Emotional Abuse Awareness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emotional Abuse Awareness - Research Paper Example Therefore, the purpose of this research is, not only, to bring awareness to emotional abuse happening around us, but also to provide help for those who have been victimized. The number of teenagers who are daily abused emotionally has continued to increase everyday to appoint of equalizing to the number of those teenagers who are sexually and physically abused and this is a consequence of failure of psychological abuse occasionally coming up with education programs aimed at treating or counseling the victims. For example, where parents have been beating up their children ruthlessly, such children develop phobia that grow with the children up to their late ages. The children feel isolated or intimated, and if the father is the one who often beats her up, she may develop an attitude of hatred towards men in the whole of her life. It is important to pinpoint that teenagers are at their learning phase, and they require to be impacted with courage, knowledge and skills instead of making them live in tension and phobic to several life occasions. Adolescent age is one of the critical life stage that require complete care handling in terms of how we talk to them and how we correct their mistakes. Additionally, adolescents are very active and it is on this stage where the parents or a guardian needs to devote their time and other resources to make sure total control of the teenagers did. Due to such risk associated with the adolescent, guardians and parents have implemented oppressive rule and regulations such as remaining indoors always. Such rule or regulation denies the adolescent the right to socialize with other adolescents. Therefore, when the rules and regulation are very tight the adolescent feels denied their rights to enjoy total advantages as a youth and this data has been established by a sampling technique of 215 and 265 females who are suffering from emotional abuse hence the need to create awareness in order to stop

Enron Scandal Essay Example for Free

Enron Scandal Essay 1. Enron was valued at $2.3 billion when it was formed in July 1985. On August 23, 2000, its stock was at $90 per share and it had a market capitalization of $65.9 billion. Explain the major business practices that created such dynamic growth in the price of the stock. Enron used many different tactics to inflate their stock prices. The one that sticks out to me is when they signed a 20-year contract with Blockbuster. Early in the contract Blockbuster and Enron parted ways with a null and void contract. However, Enron still kept the contract on the books as future earnings when they knew that money was never going to come in. They did this so their stocks prices would stay inflated. Another practice is that they switched from an agent model to a merchant model when recognizing revenue. Doing this gave them a 65% increase when typical industry standards only gain between 2-3%. Once they switched to this accounting method other companies started to follow their lead in order to stay competitive with Enron. In addition, Enron understated its liability and overstated its equity. They would do this by creating special purpose entities. These entities were created to show investors the downside of risk. I believe the main reason the stock increased so much is due to corruption of Arthur Andersen, an independent audit firm. On Wikipedia’s website there was a statement from Enron’s Power Committee and it appears they were placing blame on the Andersen firm. They were quoted as saying, †¦ evidence available to us suggests that Andersen did not fulfill its professional responsibilities in connection with its audits of Enrons financial statements, or its obligation to bring to the attention of Enrons Board (or the Audit and Compliance Committee) concerns about Enrons internal contracts over the related-party transactions (â€Å"Enron Scandal†). After reading about the scandal it seems as if Arthur Andersen was being pressured by Enron’s executive management to ignore all their flawed accounting principles. Overall there were several business practices that caused Enron’s stock prices to increase and most of it was due to a flawed and failed accounting system. 2. Why did Enron go bankrupt?  Enron went bankrupt because they were artificially inflating their stock price. They had an audit company that did not report a fair opinion of their findings. The public started to back away and chose not to invest due to their lack of confidence in the company. In 2001, the SEC started investigating the organization and they had to restructure their losses. Another loss took place when Enron’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s and Fitch. I believe they ultimately went bankrupt due to their lack of integrity and honesty, especially when it came to their accounting methods. a. What role did corporate governance (broad of directors’ and top management’s leadership and responsibilities) have in Enron’s demise? Top management played an enormous roll in the fall of Enron. Management was always looking for loop holes to hide debt and keep their stock prices high. They also influenced their audit firm, Arthur Andersen, by paying them high consulting fees. By doing this they were essentially paying Andersen to look the other way. b. What was the responsibility of the â€Å"independent† outside auditors, Arthur Andersen Co.? Andersen should have come in and reported their findings in a fair and ethical way. Since Andersen went along with Enron in hiding debt it ultimately dissolved the Andersen business. c. What was the responsibility of stock broker analysts, rating agencies, and the SEC? The responsibility of the stock broker analysts was to evaluate the financial statements of Enron. They were also required to give the general public a recommendation in regards to stock options. Rating agencies were acting as a credit bureau. They determined if Enron had good credit or not. They also were required to let the public know if the company was paying its debt, as well as other financial obligations. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website, their responsibility was  to â€Å"protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation† (â€Å"The Investors Advocate†). They came under scrutiny because of their failure to prevent Enron’s collapse and ignoring â€Å"red flags† in Enron dealing by failing to review annual reports. References â€Å"Enron Scandal.† Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (n.d.). Web. 03 Feb. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal#Special_purpose_entities â€Å"The Investors Advocate.† U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.) Web. 03 Feb. 2014. http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtm l

The Powerful Ideal of Freedom Essay -- Incidents in the Life of a Slav

The Powerful Ideal of Freedom Developed in Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Blood-Burning Moon, by Jean Toomer, and W.E.B DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk Slavery played an overwhelming role throughout the history of the United States. The riches created by the unpaid labor of African Americans helped to guarantee the country’s industrial revolution and succeeding economic strength. Yet, that wealth created incredible political power for slaveholders and their representatives. African American slaves brought with them many languages, cultures and values, which helped shaped America and it’s exceptional cultural and natural environment. Continuing a brutally cruel system, African slaves developed a profound commitment to liberty and became a living testament to the powerful ideal of freedom. As Harriet Jacobs’ wrote in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she stated, â€Å"No pen can give adequate description of the all-pervading corruption produced by slavery† (Jacobs 289). This relates to a reference to both the author’s personal struggles under slavery and as a significant theme throughout her narrative. During her personal story, Harriet revealed that the institution of slavery crippled the accepted family structure. For instance, slave women similar to Harriet herself, needed permission from their masters to marry, which frequently delayed or destroyed their ability to wed and reproduce. Slave women were often faced with sexual abuse and mistreatment from their slaveholders. The traditional family structure was further threatened by the dispersal of its member. For example, it was not uncommon that the children of slave women would set to be sold right after their birth. Consequently, those attem... ...m and slavery are extremely evident throughout history. Yet, the word freedom has been a topic of debate, and for good reason. There are so many different views on what freedom truly defines and what influence it has on our daily lives. Therefore, whites had to accept the fact that African Americans were gaining rights and liberties that once never existed. Those who had a voice within the black movement gave others the courage to go out and work for themselves and their futures, wanting to forget any old sayings making blacks inferior to whites. Works Cited Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Bantam Company, 1989. Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Ed. Jean Fagan Yellin. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987. Toomer, Jean. â€Å"Bood-Burning Moon.† Cane. New York: Livericht, 2010. 39-49. Print.

Currency Devaluation and Its Effects on the Economy

| Currency devaluation and its effects on the economy | Focus on the Argentine economy | Agustina DalFabbro, Michele Mottola, Giuseppe Merlino, Saskia Diehl 26. 05. 2012 | Inhalt 1. Introduction2 2. Convertibility and its problems in the 1999/2001 period2 1. 1Previous Devaluation Process in Argentina2 2. First moments of devaluation3 2. 1 Fixed exchange rate vs. floating exchange rate regimes3 2. 2 Two types of exchange rates and free floating currency5 2. 2 Free floating currency6 3. Effects of Devaluation process on6 3. 1 Trade Balance6 3. 2 Productive capacity6 3. 3 Salaries6 . 4 National Accounts6 4. Conclusion6 5. Literature7 1. Introduction Stable currency exchange rate regimes are a key component to stable economic growth (http://www. policyarchive. org/handle/10207/bitstreams/1311. pdf) 2. Convertibility and its problems in the 1999/2001 period 1. 1 Previous Devaluation Process in Argentina Three main large devaluation episodes prior to the monetary reform of 1991 can be iden tified in the graph: 1975-1976 (the so called â€Å"Rodrigazo†), 1982-1984 (the â€Å"Post Malvinas War† monetary collapse) and 1989-1990 (the â€Å"Hyperinflation†). (http://www. cavallo. om. ar/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Devaluation-and-Inflation-. pdf) 2. First moments of devaluation Basically you can distinguish three half-year periods centered on the political and financial collapse at the end of 2001 namely: Precollapse (to September, 2001); Collapse (October 2001 to March 2002); and Depression (from April 2002). This section will focus on the end of the Collapse and the beginning and ongoing Depression. As earlier mentioned Argentina applied a currency board at the beginning of the 90’s which pegged the peso to the dollar and formed a fixed exchange rate.After the Crisis of Argentina had begun they had to decide how they can diminish the effect of the emerging depression. In December 2001 Argentina officially defaulted and in February 2002, the val ue of the pesos was almost half of the dollar, Eduardo Duhalde became president. He had to manage a country which was in a really bad condition. Different economists favored different strategies to stabilize the economy. Some favored a â€Å"pesification followed by a free-floating regime† and others â€Å"devaluation and subsequent dollarization†.Both of those possibilities are heavily discussed between the leading economists worldwide. After the financial crises in the 1990’s they suggested for developing countries to choose a corner solution and all intermediate exchange rate regimes were dismissed in order to be too risky. But in 2003, after the crisis of Argentina had reached its peak, the bi-polar view might be a good solution as well. The next section will be examine what Argentina did try to escape the crisis, after they had already implemented a currency board (fixed exchange rate), which eventually, with a lot of accompanying factors, evoked the crisis .They actually started floating their currency and implemented several other measures to save their economy. If this mixture of policies was successful will be analyzed in the following. 2. 1 Fixed exchange rate vs. floating exchange rate regimes For a better understanding what the next section is talking about, a brief introduction about the different exchange rate possibilities and their advantages and disadvantages will be implemented. A fixed exchange rate regime can be created in three different ways. The first two are either a Soft Peg or a Hard Peg of the currency.Hard Pegs are for example currency boards or currency Unions (Eurozone) and mean a complete fix to the currency of a foreign country (e. g. the currency board of Argentina pegged the Peso to the Dollar). Soft Pegs are the less strict version and link to other currencies is less direct. The third possibility is a fixed exchange rate peg to several countries. The main focus of this paper lies on the currency board as it was the case in Argentina. The main economic advantage of a hard peg (currency board) is, that it comes to a better trade between the countries that are part of the arrangement.Since the volatility of floating rates causes costs for exports and imports. It also encourages international capital flows which can profit the welfare of a country. Especially in case of developing countries these capital flows can be very large. One big Problem of the exchange rate regimes is the loss of monetary and fiscal possibilities to stabilize the economy as well as Limitation of the ability to pursue domestic goals. There is a slight difference between a hard peg and a fixed exchange rate, since the fix exchange rate can be with several countries whereas the hard peg only pegs it currency to one foreign country.They have more or less the same ad- and disadvantages, but with a fixed exchange rate, which is pegged to more than one country, the pursuit of domestic goals is easier, since the country does not depend on one foreign economy. One major weakness of the fixed exchange rate is, that when devaluation becomes necessary through fundamental changes in economy. Even the announcement of devaluation creates the danger of a crisis and eventually ends in a crisis, like the case of Argentina shows. It is also likely that a currency crisis after devaluation can end up in a banking crisis, since fixed exchange rates give incentives to take on debt. see below for further information) Floating exchange rates can be found for example in the arrangement of the U. S. with their major trading partners. It means that the value of the exchange rate will be freely determined in the market, depending on demand and supply. The main economic advantages of floating exchange rates are that they leave the monetary and fiscal authorities free to pursue internal goals. They can concentrate to generate full employment, stable growth, and price stability. Exchange rate adjustment often works as an automatic stabilizer to promote those goals.One main disadvantage of floating exchange rates is, that the exchange rate volatility and uncertainty, concerning costs on trade and investments, may discourage international investment. If foreign investment is a main source, as it is the case for most developing countries, floating exchange rate may impose real costs, not only for the exporters but also for the whole society. Whether a country should choose a fixed or a floating exchange rate depends on the dependency of the country on their neighbors and therefore their sensibility to external shocks.If it is very dependent on their neighbors and especially their neighbors’ economy the country is better of with a fixed exchange rate. But if the country is economically independent, a floating exchange rate would be the better choice in order to favor macroeconomic stability. 2. 2 Two types of exchange rates and free floating currency As the era of the currency board of Argentina was described earlier, the following focuses on the measures taken after the default of Argentina. The government chose a mixture of the two strategies mentioned before.Duhalde implemented his measures in a â€Å"schizophrenic† way. They started to devaluate the Peso from the originally 1 Peso to 1 Dollar rate to a 1. 4 pesos to 1 dollar rate (January 6 2002). On January 9th the government â€Å"pesified† dollar assets and liabilities, by converting the dollar to pesos at a 1 to 1 rate. This led to a â€Å"massive destruction of property rights† and a lot of utilities and companies ended up in bankruptcy. On February 9th they floated the peso by using the asymmetric pesification. This meant that dollar deposits were converted to pesos at the rate of 1 to 1. and dollar loans converted to pesos one to one. This imposed a large loss on the banking system and favored debtors owing dollar debts. A wide range of dollar denominated debt would be converted into pesos a t the old parity of one peso to one dollar. The holders of dollar deposits in the bank could convert those at a much more favorable exchange rate 1. 4 pesos to one dollar. It followed a great loss on the balance sheet of the Banks, who could only remain one peso for one dollar in debt owed by borrowers but owed 1. 4 peso for each dollar to the debtors.The asymmetric pesification amounted a total loss of $ 10- 15 Million Dollar compared to their equity of $ 17 million they had at the end of 2001. The government finally realized that it could not risk a total collapse of the banking system and offered to help the banks. They granted $ 9 million in the form of government bonds in order of compensation. This compensation covered most of the losses in nominal accounting but since the market value of the bonds was far below par not in real terms. 2. 2 Free floating currency http://www. nber. org/papers/w9808. pdf? new_window=1 in many emerging market economies, exports, imports, and ntern ational capital flows are a relatively large share of the economy, so large swings in the exchange rate can cause very substantial swings in the real economy. (p6) Under these circumstances, the monetary authority is likely to display â€Å"fear of floating† (Calvo and Reinhart, 2002), defined as a reluctance to allow totally free fluctuations in the nominal or real exchange rate, which Mussa (1986) showed are very closely linked. To â€Å"pesofy† all savings and debts Currency apparently has destroyed more the trust into the financial sector than the hyperinflation in 1989 did, although it was created to generate more trust.Argentina suffered from diverse devaluations of other currencies and then they devaluated their own currencies. Which effects did that have on other economies and their own? This question will be answered in the following section. 3. Effects of Devaluation process on 3. 1 Trade Balance 3. 2 Productive capacity 3. 3 Salaries 3. 4 National Accounts 4 . Conclusion 5. Literature Cline, William R. , 2003. â€Å"Restoring Economic Growth in Argentina†, Band 3158 von Policy research working papers , World Bank Publications 2003, 111 pages Labonte Marc, 2004. â€Å"Fixed Exchange Rates, Floating Exchange Rates, and Currency Boards: What Have We Learned? , Analyst in Macroeconomics Government and Finance Division, CRS Report for Congress, 24 pages Schuler, Kurt, 2002. â€Å" Ignorance and Influence: U. S. Economists on Argentina’s Depression of 1998-2002â€Å", Econ Journal Watch, Volume 2, Number 2, August 2005, pp. 234-278 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. nber. org/feldstein/argentina. pdf, p 10 [ 2 ]. Clarin. www. clarin. com. December 2001, available at http://www. servicios. clarin. com/notas/jsp/clarin/v8/edicant/edicantArchivo. jsp? dia=&mes=12&anio=2001&edAntTipo=edanter_diario&x=13&y=10, [ 3 ]. W. R. Clin e p. 47 [ 4 ].Labonte et al, 2004, p. 7 [ 5 ]. Labonte et al, 2004, p. 5- 18 [ 6 ]. Labonte et al, 2004, p. 3-5 [ 7 ]. Corrales, 2002, p. 38 [ 8 ]. Or â€Å"pesofication†, means conversion to pesos [ 9 ]. Corrales 2002, p. 39 [ 10 ]. http://www. tradingeconomics. com/argentina/currency [ 11 ]. Schuler 2003 (http://www. hacer. org/pdf/Tirania. pdf) p. 30 [ 12 ]. http://books. google. com. ar/books? id=HbEJy8KwYxcC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=asymmetric+pesification&source=bl&ots=WWVnkeKfcW&sig=MEpQ9lphc-QTV68m-ctUWT2bAPk&hl=de&sa=X&ei=W6jCT5ekDZKk8QTnr-DACw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=asymmetric%20pesification&f=false p. 45

