History of Optometry

The history of optometry can be traced back to the early studies on optics and image formation by the eye. The origins of optometric science (optics, as taught in a basic physics class) date back a few thousand years BC as evidence of the existence of lenses for decoration has been found. It is unknown when the first spectacles were made, but the British scientist and historian Sir Joseph Needham stated in his research that the ancient Chinese invented the earliest eyeglasses 1000 years ago and were also mentioned by the Venetian Marco Polo in his account of his travels in ancient China.Alternatively, research by David A. Goss in the United States, shows they may have originated independently in the late 13th century in Italy as stated in a manuscript from 1305 where a monk from Pisa named Rivalto stated â€Å"It is not yet 20 years since there was discovered the art of making eyeglasses†. Spectacles were manufactured in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands by 1300. Benito Daza de Valdes published the third book on optometry in 1623, where he mentioned the use and fitting of eyeglasses.In 1692, William Molyneux wrote a book on optics and lenses where he stated his ideas on myopia and problems related to close-up vision. The scientists Claudius Ptolemy and Johannes Kepler also contributed to the creation of optometry. Kepler discovered how the retina in the eye creates vision. From 1773 until around 1829, Thomas Young discovered the disability of astigmatism and it was George Biddell Airy who designed glasses to correct that problem that included spherocylindrical lens.Although the term optometry appeared in the 1759 book A Treatise on the Eye: The Manner and Phenomena of Vision by Scottish physician William Porterfield, it was not until the early twentieth century in the United States and Australia that it began to be used to describe the profession. By the late twentieth century however, marking the distinction with dispensing opticians, it had become th e internationally accepted term.

The Pain In Osteoarthritis Health And Social Care Essay

Osteoarthritis is a disease of the articulations, impacting 86 % of people over 65 ( Felson, Schaible 2009 ) . Patients with the status frequently complain of hurting within the joint, this hurting frequently worsens when weight bearing. Although, in advanced signifiers of the status there can be pain on remainder excessively. Other ailments include progressive stiffness of the articulations and musculus failing ( Chu, Thornhill 2001 ) . Osteoarthritis is caused by loss of the articular gristle in articulations associated with hypertrophy of the bone and thickener of the capsule ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . A articulation is where two castanetss, covered in articular gristle meet ; the articulation is lubricated with synovial fluid. Figure 1 shows the anatomy of a healthy articulation. Cartilage plays an of import function in leting smooth clash free motion of the joint. If the gristle becomes damaged motion is restricted and pain develops. Bone has an first-class capacity to men d itself nevertheless in degenerative arthritis the castanetss ability to mend itself consequences in chronic hurting. This is because as tissues try to mend, re-growth occurs abnormally doing some countries of bone to go dilutant and others thicker. This means that the two castanetss no-longer fit together every bit good, doing motion to go progressively hard and painful. If there was greater apprehension of the mechanisms behind the development of hurting, and why some patients with similar X raies appear to hold different sums of hurting more effectual interventions could be developed. This could pro-long the clip before the patient requires. This essay will look at how hurting is transmitted through the organic structure, the anatomy of articulations and how debasement of the joint can take to trouble in degenerative arthritis to let for the development of effectual interventions. This image shows the anatomy of a articulatio genus articulation and the accessary constituents of the joint that enable the joint to execute its map of clash free comfy motion. It is these constituents that can deteriorate in degenerative arthritis and cause hurting to develop. Although the image is of a articulatio genus articulation all articulations have a similar construction. ( Image taken from Enohumah and Imarengiaye. 2010 ) Figure 1: Diagram to Show the Anatomy of a Knee Joint. Pain is termed as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with tissue harm ( Merskey, Bogduk 1994 ) and a defense mechanism mechanism associating to weave harm ( Dray, Read 2007 ) . Pain can be described as transient ; this is the direct stimulation of nociceptive centripetal neurones and the ague hurting this causes. Pain of articulations can be chronic ; uninterrupted hurting which makes mundane undertakings progressively hard to set about. Chronic hurting is of small importance as does non mean tissue harm and may go on after the tissue has repaired ( Dray, Read 2007 ) . The hurting can besides be episodic ; this is when hurting intensifies when set abouting undertakings that require increased joint motion or strength, such as mounting stepss or bending over. This hurting can do psychological hurt to the patient and diminish their quality of life as the hurting forces them to go sedentary and stray. Figure 2: The Pain Pathway in Humans This tract illustrates how hurting is transmitted from the stimulation ( in degenerative arthritis this is a joint ) to the encephalon it besides lists some of the chemicals that can be released from damaged cells that affect hurting transmittal and esthesis ( Image taken from Srivastava, 2010 ) . Pain is transmitted form articulations to the encephalon via neurones with bare nervus terminations, see Figure 2. These constructions are known as nociceptors and the functional nociceptive unit is made up of capillaries, nociceptor and mast cell. Joints are innervated by both centripetal and sympathetic nervousnesss. Nociceptors are normally less than 5AÂ µm in diameter and either Type III myelinated with unmyelinated terminations or Type IV unmyelinated. They have a high threshold of activation which means that a larger depolarizing stimulus than normal is required to do activation. The high threshold enables neurones to go selective for noxious mechanical stimulation ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . The stimulation can be interpreted as dynamic ( motion ) or inactive ( place feeling ) ( McDougall 2006 ) . Pain transmittal is as follows ; the nociceptors are stimulated and primary sensory nerve fibers which fire action potencies doing the release of substance P ( a peptide which increases hurting by leting the spinal nociceptors to be easy stimulated ) ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . This activates cells in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where they synapse with spinal neurones and transmit nervus urge to the mesencephalon and cerebral mantle. Chemical go-betweens such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes can be released from the site of tissue harm ensuing in peripheral nociceptor sensitisation ; this is the progressive elaboration of a response followed by perennial disposals of a stimulation. Pain felt in degenerative arthritis can be accounted for by the presence of ‘silent nociceptors ‘ which in a healthy person are non activated by a stimulation. These receptors can go activated following tissue harm or redness ( Felson, Schaible 2009 ) . This means that for person who is already sing an increased sum of hurting the activation of these receptors enhances the grade of hurting felt. Pain can besides be accounted for by peripheral sensitisation caused by a lessening in the activation threshold of nociceptors and afferent neurones, doing them to go hyper-responsive to both normal and noxious types of motion. If nociceptors are more sensitive to motion this besides contributes to both allodynia and hyperalgesia as motion becomes more painful. Two squads of research scientists Coggeshall ( 1983 ) and his colleagues and Schaible and Schmidt ( 1986 ) illustrated that the injection of china clay and carrageenin could do synovitis ; the redness of the synovial membrane, by take downing the activation threshold of type III and type IV nociceptors in articulatio genus articulations. By take downing the activation threshold they made it easier to excite the nociceptors, increasing the figure of action potencies produced per unit clip for noxious and innocuous stimulations, doing hurting. Decreasing the activation threshold and the activation of soundless receptors together increases the hurting felt by degenerative arthritis patients ( McDougall 2006 ) . This suggests that if it was possible to increase the threshold of nociceptors, hurting signalling would be decreased ; this is an thought for possible interventions in the hereafter. A farther proposal for the hurting felt in degenerative arthritis is an addition in intra-articular force per unit area ; the human articulatio genus contains synovial fluid within the joint. After hurt or on redness ( see Figure 3 ) the plasma membrane of blood vass becomes progressively leaky and allows plasma proteins to go forth the vasculature and come in the intra-articular infinite. This causes a alteration in the starling forces which allows fluid to flux into the joint causation localised hydrops, ‘excessive accretion of fluid in the organic structure tissues ‘ ( Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary 2007 ) . This Results in the puffiness of the joint increasing the intra-articular force per unit area, doing hurting within the joint, due to an addition in unstable energizing nociceptors. Figure 3: Illustration of How a Number of Chemicals and Neuropeptides Work Together to Cause Pain, Inflammation and Joint Degradation. The figure above shows how, Iinterleukin-1 ( IL-1 ) , interleukin-6 ( IL-6 ) , and tumour mortification factor ( TNF ) are illustrations of proinflammatory cytokines and direct the matrix metalloproteinase ( MMPs ) to degrade connective tissue. MMPs degrade the connective tissue that make up joint tissues. The loss of joint infinite that develops in degenerative arthritis is due to the activity of the MMPs. Growth factors ( VEGF ) can besides hold a infective function in Osteoarthritis. VEGF promotes the development of blood vass to let tissue growing. Research suggests that VEGF is involved in degenerative arthritis. Blood vas growing is accompanied by an increased nervus supply taking to increased hurting. The chondrocyte produces inordinate free groups that assist in the devastation of the environing joint tissue. Free groups are non pictured above ( Sharif et al. 2000 ) , ( Image taken from: Bonnet, Walsh redness. 2005 ) . To forestall tissue harm to articulations the organic structure has a protective mechanism to halt over extension or flexure of articulations, the joint senses the possible harm and releases hurting signals which prevent farther motion of the joint. In degenerative arthritis this protective mechanism is hyperactive and hurting is felt when the articulation is moved within the normal scope. Recent grounds suggests that osteoarthritic hurting is therefore ; joint motion creates emphasis on the axolemma of the ‘free ‘ nervus terminations, ensuing in the gap of mechanogated ion channels, the inflow of Na ions causes depolarization within the neurone and consequences in an action potency ( See Figure 2 ) . Mechanoreceptors are located in the Type III and IV sensory nerve nervus fibers, these channels have been discovered in articulatio genus articulation sensory nerves by electrophysiology measurings and supply an penetration into the physiological mechanisms which are respons ible for mechanotransduction in articulations ( McDougall 2006 ) . These receptors cause increased ionic conductance and cellular depolarisation, doing an action potency and the hurting esthesis ( Heppelmann, McDougall 2005 ) . To understand hurting in degenerative arthritis it is of import to set up where the hurting originates ( See Figure 4 ) . Cartilage is aneural and avascular so pain must arise from other constructions of the joint ( Felson 2001 ) . Possibly the subchondral bone, which is extremely innervated with postganglionic neurones, or the periosteum, synovial membrane, ligaments or the nervus capsule, All of which have nociceptors, maintain vascular tone, permeableness and bone homeostasis ( Dray, Read 2007 ) , any harm to these countries could do hurting. When articular gristle re-modelling occurs there is compaction of soft tissue and microfilaments in the subchondral bone. There is besides gush and cramp of musculuss environing the joint which could explicate the beginning of hurting in degenerative arthritis ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . Figure 4: Diagram to Show Causes of Pain and Pain Transmission in Osteoarthritis. T This figure shows how a figure of factors influence hurting in degenerative arthritis some of these are mechanical factors ( MF ) others involve enzymes and biochemical tracts. The diagram besides shows how some factors could be used to increased gristle grows, a possible intervention for degenerative arthritis. ( Image taken from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fortehealthcare.com/Cartrophen/technical % 20brochure.html ) As mentioned the articulation is made up of a figure of constructions of articulations ( See Figure 1 ) each of which can deteriorate and do hurting during degenerative arthritis ( See Figure 5 ) . First, the subchondrial bone this is a bed of bone below the gristle. During degenerative arthritis blood flow is increased to this country leting subchondrial cysts to develop. This build up of fluid in the bone causes a force per unit area addition, the addition in force per unit area pushes against the bone and activates noticepters which transmit hurting signals. Changes to the capsule and synovial membrane can besides do hurting ; redness occurs which consequences in an increased volume of fluid, increasing the sum of force per unit area on the joint which causes hurting. The sinews and Bursa can go inflamed and cause, tendonitis and bursitis which causes hurting and decreases the scope of motion of the joint. Muscle blowing and failing besides occur which restrict motion, the deficie ncy of willingness to exert can do musculus and ligament wasting which can do hurting ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . As unexercised musculuss become weak and less able to set about strenuous undertakings this can go on to anyone but is more likely in a patient with degenerative arthritis and although this does non straight do hurting, musculus failing does increase hurting. This diagram illustrates that the joint border lessenings and the synovial fluid volume lessening in patients with degenerative arthritis. The Cartilage besides thins. The decrease in joint infinite, synovial fluid volume and cut gristle causes castanetss to rub against each other on motion doing hurting. ( Image adapted from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mobilitychoices.co.uk/glossarypage.php? uid=46 & A ; start=A ) Figure 5: Comparison of the Anatomical Features of a Joint with Osteoarthritis and a Joint of a Healthy Individual. The softening and cutting of gristle can be seen when imaging a joint with degenerative arthritis as there are cavities, it appears unsmooth, and has lesions in the gristle. This causes the gristle to go prone to splitting. This is a secondary cause of hurting in degenerative arthritis as it can take to interrupt castanetss, soft tissue harm and breaks which in bend all cause hurting signals to be transmitted to the encephalon. The organic structure attempts to mend this harm by originating bone re-growth the growing occurs unevenly and causes hurting. A lessening in the joint border and the decrease in volume of synovial fluid cause bone to rub against bone in an Osteoarthritis patient. In a healthy person this does non happen due to the presence of synovial fluid, leting clash free motion ( See Figure 5 ) . The stiffness of the new gristle makes the joint less able to absorb daze, doing motion painful. Osteoarthritis patients frequently complain of hurting non merely when traveling but besides when resting this can be explained by looking at the redness of articulations frequently associated with degenerative arthritis. When a articulation is inflamed a lessening in the hurting threshold consequences, this means that hurting signals that would usually travel unnoticed are transmitted via nociceptors to the encephalon. This is known as allodynia where hurting is felt for a usually innocuous stimulation ( McDougall 2006 ) such as sitting down or walking and hyperalgesia where increased hurting is experienced during an activity. An account for the disagreements between joint harm seen on X raies and joint hurting could be explained by looking at the two hurting transmittal tracts, the sidelong and medinal systems ( for hurting transmittal See Figure 2 ) . The thalamus and cerebral mantle are the countries of the encephalon that are involved in having and covering with hurting signals. The sidelong system, involves the stimulation of thalamic karyon in the ventral sidelong thalamus. The information is transmitted to the somatosensory cerebral mantle for analysis of location, continuance, strength and vicinity. The median system uses the midplane and intralaminar thalamic karyon to convey urges to different parts of the encephalon including the amygala to do affectional responses, attending and acquisition. The country of the encephalon urges are directed to change the hurting felt. If one system is stronger or more prevailing in some patients than others this could impact the sum and type of hurting felt and the class of intervention ( Hunter 2009 ) . Pain experiences are alone and effected by life experiences and genetic sciences. For illustration, a individual ‘s assurance in their ability to set about a undertaking or motion will specify their success in the undertaking. A patient ‘s inclination to catastrophize, or to do the best of a state of affairs will alter the hurting experience. The more hurting anticipated the more hurting felt ( Hunter 2009 ) . Social factors such as if a patient has a supportive environment, if they are stressed, low in liquors or traveling through an emotionally hard experience affect the sum of hurting felt ( Felson, Schaible 2009 ) . Factors that influence hurting but may non hold a scientific or physiological ground are besides of import indexs for the cause of hurting. Physical activity can increase or diminish pain esthesis. An addition in hurting can be felt when exerting particularly flexing and weight lifting, others feel soft exercising decreases hurting. The footwear a patient wears high heels increase hurting as there is increased emphasis on the articulatio genus articulation, whereas supportive flat places tend to do less hurting ( Hunter 2009 ) . If the patient has a past hurt or an hurt occurs and eventually environmental factors some patient ‘s complain of increased hurting during cold and wet conditions with high force per unit areas than on all right just yearss. No scientific grounds has shown these factors to act upon hurting but many patients do see alterations in hurting that can non be explained by imaging or disease provinces ( Enohumah, Imarengiaye 2008 ) . Pain in degenerative arthritis is n't merely cognitive but there is affectional hurting excessively, this means that many degenerative arthritis patients suffer from depression and anxiousness ( McDougall 2006 ) . This could be due to the deficiency of mobility doing many patients to experience stray. It is hence imperative that the hurting tracts in degenerative arthritis are understood to let the development of effectual interventions to better the quality of life of a patient. Osteoarthritis is characterised by hurting in the articulations on activity which is relieved on remainder, this is episodic hurting. Advanced degenerative arthritis is when hurting can besides be felt at remainder and at dark and is known as chronic hurting. The hurting normally occurs as decreased map of the joint, stiffness or gelling of the joint which is short lived and relieved after inaction. Pain is variable and great differences can be seen in the sensed hurting in patients with similar scans. Pain is transmitted from the site of hurt to the encephalon down specialised neurones know as nociceptors. Nociceptors have a high threshold and hence merely transmit noxious stimulations. Although cartilage re-growth can trip hurting, gristle is avascular and aneurla and therefore research is concentrated on looking at the other construction of the joint that could do hurting. A possible mark for drug action is on the neuropeptides which can heighten the hurting felt by a patient when traveling the joint. Another cause of hurting is ; redness doing a lessening in the hurting threshold and the activation of soundless receptors. A ground for the disagreements between imaging of the joint and the hurting felt could be explained by looking at the two chief tracts of hurting transmittal the sidelong and medinal tracts. These tracts transmit signals to different countries of the encephalon and hence do a different experience of hurting, if these tracts were better understood they could be countries for drug intervention. Pain and redness are linked and hence interventions that relieve the symptoms of the disease may besides better the earnestness of the status. Finally, hurting can besides hold a cognitive cause this is where the patient uses past experiences and the environment to judge the hurting felt. If a patient was more comfy, less stressed, happier and in more agreeable conditions they may see a decrease in hurting despite no alteration in the disease province . This nevertheless is a complex physiological state of affairs and requires more research before it can be used in clinical scenes to cut down hurting. Another possible intervention could be to increase the hurting threshold this would do it harder to originate an action potency and the patient would be able to travel the joint more before hurting was felt. Before advanced and effectual interventions for degenerative arthritis are to be developed it is indispensable that more research on hurting transmittal and causes is undertaken.Word Count: 2,587

