Can an eye for an eye be morally justified Essay - 2

Can an eye for an eye be morally justified - Essay Example Beginning with the premise that killing someone is a barbaric act solves nearly half the problems. But then again, this has to be comprehended in due course of time and through different events. An eye for an eye will actually make the entire world blind and this globe would be filled with disabled people all around. Hence an eye for an eye concept simply nosedives for obvious reasons. When people start killing each other, the entire society comes to a standstill. There are families which lose out on their loved ones and then there are individuals who suffer because they have started missing a near and dear one within their lives. There is so much trouble happening within the world of today that it is next to impossible to fathom what exactly is going about. The people are fighting amongst themselves and thus killing each other because they feel this is the best way to find solace. I am vehemently against this dictum because it spells out negativity from the very outset of these nuan ces. There are individuals who will go all out in even a small dispute or moment of disparity. They will do everything to get their message heard and make their own selves the much-cherished winners. This, according to them, can only be done through killing the opponent – an act that is not only unacceptable but also barbaric in the sheerest sense. It makes life miserable for just about everyone within the society and gives a whole new meaning to the philosophy of living and letting others live as well.

Gladiator Powerplay Essay Example for Free

Gladiator Powerplay Essay Gladiator is a film about Maximus, a roman general who was to be the next emperor, succeeding Aurelius. Aurelius’ son Commodus gets angry and jealous at the fact that he was not chosen by his father to be next in line. He then proceeds to kill his father and orders Maximus to be killed. Maximus flees but finds out that his family has been murdered. He later gets enslaved and becomes a gladiator, where he trains under Proximo who also was a former gladiator. He then starts a journey to get the peoples power and to gain revenge over the person who killed his own family (Commodus). Imperial or political power play * Maximus has to gain the trust and power from the general public * Commodus is jealous that he did not get picked as the next emperor * Maximus is shown as being fearless which makes the crowd like him even more * Maximus has nothing to lose, so Commodus can’t do any more damage to his public image * Maximus was shown to be a noble and powerful Roman general Power play in relationships * Maximus and Commodus has a strong tension to show each other who has more power * Commodus and Aurelius had a bitter relationship and ended in Commodus murdering Aurelius * Maximus and Proximo where Maximus had learnt to become a fearless gladiator * Commodus’s guards and Proximo, where Proximo gets murdered * The People and Commodus

Military, Army and War - Military Down Sizing and the Fall of a Great N

Military Down Sizing:   The Possible Fall of a Great Nation       America is one the most powerful nations in the world.   Being a strong nation includes having a strong military as well as economy.   As one can observe, the U. S. economy is growing by leaps and bounds.   However, the military is being down sized, and if we do not do something about it, it will continue to be down sized until we have an armed force that will no longer be capable of protecting this great nation.   Not only will this down sizing affect our ability to protect ourselves, it will also cause a substantial loss in economic strength and power abroad.   Because military down sizing lessens our power abroad, opens the United States up to a possible invasion, and hurts our economy, the military must be maintained in order to ensure a strong, healthy nation both abroad and on the home front for many centuries to come.    Military down sizing is increasing at a rapid rate.   This down sizing is primarily due to budget cuts.   Since the peak of Korean war spending in 1953, military spending has declined in twenty-five of the last thirty-seven years.   The build up for Vietnam was short and followed by an equivalent build down.   The Carter-Reagan buildup was longer but smaller than the one for Vietnam, and is currently being succeeded by a new build down (Brauer 299).   If history keeps repeating itself, the United States military will continue to build up and then hinder this build up with an even greater build down.   As a result the U.S. sustains a weaker more vulnerable armed force.    The military's inability to provide its men and women with sufficient transportation is also a problem caused by budget cuts.   Many military trucks represent technolo... ...must always be ready for the least expected.       Works Cited    Brauer, Jurgen, and Manas Chatterji, eds.   Economic Issues of Disarmament.   New York:   New York University Press, 1993. Federation of American Scientists.   Ed. Marcus Corbin. "The New Threats Argument."   February 2000.   27 February 2000  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  <http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/mswg/msbb/new.html>. Hinkle, Jeffrey J.   "Funding the New, Fixing the Old holds the Future for Tactical Trucks."   National Defense 82 (1997-1998): 32-34. Kaminski, Paul G.   "Building a Ready Force for the 21st Century."   Defense Issues 11 (1996): 1-4. Rosello, Lieutenant Colonel Victor M.   "Predicting the Unpredictable."   Military Review 75 (1994-1995): 127-129. Sandler, Todd, and Keith Hartley, eds.   The Economics of Defense.   New York:   Cambridge University Press, 1995.      

Comparing T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickins :: essays papers

Comparing TS Eliot and Charles Dickins The poetry written by Thomas Stearns Eliot, Portrait of a Lady has a strong connection with the novel by Henry James. Both deal with almost the same issues. In the poem Eliot talks about how a person will live his or her life during the 19th century. How they would always do exactly what was considered right during that era in society. Eliot mention how rare and strange it is to find true friends. In the novel everyone pretend to be your best friend and was only using the person to benefit something for his or her own convections (Lozano, 2). You do not know how much they mean to me, My friends, and how, How rare and strange it is, to find In a life composed so much, So much of odds and ends (Eliot 19-21). Many people during the 19th century really made friends so that they can have more people coming to their tea parties, one of the things that are mention in the poem as well as in the novel (Lozano, 3). Isabel Archer was considered to be a very innocent lady; she was being taken advantage so that others can get what they wanted when all she wanted was a real friend. Madame Merle was a clever woman who used her to get money for her daughter (Henry, 181). Repeatedly saying in this poem that he will serve tea to his â€Å"friends†. He is saying that in this era there was no such thing as a real friend even though everyone wanted one of his or her own. For everybody said so, all our friends, They all were sure our feelings would relate So closely! I myself can hardly understand. We must leave it now to fate.

One Hot Pot

This was a birthday to be remembered. It had been two years since I had seen my dad, half brother, and stepmom. They came to visit from Los Angeles the week of my birthday. It was also days before Christmas. I knew this birthday was going to be special because I couldn’t remember the last time we were all together for my birthday or Christmas. I’m thankful for the special birthday dinner I had with my family. On the day of my birthday, I had to go to work. After work, I hurried home to get ready for dinner. We all met at my sister’s house at 6:30 P. M.  When I walked inside, nobody was ready. Everyone including my nieces, nephew, sister, and brothers were busy watching television or playing on their I phones. I looked around and saw my dad and stepmom in the kitchen preparing food. I asked them, â€Å"what are you guys doing? † and my dad said, â€Å"I’ve decided to have dinner at home instead of going out to eat. † I thought that was a great idea because I would rather spend quality time with them at home instead of at the restaurant. Then I started to look around to see what he was making. I saw a big pot of boiling stock. At that point, I knew we were having a hot pot. Hot pot consisted of simmering a metal pot of stock placed at the center of the dining table which was fueled by a portable butane gas stove. While the hot pot was simmering, ingredients were placed into the pot and were cooked at the table. Ahhh†¦. I was so excited about the evening because hot pot was one of my favorites. The weather was cold and raining outside while the hot pot was simmering which made the house felt warm and cozy. There was no better meal for this particular day than a hot pot. My dad took all day to prepare the food. He cut and cleans various uncooked items including meat (lamb, beef, chicken, and duck), vegetables (bok choi, bean sprout, daikon, tofu, tomatoes, taro, lettuce, and mushroom), seafood (fish, squid, lobster, prawn, crab, clam, and oyster. ) He had to pull apart the crabs, scrub the clams, and shuck the oysters from the shell; preparing the food was the most difficult part of the meal. Finally it was time for dinner. Everyone started to load the food individually into the hot cooking broth with their chopsticks. When the food was cooked in the pot, it was usually eaten with a dipping sauce. My favorite was the clams, so I grabbed a lot of clams and loaded it into the pot with the strainer and gently placed it over the boiling water and watched the clams open. Once they opened, I placed them in my bowl and started to dig in. Hot pot wasn’t like any regular meal because it could last for hours. Everyone would eat or wait for the food to cook while talking with each other. Even after I was full and I would sit there and listen to everyone talk and then I got hungry again. We would usually eat late into the night when we had hot pot for dinner. I couldn’t imagine a better time than Christmas time to be with my family sitting around at the dinner table admiring each other. Besides my dad and step mom, my oldest sister, three older brothers, a half brother and my sister’s five children were there. Even my mom and step dad came over to celebrate and some of my cousins too. Because of my parent’s divorce, it took a lot for all of us to be sitting around the same table. This meal was unforgettable.