The Fluidity of War

War is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, social disruption, and economic destruction. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention. The set of techniques used by a group to carry out war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called peace. In 2003, Nobel Laureate Richard E.Smalley identified war as the sixth biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. In the 1832 treatise On War, Prussian military general and theoretician Carl von Clausewitz defined war as follows: â€Å"War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will. † While some scholars see warfare as an inescapable and integral aspect of human nature, others argue that it is only inevitable under certain socio-cultural or ecological circ umstances. Some scholars argue that the practice of war is not linked to any single type of political organization or society.Rather, as discussed by John Keegan in his History of Warfare, war is a universal phenomenon whose form and scope is defined by the society that wages it. Another argument suggests that since there are human societies in which warfare does not exist, humans may not be naturally disposed for warfare, which emerges under particular circumstances. The deadliest war in history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is the Second World War, with 60–85 million deaths.Proportionally speaking, the most destructive war in modern history has been claimed to be the War of the Triple Alliance, which took the lives of over 60% of Paraguay's population. Etymology The English word war derives from the late Old English words wyrre and werre; the Old North French werre; the Frankish werra; and the Proto-Germanic werso. The denotation of war deriv es from the Old Saxon werran, Old High German werran, and the German verwirren: â€Å"to confuse†, â€Å"to perplex†, and â€Å"to bring into confusion†.Another posited derivation is from the Ancient Greek barbaros, the Old Persian varhara, and the Sanskrit varvar and barbara. In German, the equivalent is Krieg; the equivalent Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian words for â€Å"war† is guerra, derived from the Germanic werra . Etymologic legend has it that the Romanic peoples adopted a foreign, Germanic word for â€Å"war†, to avoid using the Latin bellum, because, when sounded, it tended to merge with the sound of the word bello .The scholarly study of war is sometimes called polemology, from the Greek polemos, meaning â€Å"war†, and -logy, meaning â€Å"the study of†. Types of war War, to become known as one, must entail some degree of confrontation using weapons and other military technology and equipment by armed forces employing mi litary tactics and operational art within the broad military strategy subject to military logistics. War Studies by military theorists throughout military history have sought to identify the philosophy of war, and to reduce it to a military science.Modern military science considers several factors before a national defence policy is created to allow a war to commence: the environment in the area of combat operations, the posture national forces will adopt on the commencement of a war, and the type of warfare troops will be engaged in. Conventional warfare is an attempt to reduce an opponent's military capability through open battle. It is a declared war between existing states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used or only see limited deployment in support of conventional military goals and maneuvers.The opposite of conventional warfare, unconventional warfare, is an attempt to achieve military victory through acquiescence, capitulation, or clandestine suppor t for one side of an existing conflict. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary, or a major, method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to a supporting tactical or strategic role in a conventional conflict. Civil war is a war where the forces in conflict belong to the same nation or political entity and are vying for control of or independence from that nation or political entity.Asymmetric warfare is a conflict between two populations of drastically different levels of military capability or size. Asymmetric conflicts often result in guerrilla tactics being used to overcome the sometimes vast gaps in technology and force size. Intentional air pollution in combat is one of a collection of techniques collectively called chemical warfare. Poison gas as a chemical weapon was principally used during World War I, and resulted in an estimated 91,198 deaths and 1,205,655 injuries. Various treaties have sought to ban its further use. Non-le thal chemical weapons, such as tear gas and pepper  spray, are widely used, sometimes with deadly effect.Behaviour and conduct in war The behaviour of troops in warfare varies considerably, both individually and as units or armies. In some circumstances, troops may engage in genocide, war rape and ethnic cleansing. Commonly, however, the conduct of troops may be limited to posturing and sham attacks, leading to highly rule-bound and often largely symbolic combat in which casualties are much reduced from that which would be expected if soldiers were genuinely violent towards the enemy. Situations of deliberate dampening of hostilities occurred in World War I by some accounts, e.

How Long Should My Resume Be

How Long Should My Resume Be There are many articles out there on the topic of how long your resume should be. Two that were informative for me are  How Long Should My Resume Be?,  from Great Resumes Fast, and  Resumes for Executive Jobs Tips on Length, Formatting and Style,  by Matthew Rothenberg of TheLadders. My guideline is that if you are a new graduate, your resume should be one page if at all possible. If you have 10 years of work experience, it will probably be two pages. I recommend always having a one-page resume at the ready if you are expecting to work with recruiters. I disagree a bit with the formatting advice from TheLadders. I do not like underlining or changes in font size as a formatting tool. I much prefer the option of Small Caps which you will find under the font menu. Its a great way to create emphasis. Remember, even though you probably wont include graphics in your resume (other than perhaps some nice lines and tasteful shading), your resume is a  work of art. Print it out and make sure it looks professional! Its likely that if you underlined a lot and multiple font sizes you will change your mind quickly about your artistic choice when you look at the document in hard copy.

5 Cases of a Missing Hyphen

5 Cases of a Missing Hyphen 5 Cases of a Missing Hyphen 5 Cases of a Missing Hyphen By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, omission of a hyphen hinders comprehension; discussion and a revision follows each example. 1. Two and a half months elapse between when the president elect is declared the winner of the election and when he or she takes office. The noun phrase â€Å"president-elect,† based on French syntax (in which adjectives follow nouns), is hyphenated, which helps the reader identify elect as an adjective rather than a verb: â€Å"Two and a half months elapse between when the president-elect is declared the winner of the election and when he or she takes office.† (Phrases referring to mixed fractions, such as â€Å"two and a half,† are often erroneously hyphenated; hyphens are correct only when such a phrase, accompanied by a word referring to a unit of time or distance, collectively modify a noun, such as in â€Å"two-and-a-half-month period.†) 2. I’m just looking for some good tasting coffee. As written, this sentence refers to a type of beverage known as tasting coffee and describes it as good. However, to express a sentiment about coffee that tastes good, hyphenate the phrasal adjective: â€Å"I’m just looking for some good-tasting coffee.† 3. Such documentation requires a decision-tree type approach, in which someone must decide each path to achieve an appropriate control structure. The type of omission illustrated in the previous example can also occur in a phrasal adjective that consists of more than two words. The sentence refers not to a type approach of a decision-tree nature but to an approach of a decision-tree-type nature: â€Å"Such documentation requires a decision-tree-type approach in which someone must decide each path to achieve an appropriate control structure.† 4. It might be a destination you stumbled across on a must-see list on a travel blog or heard was a can’t miss landmark. The writer of this sentence inexplicably correctly hyphenated the phrase â€Å"must see,† which modifies list, but overlooked the necessity of hyphenating the words â€Å"can’t miss,† which serve the same function in describing a kind of landmark: â€Å"It might be a destination you stumbled across on a must-see list on a travel blog or heard was a can’t-miss landmark.† (These phrases should be hyphenated when employed as nouns as well (as in â€Å"The Parthenon is a must-see for visitors to Greece†). 5. The study distinguishes between high and low-risk activities. This sentence refers not to high activities and low-risk activities but to high-risk and low-risk activities, but it does so elliptically, observing the convention that when a two phrasal adjectives in sequence share the same second word, the first can be omitted- but the hyphen must be retained so that the reader knows to supply the implied word: â€Å"The study distinguishes between high- and low-risk activities.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†26 Feel-Good WordsDouble Possessive

