Hamlet Soliloquy Act 4 Scene 4

How all occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge! What is a man/ If his chief good and market of his time/ Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. / Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,/ Looking before and after, gave us not/ That capability and godlike reason/ To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be/ Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple / Of thinking too precisely on th' event—/ A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom/ And ever three parts coward—I do not know/ Why yet I live to say â€Å"This thing’s to do,†/ Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do ’t.Examples gross as earth exhort me. / Witness this army of such mass and charge/ Led by a delicate and tender prince,/ Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed/ Makes mouths at the invisible event,/ Exposing what is mortal and unsure/ To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,/ Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great/ Is not to st ir without great argument,/ But greatly to find quarrel in a straw/ When honor’s at the stake.How stand I then,/ That have a father killed, a mother stained,/ Excitements of my reason and my blood,/ And let all sleep—while, to my shame, I see/ The imminent death of twenty thousand men,/ That for a fantasy and trick of fame/ Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot/ Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,/ Which is not tomb enough and continent/ To hide the slain? Oh, from this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! (IV. iv. 4-68) After everyone exits leaving Hamlet along with the audience, his true emotions and thoughts comes pouring out. Hamlet is saying how his view of the world points out that all of his actions are wrong and a constant reminder of his inability to complete his revenge for his father’s murder by his uncle. Then points out that a man that only sleep and eat is nothing more than an anime but rather a man is meant explo it all of their senses and utilize for more meaningful pursuits than rather simply to survive.God did not give humans the ability to comprehend so they can ponder about the past and future and that those that are not used, the ability will slowly disappear. Also Hamlet reveals his thought of how he is alive when the deed he set out to accomplish is not completed even with all the desire and strength he has to accomplish the deed of avenging his father’s death. Another point that is revealed is Hamlet’s perspective on how an army goes to war over a worthless piece of land and make a mockery of the battles over that land.Then the soliloquy reaches its climax, Hamlet gives respect to the soldiers that are willing to sacrifice their life in battle for their kings honor and the honor of their land yet Hamlet has not taken action for his own personal honor regarding his father, his mother, and the state of Denmark where he is the known prince. At the end, Hamlet vows to thin k about nothing but his violent and bloody revenge for his father’s death against his uncle, Claudius and that any thoughts that is not violent is not worth thinking about.

Caring for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease does not form part of the common ageing process but a higher risk of experiencing this disease is more prevalent in the older population. Alzheimer’s disease emerged as a term when Dr. Alois Alzheimer reported in 1906 the condition of a fifty-five year-old woman suffering from the effects of progressive dementia, a condition that is strongly linked to old age. Edwards et al.Due to the progressive nature of the disease, the individual with Alzheimer’s disease together with the community within which the individual belongs also becomes affected. In the latter stages of the disease, the individual may suffer dementia manifested in the disorientation of surroundings, inability to recognize family members, and lack of awareness of daily needs and wants.Mahoney (2003) states that around four million of the American population is already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease with the number expected to multiply three-fold in 2050. The effects of the disease together with the expected increase in the population of people with Alzheimer’s disease has given importance to the enhancement of knowledge and practical experience on the part of caregivers with family members suffering from Alzheimer’s disease stressing on vigilance as a standard of care.Family Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease has been the subject of many studies covering its various areas from the determination of the causes and effects of this disease to the access and availability of healthcare for people with Alzheimer’s disease and then to the focus on caregivers and care giving standards.Some studies on caregivers are continuing because of the need to collect and collate information on the importance of families caring for members with Alzheimer’s disease together with the concurrent important role of nurses and other healthcare professionals in providing family caregivers with the informative and other forms of support they need to take on the task of dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Mahoney (2003) explains that caregiver burden emerged in studies on the caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s disease to describe the aggregate demands and issues faced by the caregivers.These cover the financial burden incurred by the family in caring for their family member with Alzheimer’s disease from seeking professional healthcare to continuing care at home as well as the emotional and social burdens of seeing or experiencing the symptoms of dementia such as the inability of the individual with Alzheimer’s to recognize family members or frequent disorientation. The failure of family caregivers to understand and effectively deal with these demands and issues could lead to fatigue and stress or even to psychological problems on the part of family caregivers.This means that apart from studying the cause, effect and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, there is also need to focus on providing multi-faceted support to family caregivers based on the underlying principle that family caregivers also need care. This implies the important role of health professionals, especially nurses that constantly deal with family caregivers to extent care to family caregivers. Care Issues of Family CaregiversWith the expected increase in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the succeeding decades, it is then important to make sure of the proper care not only for the patients but for their caregivers as well. As individuals depend on them for optimum care so that keeping abreast with current care giving trends and applications covering patient care and keeping themselves less stressed and fatigued are imperative. This ensures the caregiver’s health and competence in handling Alzheimer’s disease cases and patients.Sufficient and relevant data exist that prove the increased probability of caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease to experience symptoms related to depression. The financial burden, coupled by the physical and emotional turmoil of caring for elderly with Alzheimer’s may be some reasons for the increased risk of depression and health problems of caregivers. Wykle (1996) conducted an earlier study on family caregivers and recognized the extent that the Alzheimer’s disease takes its toll on the families caring for their members suffering from this disease.While studies on the cause and cure of Alzheimer’s disease are ongoing, there is also need to conduct parallel studies on alleviating the stress and pressure on families caring for their members with Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the recognition of the increases responsibility of families in caring for members with Alzheimer’s disease, these families are calling for appropriate and effective interventions in reducing family stress and supporting caregivers man aging the manifestations of dementia. After almost a decade, studies on caring for family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease continue to advance.Vitaliano, Katon and Unutzer (2005) studied caregiver health in the context of geriatric psychiatry in the five areas of: 1) caregiver outcomes in relation to the manifestations of the link between caregiver distress and physical indices in order to determine the intervention to caregivers; 2) assessing caregiver status and condition; 3) relationship between the caregiver and the recipient of care; 4) future studies; and 5) important areas to consider in applying interventions to family caregivers.These constitute important considerations for nurses providing support and care to family caregivers. Nursing Support for Family Caregivers Roper, Logan and Tierney (2001) developed a model for nursing care that incorporates a consideration of five factors, which are:1) activities of living,2) lifespan,3) continuous relationshi p of dependence and independence,4) factors affecting activities of living,5) individuality in living experiences.This means that throughout a person’s lifetime, a number of biological, psychological and environmental factors experienced by individuals either improve or threaten the physical, mental and emotions well-being of individuals. To prevent the threats, individuals engage in preventive activities such as being in a safe environment, communication, and having a healthy lifestyle. People go through these activities with other people, such as other family members, other families and healthcare professional, creating a continuous relationship of dependence and independence with the dependenceIn relation to nursing support for family caregivers, this model suggests that nurses play the important role of supporting family caregivers especially in the stages of dependence. This means that importance of determining when the dependence stages occur, the extent of support need ed by family caregivers, and the appropriate intervention to apply. To assist nurses in this task, Mahoney (2003) discuss the model of vigilance that applies to the relationship between the family caregiver and care recipient and the nurse’s relationship with the caregiver and care recipient.By applying the concepts of watchful supervision, protective intervening, anticipating, being on duty, and being there, patients with Alzheimer’s disease will be effectively cared for by family caregivers in the same way that family caregivers will be supported by nurses and other healthcare professionals. Salient Learning on Family Caregivers of Person’s with Alzheimer’s Disease Proper orientation prior to taking on the job of caring for family members with Alzheimer’s disease is important, so is periodic evaluation and assessment of the patient’s condition and the degree of influence it has over the caregiver.Caregivers must also allow sufficient time for leisure activities, rest and relaxation. It is also important for caregivers to be aware of the symptoms which may lead to their stress and fatigue. The symptoms they must look out for include denial, short and hot temper, anger (which may be prolonged or manifested in spurts), withdrawal from family members, friends and activities which were enjoyed previously, anxiety and agitation, sleeplessness, irritability, and exhaustion.These symptoms, if undetected, may give rise to serious health problems or even depression later on. Nurses play an important role in facilitating understanding and stress alleviation. Important Topics for Continuous Learning Although many studies have directed focus on diagnosing and treating family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, there are still areas that need further investigations and learning.On the part of nurses providing support to family caregivers, the existence of healthcare infrastructures to support the recognition of the importance of supporting family caregivers through the sharing of knowledge and experience to family caregivers constitutes one important topic for learning. This is because it is common for hospitals and nursing homes not to have their own Alzheimer’s disease care unit. Nurses and other healthcare providers may be commonly assigned from one station or area to the next which may limit the expertise gained if the said people concentrate only on a particular area.The lack of an Alzheimer’s disease unit may be due to lack of funds, hospital space, facilities, and different priorities. A possible area of learning could be the viability of establishing Alzheimer’s disease units in hospitals or nursing homes or stationing nurses in the care of Alzheimer’s patients to allow nurses to develop learning and best practices not only in treating patient’s with Alzheimer’s disease that they can use in understanding the issues of family caregivers and they can share as practical lessons to family caregivers.Another possible area of learning could be the differences in the experiences of family caregivers, caring for family members with varying manifestations of dementia, in terms of the degree of stress and fatigue and ways they apply in care giving. Concurrently, effective practical means that caregivers apply to alleviate care giving burden such as relaxation and leisure or group support become equally important. These areas of learning constitute important consideration in the orientation, evaluation, training and development of nursing care to family caregivers to assure the best care possible given to and extended to care recipients.Pertinent Actual and Potential Nursing Diagnoses of Family Caregivers Enough relevant and significant data are available that discusses the high risk of clinical depression and anxiety in family caregivers. The said depression and anxiety may be a result of the demanding physical and emotional w ork that caregivers who take care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease experience daily as part of their care routine. This may give rise to certain conditions that afflict the caregiver him/herself.â€Å"Hidden† patient is the term used to describe nurses or caregivers who suffer from anxiety and clinical depression, coupled with health problems (Parks and Novielli, 2003). Hidden in a sense that their despair and symptoms are commonly denied, not given attention to, or altogether ignored, which may give rise to graver threats later on. Caregiver depression is a condition that family caregivers may experience. These include persistent and untreatable pains and aches, irritability, weight loss and loss of appetite, exhaustion and lack of energy, insomnia and feelings of guilt and anxiety (Vitaliano, Katon, & Unutzer, 2005).Thus, nurses supporting caregivers should be well aware of the symptoms that may lead caregiver depression. Conclusion Due to the extent of the impac t of Alzheimer’s disease to the various people, including the family of the individual suffering from the disease, other people comprising the social network of the patient, and healthcare professionals, there is need to apply collaborative learning and information sharing in order to derive optimum and comprehensive understanding of best practices on the alleviation of the care giving burden of family caregivers.This is important since family caregivers able to handle and adjust to the care giving burden would lead to effective care outcomes for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.References Edwards, J. , Handy, R. , Lancaster, M. , & Turnbull, J. (Eds. ) (1998).Alzheimer's Disease: A Handbook for Caregivers. St. Louis, M. O. : Mosby. Mahoney, D. F. (2003).Vigilance: Evolution and Definition for Caregivers of Family Members with Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29, 24-30 Parks, S. M. , & Novielli, K. D. (2003).Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers : Hidden Patients. Clinical Geriatrics, 11(5), 14-16. Roper, N. , Logan, W. , & Tierney, A. (2001).Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of Nursing: Based on Activities of the Living. London: Churchill Livingston. Vitaliano, P. P. , Katon, W. , & Unutzer, J. (2005).Making the Case for Caregiver Research in Geriatric Psychiatry. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 834-843. Wykle, M. L. (1996).Interventions for Family Management of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. International Psychogeriatrics, 8, 109-111.

