Microsoft Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microsoft Company - Essay Example The company has made a significant impact on the state of the economy in the state of Washington. The company’ growth experiences have had an intense effect on the employment growth in Washington. For 18 years of the company’s existence, the growth rate of employment in Washington alone has expanded at an annual average rate of 1.7 %. Secondly, the company’s consumption rate of goods and other transactions has had a significant boost in the level of income in Washington (Eicher, 2010). Industry analysis/ Benchmark – Microsoft Corporation is the leading producer of computer software. However, its products are facing a stiff competition from products such as Linux, UNIX and Macintosh. The company also faces a strong rivalry from various companies such as the American Software, Apple, Google, Autodesk Inc. and others. Fortunately, Microsoft’s products have unshaken competitive advantage over other companies for the reason that their products are user friendly thus has a stronger market share. For instance, an industry analysis between Microsoft and American software based on net income for two years, 2012 and 2013, shows that Microsoft had a higher net income as compared to its rival. That is, ($ 21,863,000 in 2013; $ 16,978,000 in 2012 for Microsoft) and ($ 10,411,000 in 2013; $ 11,343,000 in 2012 for American Software) (SEC filings, n.d.). Holding period return – the company’s holding period returns as measured by the return on equity and return on investments are as follows: ROE (net income/Total equity), ROI (net profit/Total assets). In 2011, 2012 and 2013, the company’s ROE = (47.6 % in 2011; 27.69 % in 2013; 25.58 % in 2012). This single factor DuPont analysis shows the investors’ reward for the equity contribution. The return could be classified as sufficient and it increased in the year 2013. The ratio shows that the company is efficient. Secondly, the ROI = (25 % in 2011; 15.35 % in 2013; 14 % in 2013). Return on

Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard To Find Essay Example for Free

Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard To Find Essay Throughout Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard To Find, hints are given to the readers that foretell what is in store, foreshadowing the grotesque ending that is to come. These insinuations of the forthcoming become coincidences later in the story when they actually do develop into reality, creating mocking irony. The names within the story can be considered foreshadowing themselves. For example, the name of the town where the family is murdered is called Toombsboro. The word Toombsboro can be separated into two words: Tombs and Bury. These are words that signify death. The fact that the author chose this as a name for the town, implies the foul event that will insure later in the story. The first moment that foreshadowed the future was the article about the Misfit that the grandmother showed Bailey. She told him, A Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward FloridaI wouldnt take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it.(368) This moment sets up a major coincidence when the family later runs into the Misfit. Plus, it was an irony because the Grandmother had attempted to persuade the family not to go in the direction the Misfit was heading. Yet, unfortunately only June Star paid any attention to the comment, and the family did run into the criminal. Additionally, a less obvious evidence of foreshadowing occurred when June Star announced, She [The Grandmother] wouldnt stay at home for a million bucks. She has to go everywhere we go(368) This can be read as a direct foreshadowing of the order and occurrence of the grandmothers death. When the family comes across the Misfit, and each family member is taken into the forest, the reader wonders why every time Bobby Lee and Hiram return without the family member. Eventually, one realizes they have all been killed. So, June Stars comment that the grandmother goes everywhere the family goes can be read as a signal that she will meet the same end that they did. Plus, the fact that she follows the family indicated that she would die last.Furthermore, although the grandmother did not want to go to Florida, she still unpredictably dresses up. The grandmother wore, A navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a savvy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. (369) OConnor says that the reason for the grandmothers proper dress was, in case of an accident, anyone seeing her  dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.(369) She therefore foresaw her own death, or at least foreshadowed it. It also shows how she represents the properness and rich religious beliefs of the south. Yet another foreshadowing is portrayed when the family passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island (370). It is not an accident that there are five or six graves, which evidently matches the exact number of people in the car. Five people and the sixth is the baby. The baby is not precisely a full complete person, hence the ambiguity of the number of graves. Flannery OConnor uses foreshadowing to give the readers slight hints of what is to come, foretelling the grotesque fate of the family. Insinuations are made through titles, comments, clothes, and sites, setting the scene for surprising irony later in the familys journey.

Media Portrayal Of Religious Minorities Cultural Studies Essay

Media Portrayal Of Religious Minorities Cultural Studies Essay In this modern society, media can be seen in every corner of the world. At the same time, its influence is also touching on everything and every people of the world; no matter it is the majority or minorities. Comparing with the majority, minorities are disadvantage group. What is the medias portrayal on religious minorities? Some people often stated that media just provide an overall negative portrayal of religious minorities. Is it true? This is also the main topic of this essay. For illustrating this topic clearly, first part of this paper will state about the concept of religious minorities through explaining the words of religious and minorities. Following it, it is a part about the medias main features in the minorities area. With so many different cases and comparative analysis ways, this part will found that in the minorities area, the medias language, content, mainstream value and channel all are different from the medias transmitting in the majority area. Next part of this essay is the main topic of this paper, which will give the general portrayal of media on the religious minorities through quantitative approach and cases analysis. With all the above analysis in detail, the last part of this paper will tell about the conclusion of this topic. Through the different cases and quantitative approach, the author of this paper thought that although in the history of human being, media did not give enough attention on the religious minorities; while along with the time going, more and more people began concerning about this topic. What is more, media is also not just providing the negative portrayal to the religious minorities; it also brings the positive description to the religious minorities. As a small essay, this paper mainly uses the case approach and quantitative approach, these two main methods to analyze the relative topics. Besides with these two methods, comparative analysis is another method which has been used in the whole papers editing and writing process. Although this paper has been finished smoothly, there are still some limitations of this paper. Such as the studying areas are limited, just about the minorities in China and USA; the studying scope is not very comprehensive, just focus on religious theories transmitting and religious ceremonies hosting; while the minorities religious feeling as a hard topic to analyze with little data to reason or with little case to argue, this paper neglects it. Even with these limitations, this paper still has some advantages to be read. For the following researchers, it will be a good reference in the cases and quantitative area to reason about the medias influence on the religious minorities. 2.0 Discussion 2.1 Concept of religious minorities For discussing about the medias portrayal on religious minorities, the religious minorities should be explained first. It can be seen as the basement to understand the topic of this paper. Religious is a part of culture phenomenon. It can be seen as a kind of society ideology. In most of the time, religion is seen as a kind of faith that people worship the God who exists supernaturally and has the supernatural power to control this world. Besides with this type of definition toward the religion, some other people believes that religion also can be seen as a type of ceremony to worship some human being, who might exist in the history of human being. Comparing with the first God Religion, this can be called as Human Religion and the human religion is more rational. In this paper, the religion is defined as the God religion (Michael J. Breen, 2001). Toward the God religion, there are more than ten types of religions in the whole world. The religion minorities refer to the religion those minorities trusting or believing. No doubt it, minorities is a word comparing to the majorities. It is smaller than the majorities in the quantity. For example, in China, Han nationality is the majority, while Hui, Miao, Zang, Zhuang and so many other nationalities are the minorities toward Han (Yang Fuquan, 2003). In USA, White American is the majorities; Black, Asian and Hispanics are the minorities. 2.2 Definition of Media After stating about the religion and minorities, this part will tell some basic contents of the media. Media is a carrier or a tooling of the informations transmitting and spreading. It includes so many different types, such as newspaper, television, cinema, broadcasting, magazine, internet, books, advertisement etc. (Manoucheka Celeste, 2005). No matter for human beings living or for the societys development, media does play great role and affect the outside heavily. Through different program or different articles, it changes human beings living gradually. No doubt it, the mighty nationalities will play greater roles in the media area. This is decided by their positions in the media industry and their stronger cultures. Comparing with the mighty nationalities, minorities will sit in the poor situation. Their cultures cannot be described and reflected like the majorities in the media. Some people even said that media provides the negative portrayal on the minorities culture. Whether is it true? Following part will reason it through different cases and data 2.3 Medias main features in the minorities area Media widely exits in this world, not only in the majorities area but also in the minorities area. For illustrating the topic of this paper, over here, this paper will give some information about the medias features in the minorities area. Considering about profit and audiences acceptance, media always put the majorities feeling in the first position. Most of time, media use the majorities language as the transmitting tooling. So many times, they did not consider about the minorities language. For example, in China, there are 16 channels. 14 channels of 16 are broadcasted with Chinese; 1 channel is broadcasted with English; another 1 is broadcasted with Spanish and French. There is even no channel broadcasted with the minorities language, even there are 55 other minorities in China. There even is not any channel broadcasted with their language of CCTV (Li Qin, 2005). Even like this, in the minorities living area, such as Tibet Autonomous State, the media are transmitted with both languages, one is the Tibetan language and the other one is Chinese. Besides with the language, most of media put their main attention on the relative living, news or other cultures related with the majorities, rarely mentioning the minorities, just like the past researchers said that even minorities are mentioned, they are represented as others. In the minorities area, although some of minorities living will be reported, most of times, the majorities living and culture is the main content. According to Bradley S. Greenberg Jeffrey E. Brands study in 1998, even in 6 cities of Southwest USA, Hispanic Americas takes up 20-65% population; there are only 10% local news related to the Hispanic Americas. If the contents are rarely related with the minorities, let alone the minorities living values or religions. Sometimes even the religions are described; they are portrayed in a negative way, such as the outdated, benighted, savage or uncivilized etc. What is more, because of medias widely reported about the majorities living, values and other cultures aspect, as one special civilization and culture in the world, the cultures of minorities are suffered widely and seriously assaulting. With this situation, so many minorities civilization died away. Some minorities language even disappears in this diversity world.

Time, Life, and God in John Miltons Poetry Essay -- Poetry John Milto

Time, Life, and God in John Milton's Poetry John Milton's poems, "How Soon Hath Time" and "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent" both focus on life and how the time we are given is or should be spent. Milton uses the word "How" in both the titles and I cant help but wonder "Is there something to examine there?" How by itself is a question of is it possible, and if so then what needs to be done to make it possible. It, in this case is time: Is time possible or better yet, is it possible to stop time? If so then how will it be accomplished? What needs to happen to cause time to stop? Milton uses the speaker in this poem to explain a way of looking at time and how quickly time really does fly by. In these two poems the speakers refer to God as the, "Taskmaster", "Maker", and "Patience." The importance of God in the speakers' life is reflected in these two poems. The way both these poems are written it seems as if the speaker is the same person and also as if these poems were written to be read in an order as if, "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent", is a continuance of the poem, "How Soon Hath Time." Because of the similarities of these two poems it seems as if the speaker for each of these poems was Milton himself. In the two poems Milton explains that time is short and for him (the speaker), he wants to live by the will of God. The speaker explains how he believes God wants him to live and even though he doesn't like time going by so quickly he has accepted it and he respects what God wants for his life. Milton uses personification and references to God in both poems to not only set a mood, but also to show the reader a perspective of how one man, looks at the time that has passed him by and how he believes he should live ... ...ly set a mood but also to show the reader a perspective of how one man looks at the time that has passed him by and how he believes he should live his life. The essential messages to take away from these two poems are: life and time go by faster than one might think and to live your life by what's important for you, only you know what's important for you whether it be God in your life, or something else. For these speakers, the way they lived their lives was for God and that for them seemed to be most imperative. Works Cited Dictionary.com. Lexico Publishing Group. 18 Oct. 2005 <Dictionary.com>. Milton, John. "How Soon Hath Time." Literature A Pocket Anthology. Ed. Gwynn. New York: Penguin Acadenics, 2005. 489. Milton, John. "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent." Literature A Pocket Anthology. Ed. Gwynn. New York: Penguin Acadenics, 2005. 490.