Marketing and Different Vendors Essay

Having multi-vendor partnerships has its advantages and disadvantages. In the long run, supporting such a partnership would be difficult to maintain. Here are some of the concerns: * Change: Hardware and software requires constant upgrades to keep up with the technology changes. Changes in systems from multiple vendors can cause integration problems and requires a rigid process of testing and configuration. * Knowledge: IT staff must be well-trained in all the systems of the multi-vendor environment. Without a good IT support, the harder it is to find the source of the problem, and the longer it takes for them to resolve it. * Communication: In-house IT staff may have all the knowledge on the systems in the multi-vendor environment, but sometimes support from the vendors is required. In such cases, a support engineer is required to communicate with other support engineer, and it would be easier if it is done within the organization, but this is not usually the case. . Focusing IT on top line requires bringing in revenue for the company by increasing sales, whereas focusing IT on the bottom line requires bringing the cost down by reducing on operating cost. Focusing IT on the top line is more challenging because IT is not able to control who and when someone will actually buy the products and services. On the other hand, focusing IT on the bottom line can be predictable as there are sets of parameters within he organization that can be controlled, for example, reducing the number of employees. 3. Some ways for IT to bring in revenue is by increasing the number of customers and retaining customers. To increase the number of customers, IT systems such as online marketing tools can help to generate sales leads and increase customer awareness by sending out emails or direct mailers to potential customers. Such tools can help in segmenting customer profiles and evaluate the performance of the marketing campaign.

Financial analysis research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial analysis - Research Paper Example In the execution and development of any business, the financial planning aspect is given utmost importance. The reason for giving so much worth to this element is because of its magnitude and intensity. Positive calculations and feasibility of organizational processes on the financial basis indicate business to flourish in the future (Chandra 24). The strategic dimensional examination by the organization is carried out by financial and accounting analysts. The time frame involved in business mounting and expected returns are highlighted by the financial forecasters. The rationale of revealing this information is to escort organization why they should or should not opt for the business commotion (Chandra 31). The purpose of this paper is to elucidate about the financial analysis of Coca Cola. Core steps of the financial planning and analysis along with categories of financial planning are depicted too. The paper enlightens that to what extent financially Coca Cola stands and what are its strengths and weaknesses. The paper also notifies the positioning of Coca-Cola's biggest competitor; Pepsi Cola's financial condition. Coca Cola- Company Introduction Cola-Cola is the largest beverage brand in the world. The operational activities of the organization are widespread in more than 200 countries. With more than 500 brands and 90,000 employees, Coca-Cola holds promising place in the beverage industry and is considered as the market leader. The company has divided its operational activities into six groups- Europe, North America, Latin America, Pacific, Eurasia and Africa and Bottling investments. The financial positioning of the company throughout the years has been remained promising. Pepsi Cola International is the biggest competitor of Coca Cola and retains prominent position in the industry too. The business endeavours of Coca Cola are far more than Pepsi, and financial analysis of the previous years indicate Coca Cola's lead in the industry (Clarkson 18). Financ ial Analysis and Planning- Core Steps The business environment assessment is the preliminary segment in the financial planning commotion. In this segment, it is determined either the market atmosphere is competitive enough to execute business activity or not. Alongside the economic conditions of the region are determined. Moreover, the legislations or laws passed in favour and against the respective business ventures are scrutinized by the financial analysts. Their role remains to monitor market inclination, approximate the chances of implementation and make precise decision about the viability of market. After business environment assessment segment, business vision and objectives confirmation is determined. Fundamentally the dissection of organizational goals and objectives is detected. Concise understanding about business preference and tendency to operate is scanned by the financial analysts (Chandra 40). The summarization of all the costs attached in the performance of business is illustrated in the financial plan. Business activity has to bear certain risks too which are emphasized in the financial reporting final charge sheet. The financial plan ultimate verdict is presented to the decision making body of the firm so that they would asses either it is possible to opt for the business option or not. The steps elaborated needs to be followed in the same direction, because inter-dependency is attached with each other. The termination, escape or mingling up

How different are quantitative and qualitative research Essay

How different are quantitative and qualitative research - Essay Example In order to understand the differences between the qualitative and quantitative research, it would be necessary to refer to their fundamental characteristics as well as to their role, as key research methodologies. The definitions, which have been developed for the above two research methods, are also presented. The review of the literature published in the specific field has led to the assumption that the differences between the qualitative and the quantitative research are often ignored and their simultaneous use is attempted – especially for research projects that are quite demanding. 2. Qualitative and quantitative research – description, forms In the literature, the scope of qualitative research has been explained using different approaches; however, it seems that all relevant views focus on the same fact: qualitative research is used in order to identify the causes of human behaviour in regard to various social events. This view is made clear in the study of Maria mpolski (2001) where it is noted that ‘qualitative research seeks the meanings and motivations behind behaviour’ (Mariampolski 2001, p.7). ... h the definition of qualitative research presented in the study of Merriam (2009); in accordance with the above definition, ‘qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world’ (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005, p.3, in Merriam, 2009, p.13). On the other hand, Potter (1996) notes that the role and the value of qualitative research can be understood only by referring to the particular elements of the specific research method. This task is developed through three different types of definitions:’ a) a component-type definition, b) a procedural-type definition and c) a product type definition’ (Potter, 1996, p.20-21). The first of the above definitions, the component-type one, focuses on the parts/ elements of qualitative research; an indicative definition of such type is, for example that of Jankowski and Wester (1991) who emphasized on the content of qualitative, i.e. on the meaning given by people to their social activities and their active presence within the society – meaning that all people in society have a role which tends to be changed under different social conditions (Potter, 1996). The second definition, the procedural-type one, refers to qualitative research as ‘a sequence of tasks’ (Potter, 1996, p.21). A definition which follows a similar path is, for example, that of Pauly (1991) who noted that the qualitative research includes five steps: a) identification of the topic, b) development of the research questions, c) collection of the material, d) explanation of the findings, e) presentation of the researcher’s personal view on the issues under discussion (Pauly, 1991, in Potter, 1996, p.21). Finally, the product-type definition gives emphasis ‘on what is produced by the qualitative method’ (Potter, 1996, p.21).