What is communication How do you think that the meaning of Essay

What is communication How do you think that the meaning of communication has evolved in recent years Where is communication going - Essay Example Despite the fact that people speak numerous languages they still try to find a common meaning in everything that happens around. So it is communication that allows us solving problems effectively between people, building relationships, and arranging effective work. It is communication that leads to interaction and makes the world go round. Communication basically is the act of information (which can vary from facts and statistics to the most subtle emotions) transmission from one person to another with the purpose of connections establishment and its further development between people. Communication usually means information transmission with the help of verbal and non-verbal (with the help of gestures and facial expressions) means. Communication is inevitable because any human activity is impossible without it and it is the only method of effective interaction. There are several conditions for real communication. There need to be at least two participants for performing communication. And of course there have to be the information to be transmitted. They have to pass the information, feelings, ideas in order to create some shared common meaning and understand each other. Communication is meant to connect people or groups of people and make them understand something is more or less similar way. However, it is strange to realize that most of what people are trying to transmit in the course of verbal communication gets distorted. It happens because there is no possibility that the information that was encoded will be absolutely equal to the information that was decoded. It reminds interpretation from English to Chinese, no matter how accurate it will be the meaning still be slightly different because people of different cultures do not perceive different concepts in the same way. So there are numerous reasons why message is often perceived wrong: cultural and traditional differences, focusing on personal

Contemporary Hollywood Industry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Hollywood Industry - Term Paper Example Hollywood has been developed to reflect changes within the society and adjust to the necessary changes that ensure an updated trend of technology applied. McDonald and Wasko (2) suggest that the industry has been marred with numerous changes and continuity as the stakeholders strive to achieve a system that has been adopted to reveal measures that develop the studio into a competitive venture. The company has been developed to produce a competitive platform where film production has been recognized in the global market, to include production scenes that reveal a trend to generate a healthy competition in entertainment. Hollywood has witnessed a developing trend that promises to deliver changes witnessed within the studio, and become a leading source of revenue and public preference over the past two decades. The state of the contemporary Hollywood industry is attributed to the events that have shaped its development from the time of the establishment to the presented conditions revea led. ... Professionals have highlighted the movie industry to present the needed incentives to shape the period in which the production had been based. Movies had been based on the reflections needed to define the context that the creation had been based on and shaped the moral setting within the society. However, not all viewed the movie industry as a tool that relayed the necessary provisions to define the cultural development within the society, because there had been the opinion that movies presented the vice in social exploitation and sexual vision. The development occurred within the film industry from theatres to the silent movie regime, but by the 1920s, Hollywood had grown to become the leading film capital. The industry had grown to produce virtually the entire production within the American setting. The production saw the generation of revenue within the US economy depict the importance of the studio business towards the economy of the US. The studio made a further attempt in the 2 0s to expand the vision created developing talent across the globe. It had t in recruiting talent across Europe by employing talented personalities in Greta Garbo and Hedy Lamarr, as well as offering the opportunity to directors, technical operators in lighting and production setting. The company had grown to become one of the chief income earners and presented the fifth position in revenue allocation within the American industry. The developments placed in Hollywood became the leading provisions in defining the stature of luxury development and presentation of virtues to define moral background. The developments saw an investment in the movie industry with enormous theatres favor the high turn out within places in Chicago

HSBC Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HSBC Social Responsibility - Essay Example Their coperate and social reponsibilites are degined in the areas of housing, community, Education, including the environment. HSBC invest in many educational programmes, they provide financial and economic welfare and scholarships to the students and also support the organizations that educate youth age 3-19. They also provide online guidelines to people who need financial assistance. Through their website "www.yourmoneycounts.com", they give financial and credit education in English and Spanish. The site is designed to help people in understanding more about saving and investing money on usefull measures. They also provide Financial Education Grant programme. HSBC has supported 36 organizations and granted over 3million dallars in order to develop financial literacy programs in the communities. They say they are committed to provide access to education. In order to find motivated and deserving students who can receive scholarships, they have formed partnerships with many organizations. Organizations like The United Negro College Fund, TheHispanic Scholarship Fund(HSF), University of Maryland University College (UMUC), and the Bennett College for Women. HSBC is also in patnership with Junior Achievement, the world's largest non-profit youth economic organization. ... Owning a home doesnot only meand providing a shelter and building persnil wealth but it also creates a scence of pride, resposibility, gives self satisfaction and a feelings of accomplishment which strengthens community. It provides a wide veriety of programs to promote home ownership. They support IDAs (industrial develepment accounts) with grants so that they could help people to save for down payment. They also contribute to those groups that educate and train people on the importance of financial aspects of homeownership. One programme coming up with solutions of neighbourhood housing problems is HOPI (Homeownership Preservation Initiative) and also with the city of Chicago, the institution known as Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and many other institutions. Such groups help in providing better shelter in affordable housing to the families in the neighbourhood of Chicago. It also helps in reducing foreclosures. The work day and night to provide people with loans, loans that are right for them and ensure that they follow and understand each rule and condition made by the firm and pay accordingly. But if the problems arise in repayment they also help people by offering programmes like the Foreclosure Avoidance Program, and the Consumer Rescue Fund. Green electricity in Australia, Brazil, the UK, and the US is also another example of its projects. HSBC group is trying to buy green electricity, which can be generated without the use of fossil fuels. Offsetting some remaining carbon dioxide emissions by the help of carbon allowances or credits. The Bank Working Ground that comes under the banner of the Climate Group is having its founder member as HSBC. In order to speed up the process of

Gustave Courbet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gustave Courbet - Essay Example The Artist’s Studio (also known as L’Atelier du Peintre) is also one of his famous paintings that he did in the early years of his realist experiments. After the completion of the painting in 1855, Courbet subtitled the painting as ‘A True Allegory Concerning Seven Years of My Artistic Life’. The painting is a portrayal of an artist’s studio wherein the working artist is surrounded by many people. In the painting, Courbet appears as the key figure in the center, sitting with his canvas and painting a landscape. The studio is filled with many other people metaphorically used by Courbet as the people; some who have had least interest in what he was doing whereas some who appreciated and commended his new style of painting. â€Å"The composition comprises roughly thirty figures, divided, to a casual glance, into three or more distinct groups: on the left, an assortment of figures, who until recently have been seen representing various general types rat her than specific individuals †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ on the right, a number of people who for the most part are identifiable as friends and supporters of the artist, †¦. and, in the middle of the canvas, Courbet himself sitting painting a landscape under the attended gazes of a naked woman and a peasant boy.† A boy accompanied by a playful cat, stands very near to the canvas and overlooks innocently as the artist is occupied in painting. An unclad female, which is a celebrated subject in the romanticist painting, also stands by the backside of the painter and looks. while Courbet is involved in painting. Towards farther left, a group of men sit with little interest in what the artist is doing, they seem to be occupied in their own activities. Whereas on the farther right, a lady accompanied by other people, interestingly look at his work as if they are appreciating the skills and the ideas of the artist. In the painting, the artist has represented all the classes of people; the l ower, middle and the upper class. The figures represented in the painting metaphorically represent different people whom Courbet has encountered and who in one way or the other, have influenced the intellectual being of Courbet as an artist. The artist attempts to shows the intellectual and physical transition of his studio and in brief he describe how has he been treated by people in general during the seven years of experimentation with realist painting. Some have been indifferent

The Analysis of Garys Hart Business Plan Assignment - 1

The Analysis of Garys Hart Business Plan - Assignment Example From information acquired, there are various benefits attached with budgeting or drawing a budget before starting a business organization. First, budgeting organizes business finances available. Drawing a budget helps highlight early warning signals for potential financial crisis likely to occur in carrying on with the business (Bernard 2002, p250). For instance, with a budget, Gary will have guidelines for paying bills and immediate alerts in case there occurs overspendings. Setting up a budget is also a way of opening up communication between Gary and his employees, especially those who will be working in the finance department. This ensures both the entrepreneur and employees are working towards a common goal that keeps them focused. It also involves all employees by teaching them to be responsible and holding on to accountability. This is because the owner already has the estimation of the outcome to expect and any adverse result calls for explanation and accountability form the person in charge. Drawing a budget before starting up a business offers one an opportunity for Gary to make informed decision on spending at any given time. Since Gary will be in a position to determine where his financial stand is, budgeting offers him with chances to take advantage of prospects that he may miss if he had not drawn any budget. With a budget, an entrepreneur will never have to guess since form the beginning, he will have definite knowledge whether he has start up finances or not. It is with the help of a budget that an entrepreneur focuses on financial goals of an organization (Steven, Roby & Gregory 2009, p329). A budget helps one come up with definite objectives that one should focus on. Budgets are usually drawn with the entrepreneur’s motivations in mind. For this case, Gary may be motivated by the fact that he wants to start and run a successful restaurant in the region. Preparing a budget saves time when one is dealing with some transactions. The time s aved can be used in dealing with other transactions.  

