A Befriended Brother in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

William Price is well regarded in â€Å"Mansfield Park† by Jane Austen. He is the brother of Fanny Price, whom is the main character of the novel. Fanny is taken in by her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram and leaves her biological family, which is both unfortunate as well as fortunate for Fanny. By living with the Bertrams, she is allowed a better education and to be raised in a higher form of etiquette due to the fact that her family did not have as much money as the Bertrams did. The ill-fated part of her story is that she must leave her brother, William who, in the result, gains access into the navy because of his connections with Fanny’s adopted family. Jane Austen writes a novel that both pushes at the romantic standards that women had to obey to while also focusing on a great deal of love within the family. The love that Fanny has for her brother right until the end of the novel is striking and heart-warming. William is the older brother that every little sister wants to look up to, he is not only an idol to Fanny but a role model to the readers of the narrative. Austen creates characters to dislike and characters that convey emotion. Lady Bertram is one character of which the reader’s dislike does not stop for due to her mean attitude towards Fanny and the fact that she is almost constantly sitting on the couch with her pug, which she treats as if she loves more than her own children. Other characters, such as William, allow for the novel to not be one of complete hate amongstShow MoreRelated The Importance of Home and Family in Jane Austens Mansfield Park1450 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Home and Family in Jane Austens Mansfield Park         They were a remarkably fine family...and all of them well-grown and forward of their age, which produced as striking a difference between the cousins in person, as education had given to their address. (Austen, 49)   Within the first few pages of Mansfield Park, Jane Austen implants in the minds of her readers the idea that contrasting and conflicting environments are the forces that will

Descartes Discourse on Method - 931 Words

Understanding Descartes Method of Doubt Clear your mind, if you will, of everything you have ever seen or known to be true. To begin understanding Rene Descartes method of doubt, you need to suspend all prejudice and prior judgments and start with a clean slate for the purpose of discovering some ultimate truth on which to base all thought. (Kolak, Pg.225). Discouraged with much skepticism from his own beliefs, Descartes was embarrassed of his own ignorance. He set out to try and accomplish the task of finding an absolute truth in which he would base his beliefs. Placing upon himself a task to find an axiom or absolute truth to base all thought, he ventured as a youth in travel to collect a variety in experiences to derive some†¦show more content†¦He basically states in his meditations that if there is a God, and he is perceived as good, why would he deceive our thoughts? This brings up the evil deceiver argument. If we can only know that our existence is real, who is to say that there is not an outside for ce that makes of the rest of our reality that we supposedly live? If our dreams are just distorted pieces of our reality and our reality is merely a show put on by the evil deceiver, we know for certain we cannot base our beliefs on what we see and the tools unto which we use to perceive it; i.e. extension, hands, and eyes. Conclusion Descartes makes it clear that we cannot be certain of anything. The method of doubt brings us to understand this better by giving a set of guidelines to follow to systematically understand and get closer to some kind of truth. By trying to find some truth to base all thoughts on, Descartes tried to find an absolute truth by coming to the realization that nothing he believed was of any truth. Although not finding much truth in his journeys, he found a systematic way to come closer to finding truth. Descartes was presented with a problem of not knowing anything, and by creating the method of doubt he came closer to finding the truth. Works Cited Page Durant, Will Ariel. (1961). The Story Of Civilization. The Age Of Reason Begins. New York: Simon Schuster. Weissman, David. (ED.). (1996). Rethinking The Western Tradition.Show MoreRelatedDiscourse on Descartes Skeptical Method1672 Words   |  7 PagesSebastian Gumina Paper Topic #1 Descartes’ Skeptical Method Descartes’ method offers definitive conclusions on certain topics, (his existence, the existence of God)but his reasoning is not without error. He uses three arguments to prove existence (His and God’s) that attempt to solidify his conclusions. 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He goes on to explainRead MoreDescartes Surprise Ending in Discourse on Method386 Words   |  2 PagesIn one of the most influential books in the history of Western philosophy, Rene Descartes outlines a method mental reasoning, which he applies to a wide variety of fields and intellectual endeavors. For the first few books of Discourse on the Method, Descartes outlines first how the method came about as he was a pupil at school and had the realization that he was not actually learning anything important. He was therefore motivated to discover what truly constituted learning, knowledge, and truthRead MoreMeditation and Discourse on the Method by Rene Descartes831 Words   |  3 Pagesphilosophers attempt to satisfy them, such as Renà © Descartes. Descartes was a modern philosopher and rationalist, or an advocate of â€Å"the view that through unaided reason we can come to know what the world is like† (792). Descartes attempts to seal conclusions on such questions by using his mathematical knowledge and relating them to philosophy. Traces of such views can be found in many famous works that include the Meditations and Discourse on the Method. Descartes was a firm believer in the view that knowledgeRead MoreAnalysis Of Rene Descartes Discourse On The Method Essay2190 Words   |  9 PagesRene Descartes’ â€Å"Discourse on the Method† focuses on distinguishing the human rationale, apart from animals and robots. Wherein, he does so by explaining how neither animals, nor machines possess the same mental faculties as humans. For Descartes distinguishes the human rationale apart from non-humans, even though he does agree the two closely resemble each other because of their sense organs, and physical functions (Descartes, pp22). Nevertheless, it is because the mechanical lacks a necessary aspectRead MoreEssay about Descartes discourse on method931 Words   |  4 Pages Understanding Descartes’ Method of Doubt Clear your mind, if you will, of everything you have ever seen or known to be true. To begin understanding Rene Descartes’ method of doubt, you need to suspend all prejudice and prior judgments and start with a clean slate â€Å"for the purpose of discovering some ultimate truth on which to base all thought.† (Kolak, Pg.225). Discouraged with much skepticism from his own beliefs, Descartes was embarrassed of his own ignorance. He set out to try and accomplishRead MoreAnalyzing the Surprise Ending in Descartes Discourse on the Method and the Meditations1051 Words   |  4 PagesSurprise Ending in Descartes In the book Discourses on the Method and the Meditations, author Rene Descartes famously questions the existence of humanity. His most famous quotation, the one for whom he is most remembered is I think therefore I am (Descartes 11). According to this idea, so long as a being has the ability to think then they existed. Animals have brains and therefore they must exist. In order to truly, exist, to be a thinking entity, a person or organism must utilize the abilityRead More The Folly of Renà © Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy1462 Words   |  6 PagesThe Folly of Renà © Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy In order to embark on his quest for truth, Descartes first devises his four rules which should serve as a solid foundation for all else that he comes to understand. Those rules are here evaluated in terms of what they fail to take into consideration. The rules are examined individually and consecutively, and are therefore also reiterated in order to be clear about them. Furthermore, the approach of usingRead MoreAnalysis Of Rene Descartes s Work Discourse On The Method Of A Machine1316 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout his work Discourse on the Method, Rene Descartes discusses the things he believes to be true concerning thought. He discusses the things which he believes to be more perfect and the things which he believes to be less perfect (pt 2, para 1). When comparing the two, he eventually comes to the conclusion that things that are more perfect are constructed by fewer hands and have specific purpose (pt 2, para 1). He also introduces in the opening portion of his work that h is opinion of goodRead MoreThe Projetion of the Perfection Paradox1176 Words   |  5 PagesThe Projection of the Perfection Paradox In Renà © Descartes’s Discourse on Method, â€Å"seeking the true method for arriving at knowledge† (p. 10) is the goal in which he states in the beginning of discourse. With that end in mind, by analyzing proofs that Descartes finds it can be seen if this was achieved. The proof that God exist is a defining moment in the discourse since God is continually referenced for origin of true knowledge. The reference to God does not only set the stage for further