How to Create a Reaction Paper

How to Create a Reaction Paper How to Write a Response Paper The reaction paper is a critical review containing a critical analysis of the analysis and evaluation of a dissertation, a monograph, a scientific article, or any other scientific work. The review is a secondary text, the result of the processing of information contained in the original text. It performs informative and evaluation functions, that is, provides for informing, acquaintance with scientific work, assessment, and reflection in a scientific society of certain knowledge. The feature of this document is the ability to communicate, conduct a dialogue (often imaginary) between the reviewer and the author of the work, the reviewer and the readers. The author of the review can show his or her personal values, he or she acts as an analyst or polemicist, who, with knowledge of the case, evaluates the original document, submits comments, gives advice and recommendations, and initiates a scientific dialogue. Writing such an essay requires study of reaction papers for improving writing skills, as well as the analysis of a scientific article, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, determining the relevance of the topic and the scientific novelty of the research results. The Essence of Critical Analysis Critical analysis is an important part of the modern scientific process. For the progress of science, it is critical that the research methods and results are studied in detail in order to decide on the best direction for the development of the future research. If the study was reviewed and accepted for publication, scientists and readers could be sure that the article meets certain standards and the research can be trusted. (Modern science is based mainly on publications in scientific periodicals; therefore, if a scientist publishes an inferior study or makes a mistake in calculations, experiments, or conclusions, it may lead to errors in further research by other scientists). In the process of analyzing the article can become:More reliable. Reviewers may indicate gaps in the authors work, which require more detailed explanation or additional experiments. Easier for perception. If some moments in the work of the author are difficult for the reader to perceive, reviewers may ask to correct them. More useful. Reviewers examine the authors research on the subject matter of their subject area.The Main Stages of Writing a Paper To achieve a successful result, the following steps are required when writing the reaction paper rubrics. Find out which scientific problem the author tries to solve. Keep in mind that a scientific problem is a form of knowledge whose content is something that is not yet known by man. In other words, the scientific problem is the knowledge about ignorance, a question that arises in the process of knowledge and requires an answer. The issue as knowledge of ignorance reflects the negative moment of the problem situation, which indicates the limited cognitive and practical capabilities of the subject in a certain stage of development of cognition. However, it is also a means and method of finding new knowledge. Problems themselves arise either as a result of a collision of the theory with observation, with practical activity or as a result of contradictions in a certain theory. Understand the purpose of the article and set the task of the researcher. Does it answer a scientific problem? Can the author solve it completely or in some aspects? What scientific methods are used by the researcher and for what aspects of research? Is the use of these methods justified; are they suitable for solving a scientific problem? Evaluate the reliability of the sources, the feasibility of their use, and the degree of independence of the provisions caught by the author of the study. In this stage, you will have to work out the bibliographic list of the article, find out the degree of scientific development of the problem and evaluate the contribution of the actor of the article. Write about what is your opinion about the value of the research. Can its results be used in practice? How? Can the findings of the author be the basis for further research? Can the publication be useful to students? Can it be interesting for a wide range of readers? Rules of Reaction Papers Creation After you have received motivated answers to all your questions, start writing a reaction paper. Remember that writing a review requires time. This is a thoughtful review of the text after reading and re-reading several times. First, you should read the text, note the most important moments, re-read it, and then start considering its content and your impressions again. As a special type of text, the reaction paper has certain features. First, like all other scientific papers, it has a specific format. Second, the review contains assessments, positive or negative, but evaluations must be substantiated. Given that the reaction paper contains ratings, they should be submitted in accordance with the rules of communication. Negative evaluations are not allowed to be expressed in a sharp form, without certain evidence. It is not allowed to express negative evaluations to the authors of scientific work but only to the material of the statement. The volume of the reaction paper should be about 700-800 words. The work must contain the title of the document, the authors surname and initials, the publication year, the pages on which the article is posted, the text, which should be presented in an arbitrary form, an analysis and evaluation of the article, a general opinion on the peer-reviewed text, date and surname and initials of the reviewer. Critical Approaches In the process of critical analysis of a scientific article, it is useful to think from the point of view of three different groups of people.Authors. The scientist needs to review the article in the way that he or she would like other reviewers to analyze his or her own work. Suppose the authors do their best to write good quality work, but they need an objective view from the side, help in identifying problems with methods, analyzing, or submitting the material itself. Editor of the scientific journal. For the editor of the magazine, the critically important are the comments on the relevance and scientific novelty of work, which the scientist is reviewing. Editors want to publish only high-quality documents in their magazine. When selecting such documents, the editor needs expert help to determine if research is at an appropriate level within the subject area. Reviewers help editors improve the quality of a publication before they are published in the journal. Readers. The scientist needs to identify places that require clarification or more detailed description so that readers can easily understand the work. As a reviewer, a scientist can save readers time by removing insignificant parts of the article or by correcting mistakes in research.There are several questions to answer before starting work on reaction paper: Is the scientists qualification sufficient? Does the author have enough time to correct the article? It should be remembered that reviewing is an important contribution to science, along with research and teaching, so it is worth devoting enough time and effort to this process. Are there any potential conflicts of interest? The scientist should evaluate the work as clearly and objectively as possible. Potential conflicts of interest include:The reviewer or the author may suffer financially (developing a reviewer is a competing product). The reviewer has strong personal feelings (positive or negative) to one of the authors (for example, a former teacher of the writer). The scientist published articles with one of the authors of the article.Knowing these rules and recommendations, you can create a good critical article (a reaction paper). Your writing skills will improve; it will contribute to your success in college. Try your hand at writing an essay and you will see that this is an interesting and cognitive activity.

DNA Structure and Function Lab Report Essays

DNA Structure and Function Lab Report Essays DNA Structure and Function Lab Report Paper DNA Structure and Function Lab Report Paper Complementary bases Guanine is the complementary base of cytosine, and adenine is the implementers base of thymine in DNA and of oracular in RNA Double helix A pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis, especially that in the structure of the DNA molecule. EXERCISE 1 -DNA structure Which carbon atom (position) in the sugar forms a covalent bond with the nitrogen base? The 1 carbon Which carbon atoms of dextrose bond with the phosphate molecule? 4 carbon and 5 carbon Which bases will pair with one another? Adenine will pair only with Thymine Cytosine Guanine In the figure below, write the letters that stand for the complementary bases in the double-stranded DNA puzzle. Indicate the number of hydrogen bonds between the complementary base pairs by dotted lines. Complementary DNA nucleotide strands The phosphate group at the top on the left strand is attached to which carbon atom (position) in the sugar? Which carbon atom of ribose would be attached to the next phosphate group added to the bottom of the left strand? It is attached to the OH group on the 5-carbon. Bottom left -OH is attached to 3 carbon. Which carbon atom of ribose would be attached to the next phosphate group that will be added to the top of the right strand? Which carbon atom of ribose is attached to the bottom right phosphate group? Carbon on top, 5 on bottom. What do you notice about the direction in which each strand is oriented? The left strand is from 5 to 3 and the right strand runs from 3 to 5; they go in opposite directions. II. DNA Replication DNA replication During the S stage of enterprise, each molecule of DNA makes an exact copy of itself. Origin. The place where the enzymes open up the double helix strand of DNA. Semi- conservative replication Saving a half of the old strand and constructing a new one alongside. EXERCISE 2 DNA replication How much of the newly formed DNA molecule is new and how much is the original strand? What term is used for this type of replication? 8 original and 8 new. How often in the life of a cell does replication occur? Only once. Explain the purpose of replication. The purpose is for each cell to make exactly one copy of itself. In the figures below, write the letters A, T, C, G representing the nitrogen base compounds on the two replicated DNA molecules. Label the old and the new strands. Did the nitrogen base sequence change in DNA replication? No, it remained the same. Ill. RNA Structure RNA A type of nucleic acid. EXERCISE 3 comparison of DNA and RNA How are ribose and dextrose sugar molecules similar and different? Similar Both are sugar molecules. Different Ribose is a compound of RNA and dextrose is a component of DNA. Why is the sugar molecule in DNA called dextrose and the sugar in RNA called ribose? Note the number of oxygen atoms. Ribose has more oxygen. Which bases are included in the DNA molecule? CAT Which bases are included in the RNA molecule? JUG C What do you notice about the number of strands making up each molecule? RNA had 1 and DNA had 2 Record your findings comparing DNA and RNA. DNA Sugar 8 4 Bases Strands 2 IV. RNA Synthesis Genetic code Contained in the DNA molecule, the genetic code consists of three bases in a sequence along one strand of the DNA. Transcription The process of assembling RNA using a DNA molecule as a template. RNA Messenger RNA tarn Transfer RNA RNA Ribosomal RNA Triplet A series of three bases on the DNA molecule Code Each three base sequence on a strand of Mrs.. EXERCISE 4 RNA synthesis (transcription) Write in the DNA strand according to the instructions given. Next, write the letters for the base sequence of Mrs.. In the spaces below DNA c 5 Mrs.. 3 Considering the structure of the nuclear envelope, how does the Mrs.. Exit the nucleus? It t ravels out of the nucleus through the nuclear pores. To transcribe means to copy. Is the RNA transcribed from DNA an exact copy? If not, what are the differences? The transcribed RNA is not an exact copy. RNA is single and Oracular replaces the thymine base. What happens to the original DNA section after RNA is transcribed from it? The DNA will re-bond with its complementary bases. Distinguish between replication and transcription. Replication is the exact copy while transcription uses DNA as a template but the structures are different. V. Protein Synthesis Translation An Mrs.. Sequence is read using the genetic code, which is a set of rules that defines how an Mrs.. Sequence is to be translated into the 20-letter code of mini acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.

