Book Review: Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” Essay

In writing â€Å"Into the Wild,† Krakauer’s intention was to uncover the facts (or at least get as close to the facts as possible) surrounding Christopher McCandless’ journey â€Å"into the wild. † Krakauer discusses and presents theories and explanations about McCandless’ reasons for going off into a potentially fatal journey, and also presents investigations into how McCandless came to such a state in his life. Krakauer gives us some idea of the direct cause of McCandless’ death, and his reasons for doing what he did. Krakauer aims to give readers with invaluable insight into the mind of McCandless—how McCandless came about the idea of going to the Alaskan wilderness, what his motivations were, how he planned and managed to survive the grueling trek, and most importantly, â€Å"why? † The author seeks to understand what happened to McCandless in the wild, and to explain why someone so full of promise, who seems to have such an ideal life and much of all that he could ask for, could do what McCandless did. However, Krakauer does not presume to be certain about McCandless reasons, but he presents some very good explanations and allows us to understand McCandless’ mind even more. By revealing many things about the reasons behind McCandless’ death, Krakauer shows us that McCandless was far more than a simple and reckless fool who wasted his life. McCandless, who was an intelligent young man, went off into the Alaskan woods to â€Å"find himself† and to reunite with nature. He was heavily influenced by the literature he had read, to such an extent that he became, most of all, a man in search of himself and of a purpose in life. In order to really â€Å"find† himself, he felt it necessary to cut all ties from society, from his family, and reinvent himself as Alexander Supertramp, thus cutting his ties with his old identity. Whether or not he found what he was looking for in the wild is open to speculation, however Krakauer describes McCandless’s psychological terrain by including anecdotes and quotations from people who were in a similar state of mind as McCandless, as well as drawing parallels with his own life as a mountaineer and adventurer. Each chapter presents different tales from others who have been in the same road as McCandless, people who have also sought the solitude of the wild. Krakauer also interviewed people who have come in contact with McCandless during his journey. By the end of â€Å"Into the Wild,† the readers gains significant understanding of McCandless’ personality. Whether McCandless was brave or foolish, his journey of self-discovery is something that almost everyone can relate with and understand on some level. However, while the book is accessible to anyone who could have some interest in the controversial life and death of Christopher McCandless, it is most geared towards those who have sentiments similar to those that McCandless held regarding society, nature, and how to live. â€Å"Into the Wild† helps us understand McCandless’ character, although by the end of the book, it is still up to the reader to decide if McCandless was â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† in having done what he did – whether he was courageoeus or merely foolish.

Experiencing a New Country: France Essay

In this short essay, I chose a country I traveled to that opened my eyes to different cultures. France is a country full of diversity and a place I would feel honored to return to, in hopes of learning more from the culture they have to offer. Traveling to France I expected to be entranced by the grand architecture and art that had contributed to history, I was mistaken. I found the heart and soul of the nation in the people. I realized, after much travel, that it is the people and their culture continually that amaze me. After exploring France, I discovered the invigoration of hearing a dissimilar language and learning how to adapt to the new environment. While some travelers carried the pride of their nation, I found it invigorating to assimilate into my new surroundings. In order to accomplish this, I decided to learn French in hopes that continual study of common practices would allow me to live the life of a Frenchmen. Upon arrival I found it easy to adopt the concept of public transportation, and each metro ride became more satisfying as I met varying people of varying nations. I then adjusted my eating schedules and found a taste for French cuisine. With this, I commenced greeting my fellow Frenchmen with, â€Å"Bonjour monsieur! † I was determined to not leave as a stereotypical tourist. I made it my goal to experience the nooks and crannies far from tourist France that is so often portrayed. That is when I found myself sitting in a local brasserie sipping â€Å"une lemonade† and thinking this is one adventure of a lifetime. Now being back in Texas, I hope to embark in my next adventure, to be apart of Colgate Univesity, an institution rich with culture and diversity that produces diplomats of the world.

Sci/256 Week 2 Discussion Question

Identify a natural ecosystem in which you live or one near to where you live? How does this ecosystem support you? At what trophic level are you? Why? An ecosystem (2011), according to Merriam Webster Learners Dictionary, is everything that exists in a particular environment. An ecosystem includes living things, such as plants and animals, and things that are not living, such as rocks, soil, sunlight, and water. One such example of a natural ecosystem is the George Mitchell Nature Preserve in Creekside Village in the Woodlands, TX. Thewoodlandstx. com (2011) website illustrates that the George Mitchell Nature Preserve is part of the Montgomery County Spring Creek Greenway, which will connect and protect up to 12,000 acres of forest on both sides of Spring Creek. The Mitchell Preserve covers nearly 1,700 acres, and opened on October 19th, 2007. The natural ecosystem of this nature preserve can support humans in many ways. For example, the Spring Creek watershed currently contains tens of thousands of acres of bottomland hardwood forest and various edible plants. It also provides homes to wildlife, creates recreation opportunities such as hiking and biking trails, reducing flooding, and improving air quality (Montgomery County Precinct 3, 2011). Not to mention, the preserve increases real estate values and community pride, reduces pollution, and lowers air temperature. Second, wildlife in the nature preserve offers many to take the chance to bird watch. The forests along Spring Creek provide a crucial stopover point for migratory songbirds, where they can rest and refuel after crossing the Gulf of Mexico on their annual spring migration from Central and South America (Montgomery County Precinct 3, 2011). Many species of fish live in the lake year-round including catfish, crappie, and bass. White bass migrate through during springtime, and all are available for fishing. Last, the preserve offers an exceptional educational benefit. Several elementary, middle, and high schools have taken field trips learning about Spring Creek, the preserve, nature, and the benefits it has to offer to the public. A trophic level (2011) according to Encyclopedia Britannica, is a step in the nutritive series, or food chain, in the ecosystem. We as humans eat plants and animals, also considered omnivores. This in terms puts us at the third trophic level. However, several humans who are vegan would be considered second trophic level consumers because they eat only produce. Though it may sound simple, the food chains and food webs are often complex and difficult to analyze. The ecosystem is natural and living. As humans, we are as very much a part of the ecosystem as plants and animals, along with other organisms and bacteria. Although we expend plants and animals as third trophic level consumers and depend on them for survival, we must also take into consideration that the first, second, and fourth trophic level consumers also rely on the ecosystem for survival as well. Thus meaning ecosystems are essential for all life on earth. References Ecosystem. ( 2011). In Merriam Webster Learners Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www. learnersdictionary. com/search/ecosystem Montgomery County Precinct 3. (2011). Spring Creek Greenway. Retrieved from http://www. springcreekgreenway. org/the_creek. htm Thewoodlandstx. com. (2011). The Woodlands TX. Retrieved from http://www. thewoodlandstx. com/parks/george-mitchell-nature-preserve. php Trophic Level. ( 2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/606492/trophic-level

Strategic Analysis & Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Analysis & Planning - Coursework Example With such widespread popularity, it would appear that Microsoft made a lucrative and rational decision to acquire Minecraft in order to secure a more profitable strategic position in the international gaming market. However, the acquisition of Minecraft was an all-cash agreement that cost Microsoft $2.5 billion, which is a substantial financial risk in terms of expenditures for the acquisition in an environment where Mojang, Minecraft’s original developing company, only earned $326 million in revenues in 2013 (Stuart and Hern 2014). With the assumption that Minecraft manages the same revenue-producing capabilities year-on-year, it would theoretically take Microsoft 6.1 years to recover the just the cost of the acquisition of Mojang. This report conducts a strategic analysis of this acquisition in order to determine whether this was a shrewd business decision and whether the $2.5 billion acquisition can effectively serve the strategic objectives of Microsoft. It should be recognised that there is not a specific strategic business unit at Microsoft that is being evaluated as in 2013 the firm restructured the organisation in an effort to consolidate global business operations. The firm desired to unify the company and believed that this reorganization and consolidation would contribute to greater control and innovation production as a result of incorporating established SBUs (Ludwig 2013). Hence, strategic analysis will consider Microsoft as a newly-combined firm that now has inter-dependencies controlled centrally in areas of production, development, marketing and strategy. Michael Porter (1987) introduced his Five Forces model which describes the potential competitive forces that pose risk to a competing business, a framework for projecting future competitive activity and potential for profitability over an extended period of time. Figure 1 illustrates Porter’s

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem among many young people Essay

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem among many young people - Essay Example Statistics show that almost 64% of the high school students say that they have been drunk at least once. Among youth between the ages 12 to 17, 77% (Spear, pp. 71-81) say that they have had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year. The teenagers who engage in this problem suffer in various aspects of their life. Teenagers having drinking problems suffer in their education. They tend to skip school and their classes and their performance level starts going down as the problem increases. This is because their attention span towards anything goes down and hence their performance decreases. Another problem that arises is that of drunk driving and the number of accidents and deaths caused by it. Statistics show that underage drinking and alcohol use is more likely to kill youngsters compared to illegal drugs. Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of deaths of youth between the ages of 15 and 20. The rate of these accidents is much more for teenager s between ages of 16 to 20 rather than 20 years and above (Spear, pp. 71-81). Another problem is that of suicide. After depression and stress, alcohol abuse is the third factor causing young people to commit suicide for children between 14 and 25. Sexual assaults and rapes are also becoming increasingly common as an effect of alcohol abuse.