3 Tips for Writing Dialogue in Fiction

3 Tips for Writing Dialogue in Fiction 3 Tips for Writing Dialogue in Fiction â€Å"Fancy seeing you here,† the proofreader says, raising an eyebrow. â€Å"Word is you’re writing a novel and need some help. Well, you’ve come to the right place.† The proofreader takes your hand, gently but firmly leading you to a mysterious door in the corner of the room. â€Å"Come with me,† he says as he turns the handle, â€Å"and I’ll teach you all about writing great dialogue.† And as the door opens, you are dazzled by a bright light and feel the following tips fill your mind†¦ 1. Listen to People To sound real, dialogue should mimic the feeling of real conversation. A good way to get a sense of this is to listen to other people speak. Take note of the expressions that people use, the way conversations flow and change, and how speech differs from written language. Eavesdropping is the authors favorite pastime.(Photo: Thomas Szynkiewicz) However, don’t worry about making your dialogue too realistic. Human conversation is often full of â€Å"umms† an â€Å"urrrs,† but including these in your writing will make it stilted and hard to read. The main reason you’d include a verbal pause is to show that someone is hesitating. 2. He Said, She Said You may find yourself using â€Å"he said† and â€Å"she said† quite a lot in your dialogue. This is fine. In fact, it is better to use these terms consistently than to vary your dialogue tags too much. It is fine to use a descriptive term such as â€Å"shouted† or â€Å"whispered† now and then, but using too many will be distracting. The main thing is to ensure your readers know who is speaking at any given moment, so you can even leave dialogue tags out as long as this is clear from the context. 3. Show, Don’t Tell It can be tempting to tell your readers how a character feels while they speak. Typically, this will involve using adverbs such as â€Å"happily† or â€Å"sadly,† or even having the character outright say how they feel. Take the following exchange, for instance: â€Å"I got the job! I’m so happy!† she said. â€Å"That’s nice,† he replied distractedly. This tells us how the characters feel. But it is usually more interesting to show the reader how they feel by describing what they are doing. For example, we could change the line above to say: â€Å"I got the job!† she said, grinning from ear to ear. He looked up from his desk for a moment. â€Å"That’s nice,† he said, before returning to his work once more. Here, we can still tell that she is happy and that he is distracted. But we get this from the extra description rather than by being told directly. Summary: 3 Tips for Writing Dialogue in Fiction Keep these tips in mind when writing dialogue in a novel: Listen to other people’s conversations to get a sense of how they flow and the expressions used. This will help your dialogue sound natural. Stick to â€Å"he said† and â€Å"she said† as dialogue markers. Using too many terms such as â€Å"exclaimed† or â€Å"whispered† is distracting. Describe what your characters are doing while they speak. Most of the time, you can use actions to indicate how a character feels. And once you have a final draft written up, don’t forget that you can send it to us for professional proofreading!

Death Penalty, Kantian Ethics, and Utilitarianism Essay

Death Penalty, Kantian Ethics, and Utilitarianism - Essay Example The argument that almost everyone would prefer life imprisonment than execution is often put forward by these people. But I do not agree at all with this argument as it does not hold any weightage in my point of view. My first argument against the claim of these activists is that they are talking solely about the preference of the criminals who commit capital crimes. They are not taking in the full picture here. The simple and straight forward truth of the matter is that most of these so called human right activists belong to either the neutral group or the group whose relatives or friends are facing such punishments. If you ask from the person who has lost a love one at the hands of these criminals, he would never advocate anything less than a death penalty for the guilty one. And it is their opinion that should hold more weightage, the one who has been wronged has the final say in deciding to punish the wrong doer, not the wrong doer himself. If the argument is that we should think humanely when dealing with these criminals, then my question is simple in this regard; is the killing of another person humane? If it is not, and I am sure you would agree that it is not, then the criminals who are gu ilty for murder have no right to ask for a humane punishment themselves. The supporters of utilitarianism will probably retaliate to this by asking of the specific usefulness of this particular act, i.e. putting a murderer to death. The utilitarian approach holds that all actions should be judged of their usefulness by looking at their consequences. The best action, according to this philosophy, is the one that maximizes the overall happiness. So, they hold the argument that life imprisonment isolates the bad people from the society forever, which should result in the satisfaction of all, the wronged and the wrong doers and the society in large. Then why opt for such a brutal punishment as the death penalty? But do we really know the consequences of any of our action? The repercussions and reverberations of a single action can span decades or even centuries. For me, the threat of an immediate punishment of death is the biggest deterrence humanity has against humans who have forgotte n humanity! The fear of this penalty might be stopping many people from taking someone’s life. Because humans instinctively fear all fears, and giving an exemplary punishment to someone instills that fears in the hearts of like-minded people (Rosen, 2003). I am advocating capital punishment only for the people who play any part in the wrongful killing of another human being. Countries that use death penalty for other crimes like drug related etc. should re-analyze their punishments in light of the contemporary deontology philosophy. This philosophy holds out that if harm to a few can save the majority, then it is justified for the greater good, if that harm is an aspect of the greater good itself. Therefore, if by executing someone like Osama bin Laden can remove the unease of a vast majority of the people, and can save lives, than it sure is justified. But drugs and adultery are acts that do not threaten to take someone’s life, so, the countries where death is given i n punishment to even these crimes; they should rethink the logic behind it and abolish it (Kamm, 2007). Now we come to the view of the ethical egoists. This philosophy and its adherents say that people ought to act in

Will Global Warming Heat up Or Cool Down the Economy Essay

Will Global Warming Heat up Or Cool Down the Economy - Essay Example These changes in precipitation in turn increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes and tornados. The effects of these severe weather disturbances range from lower agricultural yields, glacial retreat, less summer stream flows, extinction of species and increase in the number of disease vectors (Wikipedia). The scientific community is now nearly unanimous in heaping the blame for global warming on human activities, with only a small minority of the scientists absolves man for the phenomenon. But the persistent debate centers somewhere else, such as on how much worse climate change will occur in the future, and what needs to be done to reverse or at least reduce it. The relationship between global warming and hurricanes is another subject that is hotly debated. If the world's climatic scientists agree on one thing, it is on the superlative force of Hurricane Katrina, which swept across the Americas and Europe in 2004. The consensus is that no natural calamity in memory matched the scope and magnitude of the damage it wrought on lives, property and the economy. But the suspected link between weather events like Katrina and global warming is yet to be proven. Research by a group of German scientists argues that the devastating floods in central Europe in 2002, for example, were perfectly normal events based on historical record (Murray, I., 2006). Other hurricane scientists agree that there is no way to blame global warming for Hurricane Katrina. Allegations that extreme weather events had become more damaging lately do not take into account the fact that human beings now live and invest resources in more dangerous areas, such as mountainside and seacoasts. The increase in the recorded number of these weather disturbances may be due to better observation and reporting methods. Thus, when the Inter-government Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claimed that global warming exacerbated the 2004 hurricane season that produced Katrina, a top IPCC expert resigned in January 2005 in complete disagreement. Philip Klotzbach of the Colorado State University says that based on his own studies, most increases in Category 4-5 hurricanes between the period 1986-95 and 1996-2005 are due to improved observation technology. This indicates that other factors dictate the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones. There is as yet no scientific consensus that global warming will cause damaging climate change, notwithstanding claims by UNEP, IPICC and the US National Academy of Sciences that there is such a growing agreement. But the scientists do agree that the global average temperature is rising. What the scientists don't know yet are: 1) whether past temperature changes should be attributed to carbon dioxide levels; 2) predicting future temperature levels confidently and accurately; and 3) what temperature change levels would be damaging to life on earth. The NAS itself says that the 20 years' worth of knowledge and data on this discipline is not long and sufficient enough to estimate long-term trends.

Carl Rogers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Carl Rogers - Research Paper Example In his early years, Rogers was a very shy and awkward child. He often went into tears for no reason and he was prone to sickness early. His brothers teased him often and made jokes about him. He grew up in a home where his father was often absent which meant that he grew close to his mother. As a young child, Rogers was the baby of the family and he remained the baby until he was five years old. As her grew older, his health became very strong. His older siblings paid special attention to him now and they taught him to read when he was four years old (Kirschenbaum, 1979, p. 2-3). He began to read everything he could find in his parents library which included several volumes of the bible and many other titles. Eventually, he began to entertain his brothers with the fantastic stories that he made up himself (Kirshenbaum, p. 4). As Rogers grew up he lived in many different places including a farm and the suburbs. Adulthood was fun for Rogers because he found it very easy to make friends. He had high energy and his health was excellent. These two factors allowed him to make journeys around the world. These journeys gave him a broader sense of the world around him early in his life. Central to Rogers early years was Calvinism which was the religious background his parents raised him in; eventually his mother would become a fundamentalist. By the time he entered college, he had changed to a more liberally religious viewpoint which led to fights in his home (Kirschenbaum, 1979). He would eventually develop ideas in existentialism as continued to study religion. As he developed his study of religion and other disciplines he began to believe that "good works were more important than ritual or doctrine in Christianity "Kirschenbaum, p. 29). In his view it was more important for people to take responsibility for their own actions than to rely on god to do something for them. He traveled to the Orient for some of his study and when he

Poll 211 Wek 8 Dis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Poll 211 Wek 8 Dis - Essay Example s member-states include the normalization and balance of economic policies to ensure that member states are uniformly represented in the conduction of business within the Eurozone. Among the institutions that make up the European Union include the Council of European Union, European Council, Monetary Union, European Commission, European Central Bank, and the Court of Auditors in addition to others. The overall functions of the European Union are related to the individual functions of the comprising institutions (Hahari, 2014). The causes of the Eurozone Crisis are cumulative and form from the economic and financial decisions the members of the EU made as well as the corresponding effects on the economy. In the development of the Euro as the legal tender for the EU, member states had to decide on how to balance states with a larger economies with those with lower economies. In doing so, the value of the Euro was set averagely low value which affected large economies and small ones as well. Since large economies, like Germany, developed slower than smaller economies, like Greece, the low value of the Euro increased the chances of developing states to borrow cheaply (Jordan, and Adelle, 2012). In addition, nations such as Greece had high public debt of â‚ ¬240 billion while Ireland’s was â‚ ¬85-billion debt, Portugal’s was â‚ ¬78-billion public debt, Spain’s was â‚ ¬41-billion in loans, and Cyprus’s was â‚ ¬10-billion contributing and integrated with the collapse of the banking system. Provided that majority of the loans involved in the Eurozone crisis were funded by other members of the Eurozone, it was inevitable that the union would not sustain its operations as financial constrains were

Finance for Business Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finance for Business Decisions - Essay Example AMP Limited’s financial data of 2011 shows that the company has 949,037 shareholders with a total share capital of 2,854,672,784 ordinary shares. The total number of Employees that work under the banner of AMP Limited is 6000, with 4131 employed and self-employed planners and has a relationship with 6,000 independent financial planners (AMP 2012). The company has two major business units, the first works under the name of AMP Financial Services where 4100 aligned and employed planners provide services regarding income protection, disability and life insurance, superannuation and superannuation services for business, retirement income, selected banking products and financial advices to its customers based in Australia and New Zealand. The second unit AMP Capital is diversified investment managers, who invest in fixed interest, property, diversified funds, equities and infrastructure. Currently they are managing $123 billion in assets for those who believe in AMP Capital and their strategies of creating wealth for their clients. The growth is on going with the emergence into different countries worldwide. The merger between AMP with AXA Asia Pacific Holding in 2011 gave a boost to the growth of AMP Limited as being the strongest business of Australia and New Zealand enhancing their services while it creates a competitive force in the financial sector. The investment in AXA Pacific Holding has proved to be a strong policy for the company’s future growth as the merger has increased sales, company has become more competitive and an expanding advisory force. Based on the financial report the company maintains its payout ratio of 75 to 85 percent by announcing a dividend of 14 cents per share for the year 2011. However, the net profit attributable to shareholder of the company declined by 11% and reached $688 million compared to $775 million in 2010. The underlying profit shows 20% increase of $909 million than the previous year, as the 9 months contribution