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example Recommendations for the enhancement of the reports 3. Conclusion References Appendix Executive Summary The evaluation of the perspectives of modern organizations within the global market is quite difficult. The increasing financial turbulences and social conflicts worldwide have caused delays in the stabilization of firms; moreover concerns often appear in regard to the potentials of a firm to face its competitors and achieve a stable growth. The corporate reports are used as sources for evaluating the current status of organizations but also their potential performance in the future. Particular emphasis is given on the CSR reports, which indicate the efforts of firms for addressing their social and environmental responsibilities. These reports are likely to be used for the development of communication between organizations and their stakeholders. The review of the CSR reports of three organizations operating in different industries in UK proves the value of CSR reports for the impro vement of organizational performance. It is also proved that each organization is likely to use different approaches for addressing its social and environmental obligations, as resulting by the principles and standards set by the relevant international organizations. 1. Introduction The response of organizations to their social and environmental responsibilities has been traditionally considered as a criterion for evaluating the potentials of these organizations to meet the market’s requirements. In this context, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a vital part of organizational activities. The above fact is also highlighted in the literature published in the specific field. It should be noted, though, that theorists and researchers have used different approaches in order to explain the importance of CSR within modern organizations. In accordance with Habisch (2005) the corporate responsibility should be considered as ‘part of the political and social tradi tion’ (Habisch 2005, p.38). Moreover, Boeger et al. (2008) note that CSR reports should take into consideration the local culture and ethics. Also, Mullerat et al. (2010) notes that CSR is commonly used as ‘a tool for enhancing shareholder value’ (Mullerat 2010, p.130), a target that is characterized as of key importance for the success of organizational plans. On the other hand, Idowu et al. (2008) note that the development of credible evaluations regarding the CSR initiatives of modern organizations can be achieved only by using appropriate standards and principles, as set by relevant international organizations. From another point of view, Anderson (1989) supports that the quality and the credibility of CSR reports can be checked effectively through appropriate organizational schemes, for instance the development of a ‘social responsibilities audit’ (Anderson 1989, p.255). It should be also noted that firms are likely to set different priorities i n regard to their CSR plans, as indicated in the graphs presented in Figure 1 & Figure 2 (Appendix section). Current paper focuses on the review of the CSR reports of three firms operating in different industries within the British market: the Wates Group, a well – known construction firm, the BAM Group, a firm operating in the field of international contracting, as part of the Royal BAM Group, a European construction enterprise’ (BAM 2011, About us) and E.on, a key competitor in the power generation industry of UK. The CSR reports

Qualitative Analysis Lab Essay Example for Free

Qualitative Analysis Lab Essay The purpose of the experiment is to identify every cation present in an unknown solution by performing specific chemical tests. Chemical tests such as adding specific chemicals to make precipitates, adding strong and highly concentrated acids and bases, centrifuging the precipitate from the supernate, and performing a flame test are carried out to determine the presence or absence of the ions in each group. Experimental Procedure: Separation of Group I Cations: Ten drops of the unknown solution C were placed into a small test tube. Four drops of 6 M HCl were added to the unknown solution. After being stirred, the yellowish unknown developed a white, cloudy precipitate. The solution was centrifuged and a white precipitate sunk to the bottom of the test tube. One drop of 6 M HCl was added to the solution making the clear yellow supernate cloudy, which showed that not all of the Group I ions precipitated. Two more centrifuges were performed until no more precipitate formed. The clear yellow supernate was decanted into a clean dry test tube. The yellowish white precipitate was rinsed with five drops of cold tap water and stirred. This solution was then centrifuged and added to the supernate in the other test tube. Fifteen drops of tap water were added to the washed precipitate and the test tube was placed in a hot-water bath. The solution was stirred in the water bath for one minute. The now clear purplish liquid was centrifuged and there was no precipitate formed which confirmed the absence of Ag+. Three drops of 1 M K2CrO4 were added to the purple supernate, and a thick, cloudy yellow precipitate formed confirming the presence of Pb2+. Separation of Group III Cations: Five drops of 2 M NH4Cl were added to the test tube containing the clear yellow supernate from group I. The solution was stirred. Then, seven drops of 15 M NH3 were added until the solution was basic and the litmus paper turned blue. The addition of NH3 caused a light-orange precipitate to form. The two additional drops of NH3 and the twenty drops of water created a reddish-brown precipitate and a clear supernate. The solution was stirred and centrifuged. The light blue supernate was decanted from the caramel brown precipitate. Twelve drops of 12 M HCl and five drops of 16 M HNO3 were added to the brown precipitate. The mixture was carefully stirred and turned into a clear yellow liquid. The test tube was heated in a hot-water bath for about forty-five seconds to dissolve any remaining precipitate. Ten drops of water were added to the solution and was centrifuged. There was no remaining precipitate, and the clear yellow supernate was divided into two separate test tubes. Two drops of 0.2 M KSCN were added to one of the test tubes containing the yellow supernate. The solution turned to a deep, blood-red which confirmed the presence of Fe3+. After fifty drops of 6 M NH3 were added to the second test tube of the yellow supernate, the solution remained acidic and it only caused the solution to turn a paler yellow. Five drops of 15 M NH3 were added to make the solution basic by turning the litmus paper blue. The addition of the 15 M NH3 also caused an orange precipitate to form in the solution. The solution was centrifuged and decanted into a separate test tube to remove the precipitate. Four drops of dimethylglyoxime reagent was added to the solution which was then stirred. The solution turned a deep pink with the formation of a pink precipitate which confirms the presence of Ni2+. Separation of Group IV Cations: Eight drops of 6 M CH3CO2H and one drop of 1 M K2CrO4 were added to the light blue supernate from the Group III procedure. The mixture was stirred and turned to a clear yellow color with no precipitate which confirms the absence of Ba2+. Four drops of 15 M NH3 were added to the yellow supernate from the previous step to make it basic and turn the litmus paper blue. The solution retained its yellow color with no precipitate. Seven drops of 0.1 m K2C2O4 were added which caused the formation of a small amount of white precipitate. The small amount of precipitate was dissolved in ten drops of 6 M HCl. A small sponge was used to soak up a small amount of solution. Using a Bunsen burner, the solution soaked sponge was placed into the top of the blue flame. The flame was initially orange and then had sporadic bursts of red flame which confirmed the presence of Ca2+. A small amount of the original unknown solution C is absorbed by a section of sponge. A flame test is performed using a Bunsen burner. The solution soaked sponge produced an orange-yellow flame; however, the yellow was not very prominent. The solution did contain Na+, but not in a substantially large amount. 2 mL of original unknown solution C and 2 mL of 6 M NaOH were combined in an evaporating dish. Litmus paper was wetted with water and placed on the bottom of a watch glass. The litmus paper watch glass was placed over the evaporating dish. The litmus paper without extra heating immediately turned blue which confirms the presence of basic NH4+. Results: Table for Unknown C Pb2+| Ag+| Fe3+| Ni2+| Ba2+| Ca2+| NH4+| Na+| Yes| No| Yes | Yes| No| Yes| Yes| Yes| Discussion: The lead ion was found by making a supernate from water and the precipitate formed by mixing the unknown solution and 6 M HCl and decanting out the supernate. The unknown solution and HCl were added to a test tube and centrifuged to separate the precipitate from the supernate. The supernate was then decanted from the precipitate. Water was added to the precipitate and put into a hot-water bath. There was no precipitate formed after the solution was heated and centrifuged which confirmed the absence of the silver ion. The addition of K2CrO4 caused a yellow precipitate to form in the supernate. The formation of the yellow cloudy precipitate confirmed the presence of the lead ion. The iron ion was found by taking the supernate from group I and making a precipitate by mixing it with 2 M NH4Cl and 15 M NH3. The precipitate was mixed with 12 M HCl and 16 M HNO3 and heated in a hot water bath until the precipitate was completely dissolved. The supernate was then divided equally into two test tubes. One of the samples was combined with 0.2 M KSCN to form a blood-red precipitate which confirmed the presence of the iron ion. The second supernate sample was used in confirming the presence of nickel. 6 M NH3 was added to the supernate, but 15 M NH3 had to be used to make the solution basic. After centrifuging and decanting out the precipitate formed, the dimethylglyoxime reagent was added to the supernate and created a deep pink precipitate that confirmed the presence of nickel. The supernate from the group III sample was mixed with 6 M CH3CO2H and 1 M K2CrO4. There was no precipitate that formed which confirmed the absence of the barium ion. The calcium ion was found by using the supernate from the previous test and adding 15 M NH3 until the solution was basic. The precipitate was then centrifuged out and discarded. The addition of 0.1 M K2C2O4 created a small amount of white precipitate that suggested the presence of the calcium ion, but a flame test was conducted to confirm the presence of calcium. The expected red-orange flame produced by a solution soaked sponge confirmed the presence of calcium in the unknown solution. Ammonium ions were found by combining the original unknown solution and 6 M NaOH in an evaporating dish and testing if the fumes were basic. Moist litmus paper was stuck to the bottom of a watch glass which was then placed over the top of the evaporating dish. The litmus paper immediately turning blue proves the existence of ammonium ions. The sodium ion was found by performing a flame test on the original unknown solution. The original solution was added to a sponge which was put into a flame which showed a yellow-orange flame which shows the presence of sodium ions, but the intensity of the yellow did not suggest that there was a significant amount of sodium. The flame tests seem to be not as accurate since the sponge alone would burn an orange flame. Attention to the small bursts of reds and yellows in the dominate orange flame had to be highly focused since it was one of the only indications of which ions were present in the unknown solution. Conclusion: Through the formation of precipitates and supernates, the additions of acids and bases, the additions of highly concentrated solutions, and flame tests specific ions were separated out in order to determine the characteristics of the unknown solution. Unknown solution C was found in conclusion to the experiment to contain the cations lead, iron, nickel, calcium, ammonium, and sodium.

