers of different ways in which I have taken advantage of educational opportunities have truly given me a sense of confidence. At this moment I feel that what I have done has paid off and that I am prepared for a college level education. Research Papers on Taking Advantage of Educational Opportunities - English 2 page EssayStandardized TestingTrailblazing by Eric AndersonHip-Hop is ArtAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaResearch Process Part OneOpen Architechture a white paperGenetic EngineeringRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

Transformation Leadership Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transformation Leadership Interview - Essay Example Leadership is defined by Martires & Fule (2000) as â€Å"the process of influencing people so that they would work towards the attainment of specifically defined goals† (p. 569). Transformational leadership, as the name implies, is a leadership style â€Å"that creates voluble and positive change in the followers. A transformational leader focuses on "transforming" others to help each other, to look out for each other, be encouraging, harmonious, and look out for the organization as a whole. In this leadership, the leader enhances the motivation, moral and performance of his follower group.† (Boje 2000) Studies on this concept in leadership was originally delved into by James McGregor Burns who wanted to differentiate leadership from management and discovered that the differences are in characters and behaviors. (Burns 1978) He contrasted transformational leadership style as against a transactional leadership where focus is on the traits and characteristics of the leader rather than creating changes in people’s lives. There have been diverse patterns of behavior and actions that leaders exhibit over a period of time and perceived by followers as the dominant style of leadership. This style is developed utilizing an interplay of factors which shape leadership development. There have been an enormous amount of studies and researches which seek to identify the characteristics, traits and behaviors which are predominant in leaders and enable them to succeed. For transformational leaders, the following characteristics stand out: (1) overt desire to transform the organization; (2) charismatic; (3) exudes passion and confidence; (4) possess large amounts of enthusiasm; (5) are people oriented and (5) tendencies to see the big picture and not the details (Straker 2009). According to Burns (1978), there are four elements of a transformational

The medicinal use of marijuana Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The medicinal use of marijuana - Article Example Marijuana can naturally address these issues as is attested to by a cancer patient and former police commissioner. In addition to relieving his nausea, Jo Daly said he was â€Å"able to drastically reduce my dependence on more powerful prescription drugs that I was prescribed for pain and nausea. With the help of medical marijuana, which I ingest only occasionally and in small amounts, I no longer need the Compazine, Lorazepam, Ativan and Halcion. No combination of these medications provided adequate relief. They also caused serious side effects that I never experienced with marijuana† (1997). He was able to take significantly less drugs with significantly fewer side effects by using natural marijuana rather than any combination of chemical drugs. Many doctors recognize the benefits of marijuana in treating patients with arthritis. â€Å"The spinal cord is loaded with cannabinoid receptors. These cannabinoid compounds [from marijuana] apparently reduce swelling from inflammation [a major symptom of arthritis]. But more than that, they kill the pain from inflammation specifically. They work on the peripheral nerves that carry pain from your joint into the spinal cord† (Walker, 2000). Those who suffer from bowel disease face sometimes life-threatening flare-ups with very few clinical options. There are only a limited number of traditional medications available for these conditions and these are frequently ineffective in fully managing the symptoms. However, â€Å"beneficial effects [of marijuana use] were reported for appetite, pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, activity and depression. Patients also reported that cannabis use resulted in weight gain, fewer stools per day and fewer flare-ups of less severity† (Hergenrather, 2005). Weight gain is an important consideration for these patients as their condition causes malnutrition and low weight. A study conducted by the

Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Annotated Bibliography Example The findings revealed five criteria that define the concept of professional practice. They include: Technical and legal concerns was identified as the most important concern that the students felt should be incorporated in their studies. The results of the study seem to support the effectiveness of the theory of case based learning. Many students feel that they are not being effectively prepared for professional practice. The lack of experience and connection with the professional world are some of the concerns raised by the students. A section of the students felt that creative design is sufficient to prepare them for their field of work. In conclusion, the study identifies the different concerns regarding preparation of students for professional practice. Communication abilities should be part of the higher education program to help students communicate effectively in their professional field. The study recommends further research to determine the effectives of the strategies like case study learning methods. Incorporation of the communication skills and case study learning meth od is likely to equip students with skills needed in professional

Teaching Strategy in the Classroom Essay Example for Free

Teaching Strategy in the Classroom Essay In a classroom, the teacher is the leader. As such, they must take into account which teaching methods would be best to develop their students learning abilities. During my observations at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, I was able to witness a wide array of teaching strategies. For this paper, I will choose specific methods, and discuss how certain teachers used them effectively within the classroom. First, I will discuss how the modeling process was used to enhance student’s abilities to learn. Modeling is a process of teaching through demonstration. Second, I will discuss how mapping, a learning strategy that helps students understand relationships between ideas, was effectively applied in the classroom. I will then discuss how reinforcement, the use of stimulus’s to increase frequency of a specific behavior, was used as a motivational factor. Lastly, I will discuss how gender and culture were or were not addressed in select classrooms. What I intend to show is how each of these strategies can be used to help create a positive classroom environment that promotes learning as a tool and goal. Modeling can be used very effectively if all four parts are consciously applied. The first part, attention, involves a teacher keeping his student’s focus, allowing them to absorb more information. The next component, retention, requires that a teacher utilize methods such as visual or verbal aids to help their students remember a lesson. The third part of modeling is reproduction, which occurs when a student practices what they’ve been taught. Practice allows for a better chance of translating information to long-term memory. The last step in the process of modeling is motivation, which is a teacher’s ability to give their students desire to work harder. All four of these steps, when used effectively, significantly increase