Global Crisis, Recession & Uneven Recovery

Global Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery by Y. V. Reddy Book Review by Nidhi Choudhari There is enough on this earth to meet the needs of all, but not the greed of all. Mahatma Gandhi Why I picked up Y. V. Reddy’s Book There have been a large number of books published on current global financial crisis therefore; selection of this particular book on the subject requires some reasoning. First, there are not many books written by central bankers on the topic.Central banks have been central in the management of the crisis and therefore, Dr Reddy’s book provides a central banker’s assessment of the crisis and its impact. Second, on personal level, I have worked in RBI between September 2006 and December 2011 and was witness to the measures taken by Reserve Bank before and during the crisis under the able leadership of Dr Y. V. Reddy, the Governor, Reserve Bank of India (2003-2008). Having worked under his visionary leadership, I opted to take his book, â€Å"Glo bal Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery† for review.Third, Dr Reddy led the course of financial pragmatism in times of relentless deregulation and ensured that Indian financial system does not fall into the blind race to bottom in regulation. Finally, having read Dr Reddy’s previous book on the topic viz. â€Å"India and the Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and Finance†, I was very keen on reading its sequel viz. â€Å"Global Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery†. For all these reasons, I selected this book and am thankful to Madam Nidhi Sharma for approving this book for review.The reviewed book is a collection of 27 speeches (given in the form of 27 chapters in 5 parts), Dr Reddy delivered at different points of time during and after the crisis. These chapters give a deeper insight into the actions taken by the RBI to mitigate the impact of the crisis in India and how India remained largely unaffected due to adequate regulatory mechanisms. Dr R eddy has also been a member of the Commission of Experts of The President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of The International Monetary and Financial System popularly known as Stiglitz Commission after its chairman Joseph Stiglitz.He has given several references about the recommendations of this UN Commission in the book. The 19th Chapter in the book is about the UN Commission recommendations about global crisis. Hence, the reader of the book gets an understanding of the global thinking on the crisis and its after effects. What’s there in the Book Economists have compared the current global financial crisis to that of the Great Recession of 1930s. The current crisis has in fact, affected all countries across the world in different degrees and that way, it was truly a global recession.Today, the crisis is over however the recovery has started at different paces in different places. Dr Reddy is of the view that the recovery from the global crisis is going to be prolonged and uneven. The book â€Å"Global Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery† provides an experienced policymaker’s understanding of the genesis, progression and impact of the financial crisis, and of the lessons it offered. It is written at a time when Indian economy is facing several challenges in terms of slowdown in growth rate, inflation, ballooning fiscal and current account deficit etc.The book contains Dr Reddy’s perspective and analysis of the crisis, recession and recovery in a simple, lucid and non-technical manner which appeals the reader. There are five sections in the book containing 27 chapters in all. The five sections relate to the global financial crisis and its aftermath, financial sector: retrospect and prospects, public policy: challenges and responses, global financial architecture: the debates and India: performance and prospects respectively. The first section of the book gives a lucid account of the financial crisis and its consequences in si x chapters.In the first chapter, Dr Reddy talks about the role played by central banks before, during and after the crisis. He writes that the accountability in regard to management of the crisis of the crisis will have to be shared between the central bank, the Ministry of Finance and, to some extent, the government as a whole. The author writes about the consequences of the crisis viz. rebalancing of power between the regulator and the regulated, shift in balance of in favour of Asia, rise of G-20 on the global platform and a cautious approach towards self-correcting efficiency of markets etc.Explanations with regard to the causes of the global financial crisis and an overview of the prolonged extensive excesses that acted synchronically to cause the global crisis are discussed in detail. The second section of the book focuses on the future of the financial sector with some cautious remarks about uncertain recovery and prospects for the futures. The author highlights the role of f inancial regulation in developing countries. Dr Reddy writes that â€Å"the causes and crossborder transmission of the crisis may differ significantly between the advanced as well as between the developing economies. There is a detailed chapter on countercyclical policies adopted by the RBI in the financial sector and also on the proposals for financial sector regulatory reforms from the perspective of developing countries. He discusses the future of globalisation of finance and the global regulation of the financial sector. The last chapter of this section provides a broad framework for global financial regulation. The third section deals with the public policy challenges and responses that emerged during the current global crisis.He has discussed the feasibility of Tobin Tax and Financial Sector Taxation in light of current crisis. Dr Reddy has also thrown light on the developmental dimension of the financial sector, fiscal implications of the global crisis and macroeconomic fram eworks that are emerging for ensuring overall global financial stability. The forth section raises a very important concern of modern times i. e. reform of global financial architecture comprising of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO. In this section, Dr Reddy has discussed the recommendations of the UN Commission on the global crisis.He has also analysed the G-20 framework and its future prospects. Finally the book focuses on India's performance and prospects; India's experience in regulating the financial sector; and the need for reform in India's financial sector. The author also compares Indian situation with that of Asia and the global economy in terms of resilience and recovery after the crisis. The last chapter in concluding section draws attention to the exit strategies being considered at the global as well as national level by the authorities to revert back to normality.Take Away from the Book As the book is entitled â€Å"Global Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recoveryâ⠂¬ , the biggest take away after reading of the book would be a clear and better understanding of these three terms viz. (1) Global Crisis, (2) Recession and (3) Uneven Recovery. I personally would like to share my understanding of these three aspects in greater detail with the help of excerpts from the book in the following points: Global Crisis: Reasons, Consequences and Lessons Learnt Several reasons have been cited for the recent crisis viz. ailure of state, market, governance, intellect and morality. Dr Reddy writes, â€Å"The current global crisis originated in multiple causes that reinforced each other. Extensive excesses on several fronts, which occurred in a synchronised fashion, precipitated the crisis. These excesses were observed in liquidity, macroeconomic imbalances, focus on inflation, inequalities, financialisation, leverage, risk-taking, deregulation, financial innovation, networking, greed, globalisation and concentration. 1 While discussing the moral aspect of g lobal crisis, Dr Reddy writes, â€Å"†¦ the large sections of society favoured individualism, narrowly emphasising value for money as consumers and returns on money as investors over other aspects of social behaviour, such as being good citizen or extending corporate loyalty to the institution. †2 Dr Reddy discusses the race to bottom in regulation of financial sector as one of the most crucial reason for the global financial crisis.He writes, â€Å"†¦the excesses in financial sector occurred under a benign public policy that believed the costs of regulation to be greater than its benefits†¦ Even the existing regulation was stymied by excessive innovations in finance that aimed to avoid the prescribed regulatory capital, and injected complexity to undermine the rules of transparency prescribed by regulators. †3 As far as consequences of the crisis are concerned, Dr Reddy is of the view that the current crisis will result in rebalancing of ideological, in stitutional and operational functioning of states and 1 2Page 46, Chapter 3 Page 43, Chapter 2 3 Page 59, Chapter 4 markets. He writes, â€Å"â€Å"In recent years, there has been an almost irrefutable presumption in favour of markets and this may be replaced with a refutable presumption in favour of the markets. †4 As a result of the crisis, the irrefutable support for unfettered markets stands discredited and so also the belief that the growth of the financial sector leads to economic development. Also, the crisis has added to the objectives of central banks an additional responsibility i. e. inancial stability. The RBI has also taken it to its objectives alongwith growth and price stability. The author calls for redefining the core banking and recommends treatment of commercial banking as a public utility. He writes, â€Å"†¦universal banking will be de-emphasised and narrow banking, in the sense of banks concentrating on core commercial banking or deposits and lend ing will be emphasised†¦ In brief, commercial banking is likely to be closer to a public utility than before, and hence subject to regulations akin to public utilities. 5 He further stresses, â€Å"It should be recognised that there will be no banks if there are no depositors. †6 As regards lessons from the crisis, Dr Reddy suggests that â€Å"†¦improving transparency and regulatory oversight of hedge funds, credit rating agencies and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives should become a priority in the light of the experience from the crisis. †7 Interestingly, the author suggests in the light of observations of the Warwick Commission Report that the scope for and desirability of an ‘unlevelled’ playing field as an instrument of financial sector regulation ought to be explored. As a thinker and an oracle who sees the future of financial sector with great precision, he writes, â€Å"†¦the crisis is global; actions are national; benefits could b e selective or universal; but burdens in the future may have to be largely borne by the masses who bear no responsibility for the crisis, and those who did not benefit materially from the events that led the crisis. †9 Recession In Chapter 6, the author discusses the Great Recession of 2009 in detail and thereafter as per the demand of the subject.He clarifies the concepts of depression, recession and slowdown. A slowdown is a clear fall in the growth of an economy. It is usually a short-term phenomenon lasting say a quarter or a year. The author defines slowdown as a drop in the growth rate by one percentage point. To him, recession refers to a sustained decline in the overall economic activity for a period of more than one year. Depression lasts longer than recession and refers to a longer and larger decline in business activity, mainly reflected in huge drop in output and unemployment. 4 5Page 28, Chapter 1 Page 78, Chapter 5 6 Page 217, Chapter 14 7 Page 172, Chapter 12 8 Page 157, Chapter 10 9 Page 63, Chapter 4 Uneven Recovery If the Great Recession was uneven, so is the recovery. 10 Dr Reddy discusses several responses to the crisis at different points in several chapters. He writes in Chapter 4, â€Å"Initially, the response of monetary authorities, followed by fiscal measures, was confined to the US, UK, Switzerland, other European countries, and Japan, but it was soon realised that it was necessary to involve other countries as well in globally coordinated actions. The author has discussed five possible patterns that could be followed by the countries in their course of recovery. The highly resilient economies may observe rapid recovery from the crisis while less resilient economies would require a longer time to adjust to the new realities and ensure real recovery. Some economies may suffer from double dip recession before complete recovery while some other countries may prefer taking structural measures over a prolonged period thereby opting for a slow but positive recovery after recession.Some countries may register a low level of economic activity for a prolonged period and therefore suffer from recession for a much longer period than the rest of the world. Critique of the Book I consider myself too small to write a critique of the book written by Y. V. Reddy; however, as a reader of global crisis literature I have observed a few points which I will share with the readers of this book review.This book being written by a Central Banker is largely concerned with central bank’s role in dealing with such crisis and redefining of the role of central banks in the wake of need for financial stability. In this pursuit, the role of government in dealing with such crisis has been ignored to some extent. Similarly, the book was published in the year 2011 when a number of countries in Europe were facing sovereign debt crisis however, only a passing reference is made to such an important global event which has pushed many countries in double dip recession.Apart from this, the book is worth reading by all economics lovers and also all policy makers as it gives a deeper insight into the global crisis, recession and recovery. To sum up, I would prefer to quote Sir Howard Davies, Director London School of Economics who applauds the book in the following words, â€Å"Dr Reddy’s (book) fills an important gap†¦ He has lived at the heart of financial system and understands its strengths and weaknesses†¦ His analysis of the problems of the global financial architecture is particularly acute. † 10 Page 93, Chapter 6

