Cultural desire Essay

Cultural desire is for many people understood solely as an intention to cope with cultural features on a new place without making much harm to one’s personal cultural belonging. Tracking the leading precursors in a cultural versatility, the novel by Julia Alvarez presupposes the reality of a new life on a new place where former high values appear to mix up with the â€Å"melting pot† of the United States. While reading this book, I have learnt that the cultural gap is beyond disagreement. It is a matter of how a person can deal with new people and new features under different circumstances. As a matter of fact, Alvarez managed to show the face of an immigrant who can lose many precious things of hi/her own for the sake of personal survival. This prerequisite of the discussion maintained by the author pushed me on the issue of my personal values in life. It seems that people do not pay attention to these subtle features until they are threatened to have no such values at all. I cannot just confess in the fact that I can demonstrate such behaviors and be of the same kind. However, the book by Alvarez (1992) provides an overall representation of gender and race issues as being interwoven into a mutual symbiosis of a man’s nature. It also spreads over the workplace where individual communicates and spends much time. To say more, it is impossible to separate this unity into pieces. This is why I try to keep a strict eye on the problem of personal cultural identity and the way it should appreciate my personal feelings about everything around (people, education, government, services, etc. ). Losing accents is dead-end for a person. It is a so-called start for self-destruction and decline. Most of all, it considers one’s inability to rationally and objectively perceive the gist of values that your culture gave you by birth. One should take notice of the fact that those cultural precursors and adjustments are usually nurtured by the community of people where an individual grew up and developed figuratively into a person. By now, I assume culture to be an inseparable part of any individual including me as well. This incorporation of a sound mind reflects on my realistic viewpoints as of community, public opinion, society, and socialization. Culture and everything related to it corresponds to one’s ability to grow rich in thoughts, business, and self-esteem, of course. Thus, I feel like shaping the difference between what I supposed to be true about culture prior to completing my readings. This comes out to be as a result of an alleged revelation which grounds on the experience of people living in America and trying their best at finding out the most convenient â€Å"place under the sun. † In most cases I see the difference as a reflection of peoples’ being misunderstood or invisible for the majority within the society where they live (Rubin & Melnick, 2007). This issue is a real impediment, as I see now, for people to adjust to the new cultural environment. Hence, it needs no additional proof to gain momentum about the cross-cultural justification in evidence. Nevertheless, one should keep it in mind that there is nothing to provoke cultural misbalance, unless people of majority. This cornerstone assumption leads toward broader discussion of the subject matter insofar. It provides a collision of general assumptions on what I thought of culture previously to reading the book by Alvarez. Delivering care to a member of culture is a sticking point for most Americans and people living in a multinational society on the whole. To keep it clear, one should be attentive to those being in need regarding the human viewpoint. It means that all people are to be justified through the so-called â€Å"orifice† of humane. This mentions the ideal balance of experience and personal aptness at communicating with different people. This simple step is not a big deal for anyone. It becomes challenging if not setting oneself free from bigotries about immigrants and people of different cultural background. In turn it liberates people in appealing to this or that culture. Thus, I can identify humane, as the main weapon for enforcing innermost willingness to help people and deliver care to them, despite their racial or cultural identities. I cannot fail to agree that humanity and humane should go hand in hand while providing help to people of different culture. It is not just a matter of social stability and spiritual growth. First of all, it is all about how a person feels like about life and surroundings, the same as Yolanda could feel when in New York (Alvarez, 1992). On the other side, different attitudes turned to the positive part of communication and assistance is an asset having a contrasting shape. This is why people face struggle and contradiction. They just cannot perceive and further estimate cultural differences of one another. Hence, they are helpless to be united. I would recommend the example of Abraham Lincoln who was the first to make white people of America look at the former slaves and other immigrants in the same way as they do toward themselves. As an advanced practice nurse, I would like to be more patient to people with whom I should work. It is a preliminary action that the staff conceives you correctly and its members could defer you in everything regarding the work. In this respect I would continue on applying traditional medical practice, but along with some more skills to be developed in the course of medical implementation. Some experts may think of it, as just by enforcing themselves to be more careful and attentive toward patients. However, a set of appropriate steps should be as follows: †¢ Developing listening skills; †¢ Making thorough observation; †¢ Being on the same level with a patient, but still a bit higher; †¢ Being ready to provide new things in practice; †¢ Keeping in mind one’s own cultural features and assumptions; †¢ Working out an intention to point out cultural aspects out of the community; †¢ Recognizing frustration and alienation as having reference to culture (Andrews & Boyle, 2008). Summing all these points up, I would never pay attention solely to some few of them, but I would rather take them all into account to become proficient in shaping cultural aspects while working with patients. In fact, it would help reach out better results concerning a patient’s recovery. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that people do not want to sacrifice their cultural features for the sake of disparities and unfairness taking place in the society. Medical practice can be said to have international roots as well as cultures pertaining to different nations. Hence, more humane and patience would save more points to assume cultural features referred to an individual without any bias at all. Reference Alvarez, J. (1992). How the Garcia girls lost their accents. New York, NY: The Penguin Group. Andrews, M. M. , & Boyle, J. S. (2008). Transcultural concepts in nursing care (5 ed. ). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Rubin, R. , & Melnick, J. P. (2007). Immigration and American popular culture: an introduction. New York, NY: NYU Press.

