Gattaca Oral Presentation Draft Essay Example for Free

Gattaca Oral Presentation Draft Essay From the day Vincent was conceived, he had consistently been concidered as exceptionally defective, and as an invalid. His folks were anticipating carrying on the family name with their first conceived kid by calling Vincent, Anton, after his dad, Antonio. Nonetheless, when discovering that Vincent was inclined to sickness, for example, neurological turmoil, hyper sorrow, a lack of ability to concentrate consistently scatter, cardiovascular breakdown, and was required to live for just 30.2 years, Vincents father felt that he wasnt deserving of the family name, and chose to call him Vincent Anton. Mother and Father, Maria and Antonio had a subsequent kid, who Antonio felt was deserving of the family name, in light of the fact that not at all like Vincent who was considered the characteristic way, Anton was brought into the world through hereditary designing. As the two young men grew up, Anton was constantly viewed as better than Vincent as he was continually upstaging him at all that they did. Until one day, when the two young men played a round of chicken. Like common, Anton was expecting Vincent to pivot and swim back to shore. Be that as it may, regardless of how much exertion he put into attempting to beat his sibling, Anton and Vincent were in a dead heat the entire swim. Anton was befuddled at how Vincent still had the vitality to swim, lastly Anton wasnt ready to go on any more and he surrendered. Dropping and beginning to suffocate, Vincent spared his siblings life. Without precedent for their lives, Vincent was better than Anton at something. Despite the fact that everyone accepted that he wasnt sufficient to acheive his objectives, Vincent now accepted that he could accomplish whatever he set his focus on. Vincent chose to flee from home and he found a new line of work as a janitor at Gattaca. This was his first look at Gattaca, and he loved what he saw. Vincent met Jerome (Aka Eugene), a discouraged and alcoholic Gattaca legitimate who was hit by a vehicle, which left him in a wheelchair for an amazing remainder. No one that was separated of the Gattaca institite realized that Eugene was in a wheelchair, which saw an open door for Vincent. Eugene concluded that his life was concidered over in light of the fact that he was injured, and he felt that despite the fact that his fantasy about turning into a gold award swimmer could never work out, he would endeavor helping Vincents fantasy about heading out into space to materialize, so he gave a makeover and his close to-consummate vailid identidy to Vincent. Eugene would shed and gather his own dead skin particles, free hair, pee and blood and would store them away for Vincent to make look like his own and every day, Vincent would expel any free skin and hair that was in danger of someone finding and following it back to him. Subsequent to being acknowledged into Gattaca, Vincent would have been separated of the once in a blue moon space dispatch to Saturns biggest moon, Titan. Nonetheless, one of the chiefs was attempting to prevent the space dispatch from occurring, bringing about his homicide. Coincedentally, one of Vincents invalid eyelashes was found at the wrongdoing scene which began a quest for him since everyone felt that he was the killer, when infact, he wasnt. Despite the fact that everyone realized what Vincents invalid self resembled, no one suspected the substantial Vincent (Aka Jerome) to be the killer since he not, at this point resembled his old self. No one suspected Vincent to mimic Jerome with the exception of Vincents sibling Anton, who was filling in as a Gattca criminologist. It took some time for Anton to affirm his doubt, however he did at long last, in spite of the fact that didnt turn his sibling in for extortion. Once showing up to Gattaca upon the arrival of the Titan space dispatch, there was a surprising pee test. Vincent took the pee test and it thought of a photograph of his invalid self. In any case, the Gattaca specialist felt to some degree associated with Vincent on the grounds that his child was additionally classed as an invalid and had medical issues simply like Vincent did. The specialist then revelied that he had known the entire time and transformed his invalid into a substantial and thusly, Vincent had the option to proceed on his space strategic. At long last scene, we see Eugene sitting in his heater and Vincent sitting in the rocket container. The rocket propelling and the kettle lighting fire occur at syncrinized times. Eugene commited self destruction and Vincents dreams had materialized. In addition to the fact that he was going to space, yet he had likewise begun to look all starry eyed at a colleague, Irene, who might be excitedly trusting that his arrival will earth.

Pilgrims Progress Essays - Christian Philosophy, Prophets Of Islam

Travelers Progress John Bunyans The Pilgrims Progress is a figurative anecdote about the Christian religion. It allegorizes the excursion of a Christian into the Celestial City, which speaks to paradise. Despite the fact that Pilgrims Progress may appear to be basic and clear, there are numerous more profound implications all through the entire story. Bunyan utilizes the names of his characters to imply whom the character speaks to in the story, for instance, the character Hopeful speaks to confidence, Help speaks to individuals who are eager to help other people needing help, Faithful speaks to individuals who are dedicated to whatever they are related with, and the fundamental character, Christian, speaks to every single youthful Christian on the planet. His excursion to the Celestial City is an excursion each Christian must face in the course of their life before permitted into paradise. Inside his excursion there are numerous impediments, for example, allurements both unmistakable and immaterial fo r example, the stocks sold at Vanity Fair and the alternate ways offered, outline enticements genuine Christians must face and survive; finding a simple route into paradise, and being lost course by material things. The character Christian beats numerous hindrances before arriving at his goal, the Celestial City. Be that as it may, during his excursion he doesn't confront every one of these snags alone. He meets an assortment of individuals every through hello there excursion to the Celestial City; a portion of these individuals mock his venturing out to the Celestial City, some choose to tail him, and some assistance him along his way. Christian meets Faithful who chooses to go along with him on his movements. Dedicated is a character that faces numerous troubles on his own excursion to the Celestial City; his excursion has numerous distinctions and similitudes to the life of Jesus Christ. Dedicated initially meets Christian while he is upon his excursion to spare his life. Christian shouts out for Faithful to stop and stand by so they can be sidekicks along their movement, yet Faithful answers, No, I am upon my life, and the justice fighter of blood is behind me (60). In the story, the existence he is attempting to spare is his genuine, substantial life. However, his fleeing from the justice fighter of blood to spare his life really represents sparing Faithfuls otherworldly life. Since he has trespassed and broken the Ten Commandment, You will not slaughter, he is presently being pursued by death and whenever got, he will execute Faithful; this passing portrays the demise of everlasting life and along these lines not having the option to enter paradise (Deuteronomy 5:17). In the holy book there is an entry that discussions about the justice fighter of blood and who is he. This is the arrangement for the killer, who by escaping there may spare his life. In the event th at anybody kills his neighbor inadvertently without having been at ill will with him in time pasthe may escape to one of these urban areas and spare his life; in case the vindicator of blood in hot outrage seek after the killer and overwhelm him (Deuteronomy 19:4-6). Jesus Christ was conceived without wrongdoing, and never trespassed all through his lifetime. Steadfast, be that as it may, who in spite of the fact that didn't attempt to execute his neighbor, slaughtered him accidentally and in this way, trespassed. Jesus could never have made agony any living animals, neither incidentally nor intentionally. This is one case of how Faithful contrasts from Christ. Confidence is a huge part in a Christians life and excursion. Confidence is likewise significant for one to defeat malice, debasement, and dread. Along their excursion, Christian and Faithful arrive at Vanity Fair, a reasonable that sells products exclusively dependent on vanity, for example, titles, realms, desires, delights, lives, spouses, wifes, blood, bodies, and spirits (78-79). At the point when they initially enter the reasonable, they cause an unsettling influence on account of the manner in which they dress, their discourse, their reluctance to look at the traders products, and their answer We purchase reality when a dealer asks them what they are keen on purchasing (80). Christian and Faithfuls nearness at the reasonable purposes such a disturbance, that they are brought to assessment and are asked their beginning, their goal, and the explanation their surprising dress. Christian and Faithful answers, saying they are pioneers traveling to the eminent Jerusalem (80). Despit e the fact that these may not be the appropriate responses the men at the reasonable are searching for, they have confidence in the word and are not apprehensive

Esse quam videri

Esse quam videri As I find myself  again,  railing against something published in the New York Times about the college admissions process, it is hard for me to deny just how much of a curmudgeon I have become. I’m pretty sure that it is not simply a function of age, but rather a fundamental difference in perspective relating to what applying to college is supposed to be about. As an admissions officer, I recognize that while the application process can be very competitive, it is not inherently a competition. This is a nuance that I don’t think that many students, parents and journalists appreciate. I have the luxury of being able to be a purist in this regard, and I acknowledge how radical my thinking might seem. Recently, I have been putting my radical thinking into practice by regularly suggesting to potential applicants that they should avoid trying to get admitted.  In my mind, it makes perfect sense.  It is, at least initially though, nearly incomprehensible to the vast majority. I do explain that I am not discouraging them from applying for admission, but rather making a distinction between submitting an application and trying to manipulate the process in order to gain admission. In case this distinction is not clear, applying for admission involves the submission of academic credentials and supporting documents from which a composite is formed that enables the admissions office to determine whether an applicant is a good match. Trying to get admitted, on the other hand, is essentially the exact opposite. A prospective student, based upon what they believe will create a “winning” application, works backwards to repackage themselves into their vision of the perfect applicant. Sometimes students have wonderfully transformative experiences in situations like these, and even do a great deal of good along the way.  However, much of the time, students fail to connect with any underlying meaning, and merely end up with a contrived essay topic or an additional faux activity that frequently does more harm than good for their admission chances. WARNING: You are about to encounter a mini-rant. Have you ever considered how community service became the de rigueur activity that everyone needed to do in order to look good for college? I imagine it went something like this. At the end of another very competitive admissions cycle, a journalist made calls to admissions offices fishing for an interesting bit of information that might make a good story. From that fishing expedition, an admissions officer recounted how there was this one kid that was really memorable, because she saw a need in her community and took action because somebody needed to. Her actions inspired others, and the community came together and made a significant difference. She wrote about her experiences in her college application essay because those experiences were a big part of who she had become. The journalist wrote a compelling story, which got picked up by a number of other outlets, because in addition to being a positive human-interest piece it also repre sented the discovery of a formula for success in the admissions process that could be replicated by virtually anyone. Don’t get me wrong. I think kids doing community service is great, but if all they get from their experience is a tally of hours, or they have to travel half way around the world to discover that there are poor people, they are missing the point. If they can’t talk or write about their experiences with some level of introspection, and ponder questions like Why are resources distributed in such a way that there are individuals in great need, whose very survival may depend upon the charitable assistance of others? then something is lacking. Rather than creating an image that is unique and distinctive, they have simply completed an elaborate “paint by numbers,” that may be appealling at first glance, but is woefully short on substance. End of rant. If you are wondering what my point is, it can be best summed up with a Latin phrase that I heard several months ago that has really stuck with me â€" Esse quam videri, which translates “To be, rather than to seem.” Beyond the college admissions process, I would say that this is also a good core principle for life. Most of us want people in our lives who are what they seem. This is especially true for close friends. Most would also acknowledge that a relationship that is based upon being something that one is not, is destined for failure. Why then, would the college experience be any different? Of course, it is different because it involves multiple relationships, rather than a single one. And although, an undergraduate experience is finite (4 years for most), the relationships are anything but finite, as they continue throughout the course of one’s life. The bottom line is this. If an institution doesn’t appreciate applicants for who they are, then the applicants will ultimately be much better off in places where they will be appreciated, particularly if they have the freedom to be themselves. If they want to have that freedom, they need to ensure that the central focus of the college search and application process is on who they are and what is right for them, rather than the prized offer of admission, from the big name universiy, that will impress their friends and family.