Sustainability Transitions in Electricity Sector †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Sustainability Transitions in Electricity Sector. Answer: Introduction: Renewable advancements require higher beginning in investments in infrastructure than fossil based power frameworks. A move toward low carbon power sources appear to be a fundamental component of environmental change mitigation techniques. This essay examines the environmental, economic, social effects and resources needed for the wide scale and worldwide deployment of different low carbon electricity production advancements. The stakeholder involvement is progressively becoming a part of developing investment project in order to convey favorable project results. As each stakeholder in the energy power plants has their own interest in the project which cause distinctive needs, clashes and has raised the unpredictability of the project. The report also analyzes the environmental, social, and economic issues related to electricity and recommends solution for the given issues. The solutions are meant to improve on technology that will aid in making renewable electricity easy to generate and supplied to the consumers. According to Verbong Geels (2010), sustainability may be defined as addressing own requirements without bargaining the limit of future generations to providing food their own particular necessities. As such, sustainability is the examination of how typical systems function, remain different and make every one of that its necessities for nature steady and adjustable. It likewise perceives that human development takes assets to help the progression way of life. Over the past decades, since the beginning of electricity new ways have been developed to make sustainable power. Sustainable electricity is the type of energy that is consumed at ordinary rates without affecting the atmosphere and its consumers at all. Its consumption is at low levels contrasted with its supply and impacts (Maxim, 2014). The procurement of energy supplies for a broadening and the continuously profitable world is one of the biggest issues standing up against development in the c urrent time. According to Stamford Azapagic (2012), sustainable energy source takes a look at both the helpful and fiscal capacity of the renewable energy sources to cater for this test. The fundamental physical and technological standards behind getting power from the direct sun-powered, indirect sun-powered, and non-sun oriented energy sources are categorized within the setting of their ecological impacts, their budgetary issues, and their prospects. According to Schaltegger et al. (2012), sustainable electricity has various economic, social, and environmental issues but if well handled by the endeavors of government and society, it will automatically accomplish long-term sustainable objectives. Better advancement has made sustainable electricity simple to generate and be supplied to the consumers. Environmental problems may involve climate change, environmental degradation, pollution and so on. Energy is the biggest single supporter of worldwide outflows of greenhouse gases. The creation and utilization of energy accompany essential natural difficulties. The major environmental issues that affect the maintainable energy power sources incorporate land utility and living space misfortune, water utility, and the risky materials. The environmental issues associated with electricity is the habitual loss of land and water as land has become limited in many parts of the world (Johansson et al, 2012). Thus, the physical impression of new facilities and feedstocks for electrical production is an essential consideration. In addition, the amount of land utilized is measured for other influences of new advancement, involving effects on the environment, cultural and historical resources. When the effects on land utilization are measured just by the surface area they possess during their li fe cycle, some sustainable power innovations seem to have an overwhelming land-use requirement. According to Schaltegger et al. (2012), electricity generation using thermoelectric advancement need immense measures of water, basically for cooling. Water use by power plants is portrayed by withdrawals and consumption. Water returns can be huge sources of thermal pollution and might involve release of chemical pollutants, such as chlorine or other biocides used in cooling towers. Biomass control plants share a couple of likenesses with fossil fuels where power plants incorporate the ignition of a feedstock to deliver power. Along these lines, biomass plants raise similar, yet not different, worries about air surges and water use as non-renewable energy source plants (Crane Matten, 2016). The PV cell creating process consolidates various risky materials, an expansive bit of which is used to clean and decontaminate the semiconductor surface. These chemicals are similar to those utilized as a part of the general semiconductor industry. Similarly, fluoride in wastewater poses exceptional issues, due to excessive measure of fluoride in drinking water causing an assortment of diseases (Lior, 2010). Environmental solutions are solutions available for the above environmental issues in order to secure a sustainable future for electricity. The organization focused on using the solar power plants to reduce the air and water environmental issue. Energy is a bigger user of freshwater throughout the world as up to 4 percent of the freshwater in the world goes into the creation of energy in some form. According to Panwar et al. (2011), mission 2017 suggest that the development of a global organization committed to market countries' governments on which energy source is best for them in view of every nation's financial development, and accessible resources. The organization must use solar power plants as solar energy use more water than traditional power sources, it is not as water intensive as original bio-fuels. However, solar power does not contaminate the environment to such an extent because of the rise in solar panel usage. The water consumption of solar power could diminish by methods for a recently enhanced dry cooling system that decrease water consumption. Solar electricity production shows a perfect solution to electricity from non-renewable energy with no air and water pollution, no global warming contamination, and no danger to the individual health (Allcott, 2011). The remedy available for waste disposal is to use the Incineration method which is a common and well-known method for waste to energy production. Energy from waste offers recuperation of energy by the difference in no-recyclable materials through various methods including thermal and non-thermal technology. The energy that is created as power, warmth or fuel using start, pyrolization, gasification or anaerobic processing is a flawless and feasible power source, with lessened carbon discharges and insignificant natural impact than some other kind of vitality. A social issue is a problem that affects large number of the people within the society. The social issues in sustainable electricity may include issues like poverty, which create challenges for the organization to offer a sustainable future for electricity. Social issues may arise in the working environment of a customer or investee's operations and may also affect surrounding communities. According to Elder-Vass (2010), energy utility is firmly connected to a scope of social issues, including poverty mitigation, populace development, urbanization, lack of opportunities for women and these issues affect energy prerequisites. Poverty is the revoking social thought for creating countries. Income estimation alone, be that as it may, does not totally get the wretchedness and the nonappearance of choice that destitution appears. Energy utilization patterns of poor people are especially their reliance on customary powers in rustic regions and tend to keep them destroyed. Absence of power r egularly involves inadequate lighting up and few work sparing apparatuses, and in addition, obliged media interchanges and possible results for business endeavor. The other social issue is the limited income which may compel family units to use customary fuels and inefficient advancements. Despite the fact that population development tends to manufacture energy necessities, it is less extensively understood that the openness of adequate energy administrations can cut down birth rates (Wolsink, 2012). The creating centralization of people in urban focuses is another key measurement issue associated with energy. Despite the fact that, the general example towards urbanization has different components and may be unavoidable, giving more contrasting options to provincial inhabitants through vitality mediations. Social issues solutions: There are also measures which organization can adopt in order to overcome these social issues and securing a sustainable future for electricity. For the alleviating the poverty in developing countries, organizations enhance wellbeing and augmentation profitability by giving general access to satisfactory energy benefits that are particular to cooking, lighting, and transport through direct, high caliber, secure, and earth commendable energy transporters and end-utilize gear. Nations can also make business energy available to raise salary making openings. The second arrangement accessible for speeding the statistic change is lessened youth mortality by exhibiting cleaner fills and cooking gadgets and giving sheltered, consumable water. They utilize vitality exercises to move the relative focal points and costs and cost of ripeness, for example, acceptable energy administrations can diminish the necessity for youngsters' physical work for family errands. The as sociations impact states of mind about the family measure and open doors for ladies through correspondences made open through current vitality bearers. In order to mitigate the issues connected with fast urbanization, diminish the push factor in country urban development by upgrading the vitality benefits in provincial ranges. According to Bribin et al. (2011), it misuses the advantages of high-thickness settlements through land organizing, giving general access to sensible multi-particular transport administrations and public transportation, and takes the favored viewpoint of new progressions to avoid energy serious, ecologically unsound headway ways. Ultimately, to increase open doors for ladies, spur the use of upgraded stoves and liquid or vaporous invigorates to diminish indoor air sullying and improve ladies' wellbeing, bolster the use of direct business energy to confine arduous and tedious work at home and at work, and utilize ladies' regulatory and entrepreneurial aptitudes to make, run, and advantage from decentralized energy frameworks. Economic issues basically confront that an economys finite assets are not enough to fulfill all human wants and requirements. The implementation cost of setting up the solar power plants, wind energy, thermal and non-thermal power plants are too high. As economies create and become more difficult, energy needs increase incredibly. According to Chu Majumdar (2012), the effect of energy expenses and costs on modern intensity relies upon the weight that every energy source has on the last energy utilization network. There are many issues which should be alleviated or overcome before cost effective can be extracted from the waves. The most difficult issue confronting the improvement of effective wave energy extractors is that the energy extracted directly from waves is not suited to cater energy requirements. Although there are wave energy extractors recently in presence, the cost of generating energy is very high to be monetarily focused with different types of sustainable power source . Wave energy extraction is presently too costly, making it impossible to be an important source of energy. The implantation cost of wave energy extraction can be divided into four main categories such as production, establishment, support, and relationship to the grid. Because these costs fluctuate so generally between various extractors, it is hard to assess the cost of generation for a wave energy converter. Thus, the wave energy conversion will become competitive in the long term. Wave extraction advancement is still in the preliminary phases of experimentation, and there are an extensive variety of devices currently being assessed. Economic issues solutions: In order to reduce the social issues, there are measures shows which can help the countries to provide a securing a sustainable future for electricity. According to Epstein Buhovac (2014), the main exact solution of solving the economic issues is the cost of the electricity generated by a specific venture contrasted with elective sources of power and to the market cost of energy when the power plant starts business operations. Although new atomic energy services are capital concentrated, capital costs are just the starting phase of any examination of new making limit. The nuclear energy organizations play an imperative part in job opportunities, and economic development, offering both long-term and enduring commercial and economic advantages. Nuclear energy organizations have led monetary advantages examining the greater part of the nuclear energy services in the country. Diverse energy is also another solution to overcome the economic issues in securing a sustainable future for electricity. Diverse energy sources enable the countries to adjust the cost of power generation, accessibility and environmental effects to the better future for electricity. Empowering public policies and private sector investment could give a further support to the advancements, particularly when short and medium-term economic advantages of sustainable energy are considered. Greenhouse gas emanations are only single perspective to consider, although the key to the renewed among environmentalist. Nuclear fuels costs are a moderately little portion of operating cost and therefore have just a weak influence on the cost of electricity, so shortage may or not may be a big factor. There are also atomic power advancements that basically permit much more effective utilization of uranium, or even to breed extra nuclear fuel, thus, these advances have not demonstrated successful. From the above essay, it has been concluded that sustainable energy is a basic part of decreasing the global carbon discharges and the pace of venture has tremendously increased as the cost of advancements fall and productivity keeps on rising. This essay analyzes the different sustainability points of electricity such as social, environmental, and economic issues in securing a sustainable future for electricity and the possible measures in order to overcome these issues. References Allcott, H. (2011). Social norms and energy conservation.Journal of public Economics,95(9), 1082-1095. Bribin, I. Z., Capilla, A. V., Usn, A. A. (2011). Life cycle assessment of building materials: Comparative analysis of energy and environmental impacts and evaluation of the eco-efficiency improvement potential.Building and Environment,46(5), 1133-1140. Chu, S., Majumdar, A. (2012). Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable energy future.nature,488(7411), 294-303. Clarens, A. F., Resurreccion, E. P., White, M. A., Colosi, L. M. (2010). Environmental life cycle comparison of algae to other bioenergy feedstocks.Environmental science technology,44(5), 1813-1819. Crane, A., Matten, D. (2016).Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press. Elder-Vass, D. (2010).The causal power of social structures: Emergence, structure, and agency. Cambridge University Press. Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. (2014).Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Johansson, T. B., Patwardhan, A. P., Naki?enovi?, N., Gomez-Echeverri, L. (Eds.). (2012).Global energy assessment: toward a sustainable future. Cambridge University Press. Lior, N. (2010). Sustainable energy development: the present (2009) situation and possible paths to the future.Energy,35(10), 3976-3994. Maxim, A. (2014). Sustainability assessment of electricity generation technologies using weighted multi-criteria decision analysis.Energy Policy,65, 284-297. Offer, G. J., Howey, D., Contestabile, M., Clague, R., Brandon, N. P. (2010). Comparative analysis of battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hybrid vehicles in a future sustainable road transport system.Energy policy,38(1), 24-29. Panwar, N. L., Kaushik, S. C., Kothari, S. (2011). Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: a review.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,15(3), 1513-1524. Schaltegger, S., Ldeke-Freund, F., Hansen, E. G. (2012). Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability.International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development,6(2), 95-119. Stamford, L., Azapagic, A. (2012). Life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity options for the UK.International Journal of Energy Research,36(14), 1263-1290. Verbong, G. P., Geels, F. W. (2010). Exploring sustainability transitions in the electricity sector with socio-technical pathways.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,77(8), 1214-1221. Wolsink, M. (2012). The research agenda on social acceptance of distributed generation in smart grids: Renewable as common pool resources.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,16(1), 822-835.