Current Ratio Essay

1) Current Ratio The ratio is mainly used to give an idea of the company’s ability to pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations. 2) Quick Ratio An indicator of a company’s short-term liquidity. The quick ratio measures a company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. For this reason, the ratio excludes inventories from current assets 3) Asset Turnover Ratio The amount of sales or revenues generated per dollar of assets. The Asset Turnover ratio is an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is deploying its assets. Asset Turnover = Sales or Revenues/Total Assets Generally speaking, the higher the ratio, the better it is, since it implies the company is generating more revenues per dollar of assets. But since this ratio varies widely from one industry to the next, comparisons are only meaningful when they are made for different companies in the same sector. 4) Fixed Turnover Ratio A financial ratio of net sales to fixed assets. The fixed-asset turnover ratio measures a company’s ability to generate net sales from fixed-asset investments – specifically property, plant and equipment (PP&E) – net of depreciation. A higher fixed-asset turnover ratio shows that the company has been more effective in using the investment in fixed assets to generate revenues. The fixed-asset turnover ratio is calculated as: 5) Inventory Turnover Ratio A ratio showing how many times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. The days in the period can then be divided by the inventory turnover formula to calculate the days it takes to sell the inventory on hand or â€Å"inventory turnover days.† This ratio should be compared against  industry averages. A low turnover implies poor sales and, therefore, excess inventory. A high ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying. High inventory levels are unhealthy because they represent an investment with a rate of return of zero. It also opens the company up to trouble should prices begin to fal 6) Debt Ratio A financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s or consumer’s leverage. The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed in percentage, and can be interpreted as the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt. The higher this ratio, the more leveraged the company and the greater its financial risk. Debt ratios vary widely across industries, with capital-intensive businesses such as utilities and pipelines having much higher debt ratios than other industries like technology. In the consumer lending and mortgage businesses, debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt service obligations to gross annual income. 7) Debt Equity Ratio A measure of a company’s financial leverage calculated by dividing its total liabilities by stockholders’ equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. A high debt/equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. This can result in volatile earnings as a result of the additional interest expense. 8) Equity Multiplier The ratio of a company’s total assets to its stockholder’s equity. The equity multiplier is a measurement of a company’s financial leverage. Companies finance the purchase of assets either through equity or debt, so a high equity multiplier indicates that a larger portion of asset financing is being done through debt. The multiplier is a variation of the debt ratio. 9) Net Profit Ratio A ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, or net profits divided by sales. It measures how much out of every dollar of sales  a company actually keeps in earnings. Increased earnings are good, but an increase does not mean that the profit margin of a company is improving. For instance, if a company has costs that have increased at a greater rate than sales, it leads to a lower profit margin. This is an indication that costs need to be under better control. 10) Days Inventory A financial measure of a company’s performance that gives investors an idea of how long it takes a company to turn its inventory (including goods that are work in progress, if applicable) into sales. Generally, the lower (shorter) the DSI the better, but it is important to note that the average DSI varies from one industry to another. Here is how the DSI is calculated: Also known as days inventory outstanding (DIO).  This measure is one part of the cash conversion cycle, which represents the process of turning raw materials into cash. The days sales of inventory is the first stage in that process. The other two stages are days sales outstanding and days payable outstanding. The first measures how long it takes a company to receive payment on accounts receivable, while the second measures how long it takes a company to pay off its accounts payable.

Microevolution essays

Microevolution essays Microevolution is a small evolution or change to a specie over a period of generations, which give so many varieties of animals on earth. In early human history, people would try to explain observable events by noting that they were a natural happenings. Aristotle was one of the first naturalist. He gave great in depth descriptions of the world through his eyes. He believed along with manyo theres that all organisms were different from the rest. Even though he believed this he still tried to understand what some organisms were for when they had strange roles in nature. From these early observations, naturalist were made to be aware of nature, but until the 15th century naturalist were only aware of things in nature in Europe. Soon though they would make trips to Asia, Africa, and the New World. Such naturalist like Thomas Moufet were astonished at the vast array of species they discovered in these new areas. After travel was extended around the world scholars created an idea called biogeography. Biogeography means that the geography surrounding an area affected the certain species that inhabited the area. Later, in the 1600's geologists added to the naturalist's confusion by producing fossils that showed early species of their current organisms. This gave to the idea of evolution, or that over time species were changed to better themselves in their environment. New discoveries were not found until in the 19th century when Charles Darwin became a naturalist. He gave way top his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection which stated that populations could evolve over time when individuals differ in heritable traits responsible for their survival and reproduction. Evolution cannot happen to just one organism. Evolution is something that occurs in a population. Evolution takes place when different alleles are inherited by descendants and the alleles are combined in different ways, mutated, or just change to help brin...

Free Essays on Isolation, Failure To Communicate, And Being Defined By One Event In One’s Life In Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of short stories set in the obscure, hick town of Winesburg, Ohio. Every story contains within it a character with an obsession that labels the character grotesque. This grotesqueness is exhibited through odd behavior, such as self isolation, lack of communication, and becoming defined by one event in life, and is expressed in the novel’s many themes and motifs. Moreover, these themes and motifs offer insight into America’s involvement in WWI and WWII. The common character among these stories is a 19-year-old reporter named George Willard who, for unknown reasons, connects with the grotesques of the community and listens to their tales. After involving himself with many strange characters, George Willard realizes the town’s peculiar nature and goes west in hopes of beginning a â€Å"normal† life. The themes of isolation, failure to communicate, and being defined by one event in life pervade many of the novel’s stories. The two stories following â€Å"The Book of the Grotesque,† â€Å"Hands† and â€Å"Paper Pills,† exemplify the themes of isolation and failure to communicate. The story of Wing Biddlebaum, an old Pennsylvanian schoolteacher, unfolds. Gaining his name from his hands that shake â€Å"like†¦the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird,† Biddlebaum left Pennsylvania to avoid a lynching after being unjustly accused of molesting one of his students. Settling in Winesburg, Wing lives isolated in the outskirts of the community, breaking his solitude only to talk with his friend George Willard. Wing Biddlebaum’s hands offer insight into his motives for isolation and inability to communicate. His overly active hands help and hinder his ability to communicate with others. Wing was described as communicating â€Å"by the caress that was in his fingers,† however, in his past, his hands have been the source of his downfall. Consequently, Wing decided that he would rathe... Free Essays on Isolation, Failure To Communicate, And Being Defined By One Event In One’s Life In Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio Free Essays on Isolation, Failure To Communicate, And Being Defined By One Event In One’s Life In Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of short stories set in the obscure, hick town of Winesburg, Ohio. Every story contains within it a character with an obsession that labels the character grotesque. This grotesqueness is exhibited through odd behavior, such as self isolation, lack of communication, and becoming defined by one event in life, and is expressed in the novel’s many themes and motifs. Moreover, these themes and motifs offer insight into America’s involvement in WWI and WWII. The common character among these stories is a 19-year-old reporter named George Willard who, for unknown reasons, connects with the grotesques of the community and listens to their tales. After involving himself with many strange characters, George Willard realizes the town’s peculiar nature and goes west in hopes of beginning a â€Å"normal† life. The themes of isolation, failure to communicate, and being defined by one event in life pervade many of the novel’s stories. The two stories following â€Å"The Book of the Grotesque,† â€Å"Hands† and â€Å"Paper Pills,† exemplify the themes of isolation and failure to communicate. The story of Wing Biddlebaum, an old Pennsylvanian schoolteacher, unfolds. Gaining his name from his hands that shake â€Å"like†¦the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird,† Biddlebaum left Pennsylvania to avoid a lynching after being unjustly accused of molesting one of his students. Settling in Winesburg, Wing lives isolated in the outskirts of the community, breaking his solitude only to talk with his friend George Willard. Wing Biddlebaum’s hands offer insight into his motives for isolation and inability to communicate. His overly active hands help and hinder his ability to communicate with others. Wing was described as communicating â€Å"by the caress that was in his fingers,† however, in his past, his hands have been the source of his downfall. Consequently, Wing decided that he would rathe...