Lan Base Entrance Examination System Essay Example for Free

Lan Base Entrance Examination System Essay Long b books were known, the storyteller of many lands including our own, told tales in order to entertain their listeners, as well as, to convey the moral lessons which these stories usually impart. In the course of time, these stories were handed down from generation to generation and worn smooth by ages of telling and retelling. Stories were generally tailored to reply information, become outlet for political and/ or social criticism, and sometimes simply entertain. Many storyteller acquired that distinctive style and unique from which among them well-loved and highly appreciated qualities. But as time passed by, the use of traditional multimedia such as slides, videos, filmstrips, audio recording and overhead projectors paved way in upgrading the storytelling techniques to help readers understand more clearly what the authors want to convey. The use of these traditional multimedia opened doors for new discoveries, discoveries that he will help the students enhanced their learning capabilities through the teaching- learning processed. Thus, with the method of teaching to be effective must be supplemented by other methods or devices that will increase and enhanced quality instruction. But time changes the trends in every generation.† The key to this revolutionary advancement is, of course, the computer. A combination of electronic memory with programs that tell the machine how to process the stored data, computers were still a scientific curiosity in early 1950’s Computer, as a tool and as a part of teaching and learning process, has been a major breakthrough in the educational system. In our modern way situation, a lot of stories are being relayed to students especially those in the elementary level in forms of movies, books and newspapers. What seems notable was that although most movies featured†hitech† technological advancements, many lack a very important aspect of the story telling, the imparting lesson. As a consequence, children member a movie or story based on what they saw or heard but not the lesson of the story, which is the more important aspect of storytelling. Worst, most tabloids being sold, which openly contain pornographic pictures and erotic stories, are within the reach of these kids. The researchers believe that one way minimizing, if not eliminating this situation, was creating by interactive storyteller system, which can be used by primary school educators as a tool for storytelling. Although the level of popularity of a computer- aided instruction (CAI) in various skills such as readings , may vary. Few will dispute the facts that computers have won a permanent place in most classrooms. The most common concerns of educators now have to do with the appropriateness of many possible role computers can play in instruction. The emphasis however, should not be on computer to increase the achievement but rather on how the teacher uses computers meaningfully in instruction.