Aisha Bint Abu Bakr

Aisha Bint Abu Bakr has a major and significant role in adjusting the Muslim Ummah. It was she who was named the mother of the believers, it was she who transmitted 2210 ahadeeth that we find in books of Prophetic narrations that we read today and it was she who memorised the amazing and glorious book of Allah (s. w. t) the Quran, but who is this decent women? Aisha Bint Abu Bakr was one of the wives of The Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w). She has contributed a lot for the sake of Islam as many hadiths have been narrated from her. Aisha (R. A) was born in 614 CE in the well-known city of Mecca after both her parents had embraced Islam.This was an advantage for Aisha (R. A) as she was free from any polytheism since she was born. However her death took place in Medina when she was at the age of 65 in 678 CE during the blessed month of Ramadan. Aisha was born to Umm Ruman and Abu Bakr As-Sadiq who was the closest companion to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w) and had the significant rol e of being the first khalifa of Islam. Most scholars say that Aisha (r. a) was only 9 when The Prophet (s. a. w) asked for her hand in marriage and he was at the age of 43; however she only went to live with the prophet when she reached maturity at the age of 12.Aisha had a very amazing and astonishing personality that surprised Other women Aisha everyone. Aisha (r. a) had significant intelligence and was very knowledgeable. Aisha (RA) was a very brave person that wasn’t frightened of talking back to people in order to find out the truth. When she would beat someone in an argument, The Prophet (s. a. w) would display a smile upon his face and would comment ‘she is the daughter of Abu Bakr (R. A). It was once said that Aisha was so wise that if her knowledge was placed on one side of the scales and all of the other women on the other, Aisha’s side would outweigh the other.Aisha bint Abu Bakr (R. A) is undoubtedly one of the greatest teachers produced by Islam. She had an important role in education and social reform as many Muslim boys and girls were trained with her assistance. Therefore her house had become an Islamic Academy. As a successful teacher, she had a clear persuasive manner of speech. One of the early Muslims stated â€Å"I have heard speeches of Abu Bakr (R. A) and Umar (R. A), Uthman (R. A) and Ali (R. A) up to this day, but I have not heard speech more persuasive and more beautiful from the mouth of Aisha (R.A)†. Aisha (R. A) was married to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w) for 9 years. During the period of time that they were married, many important events occurred that helped shape up the destiny of the first Muslim Community of Medina. It was during their progress of marriage that the qibla was changed from facing the direction of Jerusalem to the direction of the Kaa’bah. Not only did the qibla change, but drinking alcohol was completely forbidden and it also became essential for women to wear the hijab in public and during prayer.The guidance of how to fast was revealed, zakat had become compulsory on every Muslim and all rites of the hajj were purified and clarified during the course of her marriage to The Prophet (S. A. W). Most of Aisha’s life spent with The Prophet (S. A. W) was gaining knowledge from Allah’s two main sources of guidance; the Quran and the Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w). Aisha was one of the four people who transmitted more than 2000 hadiths. Many of these hadiths would be about The Prophet (S. A. W)’s personal behaviour or hygiene that only a person as close as Aisha could have learned about. During Aisha’s marriage, The Prophet (s. . w) married many other women for several reasons from strengthening ties between important families or tribes to relieving the adversity of women who had been divorced or widowed. However the most important reason for these marriages was because Allah willed them as they were righteous women . When Aisha (R. A) lived with The Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w), a lasting and strong friendship was built between her and Sawda; who was also one of The Prophet (s. aw. )’s wives. Sawda took care of Aisha and the household. When Aisha grew up she was given the title of ‘Umm al –Mumineen’ meaning the ‘Mother of the Believers’.This title was given to all of The Prophet (s. a. w)’s wives as they were very respectable women. The Quran clearly states that it is forbidden for any man to marry any of the wives after The Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w) for: â€Å"The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are as their mothers. † (Qur'an: 33:6) â€Å"O you wives of the Prophet, if any of you is openly indecent, the punishment for her will be doubled – and that is easy for Allah. And whoever of you submits to Allah and His Messenger has right action, We shall give her a reward twice over and We have prepar ed a generous provision for her.O you wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. If you are fearful of Allah then do not be soft in yspeech, lest someone whose heart is sick is attracted to you, but speak words that are wise. And stay quietly in your houses, do not make a dazzling display like that of the time of ignorance before and establish prayer and pay the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Surely Allah wishes to remove impurity far from you, O People of the House, and to purify you completely. And remember that ayahs of Allah that are recited in your houses and the wisdom.Surely Allah is Alpervading, All Aware. † (Quran 33:30-34). In conclusion, Aisha (r. a)’s life is a significant example of how women should live. Before Islam, women had a very low status. However when islam was revealed, women were given an important and high position. We should learn from Aisha to be knowledgeable and modest Muslims. She had an important role in islam as she transmitted more than 2000 hadiths that we read today, and she taught many people about islam that is passed down from generation to generation. References: #http://www. isemuslimwomen. org/muslimwomen/bio/aisha_bint_abu_bakr/ #http://www. islamawareness. net/FAQ/aisha_new. html #www. smashwords. com/books/download/30155/†¦ /aisha-ra. rtf #http://harunyahya. com/en/works/114361/Our_mother_Hazrat_Aishas_(ra)_knowledge_ #http://southernmuslimah. wordpress. com/2007/09/06/great-women-in-islam-aisha-bint-abu-bakr/ #http://www. islamawareness. net/Muhammed/ibn_kathir_wives. html #http://magicalprincessdiaries. blogspot. com. au/2009/02/aisha-ra. html #http://almoltaqa. ps/english/showthread. php? t=4177

Personal Statement Essay

My name is Cheng Tzy Terng. My former school is Kian Kok Middle School. Now I am studying Cambridge A-Level Commerce course at Institut Sinaran. I take business studies, accounting, economics and mathematics. I wish to study accounting and finance in the university. I want to be an accountant. I study A-Level because A-Level is very important to me. When I was in Kian kok Middle school, I was in commerce stream. My choice is to study A-Level. I take four subjects that are business studies, accounting, economics and mathematics. I take business studies because I can know some business knowledge, business advantages and disadvantages. I take accounting because can know the formulae to count how much profit to earn or loss. I take economics because to learns how to control my personal and business economics. I take mathematics because to improve my problem-solving skills. I think that A-Level subjects are very important to me and for my results to enter university. Then, I must take accounting and finance in university. I think that those A-Level subjects that I take must relate to university. I think that Commerce subjects are fun because that is easy, logics, interesting and others. Commerce subjects are related psychology, sociology, mathematics, art and other subjects those are include. I hope that I can earn my master in accounting and finance in university. Commerce subjects those are very important to me. I hope that I can to be an accountant. When I was studying Cambridge A-Level Commerce, those subjects also apply in my career. Accounting that can calculate how much profit or loss in business. Business studies that can helps me to know business knowledge, business advantages and disadvantages. Economics that helps me for my personal savings and control my personal economics that I use. Mathematics that helps me improves problem-solving skills. When I am free, I learns other languages, computer skills, martial arts, and other skills. I also know that I must be more independent, responsible, more logics and creative, and other personalities and some values that are important to get a new career. My SPM result got over five credits. I got a credit in LCCI Level 1 bookkeeping. I hope that I can get LCCI Level 3 in accounting with distinction and some others that I think is very important to me must be achieved. My leisure interest is playing online games, some mind games and board games. I like that interest because it can training my brain and be more creative, logics and other skills. My leisure interest are also surf internet because I can save some money to find information and faster than searching in the book. I hope that the university will accept me as a student. I hope that I want to be an accountant.