Esse quam videri

Esse quam videri As I find myself  again,  railing against something published in the New York Times about the college admissions process, it is hard for me to deny just how much of a curmudgeon I have become. I’m pretty sure that it is not simply a function of age, but rather a fundamental difference in perspective relating to what applying to college is supposed to be about. As an admissions officer, I recognize that while the application process can be very competitive, it is not inherently a competition. This is a nuance that I don’t think that many students, parents and journalists appreciate. I have the luxury of being able to be a purist in this regard, and I acknowledge how radical my thinking might seem. Recently, I have been putting my radical thinking into practice by regularly suggesting to potential applicants that they should avoid trying to get admitted.  In my mind, it makes perfect sense.  It is, at least initially though, nearly incomprehensible to the vast majority. I do explain that I am not discouraging them from applying for admission, but rather making a distinction between submitting an application and trying to manipulate the process in order to gain admission. In case this distinction is not clear, applying for admission involves the submission of academic credentials and supporting documents from which a composite is formed that enables the admissions office to determine whether an applicant is a good match. Trying to get admitted, on the other hand, is essentially the exact opposite. A prospective student, based upon what they believe will create a “winning” application, works backwards to repackage themselves into their vision of the perfect applicant. Sometimes students have wonderfully transformative experiences in situations like these, and even do a great deal of good along the way.  However, much of the time, students fail to connect with any underlying meaning, and merely end up with a contrived essay topic or an additional faux activity that frequently does more harm than good for their admission chances. WARNING: You are about to encounter a mini-rant. Have you ever considered how community service became the de rigueur activity that everyone needed to do in order to look good for college? I imagine it went something like this. At the end of another very competitive admissions cycle, a journalist made calls to admissions offices fishing for an interesting bit of information that might make a good story. From that fishing expedition, an admissions officer recounted how there was this one kid that was really memorable, because she saw a need in her community and took action because somebody needed to. Her actions inspired others, and the community came together and made a significant difference. She wrote about her experiences in her college application essay because those experiences were a big part of who she had become. The journalist wrote a compelling story, which got picked up by a number of other outlets, because in addition to being a positive human-interest piece it also repre sented the discovery of a formula for success in the admissions process that could be replicated by virtually anyone. Don’t get me wrong. I think kids doing community service is great, but if all they get from their experience is a tally of hours, or they have to travel half way around the world to discover that there are poor people, they are missing the point. If they can’t talk or write about their experiences with some level of introspection, and ponder questions like Why are resources distributed in such a way that there are individuals in great need, whose very survival may depend upon the charitable assistance of others? then something is lacking. Rather than creating an image that is unique and distinctive, they have simply completed an elaborate “paint by numbers,” that may be appealling at first glance, but is woefully short on substance. End of rant. If you are wondering what my point is, it can be best summed up with a Latin phrase that I heard several months ago that has really stuck with me â€" Esse quam videri, which translates “To be, rather than to seem.” Beyond the college admissions process, I would say that this is also a good core principle for life. Most of us want people in our lives who are what they seem. This is especially true for close friends. Most would also acknowledge that a relationship that is based upon being something that one is not, is destined for failure. Why then, would the college experience be any different? Of course, it is different because it involves multiple relationships, rather than a single one. And although, an undergraduate experience is finite (4 years for most), the relationships are anything but finite, as they continue throughout the course of one’s life. The bottom line is this. If an institution doesn’t appreciate applicants for who they are, then the applicants will ultimately be much better off in places where they will be appreciated, particularly if they have the freedom to be themselves. If they want to have that freedom, they need to ensure that the central focus of the college search and application process is on who they are and what is right for them, rather than the prized offer of admission, from the big name universiy, that will impress their friends and family.

Language As A Monitor Social Reality - 766 Words

Language as a Monitor to Social Reality Different societies and cultures are strictly shaped and expressed by their own multiple languages. What’s more, many languages were born from the same linguistic branches, but â€Å"no two languages are actually similar to be considered as representing the same social reality† (Kramsch, 2014, p. 32). Applied linguistic research has concluded three categories to explicitly expose the relations between languages and realities: â€Å"semiotic relativity, linguistic relativity and discursive relativity† (Kramsch, 2014, p. 32). According to Vygotsky (1980), a semiotic system is made up of both linguistic symbols and cognitive methods. Children, to develop their own speeches primarily, make an identical process as apes that they initialize and associate the words’ meanings by repeatable observations. To be distinct from animals, children create their own meanings by accomplishing the psychological acquisitions (Vygotsky 1980; Kramsch 2014). Thus, the community’s and the individual’s cultures are tightly related to each other since beginning (Vygotsky 1980; Wertsch 1985). Linguistic relativity describes the phenomena that speakers of different languages think differently towards the same thing (Kramsch, 2014, p. 34). According to Slobin (1996), people must â€Å"attend to the syntactic and lexical choices offered by their grammars and that the cumulative occurrence of these choices can have cognitive and affective effects on the listener† (as cited inShow MoreRelatedLanguage Ideolo gies933 Words   |  4 PagesLanguage and Perceptions and Ideologies Language is the basis by which we communicate with others and ultimately make meaning of the world we live in. It is a combination of indicators, grammatical categories and symbolic meanings we subjectively assign to what we experience and think, and thus it is a critical element in attaining new knowledge. Regardless of the society, knowledge of language is closely related to our knowledge of the world. Thus, language shapes our worldviews and perspectivesRead MoreHow Does Language: Allow Self Reflection? Organize Perceptions? Allow Hypothetical Thought? Explain the Connection Between Language and Perception. Use a Specific Example to Illustrate This Connection.690 Words   |  3 PagesWe use language to reflect upon ourselves and what we want others to think of us. Language allows self-reflection in this way. It helps us gain an understanding of who we are as individuals and as leaders. It allows us to analyze and/or monitor our communications. In order for us to be truly effectiv e at leading others, we have to be effective at leading ourselves. If we are not able to really know ourselves, we are only being deluded into thinking that we can lead ourselves. Self-reflection alsoRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Refuge By Jackie French1526 Words   |  7 Pageseach child is like him, a migrant who travelled to Australia searching for a better place. Each child is living in their own ‘dream’ Australia and the beach provides a sort of ‘refuge’ from reality for them. Eventually, Faris has to make the decision to either continue living in this dream land or face his reality. This book is interesting as unlike other refugee texts, this novel serves to tell the multicultural history of Australian immigration. French relays the more than 60 000 year old historyRead MoreThe Effects Of Violence Against Women On North American Society1663 Words   |  7 PagesQuestion: How do social norms contribute to the persistence of violence against women in North American society? Inter-disciplinary approach There are many factors that contribute to violence against women. There are obvious factors such as substance abuse by both the abused or the abuser that lead to violence. Cycles of poverty and the stresses that come with economic struggle are known factors in violence as well. Economic struggles inside and outside of the home are stresses and not only doesRead MoreSocial Media And Technology : A Exciting Journey Through The World Wide Web955 Words   |  4 Pages Social media and technology are an incredible enhancement of the modern world. If properly balanced and educated, embracing these technologies is a rewarding and exciting journey through the World Wide Web. This electronic social and technological society we have created is the inevitable part of every child’s life; it s hard to protect them from the adverse impacts of this society. Smart technology improves on a daily basis, the costs associated with smartphones reduced to nearly nothing, resultingRead MoreUnderstanding The Concept Of Manners1064 Words   |  5 Pageslong-term process which you can start as soon as she develops language and communication skills. What manners you teach your kid at each stage of her development will change according to her ability to understand and follow social values. Here are a few tips to help you in the process: 1. Set realistic expectations Keep your expectations realistic. Teaching a 3-year-old kid how to stay put at the dinner table for 2 hours is nowhere close to reality. You need to acknowledge that there are certain thingsRead MoreCEDAW Essay1131 Words   |  5 Pagesbilateral support rapidly dwindled as the U.S. entered into an era of social conservatism, in which conservative distrust for international governance created a staunch opposition to CEDAW, based on the threat international law presents to American political autonomy and sovereignty. In Defying Convention, Lisa Baldez explores the historical antecedents to the U.S failure to ratify CEDAW by elucidating the political and social consequences of the Cold War and the resulting distrust the United StatesRead MoreSocial Family Model And Integration965 Words   |  4 PagesDespite Rosalina’s improvement, she continues to face challenges in terms of her language and overall academic development. First, she still has difficulty expressing her thoughts in English. Second, she hardly voluntarily recites in class. Third, Rosalina has limited exposure to the English language outside of school since Spanish is the primary language they use at home. There is limited support in language acquisition, to this end. In addition, she has no one to practice English with. Hence, sheRead More George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essay1030 Words   |  5 Pagesmore subtle methods for imposing its authority, such as the manipulation of language and propaganda as they are used to achieve the goal of absolute power for the system. A key parallel between the Party and Stalin’s Communism is the use of technology and communication to control the economic, social, and personal aspects of life. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Stalin and Big Brother achieved total control, not only of social and economic aspects of the state, but also of their people’s personal livesRead MoreThe Importance Of Cognition And Its Impact On Human Cognition1249 Words   |  5 Pagesthat makes humans unique is our cognition. We are the coherent mammals and the one important characteristic that truly measures our nature is that we are a representational group. Humans are truly unique because of our human cognition, including are language and symbolic thought. First, what is cognition? Cognition is how an individual comprehends and behaves within this world. It is a cluster of capabilities or procedures that are a fragment of approximately each individual action. These reasoning

