Coal Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Coal Energy - Essay Example Millions of people depend on it for their living. (Bisk). But because of the strong protests from environmentalists, it was difficult to process these coal energies for the energy requirements of United States. This article argues that the cavalier attitude of ivory tower environmentalists towards the millions of working and middle class people who make their livings (directly and indirectly) from coal creates enemies of the environmental movement amongst the very people who should be the most avid allies of environmentalism (Bisk). It suggests some ways of preventing the environment problems caused by the processing or extraction of coal energy through coal liquification. It focuses its attention on the link between the worlds large coal reserves and the green energy movement. Energy crisis is one of the severe problems faced by many countries irrespective developed or developing. The huge population growth and the heavy industrialization processes made energy an inevitable entity for the modern life. It is unimaginable to think about a world without electricity or vehicles. At the same time most of the conventional energy sources like coal and petroleum are non-renewable energies and also the processing of these energy sources is creating lot of problems to the environment. Environmentalists have raised a huge protest against the injudicious processing of coal like energy sources. The article suggests that by using coal liquification process US can produce a barrel of oil for about $30. Even though this process may release more CO2 than the extraction and refinement of liquid fuel from petroleum the author suggests some ways to counter such problems. In his opinion; the environmentalist’s protests can be reduced if the coal liquification process would liberate only half a ton of CO2 for every ton of greenhouse

An Examination of SMEs in Vietnam

An Examination of SMEs in Vietnam Definition of SME Nowadays in Vietnam, developing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is highly concerned by the government because a country prosperity depends lots on the health of the economy and enterprises. At the beginning of developing a market-oriented economy especially, SMEs play a key role because they take up most of enterprises in the economy, let alone creating the most of the labor force. However, up until now, there not yet exists a widely-used, complete definition on SMEs. The definition of SME is going through a process of dynamic change in parallel with the transformation from the centrally planned to market economy. Many of the definitions contained in the previous UNECE document OPA/AC.12/1 are no longer valid. The associated central and eastern European countries are gradually adapting their definitions the recommendation of the EU. The SME definition that is currently in use in the EU, is based on the Commission Recommendation 96/280/EC. Normally, to precisely define which compo nents make up a SME, we need to focus on the following criteria. In terms of qualitative measurement, there are quite a few criteria to define an SME, such as: low level of specialization, decentralization, simple administration requirements†¦ These criteria correctly reflect the nature of SME but simultaneously hard to reconcile. That is why these criteria has referential value only and rarely used in practice. In terms of quantitative measurement, the criteria are more specific and applicable. The most commonly used one is the number of people employed by the business. The second common criterion deals with finance – either the turnover or income, or asset value of the business. The third criterion relates to the independency of the SME from other business entity. This thesis will mainly deal with SME definition quantitatively since it shows clear advantage over the other, which are easy to measure and clear in scope. Since there is not yet a specific and widely-used definition for SME, it is important to take a look at different points of view and decide an overall acceptable concept in this thesis. It affects the analyses in different parts of this thesis. According to EU Commission, the main factors to determine whether an entity is a SME are labor force and either turnover or balance sheet total. Based on the commission staff working document by EU Commission, 2009 edition, the specific benchmark is as follow These ceilings apply for individual firms only. A firm which is a part of larger grouping may need to include related information from that grouping too. This definition use various sources to measure, hence, it covers most of the SME situation. Moreover, these three factors are clear in nature and easy to apply, which helps the firms as well as the government to follow and concept and apply relevant measurements. In 2010, enterprises with less than 250 employees are estimated to have accounted for 99.8% of the total number of enterprises across Europe, 66.9% of employment, 57% of turnover and 58% of value-added. Obviously, without such a clear definition, it would be so hard to statistically compute those figures and the government may neglect the mass number of SMEs in their countries. However, there still exists drawbacks concerning this concept, the most important of which is that it is not suitable for a developing country like Vietnam. For a micro enterprise in Vietnam, for example, it is almost impossible for it to own turnover or balance sheet total of 45 billion VND. Therefore, although EU has developed some reasonable criteria that we can learn to establish our own definition, it is essential for developing countries like ours to come up with one of our own. For Korea, the subject of this thesis, the government has issued legislation regarding SMEs, in which criteria are clearly stated in able to assist policy makers to identify SMEs. These criteria are divided upon specific fields. For example, in construction business, an SME entity has to have fewer than 300 frequent labors and have total investment capital of less than USD 600.000. In trading area, enterprises with less than 20 frequent labor and revenue less than USD 500.000 per year (retailers) or less than USD 250.000 per year (wholesalers) are considered SMEs. In this pool, small enterprises are those that have less than 5 frequent employees. These criteria are established in the 70s, up until now, the number of employees has increased 2 to 3 times and capital has been raised more than 10 times. This definition seems to fit more with Vietnam’s situation as Korea is also an Asia country and has similar economic background to us. It also uses the two most common indicators as labor force and capital to determine an SME. However, this definition is already outdated and adjusted to suit the current situation more. This practice makes the concept no longer appropriate to Vietnam as the economic situation between the two countries now differs quite a lot, which urges the need to develop a concept of our own, depending on the knowledge learned from other countries in the world. In our country, although there are not yet any fixed criteria to clearly define an SME, some organizations have developed their own concept to further support their activities. According to Doc 681/CP – KNT, enterprises with less than VND 5 billion in charter capital and average labor of less than 200 people per year are considered SMEs. Below are some organizations and their own definition Source: Ministry of Planning Investment However, these figures are temporarily just administration-oriented criteria to create supporting policies for SMEs. The fact that non -governmental organizations or governmental organizations develop their own concept is acceptable because they have different objectives and practices. On the other hand, such various opinions on SMEs are only referential in quality because they not yet come to a sufficient conclusion on whether an entity is or is not an SME. Therefore, the majority of intellectuals on this issue has raised to make clear this definition as an entity which has investment certificate, regardless of business type, and has capital as well as labor size that can satisfy government regulations on specific fields or through different times. From this standpoint, our government has finally come up with an official document on this matter. The Vietnamese government, defines SMEs by Decree 56/2009/ ND – CP as follow: â€Å"Small and medium-sized enterprises are business establishments that have registered their business according to law and are divided into three levels: very small, small and medium according to the sizes of their total capital (equivalent to the total assets identified in an enterprise’s accounting balance sheet) or the average annual number of laborers (total capital is the priority criterion), concretely as follows†: Table: by Business-in-Asia.com This definition sticks to criteria that have been used by EU and Korea, but tailored to fit with our economic situation. Furthermore, it divides the economy into different business sectors because of their distinctive characteristics. This definition is established using multiple statistical methods and surveys. Therefore, it is prestigious and practical enough to be used throughout this thesis Roles of SMEs Despite some disadvantages as being an SME, it still bring clear benefits and economic-social impacts due to its distinctive features SMEs considerably contribute to the government budget The contribution of SMEs into both government and local budget is considerable and on the increasing trend. The corporate survey report in 2011 showed that SMEs accounted for more than 97.6% the total number of enterprises in Vietnam, which made it the major tool to create jobs and generate income for the government budget. Income from corporate tax made 103.6% target and increased by 13% compared to the previous year in 2002. In 2003, income from SMEs took up around 15% total income, increasing 29.5% compared to the same quarters of the previous years. In 2004, income from private sector was 13.100 billion VND, occupying 7.8% budget. However, compared to government budget, the contribution of SMEs to local budget is much higher. For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, the private sector accounts for approximately 15%, 24% in Kien Giang, 16% in Dong Thap, 22% in Gia Lai, 19% in Ninh Binh, 16% in Yen Bai, 17% in Thai Nguyen, 22% in Quang Nam, 33% in Binh Dinh†¦ SMEs generate jobs and income for the labor force Due to estimation from some prestigious authorization, SMEs create 49% of non-agriculture jobs in the rural areas, which is about 25-26% of the overall labor force in Vietnam. For business sector, because of the increasing number of SMEs every year, they attracts around 45 million employees with the average income of 1.5 million VND per month. This fact means a lot in the fight to prevent unemployment and stabilize the society nowadays. The average proportion for a corporation to invest in a job vacancy is 70 to 100 million VND; meanwhile, for an SME, the number is only 210 to 280 million VND (around 3 times higher). Due to such a high level of investment, private sector is the main area attracting new employees ever year and redundant employees resulting from administration re-allocation or substantive change in the economic structure. This practice has helped stabilize and enhance the lives of the labor force. To date, more than 7 million people are now working in the private sector. This is such a positive contribution to social-economic stabilization, poverty reduction and awareness improvement. SMEs greatly contribute into the exporting activities In recent years, in line with our government policies about expanding and encouraging international trade, as well as creating the environment for all business sectors to participate in import and export activities, SMEs, especially the crafts, agriculture, aquatic industry have implemented dynamic investment into potential businesses. In specific, they actively seek for and exploit international markets, which helps a great deal in pushing export and tracking down foreign currency for the country. Up until 31/10/2014, the number of SMEs participating in exporting and importing activities takes up 80.6% and 84.2% respectively. The total exporting volume of SMEs in 2012 reached 4.108 million USD, accounting for 24.6%. For importing volume, the number was 4.789 million USD, accounting for 23.3% compared to the total export – import volume of the economy as a whole. The most remarkable thing is that SMEs in private sector has thrived to become the leading sector in exporting marine products, at around 740 million USD, accounting for 39% the total volume of this business sector. The story goes the same for almonds, at 141 million USD, taking up 42% of the total volume. With this increasing trend as these figures, SMEs will soon become the leading sector in obtaining foreign currency for the country. SMEs participate in the process of creating connection with big corporations SMEs, in the recent years, have strong connection with big corporations in supplying raw materials, implementing contracts, gradually generating supporting industries network and products distribution network especially. This is a two-way relationship, which both sides tie and support each other. The big corporations ensure markets, finance, technology and administration experience for SMEs. On the other hand, SMEs support big corporations in supporting industries and products distribution network. SMEs nurture startup spirit With relatively low investment cost, as well as limited size and business environment, individuals have room to experience and nurture ideas. The increasing number of SMEs both create fairly competitive environment and prevent monopoly in business, which brings clear advantages for new ideas. That is why SMEs are places for startups. SMEs are also the perfect places to train inexperienced staff and future leaders to prepare themselves for larger competitive markets. The great success always start from small steps, so SMEs are considered the stepping stones for a successful career. In reality, in many countries, many well-known multi-national corporations with hundreds of employees used to start as startups or small enterprises, with a few people with the same determination and business idea. Many SMEs all over the world were born in tough and flexible business environment. Later, they thrived and rapidly launched their idea into the commercial world. Many economists compare SMEs as a new breeze into the economy, bringing new business value, even in the biggest economy in the world – USA, especially in technology, communication, finance and banking. Starting with a simple idea and a small business size does not mean you stay there forever. Thriving to a successful and stable stage is always what SMEs aim for. SMEs contribute greatly in stabilization and economic restructuring by territory Normally, big corporations are often located in big cities, which exude developed infrastructure. This fact can lead to serious imbalance in economic, cultural and social development level between rural and urban areas. SMEs can greatly contribute to distribute industrial zone to different places, so the development gap among those areas can be narrowed down. The expansion of SMEs has been an essential part in creating the balance among the areas, helping them to identify potential and strength. The results are bright as those provinces can develop their own products and services, which creates industrialized and modernized economic restructuring. It can be stated that the existence of SMEs is the factor that brightens the economic picture of local areas. SMEs are the perfect complementary for the corporations network of the country, as well as those who utilize slight opportunities that big corporations often overlook. That is why SMEs are considered a vital policy tool to achieve development targets, in which is developing rural and remote areas.