Requirements Engineering Essay Example

Requirements Engineering Essay Example Requirements Engineering Essay Requirements Engineering Essay Pressman, Mc-Graw Objects, Components and Frameworks with UML, D. DSouza, A. Wills, Addison-Wesley, 1999 Winter Term 2010/11 Slide 3 Sven Apel Software Engineering Roadmap Requirements-engineering process Use cases Functional and non-functional requirements Requirements checking and reviews Roles in requirements engineering Slide 4 Zeitschema Kommission: Bitte ankreuzen wo Sie keinenfalls mitmachen k? ¶nnen, und senden Sie das ausgef?llte Formular bis 7 8:00 9:00 10:oo ll:oo 12:00 ans Dekanat zur?ck. 4:00 1 5:00 16:00 17:00 Jan 2002 1011 12131415161718192021 22232425262728293031 Feb 2002 56 13:00 18:00 Bemerkungen: Unterschrift: Slide 5 Electronic Time Schedule So, basically we need a form for the time schedule that can be distributed by e-mail, a place (html) where I can deposit these forms after they have been filled out, and an algorithm that calculates a few possible meeting times, possibly setting priorities to certain persons of each committee (since there will always be some time schedule overlaps). It would also be great if there were a way of checking whether everybody of the relevant committee has really sent their time schedule back and at the same time isting all the ones who have failed to do so. An automatic invitation letter for the committee meeting to all the persons involved, generated through this program, would be even a further asset. How can we transform this description into a requirements specification? Winter Term 2010/11 Slide 6 The Requirements-Engineering Process Ian Sommerville 2000 Slide 7 Requirements-Engineering Activities Feasibility study Requirements elicitation analysis Determine if the user needs can be satisfied with the available technology and budget. Find out what system stakeholders require trom he system. specification Define the requirements in a form understandable to the customer and as a contract between client and contractor. validation Check the requirements for realism, consistency, and completeness. Requirements are for users; specifications are for analysts and developers. Slide 8 Requirements Elicitation Analysis Sometimes called requirements discovery Technical staff work with customers to determine 0 the application domain, 0 the services that the system should provide and 0 the systems operational constraints. Involves various stakeholders: 0 e. g. end-users, managers, engineers involved in maintenance, domain experts, trade unions, etc. Slide 9 Problems ot Requirements Analysis Various problems typically arise: Stakeholders dont know what they really want 0 Stakeholders express requirements in their own terms 0 Different stakeholders may have conflicting requirements 0 Organisational and political factors may influence the system requirements 0 The requirements change during the analysis process. 0 New stakeholders may emerge. Slide 10 How the Customer explained it How the Project Leader understood it How the Analyst designed it What the Customer really needed Slide 11 Requirements Evolution Requirements always evolve as a better understanding of user needs is developed and as the organisations objectives change It is essential to plan for change in the requirements as the system is being developed and used Slide 12 Requirements Analysis, Specification, and Validation O Ian Sommerville 2000 Slide 13 Slide 14 Sottware Engineering Use Cases and Scenarios A use case is the specification of a sequence of actions, including variants, that a system (or other entity) can perform, interacting with actors of the system. g. , buy a DVD through the Internet A scenario is a particular trace of action occurrences, starting from a known initial state. e. g. , connect to myDVD. com, go to the search page Slide 15 Unified Modeling Language UML is the industry standard for documenting object-oriented models Class Diagrams visualize logical structure of system in terms of classes, objects, and relationships Use Case Diagrams show external actors and use cases they participate in Sequence Diagrams visualize temporal message ordering of a concrete scenario of a use case Collaboration (Communication) Diagrams State Diagrams visualize relationships of objects exchanging messages in a concrete scenario specify the abstract states of an object and the transitions between the states Slide 16 More on this later Slide 17 Slide 18 Writing Requirements Definitions Requirements definitions usually consist of natural language, supplemented by (e. g. , UML) diagrams and tables. Three types of problems can arise: 0 Lack of clarity: It is hard to write documents that are both precise and easy-to-read. 0 Requirements confusion: Functional and non-functional requirements tend to be inte Requirements amalgamation: Several different requirements may be expressed together. Slide 19 Prototyping The objective of evolutionary prototyping is to deliver a working system to end-users. Must be used for systems where the specification cannot be developed in advance. 0 Development starts with the requirements that are best understood. The objective of throw-away prototyping is to validate or derive the system requirements. The prototype is developed from an initial specification, delivered for experiment then discarded 0 Prototyping starts with that requirements that are poorly understood. Slide 20

Annotated Bibliography High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Annotated Bibliography High School - Essay Example Within the context of the stated, the act of adultery is just an illicit sexual encounter and not one woman's symbolic defiance of society's shackles. Bender critically analyses mood, symbolism and language in several of Kate Chopin's short stories, including "The Storm." As he contends, Chopin carefully selects language, not only to reflect mood but to convey atmosphere. As an example of this, Bender highlights the language used to describe the love scene, illustrating the extent to which it echoes both the raging weather and the storm of emotions exploding from within the depths of either of the two characters. According to Bender, there is an undeniable lyrical/poetic quality to Chopin's writing. Readers may independently arrive at a similar conclusion. A reading of the scene in question indicates that, length-wise, it is really quite sparse but, nevertheless, language selection communicates meaning behind words.

Comparison Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparison Paper - Essay Example Throughout the film, there are several traces of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. One of the most obvious similarities between the two stories is the character named Darcy. In Pride and Prejudice, this character is Fitzwilliam Darcy and he is one of the wealthiest and most sought-after bachelors of the area. His country estate is called Pemberley and this is one of the places where Darcy and Elizabeth meet. In Bridget Jones’ Diary, this character is given the more modern name of Mark Darcy and, while wealthy and with parents living in a nice home in the country, he does not own Pemberley. Instead, this becomes the name of the publishing house where Bridget works at the time she meets Darcy. Both characters are thus placed socially and economically at a level above the female lead and are characterized by a strong sense of restraint in emotional expression. This character is placed in competition for the female’s attentions with someone they have tangled with before. In Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy must contend with Mr. Wickham for Elizabeth’s interest while Mark must compete with Danial for Bridget. In both cases, the Darcy character is not much interested in fighting against someone he feels he cannot win against even though this other character is far his inferior. Mr. Wickham is a lascivious fortune seeker and gambler and Daniel is a womanizer. Despite their significant character flaws, both Mr. Wickham and Daniel manage to distract Elizabeth/Bridget from her true match. However, Elizabeth/Bridget also has a tendency to get in her own way regarding her love life. Both of them are quick to judge other people based only on their exterior appearances and quickly formed character assumptions. Elizabeth assumes Darcy is snobbish and elitist based upon his attitude toward her sister, who is herself restrained in showing her affections toward Mr. Bingley. Bridget assumes Mark is ridiculous because of the silly sweater he’s

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Nursing - Essay Example This year it will provide a real opportunity to expand opportunities which are related to the promotional of fitness and health services across the Maryland state. It will also provide the consumers with relevant health information and various resources on the websites. It will also provide a real experience in terms of showing medical technology and therefore breaking through various diseases. It will also provide me with real experience of having fun and fitness and the importance of the same; education, entertainment and empowerment under one room. Being part of the convention, I believe I will have the opportunity of getting to know on some of the actions to be taken to ensure that we remain healthy. Sharing of information is very important and being at the convention will provide a real opportunity to share with others and acquire new ideas with regards to remaining healthy. The information will help a myriad of the populace to improve the health standards. Substance abuse has been reported to be affected the lives of thousands of people across the globe. Maryland is not exceptional. Attending the convention will be an opportunity of providing information on some of the effects of substance abuse and the risks which are involved. Through sharing of information, there was a real experience of some of the substances which are often abused and the risks associated. There is also a guideline on how some of these cases can be handled. (Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report 1) There was also lesson son some of the preventive measure of substance abuse in the county. Besides pr3eventive issues, there are also a number of programs in the county which are designed to deal with the issues of substance abuse. The convention provided a platform whereby those who attended got the opportunity to be taken through some of the programs existing to deal with the issue. Drugs endanger the lives of children. Unfortunately, most parents and guidance are

Do governments exploit its people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Do governments exploit its people - Essay Example The third point that will be scrutinized in the essay is how governments exploit her people in cheap labor. Lastly, government use human weakness behavior to exploit her people, thus accepting the existence of certain companies in the country. These companies produce addictive products, some of which are not healthy to the human body. It is always seen as though the employers somehow exploits their workers by not paying them more profits, while in the reality, after a worker looks at his pay check , he will realize the real exploiter is the government. The government takes several forms of taxes before the paycheck even reaches the worker, resulting to net loss. Citizens are nothing more than serfs are under the current taxation system, serving government and those in power (Floyd 16). Over-taxation denies the ability of a worker to decide how best he can use his salary earned. People are therefore, unable to meet their basic needs with the low NET salary. Although the government imposes high taxes on its people they still end up paying more to receive public services e.g. in hospitals and schools. Tax avoidance by huge firms, organization and political leaders undermines the faith of the public in the government. All these injustices and unfairness in taxation by governments erodes the social values that abide t he societies together (Floyd 27). Nevertheless, these taxes are being invested in lobby groups and political investments. Pluralistic ignorance has been used by the government to influence the minority group’s behavior and beliefs to that of the majority to its own benefit (Jens 12). It results people supporting something that they really do not like. Citizens believe other’s supports reflect their true thoughts. Governments have joined in the social media like twitter and face-book making more people takes part on their discussion. The government does this to manipulate people

Essay for admission to college Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

For admission to college - Essay Example As a student, I feel that I learn best when I test the theories that I have studied through textbooks. – BU attracts students from more countries than are represented in the United Nations. Our global presence and reputation are important and are reflected in the perspectives, opinions, and experiences of our students. Why is this type of environment important to you? (500 words, 5000 characters) o As an international student, I have decided to study abroad to broaden my view and understanding of the world. Since I have experienced education systems in Korea, as well as United States, I am clearly aware of the differences between them. In Korea, students are forced to study while competing with their fellow students. After school, every single student is forced to attend afternoon study sessions until 12:00 am. This ruthless and yet systematic approach of education mechanizes students and teaches them only how to study, rather than coupling education with the knowledge of how to live like a good citizen in the society. All they learn in the school is how to become an efficient â€Å"student†. Due to this reason, they forget how to think creatively and react quickly to rapidly changing situations. As one of these students, I realized that learning under this environment would shrink my view and keep me away from being myself. Boston University’s norm of attracti ng students from different ethnical and racial backgrounds will surely set up a satisfactory learning environment that will guide me throughout my college career. A variety of arguments and opinions will help me understand different perspectives and contribute in my growth. o Undoubtedly, New York University is a prestigious university that focuses on the needs of its students and attempts to elevate their learning curve through careful nurture, education and providing

Find a strong argument ( strong thesis statement) to the essay compare

Find a strong argument ( strong thesis statement) to the compare and contrast 4 readings - Essay Example He tends to disagree with him during his life but once when he experiences that all his sayings were true, he realizes how similar he is to him. The best way to describe the relation with his father is â€Å"We had got on badly, partly because we shared, in our different fashions, the vice of stubborn pride.† (Armstrong 138) Initially, when Baldwin was in place where blacks and whites shared understanding and mutually cooperated, he thought that his father's perception of the whites was wrong. When he shifted to a place where blacks were merely treated like slaves, he found all his father's teachings true and precise. Anger, disturbance and vulnerability developed in him and it eventually seemed like he was a 'replica' of his father. As by the end of the essay, he possessed the same qualities, beliefs and virtues merely to become his father's duplicate. Whereas in the second essay "The Dungeon Shook", the same spirit of freedom, anger, disturbance prevail but by now, the write r has realized the worth of family values, therefore, advices his nephew. Baldwin believes that the Black Americans have been deprived of certain valuable things and cannot obtain their share of the American dream. He guided him and his purpose was to evoke the spirit of anger and pain amongst his nation and, therefore, by instilling his wisdom in his nephew, he wanted to enlighten him about the cruelty that persists in the society they dwelled in. He wanted his nephew to know that they should not trust the whites and try their best on individual and collective levels to succeed. He believed that if one respects his native belonging, then only can succeed; by following the whites, there is merely no success. He said, "We cannot be free until they are free." (McBride 91) This describes how he believes independence and sovereignty are essential. Thus, Baldwin wrote to empower his nation and bring about the spirit of a nation among his people. Henry David Thoreau was a writer similar t o James Baldwin who also wrote to empower his people and bring about a change by the power of his writings and works. The work of Thoreau deals with the social evils and, like James Baldwin, he incorporated issues of slavery and other evils of the society. His work â€Å"Civil Obedience† is a book in which he describes the saddening state of the American society after the Mexican war, slavery and policies of the time. The concept of democracy has been highlighted in bold in the novel, as well as the ways people suffer when the laws that are formed in order to protect, suffocate them instead. He teaches that the people should know their rights, voice against the unjust prevailing, one should not participate in the evils but it is not his duty to eliminate them and that the US government favors slavery and war and, hence, is an unjust system. He believes that change can be brought through voting but there are slight chances for a change as man tends to get aggressive and unjust when seeks power. â€Å"This is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it; and it then says distantly, recognizes me" (Thoreau, 68). Therefore, in a place where justice doesn't prevail, a distorted society like this develops. On the contrary, "Slavery in Massachusetts" is based on the topic of slavery and how society targeted the free black Americans during that time. This book focuses on the