Geographic Information System on a civil engineering Research Paper

Geographic Information System on a civil engineering - Research Paper Example Key to this research is the various information software used in the analysis and presentation of civil engineering works. Introduction The GIS (geographic information system) is a modern scientific system and software capable of acquiring or capturing, recording, integrating and present in more clearly and understandable format for all geographic data. The system will analyze information such as landscape, terrain and hydrology and eventually display the required output whether in 3-D or maps to be used in engineering purposes. Since GIS is jurisdictional, they can be specifically designed to analyze and present civil engineering data and therefore aid in civil engineering design. Such application especially witnessed in GIS is restrictive and would therefore be a civil engineers very important tool. Any application information system that has the ability to capture, integrate, analyze and display in such formats that can be understood is called GIS (Chang 2008). In civil engineerin g GIS can be taken to use such software as CAD and PROKON which analyze and present civil engineering data. PROKON can be adequately used to carry out structural analysis and present the results in more practical engineering terms. The info is then used for the practical design to ensure completion of the project. Others include Nisa Design Studio, Fastrack, Structural BIM, Vision Civil and S-Frame (Fu & Sun. 2010). Literature review Application of GIS can be traced back to the 1832 use of spatial analysis in what has recently become known as the field of epidemiology. This was done by the Geographer Charles Picquet who attempted to represent the whole city of Paris, showing all its districts, using colour variations or gradient. Further developments could include the cholera representation in London by John Snow where points were used to indicate specific cases in specific areas in regard to geographic location and proximity. The Snow representation added value to the previously ex isting ideas of topography as the element of analysis of clusters was incorporated in addition to the aspect of representation or depiction that was earlier known. This has been the basis of GIS applications where cartographic methods are used to analyze geographically dependent elements (Chang 2008). With advancement in technology and by the 20th century, there was the development of photozincography where maps could now be split into layers to represent vegetation, water and similar phenomena. Though tedious, the aspect of separate layers made it more interesting and accurate as confusion was easily avoided by the draughtsman working on the maps. Colour printing improved this further where printing was done and this enhanced quality output of the maps as well as proper storage. This was the basis of the contemporary GIS concept (Chang 2008). The Canadian GIS (CGIS) brought with it more advantages as opposed to the previous technique of computer mapping. Through CGIS, it was possib le to do overlays, measurement and scanning, a feature not previously available through computer mapping. Since the system supported the national coordinate system which covered the whole continent and also stored locational information as supporting files, the system was more effective in analyzing geographic data for it was mainly designed. The result of the Dr. Tomlinson’s contribution is the basis of the modern GIS and is thus conveniently referred to as

Proven Practices for Securing Your Website against Distributed Denial Research Paper

Proven Practices for Securing Your Website against Distributed Denial of Service Attacks - DDoS - Research Paper Example It was identified that an Internet bulletin board called as 4chan initiated the attack by utilizing readers of the Internet bulletin board who participated to a campaign called as ‘payback’ to initiate a DDOS attack (McGARVEY, 2013). Likewise, the Motion picture association was apparently stimulated an Indian organization called as Aiplex for carrying out in contradiction of piratebay.com that is a file sharing website. As a result, Motion picture association was not available for more than a day and got attention of the media such as Reuters, British Broadcasting Company, London telegraph etc. One of the security research expert or advisors, Mr Sean Paul spoke on media about this incident and named it as ‘the future of cyber protests’. Likewise, he predicted that this is a part of a protest. Later, the assumptions made by the security expert were true, as again same type of attack was organized and time was the target was a credit card industry. The major p layers targeted in this attack were PayPal, MasterCard, Swiss banks and many others, as the objective was to impose penalty to these organizations for not providing services associated with whistleblowing site Wikileaks (Mansfield-Devine, 2014). Conversely, Wikileaks reported an incident i.e. DDOS attack soon after publishing highly confidential United State diplomatic cables. Later on, all the servers were moved to Amazon cloud seeking protection from these attacks (Crosman, 2014). Another DDOS attack targeted Russia’s most popular newspaper website more than one time within the last 24 months. The attacks were disabled for a week but Sokolov, who is executive editor in chief, is still seeking a cyber-criminal behind these attacks. Likewise, he suspects a government funded agency ‘Kremlin Youth’ is behind these attacks, as no support was given by the local authorities within the country. It is eminent that these DDOS attacks are now considered

Global Health Policy (choose a topic) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Health Policy (choose a topic) - Essay Example The IRIN (2015) report indicates that maternal mortality in South Sudan is above 2000 in every 100,000 live births. Statistically, the figure is far much higher than other countries. For instance, World Health Organization reports that the figure is 1000 times higher than the rate in Sweden. However, the figure representing the maternal mortality could be an underestimation (Nyamtema, 2015). This can be attributed to the fact that many deaths are not recorded. Partly, this is because more women give birth in villages. Such environments are characterized by lack of medical facilities and lack of trained medical professionals. As a result, most of pregnant women suffer from infections that result from open wounds. Hemorrhage is also another underlying factor that fuels up maternal mortality. Blood vessels rupture during delivery due to the pressure of pushing. Studies show that hemorrhage is common due to lack of proper medical attention and unhealthy maternity environment, which imped es the efforts of controlling the bleeding. Consequently, women die because of excessive bleeding. Accessing medical services in South Sudan is also a major challenge. In this case, families that live in rural areas are the most affected (The Sudan Household Health Survey, 2010). Lack of sufficient medical facilities in the rural areas is to blame for higher maternal deaths. It is important to note that South Sudan is an underdeveloped country. For this reason, the economy of the country is very poor (World Bank, 2010). The people are impoverished as well. In addition, high maternal death rates are generated through early marriages. According to Christian Connection for International report (2014), young girls drop out of primary education and contract early pregnancies. Girls as young as 13 years old discontinue their education and opt to marry elderly men. This policy brief will

Being a doctor has severaldisadvantages that makes it a questionable Research Paper

Being a doctor has severaldisadvantages that makes it a questionable career choice - Research Paper Example small percentage (0.5%) can perform hemodialysis with special equipment at home and this is risky due to the increased possibility of infection and the requirement of having a very motivated patient. ESRD facilities are reimbursed mostly by Medicare part A (after the first 30 days). In fact, the vast majority of over 90% of dialysis patients covers this way. The patient’s physician is reimbursed through Medicare part B. Reimbursement coding at the facility is done using the International Classification of the Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), while the physicians submits for reimbursement using the Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS). Data collected by the facility and physician play a critical role in the patients ongoing treatment plan. These environments are a uniquely challenging setting too many due to the very nature of the population needing services. Another challenge our health care doctors face is the deficit of nurses who assist them in treatment of patients. Part of this shortage is due to the lack of infrastructure. In the academic year of 2010-2011, 67,563 qualified students were not admitted into nursing schools due to the lack of faculty, training facilities and other budget constraints and this is a clear indication that unless there is improvement in the infrastructure, such as state and national funding, that there could be a collapse in the nursing educational system (Dunham, 2009). An increase in population has also caused the need for more doctors. The number of nurses is not growing at the same rate as that of the population. The lack of younger students moving into the field of nursing is also a primary concern. The current age of a Registered Nurse is between 43 and 45 years of age. In the next ten to fifteen years, these nurses will reach retirement age, which will only add to the current shortage (Williams & Torrens, 2010). Higher spending costs. The development of new treatments for previously

Absoulutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian Struggles of Arnold Spirit Essay Example for Free

Absoulutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian Struggles of Arnold Spirit Essay In the book â€Å"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian† by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit the main character struggles with being an Indian and going to Reardan, the all-white school where he wants to find hope. He struggles with acceptance because of his disability and he is an Indian. He also struggle with losing his best friend Rowdy as a friend, and he also struggles with losing loved ones. Though he has many, he copes with them and fixes them in the end. Throughout the story Arnold struggles with his disability. He is a very smart person but because of his disability his appearance makes him look like he is stupid. To top this all off he is also an Indian attending an all-white school. This causes the white people to make fun of him as well as the Indians and he feels different and unwanted by everyone. â€Å"And once I arrived at Reardan, I became something less than less than less than Indian. Those white kids did not talk to me. They barely looked at me†(83). This shows that he was not accepted on the reservation as an Indian or at Reardan because of what he was. He had no friends at Reardan, not even a friend on the rez anymore. When Arnold decided that he wanted to go to Reardan he wanted his only and best friend, Rowdy to go with him. When he told Rowdy about going to Reardan he felt like Arnold was abandoning him. He got really upset and angry and made it clear they were no longer friends. â€Å"I stayed on the ground for a long time after Rowdy walked awayBut I had to stand eventually, and when I did, I knew my best friend had become my worst enemy†(53). This shows that Rowdy resented Arnold so much for going to Reardan he didn’t want to be friends with Arnold anymore. In addition to losing his best friend he lost many other people, only in a different way. One final struggle Arnold faced was losing many loved ones. He lost his dog, grandmother, Eugene (His dads best friend) and his sister. He not only blamed himself for the deaths but also many others blamed him because he left the rez and betrayed them in a way by going to Reardan and making friends with white people. â€Å"‘Your sister is dead because you left us. You killed her.’Rowdy was right. I had killed my sisterIt was all my fault†(211). This shows that Arnold felt like in a way it was his fault and some of the Indians on the rez felt the same. He blamed himself for every bad thing that had happened all his life. Arnold had a tough life, he struggled to fit in, to keep his best friend and with losing many loved ones. Arnold slowly made friends at Reardan by just being himself. In the end he and Rowdy made up. They put the past behind them. Arnold also forgave himself for all the loved ones he lost; he also hoped that everyone else forgave him too. Losing loved ones is a normal part of life. No one should take the blame when it was never their fault. Making friends is also hard Especially when you are in a completely new environment or you are shy. Sometimes best friends will fight. It can last for a short time or a long time. Its important to remember we can not judge someone because of who they are or where they come from. Put yourself in their shoes; how would you feel?