Poll 211 Wek 8 Dis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Poll 211 Wek 8 Dis - Essay Example s member-states include the normalization and balance of economic policies to ensure that member states are uniformly represented in the conduction of business within the Eurozone. Among the institutions that make up the European Union include the Council of European Union, European Council, Monetary Union, European Commission, European Central Bank, and the Court of Auditors in addition to others. The overall functions of the European Union are related to the individual functions of the comprising institutions (Hahari, 2014). The causes of the Eurozone Crisis are cumulative and form from the economic and financial decisions the members of the EU made as well as the corresponding effects on the economy. In the development of the Euro as the legal tender for the EU, member states had to decide on how to balance states with a larger economies with those with lower economies. In doing so, the value of the Euro was set averagely low value which affected large economies and small ones as well. Since large economies, like Germany, developed slower than smaller economies, like Greece, the low value of the Euro increased the chances of developing states to borrow cheaply (Jordan, and Adelle, 2012). In addition, nations such as Greece had high public debt of â‚ ¬240 billion while Ireland’s was â‚ ¬85-billion debt, Portugal’s was â‚ ¬78-billion public debt, Spain’s was â‚ ¬41-billion in loans, and Cyprus’s was â‚ ¬10-billion contributing and integrated with the collapse of the banking system. Provided that majority of the loans involved in the Eurozone crisis were funded by other members of the Eurozone, it was inevitable that the union would not sustain its operations as financial constrains were

Analysis of filmmaking of French critic Andr Bazin Essay

Analysis of filmmaking of French critic Andr Bazin - Essay Example Your film motivated me to criticize over some of main points of your Film which inspired me. I have a very strong feeling on the montage and realism, in my opinion montage is necessary in many cases to make a film influential. I made preeminence between â€Å"those directors who put their confidence in the image and those who put their assurance in reality†. Like as your directorial style reality and everything that can support film such as sound, center of attraction for audience and editing, set what film should be. I admit that, it is mixture that gives nativity to film as an art. I felt that handling of the image by suggestive editing or the dramatic sets stands in such the way of releasing film’s true probability for realism. In my point of view introduction of sound is an essential element to enhance the reality of film as an art form. The introduction of sound reveals an expression of reality that was missing before. The film should blossoms in a delighting and t he environment must be artificial where even the movement of the actor’s sound reflection strained angular shapes of their setting. I would like to say that by using deep focus, you able to cover the whole scenario in one take, the camera remaining inactive; thanks to the depth of field. Dramatic effects were created out of the apparent motion of the actors among a fixed framework which were so fined. You used all the pioneers for a very good reason. Soft focus only seemed with montage. I also admit that it’s hard to make a film free from montage at all. In my sense no matter how film shot, is and always will be a piece of art; because film expresses the thoughts and the feelings of its maker, it can be relatable or less relatable. It can force its message forward in a plain, metaphoric or insidious way the message is still there invariably. The act of making film is already meddling with reality by capturing it a contrived form. I am not against of creativity; I belie ve that realism of cinema gives greater power of creativity. My realism is ultimately personal. You gratify in a great deal of symbolic and emblematic to tell us about your story. The way you used the realistic device of mystifying focus of symbolic effects such like placing a character further into a room to make him seem littler and more unimportant. It is not exaggeration to say that Citizen Kane is incredible shot in any other way but in depth. The uncertainty in which we find ourselves is the version we should put on the film is to it built into the very design of the image. In Citizen Kane I saw a â€Å"Revolution in the Language if the Screen†-one that drifted away the conversations of standard Hollywood storytelling at that time via different techniques, although Citizen Kane didn’t pioneer these techniques but you invested them with new meaning and power. You also used the â€Å"Unity of Image in Space and Time† for maintaining a single shot where as an other film might have required four or five shots. The camera has power to preserve and record real events in time and space by photographic procedure that’s independent of human version. I even found that stimulating challenge to Hollywood artifice in some of the film’s more artificial techniques to avoid the unusual camera angels who revels the ceiling of sets and etc but in Citizen Kane you overcome this problem by extending fabric over sets, creating â€Å"ceiling† that were translucent and sound permeable. In my view Camera is

Do pure monopolies exist Essay Example for Free

Do pure monopolies exist Essay â€Å"No firm is completely sheltered from rivals; all firms compete for consumer dollars. If that is so, then pure monopoly does not exist. Do you agree? † (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). I would have to agree with this statement. I do not believe that there is such a thing as a pure monopoly. There are always alternatives or substitutes available when choosing to purchase products or services from firms. Pure monopoly exists when â€Å"a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which there are no close substitutes† (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). There are less pure forms of monopoly and near-monopolies, but not totally pure monopolies. There are several main characteristics that must be present in order for a pure monopoly to exist. These are: single seller, no close substitutes, price maker, and blocked entry. A pure monopoly is an industry in which a single firm is the sole producer of a specific good or the sole supplier of a service. Their product is unique in that there are no close substitutes, therefore, consumers who decide not to purchase the monopolized product must do without it. Many people will argue that electric companies are pure monopolies. I disagree because there are alternatives available: oil, propane, natural gas, solar, and wood are substitutes that can be used as sources of light and heat. The pure monopolist controls the total quantity supplied and as a result has considerable control over price; it is a price maker. The pure monopolist confronts the usual downward-sloping product demand curve and can change its product price by changing the quantity of the product it produces. A pure monopolist faces no immediate competition because certain barriers keep potential competitors from entering the industry. Those barriers may be economic (economic of scale), technological, legal (patents and licenses), or of some other type. In a pure monopoly entry is totally blocked. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. The control over a market and product does not necessarily mean there is not competition. Even if one single firm were to control an entire market and their product, there is always another firm that can produce a product that holds the same qualities and is closely related to the other. The post office is usually our first choice when we want to send a letter or package, but it also has competition from FedEx, UPS, and DHL. If there were a situation where there was a market that did not have to compete with another market over product sales, there would always be competition when it comes to the amount of money they need to bring in. Many characteristics must be present to classify firms as pure monopolies. There may be less pure forms such as: the water company, the cable TV company, and the local telephone company, and near-monopolies such as: Intel, First Data Corporation, and De Beers, however, I do not believe that pure monopoly exists. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. When choosing to purchase products or services from firms there are always alternatives or substitutes available even though they may not be our first choice. References Brue, S. L. , McConnell, C. R. , Flynn, S. (2010). Essentials of Economics (Ashford Custom 2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Development of Winston Smith in 1984

Development of Winston Smith in 1984 The ideological development of Winston Smith in 1984 One of the two most famous books of George Orwell, 1984, depicts a pessimistic vision of the future world consisting of three totalitarian states; Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, constantly at war with each other and keeping masses under careful observation and entire control. Therefore, the average people in 1984 cannot develop in any ways, except physically, because all their thoughts and ideas are under control of the Party. Emotions are unwanted, except for the devoted love of Big Brother, and the profound hate of Emmanuel Goldstein, and the enemies of the Party. Party members are being watched through telescreens all day, so when the first symptoms of unorthodoxy are noticed, they can be â€Å"cured† immediately. In addition, telescreens are constantly providing people with the appropriate ideas. Even the future language of Oceania, Newspeak, prevents people from â€Å"unorthodox† thoughts. All he unnecessary words, such as the ones bearing only slight differences, are being removed from the dictionary. The rest of the words are being deprived of their secondary and â€Å"improper† meanings. Accordingly, in the near future, party members are not going to be able to think of inadequate ideas. Winston Smith seems to be the only man in London who has human thoughts. There might be other people like him around, but due to the current system, people are prevented from showing their â€Å"unorthodox† thoughts and feelings. Winston Smith is an ordinary party member, except for the fact that he is a thinking creature. He has had thoughts long before he starts to write his diary, and his thoughts have not been appropriate in the eye of the Party. His Therefore, he has been a thoughtcriminal for years, but he was able to hide it, by understanding what the Party expects from an ideal member, and miming it. The unpremeditated act of constantly thinking is his first step to revolution. The next level of revolt is to start writing his diary. Though the act of writing seems to be pointless, even dangerous; it is satisfactory. Winston Smith starts to write his diary in an unusual way, he does not think about what he is writing, he just lets his thoughts embody on the paper. This method is called automatic writing; †modern psychodynamic theories of personality propose that traits, attitudes, motives, impulses, and memories that are incompatible with the persons conscious awareness may be dissociated from awareness and rarely expressed overtly in the course of normal waking behaviour.† (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Using this method, the person is unaware of what will be written: â€Å"Suddenly he began writing in sheer panic, only imperfectly aware of what he was setting down. His small but childish handwriting straggled up and down the page, shedding first its capital letters and finally even its full stops.†(Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.11) â€Å"He did n ot know what had made him pour out this stream of rubbish.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.11) After beginning his diary, he soon starts to think about how the regime works. He is in a good position to be able to see into the governance, because Winston works in Minitrue, Ministry of Truth, where he rectifies some earlier articles. He remembers an incident when he found an unquestionable evidence of the assumption that the Party changes past events to prove his statements. Winston comes to the conclusion that only the proles are free in his society, and they are the ones who could defeat the authority of the Party. He writes: â€Å"If there is hope it lies in the proles.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.60) The only problem with the proles is that they do not care about politics, and they do not know what kind of power is in their hands. They are the great majority (85%) of the society, but they live politically unconsciously. â€Å"Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.61) Smith realizes what the Party does. He knows how they falsify the past and how they manipulate party members and the proles, but he does not know why they do this. â€Å"The immediate advantages of falsifying the past were obvious, but the ultimate motive was mysterious. He took up his pen again and wrote: I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.68) He also realizes that the real freedom is the freedom of thoughts, and he thinks that it cannot be taken away from people: â€Å"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.69) Accordingly, at the end of Part I, Winston is a real rebel, he finds out many things about the Party, yet he does not do anything against it. He starts to revolt in his private life, when he starts an affair with Julia. The Party considers sex only the way to produce citizens in the country. The Party wants to abolish sexual contact, therefore they encourage young people to undertake artificial insemination. As Daphne Patai points out, the Party â€Å"prohibits sex except for the purpose of procreation, on the assumption that sexual tension could be redirected as passionate hatred of an enemy and passionate love of an abstract leader.† (Patai, 1984) Julia pretends to be an innocent, perfect party member, but she often has sex secretly with other Party members. This is her way of rebelling against the current system. â€Å" Have you done this before? Of course. Hundreds of times well scores of times anyway. With Party members. Yes, always with Party members. † (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.104) Winston and Julia start to have a secret life together. Winston rents a room from a prole man and they meet there regularly. They make love, consume things from the black market and talk a lot. Winston talks to Julia about politics. Although Julia is not truly interested in it, she listens to him and agrees, because she loves him. â€Å"Im not interested in the next generation, dear. Im interested in us. Youre only a rebel from the waist downwards, he told her. She thought this brilliantly witty and flung her arms round him in delight. â€Å" (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.129) Winston is waiting for a sign of the Brotherhood; the underground organization, headed by Emmanuel Goldstein, that is secretly trying to overthrow the Party. He wants to do something effectively against the Party. People do not know anything about Brotherhood, but there has always been a rumor of something like the Brotherhood. Winston really believes in the Brotherhood, and he has always wanted to be a part of it. â€Å"It had happened at last. The expected message had come. All his life, it seemed to him, he had been waiting for this to happen.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.131) OBrien, the one who Winston has always believed to be a rebellious person, invites him to his home. What Winston expects is some kind of initiation to the Brotherhood. He wants to belong to an organization that really does something against the Party. He has always believed what the arrested insurgents confessed, and he wants to do similar things to those. OBrien took Winston and Julia in the Brotherhood. Smith receives the book that Goldstein wrote and he starts to read it. He is satisfied because he thinks that his questions will be answered, but at the end he becomes disappointed by the book, because it does not give any answers yet. â€Å" He had still, he reflected, not learned the ultimate secret. He understood how; he did not understand why. Chapter 1, like Chapter 3, had not actually told him anything that he did not know; it had merely systematized the knowledge that he possessed already.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p179) After reading two chapters of the book, the worst thing happens to Winston and Julia. They have been betrayed and than arrested. It turns out that the prole man that let the room for them and even OBrien are the agents of the thoughtpolice. Therefore Winston is not only disappointed by the book, but also by the man that he really respected. Winston is taken to Miniluv where OBrien takes him in hand. OBrien teaches Winston in a Platonic method. He asks questions as far as Winston gives the right answer. OBrien , at last, gives the answers to Winstons questions. â€Å" Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites.† (Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.217) At the end, when he understood all that he wanted, he was taken to Room 101, and he had been changed. At the top of his ideological development, Winston became intellectually murdered. He knew what he wanted to know, but he did not believe himself. The only thing he trusted was the Party, and Big Brother. All in all, Winston goes through a hard and long process of ideological progress. According to Adibur Rahman, â€Å"Winston Smith wants to come â€Å"up for Air† in order to communicate with his genuine voice of self which is of course, not pessimistic. He no longer identifies himself with the existing callousness of the society.† (Adibur, 2002) First, he did not consciously think of rebelling, his subconscious thoughts and his dreams were his way of thinking. Then the next level was to disgorge his feelings and thoughts through his diary. After that he started to retrace his thoughts consciously, then he was not pleased with thinking, he wanted to act. At the beginning, he only rioted in his private life, after that he wanted to transfer it to public life, although he did not clearly understand his ideology. This was the point when he got arrested, and his questions were answered by OBrien, who was his traitor, his mentor, his enemy and his friend. He had intellectuall y been murdered, when he had reached the zenith of his ideological advance. Works consulted: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/44909/automatic-writing Retrieved on 08. 01. 2010 Patai, Daphne. The Orwell Mystique A Study in Male Ideology. Amherst, 1984 Rahman ,Adibur. George Orwell: a humanistic approach.New Delhi, 2002