Biological Warfare: Testing and Researching Toxins Essay -- Biological

Biological Warfare: Testing and Researching Toxins Biological Warfare is the use and employment of biological agents to harm or kill humans, animals, or plant life. Bio warfare can cause a significant amount of casualties with less preparation and work then other types of attacks. The weapons are relatively cheap and, unlike explosive attacks, biological attacks can be used to kill a select group. This meaning a biological agent can be created that would, for example only target animals or only target humans. There are various agents used in biological warfare. The U.S. Military defines these agents as "those biological pathogens and toxins that are intended for use during military operations to cause death and disease among personnel, animals, or plants, or to deteriorate material" [1]. Examples of such agents would be bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, and toxins which are derived from biological organisms. Each have great potential to harm mass amounts of people, animals, or plants depending on the target. The United States government has vowed to never use biological warfare agents and does not test for offensive purposes. This meaning that all testing goes towards developing immunizations, detection methods for detecting an attack, decontamination, rapid diagnostic tests and treatments. However, other countries have not taken the same action and many still test agents for their use in biological warfare. History of Biological Warfare Biological warfare is not a new technology. Infect the use of biological warfare goes back as far as the 1300's when swarms of rats and fleas were set loose to attack Tatar soldiers in the Black Sea port in Kaffa, currently known as Feodossia, Ukraine. The vermin carried disease wh... ...k it is really a huge threat that some toxin will fall into the hands of some evil person. The goods of testing far out way the negatives thus the U.S. should continue testing because ignorance is not bliss. Bibliography 1.Mauroni, Al. "Chemical and Biological Warfare". Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc, 2003 2.Microbiology 101 Internet Text, 2000; http://www.slic2.wsu.edu:82/hurlbert/micro101/pages/GMBW 3.Mycoherbicide.net; http://mycoherbicide.net/HEALTH/Toxicity/toxicity.htm 4.McGovern, Thomas and Christopher, George; Biological Warfare and it's Cutaneous Manifestations; http://www.telemedicine.org/biowar/biologic.htm 5.Federation of Medical Scientists; Biological Weapons; http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/bw/index.html 6.USAMRIIDS Medical Management of Bio Casualties handbook; http://www.usamriid.army.mil/education/bluebook/Mmbch4Adobepdfver4-02.pdf

Communication Cycle Health and Social Care

P2 Theories of communication -The communication cycle Effective communication involves a two-way process in which each person tries to understand the viewpoint of the other person. † According to Argyle, skilled interpersonal interaction (social skills) involves a cycle in which you have to translate or ‘decode' what other people are communicating and constantly adapt your own. Communication is a cycle because when two people communicate they need to check that their ideas have been understood†.An example of good communication involves the process of checking understanding, using reflective or active listening. Argyle's stages of the communication cycle were an idea occurs, message coded, message sent, message received, message decoded, message understood. Verbal and non-verbal communication is not always straightforward. The communication cycle involves a kind of code that has to be translated. There are 5 stages in the â€Å"communication cycle† which are: 1. Idea occurs: this is the stage when an individual thinks what he is going to say and who to. 2.Message coded: this is the way that an individual puts his thoughts together with the way he is going to communicate, putting the thoughts into language or into some other code such as sign language. 3. Message sent: this is stage is when an individual speaks or sign what they are going to say, in few words is the way the message is sent. 4. Message received: this is where the person you are speaking to has listened to what you said and they have to sense the message by hearing or watching. 5. Message decoded: The receiver has to understand the message that the sender has just sent.This could be misunderstood easily by interpreting words differently or they might make assumptions about your body language as well as words. 6. Message understood: at this stage the message should be understood but it does not always happen at the first time, and if so the cycle needs to start all over agai n. Without just any one of these stages the cycle would not work. An example of a difficult situation is when your service user tells you they are in pain, but can’t describe the pain they are in.This is difficult because you need to understand what the pain is and what the source of the pain is so that you can resolve the pain and provide a diagnosis, so if they can’t describe the pain you are unable to do so. You can be asking simple questions which may help you understand what sort of pain they are suffering, also by feeling where they claim the problem is and you can see from their reaction if it is painful, but not inflicting too much pain upon them. Using the communication cycle effectively will help. M1 How communication cycle may be used to communicate sensitive issues. Ideas occur: the nurse will start thinking on how communicate to the wife and that she is going to be the one to tell her. She will ask herself what could be the best way to communicate and when and where she needs to communicate about the husband’s condition. This promotes effective communication. * Message coded: the nurse has thought about the ideas and has organized her thoughts; she knows exactly what she is going to say. She has to think about the voice tonality she should use in order to prevent the wife thinking the nurse is not bothered about the loss.Body language plays an important role and could show that the nurse cares about the situation. The nurse will start thinking about the language she is going to use and ask herself what the wife already knows about it e. g. the husband is ill. The nurse will take the wife through to a private room where it's only them two; by doing this the wife should know that the nurse is going to tell her something terrible, the seating would be a barrier if the seats are too far away from each other; the nurse should sit close to the wife. * Message sent: the nurse has now told the wife about her husband.She has used the c ommunication cycle to encode the information correctly and therefore, said something like â€Å"I'm afraid that your husband passed away last night in his sleep, we did everything we could to save him, we're sorry,† rather than something like â€Å"Your husband died last night,†. The first of which is a correct way of putting it, and the second way is a much more insensitive way of saying it. * Message received: now the wife has to sense the message the nurse has just sent her by hearing the words or looking at the body language. Message decoded: the wife now needs to decode the message or to interpret it. She has to observe the body language and the way the message is expressed by the nurse. * Message understood: at this stage the patient should have understood the message by the nurse should but this does not always happen at the first time and this can be identified from the wife’s reaction and behavior. If this does not happen the cycle needs to start all ov er again. P2 theories of communication/ M1 how communication cycle may be used to communicate sensitive issues. Tuckman’s cycle In 1965, Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, suggested that most groups go through four stages in group interactionas and described them as Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. He did this after he had observed many small groups in various environments and concluded that all groups went through certain â€Å"stages† before they became optimally effective. Name of stage | Description of stage and scenario| Forming| The first stage is forming; this is an important stage because the forming of the team takes place.This stage is also called â€Å"ice-breaking† because it is a stage where all the team members get to know each other and become friendly, they are unsure about who everybody is and what their roles are. The individual’s behavior is driven by a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or con flict. The psychologist, doctor and surgeon should meet and discuss about the situation, sharing informations concerns and questions. | Storming| The second stage is storming; at this stage the individual start to show their real feelings and their personalities too.This is because they start to relax and be comfortable around others in their group. Also others in the group may start to have conflict were they have different opinions about ideas, and they don't agree on others, relationships between members will be made or broken and some may never recover. In extreme cases the team can become stuck in the Storming phaseThe professionals starts questioning themselves what their role and duties in the group are or what they are responsible for. Each professional hould say what their solution is and how long it will take, followed by the risk that will come with it. This is a stage where patience is fundamental as there will be disagreements and they will avoid listening to each other ; this is the reason why it will take time. | Norming| As the team moves out from the storming phase they enter the third stage which is norming; this is when the group starts working as a team after having had their arguments and they start to trust themselves as they accept the vital contribution of each member of the team.The team members know each other better, they may be socializing together, and they are able to ask each other for help. At this stage they all should bring the ideas together and reach a conclusion on what they are going to do. They start working as a team and must agree with the decisions made, and if they do not agree they should at least follow the team to avoid the time being wasted. They need to take in consideration how dangerous the procedure will be. Performing| This is the last stage. Many groups never reach the performing stage. Everyone knows each other well enough to be able to work together, and trusts each other enough to allow independent activit y. There is a high level of accepting others, listening to others, and helping others. Performance is delivered through people working effectively together. The team has come to a conclusion and their plan will be applied soon. A timeline needs to be made | Communication Cycle Health and Social Care P2 Theories of communication -The communication cycle Effective communication involves a two-way process in which each person tries to understand the viewpoint of the other person. † According to Argyle, skilled interpersonal interaction (social skills) involves a cycle in which you have to translate or ‘decode' what other people are communicating and constantly adapt your own. Communication is a cycle because when two people communicate they need to check that their ideas have been understood†.An example of good communication involves the process of checking understanding, using reflective or active listening. Argyle's stages of the communication cycle were an idea occurs, message coded, message sent, message received, message decoded, message understood. Verbal and non-verbal communication is not always straightforward. The communication cycle involves a kind of code that has to be translated. There are 5 stages in the â€Å"communication cycle† which are: 1. Idea occurs: this is the stage when an individual thinks what he is going to say and who to. 2.Message coded: this is the way that an individual puts his thoughts together with the way he is going to communicate, putting the thoughts into language or into some other code such as sign language. 3. Message sent: this is stage is when an individual speaks or sign what they are going to say, in few words is the way the message is sent. 4. Message received: this is where the person you are speaking to has listened to what you said and they have to sense the message by hearing or watching. 5. Message decoded: The receiver has to understand the message that the sender has just sent.This could be misunderstood easily by interpreting words differently or they might make assumptions about your body language as well as words. 6. Message understood: at this stage the message should be understood but it does not always happen at the first time, and if so the cycle needs to start all over agai n. Without just any one of these stages the cycle would not work. An example of a difficult situation is when your service user tells you they are in pain, but can’t describe the pain they are in.This is difficult because you need to understand what the pain is and what the source of the pain is so that you can resolve the pain and provide a diagnosis, so if they can’t describe the pain you are unable to do so. You can be asking simple questions which may help you understand what sort of pain they are suffering, also by feeling where they claim the problem is and you can see from their reaction if it is painful, but not inflicting too much pain upon them. Using the communication cycle effectively will help. M1 How communication cycle may be used to communicate sensitive issues. Ideas occur: the nurse will start thinking on how communicate to the wife and that she is going to be the one to tell her. She will ask herself what could be the best way to communicate and when and where she needs to communicate about the husband’s condition. This promotes effective communication. * Message coded: the nurse has thought about the ideas and has organized her thoughts; she knows exactly what she is going to say. She has to think about the voice tonality she should use in order to prevent the wife thinking the nurse is not bothered about the loss.Body language plays an important role and could show that the nurse cares about the situation. The nurse will start thinking about the language she is going to use and ask herself what the wife already knows about it e. g. the husband is ill. The nurse will take the wife through to a private room where it's only them two; by doing this the wife should know that the nurse is going to tell her something terrible, the seating would be a barrier if the seats are too far away from each other; the nurse should sit close to the wife. * Message sent: the nurse has now told the wife about her husband.She has used the c ommunication cycle to encode the information correctly and therefore, said something like â€Å"I'm afraid that your husband passed away last night in his sleep, we did everything we could to save him, we're sorry,† rather than something like â€Å"Your husband died last night,†. The first of which is a correct way of putting it, and the second way is a much more insensitive way of saying it. * Message received: now the wife has to sense the message the nurse has just sent her by hearing the words or looking at the body language. Message decoded: the wife now needs to decode the message or to interpret it. She has to observe the body language and the way the message is expressed by the nurse. * Message understood: at this stage the patient should have understood the message by the nurse should but this does not always happen at the first time and this can be identified from the wife’s reaction and behavior. If this does not happen the cycle needs to start all ov er again. P2 theories of communication/ M1 how communication cycle may be used to communicate sensitive issues. Tuckman’s cycle In 1965, Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, suggested that most groups go through four stages in group interactionas and described them as Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. He did this after he had observed many small groups in various environments and concluded that all groups went through certain â€Å"stages† before they became optimally effective. Name of stage | Description of stage and scenario| Forming| The first stage is forming; this is an important stage because the forming of the team takes place.This stage is also called â€Å"ice-breaking† because it is a stage where all the team members get to know each other and become friendly, they are unsure about who everybody is and what their roles are. The individual’s behavior is driven by a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or con flict. The psychologist, doctor and surgeon should meet and discuss about the situation, sharing informations concerns and questions. | Storming| The second stage is storming; at this stage the individual start to show their real feelings and their personalities too.This is because they start to relax and be comfortable around others in their group. Also others in the group may start to have conflict were they have different opinions about ideas, and they don't agree on others, relationships between members will be made or broken and some may never recover. In extreme cases the team can become stuck in the Storming phaseThe professionals starts questioning themselves what their role and duties in the group are or what they are responsible for. Each professional hould say what their solution is and how long it will take, followed by the risk that will come with it. This is a stage where patience is fundamental as there will be disagreements and they will avoid listening to each other ; this is the reason why it will take time. | Norming| As the team moves out from the storming phase they enter the third stage which is norming; this is when the group starts working as a team after having had their arguments and they start to trust themselves as they accept the vital contribution of each member of the team.The team members know each other better, they may be socializing together, and they are able to ask each other for help. At this stage they all should bring the ideas together and reach a conclusion on what they are going to do. They start working as a team and must agree with the decisions made, and if they do not agree they should at least follow the team to avoid the time being wasted. They need to take in consideration how dangerous the procedure will be. Performing| This is the last stage. Many groups never reach the performing stage. Everyone knows each other well enough to be able to work together, and trusts each other enough to allow independent activit y. There is a high level of accepting others, listening to others, and helping others. Performance is delivered through people working effectively together. The team has come to a conclusion and their plan will be applied soon. A timeline needs to be made |