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

Gender identity - Essay Example According to Devor, in all social categories, gender is the most transparent. The acquisition of gender roles come early in life making it hard to relate them to lessons taught and learned. He states that gender has nothing to do with socialization but, everything to do with nature. He further suggests that our ideas of being male or female are socially related. He clearly states that gender identity is a lifelong process. A story of my body: By Judith Ortiz Cofer. Cofer believes that the body plays a major role in different cultures and contexts. She goes on to reflect on how different societies have interpreted her appearances. To an extent, the story of her life is intertwined in this story. Her story brings out interesting comments on cross-cultural perception and gender. The thesis of this paper is generalized as gender identity. It tries to establish what comprises and defines gender identity. The two authors mentioned above have different perceptions about gender identity but all come to social factors. For instance, according to Devor, gender is determined by the roles one plays while on the other hand, Cofer perceives gender identity to be determined by the cultural standards. All these converge to the society which means that gender is identified by interacting with the society. Devor on Gender identity and generalized and significant others The generalized others acts as a kind of measuring or monitoring device through which people in a society judge their actions in reference to the generalized conceptions on how society members are expected to carry out their actions. In that way, individuals monitor their behavior in reference to what the society considers to be right or wrong. Therefore, these people have standards that censor their behaviors which may be either approved or disapproved by the society. Hence, the tension gives rise to the definition of self (Devor, pp 6) Although all others do play a significant figure in people’s lives, an d not everyone is of equal effect on self-development. Any individual is entitled to be part and parcel of the generalized others, but some people, by the sense of time volume spent in interacting with someone, or through particular interactions, would be more vital in the shaping of individuals’ values. The significant others are more influential in the creation of an individual’s self-image, goals, and one’s ideals. In that way, they weigh disproportionately on an individual’s generalized other. Hence, the individualistic impulses of children are outlined into a form that is socially acceptable by specific people and general pressure to adaption exerted by society members. Gender identity is, therefore, a focal point in the development of self-sense (Devor, pp 6) Cofer on generalized and significant others In contrary to Devor’s opinion on generalized others and its effect on one’s gender identity, Cofer argues in a completely different wa y. Coffer perceives one’s identity to be influenced by various aspects the body by different communities. He argues that different communities in their cultures define gender identity differently. For instance, Coffer, while she was in America skin color, had a diverse opinion depending on where one was. The Italian (butcher) at the supermarket discriminated her as she was darker compared to them while on the other hand, the Latinos considered her to be colored.

Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Description - Essay Example The trip started out smoothly and nobody felt even a tinge of tiredness. On the way to the Big Bear, we halted at Seven Eleven to grab some energy drinks and continued our trip singing out loudly. The freeway that led us to the mountain was nearly empty and the view was enchanting. We were surrounded by nature with both sides of the freeway covered with mountains and trees. As we neared the mountain, I noticed a sign board that read, â€Å"Snow Chains required beyond this point† and Highway Patrols were blocking the entrance of the mountain. Upon enquiry, they told us that as it had snowed all night the road ahead was covered with snow and ice and that we would require tire chains to move ahead. On hearing this, however, our excitement did not wean and we drove back to the city below the mountains and bought some tire chains. We then pulled over just before the blockade, to put on the chains. The weather outside was freezing cold as we got out of the car which was a black two- door coupe model with a long hood, a short trunk and big tires. I had previously encountered problems with the tires as they had a tendency to slip when the ground was wet. But now I was not worried as the snow chains looked powerful and reliable, though it was quite a challenge to fix them. After struggling with the chains for about 30 minutes, my hands began to feel cold and sensitive due to the freezing weather. The effort was in vain and we finally engaged a mechanic to fix the chains and paid him $50 for the job. Another problem also lay ahead as I had never driven on icy roads. Though I took pride in my driving skills I was a bit apprehensive at that moment. As I resumed driving, the mountain road seemed fine from where the Highway Patrols stopped us, but once we reached the first curve, the true reality of the situation dawned on us. The road ahead was completely snow covered with only a few sections of the road visible. There were curves once after every 300 feet with

Adab In Medieval Arabic Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adab In Medieval Arabic Literature - Essay Example The first Al-Kindi’s argument for the existence of God pertains to the belief on causality. This means that everything that professes existence must have a beginning of existence. In this sense, it is impossible to have a beginning without a cause. Besides, entities to causes are infinite. Therefore, there is a prime cause of infinite elements that trigger other causes. This means that the prime cause must be a true one. The true cause refers to a sole God. According to Aristotle’s arguments, there are four stages of causes. This entails the final, the efficient, the formal and the material causes in terms of vitality. In a nutshell, there are two credible causes in the universe. The first cause is the sincere efficient one since its action springs from nothing. On the other hand, the other causes are intermediate since they spring from other causes. God is the only credible force that acts on other things. The reverse meaning of the same regards the idea that other thi ngs cannot act upon Him. Besides the argument on causality, Al-Kindi argues that everything in the world springs from creation (Kennedy 220). This means that there is a divine being that creates such entities. However, every creation lacks the life of sustaining itself. It must rely on the superior being to feed life into the same. This suggests that every creation is not eternal. The sole eternal being is God since He exists to breathe life into new creations. Similarly, the unicity of God is arguably from the observed nature of beings. The world possesses both irregularity and regularity that interact to create a beautiful working mixture. The world has a sculpture in a sense that does not jeopardize itself. In this sense, there are surprising disparities that coexist to accord a meaningful life.

Strategy of Sweetco Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Strategy of Sweetco Inc - Case Study Example Apart from this, another fact was also revealed that Sweetco received money from its holding company for its operational functions on the basis of loans. This is the reason why the CFO has asked for an extension in the credit terms to 60 days. The objective is now to analyze the financial credibility of Sweetco at present and make a future projection so that we can decide whether to maintain the business relationship or not. The best option in such a case is to ascertain credit scores of the company Sweetco Inc. Assigning credit scores means defining certain factors for making decisions and allotting weight age on each factor. For example, 30 percent weight age for the payment history of the customer, 30 percent weight age to the amount of money outstanding, 15 percent weight on the length of the credit history, 10 percent weight on the newly generated credits, and 10 percent on the different types of loans being offered to the customer, i.e. Sweetco Inc. For this purpose the marketi ng contacts would be utilized; the investigation of credit shall be done through reliable sources; the customer of Sweetco Inc. can be contacted for information on the company’s status; the documents and financial statements can be filled based on the information acquired from different sources; the credit file for Sweetco. Inc. should be prepared; and finally a wholesome financial analysis is untaken. Hardline Position: The hardline position involves an extreme decision. In this case the decision would be that the company should not continue the business with Sweetco Inc and increasing the credit terms does not comes into play in this case. If the credit scores and the financial analysis show that Sweetco Inc. neither has the ability to pay back the money nor would be able to attain sustainability without the help of its holding company or any other financial support.

Foreshadowing is the essential part of Steinbecks style in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Foreshadowing is the essential part of Steinbecks style in Of Mice and Men Essay Steinbeck, in my opinion, has one of the most unique styles of writing which is not only effective but also inspirational. The fact that he puts the whole plot and the ending right in front of us (at the beginning, in every section and even in the name) and we dont recognise it easily is truly fascinating. Hints of the grand finale could be found nearly everywhere in the novella. In the beginning of the play we learn that Lennie likes to pet soft things. He starts off by petting a mouse and then petting a puppy, of which he kills both as a result of his unrecognised brutal strength. The puppy was all innocent and fragile and Curleys wife was seen in the same way which foreshadows the killing of Curleys wife. The idea of Curleys wife knowing the history of Lennie with pets and his blindness about the strength he possesses and still allowing him to stroke her hair was particularly considered peculiar by me. The only way I managed to justify this was that perhaps she was unaware of the dangers at that particular time as she was too caught up in the moment of perhaps she wanted to be rid of her depressive and oppressive life. Perhaps she was just fed up of her failure of her dreams and living a life of such misery that she thought of death to be the only way out and maybe death by the hands of Lennie seemed like a good idea because he was still considered to be childish meaning the element of innocence could be attached to him. Foreshadowing plays a huge role in indicating towards the fact that Lennie wont make it alive to the end of the novella. The opening sets a pleasant mood to the story, it makes the world seem peaceful and lively then these feelings transforms into a darker and a much more sorrowful aura. The extract Ill put the old devil out of his misery right now was said by Carlson to Candy. This action foreshadows the death of Lennie; He can be personified as Candys dog as his main purpose is also to accompany George hence when Lennie/ the dog is of no use or has exceeded his limit then he will be put down. This also highlights one of the theories attached to this story in perspective; the idea of Darwins Survival of the fittest theory. The natural environment and settings could also emphasise Darwins theory as it was linked to nature but the quote also shows that a weak element in the food chain (Carlson) preys a weaker member of the food chain (the dog) and later on we learn that George (a weak member of the food chain) kills Lennie (a weaker member of the food chain in terms of mental abilities) regardless what the intents where. Furthermore, the death of Candys Dog and Lennie is pretty identical which can contribute to the method in which Lennie was murdered. The dog was shot in the head which was the same way Lennie was killed. The quotes I ought to of shot that dog myself and He wont even feel it. shows that the idea of George killing Lennie himself rather than getting some else to do it is being suggested to George. Additionally, the second quotes highlights that its all for the best and this action is being taken for the greater good. In Addition, I should have done it myself said by Candy also suggests and foreshadows that George will be the murderer of Lennie. Candy realised afterwards and in a way regretted that he didnt kill his dog, his best companion, himself, in the same George wouldnt want Curley to kill Lennie so he would commit the murder himself. This could be considered a gesture of loyalty and love that now Lennie wouldnt have to suffer anymore or it could also be a sign that George was just fed up of carrying Lennies burden around on his back. In my judgement, I would question Georges actions because I believe there are always other ways of getting around the situation and who gave George the right to take someones life. In conclusion, the element of foreshadowing is the main and one of the most important techniques which the novella is based on. Foreshadowing and hints of the future aspects of the story could be found at nearly every stage of the novella and I think that this doesnt only make the story interesting but it also clamps the reader in deeper and deeper, it makes a readers hunger to find out the ending even more and more. In my opinion, Of Mice and Men is one of the most inspiring storys Ive read not only plot and content wise but also writers techniques wise.