Learning Through Games

Learning Through Games Learning through Games Every parent and teacher out there can attest to the fact that no matter how smart a child is getting them to study is quite a difficult task, simply because of all the distractions out there. So why not take one major distraction – video games and put it to good use? There are so many good educational tools available many of them cleverly disguised as games. The kids and some adults too will get captivated by the storyline and learn tons along the way. Here are a few of the best ones covering topics like Physics, Engineering, Art and English. Ogre Academy Math Ogre Academy Math is an educational game created to enhance the basic math skills in children. This game caters to a slightly younger audience of ages 5-6 years by default, but can be customized to appeal to those at a higher grade level as well. The game takes place in an ogre filled classroom part of a player avatar’s dream. The player is given a series of questions in the form of math problems that he must solve. Most of these problems are simplistic but the difficulty increases as you go on. They can be addition, subtraction or counting problems. With each correct answer you get a candy bar which is used to feed the ogres. While some students may object to having to give away the candy, it is used to keep the ogres at bay so it must be done. After ten or more wrong answers the candy deprived ogres come and carry the avatar away from their bedroom. Ogre Academy Math promotes quick thinking and the flexibility to switch between different types for questions. Players have to think strategically and learn when and how to use shortcuts like rounding off since they do not have pen and paper at hand and have to rely on quick thinking. Ogre Academy Math will have special appeal to teachers as they can use it to create unique lesson plans. They can customize the problems for any grade level. The kids will enjoy doing something different and will learn tons in the process. As an added bonus the teachers receive detailed reports on the children’s progress as they go along. Platform: iOS Keep the ogres at bay by feeding them treats Kerbal Space Program The Kerbal Space Program is a PC based game that emulates a space flight simulator. Basically you can build virtual rocket ships and blast them off the planet. Gameplay takes place on a planet called Kerbin, home to little green humanoids called Kerbals. These comical little characters build very good spacecraft parts. It is up to the player to construct and assemble the components into rockets or spacecrafts in the most efficient way possible. There is a lot of physics involved in building the rocket ship. If not constructed properly it could fall off the launch pad while taking off or explode mid flight. After building a good spacecraft you have to learn to achieve orbit and then finally land your spacecraft on other planets. There are three game modes – Sandbox Mode, Science Mode and Career mode. As you can imagine the difficulty increases with each of them. In the Sandbox Mode players learn the basics. Players can pick any of inventory and building mistakes are forgiven. In the science mode part picking is restricted. You have to complete scientific experiments on Kerbin and other parts of the solar system before you can unlock them. Career mode adds funds reputation and contracts. Players have to complete contracts so that they can earn money to pay for the parts. Contracts can include tasks like testing rocket parts under certain conditions or exploring places and reporting back. Historical spacecrafts like the Apollo Program or the Mars Rover can be recreated. Children with an aptitude for physics and an interest in aerospace will find this a very enriching learning experience. Platform: PC Build and launch rockets using the kerbal space program Amazing Alex Amazing Alex was created by the developers of angry birds Rovio Entertainment, and is a physics-based puzzle game. Alex is a curious boy who likes to build things with household objects. Players are given goals to complete and supplies they can use to achieve these goals. Players have to create chain reactions which are simply sequences of events that achieve the goals. For example you can set off a line of dominoes which will push a ball off a ledge into a basket below. Stars are scattered all over the place and your event sequence should try and pass through them for a higher score. The nice thing about the game is that it uses household and play objects that children are already familiar with. These objects react realistically with one another. Kids learn short term planning by adjusting to changing conditions and requirements. It puts their planning, flexibility and focus skills to work. They can even create and share their own puzzles for others to solve. There are over a hundred levels spread across four locations. You start off in ‘The Classroom’, and then move onto ‘The Backyard’, ‘Alex’s Bedroom’ and finally ‘The Tree House’ depending on the stars collected in the previous levels. The graphics are high quality, fun and engaging. Kids can try recreating the challenges in the real world using Legos and building kits. They can then compare how actual physics works as compared to the gameplay and what additional factors contribute to making things tick. Amazing Alex is often used to help children with ADHD gain focus. Following directions and planning ahead are tasks that these kids have difficulty with. Amazing Alex helps them focus and plan strategies in a fun way which they respond to much better than regular classroom activities. They get a hands-on introduction into physics concepts like inertia, gravity and friction. Platform: Android,iOS Help Alex create chain reactions with these objects QuizUp QuizUp is for the slightly older kids. It is a fun filled trivia game based on the popular board game Trivial Pursuit. It has over 250 categories and is highly competitive. Players are matched with other players from across the world. Each quiz is exactly 7 questions long, each lasting 10 seconds. This is long enough and short enough so that no one gets bored, and those with sketchy internet connections don’t have to forfeit midway. You can play as many categories as you like and the more you play the higher your skill level in that category goes. QuizUp is fantastic for learning time management and general knowledge. Sometimes questions repeat which helps you commit them to memory. Children can opt for challenging categories such as Math and English and then take a break and do a fun quiz like a Harry Potter themed one. It is also very exciting because you are playing with real people rather than just a computer interface. Quiz up is not only informative but also highly addictive. Kids can spend hours playing and come away with lots of new trivia facts learned and math skills mastered. Platform: Android, iOS Spoilt for choice with Quiz Up Google Art Project The Google Art Project is a collection of over 30000 works of art from collections all over the world. From Impressionist Artworks at the Art Institute of Chicago to modern artwork from the Tate at London, the Google Art Project amasses all periods of art. The high resolution images allow kids to get closer to the images and examine every detail. Each museum has nominated one piece as a ‘Gigapixel Artwork’ which means that Google has captured it using gigapixel photo capturing technology. It produces an image containing 7 billion pixels, so viewers can view the piece in microscopic detail. Be advised, kids could see violence or nudity in these pictures so it is necessary for guidance of some sort while perusing. Browsing the artwork can be done either on the webpage or by browsing through the museum in the form of a map. Some international museums that are included in the project are The National Gallery in London, The Met in New York, the Uffizi in Florence and The Hermitage in St Petersburg. Such a vast collection might be daunting at first but kids will soon enjoy exploring the museums from all over the world. It forms a kind of virtual meta-museum with many thoughtfully designed features by Google as always. The FAQ section has a video Visitor’s Guide for first time users and the site can be translated in to as many as 19 languages. There are lessons, quizzes and project ideas. Users can create their own collections and share them with friends. The Google Art Project allows children interested in art to take their first steps in art appreciation and history. They can explore museums at their own pace, stop and ask questions, compare works from museums across the world and develop their creative abilities. Platform: PC Google Art Project World of Goo World of Goo is a game kids will take an instant interest in simply because of the name. The game revolves around building large structures using balls of goo. The game is divided into multiple chapters each containing several levels. Levels come with their individual music and graphic theme keeping things interesting. To play the game the little balls of goo provided to you have to be stretched out into structures forming ladders, bridges or buildings toward strategically positioned pipes. These pipes then suck the goo and take it to the World of Goo Corporation where it is made into various products. These structures have to be built well enough to overcome gravity and some physical terrain difficulties like hills, cliffs, spikes and windmills. Different goo balls have different properties that make them unique. There is also a bonus meta-game called the ‘World of Goo Corporation’ where the challenge is to build the highest Goo Tower. The game subtly draws parallels between the World of Goo Corporation and real world companies that make similar products in an attempt to get kids thinking on modern world consumerism. Teachers can use World of Goo as a fun way of explaining geometry. There is an open sandbox mode in which teachers can set challenges and competitions. Platforms: PC, iOS, Android, WiiWare, BlackBerry, OnLive Get creative at the World of Goo SpaceChem SpaceChem is a puzzle game based on the principles of chemistry and chemical bonding. In the game you play the role of a Reactor Engineer working for a company called SpaceChem. As a Reactor Engineer you have to create circuits through which atoms and molecules flow. You do this with the help of waldos which are remote manipulators. While you don’t have to have any prior chemistry knowledge to play the game, all the reactions and chemical constructions are based on real chemical and atomic science so you will definitely learn something each time you play. Each level provides you with elements that need to be assembled and disassembled to create new chemical molecules. There are pairs of circuits along which your elements need to travel to the target output areas. Unnecessary collision of the waldos must be prevented. Initially the puzzle consists of only a single reactor but in larger puzzles the player can guide the chemicals through multiple reactors to get the final product. SpaceChem is a mental workout and an excellent puzzle game. It forces you to look at the bigger picture and get multiple tasks working at once. Platforms: PC, Android, iOS Create new elements with Space Chem Fantastic Contraption Fantastic Contraption is a Flash based game played in a web browser. The object of each level is to move the red objects into a rectangular shaped goal area. You are given different materials and a blue ‘building area’ to help you build your ‘fantastic’ contraption. You must be able to move the red objects past certain obstacles into the goal area. It takes a while to get used to the game but there is a very helpful tutorial at the beginning that smoothens out the process. There is no one correct solution. Each player can come up with his or her unique solution to the level. By creating an account the developers allow you to design your own levels or share your solutions with others. There are over 40 different built in puzzles and 16000 downloadable ones. You can play for free on the Fantastic Contraptions website or download the app for $1.99. All you need is an active imagination and some basic problem solving skills. There was a Fantastic Contraptions 2 released in 2010. Platforms: PC, iOS Build fun things with Fantastic Contraption Minecraft Minecraft is a computer, tablet and Xbox video game that has been around for ages and is still very popular by both educators and hard core gamers. It allows you to build your own world from scratch. Gameplay is mostly building and destroying structures using blocks – 3D cubes. There are different kinds of materials to be put to use like various ores, stone, dirt, water, tree trunks. Some of these materials have to be mined others are freely available. The game has three modes – survival, educational and adventure. You can play at different difficulty modes with or without the hostile creatures that threaten your creations. Minecraft has numerous educational benefits. It teaches about various subjects with or without parent/teacher involvement. While playing Minecraft players have to figure out how to best use their resources. For example for paper you require 3 units of sugarcane. This way the game also improves basic math and manipulation skills. Minecraft only uses cubes to build structures. But these structures take on different geometrical shapes like cuboids, tesseracts, square based pyramids. In this way kids get a quick lesson in 3D geometry. Setting up circuits teaches kids the basics of logic circuits. Feed back is immediate and safe. You can build switches without electrocuting yourself. You can even construct weapons to guard against attacks. By contributing to the Minecraft wiki children can learn how to write informative articles for multimedia. Most of all Minecraft promotes out of the box thinking and will give children the freedom to express themselves creatively. Setting up a server allows parents to give their children a safe environment to develop social skills and teamwork. Platforms: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox, Playstation Build 3D cities with Minecraft NASA’s Space Place NASA’s Space Place is a website developed by NASA in 1998 and is complete with interactive games, projects and facts about Earth and Space. The collection of games offered is complex and interesting each teaching you something new. The games each offer a new topic to be learnt like for example how a black hole works. The activities have detailed information on the solar system and other science topics. Kids can freely ask questions and get audio responses in return. There are instructions for at-home experiments. Space Place Prime is a spin off from NASA’s Space Place. This contains most of the educational content like articles and imagery as well as educational movies. The Space Place program has also released several mobile games mostly for iOS. These include Comet Quest and Satellite Insight. Comet Quest is a game about the Rosetta Mission. You are given a spacecraft and learn how scientists use Rosetta to explore comets. Satellite Insight has a more complex background story. You have to save the GOES-R satellite from losing any of the data it is collecting by safe guarding the data grid. Platorm: PC (web) Apps available on Android and iOS The Specatular Space Place by NASA Scribblenauts Scribblenauts is an action and puzzle video game. The objective of the game is to help the game’s hero, Maxwell collect little yellow stars called ‘Starites’. The player can summon anything just by writing its name on the screen. Scribble nauts is an example of ‘Emergent Gameplay’ which means that the difficulty changes according to the choices you make in the game. You can have infinite gaming experiences with this dynamic methodology. Kids are at their creative best using logic, language and problem solving. The tasks can be as simply as collecting a Starite from a tree or difficult like rescuing it from a bunch of bears in the forest. All you have to do is write out the tools you need. For example to get the ‘Starite’ out of the tree, write the word rope and a rope will appear. You can write the craziest things you can think of. If you think a dinosaur is going to help you write dinosaur and the game will present you with one. It’s almost like magic. Summoned objects can be weapons, animals, forces of nature or even famous people.This is because the Scribblenauts Dictionary contains over 22,000 words. As you play more your imagination grows and the solutions get more and more inventive. There are 220 levels over 10 areas each of a different theme. Scribblenauts has won two Parent’s Choice Awards and is suitable for children ages 8 and above. Scibblenauts Remix is available for iOS. Platforms: Nintendo DS Scribblenauts- Let your imagination go wild The Professor Layton Series The Professor Layton Series consists of 6 puzzle games plus a film. It is built around the adventures of two characters Professor Layton and Luke Trinton and is based in contemporary London. Each game is a series of puzzles and mysteries in towns Professor Layton and Luke visit. As part of the game you go along with them on their eventful journeys and help them solve mysteries. The puzzle solving teaches math, logic, spatial orientation and math. The storyline keeps kids thoroughly entertained and engrossed. It is aimed at kids eleven years and above. The games are divided into two trilogies. One set tells you of the Professor and Trinton’s many adventures together. The other is more about how they met and began their journey. The third part of the series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future won a Parent’s Choice Silver Honors Award from the Parents Choice Foundation. Join Prof. Layton and Trinton on their captivating adventures

Cloning: Many Questions and Few Answers :: Cloning Essays

Cloning: Many Questions and Few Answers The birth of Dolly was announced by Ian Wilmut's team from Roslin Institute in February 1997. There is actually nothing radically new in the way Dolly was made, since lower vertebrates, such as frogs, had been cloned in 1968 by John Gurdon of Cambridge University. The term 'clone' originates from the Greek word 'klwn', meaning 'twig', because whenever we divide an overgrown shrub or successfully cultivate a houseplant cutting, cloning has occurred. Nuclear transfer technology was used in which a donor's udder cell, a nucleus with the genome intact, was fused with an unfertilised egg cell. Dolly is considered a clone of the sheep who provided the udder cell since her genetic makeup is identical to it. What is novel about Dolly is that she is the first mammal cloned from an adult, the result after 277 failed attempts. At present, though nuclear transfer is still a highly inefficient, costly and difficult process, people are already contemplating the advantages of such a breakthrough. Indeed, the possibilities seem endless: hope for infertile couples, cloning for spare parts, replacements for loved ones and the advent of other invaluable benefits in animal husbandry, medical science and biological fields. But what about the ethical considerations we should include? A Time Magazine poll in March 1997 reported that 74% of those surveyed believe it is against God's will to clone human beings. Human cloning is also considered illegal in England and Norway, though not in the USA. There are definitely many issues worth debating. Even if cloning is to become a reality, there should exist some form of control over the nature of research. The question is what kind of controls should this be? Who should have access to the technology and its products?