Analysis Of The Phrase I Am Not An American Essay

Twain wrote the phrase I AM NOT AN AMERICAN; I AM THE AMERICAN in a notebook that he took with him on his European travels during 1897. Over time as many hear the quote has become more and more popular. To me it’s not really surprising but it is catchy. Some may wonder was Mark Twain truly an American in our minds. What is truly being American? People minds of modern patriotism Twain could be called un-American. I can also argue there was times when Mark Twain gave service for his country. I would agree it was heroic of him but I disagree about his choice of side since it had to deal with slavery. After two weeks of service he decided it wasn’t for him went westward away from the Civil War fighting. He traveled seen the other side of the country. I think it was all about trial and era with him. It was no secret that he wasn’t a fan of government officials. I don’t blame him there mostly crooks especially during Mark Twain era. He wasn’t a He wasn’t afraid to let fly with snappish quotes like â€Å"Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can† (What is Man?) and â€Å"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. He didn’t hold back his criticism of President Theodore Roosevelt: â€Å"We are insane, each in our own way, and with insanity goes irresponsibility. Theodore the man is sane; in fairness we ought to keep in mind that Theodore, as statesman and politician, is insane and irresponsible. †To trust the God of the Bible is toShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis : Malala Yousafzai1211 Words   |  5 PagesAdewunmi Adebanjo ENGL 1213 Professor Carney 10 February, 2014. Rhetorical analysis of Malala Yousafzai speech â€Å"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter† Twain Mark. Malala Yousafzai, a teenager and the youngest Nobel Prize winner is a testimony to what Mark Twain (the author of several American novels) said in his quote. Yousafzai started the fight for her right to education and fundamental rights after her school was attacked in 2008. The Pakistani educationRead MoreAnalysis Of Russell Conwells Acres Of Diamonds By Joel Osteton1579 Words   |  7 Pagesand motivate not hundreds but thousands of towns, cities, and villages for his speech Acres of Diamonds. By using inviting words and phrases, Conwell established a common familiarity with his audience. Similarly, Joel Osteen, a televangelist and multimillionaire of the 21st century gives weekly sermons that receive up to 7 million viewers. â€Å"We love you,† is a phrase that Osteen uses to attract and give a home-like feel to his audience. Although Conwell’s speech and Osteen’s sermons are almost a centuryRead MoreThe American Dream : Dead, Alive, Or On Hold?1104 Words   |  5 Pageshis published works, The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?, debates his interpretation of the notion of the American Dream and whether the concept is dead, alive, or on hold. The speaker emphasizes his belief that the common phrase is still alive within America and that one must work hard in order to achieve it. When it comes to the topic of the American Dream, King will eagerly agree that the idea is still alive and thriving in the minds of Americans; however, I deem that the idea is on holdRead MoreUxt Task 1945 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: Analysis of â€Å"Still I Rise† 1 Analysis of â€Å"Still I Rise† When reading, â€Å"Still I Rise†, by Maya Angelou, I immediately get a sense of perseverance and pride. The author seems to be addressing her adversaries directly through her words. I love the imagery used in this poem. I can almost see the dust rising and can feel the swelling of the black ocean that the author mentions. â€Å"Cause I walk like I got oil wells pumping in my living room†(Angelou, 1978), and, â€Å"Laugh like I’veRead MoreCritical Reading Reflection1081 Words   |  5 Pages Through the course of American Literature, my limited writing, critical reading, and discussion skills have developed. As I am challenged in all the previous sections mentioned I, am forced to further my skills in order to acquire decent grades. The rigorous nature of this class has pushed my comfort zone as has caused a positive shift in both of my critical reading skills and my writing. Consequently, this push has made me more, but not entirely, comfortable with a burdensome English based courseRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Clare Boothe Luce1102 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis Article: Luce In 1960, American journalist and politician Clare Boothe Luce speaks to journalists at the Women’s National Press Club. She brings up the topic of integrity. Not only does integrity affect journalists, but also the media as a whole. From the beginning, she is straightforward with the audience, she is going to give them hell. She goes on to say that everyone in the audience will be revolted, but should listen through. This prepares the room full of female journalistsRead MoreEssay about Asian American Identity1643 Words   |  7 PagesSilence as Beauty, Silence as Self: The Asian American Identity The label â€Å"American† encompasses many different cultures and races. However, American society is often guilty of assuming there is only one true, certainly white, â€Å"American† face, voice, and behavior. Associate Professor of Sociology, Minako Maykovich, states that â€Å"the criteria for physical characteristics are generally determined by the dominant group in society,† thus â€Å"racial difference is the greatest obstacle to the processRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King s I Have A Dream 903 Words   |  4 PagesI Have a Dream: Pathos On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his speech at the Lincoln Memorial, which included a minimum of 20,000 people that gathered after the march of Washington. In his â€Å"I Have A Dream† speech, Martin Luther king utilizes pathos to build a relationship with his black and white audience. His references to black and white children and allusions to times of slavery which appealed to both parents and older generation. The use of pathos in his speech assisted Dr. KingsRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Obama s Victory Speech1245 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis of Obama’s Victory Speech This speech was given by Barack Obama who won 2012 election as the president. I’m going to analysis his voice, audience, speaker’s message and occasion for the speech. Different angle, different view can show all the Obama’s rhetorical words in his victory speech. In 2012, this is Barack Obama’s second inaugural. He had greatest way to put all the rhetorical words in his speech. It was one of the best of his speech so far. Rhetoric was made in fifthRead MoreBartleby the Scrivener, Deeply Symbolic Essay examples1080 Words   |  5 PagesScrivener, a Deeply Symbolic Work Bartleby the Scrivener, is one of the most complicated stories Melville has ever written, perhaps by any American writer of that period. It id a deep and symbolic work, its make you think of every little detail differently. It makes you realize that a little detail actually make a difference and give a meaning to the story analysis. The walls are controlling symbols of the story; in fact some had said that its a parable of walls. Melville tells us explicitly that

The Industry Video Game Entertainment - 1399 Words

Company Name: Nintendo Company Website: http://www.nintendo.com Industry: Video Game entertainment Company history and background: In the gaming industry you probably heard of â€Å"It’s -a -me -Mario† which is Nintendo’s trademark character. Nintendo started off as a Japanese card game maker into electronic gaming in a way the term today we call console gaming. What started as a Popeye concept kind of safe the girl game which is titled Mario vs Donkey Kong became a hit in retro arcade gaming came to the convenience of playing at home which is what we call a game console. It then became a bigger impact for the company when Shigeru Miyamoto father of the character â€Å"Mario† created Super Mario world it became Nintendo’s Company icon. Running†¦show more content†¦Mr. Kimishima will continue Iwata’s dream in creating the best game consoles as well as games. As all video games it counts on E3 if a video game company will succeed based on the products released which can have a major impact if a console system is released. For most c urrent release of the Nintendo switch, it was sold out in a major part of the world. The switch has brought the market up a lot due to its popularity with its games that interest the loyal fans of Nintendo. According to yahoo finance; it went from a 22,000 yen to a spike of 23,000 on the day of launch then to a very stable progression to 26,000 yen market price to what it current state in the market is right now. ANALYSIS VIA PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL Threats of new Entrants: †¢ Threat level of new Entrants are low due to new players of the gaming console †¢ The barriers of entry is pretty high †¢ Network for distribution is needed †¢ Needs strong brand name which is important †¢ Loyal customer are to be expected for existing brand †¢ Curve of learning is pretty high due unfamiliarity †¢ Can expect new Entrant to enter every year Bargaining Power of Suppliers: †¢ The Bargaining Power of Suppliers is at a moderate power level †¢ Companies that sell the products order in large amounts in order to keep the suppliers happy †¢ The value of the electronic components in the gaming consoles can easily switched and are inexpensive Bargaining Power of Customers: †¢ The Bargaining Power of Customers is at aShow MoreRelatedVideo Games Effects On Entertainment Industry949 Words   |  4 PagesToday in our world, video games have been a massive impact and phenomenon on entertainment industry. 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Life Expectancy Issues Among Indigenous Communities In Australia