Importance of Vaccination to the Survival of Humanity

Importance of Vaccination to the Survival of Humanity Bokota, Rachael People in developed countries are able to live without the fear of a plague breakout. They are able to attend festivals, ride the subway, and share food without worrying that they could bring home a deadly pathogen to infect their loved ones. This is possible through the advent of vaccines. Surviving the year was not always so simple. There were times when there would be mass outbreaks of disease regularly. Cities would be breeding grounds for deadly pathogens, and the population would live in fear of having contact with neighbors, as they might be given the deadly blight. Vaccines have changed all of this. Not only do people these days feel protected from diseases, some even feel that in a way, man has conquered nature, allowing for more people to have longer lifespans and a greater quality of life. Vaccines have saved us by allowing pathogens to be bent to our will and serve our immune system, protecting more than just the individual, and making our schools safe by requiring vaccin ations. Vaccinations have changed our lives by using pathogens to aide our immune system rather than harm it. To understand how helpful vaccines are, it is important first to understand how vaccines work. Vaccines function one of four ways: by utilizing live, attenuated microbes, killed microbes, toxoids, or recombinant DNA from microbes (Krasner and Shore 2014). When live, attenuated microbes are used, the microbial strain has been tested multiple times in mice until a non-lethal strain is found and injected into a person. This person will then be able to easily fight off the disease and will have immunity through the antibodies made against the microbes for life. The use of killed microbe vaccines are slightly safer than live, attenuated vaccines, as the virus is dead but still causes antibodies to be produced. The downside to killed-microbe vaccines however, is that they often require a few boosters to be really effective and keep a lasting memory in the hosts immune system (publichealth. org). Toxoid Vaccines are taken from the microbe and then detoxified and injected into a person. This will cause the person to create antibodies against the toxin, effectively making them immune. Furthermore, antitoxins can be produced by injecting a small amount of toxin into a large animal such as a horse, which will produce antibodies against the toxin and then be injected into a person if the need arises (Krasner and Shore 2014). This is used to combat venomous animal bites or stings. Finally, recombinant DNA from a microbe can be taken and added to a nonvirulent virus and then injected into a person, who will then produce antibodies against the code of the microbe. Through these four ways, vaccines actively use microbes to create antibodies in the individual who is given the vaccine, giving them protection against that very microbe. Vaccines protect more than the individual through herd or community immunity. Herd immunity is the idea that when a critical immunization threshold of people vaccinated is met, the spread of diseases will be so reduced that the disease is no longer a threat, and even people who are at risk or who have not received the vaccine will acquire protection (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)). An excellent example of herd immunity at its finest is the way in which developed countries deal with the different strains of the flu each year. Every year, scientists come up with a vaccine which is a combination of the strains which are prevalent that year. Many people will receive these vaccines, and a herd immunity is built up so that less and less people get the flu every year. Furthermore, less and less people die from the flu nowadays that they did in the past, partly due to advances in medicine, but also due to the lack of spread of the disease. Measles has been eradicated in North America due to vaccinations and herd immunity. According to the California Department of Public Health, an outbreak of Measles was confirmed in December of 2014 when 40 people who had been at Disneyland contracted the disease. Whereas in other areas of the world this outbreak would have become a national epidemic, the disease only spread to six other states and the outbreak was found to have ended in April of 2015. The short duration of the outbreak and its relative containment were all due to the strong herd immunity that citizens of the U.S. had built up over decades of Measles vaccinations. For these reasons, vaccines are able to protect not only an individual who has been given the vaccine, but also other members of the community who have not been vaccinated. Vaccines have become important to community health through the controversial requirement by schools for students to be vaccinated. An ongoing debate in the education field has been whether or not schools should require their students to have been vaccinated for various diseases. Proponents of school immunization point out that the more students are vaccinated, the greater the herd immunity that is generated, and thus the safer the students and the community are. Opponents argue that there is always the possibility that a child could have an adverse reaction to the vaccine or perhaps develop Autism as a result. The claim that vaccines cause Autism has been widely refuted through numerous studies conducted around the world, which has led most experts to believe that not immunizing a child based on this risk is a fallacy. As Plotkin, Gerber, and Offit write, However, both epidemiological and biological studies fail to support these claims, (Plotkin, Gerber, and Offit 2009). Since 2009, more studies have been done on the issue, all showing that there is a negligible link between Autism and vaccines. As for other adverse effects which vaccines may cause, one is much more likely to get the disease when unvaccinated than to have an adverse reaction to a vaccine, and the consequences of contracting the disease will be much more severe. For these reasons, school immunization should be required as it makes the students and community much safer. We in the United States are fortunate to live in a vaccinated world. We dont have to live under the shadow of disease as our ancestors did, and as some people in the world still do. Through the use of vaccines we have generated enough herd immunity in schools and communities that our children can grow up safe from the illnesses that used to plague our country and world. Therefore, vaccines have saved us by allowing pathogens to be bent to our will and serve our immune system, protecting more than just the individual, and making our schools safe by requiring vaccinations. Work Cited Community Immunity (Herd Immunity) | Vaccines.gov (2017, January 18). In Vaccines.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2017. How Vaccines Work (2014, June 4). In PublicHealth.org. Retrieved February 19, 2017. Krasner, R. I., Shors, T. (2014). The Microbial Challenge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones Bartlett Learning. Measles (n.d.). In California Department of Public Health. Retrieved February 19, 2017. Plotkin, S., Gerber, J. S., Offit, P. A. (2009, February 15). Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 48(4).

Book Report on A Tale of Two Cities :: essays papers

Book Report on A Tale of Two Cities My favorite scene in A Tale of Two Cities is one of the last scenes, when Sydney Carton is about to go to the guillotine. It takes place in Paris, near a prison, and many people have gathered to watch french aristocrats be beheaded. The atmosphere is tense and chaotic; Sydney, however, remains calm, even though he is about to be killed. Sydney is holding the hand of a young girl who is given no name other than a "poor little seamstress". Sydney and the seamstress, who are both being wrongfully killed, comfort each other just before they reach the guillotine, and they seem to have an instant romantic connection with each other. I loved this scene because it showed that Sydney Carton had finally found someone who could love him, as he could love them, but it saddened me that he had found her just before their deaths. Another scene I particularly enjoyed was the scene in which a large cask of wine had dropped and broken in the street. Because many people had very little to eat or drink, a large crowd gathered around the dirty puddle and began drinking what they could of the spilled wine. This scene was very descriptive, explaining how the people tried to scoop up the wine in their hands, and how they soaked it up with handkerchiefs from women's heads and squeezed the wine into infants' mouths. Other people licked the stones in the street or sucked on the pieces of wood from the cask. This passage showed how unfortunate many of the people were, without actually saying that they were just poor. Specific words and phrases were used to effectively paint a vivid picture of the scene. One of the most important scenes in this novel was the scene in which Dr. Manette is at the house of the Evremondes', tending to a psychotic young peasant girl. The two Evremonde brothers convince Dr. Manette to come with them, to see someone who they believe needs help. When he arrives at their spacious house, he immediately hears piercing screams, coming from upstairs. He is taken to the room, to see a girl, about 20 years old, who is tied down to a bed, shrieking loudly, and thrashing around. The doctor gives her medication, seemingly to no avail. Meanwhile, the "elder" brother takes him to another patient, the girl's brother, who has a fatal wound in his chest.

School Uniforms Solving the Problem Essay -- essays papers

School Uniforms Solving the Problem Over the past couple of years, school uniform policies have been enforced as the most efficient method for â€Å"solving† problems such as crime and attendance ratings in our public schools. Many schools state that it is quite true that uniforms are lowering such mentioned rates of crime tremendously, but can this really be proven? Currently, there have only been informal studies that try to actually see if uniforms are helping, no long term studies. Technically speaking then, mandating uniforms in our school systems is not the key to fixing problems with the youth. For example, California’s Long Beach school district says that ever since the year of 1994, when uniforms in their schools were put into place, the crime there has dropped by seventy-six percent and attendance ratings have never been higher. This of course sounds lovely and all but the fact is that it just has not been proven that the uniforms themselves have helped make these problems better. Even if it had been proven that the uniforms are helping over anything else, they still have been creating other problems. â€Å"Clothes are a source of expression for children, and as kids gets older, they become increasingly resentful of uniforms,† said Dr. Alan Hilfer who later added that uniform policies take way our children’s individualities. Other education experts see the uniforms as a violation to the rights of the students to their freedom of expression a...

History of Home Schooling Essay -- essays papers

History of Home Schooling Before public schools emerged, children were educated in the home by their parents. They were taught arithmetic, practical skills, and to read and write. Some wealthy families preferred hiring a tutor for their children (Koetzsch, 1997). In the 1840s, prominent leaders such as Horace Mann lead a movement to institute public schools in the United States (Thattai, 2001). These reformers argued that public schools would create good citizens, unite society, and prevent crime and poverty. As a result of their efforts, public elementary schools evolved in American society by the end of the 19th century. Massachusetts was the first state to pass a compulsory attendance law, ruling that all children had to attend at least elementary school (Thattai, 2001). By 1918, all states had the compulsory attendance law. Catholics weren’t happy with the public education system, so they instituted private schools (Thattai, 2001). When public institutions emerged, home schooling nearly vanished in the United States (Koetzsch, 1997). Education critics began voicing concerns about public schools in the 1960’s (Hess, 2002). Some of the complaints against public schools included, preaching alien values, failing to adequately educate, and adopting unhealthy approaches to child development (Hess, 2002). Many parents joined the de- schooling movement based on a popular book by John Holt called How Children Learn. John Holt was a professor in Boston, who believed that children are born with the desire to learn and educate themselves. The book states that all children need the following for a successful education; materials, access to the â€Å"real world†, emotional support, freedom to explore, and time to assess idea... ...ws of home schooling in the state of Maryland. The article included a summary of the Maryland education code. Home school facts. (2005). Home Education Magazine, 25. Home Education Magazine is a popular magazine among home school parents and children. It explores all aspects of home schooling. The article that I used for my research paper did not specify and author. Number of home schooled students rises. (2004, August 4). The New York Times, A14. This newspaper article describes the increase of home schooling in the United States through a recent survey. The article does not specify an author. Interview with Brigitte Mankiewicz, home school parent. March 21, 2005. I interviewed Brigitte Mankiewicz about what it is like to be a home school parent. She answered questions regarding the positive and negative aspect of home schooling.