Free Essays - Impact of the Title of The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

Impact of the Title of The Awakening By using an evocative title like In The Awakening, Kate Chopin creates a spark of interest that makes the reader ponder over the events in the novel, wondering if there's more to the story than the text. Chopin's title is as figurative as her novel; The awakening is not in a literal since, as one would expect, but rather in terms of Edna's "awakening" from her life of ignorant servitude to society, which shows that the purpose of her work is to get her readers to think for themselves. Edna Pontellier's process of awakening is the focus of this novel. Edna's "awakening" begins when Edna starts "to realize her position in the universe as a human being." (page 57) At this point, Edna starts to think for herself. This happens relatively early in the novel, and spans the course of the book. Edna's Awakening seems to come in short bursts, one level at a time. She gains her next "level" when Edna "denied and resisted" (page 78) her husband, which was unheard of in that time. Edna's awakening is well illustrated when she wakes (literally) and asks "How many years have I slept?" (page 85) Edna relates her life to that point to her own slumber, unthinking and passive until she "awakens." At this point, the world is exposed for what it is in truth, not what society masks it to be. Edna fully "awakens" in her own death, finally acknowledging her love for Robert and her own loneliness. When Edna takes her own life, it shows that she no longer has anything to live for, save a love that will never amount to anything. Just before Edna goes into the water, a "bird with a broken wing," (page 175) symbolizing Edna, drowns, as does she.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE HEALTH AND NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS Essay

Design leaflet or fact sheet that explains the effect of four factors that can influence the health and everyday needs of individuals in society. Socio-economic: Bad Living conditions. Living conditions can affect your physical, emotional, intellectual and social needs depending on the places that you are living in or the quality of life you lead. Every human is affected differently depending on age or sex. We need to remember that environment that we are living in can have one of the biggest effects on a person for the rest of their life.  Bad conditions in any home such as cold, damp or mould can exacerbate or even speed up various symptoms  and illness such as asthma and eczema, or can lead to strokes or a heart attack. As levels of dampness increase, our basic physical needs get worse. We need to remember that our home is our shelter, but we cannot feel safe and comfortable if conditions that we live in are not pleasant.  If the house’s humidity process of losing heat is rapid in the winter time you will have to heat the property longer to feel warm and comfortable. In this kind of environment food can get mouldy quicker and doesn’t stay fre sh for long time, so we need to remember to keep it for short time and consume while in good condition. Read more: Factors that influence child development essay Sometimes bad living conditions can make nights sleepless. This situation, if constant can lead to exhausting your body, which can cause severe sickness, but also can lead to depression. You’re learning progress and ability to gain new skills are also affected, as you can’t concentrate on goals that you set for yourself.  Emotionally you can be in deep depth as well as your physical needs. If you do not feel comfortable in the environment you live in, you cannot build new  friendships, as feelings of embarrassment will leading this case. The level of self-conception is poor. How you can feel good, if your background is not really satisfying you? Feelings of being afraid to belong to any of social group are natural, as nobody wants to feel stressed about inviting someone to their home if you know that condition you live in is bad and can scare others. Humidity and a mouldy house can make your clothes smell horrible even if you don’t feel that by yourself, as y ou live in this condition, other people can smell it.  Living conditions can influence on your social needs like a relationship and family. That can cause constant arguing between couples and lead to separation or divorce. Physical: Sensory impairment – blindness Physical – as blind person your home needs to be adapted to your condition to be comfortable and functional at the same time. You need to feel safe and be safe in your own property. That is why it is very important for a blind person to have someone to assist them on daily basis. Very often it happens that blind people can move around and are using a white stick or have trained dog to help them move around town or even your own house. It is important not to change home decor frequently as a blind person usually remembers where things are and to float around the house by using memory. Being visually impaired can be really hard especially if you lost your vision in an accident or sickness. You may feel unsafe in your own home as physical comfort been disrupted. Your ability to move is limited, even if you feel like you want to prepare a meal for yourself, you need constant supervision from somebody to help you, and make sure you will not leave gas cooker switched on. Visually impaired people, to read, use a special language called Braille. By using this form of communication they are able to read and follow instructions easily.  Blind people learn by using books written in Braille or by listening to recorded information on CD’s or MP3 players etc. Visual impairment is not a barrier to learn or achieve anything in life. It is enough if you ‘want to’ because you can learn anything you like.  Sometimes a situation of non-acceptance of your own condition can be depressive and you may see yourself as not a fully able person or you can feel like you missed something in your life. It is difficult to be open with people as high volume of discrimination is still on display on a daily basis. To maintain new friendships can be hard and difficult, but if you are actively taking part with events or courses for blind people you should be able to develop more self-confidence. On these occasions’ people with the same doubts and problems surrounds you. This can help to understand and accept your own situation.  Blind people recognise voices very well. They can also recognise shapes by using hands and sense of touch. By this method they are able to describe how another person looks like by touching your body or face. This can show that visually impaired people can have normal happy life, and not being able to see it is not a barrier to have a poor quality life and relationship followed by having a family and been loved by someone. By taking a part in groups for visually impaired people you may develop good level of self-esteem. You can feel more accepted and wanted when surrounded by people, which know how to help you and support you on every step. Lifestyle – smoking cigarettes If we look at a case of heavy smokers we could say that this addiction can affect almost every aspect of your life. Normally you do not feel the need to eat much oroften as you constantly have the taste of nicotine in your mouth. If you are trying to quit it is more possible that you will look for cover to your addiction by eating more frequently and more heavy meals. Smokers usually smoke straight after meal, but when having alcoholicdrinks it is possible to smoke more. Your home probably (if smoking inside) smells unpleasant and will be surrounded by nicotine odour. Smoking can cause many illnesses and can even cause death. When smoking inside your house you have to be really careful to not burn anything, especially when smoking while you are really tired. Smoking can cause tightening of the lungs so you are at risk of lung cancer development, asthma or other diseases. You are less able to exercise as you getting exhausted more often and quicker than non-smokers. By looking at your self-conception, you may feel you are better than others but from the other side people can look at you like on weak person being addicted to cigarettes.  You may feel like you have achieved something but that is not true. Smoking is not making you better person.  If you are onlyperson in your household that has been smoking this can affect your relationship and your family. Your partner may feel disgusted as smokers usually have yellow teeth and smell from their mouth is not really pleasant, even if using special sprays to kill odour. You can gain a respect from others if you are in group of people that are all smoking but you can easily loose it as well e.g. when smoking around kids or in inappropriate places. Many people are smoking just when going out (social smokers), when meeting friends as they do not want to look different or out of place. Sense of belonging to a community group makes you feel needed and respected by others. Smoking is often used as an excuse for bad mood, but after a cigarette nothing has changed apart from your breath. Health – chronic disorder:long term back pain This disorder can affect every day of your life. You need to make sure that your shelter is well adjusted to your needs. Having constant back pain can cause problems when climbing up stairs, so it would be really useful to have a ground flat so you do not need to climb to high or at least have a lift in your block.  To have special exercise program to follow would help to avoid worsening pain and making the condition worse. Lifting and carryingheavy items like boxes or heavy shopping can deteriorate this condition even more. If pain is excruciating it is possible to have less sleepless nights, whichcan cause problems leading to depression.  Constant back pain can cause many emotional problems.Back pain can be really unbearable, so taking medications that are designed to help us to cope with pain is not a bad move. Some people, by taking painkillers feel weak, but medicine is designed to help us not to make us feel bad about it.  People with constant back pain tend to get frustr atedand change moods rapidly. Self-conception of how you see yourself may become low and a feeling of not being fully valuable person can lead. Really, often people are questioningthemselves: why this is happening now, at this time, why me? Finding the answer is really hard especially whenperson is left on its own, but there aremany people with this kind of problems.  Trying to sort out all problems on your own by understanding situation is not easy. The best option is to join group that is designed to support aperson on every step through a period of accepting thesituation. Group memberships are designed not just to help you to cope with pain but also to make you feel like normal person. On this occasion you are able to meet new friends and spend quality time with someone else, not just being left on your own at home.  In some cases chronic pain can affect the ability to learn and achieve a satisfactory level of success, as ability to concentrate is disrupted by the  pain. On the other side, a person affected by chronic back pain can spend hours in an armchair reading books and filling up crosswords, which can expand your knowledge, just to not move around and to not feel a pain.

How To Develop A Good Personality

Having a good personality is an important skill in life. It is not an easy feat to achieve but with these simple yet crucial steps, a good, well-meaning personality can be achieved by anyone. Take care of your appearance. ;Manner of dressing ;Use of make-up and hairdo ;Language used ;poise 2 Think positive thoughts, both about yourself and others in general. The thoughts that we think soon turn into the words we say and the actions we take. Having good thoughts about yourself gives you self-confidence and self-respect, essential in any good person.Never lose a chance to prove yourself. In our day to day life we came across several opportunities which could help our self in defining our personality. For example if you are in a conversation with a group or a individual you must talk in a way thou can prove others what you are really†¦. And it does not matter if you say a line or a speech. The thing which will matter is the words of yours. Whether they were able to leave an impact on others or not. 4 Look for famous people whose personality defined them. Athletes, artists, actors and musicians are people who ace challenges in their careers everyday.They have to have patience and perseverance in order to succeed. Many of them are humble in spite of their success and fame. These are life skills which is learned culminate in the creation of a good personality. 5 Look deep inside yourself and think about who you are. Many people find themselves to be better by reflection. 6 Help wherever and whenever you can. A little sacrifice can go along way in changing another person's day. 7 Always be yourself. If you are following some famous personality, make sure that you never lose yourself.It means that you have to stick to that behavior every time. Feel it in your blood. 8 Learn to love other people. Many bad personalities come about because people do not want to forgive each other and thus become filled with so much interpersonal hate that they hate other people. This makes them come off as bad and self-centered when all they lack is the insight to forgive and forget whatever may be the root of conflict between them.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 6