The Code of Chivalry Essay -- The Lay of the Nibelungs

The epic poem, â€Å"The Lay of the Nibelungs† (1200’s), set to practice the major pillars in the code of chivalry that the Duke of Burgundy in the 14th century eventually condensed and ascribed to the Burgundian Knights: Faith, Charity, Justice, Sagacity, Prudence, Temperance, Resolution, Truth, Liberality, Diligence, Hope, and Valor. Though values bear merit, â€Å"The Lay of the Nibelungs† teaches that true worth and longevity comes from assessing the situation and applying intellect to the code, from submitting to God, and from not cheating the system (the laws and cultural norms of the time that be). A man only bears value based upon his actions or the potential for him to act in a certain manner. However, if an action contradicts that man’s beliefs, then no longer can he be said to possess such ideals. Sivrit embodies the code both through his actions and his beliefs, yet he is still human and thus has shortcomings. Sivrit faulted initially when he came to Burgundy and was clear as to his intentions stating to King Gunther upon his arrival: â€Å"In my father’s land I was told that alongside you here are the boldest warriors that a king ever gained— I’d gladly learn if this is true! I’ve heard a great deal about this. That is why I have come here.† (Anonymous, 14) At this lie or at the very least his hiding the truth of his interest in Kriemhild from Gunther, Sivrit broke an important declaration of the code, which states to all times speak the truth. However, from then onward Sivrit is the noble vassal, who serves his king, and who fig hts for the welfare of all those around him. â€Å"Let that be of little concern to you and rest easy. Do as I ask: let me win honor and gain for you, and ask your knights to come to you aid also. [†¦] I wou... ... Therefore, Hagen reason for killing Sivrit similar to the very modern United States currency can be viewed to have no meaning, they are both merely there as place holders, ideas never fully developed, bubble gum on the bottom of your shoe. And that notion that there might not be any meaning to the text is a troubling scenario for a literary analyst. One reason could be that the book is too short, not lengthwise for it is as long as any short novella at present, but developmentally. The characters come and go, are introduced and killed off, begin to play a crucial role and then disappear. And as for Hagen, who though he stuck around till the very end, at times acted against the Jungian archetype he was written to depict – that of a loyal warrior vassal loyal and submissive— which is problematic only because the author never gave reasons to support Hagen’s actions.

Disease Trends and Healthcare Delivery Essay

Statistics make the world go round, literally. A certain population or ethnicity and their disease trends can really have an effect on what can happen in the future for our healthcare systems. Demographics and Disease trends can go hand in hand with one another because disease trends are so constant and unnoticeable that it continues daily, therefore having a particular group being affected by the same disease. Some people do not believe it, but all you have to do is look at the statistics and you will then see how greatly they affect one another. To break things down, demographics are groups of people with a common link, such as; age, gender, race, education level, income level, even marital level, and etc. When in an environment where links are similar or the same, the same trends start to get picked up as well, linking you within the range of your demographics. Environment plays a big role in demographics as well. If you live in the same neighborhood or community as someone, you a re linked to that person no matter how small of importance it is. With everyone doing the same trends which come to them like habits, they may never go away until they know that it is a problem. Environment happens to play a role as well when it comes to demographics. Environment happens to play one of the main roles. Habits become hard to break because of the type of environment you around. Who, what, and the things that you are surrounded by happen to make up part of your environment, and it becomes hard to control when you get used to it and things become normal to you. An example would be; you stop by McDonald’s every day to get a Sunday just as a snack for the day. If that McDonalds was not so close to you, you would probably not have picked up the habit to buy an ice-cream. When you have so much or an environment surrounded by you that comes natural or that you see as being natural, it does not seem like anything to you because you do it in your everyday life. These things can affect your health and can affect the future of healthcare if gone unnoticed for so long. Even people play a big role in your environment. An example would be say you had a significant other. He liked to eat out all the times, but you liked home cooked meals bec ause that is what you were used to, but one day you said you did not feel like cooking and you at out. The one day changed everything and now you eat out just as much as your significant other and have begun to gain weight. It has become a habit for you to eat  out every day even though it seems so easy to stop. Well, that takes us to our next topic, obesity rates have gone up significantly throughout the United States. Of all countries, the United States has the highest rate of obesity. United States obesity rates have gone up from 13 percent in 1962 and estimates have increased to 19.4 percent in 1997, 24.5 percent in 2004, 26.6 percent in 2007 and 33.8 percent for adults and 17 percent for children in 2008. 2010 reports from CDC were said that numbers were still increasing counting 35.7 percent of the total American population for adults were obese and 17 percent of American children. Factors affecting obesity would be none other than environment. The fact that the United States has so many fast food services; people cannot help but to get dragged into being obese. Food is always in their faces or else they see someone else eating and crave it as well. Obesity has accounted for 100,000 to 400,000 deaths in the United States per year. It has increased healthcare use and expenditures. Obesity rates has cost society about 117 billion dollars in direct and indirect costs. It has exceeded the health care cost and will continue if obesity rates continue to go up. Obesity rates happen to be ore that that of the smoking and drinking rate and accounts for 6 percent to 12 percent of national health care expenditures in the United States. To reduce obesity rates, people can try switching up their everyday environments by going to a gym, going to a track, or even by just going to the grocery store and buying more healthy foods to cook and it. If people were to exercise as much as they eat, obesity rates could be lowered. The fact that children see things and grow up eating things they shouldn’t grows with them. Obesity rates could change in the future if children were taught to eat more healthy foods and not just foods that just taste good. There are so many things that people can do to reduce their own obesity rate. They can exercise three times a week and also eat healthier. Overall living a healthier lifestyle would help greatly. Changing the people around you as well can help. Choose to be around people that care about their health a lot or care about their health just as much as you do. You could always have a workout buddy, someone that will encourage you to lose weight. Even the fact of knowing that you could possibly be obese leading to more and more diseases can trigger something in someone to make them want to become a bit healthier. In the future of health care in the United States, there is really no way of  telling whether obesity rates will go down, but they could possibly go down drastically if the government, communities, societies, schools and cities come together annually and create awareness and activities that encourage people to lose weight, stay fit, and become healthy. Age can affect the U.S health care systems just as much obesity can. There are more modern medicines to help with diseases that were in the past. Let’s face it; now that we have more modernized medicines and machinery, people are living longer than they were 200 and 300 years ago. Today 40 million people in the United States are ages 65 and older. The number is to more than double to 89 million by 2050. The United States has a smaller share of older person than many developed countries, and its populations are graying at a slower pace. Environment definitely plays a role. People are aging slower within the United States because of more and more technology being implemented within the health care system. At this rate everyone will live until they are 100. It is not a bad thing to live a long life, but it does get harder when you get older and it often puts a burden on health care systems as well. The reason being is because elderly are more likely to be in high demand of healthcare and, getting help is expensive. The aging trend is likely to increase due to environmental factors. The more and more people that get older, the more and more nursing homes, and assisted living facilities begin to be built in order to help support the elderly. Retirement homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, happen to play a huge role in the United States. These homes often need a lot of co-workers as well which is really needed and in demand. Things that could be done to reduce health complications related to aging would be; living a healthy lifestyle no matter how old you are, and possibly make health care a little less expensive. Avoiding disease is the number one way to avoid getting complications in life when aging. Possibly choose a health plan that implements preventive health care and always get monthly and yearly screenings that could be recommended by your doctors. Health care delivery will most likely adapt to the United States environment in the future to provide care for age- related health issues by implementing more preventative care, making sure that everyone has health care coverage or are able to get it. Doctors and nurses need to be good at their jobs as well in order to catch even the hardest complications. There needs to be more  hospitals willing to accept a broad range of health issues and of course the number one thing would be price reduction. Health care will become a bit better than what it is now especially with the HITECH act in which is trying to put good use of information technology within hospitals, and physicians’ offices. As long as technology is always improving, the healthcare system improves as well. Health care delivery for obesity adaptation may get worse before it gets any better in such that people will not realize their issues until it is too late. In doing so this will trigger a movement within the United States that would make people want to change and teach their children as well. Health classes will begin to be implemented into elementary schools very early to teach children what are good foods and what aren’t. Instead of having soda machines and vending machines, machines are just going to be light snack machines and juice. In conclusion, healthcare delivery will change no matter what the case is. People play a big role in the future of health care and vice versa. With that being said, the only way for better adaptations would most probably be people actually wanting to change and more research within the world. With research, there comes, new inventions, with new inventions, there comes better technology to have in order to play roles within our lives. In order for change to occur within the future of health care, there has to be a change within people. When people decide to get up and take preventative measures within their own lives, and then their children life will then be when they decide to help the future of health care. Reference Jacobsen, L. (2009). America’s Aging Population. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Publications/PopulationBulletins/2011/americas-aging-population.aspx (2013). Obesity in the United States. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States â€Å"Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity†. CDC. 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-23 F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2008, Trust For America’s Health, pp. 10–11. Note: Defines â€Å"overweight† as BMI ≠¥25, â€Å"obese† as

Human Linguistics and the Importance of Second Language Learning in Modern Living Essay