Human Communication And Modern Technology Essay

Human Communication And Modern Technology - Essay Example Turkle says mobile phones, the Internet and the virtual world have caused people to live their lives in a paradox. I have to partially agree with the author’s position. First I will present a summary of her thesis and then evaluate her ideas. â€Å"Always On† of Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together is presented in five different parts. In the opening paragraphs, the author likens MIT researchers she met in 1996 to cyborgs as they were constantly walking around with their electronic devices. She describes how these young people felt more comfortable around others thanks to the gadgets that were on them. Later in the section, Turkle explains how the generation of today has become ‘cyborg-like’ with their smartphones and technological devices, becoming what used to be considered alien in 1996. In â€Å"The New State of the Self: Tethered and Marked Absent†, Turkle (143) explains that people of today cannot be separated from their devices. Everyone is tethered or attached to their lives and activities even if far away from home. Thanks to connectivity through mobile phones and e-mails, people feel at a loss if they are not able to check the Internet or receive text messages. Another point Turkle presents in this section is that people who are busy on their devices are truly not in the space they are occupying because their minds are on the conversation on their mobile phone, the e-mails, their avatars, etc. The next section â€Å"The New State of the Self: From Life to The Life Mix† discusses how some people live their real life while simultaneously discovering and living another life on the Internet. Life mix, according to one of Turkle’s subjects, is the combined online and offline life of an individual. (Turkle, 148) The author shares how people who develop or create a virtual life do so to escape from the disappointments they have in their real-life.

Isaac Newton is a great man Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Isaac Newton is a great man - Research Paper Example Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England in 1642 and grew up to be an authority in Mathematics, dynamics, celestial mechanics, astronomy, optics and philosophy (Newton). His life appears to have been influenced by the death of his father who died few months prior to Newton’s birth (English-Online). He took charge of his life early in his life, waiting on tables and doing menial jobs for wealthy students to pay for his school fees, which shows his great love for education. His mother had remarried and left him under the care of aged grandparents who could barely support him, but this did not deter his quest for learning. During his youth, he is known to have been interested in mechanical devices, doing many experiments and building many devices (Newton). He is known to have built a mill model, clocks and kites among other devices, which he experimented in his neighborhood, with some of the experiments greatly frightening his neighbors. He drew many drawings and architectur al diagrams on the window edges and walls of his Woolsthorpe home which included drawings of men, animals, birds and also plants. During this time, he is known to have been influenced by the book; ‘mysteries of nature’ by John Bates (Newton). He had his early education at Skillington and Stoke which is thought to have started when he was five years old. Newton the proceeded to King’s school in Grantham during which time his step father died and his mother went to their Woolsthorpe home (Newton). The mother removed him from school and intended to make him a farmer, but Newton was not interested in farming but had a great thirst for learning. John Stokes, master of the Grantham School and William Ayscough, Newton’s uncle intervened, leading to the decision to prepare Newton for University, which was done in 1661, with entry to Trinity College, Cambridge (Newton). It is at this college where he is thought to have made his mathematical discoveries where he had easy access to the college and university libraries where he spent lengthy hours of study. It is also assumed that it was in the rooms of the Trinity College where he did the experiments of the dispersion and refraction of light, and probably done the one on the pendulum to explain about the earths pull of gravity. The experiment about the falling apple, which Newton said explained about the idea of gravitation, was done either at Boothbay or at the Woolsthorpe house (Newton). Isaac Newton was a very ambitious scientist who did his researches very conclusively and had a firm belief that everything in nature had an explanation in mathematics, but not all scientists during his time concurred with him. He was so engrossed in his work and researches that he did not have many acquitances and did not also marry. When for example he was writing the principia, which is the mathematical principles of natural philosophy in the Latin language, he rarely left his room and ate little food or ev en none at all, had unkempt hair and worn out shoes, and also very rarely went to the chapel. Isaac Newton contributed much through his research and discoveries in many of the fields in which he was involved. In the field of mathematics, his most notable work was in calculus, and other fields of

Religion in United States Political System Essay

Religion in United States Political System - Essay Example These years have been a time ÃŽ ¿f aggressive Christian politics, as evangelicals entered the political fray seeking to mold public policies that would conform to their own religious convictions. On issues ranging from abortion to prayer in the public schools, evangelicals sought to use the instruments ÃŽ ¿f the American political system to forward their interests and values. Since their agenda fit snugly with that ÃŽ ¿f conservative politicians, advocates for "public religion" were generally associated with conservative political causes. During the 1980s the Moral Majority targeted "liberal politicians" for defeat in congressional elections.In the 21st Century we are all taught to believe that the right political systems are those that exist in countries like America, Britain and other parts Europe. We are taught this in the reading ÃŽ ¿f books and the watching ÃŽ ¿f television programs from the west. All ÃŽ ¿f these sources have influenced and changed the way the rest ÃŽ ¿f the wor ld thinks. It is therefore better to look at each society while it was untouched by the ways ÃŽ ¿f another.f another. The best ways are by comparing different political systems f societies from different geographical locations. Since the traditional and cultural values f each society are different, the thinking and the way f life would be very different if compared to one another. Therefore, a political system to one society is likely to be different if compared to another. At the same time, western society might be unfamiliar to the ways f the eastern society and vise-versa. Sometimes as time passes, there develops new theories f new political systems by great thinkers. So we see one political system being changed to another. This proves that it's impossible to take just one time frame as different political systems developed at different time lines. III. Western Civilization & Topic In western society and other societies in the world, religion was a major factor and still is in some societies when it comes to their own politics. Some believe religion and politics should be separated in order to create a true political system and some says it should not. No matter which society it is, we will always have people with greed in it. And these types f people are the danger to any pure political system, as greed and wanting f power can only lead to corruption. Corruption can only lead to suffering. In each society they have adopted to a mutual understanding f what's right and what's wrong. So it can be said that what's right for one society might not be the same for the people living in another. What happens then is that one society who might not want to accept the ways f another, responds to it by labeling it as deviant. For example: Howard Becker suggests "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders." Therefore at times, we see revolutions that bring about a whole new political system, even though sometimes all the promises that was to come with the new system vanishes somewhere. An example would be communism. Politics cannot be pinned down to a single aspect f life, it occurs throughout society, it involves every aspect f our lives, but it is especially concentrated in the modern nation state. It is the nation state that "establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined boundaries...the state commands ultimate power in that it stands above all other associations and