I woke up the next day, determined to go see Erik and get the truth about vampire hunters. Then, as I was brushing my teeth, I remembered yesterday's other crisis. Seth Mortensen. Swearing, I finished up in the bathroom, earning a disapproving look from Aubrey for my profanity. There was no telling how long this tour thing with him might take. I might have to wait until tomorrow to see Erik, and by then, this vampire hunter or whatever could have struck again. I set out for Emerald City, wearing the most nonattractive outfit I could muster: jeans and a turtleneck, with my hair pulled severely back. Paige, all smiles, approached me as I waited for Seth in the cafe. â€Å"You should show him Foster's and Puget Sound Books while you're out,† she told me conspiratorially. Still waking up, I took a sip of the mocha Bruce had just made me and tried to reason out her logic. Foster's and Puget Sound Books were competitors of ours, though not major ones. â€Å"Those places are dives.† â€Å"Exactly.† She grinned at me with her even white teeth. â€Å"Show him those, and he'll be convinced we're the best place for him to do his writing at.† I studied her, feeling seriously out of the loop. Or maybe I was just distracted still about the Duane thing. It wasn't every day one had his immortality revoked. â€Å"Why†¦ would he do his writing here?† â€Å"Because he likes to take his laptop and write in coffee shops.† â€Å"Yeah, but he lives in Chicago.† Paige shook her head. â€Å"Not anymore. Where were you last night? He's moving here to be closer to his family.† I recalled Seth mentioning his brother, but I had been too caught up in my own mortification to pay much attention. â€Å"When?† â€Å"Now, as far as I know. That's why this was his last stop on the tour. He's staying with his brother but plans on finding his own place soon.† She leaned close to me, eyes gleaming predatorily. â€Å"Georgina, if we have a famous author hanging out here regularly, it'll be good for our image.† Honestly, my immediate concern wasn't where Seth would be writing. What freaked me out was that he would not be departing for a different time zone anytime soon, a time zone where he could then forget about me and let us both get on with our lives. I could run into him every day now. Literally, if Paige's wish was realized. â€Å"Won't that be distracting to his writing if his presence is widely known? Annoying fans and whatnot?† â€Å"We won't let it become a problem. We'll make the most of this and respect his privacy. Careful now, here he comes.† I drank more of my mocha, still marveling at the way Paige's mind worked. She could think of promotional ideas that never would have entered my head. Warren might have been the one to invest capital in this place, but it had been her marketing genius that made it a success. â€Å"Good morning,† Seth told us, walking up to the table. He wore jeans, a Def Leppard T-shirt, and a brown corduroy jacket. The lay of his hair did not convince me he'd brushed it this morning. Paige looked at me pointedly, and I sighed. â€Å"Let's go.† Seth silently followed me outside, that awkward tension building between us like a solid barrier. He did not look at me; I did not look at him. It was only when we stood outside on Queen Anne Avenue and I realized I had no plan for today that conversation had to occur. â€Å"Where to start? Seattle, unlike Gaul, is not divided into just three parts.† I made the joke more to myself, but Seth suddenly laughed. â€Å"Seattle peninsula est,† he observed, playing off my observation. â€Å"Not exactly. Besides, that's Bede, not Caesar.† â€Å"I know. But I don't know very much Latin.† He gave me that quirky, bemused smile that seemed to be his trademark expression. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"Enough.† I wondered how he would react if I mentioned my fluency in Latin dialects from various stages of the Roman Empire. My vague answer must have been interpreted as lack of interest because he looked away, and more silence fell. â€Å"Is there anything special you wanted to see?† â€Å"Not really.† Not really. Okay. Well. The sooner we got this started, the sooner it would end and I could see Erik. â€Å"Follow me.† As we drove off, I sort of hoped we might naturally flow into meaningful conversation, in spite of our bad start yesterday. Yet, as we traveled, it seemed clear Seth had no intention of carrying on any discourse. I recalled his nervousness in front of the crowd yesterday and even with some of the bookstore staff. This guy had serious social phobias, I realized, though he had made a valiant effort in shedding them during our initial flirtations. Then, I had gone and turned on the back-off vibes, undoubtedly scarring him for life and undoing whatever progress he had made. Way to go, Georgina. Maybe if I could broach some compelling topics, he would muster his earlier confidence and bring back our rapport – in a platonic way, of course. I attempted to recall my profound questions from last night. And once again, they eluded me, so I switched to mundane ones. â€Å"So your brother lives around here?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"What part?† â€Å"Lake Forest Park.† â€Å"That's a nice area. Are you going to look for a place up there?† â€Å"Probably not.† â€Å"Do you have another place in mind then?† â€Å"Not really.† Okay, this wasn't getting us anywhere. Annoyed at how this master of the written word could be so short on spoken ones, I finally decided to cut him out of the conversation altogether. Having him involved was too much work. Instead, I chatted on amiably without him, pointing out the popular spots: Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the Fremont Troll. I even showed him the shoddier representatives of our competition, per Paige's instructions. I neglected anything closer to the Space Needle than a brief nod, however. No doubt he'd seen it from Emerald City's windows and could pay the exorbitant fees to visit it up close if he really needed the tourist experience. We went to the U District for lunch. He followed without protest or comment to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Our meal progressed quietly as I took a break from talking, both of us eating noodles and staring out the nearby window to watch the bustle of students and cars. â€Å"This is nice.† It was the most Seth had spoken in a while, and I nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. â€Å"Yeah. This place doesn't look like much, but they make a mean pho.† â€Å"No, I meant out there. This area.† I followed his gesture back to University Way, at first seeing nothing more than disgruntled students hauling backpacks around. Then, expanding my search, I became aware of the other small specialty restaurants, the coffee shops, and the used bookstores. It was an eclectic mix, somewhat tattered around the edges, but it had a lot to offer quirky, intellectual types – even famous, introverted writers. I looked at Seth, who looked back at me expectantly. It was our first direct eye contact all day. â€Å"Are there places to live around here?† â€Å"Sure. If you want to share a house with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds.† I paused, thinking that option might not be so unappealing for a guy. â€Å"If you want something more substantial in this area, it'll cost you. I guess Cady and O'Neill ensure that's not really an issue, huh? We can drive around and look, if you want.† â€Å"Maybe. I'd honestly rather go there first.† He pointed across the street, to one of the used bookstores. His eyes flicked back to me uncertainly. â€Å"If that's okay with you.† â€Å"Let's go.† I loved used bookstores but always felt a little guilty walking into them. Like I was cheating. After all, I worked around bright, crisp books all the time. I could obtain a reprint of almost anything I wanted, brand new. It seemed wrong to take such visceral pleasure from being around old books, from the smell of aged paper, mildew, and dust. Such collections of knowledge, some quite old, always reminded me of times long past and places I'd seen, triggering a tidal wave of nostalgia. These emotions made me feel both old and young. The books aged while I did not. A gray tabby cat stretched and blinked at us from her spot on the counter as we entered. I stroked her back and said hello to the old man near her. He glanced up briefly from the books he sorted, smiled at us, and returned to his work. Seth stared around at the towering shelves before us, an expression of bliss on his face, and promptly disappeared into them. I wandered over to nonfiction, wanting to peruse the cookbooks. I had grown up preparing food without microwaves and food processors and decided it was high time to let my culinary knowledge expand into this century. Finally settling on a Greek cookbook with lots of colored pictures, I dragged myself away a half hour later and looked for Seth. I found him in the children's section, kneeling next to a stack of books, completely absorbed. I crouched down beside him. â€Å"What are you looking at?† He flinched slightly, startled by my proximity, and tore his gaze away from his find to look at me. This close, I could see that his eyes were actually more of a golden-amber brown, his lashes long enough to make any girl jealous. â€Å"Andrew Lang's fairy books.† He held a paperback entitled The Blue Fairy Book. On top of the stack near him sat another called The Orange Fairy Book, and I could only assume the rest followed color-coded suit. Seth glowed with literary rapture, forgetting his reticence around me. â€Å"The 1960s reprints. Not as valuable as, say, editions from the 1800s, but these are the ones my dad had, the ones he used to read to us from. He only had a couple, though; this is the whole set. I'm going to get them and read them to my nieces.† Flipping through the pages of The Red Fairy Book, I recognized the titles of many familiar stories, some I hadn't even known were still around. I turned the book over and looked inside the cover but found no price. â€Å"How much are they?† Seth pointed to a small sign near the shelf he'd obtained them from. â€Å"Is that reasonable for these?† I asked. â€Å"It's a little high, but it's worth it to me to get them all in one go.† â€Å"No way.† I gathered up part of the books, rising. â€Å"We'll talk him down.† â€Å"Talk him down how?† My lips turned up in a smile. â€Å"With words.† Seth seemed dubious, but the clerk proved an easy target. Most men would eventually cave before an attractive, charismatic woman – let alone a succubus who still sported a residual life force glow. Besides, I had learned bartering at my mother's knee. The guy behind the counter didn't stand a chance. By the time I finished with him, he had happily lowered the price by 25 percent and thrown in my cookbook for free. Walking back to my car, arms laden with books, Seth kept glancing at me wonderingly. â€Å"How did you do that? I've never seen anything like it.† â€Å"Lots of practice.† A vague answer worthy of one of his. â€Å"Thanks. I wish I could repay the favor.† â€Å"Don't worry – hey, you can actually. Would you mind running an errand with me? It's to a bookstore, but it's a scary bookstore.† â€Å"Scary how?