Do governments exploit its people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Do governments exploit its people - Essay Example The third point that will be scrutinized in the essay is how governments exploit her people in cheap labor. Lastly, government use human weakness behavior to exploit her people, thus accepting the existence of certain companies in the country. These companies produce addictive products, some of which are not healthy to the human body. It is always seen as though the employers somehow exploits their workers by not paying them more profits, while in the reality, after a worker looks at his pay check , he will realize the real exploiter is the government. The government takes several forms of taxes before the paycheck even reaches the worker, resulting to net loss. Citizens are nothing more than serfs are under the current taxation system, serving government and those in power (Floyd 16). Over-taxation denies the ability of a worker to decide how best he can use his salary earned. People are therefore, unable to meet their basic needs with the low NET salary. Although the government imposes high taxes on its people they still end up paying more to receive public services e.g. in hospitals and schools. Tax avoidance by huge firms, organization and political leaders undermines the faith of the public in the government. All these injustices and unfairness in taxation by governments erodes the social values that abide t he societies together (Floyd 27). Nevertheless, these taxes are being invested in lobby groups and political investments. Pluralistic ignorance has been used by the government to influence the minority group’s behavior and beliefs to that of the majority to its own benefit (Jens 12). It results people supporting something that they really do not like. Citizens believe other’s supports reflect their true thoughts. Governments have joined in the social media like twitter and face-book making more people takes part on their discussion. The government does this to manipulate people

Find a strong argument ( strong thesis statement) to the essay compare

Find a strong argument ( strong thesis statement) to the compare and contrast 4 readings - Essay Example He tends to disagree with him during his life but once when he experiences that all his sayings were true, he realizes how similar he is to him. The best way to describe the relation with his father is â€Å"We had got on badly, partly because we shared, in our different fashions, the vice of stubborn pride.† (Armstrong 138) Initially, when Baldwin was in place where blacks and whites shared understanding and mutually cooperated, he thought that his father's perception of the whites was wrong. When he shifted to a place where blacks were merely treated like slaves, he found all his father's teachings true and precise. Anger, disturbance and vulnerability developed in him and it eventually seemed like he was a 'replica' of his father. As by the end of the essay, he possessed the same qualities, beliefs and virtues merely to become his father's duplicate. Whereas in the second essay "The Dungeon Shook", the same spirit of freedom, anger, disturbance prevail but by now, the write r has realized the worth of family values, therefore, advices his nephew. Baldwin believes that the Black Americans have been deprived of certain valuable things and cannot obtain their share of the American dream. He guided him and his purpose was to evoke the spirit of anger and pain amongst his nation and, therefore, by instilling his wisdom in his nephew, he wanted to enlighten him about the cruelty that persists in the society they dwelled in. He wanted his nephew to know that they should not trust the whites and try their best on individual and collective levels to succeed. He believed that if one respects his native belonging, then only can succeed; by following the whites, there is merely no success. He said, "We cannot be free until they are free." (McBride 91) This describes how he believes independence and sovereignty are essential. Thus, Baldwin wrote to empower his nation and bring about the spirit of a nation among his people. Henry David Thoreau was a writer similar t o James Baldwin who also wrote to empower his people and bring about a change by the power of his writings and works. The work of Thoreau deals with the social evils and, like James Baldwin, he incorporated issues of slavery and other evils of the society. His work â€Å"Civil Obedience† is a book in which he describes the saddening state of the American society after the Mexican war, slavery and policies of the time. The concept of democracy has been highlighted in bold in the novel, as well as the ways people suffer when the laws that are formed in order to protect, suffocate them instead. He teaches that the people should know their rights, voice against the unjust prevailing, one should not participate in the evils but it is not his duty to eliminate them and that the US government favors slavery and war and, hence, is an unjust system. He believes that change can be brought through voting but there are slight chances for a change as man tends to get aggressive and unjust when seeks power. â€Å"This is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it; and it then says distantly, recognizes me" (Thoreau, 68). Therefore, in a place where justice doesn't prevail, a distorted society like this develops. On the contrary, "Slavery in Massachusetts" is based on the topic of slavery and how society targeted the free black Americans during that time. This book focuses on the

Night of the Living Dead Essay Example for Free

Night of the Living Dead Essay American  independent  black-and-white  horror film  and  cult film  directed by  George A. Romero   Night of the Living Dead  was heavily criticized during its release because of its explicit content, but received critical acclaim and was selected by the  Library of Congress  for preservation in the  National Film Registry  as a film deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. reviewers cited the film as groundbreaking. Pauline Kael  called the film one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made — and when you leave the theatre you may wish you could forget the whole horrible experience. .  . . The films grainy, banal seriousness works for it — gives it a crude realism. [62]  A  Film Daily  critic commented, This is a pearl of a horror picture which exhibits all the earmarks of a  sleeper. Since the release, critics and film historians have seen  Night of the Living Dead  as a subversive film that critiques 1960s American society, international  Cold War  politics and domestic  racism. Elliot Stein of  The Village Voice  saw the film as an ardent critique of American involvement in  Vietnam, arguing that it was not set in  Transylvania, but Pennsylvania — this was  Middle America  at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging inVietnam Pauline Kael,  5001 Nights at the Movies  (Henry Holt and Company, 1991 Elliot Stein, The Dead Zones: George A. Romero at the American Museum of the Moving Image,  The Village Voice(New York), January 8–14, 2003 http://www. filmsite. org/posters/psyc2. jpghttp://www. filmsite. rg/reddot. gif  Alfred Hitchcocks powerful, complex psychological thriller,  Psycho  (1960) is the mother of all modern horror suspense films it single-handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen slashers with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings The master of suspense skillfully manipulates and guides the audience into identifying with the main character, luckless victim Mari on (a Phoenix real-estate secretary), and then with that characters murderer a crazy and timid taxidermist named Norman (a brilliant typecasting performance by Anthony Perkins). Hitchcocks techniques voyeuristically implicate the audience with the universal, dark evil forces and secrets present in the film. Psycho  also broke all film conventions by displaying its leading female protagonist having a lunchtime affair in her sexy white undergarments in the first scene; also by photographing a toilet bowl and flush in a bathroom (a first in an American film), and killing off its major star Janet Leigh a third of the way into the film . Film reviews, for instance, will sometimes take up political or sociological concerns in the course of issuing formal-aesthetic judgments. Night of the Living Deaddramatizes the bewildering and uncanny transformation of human beings into non-human forms. Indeed, like all metamorphosis narratives, the film carries uncomfortable messages about identity — about what it means to be a human being and about the terror of alienation. The films power to unsettle its audience also derives from its focus on the taboo subject of cannibalism (which it depicts far more graphically than previous zombie films). In the eighteenth century, the English ironist Jonathan Swift (1996) wroteA Modest Proposal,a darkly satirical attack on the privations suffered by the Irish people at the hands of the English in which the author ironically proposed that infants be killed and eaten in order to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland. Night of the Living Deadalso uses cannibalism as a metaphor for exploitative power relations. Thus, while it deals with a quite different set of social problems, Romeros film can also be seen a sinister satire that exploits an outrageous premise in the interests of social and political critique. In his book  Understanding Popular Culture,  John Fiske writes: It is not violence per se that characterises popular culture, but only that violence whose structure makes it into a metaphor for the distribution of power in society. Fiske, 1989: 137) According to Fiske, then, violence is a metaphor for inequitable (and presumably unjust) power relations in society. It is important, however, to understand this point in historical context. Violence became more commonly depicted in films and on television in the late 1960s, during a socially turbulent period when social hierarchies were being challenged   Night of the Living Dead  draws on Alfred Hitchcocks  Psycho  (1960), especially in its film craft: the use of shadow and camera angles. Night of the Living Dead  (and, indeed, its worthy equels) reminds us of something that the recent outbreak of zombie films may have caused us to forget: the oppositional potential of popular culture. In this sense, the film is an undead classic that can still tell us something about who we are — and warn us about what we might turn into. Waller, Gregory A. (1986),  The Living and the Undead  (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press) Swift, Jonathan (1996),  A Modest Proposal and other Satirical Works  (New York: Dover) like most genre movies, reflect the values and ideology of the culture that produced them. Don Siegels  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  (1956), for example, about an invasion of alien seed-pods that replace people with emotional replicas, is typically discussed in relation to American contemporary culture in the 1950s. Unlike earlier horror films,  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  imagines infection on an apocalyptic rather than personal scale, as in the vampire myth, a clear reflection of Cold War fears of nuclear destruction. But even as Americans felt threatened by possible nuclear war and Communist infiltration, the film also expresses a fear of creeping conformism at home. Invasion  makes the commonplace seem creepy, and in the climax a mob of plain-looking townsfolk pursue Miles and Becky out of town in a horrific evocation of the kind of witch-hunting mentality witnessed in the United States just a few years before the films releaseRead more:  Critical debates Horror Films actor, children, cinema  http://www. filmreference. com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Horror-Films-CRITICAL-DEBATES. html#ixzz1qab4D5B2