Graphic Design & Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Graphic Design & Society - Essay Example Design is a crucial part in communication. Whereas radio advertising is influential in wider verbal and audio broadcast a different medium is necessary for visual stimulus. This occurs when anything is placed in front of the eyes. One form of visual stimulation communication is graphic design. The process that goes into a design All the communication that we see visually from billboards to magazine ads, web pages to flyers and even menus in restaurant required a designer to create them. The designer of such visual images has to first picture mentally the pieces of the work to be communicated in his mind. He has to create and organize his work in such a way that it meets the customer’s requirement and convey the message intended without distorting (Jorhson and Jameson). Graphic design is synonymous with society, in a way it is always omnipresent in life. It is found in every shape of life. Whether one is selling, persuading or stimulating design is right there to influence your decisions. Astounding graphic designers attract viewers to them making one feel affiliated towards them. It is integral in the promotion of emotions as well as actions. Graphic design involves evenly the procedure by which a design is created and the design or product created. The graphics design involves the artist breaking communication barriers by visually setting out proper techniques for the message. Graphic designs integral components are the image and the font type. Making an art craft, it does not maker one a graphic designer, graphic designing entails a lot including good interaction skills, talent, and even critical thinking. An artist is required within a limited amount of space the artist should convey feelings, opinions, and emotions repeatedly without using words. Audiences react differently to what they see based on individual experiences character and mental organization. For example a visual image that expresses or shows tears, there is something wrong. Mostly the emotions of sadness and sympathy come to mind (Jorhson and Jameson). Graphic design involves several styles. One style is the image-based design. This type of design an image transmits the majority all whole of a message and it includes few or no words to compliment it. In such images the picture carries the meaning and it has words they serve to support a message clearly expressed by the picture. In the text-based design style, the words carry the bigger message while the picture supplements. It is almost purely made of words while the picture serves a small amount of reference. It is important to note that explicit designers use text much differently than article writers do. Even when one has a text based design words must be limited and precise in their meaning and look. Even text fonts highly affect the emotion that is attributed to a graphic. It is the duty of a graphic designer to look for the necessary letter fonts, colours and images and use them to a balance that is fitting . Another part of the graphic design process is the job description. The designer is typically the cushion linking all the participating parties. The parties involved include, professionals, client’s audiences, artists whom all work through the designer to attain end results which is a piece that delivers the intended message. The artist becomes an intermediary linking the user and the audience. In

Youth human rights perspective case study Essay

Youth human rights perspective case study - Essay Example In a lawsuit filed against the Department of Education of Hawaii or DOE as well as the Hawaii Board of Education, filed as a class action suit on behalf of three homeless families by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii Foundation or ACLU Hawaii, Kaleuati III and the other plaintiffs alleged that actions by the Board and by the DOE, the matter of contention is the discrimination that children of homeless families faced, which made it difficult for them to acquire an education on the same footing as children from families with homes. The lawsuit prospered, and in the end the DOE took the course of coming to terms with the plaintiffs and with the lot of the homeless of Hawaii via a case settlement, rather than having to face the prospect of a long-drawn legal process where the outcome seemed to in favor of the homeless families/plaintiffs (American Civil Liberties Union). The lawsuit is interesting for the way Kaleuati III and the other plaintiffs argued that although legislation exists that was supposed to protect the rights of such homeless children to access to education on par with the access given to children from families with homes, practices and decisions by the DOE and by the Board relating to the education arrangements of homeless children had the effect of circumventing the law. The effect is that by intention or not, the rights of the children to equal and effective education access were violated. The law referred to here is the so-called McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which has the following provisions: 1) funding to support homeless children equal access to education in public schools; 2) children are to continue to go to the schools they attend at the point of homelessness; 3) children are to be enrolled right away even without required enrollment documents; 4) the DOE is to provide means of transport to homeless children even when they move to other places to seek shelter

African american women underrepresantation in higher education Dissertation

African american women underrepresantation in higher education - Dissertation Example The African American women play a very important role in the academic field This alone calls for further research to find out the issues that surround the African American women in higher education.Since the beginning of 21st century, women have been integrated into the administration in most institutions of higher learning.However, they are hardly recognized and are only seen subordinates to the white women or black men. They are seen as a group that has no experience, even though they are equally competent with their colleagues (Anderson and Ramey, 1998). Still, there is a lot that needs to be done despite the fact that research has been done concerning the same. Research has in the past mainly concentrated on the students and the administration as a whole. This leaves the plight of the African American women unattended to. This literature review examines the following aspects. For one, I consider the policies that have been made by the judiciary, legislature and the executive conc erning the African American women in higher education. Secondly, the literature review focuses on the implementation of these policies, with an in depth focus on the state of Georgia. The third aspect that I will consider is the place of women in higher education. I will approach this by giving a comprehensive description of the same. Lastly, I will consider the future considerations of the policies that can enhance women’s representation in future. Main problems faced by African American women administrators ... This further leads to lack of influence and bottlenecks in achieving authority in these institutions. The third aspect that challenges these women is the prejudice on whether they are competent enough to lead other or make good management decision. Their families are also demanding, giving them limited chances of advancing in their careers. Fourthly, they face inequities in the opportunities of promotion and pay increase in these institutions (Eaglya and Johnson,1990). Many women have not been exposed to the opportunities of presidency. More so, they are still underrepresented in the faculties and in the senior most positions in the higher learning institutions. African American women have had to face limited chances in enrollment in the universities (Robson, 1985). This is mainly in North America, where a majority of women have no access to education. This explains why it is hard to have representation in the universities in such areas. The women also have balance between the tradit ional roles as homemakers and their professional careers. They are expected to do more than men, limiting their chances of rising as professional in any field (Eaglya and Johnson,1990). Further, their own views on what they are supposed to do in every day of their life, which limits their chances of fighting for their promotion in higher learning institutions (Robson, 1985). The responsibilities are both demanding, which means that a woman has limited chances of further education and thoroughness in their professionals. These are the very factors that warrant promotion and enhancement of leadership skills. Still, many women feel that their professional careers are secondary to their family roles and duties. Black women lack support by their spouses in the progression of their

Remedies for Lazy Bones How to Get the Laziness Out of Your Students Essay Example for Free

Remedies for Lazy Bones How to Get the Laziness Out of Your Students Essay Teaching as a rewarding career can be frustrating sometimes when you have difficulty in motivating the students. This is even harder to those lazy students. Mentors are the ones responsible in treating these lazy bones among them. They should stay with these students regardless of the difficulty of your effort. First, teachers should be open-minded. They should consider that students don’t have only one subject – that is your subject- and they have to think about their other subjects. They may have six or more subjects to think about and their teachers maybe also give them a task to accomplish. Teachers should understand that. Teachers may think that the task is easy, but you need not to forget that they also have other subjects, which might require more difficult tasks. Second, teachers should be good motivators, considering that students have different interests. Even the lazy students have motivations, and teachers should discover them. As much as teachers reward good students, they should also reward lazy students if they ever participate in class activities. These rewards should not necessarily be gifts or material. Just a praising word like â€Å"good job† is enough. When students feel an experience of inner accomplishment and satisfaction, he is more likely to become motivated. Third, they should give the students choices. They need to feel like they have some power and control over their educational experience. Let them work. Act as facilitator. Create opportunities where lazy students can participate. Do not only teach the students but get them involved in class. Teachers should remember important points: The lazy students may not work-unless they are motivated. And, they have to give rewards for accomplishments. Otherwise, motivation may not continue.