Question: Discuss about the Indigenous Authored Literature Review On Exploring The Life Expectancy Issues Among Indigenous Communities In Australia. Answer: Literature review The literature review intends to elaborate a certain issue in relation to a relative interesting area that would help in exploring the unattended information so far. In accordance with the report from the national indigenous reform agreement, 8 out 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are suffering from low life expectancy in the current scenario (Griffiths, 2013). In Australian, the life expectancy surveys are being conducted in Australia in every 5 years in order to accumulate information regarding the frequency of occurrence of the issue. Here the study would be addressing the issues of life expectancy among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders culture and diversity and how it has been treated since the outburst of the issues would also be attended (Coleman et al. 2015). Through evaluating three of the articles by the indigenous writer, the issue could better be explained and understood at the same time. It has evidently been realised that there is a humongous gap between the indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander on the basis of life expectancy. In the article named Closing the Gaps: competing estimates of Indigenous Australian life expectancy in the scientific literature by (Coleman et al. 2015) has exhibited the gap between life expectancy of the indigenous such as Aboriginal Islanders and Australian people which have been calculated through many methods in the past few years. The article explains the inequality in the health aspects of the Australian people and the indigenous and a well-documented evaluation of the facts could also be gained in this regard. In a comparative manner, the difference between the life expectancy issues and reasons behind it could be stated in terms of morbidity, disability and mortality in the life course of the indigenous people and along with this, international injury, uneven practices of hospitalisation for mental illness, renal dise ase and so on, have greater influence upon the indigenous Australian (Doyle et al. 2015). In Australia, the aspects of life expectancy aspects are calculated and explaining order to manifest the difference between health equality and circumstances that encourage such issues to arise (Rosenstock et al. 2013). The article has evaluated the course of explaining life expectancy among indigenous people in Australia through adopting certain methods such as assess the peer reviewed publication that has conducted the calculation regarding life expectancy among indigenous people in Australia between 2007-2012. The results were presented in term five age section of the population such as 20 years, 17 years, 15 -20 years and 11.5 years in males, whereas the females suffering the life expectancy issues has been realised within the age group of 9.7 years in comparison to the Australian people (Esler, et al. 2015). Thus, in relation to this article a concluding note could be incorporated that tho ugh the outcomes of the survey has not been revealed to the stakeholders but it is evident that the agreement based on the gap magnitude should be presented to the stakeholders in order to reduce the issues related to o life expectancy among indigenous people n Australia. In relation to the second indigenous authored article called Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Life Expectancy and Mortality Trend reporting it is also realised that the author has shaded light upon the life expectancy evaluation and its exploration on the basis of survey results. Hence, it is manifested within the article that the methodology regarding the evaluation of the life expectancy has changed in the past several years and new methodology has been introduced in 2013 (Calma, 2010). The study mainly concentrated upon the ways in which the aspects of life expectancy has been explored and how often these are effective in delivering acute information regarding the rate of life expectancy issues among a male and female population of the indigenous people in Australia (Karlsson, 2013). One of the main programmes were generated between 2012 to 2014 called closing the gap programme which aimed at reducing or diminishing the gap between the life expectancy rates of aboriginal isla nders and the Australian people. The third article named Hypertension: high prevalence and a positive association with obesity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in far north Queensland in this regard have also manifested different facets of the issues related to life expectancy. The study has directed the attention towards another important aspect of Australia that showcased instead of the good name at the word bank, there is still inequality persist regarding health issues among the Australian population (Schluter et al. 2016). The two indigenous populations in Australia, which are Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, are facing inequality in education, income and health reacted issues in their daily course of life. In accordance with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey report conducted in 2008 it is realised that the gross income of the indigenous communities in Australia is also most equal to the US$14,020 and in the remote areas of Australia 28% of the popul ation is running out of financial assets needed for basic living (Yap and Biddle, 2010). The life expectancy aspects are below 10 to 12 years of the other Australian population and the main reason behind be could be stated in terms of familial separation, colonisation, racism underpins the current disadvantages for the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia (Graham et al. 2017). The article has argued that along with the pre mentioned the reason the cardiovascular and renal disease which has influenced the young adults in the Australian. The results have manifested in terms of the sources of the illness including hyper tension, obesity and lack of proper nutrition among children basically. Thus, a conclusion in relation to the study could be inserted in terms of the fact that the young adults of the indigenous communities specifically in the remote living areas are at great risk due to renal disease and cardiovascular issues. A suggestive note has been recorded i n relation to the preventive action could have been considered in order to prevent the influential impact of the diseases or the inequality on the future generation in those aboriginal communities. Hence, from the above evaluation of the three indigenous authored articles, it has been realised that the indigenous population in Australia has been facing difficulties in many forms in the course of their life (Sanders, 2013). Though the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders have witnessed inequalities in the form of education, income and health, here the issues related to life expectancy have been evaluated. From the comparative discussion, it could be realised that the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders people are devoid of the basic requirements and necessity in the course of living and in relation to the health issues the problem related to life expectancy has been highlighted among the indigenous communities. Thus, an evident gap has been realised between the health related problem and treating those problems among the indigenous people and the Australian population (Ritchie, 2010). On the other hand, it could be said that the articles have evidently extract ed he main reason behind the issues in the respective communities in a critical manner. The indigenous communities are below the standard of income, education and health in comparison to other Australian population. The indigenous population living in remote areas are subjected to witness the cruellest side of inequality in terms of financial instability which has great influence upon the daily course of life (Schluter et al. 2016). The issues regarding life expectancy in the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders have been realised with the frequency of occurrence among young adults. In conclusion, it could be depicted that due to the implementation of preventive actions in relation to the health issues among indigenous community. In accordance with the report produced by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, instead of the enhancement of the situation of the communities, the indigenous people still remain below a standard of the known-indigenous people. The survey has also manifested that the male indigenous born between 2010 to 2012 have the life expectancy rate of 69.1 in comparison to known indigenous and which is also below in the current situation. The rate of indigenous people persists between 81% n 2013 as most of the people were below 75 years in comparison to the non-indigenous people in Australia. After 10 years of the implementation of closing the gap programme the rate of life expectancy issues have reduced with 34% and it could be expected the in the next 10 years that the issues will be dispersed with effective efforts. Thus, the effectivenes s of closing the gap programme could be realised as it has manifested the main reason behind such issues is the non communicable diseases and lack of proper treatment to the serious diseases. Thu, it could be concluded that the future preventive measures would be able to reduce the negative impact of the health issues from the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders communities. References Calma T. 2010 Chalmers OrationWhats needed to Close the Gap?Rural Remote Health.2010;10(3):1586. Coleman,, C., Fortune, N., Lee,, V., Griffiths,, K. and Madden, R., 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Life Expectancy and Mortality Trend Reporting.Sydney Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics. Doyle, M., Butler, T., Shakeshaft, A., Guthrie, J., Reekie, J. and Schofield, P., 2015. Alcohol and other drug use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men entering prison in New South Wales.Health Justice, 3(1). Esler, D., Raulli, A., Pratt, R. and Fagan, P., 2015. Hypertension: high prevalence and a positive association with obesity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in far north Queensland.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 40(S1), pp.S65-S69. Graham, S., O'Connor, C., Morgan, S., Chamberlain, C. and Hocking, J., 2017. Prevalence of HIV among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sexual Health. Griffiths,, K., 2013. Guidelines on the provision of sustainable eye care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 96(4), pp.422-423. Karlsson, L., 2013. Indigenous life expectancy in Sweden 1850-1899: Towards a long and healthy life?.Demographic Research, 28, pp.433-456. Ritchie, J., 2010. Why we need success stories in reporting the health of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: a personal perspective.Global Health Promotion, 17(4), pp.61-64. Rosenstock, A., Mukandi, B., Zwi, A. and Hill, P., 2013. Closing the Gaps: competing estimates of Indigenous Australian life expectancy in the scientific literature.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 37(4), pp.356-364. Sanders, W., 2013. Changing Agendas in Australian Indigenous Policy: Federalism, Competing Principles and Generational Dynamics.Australian Journal of Public Administration, 72(2), pp.156-170. Schluter, P., Askew, D., Spurling, G., Lee, M. and Hayman, N., 2016. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral health and its impact among adults: A cross-sectional study.Australian Dental Journal, 62(1), pp.84-94. Yap, M. and Biddle, N., 2010. Gender Gaps in Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Australian Regional Comparisons and International Possibilities.International Indigenous Policy Journal, 1(2).

The Decline and Fall of Classical Civilizations free essay sample

The classical civilizations Han China, Gupta India, and Rome all declined and eventually collapsed all together due to internal corruption, economic decline, and external invasions. Although Rome was destroyed culturally and politically once it fell, China and India were able to maintain some culture due to the religions Confucianism and Hinduism. One of the causes of the collapse of all three civilizations is that all three empires were ridden with political corruption during their later years, all three suffered under poor leadership, and moral decay also haracterized the fall of these once great empires. In Han China the central governments control disappeared, and as a result, the bureaucracy became more corrupt. Due to this loss of power, local proprietors decided to pick up the slack and ruled their neighborhood however they saw fit. Peasants were taxed even more than they already were and the proprietors demanded more services of them. We will write a custom essay sample on The Decline and Fall of Classical Civilizations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Many had to sell their land and become laborers on estates, and some people even had to sell their own children into service. Military generals later took over the falling empire to try to raise it back up. There were several empires that rose and fall until the bureaucratic system was revived for good. This period of havoc did leave behind a mark in the Buddhist minority that was left and in the newer styles of art and literature. Unlike the fall of Rome, the disruption was not permanent and china eventually regained its former state. The decline of Rome is actually very similar to the dramatic collapse of Han China. After 180 C. E. political confusion produced several weak emperors, who only damaged the empire even more, and several power struggles over the succession to the throne only weakened the once powerful empire. Similar to the downfall of Han China, army intervention only complicated political life and contributed to political decline from the top of the chain downwards. In contrast to the drastic downfalls of Rome and Han China, the fall of Gupta India was much more subtle and not nearly as dramatic of declines. It also was not based on political unity unlike Han China. Because no native ruler native to India even attempted to build an empire, invaders integrated into the warrior caste and formed a new ruling group of regional princes that came to be known as the Rajput. Few political events of ignificance occurred under their ruling, and due to their poor leadership, the Gupta India civilization slowly declined as well. However once this had happened Rome and the Han China civilization had already collapsed, but internal corruption was not the only reason for the eventual collapse. Another common cause of the fall of these classical civilizations is due to outside invasions. One connection between all the civilizations was the fact that the Huns invaded all three. The Huns themselves invaded Rome and Han China while Gupta India was by another Hun group from Asia. Another similarity that Rome and Han China shared is the fact that both of these civilizations had their capitals overrun which highly contributed to their fall and made their downfall occur even faster. Although Rome and Han China nad been suttering trom internal problems betore the invaders began causing problems, the nomads Just dealt the final blows that sent the civilizations to their doom. Gupta India had not yet resolved their tendency for their political system to dissolve and for the whole system to dissolve, making them a prime target for invaders to come and take over. The fact that these once powerful civilizations were already very weak probably encouraged the nomadic invaders to harass and destroy even more. Unlike the other two civilizations, Rome suffered directly from the Germanic invaders who mainly fought because they had also fallen prey to the Huns harassment. Although these outside invasions were a big factor in the decline of these civilizations, economic decline also majorly played a part in the collapse. Even though it came in different forms, economic decline was also a cause of the fall of these empires. The Decline and Fall of Classical Civilizations free essay sample The classical civilizations Han China, Gupta India, and Rome all declined and eventually collapsed all together due to internal corruption, economic decline, and external invasions. Although Rome was destroyed culturally and politically once it fell, China and India were able to maintain some culture due to the religions Confucianism and Hinduism. One of the causes of the collapse of all three civilizations is that all three empires were ridden with political corruption during their later years, all three suffered under poor leadership, and moral decay also characterized the fall of these once great empires. In Han China the central government’s control disappeared, and as a result, the bureaucracy became more corrupt. Due to this loss of power, local proprietors decided to pick up the slack and ruled their neighborhood however they saw fit. Peasants were taxed even more than they already were and the proprietors demanded more services of them. We will write a custom essay sample on The Decline and Fall of Classical Civilizations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Many had to sell their land and become laborers on estates, and some people even had to sell their own children into service. Military generals’ later took over the falling empire to try to raise it back up. There were several empires that rose and fall until the bureaucratic system was revived for good. This period of havoc did leave behind a mark in the Buddhist minority that was left and in the newer styles of art and literature. Unlike the fall of Rome, the disruption was not permanent and china eventually regained its former state. The decline of Rome is actually very similar to the dramatic collapse of Han China. After 180 C. E. political confusion produced several weak emperors, who only damaged the empire even more, and several power struggles over the succession to the throne only weakened the once powerful empire. Similar to the downfall of Han China, army intervention only complicated political life and contributed to political decline from the top of the chain downwards. In contrast to the drastic downfalls of Rome and Han China, the fall of Gupta India was much more subtle and not nearly as dramatic of declines. It also was not based on political unity unlike Han China. Because no native ruler native to India even attempted to build an empire, invaders integrated into the warrior caste and formed a new ruling group of regional princes that came to be known as the Rajput. Few political events of significance occurred under their ruling, and due to their poor leadership, the Gupta India civilization slowly declined as well. However once this had happened Rome and the Han China civilization had already collapsed, but internal corruption was not the only reason for the eventual collapse. Another common cause of the fall of these classical civilizations is due to outside invasions. One connection between all the civilizations was the fact that the Huns invaded all three. The Huns themselves invaded Rome and Han China while Gupta India was by another Hun group from Asia. Another similarity that Rome and Han China shared is the fact that both of these civilizations had their capitals overrun which highly contributed to their fall and made their downfall occur even faster. Although Rome and Han China had been suffering from internal problems before the invaders began causing problems, the nomads just dealt the final blows that sent the civilizations to their doom. Gupta India had not yet resolved their tendency for their political system to dissolve and for the whole system to dissolve, making them a prime target for invaders to come and take over. The fact that these once powerful civilizations were already very weak probably encouraged the nomadic invaders to harass and destroy even more. Unlike the other two civilizations, Rome suffered directly from the Germanic invaders who mainly fought because they had also fallen prey to the Huns harassment. Although these outside invasions were a big factor in the decline of these civilizations, economic decline also majorly played a part in the collapse. Even though it came in different forms, economic decline was also a cause of the fall of these empires.