Flow Rate Lab Report

Flow Rate Lab Report Open Channel Flow ExperimentLab Report0904974This experiment investigated the area/velocity method and turbine flow meter method of calculating flow rate. Its aim was to compare accuracy and practical usage for each method. Initial hypotheses predicted that the turbine flow meter would have a higher level of accuracy than the area/velocity method. This was confirmed by the results. It was concluded that for high accuracy a turbine flow meter would be better suited however as it can only be installed within a pipe it would be unsuitable for many natural environments such as a river.IntroductionOn the 29th October 2013 an open channel flow experiment took place within the university lab. During this experiment the flow rate was measured in a tank using two methods. These were the area/velocity method and the turbine flow meter method. The purpose of this was to gather results to compare the accuracy and analyse the potential benefits and drawbacks of each method.Initial hypotheses were that the turbine flow meter would be more accurate as there are few opportunities for human error whilst conducting the experiment.Risk AssessmentA risk assessment was completed before the experiment began. This was discussed by the group and lecturer present. Everyone was made aware of the health and safety protocols should Any incidents occur.Materials and MethodSee Appendix 1Data and ResultsShown in Figure 1 are the results found by completing each experiment and completing the calculations to obtain the total flow rate. These are then plotted on the graph in Figure 2.Area/Velocity 1(Before Weir)Area/Velocity 2(After Weir)Turbine Flow Meter(Direct Flow)Flow(m3/s)(m3/s)(m3/s)10.01620.01850.015020.01440.01760.013330.01340.01590.011740.01180.01280.010050.00910.01190.008360.00850.00850.006770.00730.00640.005080.00710.00690.0033Figure 1: Calculated Results of experiments Figure 2: Graphical Comparison of ResultsFor full table of data - see Appendix 2Discussion"The modern axial turbin e flow meter is a reliable device capable of providing the highest accuracies attainable by any currently available flow sensor Typical measurement repeatability is 0.1% of reading". (J.G. Webster, 1998)Assuming the turbine flow meter is calibrated correctly it is likely to be highly accurate therefore it displays some inaccuracy in the area/velocity method. Although it does show a definite trend matching the turbine flow meter reading.Several human errors were made during the area/velocity experiment. Firstly, it can be shown (Francis and Minton, 1984) that the average velocity in the vertical occurs at 0.63 depth below the surface. This was printed incorrectly in the lab paper as 0.4 below surface (0.6 from bottom).Any human errors which may have occurred were compounded by the scale of the turbine velocity meter not being small enough. Consequently, the turbine used to measure the water velocity was not fully submerged during some parts of the experiment. This included all measur ements after the weir and a few of the lower flow rates at 0.2 of the depth (minimum 0.0340m).AnalysisThe turbine meter flow method would be more suited to installations in situations where there is a high demand for accuracy and a liquid flowing through a pipe where it can be installed. It can be used within a water supply or a in a factory however it could not be installed into a stream or river without severe environmental impacts.The area/velocity method would however be more suited to use in a natural environment without any major environmental impacts; providing a good representation of the flow rate and highlighting any changes occurring.ConclusionOverall there are positive and negative points to each method of measuring open channel flow. The turbine flow meter is highly accurate but requires installation into a pipe and the area/velocity can be easily set up and removed in a river or stream however it is less accurate than the turbine flow meter.ReferencesJ.G. Webster (ed.) , The Measurement, Instrumentation and Sensors Handbook, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Dec. 1998.

American Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Education - Assignment Example Eastern education is influenced more by spirituality and religion. On the other hand, Native American’s education is more focused on re-educating the students in the Western school of thought. The dominating culture of the West has been a primary focus on American’s education, thus, the culture of the natives are discouraged since the dominant culture believes that their education and knowledge is better or more inclined to the truth than the traditional ways of the natives. Though, there have been programs to re-establish the traditional concepts and schools of thought of the native, more inclined to a balance of nature and self (Demmert, 1994). Another striking difference in the education system of the West and the East is the structure. Eastern education is more teacher-centered, wherein the teacher has the ultimate authority in a classroom setting. Western education, on the other hand, is more student-centered and focus on class participation and interaction. Teacher-centered education gives high expectations and student-centered is more focused on the values that are imparted to its students (LePage and Sockett, 2002). This basically shows that a student-centered setting is more effective in the Western education since it is more focused on individualism and reason. However, the Eastern educational system has learned to strike a balance of these two in order to produce better and more productive

What is existentialism in the art world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What is existentialism in the art world - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that existentialism can be described as a philosophy that came about during the occupation together with the French post-war era of 1945.This was an era of great transformation with the atrocities and aftermath of the World War II leaving Europeans and possibly the whole world’s population re-examining the significance of their existence and simultaneously being confronted by not only death, nuclear threat but also mass destruction. During the post-war era, existentialism spread through to all aspects of mainline modern-day thinking which saw a general interest for explaining man’s place within the field of things being developed. The greatest exponent of existentialism Jean-Paul Satre took Martin Heidegger’s and Soren Kierkegaard's texts and re-examined and added them to a contemporary existentialism philosophy. Other prominent existentialists comprise Genet, Beckett, Camus, Ponty, Ponge as well as Simone de Beauvoir w ho was also Sartre’s partner. Thus, the post-war climate brought with it not only a new but also devastating dimension for the person as well as the world politics. The philosophy of existentialism is closely related to art production. Thus according to Sartre, the consciousness of man is subjective and therefore can never objectively become aware of its own self except via â€Å"Other’s gaze†. Consequently, if other individuals act as mirrors, then it means the work of art too can be viewed as a mirror.

Professional practice and ethics real estate Essay

Professional practice and ethics real estate - Essay Example This study focuses attention on real estate academics and practitioners, process to identify important real estate topics. First, while we explore the natural descriptions and definitions of various terms, we aim to interpret and describe a specific case study raising concerns on professional ethics. Then, in the second phase, the full list of potential solution, responses are collated from different perspectives and for the benefit of various stakeholders - clients, public and the real estate associate.The primary focus here is to be reflective about values, ethics and professionalism in daily practice of real estate. This article not only considers the development of national and international standards for valuers, it also examines briefly the variations and differences in market practice arising from variations in law, culture and custom while acknowledging the general acceptance internationally of the prevalent meaning of market value and ethics by global standards.While urban d evelopment is always political and about values, power is present in all decisions, which might be productive or otherwise and the general assumption in terms of democracy that a public good can be achieved.There is a conscious effort to conceptualise the meaning of ethics and values in real estate, and debate what would constitute ethical practice in a variety of ethical dilemmas; appreciate the meaning of professionalism and ethics to deeply understand the implicit and explicit expectations and responsibilities placed upon professionals in real estate and finally to acknowledge the specific duties owed by professionals to clients, customers and the wider community and understand the concept of professional liability in the context of all the related and relevant laws. The attempt ideally should be to acknowledge and respect social diversity, and critically understand how planning and real estate practice impacts upon different groups in society. Primarily, seeking other counsel; working through informal networks; exposing assumptions; bargain for information; being doubly sure, and negotiate for more clarity should be defined purpose of every ethical attempt in a profession. Code of Ethics in the profession of Real Estate It is very important to recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership, upon which depend the survival and growth of free institutions. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment. Such varied interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce and deals. They evoke serious social responsibility and a duty to which real estate associates should dedicate themselves, appropriately well prepared. In recognition and appreciation of their obligations to clients, customers, the public, the real estate associates continuously strive and aim to remain informed on issues affecting real estate. They should identify and take steps, through enforcement of Code of Ethics and by assisting appropriate regulatory bodies, to eliminate practices which may damage the public or which might discredit or bring dishonor to the real estate

Choose two composers from two different musical time periods Research Paper

Choose two composers from two different musical time periods (Renaissance, classical, etc then compare their upbringing, education, legacy and musical compositions - Research Paper Example The earliest signs of Renaissance music appeared in the early 15th century. On the other hand, both the Classical and Renaissance periods were characterized by a lot of composers. In light of this, the paper will focus on analyzing the upbringing, education, legacy and musical compositions of Giovanni Gabrieli (Renaissance era composer) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Classical era composer). Giovanni Gabrieli was an influential Italian organist, composer and teacher during the Renaissance period. He is primarily acknowledged for his holy/sacred music which includes instrumental motets and a massive choral work for the liturgy of the church (Kenton, 1967). Venice is Gabrieli’s birth place. His father hailed from Carnia and moved to Venice before the birth of Giovanni. Giovanni studied under his uncle (Andrea Gabrieli) who was himself a composer. In fact, it is believed that his uncle brought him up since Giovanni commonly referred himself as his uncle’s son. Next, he studied with Orlando de Lassus in Munich at Duke Albert v’s court. Consequently, Lassus had a great impact on Gabrieli’s music. In 1585, Gabrieli became Saint Mark’s Basilica’s main organist after the post was left vacant by the exit of Claudio Merulo. Also, he became the principal composer after the demise of his uncle. Subsequently, Giovanni commenced editing and compiling his uncle’s work who had no inclination or urge to publish his work. Thus, he saved his uncle’s work which otherwise would have been lost (Charteris, 1987). Additionally, Giovanni became an organist at Scuola Grande di San Rocco; a post he held for his whole life. This post contributed positively to his musical career since San Rocco was among the most wealthy and prestigious Venetian confraternities. The San Rocco organization was utilized by renowned composers who often performed there. A vivid description of the

Driving Around a Bend Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Driving Around a Bend - Assignment Example Higher is the speed and more is the angle of inclination. Many times, the turn is too sharp and/or the speed is too much to negotiate by the motorists and the vehicle skids causing fatal accidents. A car driver, unfortunately, cannot lean like a motorcyclist and therefore, he needs something else to help him negotiate a bend without skidding and that is banking on the road. In case of banking, there is an upward slope on the road from inner side towards the outer side of the circle. So the question is by what angle a motorcyclist should lean and also, what should be the angle of banking on the road near a bend to avoid skidding off a vehicle. These two are an essentially same problem and have been treated analytically in the subsequent section. Suddenly a bend comes on the road and he has to move along a circular arc. Moving along a circular arc requires centripetal acceleration and there must be a force to produce this acceleration. If the motorcycle goes on a horizontal circular path, this resultant force will also be horizontal. Let us consider a motorcycle of mass ‘m’ moving at a speed ‘v’ is negotiating a bend of radius ‘r’ and the road is horizontal. Therefore, the external forces acting on the vehicle are the following: As the road is horizontal, the normal reaction force ‘R’ is vertically upward. The only horizontal force that can act towards the center of the circular path is friction F. This is static friction and self-adjustable. The tires get a tendency to skid outward and the frictional force which opposes the skidding acts towards the center. Thus for the safe turn i.e. for the turn without skidding