Jasmine homework

Individual Acting out with different comedic masks Individual acting out with different comedic masks: In this activity we were required to choose a mask from comedic theatre that ‘spoke to us', and with this mask we must act out the character we believe the mask portrays and communicate it through the questions the teacher asks us. I personally found it hard to let the mask choose me, but I eventually chose one mask that struck me.The ask looked very dopey and stupid in a sense because of the visual characteristics on his face like a large confronting nose, circle shaped face and small eyes. I took the role as a lonely young boy who is over excited by the overload in human interaction. With the questions that were asked like â€Å"how are you? â€Å"Are you excited? † I involved the audience and expressed my enthusiasm by using a deep voice, wonky laugh and a heavy walk. I definitely enjoyed this opportunity especially when I realized the way this I took on the charact er was very similar to the intentions of the real character.I pop to get the chance to complete this activity again with a new mask and see how my perspective of it compares to the main perspective. ‘ Tuesday 3rd June: Continued Individual Acting with comedic masks Wednesday 1 lath June: ABSENT – LEFT SCHOOL EARLY Wednesday 18th June: Warm Up: Being a restoration character Activity: Prime Minister's Dinner and feedback Being a Restoration Character: In this warm up we were required to play a character from the restoration period.We had to be emotionally invested in the character in order to influence the audience by our emotions. We were asked to play a character eke ‘a person late for work and gradually we were asked to increase the energy of our character if it means running faster or using our actions more vigorously. I particularly enjoyed this warm up because it helped me to understand the energy the restoration actors had to put in their performance and what they considered to be theatre suitable for the audience at the time.I hope to warm up to this activity again so I can further improve my energy towards playing characters and emotions in Restoration theatre. Prime Minister's Dinner and feedback In this activity the whole class was required to play an emotion and be involved in a ousted by the Prime Minister where they would showcase their emotion and make it evident to the audience. Each student was given an emotion (e. G. – gossipy, horny, rude etc. ) and had to perform their role as they arrived at the dinner.I was fortunate enough to be the Prime Minister's wife and my character was to spread rumors about the other guests. I definitely struggled with this task because it was very difficult to perform and be heard when the whole class was trying to achieve the same thing. After our performance Ms Weed agreed that we needed a system to aka sure we weren't talking over one another. To improve this problem we made a circle in the middle of the drama space so the only people who should be talking are the ones in the circle while the other students are merely miming.Ms also said that we were lacking energy with our characters and it was then it occurred to me how much more energy I would have to put into the performance even though I thought the energy I had put in initially was enough. I definitely enjoyed this activity and hope to do this again and further improve my skills with working as a class and my energy bevel when characterizing emotion in a restoration character.Monday 23rd June: ABSENT – SICK Term 3- Monday 14th July – Theory work Activities: 4 vowels exercise – Clouds, Jungle, butter/tar and balloons Meditation 4 humors The Four Humors in Renaissance and Elizabethan time By this time the humors had become standardized as follows Body Humor Body substance produced by Element Qualities Complexion and Body type Personality Sanguine blood liver air hot and moist red-cheeked, corpulent amorous, happy, generous, optimistic, irresponsible Choleric yellow bile spleen fire hot and dry deed-haired, thin violent, vengeful, short-tempered, ambitious Phlegmatic phlegm lungs water cold and moist corpulent Sluggish, pallid, cowardly Melancholic black bile gall bladder earth cold and dry sallow, thin Introspective, sentimental, gluttonous Note: â€Å"lazy† is sometimes attributed to Phlegmatic [ref The Four Humors] and sometimes to Melancholies [ref The Four Humors] 4 vowels exercise – Clouds, Jungle, butter/tar and balloons In this exercise we were required to rotate around the classroom in a clockwise direction and act out different environments with each quarter we fall under.The four quarters were clouds, Jungle, butter/tar and balloon and we had to have enough energy to mime the actions that would be conducted in this environment. As we rotated around the environments I particularly enjoyed performing in the Jungle environment and when the teache r asked for students to move into the quarter they liked performing the most I was the only one in the class to move into the Jungle environment and that particularly surprised me personally. I hope to complete the activity again to further improve my skills on miming an environment and using my body to display the emotions presented. Body Meditation In this activity the class conducted a body meditation to help us with connecting shapes with colors.I the meditation the class was to lie down on the drama space floor and as the lights were turned off we would listen to M's voice as she described colors and shapes while we had to focus on the shape/color to find what matched to it. In my experience with this activity I noticed that the circle shapes mostly lead to deep purples and blues whereas the sharp edged shapes were mostly reds and oranges. I really enjoyed this activity because I found it very relaxing and a good way o wind down after an active activity previously. I also enjoy ed it because it helped me gain more understanding of Shakespearean work with color and emotions and the way his characters are able to visually perform that. I hope to complete this relaxing activity again to further development my understanding and connection of emotions and how I present them.Wednesday 16th July – Activity: Watched Year 12 HOC practice Trials (Gave feedback for performance) – Late to class Mediation and Exploration with sounds: In this activity we explored Shakespearean interpretation of how sounds can effect and impact emotion as well as shapes and lour. We started by lying on the drama space floor and turning the lights off- after that Ms Weed began to teach us how to explore different sounds and vowels such as ‘O'. Personally when I expressed this sound I saw a deep purple/blue and an Oval like shape. This was defiantly contrasted when we had to sound out ‘D', because this gave a hard sound I saw a dark green color and a square shape. Doing this exercise made me realizes not only how deep and contextually detailed Shakespearean teachings and works are but it also help me understand it better as I personally struggle grasping Shakespearean concept.I hope to complete this relaxing exercise again to further understand and develop my understanding of Shakespeare and his works. Tuesday 22nd July – Role Scoring Questions- Viola (Twelfth Night) 1 . How does the title of the play relate to your character? Twelfth Night† is usually considered to be a reference to Epiphany, or the twelfth night of the Christmas celebration Unary 6). In Shakespearean day, this holiday was celebrated as a festival in which everything was turned upside down. This is much like the upside-down, chaotic world of Lariat in the play where Viola causes a love arrange to occur. 2. What is your character's main sense of urgency? What strong impulse motivates your character to act? My character, Viola has a strong sense of urgency.After the recent loss of her brother Viola has a missing male piece in her life and as she desperately searches for a replacement to this manly figure she will go to any extreme to achieve that. 3. If your character has a secret, what is it? My character holds a large secret that creates the main basis of the plot and storyline in the play. Her secret is that in the play she pretends to be a male to be closer to her rue love' Duke Rosin who has a much higher status than her and is in love with Olivia 4. What rhythm might you associate with your character? I associate my character to have a smooth, calm and steady rhythm because I see her as someone who is calm under pressure and aware of her intentions and steady of her priorities. 5. What sound might you associate with your character?I find my character to associate with a deep, calm sound because of the personality and her ability to play 2 different characters and attempt to keep her sense of identity at the same time. 6. What is your character's master gesture? My characters master gestures towards the characters in the play is the fact that she caused such complications and a sense of confusion between the characters that it becomes evident that the biggest gesture Viola did was to give up her lifestyle and everything she knew to hide her identity and change herself for one man. 7. What is your character's leading centre? (The head? The heart? The stomach? Something else? My characters leading centre would definitely be the heart, because not only to herself but also to the audience it's the only thing that remains consistent tit the character because almost every aspect of her is hidden except her intentions and her heart. 8. What colors might you associate with your character? Why? I associate the character Viola with a deep purple/blue color. This is not only because that certain color resembles both genders but also because that color is relaxing and calm and easy to associate with. 9. What object might you associate with your character? Why? I associate a map with my character because I believe that the intentions the character is very clear and the route and road to achieve those intentions are also very clear.And although the route to complete this goal is steep Viola is still willing to follow herself/the map to reach her destination of true love. 10. What animal might you associate with your character? Why? I associate my character with a spider, because although they are small and may seem insignificant there intentions are clear and they are a prime predator in the insect family. 1 1 . What are your character's two primary senses? My characters two primary senses would be their voice and their ability to view problems and complications. 12. Does your character â€Å"mask†, or cover up, feelings and behaviors? If so, what does your character mask? My character covers up her feelings and her physical features.She does this because her feelings that she has about Duke Rosin seem impossible to admit and confront about and to achieve this, she hides her female features to look like a man. 13. Does your character have a sense of humors? Is this sense of Humor used in a positive or negative way? My characters sense of humor is reflected primarily on dramatic irony- the scenes and problems that occur to my character hidden as a man are humorous because the actions are conducted as a female and because the audience only knows about it they become more emotionally invested in the character and are more compassionate towards the situation making it more funny. 14. In real life, would you be your character's friend? Why or why not?Yes, I would definitely be my characters friend in real life because I am inspired by her courage and bilabial u to be strong and stick up for her dreams, beliefs and aspirations even after she suffered a server tremor of the loss of her brother. She shows commitment and proves that she will go to any extent to conquer her dreams and I would love to round myself with that positive and inspiring influence. 15. What is your character's most positive trait? My characters most positive trait is her persistence and courage to take risks to reach her goals. Hiding her identity to be with the man she loves could've lead to disastrous consequences, she not only would have suffered shame if her body was compromised but also the duke may not see it from Violas perspective and send her to Jail. 16. What is your character's status in the world? Does your character have money or power?My character has a low status in the world, this is the reason she goes to such extreme measures to be with Duke Rosin – because they both come from different walks of life and it is highly unlikely that the Duke will see Viola for who she truly is without being blinded by the hierarchy put out in society. 17. What are your character's major wants and desires? My characters major wants and desires are to be with her true love Duke Rosin . The complications arise because the Duke is in love with Olivia who is a high status, rich lady. Viola will do anything to be with the Duke even if it is to become his servant and send messages to the one he loves without ever realizing her feelings for him. 8. What is your character's major objective for this scene in the play in which he or she appears?In the scene, the characters major objective is to analyses the problems she has caused and try to think of a solution where she is left with the Duke. It is also in this scene when she realizes how out of hand the problem has become and that its too hard a knot for me to untie'. 19. How does your character go about achieving these major objectives? My character attempts to achieve these major goals by disguising herself as a boy and gets a Job to work for Duke Rosin. She feels the need to hide who she is to achieve her goals. 20. What is your character's life objective? My characters life objective is to gain the love and affecti on of Duke Rosin.After losing her brother Viola missed a manly influence in her life and longed to fill that hole with Duke Rosin to whom she had always been in love with and had chosen to pursue her dream to be with him. 21 . How does your character go about achieving his or her life objective? My character achieves her objective by pretending she is a male so she can work for the Duke and be closer to him and one step closer to his love. 2. Has your character changed by the end of the play. If so, in what ways? No, my character hasn't changed – in the end her intentions and goals were achieved when the Duke saw her for whom she truly was and accepted her as that, as well as the return of her brother whom she thought was lost.FEATURES OF ELIZABETHAN THEATRE: Dramatically exciting Exploring humanity on a social / personal level (Renaissance) Poetic language Words were most important Rhythmic/ poetic dialogue Symbolic imagery Elevated tone of speaking/ voice Use of Aside (whis pering to the audience) and Soliloquy (solo Speech, as though aligning/ thinking to yourself) Wednesday 23rd July: ABSENT Assessment review and recount: (27th August 2014) In term 3 our assigned assessment task was to create and present a performance essay based on the question ‘How is a historical style relevant to drama today I believe although this was a suitable question I personally struggled immensely with the performance and given the circumstances our group suffered I believe our performance doesn't reflect our individual abilities. When we received the question our main idea was to write about how Shakespeare ND Restoration theatre were both connected with each other and how they have influence drama and theatre in our modern society.But our main challenge was converting our ideas to a suitable performance that will not only appropriately answer the question but also to keep the audience entertained. It was also particularly challenging for our group because we had He ather absent for all of the lessons we had to work on the assessment – Heather played a prominent role in the script and I particularly struggled to change the lines and blocking with one less group member. After the script was complete I was definitely challenged by coming up with the blocking of the performance as I personally felt that our grouped lacked teamwork in presenting ideas and equally helping with the work load as well as committing to rehearsals.It was challenging also to reach the standards that I know the group can achieve without the commitment and determination to learn lines and blocking before the deadline from every member. After our group seemed prepared for the performance we were notified that Heather's lines and blocking must be included in the performance even if she was absent on the presentation day. This meant that we had to redelivers the script again as well as change the blocking to fit in another member. I definitely found this to be very conf using on our group as we were all confused about the lines and queues we were learning as it was constantly being changed. But luckily we received an extension on our assessment that definitely improved the group's confidence in performing the piece without using the script.I hope that in our upcoming performance we will be able to reflect to the audience the hard work that was put into the performance essay despite the complications hat occurred. In my opinion writing and performing the essay has been the most challenging drama assessment yet and I hope the next assessment will bring better luck and circumstances. In the future I hope to be more organized with the amount of work each person gets so that every member of the group will equally work on the assessment and one member wont be overloaded. I also now understand how much of a difference lack of energy can make to a performance and I hope that I have developed on these skills in not only increase the energy that I have but a lso my teammates which will evidently engage the audience better.