Louis Isadore Kahn And The Salk Institute Essays - Architecture

Louis Isadore Kahn And The Salk Institute Louis Kahn and The Salk Institute Standing alone against the endless blue sea, the Salk Institute by Louis I. Kahn is one of a kind. Louis Kahn's Salk Institute for Biological Studies on the Pacific coast near La Jolla aspires within its own spirit to an order achieved through clarity, definition, and consistency of application(Heyer 195). To many, this magnificent structure may seem out of place, but it works well with the surrounding environment because of the spatial continuity that it possesses. The relation to the site, the tectonic characteristics, and the ideas of servant versus served, combine to achieve a great sense of order in the Salk Institute. Many of the ideas that went into the construction of this design are still utilized in architecture today. Kahn's modern design takes full advantage of the atmosphere by opening up a broad plaza between two research and lab wings providing a view of the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the coastline (Ghirardo 227). The laboratories are separated from the study areas, and each study has a view of the magnificent blue Pacific with horizontal light pouring in. This allows scientists to take a break from their frantic studies and clear their minds with a breath-taking view. In relation to this idea Kahn stated, I separated the studies from the laboratory and placed them over the gardens. Now one need not spend all the time in the laboratories (Ronner 158). The two lab wings are symmetrical about a small stream that runs through the middle of the courtyard and feeds into the ocean. This steady ban of water flowing towards the sea symbolizes the success that human can accomplish. I thought this idea had a worthy presence, considering the Salk Institute is one that promotes research and study. Thus, the courtyard is considered the fa?ade to the sky. Kahn didn't need to dress up the land around the plan because the Salk Institute is the landscape. It is one with the site. Kahn incorporates the use of tectonic characteristics within this design in a number of ways. The materials used included wood, concrete, marble, water, and glass, and they all contributed to the Brutalist notions and simplistic plan. He believed that concrete was the stone of modern man, and therefore it was to be left with exposed joints and formwork markings (Ronner 164). Weathered wood and glass combined with the concrete to construct the outside surface. Kahn also integrated mechanical and electrical services into this architecture, which gave laboratories a new concept. These technologies were hidden in the design to continue Kahn's search for order in the plan. Ceiling and column ideas were also combined to separate the air that you breathe from the air that you throw away. Interlocking volumes are present throughout the structure, all the way down to the details on the furniture (Ghirardo 227). The servant and served spaces in the Salk Institute create a consistent order, which is evident throughout the design. The laboratories act as the served spaces, while the servant spaces are represented by the studies. All of the ideas are initiated in the studies or offices, and the research is carried out in the labs. Therefore, the servant spaces serve the served spaces. These are not the only ways that the served and servant concepts are involved in the institute. An idea that is still used to this day in all forms of architecture is the way the Kahn guides the utilities through the building in an unnoticeable manner. Served spaces and servant spaces are entirely integrated (Scully 36). Kahn also made a service floor under each laboratory which established a very flexible space, and this concept is still used today (Frampton 245). Overlooking the great Pacific, this is no ordinary office building. Louis Kahn used a combination of modern architecture with much simplicity to produc e arguably his greatest feat as an architect. A lot of concepts that he initiated in this plan are still in use all over the world today. The relation to the site, the tectonic characteristics, and the ideas of servant versus served, all work together to achieve a great sense of order in the Salk Institute. Bibliography Frampton,

Topographic Maps

Topographic Maps Topographic maps (often called topo maps for short) are large scale (often greater than 1:50,000) maps that show a wide range of human and physical features of the Earth. They are very detailed maps and are often produced on large sheets of paper. The First Topographic Map In the late 17th century, French finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert hired surveyor, astronomer, and physician Jean Dominique Cassini for an ambitious project, the topographic mapping of France. He [Colbert] wanted the kind of maps that indicated man-made and natural features as determined by precise engineering surveys and measurements. They would portray the shapes and elevations of mountains, valleys, and plains; the network of streams and rivers; the location of cities, roads, political boundaries, and other works of man. (Wilford, 112) After a century of work by Cassini, his son, grandson, and great-grandson, France was the proud owner of a complete set of topographic maps the first country to have produced such a prize. Topographic Mapping of the United States Since the 1600s, topographic mapping has become an integral part of a countrys cartography. These maps remain among the most valuable maps for government and the public alike. In the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for topographic mapping. There are over 54,000 quadrangles (map sheets) that cover every inch of the United States. The USGS primary scale for mapping topographic maps is 1:24,000. This means that one inch on the map equals 24,000 inches on the ground, the equivalent of 2000 feet. These quadrangles are called 7.5 minute quadrangles because they show an area that is 7.5 minutes of longitude wide by 7.5 minutes of latitude high. These paper sheets are approximately 29 inches high and 22 inches wide. Isolines Topographic maps use a wide variety of symbols to represent human and physical features. Among the most striking are the topo maps display of the topography or terrain of the area. Contour lines are used to represent elevation by connecting points of equal elevation. These imaginary lines do a nice job of representing the terrain. As with all isolines, when contour lines lie close together, they represent a steep slope; lines far apart represent a gradual slope. Contour Intervals Each quadrangle uses a contour interval (the distance in elevation between contour lines) appropriate for that area. While flat areas may be mapped with a five-foot contour interval, rugged terrain may have a 25-foot or more contour interval. Through the use of contour lines, an experienced topographic map reader can easily visualize the direction of stream flow and the shape of the terrain. Colors Most topographic maps are produced at a large enough scale to show individual buildings and all streets in cities. In urbanized areas, larger and specific important buildings are represented in black though the urbanized area surrounding them is represented with a red shading. Some topographic maps also include features in purple. These quadrangles have been revised solely through aerial photographs and not by the typical field checking that is involved with the production of a topographic map. These revisions are shown in purple on the map and can represent newly urbanized areas, new roads, and even new lakes. Topographic maps also use standardized cartographic conventions to represent additional features such as the color blue for water and green for forests. Coordinates Several different coordinate systems are shown on topographic maps. In addition to latitude and longitude, the base coordinates for the map, these maps show UTM grids, township and range, and others. Source Campbell, John. Map Use and Analysis. 1991. Monmonier, Mark. How to Lie With Maps. Wilford, John Noble. Mapmakers.

Paraphrasing Exercise Essays - Paraphrase, Rhetoric, Free Essays

Paraphrasing Exercise Essays - Paraphrase, Rhetoric, Free Essays Paraphrasing Exercise Directions: On a separate piece of paper, write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Feel free to read each passage a couple times. Try not to look back at the original passage. 1. The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate, [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity. From Captain Cousteau, Audubon (May 1990):17. 2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25. 3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers, Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348. 4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. The Casbah Gate depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, Bright Lights. Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50. 5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, Reaching for the Sky. Dial (May 1990): 15.