Ethics of hunting Essay

Is hunting ethical? As a hunter myself, growing up in a family of hunters, I never answered the question correctly. When asked the question â€Å"is hunting ethical? † I would rattle off information and statistics about wildlife population control and the environmental information gathered by hunters, but I seemed to be missing the point completely. As it was recently pointed out, it was like I was being asked what time it was, and answering the date. I wasn’t incorrect; rather, I was just answering the wrong question. Instead, I needed to look at what the actual question was; is the act of hunting ethical, and if not, what are we doing to prevent the mistreatment of animals? From a moral standpoint, anti-hunters deem hunting as barbaric. It is a reversion to one of the most primal tasks that humans had to perform. Today, however, anti-hunters believe that the act of hunting is an unnecessary evil that can be tackled much more humanely. This entire argument, however, is based off of everyone persons’ definition of the word â€Å"hunting. † To my family, and myself, the idea of hunting means that food is going to be on the dinner table. It  means that we are going to kill an animal, butcher it ourselves, and eventually eat the meat of our harvest. It is an appreciation of the wild animals; the ones placed on this Earth to roam the hills and graze the grass, rather than the ones grown in barns and factories. It means utilizing every part of that animal to our best ability, and wasting nothing. We even go as far as to donate the brain and heart of the deer to the local high school for use of dissection in science laboratories. We appreciate the animal in every way we can. It has given us everything (literally) that it has, and we will respect  this animal for a time far longer after it’s depart from Earth. My family doesn’t tree stand hunt. This is the act of climbing high into a tree with a â€Å"tree stand† and sitting up there as we wait for an animal to pass below us. This is an extremely unfair advantage in hunting, for it gives the hunter almost complete stealth. Deer are not biologically programmed to look for danger in the trees; there are no known threats to deer around buffalo that live in the trees. We think that it provides an unfair advantage to the hunters that use then. We believe that if we’re going  to take an animal’s life, we’re going to give it the ability to see us before we do, so that it has a fairer chance to run. I even prefer bow hunting to gun hunting. It’s more of a challenge, not that hunting should be a game, but rather it makes it easier for the animal to spot us and escape. If the animal gets close enough to allow me to take the shot, I justify it as a case of â€Å"survival of the fittest. † We do not antler hunt; the act of going out hunting with the intent of killing the deer with the largest antlers, only for the antlers. We eat the meat, not the antlers. I cannot speak for other hunters, but my family and myself do not find a purpose in hunting based on the points on the deer’s head. We have no preference of buck or doe; the meat is all the same to us. We enjoy eating the meat, and that is why we hunt. It is healthier for people, steroid free, and it comes from animals that have been able to live their life in the wild thus far. Hunting, to myself, is everything I just listed. The Merriam-Webster Definition is â€Å"to chase and kill (wild animals) for food or pleasure,† but I remove those last two words. Personally, I find no  enjoyment in the taking of a life. The first animal I ever hunted, a bird, I killed, and cried. I cried and I cried and I cried at what I had done. It was such a powerful feeling knowing that one moment that bird was living, and the next moment it was not, and I was the reason for that. It was such a waste for me to have done what I had; I wasn’t going to eat the bird, I had no use for it. Hunting should be for usefulness: food, clothing, necessity, but it should not be a game that toys with the lives of animals. This doesn’t mean I’m against hunting however. Obviously with everything I have listed prior I would appear to have contradicted myself. I believe that hunting is acceptable in the form of 1 / 3 usefulness. These are all ethical thoughts that anti-hunters propose to hunters. Some post pictures of Bambi the deer, hoping to lure in those who are indecisive or on the fence about the position they take on hunting. Anti-hunters will play on the ethos of those who believe that hunters kill baby animals, setting hunters up to look like immoral people. Often times I hear people ask me how I could kill ababy deer, and take it away from its mother who â€Å"loves it. † With those questions, I find myself frustrated at people’s ignorance. A hunter cannot hunt a fawn; it’s illegal to kill an animal with spots (specifically speaking, baby deer). Additionally, people are unaware of the nature that is animals. A mother deer will fight to the death for her fawns if they are faced with the dangers of a hungry coyote. However, a mother deer will eat all of the leaves off of the only bush in the forest, leaving her fawn to starve, without blinking an eye. Animals think differently; only in rare cases do wild  animals actually have human attachments to each other. Anti-hunters sometimes try to display hunters as horrible people for killing animals, but this only can bring me to the conclusion that all anti-hunters are vegetarians. If it’s truly barbaric for us to go out and hunt what we eat, then the only solution to this animal cruelty is to not eat the animals at all. It is not ethical to justify eating processed meat from animals who never see the light of day, are routinely injected with steroids, living shoulder to shoulder in crowded slaughter houses, with their  only purpose in life being to die for our meals, and say that hunting is immoral. The wild animals at least have a fighting chance; they have an ability to run, to reproduce at their will, to eat the fresh grass and drink fresh stream water. They are not cooped up in a cage or stall, living in deplorable conditions with their only purpose in life to die at our will. Although it is unfortunate that some wild animals face death earlier than others, the alternative of a slaughterhouse cannot be deemed as ethically more just. Questions that are posed towards hunters about how they are being unethical can also be turned  around to ask what anti-hunters are doing to protect these animals they feel are being morally and ethically wronged. Are they vegan? Animals and the products they produce do not come easily. Milk cows and egg chickens spend their whole lives in a barn. Unless they buy their milk and eggs from the local free-range grass fed cows and chickens down the road, they are contributing to the large mistreatment of animals of the food industry of America. Do they own nothing leather? Again, these animals are grown and harvested for the sole purpose of leather production. A lot of leather  products sold in the USA are shipped from China, where horribly graphic YouTube videos can be found showing Chinese leather workers skinning animals alive. One cannot go as far as to say that they â€Å"don’t own Uggs† so they don’t own leather. Leather is found in things like sneakers, cars, and accents on clothing, purses, and shoes. Were their houses recently built on land once inhabited by these creatures? The destruction of animal habitats leads to more animal deaths each year than hunting does. If an anti-hunter were to hit a deer with their car, destroying the front end, I’m estimating that a fair  amount of them would initially be furious with the circumstance, NOT because they killed the deer, but rather because they totaled their car. This deer, roaming throughout what used to be its natural habitat of forest and trees, is now forced to walk across streets and areas of traffic. It is inconvenient, however, when the deer walks across the street at the same time a car is driving by, and a collision occurs. I’ve gotten away from the actual topic at hand. The original question was â€Å"Is hunting ethical? †. I suppose if one feels that taking the life from something is immoral and unethical, than no, hunting is  not ethical to that person. However, I would like those who believe hunting isn’t ethical and anti- hunters alike to consider what I have just proposed to them. I would like them to take five5 minutes of their time to do some self-reflection, and question whether what they do in their everyday life is really ethical for the animals. It only seems fair that if someone is to be calling me out on being barbaric and cruel towards animals, that they themselves are doing everything in their power to ensure that the animals around them are being treated as fairly as possible. It would be a common  2 / 3 case of the pot calling the kettle black if one were to discover otherwise. In summation, the question â€Å"is hunting ethical? † will never be a black or white answer. There are many shades of grey that come with many degrees of opinions. The point that I am trying to get across to those who disagree with hunting however, is to take some time to self reflect before we are so quick to judge others. Take time to think about what each of us is personally doing for the well being and fair treatment of animals, before we quickly judge hunters as immoral people. POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Technology plan for a private security firm

Technology plan for a private security firm Introduction The aim of any business is to attract attention to the services it provides and to ensure sustainability by maintenance of efficient working systems. Information and communication technology (ICT) is a crucial component of any business enterprise whether big or small.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology plan for a private security firm specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It plays a key role in the management of company operations by ensuring that all members involved are within contact distance from each other as well as assist in proper organization of company records. The world is indeed becoming a global village with business exchange and educational activities being carried out through the internet and via satellite systems. In this way, information systems help provide the link between business and technology because the more efficient an organization’s operations are, the more its econom ic benefits. This report seeks to illustrate how the principle of information and communication technology (ICT) can be put into use by a security company. Technology needs Information systems Security provision companies need specialized information systems if they are to offer excellent support for customer service and guidance of company operations. Being a business that directly affects individuals, this system comprises a variety of subsystems including a virtual data ware house, an enterprise resource planning system, a geographic information systems and an office automation system. The office automation system helps in creating an efficient managerial scheme by providing a link between the executive officers and junior administration level officers. Since most of a security firm’s services are mainly offered outside the office premises, the geographic information system helps collect geospatial information which is relevant in ensuring a proper record of the covered ar eas is maintained.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For an average sized enterprise, the information manpower mainly comprises few ICT technicians whose major role is to ensure smooth running of operations involving the information system as well as its subsystems. Networking system The LAN mainly serves the employees of the company and it is accessible through a regulated password authentication system. In some areas within the company offices, ITU-T G.hn technology has to be used to create a high speed intranet. Other regions allow administrative staff into the network via the IEEE 802.1 wireless technology (Leonandes, 2002). Database management system A relational database management system has to be put in place to help track particular client information whenever need arises (Leonandes, 2002). Authorized personnel can link to the data bank to either add or edit information that has been stored in the various databases. Internet connection The company needs a local area network (LAN) part of which maybe wireless. An Ethernet bridge should be installed to ensure that even the wired part of the system can connect to the wireless part of the system. The wireless part of the network has to be configured in such a way that it allows for both internal and external roaming. Microsoft office tools Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint will be used extensively within the company. Word is very important in processing company documents and client applications while Excel is mainly used in the financial department in keeping payment records and analysis of company expenses as well as profits. Powerpoint is very useful in offering presentations illustrating the company’s progress. Website The Security firm’s website should ideally be corporate dynamic (automated) with information being generated periodically. This kind of website p rovides important background information about the company and enlists services offered by the organization (Fujita Johannesson, 2003). Some pages within the website serve the purpose of brand building by offering testimonials and listing the professional qualifications of employees. The design, reengineering, updating, managing and running of the website is mainly outsourced from companies that specifically deal with websites.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology plan for a private security firm specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since this company operates as a member of the service industry, regular updating and redesigning of the website is mandatory in order to attract new clients. Security firms offer security services to residents of particular regions and do not exactly sell products that other people around the world could purchase online. Therefore, the need for language translation on the website is not exactly called for. Policies Security and privacy policy The website offers ways of contacting the company management but does not at any time demand for visitor’s contact details. The company needs software programs that can monitor traffic in the web and in the process collect information which can indirectly identify the user such as the IP address and the domain name. This information is however for administrative purposes only and is at no time stored with the aim of keeping records on an individual’s visits. Viral protection policy The company needs to have a policy which states that any data that enters into the system be properly screened using appropriate software. This data can originate from within the LAN or from the internet through the website. The antivirus software is supposed to lock out any malicious programs attempting to find way into the information system structure (Simonyi, 2002). Information systems policies The security firm in discussion i s a small institution and its policy framework covers every area of operation of the institution with some very minor specifications on individual departments (Fugini Bellettini, 2004).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since the institution has a small department that deals with ICT, the staffs in this area are the responsible for analysis of the system and offer suggestions as to what changes need to be made. These same members of staff will sit with the senior administrators and pitch their ideas as well as offering suggestions on the best equipment providers. The administration will then study the list of suppliers both from within the country as well as abroad and then decide on which purchase would make more economic sense. Once the new system has been installed, the staffs in the department of ICT will be responsible for the maintenance and reengineering of the system. The policy also holds that should there be need for individuals to be trained specifically to handle the new system, the company will finance this training provided the individual comes back to work for a period of time not less than two years. This individual should ideally be from the company’s ICT department. Referen ce List Fugini, M., Bellettini, C. (2004). Information security policies and actions in modern  integrated systems. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Group Inc. Fujita, H., Johannesson, P. (2003). New trends in software methodologies, tools and  techniques: proceedings of Lyee W03, the second International Workshop on Lyee Methodology. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Leonandes, C.T. (2002). Database and data communication network systems:  techniques and applications, Volume 3. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Simonyi, M.A. (2002). Securing Windows NT/2000: from policies to firewalls. United States: CRC Press.