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Relations - Essay Example As much as the United States opted to become a member country of the United Nations and party to the ratification of internal laws and agreements, it was mandatory for it to obtain permission from the UN to invade Iraq in 2003. This is mainly due to the voluntary decision of US leaders to become a member of the UN and thus, subject to all agreements enacted at the UN level. It is mandatory for all member-countries to abide by the rules and regulations of the UN most especially when these were made with the consent of its members, and US is obviously one of them. There were several instances that the US have practiced their obligation before the members of the UN Security Council and one of these instances were when US Secretary Colin Powell presented the George Bush’s view on February 5 before the council [1]. This meant that the US respected their role and the role of the UN with regards to the international conflict. Powell argued that Resolution 1441 of the Security Council aimed at disarming Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. Powell insisted that Iraq was already found guilty of material breach whatever hat may mean. But it would soon be established but no sooner than in 2002 that the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no trace of evidence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq [2]. ... In addition, Article 51 arose from the need for imminent self-defense when Council deliberation can no longer be an applicable due to the urgency of an action. The US appeared exaggerating at that time to argue that Article 51 was applicable for Iraq to be invaded by force by the US. 2. What are the implications of the Iraq war for nation-state sovereignty? There are various negative implications [6] of the Iraq war for nation-state sovereignty but with contrasting meanings for nations depending on the level of military might. The Iraq war meant that the United States remain a superpower to reckon with. Its administration decides when, where, who, and why attack an individual, or a nation-state. This was a dangerous period of democracy and international relations as US through its president George Bush defied the mandate of the international body when it comes to actions beyond the US borders and territory. It flouted its force and might among the organization of nations, and togethe r with the United Kingdom which supported the US, they showed that their intents backed by might and a blinded military are above any kind of international law and understanding. It acted like the Nazi Germany for occupying other nations. The international laws that they tried to use as an excuse to invade Iraq were lame and a breach of UN membership. They have brazenly shown that for economic reasons that will benefit their oil magnates – British’ Shell and 14 other contractors [7]. For the part of Iraq and other nations that future US leaders will have their hot eyes on like Iran and North Korea, and the rest of other nation states in the world who cannot stand the force of a superpower, the implication

Synoptic Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synoptic Problem - Essay Example in terms of the birth of Jesus, his life, ministry, death and resurrection (Linnemann 43). However, some people claim that since the three gospels are similar, the authors must have used each other’s gospels, or possible another common source. According to Hayes (20), the similarities in the three gospels are many and close including the material presented, as well as a wording of texts. For this reason, some form of literary dependence has been assumed where some believe that one author copied texts that were previously written by someone else. According to Griesbach hypothesis, the canonical order in which the gospels were written was Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Thus, the gospel of Matthew was written first, and then Luke; hence, Luke used the gospel of Matthew as his source to write his gospel. This hypothesis attempted to explain the unique features of the gospel of Luke and why the gospel was written. Also, this hypothesis states that Mark used both Matthew, as well as Luke as sources for his own gospel. Luke was a well educated man whose primary language was Greek, but also studied Latin and could speak quite well. For this reason, Luke was able to obtain a copy of Mark’s gospel in Latin, which explains the similarity between Mark’s gospels and Luke’s gospel. However, there are some minor agreements of about 6% between Matthew and Luke that are not found in Mark, which shows that they did not come into Luke’s Gospel through Mark (Linnemann 45). The Griesbach hypothesis is a solution to the synoptic problem in which the gospel of Matthew was written first, and Luke used it to write his gospel. Luke is said to have dismantled collections of periscopes from Matthew and placed some of them in other contexts. This shows that, since Matthew was the first gospel, Luke borrowed some material from him, which Mark did not use (Hayes 22). How Luke used Matthew as a source for

Identification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Identification - Essay Example This has been reinforced by the fact that some nations that are non-democratic have managed to achieve impressive economic production. Fascism has been successful in a number of countries including Germany as well as Italy and Japan. It is even believed that what is needed to fix the problems facing the world today is; the availability of more information and the systematical analysis of that information. It is even argued that a dictator would help solve the various problems facing the world today by simply applying analysis. This would however require that democratic interferences and tradeoffs not to be applied (Ingram 3). Those who champion such arguments have gone to ask why smart people with the freedom to do what is right under democratic governments have not been able to solve the problems facing us. According to them, what is needed more are resources to do policy analysis. This stand is definitely miss -placed if not totally misguided as the people fronting it because there are so many policy analyses that have been done and are available by both governments and international agencies that are responsible for various sectors. The issue is not little information or lack of policy analysis as thought or fronted in Die Welle, but the problem is the opposite; there is too much information that it is overwhelming to make a policy choice unilaterally. With no clear and universally accepted criterion in place to make those whose interests are not catered for to accept policy that has been made by analysis, it is hard to implement these policies and solve the problems. If this is the problem that dictatorship is supposed to solve then Die Welle is a big joke. Have they considered the civil unrest, the violent opposition and confrontations? Also, no government has the resources to allot to extensive policy analysis (Ingram 8). And, if even if a dictator does this, he or she would in turn affect other operations of government there by creating a whole new probl em while trying to solve one. Furthermore, there has never been a single definition of all problems so that a policy analysis can handle all of them. In addition, there are limitations when it comes to policy making in an analytical manner because it is always fallible, costly, lacking the ability to conclusively resolve conflicts in terms of value and interests. It is therefore impossible to substitute politics with analysis as depicted in Die welle. It is however possible to improve policy making by increasing information and analysis but politics cannot be removed (Ingram 32). This authoritarian myth of Die welle is a misguided one that should not be supported because even states that are not democratic still rely on consent from members of their societies to a certain level. Even if it through coercion as in the case of Hitler in Germany. Federal Systems Federalism is a departure if not a rejection of majoritarian democracy as defined by its principal features or as depicted in the Westminster democracy model (Lijpart 3). Non-mojoritarian democracy is also referred to consensus democracy and can be further divided into federalism and consociationalism. While the two forms of non-majoritatrian democracy do not coincide, they always overlap to an extent that is significant. Also, it is important to note that they cover such areas such as balance when it comes to legislative relations, sharing of executive power, representation that is proportional,

Special Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Special Education - Essay Example Again, the paper looks at the modern technologies that are used in the elementary adult education. And lastly, controversial issues surrounding adult education are discussed. ADULT EDUCATION The main purpose of any form of education is to enlighten the learners and to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to overcome many life challenges. And since it is not possible to have knowledge of everything, education therefore is a lifelong process; we spend all our life learning, whether formally or informally (Lindeman, 1926). Education is one, therefore, in terms of its goals and aims. However, education can be classified in terms of the category of learners (age of the learners) who undertake it, and in this classification we have, early childhood education, elementary education, middle School education, High school education, and adult education. This paper deals with adult education, focusing specifically on elementary adult education. It investigates the historical develo pment of adult elementary education and the current legislation that shapes it, the paper goes on to discuss many other pertinent issues on adult education in the contemporary world. ... Adult elementary education has a long history. In formal setting, adult elementary education in Western world was pioneered by Reverend B Morgans, Vicar of Trelach near Monmouth in 1754 (Hudson, J. W., 1851). After realizing that many adults in his congregation could hardly read the scriptures, Rev. Morgans decided to do something for them. He therefore started special classes for the illiterate adults in his congregation. In these classes, the adults were taught elementary reading and writing skills. And to his surprise, as time went on, many more illiterate adults volunteered to join his classes. All the participants benefited greatly from the classes and from then henceforth, the programme of adult education continued in his parish. In 1811, Reverend T. Charles, B.A, established a school in Great Britain at Bala, in Merionethshire. This school was dedicated exclusively for the education of the adults. And just like Morgans school in Wales, some time back, the main intention of sta rting this school was to help the old illiterate members of the congregation to read the bible. Rev. Charles’s enterprise turned out to be a big success for many adults enrolled in his schools from all over Wales. The school became famous in Wales, and many more such Schools were opened in Wales to help many illiterate adults who had desire to read. And by 1813, there were adult schools established as far as in Bristol. These schools were started by the lay people and not the clergy men/women. From 1813- 1818, adult elementary schools spread all over European countries, and by around 1819, adult elementary schools had been established in the USA. Later, during the colonization period, the Europeans established elementary adult

The Ford 2000 Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Ford 2000 Plan - Essay Example For the IT department, it meant sweeping changes. Standardizing software throughout the global business would most certainly improve communication abilities. Everyone would be using the same tools and thus, speaking the same language, at least in computer terms. I could see that updating and maintenance of such a system from a centralized IT command would surely cut costs in the long run. Emphasis would be shifted from developing specialized software to using software largely developed by other companies that were actually in the software business. Ford would concentrate on developing vehicles, not software. I thought it was a smart plan. Yet, from news reports, now 6 years later, I knew The Plan had failed. Ford continued to lose money. Massive layoffs and plant closings were in store (Durbin 1). I did not know what went wrong. Then I located 2002 interview with James Buczkowski, Director of IT for Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Ford (Ricciuti). Buczkowski makes it clear, as any department head would, that he would like more money directed toward his operations. That being said, he accepts the fact that he is being asked to "do more with less" and operate with a "back to basics" mentality (Ricciuti Para. 1). That means cutting back on things like web site design and emphasizing modalities that help design and build better vehicles in a more cost-efficient manner. He plans to invest in more CAD and CAM. He is to concentrate on projects that will directly increase the company's bottom line, either through more efficient manufacturing or through decreased design/build costs. The director points out another area of concern: lack of IT skills within the company. With the advent of The Ford 2000 Plan, many IT functions were outsourced. This caused a decline in the IT skill-levels available from employees. "We're trying to rebuild some of those skills where we were maybe a little too leveraged on outside (sources). We need much more skill and competency internally" (Quest. 6). As any politically correct corporate officer would, Buczkowski chooses to focus on the future, rather than publicly analyze shortcomings of the past. It is clear, however, that money was spent on technologies that did not add to the profitability of the company, like web site design, and that by outsourcing software design, in-house capabilities were lost. He sees integration of various software applications to be a continuing challenge. "As more applications integrate, you have an environment that is more challenging to manage" (Quest. 16). Buczkowski wants to see a modular approach so that applications may be plugged into the system and later unplugged, replaced as needed with newer, better application modules. In summary, I think The Ford 2000 Plan went wrong in the following ways. First, standardization and integration of "off-the-shelf" software was a bust. It did not provide the flexibility needed to design unique, quality products. It was an over-simplification of a complex need. Second, in its attempt to simplify, it lost the skills needed to change course when the simplification did not work. As this article relates to Systems Thinking and the examination of complexity, I see IT as a provider of tools. The best tools in the world are not good enough if they are so complex that no one knows how to use them or communicate the fruits of their labor to the rest of the company. If the

Unexpected College Life Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unexpected College Life - Personal Statement Example I heard that some companies are offering a scholarship for excellent students to study abroad in either in the USA, UK even Japan and Korea. One day, me and my family went to my grandmother’s house and spent the weekend. It is one and a half hour far away in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. There I met my uncles Obaid and Khalid who graduated from the USA as engineers. I have been impressed listening to their stories and college life here in US and it felt like my college life journey already began during that day. Afterwards, I went out to the big garden that is surrounded by the palm trees and took I took a deep breath while I was pondering whether I wanted to study abroad or apply in one of many universities in my country. It was one of the most difficult choice I have to make and I decided to study abroad. I worked hard in the last semester to raise my grade so that I will have a better chance to be accepted in one of those scholarships that companies offer. As a result, I g ot a grade of 96.5 when I graduated from high school. I was so happy and my whole family was very proud of me. They prepared a big party for my graduation. I was very happy but I was also concerned about the scholarship so the fun only lasted for a shorted time. I have to apply for my scholarship. I applied for two companies which are National Electronic Security System (NESA) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. My first option was NESA because my best friends also applied for scholarship in the same company and ADNOC was my second option.