Choose two composers from two different musical time periods Research Paper

Choose two composers from two different musical time periods (Renaissance, classical, etc then compare their upbringing, education, legacy and musical compositions - Research Paper Example The earliest signs of Renaissance music appeared in the early 15th century. On the other hand, both the Classical and Renaissance periods were characterized by a lot of composers. In light of this, the paper will focus on analyzing the upbringing, education, legacy and musical compositions of Giovanni Gabrieli (Renaissance era composer) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Classical era composer). Giovanni Gabrieli was an influential Italian organist, composer and teacher during the Renaissance period. He is primarily acknowledged for his holy/sacred music which includes instrumental motets and a massive choral work for the liturgy of the church (Kenton, 1967). Venice is Gabrieli’s birth place. His father hailed from Carnia and moved to Venice before the birth of Giovanni. Giovanni studied under his uncle (Andrea Gabrieli) who was himself a composer. In fact, it is believed that his uncle brought him up since Giovanni commonly referred himself as his uncle’s son. Next, he studied with Orlando de Lassus in Munich at Duke Albert v’s court. Consequently, Lassus had a great impact on Gabrieli’s music. In 1585, Gabrieli became Saint Mark’s Basilica’s main organist after the post was left vacant by the exit of Claudio Merulo. Also, he became the principal composer after the demise of his uncle. Subsequently, Giovanni commenced editing and compiling his uncle’s work who had no inclination or urge to publish his work. Thus, he saved his uncle’s work which otherwise would have been lost (Charteris, 1987). Additionally, Giovanni became an organist at Scuola Grande di San Rocco; a post he held for his whole life. This post contributed positively to his musical career since San Rocco was among the most wealthy and prestigious Venetian confraternities. The San Rocco organization was utilized by renowned composers who often performed there. A vivid description of the

Pre-Contract Cost Planning and Cost Controlling Assignment

Pre-Contract Cost Planning and Cost Controlling - Assignment Example Cost planning not only enables capital cost budgets to be set but also provides a structure to accommodate as well as manage transformations to the client’s brief and design (Murdoch & Hughes, 2007, p.80). An effective Cost plan enables a client together with the design team to understand where and how finances have been allocated towards the completion of a project. On the other hand, Cost control should be provided from start to completion of the project, ensuring that the estimated final cost is always known. However, Pre-contract Cost Controlling is quite different from the Post-contract Cost Controlling. Pre-Contract Cost Planning and RIBA Plan of Work As aforementioned, an effective construction plan is the foundation of the budget development as well as schedule for work. Pre-construct cost planning is thus crucial when preparing a construction plan. Even though construction costs can be pre-planned as well as estimated, it is quite possible for these to significantly change in the course of the actual construction (Chitkara, 1998, p.99). Pre-contract cost planning informs the owner when financial installments will be required to enable him/her keep current with the billings (Ferry, et al., 1999, p.55). When establishing a pre-contract cost plan it is important to create one that follows the RIBA Plan of Work. RIBA plan of work is one that tends to organize the process of managing as well as designing building projects while administering building contracts to a number of essential Work Stages (Potts, 2007, p.13). The Work Stages included in the RIBA Plan of Work are Preparation, Design, Pre-Construction, Construction and Use (Mi ncks & Johnston, 2004, p.109). Under the Preparation stage, identification of client’s needs and objectives is done. Feasibility studies as well as assessment of options enabling the client to make a decision is also prepared under this stage (Murdoch & Hughes, 2007, p.81). The contractor then develops an initial statement of requirements into the Design Brief as a way of confirming the main requirements and constraints. The Design Brief is then implemented, and additional information prepared. Under the Design stage, concept design is developed and includes updated outline specifications, cost plan and structural and building services systems (Ferry, et al., 1999, p.57). The Pre-Construction stage involves preparation of production information in full detail enabling tender(s) to be acquired. Further information for construction required under the building contract is also prepared after application for statutory approvals has been done (Chitkara, 1998, p.100). Identificatio n as well as evaluation of potential contractors for the project is then carried out, and recommendations submitted to the client. During Construction stage, the

Joe Salatino, President of Great Northern American Case Study Essay Example for Free

Joe Salatino, President of Great Northern American Case Study Essay Joe’s employees need to understand how people form perceptions and make attributions for several reasons. As they are in a selling business, employees need to know how they can best be perceived as to earn the trust of their customers. It is important to know how to be ethical in selling as well as trustworthy so that customers feel confident in choosing their services time and again. Aside from how their customers may perceive them, they must also be aware of how their employer sees them. It is important to employers to find capable, confident and hardworking potential employees. In 2011 CBS news did a story on how others see us and how we see ourselves. This report asserts that it is more important to know how others see us as it is by their reactions to who we perceive them to think we are that our own actions come from. They give a couple of examples right off about how a first date can leave you feeling defeated or conversely very confident. Just because you walk away feeling one way or another is not necessarily an indicator of how the date actually went or what the other party thought of you. Another example is given in that it not necessarily important for a company’s top executives to have a positive opinion of their product or service, it is more important that the consumer have an idea of their offering that generates more and more business. This usually comes from a positive perception of what they have to offer. These principals easily align with the idea that it is important in general to do what you can to have others form a positive impression of you. So, what makes a good first impression? Forbes magazine proposes theses 5 traits. First, â€Å"set an intention. † This means to visualize what you want out of whatever you are undertaking. For example, if it is a job interview, see yourself in the position with the traits you deem necessary for success at that position. You will be much more likely to pull off an air of those attributes if you have first taken the time to role play in your mind a successful turnaround of the event. Second, â€Å"think about your ornaments. † In other words, pay attention to the details of your outward appearance. For men this may mean choosing the right watch to portray the success they see themselves having, for women it may mean jewelry or makeup that puts them in that same space. For both genders hair, shoes, and clothing are important factors in building the perception you are seeking. For instance, someone who is running for congress would want to choose more conservative and sophisticated looking â€Å"ornaments† whereas someone seeking a job with Vogue magazine may want to dress very current and â€Å"edgy† for their interview to show they are relevant for the position they seek. We can easily apply this to Joes employees as they will want to know what type of companies they anticipate receiving business from. If they know that they are dealing with a very â€Å"traditional† client they may want to dress for success that day by choosing clothing that portrays a traditional and trustworthy image. Conversely, if they are meeting with a client who takes big risks and hopes for their partners in business to as well, they may want to choose a look that portrays confidence and a spunky, no holds barred attitude. At Verizon Wireless we have a very relaxed work culture that more often than not is fun and youthful. However, when interviewing for a new position within the company it is no different than most traditional settings. Candidates seem to do better when they are dressed professionally and are well polished overall. Going back to the Forbes article, the third tip is to â€Å"be conscious of your body language. † Pay particular attention to your posture, handshake, eye contact and what you are doing with your hands. A confident person is not going to be slumped over, slouching and have their arms crossed. A confident person is going to sit or stand up straight, give their attention to the person with whom they are seeking attention by offering polite eye contact and also by using their hands to emphasize they are open to the others input. Fourth on the list of must do’s for a good impression is â€Å"avoid bad days. † Often in the business world networking is a key part of building strong business relationships. Forbes suggests that if you are having a terrible day at work then it is likely you are not going to be up for dealing with people. Your courtesy and smile are going to appear in genuine if you are not really in the mood to be there and people will pick up on that. If you can skip that mixer you had planned to attend go for it. If not, do something that will lighten your mood and hopefully get your head in a more light-hearted place. Lastly, â€Å"be interested and interesting. † Who wants to spend their time on the dud of the group? Be interested in those you are serving. No one wants to only hear about you, and no one wants to feel like you certainly have more important things to be doing than helping them. Learning Theory Joe has several theories of learning to choose from in how he prefers to teach his employees. The two main theories in discussion today are Social and Operant learning theory. For general understanding let’s look further into the specifics of each. Mosby’s medical dictionary defines Operant conditioning as â€Å"a form of learning used in behavior therapy in which the person undergoing therapy is rewarded for the correct response and punished for the incorrect response. †(2009) In other words, a leader demonstrates desired behaviors and rewards others when the same behaviors are demonstrated. Second is Social theory. Mosby’s states, â€Å"A concept that the impulse to behave aggressively is subject to the influence of learning, socialization, and experience. Social learning theorists believe aggression is learned under voluntary control, by observation of aggressive behavior in others, and by direct experience. †(2009) In short, people will not engage in reproduction of a behavior without motivation. The best way for Joe to motivate and empower his employees in this situation is with Operant conditioning. This affords Joe the chance not only to demonstrate the correct behavior he desires, but also gives him a platform to modify negative traits as well. Joe is looking for people to showcase his business and put forth the same united front of loyalty and customer respect that he has put in place at Great Northern American. Improving Employee Performance Operant conditioning is best in the work environment as it gives a more level playing field for all to succeed. Some people are born naturally more talented than others, but this does not in any way make them less important in the workforce. Some people may never be number 1 overall in a company (and some don’t desire to be as it requires a lot of commitment) but that does not mean that they are incapable of modeling successful behaviors and attaining top notch ratings. Operant behavior allows for these individuals to succeed where as Social learning theory only really rewards one person overall rather than celebrating the victories along the way for each individual. I personally find it more rewarding to have encouragement along the way. Too often I’ve come in second place and have nothing to show for all my hard work. When this happens I’ve had nothing in the way of reward though I put in significant amounts of work in hopes that I could be the best. Verizon Wireless rewards us along the way and I have certainly been motivated to do better and try harder because of that. I appreciate that Operant conditioning is consistent throughout the entire work year whereas Social learning builds up to one pinnacle moment. Verizon sets attainable yet challenging goals for each individual and once you have met or exceeded those goals, you are pushed to reach for the next rung of the ladder (I. . going from Representative to Sr. Representative) and with that next step you are rewarded with a pay increase and more opportunities for further career development within the company that will help you in future upward mobility opportunities. Likewise, if you are not meeting the minimum expectation you will not be afforded the opportunity to move into the next level of your position, and you may possibly be put on a â€Å"corrective action plan. † Joe could apply this in practical ways as Verizon does with rewards and consequences along the way of career progression. Value of Self Efficacy Joe can best use his evaluation of potential employees’ self-esteem to hire the best by taking stock in his own first impression of a potential employee. He will have a gut instinct reaction to this first impression and he should feel confident in the portrayal each candidate puts forth. Verizon does a good job of asking employees how they would like to be â€Å"coached. † Joe could put something like this in place with potential employees to see if their learning style matches that of the culture of Great Northern American. Self-Efficacy is something that a potential employer (Joe in this case) can look at and determine how driven someone appears. Psychology Today states, â€Å"For instance, people high in self-efficacy take better care of themselves, see tasks as something to be mastered, and they feel more empowered. They’re not controlled by circumstances. They see setbacks as challenges to be overcome and can cope with hardship better than those with low self-efficacy. They learn from failure and channel it into success, like Thomas Jefferson, Walt Disney and J. K Rowling. People higher in self-efficacy also have a greater sense of motivation and persistence. † (LaVan, 2010) With this in mind a correct assessment of self-efficacy can ensure Joe his is hiring someone who will seek to succeed at whatever task he or she is given. To compliment this assessment, Joe must also be willing to â€Å"pump up† his employees. He should offer compliments to good work and publicly praise achievements. This will keep his employees motivated to continue putting their best foot forward for him long after the interview process is completed and the candidate is settled into their job function.