Year Of Wonders essays

Year Of Wonders essays Year of Wonders is set in 1666 England in a small village called Eyam. The main characters consist of Michael And Elinor Mompellion and the heroine Anna Frith. After Annas husband, Sam, dies a lodger named George Viccars takes up residence there and works at his trade as a tailor. I bolt of cloth arrives from London that is infected with the plague. Yet sadly even though Mr. Viccars died screaming to burn it all the villagers take all that they paid to be done completed or not. Hence the plague spreads feverishly fast throughout the community testing everyones resolve when asked to take an oath to stay in the village to keep the plague contained. Soon after the plague sets in heavily witchcraft, greed, and madness begins to seep into the villagers spurring more loss. All is left up to The Mompellions and Anna to stem the flow of death and be a pillar for the fast failing faith in all the villagers hearts. I believe Mr. Mompellion changed radically in the short span of one year. He went from a very pious man, strong in the faith. To a man who had lost faith...believing that there was no God. He began with a loving wife and healthy mind and sound mind and ended up losing both in one inglorious fall. He held up the community and in the end he could not even hold himself up. He was a abject to sin yet wound up sinning gravely in one I recall the scene of Elinors death vividly. I can see and hear the scream of Aphra behind Mompellion. I see him run towards her smothering her filthy body and rotting daughter in a huge hug and Elinor joining in. I see the head of the long dead Faith POP off and go rolling in the green meadows of Cucklett Delf. I see the wild thrash of the Aphra beaten by grief and driven mad by solitude slash Elinor and then thrust the large blade taken ...

How do United States special military teams play a role in combatting Research Paper

How do United States special military teams play a role in combatting terrorism, irregular warfare strategy, domestic intelligence gathering, and foreign law assistance - Research Paper Example This commitment of the American government becomes evident from the revamping of the US Special Forces activities in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda. In the wake of this disastrous event, controversies have mounted on the effectiveness of domestic intelligence and the coordination of the activities of existing joint forces. Most of the criticism in this regard has been directed at the intelligence community for its purported failure to warn other agencies of an imminent threat. On the other hand, problems also prevail in other areas and terrorist organizations have been exploiting this vulnerability to wreak havoc on the nation. Thus, an urgent and imperative need has emerged for a dedicated Homeland Security Intelligence (HSI) in the nation to augment the existing intelligence collection system and solidify the functions of security forces. In addition, a necessity has also been felt for further sharpening the cutting edge of operational efficiency of the US Speci al Forces so as to enable them to combat terrorism more effectively. Though there no single definition universally for the term ‘terrorism’ the most commonly accepted definition perceives this phenomenon as the â€Å"use of violence to create fear† to attain political, religious or ideological objectives (Matusitz, 2012, p.4). Thus, terrorist activities, most of the times, are directed at noncombatant civilian population with a view to inflict maximum damage to human life and property so as to create terror and thus propagate their cause amongst the citizens. Terrorist organizations usually function as clandestine entities with a hierarchical system including a leader and other chieftains, â€Å"planners, trainers and actual bombers/killers† (p.4). Most of them are highly educated, motivated, physically competent, and trained in various types of combat tactics as well as electronic and information and communication

International economics ECON-370 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International economics ECON-370 - Assignment Example By definition, intra-industry trade arises when a country imports and exports related types of goods or services simultaneously. Considering two countries as an example, Germany and France, if Germany exports cars to France and simultaneously imports cars from England, then intra-industry trade occurs. (b). When the US imports the labor-intensive parts and not finished goods and exports the capital-intensive finished cars, then this would be a clear indication of intra-industry trade whereby the country will be acting simultaneously in the imports and exports of the same product. This scenario is similar to that of the example of Germany discussed in part (a) above. The finding that imports are labor intensive means that most individuals won’t be employed in the US as the imported goods come when they are already near finish. Nothing much is done on them. Capital intensive exports on the other hand means that we send a lot of employment opportunities outside of the country hen ce we create jobs outside and not inside the US. In my view, such a situation due to trade will lead to job displacement. 2. (a). A country is capital-abundant if its endowment of capital is more compared to other †¦. ... labor-intensive because its price in the labor-abundant country will lead to a bid price that is lower relatively to the price of that good in the country. Therefore, a capital-abundant country will export the capital-intensive good because its capital endowment is large compared to other countries, and the labor-abundant country will export the labor-intensive good. From this illustration, US is the capital-intensive country while EA are labor-intensive. US has less workers as compared to EA. This is in line with promoting trade between countries. (b). (c). In Stopper-Samuealson is’s a heory states that a â€Å"rise in the comparative price of a good raises the relative price of the factor used intensively in its production. Opening trade between countries will increase the award to the abundant factor and lower the reward of the scarce factor.this theory clarifies one reason for the controversy about free trade (Krugman et al 75). The US is expected to be the loser as this theory advocates that the relative factor endowments ; creating incentives for owners, nothing ever happened to support free trade. The EA on the other hand, are expected to gain since they are labor-intensive. On the other hand, since production of each good involves using different proportions for individual. Changing output combination altrers relative demand for the goods produced in both countries. Trade liberalization of trade leads to more inequality. (d), when there is no free trade and labor can migrate fully, from one country to another. at intra-industry Trade, the simultaneous import and export of goods for trade. Migration of workers is based on whether a country is capital –intensive or capital extensive. If capital intensive then workers will migrate from it to the labor intensive