Project Exponential Decay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project Exponential Decay - Assignment Example Many researchers have fronted the idea that radioactive decay occurs in an exponential manner. According to the quantum theory, the half life of an element remains predictable. Yet, it is impossible to predict the exact moment an isolated nucleus of an atom will disintegrate in radioactive decay (Brady, 2009). It is against this knowledge that this research results were based. Mathematically, the results obtained from throwing a six-sided dice have been shown to follow an exponential pattern/ distribution. The experiments discussed were designed to display the relevance of throwing a dice to that of radioactive decay. In the first experiment, ten six-sided dice were thrown and the numbers that appeared each time recorded. The procedure was repeated each time removing a dice that had six after throwing. This was continued until all the dice had been emptied. The experiment was repeated using a limitless Excel number generator and finally with a 10-sided dice. As expected, the first experiment showed a gradually decreasing trend, synonymous with exponential decay. At time t=0 the total number of dice was 10. This corresponded to the number of un-decayed nuclei as explained by Murray and Hart (Murray, Arthur & Hart, 2012). Subsequent results were recorded as follows: t=1; 7 dice left, t = 2; 4 dice left, t=3; 4 dice left, t=4; 3 dice left, t=5; 1 dice left, and t=6; 0 dice left. These results are better displayed in the graph below. The second experiment involved 10 trials. At the time point t=0 there were 20 dice. Subsequent trials indicated the number of dice remaining per time as indicated in the graph. Apparently, there was a constant display after the eighth trial. These results are displayed in the graph below. The third experiment was based on 398 dice to begin with, representing an equal number of un-decayed nuclei. This was marked as the

Hazar alfaqeih Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hazar alfaqeih - Personal Statement Example I taught Mathematics in an elementary school in my country and had the opportunity for practical application of the methods and guidelines that I learnt from the best Doctorate holder in the college. She inspired me to do master’s degree in statistics and then go for the Doctorate in the same subject. Her style of counseling was excellent, she visualized the perspectives about this subject well, and I am now convinced that I would achieve my career goals by specializing in statistics. The subject of statistics is now my passion. Before my interaction with her, I had the notion that Statistics was a dull subject, full of never-ending calculations. Her style of dealing with the finer aspect of the subject changed the attitude of the students and we began to love statistics, and eagerly looked forward to her classes. Take me as the practical example, how a teacher can influence the thinking process of a student. The twin objectives of my life will be served, firstly to expand my knowledge on the subject and secondly to equip myself academically to impart knowledge, as my career goal is to teach in a University and be a Visiting Lecturer in business houses. With proper interaction from the lecturers and professors in your University and the fellow-students, I will further improve my communication skills. For an aspiring Visiting Lecturer in statistics, I would often need to explain technical matters and the latest statistical methods to make them understand business and the economy from the point of view of this subject. Business tools and strategies are continuously on the change with rapid progress that is taking place in technology and application of statistical methods. Your University is the best to get proficiency in statistics program, as graduates from your University hold responsible positions in top-ranked business establishments. They are constantly on the upward spiral in their careers, and are making

Seductive Powers of Women in the Medieval Era Essay Example for Free

Seductive Powers of Women in the Medieval Era Essay Women of the medieval genre employed sexual prowess to manipulate and gain control of their men. This was their only means of power in an otherwise powerless role as a female. Chaucer and de France portray in their poems the female’s struggle for power and dominance in relationships and the use of sexuality to achieve that goal. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue exploits a woman’s endeavor for power over men and the wicked measures she employs. The wife, the protagonist of The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, bragged of her successful manipulation resulting in having had five husbands. This power of persuasion, also noted in The Canterbury Tales General Prologue, â€Å"Of remedies of love she knew parchaunce, For she coude of that at the olde daunce,† which exclaims the wife’s familiarity with the art of love. (477, 478) The character of the wife used powerful seduction as the main means of manipulation, but she also beguiled them into guilt in order to get what she wanted from them. Ultimately, as depicted in by the wife’s own admission, â€Å"Namely abedde hadden they meschaunce, Ther wolde I chide and do hem no plesaunce†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (403,404), it was in the bedroom where she wielded her best feats, teasing them and refusing to bring them to sexual satisfaction until they promised to give into her plea for money- a cunning way in which she made her men submissive. Chaucer depicts the wife as a feminist character who is debauching in one sense, yet she contradicts that very essence by only having sex with her husbands when she wanted money from them. Ironically, she confesses to being the fondest of, and loving only her fifth husband, whom she could not control. The fifth husband, some 20 years younger, satirically reverses roles of the wife and her previous husbands by using the same manipulative schemes on her that she previously used on other men. Husband number five dominates the wife and alludes to her that he is aware of her wicked ways by reading to her from a book of stories of the most wicked, deceitful wives in history. Even though husband number five demonstrated more control over her than any of her previous husbands, she still managed to use her sexual talents to convince him to sign over his estate to her. Not only did Chaucer suggest the use of sexual temptations as tools for women used to obtain power in their domain, Marie de France also hinted to a similar use of sexuality in Lanval. de France’s Lanval depicts analogous use of beauty and sexuality by the queen as she seduced the protagonist, Lanval. Lanval was the object of a different seductress, one with the power of royalty. The queen used words of love along with her beauty and body to manipulate and seduce Lanval, evoking the pathos of love in him. Because of her position as queen, she demanded secrecy of her adulterous affair, which served as her means of control over Lanval. He had no choice but to agree to her demand of silence if he desired more favors from her. He eventually rejected her, which in turn infuriated her, therefore subjecting him to her bitter wrath as she sought to ruin him in an attempt to lessen the pain of rejection. In this poem the seductress doesn’t desire money, for she had all that she needed, but nonetheless she used her sexuality to obtain her desire, which is in this case was sex with Lanval. Sweet seduction manifested by soft-spoken, sweet words of love along with lust for the female body have lured men into the manipulative ways of women for centuries. Women have sought the dominance they so desired over their men with the only means of power they’ve had – and with much success. The works of Chaucer and deFrances illustrate the desire women have had for power throughout the ages.

Seasonal Affective Disorder and its Effects :: Seasonal Affective Disorder Health Essays

Seasonal Affective Disorder and its Effects Why is it that in dark, cloudy weather I take on a gloomy personality? Why do suicide rates drastically increase during the winter months? Why is the overall student body at USC much happier than the average Mawrtyr? Why do I constantly find myself fatigued and lethargic when the weather outside is lousy? For one reason or another, I allow the whims of Mother Nature to determine how I think and feel. If I wake up and the sun is brightly shining through my window creating a beautiful mixture of dark and light shadows, I suddenly feel happy and look forward to the day ahead. On the other hand, if I wake up and look out onto another cloudy and cold day in February at Bryn Mawr, I have the aching desire to crawl back into bed and sleep the day away. I am not alone in that my mood and disposition are determined daily during those first few moments in which I am awake. In fact, this phenomenon is shared by many. The general feeling of winter depression coupled with normal mood in the summer has been around for centuries, but it was not until the 1980s that it was characterized as a type of clinical depression (1). Psychologists have long been studying the effects of what they now refer to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the biological condition associated with changes in weather patterns. Can Seasonal Affective Disorder be considered a true medical condition? Everyone reacts to the changing seasons with corresponding changes in mood and behavior, but some experience more severe symptoms which alter their whole way of life. The symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder tend to first appear in late September when the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, and last until April or May. Seasonal Affective Disorder is characterized by recurring periods of depression lasting for at least two successive years of seasonal change (2). Other symptoms include a voracious appetite involving a high carbohydrate craving and accompanied by a 10-20 pound weight gain, sleep problems, memory loss, suicidal thoughts, problems concentrating, and an overall lack of interest in or enjoyment of activities. Unlike other forms of clinical depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder involves the cyclical pattern of depression that comes as the amount of daylight hours decrease and disappears as the days get longer (1). SAD patients often have hypersomnia during the winter and become manic or hyperactive in the spring.