The Significance Of The English Language English Language Essay

The Significance Of The English Language English Language Essay English language is really considered as a significant language since it has been used for communicating worldwide. Therefore, learning English is very common in many countries and language learning styles, especially reading styles are learned differently by students in globalization. More importantly, language learning styles are the core factors that help decide how the students learn a foreign language. In the article by (Rebecca, 2003), a foreign language is a language studied in an environment where it is not the major vehicle for every day communication and where input in the language is classified. In an article by Mulalic et al. (2009), students learning styles have been unnoticed as an irrelevant module in the learning process. Apparently, once lecturers become aware that different students learn various styles, they try to accommodate those learning styles in the classroom. When looking into lecturers teaching practices, it is possible to understand that the majority of the lecturers are not sensitive with their students learning styles. The problems occur when lecturers are not aware of the significance to create and explore learning styles. In second language teaching or learning situations for academic goals, especially in higher education in English universities which make far-reaching use of academic materials written in English, reading is vital. Surely, without reading proficiency, second language readers cannot achieve at levels they study. Consequently, successful reading in a second language is important. Also, professional in second language education should take into consideration with approaches which can develop the learners reading skills. Interactive approaches to reading are crucial for recognizing the complicated nature of reading, specifically when it happens in a second language and culture (Carrell, Devine Eskey, 2000). In the beginning of 1970s, researchers became aware that learning strategies, styles, and personal characteristics could have significant influence in language acquisition. Michael OMalley and Anna Chamot and their colleagues conducted a lot of learning strategies (reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, etc) and grouped them into three main categories. The first category was metacognitive strategy, which included organization, comprehension, and evaluation in gaining knowledge. The second category is cognitive strategy, which emphasized in learning assignments and its applications. The third one was socioaffective strategy, which focused on interpersonal interaction and social-mediating activity (Brown, 2000). In a globalized world, reading serves as a primary medium for information transmission and communication. Beneficially, reading improves cognitive capacity, sharpens critical thinking ability and enhances problem-solving skills, and it may even transform the development of individuals. Stanovich (1986) suggested that good readers will read more and read better while poor readers read less, and in turn obstruct further growth in reading ability. Since English language has been introduced in Cambodia, EFL students learning styles have adapted to the language acquisition. In the past students were likely to get knowledge through listening to the teachers while teachers lacked specific training about teaching methodology. In the study by (Nguyen 2001), the learning style of Cambodian students is typically memorization at the expense of realistic purpose. Consequently, they would rather learn grammar and reading than on listening and speaking. Specifically, most Cambodian learners feel more comfortable and enjoyable with having things which are written on the whiteboard in order that they can write them down and study at home. Hopefully, students hope to get handouts of summaries or lecture outlines. Furthermore, some Cambodian learners reveal that they face a lot of pressures of how to adapt the new cultural environment and how to get on with their peers in class. Some feel lonely because the ways they dress or talk are so diff erent. As for the case of EFL Cambodian classrooms, Keuk (2009), found that most teachers use practical habitual teaching methods such as vocabulary translation from second language to first language. As a result, students are taught to remember chunks of English language with mainly focused on grammar and vocabulary. 1.2 Research Problems Without recognizing proper learning styles, particularly reading styles students seem not to achieve better results in their academic performance and their English proficiency seems to be slow. Furthermore, students are less likely to improve their language acquisition very quickly, as they do not know the effective learning reading skills. In spite of the variety of academic courses which the EFL undergraduate students take in English, and the tough efforts universities and lecturers apply to develop students language skills, the students language performance, unfortunately, has been tedious. This could be recognized to the diverse learning styles and habits which are used by students in studying English, including preferring having things written on the whiteboard to listening to the lecturers explanation, nervousness of speaking in classroom, preferring working individually and personally to working in pairs or groups, and translating the words they do not know into their own lang uage while reading the text. Frequently, encountering new words in reading is common for learners, especially L2 learners. It may not obstruct the general understanding of the text, but if too many words are not known, then intellectual capacity might suffer a lot. Pedagogically, most of the lecturers practice traditional teaching method, grammar translation method form first language to second language while teaching English language. The final noticeable problem is that large classes pose some significant challenges in class room setting and reduced effectiveness of classroom management. In a study by Nuttal (1982), students learning English seem to be slow due to the fact that they do not have opportunities to read a lot. Most of the class time is devoted to learning about the language, that is learning grammar and learning to read through translation. Students are taught in a traditional way. They approach their reading assignment by putting all their effort and concentration into the passages they read. They carefully read the passage word by word. When reading and encountering an unfamiliar word, they stop reading and look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary. This reading behavior not only slows down their reading speed, but also hinders their reading comprehension. 1.3 Objectives of Study This study aims specifically to identify the learning reading of EFL undergraduate students in Cambodia. An additional aim of the research is to explore the affects and the outcomes of undergraduate students in learning reading in English as a foreign language. 1.4 Research Questions This research aims to investigate the effective factors in learning reading skills in English as a foreign language. The following research questions can be formulated for the study. Are there any differences in learning reading among Cambodian undergraduates? Is there a correlation between learning styles and learning outcomes? 1.5 Significance of Study As a part of educational development, this study is significant for four reasons. First, exploring students learning styles in reading in English in Cambodian higher education will help improve students language acquisition. Second, the study will shed light on the effective learning reading of EFL successful Cambodian undergraduates, which can be used as a model of learning reading in English. Third, this research will help to contribute to the usefulness of appropriate reading teaching and learning techniques in order to promote reading skills, particularly in EFL Cambodian context. In addition, from a methodological perception, it is also hoped that the findings from this study will be useful for providing second language reading and several strategies for reading comprehension based on Brown (2001). More importantly, the findings will help to develop the students capability of dealing with unknown words in their English vocabulary learning process, help to improve their reading c omprehension, and conduct more beneficial suggestions for both English teaching and English learning. 1.6 Definition of Terms In an attempt to better understand this study, some key terms are defined as follows. EFL students learning styles mean techniques, behaviors, actions, habits and steps employed by learners learning English as a Foreign Language to improve and develop their different language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Moreover, the term learning style refers to the general approach preferred by the student when learning a subject, acquiring a language, or dealing with a difficult problem (Oxford 2001; Reid 1998) Extensive reading refers to the improving well habitual reading, increasing knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and motivating a connecting in reading (Richard Schmidt, 2002: 193-194). 1.7 Proposed Chapter This paper will be chronologically composed of five main chapters. Chapter one is the introduction, consisting of background of the study, researcher problem, research objective, research question, significance of the study, and definition of key concepts. Chapter two is literature review, which discusses on the problems and solutions of the study. Chapter three is methodology, which consists of research design, participants, method, instruments, tools data collection, data analysis, ethnical consideration, strengths and limitation of research. Chapter four is discussion and findings, presenting the findings related to the effective learning reading skills to make students learn effectively. Chapter five is conclusion and recommendation, summarizing the problems and findings of the study and suggesting some strategies to help improve the weaknesses. Moreover, these five chapters are followed systematically by references and appendices. 1.8 Conceptual Framework Since English has become popular and international language for communicating, many learning styles are applied in a broader educational context in Cambodia. In Cambodian universities, students learning reading skills inside and outside the classroom are identified as follows: skimming and scanning, semantic mapping or clustering, previewing and predicting, strategies for reading comprehension, interactive reading model, three-part model of reading, extensive reading. Cambodian undergraduate students learning reading skills Skimming and Scanning Previewing and Predicting Strategies for Reading Comprehension Interactive Reading Model Three-part Model of Reading Extensive Reading Metacognitive Knowledge and Self Monitoring Teaching Second Language Reading Skills The Affects of Students Learning Styles and Learning Outcomes CHAPTER2 LITERATURE REVIEW Reading involves a variety of factors which may have an impact on learners reading ability. Weaver (1988) defined reading as the process of constructing meaning through the energetic interaction among the readers existing knowledge, the information recommended by the written language, and the situation in reading context. In a study by (Miller Yochum, 1991; Donnell Wood, 1999), maintained that the reading difficulties students face may be related to inaccurate knowledge of the reading process, lack interest and motivation, fluency, concept density, organization, and difficult vocabulary. Heffernan (1999) as cited in Aqel (2006), determined that many studies on language learning styles applied and gained differently base on motivation and outcome, level of language , years of learning language, teaching methods, difficult content, and students background and sex. He also added that successful language learners use various styles in learning language, and the teacher can help in increasing learning styles through teaching strategies that probably help weak students to choose the appropriate learning styles for dissimilar educational tasks. 2.1 Reading Skills 2.1.1 Skimming and Scanning In their book More Reading Power, Mikulecky Jeferies (1996) stated that skimming and scanning are the two important strategies. Skimming is high-speed reading which can save students a lot of time. Students skim to get the broad idea or gist of a text or a book, the main topic, and some of the supporting ideas. Students should read the words which help them gain the sense of the passage. Also, teachers can train students to skim passages by giving those 30 seconds to look through a few pages of material, close their books and then tell you what they learned. More importantly, there are three effective strategies for skimming: (1) Read quickly as you can; (2) keeping in mind the reason for skimming; (3) be flexible while you are skimming the passage (pp.132-133). Scanning, however, is very high-speed reading. Students should have a question in their mind when they scan the text; they do not read every word, only the words which answer the question. Practicing scanning will help students learn to skip over insignificant words in order that they can read more rapidly. For example, teachers ask students to look for names, dates, to find a definition of a key concept or to list a certain number of supporting details. For academic English, scanning is absolutely essential. In general English, scanning is important in dealing with genres like schedules, manuals, forms, etc (pp.15-16). 2.1.2 Previewing and Predicting Mikulecky et.al (1996), students should make a difference before they read. They can get some ideas about what they are going to read. As a result, they will start to process the information faster as well as they will be able to catch the ideas of the writer better. Even though it takes two or three minutes to preview and predict, those minutes are well invested. Later, they will find that they save lots of time in reading and improve comprehension. Here are the hints for previewing and predicting about language text: (1) read the title of the passage; (2) decide what sort of the text it is; (3) look at the organization of the text; (4) read very fast the first line of each paragraph or sub-division; (5) notice repeated names, numbers, dates, and words; (6) read rapidly the very last few sentences in the last paragraph. 2.1.3 Strategies for Reading Comprehension Comprehension or reading strategies show how readers conceive of a task, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when they do not understand. In short, such strategies are processes used by the learner to improve reading comprehension and conquer comprehension failures (Singhal, 2001). In a second language study, Hosenfeld (1977) used a think-aloud procedure to identify relations between certain types of reading strategies and successful or unsuccessful second language reading. The successful reader, for instance, kept the meaning of the passage in mind while reading and skipped less important words but the unsuccessful reader lost the meaning of the sentences when decoded and seldom skipped unimportant words. In an article by Youngmee Suh (2005), one of the helpful strategies for reading comprehension is to be aware of the purpose in reading. Teachers should direct students how to get information through reading, to follow directions to do a task, for pleasure, to get in touch with friends and classmates, to know what is happening around the world, to discover out when and where things are, and for being interested about a topic. Furthermore, clear recognition of the intention in reading something is necessary for effective reading. Doing this, we know what we are finding out and we are not disturbed by other information. Consequently, it is compulsory for English reading lecturers to make sure students know their purpose in reading something. 2.1.4 Interactive reading model Whilst a reader constantly moves from a top-down approach to guess feasible meaning to bottom-up approach to prove all the details in interactive reading, interactive-compensatory model. Based on the study by Stanovich(1986), any stage functions interactively with any other stage. Readers are thought to increase the reading processes efficiently. In this model, less-automatic processes cooperate recurrently, and automatic processes activate independently. Therefore, reading difficulties are overcome by both interaction and compensation. According to Youngmee Shu (2005) stated that the reader brings information, knowledge, emotion, experience, and culture to the text. There are two types of schemata, content schemata and formal schemata. Content schemata include our knowledge about people, the world, culture, and the universe, however, formal schemata include knowledge about discourse structure such as illustration, cause-effect, or comparison are broadly studied because reading comprehension is a subject of developing proper, proficient comprehension strategies. Some of the strategies are associated with bottom-up processes and others with the top-down processes, each of which can be practically applied to classroom techniques 2.1.5 Three-part Model of Reading According to Song et.al (1999), there is a positive relationship between reading strategies and successful reading. Moreover, a reading class should be planned focusing on three-part model of reading with interactive activities. Lecturers should present different techniques to teach effectively reading in three various levels of reading, pre-reading, while- reading, and post-reading. Based on Youngmee Shu (2005) identified that In pre-reading level, schema of the text should be activated. Teachers often introduce a topic and ask questions about the text. Students skim the text for an overview of main ideas. Students tune in to the context and topic of the text and consider how the while-reading activity will be done. While-reading is for purposeful reading. Students work on certain facts or rhetorical devices to have a sense of purpose for reading 2.1.6 Extensive Reading In their book Extensive Reading in the Second Language classroom, Day and Bamford (1998) state the following characteristics for the Extensive Approach: reading as much as possible, book after book, where the meaning is the focus, students select their own readings, students cover a variety of materials and topics, students read for pleasure, information and general understanding, reading is its own reward, reading materials are within the range of the students linguistic competence, reading is individual and silent, reading speed is usually fast, reading teachers are guides and facilitators, and teachers are role models of a reader for students. This approach can be very beneficial and rewarding to student readers. Day and Bamford mention the following benefits: developing good reading habits, encouraging a liking for reading, developing structure and vocabulary, increasing general second language competence, developing automaticity, enhancing background knowledge, improving compreh ension skills, and promoting confidence and motivation. In an article by Ming-yueh Shen (2008), reading extensively is to expose students to a great amount of reading materials, enhance students reading fluency, and develop a good reading habit. 2.1.7 Metacognitive knowledge Metacognitive knowledge and self monitoring are the significant elements of fluent reading skills. Knowledge about cognition including knowledge about language, relating to identifying patterns of structure and organization, and using appropriate strategies to achieve specific goals (e.g., comprehending texts, remembering information). Connected with reading this will consist of recognizing the vital information in a text; adjusting reading rate; using context to deal with a misunderstood part; skimming portions of the text; previewing headings; pictures, and summaries; using search strategies for finding specific information; formulating questions about the information; using a dictionary; using word formation and affix information to guess word meanings; taking notes; underlining; and summarizing information. Monitoring of cognition regarding to recognizing problems with information presented in the texts or incapacity to accomplish expected aims. In addition, the ability to use me tacognitive skills successfully is broadly recognized as a critical component of reading skills. The Affects of Studentslearning Styles and Learning Outcomes Since the learning of students is likely to accomplish the better outcomes, there are some effective learning styles and strategies are applied to students learning. As stated by Youngmee shu (2005): Bottom-up models are based on text- or data-driven operations. In bottom-up processing, the letters, words and language features in the text are decoded while reading, and through this process, readers understand intensive and local meaning of the text. The reader is considered as a scientist with a magnifying glass examining the details. On the other hand, top-down models are based on meaning- or conceptually-driven operations. The reader is compared as a person with an eagles eye view of a landscape below. Schema (prior) knowledge for prediction is an important operation for a reader to understand and infer the meaning of the text. More recent research on teaching reading has shown that a combination of top-down and bottom-up processing called interactive reading is important. The interactive model suggests that the reader constructs meaning by the selective use of information from all sources of meaning (graphemic, phonemic, morphemic, syntax, semantics) without adherence to any o ne set order. The reader simultaneously uses all levels of processing even though one source of meaning can be primary at a given time. CHAPTER3 METHODOLOGY 3.1Research design Unlike the qualitative approaches, quantitative research is conducted to test the theory of natural setting (Fraenkel Wallen, 2000). Since the intent of this study significantly is to identify the differences of learning reading skills of Cambodian undergraduate students, the researcher will use a cross-sectional survey research. The researcher will explore the learning reading styles of EFL Cambodian undergraduate students. 3.2 Participants The target population in this study will be students in three private universities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The simple random sampling will be employed in order to obtain information. The participants will be selected through the help of table of random numbers. The sample consists of 100 students, who are studying English Literature in those universities. Also, the researcher will choose 40 female and 60 male students. Before conducting interviews, the researcher will make an appointment and notify the reasons of visit to the Rector of University. 3.3 Research instruments With the purpose of getting trustworthy information, the researcher will use written questionnaire and structured interview to obtain data from participants. The questionnaire will consist of 2 parts. In part 1, there are 42 Likert Scale items. The students will be asked to provide their responses about learning reading both inside and outside classroom. As for part 2, there are four open-ended questions, which a researcher will use to ask them to provide their answers based on their ideas. To ensure content validity, the researcher discussed the problem with the English language teachers who have had experience in teaching English. Reading test will be used to measure to outcomes of the students and questionnaire contains the common learning reading skill of students. Apart from this, interview will be utilized to get information about perception of students on a variety of students learning style. 3.4 Data collection The pilot test will be distributed to participants before conducting interview. Prior to carrying out the interviews, the researcher will ask permission from university rector and students. The researcher expects interview will take 30 minutes and occur in the universities or outside the universities. The options for selecting site for interview will be provided for the participants because it helps reduce the participants difficulties. Moreover, the study objective will be verbally informed to participants before conducting interviews. The researcher might ask different participants to answer the questions based on their preferences. The students will be asked to provide their responses about the learning reading of EFL Cambodian undergraduate students based on their ideas. 3.5 Data analysis After collecting data from the field setting, the researcher will identify any information about the number of members of participants who will not return the survey or response in any questions in order to prevent any respondent bias. The data will be carefully analyzed through SPSS in an attempt to explore scores, percentages and means of students reading skills. The scores of students will be converted into mean in order to compare students with students who use different styles of learning and their learning outcomes. 3.6 Ethical consideration To successfully conduct this study, the researcher will take into consideration about some safeguards. First, the consent form will be given to the participants to sign if they really agree to join in the study. Second, the purpose of this study will be clearly informed to participants in order to build mutual understanding and rapport. Third, the researcher will profoundly tell the participants that their participation will be voluntary and stopping from interviews will be the participants choice. Finally, the researcher will keep data collected in secret place which no one besides researcher will have access to get it. Furthermore, I will bring together the names of participants but keep them confidential. Personal identifiers will be released to the public in a way that protects the identification of participants. 3.7 Limitation of research This study is guided with the following limitations, which affect the generality of the finding. First, the study focuses three universities English students in Department of English. Second, the study may be limited in its analysis or generality as it will be conducted in three private universities, in which 100 students will be selected randomly. Third, since this study will mainly explore only important learning reading, some points might be ignored. However, the purpose of this study is not to provide the broad generalization but to explore the learning reading of Cambodian undergraduate students in three universities in Phnom Penh. Therefore, the above-mentioned compounding circumstances might limit understanding and evaluation; however, these are generally overwhelmed and controlled by the research design.