History of Electronic Media Essay

The history of providing information has been shaped by innovations and innovators. This paper attempts to chronicle the different factors and events that led to the media landscape of today. 1) Congress and the FCC began deregulating broadcast and cable television in the late 1970s. Describe the ideologies which motivated these deregulations. What changes in the television industry occurred as a result of these deregulations? Include two of the following in your discussion: Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, Telecommunications Act of 1996, media ownership debates in the 2000s and intellectual property regulations in the 2000s. The Financial and Syndication Rules, or more popularly known as Fib-Syn, were implemented by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 with the objective of increasing programming diversity thus breaking the monopoly of the three major TV networks in the United States: CBS, ABC and NBC. Its rationale was to democratize UHF airwaves making it easier for independent television producers to penetrate the television market. The rules primarily targeted two areas to disempower the big networks: freeing television programs from the ownership of the networks after its first run and the introduction of in-house syndication arms in the major networks. The idea was to discourage the networks’ monopoly on tv programs and restricting the networks’ part in syndication. These steps would substantially reduce production incentive and lead to the separation of production and distribution practices in the big networks. The FCC justified the implementation of Fin-Syn as beneficial for independent television producers since it gave them the larger part of production profits and allowing them a foothold in the business of syndication. The democratization of syndication would lead to a wider distribution of shows and prevented the networks from its exclusive use in their affiliated stations. Supporters of the rule envisioned a television industry where innovative and   much more diverse programs would be available to the viewers ( McAllister , www.museum.tv). The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was promulgated by the FCC to address issues regarding the rapid development of telecommunication technologies in the United States. It contained new rules and regulations regarding TV, Radio, Cable, Telephone and Internet services. President Clinton, when he signed it into legislation, proclaimed that the act would â€Å"stimulate investment, promote competition, provide open access for all citizens to the Information Superhighway† (Clinton, White House press release 1996). Upon closer inspection, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 was the final step in disassembling the provisions of Fin-Syn Rule. The act loosened rules on media ownership in traditional media forms such as TV and radio, thus empowering them to compete with emerging media technologies such as cable and the Internet allowing for the development of new and innovative services. However, the implementation of both the Financial and Syndication Rules of the FCC and the telecommunications Act of 1996 met harsh criticisms once they were fully implemented. The introduction of Fin-Syn bred more problems than solutions. Most critics pointed out that instead of empowering independent TV producers, it just shifted the competition from one Goliath to another. Instead of   competing with the big networks, the independent TV producers where now pitted against large production organization such as Disney/ABC and   Warner. In the end, it was these larger TV production companies that benefited financially from producing television shows with independent companies opting to produce cheaper productions such as talk shows and game shows. Thus, it produced more conventional shows rather than innovating the television industry. Eventually, television groups especially television distributors called for a change in the implementation of Fin-Syn which eventually led to FCC totally removing the rule in 1995. Studies showed that although there were periods of diversity on TV programs from 1970s to the 1990s, the general conclusion was that there was no significant changes in the programs in the implementation of the FCC rule (Einstein, p. 5). With the disappearance of the rule, productions and distribution companies started to merge especially in the big three networks. This culminated in the emergence of FOX Network and its merger with Paramount and Warner Bros., a step followed by Disney when they bought and merged with ABC Network. The deregulation that resulted from the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act fueled much debate on media ownership and responsibility. Questions arose on whether the the Act did deliver its promise of innovative media services from increased competition and serve the public interest with increased diversity in media programs and information. Critics cite that the only ones who benefited from the Act were media moguls who were able to merge with other media corporations and in essence creating media monopolies that could have the power to control information. William Melody reveals that media entrepreneurs will always look for profit and economic efficiency leading to media monopolies which threaten freedom of speech (Melody, p. 32). Concerned groups have also reasoned that public interest have always been the core value of media regulation and not profit, and to diminish government control on ownership would mean violating public inters. Deregulating media ownership can only lead to a monopoly of information resulting in less diversity, Neumann noted that the creation of media conglomerates have led to the mass media having similar â€Å"content and world-view† (Neumann, p.130). On the other hand, those who were in favor of the Act identified it as a much needed move in revolutionizing media. By allowing media corporations to merge, it has led to a more comprehensive and cohesive delivery of information. Supporters also point out that instead of eliminating diversity, viewers have had much more program options with th emergence of 24 hours news channels such as CNN and FOX News and specialized channels such as Discovery and History (Compaine, www.reason.com). In fact, Adam Thierer revealed that instead of the lack of diversity of programs, audiences are actually experiencing â€Å"information overload† due to explosion of media options. He pointed out that today’s media environment is â€Å"diverse and characterized by information abundance† (Thierer, p.2). The issue, as FCC concluded in revising the Telecommunication Act, â€Å"was whether media companies will be able to dominate the distribution of news and information in any market, but whether they will be able to be heard at all among the cacophony of voices vying for the attention of the Americans (FCC proceedings, p.149) 2) The three broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC did not face a broadcast network competitor until Fox emerged in the 1980s and the WB, UPN and Univision grew in the 1990s. Why did these networks emerge when they did? What regulatory changes aided their growth? How did they differ from the other networks in terms of their relationships with their affiliates? What audiences did they target and what types of programs did they use to do so? How did they change as they grew? You may choose one or more network(s) to illustrate your points. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the big three networks dominated the American airwaves. Independent and local television networks would occasionally penetrate the national airwaves but most of these did not survive due to financial constraints. It was in 1986 however that the first rival to the big three emerged with the establishment of   FOX Network.It started out dabbling in TV business by producing and distributing shows for the three big networks. In 1985, Rupert Murdoch bought 50% shares in the 20th Century Fox   movie and television studios. When Murdoch finally achieved full ownership of the studios, he proceeded to buy television stations owned by Metromedia which gave Murdoch a foothold in the major U.S. cities such as New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Chicago (www.teletronic.co.uk). This move would spur Murdoch to create a â€Å"fourth network†. In a brilliant move, the new Fox network labeled their new venture as a â€Å"satellite-delivered programming service†(www.teletronic.co.uk). This enabled Murdoch, who was not a citizen, to bypass FCC rules such as foreign-ownership and the definition of FCC of a â€Å"network† as â€Å"airing more than 20 hours of programming per week†. These enabled Fox to operate unhindered by the FCC rules on networks, thus being able to still distribute its TV productions to other networks but only airing 2 hours of primetime shows as opposed to the 3 hours of the big Networks. When it was launched in October 1986, almost 96 stations were connected to Fox enabling it to reach 80% of American audiences. Before making it big, Fox had to start from scratch in expanding its audience share. The network first major release was the â€Å"Late Show† with Joan Rivers. They hoped to capture the 11:30pm late-night slot and targeting young audiences. This strategy however failed as ratings fell with viewers switching back to their previous stations. Despite these failures, Fox continued to lure the younger to middle -aged viewers with shows such as â€Å"Tracy Ulman† which won the station its first Emmy, â€Å"Married†¦with   Children† which would be its first biggest hit and â€Å"21 Jump Street† which was its first drama. These shows were some of the first forays of the network into the Sunday prime-time slot. Although they were received lukewarmly at first, these shows would gain momentum in the coming years. The success of Fox would lead to FCC relaxing the Fin-Syn rule and redefining their concept of â€Å"network†, which would finally result in t he elimination of the Fin-Syn Rule in 1995. (www.museum.tv) The success of its first primetime shows would lead to Fox introducing documentary-style shows such as â€Å"America’s Most Wanted† and â€Å"Cops†. But their biggest success would come in when Fox reintroduced animation to the primetime slot with â€Å"The Simpsons†. The animated show would penetrate the top 30 primetime ratings and would then become the longest running comedy show on television (www.teletronic.co.uk). Soon, Fox found its niche by veering away from conventional shows, like game shows and   talk shows, by introducing reality-based shows and shows that targeted the young viewers. Fox owner Rupert Murdoch would change the media landscape when it snatched exclusive rights to air the National Football League in 1993 (Kimmel, p.162). This move would cement Fox’s role in the ratings game. As of today, Fox’s main draw is its reality-based shows such as American Idol that have dominated airwaves since its release in 2002, capturing much of the 18-49 viewer demographic (tvbythenumbers.com). With success comes controversy. Such was the case of the Fox news network as critics accused it of being biased towards the U.S. Republican Party (Greenwald, p.4). Despite these, Fox shows and its affiliated cable channels still rake in much of the ratings with Fox News attracting 2.4 million viewers in the first quarter of 2009 (Gold, www.latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Controlling Police Through Litigation Essay