Explicit Sexualization Of Both Men And Women Media Essay

Explicit Sexualization Of Both Men And Women Media Essay It is quite evident that gender, sexuality and advertising are all directly linked with one another.7 Marketing minds have finally realized that sex sells. Advertisements in mainstream magazines have increasingly relied on explicit sexualization of both men and women to sell products. Ads sell a great deal more than products.    They sell values, images, and concepts of success of worth, love and sexuality, popularity, and normalcy.    They tell us who we are and who we should be.    Sometimes they sell addictionsThey provide impossible body images for women to strive towards, and sadly, many women do The female body is repeatedly objectified in advertising, and whenever a human is turned into a thing, violence is going to follow.    Rapes and beatings often result from the dehumanization of women Slide 2 In this advertisement for Calvin Klein Jeans, the female model is depicted lying on vacant beach. This type of advertisement creates many troubled stereotypes and ideologies for our modern day society. This image can be critically evaluated using Goffmans (1979) model of gender advertising. Goffman claims that image advertisements often place women in subordinate positions.   He also discusses a set of codes called, ritualization of subordination.   This concept addresses the physical position of a woman in an advertisement. Women are often seen on their side or lying on their back.   What is Calvin Klein selling in this advertisement? This is a clavin klein jeans addà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It conveys a lot of message to the consumersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The woman is lying on her back. All you need is the touch that transforms the gender oppressive product into a gender celebratory productà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You can see the main focus in this add is Brad Pitt and not the watchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ As he is wearing the watch his fans would think that he wears such kind of watches which is not true because he is just advertising for it and this causes people to buy this watch. Its like cheating on the people and the fans and misleading the consumers. Play station 2 What better way to sell one of the hottest video game machines around than sex?http://www.americaninventorspot.com/files/images/Play_Station_Two_Sexy_Woman.jpg There is no image of PS2 ( the good which they are trying to sell ). The female in the picture is source of attraction to the consumer to buy this product. The product is a gaming console mainly for the young people who can easily be distracted through such ads. Slide 3 Figures 1 and 2 use the same approach of photographic imagery of the sea and shore, the colours blue and white associate with water hence the fragrance name Cool Water and the text for the advert. Figure 1 shows an attractive, confident female model passive on the shore resting her head on a rock and gazing at the reader. Figure 2 shows a muscular male model in water, who is active (splashing water) and seems he has just jumped out of the water. Although the adverts appear to be similar on the surface, the adverts have been gendered to send a clear message to the desired reader. The message from Cool Water for Women clearly states that as a woman, this product will make you look and feel fresh, cool, relaxed and confident, so confident that you do not need to wear anything else but the fragrance. This plays on the ideology that most women do not have the self confidence to show their body but using this product will restore that confidence. The Cool Water for Men implies that not only will the product make you as a man, feel cool and fresh, but it will give you full of energy so that you ready for any action. This aggressive targeting has mainly had an impact on women more than men as they have become extremely self conscious, and research proves that women spend more money on looking good than men. Billions of Pounds are circulated each year in the beauty industry alone. Men dream of being James Bond or aspire to his charisma, and those who see him as a role model will copy his image. Advertisers have emphasised that Omega is James Bonds choice of wrist watch brand, and the advert states that Omega is the sign of excellence; connotating that James Bond only wears the best and so should you. It plays on mens desire of becoming a hero as we see a scene from a Bond film in the background explosion in the air. The message is very clear; men who wear the watch can relate to James Bond, become suave, sophisticated, and successful. In contrast, figure 4 demonstrates that women are more laid back, and prefer indoor events. The indoor dà ©cor in the background resembles a sophisticated, upper class restaurant. The advert emphasises that this gold, slim Omega watch, is Cindy Crawfords choice. She is wearing a red dress associated with the lady in red (attractive). Her watch is worn as part of her outfit, almost as if it is gold jewellery. The message conveyed here is as if Cindy is speaking out to the reader saying, look at what Im wearing. She appears to be wealthy and attractive and is urging women that it is a must have piece of jewellery that will make you look like a million dollars. It is clear from the above examples that men and women are targeted according to their social beliefs and attitudes towards their self perception brought on by advertisers and society, enforcing them to adopt certain buying behaviours to influence purchasing decisions. These certain methods have had negative impact on women than men as we are aware that women appear more emotional and unconfident in contrast to men. Women are increasingly concerned with their physical appearance due to the pressure of looking good by society. Klein is not alone in his use of controversial images in advertising. After all, the whole point of advertising has always been to attract attention, and fashion advertising is notorious for its exploitative use of young men and women. But one senses that there is a new conservatism among consumers, who are fed up with X-rated images hawking everything from beer to video games. In continuing to push the envelope, designers like Klein may find that they have pushed the patience of their consumers too far. A possible backlash to this campaign occurred in 1999, when Klein launched an ad campaign for his childrens underwear line. The campaign involved three different photos, two depicting two little boys playing on a sofa and clad only in CK underpants and the third depicting two little girls playing on a sofa and clad only in CK undergarments. These images appeared as full page ads in the New York Post and prominent magazines, and as a huge billboard in Manhattans Times Square. Due to public furore, these ads were pulled 24 hours later. A Calvin Klein spokesperson claimed that these ads were intended to capture the same warmth and spontaneity that you find in a family snapshot. The general public disagreed, with numerous experts citing that these ads were pornographic because they featured high definition, sexualized images of young children. In many cases, those who were against the ads cited Kleins previous track record as sufficient proof that these images were exploitative. Chocolate man ad too sexy for Indian audience A deodorant advert that showed an apparently irresistible chocolate man being gnawed on by scantily clad women has been banned in India. An advertising executive in the country explains why it was so offensive. The Indian blogosphere is having a tantrum over the decision to withdraw a commercial for Axe Dark Temptation deodorants for men, which are flavoured with a hint of chocolate. Created by Argentinean advertisers