Democracy in Athens | Essay

Democracy in Athens | Essay Where did the real power lie in Athens’ radical democracy? Fifth-century, Athenian democracy has often served as a paradigm for democratic radicalism: from the French and American Revolutions to contemporary Anarchist Thought. And yet, the historical reality of the Athenian constitution may have been very different to what modern ideologues have envisaged. Was Athenian democracy truly a ‘rule by the many’, as the Greek word suggests? Or did the upper classes maintain their grasp over ‘real power’ down to the 4th century? This serious tension is exemplified in two contrasting passages in Thucydides’ narrative. In the so-called ‘Funeral Oration’, Thucydides has his Pericles proudly declare that ‘our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people’[1]; but a few chapters later Thucydides will turn this statement on its head by claiming that ‘in what was nominally a democracy power was really in the hands of one man’ : Pericles himself[2]. This essay will argue that although ‘real power’ did indeed reside with the demos, in practice a special position was reserved for wealthy citizens who would dominate the assembly as orators. Democracy first emerged in the end of the 6th century as a reaction to ‘stasis’ or civil strife[3]. The Cleisthenic reforms of 508-7 BC resulted in an isonomic constitution, founded on ten new tribes and the reorganization of Attica in demes, while the assembly, archons, Council of Areopagus and Heliaea still functioned as they had done under Solon and Peisistratus. The new council of 500, based on the 10 tribes, was now gradually replacing the aristocratic institution of the Areopagus, while the extensive use of lot in selecting the officials, emphasized the equality of all citizens, who now enjoyed equal political rights in the election of officials whether at the deme level (demarche), the tribal level (general) or the state level (archons and councillors). Democratic reforms continued throughout the 5th century. In 501/0 the importance of the archonships was greatly reduced by the introduction of the ten strategoi (generals). By 487 archons were selected by lot, whil e in 462 the democratic leader Ephialtes was assassinated for his involvement in further weakening the jurisdiction of the Areopagus[4]. Soon after, Pericles will introduce political pay of jurors and other officials while even the chief archonships were now opened to smallholders and -at least in theory- to the thetes. In post-Periclean Athens, a new generation of wealthy non-aristocrats like Cleon, Hyperbolus and Androcles dominated the Athenian political scene as ‘champions of the people’ and promoted further the interests of the Athenian masses. The Athenian constitution of the middle and late 5th century was therefore a genuinely popular constitution, a form of government that was primarily concerned with improving the welfare of the citizen mass. The Athenian demos was empowered with direct voting in the Assembly and the popular jury-courts, by raising hands, drawing ballots, or inscribing on ostraca. They enjoyed political liberty, freedom of speech and equality before the law. The people –rather than the Areopagus- were directly responsible for the examination  of one’s conduct while in office[5]. With respect to foreign policy, democratic Athens embarked on a staunched imperialistic policy which entailed significant benefits for the citizen mass. Measures such as state pay for jurors, Assembly members and sailors, the cleruchies, the liturgies and the eisphorae imposed on the rich, were tantamount to an indirect form of redistribution of state funds to the lower classes. Yet in practice the Athenian democracy retained a hint of elitism throughout its long history. Politicians -democrats and oligarchs alike- were always members of the upper classes of Athenian society. Cleisthenes, Alcibiades and Pericles himself were all members of the Alcmeonid family, one of the oldest and most illustrious ‘gene’ of Attica. And even ‘new men’ like Cleon and Hyperbolus or even Demosthenes were wealthy enough to afford the appropriate rhetorical education provided by the sophists. While the wider demos would exercise its political power by voting for or against the issue at stake, it was always men from the propertied classes that would put forth a proposal or move a decree. As a consequence Athenian politics tended to be personal rather than ideological, revolving around personal charisma and rhetorical skills rather than party organization[6]. This explains the typical view expressed by conservatives such as Thucydides, Aristophanes and Pl ato that the demos was always being ‘led’ by the ‘rhetores’: led wisely under Pericles, and led astray by his ‘lesser’ successors[7]. While acknowledging the special role played by these wealthy Athenians vis-à  -vis the citizen mass one should dismiss the oligarchic view of the Athenian demos as a naà ¯ve, passive spectator of the rhetorical skills of its leaders as an exaggeration. Athenian Assemblies were proverbially harsh in holding their leaders responsible for failures. One should think of the aftermath of Arginusai in 406 BC and the fate of Thucydides himself[8]. Even Pericles’ own political career was far from rosy. As one reads through Plutarch’s ‘Life of Pericles’ the Thucydidean concept of Athens as ‘essentially the rule by one man’ seems less and less plausible. Pericles, his wife and his protà ©gà ©s, Pheidias and Anaxagoras, were repeatedly -and often successfully- prosecuted by political opponents like Thucydides son of Melesias[9]; his sons were never granted an Athenian citizenship despite his passionate plea before the Assembly; and a fine was imposed o n him when the invading Spartans pillaged most other country estates but not his[10]. Unfair as these measures may sound, they demonstrate that even the ‘Olympian’ was susceptible to the fierce criticism of the Ecclesia. The Athenian demos was not only one of the most powerful citizen bodies in the Greek world; it was also the most experienced and demanding when it came to judging personalities, abstract concepts, law cases, policy recommendations or even theatrical plays. Politicians could come and go but the Athenians knew that the final word would always rest with the demos. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hornblower, S. (2002): ‘The Greek World: 479-323 BC’, New York: Routledge. Meiggs, R. (1999): ‘The Athenian Empire’, Oxford: Oxford University Press. D. Lewis [ed.](1988): ‘A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions’, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Wilcken, U. (1962): ‘Griechshe Geschichte: im Rahmen der Altertumsgeschichte, Mà ¼nchen. Plutarch, ‘Life of Kimon’, Bernadotte Perrin [trans] available in the Perseus Digital Library, at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0182:text=Cim.:chapter=1:section=1 accessed on 15.03.2006. Plutarch, ‘Life of Pericles’, Bernadotte Perrin [trans] available in the Perseus Digital Library, at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0182:text=Per.:chapter=1:section=1, accessed on 15.03.2006. (Pseudo-)Aristotle, ‘The Athenian Constitution’, G. Kenyon [trans], available in the Perseus Digital Library, at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0046query=head%3D%2316, accessed on 15.03.2006. Thucydides, ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’, original and translation in G. P. Goold [ed], Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1998. 1 Footnotes [1] Thucydides, II. 43 [2] ibid., II. 65. [3] For the relation between stasis and democratic reforms see Pseudo-Aristotle, 20.1: ‘Cleisthenes, getting the worse of the party struggle, attached the people to his following by proposing to give political power to the masses’. [4] For the weakening of the Areopagus see Plutarch, ‘LÄ ±fe of Kimon’, 15 and Aeschelus, ‘Oresteia’; for dating the introduction of the lot see Hornblower (2002:25) and Meiggs Lewis(1988:89-94); for the first recorded instance of a paid council see Thucydides, VIII, 69. [5] All greek words in brackets are taken from Pericles’ Funeral Oration. [6] Hornblower (2002:25) [7] Thucydides, II. 65 [8] ibid. IV, 104-7 [9] Plutarch, ‘Life of Pericles’, 32 [10] Thucydides, II. 65

Essay --

Financiering van de Pleegzorg; De gehele Jeugdzorg, waar Jeugdhulp Friesland en dus Pleegzorg onder valt wordt gesubsidieerd door de overheid. Dit valt onder de gezondheidszorg, per deel van Jeugdhulp is er een budget die wordt ingezet om iedereen te helpen. Als voorbeeld van een activiteit heb ik de reiskostenvergoeding van stagiaires genomen, stagiaires kunnen de gemaakte kosten declareren bij de organisatie. Deze prijs is opgebouwd uit de gemaakte kilometers en welke prijs daaraan verbonden zit. Hoe je reist is ook van invloed op de prijs, als je week-ov hebt krijg je niet betaald omdat jijzelf dan gratis kan reizen. Ieder pleeggezin ontvangt pleegoudervergoeding, deze vergoeding is maandelijks en is bedoeld voor het kind. Hiervan moeten ouders dingen als kleding en bijvoorbeeld slaapspullen. De vergoeding hangt af van de leeftijd van het kind, hieronder is een tabel bijgevoegd waarin de basisbedragen voor elke leeftijdscategorie zijn omschreven. Basisbedragen van de pleegzorg per jeugdige per 1 januari 2013. Leeftijdscategorie Bedrag per maand/per dag 0 t/m 8 jaar â‚ ¬ 532/17,50 9 t/m 11 jaar â‚ ¬ 538/17,70 12 t/m 15 jaar â‚ ¬ 586/19,28 16 t/m 17 jaar â‚ ¬ 647/21,28 18 jaar en ouder â‚ ¬ 654/21,51 (Pleegzorg Nederland, 2013) Privacy: De privacyregels van Jeugdhulp Friesland staan genoteerd onder de volgende categorieà «n: ï  ¶ Informatie verzamelen en vastleggen ï  ¶ Het recht om gegevens in te zien ï  ¶ Het uitgeven van informatie aan andere personen ï  ¶ Het bewaren en vernietigen van gegevens Informatie verzamelen en vastleggen: Alle informatie over een clià «nt wordt vastgelegd in een dossier, in dit dossier staan alle standaardgegevens zoals naam, adres en geboortedatum. De informatie die bij Pleegzorg binnenkomt is afkomstig van ouders/verzorgers ... ...eegzorg bevorderen en in de belangen van pleegouders en –kinderen voorzien. (Jeugdhulp Friesland, 2014) Ook heb je de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Pleeggezinnen (NVP), de NVP is een landelijke, onafhankelijke vereniging van en voor pleegouders. De NVP zet zich in voor de belangen van pleegzorg, ze willen de kwaliteit van pleegzorg in Nederland verbeteren. Dit doen ze door middel van ondersteuning, advies en belangenbehartiging voor de pleeggezinnen. (Jeugdhulp Friesland, 2014) Alle partijen binnen Jeugdhulp Friesland communiceren met elkaar, de Raad van Bestuur staat bovenaan en pleegt overleg met de Controller en de Regiodirecteur. Alles wat naar de medewerkers moet worden doorgestuurd wordt door de Regiodirecteur geregeld, deze zorgt ervoor dat de wensen van de Raad van Bestuur door gegeven worden aan de medewerkers. Voor een communicatieoverzicht: Zie bijlage

Napoleon Bonaparte :: History

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte, who is also known as the "little Corsican", was born on August 15,1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica. His family had moved there from Italy in the 16th century. His original name was Napoleone. He had 7 brothers and sisters. His original nationality was Corsican-Italian. He also despised the French. He thought they were oppressors of his native land. His father was a lawyer, and was also anti-French. One reason Napoleon may have been such a great leader and revolutionary because was he was raised in a family of radicals. When Napoleon was nine, his father sent him to Brienne, a French military government school in Paris. While there he was constantly teased by the French students. Because of this Napoleon started having dreams of personal glory and triumph. From 1784 to 1785 Napoleon attended the Ecole Militaire in Paris. It was there that he received his military training. He studied to be an artillery man and an officer. He finished his training and he joined the French army when he was just 16 years old. His father died after that and he had to provide for his entire family. Napoleon was stationed in Paris in 1792. After the French monarchy was overthrown in August of that year, Napoleon started to make a name for himself and become a well known military leader. In 1792 Napoleon was promoted to captain. In 1793 he was chosen to direct the artillery against the siege in Toulon. Soon after that Toulon fell and Napoleon was promoted to brigadier general. Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated many Austrian Generals. Soon after this Austria and France made peace. Afterwards Napoleon was relieved of his command. He had been suspected of treason. In 1795 he broke up a revolt and saved the French government. He had earned back respect and he was once again give command of the French Army in Italy. He came up with a plan that worked very well. He would cut the enemy's army in to two parts, then attack one side of them before the other side could help them. This worked very well against the Sardinian troops, he defeated them 5 times in 11 days. After this Napoleon was almost impossible to stop. This was when he began conquering most of Europe. The first country he defeated was Austria. He collected lots of money and sent it back to Paris, this helped the weak economy of France.