An Open Innovation Business Model Commerce Essay

An Open Innovation Business Model Commerce Essay It is very important to know what innovation is before we can further proceed in answering the question. An innovation is a product or service with a bundle of features that is new in the market, or that is commercialized in some new way that opens up new uses and consumer groups for it. Innovation is invention implemented and taken to market (Chesbrough 2003). Invention however is the creation of something that was previously unknown (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke et al. 2006). In summary, INNOVATION= INVENTION+COMMERCIALIZATION. Today companies who, want to deliver consistent organic growth to their shareholders, customers, and their employees can do that only through innovation (Chesbrough 2006). So what is Open Innovation? Illustration 1: Concept of open innovation Open innovation is the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for external use of innovation, respectively. [This paradigm] assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as they look to advance their technology. (Henry Chesbrough, Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm). As mentioned by Chesbrough, there are a total of 5 paths to Open Innovation. Firstly, the old fashion model. It work like a fortress, the firm will take ideas internally to market. This path works the same as a closed innovation concept. The second path would be opening up the abilities for others. This can be achieved by bringing in ideas internally; ideas that does not fit into the firm business but might be useful for others. The third path would be acquiring ideas externally. Ideas are everywhere; firms can acquire ideas from university, individuals, start-up companies and etc. They can then come out with new opportunities and solutions using these acquired knowledge by taking them to a new market; a market that the firm might not have gotten into. The forth path would be to bring in external technologies and ideas to fill the gap that the firm might be facing problem with. Without open innovation, companies might need to use more resources to fill the gap. Lastly, an internal project that does not look promising until a certain level of development can be taken out and allow the team to continue working on it outside. This process can help to raise new money, acquire new customer and hire new employees (Specialist) to further develop the project. At certain point, if it seems feasible and viable, firms have the option to bring the project back if it turns out to be strategically interesting. The 5 paths are very important in helping use to understand why firms are moving towards the open innovation business model. The opposite of Open Innovation-The Closed Innovation In order to understand Open Innovation better, we will need to know the opposite of it- the Closed Innovation. In short, Close Innovation is a paradigm that successful innovation requires control and ownership of the Intellectual property (IP). A company should have full control of everything that relates to ideas. Some companies therefore decided to run their own research and development (RD) units. The entire new product development cycle was then incorporated within the company where innovation was done in a closed and self-supporting way (Wikipedia). It has always been the case whereby internal Research and Development (RD) was regarded as a strategic asset and it creates barrier to competitive entry in many industries. Only bigger firms with substantial resources and long-term research programs are capable to compete within their respective industries. This eventually led to higher profit margin as well. Competitors had to start their own laboratories using their own resources in order to compete. Therefore firms invested heavily in internal RD, which eventually led them to breakthrough innovation that enabled them to create new products and services to generate more revenue and profit margins (Chesbrough 2003). Therefore the protection of intellectual property in a closed innovation paradigm is very tight. It is so tight that firms will store their technologies until they are ready to use it. In the meantime, firms will also minimize or rather ensure zero leakages incident of information that relate to the technology. (Chesbrough 2003) Differences between closed and open innovation Table 1: Open Innovation Principles, Source: H. Chesbrough (2003) One major difference between closed and open innovation are how firms filter their ideas. In any RD process, researchers must separate the bad proposal from the good ones and eventually only the good proposal will be commercialised and the bad ones will be discarded. Both open and closed model can remove false positives (that is bad ideas that initially look promising), but open innovation can revived these false positive and false negatives (ideas that initially seem to lack promise but turn out to be surprisingly valuable) to recoup losses incurred during the RD process. A classic example will be Xerox and Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC). Researcher there developed many breakthrough technologies such as Ethernet and Graphical User Interface (GUI). However Xerox main focus is on high speed printer and copier, hence these technologies were not viewed as promising by the firm. This is what we call false negative. GUI was eventually used by APPLE in Macintosh operating system and Micr osoft in Windows operating system respectively. Why open innovation? Today, in many industries, the traditional logic of supporting an internally oriented, centralized approach to RD has become obsolete. Ideas must be used with alacrity as useful information and knowledge can be obtained easily. A firms ability to exploit external knowledge is a critical component of innovative capabilities (Cohen and Levinthal 1990) instead of exploiting only internal knowledge. In short, firms that can integrate external ideas to advance their own businesses while leveraging their internal ideas outside their current operations will likely thrive in this new era of open innovation. As time passed by, Closed innovation model begin to obsolete fundamentally and ultimately eroded. This eventually led to closed innovation giving place to open innovation paradigm (Chesbrough 2003). Increase in availability and mobility of skilled workers encourage firms to go into an open innovation business model. This is because the labour market is linked to the market of know-how (Teece 2000), these labors are likely to be lured by better compensation package which will then led to information leakages. This makes the labour market highly mobile which encourage companies to shift from a closed innovation model to an open innovation model. Also, ideas can no longer be stored on the shelf anymore. Failure to utilize own technologies might result in firms seeing their own technologies ended up being exploited by other firms. This is due to a widespread of knowledge pool among companies, customer, suppliers and other parties. Hence the closed innovation business model is once again proven to be less useful to many firms. Rising development costs and shorter product life-cycles has resulted in firms finding it increasingly difficult to justify investments in innovation (Chesbrough 2007). This actually made the open innovation model important. It is very important for firms to process knowledge at a faster pace to prevent worker and venture capitalist to steal their ideas. It is not surprising at all that external suppliers offer better quality work of what a company can achieve internally (Chesbrough 2003). Hence, in today context, most of the bigger firms actually engage the services of external suppliers so that they can apply their investment to cover more areas in less time. However it is important to note that this allows other firms to move faster and cover new markets as well. An example of this would be Samsung and Apple. Apples A5 chip is built by Samsung à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½, the processor that powers Apples iPhone 4S and iPad 2 is being manufactured in Texas by rival Samsung. As mentioned earlier in this essay that a company such as XEROX that is too focus internally (closed innovation approach) will eventually miss out numerous opportunities because many will fall outside the firms current businesses or will need to be integrated with external technologies to unleash their full potential. As RD functions are organised as separate function within organisations, there bound to have some technologies that are under- or unutilised. These ideas are kept on the shelf of the knowledge bank until downstream business is ready and willing to use them (Chesbrough 2003). Firms will do well if they are able to make full use of extensive technologies (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke et. al. 2006). Its also possible to innovate with discoveries of others (Chesbrough 2003). Firms can leverage on external knowledge instead of ignoring it and pursuing only internal RD (Chesbrough 2003). Valuable ideas come from inside or outside the company and can go to market from inside or outside the company as well (Chesbrough 2003). Both external and internal ideas are equally important. Firms can focus on a particular area without having to do everything (Chesbrough 2003). Therefore Open Innovation offers lower costs for innovation, faster times to market, and risk sharing with others. (Chesbrough 2006). Open innovation does not mean that internal RD must be removed from a firms RD process. A firm can achieve additional benefits when implementing internal RD in Open Innovation context as the internal RD can fill the gaps (leveraging on external) in what others are doing. Firms that adopt Open Innovation business model do not need to invent the most novel or best technologies and knowledge in order to thrive and lead in their respective industry. Firms just need to be sure that they are making the best use of internal and external knowledge in a timely manner and innovate to create new products or services. Smaller firms such as SMEs have more reasons to move towards the Open Innovation business model. This is because they have less internal RD capability, less market power which mean weaker ability to capture value and IP enforcement are often costly to them (Henry Chesbrough 2008). Markets that is too small for larger firms might be attractive for SMEs. Smaller firms are able to execute plans at a faster rate because there are less internal politics (Henry Chesbrough 2008). Eventually larger firms will value this collaboration with smaller firms and they will create platforms that seek supporting investment from SMEs and SMEs can expand globally at a lower cost. As for larger firms, the Open innovation business model plays an important role. Radical innovations were viewed as an approach to generate growth for large established company as they depend on breakthrough innovation to move to the next platform for growth. However larger firms are lacking of supportive infrastructure to enable breakthroughs to be commercialized. Open innovation model can aid firms in building this supportive infrastructure. Larger firms can then focus on building deeper core competencies. Example 1: Intel Firms can benefit from innovation even if they do not own the technologies they use. An example would be computer processor maker, Intel. Intel has been successful for years without conducting much basic research on its own. All development took place within existing production laboratories as Intel does not have any development facilities. However Intel decided to take a change at a later stage, three research laboratories with different focus in their respective areas were established later. In addition to that, Intel actively promotes linkages between its research laboratories and external research community. They held conferences, research forums and seminars in attempt to bring both internal and external researches together. (Chesbrough 2003) Strong connections between them and newly incorporated firms allow Intel to extend its business strategy by leveraging on the advantages that these start-ups possessed. Intel benefitted tremendously from this far-sighted approach with corporate venture capitalist. To sum up, Intel actually adopted the third and fourth path to Open Innovation as mentioned earlier in this essay. Their primary focus is on accessing and leveraging on external knowledge (Chesbrough 2003). Example 2: The rise of Adobe and fall of Metaphor Computer We all know that Adobe systems owe its success to their first product, the PostScript. Postscript created a new industry segment within personal computer industry, known as desktop publishing. This technology was initially developed within Xeroxs Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Within PARC, what was then called Interpress was a means of allowing Xeroxs laser printers to print what was displayed on a Xerox Star workstation. This capability became known as WYSIWYG, or what you see is what you get. John Warnock and Charles Geschke, who both worked on this technology while at PARC, wanted to create a standard around Interpress. However, their management within Xerox resisted this, because they did not want to give away one of the primary differentiating features of the Star system. Extracted from Intel ® Technology Journal. From the extract above, we can see that both John and Charles innovation does not look promising to PARC at that point of time. Eventually Hewlett Packard and Canon agreed to bundle in the Technology which was later labeled as PostScript as a standard item in their laser printers, while Apple agreed to support PostScript in its software. If back then PARC adopted an Open Innovation business model, they would have benefited. This is mentioned earlier on as the fifth path to Open Innovation business model. However HP, Canon and Apple benefited from the model as they have all taken the third and fourth approach to Open Innovation business model. And lastly Adobe uses the first and second approach, which eventually led them to success. Unlike Adobe, Metaphor chooses to adopt a closed innovation approach. Nothing was carved out and shared with other firms. Lack of third-party support eventually led them to their downfall. Conclusion As ideas and technologies become obsolete at a very fast pace (Chesbrough 2006) and many useful knowledge has been widely spread, open innovation is vital for firms as they can use external as well as internal ideas and paths to market as they look to advance their technology (Chesbrough 2003) while pursuing lower costs for innovation, faster times to market, and the chance to share risks with others (Chesbrough 2006). In order to thrive in this new era, firms must adopt an open innovation business model. However it is important to note that, closed innovation is still applicable to certain industry such as the Pharmaceutical industry. Open Innovation business model is merely an evolution of closed innovation as it consist partial traits of the latter. ******** The End ********