and aired on Indian television, the ad shows crowds of attractive young women nibbling and licking at a young man wearing the deodorant. Although parts of the clip had already been censored to appease the regional audience, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) received so many complaints about the ad that they decided to remove it. It follows a collection of commercials flaunting, amongst other things, sexy underwear and flavoured condoms, which have been taken off air or censored for being indecent, vulgar and repulsive. Slide 4 This slide includes the knowledge issue. Through these real life examples we came up with knowledge issue which says To what extent is the use of sexuality in advertisements ethical? There are different opinions of people and different ways of knowing. Reason Emotion Perception Language Reason Money Better profits and sales Brand name To attract consumers More knowledge issues What responsibility, if any, does a company have for honestly educating the consumer about its product? Should advertisers be allowed to suggest that a product will make a person more sexy/interesting/beautiful/successful/etc? Is it ethical to use celebrities to sell products they probably dont even use themselves? Is it the buyers responsibility to be aware of these strategies and not allow them to manipulate their emotions? Language Communicating a message Cause Influence purchasing behavior thought patterns Effect Persuasive Informative Enabler Language is the key criteria for effectiveness of these three aspects. Message must be communicated in a language which is comfortable to the audience and influence them in a positive manner. At the same time it will be more effective if the communication is persuasive and informative. Language to be used in an advertisement should be determined based on the product and the user group  for the product. For instance, advertisement for a luxury good should be publicized in English whereas same for a necessity is preferred to be done in local language for greater communicability and mass reach. Two Indian Americans, Aradhna Krishna and Rohini Ahluwalia of University of Michigan and Minnesota, respectively, examined the role of language in advertising in India. Their results indicate that multinationals marketing products, among bilingual populations, should pay special attention to language. They determined how the language hits viewers mind in relation to a product category. This happens as different products have different user groups. They found that participants perceptions of advertisements changes significantly when different languages are used.   While Hindi is associated with belongingness (close, personal, friendly, family), English is associated with sophistication (global, cosmopolitan, urban, upper class), they wrote. They found that whereas detergents can be advertised effectively in Hindi, English is preferred for Luxury items like chocolates. Airtel, Coca Cola, Fevicol are some of the brands which advertise in local language in two and three tier cities. But as far as Cadbury is concerned, they prefer Hindi or mixed language. The researchers also found that people responds favorably to mixed-language advertising. A classic example for mixed-language advertisement can be that of Frooti the first tetra pack fruit juice of India by Parle Agro Foods. They use the jingle Mango frooti, fresh-n-juicy with their Hindi advertisement effectively. Whereas use of Bengali language by all major advertisers for their products during Durga Pooja in Kolkata (rather whole Bengal) can be an example for use of local language to influence masses. History of Women in Television Advertisements (AOK) There are many different stereotypes of women in advertising. Throughout history there have been many studies that proved women were mainly portrayed on television advertisements as housewives or occupations that are subservient to men. Studies also show the disproportional ratio of women to men in TV advertisements. In the 70s, it was reported that women were found on camera only 21 % of the time. Allan and Coltrane conducted a study that showed inversely, in the 80s female appearance on TV advertisement were 5.8% less compared to the 50s! (Pierce, 1999) In 1996, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now calculated that women were on camera 42 percent of the time. Though this was an increase percentage wise from previous decades, gender inequalities still are rampant. This fact is proved a study conducted by Professors Daniel J. Bretl and Joanne Cantor of the University of Wisconsin (1995) which found that 90% of voice-overs used in advertisements were male, despite some of the products were aimed predominantly to females. Effects of Advertising on Women Advertising has many effects on society as a whole. As a result of not being in as many commercials, at very young ages boys and girls conclude that girls are valued less than boys. The commercials that females are mostly in are ones that portray them as them and thin and beautiful while some how also being subservient to men. The negative effects of advertising on women fall into a huge range of problems. The most common would affect be the constant increase of womens struggles with dieting and eating disorders. As, Wilson and Blackhurst point out, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fifty-six percent of all women are on diets (Pipher, 1995) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and eighty percent of girls have dieted by the time they reach eighteen (Brown, 1993). Unfortunately as girls were raised, they were always taught to be submissive and dainty. It almost seemed like they are told their opinions dont matter and that they should just sit there look pretty or be fragile like glass dolls. Many ads use this to their advanta ge. They make girls think that the only thing they should do is work on their appearance, because their opinions dont matter. This results in several girls falling into depression or developing eating disorders. The inner struggles of keeping the pain in cause some girls to want to commit suicide before wanting to be fat. A Charlotte, N.C. real estate firm says business is booming, thanks to their sexy new marketing plan that involves hiring models to pose in listings photos of luxury homes. During the boom years of 2006 and 2007, Peters and Associates Real Estate was the No.1 seller of high-end homes in the Charlotte region. Then the market crashed and real estate sales dried up for most of 2008 and 2009. Peters and Associates owners Nick and Miriam Peters then decided to spice up their marketing and have been having tremendous success ever since. The couple creates an image by spending thousands of dollars on clothing and cars; and they photograph their listings with sexy, attractive people. Peters caters to high-profile and high-net-worth individuals, such as professional athletes, coaches, entertainers, executives and other VIPs. These clients are looking for a lifestyle and amenities much different from the average homebuyer. The buying experience for Peters clients begins with being picked up at the airport in an exotic car and then whisked to a luxurious spa for a relaxing day of pampering, or to a private club for a round of golf. Once they are totally refreshed, they are ready to tour homes. How effective is the campaign? Peters did a controlled online test, with one listing showing the typical real estate pictures. Visitors to that listing stayed an average of 40 to 60 seconds. Visitors to the listing with lifestyle photos stayed an average of 4 to 6 minutes. Statistics suggest that the more time a potential buyer spends looking at a listing, the more likely they are to request a showing. Peters listings used to get three to four clicks a week, and now they get 10 to 20 a day.