Part Four Chapter II

II Parminder was not supposed to be working the next morning, but she had a meeting in Yarvil. Once the children had left for school she moved methodically around the house, making sure that she had everything she needed, but when the telephone rang, she jumped so much that she dropped her bag. ‘Yes?' she yelped, sounding almost frightened. Tessa, on the other end of the line, was taken aback. ‘Minda, it's me – are you all right?' ‘Yes – yes – the phone made me jump,' said Parminder, looking at the kitchen floor now littered with keys, papers, loose change and tampons. ‘What is it?' ‘Nothing really,' said Tessa. ‘Just calling for a chat. See how you are.' The subject of the anonymous post hung between them like some jeering monster, dangling from the line. Parminder had barely allowed Tessa to talk about it during yesterday's call. She had shouted, ‘It's a lie, a filthy lie, and don't tell me Howard Mollison didn't do it!' Tessa had not dared pursue the subject. ‘I can't talk,' said Parminder. ‘I've got a meeting in Yarvil. A case review for a little boy on the at-risk register.' ‘Oh, right. Sorry. Maybe later?' ‘Yes,' said Parminder. ‘Great. Goodbye.' She scooped up the contents of her bag and hurried from the house, running back from the garden gate to check that she had closed the front door properly. Every so often, as she drove, she realized that she had no recollection of travelling the last mile, and told herself fiercely to concentrate. But the malicious words of the anonymous post kept coming back to her. She already knew them by heart. Parish Councillor Dr Parminder Jawanda, who pretends to be so keen on looking after the poor and needy of the area, has always had a secret motive. Until I died, she was in love with me, which she could barely hide whenever she laid eyes on me, and she would vote however I told her to, whenever there was a council meeting. Now that I am gone, she will be useless as a councillor, because she has lost her brain. She had first seen it the previous morning, when she opened up the council website to check the minutes of the last meeting. The shock had been almost physical; her breathing had become very fast and shallow, as it had been during the most excruciating parts of childbirth, when she had tried to lift herself over the pain, to disengage from the agonizing present. Everyone would know by now. There was nowhere to hide. The oddest thoughts kept coming to her. For instance, what her grandmother would have said if she had known that Parminder had been accused of loving another woman's husband, and a gora to boot, in a public forum. She could almost see bebe covering her face with a fold of her sari, shaking her head, rocking backwards and forwards as she had always done when a harsh blow had hit the family. ‘Some husbands,' Vikram had said to her late last night, with a strange new twist to his sardonic smile, ‘might want to know whether it was true.' ‘Of course it isn't true!' Parminder had said, with her own shaking hand over her mouth. ‘How can you ask me that? Of course it isn't! You knew him! He was my friend – just a friend!' She was already passing the Bellchapel Addiction Clinic. How had she travelled so far, without realizing it? She was becoming a dangerous driver. She was not paying attention. She remembered the evening that she and Vikram had gone to the restaurant, nearly twenty years ago, the night they had agreed to marry. She had told him about all the fuss the family had made when she had walked home with Stephen Hoyle, and he had agreed how silly it was. He had understood then. But he did not understand when it was Howard Mollison who accused her instead of her own hidebound relatives. Apparently he did not realise that goras could be narrow, and untruthful, and full of malice †¦ She had missed the turning. She must concentrate. She must pay attention. ‘Am I late?' she called, as she hurried at last across the car park towards Kay Bawden. She had met the social worker once before, when she had come in for a renewal of her prescription for the pill. ‘Not at all,' said Kay. ‘I thought I'd show you up to the office, because it's a rabbit warren in here †¦' Kay led her down a shabby, deserted institutional corridor into a meeting room. Three more women were already sitting there; they greeted Parminder with smiles. ‘This is Nina, who works with Robbie's mother at Bellchapel,' said Kay, sitting down with her back to the venetian-blinded windows. ‘And this is my supervisor Gillian, and this is Louise Harper, who oversees the Anchor Road Nursery. Dr Parminder Jawanda, Robbie's GP,' Kay added. Parminder accepted coffee. The other four women began talking, without involving her. (Parish Councillor Dr Parminder Jawanda, who pretends to be so keen on looking after the poor and needy of the area †¦ Who pretends to be so keen. You bastard, Howard Mollison. But he had always seen her as a hypocrite; Barry had said so. ‘He thinks that because I came from the Fields, I want Pagford overrun by Yarvillians. But you're proper professional class, so he doesn't think you've got any right to be on the side of the Fields. He thinks you're a hypocrite or making trouble for fun.') ‘†¦ understand why the family's registered with a GP in Pagford?' said one of the three unfamiliar social workers, whose names Parminder had already forgotten. ‘Several families in the Fields are registered with us,' said Parminder at once. ‘But wasn't there some trouble with the Weedons and their previous – ?' ‘Yeah, the Cantermill practice threw them out,' said Kay, in front of whom sat a pile of notes thicker than either of her colleagues. ‘Terri assaulted a nurse there. So they've been registered with you, how long?' ‘Nearly five years,' said Parminder, who had looked up all the details at the surgery. (She had seen Howard in church, at Barry's funeral, pretending to pray, with his big fat hands clasped in front of him, and the Fawleys kneeling beside him. Parminder knew what Christians were supposed to believe in. Love thy neighbour as thyself †¦ if Howard had been more honest, he would have turned sideways and prayed to Aubrey †¦ Until I died, she was in love with me, which she could barely hide whenever she laid eyes on me †¦ Had she really not been able to hide it?) ‘†¦ last seen him, Parminder?' asked Kay. ‘When his sister brought him in for antibiotics for an ear infection,' said Parminder. ‘About eight weeks ago.' ‘And how was his physical condition then?' asked one of the other women. ‘Well, he's not failing to thrive,' said Parminder, withdrawing a slim sheaf of photocopied notes from her handbag. ‘I checked him quite thoroughly, because – well, I know the family history. He's a good weight, although I doubt his diet's anything to write home about. No lice or nits or anything of that description. His bottom was a bit sore, and I remember his sister said that he still wets himself sometimes.' ‘They keep putting him back in nappies,' said Kay. ‘But you wouldn't,' asked the woman who had first questioned Parminder, ‘have any major concerns health-wise?' ‘There was no sign of abuse,' said Parminder. ‘I remember, I took off his vest to check, and there were no bruises or other injuries.' ‘There's no man in the house,' interjected Kay. ‘And this ear infection?' her supervisor prompted Parminder. ‘You said it was the sister who brought him in, not the mother? Are you Terri's doctor, too?' ‘I don't think we've seen Terri for five years,' said Parminder, and the supervisor turned to Nina instead. ‘How's she doing on methadone?' (Until I died, she was in love with me †¦ Parminder thought, Perhaps it's Shirley, or Maureen, who's the ghost, not Howard – they would be much more likely to watch her when she was with Barry, hoping to see something with their dirty old-womanish minds †¦ ) ‘†¦ longest she's lasted on the programme so far,' said Nina. ‘She's mentioned the case review quite a lot. I get the feeling she knows that this is it, that she's running out of chances. She doesn't want to lose Robbie. She's said that a few times. I'd have to say you've got through to her, Kay. I really do see her taking some responsibility for the situation, for the first time since I've known her.' ‘Thank you, but I'm not going to get over-excited. The situation's still pretty precarious.' Kay's dampening words were at odds with her tiny irrepressible smile of satisfaction. ‘How are things going at nursery, Louise?' ‘Well, he's back again,' said the fourth social worker. ‘He's been in full attendance for the past three weeks, which is a dramatic change. The teenage sister brings him. His clothes are too small and usually dirty, but he talks about bath and meal times at home.' ‘And behaviourally?' ‘He's developmentally delayed. His language skills are very poor. He doesn't like men coming into the nursery. When fathers turn up, he won't go near them; he hangs around the nursery workers and becomes very anxious. And once or twice,' she said, turning a page in her notes, ‘he's mimicked what are clearly sexual acts on or near little girls.' ‘I don't think, whatever we decide, there can be any question of taking him off the at-risk register,' said Kay, to a murmur of agreement. ‘It sounds like everything hinges on Terri staying on your programme,' said the supervisor to Nina, ‘and staying off the game.' ‘That's key, certainly,' Kay agreed, ‘but I'm concerned that even when she's heroin-free, she doesn't provide much mothering to Robbie. Krystal seems to be raising him, and she's sixteen and got plenty of her own issues †¦' (Parminder remembered what she had said to Sukhvinder a couple of nights previously. Krystal Weedon! That stupid girl! Is that what being in a team with Krystal Weedon taught you – to sink to her level? Barry had liked Krystal. He had seen things in her that were invisible to other people's eyes. Once, long ago, Parminder had told Barry the story of Bhai Kanhaiya, the Sikh hero who had administered to the needs of those wounded in combat, whether friend or foe. When asked why he gave aid indiscriminately, Bhai Kanhaiya had replied that the light of God shone from every soul, and that he had been unable to distinguish between them. The light of God shone from every soul. She had called Krystal Weedon stupid and implied that she was low. Barry would never have said it. She was ashamed.) ‘†¦ when there was a great-grandmother who seemed to provide some back-up in care, but – ‘ ‘She died,' said Parminder, rushing to say it before anyone else could. ‘Emphysema and stroke.' ‘Yeah,' said Kay, still looking at her notes. ‘So we go back to Terri. She came out of care herself. Has she ever attended parenting classes?' ‘We offer them, but she's never been in a fit state to attend,' said the woman from the nursery. ‘If she agreed to take them and actually turned up, it would be a massive step forward,' said Kay. ‘If they close us down,' sighed Nina from Bellchapel, addressing Parminder, ‘I suppose she'll have to come to you for her methadone.' ‘I'm concerned that she wouldn't,' said Kay, before Parminder could answer. ‘What do you mean?' asked Parminder angrily. The other women stared at her. ‘Just that catching buses and remembering appointments isn't Terri's forte,' said Kay. ‘She only has to walk up the road to Bellchapel.' ‘Oh,' said Parminder, mortified. ‘Yes. Sorry. Yes, you're probably right.' (She had thought that Kay was making a reference to the complaint about Catherine Weedon's death; that she did not think Terri Weedon would trust her. Concentrate on what they're saying. What's wrong with you?) ‘So, big picture,' said the supervisor, looking down at her notes. ‘We've got neglectful parenting interspersed with some adequate care.' She sighed, but there was more exasperation than sadness in the sound. ‘The immediate crisis is over – she's stopped using – Robbie's back in nursery, where we can keep a proper eye on him – and there's no immediate concern for his safety. As Kay says, he stays on the at-risk register †¦ I certainly think we'll need another meeting in four weeks †¦' It was another forty minutes before the meeting broke up. Kay walked Parminder back down to the car park. ‘It was very good of you to come in person; most GPs send through a report.' ‘It was my morning off,' said Parminder. She meant it as an explanation for her attendance, because she hated sitting at home alone with nothing to do, but Kay seemed to think that she was asking for more praise and gave it. At Parminder's car, Kay said, ‘You're the parish councillor, aren't you? Did Colin pass you the figures on Bellchapel I gave him?' ‘Yes, he did,' said Parminder. ‘It would be good to have a talk about that some time. It's on the agenda for the next meeting.' But when Kay had given her her number, and left, with renewed thanks, Parminder's thoughts reverted to Barry, the Ghost and the Mollisons. She was driving through the Fields when the simple thought that she had tried to bury, to drown out, slipped past her lowered defences at last. Perhaps I did love him.