student’s abilities to learn and retain information. In each classroom I observed, some components of modeling were applied. However, in three classrooms I was able to see all four steps of the process effectively applied. One example is Mr. John Ferrara’s Public speaking class, which consisted of multiple grades. In his lessons on creating â€Å"How To† posters, he kept attention through verbal directions and jokes. He drew diagrams and made his own poster to help retention. Reproduction was automatically included because the â€Å"How to† posters were the homework assignments. As for motivation, he offered plenty of reinforcement and positively critiqued each of his students in helping them learn what didn’t work and what to continue doing. (Observe class notes 1, 2, 3) Similarly, Ms. Katy Devine, for her twelfth grade advanced English class used modeling in lessons on poetry. She called on multiple students in the class to read the poems to keep attention. To help students retain and reproduce the lesson, she encouraged them to write their own poetry, assigning homework that kept them working with the central ideas of the lesson. She continually motivated her students by praising them for answering, whether correctly or not, and by telling them where this knowledge would get them in the future. Ms. Devine, like Mr. Ferrara, utilized each step of the modeling process effectively in her classroom. (Observe class notes 4, 5) The last classroom in which I observed modeling successfully practiced was in Mr. Laurence Mechanic’s tenth grade English class. In teaching a lesson on essays, he kept attention by consistently calling on various students. He drew diagrams on the board to help explain the â€Å"sandwich† form to an essay. He assigned homework which involved writing a thesis statement. These procedures promoted retention and reproduction. As for motivation, he told his students how rapidly they were improving, encouraging them that they would master the Regents Exams if they kept up their hard work. (Observe class note 6) I will now discuss how I observed mapping at work in the classroom. A concept map is a visual aid and graphic organizer that shows connections between separate ideas. Mapping allows students to organize thoughts and concepts in new ways. Additionally, graphic organizers have been proven to improve learning outcomes in many students. There are many different kinds of graphic organizers that can be used. For the purpose of this paper I will discuss the Venn diagram I observed in Mr. Mechanic’s classroom, and network trees that I observed in Mr. Scott Colvin and Ms. Abbe Katz’s classrooms. A Venn Diagram consist of two large circles with separate topics and an intersecting middle area where the relations between ideas are written. In Mr. Mechanic’s tenth grade English class the circles focused on literary elements contained in two poems. In the middle section, Mr. Mechanic had the students discuss the literary elements that were found in both of these works. The use of this Venn diagram helped the students better understand each individual section, as well as recognize the way certain elements can be used in multiple ways. (Observe class notes 6, 8) Both Mr. Colvin, in his eleventh grade English class, and Ms. Katz, in her ninth grade advanced English class, utilized network trees. In Mr. Colvin’s class, it was used to help examine characteristics of leadership. The tree was organized with a block in the middle, marked â€Å"Leadership,† and four spawned off circles that focused on individual aspects of leadership. Mr. Colvin then had the students answer follow up questions which further allowed them to identify the connections between their idea of a leader and those in the story they were reading in class. (Observe class note 7, Handout 1) Ms. Katz organized her network tree around William Shakespeare’s play, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet. † She assigned the first few scenes as homework, and then showed the first scene of the Baz Luhrmann 1997 movie version in class. She discussed the way the Capulets and Montagues were portrayed in the book and movie. Her students broke into two groups, one concentrating on the specifics of the play and the other on the movie. She led a discussion, putting the network tree on the board at the close of class time. As a result, the student’s better understood the use of family in Shakespeare’s work and were able to recognize differences and similarities between the portrayal of family in the written play and the movie. (Observe class note 9) As aforementioned, motivation is a crucial part of the modeling process. But even individually it is crucial to effective teaching and learning. Reinforcement is one major way to increase motivation. There are two kinds of reinforcement: positive, which occurs when a pleasant stimulus is presented, and negative, which occurs when an undesired stimulus is removed. The presentation and removal of these stimuli at proper times should lead to an increase in frequency of the desired behavior. I will further discuss the use of reinforcement in Mr. Ferrara and Mr. Mechanics classroom, and then discuss how I observed it in Mrs. Anna Carusos classroom as well. For the discussion of Mr. Ferraras public speaking class and Mr. Mechanics tenth grade English class, I will simply elaborate on the way they effectively used the last step of the modeling process. When Mr. Ferraras class had to finally give their How to presentations and Mr. Mechanics class had their thesis statements checked over, continuing motivation became crucial. Both of these teachers used praise and reinforcement excessively after their students presented their work. Mr. Ferrara took class time and cited out at least one positive aspect from each presentation. He told the students how they had cut down on the ums, uhs, likes, focused more on keeping their eyes on the class, and credited each student with doing a superb job. (Observe class notes 1, 2, 3) Similarly, Mr. Mechanic praised almost every students thesis statements. He reminded them how important a skillful opening paragraph is when writing an essay, explaining that a great thesis statement sets up an entire essay. He continued to boost the students confidence in their work, and closed the discussion by reminding each student how well they will do on the Regents by keeping up their hard work. (Observe class note 10) Mrs. Caruso, in her ninth grade English class, used reinforcement consistently to promote class participation. First, she introduced a reward system to the class by creating enlarged photocopied bills with her face in the center that could be used as extra credit on exams. She would positively reinforce participating students during her lectures by giving them a bill for paying attention and contributing to the class discussion. She also used negative reinforcement on one occasion that I observed in her classroom. At one point, when a student asked a question, the answer was on a recent hand out. A few of the students laughed at the stupidity of the question, with one even calling the student a derogatory name. Mrs. Caruso punished the misbehaving students; threatening to call their house next time they disrespected another student. This encouraged the original student to continue asking questions, showing him the disrespectful result would not recur. Like each aforementioned situation, this instance shows how reinforcement was used effectively in the classroom. In doing so, these teachers created a comfortable environment in which their students not only completed the required assignments, but were praised and rewarded for doing so. In each case, the students looked forward to earning more reinforcement by continuing to work hard. (Observe class