Free Essays on Essay About My Father

Each morning I awake, I watch the morning news to get some information about what’s going on in the world. Whether it’s a report about a house burning down and killing the entire family trapped inside or hijacked airplanes crashing into buildings killing thousands of innocent people, there is usually that one headline that makes you feel sad as a result of seeing it. As you watch various Television Shows, Movies, and even Commercials, you discover that writers and producers try to create a scenario or plot that will leave you with the same effect as that news report. Sadness is a simple, general term, ranging in implication from a mild, momentary unhappiness to a feeling of intense grief. Watching the news report about the fire or the hijacked airplanes might leave you with this emotion. Writers use this to their advantage when writing scripts to help make their shows leave a longer effect on the audience. The TV show â€Å"Cowboy Bebop† is an animated series on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The series consist of twenty-nine episodes. During these episodes, you are introduced to a character named Spike who is running away from his past. However his past is catching up to him. The show is written so that you get to put yourself in Spike’s shoes and so, you don’t want anything to happen to him. He has some adventures that he survives but in the final episode he gets killed seeking revenge for Julia â€Å"his girlfriend† who was killed by the villain in the story. As a result, you end up feeling sadness and sometimes sympathy for him. The movie â€Å"The Sixth Sense† was a box office hit when it was in theatres. This movie is about a boy who is haunted by ghosts that he alone is able to see and the psychologist who decide to try to help him. This movie left me feeling sad because the boy considers himself a freak and becomes an outcast due to the fact that he doesn’t understand why it is happening to him. The psychologist... Free Essays on Essay About My Father Free Essays on Essay About My Father Each morning I awake, I watch the morning news to get some information about what’s going on in the world. Whether it’s a report about a house burning down and killing the entire family trapped inside or hijacked airplanes crashing into buildings killing thousands of innocent people, there is usually that one headline that makes you feel sad as a result of seeing it. As you watch various Television Shows, Movies, and even Commercials, you discover that writers and producers try to create a scenario or plot that will leave you with the same effect as that news report. Sadness is a simple, general term, ranging in implication from a mild, momentary unhappiness to a feeling of intense grief. Watching the news report about the fire or the hijacked airplanes might leave you with this emotion. Writers use this to their advantage when writing scripts to help make their shows leave a longer effect on the audience. The TV show â€Å"Cowboy Bebop† is an animated series on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The series consist of twenty-nine episodes. During these episodes, you are introduced to a character named Spike who is running away from his past. However his past is catching up to him. The show is written so that you get to put yourself in Spike’s shoes and so, you don’t want anything to happen to him. He has some adventures that he survives but in the final episode he gets killed seeking revenge for Julia â€Å"his girlfriend† who was killed by the villain in the story. As a result, you end up feeling sadness and sometimes sympathy for him. The movie â€Å"The Sixth Sense† was a box office hit when it was in theatres. This movie is about a boy who is haunted by ghosts that he alone is able to see and the psychologist who decide to try to help him. This movie left me feeling sad because the boy considers himself a freak and becomes an outcast due to the fact that he doesn’t understand why it is happening to him. The psychologist...

Unlock your ideas and write that document

Unlock your ideas and write that document The best way to unlock the information in your head So, you’ve got something you need to write. It might be a report you’ve had to do mountains of research on, until the facts and ideas are crowded and jostling against each other in your head. Or maybe it’s a document for which you have all the necessary facts in your mind already. Either way, now you need a way to get all that knowledge out of your head and onto the paper before you can go any further. But what’s the best way to do this? How can you easily unlock all the information you need? Enter, the mind map. Now, you may have tried using mind maps in the past and felt they didnt really work for you. But dont dismiss them just yet. In this video, Rob reveals how you can use them in different way: to tap into all the knowledge you already have (and realise the gaps in what you know that youll have to fill). Watch the video to see us demonstrate how to quickly put this simple but powerful tool to work, and hear Rob explain: the limitations of lists for planning a document, and a better way [0:27] why even using the better technique is not ideal [2:01] the tool you need to use instead of any kind of list [2:16] the important approach you need to take in setting up your mind map (and what you must avoid doing) [2:51] how you can use mind maps as part of your research process and to get past blocks [05:43]. This post is taken from a lesson in our online-training programme Emphasis 360, which improves your writing in practical, bite-sized weekly lessons. You can find out more about Emphasis 360 and preview more lessons for free here. Image credit: retrorocket / Shutterstock

Nutrition in Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nutrition in Nursing - Assignment Example He is focusing only on carbs and fat which is why he is obese. All he is eating are empty calories, and the source is junk food he eats where he works. 3. Andrew must include dairy, fruits and veggies into his diet. He must be told that he would invite a lot of diseases because of his obesity which is a result of heavy carbs, starch and fat that he consumes on a daily basis. Moreover, he must do regular exercise and must focus on weight loss by eliminating or cutting down junk food from his diet. 4. Andrew’s mother is already limiting his junk food intake while he is at home, which shows that she is aware of his sedentary lifestyle. However, she must create awareness in Andrew about the hazards of obesity and junk food, and must encourage him to exercise regularly. Also, she should give him some healthy food as lunch that he may have in his lunch time rather than having junk food as

Discussion question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Discussion question - Essay Example t they are self-evident and inalienable (MacKinnon, 76).† In fact, American Declaration of Independence 1776 is the clearer formulation of this concept. Thomas Jefferson mentions a quote about the equal rights of all men â€Å"....... that all men are created equal, .......... with certain inalienable rights........† This is the source for ascertaining what should be weighed â€Å"natural right.† Another time, the U.S. Border Patrol Agents’ similar assertion from the case when they state it is justified for the reason that a considerable amount of Latinos in border regions are in America illicitly (MacKinnon, 76) their assertion moves against the â€Å"natural right† in accordance to what Jefferson told. Moreover, the statement disagrees with the equality principle. Author also defines the principle of equality in this book as, â€Å"It is unjust to treat people differently in ways that deny to some of them significant social benefits unless we can show that there is a difference between them that is relevant to the differential treatment (MacKinnon 196).† America has archaic laws regarding drugs. Against the trade of drugs, the law enforcement has been very restricted to imprisoning causal drug users. In Mexico, the drug lobbies, and the prison lobbies that are operated privately, both expend obscene amounts of wealth, to see that recreational drugs stay illicit. Until the U.S. laws are restructured, the jails will be overloaded, with people who are young, incarcerated for non-violent offences, like use or possession of just a small amount of drugs. As noted by Auroch, most of the privately operated jails are owned by the â€Å"1 per cent,† and the Republican Party is controlled by this â€Å"1 per cent†. (HumanJustice.org. 2010) However, it is obviously not accepted and the U.S. government should consider this massive issue and make suitable laws about this because this is against the human

Intercultural communication in language class of culturally diverse Essay

Intercultural communication in language class of culturally diverse students - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to present two case studies identifying two major issues that come in the management of inter-cultural learning for students (World Bank, 2010). The study will be focused on the barriers among students of various cultural backgrounds. It will also elaborate how these students as learners of English as Secondary Language (ESL) respond to the difficulties? The study is comprised of two case studies and will incorporate the case scenario, its discussion and critical evaluation for each case study and will conclude with a formal conclusion. In the English language class one third of my students were from China including Zhang Li, and the rest were mixed of various nations. In learning English language class, the Chinese students were tend to be shy, introvert and reserved. They were poor in communication other students and with instructors and not very often participate in the class discussions. All members of the Chinese group including Zhang Li used to live, st udy and play together. Their attitude showed a fear and hesitation in self-expression. They were very conscious of using English as a medium of interaction. They tend to ignore the cultural aspects of the language and often confused while using phrases and explaining contexts. Moreover, all the Chinese and in particular Zhang Li, felt chauvinistic about their own Chinese culture and were obsessed with fear of interacting with foreign culture. While in English language class their belief on ethnocentrism held them back from developing cultural relations with the American culture and language.

Conflict Management In The Area Of Public Management Essay

Conflict Management In The Area Of Public Management - Essay Example Conflict management is an art, and when dealing with public issues, this becomes a major challenge. In the broad context of defining conflict management with the tag of public issues, the scope moves beyond the office set-up and can involve, for example, union-management issues, public-counsel issues, etc. Seemingly, these words are fairly common terms used in the English language, but the gurus of the language speak themselves that at times, the most common terms are the most difficult ones to describe. Following the same, it is essential to describe these key terms with reference to the given topic. Logical sense generally implies, understanding a certain issue in a manner that it makes sense via the route of logic i.e. the explanation contains logic and has substances, and makes sense. For example, raising salaries can deteriorate profits makes perfect logical sense, but the solution is not not-raising-salaries, but rather a good way out can be introducing performance-based bonuses because salaries are fixed and bonuses vary with relation to the profits. Arguments are the cross-charge statements whereby one entity disagrees to the viewpoint of the other and presents its statement of disagreement. Managerial advice is simply put the advice placed to the management, and likewise any other entity getting advice, the management also needs to comprehend and analyze various factors including the outcome of the application/implementation of the advice. The three terms described by far can be combined together to comprehend that the arguments, when presented to the management should make logical sense for the application. However, in line with the given statement for discussion, it is difficult to make logical sense out of the arguments presented to the management.

Peer Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Peer Assessment - Essay Example My experience as a peer assessor was an eye opener. For the first time, I felt like I was not the one being reviewed, but I was reviewing other students' work. This gave me a sense of pride and courage and it also enabled me to see the big picture. In marking my classmate's papers, I no longer saw myself as a victim of marking but rather a victory. The peer assessment gave me an insight of one of the functions of our tutors, which is to assess the students' academic performance.   Our peer assessment was based on our assessment tests for all the units that we sat in the semester. The move was aimed at getting us to interact with each other while improving our leadership skills (Cottrell 2010). For the first time, my classmates and I felt some sense of responsibility for our education. It dawned on us that our education depends on us and that we are all equally talented when given a chance to review our peer's work. The assessment came as an encouragement to the not-so-good students that they can be trusted to assess even the brightest students in our class. Every student was assigned a paper to mark, and the tutor would guide us through the marking of the papers. The instructors used this opportunity to go through the questions with us, in an attempt to revise the paper. The teacher would guide us through, reading the questions aloud, and one after the other. He would then ask a classmate to provide the correct answer, and we would have a brief discussion on each issue.

Colonialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Colonialism - Essay Example These forces have prevented the region from achieving liberation (Alkadry 745). Cultural heritage caused by lack of democratic institutions and installation of institutions that favored the British is responsible for lack of progression towards democracy and liberation in Islamic nations. Defensive modernization, imperialism, and direct colonialism work together in some instances against the self-determination of Middle East people. There are mainly two differences between the two traditional democracies. First, the role of the government for western traditional is to protect the individuals’ right to liberty, property, and life while the government’s role in Islamic tradition is to provide economic and social justice. Second, western democracies emphasize more on institutions of democracy and process while in Islamic nations what matters most is the outcome of the democratic. The administrators of colonial countries oppressed people of the Middle East. In other words, they carved them and put regimes that wound not unite the people in the Middle East. The indirect role played by the United States served its interests over those of the Middle Eastern people and this made the people not to experience the fair process of liberation. Globalization is an integration process between nations, people and countries, relates to the situation in the Middle East. For example, without a stable political environment, globalization would not be effective within the region. Additionally, globalization may compromise the sovereignty of independent

Peer Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Peer Assessment - Essay Example My experience as a peer assessor was an eye opener. For the first time, I felt like I was not the one being reviewed, but I was reviewing other students' work. This gave me a sense of pride and courage and it also enabled me to see the big picture. In marking my classmate's papers, I no longer saw myself as a victim of marking but rather a victory. The peer assessment gave me an insight of one of the functions of our tutors, which is to assess the students' academic performance.   Our peer assessment was based on our assessment tests for all the units that we sat in the semester. The move was aimed at getting us to interact with each other while improving our leadership skills (Cottrell 2010). For the first time, my classmates and I felt some sense of responsibility for our education. It dawned on us that our education depends on us and that we are all equally talented when given a chance to review our peer's work. The assessment came as an encouragement to the not-so-good students that they can be trusted to assess even the brightest students in our class. Every student was assigned a paper to mark, and the tutor would guide us through the marking of the papers. The instructors used this opportunity to go through the questions with us, in an attempt to revise the paper. The teacher would guide us through, reading the questions aloud, and one after the other. He would then ask a classmate to provide the correct answer, and we would have a brief discussion on each issue.