Terror and repression were essential elements in establishing

Each communist regime, although In different countries have remarkable similarities In how they were seized ND governed. A lot of propaganda was used during these times. The people were all forced to believe in things that weren't exactly true and if they decided to rebel and stand up for their rights, they would either be killed or held in captivity for the rest of their lives. I have chosen two countries which I will go into more depth on and they are Hungary and Poland.In my opinion these two countries struggled the most through terror and repression, and were helpless during their communist regimes but both countries against all the odds were hungry and willing enough to tend up in the end and fight for their freedom. At the end of the second world war, Budapest in Hungary was in war with soviet soldiers, the streets of Budapest were a war ground, and people took to the streets to try to fight against these soviets.However the soviets were victorious in their quest and took contr ol of Hungary. Mantas Razors who was loyal to the soviets and the communism regime, had his own political party and had backing from the soviets. Rascal's alma was to convince communism was the way to go for Hangar's future. In 1947 a free election took place and people had the possibility to freely vote who they anted to run Hangar's government, but Rakish still managed to come into power, due to terror, repression, intimidation, trial and fraud.Arrack's first aim in power was to eliminate all threats that could of cause Rakish problems, and his first assassination was the head of the Catholic church. Rakish wanted complete power and anyone who spoke out against the communists were arrested, put on trial and imprisoned for life. This reign of power continued and by the 1949 elections in Hungary there was no opposition left to stand up against Rakish and his soviet ways, he country was now run by soviet lines. It was a tragedy for the Hungarian people. Rakish like most dictators use d propaganda methods to keep control of his people.He embedded the message of how he would lead Hungary into a wonderfully bright targeted everything good that Hungary had and ruined them with his corrupted mind. Rakish changed the Hungarian school system, everybody was forced to learn off Russian as a language, everyone also were forced to Join the young pioneers, which was the equivalent of a scout group which was organized by the soviet union for the gees of children from ten to eleven years of age. The young pioneers was founded in 1922 and stopped in 1991, the pioneers attended biblically run summer camps and learnt methods of cooperation.Rakish used a lot of propaganda methods to control his people. Rakish used advertisement to trick the people of Hungary, many ads were shown on Hungarian television promoting the soviet's in a positive light in everyday possible they showed happy Hungarian smiling and laughing, an example of an ad that was shown at this time was a commercial s howing the soviets in a positive light giving over big well bred ax's to the poor peasants of this liberated country for them to make an income and feed the Hungarian people.Another example was a commercial about cotton, and in the ad it showed soviet cotton being delivered to Hungary to feed Hangar's textile machinery, so the freezing worker's of Hungary could cloth themselves in warm material. They also had an ad about the soviets finding new found grain fields which await Hungary, and this would provide Hungary with better quality crops and quick reproduction. These were all great commercials and it really made it seem that communism was he way forward for Hungary, so many more commercials like these were made.The Hungarian were completely and utterly bombarded by news real and advertisement, on their radios, their TV's and even when they went to the cinema to see a film. Of course these were all fake lies, the ox's that were shown in the ad were originally Hungarian ox's and the Russian's did not give them to the poor peasants, they actually took them from Hungary and brought them to Russia. Workers were also not given free clothing, it took a average paid worker three months wages to build up enough income to purchase one decent coat.The new found grain fields, didn't exist anywhere near Hungary the fields belonged to Russia and remained in the hands of Russian farmers. The happy smiling faces of the people in the videos were Just hiding the sad grim reality of what was actually happening. The Russian's also took enormous amounts of food out of Hungary and they imported it into their own country and distributed it to Russian markets all around the country. Hungarian off didn't realize this was happening until months rolled on and Hungarian shops began to have shortages of food, such as potatoes and vegetables which they had ever had a shortage in before.This began to be a serious problem in Hungary as people were left in hungry. People were at the time no w aware of what Rakish was doing but they were simply unable to stand against him due to fear of being imprisoned or even sentenced to death he had stuck terror into the eyes and souls of the Hungarian citizens and had All the people could do was remain in silence and were made to deal with the new circumstances. People were forced to praise to this corrupted evil man.Rakish gave speeches to the people about communism and his plans for the future of Hungary ND how he has plans to make Hungary a new independent country, the people of Hungary knowing what he was saying wasn't true still were forced to clap and cheer his name and show him praise because if they didn't they knew there would be consequences. Rakish wanted Hungary to go through industrialization. He wanted Hungary to be a country of ‘Iron and Steel' these being his very own words. However Rakish wasn't a patient man he wanted his country to miraculously change over night which was very ambitious.The process of Indus trialization takes time and Rakish did not give time to anything while in charge. Rakish announced he was going to industrialist Hungary in 1950, and this announcement pleased them greatly, they were very grateful as the Hungarian people thought this would provide employment and wealth for Hungary and this would be the answer to their poverty sticker country. Rakish set his targets high, his ambition lacked the raw materials which they very much needed. High production targets were set.Workers were given quotas which must be met, and if the employee's did not reach the quota set they were ‘an enemy of the people' and if u somehow managed to met the quota, you were praised as a DOD communist. Rakish hailed two workers as he said they has supposedly reached these high production targets that Rakish desired, this was again another lie to put on the pile of Arrack's bundle of lies. They had not really reached the targets but word soon spread around the industries in off Hungary an d employees in the factories became bitter and envious toward these two men.This was a piece of tactical genius by Rakish. He then started to demand more work for such miserable wages. Soon work rate began to increase phenomenally but at a cost.. Workers found it impossible to met the quotas and they mound the only way that they could even come close was to cheat. For example workers hammered nails into washing machines instead of screwing them to save time. Although quantity of goods produced, quality of the goods plummeted. Shoes bought which cost a worker a couple of months wages came apart within days.Hungary had it an all time low. Terror and repression was defeating the poor Hungarian. This whole time the communist machine told the citizens of communist victory. People applauded Rakish due to the terror he had embedded into the minds of the Hungarian and the fear they had of him was not worth the risk of imprisonment or death. Rakish had secret undercover police everywhere cal led the AVOW, they walked around listening in to people conversations, everybody was left paranoid of them being behind their back.They listened to every whisper nobody could say anything negative about the communist regime without fear of been arrested and exiled to concentration camps on the outskirts of Hungary. The AVOW kept files on everybody, and nobody could be sure who the informers were they were trained to require and maintain stealth at all times in all their operations. Even the fear alone of knowing Between 1951 and 1952 thousands of people were deported to the mines, state farms or concentration camps by the AVOW. In 5 families had at least a member of their family or close friend taken away from them, it was impossible to escape the terror. If one family member was arrested, the whole family would be taken away by the AVOW and watched. This fear and paranoia drove people to insanity, which then led to a lot odd suicide's and during this time 2000 people were executed. Many hated Rakish and the Soviet Union, instead of indoctrinating their generation with the ideas of communism, they sold the seed of revolt.Poland was another country in Eastern Europe that suffered great terror and repression from 1945. Although the Nazi's were expelled from Poland in 1945, Poland still remained off controlled by the Soviets for another 1 1 years after until 1956. When the Nazi's were out of the picture, Poland therefore changed in many manners . In 1946 a referendum was held, they did this instead of holding their promised parliamentary elections and this was test to see if the communist rule was still popular in Poland.However the communists still one the battle of votes due to successful pole rigging, which was so easily done as people feared the communist parties as they were violent and they never show any remorse. Once the communist were in control of Poland their first plan of action was to eliminate all threats that opposed them. So the communist put a ba n on miscounts parties. Any sign of citizens of Poland in anyway shape or form who did oppose the communist regime would be exiled. This terror and repression used by the soviets in Poland was the very same as what was used in Hungary.Polish citizens were afraid to stand up against this regime as they eared for their lives and also their families lives, as one person in a families actions could have a detrimental affect on the rest of the family. However in 1947 the Polish United Worker's party the only left allele party formed. They had their first chance at parliament in the 1947 parliamentary elections, this allowed the party to come up against the Communist, they were shot down very quickly though, as they were powerless to the new placed government controls which were very strict.The election was won by the Communists and the candidates of the Communist party won the majority in the parliament. This ended all opposition to the Communist. Many members of the allele party left th e country as there was no hope for them. An AK organization, known as Hollows I Neoclassic meaning Freedom and Sovereignty in English was set up, but it was not set up for violence or combat, it's main aim was to help some AK soldiers make the transition of being partisan to a civilian of Poland.Although this group did not have many resources to face up to the Soviets they did very well and were successful in showing resistance to the Soviets. The Soviets felt they still needed to abolish all of these groups even though the AK organization was disbanded in late 1945, which probably prevented a civil war from taking place. However, many small groups decided to stay united and the Soviets were never going to be happy unless all their allies were disbanded as this would allow them to have complete control over Poland.

High School and Goals Essay

Hello my name is Rick Brooks and this is my student story. What the on course book has helped me with the most is getting me to commit to my goals and dreams. I was once a bright eyed young high school student with the dreams of going to college and making something out of myself. My graduation year from High School was 1992, yes 20 years ago, and yes that makes me 38 years old. I grew up with a family of 5 having four siblings and just my father to raise us. Money was tight and going to a four year university was out of the question. Information about scholarships at my school was minimal. I began working full time and decided to go to college anyways. So in 1992 I enrolled at AB Tech Technical college. Working full time and not having a very good commitment to my goals and dreams, I did not do so well. I eventually dropped out after my third quarter. At this time I did not even know to drop my classes, I just stopped going, what a big mistake. I now have several F’s on my transcript from 1992. 20 years and one fifteen year old daughter later, I have began to achieve my goals and dreams again. This is where On Course Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life came into my life. Upon starting the ACA 115 01 class I was very reluctant. I had already taken some college courses and had done well, at least until I dropped out. I figured that I did not need this class and I was pissed that the college was making me take it. When the class started on chapter 3, things began to make sense. I needed to design a compelling life plan. I had no idea how to do this. As I went on in the course, I starting figuring things out, things that I already knew I wanted, but thinks to On Course it started to all make sense. I needed to set goals. But how does one set goals, I thought that I knew how, but I did not. The book showed me how to use the DAPPS rule, which is dated, achievable, personal, positive and specific. I have since then set some goals and dreams for myself. I plan on graduation with my business degree from AB Tech college, that’s goal number one. Then I will pursue my dream. I want to open a bar and grill beachside in Key West FL. Before the On Course book I would have never thought these goals to be possible, but when I starting asking myself are these goals dated. Yes they are. I will graduate college in 2013. Are they achievable? Yes graduation is just around the corner and I have already taken a couple of trips to Key West to scope out the location for my restaurant. The book says that a goal should be at least 50 percent believable to me. It is now more like 75 percent believable to me now! Are my goals personal? Yes, nothing would satisfy me more the when I walk the stage and get my degree. I will be the first out of my four siblings (which are all grown now and not enrolled in college) to get a degree from college. I am motivated because these goals are mine and no one else’s. Are my goals positive? Yes, going through this course I realized that I should focus on what I want and not to focus on what I don’t want. Are my goals specific? Yes, my goals are specific. I will be able to measure my success when I get my degree next year. I only have six classes left, it’s been a long road, but a rewarding one. Whenever I start to stray from my course, I remember my goals and dreams. I have worked way too hard and have came way too far to give up now. My dreams are my motivation into the future, they will guide me from here on out. I am thankful for my dreams, and I am thankful for On Course for putting me on course to my life plan by showing me how to commit to my goals and dreams. Thank you On Course!