notes 11, 12) When it comes to culture and diversity, each classroom at New Hyde Park Memorial High School appeared to divide up evenly. By and large, just over half the classroom was Caucasian, with just under half the total being Indian. To fill out the remaining percentage, there were a few Asian, Spanish or Black students. However, the bulk of the room was either Caucasian or Indian. Gender wise, the classes were divided evenly as well. There was usually a 50/50 split between male and female, with very few exceptions. One of these exceptions was in Ms. Devines twelfth grade advanced English class, in which there were only six males out of twenty-one students. However, half female, half male classes were most common. Culture and gender are two important issues to consider when running a classroom. Different backgrounds raise children in different ways, requiring that a certain focus or method may need to be adopted in a classroom. It is also understood that males and females have a tendency to succeed in separate fields of study. Lastly, it is very important, esteem wise, to understand the culture and gender of a student, because self-esteem also varies between sexes and races. However, for each of these classrooms, there was very little emphasis on either race or gender. Most teachers treated their class as though each student was the same sex and race. In some of these classes, this was an effective way to run the class, while in others there should have more focus on the specific situation of certain students. I will once again discuss Mr. Ferraras and Mr. Mechanics classes, as well as Ms. Devines eleventh grade English class for the first time in making my points for these topics. In Mr. Ferraras Public speaking class, there was a cultural breakdown of two-third Caucasian, one-third Indian, one African American and one Chinese student. The genders were evenly split. While the majority of the time there was no specific focus on either gender or culture, there was one occasion that I did observe when a student’s culture was emphasized. On this occasion, the lone African American student was giving her â€Å"How to† speech. In doing so, she used Ebonics. Upon completion of her presentation, Mr. Ferrara joked back to her using Ebonics. This could be a bad idea depending on the relationship between student and teacher. However, due to the environment Mr. Ferrara sustains in his classroom, one of respect and humor, this only invoked laughter from the class as well as the individual. In fact, the student felt more comfortable with the rest of the class afterwards. On this occasion, Mr. Ferrara made it a point to focus on a certain culture, and it worked very well due to the prior establishment of relationship and understanding in his class. Mr. Mechanics tenth grade English class broke down culture wise to about half Caucasian and half Indian, with three Spanish students. Gender wise, the breakdown was 50/50. In one of his classes, Mr. Mechanic attempted to explain and utilize the Socratic method of teaching, in which the class sits in a circle and discussion is openly led by whichever student decides to enter in. Mr. Mechanic called on students of different races and genders to begin the discussion, encouraging all the other students to chime in throughout. In setting up this type of class, he erases gender and culture differences, giving each student equal opportunity to participate in the classroom discussion. As a teacher, consciously disregarding culture and gender as learning components can make it difficult to still effectively run a classroom. However, this is one of the most successful ways to do so and still create and sustain a positive and efficient classroom environment. (Observe class note 13) In Ms. Devines eleventh grade English class, there was a cultural breakdown of half Caucasian students and half Indian students. Gender wise there was again a 50/50 breakdown. In this class, there was no specific focus on gender or culture. However, in this class Ms. Devine should have made more of a conscious effort to include the separate cultures in her class activities. For the reading of Macbeth, she chose certain students to act out each part. However, in doing so, she consistently chose the outgoing Caucasian students; male for male parts, female for female. I feel that this did not place the Indian or soft-spoken Caucasian students on the same plane as those chosen. There should never be a situation in which students of any culture or gender feel barred from classroom activities, but unfortunately in this class this became the case. Unlike the above teachers, Ms. Devine did not do a good job of making the students in her class equal participants, affecting the way certain students learned in her class. (Observe class note 14) In our Education class at Queens College, there were many different instructional activities that we participated in. There are three specific methods that we undertook in class that I observed in the classroom as effective teaching strategies. One of these activities was a Microsoft PowerPoint discussion on Moral Development. The use of PowerPoint allowed the lesson to be put on a larger screen for observation by the full class, helping both note taking ability and overall comprehension. The second activity we used in our class that was very effective was group work. This was at work in many of the classrooms I observed as well, and is successful because it allows diverse thoughts and ideas to come together. Lastly, the ungraded homework assignments were an effective classroom activity. They led to further understanding of the assigned topic and fed the class discussions pertaining to these topics. I saw the first two discussed activities at work in my observations. Computers with Powerpoint capabilities were actually one of the recent additions to every classroom at New Hyde Park Memorial. Ms. Katz, in her ninth grade advanced English class, used PowerPoint lectures for her Romeo and Juliet discussion, and students in Mr. Ferraras public speaking class utilized this feature for their How to presentations. Similarly, group work was involved in a majority of the classes I observed. Mr. Mechanic, Mr. Ferrara, Ms. Katz and Ms. Devine all used group work in the teaching of their lesson, just to name a few. The ungraded homework assignments were not included in any of the classes I observed. However, if applied in the class, ungraded homework would allow students that wish to expand and increase their knowledge to do so, while those who desire only to understand what is being taught in class can spend more time focusing on the work due for other classes. In conclusion, there are many ways to run a successful classroom. In my observations, I was able to see multiple teaching strategies and how they either worked or failed. The ones I decided to focus on for the purposes of this paper are the strategies that I found to be successful most often. I learned that modeling is a very effective teaching process, when each component is taking into account. I learned that mapping is a very effective tool that helps connect ideas and create relationships between previous unrelated ideas. I learned how gender and culture could be either taken into account, or consciously ignored in a classroom, but that one must be careful in choosing to do either. In the classrooms of Mr. John Ferrara, Ms. Katie Devine, Mr. Laurence Mechanic, Ms. Abbe Katz, Mrs. Anna Caruso and Mr. Scott Colvin, there were successful methods at work and very positive environments created as a result. While each teacher had their own unique methods to utilizing a strategy and teaching a lesson, they all did a superb job of making learning an enjoyable, universal, and crucial part of their classroom.