The academic statement of purpose (Econometrics field) Essay

The academic statement of purpose (Econometrics field) - Essay Example However, my result were challenged by the potential possibility of heterogeneity whereby agents participating and complying with the policy might also result in self-selection on marriage age even though the policy is compulsory, this is a common problem that plague most applied social programs (Handbook of Econometrics, Chapter 70). Later on, I encountered a similar problem on a project regarding the impact of social security reform on savings behavior in China, I estimated the substitution effect of compulsory individual pension and regular private saving, and results supported the later reforms on data selected from real individual account data to nominal individual account data which eliminated the heterogeneity problem. These experiences instilled in me a keen desire to better understand the underlying theoretical analysis on treatment effects in studies and also existing econometrics theories. Keeping these questions in mind, I began my course study at the University of Michigan where I learnt a number of econometric theory courses. With outstanding performance on these courses, I started working as a research assistant for my Professor on the project "two-stage within-group estimator in dynamic panel", this model extends the standard panel model when the regressors are endogenous and also integrates heterogeneity and endogenous variables separately. However, the standard within-group transformation will give a rise to another source of endogeniety in dynamic framework and therefore further bias the estimates. Therefore, we focus on tracing each source of endogeneity and asymptotical property of estimators. I therefore encountered other dimensions of treatment literature as well the two stage aver aging parameter method in this project. Our problem was later solved using Donald and Newey (2001) method whereby the instrument bias was eliminated by choosing subset of instruments and averaging the parameters from each selection. These two projects were beneficial to me and they formed a solid foundation to work on more advanced theoretical topic, they encouraged me to struggle to rise to a higher and complex level of understanding of econometrics especially recent research on the subject. My current coauthor work with my Professor is the identification of quartile treatment effect when treatment is endogenous under non-separable panel framework. Recent literature on treatment effects emphasizes nonparametric identification of certain parameters, robustness, as well as certain forms of heterogeneity in responses to treatment. ((Handbook of Econometrics, Chapter 70, Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), Chernozhukov, Fernondez-Val, Newey(2009)). We are currently working on a project which is targeting quartile treatment identification in non-separable panel using bound restriction. This project is important given that it will help me gain more knowledge and also deepen my understanding of econometrics, the non-separable panel using bound restriction idea can be extended to censored regression, whereby the bound restriction is not automatically applied. In practice, the potential result can also apply to empirical work broadly when the data is selected from the lower and upper quartiles. I am currently pleased with my performance at the university and particularly proud of working with my professor

Love Emerson Transcendentalist

Love Emerson Transcendentalist The broken-hearted can only be mended by love just as only love can change a mans heart; enemies can become friends only through love just as only love can soften the hardest of hearts. In this way, Emerson, as a transcendentalist, portrays love as being a necessity in life; every man wishes, desires, to be loved. For this reason, the world would benefit from showing love to everyone as it causes mankind to care for others, to encourage joy in others. It is something that comes from deep within the soul and if the world experienced more love, humanity would be willing to expand their mind to accept the differences in others. No matter how humans differ from each other, whether by color of skin, religion, or social status, they all deserve love. In â€Å"The Transcendentalist,† Emerson writes that human beings have a â€Å"great wish to be loved† (3). Every person wishes to be loved; they want to be desired and cared for. Erich Fromm describes love as the â€Å"only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.† If everyone felt loved and also gave that love to everyone else, the world would be crime-free. Hate crimes, thefts, murders, and even suicides would not occur; it would be ridiculous to hurt the ones we love. People would see each other as equals—black, white, brown, red and yellow would be seen all the same as they are loved. There would be no need to prosecute those with different belief systems—the world would be willing to understand them because of the love they share; burglaries would not occur because the affluent would care enough to gi ve those less fortunate the money they needed; there would be no killing because no one wants to kill the ones they love; and there would be no suicides because they would be loved—and to be loved is a feeling that suppresses all depressed and melancholy feelings. Without love, the existence of humanity would be pointless, as â€Å"a life without love† (Emerson 4) is â€Å"an activity without an aim† (Emerson 4). Old or young, poor or rich, all mankind deserves to be loved. Love pours out from our spirits causing others to feel the happiness we bestow upon them. However this love only works if we love everyone and accept their differences. â€Å"When it [the soul] flows through his affection, it is love† (Over-soul 2). If the world allowed their souls to show, love would flow and affections would be shown. However, we cannot allow ourselves to get caught up with the differences of others but accept them for who they are. Emerson writes, â€Å"if you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier† (Self-Reliance 6). If the world loved everyone for whom they are, color and religion pushed aside, happiness would come forth, bringing about even more feelings of affection. The world needs this love because everyone should have the opportunity to feel loved and to feel joy. If we let this love flow from within us, we have allowed others to be shown the love we feel for them. This causes them to feel pleasure at being loved, and makes them fo rget about their race and their religion. Without love humanity is nothing; we feel nothing and care about nothing. Even though in the world, there is love, it is important to show our love to others; we need to increase the amount of love in the world so that others feel accepted and welcomed. Transcendentalists believe in individuality and originality—instead of treating others differently because everyone else does, the world needs to rise above and love them just as they love themselves. This way we can treat everyone with the same respect and give them the love they deserve; the love that every man desires. Through love, we can change the world.

The Humphead Wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus :: essays research papers

The Humphead Wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus The Humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, is the largest member of the family Labridae and widely distributed across the reefs of the Indo-Pacific. It is found from the Red Sea and African coast, across the Indian Ocean and much of the Pacific, north to southern Japan and the coast of southern China, and south to New Caledonia. In English it is mostly commonly referred to as the Humphead, Maori or Napoleon wrasse. Fishery management The species has a high economic value and is a special favorite of both the live reef food fish trade and with recreational divers.The Humphead wrasse is vulnerable to fishing due to its long life and late sexual maturation (which occurs at approximately 50 cm total length and 5 years of age). This means that its life history is one that involves slow replacement (and hence slow recovery from fishing) rates. Because of its high value as food, it is heavily sought by fishers and traders. As part of the live food fish market, its value is likely to increase with rarity, so fishers will continue to fish this species even as its numbers decline. Humphead wrasse fisheries are mostly unmanaged and, even if managed 'on paper', there is usually little management or monitoring of Humphead wrasse in local fisheries. Monitoring is needed, both of local capture and of exports. Without proper management and monitoring, it is impossible to know whether current capture rates are sustainable or to e stablish safe quotas capture. On the other hand, its value to diving tourism will remain high if it is protected and remains alive in the wild. Live Reef Food Fish Trade While there is some capture for local use, particularly in the western and central Pacific, the Humphead wrasse is primarily taken for export as part of the valuable live reef food fish trade which is centred in SE Asia. All fish in this trade are wild-caught since commercial level hatchery propagation of this species is not yet possible. The major importing countries are China (especially Hong Kong), Taiwan and Singapore. Fish are exported especially from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and from some western Pacific Islands. Hong Kong is the biggest consumer/transshipment centre for the live seafood market, including for the Humphead wrasse. Hong Kong re-exports significant but undocumented volumes of Humphead wrasse into mainland, particularly southern, China, according to traders and to market surveys.

Three Estates :: Essays Papers

Three Estates The term Three Estates is used to describe the divisions of the European parliament. Parliament is defined by the Webster’s Dictionary as, "an assemblage of person (as members of nobility, clergy, and commons) called together by the British sovereign setting for a period of time and then being dissolved, and constituting the supreme legislature body of the United Kingdom." Parliament could also be defined as, "The 'image' and 'the thing in deed' of the mixed party (Alford 36)." The three different groups as mentioned in the definition by the Webster’s Dictionary are the estates that divide the parliament. The estates are not of physical property, but rather the separation of the society. One group was the clergy, which consisted of the bishops and priests, who were also called the prayers. Next there was the group of nobility which was formed by the kings, queens and knights, as so known as the fighters. And finally, the last group was the group of commons which were the average person such as the workers. The term three estates showed the fundamental view of the separation of society in medieval time s. This term Three Estates does not necessarily mean the three divisions of the parliament. This term could be, "as more effective synonym for 'both houses' ." (Alford 36) The two houses are the House of the Lords and the House of the Commons. This shows that the term is not a direct interpretation , but rather an idea of the separation. Parliament was used to "manage the Crown's business (Loades 90)." The parliament was also used to pass bills and legislature, but each time a bill was presented, it was mandatory that it would go through each house at least three times. As the age of the Parliament became older, it's procedures grew "more sophisticated, and more strictly enforced." (Loades 92) The Parliament also became a place at which "provided a very good platform for a monarch who wanted to say something of particular importance." (Loades 93) But the Parliament did also have its faults. It had a separation between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of the Lords was closer to the court, highly spiritual, and made themselves to the hand of the monarch.

Did chivalry provide medieval aristocrats?