Police departments draft and implement policies and procedures to provide consistency and eliminate ambiguity in department practices. These are guidelines are for staff and officers to follow in a variety of different situations. Police policies and procedures may have the force of law, or be considered by a court or jury in determining whether an officer acted lawfully in the line of duty. Procedures related to employee actions can also be subject to legal scrutiny in some cases. A lack of policies on issues involving the community may result in unlawful and inconsistent police action. These adverse actions can create a negative reaction within the community, and open the police officers within the department to legal liability. Michael Lyman quoted Section 1983, â€Å"Every person under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any state or territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or any other person within the jurisd iction thereof to the depravation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.† (pg. 270) Basically, this means that police officers are prohibited from violating any person’s civil rights. Section 1983 is a tool for a citizen to use to sue another for a violation of civil rights. Some elements must be met in order to be subject to liability through Section 1983. First, he questionable liability or violator of Section 1983 must be a â€Å"person†. A police department, state agency, or other legal entity, cannot be subject to liability under the statute. Second, the liable â€Å"person† must have been acting under the color of authority when the accused violation took place. A police officer who unlawfully beats a suspect in the commission of an arrest would be acting under the color of law. Finally, the accuser does not have to prove that the â€Å"person† intended to deprive him/her of their Constitutional rights, but only that there was a deprivation. For example, a subject who was beaten by a police officer can sue that officer for excessive force, without proving it was the officer’s intention to violate his rights, but only that the officer intended to beat him. In some cases an officer’s supervisor can be held liable because he/she is responsible for the negligence of that officer. This is known as vicarious liability, or â€Å"imputed negligence† (freedictionary.com). For example, a gang member who shoots and kills another person during a hold-up is responsible for the murder, but other gang members may be held vicariously liable for the same murder. There are several different types of defense for civil suits, and also persons who are immune to the liability in question. There are three types of immunity, they are: absolute immunity, quasi-judicial immunity, and qualified immunity. Michael Lyman lists judges, prosecutors, and legislators, as those who enjoy absolute immunity during civil liability suits (Lyman pg. 272). Lyman also reminds us that police officers and witnesses can obtain absolute immunity while testifying during a criminal trial, but if found providing false testimony, may be charged with perjury. Persons within a department, performing his/her duties as assigned, during the alleged time of a Section 1983 violation, and not involved in the violation, obtain quasi-judicial immunity. Quasi-judicial immunity is provided to prosecutors who are actively involved in the trial of a person. Qualified immunity is provided to federal law enforcement officials who are accused of violating laws that have not been clearly established. If a question of liability arises, but a federal law enforcement official is later found to be acting in an â€Å"objectively reasonable manner† he/she obtains qualified immunity (Lyman pg 273). References Vicarious Liability. (n.d.) West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved September 30 2012 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Vicarious+liability Lyman, Michael D (2010). The Police: An Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 11