Factors that Influence Health and Well-being

Factors that Influence Health and Well-being DOINA BORSAN UNIT 11 LO3 Relevant factors that influence health and wellbeing Organization is an social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Organizations are open systemsthey affect and are affected by their environment. To be able to give a clear definition of health needs assessment, health and needs will be looked at separately to understand the appropriate meaning of these words. Firstly, health is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 1948) as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely on the absence of a diseases or infirmity†. With no changes made since 1948, this definition is still well known due to the holistic overview of health and not only the disease. The definition of the word need or needs can be defined in a professional perspective as a necessity within poverty or to lack something. (English Dictionary, 2005) This need can be for any individual and within Maslow’s pyramid it is a motivational theory in psychology that argues that while people aim to meet basic needs, they seek to meet successively higher needs in the form of a hierarchy of importance. In my opinion, good health is a unity of three aspects, the physical, mental, and societal aspects .The physically content ,able to perform everyday tasks without discomfort. The mentally stable the individual must feel adequately fulfilled in life may urge to achieve excellence .The society and environment to be healthy, must live in a surrounding that can accommodate the individual’s pursuit for health in relation to sociological perspectives. Wellness is when is satisfied with health and quality of life with all aspects such as family, friends, income, giving the individual contentedness. Some determinant factors and their benefits, that contribute to a persons current state of health can be: Pollution -The pea-souper smog that is famous for cloaking London right up until the 1960s is one example of the effects of over industrialisation ,cause a number of accidents (the smog severely limited visibility), also had a very negative effect on the respiration of the populace. Access to health and welfare services Communities are not just isolated from health and welfare services by distance, but some are unable to gain access because they feel that they have been let down by health services before, or they do not speak the language that the service is delivered in. For these isolated communities, the health and welfare services may be the only link that they have to help them understand the development issues that the rest of society takes seriously. Family relationships -Not all family relationships are good, aside from the more obvious cases of abuse, there are lots of ways in which members of our family can adversely affect our health. The family member may not even realise that they are having a negative effect on our growth and development. Friendships -Good friends are the ideal support network to stop us from getting so upset about something that we fall into depression. Not only do they cheer us up whenever we see them, but talking to them about our worries also stops us worrying so much .At certain points during our life, though, friendships may break down – taking with them our feelings of stability. Educational experience The amount of education you should have, in theory, allow you to better evaluate the opportunities that arise through life. Poor education can result in serious poverty – one of the main causes of ill health. Employment Everyday, hundreds of people die because they work too hard. Being unhappy in your job can make you drink excessively and working large amounts of overtime means that you may not have enough time to exercise correctly or eat a well-balanced meal. Ethnicity and religion Different cultures and religions have different ways of looking at the world .More extreme religious rituals that affect health, such as female circumcision, are outlawed in the UK. Genetic inheritance the role that genes play in our lives, they can transmit some disorders from one generation to another or make us more susceptible to some illnesses or disabilities. Diet -Not getting the right amount of food, or a decent nutritional balance within that food, may have a negative effect on the growth and development of an individual. Physical exercise People who do different types of physical exercise develop different body types, exercise is important in the health care . Illness and disease individuals do not grow or develop at the same rate as all those around them, everybody develops at a different rate anyway. Family relationships People who come from stable, loving families have a less difficult time developing socially and emotionally. Family relationships can be some of the strongest we will ever have. Friendships You can choose your friends, but you cant choose your family, as they say. Sometimes, chatting with friends is the only thing that keeps you sane, especially after a blazing row with the family. Intimate personal and sexual relationships become the most significant of your life, theres nothing more special than making a real connection with someone. A relationship (or partnership) can significantly shape your personal development. The World Health Organization (WHO) created the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, which uses the three principles to guide its work in eliminating health inequities for local communities and nations and throughout the world: Improve the conditions of daily life—the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources—the structural drivers of those conditions of daily life—globally, nationally, and locally. Measure the problem, evaluate action, expand the knowledge base, develop a workforce that is trained in the social determinants of health, and raise public awareness about the social determinants of health . In the content of health and wellbeing factors , the education have a significant part in people development. It gives us the opportunity to learn about ourselves, acquire social skills and spreads influential messages about health. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is committed to achieving improvements in peoples lives by reducing health inequities. Health organizations, institutions, and education programs are encouraged to look beyond behavioural factors and address underlying factors related to social determinants of health. References : Hummer RA, Rogers RG, Nam CB, Ellison CG,(1999), Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality,Demography, 36(2),Pp.273-85. Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH JAMA,(2005), Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity,293(15),Pp.1861-7. Maslow, A. H. ,(1943),A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4),Pp 370-96. Links: http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/gcsease/health_social/3_15_detail2.html http://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/FAQ.html http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/214197.html http://www.help4adhd.org/en/education/rights/idea http://www.federalgrantswire.com/university-centers-for-excellence-in-developmental-disabilities-education-research-and-service.html#.UqYp8ictluY

Bats :: essays research papers

INTRODUCTION There is an abundant amount of animal species in the world. They all have adapted and evolved to survive in their surroundings. Some have grown fins, others legs, and still others wings. One of the animals that has grown wings is the bat. The bat is a truly great creature. It has all the characteristics of mammals while also possessing the skill of a bird in flight. There are more than 800 species of bats in the world. They are of many different sizes, shapes, and lifestyles. They live all over the world and have drawn the curiosity of millions. Bats also have the unique feature of echolocation that it uses to catch insects. Though other mammals, like the flying squirrel seem to fly but actually glide, the bat is the only mammal that can truly fly (Lauber 1968). A Bat's Body Due to the great variety of species of bats some characteristics vary greatly, but the Little Brown Bat is a good example of a common bat. It has fur on the body, large naked ears, the rear legs have claws, a tail membrane, and it has the most distinguishing feature of a bat, wings (Lauber 1968). The upper arm of the bat is short while the forearm is very long (Fig. 1). The wrist is very small and from it comes the thumb and the four longer fingers. The thumb is short and used for climbing or walking. The fingers are long and thin. Interlocking the fingers is the wing. This arrangement of having the fingers in the wing gives the bat amazing flight maneuverability (Honders 1975). These bones look similar to a human hand. They are connected by rubbery skin to the bat's body enveloping all the fingers but the thumb (Anonymous 1990). Echolocation Bats have a "sixth sense" called echolocation. This was first proved by Donald Griffin. Bats produce ultrasonic sound waves and then use the echo of the returning sound to sense the world around them and in particularly to catch insects. These sounds are usually out of the humans range of hearing (Fellman 1993). This system is similar to that of dolphins. The sound is in the form of clicks that increase as the bat gets closer to the insect or whatever it is tracking (Anonymous 1990). Unlike humans, most insects can hear the bat's echolocation sounds. David D. Yager of the University of Maryland has found that the praying mantis has used this to its advantage.

Cleopatra: The Natural Nemesis of Rome Essay -- Rome Cleopatra History

Cleopatra: The Natural Nemesis of Rome Abstract Cleopatra is most often remembered as the lover of two Roman consuls, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, thereby forever connecting the Egyptian queen to the history of Rome. The stories of her relationships with the two men do not always paint a flattering picture of Cleopatra, as her reported promiscuity and presumption give her a colorful reputation. Cleopatra is also sometimes seen as a misunderstood woman, someone who was never given a fair opportunity to be accepted as the wife of Marc Antony nor the mother of Caesar's child. Some historians and authors use the issue of Cleopatra's race as a reason that she was ostracized from Roman society, saying that the Romans were prejudiced against Egyptians, and despite Cleopatra's Greek background, would never accept her as a suitable mate for a Roman consul. This theory, however, is far outweighed by the numerous justifications the Roman people had for their distaste of Cleoaptra. It is not surprising that Cleopatra never found acceptance in Rome, as she offered nothing to the relationship between Egypt and Rome, she stood for everything they were against, and little by little, she succeeded in destroying parts of the society that the Roman people had worked to build. * * * Cleopatra and the province of Egypt are not accepted by the Romans because the relationship between the two city-states is not equal, as Rome does not benefit from a partnership between the two, although Egypt expects to be treated as a people of equal power and prestige. While it is true that Egypt is a country with great wealth and fertile land, thus able to give to Rome ample amounts of gold and grain, these are not reasons enough to make Rome tolerant of... ...was declared the enemy of Rome; Antony was not even mentioned." Rome would not stand for anyone to alter their lifestyle and Cleopatra could do nothing to gain their acceptance. Works Cited Butts, Mary. Scenes from the Life of Cleopatra. Sun & Moon Press, Los Angelos: 1994. Carter, John M. The Battle of Actium. Hamish Hamilton, London:1970. Cleopatra. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison. Twentieth Century Fox Productions, 1963. Cleopatra. Prod. Robert Holmes Sr. With Leonora Varela, Timothy Dalton, and Billy Zane. ABC, 1999. Huges-Hallet, Lucy. Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams, and Distortions. Harpers & Row, London: 1990. Masson, Georgina. Ancient Rome: From Romulus to Augustus. The Viking Press, New York: 1973. Weigall, Arthur. The Life and Times of Marc Antony. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York: 1931. Cleopatra: The Natural Nemesis of Rome Essay -- Rome Cleopatra History Cleopatra: The Natural Nemesis of Rome Abstract Cleopatra is most often remembered as the lover of two Roman consuls, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, thereby forever connecting the Egyptian queen to the history of Rome. The stories of her relationships with the two men do not always paint a flattering picture of Cleopatra, as her reported promiscuity and presumption give her a colorful reputation. Cleopatra is also sometimes seen as a misunderstood woman, someone who was never given a fair opportunity to be accepted as the wife of Marc Antony nor the mother of Caesar's child. Some historians and authors use the issue of Cleopatra's race as a reason that she was ostracized from Roman society, saying that the Romans were prejudiced against Egyptians, and despite Cleopatra's Greek background, would never accept her as a suitable mate for a Roman consul. This theory, however, is far outweighed by the numerous justifications the Roman people had for their distaste of Cleoaptra. It is not surprising that Cleopatra never found acceptance in Rome, as she offered nothing to the relationship between Egypt and Rome, she stood for everything they were against, and little by little, she succeeded in destroying parts of the society that the Roman people had worked to build. * * * Cleopatra and the province of Egypt are not accepted by the Romans because the relationship between the two city-states is not equal, as Rome does not benefit from a partnership between the two, although Egypt expects to be treated as a people of equal power and prestige. While it is true that Egypt is a country with great wealth and fertile land, thus able to give to Rome ample amounts of gold and grain, these are not reasons enough to make Rome tolerant of... ...was declared the enemy of Rome; Antony was not even mentioned." Rome would not stand for anyone to alter their lifestyle and Cleopatra could do nothing to gain their acceptance. Works Cited Butts, Mary. Scenes from the Life of Cleopatra. Sun & Moon Press, Los Angelos: 1994. Carter, John M. The Battle of Actium. Hamish Hamilton, London:1970. Cleopatra. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison. Twentieth Century Fox Productions, 1963. Cleopatra. Prod. Robert Holmes Sr. With Leonora Varela, Timothy Dalton, and Billy Zane. ABC, 1999. Huges-Hallet, Lucy. Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams, and Distortions. Harpers & Row, London: 1990. Masson, Georgina. Ancient Rome: From Romulus to Augustus. The Viking Press, New York: 1973. Weigall, Arthur. The Life and Times of Marc Antony. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York: 1931.

Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination Essay

Racial discrimination has long been an issue especially in the United States which is considered as a melting pot of different people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Black people have experienced extreme even radical form of discrimination for centuries, but now, the black people found an ally in the affirmative action policy. This policy, after some time of implementation sparked debate since some people, even the blacks themselves, say that giving racial preferences is never a good thing. The policy has affected admission aspects in schools and employment in jobs. Two job applicants, a white male and a black male, even with the same qualifications, the black male will likely get the job because of racial preference provided by affirmative action. Black people are being given a definite advantage and white people would find this an unfair treatment. The same goes for school admission policies where minorities are being given a higher preference over white people in order to maintain a diverse student body. Thesis Affirmative action laws were made to eliminate or reduce discriminatory acts but there are numerous claims that these laws have reversed the tide. Affirmative actions laws may no longer be considered fair in this current setting since it only results in reverse discrimination and it is no longer an effective means of providing opportunities for minority groups. This reverse discrimination is constituted by racial preferences for blacks. This racial preference clouds the judgment of many educational institutions and employers since racial background is being analyzed instead of just the plain qualifications which some white people might find inappropriate. Affirmative action was envisioned to put an end to racial discrimination especially against black people. Under this policy, black people were given higher preferences in job and in admission policies in universities. This is however not an answer to eliminating discrimination. Instead of giving higher preferences to those people who are being discriminated such as the black people, a better alternative solution to racial discrimination would be to find steps to eliminate discriminatory acts and leveling the field so that all people from different ethnic backgrounds will be presented with equal opportunities. Since the black people are being given higher preferences, this may appear as a form of discrimination against white people. Affirmative action, instead of fulfilling its intention of eliminating discrimination, rather contributes to it. One of the major focuses of the affirmative action debate is its inclusion in university admission policies which show higher preferences for black applicants. Many people have been calling for the ban of the use of affirmative action in the public arena. Voters in California, Washington and Michigan have already submitted amendments to their state constitutions that would prohibit the use of affirmative action in the public setting (Prince & Ryan, 2007). According to actor and columnist Joseph Phillips, affirmative action is not an issue of nondiscrimination, it is now about racial preferences. He emphasized on the point that racial preferences is not an effective way of fighting racism, instead, it brings about negative stereotypes especially in the educational sector wherein it pertains to a person’s intellectual capacity and academic capabilities (Prince & Ryan, 2007). In a Supreme Court ruling in 2003 which involves the University of Michigan which makes use of racial preferences in its admission policies, the court highlighted the goal of having a diverse student body which is brought about by affirmative action but critics say that this decision by the court would only spark more law suits and that the critics of affirmative action would continue to put pressure on the Department of Education to discontinue the use of the policy (Marklein, 2003). Evidences have been presented regarding the effects of affirmative action; however, these evidences always seem imperfect and ambiguous. A review of the policy during the Clinton administration indicated that active federal enforcement of the policy in the 1970s resulted in government contractors moderately increasing the hiring of minority workers. Studies have indicated that there is only a meager increase in the employment of black males. Employment share of black males in contractor firms in 1974 was 5. 8 percent and this figure only increased to 6. 7 percent in 1980. On the other hand, the increase in non-contractor firms was from 5. 3 percent to 5. 9 percent. Also, a substantial number of black government employees got their jobs or promotion to managerial rank because of affirmative action even if qualifications are questionable (Galston). In the education sector, it was only during the height of the affirmative action policy that the enrollment of black people was on a steady rise. From only 4. 9 percent in 1955, black enrollment went up to 7. 8 percent in 1970. The figure further increased to 9. 1 percent in 1980 and 11. 3 percent in 1990. On the other hand, according to a report from the Census Bureau, Hispanics holding bachelor’s degrees or other advanced degrees went up to 9 percent in 1994 from only 5 percent in 1970 while the rate for blacks is 12. 9 percent from 4. 5 percent (Galston). Another issue that rises with affirmative action is that minority groups may gain an image of inferiority since the whites may think that a black student was able to enter the university or a black person is able to get a job only because of affirmative action even if the black person has all the necessary qualifications (Hoffman). Overall, the past 30 years has been fruitful for the black people as they generally lived better lives with better education and income all because of racial preferences. This has resulted into what Seymour Martin Lipset classifies as a â€Å"growing differentiation† within the community of black people from the growing black middle class to the ghetto poor. The affirmative action program would work better if it would remove barriers for those who have the credentials to succeed instead of giving them a definite advantage in admissions. Anti-Thesis Supporters of affirmative action make use of the argument that it is necessary for the people compensate for years of discriminations against blacks. Many black people approve of affirmative action because it provides recompense against the discrimination that they have experienced and endured in the past but not all black people share this kind of insight. Steele said that, theoretically, affirmative action is in moral symmetry with fairness. She described the policy as reformist and corrective as well as repentant and redemptive. The country is trying to make up for its sins and wants to correct it but black people will lose more than what they will gain from the policy (Steele). Some also argue that it is difficult to remove stereotyping and discrimination without the policy and that it is needed to maintain diversity. Another argument states that affirmative action should continue because racism still exists in this society. The argument that affirmative action is needed for the white people to compensate for the discrimination against blacks is shrouded in hatred and appears as a form of retaliation against the white people. However, retaliation will not improve the situation. It might even spark more discrimination against black people if affirmative action policies continue to be implemented and this could lead to more hatred and discrimination against the minority groups. According to Kimberle Crenshaw, a professor of law at the University of California, affirmative actions removes the obstacles so that people from the minority groups can qualify and compete. With affirmative action, blacks, Hispanics and other minority group find it easier to get a job because of racial preferences geared toward these minorities (Prince & Ryan, 2007). Affirmative action exists because there is discrimination, if there is no discriminations, affirmative action would not be needed in this society. The fact that affirmative action exists is because there is still discrimination and it is still needed in the current setting. Those who believe that affirmative action is in conflict with their interest must be made to see what benefits it provides to the society. Racism is still dominant in the United States which is why affirmative action must stay (Noguera, 1996). According to Linda Chavez, founder and president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, the Michigan University case speaks of admission and scholarship programs for minority groups which make use of substantially different standards and must include the racial background. People against the policy said that they will take their case to the ballots but the court has already made it clear that it is the university’s prerogative to include race in the admission policy to ensure the diversity of the student body (Marklein, 2003). The 2003 Supreme Court ruling allowed admission officials to consider race in the selection process. Colleges and universities have no obligation to use racial preferences but they may adopt such policies to meet a satisfactory level of student diversity. Arthur Coleman, a former official under the Department of Education said that adopting diversity is a choice and is not mandated by any law or policy. According to a survey by Public Agenda, 79 percent of Americans agreed that it is important for schools to have a diverse student body while only 54 percent approved of affirmative action programs. In a separate poll conducted by Gallup before the court handed out its ruling, only 49 percent said that they are in favor of affirmative action while 43 percent said that they are not in favor (Marklein, 2003). Synthesis Affirmative action was made to eliminate discrimination but discrimination would not likely be eliminated if the method used to eliminate it is discriminating in itself since it results in a reverse discrimination. Instead of blacks being discriminated, the white people are now the ones being discriminated because of racial preferences given to black people in school admission policies and employment opportunities. Arguing that affirmative action is fair because blacks were once discriminated to a great extent is not valid since it is only driven by hatred towards white people who were discriminating the blacks and other minorities (Steele). Also, continuing affirmative actions only causes white people to hate the blacks because of the racial preferences that they are being handed. White people who believe that they have the qualifications but are turned down while a black person gets in may think that affirmative action gave him a disadvantage and not because the black person is really qualified (Hoffman). Affirmative action will not eliminate racial discrimination but it rather contributes to it. The policy may have its benefits every now and then, but generally, it is no longer applicable in the current setting as more and more white people are feeling the negative effects of the policy. It does remove barriers so that people from minorities can compete but it comes with a price. They gain an image of inferiority because people may think that it is only because of affirmative action that they have reached a certain level of success and not because they are really qualified (Hoffman). The Supreme Court has handed out its decision in the Michigan University case and the decision maintained that the school may use the race as part of the admission policy to maintain the diversity of the student body. Even without affirmative action, colleges can use race as a basis of application to meet a desired rate of student diversity since having a diverse student body promotes a better learning environment (Marklein, 2003). Ultimately, data indicates that affirmative action is no longer effective which means that it is time to adopt an alternative policy (Galston). A better way of embracing diversity would be to encourage minorities from a young age to work for their goals and get a good education. Assisting people from poor socio-economic backgrounds to gain resources and motivation should also be done so that they will also be competent when it comes to school admission and job-seeking. This is a lot better than giving them preferential treatment because they would not be treated as inferiors (Hoffman). Conclusion To conclude, affirmative action may have been an effective way of reducing racial discrimination against minorities, but now, it is no longer applicable to be used in the current setting since it results in reverse discrimination. The white people are now put in a seat that was once held by other minorities. Affirmative action might trigger hate targeted towards the blacks and other minorities because of the reverse discrimination. The policy which gives racial preferences also connects inferiority with minority groups. A better way of eliminating discrimination is by leveling the playing field not by racial preferences but by providing equal opportunities for whites and minority groups. References Prince, Andrew & Ryan, Erica. 21 November 2007. Is it Time to End Affirmative Action?. National Public Radio. Retrieved July 8, 2008 from http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=16337441 Marklein, Mary Beth. 24 June 2003. Despite ruling, affirmative action debate is far fr