The Holocaust :: European Europe History

Holocaust Throughout the movie, "The Holocaust", the phrase, "I just do my job," was usually the only excuse most people who committed crimes against the Jews could come up with. For example, when Helena and Rudy Weiss were staying in Kiev, the city was bombed. During the bombing, one of the Nazi soldiers, who happened to be Heinz Muller, a friend of Inga's family, was hit by falling debris. Hesitant, Rudy helped Muller escape from the collapsing building, gave him some water, and asked him why he was taking part in the mistreatment of the Jews. "I obey orders," Muller replied, unrepentant about what he did. Also, when Bertha Weiss was sent to the gas chambers in Auschwitz, Dr. Joseph Weiss asked the Kapo what happened to her. The lady bluntly retorted, "Don't blame me, I just take orders." Whether to keep a job, remain loyal to their cause, or just because they had no other excuse, everyone used that phrase to justify what they did wrong against the Jews. Anti-Semitism and unfair grudges are two factors that can cause Genocide. During the movie, Eric Dorf claimed he did not feel bad about Kristallnacht or what happened to the Jews, because he said the Jews provoked it. Even though Kristallnacht was the first major pogrom, a government sponsored attack on the Jews, and was terribly destructive, Eric said that they killed Christ and they deserved what they got (The Holocaust). In addition, Heydrich believed that Germans and the Aryan race was superior to the Jewish race and they had to "isolate the germ carriers" (The Holocaust), so he decided to go through with the plan for Jewish ghettos. The ghettos were intended to hold the Jews in a temporary Jewish community until they could be efficiently exterminated. This demonstrates how Anti-Semitism and grudges can produce Genocide. In the video, "Conversations With Oprah: Elie Wiesel", Wiesel explains that the most important lesson to be learned from what happened during the Holocaust is to not be indifferent, but to still be human in spite of everything that happened. He said he believed that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather indifference, because indifference can not be fought (Conversations). Not being indifferent is important in preventing another Holocaust in the future. "When you have a choice to make and you don't make it, that in itself is a choice," William James once said.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 10 THE MEADOW

JACOB DIDN'T CALL. The first time I called, Billy answered and told me that Jacob was still in bed. I got nosy, checking to make sure that Billy had taken him to a doctor. Billy said he had, but, for some reason I couldn't nail down, I didn't really believe him. I called again, several times a day, for the next two days, but no one was ever there. Saturday, I decided to go see him, invitation be damned. But the little red house was empty. This frightened mewas Jacob so sick that he'd needed to go to the hospital? I stopped by the hospital on the way back home, but the nurse at the front desk told me neither Jacob or Billy had been in. I made Charlie call Harry Clearwater as soon as he got home from work. I waited, anxious, while Charlie chatted with his old friend; the conversation seemed to go on forever without Jacob even being mentioned. It seemed that Harry had been in the hospital . . some kind of tests for his heart. Charlie's forehead got all pinched together, but Harry joked with him, blowing it off, until Charlie was laughing again. Only then did Charlie ask about Jacob, and now his side of the conversation didn't give me much to work with, just a lot of hmms and yeahs. I drummed my fingers against the counter beside him until he put a hand over mine to stop me. Finally, Charlie hung up the phone and turned to me. â€Å"Harry says there's been some trouble with the phone lines, and that's why you haven't been able to get through. Billy took Jake to the doc down there, and it looks like he has mono. He's real tired, and Billy said no visitors,† he reported. â€Å"No visitors?† I demanded in disbelief. Charlie raised one eyebrow. â€Å"Now don't you go making a pest of yourself, Bells. Billy knows what's best for Jake. He'll be up and around soon enough. Be patient.† I didn't push it. Charlie was too worried about Harry. That was clearly the more important issueit wouldn't be right to bug him with my lesser concerns. Instead, I went straight upstairs and turned on my computer. I found a medical site online and typed â€Å"mononucleosis† into the search box. All I knew about mono was that you were supposed to get it from kissing, which was clearly not the case with Jake. I read through the symptoms quicklythe fever he definitely had, but what about the rest of it? No horrible sore throat, no exhaustion, no headaches, at least not before he'd gone home from the movie; he'd said he felt â€Å"fit as a fiddle.† Did it really come on so fast? The article made it sound like the sore stuff showed up first. I glared at the computer screen and wondered why, exactly, I was doing this. Why did I feel so so suspicious, like I didn't believe Billy's story? Why would Billy lie to Harry? I was being silly, probably. I was just worried, and, to be honest, I was afraid of not being allowed to see Jacobthat made me nervous. I skimmed through the rest of the article, looking for more information. I stopped when I got to the part about how mono could last more than a month. A month? My mouth fell open. But Billy couldn't enforce the no-visitors thing that long. Of course not. Jake would go crazy stuck in bed that long without anyone to talk to. What was Billy afraid of, anyway? The article said that a person with mono needed to avoid physical activity, but there was nothing about visitors. The disease wasn't very infectious. I'd give Billy a week, I decided, before I got pushy. A week was generous. A week was long. By Wednesday, I was sure I wasn't going to live till Saturday. When I'd decided to leave Billy and Jacob alone for a week, I hadn't really believed that Jacob would go along with Billy's rule. Every day when I got home from school, I ran to the phone to check for messages. There never were any. I cheated three times by trying to call him, but the phone lines still weren't working. I was in the house much too much, and much too alone. Without Jacob, and my adrenaline and my distractions, everything I'd been repressing started creeping up on me. The dreams got hard again. I could no longer see the end coming. Just the horrible nothingnesshalf the time in the forest, half the time in the empty fern sea where the white house no longer existed. Sometimes Sam Uley was there in the forest, watching me again. I paid him no attentionthere was no comfort in his presence; it made me feel no less alone. It didn't stop me from screaming myself awake, night after night. The hole in my chest was worse than ever. I'd thought that I'd been getting it under control, but I found myself hunched over, day after day, clutching my sides together and gasping for air. I wasn't handling alone well. I was relieved beyond measure the morning I woke upscreaming, of courseand remembered that it was Saturday. Today I could call Jacob. And if the phone lines still weren't working, then I was going to La Push. One way or another, today would be better than the last lonely week. I dialed, and then waited without high expectations. It caught me off guard when Billy answered on the second ring. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Oh, hey, the phone is working again! Hi, Billy. It's Bella. I was just calling to see how Jacob is doing. Is he up for visitors yet? I was thinking about dropping by† â€Å"I'm sorry, Bella,† Billy interrupted, and I wondered if he were watching TV; he sounded distracted. â€Å"He's not in.