Chivalry is defined as the ideal qualifications of a knight which includes all the characteristics of valor, courtesy, generosity and dexterity in arms. The code of Chivalry also states that a knight lives to defend crown and country. To protect, serve and follow the church. Chivalry was the highest order that a Knight has to follow. Others see it as the strictest order of discipline among warriors clad in armor. Perceived as defenders of the King, the Church and the people, they uphold virtues and the ideals of the church During the Middle Ages, knighthood was only limited to the nobles in society.Close relatives of the king to assume the role of knights. For them to become a knight, they must embark on a ritual that will seal their loyalty and lives to the cause. As stated in the code of Chivalry, Thou shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.   They are tasked to obey the orders of the King, to defend the ideals of the church, and to protect the people, the weak and the innocen t. They were in a total position to closely follow the code of chivalry. During these times, they were the yielding force of the church.They were tasked with defending the principles of the clergy. If they were so ordered to embark on a crusade or simply punish infidels who were a threat to the Eastern Church at that time. Knighthood is the privilege given to nobles. They are regarded, especially with their high class noble ranking as someone who will set themselves as good examples for the community. Nobility has the power to influence; therefore it is regarded as something that must be done to show the correct path and persuade others to follow the path in the service of rightness.These were the much honored characteristics of chivalry during the middle ages. These the codes of discipline that guides a knight in practicing the most revered order during those times. Others see chivalry as nothing else but a political veneer for the nobles during those times. As the great historian Johan Huizinga, according to his works in his book, â€Å"The Waning of the Middle Ages† he stated there thatChivalry was nothing more than the nobles’ pastime. They glorified the ceremonies and the occasions garbled in robes and gold goblets, reliving the glorious days patterned after the idealistic values of Chivalry. Conducting tournaments patterned after the styles of knights in armor jousting against each other. This according to Huizinga was nothing more than a pastime for the nobles in their search for identity and to profess and show their status in society. Historians also beg to differ to the functions of the Knights during medieval times.They claimed that the Knights primary function is to be the right arm of the church. Yielding to every command that the church designates. They were supposed to live and uphold the very teachings of the church in their everyday lives. They are exemplified role models for society and are supposed to carry out the values and s et forth right examples for the citizens to follow. They are also as consequence of their vows and status in the society, required to defend his high Baron or Lord over his interests.These may as well be the profound statements that we are looking for that will show that the Knights were used as â€Å"pawns† not only by the church but also by their superiors. This thinking has led me to explain how the nobility was expanded from the close relatives of the King, to select members of society. This happened in 1307- 1397 after the death of Edward I. The title of Earl was only limited in the circle of the Royal family. It was only to be given to the immediate relatives of the King. But as the events would have it.The title was given to selected individuals in society by the basis of wealth influence and considerable political influence within their territories. This move was implemented during the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154) and his rival, Empress Matilda in an attempt to o utbid each other and gather support from Barons in order to claim hierarchy to the throne. This was a move which cheapened the Aristocracy of the Noble Status in the middle ages.The problem for the King was if he was promoting the  right individuals for the status. Politically, it was a move that is dangerous to the Reign of the King. If the right individuals are given such status, it is to the advantage of the king but if the king thinks that he has the wrong individuals in place, serious political problems may occur. Now what is the relevance of this historical aspect to the chivalry that the knights display in medieval times?According to this, if the people whom the king has chosen to be around him for the purpose of political power are indeed the correct people, them all of this comes into place, but if the incorrect people are placed, then this is a question of authority and hierarchical imbalance for the Knights whom are supposed to follow their immediate Lords. The code of Chivalry according to the Knights stands.Live to serve King and Country, defend thy Land from those who rob and steal from our people. These are the guiding principles for the Knights; I have to give them that. But this is not entirely the case for the aristocrats whom the Knights serve. If the wrong people are placed and with the codes of Chivalry for Knights to follow, it simply gives Chivalry a bad name. In my position, I think that Chivalry is misused by some aristocrats and the clergy during those times.The clergy, for instance in reference to the meaning of chivalry has learned to manipulate it. The ways in which Chivalry is regarded as the highest social order in which Knights are to follow became the arm that controls the mindset of those who follow it and makes them believe that the course of action that take is still in line with the codes of Chivalry. Like the famous Crusades of the Middle Ages. The knights were the messengers of the church at that time and were tasked to carry out to expand the influence of the church. They were told to carry out the tasks of expanding the territories of the kingdom and destroying the so-called â€Å"infidels† who are poised to bring danger to the kingdom and to the church. This for me brings a unique approach on how Chivalry was used by the Nobles and the clergy to carry-out their interests.As political thinkers point it out, the idea of chivalry was indeed taken for granted by the Nobles and the church for their political gains and self interests. As stated in the Book of Chivalry, the Knights way of life is focused on military tactics and training, and is expected for them to use the abilities and skills that they’ve learned for the protection of the King and his constituents. In this case, the King seeing the opportunity may authorize to carry out orders for his Knights to follow.Now with these facts in hand, I would like to answer the question that Chivalry is used by Nobles as an escape to a fan tasy world to which they will retreat. The answer based on the facts stated is yes. Although Chivalry was a word used to describe the highest order of discipline among the Knights, it was also regarded as a tool for Nobles to use in order to carry out their interests. The Nobles dwell into the â€Å"Dogmas† or truths surrounding the code of Chivalry that they find it hard for Knights to disagree.I’d like to place my own personal views on this statement. The codes of are for the Knights to follow, if I am a noble I can be reassured that I will be followed by my Knights who are loyal to me and will do what I say as long as my commands fall into the concept of Chivalry . It’s a simple task of manipulating the thoughts of individuals who are so keen in following rules that in order for me to bend such rules; I have to go over it but on a minimal degree.For me if I would put myself on a Noble’s place, I would see Chivalry as a tool to experiment with and carry out my vested interests with the use of such resources such as my knights who have profound influence over the people which allows them to carry out my orders without the fear of rejection among the citizenry. This is a yes based on the theories stated above. But I’d like to argue with these theories in my own personal view over Chivalry.I believe Chivalry itself was not used as a fantasy world by the nobles to retreat to, but I think the concept of Chivalry was the one used and abused by the nobles into retreating to what we call their fantasy world. In my own personal opinion, I think it is unfair that the  historians’ claim that Chivalry has misled the Knights into thinking that they are following the codes when they carry out the tasks assigned to them. I believe that this is a simple confusion on how the historians and I view Chivalry.If the historians, political thinkers and writers of our time see it as merely manipulating Knights and using them to fulfill th eir own gains, I see it as the code in which Knights follow to the highest order. Be it abused or not by their leaders, it is not a question of Noble’s using it for their fantasy goals, but for me it is a commitment to an ideal that you follow. The very basic rules that align your life and sets your goals. It is the very mindset that sets you apart from the barbarians and infidels who mock the very ideals of it. It is a way of life that Knights follow and I strongly believe that it is the most disciplined code which can still be followed even in this modern day and age.The words of the Code of Chivalry may be old and often be referred to as sayings of the past, but I do know that these can still shape an individuals life into doing what is good and what is fair to his fellow man. For some this may be a retreat to a fantasy world by Nobles, but for me I have to argue that it is not. If manipulating the concept of Chivalry will be the case it’s a yes, but Chivalry itself is a word that best exemplifies the conduct that a man must follow to live in a world of reality, not fantasy.Huizinga, J. The Waning of the Middle Ages. n.d.Keen, M. Chivalry. Yale University Press, 2005.M.Keen. Nobles, Knights, and Men at Arms in the Middle Ages. The Hambledon Press, n.d.Scattergood, V. J. English Court Culture in the Later Middle Ages. n.d.