Hey, Morgead!† the voice was shouting even as the door went slamming and crashing open, sticking every few inches because it was old and warped and didn't fit the frame anymore. Jez had jerked around at the first noise. The connection between her and Morgead was disrupted, although she could feel faint echoes of the silver thread, like a guitar string vibrating after it was strummed. â€Å"Hey, Morgead-â€Å" â€Å"Hey, you still asleep-?† Several laughing, raucous people were crowding into the room. But the yelling stopped abruptly as they caught sight of Jez. There was a gasp, and then silence. Jez stood up to face them. She couldn't afford to feel tired anymore; every muscle was lightly tensed, every sense alert She knew the danger she was in. Just like Morgead, they were the flotsam and jetsam of the San Francisco streets. The orphans, the ones who lived with indifferent relatives, the ones nobody in the Night World really wanted. The forgotten ones. Her gang. They were out of school and ready to rumble. Jez had always thought, from the day she and Morgead began picking these kids up, that the Night World was making a mistake in treating them like garbage. They might be young; they might not have families, but they had power. Every one of them had the strength to be a formidable opponent. And right now they were looking at her like a group of wolves looking at dinner. If they all decided to go for her at once, she would be in trouble. Somebody would end up getting killed. She faced them squarely, outwardly calm, as a quiet voice finally broke the silence. â€Å"It's really you, Jez.† And then another voice, from beside Jez. â€Å"Yeah, she came back,† Morgead said carelessly. â€Å"She joined the gang again.† Jez shot him the briefest of sideways glances. She hadn't expected him to help. He returned the look with an unreadable expression. â€Å". . . she came back?† somebody said blankly. Jez felt a twinge of amused sympathy. â€Å"That's right,† she said, keeping her face grave. â€Å"I had to go away for a while, and I can't tell you where, but now I'm back. I just fought my way back in-and I beat Morgead for the leadership.† She figured she might as well get it all over with at once. She had no idea how they were going to react to the idea of her as leader. There was another long moment of silence, and then a whoop. A sound that resembled a war cry. At the same instant there was a violent rush toward Jez-four people all throwing themselves at her. For a heartbeat she stood frozen, ready to fend off a four-fold attack. Then arms wrapped around her waist. â€Å"Jez! I missed you!† Someone slapped her on the back almost hard enough to knock her down. â€Å"You bad girl! You beat him again?† People were trying to hug her and punch her and pat her all at once. Jez had to struggle not to show she was overwhelmed. She hadn't expected this of them. â€Å"It's good to see you guys again,† she said. Her voice was very slightly unsteady. And it was the truth. Raven Mandril said, â€Å"You scared us when you disappeared, you know.† Raven was the tall, willowy one with the marble-pale skin. Her black hair was short in back and long in front, falling over one eye and obscuring it. The other eye, midnight blue, gleamed at Jez. Jez allowed herself to gleam back, just a bit. She had always liked Raven, who was the most mature of the group. â€Å"Sorry, girl.† â€Å"I wasn't scared.† That was Thistle, still hugging Jez's waist. Thistle Galena was the delicate one who had stopped her aging when she reached ten. She was as old as the others, but tiny and almost weightless. She had feathery blond hair, amethyst eyes, and little glistening white teeth. Her specialty was playing the lost child and then attacking any humans who tried to help her. â€Å"You're never scared,† Jez told her, squeezing back. â€Å"She means she knew you were all right, wherever you were. I did, too,† Pierce Holt said. Pierce was the slender, cold boy, the one with the aristocratic face and the artist's hands. He had dark blond hair and deep-set eyes and he seemed to carry his own windchill factor with him. But just now he was looking at Jez with cool approval. â€Å"I'm glad somebody thought so,† Jez said, with a glance at Morgead, who just looked condescending. â€Å"Yeah, well, some people were going crazy. They thought you were dead,† Valerian Stillman put in, following Jez's look. Val was the big, heroic one, with deep russet hair, gray-flecked eyes, and the build of a linebacker. He was usually either laughing or yelling with impatience. â€Å"Morgead had us scouring the streets for you from Daly City to the Golden Gate Bridge-â€Å" â€Å"Because I was hoping a few of you would fall off,† Morgead said without emotion. â€Å"But I had no such luck. Now shut up, Val. We don't have time for all this class-reunion stuff. We've got something important to do.† Thistle's face lit up as she stepped back from Jez. â€Å"You mean a hunt?† â€Å"He means the Wild Power,† Raven said. Her one visible eye was fixed on Jez. â€Å"He's told you already, hasn't he?† â€Å"I didn't need to tell her,† Morgead said. â€Å"She already knew. She came back because Hunter Red-fern wants to make a deal with us. The Wild Power for a place with him after the millennium.† He got a reaction-the one Jez knew he expected. Thistle squeaked with pleasure, Raven laughed huskily, Pierce gave one of his cold smiles, and Val roared. â€Å"He knows we've got the real thing! He doesn't wanna mess with us!† he shouted. â€Å"That's right, Val; I'm sure he's quaking in his boots,† Morgead said. He glanced at Jez and rolled his eyes. Jez couldn't help but grin. This really was like old times: she and Morgead trading secret looks about Val. There was a strange warmth sweeping through her-not the scary tingling heat she'd experienced with Morgead alone, but something simpler. A feeling of being with people who liked her and knew her. A feeling of belonging. She never felt that at her human school. She'd seen things that would drive her human classmates insane even to imagine. None of them had any idea of what the real world was like-or what Jez was like, for that matter. But now she was surrounded by people who understood her. And it felt so good that it was alarming. She hadn't expected this, that she would slip back into the gang like a hand in a glove. Or that something inside her would look around and sigh and say, â€Å"We're home.† Because I am not home, she told herself sternly. These are not my people. They don't really know me, either†¦. But they don't have to, the little sigh returned. You don't ever need to tell them you're human. There's no reason for them to find out. Jez shoved the thought away, scrunched down hard on the sighing part of her mind. And hoped it would stay scrunched. She tried to focus on what the others were saying. Thistle was talking to Morgead, showing all her small teeth as she smiled. â€Å"So if you've got the terms settled, does that mean we get to do it now? We get to pick the little girl up?† â€Å"Today? Yeah, I guess we could.† Morgead looked at Jez. â€Å"We know her name and everything. It's Iona Skelton, and she's living just a couple buildings down from where the fire was. Thistle made friends with her earlier this week.† Jez was startled, although she kept her expression relaxed. She hadn't expected things to move this fast. But it might all work out for the best, she realized, her mind turning over possibilities quickly. If she could snatch the kid and take her back to Hugh, this whole masquerade could be over by tomorrow. She might even live through it. â€Å"Don't get too excited,† she warned Thistle, combing some bits of grass out of the smaller girl's silk-floss hair. â€Å"Hunter wants the Wild Power alive and unharmed. He's got plans for her.† â€Å"Plus, before we take her, we've got to test her,† Morgead said. Jez controlled an urge to swallow, went on combing Thistle's hair with her fingers. â€Å"What do you mean, test her?† Td think that would be obvious. We can't take the chance of sending Hunter a dud. We have to make sure she is the Wild Power.† Jez raised an eyebrow. â€Å"I thought you were sure,† she said, but of course she knew Morgead was right. She herself would have insisted Hugh find a way to test the little girl before doing anything else with her. The problem was that Morgead's testing was likely to be †¦ unpleasant. â€Å"I'm sure, but I still want to test her!† Morgead snapped. â€Å"Do you have a problem with that?† â€Å"Only if it's dangerous. For us, I mean. After all, she's got some kind of power beyond imagining, right?† â€Å"And she's in elementary school. I hardly think she's gonna be able to take on six vampires.† The others were looking back and forth between Morgead and Jez like fans at a tennis match. â€Å"It's just as if she never left,† Raven said dryly, and Val bellowed laughter while Thistle giggled. â€Å"They always sound so-married,† Pierce observed, with just a tinge of spite to his cold voice. Jez glared at them, aware that Morgead was doing the same. â€Å"I wouldn't marry him if every other guy on earth was dead,† she informed Pierce. â€Å"If it were a choice between her and a human, I'd pick the human,† Morgead put in nastily. Everyone laughed at that. Even Jez. The sun glittered on the water at the Marina. On Jez's left was a wide strip of green grass, where people were flying huge and colorful kites, complicated ones with dozens of rainbow tails. On the sidewalk people were Rollerblading and jogging and walking dogs. Everybody was wearing summer clothing; everybody was happy. It was different on the other side of the street. Everything changed over there. A line of pinky-brown concrete stood like a wall to mark the difference. There was a high school and then rows of a housing project, all the buildings identically square, flat, and ugly. And on the next street beyond them, there was nobody walking at all. Jez let Morgead take the lead on his motorcycle as he headed for those buildings. She always found this place depressing. He pulled into a narrow alley beside a store with a dilapidated sign proclaiming â€Å"Shellfish De Lish.† Val roared in after him, then Jez, then Raven with Thistle riding pillion behind her, and finally Pierce. They all turned off their motors. â€Å"That's where she lives now; across the street,† Morgead said. â€Å"She and her mom are staying with her aunt. Nobody plays in the playground; it's too dangerous. But Thistle might be able to get her to come down the stairs.† â€Å"Of course I can,† Thistle said calmly. She showed her pointed teeth in a grin. â€Å"Then we can grab her and be gone before her mom even notices,† Morgead said. â€Å"We can take her back to my place and do the test where it's private.† Jez breathed once to calm the knot in her stomach. â€Å"Ill grab her,† she said. At least that way she might be able to whisper something comforting to the kid. â€Å"Thistle, you try to get her right out to the sidewalk. Everybody else, stay behind me-if she sees a bunch of motorcycles, she'll probably freak. But be ready to gun it when I pull out and grab her. The noise should help cover up any screams. Raven, you pick up Thistle as soon as I get the kid, and we all go straight back to Morgead's.† Everyone was nodding, looking pleased with the plan-except Morgead. â€Å"I think we should knock her out when we grab her. That way there won't be any screams. Not to mention any blue fire when she figures out she's being kidnapped-â€Å" â€Å"I already said how we're going to do it,† Jez cut in flatly. â€Å"I don't want her knocked out, and I don't think she'll be able to hurt us. Now, everybody get ready. Off you go, Thistle.† As Thistle skipped across the street, Morgead let out a sharp breath. His jaw was tight. â€Å"You never could take advice, Jez.† â€Å"And you never could take orders.† She could see him starting to sizzle, but only out of the corner of her eye. Most of her attention was focused on the housing building. It was such a desolate place. No graffiti-but no grass, either. A couple of dispirited trees in front. And that playground with a blue metal slide and a few motorcycles-on-springs to ride †¦ all looking new and untouched. â€Å"Imagine growing up in a place like this,† she said. Pierce laughed oddly. â€Å"You sound as if you feel sorry for her.† Jez glanced back. There was no sympathy in his deep-set dark eyes-and none in Raven's midnight blue or Val's hazel ones, either. Funny, she didn't remember them being that heartless-but of course she hadn't been sensitive to the issue back in the old days. She would never have stopped to wonder about what they felt for human children. â€Å"It's because it's a kid,† Morgead said brusquely. â€Å"It's hard on any kid growing up in a place like this.† Jez glanced at him, surprised. She saw in his emerald green eyes what she'd missed in the others; a kind of bleak pity. Then he shrugged, and the expression was gone. Partly to change the subject, and partly because she was curious, she said, â€Å"Morgead? Do you know the prophecy with the line about the blind Maiden's vision?† â€Å"What, this one?† He quoted: â€Å"Four to stand between the light and the shadow. Four of blue fire, power in their blood. Born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision; Four less one and darkness triumphs.† â€Å"Yeah. What do you think â€Å"born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision' means?† He looked impatient. â€Å"Well, the Maiden has to be Aradia, right?† â€Å"Who's that?† Val interrupted, his linebacker body quivering with interest. Morgead gave Jez one of his humoring-Val looks. â€Å"The Maiden of the Witches,† he said. â€Å"You know, the blind girl? The Maiden part of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone group that rules all the witches? She's only one of the most important people in the Night World-â€Å" â€Å"Oh, yeah. I remember.† Val settled back. â€Å"I agree,† Jez said. â€Å"The blind Maiden has to be Aradia. But what does the ‘year of her vision' mean? How old is this kid we're snatching?† â€Å"About eight, I think.† â€Å"Did Aradia have some special vision eight years ago?† Morgead was staring across the street, now, his eyebrows together. â€Å"How should I know? She's been having visions since she went blind, right? Which means, like, seventeen years' worth of 'em. Who's supposed to tell which one the poem means?† â€Å"What you mean is that you haven't even tried to figure it out,† Jez said acidly. He threw her an evil glance. â€Å"You're so smart; you do it.† Jez said nothing, but she made up her mind to do just that. For some reason, the poem bothered her. Aradia was eighteen now, and had been having visions since she lost her sight at the age of one. Some particular vision must have been special. Otherwise, why would it be included in the prophecy? It had to be important. And part of Jez's mind was worried about it. Just then she saw movement across the street. A brown metal door was opening and two small figures were coming out. One with feathery blond hair, the other with tiny dark braids. They were hand in hand. Something twisted inside Jez. Just stay calm, stay calm, she told herself. It's no good to think about grabbing her and making a run for the East Bay. They'll just follow you; track you down. Stay cool and you'll be able to get the kid free later. Yeah, after Morgead does his little â€Å"test.† But she stayed cool and didn't move, breathing slowly and evenly as Thistle led the other girl down the stairs. When they reached the sidewalk, Jez pressed the starter button. She didn't say â€Å"Now!† She didn't need to. She just peeled out, knowing the others would follow like a flock of well-trained ducklings. She heard their engines roar to life, sensed them behind her in tight formation, and she headed straight for the sidewalk. The Wild Power kid wasn't dumb. When she saw Jez's motorcycle coming at her, she tried to run. Her mistake was that she tried to save Thistle, too. She tried to pull the little blond girl with her, but Thistle was suddenly strong, grabbing the chain-link fence with a small hand like steel, holding them both in place. Jez swooped in and caught her target neatly around the waist. She swooped the child onto the saddle facing her, felt the small body thud against her, felt hands clutch at her automatically for balance. Then she whipped past a parked car, twisted the throttle to get a surge of speed, and flew out of there. Behind her, she knew Raven was snagging Thistle and the others were all following. There wasn't a scream or even a sound from the housing project. They were roaring down Taylor Street. They were passing the high school. They were making it away clean. â€Å"Hang on to me or you'll fall off and get hurt!† Jez yelled to the child in front of her, making a turn so fast that her knee almost scraped the ground. She wanted to stay far enough ahead of the others that she could talk. â€Å"Take me back home!† The kid yelled it, but not hysterically. She hadn't shrieked even once. Jez looked down at her. And found herself staring into deep, velvety brown eyes. Solemn eyes. They looked reproachful and unhappy-but not afraid. Jez was startled. She'd expected crying, terror, anger. But she had the feeling that this kid wouldn't even be yelling if it hadn't been the only way to be heard. Maybe I should have been more worried about what she'll do to us. Maybe she can call blue fire down to kill people. Otherwise, how can she be so composed when she's just been kidnapped? But those brown eyes-they weren't the eyes of somebody about to attack. They were-Jez didn't know what they were. But they wrenched her heart. â€Å"Look-Iona, right? That's your name?† The kid nodded. â€Å"Look, Iona, I know this seems weird and scary- having somebody just grab you off the street. And I can't explain everything now. But I promise you, you're not going to get hurt. Nothing's going to hurt you-okay?† â€Å"I want to go home.† Oh, kid, so do I, Jez thought suddenly. She had to blink hard. Tm going to take you home-or at least someplace safe,† she added, as honesty unexpectedly kicked in. There was something about the kid that made her not want to lie. â€Å"But first we've got to go to a friend of mine's house. But, look, no matter how strange all this seems, I want you to remember something. I won't let you get hurt. Okay? Can you believe that?† â€Å"My mom is going to be scared.† Jez took a deep breath and headed onto the freeway. â€Å"I promise I won't let you get hurt,† she said again. And that was all she could say. She felt like a centaur, some creature that was half person and half steel horse, carrying off a human kid at sixty miles an hour. It was pointless to try to make conversation on the freeway, and Iona didn't speak again until they were roaring up to Morgead's building. Then she said simply, â€Å"I don't want to go in there.† â€Å"It's not a bad place,† Jez said, braking front and back. â€Å"We're going up on the roof. There's a little garden there.† A tiny flicker of interest showed in the solemn brown eyes. Four other bikes pulled in beside Jez. â€Å"Yeeehaw! We got her!† Val yelled, pulling off his helmet. â€Å"Yeah, and we'd better take her upstairs before somebody sees us,† Raven said, tossing her dark hair so it fell over one eye again. Thistle was climbing off the back of Raven's motorcycle. Jez felt the small body in front of her stiffen. Thistle looked at Iona and smiled her sharp-toothed smile. Iona just looked back. She didn't say a word, but after a minute Thistle flushed and turned away. â€Å"So now we're going to test her, right? It's time to test her, isn't it, Morgead?† Jez had never heard Thistle's voice so shrill-so disturbed. She glanced down at the child in front of her, but Morgead was speaking. â€Å"Yeah, it's time to test her,† he said, sounding unexpectedly tired for somebody who'd just pulled off such a triumph. Who'd just caught a Wild Power that was going to make his career. â€Å"Let's get it over with.†