What Is The Bible? Essay -- Religion Bible

The Bible is the most significant book in the history of civilization. In the context of Jewish history, the Bible’s impact on politics, history, and religion is without comparison. Along with establishing the covenant-based legitimacy of the Jewish people and their history, the Bible’s political impact is exemplified through prophetic politics, the power of kings, and the effects of political authority. Biblical archeology has discovered biblical structures which supports the historical validity of the Bible. The Bible’s effect on history, politics, and religion has shaped the world we live in today. In order to comprehend the level of significance the Bible represents, one must systematically break down the structure of the Bible. Religious writings of both Judaism and Christianity compose the Bible and are dependant on the religious traditions of a specific denomination. In the context of Judaism, Tanakh is the Hebrew name of the Bible composed by the three parts of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. The Torah includes the â€Å"Five Books† of Moses which establishes God’s covenant with the Jews. The Nevi’im discusses the division of the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, and acknowledges different prophets. The Ketuvim is composed of poetry, writings, and the stories of Jewish prophets. The books written after the Hebrew Bible, referred to as The New Testament by Christians, contain the accounts of Jesus and his disciples. The New Testament plays a central role in Christianity just as the Hebrew Bible, or commonly referred to as the Old Testament, provides the foundation for Judaism. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, sets the framework in which Judaism is rooted. Genesis is vital to the religio... ...ness of the Jewish People in accordance to their covenant with God. The Bible also legitimizes the Holy Land belonging to the Children of Israel while establishing Judaism as a Mosaic religion. The Bible provides the basis for Halakha, a corner stone in Judaism. Along with the Old Testament, the Bible plays a prominent role in the development of Christianity. The Gospels of the New Testament assert Christian ideologies and values which clearly be seen influencing the Western world today. Not only did the Bible affirm Judaism and Christianity, it gave a glimpse into the earliest form of politics in the ancient world. Archeology has advantageously legitimized the historical accuracy of the Bible by producing evidence that coincides with the Bible’s narratives. The Bible will continue to play an important role in society as it will continue to shape civilization.

Evolution of Goaltending in the NHL Essay -- essays research papers

Today, the term hockey describes differing games in various parts of the world, but specifically in North America it refers to as ice hockey. In its origin, hockey is one of the oldest games played. The earliest mention of the sport of hockey dates back to 1572, when it was on a list of prohibited games. Hockey's birthplace is believed to be in Asia and authorities credit Persia with having devised it about 2000 BC. People who perfected the game of polo must have known "hockey on the ground" before "hockey on horseback". Certainly though ice hockey originated in Canada. Two theories have surfaced as to who really came up with ice hockey. The first credits English soldiers serving with the Royal Canadian Rifles at Kingston, Ontario. They improvised the game at the rear of their barracks at Tete du Pont, on the iced up harbor on Christmas day in 1855. After sweeping the snow from the ice, the soldiers tied "runners" to their boats and, with borrowed hockey sticks, played a match with an old lacrosse ball. The other theory gives not soldier's credit, but students credit. It tells that G.F. Robertson, of Mcgill University in Montreal first thought of ice hockey. On a visit to Britain in 1879, he had watched a field hockey match and had greatly been intrigued by it. Himself being a skilled ice skater, he wondered if it was at all possible to combine the two sports into one, thereby creating something new and exciting. On his return home, he discussed the idea with a friend and together they worked out a synthesis of hockey and skating, adding for good measure a few football rules. Enjoyment of the game proved so great that from an initial experimental venture, it soon graduated at their college to an invigorating sport of tremendous speed, leading eventually to the formation of the McGill University Hockey Club. The first theory is the one believed to be the right one but no one knows for certain the originator of the game. We do know that the term "Ice Hockey" was the earliest recorded in a game that took place in Montreal. As the Canadians love and knowledge for the game of ice hockey grew, so did the sport. After various problems between teams playing with different rules, McGill University stepped in to set up the rules, thus making ice hockey a sport. The most popular ice hockey league in the world is the National ... ...the goalies in the NHL have always had to evolve along with the game. The position of goaltending has greatly evolved since the formation of the NHL and even before the NHL started. The formation of the NHL in 1917 opened doors for players to show off their skills to the world and make a living, especially the goalies. The equipment that goalies use have evolve to be much lighter, more comfortable, and more aerodynamic since the start of the NHL and will keep enhancing in time. The physical and mental abilities of goaltenders today is much more sharper, stronger, and quicker than what they were in years in the past. The style of play of goalies these days has evolved greatly from the base styles that were set by some of the great goalies in the past. Also, the rule changes that the NHL has set forced goalies to evolve their game to fit the new rules and make the most out of what situations are presented to them. These are all the aspects of the position that have evolved throughout the years in the NHL. Goaltenders today are the most conditioned, sharpest, quickest, and most important piece of a professional hockey team and has all evolved from what goalies in the past have done.