Gate of Ishtar Essay Example for Free

Gate of Ishtar Essay Throughout history, art has always been the highlight of mankind. Art has been writing history before language has been created. Our art has written history, or even protected us, the Gate of Ishtar did its purpose by doing so. A wonderful, and very artistic wall built through art, this gate was dedicated to the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar The Gate of Ishtar was one of the greatest, and monumental architectural treasure ever constructed during the Neo-Babylonian and Persian period. It was even considered one of the seven wonders in the world. The history behind this gate is very rich and popular. It was built during the time of Nebuchadnezzar II, who ordered the building of this gate. The time of this finished its construction was around 575 BCE. According to where the gate was located, it guarded the northern part of Babylon, running through the Processional Way. During the time, the gate was an absolute phenomenon. It ran approximately 40 feet high and 30 feet width, it also had a double arch gate. The reason behind the double arch gate was for it to be spaced by an interior passage. The masonry during the time of construction of the gate was very advanced, but not long lasting. The gate consisted of mud bricks, since the whole city of Babylon used mud bricks. Covering the mud bricks were blue glazed led, or copper, that gave the bricks an illuminating dark blue color. During that time, they used this process for all the important monuments in Babylon. On the gate there is a description, ordered by Nebuchadnezzar himself, which stated his feelings toward the gate, and the description of what the gate was made of. He also built his palace a few meters away from the gate itself. Throughout the gate, every brick was sought out and hand crafted one by one. Doing so, anyone who experiences the gate first hand can tell the marksmanship of each brick. The brickwork is decorated and inlayed by yellow colors creating lions, which run throughout the entire gate. The lion represented fearlessness and war. Dragons, palm trees and geometric designs were also on the gate. Although they use fearless animals, its also used to show order, and organized manner. The purpose the Gate of Ishtar was supposed to represent the power and determination of Babylon. On top of the gate there are dragon decoration, which was a sacred beast or sign of the gods, Marduk and Nabu. While the  lions and bulls, which are also on the gate, also are sacred in the Babylonian culture and the god Marduk. Going on later in the future, the year 1902 ac, a German archeologist by the name of Robert Koldeway took credit of the unearthing of the Gate in the ruins of Babylon. Actually, unearthing this global phenomenon took a while, from the date 1902 to 1914. Approximately 12 years to unearth almost all the remains of the gate. During the time of the excavation, the gate was so large, that it could not be set in just one museum, but many throughout the world. Sadly, only three museums throughout the world has acquired the dragon souvenir from the gate, while many other museums have the lion. After many years the gate of Ishtar has tried to make a comeback. In 1983 Saddam Hussein tried to reconstruct this magnificent wonder, but due to the war in Iraq, things were on hold. Iraq hopes to reconstruct the gate after things settle down. This gate is also popular throughout the world. For it is mentioned in the bible. It is one of the most documented events of early civilizations. All these factors create what was known as the gate of Ishtar. It will always be known as one of the wonders of the world. As time goes on, people will forget was known as The Gate of Ishtar.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay Example for Free

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay SARS is a highly contagious ailment, whose indications closely resemble those of influenza. Some of the symptoms of SARS are chills, headaches, muscle pains, sore throat and high fever. As the disease continues, there is an onset of pneumonia, which can prove to be fatal. In this context, the World Health Organization had estimated that fifteen percent of the cases of SARS infection proved to be fatal. This disease has defied all attempts at a cure; moreover, there is no vaccine for this disease. The SARS virus underwent a mutation, which enabled to cross the species barrier from animals to people. SARS is a respiratory illness and the symptoms of this illness are fever when the virus infects the human body. Normally the temperature of the human body of an infected person would be in excess of 100. 40F. The infected person develops chills and symptoms like headache, discomfort and body pains. In addition, there could be mild symptoms of respiratory distress in the beginning. Within two to seven days the patient develops a dry and nonproductive cough. The nonproductive cough would result in insufficient supply of oxygen to the blood. Some patients could even require the administering of clinical ventilation. SARS is a contagious disease and it spreads through the droplets that issue forth from a person who is coughing or sneezing into the air, if that person has been infected by the SARS virus. The primary manner of transmission of the virus is through the air or from objects that are contaminated with the virus (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). In 2003, an outbreak occurred of a previously unrecognized illness – termed SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. It was caused by infection with a newly identified coronavirus, SARS-COV. Infection produced an illness with Pneumonia as the main disease; however, some patients developed other complications like the loss of appetite, diarrhea and bleeding in the abdomen or stomach. Many of those who developed this disease were health-care workers and the infection rate among them was very high (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). Extraordinary and exceptional isolation procedures had to be necessarily adopted because the Epidemic threatened to spread all over the world from its origin in Hong Kong. Some of the measures adopted, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of this infection was the concentration of patients in individual hospitals, which were converted into isolation units. Visitors were not allowed into such hospitals. Staff and other patients who had been exposed to persons suffering from this disease were segregated in such special units. Further, routine care for in patients in the hospital was discontinued and screening of likely contacts was conducted. In addition, a number of restrictions were imposed on travel. Due to this strategy, which had been performed in coordination with the World Health Organization, the SARS pandemic was finally controlled (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). The virus genome on careful analysis revealed that this virus was a recombinant of virus relating to bird bronchitis and a virus relating to mouse hepatitis. It takes between two to ten days for the symptoms caused by the SARS virus to become noticeable after the infection takes place. With the increasing age of the patients there is a corresponding increase in mortality rate and proves to be fatal in approximately half of the patients whose age is above sixty years of age (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the month of November 2002, the first incidence of SARS infection was discovered. This was in a place that was close to Foshan in the Guangdong province of southern China. However, this disease caught the attention of the people in the month of February 2003, when it spread globally due to air travel by infected persons. In the month of February 2003, Carlo Urbani, who worked for the World Health Organization in Bangkok, was asked to go to Hanoi in Vietnam, in order to treat an industrialist, from the US, who showed symptoms of an unknown disease. In this manner, Carlo Urbani became the first person to identify this disease as a new disease (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). Several scientists, especially those from Canada, were successful in establishing that this new SARS virus belonged to the family of the coronavirus. This disease spreads to other persons, if the victim is located very close to an infected person who spreads this disease by coughing. Further, this disease spreads to people who enter a place in which infected people have deposited exhaled droplets of phlegm or other fluids in their body. Moreover, infection with this disease occurs if contact is made with door handles and similar objects that have contaminated droplets on their surface. Furthermore, it is possible to get infected with this disease if a person enters an enclosed place like a lift in which contaminated droplets are present. Eight thousand victims of SARS were identified by the end of is outbreak in the year 2003. Out of these SARS victims, seven hundred lost their life. The maximum damage due to this virus took place in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Toronto, Canada there were one hundred and forty cases of such infection and twenty five of such infected persons died. In Singapore, there were around three hundred instances of this infection and out of these thirty persons lost their life (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the year 2003 scientists were successful in discovering the gene that made the human body prone to infection by the SARS virus. While studying the human leukocyte antigen or HLA proteins, they realized that the variation in a gene that produces the HLA-B*4601 protein was common in the South China population. This was the area of origin of the SARS virus and people with this gene variation displayed a reaction to the SARS virus that was greater in severity in comparison to those who did not have this particular gene variation. Moreover, SARS infections are very rare in people who do not possess this HLA-B*4601 gene variation. Most of the people who belong to Taiwan and Europe do not have this gene variation (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). At the time of the rapid spread of SARS, the World Health Organization sent out a global alert in which it asked the people to mask their face in public places, to avoid air travel, to thoroughly check airplane passengers for increase in body temperature and to quarantine infected persons. A number of scientists are engaged in developing a vaccine for this disease. However, this disease was controlled by the beginning of the year 2005 and does not exist anywhere in the world, except in the laboratories (SARS. The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia CredoReference). SARS has defied all attempts at a cure and there is no specific vaccine for it. This has restricted the treatment to reducing the severity of the symptoms shown by the patient and treating any side effects of this infection (SARS in full severe acute respiratory syndrome. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia CredoReference ). It is now common knowledge that in the year 2003, in Guangdong province of China, the first occurrence of this severe atypical pneumonia was observed. The epidemic was suspected to be associated with a new virus and subsequently, researchers isolated an avian influenza A (H5N1) virus from a patient in Hong Kong. Researchers focused on members of the Paramyxoviridae family since some particles were detected by the process of electron microscopy of respiratory samples from patients in Hong Kong and Frankfurt (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). Subsequent investigations revealed that the human metapneumovirus or hMPV existed in SARS patients. Researchers in China had detected the Chlamydia organism in patients who had died due to atypical pneumonia during the outbreak of SARS in Guangdong. However, these organisms were not present in patients outside China. In the month of March 2003, researchers in the United States, Hong Kong and Germany found traces of a previously unknown coronavirus in SARS patients. This discovery was in different ways and some of these methods included isolation on cell culture, demonstration by electron microscopy, demonstration of specific genomic sequence by polymerase chain reaction or PSR and by the use of microarray techniques and the indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). In this context, the World Health Organization announced on the 16th of April, 2003, that the coronavirus had not been discovered in humans and animals till that date and that it was a new virus, which was the cause of SARS. Before announcing the discovery of this new virus, thirteen laboratories in ten countries tested this new coronavirus in accordance with the postulates of Koch, which is essential to prove that this new virus causes SARS. This virus causes interstitial pneumonia that shows symptoms that are similar to SARS, and the virus was isolated from the nose and throat of infected monkeys. The corona viruses belong to the family of Coronaviridae. This family consists of very large, positive – sense single – stranded RNA viruses, which replicate themselves in the cytoplasm of the animal host cells (Siddell, Wege and Meulen). The gene factors of corona viruses range in length from 27 to 32 kb, and are the largest of the RNA viruses. The diameter of the virions ranges vary from 100 to 140 nanometers. Most of the viral particles bear the distinct appearance of surface projections and these spikes extend to twenty nanometers from their base. In animals, corona viruses cause extremely virulent respiratory, enteric and neurological diseases. They also cause hepatitis, respiratory diseases that are temporarily prevalent and widespread in animals and gastroenteritis having short incubation periods between two to seven days. The symptoms revealed in SARS are the same (Holmes). Corona viruses are species – specific and when they attack immunocompetent hosts, their infection extracts neutralizing antibodies and cell – mediated immune responses, which in turn kill the infected cells (Holmes). Most of the corona viruses cause terminal diseases in animals such as feline infectious peritonitis virus or FIPV, hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis or HEV of swine and some strains of avian infectious bronchitis virus or IBV and mouse hepatitis virus or MHV. They replicate themselves in the liver, lungs, kidneys, gut, spleen, brain, spinal cord and other tissues (Holmes). Human corona viruses HCoVs were found to cause minor diseases. They are found in group 1 known as HCoV – 229E and group 2 known as HCoV – O43, and they cause minor respiratory problems (Makela). Sometimes they cause severe infections of the lower respiratory tract in children and adults and a condition termed as necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn babies. They can survive on normal environmental surfaces for three hours and they are transmitted among humans by droplets, hand contamination, fomites and small particle aerosols (Ijaz). The Coronaviruses produce Coronavirus Main Protease protein or 3CL – PRO. This protein helps the virus to replicate itself and thereby spread the infection. In order to stop the infection, it is essential to bring about a disabling of the protein from working and this would consequently, contain the virus production and the attendant infection. Therefore, researchers had concentrated on producing a drug that would hinder the functioning of the 3CL PRO protein. With the achievement of this breakthrough, pharmaceutical companies started to prepare drugs that would hinder the functions of the 3CL – PRO protein, which is responsible for the multiplication of the virus and the resultant SARS infection. Ritonavir and Indinavir are the major ingredients of the anti – HIV drugs. The Coronavirus Main Proteinase is the principal drug that is used in the treatment of SARS (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). The HIV virus and other viruses that cause influenza on infecting people have been described as wily because of their characteristic of mutating rapidly. This trait helps them to obtain immunity from antiviral drugs or from the human immune system. However, the SARS virus has not been undergoing mutation. Clinical examinations of the genome sequences of fourteen isolates from patients in Singapore, Toronto, China and Hong Kong did not establish any mutations of the original sequence and it can be concluded that the SARS virus is invariant. However, this notion that SARS virus does not mutate or fails to mutate cannot be taken for granted since the virus did not face significant resistance from human hosts (Knight). Coronaviruses are not so active in the replication of their genetic material and as a result they make one error for every ten thousand nucleotides that they replicate. This is similar to what the HIV virus does. Coronaviruses have a significant characteristic that helps them to reject mutations as and when they occur. These viruses have an enzyme that enables them to replicate their genetic material and spreads among several copies of the viral genome instead of being restricted to a single template of the genome. The result of this is that each genome is copied from multiple templates. This procedure reduces the chances of mutations in the populations of the coronavirus (Knight). The enzyme that brings about the copying of the virus functions in such a manner that instead of using just one template genome it accesses several such templates and this results in a drastic reduction in the possibility that any particular mutation will dominate in a viral population. Moreover, such haphazard template access can entail an inaccurate access by the enzyme (Knight). The consequence of such access by the enzyme would be the deletion of some portion of an essential gene, which could produce results that would be drastic, particularly, if the mutation affects the protein spikes that are bound to the surface of the viruses’ cellular victims. In 1984, there was an outbreak of a new ailment on European farms that were rearing pigs. It was determined to be a mutant of the coronavirus, in which the altered spike protein had effected changes in respect of the type of cells that could be invaded by the virus. Although, this mutant did not prove to be fatal, all the same it has spread globally and made the diagnosis of gut disease more difficult (Knight). It is assumed that genetic deletion was responsible for the SARS virus to find a new target, namely, the human body, from its previous animal hosts. In that case the mutation could be of a totally different type due to the fact that the spike protein has remained unaltered. While comparing with the viral strains present in the animals sold in the Chinese markets, it became evident that the SARS virus does not have twenty nine nucleotides in the gene for a protein whose function could not be determined. This protein was found to be appended to the inside of the protective layer of the virus (Knight). The WHO spearheaded the battle against SARS and was extremely successful in uniting the global community in combating this menace. Dr Carlo Urbani became a martyr in the battle against SARS. This disease demonstrated that there are several dangers that could surface when least expected to do with terrifying results (SARS: how a global epidemic was stopped). Within a short period of seven months, around eight thousand people were infected by this disease in twenty nine countries. 1755 persons were infected in Hong Kong and of these 299 succumbed to the disease. This disease had a serious psychological effect on its victims and it was established that such effects persisted for long periods after the disease had been cured. Several studies conducted a month after patients had been discharged revealed that thirteen to thirty two percent of them were suffering from moderate to severe anxiety and that eighteen to twenty six percent had moderate to severe depression. Another four percent were found to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD (Lee). The spread of SARS had a number of economic, political and sociological ramifications, due to extreme demands made on the countries, in which this disease was prevalent, by the WHO. Some of these demands were related to a curtailment if not the rescission of economic activities like trade, tourism, and investment. Despite SARS occurring mainly in Asia, its effects were experienced in almost every major market across the world. This epidemic brought about a tremendous increase in medical expenditure and travel. In addition consumer confidence and investment reached their nadir (Political Influences on the Response to SARS and Economic Impacts of the Disease).