Life Cycle Assessment Of Laptops And Printed Notes Engineering Essay

Life Cycle Assessment Of Laptops And Printed Notes Engineering Essay For the last few years, the society had started to use electronic devices for reading instead of using printed paper especially for university students. However, the paper is still used for printing and other usage. Paper is one of the main causes of global warming as trees will be cut down and processed into wood as wood is the main ingredient of producing paper. Without trees, there will be less photosynthesis phenomena occurring to reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced by human activities such as breathing, power generation, combustion etc. To reduce the cutting of trees, several electronic devices have been introduced to replace the paper used for several purposes. 1.2 Life Cycle Assessment Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method used to analyze the impacts caused by products and services to the environment surrounding. It is used to study the life cycle from the extraction of raw materials, processing, transport, use, reuse, recycling or disposal of the products and services. There are four stages in LCA which includes goal identification, life cycle inventory, impact analysis and improvement analysis. LCA is used to identify and analyze the input and output of materials, energy and waste emissions in solid, liquid and gaseous state in order to make the improvement from the environmental impacts determined. (Life cycle assessment n.d) 2. Goal and scope definition 2.1 Goal of this study The goal of this study is to compare the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the service between reading printed lecture notes and reading lecture notes on the laptop. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of printed and computer document as learning materials for an undergraduate engineering student of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is conducted. The LCA of this study is done by the undergraduate Civil Engineering students of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus. The results of this study is based on the two reports titled Scanning Life Cycle Assessment of Printed and E-paper Documents based on the iRex Digital Reader by Sebastiaan Deetman and Ingrid Odegard in March 2009 and Life Cycle Assessment of a Laptop Computer and its Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Anh Hoang, Wei li Tseng, Shekar Viswanathan and Howard Evans. The study will compare the environment impacts of the printed paper and laptop. 2.2 Scope of this study Scope of this study consists of function and functional units. Function of the product will be analyzed and functional units will be included in this study is used to make comparison of the services and the LCA of the laptop. 2.2.1 Function Laptop can be useful in reading lecture notes and making notes in a document files. These are the functions that will be analyzed. However, laptop can also be used to read online newspaper, journals, magazine and for doing assignments. These functions will not be included in this study but they can definitely help in reducing the environment impacts. The use of Microsoft Office software in laptop enables students to make own notes and read lecture notes for e-paper and printed documents. This function has made the comparison between computer documents and printed paper viable. In this report, it is assumed that the time taken for a student to download lecture notes from the BlackBoard System used by Swinburne University of Technology into the computer is the same. Therefore, it can be excluded from this study because initially, both alternatives need to use this function. Besides, the wireless connection in Swinburne University should be neglected as both printed notes and e-notes require the wireless connection to download the lecture notes from the BlackBoard System. 2.2.2 Product System a. Manufacturing The manufacturing and assembly of components for the laptop including packaging result in releasing greenhouse gases. b. Distribution To distribute the laptop to retails, transportation of the laptop is included in this study. The greenhouse gases also will be released through the transports used. c. Use The usage of the laptop will be four years equivalent to the four years course. The total usage of laptop including lecture, tutorial and self-study per unit for one week is included in this study. So, the laptop usage for one year can be calculated. d. End of life End of life in this study is about recycling a laptop that can no longer be used or function anymore. The laptop will be recycled under the US recycling requirements. 2.2.3 Functional Unit The functional unit of LCA is to study the service of the paper used for printing notes for a student which is four years as the engineering courses for Swinburne University of Technology takes four years to complete. However, the laptop is assumed to replace all the printed notes in this study throughout the four years course. The assumptions of the laptop and printed paper that need to be taken into the consideration in this study are as shown as below. Assumptions: 1. The life span of the laptop and printer are four years as engineering courses take four years. 2. Plug is used for laptop for all the time instead of using battery. 3. Laser printer is used for printing. 4. Wooden uncoated paper is used for printing. 5. The printed paper is in greyscale. 2.2.4 Impact Categories In this study, the laptop usage and the printed paper are compared to analyze the data of greenhouse gas emission for both alternatives which contributes to Global Warming Potential (GWP). 3. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) In this report, the data collected are the manufacturing, distribution, use and end-of-life of a standard laptop. The CO2-e emission of each stage are also calculated and included in the report. 3.1 Inventory of Laptop Computer 3.1.1 Manufacturing It includes the manufacturing and assembly of components as well as manufacturing and assembly of laptop which comes with packaging. On the whole, the greenhouse gas emission is approximately 160 kg CO2-e which is obtained from the graph on a report entitled Carbon Footprint of a Typical Business Laptop from Dell which is written by Markus Stutz (2010). 3.1.2 Distribution Transportation of laptop by all means to assembly locations and distributed to local retails, including transportation to customers themselves. For this report, the greenhouse gas emission of distribution of laptop is approximately 50 kg CO2-e (Stutz 2010) following the US region. However, the transportation may vary with region. So the emissions will vary as well but not much difference. 3.1.3 Use The life span of the laptop is estimated to be four years which is assumed to be used for the whole four years course of engineering students of Swinburne University Sarawak. One laptop is used by one student only. It is assumed that for one week, the total usage (hours) of laptop is 28 hours inclusive of 3 hours lecture, 2 hours tutorial and 2 hours of self-study per unit. There are four units altogether so 7 hours multiply by 4 equals to 28 hours. Assuming two semesters which consists of 32 weeks (inclusive of exam weeks) are equivalent to one year, the total hours is 896 hours. Hence, for four years, the total hour is 3584 hours. To calculate the power consumption and greenhouse gas emission, the mode taken into consideration is Active mode. Based on the report written by the students of National University entitled Life Cycle Assessment of a Laptop Computer and its Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the electricity used for average Active mode is 0.032 kWh. The power consu mption is tabulated in the table below. Electricity Used (kWh) Hours for 4 Years Power consumed (kWh) Active (Average) 0.032 3584 114.69 Based on the report too, the formula is converted to kWh. Hence, the greenhouse gas emission for usage is equal to 45.88 kg CO2-e. 3.1.4 End-of-life Once the laptop can no longer be used or it is unable to function anymore, the laptop will be sent for recycling. Sometimes laptops can be reformatted but it will not perform as well as before. Hence, according to Stutz 2010, it is assumed that 75 percent of the laptop will be recycled under the US recycling requirements. So, the greenhouse gas emission of -30 kg CO2-e is obtained. Stages Kg CO2-e released Manufacturing 160 Distribution 50 Use 45.88 End of life -30 Total 225.88 Table 1: The CO2e emission for laptop 3.2 Print Alternative Other alternative is that, the lecture notes, tutorial sheet and solutions can be printed out for study. The significant part which manipulates the GWP value is the type of paper used for printing. In this inventory, woodfree uncoated paper will be used to print out the lecture notes as well as tutorial questions. The GWP of manufacturing, distribution, use, end-of-life stage was taken from the LCA done by the ecoinvent for the inventory of the print alternative. 3.2.1 The use of printer A laser printer is used to print all the lecture notes and tutorial exercises. According to the report of LCA done by the student of University of Technology in Delft, they are using the process description of Ecoinvent database, which includes the life-time of printer, energy use during 3 different operational modes(active, stand-by and off), the print speed and average paper consumption. These numbers were all converted to an average inventory for an hour of printer use, as summarized in Table 4 below [Lehmann, 2007]. Process/part description Amount (per hour of printer use) Unit Ecoinvent name Electricity use 0.0402 kWh Electricity, low voltage, production UCTE Printing paper 0.214 kg Paper, woodfree, uncoated, at regional storage [RER] Laser Printer Scenario 1: Scenario 2: piece piece Printer laserjet, b/w, at plant [GLO] Toner 0.0644 kg Toner, black, used for printing [RER] Transport 0.0215 tkm Transport, freight, rail[RER] Table 1: The usage of printer and papers per hour In table 4, the usage of printer, paper and toner was converted to per hour usage. This is because Ecoinvent database recorded the lifetime of a printer is about four years. However, the usage of the laserjet printer will not be operating twenty four hours per day for four years. Therefore, the inventory is converted to per hour determination. 3.2.2 Paper Uncoated woodfree paper is the type of paper that we used most for printing. The dataset of the production and distribution of the type of paper is based on the Ecoinvent database. And according to the database, the uncoated woodfree paper contains at least 90% of fibres in the form of chemical pulp. Calculation: The estimation of paper used in 4 years. The approximate number of paper used for 1 chapter=15 sheets There total chapters for 1 subject= 8 chapters Subjects in 1 semester= 4 Semesters in 1 year=2 There are approximately 960 sheets of paper used in one year. And one student will consumed approximately 3840 sheets of paper in four years time. Paper disposal There are three types of paper disposal flows are defined in Ecoinvent, they are: Â · [G139] disposal, paper, 11.2% water, to municipal incineration [CH] Â · [G449] disposal, paper, 11.2% water, to sanitary landfill [CH] Â · [G1984] paper, recycling, with deinking, at plant [RER] The first two processes, however, differ from the third. The disposal processes have economic outflow the service of the disposal of 1 kg of the paper, as what is expected. A physical mass of recycled paper is the output for the recycling flow. According to Ecoinvent, there isnt recycling paper service and recycling gives out recycled paper as output. This means that the printer not only provide service of printing, but also produce recycled paper. Part of the total process to the recycled paper and part of the total process to the use of printer were allocated. This means that the environmental impacts of recycling the paper as waste are taken into account. 4.0 Impact Assessment This stage is to assess the impacts will affect on human health and the environment associated with energy and raw material inputs and environmental releases quantified by the inventory. We have done the impact assessment for the category of global warming potential (GWP). From the result, we do a comparison of CO2-equivalent between the laptop and printed paper. 4.1 Break-even Point: GWP Break-even point is when the GWP of both alternatives is the same occur. This can determine which alternative is more sustainable to the environment. When the GWP of both alternatives meets at this point, their emission is equal. After that, based on different situation, which ever goes higher is considered as not sustainable. GWP (kg CO2 equivalents) Print Alternative Scenario 1 Printing 3840 pages for four years Printing with woodfree uncoated paper 13.53 Laptop 225.88 Table: GWP values (in CO2-eq) of printed notes and laptop usage. From the table above, the relationship between the print alternative and laptop computer between two scenarios was assumed. After that, it can generate the graph as seen in figure below. Figure: From the figure, the impact assigned to the laptop computer remains constant as it is used daily for reading and studying. The graph shows the GWP of print alternative is much lower than the laptop computer. The break-even point is too far that it is probably about 70000 prints for four years. 5.0 Improvement Analysis Based on the research done, the usage of e-paper (laptops) still releases quite a high amount of CO2e which leads to Global Warming Potential. Hence, a few improvements to reduce emissions should be done. Improvements that could be done are as follows: Optimization of electricity usage when manufacturing laptops Minimize the number of transportation of laptops by distributing as many laptops as possible delivery process Turn off laptop when it is not used (i.e when taking a break from studying lecture notes) Purchasing laptops which has Energy Star label. Energy Star is a program by US government which helps to protect environment using superior energy efficiency. (Energy Star n.d.) Public awareness give talks on managing electricity and power usage In order to reduce the effect of global warming potential for paper, improvement can be done in the ways of: Conserving paper by printing on the both sides of the paper. Select to print what is really needed. Print only a few pages that are needed instead of the whole book. Recycle the used paper and use sustainable paper too. Return the empty printing cartridges to the supplier for recycling. 6.0 Conclusion From the life cycle assessment, we have compared the carbon dioxide equivalent of a laptop and paper for four years. It is shown that the CO2-e of a laptop is higher than paper. In other words, print alternative is a better choice to reduce the environmental impacts. It is more environmental friendly to study the lecture slides by printing paper instead of using laptop as paper emits less CO2e. The results above can only be applied to study lecture notes, not for office use and others.

Essay --

Hacking â€Å"I hacked your Facebook!† seems to me to be almost a common statement among people recently, but is it really hacking? No. Although someone could use a â€Å"brute force† program to mathematically get someone’s password it is not likely, and hardly worthwhile. Hacking can be extremely intimidating to someone who doesn’t completely understand what it is, or how it’s done. There are thousands of hackers in the world that make a living off of their skill and knowledge, not by stealing credit card information from old people who bought something online, or by taking social security numbers and selling them on a black market. These things do happen, and are possible, but are not as likely as the media would have you believe. The majority of professional hackers are referred to as â€Å"white hat† hackers. The term white hat comes from old movies when the good guy would wear a white hat, and the bad guy would wear a black hat. The first real hack happened before there were big security systems, and even before cell phones. Phreaking was the term given to the first official hackers, which dealt with telecommunication, and in this case, rotary style phones. Phreaking is a crime and is considered â€Å"toll fraud.† In some situations people with the knowledge cold use it to avoid long distance call charges. When this style of home phone was still new a long distance could even be considered across the street in some areas, and long distance calls were charged by the minute. Rotary phones have a hook that completes a circuit to send a signal, by rapidly clicking the hook for a variable number of times at roughly 5 to 10 clicks per second, separated by intervals of about one second, the caller can dial numbers as if they were using the rotary... ... 50minutes of down time. This attack was impressive on both ends, it showed the hacker had great skill, but also showed the white hats working for Reddit do an amazing job.. There are several laws in most countries against hacking in this way, and the punishments are severe, but that doesn’t stop most hackers. So is â€Å"hacking† a Facebook really hacking? Not at all. Hacking a Facebook is, at best, kiddie scripting. A script kiddie is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others, usually with little understanding of the underlying concept. Even that is stretching it, if a friend leaves their Facebook open on your computer you did not hack it. If people took the time to read, understand, and not fanaticize about computer hacking it would be less intimidating, and easier to prevent on both large and small scales.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 5