The Citizens Clean Elections Act :: Politics Political Campaigns Essays

The Citizens Clean Elections Act Clean Elections Act is a proposition that gives everyday people like you and I a chance to give something back to our community without having to spend millions of dollars to campaign with but instead the money comes from donations on your W2 form and also taxpayers. Arizonans have agreed that it is just a better way to have elections among the rich companies and candidates. The current proposition has influenced a higher voter turn out along with more candidate competition. Though, this proposition is still currently active the large firms have taken it to the Federal courts seven times desperately trying to get the proposition overturned by saying it is unconstitutional. With the help of voters supporting this proposition we can keep the clean elections act in Arizona. As the wealthy politicians get more tax cuts the average everyday American running for office stands no chance in beating his competitor without having money to back him. In Arizona and three other states we have a different aspect that has changed elections since 1998 it is a clean act on campaigning, it helps the average man or woman to run for any office. The act protects average Americans who do not have millions of dollars to campaign with. The act makes a fair election process because whose to say that all rich people are the best candidates for the job why not an average American such as a teacher or a police officer to take on the task as a Senator or Governor for any state. Many Americans do not run for these positions because money has a huge impact on the way elections unfold in the United States. If you do not have campaigning money how can you get your name out there for anyone to see? So, in theory if you have no money you have no candidate. In 1998 when Arizonans passed the â€Å"Citizens Clean Elections Act† by a mere 51% they were the fourth state to have passed the act. The act is for candidates who need public funds for their own campaigning. In other states the public funding came from traffic tickets and surcharges making the Clean Elections Act not able to pass because that money was needed at other areas in the government. The court system deemed it unconstitutional to use traffic tickets for public campaigning since it was an optional funding for candidates.

Anatomy of a Love Letter :: essays research papers

Anatomy of A Letter, Part I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You’re right Sandra. A letter from you is the very last thing that I want right now. We have been together for so long and I know you feel that I am throwing it all away as some sort of â€Å"over reaction† but you fail to see the bigger picture. Just put yourself in my shoes for a moment and stop thinking about you and maybe you’ll see the reason why our relationship is beyond repair.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I understand that our relationship was, as you put it, â€Å"stalled† due to a lack of concern about our future together. What I don’t get is that you didn’t come to me once to tell me how you were felling about that huge step in our lives. I had no idea how important it was to you that our careers coincide. You are a very independent woman and I didn’t want my aspirations to hinder your progress in the corporate world. You see, that’s one of our problems, we have a lack of communication. We have known each other since we were children and yet you still find it hard to come and talk to me whenever something upsets you. Instead you found Mr. â€Å"lovedoc† and talked to him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And another thing, this whole situation is not about you. Do you know how many times you mentioned yourself in your letter? 33 times!! This is supposed to be about US and how we can get past this together. You know, You didn’t even say your were sorry. Not once did you even apologize. You kept talking about YOU, and what YOU had to sacrifice and what YOU have to give. There is no such thing as a one sided relationship. I gave my all in this relationship too. And unlike you I didn’t need another woman to run to when things got rough. I stayed faithful to you through the goodtime and the bad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I don’t think you will ever know the pain that I am going through right now. You will never know the heartache I felt when I read those e-mails, one after the other, each spoken with such lust and desire.

The American Civil War was Unavoidable Essay -- American history, econ

If one thing is clear from studying early American history, it is that the Civil War was an unavoidable tragedy. Often, hindsight allows us to recognize those points at which history could have taken a different direction, if only some person or thing were different in some way. This is not the case with the American Civil War. Four factors support the notion of inevitability. This paper will explore the way that economics, previous compromises, changing social mores and values, and the nature of politics laid a foundation for the continued regional conflict which eventually resulted in the Civil War. The economic aspects often come in second to morality when discussing slavery in the South’s plantation economy, but they are worth considering as they are fundamental to why slavery as an institution became so hard to dismantle. Slavery kept plantations partially immune from market fluctuations. Having no labor costs allowed the Southern, less diversified economy to be competitive with the North and European countries. For this reason, slavery became a crucial factor in keeping many industries viable and profitable, including primary and secondary manufacturing, transportation, shipping, and public sector jobs such as infrastructure construction (Starobin, 1970). The South’s financial success was built on a foundation of slave labor, and for this reason, the government had an incentive for the active promotion and protection of slavery. Laws were written to help maintain the institution because without it, the economy would likely have faltered significantly. Early c olonial laws such as the Navigation Acts gave slavery conditions under which it thrived and grew (Post, 1982). The Constitution’s Three-Fifths clause was a... ...continue in this country and around the world to this day. Works Cited History Detectives. (n.d.). Web. 10 Nov. 2015. http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/causes-of-the-civil-war/ Justice. (n.d.). Web. 10 Nov. 2015. http://academic.udayton.edu/race/03justice/aalaws01.htm Post, C. (1982). The American road to capitalism. New Left Review, 133(1), 30-51. Roark, J.L., Johnson, M. P., Cohen, P. C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S. M. (2009). The American Promise: A History of the United States to 1877. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Starobin, R. (1970). The economics of Slavery in the Old South. The Business History Review, Vol. 44 (2). 131-174.http://www.jstor.org/stable/3112351 Trigger events of the Civil War. (n.d.). Web. 10 Nov. 2015. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/triggerevents.html