Class Consciousness in Workers in Nineteenth-century Europe

Class Consciousness in Workers in Nineteenth-century Europe Account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth-century Europe. INTRODUCTION The standard of living could account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. More specifically the food that was needed but they didnt have enough of. Food was withheld from people due to food shortages. In Anthology document 5.13c French Minister of Interior to Louis XVIII, 1817 Laine puts the blame of food shortages to rain which spoilt the harvest. This has led to a lack of food for everyone. Anthology Document 5.13a, a Cornish letter, 1795. Which describes this food crisis saying that (CIT) Many farmers refuse to sell it in small quantities to the poor, which causes a great murmuring. This meant that it was increasingly more difficult to buy food to sustain them. Workers needed their daily bread to work and bread was an essential for a working family. With farmers refusing to sell food to the poor working families, it was becoming increasingly clear that there was a divide between people who could buy the food in large quantities and the poor. Also Document 5.13b, a letter Revd A.B Haden to the home secretary, 1800 who writes about the withholding of corn and that it is not right. (CIT) I have too high a respect for a British parliament even to suspect that it was ever intended that protection should extend to the withholding of corn. If the idea of farmers withholding food from certain types of people wasnt making it difficult enough for the workers in the nineteenth century, the price of food itself was. This made the workers self-aware of the divide between those who could and couldnt afford food. Anthology Document 5.13c tells us the rise in price of corn rose from (CIT) 28 francs 50 centimes to 31 francs 51 centimes. These living standards for workers and poorer families account for the emergence of class consciousness as people had begun to see a difference in living standards for workers and others. Revolution amongst workers can account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in the nineteenth century Europe. There was many who were not happy with their current situation. And these people were in different social groups. Businessmen wanted to reduce the authority of the vestiges of feudalism. Peasants refused to pay tax. The biggest group was the workers whose revolution led to a class consciousness is workers. who saw themselves apart from the rest, and fought to protect their jobs from industrialisation, to improve the working conditions and to put them equally standing with their superiors. Anthology Document 5.17 Decrees of the French provisional government, 25 February 1848 is a result of workers revolution. They are public documents which promise workers (CIT) The right to work and that the Tuileries will serve as a hospital for workers injured in industry. These decrees came from the provisional government which was created after the revolutionary action brought about the abdication of the king. This revolutionary action taken by the workers suggests that it can account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers. They now see themselves apart from the rest of society and demand to have rights to things others already have. To illustrate this further Anthology Document 5.18 Manifesto of the Delegates of the Corporations to the workers of the department of the seine. In this they refer to the workers as (CIT) Producer. They argue that the producer is essential to society. With this, the workers are separating themselves from the rest of society, thus gaining class consciousness. They now saw themselves as separate, and important enough that they seemingly unknowingly formed into a separate class or group. Therefore, the emergence of a class consciousness in workers in nineteenth-century Europe was because of revolutionary action taken. Political print by influential individuals can account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. Print was used to make workers more aware of a class divide. The first example of this encourages an awareness of a class divide, Anthology Document 5.16 The Communist Manifesto, 1848. Karl Marx wrote this. The aim of this manifesto is to (CIT) spell out the league principles based on the Scientific Socialism'. Scientific Socialism is a term to describe social-political-economic theory. The first mention of the development of a new class is where it states (CIT) It has established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. If a worker was to read this, it could prompt the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers. Someone is literally telling them that there is a new class. The manifesto then goes on to say (CIT) the place of manufacture was taken by the giant modern industry, the place of the industrial middle class, by industrial millionaires. This quote from the manifesto introduces what middle class is. They are the ones who own the factories and have all the money. Just reading this, workers start to have a class consciousness. That there is a huge political and economic difference between them. Therefore, political print such as The communist manifesto can account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. Another important piece of print is Anthology Document 5.15 The prospectus for LArtisan, journal de la classe ouuriere, 1830. This was founded by printing workers and was essentially a newspaper to make people aware of what the working class was and how it was important to society. It states (CIT) the most numerous and the most useful class in society, without tradition, is the working class. The newspaper then goes on to promote the need for change for the working class. (CIT) to publish a special journal focussed o n their needs and interestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ where they can expose their grievances and their complaints. With the spread of this type of political print, it can account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. The workforce themselves and the unfair conditions which they worked in can also account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. And the main example of this is women and children workers. The illustration (CIT) Figure 19.6 clearly shows the divide between the middle class man in charge of the factory workforce and the women and children doing the work. It is a true depiction of how factories ran. We know this as we can compare it to (CIT) Figure 19.7 a drawing of power loom weaving which shows a similar scene to the first illustration. It would be obvious to those factory workers that there was a difference in the workers and the foreman. Therefore, it could account for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. If this is not enough to spark the emergence of class consciousness, then the unfair working conditions might. Anthology Document 5.20, A Letter by Richard Oastler to the Leeds Mercury, 18 39 explains this in more detail (CIT) Thousands of little childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦are daily compelled to labour from six oclock in the morning to seven in the evening with only-Britons, blush while you read it! with only thirty minutes allowed for eating and recreation in this letter Oastler is trying to highlight the working conditions and it is not clear if he is intentionally encouraging a class consciousness but this could be the outcome of his letter to the Leeds mercury. This also links back to the earlier point of the use of print accounting for the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe. Print. Especially in the newspaper was very influential to those few workers who could read. Reading that every worker is going through the same thing would spur on revolutions and lead to the emergence of class consciousness amongst workers in nineteenth century Europe.

Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The American Quest Essay -- On The Road

On The Road and the American Quest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jack Kerouac's On The Road is the most uniquely American novel of its time.   While it has never fared well with academics, On The Road has come to symbolize for many an entire generation of disaffected young Americans.   One can focus on numerous issues wh en addressing the novel, but the two primary reasons which make the book uniquely American are its frantic Romantic search for the great American hero (and ecstasy in general), and Kerouac's "Spontaneous Prose" method of writing. On The Road is an autobiographical first-person book written in 1951 and based on Kerouac's experiences of the late 1940's. At the time, America was undergoing drastic changes and the sense of sterility brought on by a mechanized Cold War era society resu lted in a feeling of existential dislocation for many. Numerous Americans began to experience a sense of purposelessness and the air was rife with disillusionment.   Kerouac was one of these restless postwar young people and he longed for...something.   A n ew kind of hero?   A return to a Romantic tradition and simpler days?   When Kerouac met Neal Cassady, he knew Cassady was the kind of hero he had been seeking.   Eventually, as Robert Hipkiss notes, "Kerouac began to see Neal as an 'archetypal American Man' "....and, in fact, when Kerouac created Dean Moriarty out of Neal, "he created a new symbol of flaming American youth, the American hero of the Beat Generation" (32-3).   Indeed, as Hipkiss argues, Dean Moriarty   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   is the most singular hero of the road America has ever had.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mixing the individualism of the freeborn American with that      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   great present-day extension of this freedom, the motor car, ... ...opeless and yet be determined to make them      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   otherwise.... On The Road is an example of such a test's      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   being taken -- and passed.... (132)    Kerouac, like Bellow and Plath, sees that things are hopeless but he remains determined to go on, and on, and on....          Works Cited    Bartlett, Lee, ed.   The Beats: Essays in Criticism.   Jefferson, C.: McFarland, 1981.    Bartlett, Lee.   "The Dionysian Vision of Jack Kerouac."   Bartlett 115-26.    Dardess, George.   "The Delicate Dynamics of Friendship: Reconsideration of Kerouac's On The Road."      Hipkiss, Robert A.   Jack Kerouac: Prophet of the New Romanticism. Lawrence: Regents P of Kansas, 1976.    Hunt, Tim.   Kerouac's Crooked Road.   Hamden, CT: Archon, 1981.    Kerouac, Jack.   On The Road.   New York: Signet, 1957.      

mutlicultural education :: essays research papers

Multicultural Education: (Amer. Educators Encyclopedia) curricula designed to recognize the integrity, contributions, strengths, and viability of different cultural, language, and social groups in society. -Its about creating structures and process’s that allow for the expression of many civilizations, communities and individuals we are. -Each group has a different history of why they immigrated and their experience. US is an intellectual and fast paced country, its a melting pot, each culture combined with another makes the US what it is today - so therefore we should learn about every origin and its contributions. Questions: 1) Who is benefiting from the education? 2) How should we present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people? Hispanic Facts Dropout rates -High school drop out rates are more than double that of white students -Most dropouts are:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Male   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Above age (2 levels behind)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low grades   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Behavioral problems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low income families, no encouragement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low educational attainment -Drop out to help family (Hispanic culture family = core of life). -Ethnic identities influence their self esteem and assimilation into a culture- hence not as much effort dedicated to schooling. -Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US public schools. -2 Factors that standout out are a.) segregation b) bilingual education -1 out of 4 Americans identify themselves as black Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander or American Indian.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -In 1996 950 Hispanics received their doctorates (2nd lowest compared to Indians) 26,363 whites received it. Answers -The more ethnically integrated a school system is, the easier it will be for a teacher to develop a well rounded teaching style that would in turn benefit all students. -Teachers should attend workshops on Ethnicity and culture. -States and Federal Gov’t should either provide special funds to teach minority children in their own language (which may hurt them b/c English is a crucial element to get ahead) OR teach both English and Spanish (which is proven to higher GPA’s and credits)

Bei Dao’s Poem ‘An End or a Beginning’ Essay

Bei Dao’s Poem ‘An End or a Beginning’ depicts the endless protestors ‘murdered’ by the cruelty of the Cultural Revolution and the continuity of life in search of hope after many lives taken away. The loss of hope looked for â€Å"In every dream† after every day, reinforces the everlastingly hunt of freedom and end of the Cultural Revolution even though it feels just out of grasp and the sacrifice to get there is unavoidable. The setting of the poem in nature where the â€Å"trees†, â€Å"clouds† and â€Å"stars† are, connotes the freedom of the outdoors with no restrictions contrasting with the people living under the unnatural aggression of the Cultural Revolution. The destruction of the people’s freedom is shown in stanza one where someone protests like â€Å"the sun rises† and â€Å"A heavy shadow, like a road Shall run across the land† will destroy the pureness of one’s courage. The sun is like a person’s boldness to ‘stand’ against the Cultural Revolution like the nature of the sun rising and the ‘heavy shadow’ looming over the sun darkens the atmosphere covering all hope and demolishes it like how nature is corrupted by roads built for the selfishness of man. The repeated anticipation of hope can be seen even after the brutality of oppression by the revolution. The persona’s personal response can be seen in stanza five to emphasize the search for the hope of new beginning. The repetition of ‘I look for’ portray the things dreamed for all of which are beautiful images of nature which connote freedom and places of no boundaries. Contrasting this ideal illustration, the actual land with â€Å"A heavy shadow†, â€Å"A sorrowing mist† covered with â€Å"wretched cigarette stubs† all convey negative images of a worn area. The structure of the poem follows similar lines in each stanza except stanza 4 where the word â€Å"towmen† is on its own near the middle of the paragraph. The diction â€Å"towmen† used all alone in one line emphasizes how people are pulled and manipulated by the communists who control the Cultural Revolution. The Yellow River mentioned before the â€Å"towmen† shows how much impact the communists has had as the Yellow River is a very important river in China. By asking if â€Å"even the ropes of the Yellow River† can be controlled is like questioning how the manipulators could be so powerful. As the Poem comes to the end, the stanzas very slightly diminishes to allow the reader feel a less abrupt ending which relates to the sadness of a dying end. Death throughout the poem is constantly mentioned to illustrate its recurrence. Diction such as â€Å"murdered†, â€Å"gone†, â€Å"forever† all convey the permanent lost of lives which cannot be stopped but only replaced and repeated due to the unforgiving violence of the Revolution. The hope of renewing the land can be seen in stanza six where Dao explains how â€Å"fresh blood† needs to be shed in order to help rebuild the land and create new life and hope â€Å"on tomorrow’s branches†. Branches, relating to trees display an image of life and growth which provide â€Å"The ripened fruit† which would mean the country being able to feed and look after itself because of the lives killed to make the land â€Å"fertile† and grow. Repetition is used a lot in the poem. The repetition of ‘Here I stand Replacing another, who has been murdered† represent all the protestors who stood up against the Revolution, died and then replaced and killed again. This is used to exemplify the problem which gives people â€Å"no other choice† but to keep doing it because there is no other way out and hope which is only â€Å"Stars† which â€Å"glimmer in the wind†. Wind being a powerful source contrasts with the small glimmering stars which connote hope emphasize how there is little chance of survival. ‘An End or a Beginning’ uses the strong image of nature to represent the freedom of which is natural with the dark gloomy illustrations of â€Å"clouds†, â€Å"mists† and â€Å"wind† to convey the dark disasters of the Cultural revolution causing devastation and â€Å"growing forests of gravestones† ending lives where hope is already slim increasing loss.