Storm Born Chapter Seventeen

To his credit, he didn't really manhandle me too badly that night. At dinner, he kept a hand on mine or an arm around my shoulder but little more than that. As he pointed out to me in a quiet moment, anyone could make a brazen display of fleshiness. What really indicated intimacy was how two people interacted with each other, what their body language said. So I worked on looking comfortable and happy in his presence, and from the shocked expressions on people's faces, we must have done a pretty convincing job. He took me to his bedroom after that, looking smug and presumptuous to those watching. But when we got there, he actually gave me my first lesson. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing. I'd been ready for fireworks. What I got was a lot of practice on quiet meditation and focus. He claimed if I couldn't control my own mind, I couldn't control the power. So I spent the next couple hours with him working on this and found my most difficult challenge was in not slipping into trance or astral travel. Those behaviors came so automatically to me in still moments that I kept lapsing. The kind of meditation he wanted me to do involved turning my senses outward rather than inward, which seemed strange to me since I had thought magic came from within. We finally ended the lesson with him giving me a heavy gold ring that he'd put part of his essence into. It was an anchor. Now if he left the Otherworld through a thin spot, he could transition to mine without appearing in a corresponding thin spot. He would simply travel to wherever the ring was. It would save both of us extraneous travel time. What it also meant was that he planned on coming to my world for some of the lessons. I had mixed feelings on this. Certainly it would be more convenient for me. But the fact that he could even jump with an anchor like that indicated how powerful he was. That realization was just a teensy bit unsettling, as was the thought of him in the human world at all. And yet, by being there, his powers would diminish. He would be safer – or rather, humanity would be safer. Back home, the following couple of days were more of the same: fights, fights, and more fights. Yet, as Dorian had predicted, some of the traffic dried up. I liked to think this was because my reputation was scaring would-be suitors away. More likely, my new connection to the Oak King made my assailants think twice about incurring political fallout. As it turned out, I had to deal with my own share of fallout over this alliance – from Kiyo. â€Å"Are you sleeping with Dorian?† He stood in my doorway, his dark hair backlit by the late afternoon sun. He wore a white lab coat with KIYOTAKA MARQUEZ, DVM on the pocket. He must have driven here straight from work. â€Å"Good news travels fast,† I said. â€Å"Come on in.† I offered him a drink and a seat at my kitchen table, but he just kept pacing around restlessly. He reminded me of a wolf or a guard dog. I didn't really know anything about fox behavior. â€Å"Well?† he asked. I poured myself a cup of coffee and gave him a sharp look. â€Å"Don't take that tone with me. You have no claims to what I do.† He stopped pacing, and his expression softened. â€Å"You're right. I don't.† It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was close. I sat down in a chair, folding my legs up underneath me. â€Å"All right, then. No. I'm not sleeping with him.† His face stayed the same, but I saw visible relief flash in his eyes. It was petty, I realized, but knowing he'd been jealous made something warm flutter up inside of me. Grabbing a chair, he turned it around and sat down so that his chin rested on its back. â€Å"Then what's up with the stories?† I told him. When I'd finished, he closed his eyes and exhaled. A moment later, he opened them. â€Å"I don't know what bothers me more. You turning to magic or you turning to Dorian.† I beckoned behind me. â€Å"Have you seen my living room? I am not going to be responsible for inflicting Hurricane Eugenie on Tucson.† That made him smile. â€Å"Tucson already deals with Hurricane Eugenie on a regular basis. But yeah, I get your point. What worries me†¦I don't know. I don't really use magic, but I've spent half my life around people who do. I've seen how it affects them. How it can control them.† â€Å"Are you questioning my self-control? Or my strength?† â€Å"No,† he replied in all seriousness. â€Å"You're one of the strongest people I know. But Storm King†¦I saw him once when I was little. He was†¦well, let's put it this way. Dorian and Aeson and Maiwenn are strong. Compared to other gentry, they're like torches beside candles. But your father†¦he was more like a bonfire. You can't use that kind of power and walk away unscathed.† â€Å"I appreciate the warning, Gandalf, but I don't know that I have a choice.† â€Å"I guess not. I just don't want to see you changed, that's all. I like you the way you are.† A smile flickered across his lips and then faded. â€Å"And as for working with Dorian†¦well, that just makes the situation worse.† â€Å"You sound jealous.† â€Å"Of course.† He answered without hesitation, not really ashamed to fess up to his feelings. â€Å"But he's power-hungry too. And he wants to see the Storm King conquest happen. Somehow I doubt he'll be content to have you be his pretend-lover for long.† â€Å"Well, hey, remember I've got a choice in there too. Besides, contraceptive technology is a wonderful thing, right?† â€Å"Absolutely. But Maiwenn says – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know. All sorts of wise and compelling things.† Kiyo eyed me warily. â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"Nothing. Just that I think it's funny for you to talk to me about Dorian when – â€Å" â€Å"When what?† I set down my cup of coffee and looked him in the eye. â€Å"Honesty again?† He returned my stare unblinkingly. â€Å"Always.† â€Å"You two seemed†¦more than chummy. Is there anything going on between you? Romantically, I mean?† â€Å"No.† The answer came swift and certain. I reconsidered. â€Å"Was there anything going on?† This got a hesitation. â€Å"Not anymore,† he said after a moment. â€Å"I see.† I looked away and felt my own wave of jealousy run through me as my cruel mind pictured him and that beautiful woman together. â€Å"It's over, Eugenie. Has been for a while. We're just friends now, that's it.† I glanced up. â€Å"Like you and I are friends?† His lips turned up wickedly, and I saw the temperature in his eyes dial up a few degrees. â€Å"You can call it whatever you want, but I think we both know we aren't ‘just friends.'† No, I supposed not. And suddenly, after so much time with him and the fact that I'd made out with a full-fledged gentry, Kiyo being a kitsune wasn't really a problem anymore. The lines that organized my life had all blurred. That scared me because I wanted Kiyo, and suddenly I had no excuses standing in my way. And honestly, I realized, it was a lot easier having excuses. Excuses meant you didn't have to work or open yourself to someone else and be vulnerable. If I really wanted to be near and with Kiyo now, I was going to have to look beyond sex. Sex was easy – especially with him. What was going to be hard was remembering how to get close to someone and trust him. I looked away, not wanting him to see the fear on my face, but he already had. I don't know what it was about him, but sometimes he seemed to know me better than I knew myself. He stood up and moved behind me, his hands kneading the kinks in my neck and shoulders. â€Å"Eugenie,† was all he said, voice warm. I relaxed into him and closed my eyes. â€Å"I don't know how to do this.† I referred to him and me, but considering the rest of my life, that statement could have applied to any number of things. â€Å"Well, we stop fighting, for one. Let's drop this other stuff and go out.† â€Å"Now? Like on a date?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Just like that? Is it that easy?† â€Å"For now. And really, it's only as easy or hard as we choose to make it.† We took Kiyo's car, a pretty sweet 1969 Spider, to one of my favorite restaurants: Indian Cuisine of India. The name sounded redundant, but the latter part of it had been a necessary addition. Considering all the local restaurants that served Southwest and American Indian cuisine, a lot of tourists had come in expecting to find Navajo fry bread, not curry and naan. The tension melted between us – the hostile kind, at least – though he did have one pensive moment in which he asked, â€Å"All right, I have to know. Is it true you kissed him?† I smiled enigmatically. â€Å"This is as easy or hard as we choose to make it.† He sighed. After dinner, he drove us out of town but wouldn't say where we were going. Almost forty minutes later, we were driving up and around a large hill. Kiyo found an area with other cars but saw there were no spots left, forcing him to drive back down and park a considerable distance away. Twilight was giving way to full night, and it was hard to find the path up the hill with no lighting. He slipped his hand in mine, guiding me. His fingers were warm, his grip tight and secure. It took us almost a half hour, walking until the path finally crested to a small clearing. I hid my astonishment. It was filled with people, most of whom were setting up telescopes and peering up at the clear, star-thickened sky. â€Å"I saw this advertised in the paper,† Kiyo explained. â€Å"It's the amateur astronomy group. They let the public come out and hang with them.† Sure enough, everyone there was more than happy to let us come and look through their telescopes. They pointed out sights of particular interest and told stories about constellations. I'd heard a lot of them before but enjoyed hearing them again. The weather was perfect for this kind of thing. Warm enough to not need jackets (though I still wore one to hide weapons) and so perfectly clear that you could forget pollution existed. The Flandrau Observatory, over at the university, had fantastic shows, but I loved the casual nature of this one. While listening to an older man talk about the Andromeda galaxy, I thought about just how vast our existence really was. There was so much of it we didn't know about. The outer world, the universe, spread on forever. For all I knew, the inner world of spirits continued on just as far. I only knew about three worlds: the world we lived in, the world the dead lived in, and the Otherworld, which caught everything in between. A lot of shamans believed the divine world was beyond all of this, a world of God or gods we couldn't even imagine. Looking up at that snowstorm of stars, I suddenly felt very small in the greater scheme of things, prophecy or no. Kiyo shifted beside me, and I felt his arm brush mine. My body kept an exact record of where we touched, like some sort of military tracking system. He caught my eye, and we smiled at each other. I felt at peace, almost deliriously happy. For this moment, all was right in the world between us. Maybe I'd never fully understand what pulled two people together. Maybe it was like trying to comprehend the universe. You couldn't measure any of it. It just was, and you made your way through it as best you could. â€Å"Thank you,† I told him later, as we walked back down the hill toward the car. â€Å"That was really great.† â€Å"I saw the telescope at your house – er, what was left of it anyway.† â€Å"Oh. Yeah.† Being up here had sort of taken me away from reality. I'd forgotten that my home was in a state of disaster. â€Å"Mine couldn't really compare to any of these. Maybe I'll have to upgrade now.† We passed the other cars and finally finished the long trek back out to his car. The temperature had cooled down a little, but it was still nice out. Kiyo wrinkled his nose as we walked. â€Å"Smells like†¦dead fish out here.† I inhaled deeply. â€Å"I don't smell anything.† â€Å"Consider yourself lucky. You probably couldn't smell how many people hadn't showered back there either.† I laughed. â€Å"I remember how you smelled my perfume back in the bar that night. I thought it was crazy. So super-smell is another kitsune perk?† He shook his head. â€Å"Depends on what you're smelling.† We got into the car. He started to put the keys in the ignition, then decided he wanted his coat. â€Å"Can you reach it? It's behind my seat.† I unfastened my belt and shifted around, practically hanging through the seats to reach his coat. It was crumpled and lying on the floor. â€Å"Jesus,† I heard him say. â€Å"Are you staring at my ass?† â€Å"It's practically in my face.† I snagged the troublesome coat and leaned back, but his arm caught me and pulled me onto his lap. It twisted me in an awkward position, and I squirmed to straighten out my legs. I finally ended up sort of straddling him. â€Å"I can't believe you lectured me earlier about the dangers of losing control,† I chastised. His hands had slid down to the ass he so admired. â€Å"What was I supposed to do?† â€Å"Hey, I'm not complaining. Just surprised, that's all.† â€Å"I think it's the fox in me.† â€Å"Never heard that excuse before.† â€Å"No, it's true. You'd be amazed how simple the instincts are – and how strong. Sometimes I have to fight to not jump every woman I see. And then I always want to eat. Like I have this paranoid fear if I don't stock up now, I could be starving later when winter comes. It's really weird.† It was compelling too, but wrapped up against him, I realized this conversation was wasting perfectly good make-out time. I unfastened his seat belt and then put my hands palm down on his chest. Leaning forward, I kissed him, pushing myself harder into his lap. His grip on me tightened. â€Å"I thought you didn't want to get involved with a kitsune.