† Five minutes later, we were on our way to see my old friend Erik Lancaster. Erik had been ensconced in the Seattle area long before me, and he was a well-known figure to almost every immortal entity around. Versed in mythology and supernatural lore, he regularly proved to be an excellent resource for all things paranormal. If he had noticed that some of his best patrons never aged, he wisely refrained from pointing that out. The only annoying thing about seeing Erik was that it required a visit to Krystal Starz – a stunning example of New Age spirituality gone wrong. I didn't doubt the place might have had good intentions back when it opened in the 1980s, but the bookstore now touted a barrage of colorful, highly commercial merchandise more weighted in price than any sort of mystical value. Erik, by my estimation, was the only employee with legitimate concern and knowledge of esoteric matters. The best of his coworkers were simply apathetic; the worst were zealots and scam artists. Pulling up into the store's parking lot, I immediately felt surprise at the number of cars there. This many people at Emerald City would have constituted a signing, but that sort of event seemed odd in the middle of the workday. A heavy wave of incense poured over us as we entered, and Seth appeared just as surprised as me by all the people and stimuli. â€Å"I might be a minute,† I told him. â€Å"Feel free to look around. Not that there's much here worth seeing.† He melted away, and I turned my attention to a bright-eyed young man standing near the door and directing the crowd around. â€Å"Are you here for the Gathering?† â€Å"Urn, no,† I told him. â€Å"I'm looking for Erik.† â€Å"Erik who?† â€Å"Lancaster? Older guy? African-American? He works here.† The young lackey shook his head. â€Å"There's no Erik here. Not as long as I've been working here.† He spoke like he'd founded the store. â€Å"How long has that been?† â€Å"Two months.† I rolled my eyes. A veritable veteran. â€Å"Is there a manager around here I can talk to?† â€Å"Well, Helena's here, but she's going to be – ah, there she is.† He gestured to the far side of the store where the woman in question appeared as though summoned. Ah yes, Helena. She and I had tangled before. Pale-haired, her neck bestrewn with crystals and other arcane symbols, she stood in a doorway marked meeting room. A teal shawl covered her slim shoulders, and like always, I wondered how old she was. She looked to be in her lower to mid-thirties, but something about her demeanor always made me think she was older. Maybe she'd had a lot of plastic surgery. It would be fitting, really, considering the rest of her trumped-up, artificial persona. â€Å"Everyone? Everyone?† She spoke in this obviously faked, high-pitched voice, meant to sound like a whisper, albeit one that could reach loud volumes. So mostly it came out raspy, like she had a cold. â€Å"It's time to start.† The masses – thirty or so, I'd say – moved toward the meeting room, and I followed, blending into the crowd. Some of the people around me looked like Helena: theme-dressed, in either all-black or too-vibrant shades, with a plethora of pentagrams, crystals, and ohms in attendance. Others looked like average people, dressed much like me in my work clothes, trailing along in excited curiosity. With a frozen, fake smile plastered across her face, Helena beckoned us into the room murmuring, â€Å"Welcome, welcome. Feel the energy.† When I passed by her, the smile faltered. â€Å"I know you.† â€Å"Yes.† The smile diminished further. â€Å"You're that woman who works at that big bookstore – that big, commercial bookstore.† A few people stopped and listened to our exchange, no doubt the reason she refrained from pointing out the last time I was in here, I had called her a hypocrite pushing marked-up crap merchandise. Compared to certain national chains, I hardly considered Emerald City commercial. Still, I shrugged in acknowledgment. â€Å"Yeah, what can I say, we're part of the problem in corporate America. However, we do sell all the books and tarot cards that you do, often at a discount if you're a member of Emerald City's Frequent Readers Program.† I mentioned this last part loudly. Extra advertising never hurt. Helena's weakening smile disappeared altogether, as did some of her raspy voice. â€Å"Is there something I can help you with?† â€Å"I'm looking for Erik.† â€Å"Erik doesn't work here anymore.† â€Å"Where'd he go?† â€Å"I'm not at liberty to discuss that.† â€Å"Why? Are you afraid I'll take my business elsewhere? Believe me, you were never in danger of having it.† She raised delicate fingers to her forehead and studied me seriously, eyes nearly going crossed. â€Å"I sense a lot of darkness in your aura. Black and red.† Her voice rose, drawing in the attention of her acolytes. â€Å"You would benefit greatly from some clearing work. A smoky or rutilated quartz might also help. We have excellent specimens of both for sale here. Either would lighten up your aura.† I couldn't resist a smirk. I believed in auras, knew they were perfectly real. I also knew, however, that my aura looked nothing at all like a mortal one, nor would someone like Helena even be able to see it. Indeed, a true human adept, capable of perceiving such things, would notice that in standing with a group of humans, I would be the only person without a discernible aura. It would be invisible to all, save someone like Jerome or Carter, though some particularly skilled mortal might be able to feel its strength and be understandably cautious. Erik was one such mortal, which was why he always treated me with so much respect. Helena was not. â€Å"Wow,† I crooned. â€Å"I can't believe you were able to deduce all that without your aura camera.† Krystal Starz proudly touted a camera that would photograph your aura for $9.95. â€Å"Do I owe you something now?† She sniffed. â€Å"I don't need a camera to see others' auras. I am a Master. Besides, the spirits who have assembled for this Gathering tell me plenty about you.† My smile increased. â€Å"What do they say?† I'd had little dealings with spirits or other ethereal beings in my long life, but I would know if any were present. She closed her eyes, hands to her forehead again, lines of thought creasing her face. The onlookers watched in wonder. â€Å"They tell me that much troubles you. That the indecision and monotony in your life force you to lash out, and so long as you choose the path of darkness and distrust, you will never find peace or light.† Her blue eyes opened, caught up in her own otherworldly ecstasy. â€Å"They want you to join us. Sit in our circle, feel their healing energy. The spirits will help you to a better life.† â€Å"Like they helped you out of the porn industry?† She froze, paling, and I almost felt bad for a moment. Adepts like Erik weren't the only ones with reputations in the immortal community. A crackpot like Helena was well known too. Someone who had apparently been a fan of hers back in the day had recognized her from a movie and passed on this bit of dirt to the rest of us. â€Å"I don't know what you mean,† she finally said, face struggling for control in front of her minions. â€Å"My mistake. You reminded me of someone called Moana Licka. You sort of rub crystals the way she used to rub†¦ well, you get the idea.† â€Å"You are mistaken,† Helena said, voice on the verge of cracking. â€Å"Erik no longer works here. Please leave.† Another retort rose to my lips, but then, beyond her, I caught sight of Seth. He had wandered up to the edge of the crowd, observing the spectacle with the others. Seeing him, I suddenly felt foolish, the thrill of humiliating Helena turning cheap and shallow. Embarrassed, I still managed to hold my head high as I withheld my remarks and walked away from her. Seth fell into step beside me. â€Å"Let me guess,† I said dryly. â€Å"Some people write the stories, and some people live them.† â€Å"I think you can't help but make a sensation wherever you go.† I assumed he was being sarcastic. Then, I glanced over and saw his frank expression, neither censuring nor snide. His earnestness was so unexpected that I stumbled slightly, paying more attention to him than where I was going. Having a much-deserved reputation for gracefulness, I recovered almost immediately. Seth, however, instinctually held out a hand to catch me. As he did, I suddenly had a flash of†¦ of something. Like that moment of connection back in the map aisle. Or the surge of fulfillment I got when I read his books. It was brief, fleeting, like maybe it hadn't happened at all. He seemed as surprised as I felt and released my arm tentatively, almost hesitantly. A moment later, a voice behind me broke the spell entirely. â€Å"Excuse me?† Turning, I saw a slim teenage girl with cropped red hair and piercings up and down her ears. â€Å"You were looking for Erik, right?† â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I can tell you where he's at. He left about five months ago to start his own store. It's in Lake City†¦ I forget the name. There's a light there, with a grocery store and a big Mexican restaurant†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I nodded. â€Å"I know that area. I'll find it. Thanks.† I eyed her curiously. â€Å"Do you work here?† â€Å"Yeah. Erik was always pretty cool to me, so I'd rather see him get business than this place. I'd have gone with him, but he doesn't really need any other help, so I'm stuck with Nutso in there.† She jerked her thumb back in Helena's direction. The girl had a serious, practical demeanor different from most of this place's employees. I recalled now that I'd seen her helping customers when I'd come in. â€Å"Why do you work here if you don't like it?† â€Å"I don't know. I like books, and I need money.† I dug through my purse, searching for one of my rarely used business cards. â€Å"Here. You want a new job, come talk to me sometime.† She took the card and read it, surprise filling her features. â€Å"Thanks†¦ I think.† â€Å"Thanks for the info about Erik.† Pausing, I considered further, and dug out another card. â€Å"If you've got a friend – anyone else who works here and is like you – give this to them too.† â€Å"Is that legal?† asked Seth later. † Dunno. But we're short-staffed at Emerald City.† I figured a specialty store like Erik's must be closed by now, so instead I turned toward Lake Forest Park to return Seth to his brother's house. I confess, relief flooded me. Being with one's hero was tiring, not to mention every interaction between us swung between wildly opposing poles. I'd probably be safer limiting our relationship to me simply reading his books. I dropped him off at a cute, suburban home, its front yard littered with children's playthings. I saw no sign of the children themselves, much to my disappointment. Seth gathered up his haul of books, gave me another scattered smile as he voiced his thanks, and disappeared into the house. I was almost back to Queen Anne when I realized I'd forgotten to ask him for my copy of The Glasgow Pact. Annoyed, I entered my building and immediately heard the front desk attendant solicit me. â€Å"Miss Kincaid?† I walked over to him, and he handed me a vase of flowers teeming with shades of purple and dark pink. â€Å"These came for you today.† I accepted the vase with delight, inhaling the mingled scents of roses, irises, and stargazer lilies. They had no card. Typical. â€Å"Who brought them?† He gestured beyond me. â€Å"That man over there.†