I'd been bracing myself for â€Å"Cleveland† or â€Å"Guam.† I was too much of a pessimist to think I might be offered something even moderately appealing. If I was already going through the trauma of leaving Seattle, then surely it would be for somewhere terrible. â€Å"Did you say Las Vegas?† I asked, sinking down onto my couch. Immediately, I guessed the catch. â€Å"Ah. It's not Las Vegas, Nevada, right? It's a different Las Vegas. New Mexico ? Or some other continent?† â€Å"Sorry to disappoint you and your martyr fantasies, Georgie.† Jerome lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. â€Å"It's Las Vegas, Nevada. I think you even know the archdemon there – Luis. Isn't he a friend of yours?† I blinked. â€Å"Luis? Yeah. I mean, in as much as an archdemon can be.† That got a small smile from Jerome, though I only barely noticed. I had worked for Luis a long time ago, and if I had to be honest, he was probably my favorite boss of all time. That wasn't to say Jerome was a terrible one, but Luis – while strict – still had an easy way about him that could sometimes make you forget you were damned for all eternity. â€Å"So . . . my orders are to go to Las Vegas and work for Luis.† â€Å"Yes,† said Jerome. I looked back at him from where I'd been staring vacantly out the window. â€Å"Is there any way to change that? To stop it? Isn't there anything I can do to just stay here? And are you sure it's not a mistake – what with the delivery mix-up?† Jerome's dark eyebrows rose. It was one of those rare moments when he'd been caught off-guard enough to display surprise. â€Å"You don't want to go? I mean, I'm flattered you'd want to stay under my rule, but I'd think you would be pleased with this situation. Las Vegas is perfect for a half-ass succubus like you.† I ignored the jab – though he had a point. Las Vegas was such a breeding ground for sin and salvation that it was nearly packed to bursting with servants of both Heaven and Hell. It probably had one of the highest concentrations of succubi in the world, meaning it was easy to slide by with quotas. Here, I was the only succubus, so my number of corrupted souls was scrutinized heavily. In Las Vegas, there'd be plenty of go-getter succubi to cover for slackers like me. â€Å"It's not about you,† I said slowly. â€Å"It's about . . . Seth.† Jerome sighed loudly and stamped out his cigarette on my coffee table. I supposed I should be glad it wasn't my couch or carpet. â€Å"Of course it is. Because in the grand scheme of the universe, your boyfriend is important enough to make Hell's HR change their minds about a re-org. Come on, Georgie. How naive are you? How many transfers have you had over the years? Or perhaps I should ask, how many transfers do you know of that were cancelled because someone ‘didn't feel like it'?† â€Å"None,† I admitted. At most, Hell would take unhappy employees into account and move them out of places they weren't being productive. I had requested transfers before and gotten a couple of them. But once HR made up its mind? That was it. The cold truth of this, that it wasn't a mistake and that I couldn't stop it, was beginning to wrap around me. I tried to make sense of it another way. â€Å"But why? Why did they decide to this? I've been a good employee. . . .† Yet, even as I spoke, I grew uncertain. Jerome looked at me knowingly. â€Å"Have you?† â€Å"I haven't been a bad employee,† I amended. â€Å"Not exactly.† â€Å"This isn't a game. We don't want mediocre employees who can keep the status quo. We want souls. We want to win. And you've spent most of your time here being mediocre. Don't glare at me like that. You know I'm right. You've had fits and starts of productivity, the most notable being when you were under duress. Even that's been inconsistent.† I'd made a bargain with Jerome a year ago, in which I'd behaved like a model succubus for a while. After I'd helped rescue him from summoning, there'd been an unspoken acceptance of me slacking off once again without getting any grief from him. â€Å"If you'd thrived here and turned over large amounts of souls, I doubt you'd be leaving. So, if you're looking for someone to blame, look in the mirror.† â€Å"You sure sound smug about this,† I pointed out petulantly. â€Å"Like you're happy about it.† â€Å"Happy? Happy about the gamble of getting a new employee – or of inheriting Tawny permanently? Hardly. But unlike you, I accept that my happiness means nothing to my superiors. The only thing that matters is me following their orders.† His tone and expression clearly said that the same was true for me. I almost never held back from sparring with Jerome, but today I did. Why? Because there was nothing I could say, no bargain I could make with him. I'd negotiated a number of favors and allowances in my years with him, things specifically pertaining to my existence here within Seattle. That was his domain. But the rest of the world? That was out of his control. There was nothing he could do to change this reassignment, even if he wanted to. There was nothing I could do either. You just couldn't fight against some things. Hell was one of them. When I'd signed my soul away, I'd signed away control of my eternity to them as well. â€Å"It's not fair.† Guessing Jerome's snappy retort, I quickly added, â€Å"I know, you don't have to say it. Life isn't fair. I get it. But it's just . . . it's just cruel. Seth and I finally managed a working relationship. And now I have to leave him.† Jerome shook his head, and I could tell by his restless stance that he was ready to go. His patience with this conversation was running thin. â€Å"You know, I might miss some of your witticisms when you're gone, but one thing I won't miss? Your overwhelming sense of melodrama and despair. It's too much even for me.† The sorrow and self-pity within me transformed to anger. â€Å"I'm sorry, but this is serious to me! How can I not be upset? I love Seth. I don't want to leave him.† â€Å"So don't. Take him with you. Or date long distance. I honestly don't give a fuck, so long as you stop your whining. How can you not see solutions here? You've apparently decided that you being immortal isn't a deterrent to your great love . . . but a two-hour plane ride is?† I felt kind of cowed. Normally, I resented Jerome for mocking me when I was upset because I blamed it on his lack of empathy. But now, I had to admit that maybe he was onto something about me being overly melodramatic. Why couldn't I take Seth with me? If Seth really loved me, a move shouldn't be a problem. And of all the jobs in the world, he had one of the best suited for a change of venue. Unfortunately, it was a bit more complicated than that. I sighed. â€Å"I don't know if he would. His family's here, and his sister-in-law's sick. He can't leave them anytime soon. . . .† Jerome shrugged. â€Å"We're back to the part where I don't give a fuck. I do, however, care that you go there to visit sooner rather than later. Luis asked if I'd send you down in advance to scope out the area for a couple of days. Seeing as bowling practice doesn't start until Monday, I can't help but think this weekend would be an excellent time to get that out of the way. I'm happy to oblige him – but not at the cost of interfering with my team.† â€Å"Really?† I scoffed. â€Å"You expect me to care about bowling in light of all this?† He gave me a thin-lipped smile. â€Å"Seeing as you're still my employee for the next four weeks, yes. I expect you to care about it immensely.† He glanced over at Roman, who had observed all of this silently. â€Å"And I expect you to come up with an excellent training regimen for them. I'll see you both then.† Jerome vanished in a poof of smoke, further verifying how self-satisfied he felt about all of this. Losing me might be inconvenient for him, but I think his demon nature still took some delight in seeing the torment of others. I covered my eyes and rolled over to lie flat on the couch. â€Å"Oh God. What am I going to do? This can't be happening.† Breaking up with Seth last year had torn my heart apart. I had wanted to die. Being reunited with him had felt like being born anew. I'd loved life, even my damned one. Now I was starting to feel that terrible, aching desperation again. It wasn't possible that someone could go through so many extreme ups and downs in so short a time span. Welcome to being in love, I thought. I felt Roman sit down by my feet. A moment later, both cats joined us. I uncovered my eyes and found his sea green ones staring down at me. â€Å"He wasn't exactly tactful, but I have to admit he had a point. Why wouldn't Seth just move with you?† â€Å"Under normal circumstances . . .† I had to pause in order to not start laughing. Our circumstances were never normal. â€Å"Under normal circumstances, he would. But like I was saying, with Andrea, I don't even think he can. And honestly, I wouldn't want him to.† I didn't realize that was true until I spoke the words. If Seth dropped everything to run off with me, he would be hurting both himself and his family for my sake. I could never allow that. My heart sank. â€Å"I can't believe this. How could this have come about so quickly? I was so happy.† Roman scratched Aubrey's head and leaned back. â€Å"That's an excellent question. This was all kind of sudden. Is that how it normally is?† â€Å"Well, I mean, we never get much warning of transfers. Sometimes you know a re-org is coming. Sometimes you get one after requesting a transfer. Usually, though, someone has a meeting, plans your fate, and you find out about it later. The only weird thing here was Jerome apparently having less notice than me.† Roman had been staring at the ceiling and then snapped his head back to look at me. I flinched under the intensity of his gaze. â€Å"Explain that again. What happened and what was unusual.† I started to tell him I'd just explained it but instead swallowed off any sharp retort, knowing he wasn't the true source of my irritation. â€Å"Normally, your archdemon meets with you to tell you the details, and then the letter with the transfer date follows. This happened so fast that I got the letter before Jerome had a chance to talk to me.† â€Å"Hell doesn't do things without a reason.† He reconsidered. â€Å"Well, impromptu bowling competitions aside. But they like their bureaucracy, their paperwork, and all their details in order. Even if they quickly decided to do a transfer, they'd still follow all their inane procedures. For the letter to have jumped ahead of Jerome getting his instructions, things must have been seriously expedited. The question: why? Why such a rush to get you out of Seattle?† I couldn't help a smile. â€Å"You're looking for a conspiracy here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think this sucks. It's terrible. But I don't think there's anything more to it than what Jerome said about me skimping at my job. Which . . . well, which is my fault.† â€Å"Yes, but Hell deals with bad employees all the time. They go through reams of procedure to figure out the best way to deal with those people. Pop might be right that Hell can't tolerate mediocre workers, but it's not to the extent that they have to deal with it right that second. What's so special about you that someone would suddenly decide to initiate a hasty transfer?† I appreciated that Roman was trying to help me, but I didn't want to get caught up in what could easily become an obsessive quest for him. Nephilim had serious grudges with Heaven and Hell and were always looking for ways to challenge and thwart them. Roman himself had once gone on a killing spree of higher immortals. There was something in his nature that wanted there to be more than bad luck here, but I just wasn't sure I believed there was. Carter's words echoed in my head, no matter how much I tried to shrug them off: If there's a reason, it's because you've been doing something Hell doesn't want you to do. â€Å"You should talk to Carter,† I muttered. â€Å"He's certain there's a reason too.† Seeing Roman's expectant look, I halfheartedly tried to humor him. â€Å"I don't know what it could be. Maybe because I got captured by Oneroi? Maybe they're worried I'm unstable or something. Or that this isn't a safe place for me.† Roman nodded along with my words. â€Å"That does make you special. However, if I was worried about an employee losing it, I'd want to keep them in a place where I knew they felt stable. I'm sure Hell knows you're happy here, and if anything, they might think that experience bound you to Jerome more closely. They'd want to encourage that loyalty.† â€Å"Hell doesn't need to encourage loyalty,† I told him. â€Å"All they care about is that I signed my soul over to them. That's bigger than loyalty.