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 10. SCENT

IT WAS ALL VERY CHILDISH. WHY ON EARTH SHOULD EDward have to leave for Jacob to come over? Weren't we past this kind of immaturity? â€Å"It's not that I feel any personal antagonism toward him, Bella, it's just easier for both of us,† Edward told me at the door. â€Å"I won't be far away. You'll be safe.† â€Å"I'm not worried about that.† He smiled, and then a sly look came into his eye. He pulled me close, burying his face in my hair. I could feel his cool breath saturate the strands as he exhaled; it raised goose bumps on my neck. â€Å"I'll be right back,† he said, and then he laughed aloud as if I'd just told a good joke. â€Å"What's so funny?† But Edward just grinned and loped off toward the trees without answering. Grumbling to myself, I went to clean up the kitchen. Before I even had the sink full of water, the doorbell rang. It was hard to get used to how much faster Jacob was without his car. How everyone seemed to be so much faster than me. . . . â€Å"Come in, Jake!† I shouted. I was concentrating on piling the dishes into the bubbly water, and I'd forgotten that Jacob moved like a ghost these days. So it made me jump when his voice was suddenly there behind me. â€Å"Should you really leave your door unlocked like that? Oh, sorry.† I'd slopped myself with the dishwater when he'd startled me. â€Å"I'm not worried about anyone who would be deterred by a locked door,† I said while I wiped the front of my shirt with a dishtowel. â€Å"Good point,† he agreed. I turned to look at him, eyeing him critically. â€Å"Is it really so impossible to wear clothes, Jacob?† I asked. Once again, Jacob was bare-chested, wearing nothing but a pair of old cut-off jeans. Secretly, I wondered if he was just so proud of his new muscles that he couldn't stand to cover them up. I had to admit, they were impressive – but I'd never thought of him as vain. â€Å"I mean, I know you don't get cold anymore, but still.† He ran a hand through his wet hair; it was falling in his eyes. â€Å"It's just easier,† he explained. â€Å"What's easier?† He smiled condescendingly. â€Å"It's enough of a pain to carry the shorts around with me, let alone a complete outfit. What do I look like, a pack mule?† I frowned. â€Å"What are you talking about, Jacob?† His expression was superior, like I was missing something obvious. â€Å"My clothes don't just pop in and out of existence when I change – I have to carry them with me while I run. Pardon me for keeping my burden light.† I changed color. â€Å"I guess I didn't think about that,† I muttered. He laughed and pointed to a black leather cord, thin as a strand of yarn, that was wound three times below his left calf like an anklet. I hadn't noticed before that his feet were bare, too. â€Å"That's more than just a fashion statement – it sucks to carry jeans in your mouth.† I didn't know what to say to that. He grinned. â€Å"Does my being half-naked bother you?† â€Å"No.† Jacob laughed again, and I turned my back on him to focus on the dishes. I hoped he realized my blush was left over from embarrassment at my own stupidity, and had nothing to do with his question. â€Å"Well, I suppose I should get to work.† He sighed. â€Å"I wouldn't want to give him an excuse to say I'm slacking on my side.† â€Å"Jacob, it's not your job -â€Å" He raised a hand to cut me off. â€Å"I'm working on a volunteer basis here. Now, where is the intruder's scent the worst?† â€Å"My bedroom, I think.† His eyes narrowed. He didn't like that any more than Edward had. â€Å"I'll just be a minute.† I methodically scrubbed the plate I was holding. The only sound was the brush's plastic bristles scraping round and round on the ceramic. I listened for something from above, a creak of the floorboard, the click of a door. There was nothing. I realized I'd been cleaning the same plate far longer than necessary, and I tried to pay attention to what I was doing. â€Å"Whew!† Jacob said, inches behind me, scaring me again. â€Å"Yeesh, Jake, cut that out!† â€Å"Sorry. Here -† Jacob took the towel and mopped up my new spill. â€Å"I'll make it up to you. You wash, I'll rinse and dry.† â€Å"Fine.† I gave him the plate. â€Å"Well, the scent was easy enough to catch. By the way, your room reeks.† â€Å"I'll buy some air freshener.† He laughed. I washed and he dried in companionable silence for a few minutes. â€Å"Can I ask you something?† I handed him another plate. â€Å"That depends on what you want to know.† â€Å"I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything – I'm honestly curious,† Jacob assured me. â€Å"Fine. Go ahead.† He paused for half a second. â€Å"What's it like – having a vampire for a boyfriend?† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"It's the best.† â€Å"I'm serious. The idea doesn't bother you – it never creeps you out?† â€Å"Never.† He was silent as he reached for the bowl in my hands. I peeked up at his face – he was frowning, his lower lip jutting out. â€Å"Anything else?† I asked. He wrinkled his nose again. â€Å"Well . . . I was wondering . . . do you . . . y'know, kiss him?† I laughed. â€Å"Yes.† He shuddered. â€Å"Ugh.† â€Å"To each her own,† I murmured. â€Å"You don't worry about the fangs?† I smacked his arm, splashing him with dishwater. â€Å"Shut up, Jacob! You know he doesn't have fangs!† â€Å"Close enough,† he muttered. I gritted my teeth and scrubbed a boning knife with more force than necessary. â€Å"Can I ask another one?† he asked softly when I passed the knife to him. â€Å"Just curious, again.† â€Å"Fine,† I snapped. He turned the knife over and over in his hands under the stream of water. When he spoke, it was only a whisper. â€Å"You said a few weeks. . . . When, exactly . . . ?† He couldn't finish. â€Å"Graduation,† I whispered back, watching his face warily. Would this set him off again? â€Å"So soon,† he breathed, his eyes closing. It didn't sound like a question. It sounded like a lament. The muscles in his arms tightened and his shoulders were stiff. â€Å"OW!† he shouted; it had gotten so still in the room that I jumped a foot in the air at his outburst. His right hand had curled into a tense fist around the blade of the knife – he unclenched his hand and the knife clattered onto the counter. Across his palm was a long, deep gash. The blood streamed down his fingers and dripped on the floor. â€Å"Damn it! Ouch!† he complained. My head spun and my stomach rolled. I clung to the countertop with one hand, took a deep breath through my mouth, and forced myself to get a grip so that I could take care of him. â€Å"Oh, no, Jacob! Oh, crap! Here, wrap this around it!† I shoved the dish towel at him, reaching for his hand. He shrugged away from me. â€Å"It's nothing, Bella, don't worry about it.† The room started to shimmer a little around the edges. I took another deep breath. â€Å"Don't worry?! You sliced your hand open!† He ignored the dish towel I pushed at him. He put his hand under the faucet and let the water wash over the wound. The water ran red. My head whirled. â€Å"Bella,† he said. I looked away from the wound, up to his face. He was frowning, but his expression was calm. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You look like you're going to pass out, and you're biting your lip off. Stop it. Relax. Breathe. I'm fine.† I inhaled through my mouth and removed my teeth from my lower lip. â€Å"Don't be brave.† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Let's go. I'll drive you to the ER.† I was pretty sure I would be okay to drive. The walls were holding steady now, at least. â€Å"Not necessary.† Jake turned off the water and took the towel from my hand. He twisted it loosely around his palm. â€Å"Wait,† I protested. â€Å"Let me look at it.† I clutched the counter more firmly, to hold myself upright if the wound made me woozy again. â€Å"Do you have a medical degree that you never told me about?† â€Å"Just give me the chance to decide whether or not I'm going to throw a fit over taking you to the hospital.† He made a face of mock horror. â€Å"Please, not a fit!† â€Å"If you don't let me see your hand, a fit is guaranteed.† He inhaled deeply, and then let out a gusty sigh. â€Å"Fine.† He unwound the towel and, when I reached out to take the cloth, he laid his hand in mine. It took me a few seconds. I even flipped his hand over, though I was sure he'd cut his palm. I turned his hand back up, finally realizing that the angry pink, puckered line was all that was left of his wound. â€Å"But . . . you were bleeding . . . so much.† He pulled his hand back, his eyes steady and somber on mine. â€Å"I heal fast.† â€Å"I'll say,† I mouthed. I'd seen the long gash clearly, seen the blood that flowed into the sink. The rust-and-salt smell of it had almost pulled me under. It should have needed stitches. It should have taken days to scab over and then weeks to fade into the shiny pink scar that marked his skin now. He screwed his mouth up into half a smile and thumped his fist once against his chest. â€Å"Werewolf, remember?† His eyes held mine for an immeasurable moment. â€Å"Right,† I finally said. He laughed at my expression. â€Å"I told you this. You saw Paul's scar.† I shook my head to clear it. â€Å"It's a little different, seeing the action sequence firsthand.† I kneeled down and dug the bleach out of the cabinet under the sink. Then I poured some on a dusting rag and started scrubbing the floor. The burning scent of the bleach cleared the last of the dizziness from my head. â€Å"Let me clean up,† Jacob said. â€Å"I got this. Throw that towel in the wash, will you?† When I was sure the floor smelled of nothing but bleach, I got up and rinsed the right side of the sink with bleach, too. Then I went to the laundry closet beside the pantry, and poured a cupful into the washing machine before starting it. Jacob watched me with a disapproving look on his face. â€Å"Do you have obsessive-compulsive disorder?† he asked when I was done. Huh. Maybe. But at least I had a good excuse this time. â€Å"We're a bit sensitive to blood around here. I'm sure you can understand that.† â€Å"Oh.† He wrinkled his nose again. â€Å"Why not make it as easy as possible for him? What he's doing is hard enough.† â€Å"Sure, sure. Why not?† I pulled the plug, and let the dirty water drain from the sink. â€Å"Can I ask you something, Bella?† I sighed. â€Å"What's it like – having a werewolf for a best friend?† The question caught me off guard. I laughed out loud. â€Å"Does it creep you out?† he pressed before I could answer. â€Å"No. When the werewolf is being nice,† I qualified, â€Å"it's the best.† He grinned widely, his teeth bright against his russet skin. â€Å"Thanks, Bella,† he said, and then he grabbed my hand and wrenched me into one of his bone-crushing hugs. Before I had time to react, he dropped his arms and stepped away. â€Å"Ugh,† he said, his nose wrinkling. â€Å"Your hair stinks worse than your room.† â€Å"Sorry,† I muttered. I suddenly understood what Edward had been laughing about earlier, after breathing on me. â€Å"One of the many hazards of socializing with vampires,† Jacob said, shrugging. â€Å"It makes you smell bad. A minor hazard, comparatively.† I glared at him. â€Å"I only smell bad to you, Jake.† He grinned. â€Å"See you around, Bells.† â€Å"Are you leaving?† â€Å"He's waiting for me to go. I can hear him outside.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"I'll go out the back,† he said, and then he paused. â€Å"Hold up a sec – hey, do you think you can come to La Push tonight? We're having a bonfire party. Emily will be there, and you could meet Kim . . . And I know Quil wants to see you, too. He's pretty peeved that you found out before he did.† I grinned at that. I could just imagine how that would have irked Quil – Jacob's little human gal pal down with the werewolves while he was still clueless. And then I sighed. â€Å"Yeah, Jake, I don't know about that. See, it's a little tense right now. . . .† â€Å"C'mon, you think somebody's going to get past all – all six of us?† There was a strange pause as he stuttered over the end of his question. I wondered if he had trouble saying the word werewolf aloud, the way I often had difficulty with vampire. His big dark eyes were full of unashamed pleading. â€Å"I'll ask,† I said doubtfully. He made a noise in the back of his throat. â€Å"Is he your warden, now, too? You know, I saw this story on the news last week about controlling, abusive teenage relationships and -â€Å" â€Å"Okay!† I cut him off, and then shoved his arm. â€Å"Time for the werewolf to get out!† He grinned. â€Å"Bye, Bells. Be sure you ask permission.† He ducked out the back door before I could find something to throw at him. I growled incoherently at the empty room. Seconds after he was gone, Edward walked slowly into the kitchen, raindrops glistening like diamonds set into the bronze of his hair. His eyes were wary. â€Å"Did you two get into a fight?† he asked. â€Å"Edward!† I sang, throwing myself at him. â€Å"Hi, there.† He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. â€Å"Are you trying to distract me? It's working.† â€Å"No, I didn't fight with Jacob. Much. Why?† â€Å"I was just wondering why you stabbed him. Not that I object.† With his chin, he gestured to the knife on the counter. â€Å"Dang! I thought I got everything.† I pulled away from him and ran to put the knife in the sink before I doused it with bleach. â€Å"I didn't stab him,† I explained as I worked. â€Å"He forgot he had a knife in his hand.† Edward chuckled. â€Å"That's not nearly as fun as the way I imagined it.† â€Å"Be nice.† He took a big envelope from his jacket pocket and tossed it on the counter. â€Å"I got your mail.† â€Å"Anything good?† â€Å"I think so.† My eyes narrowed suspiciously at his tone. I went to investigate. He'd folded the legal-sized envelope in half. I smoothed it open, surprised at the weight of the expensive paper, and read the return address. â€Å"Dartmouth? Is this a joke?† â€Å"I'm sure it's an acceptance. It looks exactly like mine.† â€Å"Good grief, Edward – what did you do?† â€Å"I sent in your application, that's all.† â€Å"I may not be Dartmouth material, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that.† â€Å"Dartmouth seems to think that you're Dartmouth material.† I took a deep breath and counted slowly to ten. â€Å"That's very generous of them,† I finally said. â€Å"However, accepted or not, there is still the minor matter of tuition. I can't afford it, and I'm not letting you throw away enough money to buy yourself another sports car just so that I can pretend to go to Dartmouth next year.† â€Å"I don't need another sports car. And you don't have to pretend anything,† he murmured. â€Å"One year of college wouldn't kill you. Maybe you'd even like it. Just think about it, Bella. Imagine how excited Charlie and Rene would be. . . .† His velvet voice painted the picture in my head before I could block it. Of course Charlie would explode with pride – no one in the town of Forks would be able to escape the fallout from his excitement. And Rene would be hysterical with joy at my triumph – though she'd swear she wasn't at all surprised. . . . I tried to shake the image out of my head. â€Å"Edward. I'm worried about living through graduation, let alone this summer or next fall.† His arms wrapped around me again. â€Å"No one is going to hurt you. You have all the time in the world.† I sighed. â€Å"I'm mailing the contents of my bank account to Alaska tomorrow. It's all the alibi I need. It's far enough away that Charlie won't expect a visit until Christmas at the earliest. And I'm sure I'll think of some excuse by then. You know,† I teased halfheartedly, â€Å"this whole secrecy and deception thing is kind of a pain.† Edward's expression hardened. â€Å"It gets easier. After a few decades, everyone you know is dead. Problem solved.