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 15

A dozen snappy comebacks rose to my lips, but the intense looks on both their faces made me think better of it. Instead, I opted for the obvious next question. â€Å"What do you mean?† The edge of Carter's lips turned into a half-grin. â€Å"My goodness. I thought you'd be up on your lore. Greek mythology especially.† â€Å"Well, ambrosia†¦is called the Food of the Gods,† I offered slowly. I had grown up in a Greco-Roman society, but that didn't mean I was an expert on all the stories. I'd only been exposed to some in my youth. It wasn't until later scholars started compiling tales from all over the Greek world that I learned just how vast the mythology was. â€Å"Yes,† said Carter, nodding at me as one would a child reciting a lesson. Jerome remained tight-lipped, a stormy expression on his face. â€Å"What else do you know?† â€Å"Ambrosia was what gave the gods their immortality,† I continued. â€Å"Although I always thought it was some kind of drink†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stopped myself. The crystals weren't liquid at the moment, but they were meant to be consumed that way. A further alarming thought hit me. â€Å"Are you saying this Greek stuff will make Doug and the others immortal?† I'm downright unstoppable now. A god, babe. â€Å"Not exactly,† said Carter. â€Å"And I suppose I should point out that ambrosia isn't just found in the Greek stories. It appears in almost every culture's legends in one form or another. In King Arthur's world, it was said to have filled the Holy Grail. It gave new perceptions and enlightenment to its drinkers, and promised to heal the land. Some have also suggested the flames that appeared over the apostles' heads at the feast of Pentecost were not flames at all, but rather visions they saw after drinking ambrosia. It made the apostles vivid and charismatic and let them communicate with people of all cultures and languages.† â€Å"I know a number of devout Christians – my good friend Dana included – who would find that offensive.† Jerome couldn't stay silent anymore, despite how disgruntled this topic appeared to make him. â€Å"Imagine her reaction if she knew that some people have speculated the Eucharist has little to do with the blood of Christ and more to do with a lost ambrosia ceremony. Said people argue those who participate today are only mimicking the ancient experience, equating the Holy Spirit with the high from ambrosia.† â€Å"That would upset a lot of people,† I agreed. All three of us knew that many of the rites and beliefs that had been passed down to today were bastardizations of the originals. Some, not all. Carter continued on pleasantly, like he was in an auditorium giving a lecture. â€Å"Ancient Hindu culture called ambrosia soma and even personified it as a god of the same name. His presence was as intoxicating as the drink itself and muddled the senses of those around him. â€Å" â€Å"Soma was also the feel-good drug in Brave New World,† I recalled. â€Å"I didn't realize how widespread this was.† He nodded. â€Å"And these stories are only the tip of the iceberg. A lot more where they came from.† I enjoyed the information. Getting any sort of meaningful explanation from these two was usually like driving through downtown Seattle in rush hour: slow, painful, and fraught with collisions. And yet, forthcoming or not, they weren't exactly giving me what I needed. â€Å"Yeah, but you guys are real careful to say things like ‘some people believe' or ‘they say.' Which is it? What's really going on? Are any of those stories true?† Carter's gray eyes twinkled. â€Å"Ah, I can't spoil the mysteries. Humans spend their lives trying to discern the truth of divinity. Even a succubus can't be in on all the secrets.† I gave him an exasperated look. This was more like their typical behavior. â€Å"Okay, forget the myths. Can you tell me what's up with this stuff, then? Does it make people immortal?† Angel and demon looked at each other. â€Å"No,† they both said in unison. â€Å"But it makes you feel like you are,† said Carter. I thought about Doug's reckless behavior, his overwhelming confidence about everything from performing his music to stage-diving. He had no fear, no concern that anything might be less than perfect. â€Å"So it's like a stimulant or any other mood-altering drug, then,† I said. â€Å"It makes you feel good.† The angel shook his head. â€Å"No. It's a lot more than that. Ambrosia works by†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He grasped for the words. â€Å"I guess the best way to put it is that it amplifies your best abilities. It draws out what you're good at, what shines in you. And then it cranks up the volume on that to, well, godly levels, I guess.† â€Å"Yes, of course,† I breathed. That was why the band had suddenly shot off so successfully and rapidly. They were talented already. The ambrosia hadn't given them anything new; they'd just had their natural abilities increased tenfold. A hundredfold. And Casey†¦mathematically talented Casey had been able to do calculations in seconds that would have required a pen and paper for most people. Even Doug's Tetriss kills showed signs of ambrosia enhancement. Ican't wait to see how you react to them, Alec had said. Indeed, how would I react? What good abilities in me would get amplified? What abilities did I have? The obvious joke was that I'd be able to really rock some guy's world in bed. I didn't like that answer, however, partially because I believed I already could rock a guy's world pretty hard-core without the help of creepy crystals, thank you very much. Plus, I hated to think that's all I was. There had to be more to me than just sexual prowess. â€Å"Everyone who was on it crashed,† I reminded Carter. â€Å"Doug, Casey. And when they crashed†¦they really crashed.† â€Å"It does that,† he agreed. â€Å"One might argue that the withdrawal brings out your worst traits†¦or possibly turns your good ones bad. More often than not, it just makes a person depressed†¦and lacking. It's hard to go back to being ordinary. â€Å" That would explain Doug's bleak outlook the other day. I realized too he'd been having a withdrawal reaction on the day I kicked him out of the store. The lack of ambrosia had turned his normally sarcastic tongue and playful behavior into something dark and twisted. And yet†¦ â€Å"It must be nice to feel like a god. I guess I can understand wanting that. â€Å" â€Å"Well,† said Jerome, speaking up at last, â€Å"as we all know, you can't get something for nothing.† Carter nodded. â€Å"At a basic level, it's an addictive substance, and everything addictive has a cost – mainly that it enslaves you and makes you feel horrible when you don't have it. But, the other truth is that humans are not meant to be perfect. That's what humanity is: a series of successes and failures, a testing of one's own nature and aptitude. Neither the body nor the soul can sustain such a state. Eventually it consumes a person.† I pointed at the crystals. â€Å"What would have happened if I'd taken them?† â€Å"Isn't it obvious?† asked Jerome, his tone suggesting the same sexual possibilities I'd wondered about earlier. Carter gave me a straight answer. â€Å"Similar superficial effects. Enhance your good qualities. Immortals wouldn't fall prey to the addictiveness so quickly; they can sustain it for quite a while since in some ways, they already feel like gods. But in the long run, the consequences are still the same. You can't function at such high levels. Now, the ambrosia couldn't destroy your body, of course, but it'd still cause other serious problems if you took it for a long time.† â€Å"It'd probably just make you go insane,† explained Jerome helpfully. â€Å"Until the end of time.† â€Å"That's horrible,† I said. â€Å"Don't worry, Georgie. If it happens to you, we'll put you down first.† Ignoring him, I looked over at the crystals, suddenly feeling more repulsed by them than I had before. This time, my reaction had nothing to do with the creepy aura. â€Å"The real question, of course,† said the archdemon more seriously, â€Å"is where the hell did you get these?† â€Å"I told you. From Alec.† The two higher immortals exchanged glances once more. â€Å"Tell us about this guy again,† ordered Jerome. â€Å"Everything you know.† I did. When I finished, they looked at each other once more, having a mental conversation I was not privy to. God, they were annoying. â€Å"Alec's not the one,† said Carter finally. â€Å"The one who†¦?† â€Å"The one who this is coming from,† explained Jerome. â€Å"Well, I got it from him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Doesn't matter, Georgie. Some twenty-year-old blue-haired punk is not the source here. He's getting it from someone else. He's a peon in the chain. Besides, you never felt anything off him, did you? Something like the crystals but not quite like them?† â€Å"No, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But I had felt something from another person. Someone who spent time with Alec. The last card in my head flipped over. â€Å"I know who it is. It's him. That guy.† â€Å"Of course,† said Carter dryly. â€Å"I knew it was that guy. It's always that guy.† â€Å"Hold on, and I'll explain.† I turned to Jerome. â€Å"Remember that funny immortal I told you about? The really romantically dressed good-looking one? He's got to be the one. Alec's supplier. I've seen them talking together and even saw Alec sort of having a breakdown with him. † I added a little more background for Carter's benefit, explaining how GQ Poet Guy and I had sensed each other. Jerome and Carter considered this in silence. At last, the demon said, â€Å"Yes, that sounds like him.† Nobody said anything for a while after that. I was dying to ask who â€Å"he† was exactly, but recognized that angel and demon would take their own time on this. â€Å"So what are we going to do?† Carter asked a few minutes later. Jerome cut him a narrow-eyed glance. â€Å"Why do we have to do anything?† â€Å"Because it's the right thing to do.† â€Å"I don't know where you've been since the beginning of the universe, but the ‘right thing' isn't really on my list of priorities.† â€Å"He's poisoning mortals.† Jerome crossed his arms over his chest. â€Å"I don't care.† â€Å"He's doing it in your territory. Right under your nose.† â€Å"Stop trying to bait me. He's not involved with us. He can do whatever the fuck he wants to mortals.† Once again, I was dying to jump in but restrained myself. Listening to Carter and Jerome argue always unsettled me. Mostly, it just didn't happen that much. Usually they stood together in an exasperating wall of solidarity, good and evil notwithstanding. And, of course, watching them argue always made you wonder if something terrible might happen if tempers got out of control. Tables tipping over. Glasses exploding. The Four Horsemen showing up. Nonetheless, I felt confident Carter wouldn't let this matter go unattended. He would win. As I had noted earlier, I didn't know if I could trust him, but I did respect him – and his powers of persuasion. â€Å"It's a power play,† warned Carter. â€Å"He shouldn't even be trying it. His time is past; we're the ones who control the game now. Doing this insults us – especially you, since you guys are the ones who actually draw territorial lines. It's an unannounced challenge.† This, I saw, had an effect on the demon. He recognized Carter's attempts to draw him in, but it was working nonetheless. Pride wasn't one of the Seven Deadly Sins for nothing. Jerome, as a faithful servant of hell, couldn't help but be susceptible. I'd seen his pride come into play before; he didn't like others messing with his reputation. And while the demon naturally had many weaknesses, I'd say it was this more than anything else that would make him take action. â€Å"We can't intervene,† he said flatly. â€Å"You know that. Even if we are in control, we'd start an outright war. I for one don't want to deal with the repercussions of that.† â€Å"Agreed,† murmured the angel, lapsing into silence again. I looked back and forth between their faces, waiting for one of them to offer a brilliant plan. A brilliant plan which involved the angel and demon fighting in awesome, smiting glory to destroy Alec and his bastardly supplier friend. â€Å"Georgina could do it,† said Carter suddenly. â€Å"What?† I squeaked. That wasn't how the fantasy went. They turned their eyes on me. Dark outrage flashed in Jerome's eyes, then it faded as quickly as it had arrived. â€Å"Hmm. Perhaps.† â€Å"What are you guys talking about? I'm not doing any smiting.† â€Å"It wouldn't exactly be smiting,† said Carter, face promptly sobering. â€Å"But it could be dangerous if not done the right way. â€Å" â€Å"Why do I have to do it?† â€Å"Because you, Georgie, are a lesser power than we are. You are less subject to scrutiny and ramifications than us. It's the difference between a country declaring war and a small rebel faction striking out.† â€Å"Great,† I said, sinking back in my chair. â€Å"I'm a faction.† Carter was smiling again. â€Å"Don't you want to help Doug?† A moment passed. â€Å"You know I do.† â€Å"I meant it when I said it'd be dangerous, but if we're careful, you'll come out okay.† I thought about Doug's black despair and reckless behavior. The thought of this ambrosia â€Å"destroying† him clinched it for me. â€Å"Yeah, okay. I'll do it. Whatever it is. Dangerous or not.† I paused. â€Å"Um, what is it?† Neither answered. â€Å"Oh come on! You can't expect me to do this and not know what it is.† â€Å"It'll take some prep work,† Carter told me, apparently enjoying my consternation. But there was another expression on his face too†¦pride, I thought. The good kind of pride, like when you thought someone was doing the right thing. Not the bad kind of pride that made you do rash things. â€Å"As soon as it's in place, we'll let you know. I'll come find you.† I made a face. â€Å"You'll understand if I don't really find that a satisfying answer. † â€Å"And you'll understand,† retorted Jerome, â€Å"that it's the best one you're going to get.† Carter was a bit nicer. â€Å"What you can do in the meantime, however, is try to get access to the supplier. He's the one you'll ultimately have to deal with. Keep schmoozing with Alec. Do what you've got to do.