† A startled look crossed his face. â€Å"That is all they care about. Georgina, when did this happen? Exactly when did this happen?† â€Å"Er, the letter?† There was a fanatic look in his eyes. No question. He was getting obsessed. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"This morning. It showed up at Seth's. I sensed the courier and woke up to it.† â€Å"You were at Seth's. What were you doing at the time? What were you doing just before then?† He'd stopped petting Aubrey, and she slithered toward me in a huff, seeking a more attentive audience. â€Å"Walk me backward from that point.† â€Å"Well, like I said, I was sleeping. Before that . . .† I winced, remembering getting into bed with Ian. â€Å"I met Seth's mom and younger brother. Before that, I was at Peter's fondue party. Before that, I was at the mall – â€Å" â€Å"Peter's. Tell me about Peter's. Did anything weird happen to you there?† I cut him a look. â€Å"It was a fondue party at a vampire's. Everything about that is weird.† â€Å"I'm trying to help you!† There was a strained, agitated quality to his voice as he leaned toward me. â€Å"Just hold off on the jokes, okay? Think. What happened – to you specifically? What did you talk about? What did they say to you?† I was growing increasingly uncomfortable at his intensity. â€Å"They were teasing me about my job,† I said. â€Å"Jerome too?† â€Å"Of course. He said me being an elf was an embarrassment and that I should do something else.† A shocking thought hit me. â€Å"Roman . . . you don't think Jerome requested the transfer, did you? Could he really be that upset with me? That embarrassed?† â€Å"I don't know,† admitted Roman. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his curling dark hair. â€Å"It's possible. Some of the weirdness might be explained away if Jerome was trying to hide that he initiated all this. But then, it's not like any of your other friends are exactly normal. If something was going to embarrass Jerome enough to get rid of an employee, I kind of feel like there would have been a lot of other opportunities before you. Anything else come up?† â€Å"I asked them about – † I hesitated. The topic was still sensitive for me. It was hard to mention to Roman, and I could hardly believe I'd had the guts to bring it up to the gang that night. Roman caught my uncertainty and pounced. â€Å"What? What else? What did you ask them about?† I waited a few more moments and then decided to tell him. It couldn't hurt, and besides, for all I knew, Roman had mentioned my name to Seth. â€Å"About a month ago, when we were in bed, Seth called me Letha when he was half-asleep. When I asked him how he knew that name, he couldn't remember. He couldn't even remember calling me that. So, I asked the group that night if any of them had told my name to Seth.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"And they all said no. Cody didn't even know my name. I got berated for being melodramatic again, and the general consensus was that Seth had just overheard it from me or someone else and forgotten.† Roman was silent, which was almost more unnerving than him grilling me. I straightened up and nudged him. â€Å"Hey, you didn't tell Seth, did you?† â€Å"Huh? No.† He frowned, caught up in his own thoughts. â€Å"What did Jerome think? Did he concur with that theory?† â€Å"Yes. He thought me bringing it up was a total waste of time and didn't hesitate to tell me. He was so bored by it that he started talking about bowling instead.† â€Å"That's when he told you about the bowling team? The bowling team that came out of nowhere?† â€Å"Yeah. . . .† Now I was frowning. It was clear that Roman's thoughts were running off to a place I wasn't at or able to follow. â€Å"Why? What are you thinking? Is this related somehow?† â€Å"I don't know,† he said at last. He stood up and paced the living room a couple of times. â€Å"I need to think about this. I need to ask some questions. What are you going to do now?† I rose as well and stretched, suddenly feeling weary. â€Å"I need to talk to Seth. I have to tell him what happened. And I suppose . . .† I made a face. â€Å"If I do have to go to Las Vegas, this weekend is the time to do it.† â€Å"So you don't miss bowling practice?† teased Roman. â€Å"That, and I have it off from work. Seth's pretty tied up with his family in town, which makes it another good time to go. Although . . . it'd kind of be nice if he went with me. I mean, if he was going to think about moving, he could check it out too.† Yet, again, that worry returned to me: how could I ask Seth to abandon Terry and Andrea? â€Å"Actually,† said Roman, humor vanishing, â€Å"I think it's best he doesn't go.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because whatever the reasons, something's just not right about this. I don't know what's waiting for you in Las Vegas. Maybe nothing. But I just feel like there's a larger hand in all of this, guiding it, and that it's safest for Seth if you don't drag him into immortal drama.† Roman's face softened. â€Å"I'm actually not thrilled about you facing it alone, but I'm not sure me walking into a hotbed of immortal activity is so smart either.† â€Å"I'll be fine,† I said, trying to not be put off by his ominous words. â€Å"No matter how terrible a transfer is, I have to admit, I got kind of lucky with this one. I mean, I'm not saying I trust any demons, but if I had to, it would be Luis. He's really great, and Vegas is, well, Vegas. Like I said. I got lucky.† Roman grew thoughtful again. â€Å"Yes. Yes, you did.† The next day, I found Seth later at his brother's house. Andrea had had another treatment that day and was sleeping it off. Seth and Margaret were helping take care of the household as best they could, cooking a late dinner and watching the girls. I arrived at about the same time as Terry got home from work, and our double entrance was greeted with shouts and hugs. I scooped Kayla up in my arms and kissed her while Terry asked what I had been wondering. â€Å"Where's Ian?† Seth and Margaret exchanged looks. â€Å"Ian had some things to do,† she said neutrally. â€Å"Yeah,† agreed Seth. â€Å"In the form of scoping out ironic parts of Seattle.† So much for Ian stepping up to help the family. No doubt he'd found new hipster friends at a coffee shop and was now hanging out with them somewhere, drinking PBR and regaling them with stories of all the obscure bands he knew. Terry smiled good-naturedly. â€Å"Well, that's his loss because dinner smells great. More for us.† He swung Kendall around and kissed his other daughters before going upstairs to check on Andrea. I felt a lump form in my throat as I watched him go. He put on such a good face for the kids, but I knew this had to be tearing his heart apart. My own petty concerns seemed exactly that: petty. Small. Inconsequential. Nonetheless, news of the transfer weighed on my mind throughout dinner. I'd wanted to wait until Seth and I were alone at his place, but my face must have betrayed my feelings. â€Å"Hey,† he said gently, slipping an arm around me. The family was gathered in the living room, starting a movie, while Seth and I stood in the doorway to the kitchen. â€Å"Everything okay?† I hesitated, unsure about bringing it up here. Sensing that, he pulled me into the privacy of the kitchen. â€Å"Thetis, talk to me.† â€Å"I got some bad news today,† I began. I tried to think of a clever or funny way to lead into it, but nothing came. So, I just blurted it all out, explaining the inarguable nature of transfers and the details of mine. â€Å"Las Vegas,† he said flatly. He looked as though he'd been slapped. â€Å"You're moving to Las Vegas.† â€Å"Not for a month,† I said, clasping his hands. â€Å"And believe me, I don't want to. God, Seth. I still can't believe it. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.† â€Å"Hey, don't apologize. Not for this.† He drew me near, the kindness and compassion on his face nearly making me cry. â€Å"This isn't your fault. You have nothing to be sorry about.† I shook my head. â€Å"I know, but . . . it's just so crazy. I thought this was it. Our chance to be together. And now I don't know what to do. I can't ask you to . . .† â€Å"Ask me to what?† I leaned my head against his chest. â€Å"Come with me.† He was quiet for a few moments. â€Å"Would they let me? I always thought . . . I mean, whenever you've talked about your past, it always sounded like you reinvented yourself. New name, new appearance. I thought you had to leave your past life behind.† â€Å"I have, but that was always just my choice. For you . . . I mean, of course I wouldn't do that. I'd stay Georgina Kincaid, just as you know her. But you can't leave them.† I gestured to the living room. â€Å"It's not worth it.† Seth moved his hands to my head, tilting my face up so I could look him in the eye. â€Å"Georgina,† he said softly. â€Å"I love you. You're worth it. You're everything to me. I'd follow you to the ends of the earth. And beyond.† â€Å"That doesn't make sense.† I smiled sadly. â€Å"And I'm not everything. You love them too. And you'd hate yourself for running off with me while they need you so much.† â€Å"So, what? You've made my choice for me?† he asked. There was a playful note to his voice, despite the deadly seriousness of the topic. â€Å"Are we breaking up?† â€Å"No! Of course not. I just . . . I just want you to know that I don't expect you to come with me. Do I want to be with you? Yes, of course. But I love your family, Seth. I love all of them. My happiness . . .† It was strange, speaking those words. My happiness. For so long, I'd been miserable. Happiness wasn't even a concept I'd imagined for myself in ages. â€Å"My happiness isn't worth theirs.† He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. â€Å"What about mine?† I stared in astonishment. â€Å"Are you saying you'd abandon them and run off to Las Vegas?† â€Å"No,† he said firmly. â€Å"I would never abandon them. But there must be some middle ground here. Some way that doesn't involve sacrificing us or them. We just have to figure it out. What we have is too important. Don't give up on us yet, okay?† I hugged him, losing myself in the sweetness of his warmth and scent. My heart had lightened a little at his words, but I still didn't want to get my hopes up. There was too much at stake, still too much that could go wrong. â€Å"I love you,† I told him. â€Å"I love you too.† He squeezed me tight and then kissed me again before pulling apart. â€Å"Now. Let's go watch that movie and pretend to be social so that we can leave early.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because if you're going to Vegas this weekend, then I want to get you home and get some quality time in tonight.† I grinned and put my arm around him. â€Å"Does ‘quality time' mean what I think it does?† â€Å"Yes,† he said, as we walked back to the living room. â€Å"Yes, it does.† â€Å"Well, then, you know that's against the rules.† â€Å"Rules that you made up,† he pointed out. â€Å"Rules that are for your own good,† I corrected. â€Å"It's not time yet. Remember, we have to ration ourselves.† It was part of the conditions of us getting back together. Keeping strictly platonic before had strained us, so this time, I'd agreed that some sex was okay . . . even though I cringed at the thought of how each act, no matter how small, would take away some of his life. Seth had told me he didn't care, that he'd take any risk to be with me. I was still cautious, and he'd yielded to me to set the schedule for our rationed sex life. I still wasn't entirely sure what constituted proper rationing in this situation, but something in my head said we should have sex only every few months. I hadn't told Seth that, though. It had been one month since the last – and only – time we'd had sex since getting back together as a mortal and a succubus, and I knew he was getting restless. It was especially difficult for him because although he respected me, he also didn't think such caution was needed when he was the one who faced the dangers – dangers he swore he didn't mind. â€Å"Not tonight,† I continued. â€Å"It's practically a special occasion, though,† he told me. â€Å"A big send-off.† â€Å"Hey, I didn't say we couldn't do anything,† I replied. â€Å"Just not as much as you'd like to do.† One thing we'd inherited from our chaste days was a set of several creative workarounds, mostly involving doing unto ourselves what we couldn't do unto each other. â€Å"The question is, is there going to be a problem with your houseguests?† â€Å"Not if we're quiet,† Seth said. After a moment, he shrugged. â€Å"Scratch that. I don't care. Let them hear.† I scoffed. â€Å"Oh, yeah. So that your mom can come break down your door with her baseball bat.† â€Å"Don't worry,† he said, kissing my cheek. â€Å"She's no match for you and that dictionary.†