Language is among the most basic necessities for a person to live. Be it thru oral or written communication, it is inherent in every person to connect with the world. As the world becomes more complicated with all the things that are written about speech, language, and communication in general, it reveals itself as an indispensible part of human life. Now, it implicates more needs than the usual. The basic need for understanding and being understood has branched out to issues about global interconnectedness, political and economic dealings, and cultural relations among others. And it continues to take on several roles in nation-building and for the promotion of social mobility and employment. The advent of technology only makes it even harder for people to stop communicating with the rest of the populace. There is a wide variety of languages in the world right now. â€Å"Biologists studying communication among living beings in general [may think that]—all are relatively minor variations on the single theme of Human language† (Anderson, 2005). But from the point of view of a linguistics expert, the variations in types of sentence construction, pronunciation, and other rules governing languages are very important differences that imply causes yet undiscovered. These examples delineate the function of the biologists’ view of communication and the linguists’ of the same process. It is true indeed that there are more than one ways to look at something but seeing the communication process through different lenses provide more a single way to understand the phenomena. In doing so, people are able to form a holistic view of the process of communication and how it affects human life. The Role of Human Language At this point, language takes on bigger roles which may affect greater humanity. From simply being a medium of sharing how people think of or feel as of the moment, it has become rather an important part of creating human identity. And with the individual identities created by language, it becomes the precursor in creating a national identity (through the shared identities of many individuals living in the same geographical location). People might begin to wonder: why human identity? These may be two separate ideas but in fact they are closely related to each other. Language is directly related to the person and his country of origin. We were given the basic knowledge that those who speak Chinese came from China, people who speak Russian are from Russia, and so on. When our ancestors devised names for the different languages around the world, the name of the country speaking that language was used to identify the language spoken. It might not have any implication during those times and was only done to make things easier for people to remember. But now that people have taken the time to analyze the effect of this naming convention, language has indeed become instrumental to creating identity for people. The prevailing notion of people â€Å"’having’ a language, which is equated to ‘belonging’ to an origin group† (Urciuoli, 1995) is perfectly logical. But then again, because of the proliferation of foreign language studies, specific languages cannot be exclusive to just one place or country any more. In particular, English is not only for the people in England or America. English varieties have come about which decentralized the use of the language. While language origins can still be identified, other nationalities already have the capacity to speak the same. This concept will be discussed further in the latter pages. Human Beings in Terms of a Speaker of a Language Unique to Them Being able to speak a language means mastering the abstractions of the language codes. Semantics, as the study of signs, is an important tradition of thought in communication theory† (Stephen W, 2008). Often times, the theory of semantics are used to explain why words are not really the images that we think of but are rather representation of truth. â€Å"The meaning is arbitrarily assigned† (What is Language, 2006). Therefore, the speaker of a particular language is a person who was able to understand and make sense of the abstraction. This abstraction contributes to the creation of the person’s perception and language skills. And if you will notice, the primary language that a person learned is vital in the subsequent languages that he will study. For example, native Korean speakers might be able to study and speak the English language but often times they are not able to eliminate the â€Å"e† sound after every English word they say. This only proves that the prior language learned by a non-native English speaker is able to influence subsequent languages studied throughout his lifetime. Notwithstanding the presence of Language Acquisition Devices, a person may or may not be successful in learning a new language but if he is then the prior influence will be evident in the newly learned language. The Role of Second/Foreign Language Foreign language becomes even more important now that the world is geared towards globalization. With much concerted effort to adopt a common language, which is English as of the moment, all other countries strive to educate their citizens in communicating using that foreign language. â€Å"Marshall McLuhan was the first person to popularize the concept of a global village and to consider its social effects† (Stewart, 2010). Those who fail to appreciate this effort do not acknowledge the fact that in the global village, the barrier-less communication paves the way for three phenomena: 1. Global information dissemination for improved understanding between nations. 2. It is also the appreciation of cultures other than your own. 3. Aids in the self-actualization of the second language learner. The first phenomenon is plain and simple. If you are going to look at the job of the ambassadors, it looks as if it’s all prestige and fun. In fact, it is predominantly driven by hard work. It is extremely difficult to make great relationships with other countries because there will always be a reason to be skeptical of something you are not familiar with. That is the reason why ambassadors find time to learn the language of the countries where they will be assigned: because insisting on speaking a different language might take its toll upon the relations of the ambassador’s country to the country of assignment. The second phenomena are also something simple which has profound implications at the end of the day. Reasons for Speaking Foreign Language Using the logic that language is culture, learning another language is therefore a way to expose one’s self to another group of people’s way of living. As you immerse yourself in the language, the culture goes with it and in a matter of months the foreign language learner will know whether he likes and would want to continue studying that foreign language. The satisfaction As of today, learning a foreign language has become a necessity. It doesn’t have to be a â€Å"dominant† language for it to be learned by anyone. Although English has become a very popular language to study (considering the political and economic influence of the United States to the rest of the world), studying the language of a small country with not much of an influence to the world can happen because of various reasons. For one, travelling often to a particular place would make a person want to study the language of the person. Or probably, a person who plans to study or work abroad needs to learn the language of the country first before he is cleared at the immigration office. And still, there are underlying reasons behind this. It is probably caused by the need to communicate in the native tongue of the people in that country. Communicating through their native language lends them the feeling of being part of the place. Whereas, not knowing the language alienates the person—it becomes obvious that he is an â€Å"outsider† because he doesn’t know how to speak the language. Another reason for studying a foreign language is to increase the cultural capital of a person. This concept was proposed by Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist. He argued that â€Å"these ‘advantages’ stem from the institutionalization of ‘criteria of evaluation’ in schools†¦ which are favorable to a particular class or classes† (Bourdieu, 1977). It must be noted that a couple of decades back, learning a second language is exclusive for those in the upper class of the social triangle—being able to speak another language becomes a status symbol. But that was true in the past years. Nowadays, there are many ways for a person to learn another language without having to spend a lot of money. One way is by subscribing to free online language tutorials. Nevertheless, even if this language skill is already available to most people, the concept of cultural capital is still there. And the person who knows more languages has the advantage. A rather intrinsic motivation for learning a new language is the appreciation of that particular language and the culture that is associated with it. Adopting this kind of perspective will make the process of learning a language enjoyable and â€Å"less results-oriented† (Tender, 2008). The motivational approach of this kind of learning allows the second language learner to appreciate the value of the language prior to learning it. It is rather encouraging for the person to learn the language continuously because the benefit is achieved intrinsically. The Role of the Second Language Teacher Apparently, there are â€Å"benefits and advantages to those who take the time to explore the language of a culture different than their own† (What is the Importance of Learning a Second Language? ). And whatever these benefits and advantages are, it is the duty of the second language teacher to make his/her students realize it. The role of a second language teacher takes on a support role which motivates the student every step of the way. By doing so, the students therefore realize the importance of what they are doing and will adopt a learning mechanism in which the rewards are rather intrinsic. It is also not enough for the second language teacher to stop at teaching grammar and syntax rules. More important than teaching the language is teaching them why they wanted to study the language in the first place. Often times, those teachers who elicit a compelling need for their students to study the language are the ones who are most successful with their teaching career. They do not stop at the superficial level of teaching a language but rather delve on the subjective inferences of asking the question â€Å"why†. Also, like any other teacher, a second language teacher is an agent of change. The author says that these people are agents of change because they are able to arm the students with the right kind of knowledge to face the global village. A person who knows how to speak a language other than his native tongue is able to communicate more effectively. And by doing so, they are also able to spur changes in their surroundings. Suppose that a foreign exchange student is well adept at using the language of his/her host country. That student is empowered to make a difference in the lives of his host family and host institution by sharing his thoughts and ideals through the language used in that place. And he/she will only be able to do so if his/her foreign language teacher was able to act as an agent of change to the student. As a final word, different teachers can assume different roles in different situations. It may be that at one point a teacher is task-oriented (meaning the teacher is focused on how each activity or lesson will improve the language skills of the students). Another is that the teacher can also be a counselor or a colleague which are both supportive in nature. Their mindset is to join the students along the way and help them as if they are both on the same ground. Lastly, the motivational teacher is focused on how he will be able to create more value out of the student’s learning experience. Often times, the motivational teacher does not teach the language concepts in isolation with the benefits and necessity of learning such. These two ideas are intertwined to create more significance for every lesson. As of today, we are still on the lookout for teachers who are able to balance the different facets of teaching roles. But â€Å"generally, all the teachers are preoccupied with task-related functions, treating the aspect of motivation and interpersonal roles as a useful but not an indispensable addition† (The role of the foreign language teacher in the classroom — the teachers† beliefs and role behavior versus the students† expectations. , 2002) Conclusion Ultimately, language will be an important part of our lives. No matter what differences will come about in the upcoming years it will continue to become the medium by which people are to express their thoughts and ideas. Moreover, this will significantly increase the need for people to use language in nation-building purposes and for the betterment of the society where they belong to. Bibliography Anderson, S. R. (2005, April). How Many Languages are There in the World? Retrieved July 10, 2010, from Linguistics Society of America: http://www. lsadc. org/info/pdf_files/howmany. pdf Andrea A. Lunsford, j. J. (2001). Everything’s an Argument. Massachusetts: Bedford St. Martin’s. Bourdieu, P. (1977). Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction. New York: Oxford University Press. Davis, W. (1952). Practical World Language. The Science News-letter , 10-11. Met, M. (n. d. ). Improving Student’s capacity on Learning Foreign Language. Phi Delta Kappan , 214-218. Mulford, G. W. (1989). Semantic Processing for Communicative Exercises in Foreign-Language Learning . Computers and the Humanities , 31-44. Rampton, B. (2002). Ritual and Foreign Language Practices at School . Language in Society , 491-525. Stephen W, L. K. (2008). Theories of Human Communication. California: Thomson Wadsworth. Stevens, G. (1999). Age at Immigration and Second Language Proficiency among Foreign-Born Adults. Language in Society , 555-578. Stewart, B. (2010, March 13). Marshall McLuhan Foresees The Global Village. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from Living Internet: http://www. livinginternet. com/i/ii_mcluhan. htm Tender, A. M. (2008). About The Linguistic Constitution of Social Space: The Case of Estonia. TRAMES , 151-182. The role of the foreign language teacher in the classroom — the teachers† beliefs and role behavior versus the students† expectations. (2002). Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies . Urciuoli, B. (1995). Language and Borders. Annual Review of Anthropology , 525-546. What is Language. (2006, August 31). Retrieved July 9, 2010, from Language and Culture: http://anthro. palomar. edu/language/language_2. htm What is the Importance of Learning a Second Language? (n. d. ).