† I nodded. Schmoozing I could do in my sleep. I felt relieved to be back in familiar waters. After leaving them, I put the ambrosia assignment on hold and went over to Seth's to play Scrabble, in keeping with a prearranged date. I'd vowed I wouldn't cheat this time, but I supposed that would depend on how desperate the game became. When I arrived, however, I found Seth in no condition to play. He sat at the desk in his bedroom, brow adorably furrowed as he stared at his computer screen, apparently willing it do something for him through mental determination alone. His condo had an office, I knew, but unpacked boxes currently filled it, making this room the combination office-bedroom. All his essentials in one place. If it had had an attached bathroom, he would have probably never emerged. â€Å"Can you give me†¦like†¦another hour?† he asked absently when he realized I had walked in, not looking at me. â€Å"I've just got to finish this chapter.† It was a moot request. Even if I hadn't been willing to give him another hour, he still would have kept writing. Mountains moved more easily than Seth in the middle of a story line. Happily accommodating, I kissed his cheek and wandered off to the office to find something to read. Sifting through those boxes made it difficult, however. By the time I had several of them emptied, I decided I might as well just go the whole way and do the job right. I unpacked all of the boxes – even the ones in his living room. I didn't know how many books that left me with, but it was a lot. My bookstore instincts made me sort them into categories, and that alone was time-consuming. Looking up at one point, I realized almost three hours had passed. I stood up, stretched, and returned to the bedroom. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"We're way past your hour.† He kept typing. I slipped my foot out of its sandal, shape-shifted the toenail color to burgundy and ran it up his leg. He jumped. â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"Hey yourself. Sorry to interrupt, but you need food, or you're going to pass out on your keyboard.† â€Å"Wouldn't be the first time,† he said. His eyes strayed, threatening to return to the computer, so I poked him again with my foot. He arched an eyebrow, then grabbed my foot, nearly making me fall over as he pulled me onto his lap. â€Å"You know, your toes aren't that compelling. It's not like I want to have sex with them or anything weird like that. I just think they're pretty. So don't think you can have your way on everything now. â€Å" I wiggled out of his grasp. â€Å"Say whatever you want. I've got new leverage with you. So, look, can you tear yourself away long enough to go get food?† It turned out he couldn't, toes or not. Disappointed, I ended up ordering pizza. We ate together and talked, but both of us were in our own worlds. He was with his characters in places I couldn't follow, and I was thinking about the ambrosia. Suddenly, I started laughing. â€Å"What?† he asked, startled. I told him about the ambrosia and what it did. The news obviously astonished him, but Seth had had some time now to accept the many unseen, supernatural things occurring in the world. I ended my story by saying Carter and Jerome were going to do something about it. I did not mention I would be taking on a large and possibly dangerous role too. There I was, holding back again, but it seemed pointless to get him worried when I had no concrete details yet. â€Å"So, anyway, I was laughing because I was trying to imagine what you'd be like on ambrosia,† I told him. â€Å"Why is that funny? Maybe I could churn out a book a week.† â€Å"Yeah, but I'd never see you again. You'd never bathe or cut your hair. It'd grow down to your waist – so would your beard – and you'd be sitting here in the dark, hunched over, wasting away in your Punky Brewster T-shirt. â€Å" â€Å"That's not funny. That's how I plan to spend my retirement. Besides, if I were going to wear the same shirt for the next fifty years, it'd be my Flash Gordon one.† His features shifted to a frown as he chewed. â€Å"The entire concept of Doug's problem being ‘magically' induced†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"It's crazy. And scary. Will they really be able to help him?† â€Å"They will if they can. Carter especially.† â€Å"You always put a lot of faith in him. Seems ironic, given the circumstances.† I supposed it was, and again, it was kind of new for me. I guess I was just starting to realize that although I might be on Jerome's side, it was Carter who was on my side lately. I smiled for Seth. â€Å"Well. If you can't put faith in an angel, who can you put faith in?† The muse called to him after dinner, and I let him go, unable to stand against her. I wondered if it would be possible for Seth to date someone who didn't love his books. Few women would be able to handle the competition. And yeah, sometimes it was hard for me to handle the competition too. It was hard enough that Seth wasn't into the livelier things I liked to do, like dancing. But also being denied the low-key things poked at me on occasion. Knowing his neglect was for the greater good, I returned to my book sorting, which allowed half of my brain to churn over the Alec problem and how I was going to get to GQ Poet Guy. Getting a hold of Doug in the evening was never easy, but I'd see him at work tomorrow. He'd offered Alec's number to me once; hopefully he'd be as obliging this time. I finished my cataloging and shelving job around two in the morning. All the books had homes on either the office or living room shelves, and all the books were indexed by genre and author in a way Emerald City might have lauded. The office now had room for the desk. In the bedroom, Seth still typed in the dark, lit by the glow of his monitor. I kissed his cheek once more and fell asleep in his bed, exhausted. I awoke hours later to someone kissing my cheek. â€Å"Hey,† I murmured drowsily, trying to pull Seth into bed with me. â€Å"You're giving me funny ideas.† He leaned over me and planted a kiss on my nose. Morning sunlight lit up the coppery highlights in his messy hair and perpetual five o'clock shadow. He regarded me fondly, those luscious lips smiling. â€Å"You put my books away. All of them.† â€Å"I had to. Good grief. If anyone at Emerald City found out I was letting that slide, they'd fire me.† He curled up beside me and put an arm over me. â€Å"You're pretty good to me, Thetis, considering what an idiot I am sometimes.† â€Å"Stop making fun of my favorite author, or I'll have to deck you.† â€Å"I mean it. I've lost girlfriends for less than what I did last night.† â€Å"You weren't that bad. I've seen you worse.† I sat up a little. â€Å"Hey, how many girlfriends have you had anyway?† Laugh lines appeared around his eyes, making him even cuter. â€Å"It was all research for the books, I swear.† It was ironic, I realized, that I kept ending up with artistic types. A very long time ago, I'd been married to a man I swore loved his music more than me sometimes. I had loved him for that musical passion and hated it at the same time. Similar scenarios with other mortals had repeated over the centuries. Remembering my thoughts from last night, I worried that Seth might bring out the old green-eyed monster again. â€Å"How'd the chapter turn out?† I asked, mussing his hair further. â€Å"Good. Great even.† He gave me a sweet, bemused look. â€Å"I don't suppose†¦I don't suppose you'd ever want to read the manuscripts as I work on them, would you? See how the process works?† I froze, realizing just what a precious gift he was offering me. Seth had told me once he never let anyone read the early drafts. He didn't want feedback that might influence his own creative flow. It wasn't until he had a complete manuscript and he felt the books were nigh-perfect that he finally allowed his publishing posse to take a look. That he would offer this to me both thrilled and touched me. â€Å"No,† I said softly, smiling. â€Å"But thank you. I don't want to interrupt your normal cycle. But maybe†¦maybe when you've got a fairly polished draft ready to send off, I'll take a look then.† He nodded, returning my smile. Something passed between us then that had nothing to do with manuscripts or book sorting but was fired by both of them nonetheless. â€Å"Here,† he said, standing up. Turning to a nearby chair, he picked up a tray I hadn't even noticed. â€Å"Since you fed me last night.† I looked down as he set the tray across my lap. Pancakes – with smiley faces – drowning in maple syrup. Good strong coffee. Even a little vase with two stems of purple irises. Seth had a thing for purple flowers. I touched one of the velvety soft petals. â€Å"You didn't get these from your kitchen. You must have gotten up pretty early to go out.† He shook his head, looking sheepish. â€Å"I never went to bed.† I therefore wasn't surprised when Seth lay down beside me while I ate and promptly fell asleep. I finished the exquisite breakfast, did the dishes, and left for work, leaving him a note that promised I'd call later. At the bookstore, I was getting so used to Paige and Warren's absence, it was like they didn't even work there anymore. I found Doug when he arrived, and as hoped, he did indeed give me Alec's number – though not without a few jokes at my expense. I called Alec on my lunch, unsure if he'd be home. He was there and sounded overjoyed to hear from me. Yes, yes, of course he could get more. He was so glad I'd liked it. Giving me the address of a coffee shop he'd be at, he told me to stop by right after work. I showed up there five minutes after my shift ended. The coffee shop was perfectly ordinary, nothing dark or sinister. Hardly the stereotypical rendezvous for a drug transaction. I spotted Alec sitting at a table in the back, but someone was with him. Not wanting to interrupt, I stood in line to order a mocha. Alec's companion was a young man, younger than him even. Eighteen, if I had to guess. And he was beautiful. He had swept his thick, dark-blond hair into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his face was all clean, strong lines. When he smiled at some comment of Alec's, perfect white teeth showed against the tanned skin. I expected to see this guy in an Abercrombie & Fitch ad soon. Or maybe not, since he too was apparently wasting his life away. Alec reached into his pocket and gave the guy one of the telltale bags. Happiness and relief shone on the golden boy's face, making him look – if possible – even more attractive. He left. Angrily gripping my drink, I took his chair and forced a cheerful attitude. â€Å"Hey,† said Alec in greeting, clearly in a good mood. â€Å"You have no idea how glad I am to see you. You look hot, as always. â€Å" â€Å"Thanks. How's it going?† â€Å"Awesome, now.† He grinned broadly. â€Å"Fabulous day.† He leaned toward me. â€Å"So? What did you think?† I set my cup down heavily and acquired some little-girl wonder. â€Å"You were right†¦it was amazing. It was like I was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I decided a lack of words was better than trying to describe something I hadn't experienced. He was only too happy to help fill in the blanks. â€Å"Better than ever? Who you were meant to be?† â€Å"Yes,† I said breathlessly. â€Å"You – you've got to give me more.† â€Å"Can do.† His hand reached into the magic pocket. One of the lethal bags appeared, and that ugly feeling snaked down my spine. He held the crystals teasingly out of my reach. â€Å"You know, they get better the more you do it. You up for that?† I stared at the bag longingly, then up at him. â€Å"Don't you have more than this? I mean, I want that one†¦but it's not going to be enough. I need a lot of this.† â€Å"Slow down. You don't want to take more than one bag.† â€Å"I know that, but this is good for what, a day or two?† His eyes glinted. â€Å"Big plans already, huh? Most people don't get quite so fired up this fast.† I chewed on my lower lip, not wanting to raise any alarms. Assessing my self-inventory, I tried to think of something nonsexual the ambrosia would have affected. Alec's earlier visitor gave me the answer. â€Å"It's weird. I know this guy at a modeling agency, and he always gives me the runaround. But I saw him yesterday when I took this†¦and it was like, I don't know. He couldn't get enough of me. He wants me to come back for some major shoots.† I gripped Alec's arm. â€Å"I don't get how this could be doing it†¦maybe it's coincidence. I don't know. But I want more. I think I need it to make this gig work out. You've got to help me. Or take me to wherever you get this. I'll pay. I'll do anything.† His face told me I had said exactly the right thing. â€Å"It's not coincidence,† he told me smugly. â€Å"And I'll get you more.† I exhaled with palpable relief. â€Å"Promise? Like a big supply?† â€Å"I promise. Here, take this one.† â€Å"What do I owe you?† â€Å"Nothing.† â€Å"Come on! They can't all be free.† My hold on his hand changed to something softer and more suggestive. â€Å"I told you before†¦I'm happy to pay†¦however you want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed, regarding me wistfully as he briefly ran his fingers over my hand and then pulled away. â€Å"I know. You want a big batch of it? That you'll have to pay for. I'll take you to the guy who gets it for me, and you can pay him.† â€Å"What'll it cost? How much am I going to need?† Something unreadable flashed in his eyes. â€Å"You've already got exactly what you need. Can you meet me tomorrow night?† I hesitated. Carter had said we needed some prep time before I faced the supplier, time in which I had been told to arrange the meeting with him. This was too soon. â€Å"I'm busy,† I told him, trying to put heavy regret into my words. â€Å"What about the next night?† He didn't seem happy about that, just as he hadn't liked the delay in me drinking my first batch. But where his urgency had been underscored with an eager curiosity last time, he now displayed an almost panicked anxiety. I wondered just how demanding his master was. â€Å"Sooner would be better. You aren't going to be able to go that long anyway, not if you want it this bad already. â€Å" I stayed firm. â€Å"I don't have a choice.† He agreed after a little more wheedling, and we set a time and place to meet in two days. As I stood up, he warned me, â€Å"Call me sooner if you can't hold out, okay? Here's my cell.† â€Å"Okay, thanks.† â€Å"Hey,† he called as I started to walk away. â€Å"Good luck with the shoot.† For a minute, I didn't remember what he was talking about. Then I recalled my alleged modeling gig. I smiled and thanked him, chuckling to myself as I left. In all of the lies I'd just told him, there had been a kernel of truth. I did have a photo shoot. Tonight was the night Bastien and I were going to take the pictures for Seth.