† â€Å"Oh.† It took me a second. â€Å"So he's feeling better then?† â€Å"Yeah,† Billy hesitated for an instant too long. â€Å"Turns out it wasn't mono after all. Just some other virus.† â€Å"Oh. So where is he?† â€Å"He's giving some friends a ride up to Port AngelesI think they were going to catch a double feature or something. He's gone for the whole day.† â€Å"Well, that's a relief. I've been so worried. I'm glad he felt good enough to get out.† My voice sounded horribly phony as I babbled on. Jacob was better, but not well enough to call me. He was out with friends. I was sitting home, missing him more every hour. I was lonely, worried, bored perforatedand now also desolate as I realized that the week apart had not had the same effect on him. â€Å"Is there anything in particular you wanted?† Billy asked politely. â€Å"No, not really.† â€Å"Well, I'll tell him that you called,† Billy promised. â€Å"Bye, Bella.† â€Å"Bye,† I replied, but he'd already hung up. I stood for a moment with the phone still in my hand. Jacob must have changed his mind, just like I'd feared. He was going to take my advice and not waste any more time on someone who couldn't return his feelings. I felt the blood run out of my face. â€Å"Something wrong?† Charlie asked as he came down the stairs. â€Å"No,† I lied, hanging up the phone. â€Å"Billy says Jacob is feeling better. It wasn't mono. So that's good.† â€Å"Is he coming here, or are you going there?† Charlie asked absentmindedly as he started poking through the fridge. â€Å"Neither,† I admitted. â€Å"He's going out with some other friends.† The tone of my voice finally caught Charlie's attention. He looked up at me with sudden alarm, his hands frozen around a package of cheese slices. â€Å"Isn't it a little early for lunch?† I asked as lightly as I could manage, trying to distract him. â€Å"No, I'm just packing something to take out to the river† â€Å"Oh, fishing today?† â€Å"Well, Harry called and it's not raining.† He was creating a stack of food on the counter as he spoke. Suddenly he looked up again as if he'd just realized something. â€Å"Say, did you want me to stay with you, since Jake's out?† â€Å"That's okay, Dad,† I said, working to sound indifferent. â€Å"The fish bite better when the weather's nice.† He stared at me, indecision clear on his face. I knew that he was worrying, afraid to leave me alone, in case I got â€Å"mopey† again. â€Å"Seriously, Dad. I think I'll call Jessica,† I fibbed quickly. I'd rather be alone than have him watching me all day. â€Å"We have a Calculus test to study for. I could use her help.† That part was true. But I'd have to make do without it. â€Å"That's a good idea. You've been spending so much time with Jacob, your other friends are going to think you've forgotten them.† I smiled and nodded as if I cared what my other friends thought. Charlie started to turn, but then spun back with a worried expression. â€Å"Hey, you'll study here or at Jess's, right?† â€Å"Sure, where else?† â€Å"Well, it's just that I want you to be careful to stay out of the woods, like I told you before.† It took me a minute to understand, distracted as I was. â€Å"More bear trouble?† Charlie nodded, frowning. â€Å"We've got a missing hikerthe rangers found his camp early this morning, but no sign of him. There were some really big animal prints of course those could have come later, smelling the food Anyway, they're setting traps for it now.† â€Å"Oh,† I said vaguely. I wasn't really listening to his warnings; I was much more upset by the situation with Jacob than by the possibility of being eaten by a bear. I was glad that Charlie was in a hurry. He didn't wait for me to call Jessica, so I didn't have to put on that charade. I went through the motions of gathering my school-books on the kitchen table to pack them in my bag; that was probably too much, and if he hadn't been eager to hit the holes, it might have made him suspicious. I was so busy looking busy that the ferociously empty day ahead didn't really crash down on me until after I'd watched him drive away. It only took about two minutes of staring at the silent kitchen phone to decide that I wasn't staying home today. I considered my options. I wasn't going to call Jessica. As far as I could tell, Jessica had crossed over to the dark side. I could drive to La Push and get my motorcyclean appealing thought but for one minor problem: who was going to drive me to the emergency room if I needed it afterward? Or I already had our map and compass in the truck. I was pretty sure I understood the process well enough by now that I wouldn't get lost. Maybe I could eliminate two lines today, putting us ahead of schedule for whenever Jacob decided to honor me with his presence again. I refused to think about how long that might be. Or if it was going to be never. I felt a brief twinge of guilt as I realized how Charlie would feel about this, but I ignored it. I just couldn't stay in the house again today. A few minutes later I was on the familiar dirt road that led to nowhere in particular. I had the windows rolled down and I drove as fast as was healthy for my truck, trying to enjoy the wind against my face. It was cloudy, but almost drya very nice day, for Forks. Getting started took me longer than it would have taken Jacob. After I parked in the usual spot, I had to spend a good fifteen minutes studying the little needle on the compass face and the markings on the now worn map. When I was reasonably certain that I was following the right line of the web, I set off into the woods. The forest was full of life today, all the little creatures enjoying the momentary dryness. Somehow, though, even with the birds chirping and cawing, the insects buzzing noisily around my head, and the occasional scurry of the field mice through the shrubs, the forest seemed creepier today; it reminded me of my most recent nightmare. I knew it was just because I was alone, missing Jacob's carefree whistle and the sound of another pair of feet squishing across the damp ground. The sense of unease grew stronger the deeper I got into the trees. Breathing started to get more difficultnot because of exertion, but because I was having trouble with the stupid hole in my chest again. I kept my arms tight around my torso and tried to banish the ache from my thoughts. I almost turned around, but I hated to waste the effort I'd already expended. The rhythm of my footsteps started to numb my mind and my pain as I trudged on. My breathing evened out eventually, and I was glad I hadn't quit. I was getting better at this bushwhacking thing; I could tell I was faster. I didn't realize quite how much more efficiently I was moving. I thought I'd covered maybe four miles, and I wasn't even starting to look around for it yet. And then, with an abruptness that disoriented me, I stepped through a low arch made by two vine maplespushing past the chest-high fernsinto the meadow. It was the same place, of that I was instantly sure. I'd never seen another clearing so symmetrical. It was as perfectly round as if someone had intentionally created the flawless circle, tearing out the trees but leaving no evidence of that violence in the waving grass. To the east, I could hear the stream bubbling quietly. The place wasn't nearly so stunning without the sunlight, but it was still very beautiful and serene. It was the wrong season for wildflowers; the ground was thick with tall grass that swayed in the light breeze like ripples across a lake. It was the same place but it didn't hold what I had been searching for. The disappointment was nearly as instantaneous as the recognition. I sank down right where I was, kneeling there at the edge of the clearing, beginning to gasp. What was the point of going any farther? Nothing lingered here. Nothing more than the memories that I could have called back whenever I wanted to, if I was ever willing to endure the corresponding painthe pain that had me now, had me cold. There was nothing special about this place without him. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd hoped to feel here, but the meadow was empty of atmosphere, empty of everything, just like everywhere else. Just like my nightmares. My head swirled dizzily. At least I'd come alone. I felt a rush of thankfulness as I realized that. If I'd discovered the meadow with Jacob well, there was no way I could have disguised the abyss I was plunging into now. How could I have explained the way I was fracturing into pieces, the way I had to curl into a ball to keep the empty hole from tearing me apart? It was so much better that I didn't have an audience. And I wouldn't have to explain to anyone why I was in such a hurry to leave, either. Jacob would have assumed, after going to so much trouble to locate the stupid place, I would want to spend more than a few seconds here. But I was already trying to find the strength to get to my feet again, forcing myself out of the ball so that I could escape. There was too much pain in this empty place to bearI would crawl away if I had to. How lucky that I was alone! Alone. I repeated the word with grim satisfaction as I wrenched myself to my feet despite the pain. At precisely that moment, a figure stepped out from the trees to the north, some thirty paces away. A dizzying array of emotions shot through me in a second. The first was surprise; I was far from any trail here, and I didn't expect company. Then, as my eyes focused on the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin, a rush of piercing hope rocked through me. I suppressed it viciously, fighting against the equally sharp lash of agony as my eyes continued to the face beneath the black hair, the face that wasn't the one I wanted to see. Next was fear; this was not the face I grieved for, but it was close enough for me to know that the man facing me was no stray hiker. And finally, in the end, recognition. â€Å"Laurent!† I cried in surprised pleasure. It was an irrational response. I probably should have stopped at fear. Laurent had been one of James's coven when we'd first met. He hadn't been involved with the hunt that followedthe hunt where I was the quarrybut that was only because he was afraid; I was protected by a bigger coven than his own. It would have been different if that wasn't the casehe'd had no compunctions, at the time, against making a meal of me. Of course, he must have changed, because he'd gone to Alaska to live with the other civilized coven there, the other family that refused to drink human blood for ethical reasons. The other family like but I couldn't let myself think the name. Yes, fear would have made more sense, but all I felt was an overwhelming satisfaction. The meadow was a magic place again. A darker magic than I'd expected, to be sure, but magic all the same. Here was the connection I'd sought. The proof, however remote, thatsomewhere in the same world where I lived he did exist. It was impossible how exactly the same Laurent looked. I suppose it was very silly and human to expect some kind of change in the last year. But there was something I couldn't quite put my finger on it. â€Å"Bella?† he asked, looking more astonished than I felt. â€Å"You remember.† I smiled. It was ridiculous that I should be so elated because a vampire knew my name. He grinned. â€Å"I didn't expect to see you here.† He strolled toward me, his expression bemused. â€Å"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska.† He stopped about ten paces away, cocking his head to the side. His face was the most beautiful face I'd seen in what felt like an eternity. I studied his features with a strangely greedy sense of release. Here was someone I didn't have to pretend forsomeone who already knew everything I could never say. â€Å"You're right,† he agreed. â€Å"I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on.† â€Å"Oh.† I bit my lip as the name set the raw edges of my wound throbbing. It took me a second to compose myself. Laurent waited with curious eyes. â€Å"They did move on,† I finally managed to tell him. â€Å"Hmm,† he murmured. â€Å"I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?† His eyes were innocent of any intended offense. I smiled wryly. â€Å"Something like that.† â€Å"Hmm,† he said, thoughtful again. At that precise moment, I realized why he looked the sametoo much the same. After Carlisle told us that Laurent had stayed with Tanya's family, I'd begun to picture him, on the rare occasions that I thought of him at all, with the same golden eyes that the CullensI forced the name out, wincinghad. That all good vampires had. I took an involuntary step back, and his curious, dark red eyes followed the movement. â€Å"Do they visit often?† he asked, still casual, but his weight shifted toward me. â€Å"Lie,† the beautiful velvet voice whispered anxiously from my memory. I started at the sound of his voice, but it should not have surprised me. Was I nor in the worst danger imaginable? The motorcycle was safe as kittens next to this. I did what the voice said to do. â€Å"Now and again.† I tried to make my voice light, relaxed. â€Å"The time seems longer to me, I imagine. You know how they get distracted† I was beginning to babble. I had to work to shut myself up. â€Å"Hmm,† he said again. â€Å"The house smelled like it had been vacant for a while† â€Å"You must lie better than that, Bella,† the voice urged. I tried. â€Å"I'll have to mention to Carlisle that you stopped by. He'll be sorry they missed your visit.† I pretended to deliberate for a second. â€Å"But I probably shouldn't mention it to Edward, I suppose† I barely managed to say his name, and it twisted my expression on the way out, ruining my bluff â€Å"he has such a temper well, I'm sure you remember. He's still touchy about the whole James thing.† I rolled my eyes and waved one hand dismissively, like it was all ancient history, but there was an edge of hysteria to my voice. I wondered if he would recognize what it was. â€Å"Is he really?† Laurent asked pleasantly skeptically. I kept my reply short, so that my voice wouldn't betray my panic. â€Å"Mm-hmm.† Laurent took a casual step to the side, gazing around at the little meadow. I didn't miss that the step brought him closer to me. In my head, the voice responded with a low snarl. â€Å"So how are things working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya?† My voice was too high. The question made him pause. â€Å"I like Tanya very much,† he mused. â€Å"And her sister Irina even more I've never stayed in one place for so long before, and I enjoy the advantages, the novelty of it. But, the restrictions are difficult I'm surprised that any of them can keep it up for long.† He smiled at me conspiratorially. â€Å"Sometimes I cheat.† I couldn't swallow. My foot started to ease back, but I froze when his red eyes flickered down to catch the movement. â€Å"Oh,† I said in a faint voice. â€Å"Jasper has problems with that, too.† â€Å"Don't move,† the voice whispered. I tried to do what he instructed. It was hard; the instinct to take flight was nearly uncontrollable. â€Å"Really?† Laurent seemed interested. â€Å"Is that why they left?† â€Å"No,† I answered honestly. â€Å"Jasper is more careful at home.† â€Å"Yes,† Laurent agreed. â€Å"I am, too.† The step forward he took now was quite deliberate. â€Å"Did Victoria ever find you?† I asked, breathless, desperate to distract him. It was the first question that popped into my head, and I regretted it as soon as the words were spoken. Victoriawho had hunted me with James, and then disappearedwas not someone I wanted to think of at this particular moment. But the question did stop him. â€Å"Yes,† he said, hesitating on that step. â€Å"I actually came here as a favor to her.