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 8

â€Å"Georgina?† I looked up from a baffling return Tammi had asked me to help her with. A customer without a receipt was attempting a refund on a stack of books with dog-eared pages and broken spines, claiming all of them were duplicates someone had just given him for his birthday. â€Å"Just a sec,† I told her. â€Å"I've got to finish this.† â€Å"Okay,† Beth said. â€Å"I just thought you should check out Casey.† â€Å"Casey?† â€Å"Yeah. She's up in the cafe.† That snagged my attention. I finished up with the customer, telling him nicely that we couldn't accept books in this condition. Maybe if the alleged other books were in better shape, he could bring those in. He pouted and argued a bit before finally skulking off. I rolled my eyes once he was gone. One thing that never changed among humans: there were always those who wanted to get something for nothing. It was what kept hell in business. I found Casey sitting in the cafe, drinking a glass of water. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she didn't display her usual care in makeup and hairstyling. She stared bleakly at the table, eyes dull and glazed over. â€Å"Hey,† I said gently, pulling up a chair across from her. â€Å"How's it going?† After a moment's delay, she looked up, not really focusing on me. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"You sure? You don't look so okay.† â€Å"Dunno.† Her tone was flat, distracted. â€Å"I just had a late night, that's all. Sorry. Sorry I came in like this.† â€Å"No problem. I've had my share of crazy nights.† The thing was, Casey didn't exactly look hung over. I mean, she definitely looked like she was recovering from something†¦but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was weird. â€Å"What'd you get into? A party?† â€Å"Yeah. Doug's band had another one.† â€Å"Really.† News to me. â€Å"Must have been pretty good.† â€Å"Dunno.† â€Å"What do you mean? You were there.† Her brow furrowed, confusion glinting in her brown eyes. â€Å"I don't†¦really remember. Stupid, huh? I must have really been trashed. I remember†¦being with Alec. Then we left. We went somewhere. â€Å" â€Å"You don't know?† She looked upset and closed her eyes. â€Å"There was this big house, and†¦I don't know. I just†¦I just can't remember. I'm sorry, Georgina. I shouldn't have come in today, okay? Sorry.† â€Å"It's okay. So you have no idea what you did with him? Nothing at all?† She shook her head. I shouldn't have kept pushing for details of an employee's personal life, but something here bothered me. It was more than my bias against Alec too. I remembered him pushing alcohol on women, his invitation to go somewhere â€Å"more intense.† Casey's inability to remember what had happened with him smacked of date-rape drugs. â€Å"Did Alec give you anything?† For the first time in this conversation, her dull expression sharpened and looked alert. â€Å"I†¦no. No.† But she was lying. I could tell. Why? Fear of him? Embarrassment? I couldn't bring myself to question her anymore. She looked too miserable. I told her she should go home and get some rest; she didn't need much convincing. I took her place at the registers, silently fuming at that jerk Alec. My anger was furthered by the fact that I could do nothing. Casey's life wasn't really my business, and without her admitting to anything, Alec stood blameless. With Casey now gone, Paige out sick again, and Warren golfing in Florida, I felt relieved when Doug showed up. He looked as energetic as ever, so I hoped he could counter my plunging mood. â€Å"I heard you had a party.† â€Å"Yup.† He grinned, working the register next to mine. â€Å"I tried calling you, but you weren't home.† â€Å"Had a party of my own. Hey, did you notice anything weird with Casey and Alec last night?† â€Å"Weird how? I mean, they seemed to be hitting it off.† â€Å"Nothing else?† â€Å"Nope. Not that I saw. Why? Are you interested? He's a little young for you, but if you're into that, I can give you his phone number.† â€Å"Hardly.† â€Å"Whoa,† he suddenly exclaimed. â€Å"Check this action out.† He picked up one of the books his customer was paying for. It was a romance novel, emblazoned with a big chested man holding an equally big chested woman. Her neck was arched back, her lips open in a moan. And her dress was falling off. â€Å"Bet there's some good shit in here. Nothing like some throbbing members and private time to get you off, eh?† He winked at the customer, who turned crimson and didn't say anything. She handed over some cash and hurried away as fast as she could. Aghast, I ignored the customers standing there and grabbed Doug's arm, jerking him away from the counter. â€Å"What the hell was that?† I asked in a low, angry whisper. He laughed loudly. â€Å"Oh come on, Kincaid. I was just having a little fun. Those romance novels always crack me up.† â€Å"You do not comment on customer purchases. Furthermore, you certainly don't swear in front of them.† â€Å"Basic training. I know all this.† â€Å"Yeah? Then act like it.† We stood there, both of us shocked at my tone. I didn't think I'd ever talked to Doug in such a reprimanding way. Certainly not here. We were both assistant managers, partners in crime. Our entire working relationship was one of lightheartedness and messing around. â€Å"Fine,† he said after a moment. â€Å"Whatever.† We went back to the registers, both of us pointedly ignoring the other. We worked without incident a while longer until I heard him say, â€Å"Man, this has to be rough. Hope it all works out.† Looking over, I saw his customer buying a book about STDs. Doug returned my gaze with a challenging look. I finished my own purchase and then put up a â€Å"register closed† sign. Finding Andy at the information desk, I told him to ask Doug to swap spots. â€Å"Don't tell him I told you to.† Doug seemed safer helping customers find books, yet no matter where I was in the store, I could hear him. He spoke and laughed too loudly. Whenever I caught sight of him, he was always in motion – like he couldn't stay still. Once, he was – literally – juggling books for a customer. Another time, I saw him actually skipping as he led a customer over to the cooking section. I frowned, unsure what to do. His lively nature had been fun this last week, but he was pushing it now, and I wasn't entirely sure what my role should be in all of this. â€Å"That redheaded girl said you're the manager here,† a middle-aged woman suddenly said, approaching me as I rearranged a display. â€Å"I'm an assistant manager,† I told her. â€Å"What can I help you with?† She pointed to the information desk. â€Å"That man was so rude to me. He helped me find some books, and then†¦he said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She couldn't finish, oscillating between anger and distress. I looked at what she held. Books on clinical depression. Lovely. At least it wasn't called Going Postal in an Insensitive Bookstore. I took a deep breath to steady myself and apologized profusely, promising I'd deal with it. I then walked her over to the head of the check-out line and told Andy to ring her books up for free. Warren never approved of that, but I didn't care at the moment. I waited for Doug to finish with his customer and then pulled him aside once more. â€Å"We need to talk in the office.† He gave me a lopsided grin. Studying him, I saw his eyes glittering with a distracted fervor. â€Å"What for? Let's talk here. I've got customers to help, you know. Can't let this goddamned place go unattended.† I blanched at this, still forcing calm. We had a line of about four customers listening. â€Å"No. Let's go in the back.† He rolled his eyes and threw a friendly arm around me. â€Å"Christ, you're uptight. What's this about?† â€Å"You know what it's about,† I returned, wiggling out from under the arm. â€Å"You're out of line today.† His smile fell. â€Å"No, you're out of line. What's with the attitude anyway? You can't talk to me like this.† He was still too loud. More people were stopping. â€Å"I can talk to you like this when you're acting like a jerk. You're upsetting customers. You're doing stuff that's completely inappropriate, and you know it.† â€Å"‘Inappropriate?' Jesus Fucking Christ, Kincaid! You sound like Paige now. I'm having fun. Remember that? Remember when you and I used to do that around here back before you got this stick up your ass?† We had a bona fide audience now. Customers and staff alike. Dead silence, save for the faint sounds of Vivaldi playing through the store's sound system. â€Å"I mean,† he continued, thriving on the attention, â€Å"where do you get off acting like this? Who put you in charge? You and I are the same rank, remember? It's like you get ten seconds of fame in Mortensen's story, and now you think you can put on airs. Why don't you go find him? Maybe if you got laid again, you'd stop being such a bitch.† â€Å"Doug,† I said, astonished at how firm and strong my voice was. It was like someone else was using my body to confront him, and I only watched. â€Å"You need to go home. Now. If you don't leave, I'll have you removed.† Of course, I had no clue how I was going to pull that off. As it was, I felt almost terrified to be facing off against him like this. My heart raced. We were standing close, thrusting our wills at one another, and he had half a head's height on me and a bigger build. I didn't really fear violence from him, but the physical intimidation was as scary as the psychological. Still, I held my ground, keeping my expression commanding and decisive. At last, he backed down, breaking eye contact. He shrugged and gave his goofy grin to those watching, like they were in on some joke with him. â€Å"Sure. Whatever you want. I don't care. I could use a day off anyway.† He looked around again, face smug and defiant, like he'd won. After another survey of the crowd, he laughed and stalked out. Nobody spoke or breathed after that. I drew myself up, like none of this had bothered me either. I strode purposefully away, saying to Beth as I passed: â€Å"Will you cover the desk now?† I went upstairs to the caf? ¦ and had the barista make me a mocha. I took it with shaking hands and turned around to find Seth standing there. He wore a Ratt shirt today. â€Å"Thetis,† he said softly. I walked over to one of the windows, and he followed. Outside, cars and people moved throughout Queen Anne. I watched them without seeing them. Seth moved behind me, his presence steady and reassuring. Waiting to catch me, even though I refused to fall just yet. This, I realized, was why I chose to stay with him, sexual mishaps or no. â€Å"I suppose you witnessed all that.† â€Å"Yeah,† he said. â€Å"You handled it well.† â€Å"I didn't want to handle it at all.† â€Å"Someone had to.† He touched my arm gently. â€Å"You can be pretty fierce sometimes.† I shook my head, still numb. â€Å"I don't want to be fierce either.† â€Å"Georgina. Look at me.† I turned and looked. Those lovely eyes were soft and full of love, yet underscored with strength. â€Å"You did the right thing.† He rested his hands on my arms, thumbs stroking the bare skin. â€Å"You did the right thing.† â€Å"He's my friend.† â€Å"That doesn't matter.† â€Å"What's wrong with him, Seth? What's gotten into him?† â€Å"Isn't it obvious?† â€Å"Not to me.† He smiled ruefully. â€Å"The same thing that made you eat a bag of Taco Bell food last night.† â€Å"What? Pot doesn't do that. Make him behave like he did, I mean. Not the Taco Bell thing.† â€Å"No,† he agreed. â€Å"Pot won't do that, but he was obviously on something. â€Å" I turned back to my view, thinking. I recalled Doug's nonstop vigor, that feverish look in his eyes. Yes, it made sense, and it was saddening. I'd never known him to mess around with anything much harder than alcohol and marijuana. Yet†¦there was more to his exuberance lately. A drug couldn't make you good at Tetrisor churn out an album's worth of songs in under a month. â€Å"I don't know what it could be then. I've tried almost everything once,† I admitted sheepishly. Immortality allowed experimentation without the dangerous consequences mortals faced. â€Å"But I haven't made enough of a study to really ID anything. What do you think? Some kind of amphetamine?† â€Å"I don't really know either.† I rubbed my temples, sensing a nasty headache coming on. I wanted nothing more just then than to go home and veg on the couch with Seth on one side, Aubrey on the other, and a plate of brownies on my lap. It wasn't going to happen. â€Å"I've got to get back down there. We're short two people now. I'm going to be here until closing again.† â€Å"You want me to come over after work? I'm supposed to paint at Terry's, but I can bail on it.† I assured Seth he didn't need to change his plans for me and then returned downstairs. Functionality had resumed as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The only thing noteworthy was the way the other staff watched me now. Not with mockery or amusement, but something else. If I hadn't known better, I would have said my respect rating had just shot up. I got home after work, drained. Weak with exhaustion, mental and physical. When I absorbed life from victims, it was usually to sustain my immortal existence and shape-shifting. But life was full of other things that required energy. Breaking and entering. Working two twelve-hours shifts in a row. Staying virtuous around the man of your dreams. Reprimanding one of your best friends and discovering he was probably addicted to something nasty. The need for vitality itched within me, making me irritable and anxious despite my worn-out feeling. For me, that energy-longing translated into lust, a sudden need to be touched and consumed by someone I could consume in return. I called Bastien. â€Å"What is it now?† he asked sarcastically. â€Å"I suppose you're just going to cut to the chase and call Dana. That way you can get it over with and tell her how her neighbor has a plan to seduce her and bring down her organization. Maybe while you're at it, you can mention the break-in and get me arrested. You could even key my car if you wanted. It would be a perfect ending to my already ruined career.† â€Å"Oh shut up,† I snapped, not having the patience for this. Apparently I still had some fury left in me from earlier. â€Å"First, you were not going to bed Dana last night, so get that out of your system. Second, you probably deterred her by answering the door in the first place, as stoned as you were. Third, if you'd really wanted to endear yourself to her, you would have shown more concern for me rather than coming off as an uncaring asshole.† â€Å"How is your ankle?† he asked reluctantly. â€Å"Fine. You know how it goes.† A sprain was barely a day's concern for an immortal. â€Å"Good enough to go dancing on.† â€Å"Dancing?† â€Å"Yes. I want you to take me out. Now. I just had the worst day ever. â€Å" â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"Sorry? Are you turning me down? Since when have you been such a grudge-holder?† â€Å"It's not just that†¦well, okay, maybe a little. But Bill invited me over to watch a football game.† â€Å"You hate football.† â€Å"Yeah, but I might see Dana. Sorry, Fleur . You're on your own tonight. â€Å" Annoyed, I hung up and dialed the next best dancer I knew. â€Å"Cody,† I said, â€Å"we're going clubbing.† â€Å"Okay,† he returned agreeably, â€Å"but I'll have to bring Hugh and Peter.† â€Å"Ack. They dance almost as badly as Seth.† â€Å"Yeah. But I promised I'd hang out with them tonight. Unless you want to come over here? We're playing D&D right now. Do you know how many hit points a succubus has?† â€Å"All right, all right. Bring them along.† I hung up. It didn't really matter who came anyway. I mostly just wanted people to go out with. Companionship gave the outing some semblance of normality, though it wasn't like I needed any of them for what I was going to do. â€Å"Jesus, woman,† breathed Hugh when I answered my door an hour later. â€Å"You're kind of screwing with my sisterly feelings for you.