Film Theory Outline Essay

From the very beginning of film, theorists have tried to dissect or understand the nature of the new medium of art. As a result various theories of film have emerged, such as feminist, auteur, psychoanalytical, Marxist, Editing and Structuralist. This essay attempts to give an outline of these various theories. One of the first theories to emerge is Editing theory, coming from the context of early Russian cinema. A key event in this regard is the experiment carried out by the film-maker Lev Kuleshov in 1918, in which he demonstrated that what the viewer perceives depends on how images are juxtaposed with each other through inter-cutting. See more: essay apa format Thus, when a human close-up is juxtaposed with a bowl of soup, the perception is of hunger, but when juxtaposed with a shot of a coffin the same close-up is perceived to express grief. Kuleshov concluded that juxtaposition was crucial towards the effect, and thus advocated the use montage in film-making. Other film-makers like Sergei Eisenstein played close attention to these findings, and made use of them in his masterpieces of montage, such as Battleship Potemkin and October. He also spelled out a comprehensive film theory based on editing in a highly influential essay from the late twenties. In it he outlined he various categories of editing, such as metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal, and intellectual. For example, with intellectual montage a scene may be inter-cut with something immediately unrelated, but which nevertheless works as metaphor is a more profound sense. The above came to constitute soviet montage theory, which was in contrast to the Hollywood system of continuity editing. Montage is a very visible component of film, whereas continuity editing aims to make inter-cutting invisible, so that the viewer may concentrate on the flow of the narrative in an easy way. Since the fifties a parallel theory of editing has emerged in the West which embodies the Hollywood ethos. In the same essay Eisenstein proposed a Hegelian interpretation of film montage, and which came to form the basis of Marxist film theory. He suggested that montage worked by the principle of the Hegelian dialectic, where thesis is said to beget antithesis, and are resolved in the end through synthesis. For example, when human close up is inter-cut with a glass of water, the viewer interprets this as thirst. If the face is the subject, then its antithesis is the object of vision, i. e. the glass of water. ‘Thirst’ is merely the synthesis of the two. It is present in neither of the two shots in consideration, yet emerges form the inter-cutting of the two. Of course, it was through the Hegelian dialectic that Marx had derived his famous concept of the proletariat revolution, and Marxism was the avowed principle of the Bolshevists. Therefore, it is not surprising that Eisenstein’s theories found a favorable audience in the Soviet Union. Indeed, it was instrumental in forming of Socialist realism, which became the state sponsored ideology in art. Marxist film theory soon found itself as defined in opposition to capitalistic and bourgeoisie art, in which the narrative of the protagonist finds prominence. Eisenstein’s films attempt to obliterate the presence of the protagonist, concentrating instead on the clash of images towards creating a larger ideological narrative. Even then he was accused by the authorities for not championing the workers, and for indulging in the internal mechanics of film, which was deemed to be a kind of formalism. Marxist theory held that the purpose of art is to overcome all ‘forms’ towards dialectical purification. Formalism was felt to be a bourgeoisie component. Marxist theory, as it has flourished both in the East and the West, concerns itself with dissecting films in order discredit bourgeoisie forms, usually those emerging from the Hollywood system. A native western theory of film was late in developing, and a crucial starting point was the theories developed by Andre Bazin, as editor of the French film magazine Cahiers du cinema. Up to that point films were seen as merely commercial vehicles, and Hollywood had evolved into a mighty and well groomed machine that churned films for the pleasure of the masses. Analyzing these films Bazin came to the conclusion that it was the director who left the most characteristic stamp, and as illustration he held up the work of directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks. He advocated that directors infuse their personal vision into the films under their charge, in order that they become the complete authors, which is the ideal state. This came to be known as the Auteur theory of film, which was given a more formal presentation by Francois Truffaut. Directors were described as using the camera as a pen towards composing their films. Another significant idea of Bazin’s was that film should aim for â€Å"objective reality†. This was in opposition to prevalent theory based on montage, which said that object of film is to manipulate reality. This instrumental approach led to the formulation of Structuralist film theory, which examines the structure of the components of film as they come together meaningfully. Instead of the dialectical approach of Eisenstein, the analysis takes into account conventional devices that have come to acquire meaning. The components that come into play are camera angle, lighting, juxtaposition, shot duration, cultural context etc. Meaning is usually accounted for by convention, and conventions change according to social and economic circumstances. For example, the highly commercial nature of Hollywood films has created the Institutional Mode of Representation, in which cinematic devices are used that make film viewing easy and exciting. For this reason it incorporates the established ideology with little departure from the norm. Other interpretations overlook the mechanics of production and instead considered the viewer as the focus of study. Psychoanalytic film theory offers such an interpretation. It is largely influenced by the views of the French philosopher Jacques Lacan regarding the child’s ‘mirror stage of development’. According to this theory the developing child endeavors to see a reflection of itself in all the objects it encounters. Psychoanalytic film theory replicates this situation with the viewer of film. The viewer is always looking for self-identification in the process of watching a film, and in this sense uses the medium as a mirror. It is usually the male protagonist who provides the focus of this identification, and functions as a conduit by which the desires of the viewer are played out. The film is said to have constructed a ‘gaze’ for the benefit of the viewer. Sometimes the gaze is simply the viewpoint of the protagonist; at other times, in the more graphic sequences, the viewer is allowed to gaze directly. Psychoanalytic theory is careful to point out that such identification is merely illusion, and therefore it differs from the identification of the child growing up, whose identifications come to form tangible character. Feminist film theory takes psychoanalytical theory a step further, in that it interprets the gaze as scopophilia, or ‘the desire to observe in secret’, which is also known as voyeurism. Such desire is sexual in origin, and feminist theory is framed in the context of the man wanted to gaze at the woman. Such a theory provides a ready explanation of the objectification of woman in film, a phenomena that has been noticed from the very beginnings of the medium. As in psychoanalytical theory, the male protagonist provides the focus of identification, but his specific desire is to objectify the women in the film, a desire which is vicariously shared by the viewer. There are three levels of objectification. First there is the camera’s point of view, then that of the protagonist, and finally that of the viewer himself, who is allowed to gaze at the women directly. Critics of this theory point out that the female viewer is not taken into account, for women also go to see the same films, and they enjoy them too. However Laura Mulvey has given convincing arguments to explain female enjoyment. She says that it is either through a masochistic identification, or a transsexual one. In the first the female takes secret pleasure in male domination. In the second, the female identifies with the male protagonist, and thus shares in the pleasure that men take. However, she is also continuously slipping back into her female identity, which is said to be a mask that she wears. Identification with the male pushes her uncomfortably close to the image of the subjected women, and the masquerade allows her to maintain a distance from it. Feminist film theory is a harsh criticism of the norms of cinema, which is also blamed on the patriarchal norms of society. The advocacy is to make films that overcome the norms, and therefore to make films that are free from female objectification.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Nine