† He made a face. â€Å"She won't be happy about this.† â€Å"About what?† I said eagerly, inviting him to continue. He was glaring into the trees, away from me. I took advantage of his diversion, taking a furtive step back. He looked back at me and smiledthe expression made him look like a black-haired angel. â€Å"About me killing you,† he answered in a seductive purr. I staggered back another step. The frantic growling in my head made it hard to hear. â€Å"She wanted to save that part for herself,† he went on blithely. â€Å"She's sort of put out with you, Bella.† â€Å"Me?† I squeaked. He shook his head and chuckled. â€Å"I know, it seems a little backward to me, too. But James was her mate, and your Edward killed him.† Even here, on the point of death, his name tore against my unhealed wounds like a serrated edge. Laurent was oblivious to my reaction. â€Å"She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edwardfair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawedapparently it wouldn't be the revenge she imagined, since you must not mean very much to him if he left you here unprotected.† Another blow, another tear through my chest. Laurent's weight shifted slightly, and I stumbled another step back. He frowned. â€Å"I suppose she'll be angry, all the same.† â€Å"Then why not wait for her?† I choked out. A mischievous grin rearranged his features. â€Å"Well, you've caught me at a bad time, Bella. I didn't come to this place on Victoria's missionI was hunting. I'm quite thirsty, and you do smell simply mouthwatering.† Laurent looked at me with approval, as if he meant it as a compliment. â€Å"Threaten him,† the beautiful delusion ordered, his voice distorted with dread. â€Å"He'll know it was you,† I whispered obediently. â€Å"You won't get away with this.† â€Å"And why not?† Laurent's smile widened. He gazed around the small opening in the trees. â€Å"The scent will wash away with the next rain. No one will find your bodyyou'll simply go missing, like so many, many other humans. There's no reason for Edward to think of me, if he cares enough to investigate. This is nothing personal, let me assure you, Bella. Just thirst.† â€Å"Beg,† my hallucination begged. â€Å"Please,† I gasped. Laurent shook his head, his face kind. â€Å"Look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you.† â€Å"Am I?† I mouthed, faltering another step back. Laurent followed, lithe and graceful. â€Å"Yes,† he assured me. â€Å"I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella† He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. â€Å"I swear you'd be thanking me for this.† I stared at him in horror. He sniffed at the breeze that blew threads of my hair in his direction. â€Å"Mouthwatering,† he repeated, inhaling deeply. I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all the walls I'd built to contain it. Edward, Edward, Edward. I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought of him now. Edward, I love you. Through my narrowed eyes, I watched as Laurent paused in the act of inhaling and whipped his head abruptly to the left. I was afraid to look away from him, to follow his glance, though he hardly needed a distraction or any other trick to overpower me. I was too amazed to feel relief when he started slowly backing away from me. â€Å"I don't believe it,† he said, his voice so low that I barely heard it. I had to look then. My eyes scanned the meadow, searching for the interruption that had extended my life by a few seconds. At first I saw nothing, and my gaze flickered back to Laurent. He was retreating more quickly now, his eyes boring into the forest. Then I saw it; a huge black shape eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately toward the vampire. It was enormousas tall as a horse, but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder. The bear. Only, it wasn't a bear at all. Still, this gigantic black monster had to be the creature causing all the alarm. From a distance, anyone would assume it was a bear. What else could be so vast, so powerfully built? I wished I were lucky enough to see it from a distance. Instead, it padded silently through the grass a mere ten feet from where I stood. â€Å"Don't move an inch,† Edward's voice whispered. I stared at the monstrous creature, my mind boggling as I tried to put a name to it. There was a distinctly canine cast to the shape of it, the way it moved. I could only think of one possibility, locked in horror as I was. Yet I'd never imagined that a wolf could get so big. Another growl rumbled in its throat, and I shuddered away from the sound. Laurent was backing toward the edge of the trees, and, under the freezing terror, confusion swept through me. Why was Laurent retreating? Granted, the wolf was monstrous in size, but it was just an animal. What reason would a vampire have for fearing an animal? And Laurent was afraid. His eyes were wide with horror, just like mine. As if in answer to my question, suddenly the mammoth wolf was not alone. Flanking it on either side, another two gigantic beasts prowled silently into the meadow. One was a deep gray, the other brown, neither one quite as tall as the first. The gray wolf came through the trees only a few feet from me, its eyes locked on Laurent. Before I could even react, two more wolves followed, lined up in a V, like geese flying south. Which meant that the rusty brown monster that shrugged through the brush last was close enough for me to touch. I gave an involuntary gasp and jumped backwhich was the stupidest thing I could have done. I froze again, waiting for the wolves to turn on me, the much weaker of the available prey. I wished briefly that Laurent would get on with it and crush the wolf packit should be so simple for him. I guessed that, between the two choices before me, being eaten by wolves was almost certainly the worse option. The wolf closest to me, the reddish brown one, turned its head slightly at the sound of my gasp. The wolf's eyes were dark, nearly black. It gazed at me for a fraction of a second, the deep eyes seeming too intelligent for a wild animal. As it stared at me, I suddenly thought of Jacobagain, with gratitude. At least I'd come here alone, to this fairytale meadow filled with dark monsters. At least Jacob wasn't going to die, too. At least I wouldn't have his death on my hands. Then another low growl from the leader caused the russet wolf to whip his head around, back toward Laurent. Laurent was staring at the pack of monster wolves with unconcealed shock and fear. The first I could understand. But I was stunned when, without warning, he spun and disappeared into the trees. He ran away. The wolves were after him in a second, sprinting across the open grass with a few powerful bounds, snarling and snapping so loudly that my hands flew up instinctively to cover my ears. The sound faded with surprising swiftness once they disappeared into the woods. And then I was alone again. My knees buckled under me, and I fell onto my hands, sobs building in my throat. I knew I needed to leave, and leave now. How long would the wolves chase Laurent before they doubled back for me? Or would Laurent turn on them? Would he be the one that came looking? I couldn't move at first, though; my arms and legs were shaking, and I didn't know how to get back to my feet. My mind couldn't move past the fear, the horror or the confusion. I didn't understand what I'd just witnessed. A vampire should not have run from overgrown dogs like that. What good would their teeth be against his granite skin? And the wolves should have given Laurent a wide berth. Even if their extraordinary