The Blue Sword CHAPTER FIVE

Corlath was on the ground at once, calling orders that sent long-robed figures scurrying in all directions. Harry sat alone on the big bay horse, who stood quite still; to her tired and befuddled gaze there were dozens of tents and hundreds of people. Men came forward from the mouths of tents and out from shadows, to make their bows to their king – to congratulate him on the success of his venture? Harry thought. Was it successful? Some were sent at once on errands, some faded back into the darkness from which they had emerged. The two men who had ridden with the king dismounted also, and stood a little behind him as he looked around his camp. Harry didn't move. She didn't quite believe that they had arrived – and besides, where was it they were? She didn't feel that she had arrived – or didn't want to. She thought wistfully of her despised bed far away in the Residency, and of fat dull busybody Annie. She wished she were home, and she was so tired she wasn't sur e where home was. When Corlath turned back to her she woke up enough to slither down from the horse's tall back before he tried to help her; this time she did no fancy sliding, but turned to face the horse's shoulder, and kept her hands on the saddle till her feet touched the ground. It was a long way down. She was sure it had gotten longer since the last time she dismounted. Fireheart stood as patiently as the fourposter pony as she leaned against him, and she patted him absently, as she might have patted her own horse, and his nose came round to touch her forearm. She sighed, and thought of Jack Dedham, who would give an arm to ride a Hill horse, even once. Perhaps it didn't count if you were riding double with a Hillman. Harry had her back toward Faran and Innath as they led the horses away. Faran said, â€Å"That was a longer ride than I enjoy, at my age,† and Innath replied laughing: â€Å"Indeed, Grandfather, you had to be tied to your saddle with your long white beard.† Faran, who was a grandfather several times over, but looked forward to being a king's Rider for many years yet, and wore his dark-grey beard short, grinned and said: â€Å"Yes, I long for a featherbed and a plump young girl who will admire an elderly warrior for his scars and his stories.† His eyes slid round, and he looked straight at Harry for the first time since Corlath had carried her, a black-wrapped bundle lying so bonelessly quiet in his arms that it was difficult to believe it contained anything human, to the shadow where two men and three horses awaited him. But Harry was frowning at her dirty feet and did not notice. â€Å"The Outlander girl,† Faran said slowly, with the air of an honest man who will be just at any cost. â€Å"I did not know the Outlanders taught their children such pride. She has done herself honor on this ride.† Innath considered. To do yourself honor is high praise from a Hillman; but as he thought of the last two days, he had to agree. He was almost a generation younger than his fellow Rider, however, and had viewed their adventure differently. â€Å"Do you know, I was most worried that she might weep? I can't bear a woman weeping.† Faran chuckled. â€Å"If I had known that, I would have advised our king – strongly – to choose another Rider. Not that it would have mattered much, I think: she would merely have had the sleep laid on her again.† He pulled a tent flap aside, and they and the horses disappeared from Harry's sight. She had recognized the Hill word for â€Å"Outlander,† and wondered dejectedly what Corlath's companions, who had so pointedly ignored her during their journey together, were saying. She wiggled her grubby toes in the sand. She looked up and noticed that she was standing only a few feet from the – what does one call it on a tent? Door implied hinges and a frame – front of the grandest tent of all. It was white, with two wide black stripes across its peak from opposite directions, meeting and crossing at the center, and extending to the ground like black ribbons. A black-and-white banner flew from the crossed center, the tallest point in the camp, as the tent was the biggest. â€Å"Go in,† said Corlath at her side again; â€Å"they will take care of you. I will join you presently.† As she approached, a man held aside the golden silk rectangle that served the great tent for a door. He stood to attention with as much dignity as if she were a welcome guest, and perhaps a queen in her own country. This amused her, with a stray thought that the Hill-king seemed to have his followers well schooled, and she smiled at him as she went inside; and was gratified by the startled look that crossed his face when she managed to catch his eye. At least they aren't all inscrutable, she thought. One of Dedham's subalterns might have looked like that. It was also comforting to have succeeded at last in catching someone's eye. What she did not know was that the honor guard at the door, who stood to attention because he was an honor guard and it would have been beneath him to be less than courteous to anyone who had the king's grace to enter the king's tent, was saying to himself: She walks and smiles at me as if she were a grand lady in her own home, not a prisoner of – of – He stumbled here, since neither he nor anyone else knew exactly why she had been made a prisoner, or an involuntary guest, or whatever it was that she was, except that it was the king's will. And this after a journey that made even old Faran, who was not flesh at all but iron, look a little weary. This was a story he would tell his friends when he was off duty. Inside Harry looked around her with awe. If the camp from the outside was white and grey and dun-colored, as dull but for the black-and-white banner flying from the king's tent as the sand and scrub around it and brightened only by the robes and sashes some of the men wore, inside this tent – she was sure it was Corlath's own – there was a blaze of color. Tapestries hung on the walls, and between them were gold and silver chains, filigree balls and rods, bright enameled medallions – some of them big enough to be shields. Thick soft rugs were scattered on the floor three or four deep, each of them gorgeous enough to lie at the foot of a throne; and over them were scattered dozens of cushions. There were carved and inlaid boxes of scented red wood, and bone-colored wood, and black wood; the largest of these were pushed against the walls. Lanterns hung on short chains from the four carved ribs that crossed the high white ceiling to meet at the center peak, above whi ch the banner flew outside, and below which a slender jointed pillar ran from floor to ceiling. Like pillars stood at each of the four corners of the tent, and four more braced the ribs at their centers; and from each pillar a short arm extended which held in its carven cupped hand another lantern. All were lit, bathing the riot of deep color, shape, and texture in a golden glow which owed nothing to the slowly strengthening morning light outside. She was staring up at the peak of the roof and feeling impressed at the smooth structure of the tent – her own knowledge of tents was limited to stories of the Homelander military variety, which involved ropes and canvas and much swearing, and leaks when it rained – when a slight noise behind her brought her back again to her presence in a Hill camp. She turned around, nervously, but not so nervously as she might have; for there was a graciousness and – well, humanity, perhaps, if she tried to think of a word for it – to the big white-walled room that set her at ease, even against her own better judgment. Four white-robed men had entered the tent. They brought with them, carrying it by handles set round the rim, an enormous silver basin: bath-sized, she thought. It had a broad base and sides that flared gently. The metal was worked in some fashion, but the play of the lantern light over the patterns prevented her from deciding what the designs might be. The men set the great basin down at one end of the tent, and turned to leave, one after the other; and each, as he passed her standing uncertainly near the center, bowed to her. She was made uneasy by the courtesy, and had to stop herself from taking a step or two backward. She stood with her arms at her sides, but her hands, invisible in the long full sleeves of her battered dressing-gown, closed slowly into fists. As the four men passed in front of her on their way out, several more were coming in, with silver urns on their shoulders; and the urns, she found when the carriers emptied them into the silver bath – it had to be a bath – were full of steaming water. No drop was spilled; and each man bowed to her as he left. She wondered how many of them there were engaged in water-carrying; there were never more than a few in the tent at once, yet as soon as one urn was empty the man behind was there to pour from another. It took only a few soft-footed minutes, the only sound that of the water falling into the basin, for it to be full; and the stream of men stopped likewise. She was alone a moment, watching the surface of the water glint as the last ripples grew still; and she saw that some of the design on the bath was simply the presence of hinges, and she laughed. This was a traveling camp, after all. Then four men entered together and ranged themselves in a line – like horse-herders, she thought, presented with an animal whose temper is uncertain – and looked at her; and she looked at them. She rather thought these were the four who had brought the bath in to begin with; but she wasn't sure. What she did notice was something else, something that hadn't quite registered while the steady shuffle of men and urns had gone past: that each of these men had a little white mark that looked like a scar on his forehead, in the center of the brow, above the eyes. She wondered about this; and then she wondered about what looked like towels lying over the shoulders of three of the men; and then the fourth one came toward her with a motion so swift and polite, and somehow unthreatening, that he slipped the Hill cloak off her shoulders and folded it over his arm before she reacted. She spun around then and backed away a step; and was almost certain that the look on this man's face was surprise. He laid the cloak down very gently on a wooden chest, and motioned toward the bath. She was grateful that at least he didn't bow to her again, which probably would have made her leap like a startled rabbit. It wasn't, she thought, that the gesture held any unpleasant servility. But it felt like an indication that she was somehow in command of the situation – or ought to be. The lack of servility was therefore alarming, because these men were too capable of observing that she didn't feel in the least as if she were in command. They looked at one another a moment longer. She thought then incredulously: Surely they're not expecting to give me a bath? – and noticed with the sides of her eyes that the other three men were standing behind the bath now, and one of the towels when unfolded was revealed as a robe, with a braided gold cord at the waist. The man directly in front of her, who had removed her cloak, reached out and laid his hands on the belt of her dressing-gown, and she suddenly found that she was angry. The last two days had been one indignity after another, however politely each had been offered; and to preserve what self-respect she could – and what courage – she had preferred not to think about them too closely. But that she wasn't even to be allowed to bathe without a guard – that she should be expected to submit tamely to the ministrations of four men – men – like a – like a – Her imagination chose to fail her here, far from home, with the terror of the unknown, and of the captured, only barely kept at bay. She threw off the man's polite fingers with as much violence as she could and said furiously: â€Å"No! Thank you, but no.† There are enough of them, for God's sake, to stand me on my head if they want to force the issue, she thought. But I am not going to cooperate. There was a ripple of golden silk at the sound of her voice, and a new shadow appeared in the lantern light. Corlath, who had been hovering just outside to see how his Outlander was going to behave, entered the tent. He spoke two or three words and the men left at once; each bowing, first to her and then to their king. A corner of Harry's mind, which refused to be oppressed by the dreadfulness of the situation, noticed that the bows were of equal depth and duration; and the same mental corner had the impertinence to think this odd. There was another little silence after the four men had left, only this time it was the king she was facing down. But she was too angry to care. If she said anything she would say too much, and she hadn't quite forgotten that she was at the mercy of strangers, so she bit her tongue and glowered. Why was this all happening? The bit of her mind which had commented about the equality of bows presently observed that anger was preferable to fear, so the anger was encouraged to carry on. Evidently Corlath had already had his bath; his black hair was wet, and even his sun-brown skin was a few shades lighter. He was wearing a long golden robe, stiff with elegant stitching, open at the front to show a loose cream-colored garment that fell almost to his sandaled feet. In her own country she would have been inclined to call it a nightshirt under an odd sort of dressing-gown – although nobody ever wore a scarlet cummerbund over one's nightshirt – but it looked very formal here. She mustn't forget to glower or she might feel awed. And then, inevitably, afraid. She recognized the quality of his silence when at last he spoke: the same feeling she had had when she first spoke to him, at the small campsite between the arms of a sand dune, that he chose and arranged his words very carefully. â€Å"Do you not wish to bathe, then? It is a long ride we had.† He was thinking, So I have managed to offend her immediately. It is done differently where she comes from; she can't know and must not be able to guess – but how could she guess? – that in the Hills it is only the men and women of the highest rank that may be waited on by household servants of both sexes. I feared – but for what good? We know nothing of each other's customs, and my household men have only done as they ought: treated the king's Outlander with the greatest honor. Harry in her turn had unbent slightly at the â€Å"we.† It was friendlier than the accusatory â€Å"you† she'd been expecting. She hadn't unbent so far, though, as to prevent herself from saying coldly, â€Å"I am accustomed to bathe alone.† Ah. Yes. I don't suppose I should mire myself with involved explanations at this point? She doesn't look to be in the mood for them. He said, â€Å"These are men of my household. It was to do you †¦ courtesy.† She glanced away and felt her anger begin to ebb; and so she was unprepared when he took a sudden stride forward as she dropped her eyes. He grabbed her chin and forced it up, turning her face to the light and staring down at her as if amazed. Her abrupt reversion to existence as an object to be bundled about, turned this way and that at another's will, made the anger boil up again at once; and her eyes glittered back at him without a trace of fear. He was staring into those eyes, as the light played full across them, and thinking, That's why. I don't understand it, but this must be why – the first step to why. He had just caught a glimpse, a suspicion, when she turned her head, the way the light fell, and he had put his hand out before he thought. Her eyes, under his gaze, shimmered grey to green with bubbles of amber that flickered like lightning in the depths and floated up to break like stars on the surface: bottomless eyes, that a man or beast fool enough to look at long would fall into and drown. He knew – he was one of the very few who need have no fear – that she did not know. She met his eyes too clearly: there was nothing in her eyes but simple and forthright fury – and he couldn't blame her for that. He wondered if she'd learned by accident not to focus her anger, or whether people she hated had a habit of falling downstairs or choking on fishbones – or if perhaps she had never hated . One doesn't generally look into mirrors when one is especially angry; one has better things to do, like pace the floor, or throw things. Perhaps no one had ever noticed, or been in a position to notice. And the thought came to him vaguely, for no particular reason, that she couldn't ever have been in love. If she had ever turned the full intensity of her kelar-brilliant eyes on any average mortal, they would both have had a shock; and she would never again have had the innocence to meet anyone's eyes as she now met his. He dropped his hand from her chin and turned away. He looked a little ashamed, she thought; and he said, â€Å"Forgive me,† as if he meant it. But he looked more thoughtful than anything else, and, she realized with surprise, relieved, as if he had made – or had made for him – some important decision. What can be wrong with my face? she thought. Has my nose turned green? It has always been crooked, but it never astonished anybody before. He offered her no explanation for his behavior, but after a moment's silence he said, â€Å"You will have your bath alone, as you wish,† glanced at her again as if to be sure she was real, and left her. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered; and then thought, Very well, I do want a bath, the water's cooling off, and how long is a bath expected to take before someone else comes trotting in? She took the fastest bath of her life, and was bright red with scrubbing but quite clean when she tumbled out again, dried off, and slithered into the white robe left for her. The sleeves came to her elbows, and the hem nearly to her ankles. There were long loose trousers to go underneath, but so full as to seem almost a skirt, and they rippled and clung as she moved. The clothing all was made from something adequately opaque, but when she had tied the golden rope around her middle she still felt rather embarrassingly unclad; Homelander garb for its women involved many more layers. She looked at her dusty dressing-gown, but was reluctant to put it back on; and she was still hesitating over this as she dried her hair on the second towel and tried to part the tangle with her fingers, when Corlath returned, carrying a dark red robe very much like his golden one – and a comb. The handle of it was wide and awkward in her hand, but it had familiar teeth, and that was all that counte d. While she watched through her wet hair, the bath was half-emptied as it had been filled, and the rest carried out still in the silver basin. The four men at its handles walked so smoothly the water never offered to slop up the sides. Then there was a pause and one of the men of the household – or so she supposed the forehead mark indicated – entered carrying a mirror in a leather frame and knelt before her on one knee, propped the mirror on the other, and tipped it back till she could see her face in it. She looked down, bemused – the man's eyes were on the floor. Did household servants of the Hills all take lessons in tipping mirrors to just the right angle, relative to the height and posture of the person to be served? Perhaps it was a specialty, known only to a few; and those few, of course, would be preserved for the royal household. She parted her hair gravely and shook it back over her shoulders, where it fell heavily past her hips. The deep red of her robe was very handsome; the shadows it cast were as velvety as rose petals. â€Å"Thank you,† she said in Hill-speech, hoping that she remembered the right phrase; and the man stood up, bowed again, and went away. Meanwhile a long table was being erected under the peak of the tent, next to the central pillar. It consisted of many square sections, with a leg at each corner of each square, set next to each other in a long single row; she wondered how they managed to stand so level on the whimsical layers of carpet. Corlath was pacing up and down the end of the tent opposite her, head bent and hands behind him. Plates were arranged on the table – each setting, she saw, was given a plate, one of the curious flat-bowled spoons, two bowls of different sizes, and a tall mug. The table was very low, and there were no chairs; some of the cushions scattered all over the tent were gathered up and heaped around it. Then large bowls of bread and fruit and – she thought – cheese were brought in, and the lamp that hung from the wooden rib over the table was lowered till it hung only a few feet from the plentiful food. It was just a little above her eye level as she stood watching. The la nterns that hung from the ceiling beams were suspended on fine chains which were attached to slender ropes looped around a row of what looked very much like belaying-pins on a ship lined up against one wall. Corlath had stopped pacing, and his eyes followed