Words Are Mightier Than the Sword

Ayoub Awadalla Prof. Brumfield October 9, 2012 Words Are Mightier Than The Sword The story â€Å"By Any Other Name,† by Santha Rau, explains the memory of the writer’s first and last week as a student at an Anglo-Indian school. Santha Rau speaks about the happy, sad, and embarrassing moments she had in school. She also speaks about how earning a â€Å"valid† education, in western terms, is difficult to achieve in India. When someone is in an environment where it is typical to hear insensitive and irresponsible language, s/he will likely become insensitive and irresponsible.Insensitive and irresponsible speech typically becomes a chain reaction. Once someone speaks or says an insensitive or irresponsible thing, the other person will follow with being insensitive and irresponsible. An example was when Permila, Santha’s older sister, was getting ready to take a test, but the teacher made her and the other Indian kids sit in the back with a desk in between eac h other. The teacher said, â€Å"It was because Indians cheat. Once Permila heard this insensitive statement, she stormed out of her class, marched into Santha’s class and told her â€Å"get up, were going home. † When she got to Santha’s class, the teacher smiled at her in a kindly and encouraging way and said â€Å"now, you’re little Cynthia’s sister? † Permila wore a poker face that did not betray a single emotion. Treating Santha’s teacher with an insensitive way, just like her teacher treated her. Changing a name of a child is a confusing matter for the child to understand.A child is a stranger when it comes down to lying. Most children, from ages of 3-6, are innocent and do not know how to lie. The head mistress changed Permila’s name to Pamela, and Santha’s name to Cynthia. Santha was too young to understand and was okay with the name changing. Permila kept a â€Å"stubborn silence† while Santha replied, à ¢â‚¬Å"thanks you. † And when the teacher asked Santha for her name, she replied, â€Å"I don’t know. † She was confused; thus, did not know if she should say her real name, or the new name she received from the head mistress.This act by the head mistress was very irresponsible. She was too lazy to call Santha, her real name, so she gave her an artificial name. Being rude, insensitive, or speaking irresponsibly to someone will most likely cause him or her to be rude, insensitive, or speak irresponsibly to you too. One must be carful of what s/he speaks, because what comes around, goes around. Just like the head mistress spoke to the girls insensitively and irresponsibly, they both left the school and never went back.

Starbucks Strategy and Internal Initiatives to Return to Profitable Essay

Starbucks Strategy and Internal Initiatives to Return to Profitable Growth - Essay Example Starbucks also seeks to make the company a comfortable and a great place to work. This maintains employee satisfaction at Starbucks, which is done via offering its staff competitive wages, as well as benefits packages that include an option on stocks. Starbucks has been faced with many challenges that have seen its strategy evolve. Starbucks has been faced with many challenges that have seen its strategy evolve. Q. 1) What was Howard Schultz’s original strategic vision for Starbucks? Is his 2010 strategic vision for Starbucks different from the one he had in the 1980s? How many times has his strategic vision changed? Is his present strategic vision likely to undergo further evolution? Howard Schultz’s original plan for Starbucks involved the creation of an Italian style â€Å"espresso bar† retail chain, which would also sell coffee related equipment and the coffee beans, as well as expand the corporation out of Pacific Northwest, inclusive of Chicago (Shah & Thompson, 2010). Schultz envisioned the use of top quality dark roasted coffee beans. Customers could come to the bar to pursue a perfect cup of coffee, getting a worthwhile experience out of it. He also aimed to create a company that would make employees proud of it. Schultz revised the strategy in the 1990’s to add food items to the menu at Starbucks. This led to the growth of new channels of distribution for Starbucks’ products. Additionally, the vision also included the expansions of Starbucks Corporation into foreign markets and institute global branding (Shah & Thompson, 2010). The Starbucks logo was also changed to green from brown in order to symbolize Il Giornale merger with Starbucks, which created the espresso bar and the retail coffee bean store. These stores have become the signature of Starbucks Corporation.  

HS630 Week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HS630 Week 5 - Essay Example The preparedness measures and resource preparedness strategies that need to be executed to prevent and to mitigate the situation to ensure the future going concern of this business include ( Lindell 2006). Risk management procedures should be clearly outlined and operational at all the times during the business operations. This strategy is the key driver towards the implementation of the business response and recovery plans because it boosts the readiness and the preparedness of the business towards major disasters associated with the shipping agency and the liners business. This strategy involves the mobilization of the available resources and acquiring the required facilities to be used upon the eventuality of any disasters. The facilities should include fire stations and trucks, availability of highly trained staff and employees who are able to mitigate both the foreseeable and unforeseeable disaster at the ports as well as the ships in the waters ( Lindell 2006). This strategy involves the identification and the analysis of the cross-sectoral dependencies that exist in the operations of the business. The role of this strategy is to asses the reliability of the business emergency preparedness and the critical infrastructure protection, the established special team is obligated to carry out several test and exercise on the effectiveness and the reliability of the business. A special team is obligated for this task and their report is submitted to the risk management team of the company for further examinations in regard to the critical infrastructure business ( Lindell 2006). The findings on the tests and the conducted exercise are very useful in the decision making of the organization mostly used by the risk management team of the business. Effective and efficient utilization and mobilization of resources is an important aspect in the assessment of various logistics and the overall

How do you feel about what has transpired surrounding the U.S. Supreme Essay

How do you feel about what has transpired surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare (or the Affordable Care Act) - Essay Example They are at liberty to be insured by an agency of their choice. The Act makes healthcare more accessible and affordable to individuals, small business owners and families by reducing premium costs and offering tax relief. It is termed the biggest middle level tax reduction in history of healthcare (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 1). Members of the middle class who do not have healthcare coverage will now be compelled to contribute towards the insurance coverage of the rest of the people. This has a beneficial effect to all because a majority of the citizens will end up paying less than what they would have otherwise been required to pay, including those in the middle class. I see no justification in opposing an Act that provides all these benefits, apart from selfish political interests that would rather exclude the poor from accessing healthcare to ensure a comfortable life for the rest. America is the only developed country that leaves out millions of its poorest popula tion from healthcare (Liptak 1). The approval of this Act will be a bridge between the poor and a decent healthcare program. The Act regulates the insurance industry by setting and imposing rules that discourage abuse. It forbids insurance companies from denying insurance coverage to citizens who have pre existing health conditions while according insurance clients power to appeal an insurance company’s assessment that deny treatments ordered by doctors (Liptak 1). I feel this sets a ground for all industry players while giving citizens on of their basic rights. I feel the Act is not discriminatory. It extends Medicaid and treats all States equally.  It has also preserved the children’s insurance plan and made enrollment for individuals and families much simpler (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 1). Americans with disabilities also stand to gain as the Act enhances community based care for them. Expanding home care to those with long term needs of

Critical review of article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical review of article - Essay Example This type of stereotyping has had adverse affect on men’s healthcare and alienated men from healthcare. He stresses the need for new healthcare and policies for men that are without any biases and tailored to need their particular requirements be they children, young men or grandfathers. Published by Earthscan in 2005, London J.J Macdonald’s book â€Å"Environments for Health† contains many arguments on the affect of social environments on health and in â€Å"A salutogenic approach to men’s health† (Ch. 6) he focuses on men’s healthcare. For Macdonald salutogenic health includes psychological and environmental factors, encompassing an interest in the lives of people: their physical, emotional, fiscal and cultural environment. Macdonald believes that any public health approach should address the needs for prevention of disease and access to health care of all categories including children, women, elderly people or men. He feels men’s health is a neglected field. He concentrates on the issue of men’s healthcare and the biases surrounding it. It is rather that in any population health approach one should adopt an overall systems look at the needs for prevention and access to care of different groups in their own right, whether children, women, older people or men. An objective view of the health needs and status of any population will lead to the inclusion of men’s health issues as a matter of course. He concentrates on the social position of men vis-à  -vis their health, how factors like stress, status, poverty, violence and gender bias negatively affect provision of necessary healthcare. (Macdonald, 2005) The first thing Macdonald notes is that men’s healthcare is focused on disease rather than men in general and that men are perceived to â€Å"behave badly† i.e. the general stereotyping of men is that they are violent, abusive and neglectful of their bodies and health.. So heart

Education Can Have Profound Affects On Students Identity Essay

Education Can Have Profound Affects On Students Identity - Essay Example This can be simply assessed by the negative or pessimistic behavior that those students might have about life or other people. They might develop negative or pessimistic attitudes even about God or they might come up with deep feelings of angst, fear and guilt or an insane preoccupation in relation to sin. So it is obvious that any worldview shapes the actions and guides the behaviors of its beholder. What is learned in school will eventually surface in life or in the identity of the students. In this line of thought, school administrators and teachers should be extremely careful on the contents and ways of managing any learning institution. It is also necessary to find solutions in the direction of implementing change and transformation in the inner circles of faculty and staff. One specific educational issue that it's being address lately with due emphasis is the achievement gap among different groups of students according to economic, political and social backgrounds. In the United States this educational issue has taken a radical turn after President George W. Bush and his Administration passed as law the "No Child Left Behind Act 2001". This new law is aimed at improving the performance of all students in the United States and it firmly stresses that it is necessary to ensure that no student gets trapped in a failing school. Among its new features, the No Child Left Behind Act includes "increased accountability for States, school districts, and schools; greater choice for parents and students, particularly those attending low-performing schools; more flexibility for States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the use of Federal education dollars; and a stronger emphasis on reading, especially for our youngest children." (No Children Left Behind, 200 4). On the other hand, The Education Trust was established in 1990 by the American Association for Higher Education, and it aims that all students at all levels of education get a high academic achievement in order to close forever the achievement gaps that separate minority or poverty-stricken students from the most favored class of students. This institution is positively engaged in closing the achievement gap among all the students in the United States at all costs. Craig Jerald, Senior Policy Analyst at the Education Trust, sums up his research on this issue with the significant result that shows that "there are thousands of schools nationwide that have poverty rates and/or minority enrollments in the top third of their respective states and also had top-third scores on one or more state assessments." (Jerald, 2002). Jerald and Kati Haycok, Director of The Education Gap, suggested that a school system won't be judged as successful unless it teaches successfully all kinds of students. They also stated that "despite what many administrators learned in graduate school, newer, more sophisticated research shows that it is not just poverty or family background that determines student achievement. What schools do does matter." (Jerald & Haycok, 2002). Their recommendations are based on a common agenda of five priority points: 1.- The Bully Pulpit: Take responsibility for raising achievement and closing achievement gaps-in word and deed. 2.- Standards: Use standards to reshape instruction. 3.- Curriculum: Provide all students with a rigorous