â€Å"Well, at least I didn't get taken over,† Bonnie said. â€Å"But I'm sick of this psychic stuff anyway; I'm tired of the whole thing. That was the last time, absolutely the last.† â€Å"All right,† said Elena, turning away from the mirror, â€Å"let's talk about something else. Did you find anything out today?† â€Å"I talked with Alaric, and he's having another get-together next week,† Bonnie replied. â€Å"He asked Caroline and Vickie and me if we wanted to be hypnotized to help us deal with what's been happening. But I'm sure he isn't the Other Power, Elena. He's too nice.† Elena nodded. She'd had second thoughts about her suspicions of Alaric herself. Not because he was nice, but because she had spent four days in his attic asleep. Would the Other Power really have let her stay there unharmed? Of course, Damon had said he'd influenced Alaric to forget that she was up there, but would the Other Power have succumbed to Damon's influence? Shouldn't it be far too strong? Unless its Powers had temporarily burned out, she thought suddenly. The way Stefan's were burning out now. Or unless it had only been pretending to be influenced. â€Å"Well, we won't cross him off the list just yet,† she said. â€Å"We've got to be careful. What about Mrs. Flowers? Did you find out anything about her?† â€Å"No luck,† said Meredith. â€Å"We went to the boardinghouse this morning, but she didn't answer the door. Stefan said he'd try to track her down in the afternoon.† â€Å"If somebody would only invite me in there, I could watch her, too,† Elena said. â€Å"I feel like I'm the only one not doing anything. I think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, considering, and then said, â€Å"I think I'll go by home-by Aunt Judith's, I mean. Maybe I'll find Robert hanging around in the bushes or something.† â€Å"We'll go with you,† Meredith said. â€Å"No, it's better for me to do it alone. Really, it is. I can be very inconspicuous these days.† â€Å"Then take your own advice and be careful. It's still snowing hard.† Elena nodded and dropped over the windowsill. As she approached her house, she saw that a car was just pulling out of the driveway. She melted into the shadows and watched. The headlights illuminated an eerie winter sight: the neighbors' black locust tree, like a bare-branched silhouette, with a white owl sitting in it. As the car roared past, Elena recognized it. Robert's blue Oldsmobile. Now, that was interesting. She had an urge to follow him, but a stronger urge to check the house, make sure everything was all right. She circled it stealthily, examining windows. The yellow chintz curtains at the kitchen window were looped back, revealing a bright section of kitchen inside. Aunt Judith was closing the dishwasher. Had Robert come to dinner? Elena wondered. The yellow chintz curtains at the kitchen window were looped back, revealing a bright section of kitchen inside. Aunt Judith was closing the dishwasher. Had Robert come to dinner? Elena wondered. Elena wished she could see more than just her aunt's profile in the flickering light of the TV. It gave her a strange feeling to look at this room, knowing that she could only look and not go in. How long had it been since she realized what a nice room it was? The old mahogany whatnot, crowded with china and glassware, the Tiffany lamp on the table next to Aunt Judith, the needlepoint pillows on the couch, all seemed precious to her now. Standing outside, feeling the feathery caress of the snow on the back of her neck, she wished she could go in just for a moment, just for a little while. Aunt Judith's head was tilting back, her eyes shutting. Elena leaned her forehead against the window, then slowly turned away. She climbed the quince tree outside her own bedroom, but to her disappointment the curtains were shut tight. The maple tree outside Margaret's room was fragile and harder to climb, but once she got up she had a good view; these curtains were wide open. Margaret was asleep with the bedcovers drawn up to her chin, her mouth open, her pale hair spread out like a fan on the pillow. Hello, baby, Elena thought and swallowed back tears. It was such a sweetly innocent scene: the nightlight, the little girl in bed, the stuffed animals on the shelves keeping watch over her. And here came a little white kitten padding through the open door to complete the picture, Elena thought. Snowball jumped onto Margaret's bed. The kitten yawned, showing a tiny pink tongue, and stretched, displaying miniature claws. Then it walked daintily over to stand on Margaret's chest. Something tingled at the roots of Elena's hair. She didn't know if it was some new hunter's sense or sheer intuition, but suddenly she was afraid. There was danger in that room. Margaret was in danger. The kitten was still standing there, tail swishing back and forth. And all at once Elena realized what it looked like. The dogs. It looked the way Chelsea had looked at Doug Carson before she lunged at him. Oh, God, the town had quarantined the dogs, but nobody had thought about the cats. Elena's mind was working at top speed, but it wasn't helping her. It was only flashing pictures of what a cat could do with curved claws and needle-sharp teeth. And Margaret just lay there breathing softly, oblivious to any danger. The fur on Snowball's back was rising, her tail swelling like a bottle brush. Her ears flattened and she opened her mouth in a silent hiss. Her eyes were fixed on Margaret's face just the way Chelsea's had been on Doug Carson's. Margaret's face just the way Chelsea's had been on Doug Carson's. But the snow, settling like a blanket around her, seemed to deaden the words into nothingness. A low, discordant wail was started in Snowball's throat as it flicked its eyes toward the window and then back to Margaret's face. â€Å"Margaret, wake up!† Elena shouted. Then, just as the kitten pulled back a curved paw, she threw herself at the window. She never knew, later, how she managed to hang on. There was no room to kneel on the sill, but her fingernails sank into the soft old wood of the casing, and the toe of one boot jammed into a foothold below. She banged against the window with her body weight, shouting. â€Å"Get away from her! Wake up, Margaret!† Margaret's eyes flew open and she sat up, throwing Snowball backward. The kitten's claws caught in the eyelet bedspread as it scrambled to right itself. Elena shouted again. â€Å"Margaret, get off the bed! Open the window, quick!† Margaret's four-year-old face was full of sleepy surprise, but no fear. She got up and stumbled toward the window while Elena gritted her teeth. â€Å"That's it. Good girl†¦ now say, ‘Come in.' Quick, say it!† â€Å"Come in,† Margaret said obediently, blinking and stepping back. The kitten sprang out as Elena fell in. She made a grab for it, but it was too fast. Once outside it glided across the maple branches with taunting ease and leaped down into the snow, disappearing. A small hand was tugging at Elena's sweater. â€Å"You came back!† Margaret said, hugging Elena's hips. â€Å"I missed you.† â€Å"Oh, Margaret, I missed you-† Elena began, and then froze. Aunt Judith's voice sounded from the top of the stairs. â€Å"Margaret, are you awake? What's going on in there?† Elena had only an instant to make her decision. â€Å"Don't tell her I'm here,† she whispered, dropping to her knees. â€Å"It's a secret; do you understand? Say you let the kitty out, but don't tell her I'm here.† There wasn't time for any more; Elena dived under the bed and prayed. From under the dust ruffle, she watched Aunt Judith's stocking feet come into the room. She pressed her face into the floorboards, not breathing. â€Å"Margaret! What are you doing up? Come on, let's get you back in bed,† Aunt Judith's voice said, and then the bed creaked with Margaret's weight and Elena heard the noises of Aunt Judith's fussing with the covers. â€Å"Your hands are freezing. What on earth is the window doing open?† â€Å"And now there's snow all over the floor. I can't believe this†¦ Don't you open it up again, do you hear me?† A little more bustling and the stocking feet went out again. The door shut. Elena squirmed out. â€Å"Good girl,† she whispered as Margaret sat up. â€Å"I'm proud of you. Now tomorrow you tell Aunt Judith that you have to give your kitty away. Tell her it scared you. I know you don't want to†-she put up a hand to stop the wail that was gathering on Margaret's lips-â€Å"but you have to. Because I'm telling you that kitty will hurt you if you keep it. You don't want to get hurt, do you?† â€Å"No,† said Margaret, her blue eyes filling. â€Å"But-â€Å" â€Å"And you don't want the kitty to hurt Aunt Judith, either, do you? You tell Aunt Judith you can't have a kitten or a puppy or even a bird until-well, for a while. Don't tell her that I said so; that's still our secret. Tell her you're scared because of what happened with the dogs at church.† It was better, Elena reasoned grimly, to give the little girl nightmares than to have a nightmare play out in this bedroom. Margaret's mouth drooped sadly. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"I'm sorry, sweetie.† Elena sat down and hugged her. â€Å"But that's the way it has to be.† â€Å"You're cold,† Margaret said. Then she looked up into Elena's face. â€Å"Are you an angel?† â€Å"Uh†¦ not exactly.† Just the opposite, Elena thought ironically. â€Å"Aunt Judith said you went to be with Mommy and Daddy. Did you see them yet?† â€Å"I-it's sort of hard to explain, Margaret. I haven't seen them yet, no. And I'm not an angel, but I'm going to be like your guardian angel anyway, all right? I'll watch over you, even when you can't see me. Okay?† â€Å"Okay.† Margaret played with her fingers. â€Å"Does that mean you can't live here anymore?† Elena looked around the pink-and-white bedroom, at the stuffed animals on the shelves and the little writing desk and the rocking horse that had once been hers in the corner. â€Å"That's what it means,† she said softly. â€Å"When they said you went to be with Mommy and Daddy, I said I wanted to go, too.† Elena blinked hard. â€Å"Oh, baby. It's not time for you to go, so you can't. And Aunt Judith loves you very much, and she'd be lonely without you.† Margaret nodded, her eyelids drooping. But as Elena eased her down and pulled the bedspread over her, Margaret asked one more question. â€Å"But don't you love me?† Oh, stupid, stupid, Elena thought, forging through the banked snow to the other side of Maple Street. She'd missed her chance to ask Margaret whether Robert had been at dinner. It was too late now. Robert. Her eyes narrowed suddenly. At the church, Robert had been outside and then the dogs had gone mad. And tonight Margaret's kitten had gone feral-just a little while after Robert's car had pulled out of the driveway. Robert has a lot to answer for, she thought. But melancholy was pulling at her, tugging her thoughts away. Her mind kept returning to the bright house she'd just left, going over the things she'd never see again. All her clothes and knickknacks and jewelry-what would Aunt Judith do with them? I don't own anything anymore, she thought. I'm a pauper. Elena? With relief, Elena recognized the mental voice and the distinctive shadow at the end of the street. She hurried toward Stefan, who took his hands out of his jacket pockets and held hers to warm them. â€Å"Meredith told me where you'd gone.† â€Å"I went home,† Elena said. That was all she could say, but as she leaned against him for comfort, she knew that he understood. â€Å"Let's find someplace we can sit down,† he said, and stopped in frustration. All the places they used to go were either too dangerous or closed to Elena. The police still had Stefan's car. Eventually they just went to the high school where they could sit under the overhang of a roof and watch the snow sift down. Elena told him what had happened in Margaret's room. â€Å"I'm going to have Meredith and Bonnie spread it around town that cats can attack, too. People should know that. And I think somebody ought to be watching Robert,† she concluded. â€Å"We'll tail him,† Stefan said, and she couldn't help smiling. â€Å"It's funny how much more American you've gotten,† she said. â€Å"I hadn't thought about it in a long time, but when you first came you were a lot more foreign. Now nobody would know you hadn't lived here all your life.† â€Å"We adapt quickly. We have to,† Stefan said. â€Å"There are always new countries, new decades, new situations. You'll adapt, too.† â€Å"You'll learn, in time. If there is anything†¦ good†¦ about what we are, it's time. We have plenty of it, as much as we want. Forever.† † ‘Joyous companions forever.' Isn't that what Katherine said to you and Damon?† Elena murmured. She could feel Stefan's stiffening, his withdrawal. â€Å"She was talking about all three of us,† he said. â€Å"I wasn't.† â€Å"Oh, Stefan, please don't, not now. I wasn't even thinking about Damon, only about forever. It scares me. Everything about this scares me, and sometimes I think I just want to go to sleep and never wake up again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the shelter of his arms she felt safer, and she found her new senses were just as amazing close up as they were at a distance. She could hear each separate pulse of Stefan's heart, and the rush of blood through his veins. And she could smell his own distinctive scent mingled with the scent of his jacket, and the snow, and the wool of his clothes. â€Å"Please trust me,† she whispered. â€Å"I know you're angry with Damon, but try to give him a chance. I think there's more to him than there seems to be. And I want his help in finding the Other Power, and that's all I want from him.† At that moment it was completely true. Elena wanted nothing to do with the hunter's life tonight; the darkness held no appeal for her. She wished she could be at home sitting in front of a fire. But it was sweet just to be held like this, even if she and Stefan had to sit in the snow to do it. Stefan's breath was warm as he kissed the back of her neck, and she sensed no further withdrawal in Stefan's body. No hunger, either, or at least not the kind she was used to sensing when they were close like this. Now that she was a hunter like he, the need was different, a need for togetherness rather than for sustenance. It didn't matter. They had lost something, but they had gained something, too. She understood Stefan in a way she never had before. And her understanding brought them closer, until their minds were touching, almost meshing with each other's. It wasn't the noisy chatter of mental voices; it was a deep and wordless communion. As if their spirits were united. â€Å"I love you,† Stefan said against her neck, and she held on tighter. She understood now why he'd been afraid to say it for so long. When the thought of tomorrow scared you sick, it was hard to make a commitment. Because you didn't want to drag someone else down with you. Particularly someone you loved. â€Å"I love you, too,† she made herself say and sat back, her peaceful mood broken. â€Å"And will you try to give Damon a chance, for my sake? Try to work with him?† â€Å"I'll work with him, but I won't trust him. I can't. I know him too well.† â€Å"I followed Mrs. Flowers today.† Stefan's lip quirked. â€Å"All afternoon and evening. And you know what she did?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Three loads of wash-in an ancient machine that looked like it was going to explode any minute. No clothes dryer, just a wringer. It's all down in the basement. Then she went outside and filled about two dozen bird feeders. Then back to the basement to wipe off jars of preserves. She spends most of her time down there. She talks to herself.† â€Å"Just like a dotty old lady,† said Elena. â€Å"All right; maybe Meredith's wrong and that's all she is.† She noticed his change of expression at Meredith's name and added, â€Å"What?† â€Å"Well, Meredith may have some explaining to do herself. I didn't ask her about it; I thought maybe it was better coming from you. But she went to talk to Alaric Saltzman after school today. And she didn't want anyone to know where she was going.† Disquiet uncoiled in Elena's middle. â€Å"So what?† â€Å"So she lied about it afterward-or at least she evaded the issue. I tried to probe her mind, but my Powers are just about burnt out. And she's strong-willed.† â€Å"And you had no right! Stefan, listen to me. Meredith would never do anything to hurt us or betray us. Whatever she's keeping from us-â€Å" â€Å"So you do admit that she's hiding something.† â€Å"Yes,† Elena said reluctantly. â€Å"But it's nothing that will hurt us, I'm sure. Meredith has been my friend since the first grade†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Without knowing it, Elena let the sentence slip away from her. She was thinking of another friend, one who'd been close to her since kindergarten. Caroline. Who last week had tried to destroy Stefan and humiliate Elena in front of the entire town. And what was it Caroline's diary had said about Meredith? Meredith doesn't do anything; she just watches. It's as if she can't act, she can only react to things. Besides, I've heard my parents talking about her family-no wonder she never mentions them. Elena's eyes left the snowy landscape to seek Stefan's waiting face. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† she said quietly. â€Å"I know Meredith, and I trust her. I'll trust her to the end.† â€Å"I hope she's worthy of it, Elena,† he said. â€Å"I really do.†