the lowering of the lamp; but the expression on his face said that his thoughts were elsewhere. Harry watched him covertly, ready to look away if he should remember her; and as the lamp was fixed in its new position she saw him return to himself with a snap. He walked a few steps forward to stand at one end of the long table; then he looked around for her. She was not in a good position for judging such things, but she felt that he recalled her existence to his mind with something of an effort, as a man will recall an unpleasant duty. She let him catch her eye, and he gestured that she should take her place at his left hand. At that moment the golden silk door was lifted again, and another group of men filed in. She recognized two of them: they were the men who had ridden with Corlath to assist at her †¦ removal. She was a little surprised that she should recognize them so easily, since what she had mostly seen of them was the backs of their heads when they averted their faces, or the tops of their heads or hoods when they stared at the ground. But recognize them she did, and felt no fear about staring at them full-face now, for they showed no more inclination than they ever had for looking back at her. There were eighteen men all told, plus Corlath and herself; and she was sure she could have recognized them as a group, as belonging together and bound together by ties as strong as blood or friendship, even if they had been scattered in a crowd of several hundred. They had an awareness of each other so complete as to be instinctive. She knew something of the working of this sort of camaraderie from watching Dedham and some of his men; but here, with this group of strangers, she could read it as easily as if it were printed on a page before her; and their silence – for none bothered with the kind of greeting Harry was accustomed to, any Hill version of hello and how are you – made it only more plain to her. Rather than finding their unity frightening, and herself all alone and outside, she found it comforting that her presence should so little disturb them. That instinctive awareness seemed to wrap around her too, and accept her: an outsider, an Outlander and a woman, a nd yet here she was and that was that. She sat when everyone else sat, and as bowls and plates were passed she found that hers were filled and returned to her without her having to do anything but accept what was given her. Knives appeared, from up sleeves and under sashes and down boot tops, and Corlath produced an extra one from somewhere and gave it to her. She felt the edge delicately with one finger, and found it very keen; and was faintly flattered that the prisoner should be allowed so sharp an instrument. No doubt because any one of these men could take it away from me at my first sign of rebellion, without even interrupting their chewing, she thought. She began to peel the yellow-skinned fruit on her plate, as the man opposite her was doing. It seemed years since she had faced Sir Charles across the breakfast table. She didn't notice when the conversation began; it proceeded too easily to have had anything so abrupt as a beginning, and she was preoccupied with how to manage her food. From the tone of their voices, these men were reporting to their king, and the substance of the reports was discussed as a matter of importance all around the table. She understood no word of it, for â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no† and â€Å"please† and â€Å"good† are almost impossible to pick out when talk is in full spate, but it was a language she found pleasant to listen to, with a variety of sounds and syllables that she thought would well lend themselves to any mood or mode of expression. Her mind began to wander after a little time. She was exhausted after the long ride, but the tension of her position – I will not say that I am utterly terrified – served admirably to keep her awake and uneasily conscious of all that went on around her. She wondered if any of these men would give it away by look or gesture if the conversation turned to the Outlander in their midst. But after a bath, and clean clothes, even these odd ones, and good food, for the food was very good, and even the company, for their companionship seemed to hold her up like something tangible, her mind insisted on relaxing. But that relaxation was a mixed blessing at best, because as the tension eased even a little, her thoughts unerringly reverted to trying to puzzle out why she was where she found herself. Something to do with that abortive meeting at the Residency, between the Hillfolk and the Outlanders, presumably. But why? Why me? If I could be stolen from my bed – or my window-seat – then they could steal somebody from some other bed – and Sir Charles seems a lot more likely as a political figure. She repressed a grin. Though a very unlikely figure for riding across a saddlebow. There had to be a better reason than that of physical bulk for the choice of herself over †¦ whoever else was available. She had been spirited out of her own house, with the doors locked and the dogs out, and Sir Charles and Lady Amelia asleep only a few steps away. It was as if Corlath – or his minions – could walk through walls: and if they could walk through the Residency walls and over the Residency dogs, probably they could walk through any other walls – at least Homelander walls – that they chose. It was uncanny. She remembered that Dedham, whose judgment she trusted above all others' at the station, and who knew more than any other Homelander about his adopted country, believed in the uncanniness of certain of the Hillfolk's tactics. Which brought her back to square one of this game: Why her? Why Harry Crewe, the Residency's charity case, who had only been in this country at all for a few months? There was one obvious answer, but she discarded it as soon as it arose. It was too silly, and she was convinced that, whatever failings Corlath and his men might be capable of, silliness wasn't one of them. And Corlath didn't look at her the way a man looks at a woman he plans to have share his bed – and his interest would have to be very powerful indeed for him to have gone to so much trouble to steal her. He looked at her rather as a man looks at a problem that he would very much prefer to do without. She supposed it was distinction of a sort to be a harassment to a king. She also swiftly, almost instinctively, discarded the idea that her Homelanders would mount any successful expedition to find her and bring her home again. The Hillfolk knew their desert; the Homelanders did not. And the Residency charity case would not warrant extraordinary efforts. She thought wryly: If Jack guesses where I am, he'll think I don't need rescuing †¦ but poor Dick; he'll manage to convince himself that it's his fault, he brought me out here in the first place †¦ She blinked hastily, and bit her lips. Her crossed legs were asleep, and the small of her back hurt. She was accustomed to sitting in chairs. She began surreptitiously to thump her thighs with her fists till they began to tingle painfully to life again; then she began on her calves. By the time she could feel when she wiggled her toes, the hot stiff feeling around her eyes had ebbed and she could stop blinking. The men of the household entered the royal tent again, and cleared the table. The bread and fruit were replaced by bowls of something dark and slightly shiny. When she was offered a bit of it she discovered it to be sticky and crunchy and very sweet, and by the time she had eaten most of her generous serving, and what remained was adhering to her face and fingers, she noticed that a bowl of water and a fresh napkin had been placed at each person's elbow. There was a momentary lull while everyone sighed and stretched; and Corlath said a few words to the men of the household, which caused one of them to leave the tent and the other three still present to go around the walls extinguishing the lanterns, all except the one lamp that hung low over the table. The heavy woven walls shone in the daylight so the inside was palely lit; and the lamp over the table burned like a small sun, casting half-shadows in the quiet corners of the glowing white walls and in the hollows of eyes. None spoke. Then the man returned, carrying a dark leather bag bound with brass in the shape of a drinking-horn. A thong hung from its neck and base, and this the man had looped over his shoulder. He offered it first to Corlath, who gestured to the man at his right. The man of the household handed it gravely to him, bowed, and left; there were none in the tent now but those twenty who sat round the table. The first man drank – one swallow; she could see him letting it slide slowly down his throat. He balanced the bag on the table and stared at the burning lamp. After a moment an expression passed over his face that was so clear Harry felt she should recognize it immediately; but she did not. She was shaken both by its strength and by her own failure to read it; and then it was gone. The man looked down, smiled, shook his head, said a few words, and passed the horn to the man sitting on his right. Each man took one mouthful, swallowed it slowly, and stared at the lamp. Some of them spoke and some did not. One man, with skin sunburned as dark as cinnamon but for a pale scar on his jaw, spoke for a minute or two, and words of surprise broke from several of his audience. They all looked to Corlath, but he sat silent and inscrutable, chin in hand; and so the drinking-horn was passed on to the next. One man Harry remembered in particular: he was shorter than most of the company, while his shoulders were very broad and his hands large. His hair was grizzled and his expression grim; his face was heavily lined, but whether with age or experience or both she could not guess. He sat near the foot of the table on the side opposite her. He drank, stared at the light, spoke no word, and passed the horn to the man on his right. All the others, even the ones who said nothing, showed something in their faces – something, Harry thought, that was transparent to any who had eyes to see beyond – some strong sensation, whether of sight or feeling – she could not even guess this much. But this man remained impassive, as opaque as skin and blood and bone can be. One could see his eyes move, and his chest heave as he breathed; there was no clue for further speculation. She wondered what his name was, and if he ever smiled. As the leather bag rounded the bottom of the table and started up the other side, and Harry could no longer see the faces of the drinkers, she dropped her eyes to her hands and complimented herself on how quietly they lay, the fingers easy, not gripping each other or whitening their knuckles around her mug. The mug was still half full of a pale liquid, slightly honey-sweet but without (she thought she could by now conclude) the dangers of the gentle-tasting mead it reminded her of. She moved one finger experimentally, tapped it against the mug, moved it back, rearranged her hands as a lady might her knitting, and waited. She was aware when the drinking-horn reached the man on her left, and was aware of the slight shudder that ran through him just before he spoke; but she kept her eyes down and waited for Corlath to reach across her and take the waiting horn. This was not something an Outlander would be expected to join in – and just as well. Whatever the stuff was, watching the men's faces when they drank made her feel a little shaky. And so she was much surprised when one of Corlath's hands entered her range of vision and touched the back of one of her hands with the forefinger. She looked up. â€Å"Take a sip,† he said. She reached out stiffly and took the brass-bound bag from the man who held it, keeping her eyes only on the bag itself. It was warm from all the hands that had held it, and up close she could see the complexity of the twisted brass fittings. It carried a slight odor with it: faintly pungent, obscurely encouraging. She took a deep breath. â€Å"Only a sip,† said Corlath's voice. The weight of the thing kept her hands from trembling. She tipped her head back and took the tiniest of tastes: a few drops only. She swallowed. It was curious, the vividness of the flavor, but nothing she could put a name to †¦ She saw a broad plain, green and yellow and brown with tall grasses, and mountains at the edge of it, casting long shadows. The mountains started up abruptly, like trees, from the flatness of the plain; they looked steep and severe and, with sun behind them, they were almost black. Directly in front of her there was a small gap in those mountains, little more than a brief pause in the march of the mountains' sharp crests, and it was high above the floor of the plain. Up the side of the mountain, already near the summit, was a bright moving ribbon. Horsemen, no more than forty of them, riding as quickly as they could over the rough stony track, the horses with their heads low and thrown forward, watching their feet, swinging with their strides, the riders straining to look ahead, as though fearing they might come too late. Behind the riders were men on foot, bows slung slantwise over their backs, crossed by quivers of arrows; there were perhaps fifty of them, and they followed the horses, with strides as long as theirs. Beside them were long brown moving glints, supple as water, that slid from light to shade too quickly to be identified; four-footed, they looked to be; dogs perhaps. The sunlight bounced off sword hilts, and the metal bindings of leather arms and harness, and shields of many shapes, and the silver strings of bows. The far sides of the mountains were less steep, but no less forbidding. Broken foothills extended a long way, into the hazy distance; a little parched grass or a few stunted trees grew where they could. Below the gap in the mountains by any other path but through the valley would be impossible, at least for horses. The gap was one that a small determined force would be able to defend – for a time. The bright ribbon of horsemen and archers collected in the small flat space behind the gap, and became a pool. Here there was a little irregular plateau, with shallow crevasses, wide enough for small campsites, leading into the rocky shoulders on either side, and with a long low overhanging shelf to one side that was almost a cave. The plateau narrowed to a gap barely the width of two horsemen abreast, where the mountain peaks crowded close together, just before it spilled into the scrub-covered valley, and the rock-strewn descending slopes beyond. The horsemen paused and some dismounted; some rode to the edge and looked out. At the far edge of the foothills something glittered, too dark for grass, too sharply peaked for water. When it spilled into the foothills it became apparent for what it was: an army. This army rode less swiftly than had the small band now arranging themselves in and around the pass, but their urgency was less. The sheer numbers of them were all the tactics they needed. But the little army waiting for them organized itself as seriously as if it had a chance of succeeding in what it set out to do; and perhaps some delay of the immense force opposing it was all that it required. The dust beyond the foothills winked and flashed as rank after rank approached the mountains †¦ †¦ and then time began to turn and dip crazily, and she saw the leader of the little force plunging down into the valley with a company behind him, and he drew a sword that flashed blue in his hand. His horse was a tall chestnut, fair as daylight, and his men swept down the hill behind him. She could not see the archers, but she saw a hail of arrows like rain sweeping from the low trees on either side of the gap. The first company of the other army leaped eagerly toward them, and a man on a white horse as tall as the chestnut and with red ribbons twisted into its long tail met the blue sword with one that gleamed gold †¦ †¦ and Harry found herself back in the tent, her throat hoarse as if from shouting: standing up, with a pair of strong hands clamped on her shoulders; and she realized that without their support she would sag to her knees. The fierce shining of the swords was still in her eyes. She blinked and shook her head, and realized she was staring at the lamp; so she turned her head and looked up at Corlath, who was looking down at her with something – she noticed with a shock – like pity in his face. She could think of nothing to say; she shook her head again, as if to shake out of it all she had just seen; but it stayed where it was. There was a silence, of a moment, or perhaps of half a year. She breathed once or twice; the air felt unnaturally harsh on her dry throat. She began to feel the pile of carpets pressing against her feet, and Corlath's hands slackened their grip. They stood, the two of them, king and captive, facing one another, and all the men at the table looked on. â€Å"I am sorry,† Corlath said at last. â€Å"I did not think it would take you with such strength.† She swallowed with some difficulty: the lovely wild flavor of the mad drink she had just tasted lingered in the corners of her mouth, and in the corners of her mind. â€Å"What is it?† Corlath made some slight gesture – of denigration or of ignorance. â€Å"The drink – we call it Meeldtar – Seeing Water, or Water of Sight.† â€Å"Then – all that I saw – I really saw it. I didn't imagine it.† â€Å"Imagine it? Do you mean did you see what was true? I do not know. One learns, eventually, usually to know, to be able to say if the seeings are to be believed or are †¦ imagined. But imagined as you mean it – no. The Water sends these things, or brings them.† There was a pause again, but nobody relaxed, least of all herself. There was more to it than this, than a simple – simple? – hallucination. She looked at Corlath, frowning. â€Å"What else?† she said, as calmly as if she were asking her doom. Corlath said, â€Å"There is something else,† as if he were putting it off. He hesitated, and then spoke a few words in a language she did not recognize. It wasn't the usual Darian she heard the natives around the Residency speak, or the slightly more careful tongue that Dedham and Mr. Peterson used; nor did it sound like the differently accented tongue the Hillfolk spoke, which was still recognizable to those who were fluent in Darian. This was a rougher, more powerful language to listen to, although many of the sounds – strange to her Homelander ears – were common with the Darian she was accustomed to. She looked at Corlath, puzzled, as he spoke a little further. She knew nothing of this language. â€Å"It is not familiar to you?† Corlath said at last; and when she shook her head, he said, â€Å"No, of course not, how could it be?† He turned around. â€Å"We might sit down again,† and sat down with great deliberateness. She sat down too, waiting. The look she had seen before on his face, that of a man facing a problem he would far rather avoid, had returned, but it had changed. Now his look said that he understood what the problem was, and it was much more serious than he had suspected. â€Å"There are two things,† he said. â€Å"The Water of Sight does not work so on everyone. Most people it merely makes ill. To a few it gives headaches; headaches accompanied by strange colors and queer movements that make them dizzy. There are very few who see clearly – we nineteen, here tonight, all of us have drunk the Water of Sight many times. But even for us, most of us see only a brief abrupt picture – sometimes the scene lasts so little time it is hard to recognize. Often it is of something familiar: one's father, one's wife, one's horse. There is a quality to these pictures, or memories, that is like nothing else, like no voluntary memory you might call up yourself. But often that is all. â€Å"Occasionally one of the people of our Hills sees more. I am one. You have just proven yourself another. I do not know why you saw what you did. You told us something of what you saw as you were seeing it. You may have seen a battle of the past – or one that never happened – or one that may yet happen; it may occur in Damar, or – in some other country.† She heard may yet happen as if those three words were the doom she had asked for; and she remembered the angry brilliance of the yellow-eyed Hill-king as he stood before the Residency far away. â€Å"But – † she said, troubled, hardly realizing she spoke aloud – â€Å"I am not even of your Hills. I was born and bred far away – at Home. I have been here only a few months. I know nothing of this place.† â€Å"Nothing?† said Corlath. â€Å"I said there were two things. I have told you the first. You told us what you saw as you saw it. But this is the second thing: you spoke in the Old Tongue, what we call the Language of the Gods, that none knows any more but kings and sorcerers, and those they wish to teach it to. The language I just spoke to you, that you did not recognize – I was repeating the words you had said yourself, a moment before.†