† I had on a pleated black skirt that covered less than half my thighs. My top was off the shoulder with three-quarter sleeves, and it stopped just above my belly button, leaving my midriff bare. It was made of clinging, stretchy black lace that looked opaque in dim lighting and showed everything – and I do mean everything – in full light. The only decision left was what body to go out in. I didn't like to do succubus work in my usual shape – the one that worked at Emerald City and slept with Seth. I wanted an anonymous face, one that could forget and be forgotten. Staring at my bathroom mirror, I considered a number of features and ethnicities. Finally, I opted for a pretty Latina look, sultry with long dark hair. We went to the same club Bastien and I had danced at before. It played varying genres of music, but all of it was fast and heavy. It thrummed in the blood. Hugh immediately parked himself at the bar, looking exactly like the creepy guy who ogled younger women that he was. Peter seemed torn between joining him and hitting the floor. He was homebody enough to want to stay with Hugh, but I knew places like this were fertile hunting grounds for vampires and succubi alike. Reluctantly, the frumpy vampire bought a drink and then made his way to the dancers, looking hopelessly out of place. I knew he'd survive, though; he'd been doing what he did almost as long as I had. I walked up to the bar and ordered a shot of Rumple Minze, which I downed immediately. It was funny – part of me thought that I could scorn Doug for getting mixed up with some drug when I turned so readily to alcohol to ease my own tension. â€Å"Dance with me,† I told Cody, grabbing his hand. He looked good tonight, wearing a button-up shirt untucked and loose. It had a neat printed pattern on it, one of those that only confident guys with real fashion sense could actually wear. With his agile dancing and golden blond looks, he made a good partner. â€Å"What am I, your warm-up?† he asked me a few songs later. I laughed. We were dancing awfully close, and I had been moving my body more provocatively than I normally would with a friend. Unconscious motion. My succubus hunger surfacing. â€Å"Does it bother you?† â€Å"Nope. Well, other than giving me that weird incest feeling Hugh was talking about. But I don't think you're going to get what you need off me.† â€Å"True,† I said scanning the crowd. The place was packed with mortals, all warm and energetic and burning with life in a way my friends and I did not. Again, the itch of longing seized me. I wanted to touch them all and knew I'd have to break from Cody soon. â€Å"What's got you all fired up anyway? We don't usually see you like this.† That was true. Mostly he and the others just heard me bitching and moaning about my infernal job and how I hated seducing nice guys. â€Å"Need to burn off some Seth lust. That, and I got majorly run down today,† I explained, proceeding to tell him the rest. Cody felt as sad as I did about Doug, whom he knew and liked. The young vampire agreed that Doug's erratic behavior sounded amphetamine based, and he threw out a few suggestions for me. I made a mental note to look them up later. Cody and I finally split up, each to take care of our own business. I started working the room, much as I had the other night, only this time my motivation was legitimate. I had my pick of partners and no end of free drinks. Each time I got someone to buy me one, Hugh – still at the bar – would shake his head with wry amusement. In about two hours, I had my mark. He was young and muscular, made extra gorgeous by sexy Mediterranean features. Italian descent, I suspected. He was also sweet and shy, clearly astonished that I kept dancing with him. His friends, watching from afar, apparently felt the same way. We had moved to a crowded part of the dance floor, jam-packed with other sweating, frenzied bodies. I rubbed mine against his in a more intimate way than the crowd quite required, my hands sliding over his body as we swayed. When our lips brushed against each other's, he pulled back. He told me then – awkwardly and reluctantly – that he had a girlfriend. That didn't come as a surprise to me. We stopped dancing, getting jostled by the crowd, and I feigned modest embarrassment for my boldness while pretending not to notice how he hadn't seemed to want to make the girlfriend admission. â€Å"Er, wait,† he said as I started to turn and leave. Hesitation hung heavy in his voice. The voice of someone trying to rationalize something he knew he shouldn't be doing†¦but wanted to anyway. True consternation churned on his face. â€Å"I mean, we can still†¦we can still†¦keep dancing. Can't we?† Five dances later, I'd sweet-talked – and bribed – one of the waiters into letting us into a storage room in the club's basement. It was dark and small and filled with extra tables, but it sufficed for what we needed. I could still hear the music from above, though none of the song's specifics. The whole building vibrated with the beat. My guy still appeared nervous, but alcohol and opportunity were clearly winning out over his better judgment. I didn't tell him my name. I didn't ask for his. I pulled him to me, and we kissed – the kind of hard, furious kissing that makes your lips feel swollen afterward. His hands started on my hips and then moved upward, peeling the lace shirt up as they went, exposing my breasts. His hands fondled them wonderingly, feeling their shape and size, making my nipples harden and stand out. He leaned down and put his lips to one, sucking hard. When I felt his teeth bite gently, I grunted in approval and shifted my hands down to loosen his belt. He straightened back up, and this time I was the one who went down – literally. On my knees, I tugged on his boxers and released the erection that had been straining at the fabric. I ran my tongue along its tip, tasting the few salty drops that had already seeped out. Then, without further hesitation, I took the whole thing into my mouth, letting my tongue roll over it as my lips moved back and forth along the length of the shaft. He groaned and laced his fingers across the back of my neck, trying to push more of him inside. The first tendrils of his energy began flowing into me, sweet and delicious. He was a good one, full of strength. I sucked harder, teasing him for a couple more minutes, then broke away and stood up. The look on his face when I stopped became almost comically desperate. Like he couldn't believe I had just done that to him. Like I had just gone and hit his shins with a baseball bat. I licked my lips and smiled. â€Å"You want more? You're going to have to come and get it. â€Å" This was the clincher. If I was going to go to the trouble of bagging a guy with a strong life force, I might as well hit my quota with Jerome and do some corrupting as well. A guy with a serious girlfriend might feel guilty about fooling around with another woman, but he'd feel guiltier still if he was the one who took serious steps toward initiating it. It was too easy to say she made me do it. My part was done; he had to take over now. This guy might not have realized my ulterior motives here, but he seemed to sense the gravity of the situation. He stood on the edge now, the edge of a decision that could affect his eternal soul. Did he or didn't he? Did he give in to his lust and betray a woman he cared about? Did he take a chance with me he might never get again? Or did he reject me and walk away? Did he stay faithful? My smile grew, slow and languid, as he debated. I paced around the room like I had all the time in the world, like I didn't care what he decided to do. The click of my heels sounded loudly on the hard floor. I turned away from him, trying to make out some old framed picture on the wall. It was mostly a dark blur in the dim lighting. Then, I felt him behind me. His hands slid from my waist down to my hips, then lower to cradle my ass. He pushed up what little of the skirt there was and pulled down the strappy black thong I had underneath. Slowly, his hands traced every curve, feeling and exploring. One hand moved around the outside of my leg toward the front, between my thighs. The movement forced him to move closer to me, and I could feel him – still hard, still ready – press against my flesh. The exploring hand pushed farther between my thighs, and his breath was hard and hot on my neck. His fingers brushed the small, neatly trimmed patch of hair between my legs, then moved lower, dancing at the edges of my lips, teasing them. A small, urgent moan left my mouth, and I ground against him, hoping to get a response. He slid his fingers in a smooth rhythm, stoking my already raging desire. A minute later, those urgent fingers moved into me, probing and exploring. I was wet and slippery, but it still caught me by surprise, and I exclaimed loudly. He wrapped his other arm around my waist, pulling me even closer, and continued driving those fingers in and out. His life poured into me again. A purely physical burning welled inside of me too, growing stronger each time he moved in. But before that feeling could reach completion, he pulled his fingers out and left them out. My turn to feel unfulfilled. Gripping my shoulders, he turned me around, and I braced myself to be shoved on top of the table or up against the wall. To my astonishment, he pushed me onto my knees instead, his breathing frantic now, his eyes burning with hunger and lust. â€Å"Your mouth,† he gasped out. â€Å"I want your mouth again.† Unexpected – and perhaps a little disappointing – but it all worked the same for me. Before I could even act, he thrust himself back between my lips. A surprised sound lodged in my throat, and it seemed to turn him on even more. I no longer had to worry about who was taking the initiative here; it was all him. His hands held my head and neck in place as he pumped away, pushing into me over and over. The life-force transfer started in earnest, his energy flooding into me with his thoughts and feelings. Finally, finally, finally, he thought, aching desire crackling through him. Feeling his mind and soul, I realized then he might not have been so easy a tag as I originally thought. He loved his girlfriend. Loved her passionately. But she didn't like oral sex, and one of the biggest fantasies of this guy's life was to – bluntly – fuck her face. Had I started foreplay in some other way tonight, he might very well have been strong enough to decline. But I had given him the one thing he couldn't refuse. It overpowered the guilt lurking in the back of his mind. I'll never get this chance again. Allison doesn't have to know. I knew that rationalization well. It was just about the oldest in the book. He thrust more urgently, that long shaft filling my mouth as his eyes watched me eagerly, and unintelligible, primal noises sounded in his throat. And for me, who had been denied an orgasm, pleasure was building in a different way. Life-force transfer doesn't occur at the point of a physical contact or even orgasm. It's bigger than that, more holistic. Soul to soul. His energy washed over me now in waves, and it was pure ecstasy as I rode that ocean higher and higher. My body burned with it, nearly to the breaking point. Before that crest crashed over, before our connection broke, I caught one more thought from him, plain and simple: mouth or face} Ah, men. He chose mouth, moaning loudly as he came. Warm, bitter liquid flooded over my tongue as his body spasmed and his nails dug into my neck and scalp. I waited until he finished, then swallowed because I knew it was what he wanted me to do. It was what every guy wanted. And really, it was the least I could do for him, because with his orgasm came a climax of my own. The full force of his energy hit me like a bolt of lightning at the same time he felt its loss. I broke from him, gasping at the feel of that power, swimming in that bliss, invigorated and alive. He, however, stiffened and paled, suddenly weak and confused at losing something he hadn't even known he had. He groped blindly for support and caught the edge of a table as his legs gave out underneath him. The table saved him from completely falling over, and I caught his other arm, balancing him. Carefully, I eased him down so he could sit and lean his body against a chair. His eyes struggled to stay open as the shock of his energy loss pulled him toward unconsciousness. Another cardinal succubus rule: the stronger the guy, the stronger his loss would be. â€Å"Oh my God†¦what's wrong with me?† Pushing aside whatever kindly feelings or sympathy I might have, reminding myself he'd – eventually – recover, I stared down at him coolly and rearranged my clothes. â€Å"I think you drank too much.† I leaned over and tugged up his pants. â€Å"I'll go get help.† He started to protest, but I was already out the door. I strode back to the dance floor, haloed in his energy. I felt like a goddess entering a temple of worshippers, and many sets of eyes seemed to regard me as exactly that. A few quick searches, and I found his friends from earlier. I told them he'd passed out downstairs and left them to deal with it. â€Å"This one's on me,† I heard Hugh say when I walked back up to the bar. My post-sex glamour would be especially obvious to him. I ordered a shot of Jagermeister and chased it with another shot of Goldschlager. Nothing like funny-named liquor to top off an evening. â€Å"Does it make you feel better?† the imp asked. He inclined his head toward the two empty glasses. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"But sometimes it helps me not remember as much.† I went home after that and cooked myself in a long, hot shower, trying to wash away the feel of sex. My buzz soon yielded to my second headache of the day and a slightly nauseous feeling. I had just settled down on the couch for mindless TV watching, back in my normal shape, when Seth showed up. â€Å"I wanted to see how you were doing,† he explained, sitting down next to me. â€Å"Better,† I told him uneasily. â€Å"Sort of. I went out with the gang.† â€Å"Ah. Sounds fun.† He didn't sound entirely sincere. I think â€Å"the gang† still kind of weirded him out a little. He leaned his head on the couch and stared at me for a long time, not saying anything. I laughed in spite of myself. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I don't know,† he said, face serious. He reminded me of a child staring at the tree on Christmas morning. â€Å"It's weird. It's just you're so†¦so beautiful tonight. I mean, you're always pretty, of course, but tonight, I don't know – I can't take my eyes off of you. I want to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't give voice to the urge. â€Å"Must be the wet hair and pajamas,† I said lightly. â€Å"Always a turn-on.† But I knew what was bedazzling him. The guy from the club. Or rather, that guy's stolen life. Humans couldn't resist it. Immortals couldn't resist it. Racking my brain, I realized Seth had never seen me so soon after a fix. He'd seen me the same day sometimes – and also commented on my attractiveness then – but this was the first time he'd received its full effect. It made me feel guilty to see him looking at me like this. His hand reached for mine, and I tried not to flinch as he took it. Even after the shower, I felt dirty and cheap. I didn't want him to touch me after what I'd done, even if it had been in a different body. I didn't deserve such love. Seth sighed, still enchanted. His long fingers traced warm, whirling patterns on my skin. I felt my breathing grow heavier. â€Å"I wish I could put your beauty into words. But I'm not that good of a writer. Guess I need some work.† I stood up hastily and tugged at his hand. â€Å"Now you're just being silly. I think you're the one that needs to go home and rest.† He blinked. â€Å"Oh. So no more, uh, attempts at sleeping?† I hesitated. I wanted to do it again but still didn't trust myself. Or Seth actually, not with the way he kept watching me with such rapt admiration, that heat burning in his eyes. One would have thought a backroom fling might have sated my lust for the night, but I wanted Seth just as much as ever. Of course, in retrospect, maybe that wasn't a surprise after all. Said fling hadn't exactly addressed my physical needs. â€Å"No,† I told Seth. â€Å"Not yet. Too soon.† He looked like being separated from me would hurt him physically, but he finally conceded when I let him kiss my cheek. It was long and lingering, more sensuous than one would expect, making me inhale and then exhale a long, shuddering breath. I wouldn't return the gesture, however. Not with these lips. He waxed on about my beauty a few more times before finally leaving, and I went to bed shortly thereafter. Lying there, I told myself over and over that I had done the right thing at the club. I had done what I needed to do to keep myself strong and capable. After all, Seth had said he loved my â€Å"whirlwind.† Sex was the means of keeping it strong. I had done the right thing. And I had done the right thing with Doug too. Everything I'd done today had been for the best. And yet†¦if that was true, then why did I feel so terrible about it all?