size had taught them to fear nothing, it still made no sense that they would pursue him. I doubted his icy marble skin would smell anything like food. Why would they pass up something warmblooded and weak like me to chase after Laurent? I couldn't make it add up. A cold breeze whipped through the meadow, swaying the grass like something was moving through it. I scrambled to my feet, backing away even though the wind brushed harmlessly past me. Stumbling in panic, I turned and ran headlong into the trees. The next few hours were agony. It took me three times as long to escape the trees as it had to get to the meadow. At first I paid no attention to where I was headed, focused only on what I was running from By the time I collected myself enough to remember the compass, I was deep in the unfamiliar and menacing forest. My hands were shaking so violently that I had to set the compass on the muddy ground to be able to read it. Every few minutes I would stop to put the compass dowr and check that I was still heading northwest, hearingwhen the sounds weren't hidden behind the frantic squelching of my footstepsthe quiet whisper of unseen things moving in the leaves. The call of a jaybird made me leap back and fall into a thick stand of young spruce, scraping up my arms and tangling my hair with sap. The sudden rush of a squirrel up a hemlock made me scream so loud it hurt my own ears. At last there was a break in the trees ahead. I came out onto the empty road a mile or so south of where I'd left the truck. Exhausted as I was, I jogged up the lane until I found it. By the time I pulled myself into the cab, I was sobbing again. I fiercely shoved down both stiff locks before I dug my keys out of my pocket. The roar of the engine was comforting and sane. It helped me control the tears as I sped as fast as my truck would allow toward the main highway. I was calmer, but still a mess when I got home. Charlie's cruiser was in the drivewayI hadn't realized how late it was. The sky was already dusky. â€Å"Bella?† Charlie asked when I slammed the front door behind me and hastily turned the locks. â€Å"Yeah, it's me.† My voice was unsteady. â€Å"Where have you been?† he thundered, appearing through the kitchen doorway with an ominous expression. I hesitated. He'd probably called the Stanleys. I'd better stick to the truth. â€Å"I was hiking,† I admitted. His eyes were tight. â€Å"What happened to going to Jessica's?† â€Å"I didn't feel like Calculus today.† Charlie folded his arms across his chest. â€Å"I thought I asked you to stay out of the forest.† â€Å"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I won't do it again.† I shuddered. Charlie seemed to really look at me for the first time. I remembered that I had spent some time on the forest floor today; I must be a mess. â€Å"What happened?† Charlie demanded. Again, I decided that the truth, or part of it anyway, was the best option. I was too shaken to pretend that I'd spent an uneventful day with the flora and fauna. â€Å"I saw the bear.† I tried to say it calmly, but my voice was high and shaky. â€Å"It's not a bear, thoughit's some kind of wolf. And there are five of them. A big black one, and gray, and reddish-brown† Charlie's eyes grew round with horror. He strode quickly to me and grabbed the tops of my arms. â€Å"Are you okay?† My head bobbed in a weak nod. â€Å"Tell me what happened.† â€Å"They didn't pay any attention to me. But aftet they were gone, I ran away and I fell down a lot.† He let go of my shoulders and wrapped his arms around me. For a long moment, he didn't say anything. â€Å"Wolves,† he murmured. â€Å"What?† â€Å"The rangers said the tracks were wrong for a bearbut wolves just don't get that big† â€Å"These were huge.† â€Å"How many did you say you saw?† â€Å"Five.† Charlie shook his head, frowning with anxiety, He finally spoke in a tone that allowed no argument. â€Å"No morehiking.† â€Å"No problem,† I promised fervently. Charlie called the station to report what I'd seen. I fudged a little bit about where exactly I'd seen the wolvesclaiming I'd been on the trail that led to the north. I didn't want my dad to know how deep I'd gone into the forest against his wishes, and, more importantly, I didn't want anyone wandering near where Laurent might be searching for me. The thought of it made me feel sick. â€Å"Are you hungry?† he asked me when he hung up the phone. I shook my head, though I must have been starving. I hadn't eaten all day. â€Å"Just tired,† I told him. I turned for the stairs. â€Å"Hey,† Charlie said, his voice suddenly suspicious again. â€Å"Didn't you say Jacob was gone for the day?† â€Å"That's what Billy said,† I told him, confused by his question. He studied my expression for a minute, and seemed satisfied with what he saw there. â€Å"Huh.† â€Å"Why?† I demanded. It sounded like he was implying that I'd been lying to him this morning. About something besides studying with Jessica. â€Å"Well, it's just that when I went to pick up Harry, I saw Jacob out in front of the store down there with some of his friends. I waved hi, but he well, I guess I don't know if he saw me. I think maybe he was arguing with his friends. He looked strange, like he was upset about something. And different. It's like you can watch that kid growing! He gets bigger every time I see him.† â€Å"Billy said Jake and his friends were going up to Port Angeles to see some movies. They were probably just waiting for someone to meet them.† â€Å"Oh.† Charlie nodded and headed for the kitchen. I stood in the hall, thinking about Jacob arguing with his friends. I wondered if he had confronted Embry about the situation with Sam. Maybe that was the reason he'd ditched me todayif it meant he could sort things out with Embry, I was glad he had. I paused to check the locks again before I went to my room. It was a silly thing to do. What difference would a lock make to any of the monsters I'd seen this afternoon? I assumed the handle alone would stymie the wolves, not having opposable thumbs. And if Laurent came here Or Victoria. I lay down on my bed, but I was shaking too hard to hope for sleep. I curled into a cramped ball under my quilt, and faced the horrifying facts. There was nothing I could do. There were no precautions I could take. There was no place I could hide. There was no one who could help me. I realized, with a nauseous roll of my stomach, that the situation was worse than even that. Because all those facts applied to Charlie, too. My father, sleeping one room away from me, was just a hairsbreadth off the heart of the target that was centered on me. My scent would lead them here, whether I was here or not. The tremors rocked me until my teeth chattered. To calm myself, I fantasized the impossible: I imagined the big wolves catching up to Laurent in the woods and massacring the indestructible immortal the way they would any normal person. Despite the absurdity of such a vision, the idea comforted me. If the wolves got him, then he couldn't tell Victoria I was here all alone. If he didn't return, maybe she'd think the Cullens were still protecting me. If only the wolves could win such a fight My good vampires were never coming back; how soothing it was to imagine that the other kind could also disappear. I squeezed my eyes tight together and waited for unconsciousnessalmost eager for my nightmare to start. Better that than the pale, beautiful face that smiled at me now from behind my lids. In my imagination, Victoria's eyes were black with thirst, bright with anticipation, and her lips curled back from her gleaming teeth in pleasure. Her red hair was brilliant as fire; it blew chaotically around her wild face. Laurent's words repeated in my head. If you knew what she had planned for you I pressed my fist against my mouth to keep from screaming.