† â€Å"Well†¦I happen to think foxes are cute.† I wriggled out of my coat and then pulled off the tank top underneath, neither of which was easy to do with the steering wheel behind me. I rose up on my knees a little, putting my breasts near his face. His mouth showered my cleavage with kisses while his hands tried to undo the bra. Meanwhile, my own hands unfastened the button on his pants. I reached down and slid my hand into his boxers. â€Å"Eugenie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he breathed. He managed to combine a cautionary tone with an utterly turned-on one. â€Å"We don't have condoms.† I moved my hand farther, suddenly very turned on myself by the thought of having nothing between us. â€Å"The pill, remember? Besides, contraceptive technology is a – â€Å" The car suddenly lurched dangerously onto the side we weren't sitting on. My back jammed into the steering wheel, and we half-tumbled onto the other side. Kiyo's arms went around me, pulling me toward him in an effort to shelter me with his body and keep me from falling. Guess I shouldn't have undone his seat belt earlier. Fortunately, the car didn't flip all the way over, and a moment later, it slammed back down on the side we were sitting on with a jaw-rattling crash. â€Å"What the – † I began. In the dark, I could just barely discern Kiyo's wide eyes staring beyond me, through the windshield. â€Å"I think we should get out of the car,† he said quietly, just as something heavy and solid slammed down on the hood behind me. I heard headlights smash. The entire car shook. I didn't need to be told twice. We kicked open the driver's side door, and I scrambled out. A smell like rotting fish slammed into me. Kiyo started to follow me out, and then the car was lifted up from its front end and slammed back down to the ground. Glass and metal crunched as the motion tossed Kiyo back in the car. The windshield cracked like a spider's web. Fear for him shot through me, but then I finally saw the culprit, and fear for me shot through me. It looked like one of the fuaths, I thought. A fachan, possibly. If so, he was far from home since they were native to Ireland and Scotland. Still, the Otherworld had become as global as the human world, and you never really knew what could pop up where. He looked like something you might get if Bigfoot had sex with a cyclops and then their offspring moved to the Deep South and interbred for another century or so. He was almost eight feet tall and every part of his grossly muscled body was covered with hair – matted and smelly hair that needed a thorough washing. One giant eye, its color indeterminable in the starlight, peered out at me. One extra hand extended weirdly from the right side of its chest, and an extra leg hung off of its hip. The leg didn't seem to help him walk; I wondered if it and the extra arm did anything at all or were just used for effect. Seeing me, he left the car alone and started lumbering forward. Hopefully Kiyo would be able to get out now. I reached for my gun and discovered it was gone. Son of a bitch. It had slipped its holster either from grappling with Kiyo or when the car had tipped. â€Å"Get my gun out!† I yelled back toward the car. Meanwhile, I took a few cautious steps back, assessing how to handle the fachan. Fachans, despite inhabiting the earth, originated in the Otherworld. They could therefore be banished back there. They also crossed to this world in a physical form, which meant they could be killed. I had both athames in my belt. Silver would be more effective, but iron would probably do some damage too. Okay. I just had to manage one of those while keeping it from getting too fresh with me. No problem. He swung one of his long, almost awkward-looking arms at me, and I intercepted it, stabbing him in the hand with the silver athame. I pushed as hard as I could, shoving through tendons and bones. The creature shrieked and jerked his hand back. My hand was on the hilt, but he moved too quickly, too strongly. He took the athame with him. Shit. â€Å"Kiyo!† I yelled. I took out the iron athame and darted over to his right side, opposite the car. The fachan was bigger, but I was smaller and therefore faster†¦right? My blade snaked out, digging deep into the soft flesh of his stomach. This time I made sure to bring the athame back with me before he moved and took this one too. Blood, looking black in the dim lighting, gleamed where I'd cut. I put some distance between us. I just needed to slow him so I could snag a few moments for the banishing. But he wasn't slowing. He hadn't seemed happy about the injuries, but he still kept coming for me. I kept the distance between us, wanting to injure him without getting within his range. It was kind of hard when it felt like his arms were as long as my body. He swung out his uninjured fist, and I ducked it, using the opportunity to draw blood again. As I did, something occurred to me. His blow, had it landed, would have done some serious damage. Very serious. It had had no purpose, save to inflict as much brute pain as possible. I could understand the tactical advantage of rendering me unconscious before sex, but being in a coma – or dead – might complicate the prophecy a bit. My blade bit into him again, and I followed with a sharp kick to his side, dodging at the last minute. We soon developed a little dance. His large, muscled arms would swing out at me, and I would sidestep and get in my slash or kick. Considering my fight with the mud elemental had been two days ago and I wasn't entirely in peak condition yet, I felt my performance here wasn't too shabby. At least until I moved too slowly, and he caught me with the edge of his hand – his extra hand. Apparently it wasn't useless after all. It was a glancing blow, but I flew backward, into the car, up onto the roof, and into the windshield. The glass – already cracked and fractured – shattered upon impact, and sharp, excruciating pain burned through the side of my stomach as I hit. The skin there was still bare and uncovered from where I'd stripped in the car. My head felt like a cartoon character had just dropped an anvil on it, and for a few seconds, I couldn't get my body to do the things I wanted it to do. The fachan lurched toward me, his limbs and their bulging muscles swinging, and I didn't have anywhere to go. He grabbed me by my shoulders and lifted me up high. I knew in those slow-motion seconds that he was going to slam me down and that I would be dead. As it was, the jerking, lifting motion alone made my addled brain scream. Suddenly, the fachan's head tipped back, and a look of agony crossed his face. His hold on me released, and I dropped back to the hood. It was much less painful than what he'd been about to do, but it still hurt. I frantically tried to sit up and see what had happened, but everything spun. Some wolf was attacking the fachan. No, no wolf. The colors and shape weren't quite right. The ears were more defined, the tail haughty and white-tipped. It was a fox. It was Kiyo. But he was bigger than I'd ever seen him, which was why I'd mistaken him for a wolf. He was huge, muscled and powerful, and his teeth were tearing into the fachan's back. The fachan turned and swatted him away. Kiyo took it with grace: hitting, rolling, and then getting right back up. I wished I could do that. I still felt like crap, but my vision had righted itself. Peering into the car, I could see where my gun had rolled across the passenger seat and lodged between it and the door. Beyond me, I heard blows and yips as Kiyo and the fachan continued their fight. Gingerly, I started crawling back into the car on all fours, careful to avoid the shards of glass ringing the gaping remains of the windshield. I didn't do a very good job and brushed sharp points in a few places. They stung my skin. Worse, I could do little to protect my hands when forced to creep over the broken shards covering the dashboard. At last I made it inside and retrieved the gun. Grabbing it, I worked my way back to the driver's side seat and took aim at the fachan still grappling with Kiyo. Only, my hand could barely hold the gun up. That was no good. I shifted and held the Glock two-handed. My arms still shook, but I was steadier now. I watched them pace and attack each other, moving fast. Too fast, I worried. I was likely to shoot Kiyo in the process. But I had to try. Nothing was hurting this thing. It was unstoppable. I didn't want to try to banish it at full strength, particularly since I'd never get close enough to put the death symbol on him and speed his passage. I therefore needed him wounded and easy to send over. Taking aim, I waited for a window of opportunity, for a broad target on the fachan. There. The bullet bit into his back, and he jerked in surprise. It slowed him just enough. I fired again. I kept firing until I'd unloaded the entire clip into him. He made horrible noises and staggered slightly. I half-expected him to keep coming, but then Kiyo the Giant Fox leaped at his chest and knocked him to the ground, teeth tearing into what appeared to be the fachan's throat. Ew. My wand was in the car. I swapped it with the gun, and called upon Hecate, focusing on the snake wound around my arm. My mind slipped this world, opening the gates, and I aimed for the fachan's spirit. My will, pouring through the wand, seized him and ripped a hole between the Otherworld and my world. It was harder than usual. â€Å"Mind over matter† might be the adage, but the mind was reluctant to obey when the body was so weakened and had had its head slammed into a windshield. My path to the Otherworld was clear. But then, seeing him start to get up, despite Kiyo's mauling, I decided I didn't want him potentially coming back. So I pushed my mind past the Otherworld, brushing the gates of the world of death instead. I felt Persephone's butterfly flare on my arm as I connected with her domain. The fachan roared as it recognized the tug. He resisted me, his body and spirit presenting a formidable match for my own. I focused harder, pushing every ounce of me into forcing him through the black gates. I called on – no, I begged – Persephone to take him. At last he went through, his physical body disintegrating as the Underworld sucked his spirit through. Only it was pulling more than him through. I'd pushed so hard that my spirit had touched more of the world of death than I normally allowed. In my weakened state, my focus wasn't as sharp about keeping me out. My mind felt like it was being sucked in by a whirlwind, and I had the impression of ghostly, skeletal hands pulling at me. â€Å"No, no, no, no!† Whether the words were in my head or on my lips, I didn't know. I struggled against the hands, trying to gain a grip on the human world. I would have even settled for the Otherworld. There I could survive, but from the world of death, there was no return. Half of me prayed to Hecate to pull me back through the gates while the other half of me prayed to Persephone to block me out. At last I fell back with a snap, my spirit returning firmly to my physical body. My physical and mental senses burned. Almost immediately, I slumped forward, unable to support myself. Only my hand on the edge of the steering wheel caught me from falling out of the car. I felt nauseated and dizzy, with too many parts of me hurting to count. Kiyo, still as that giant fox, stood by me, gleaming eyes watching me with all seriousness. â€Å"Hey,† I said, reaching out a tentative hand. His fur was as soft as silk. I stroked it carefully, my motor control still not all it could be. Those fine hairs touched my skin like the lightest of kisses. â€Å"That was some trick. How'd you do it?† He neither answered nor changed shape, merely nuzzling my hand with his nose. I smiled but then felt too tired to keep holding my arm up. I dropped the hand to my side, feeling something wet and sticky. Pulling my arm up, I saw blood covering my fingers, dark and glistening. â€Å"Oh, man,† I muttered. The world had started spinning again; black spots danced in front of me. â€Å"We need to†¦go†¦somewhere. Do something. Change back; I can't drive.† He kept watching me, eyes solemn and intent. â€Å"I mean it. Why aren't you changing? Are you hurt?† He rested his chin on my knees, and I petted him again, even though I got blood on that gleaming fur. I didn't get why he wasn't changing. Could he not hear me in this form? No, he'd always understood before. Well, if he wasn't going to help, I needed someone who could. I had a cell phone in the car somewhere. I could call Roland or Tim. But where was the phone? I couldn't climb in the backseat, not in this shape. Could foxes fetch? Maybe I could summon a spirit for help. Not Volusian, not like this. But maybe Finn? What were the words? How did I call him? It was suddenly too hard to think. â€Å"Help me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I whispered to Kiyo. â€Å"Why won't you help me?† White spots now danced with the black ones. I closed my eyes, and it felt better. â€Å"I'm going to lie down,† I told him, stretching back. â€Å"Just for a minute, okay?† I rested my head on the passenger seat, lying perpendicular to the seats. I heard a soft, almost doglike whine. He must have stood on his hind legs, because I next felt paws and a head resting near my knee. â€Å"Why won't you help me?† I asked again, feeling tears spill out of my eyes. â€Å"I need you.† I heard the whine again, mournful and contrite. My hand reached out, grasping for soft fur. I clutched the strands as though they alone could keep me alive. Then, my fingers lost their grip and slipped away as my hand dropped.