† I flinched. â€Å"Sorry, that was harsh.† I stared down at the big white envelope, not seeing it. â€Å"But still true.† â€Å"If I get this resolved, whatever it is we're dealing with, will you please consider waiting?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Always so stubborn.† â€Å"Yep.† The washing machine thumped and stuttered to a halt. â€Å"Stupid piece of junk,† I muttered as I pulled away from him. I moved the one small towel that had unbalanced the otherwise empty machine, and started it again. â€Å"This reminds me,† I said. â€Å"Could you ask Alice what she did with my stuff when she cleaned my room? I can't find it anywhere.† He looked at me with confused eyes. â€Å"Alice cleaned your room?† â€Å"Yeah, I guess that's what she was doing. When she came to get my pajamas and pillow and stuff to hold me hostage.† I glowered at him briefly. â€Å"She picked up everything that was lying around, my shirts, my socks, and I don't know where she put them.† Edward continued to look confused for one short moment, and then, abruptly, he was rigid. â€Å"When did you notice your things were missing?† â€Å"When I got back from the fake slumber party. Why?† â€Å"I don't think Alice took anything. Not your clothes, or your pillow. The things that were taken, these were things you'd worn . . . and touched . . . and slept on?† â€Å"Yes. What is it, Edward?† His expression was strained. â€Å"Things with your scent.† â€Å"Oh!† We stared into each others eyes for a long moment. â€Å"My visitor,† I muttered. â€Å"He was gathering traces . . . evidence. To prove that he'd found you?† â€Å"Why?† I whispered. â€Å"I don't know. But, Bella, I swear I will find out. I will.† â€Å"I know you will,† I said, laying my head against his chest. Leaning there, I felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the number. â€Å"Just the person I need to talk to,† he murmured, and then he flipped it open. â€Å"Carlisle, I -† He broke off and listened, his face taut with concentration for a few minutes. â€Å"I'll check it out. Listen . . .† He explained about my missing things, but from the side I was hearing, it sounded like Carlisle had no insights for us. â€Å"Maybe I'll go . . . ,† Edward said, trailing off as his eyes drifted toward me. â€Å"Maybe not. Don't let Emmett go alone, you know how he gets. At least ask Alice keep an eye on things. We'll figure this out later.† He snapped the phone shut. â€Å"Where's the paper?† he asked me. â€Å"Um, I'm not sure. Why?† â€Å"I need to see something. Did Charlie already throw it out?† â€Å"Maybe. . . .† Edward disappeared. He was back in half a second, new diamonds in his hair, a wet newspaper in his hands. He spread it out on the table, his eyes scanning quickly across the headlines. He leaned in, intent on something he was reading, one finger tracing passages that interested him most. â€Å"Carlisle's right . . . yes . . . very sloppy. Young and crazed? Or a death wish?† he muttered to himself. I went to peek over his shoulder. The headline of the Seattle Times read: â€Å"Murder Epidemic Continues – Police Have No New Leads.† It was almost the same story Charlie had been complaining about a few weeks ago – the big-city violence that was pushing Seattle up the national murder hot-spot list. It wasn't exactly the same story, though. The numbers were a lot higher. â€Å"It's getting worse,† I murmured. He frowned. â€Å"Altogether out of control. This can't be the work of just one newborn vampire. What's going on? It's as if they've never heard of the Volturi. Which is possible, I guess. No one has explained the rules to them . . . so who is creating them, then?† â€Å"The Volturi?† I repeated, shuddering. â€Å"This is exactly the kind of thing they routinely wipe out – immortals who threaten to expose us. They just cleaned up a mess like this a few years ago in Atlanta, and it hadn't gotten nearly this bad. They will intervene soon, very soon, unless we can find some way to calm the situation. I'd really rather they didn't come to Seattle just now. As long as they're this close . . . they might decide to check on you.† I shuddered again. â€Å"What can we do?† â€Å"We need to know more before we can decide that. Perhaps if we can talk to these young ones, explain the rules, it can be resolved peacefully.† He frowned, like he didn't think the chances of that were good. â€Å"We'll wait until Alice has an idea of what's going on. . . . We don't want to step in until it's absolutely necessary. After all, it's not our responsibility. But it's good we have Jasper,† he added, almost to himself. â€Å"If we are dealing with newborns, he'll be helpful.† â€Å"Jasper? Why?† Edward smiled darkly. â€Å"Jasper is sort of an expert on young vampires.† â€Å"What do you mean, an expert?† â€Å"You'll have to ask him – the story is involved.† â€Å"What a mess,† I mumbled. â€Å"It does feel that way, doesn't it? Like it's coming at us from all sides these days.† He sighed. â€Å"Do you ever think that your life might be easier if you weren't in love with me?† â€Å"Maybe. It wouldn't be much of a life, though.† â€Å"For me,† he amended quietly. â€Å"And now, I suppose,† he continued with a wry smile, â€Å"you have something you want to ask me?† I stared at him blankly. â€Å"I do?† â€Å"Or maybe not.† He grinned. â€Å"I was rather under the impression that you'd promised to ask my permission to go to some kind of werewolf soire tonight.† â€Å"Eavesdropping again?† He grinned. â€Å"Just a bit, at the very end.† â€Å"Well, I wasn't going to ask you anyway. I figured you had enough to stress about.† He put his hand under my chin, and held my face so that he could read my eyes. â€Å"Would you like to go?† â€Å"It's no big thing. Don't worry about it.† â€Å"You don't have to ask my permission, Bella. I'm not your father – thank heaven for that. Perhaps you should ask Charlie, though.† â€Å"But you know Charlie will say yes.† â€Å"I do have a bit more insight into his probable answer than most people would, it's true.† I just stared at him, trying to understand what he wanted, and trying to put out of my mind the yearning I felt to go to La Push so that I wouldn't be swayed by my own wishes. It was stupid to want to go hang out with a bunch of big idiot wolf-boys right now when there was so much that was frightening and unexplained going on. Of course, that was exactly why I wanted to go. I wanted to escape the death threats, for just a few hours . . . to be the less-mature, more-reckless Bella who could laugh it off with Jacob, if only briefly. But that didn't matter. â€Å"Bella,† Edward said. â€Å"I told you that I was going to be reasonable and trust your judgment. I meant that. If you trust the werewolves, then I'm not going to worry about them.† â€Å"Wow,† I said, as I had last night. â€Å"And Jacob's right – about one thing, anyway – a pack of werewolves ought to be enough to protect even you for one evening.† â€Å"Are you sure?† â€Å"Of course. Only . . .† I braced myself. â€Å"I hope you won't mind taking a few precautions? Allowing me to drive you to the boundary line, for one. And then taking a cell phone, so that I'll know when to pick you up?† â€Å"That sounds . . . very reasonable.† â€Å"Excellent.† He smiled at me, and I could see no trace of apprehension in his jewel-like eyes. To no one's surprise, Charlie had no problem at all with me going to La Push for a bonfire. Jacob crowed with undisguised exultation when I called to give him the news, and he seemed eager enough to embrace Edward's safety measures. He promised to meet us at the line between territories at six. I had decided, after a short internal debate, that I would not sell my motorcycle. I would take it back to La Push where it belonged and, when I no longer needed it anymore . . . well, then, I would insist that Jacob profit from his work somehow. He could sell it or give it to a friend. It didn't matter to me. Tonight seemed like a good opportunity to return the bike to Jacob's garage. As gloomy as I was feeling about things lately, every day seemed like a possible last chance. I didn't have time to procrastinate any task, no matter how minor. Edward only nodded when I explained what I wanted, but I thought I saw a flicker of consternation in his eyes, and I knew he was no happier about the idea of me on a motorcycle than Charlie was. I followed him back to his house, to the garage where I'd left the bike. It wasn't until I pulled the truck in and got out that I realized the consternation might not be entirely about my safety this time. Next to my little antique motorcycle, overshadowing it, was another vehicle. To call this other vehicle a motorcycle hardly seemed fair, since it didn't seem to belong to the same family as my suddenly shabby- looking bike. It was big and sleek and silver and – even totally motionless – it looked fast. â€Å"What is that?† â€Å"Nothing,† Edward murmured. â€Å"It doesn't look like nothing.† Edward's expression was casual; he seemed determined to blow it off. â€Å"Well, I didn't know if you were going to forgive your friend, or he you, and I wondered if you would still want to ride your bike anyway. It sounded like it was something that you enjoyed. I thought I could go with you, if you wished.† He shrugged. I stared at the beautiful machine. Beside it, my bike looked like a broken tricycle. I felt a sudden wave of sadness when I realized that this was not a bad analogy for the way I probably looked next to Edward. â€Å"I wouldn't be able to keep up with you,† I whispered. Edward put his hand under my chin and pulled my face around so that he could see it straight on. With one finger, he tried to push the corner of my mouth up. â€Å"I'd keep pace with you, Bella.† â€Å"That wouldn't be much fun for you.† â€Å"Of course it would, if we were together.† I bit my lip and imagined it for a moment. â€Å"Edward, if you thought I was going too fast or losing control of the bike or something, what would you do?† He hesitated, obviously trying to find the right answer. I knew the truth: he'd find some way to save me before I crashed. Then he smiled. It looked effortless, except for the tiny defensive tightening of his eyes. â€Å"This is something you do with Jacob. I see that now.† â€Å"It's just that, well, I don't slow him down so much, you know. I could try, I guess. . . .† I eyed the silver motorcycle doubtfully. â€Å"Don't worry about it,† Edward said, and then he laughed lightly. â€Å"I saw Jasper admiring it. Perhaps it's time he discovered a new way to travel. After all, Alice has her Porsche now.† â€Å"Edward, I -â€Å" He interrupted me with a quick kiss. â€Å"I said not to worry. But would you do something for me?† â€Å"Whatever you need,† I promised quickly. He dropped my face and leaned over the far side of the big motorcycle, retrieving something he had stashed there. He came back with one object that was black and shapeless, and another that was red and easily identifiable. â€Å"Please?† he asked, flashing the crooked smile that always destroyed my resistance. I took the red helmet, weighing it in my hands. â€Å"I'll look stupid.† â€Å"No, you'll look smart. Smart enough not to get yourself hurt.† He threw the black thing, whatever it was, over his arm and then took my face in his hands. â€Å"There are things between my hands right now that I can't live without. You could take care of them.† â€Å"Okay, fine. What's that other thing?† I asked suspiciously. He laughed and shook out some kind of padded jacket. â€Å"It's a riding jacket. I hear road rash is quite uncomfortable, not that I would know myself.† He held it out for me. With a deep sigh, I flipped my hair back and stuffed the helmet on my head. Then I shoved my arms through the sleeves of the jacket. He zipped me in, a smile playing around the corners of his lips, and took a step back. I felt bulky. â€Å"Be honest, how hideous do I look?† He took another step back and pursed his lips. â€Å"That bad, huh?† I muttered. â€Å"No, no, Bella. Actually . . .† he seemed to be struggling for the right word. â€Å"You look . . . sexy.† I laughed out loud. â€Å"Right.† â€Å"Very sexy, really.† â€Å"You are just saying that so that I'll wear it,† I said. â€Å"But that's okay. You're right, it's smarter.† He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. â€Å"You're silly. I suppose that's part of your charm. Though, I'll admit it, this helmet does have its drawbacks.† And then he pulled the helmet off so that he could kiss me. As Edward drove me toward La Push a little while later, I realized that this unprecedented situation felt oddly familiar. It took me a moment of thought to pinpoint the source of the dj vu. â€Å"You know what this reminds me of?† I asked. â€Å"It's just like when I was a kid and Rene would pass me off to Charlie for the summer. I feel like a seven-year-old.† Edward laughed. I didn't mention it out loud, but the biggest difference between the two circumstances was that Rene and Charlie had been on better terms. About halfway to La Push, we rounded the corner and found Jacob leaning against the side of the red Volkswagen he'd built for himself out of scraps. Jacob's carefully neutral expression dissolved into a smile when I waved from the front seat. Edward parked the Volvo thirty yards away. â€Å"Call me whenever you're ready to come home,† he said. â€Å"And I'll be here.† â€Å"I won't be out late,† I promised. Edward pulled the bike and my new gear out of the trunk of his car – I'd been quite impressed that it had all fit. But it wasn't so hard to manage when you were strong enough to juggle full-sized vans, let alone small motorcycles. Jacob watched, making no move to approach, his smile gone and his dark eyes indecipherable. I tucked the helmet under my arm and threw the jacket across the seat. â€Å"Do you have it all?† Edward asked. â€Å"No problem,† I assured him. He sighed and leaned toward me. I turned my face up for a goodbye peck, but Edward took me by surprise, fastening his arms tightly around me and kissing me with as much enthusiasm as he had in the garage – before long, I was gasping for air. Edward laughed quietly at something, and then let me go. â€Å"Goodbye,† he said. â€Å"I really do like the jacket.† As I turned away from him, I thought I saw a flash of something in his eyes that I wasn't supposed to see. I couldn't tell for sure what it was exactly. Worry, maybe. For a second I thought it was panic. But I was probably just making something out of nothing, as usual. I could feel his eyes on my back as I pushed my bike toward the invisible vampire-werewolf treaty line to meet Jacob. â€Å"What's all that?† Jacob called to me, his voice wary, scrutinizing the motorcycle with an enigmatic expression. â€Å"I thought I should put this back where it belongs,† I told him. He pondered that for one short second, and then his wide smile stretched across his face. I knew the exact point that I was in werewolf territory because Jacob shoved away from his car and loped quickly over to me, closing the distance in three long strides. He took the bike from me, balanced it on the kickstand, and grabbed me up in another vice-tight hug. I heard the Volvo's engine growl, and I struggled to get free. â€Å"Cut it out, Jake!† I gasped breathlessly. He laughed and set me down. I turned to wave goodbye, but the silver car was already disappearing around the curve in the road. â€Å"Nice,† I commented, allowing some acid to leak into my voice. His eyes widened in false innocence. â€Å"What?† â€Å"He's being pretty dang pleasant about this; you don't need to push your luck.† He laughed again, louder than before – he found what I'd said very funny indeed. I tried to see the joke as he walked around the Rabbit to hold my door open for me. â€Å"Bella,† he finally said – still chuckling – as he shut the door behind me, â€Å"you can't push what you don't have.†