Academic Essay Writing †Flies at a Picnic

Academic Essay Writing – Flies at a Picnic Academic essay writing does not have to be a struggle if you understand the ingredients and the process. You cant avoid them just like flies at a picnic, they buzz around you, disturbing your peace, and making you frustrated and a bit angry. Unlike flies, you cant swat them, spray them, or try to ignore them. You just have to bite the bullet and get them done. And one of the most frustrating parts about those essay assignments, is that they are required in every course, and you are graded on your writing skill along with the content you present. Here you will learn how to make your academic essay writing a little easier, with a process that works and some extra tips to help along the way. The Ingredients of All Essays Every time you set out to write an essay, you first have some questions to answer: 1. To you have a topic that is appropriate for the assignment? Sometimes the topic is assigned; sometimes, you have options within a broader topic area; and sometimes you have complete freedom to choose your own. Make sure that your topic fall within the parameters of the assignment. If you are supposed to write an essay on something related to the Civil War, for example, and it is to be no longer than 3 pages, you obviously are not going to cover all of the major battles of the War. Maybe you can pick one or two. 2. You must have a focus. Often this is called a thesis. So, why are you writing this essay? What is important about the topic? How would anyone else benefit from this information or opinion you are going to give? All academic essays must have a thesis, and that thesis must be provide in your introduction. 3. You must define your audience. Of course your audience is your instructor, but often essays are shared within a class, so assume that your audience is also your peers. 4. Your piece must reflect sound organization. How will you organize the information or points of view that you will present? Usually, this is accomplished by some type of outline or other graphic organizer. Find one that works for you and the topic and use it. 5. Does your topic require research? If so, you will need to plan time to get that research done, probably before you develop a thesis or organize the presentation. Structure of an Academic Essay You know all about introduction, body, and conclusion, and this basic format for writing an academic essay will never change. But try thinking about these three elements a bit differently. Ask these questions: 1.How can I get my reader interested in this topic? (Introduction) 2. How can I keep my reader interested and give information that s/he will find unique and/or useful? (Body) 3. How can I leave my reader with some new insight, some recommendations, some call to action or some questions to ask him/herself? (Conclusion) Asking these questions will allow you to think just a bit differently than you have in the past. The Science of How to Write an Academic Essay Here is the process for constructing your essay, once you have the topic identified. 1 Research what you need to in order to have the information you need to be a bit of an expert on the topic or to support an opinion you are presenting. 2. Organize your thoughts into sub-topics that will be the paragraphs of your essay. If you are struggling with this, there is a simple solution. You can read sample essays on the same topic all over the web do not lift these essays. Use them as models for how information is sequenced and presented. 3. Make a least an informal structure of the sequence in which you will cover your sub-topics and the details of those sub-topics. 4.Write the rough draft of the body, then add the introduction and conclusion they both flow easier if you do it this way. 5. Watch your language academic essay writing is formal unless otherwise indicated by your instructor. There is no room for slang. 6. Grammar and composition skills if you are not skilled in this area, accept it. Get some help and dont be ashamed to do so. You may be a math or physics whiz but not a skilled writer. Its okay. Academic writing may not be your great joy its not for lots of students. But if you answer the questions, follow the steps, and use these tips, you will get better grades.

Megapiranha - Facts and Figures

Megapiranha - Facts and Figures Name: Megapiranha; pronounced MEG-ah-pir-ah-na Habitat: Rivers of South America Historical Epoch: Late Miocene (10 million years ago) Size and Weight: About five feet long and 20-25 pounds Diet: Fish Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; powerful bite About Megapiranha Just how mega was Megapiranha? Well, you may be disappointed to learn that this 10-million-year old prehistoric fish only weighed about 20 to 25 pounds, but you have to bear in mind that modern piranhas tip the scale at two or three pounds, max (and are only truly dangerous when they attack prey in large schools). Not only was Megapiranha at least ten times as big as modern piranhas, but it wielded its dangerous jaws with an additional order of magnitude of force, according to a recently published study by an international research team. The largest variety of modern piranha, the black piranha, chows down on prey with a biting force of 70 to 75 pounds per square inch, or about 30 times its own body weight. By contrast, this new study shows that Megapiranha chomped with a force of up to 1,000 pounds per square inch, or about 50 times its own body weight. (To put these numbers into perspective, one of the most fearsome predators that ever lived, Tyrannosaurus Rex, possessed a biting force of about 3,000 pounds per square inch, compared to a total body weight of about 15,000 pounds, or seven to eight tons.) The only logical conclusion is that Megapiranha was an all-purpose predator of the Miocene epoch, chowing down not only on fish (and any mammals or reptiles foolish enough to venture into its river habitat) but also large turtles, crustaceans, and other shelled creatures. However, theres one nagging problem with this conclusion: to date, the only fossils of Megapiranha consist of bits of jawbone and a row of teeth from a single individual, so a lot more remains to be discovered about this Miocene menace. In any event, you can bet that somewhere right now, in Hollywood, an eager young screenwriter is actively pitching Megapiranha: The Movie!

Information Based Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Information Based Decision Making - Essay Example In general a decision is made depending on the situation and the issue. The decision made cannot be favorable for everyone in all circumstances. It may lead to improvement or adverse effects on the situation. The information from the concerned department is the important part of decision making process. A decision is made only after collecting the relevant information. Thus information plays a major role in any decision. As a strategic manager I should design a strategy that helps in the process of decision making. This strategy must incorporate the plans that improve the existing situation. The strategy should consist of step by step procedure. The data and information must be selected when using the information based decision making. The nature of the data is an important aspect of information based decision making. (Johnson, 2008).The decision can be made only based on the nature of data. To get the data the data source must be selected well in advance. Once the data source is selected the corresponding data can be retrieved from the specified source. The identification and selection of data involves ascertaining the nature of data, data selection criteria and analyzing the legal requirements of data collection and storage. These are outlined in the following steps. Data is generally given as an input to the corresponding information system. The raw data is processed in the system after which it is given as an output. This output is referred as the information. Data can be in the form of a text file, image, video or an audio. Hence the data can be in any format that is understandable by the respective information system. This data is processed to form complete information. Data is an abstract type of information. The data can be either quantitative or qualitative. The nature of data has gone through various phases of improvement. Due to the latest technologies and the advancements, data's nature is completely different when compared to the initial stages. The nature of the data and the information must be assessed so that the decision is made according to the nature and type of data. The type of data may also differ from one system to another. The decision will differ based on the type of data. The processed information is then analyzed after which the next step begins. Criteria for Data Selection Data selection is an important aspect of information based decision making. Data selection is done based on various criteria. The data must satisfy the criteria to enter in to the system. The data selection criter

A region in the developing world faces water supply problem Essay

A region in the developing world faces water supply problem - Essay Example er provision; interlinking of rivers and rainwater harvesting and their comparison based on cost involved in the method and the impact of the method to the environment. It is found that rainwater harvesting is the cheaper method to be used to provide water in India. Despite the fact that India has quite a number of rivers like; Ganges, Krishna, Brahmaputra, Tapti, Yamuna, Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi and a good climatic weather condition characterized by availability of rainfall throughout the year which amounts to 4000 billion cubic meters of rainfall, it still has to contend with the issue of water shortage (Bombay, 2010 p 47). 1This can be linked to the following factors: 1. Increased demand for water by households, industries and for irrigation in farms: In 2006, it had been found that India used about 829 billion cubic meters by volume of water. This was shared such that irrigation consumed between 89 to 92 percent, industries used between 2 to 5 percent and the households used between 3 to 9 percent of to total volume from both underground and surface water sources as per the records of World Resource Institute, Earth Trends 2001. This consumption is expected to rise to about 1.4 trillion cubic meters or to double by the year 2050. This increase results from the rapidly growing population which will result into the need of more grains which are the products from the farm industries. This in return adds pressure onto the need of high production quantity and efficient irrigation methods (Shahan, 2009).2 2. Population growth rate: The population of India is expected to hit the 1.6 billion mark by the year 2050. Such a drastic increase in population is going to add stress on the existing water. The increase in population implies the need for more industries to meet the need of the people and increased reliance on the agricultural sector for both the raw material and food. The firms would need more water for irrigation and this increases shortage in the

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies - Essay Example Major changes have been elaborated to bring out the descriptive cause and effect based on the observations. The outcome of research ascertained that behavior and performance were affected by unethical haraam practices such as being late for work for no valid reasons, heavy drinking, taking long lunch hours, disrespect and anger when dealing with colleagues and even when addressing her seniors. These findings and results once tabled can be used by other employees as lessons to follow as well as for managers to devise strategies aimed at improving the performance of the most important asset in any organization which is the human resource (Muhammad, & Rehman, 2012). The employee in question has been referred to as an underperformer for his unsatisfactory work performance and failure to undertake her duties as per the standards required. Maryam Qureshi, has also been termed as an employee who did not comply with workplace rules, policies and procedures. In addition, she used to cause disruptive behaviour that impacted on the co-workers. Given the existing economic situations where businesses and profit making organizations are working hard to maximize profits, it is very crucial to make sure that employees respect their lines of duty. However, obtaining 100 percent of employee’s efficiency is not guaranteed as seen in the case study with Maryam. An underperforming worker can affect the bottom line of the company’s objectives, workplace morale, making other employees’ work look more difficult. Thus, the best thing to deal with such a case is to dismiss the staff in question. However to avoid running into legal problems, there are certain procedures that should be followed. For instance, in this case the management has to carry out a substantial performance review process so as to have a sufficient evidence to support the decision of firing Maryam (Burke, & Cooper, 2011). Maryam’s case does not look complicated since