The Speed of Trust part 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Speed of Trust part 3 - Essay Example She tells the truth no matter what the situation is. Her ability to talk straight confers basic elements to her that influences the successe of the unit. This element has led to improved manager’s relationships with the staff (Covey, & Merrill, 2009). The current manager ensures that the unit operates within the allocated budget while delivering results. The manager ensures successful completion of projects within the scope and expected results. She ensures this through controlling risks and timely performance (Covey, & Merrill, 2009). The manager takes enormous responsibility of showing loyalty by giving credit to all the contributors who ensure success in the unit. She identifies individual contribution and does not hesitate to show loyalty to the staff. She supports the workforce in their endeavors, and she takes the side of the workforce in case of disputes with the management (Covey, & Merrill, 2009). I think the manager should improve on her listening ability. For instance, an individual or staff could approach her in the halls with an issue or problem. During the conversation, she walks as the staff expresses her problems; she gives short answers, an indication that she is not attentive. On other occasions, I have tried to explain a situation after which the manager seems to have formed her own conclusion (Covey, & Merrill, 2009). The manager has an attribute of having limited trust with the workers. 90% of the workforce speaks her language, however, at some instances, she speaks a different language when with her deputy, or she sits to eat with a group of nurses. She should learn to extend her trust to the staff members (Covey, & Merrill, 2009). Another attribute that I think the manager should change is her ability to demonstrate respect. For instance, workers may smile or say polite things, but she ignores them. Such an attribute demonstrates her lack of respect. A staff member

Evaluative Review Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluative Review Assignment - Essay Example Recommendations Organize with parents to address ways to identify if their child has destructive tendencies According to Jimerson and Furlong (2006), this is a better way of dealing with a student’s aggressive behavior. Parents are better positioned to evaluate their children mannerisms and take the necessary measures. Education about the signs of this behavior will assist parents in taming their misdemeanor. Application of this will streamline a student’s morals and methods of associating with others. Parents are occasionally determinants of a child’s character development. Therefore, their children are more likely to take heed of their advice. Metal Detectors According to Jimerson and Furlong (2006), the employment of a metal detector in searches is highly advisable. It is in the interest of all students that this practice is approved. Some students who have malicious intentions towards the teaching staff or fellow comrades are capable of carrying weapons to th is effect. However, persons who do it should not abuse this activity. This measure will definitely discourage students from transporting harmful objects to schools. Metal detectors have proven effective in sectors such as airports and highly guarded government institutions. It has reduced potential threats such as terrorism and smuggling. Follow the law The law is a guideline of limitations and freedoms we should exercise. Teachers are to exercise acceptable disciplining methods of students who have behavioral cases (Conoley and Goldstein 2004). Disciplinary punishment should be implemented to the extent instructed by law. Excessive use of force in disciplinary cases often initiates some violent and rude behaviors from students. This can have extensive consequences as the student can resort to unconventional ways of coming even. Conoley also suggests that statistically, in many cases students win legal cases concerning discipline and the institution suffers the embarrassment. Teache rs should be more cautious on this issue. Training School Staff The schools staff both administrative and non-administrative is instrumental in ensuring proper safety precautions are adhered to (Conoley and Goldstein, 2004).Violence is impartial and occurs randomly in view of the supposition that it is intricate to determine a person’s intentions. Students have developed clever ways to conceal their intentions. Therefore, the staff including teachers, train guards and drivers should focus on violence prevention. The staff should be trained to take steps promptly when violence occurs. This will help them mitigate the adverse effects that associate to this vice. They should also be trained to detect destructive behavior in the initial stages thus enabling them prevents unavoidable that was to happen. According to Daniels and Bradley (2011), ignorance of the staff of growing tensions between students is what leads to the columbine High school riot. Violent incidences were ignore d based on the perpetrators social status in the institution. This allowed the popular and senior students assault their fellow junior scholars uncontrollably. The intimidated student’s collective anger led to the rampage. The staff was vindicated on their negligence of the spiteful activities that were occurring in that institution. Establishment of Good Trust relationship with Students According to Daniels and Bradley (2011), most of the students who partake in these acts have

Determining the Rate Equation of a Reaction Essay Example for Free

Determining the Rate Equation of a Reaction Essay The aim of this experiment is to determine the rate equation for the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid using the order of the reaction with respect to each of the reagents. HCl (aq) + Na2S2O3 (aq) 2NaCl (aq) + SO2 (g) + S (s) When Hydrochloric acid is added to sodium thiosulphate, a solid ppt of sulphur is formed. I will use this to judge when the reaction has ended. The rate equation for this reaction is R = k [HCl]x [Na2S2O3]y In this equation: R = the rate of reaction k = the rate constant x and y = order of reaction with respect to HCl and Na2S2O3 (e. g. 0, 1, 2 etc) [HCl] = the concentration of HCl [Na2S2O3] = the concentration of Na2S2O3 My experiment will enable me to calculate x and y through plotting the volume against the reciprocal of the time it takes for the ppt to form. Preliminary work: The demonstration done by my teacher show that 50 cm3 of thiosulphate and 20 cm3 of deionised water mixed with 5cm3 of hydrochloric acid took 14.93 seconds to form the ppt. I will use this as a guide to decide which set of concentrations I will use to get a reasonable time which I can plot. When I implement my plan, I will plot my results. Using the shape of the graph, I will then deduce the order of the reaction. The following graphs show the shapes I should get for each order of a reaction. I am not changing the volume of hydrochloric acid because I want to test the effect of changing the concentration of the sodium thiosulphate to be able to find out the order of the reaction with respect to the sodium thiosulphate. Apparatus: * White tile with X in the middle. I will place my reacting solution on this white tile and time until the cross can no longer be seen. * Stop watch to time the experiment * Stirring rod * 5 cm3 measuring cylinder to measure the hydrochloric acid * Two 50 cm3 burette to measure the deionised water and the sodium thiosulphate as it is more accurate than a measuring cylinder. * One 250 cm3 conical flask into which I will mix my reagents * Two funnels to full my burettes, which I will remove before looking at the meniscus. * I will be supplied with deionised water, HCl and Na2S2O3 Concentrations: Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Run 4 Run 5 Na2S2O3 (cm3) 50 45 40 35 30 Deionised Water (cm3) 20 35 30 35 40 Variables: Fixed Independent Dependent Temperature: the experiment will be done at room temperature. I will control the temperature because changing the temperature changes the rate which will affect me results. Concentration of HCl: I will keep this constant because I can only change the concentration of one reagent to see the effect this has on the rate. If I change both reagents I will not be able to tell the order of the reaction is with respect to which reagent. The white tile and cross: changing this might affect my visibility of the cross and the time. Total volume: I will keep this the same to ensure a fair experiment and the same visibility due to smaller volumes being more shallow and I might see the ppt at different times. My independent variable is the volume of the sodium thiosulphate. By altering the volume and adding deionised water, I am changing the concentration. This will enable me to observe how this will affect the rate of the reaction The dependent variable is the time taken for the cross to disappear. Method: 1. fill one of the 50 cm3 burette with sodium thiosulphate and the other with deionised water using the funnel and remove funnel before looking at meniscus. The bottom of the meniscus should be on the zero line. 2. measure into the conical flask the exact amount stated in the table above of the sodium thiosulphate and the water for run 1. 3. measure using the 5 cm3 cylinder 5 cm3 of HCl. 4. place the conical flask on the white tile with the cross 5. add the hydrochloric acid and start the stop clock. 6. stir the mixture briefly. 7. look at the conical flask from the top and stop the stop clock as soon as the cross is no longer visible. 8. write the time taken in the table. 9. repeat steps 1-8 for the other runs. I will then convert the times into rates by doing 1/t. this will go along my y-axis. The volume of the sodium thiosulphate will go along the x-axis. Based on the shape of my graph I will then decide what the order of the reaction is with respect to the sodium thiosulphate. Safety: Chemical Hazards HCl Solutions equal to or stronger than 2 mol dm-3 but weaker than 6.5 mol dm-3 are IRRITANT. Na2S2O3 Sodium thiosulphate may be harmful if you swallow it. It may also irritate the eyes or lungs. Eye contact: Flush the eye with plenty of water. If irritation persists, call for medical help. Skin contact: Wash off with water. If swallowed: If the amount swallowed is not trivial, call for medical help. SO2 Major hazard : Inhalation Odour : Pungent and Irritating S Contact with the eyes can cause irritation. The solid may also irritate the lungs if breathed in. Sulphur burns to give toxic gases, so should not be burnt in the open laboratory. Wear safety glasses. Solid sulphur should pose only minor hazards unless heated to a temperature at which it will burn. Safety glasses required. NaCl May cause eye irritation. Reference: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/sciences/Chemistry/Miscellenous/Helpfile/Kinetics/Rateorder.htm Chemistry 2 Cambridge Advanced Sciences Endorsed by OCR page 109 http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/~hmc/hsci/chemicals/sodium_thiosulphate.html