Easy Honey Hair Care Essay Example for Free

Easy Honey Hair Care Essay Let me start at the beginning. This past year, I’ve been on a crazy hippie journey to eliminate toxic products from my life. Now, I’m excited to say that all of my body care items are homemade and non toxic. This includes: toothpaste, deodorant, body moisturizer (a blend of coconut oil, emu oil and essential oils), facial oil, and facial toner. I tried numerous types of DIY shampoos, including the no ‘poo method, but I was never happy. They irritated my scalp or dried out my hair. As a matter of fact, the no ‘poo method (baking soda + vinegar hair care) actually damages hair! Why Wash Hair with Honey Shampoo I’ve been washing my hair with this DIY honey shampoo for the past month and I LOVE the results! First, my embarrassing and persistent dandruff is clearing up. My hair is soft, shiny and it has become even more curly/wavy than usual. Finally, it is significantly less frizzy and I have no need to use an anti-frizz product. My scalp’s oil production has normalized and I can go 4 days between hair washing. The pH of the scalp is between 4 and 7, and the pH of honey is about 4. The slightly acidic nature of the honey balances the scalp and fights dandruff Raw honey is naturally antibacterial and antifungal, so honey washing can help treat a bacterial/fungal issues on the scalp Honey won’t strip the scalp and hair of the protective oils. As a result, hair will be less oily over time because the scalp will stop over-comensating with oil production (which happens when shampoos strip the scalp of all oils) Honey moisturizes the hair, and, since it doesn’t strip the hair of natural oils, hair will be softer with less frizz You will be able to go longer and longer between washings as your scalps oil production normalizes. Now, I only need to wash my hair every 4 days (and I’ve even gone a week between washing)! Honey washing is easy and fast! DIY Honey Shampoo Use only raw honey. Regular honey is processed with damaging levels of heat and is actually cut with corn syrup. I recommend making it on a â€Å"single serving† basis, so just mix up a little bowl of the shampoo before you plan to use it. Here’s the basic ratio, but you can adjust it as desired: 1 Tbs. raw honey and 3 Tbs. filtered water. If necessary, slightly heat the mixture over very low heat to help dissolve the honey. Yes, this is really watery†¦ that is how it is supposed to be. If desired, add a few drops of essential oil. To the mixture above, I add about 2 drops of lavender essential oil, 2 drops of rosemary oil, and 2 drops of carrot seed oil. The essential oils add a light fragrance and also help with any flaky scalp issues. The carrot seed oil, especially, is very nourishing to the hair. Wet hair, then massage a few tablespoons of the honey shampoo on the scalp. Massage well to distribute over the scalp. Don’t worry about getting the mixture on the ends of the hair, just the scalp area. Rinse well. No need to follow with any conditioner. How to store the honey shampoo UPDATE: I had one reader tell me her shampoo grew mold after one week. I have not had this happen to me, but I don’t want anyone else to have this experience. That is why I have updated the post suggesting that you make it as you need it. It’s super quick to mix together right before you wash your hair. Dun dun dun†¦ The Transition Period Nobody likes the term â€Å"transition period† but I have to mention it. When you switch from any type of sudsing shampoo (which is very stripping and drying to hair) to honey washing, your hair will probably be oily and dull after the first couple times of honey washing. It may even take a month or two for your scalp oil production to normalize when you switch from regular shampoo to honey washing. So for the first week, you may need to honey wash every day. Then you will find you can go every other day, then every second day, etc. Updates and FAQs After this post clocked in at the 350 comments mark in early September, I figured it was time for a follow-up. In my Honey Shampoo: Updates and FAQs post, I address some common questions and explain my new hair care routine. I also give a couple of tips to make the transition period easier. Finally, I explain that natural hair care varies greatly from person to person and offer some other non-shampoo options to try if you don’t like Honey Shampoo.

Francisco Franco Essay -- essays research papers

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco was the dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975, including the time of WW2. Perhaps he was better known as â€Å"El Caudillo,† translated into English as The Leader. He was born and raised in Spain. He was a very brilliant military general who led Nationalist rebels in defeating the Spanish government during the Spanish Civil War. Although he was viewed as a Fascist Dictator, he strongly opposed communism. He was an extremely important figure in the course of world history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teodulo Franco Bahamonde, Francisco Franco as he was known, was born on December 4, 1892 at the coastal city of El Ferrel in the region known as Galicia in Northwestern Spain. He was close to his mother during his childhood. His father, older brother, and the four generations before him were naval officers. However, the Naval Academy was full so Franco went into the Army. He enrolled into Infantry Academy at Toledo when he was 14 and graduated three years later.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Franco quickly climbed the ranks of the Spanish Army. He gained a reputation of being a disciplined, honest, and dedicated soldier who was strictly professional. He was promoted to first lieutenant of an elite regiment when he was only 20 years old. He became the youngest captain in the Spanish Army in 1915 at the unprecedented age of 22. He then became second in command to General Jose Millan Astray of the Spanish Foreign Legion in ...

The Golden Lily Chapter 24

BECAUSE THIS DAY couldn't get any weirder, I decided to stop by Adrian's. There was something I was dying to know but hadn't had a chance to ask. He opened the door when I knocked, a paintbrush in hand. â€Å"Oh,† he said. â€Å"Unexpected.† â€Å"Am I interrupting anything?† â€Å"Just homework.† He stepped aside to let me in. â€Å"Don't worry. It's not the crisis for me that it would be for you.† I entered the living room and was happy to see it filled with canvases and easels once again. â€Å"You've got your art studio back.† â€Å"Yup.† He set the brush down and wiped his hands on a rag. â€Å"Now that this place is no longer research central, I can return it to its normal artistic state.† He leaned against the back of the plaid sofa and watched me as I strolled from canvas to canvas. One of them gave me pause. â€Å"What's this? It looks like a lily.† â€Å"It is,† he said. â€Å"No offense, but this lily is kind of more badass than yours. If the Alchemists want to buy the rights to this and start using it, I'm willing to negotiate.† â€Å"Noted,† I said. I was still smiling from Brayden's breakup, and this only added to my good mood. Although, admittedly, the painting kind of lost me a little – as the abstract nature of his art often did. The lily, despite being more stylized and â€Å"badass† than the prim one on my cheek, was still clearly identifiable. It was even done in gold paint. Splashes of free-form scarlet paint surrounded it, and around the red was an almost crystalline pattern in ice blue. It was striking, but if there was some deeper meaning, it was beyond me. â€Å"You're in an awfully good mood,† he observed. â€Å"Was there a sale at Khakis-R-Us?† I gave up on my artistic interpretation and turned to him. â€Å"Nope. Brayden broke up with me.† Adrian's smirk faded. â€Å"Oh. Shit. I'm sorry. Are you†¦ I mean, do you need a drink? Do you need to, uh, cry or anything?† I laughed. â€Å"No. Weirdly, I'm fine. It really doesn't bother me at all. But it should, right? Maybe there's something wrong with me.† Adrian's green eyes weighed me. â€Å"I don't think so. Not every breakup is a tragedy. Still†¦ you might be due for some kind of comfort.† He straightened and walked over to the kitchen. Puzzled, I watched as he pulled something from the freezer and rifled through his silverware drawer. He returned to the living room and presented me with a pint of pomegranate gelato and a spoon. â€Å"What's this for?† I asked, accepting the offering out of shock alone. â€Å"For you, obviously. You wanted pomegranate, right?† I thought back to the night at the Italian restaurant. â€Å"Well, yeah†¦ but you didn't need to do this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well, you wanted it,† he said reasonably. â€Å"That, and a deal's a deal.† â€Å"What deal?† â€Å"Remember when you said you'd drink a regular can of pop if I didn't smoke for a day? Well, I calculated the calories, and that's the same as a serving of this. If you can believe there are four servings in that tiny thing.† I nearly dropped the gelato. â€Å"You†¦ you went a day without smoking?† â€Å"Almost a week, actually,† he said. â€Å"So you can eat the whole thing if you want.† â€Å"Why on earth would you do that?† I asked. He shrugged. â€Å"Hey, you laid out the challenge. Besides, smoking's an unhealthy habit, right?† â€Å"Right†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was still stunned. â€Å"Eat up. It's going to melt.† I handed the gelato back. â€Å"I can't. Not with you watching. It's too weird. Can I eat it later?† â€Å"Sure,† he said, returning it to the freezer. â€Å"If you'll really eat it. I know how you are.† I crossed my arms as he stood opposite me. â€Å"Oh?† He fixed me with a disconcertingly hard look. â€Å"Maybe everyone else thinks your aversion to food is cute – but not me. I've watched you watch Jill. Here's some tough love: you will never, ever have her body. Ever. It's impossible. She's Moroi. You're human. That's biology. You have a great one, one that most humans would kill for – and you'd look even better if you put on a little weight. Five pounds would be a good start. Hide the ribs. Get a bigger bra size.† â€Å"Adrian!† I was aghast. â€Å"You†¦ are you out of your mind? You have no right to tell me that! None at all.† He scoffed. â€Å"I have every right, Sage. I'm your friend, and no one else is going to do it. Besides, I'm the king of unhealthy habits. Do you think I don't know one when I see it? I don't know where this came from – your family, too many Moroi, or just your own OCD nature – but I'm telling you, you don't have to do it.† â€Å"So this is some kind of intervention.† â€Å"This is the truth,† he said simply. â€Å"From someone who cares and wants your body to be as healthy and amazing as your mind.† â€Å"I'm not listening to this,† I said, turning away. A mix of emotions churned in me. Anger. Outrage. And weirdly, a little relief. â€Å"I'm going. I never should have come by.† His hand on my shoulder stopped me. â€Å"Wait†¦ listen to me.† Reluctantly, I turned. His expression was still stern, but his voice had softened. â€Å"I'm not trying to be mean. You're the last person I want to hurt†¦ but I don't want you hurting yourself either. You can ignore everything I just said, but I had to get it out, okay? I won't mention it again. You're the one in control of your life.† I looked away and blinked back tears. â€Å"Thanks,† I said. I should have been happy he was going to back off. Instead, there was an ache inside me, like he'd torn something open that I was trying to ignore and keep shut away. An ugly truth I didn't want to admit to myself, which I knew was hypocritical for someone who claimed to deal in facts and data. And whether I wanted to agree with him or not, I knew without a doubt he was right about one thing: no one else would've told me what he just had. â€Å"Why did you come by anyway?† he asked. â€Å"You sure you don't want to make my awesome painting the new Alchemist logo?† I couldn't help a small laugh. I looked back up at him, willing to help him with the abrupt change in subject. â€Å"No. Something much more serious.† He looked relieved at my smile and gave me one of his smirky ones in return. â€Å"Must be really serious.† â€Å"That night at the compound. How did you know how to drive the Mustang?† His smile vanished. â€Å"Because you did,† I said. â€Å"You drove it without any hesitation. As good as I could have. I started to wonder if maybe someone else had been showing you how to do it. But even if you'd had lessons every day since you got the car, you couldn't have driven like that. You shifted like you've been driving manual your whole life.† Adrian turned abruptly away and walked to the opposite side of the living room. â€Å"Maybe I'm a natural,† he said, not looking at me. It was funny how quickly the tables had turned. One minute he had me backed into a corner, forcing me to face issues I didn't want. Now it was my turn. I followed him over to the window and made him meet my gaze. â€Å"I'm right, aren't I?† I pushed. â€Å"You've been driving one your whole life!† â€Å"Not even Moroi give licenses to infants, Sage,† he said wryly. â€Å"Don't dodge this. You know what I mean. You've known how to drive stick for years.† His silence answered for him, telling me I was right, even if his face was hard to read. â€Å"Why?† I demanded. Now I was nearly pleading. Everyone said I was so exceptionally smart, I could string random things together and make remarkable conclusions. But this was beyond me, and I couldn't handle something that made so little sense. â€Å"Why would you do that? Why would you act like you didn't know how to drive?† A million thoughts seemed to cross his mind, none of which he wanted to share. At last, he shook his head in exasperation. â€Å"Isn't it obvious, Sage? No, of course it isn't. I did it so I'd have a reason to be around you – one I knew you couldn't refuse.† I was more confused than ever. â€Å"But†¦ why? Why would you want to do that?† â€Å"Why?† he asked. â€Å"Because it was the closest I could get to doing this.† He reached out and pulled me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head up and lowered his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body was consumed in that kiss. I was nothing. I was everything. Chills ran over my skin, and fire burned inside me. His body pressed closer to mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were warmer and softer than anything I could have ever imagined, yet fierce and powerful at the same time. Mine responded hungrily, and I tightened my hold on him. His fingers slid down the back of my neck, tracing its shape, and every place they touched was electric. But perhaps the best part of all was that I, Sydney Katherine Sage, guilty of constantly analyzing the world around me, well, I stopped thinking. And it was glorious. At least, it was until I started thinking again. My mind and all its worries and considerations suddenly took over. I pulled away from Adrian, despite my body's protests. I backed up from him, knowing my eyes were terrified and wide. â€Å"What†¦ what are you doing?† â€Å"I don't know,† he said with a grin. He took a step toward me. â€Å"But I'm pretty sure you were doing it too.† â€Å"No. No. Don't get any closer! You can't do that again. Do you understand? We can't ever†¦ we shouldn't have†¦ oh my God. No. Never again. That was wrong.† I put my fingers to my lips, as though I would wipe away what had just happened, but mostly I was reminded again of the sweetness and heat of his mouth against mine. I promptly dropped my hand. â€Å"Wrong? I don't know, Sage. Honestly, that was the most right thing that's happened to me in a while.† Nonetheless, he kept his distance. I shook my head frantically. â€Å"How can you say that? You know how it is! There's no†¦ well, you know. Humans and vampires can't†¦ no. There can't be anything between them. Between us.† â€Å"Well, there had to have been at one point,† he said, attempting a reasonable tone. â€Å"Or there wouldn't be dhampirs today. Besides, what about the Keepers?† â€Å"The Keepers?† I nearly laughed, but no part of this was funny. â€Å"The Keepers live in caves and wage campfire battles over possum stew. If you want to go live that life, you're more than welcome to. If you want to live in the civilized world with the rest of us, then do not touch me again. And what about Rose? Aren't you madly in love with her?† Adrian looked way too calm for this situation. â€Å"Maybe I was once. But it's been†¦ what, nearly three months? And honestly, I haven't thought much about her in a while. Yeah, I'm still hurt and feel kind of used, but†¦ really, she's not the one I'm always thinking about anymore. I don't see her face when I go to sleep. I don't wonder about – â€Å" â€Å"No!† I backed up even further. â€Å"I don't want to hear this. I'm not going to listen to any more.† With a few swift steps, Adrian stood in front of me again. The wall was only a couple inches behind me, and I had nowhere to go. He made no threatening moves, but he did clasp my hands and hold them to his chest while leaning down to me. â€Å"No, you will listen. For once, you're going to hear something that doesn't fit into your neat, compartmentalized world of order and logic and reason. Because this isn't reasonable. If you're terrified, believe me – this scares the hell out of me, too. You asked about Rose? I tried to be a better person for her – but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I'm around you, I want to be better because†¦ well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you're like†¦ like light made into flesh. I said it on Halloween and meant every word: you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth. And you don't even know it. You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine.† I knew I needed to break away, to jerk my hands from his. But I couldn't. Not yet. â€Å"Adrian – â€Å" â€Å"And I know, Sage,† he continued, his eyes filled with fire. â€Å"I know how you guys feel about us. I'm not stupid, and believe me, I've tried to get you out of my head. But there isn't enough liquor or art or any other distraction in the world to do it. I had to stop going to Wolfe's because it was too hard being that close to you, even if it was all just pretend fighting. I couldn't stand the touching. It was agonizing because it meant something to me – and I knew it meant nothing to you. I kept telling myself to stay away altogether, and then I'd find excuses†¦ like the car†¦ anything to be around you again. Hayden was an asshole, but at least as long as you were involved with him, I had a reason to keep my distance.† Adrian was still holding my hands, his face eager and panicked and desperate as he spilled his heart before me. My own heart was beating uncontrollably, and any number of emotions could have been to blame. He had that distracted, enraptured look†¦ the one that he held when spirit seized him and made him ramble. I prayed that's what this was, some spirit-induced fit of insanity. It had to be. Right? â€Å"His name is Brayden,† I said at last. Slowly, I was able to quiet my anxiety and gain some control. â€Å"And even without him, you have a million reasons to keep your distance. You say you know how we feel. But do you? Do you really?† I pulled my hands from his and pointed at my cheek. â€Å"Do you know what the golden lily truly means? It's a promise, a vow to a lifestyle and a belief system. You can't throw something like that away. This won't let me, even if I wanted to. And truthfully, I don't want to! I believe in what we do.† Adrian regarded me levelly. He didn't try to take my hands again, but he didn't back away either. My hands felt painfully empty without his. â€Å"This ‘lifestyle' and ‘belief system' you're defending have used you and keep using you. They treat you like a piece in a machine, one that's not allowed to think – and you're better than that.† â€Å"Some parts of the system are flawed,† I admitted. â€Å"But the principles are sound, and I believe in them. There's a divide between humans and vampires – between you and me – that can never be breached. We're too different. We're not meant to be†¦ like this. Like anything.† â€Å"None of us are meant to be or do anything,† he said. â€Å"We decide what we're going to be. You told me once that there are no victims here, that we all have the power to choose what we want.† â€Å"Don't try to use my own words against me,† I warned. â€Å"Why?† he asked, a slight smile on his lips. â€Å"They were damned good ones. You're not a victim. You're not a captive to that lily. You can be what you want. You can choose what you want.† â€Å"You're right.† I slipped away, finding no resistance from him at all. â€Å"And I don't choose you. That's what you're missing in all of this.† Adrian stilled. His smile dropped. â€Å"I don't believe you.† I scoffed. â€Å"Let me guess. Because I kissed you back?† That kiss had made me feel more alive than I had in weeks, and I had a feeling he knew that. He shook his head. â€Å"No. Because there's no one else out there who understands you like I do.† I waited for more. â€Å"That's it? You're not going to elaborate on what that means?† Those green eyes held me. â€Å"I don't think I need to.† I had to look away, though I was unsure why. â€Å"If you know me so well, then you'll understand why I'm leaving.† â€Å"Sydney – â€Å" I moved quickly toward the door. â€Å"Goodbye, Adrian.† I hurried toward the door, half-afraid he'd try to hold me again. If he did, I wasn't sure I could leave. But no touch came. No effort at all was made to stop me. It wasn't until I was halfway out on the lawn in front of his building that I dared a peek back. Adrian stood there leaning against the doorframe, watching me with his heart in his eyes. In my chest, my own heart was breaking. On my cheek, the lily reminded me who I was. I turned from him and walked away, refusing to look back.