A Single Needle; Single Handily Changing the Game Essay

America’s Pastime has been the true root of sports in the United States of America. Baseball blew up in the late 19th century towards the end of the American Civil War. Before there were TV’s, internet, or DVD’s, baseball is what kids did for fun. It became the thing to do if you were a white male going into the 20th century, and that was just the beginning of a long bittersweet road of the game of baseball. Up until the 1990’s many greats had walked in between the lines showing off their pure god given talent, then an era came along that makes every baseball fan cringe, the â€Å"Steroids Era.† Steroids started to spread throughout the league like wildfire, and sadly no one was doing anything about it. The only thing administration, owners, authorities, and fans had were suspicion no one knew for sure if these record breaking seasons were real or all just a fluke. The greats like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams all have been being surpassed in the record books by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGuire, and plenty more players due to the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. The use of illegal Steroids in baseball has single handily degraded and disgraced the great game that once was proud to be known as America’s Pastime. The man who started it all and really brought Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s) to the baseball scene in the late 1980’s was Oakland Athletics outfielder, Jose Canseco. Once Canseco starting showing his teammates how influential these drugs were to their performance through his own personal achievements it wasn’t long before a large amount of players were using PEDs. Canseco states in his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big that, â€Å"About 85% of Major Leaguers have used it† (Canseco). The MLB rarely, if at all tested for steroids during this time of the â€Å"Steroids Era† and if they did there was no penalty for testing positive. At the time it was virtually a win win for the players, they could juice up, exceed the stats they could only dream about, and never get in trouble during the process. Performance Enhancing Drugs became an epidemic in the world of baseball, but not only was it enhancing players performance, it was enhancing every aspect of revenue a ball club could ever imagine. The Record books were once again open and ready for business. Athletes such as Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark McGuire, and so forth were smashing homeruns and going up on the charts little by little for the all time homerun record holder, Hank Aaron. This excitement on the field attracted more fans through these steroid years than baseball had ever seen, and when there are fans there is money, and when there is money there is no concern. The Major League of Baseball had been oblivious to the illegal use of Steroids over the years. Until 2002 there were no penalties for testing positive for PEDs. The new rules stated, â€Å"A first time offense would only result in treatment for the player† (Baseball-Almanac). Not one player was sentenced to any suspensions for this crime, until the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) steroid scandal came to light, and brought out many of the All-Stars of the MLB to the top of the list. Victor Cante the founder of BALCO was a god to the sports world. He was the guy that not only supplied athletes wit h their steroids, but also had ways to cheat the tests so they could come up clean. Testing companies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) are always trying to improve the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not totally full proof, but as those agencies are working to stop the cheaters workers at BALCO labs are finding ways once again come up with a new way to slide by the new and improved tests on the market (Quinn). So in 2005 The MLB created a new testing policy that was accepted by the players and owners that said, â€Å"The first positive test will result in a suspension of up to ten days. The second positive test will result in a suspension of thirty days. The third positive test will result in a suspension of sixty days. The fourth positive test will result in a suspension of one full year. Finally, the fifth positive test will result in a penalty at the discretion of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Players will be tested at least once per year, with a chance that several players can be tested numerous times per year† (Baseball-Almanac). That wasn’t the last adjustment Bud Selig, the Commissioner of the Major League of Baseball, was going to make to the steroid testing policy. On December 13, 2007, Greg Mitchell, an investigator who was appointed by Bud Selig in 2006 to investigate the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the MLB, presented a 409 page report to Selig showing his investigation and revealing 89 alleged players who used steroids during their career (Healey). Once Bud Selig had been shown the report, his 3rd written drug testing policy came in to play which was known as the â€Å"Three strikes and you’re out approach† (Verhaeghe). This final policy stated that, â€Å"The first positive test would result in a fifty game suspension. The second positive test would result in a one-hundred game suspension. Finally, the third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball† (Baseball Almanac). Bud Selig and the rest of the administration inside of the Major League of Baseball had finally seen the light, and properly taken action on how to cut down the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs throughout the MLB. Once the â€Å"Mitchell Report† was released many super stars and role models for fans all around the world were printed in black under the category of the illegal use of steroids throughout their career. The most popular player named in the Mitchell Report due to his court and trial issues would have to be 7 time Cy Young winner, Roger Clemens. Once he saw that his name had been brought to light in the report he went to Capitol Hill to clear his name off the list that he felt he didn’t need to be on. Little did he know that when made the statement, â€Å"I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-what I have been saying all along: I have never used steroids, human growth hormone [HGH], or any other type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I fully support Senator Mitchell’s conclusions that steroids have no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the report’s allegation that I used these substances. Let me be clear again: I did not.† (Healey) That he was entering a world of charges when committing perjury in a court of law. Many of the players claimed their innocence like Clemens did, but in the end they all served the types of charges. The original group of all time Baseball greats like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Cy young, etc. set a high standard for the Players after them to strive for and gave them something to achieve. Never in their minds would they of thought that the game of baseball would have turned out the way it is today. These modern day All-stars who cheated and used Performance Enhancing Drugs for a shortcut just to go ahead of someone’s hard work and love for the game as well to achieve their personal and selfish desires should be punished and have their awards and accolades stripped from them and taken out of the record books as if they were never there to begin with. The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs has put a permanent stain on the name of Baseball and what it is truly about. Bud Selig and the Major league of Baseball has come a long way regarding minimizing the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs by enforcing harsher penalties and consequences for testing Positive for steroids. As the years have gone by thanks to the leagues stricter policies on testing positive for PEDs the amount of players getting suspended for steroid use has decreased on a year to year basis. The Major League of Baseball will never be able to completely take Performance Enhancing Drugs out of the game, but with the right consequences, and appropriate policies they will be able continue to keep the use of Steroids at a very low rate and never re-enter the once dreaded time known as the â€Å"Steroids Era† ever again. Works Cited Healey, Daniel. â€Å"FALL OF THE ROCKET: STEROIDS IN BASEBALL AND THE CASE AGAINEST ROGER CLEMENS.† Marquette Sports Law Review 19.1 (September 2008): SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. Roger â€Å"The Rocket† Clemens is known to be one of the best of all-time to step on the rubber in the game of Major League Baseball. The Seven-time Cy Young winner was ultimately unstoppable in the last half of his career. He was just another great phenom in the baseball world until December 13, 2007 when the â€Å"Mitchell Report† was released, revealing a 409-page report that was sent to the commissioner of baseball (Bud Selig) that investigated the illegal use of steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs used by players in Major League Baseball. There were over 80 players put on this report, but the one who stood out the most was Roger Clemens himself. On February 13th 2008 he went to Capitol Hill to argue the allegations against him saying, â€Å"I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-what I have been saying all along: I have never used steroids, human growth hormone [HGH], or any other type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I fully support Senator Mitchell’s conclusions that Steroids have no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the report’s allegation that I used these substances. Let me be clear again: I did not.† Once Clemens had stated that it put a rather large target on his back not only by investigators but also the judicial system. They were trying to get him to admit using illegal steroids, but now as well they were going after him on counts of perjury. After 2 years of gathering enough evidence and testimonies on August 19, 2010 a Federal Grand Jury Indicted Roger Clemens on six counts, one count of obstruction of congress, three counts of false statements, and two counts of perjury. On July 13, 2011 Clemens’ first trial began, but on the second day the judge ruled a mistrial due to prosecutorial misconduct. For now Roger Clemens is a free man, but legal sources say that he will be retried. I will be using the â€Å"Mitchell Report† and the Roger Clemens trial to portray that not only is the use of steroids extremely risky and unhealthy but also that it’s against the law and you will get caught one way or another. 1991 to 2002 was known as the â€Å"Steroid Era† in professional baseball. Over those years particularly in 1995 after the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs and World Series the statistics of a majority of the players skyrocketed, which in retrospect played a huge role in filling the empty seats back up after the 1994 strike. I’ll be explaining that up until to this point in time the MLB did not have strict regulations on testing for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) Kuenster, John. â€Å"Major League Player Records Dishonored by Steroid Users.† Baseball Digest. 62.2 (March 2008): SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. John Kuenster touches on a very valuable subject when it comes to records, and honors given in the MLB. Back in early in mid 1900’s the greats of the game like, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, and Ernie Banks. They all set legitimate records that should never be shadowed by the players who eventually broke them. These few players all had something in common. That was hard work and love for the game. They didn’t use PEDs to up there stats or to get to a higher number in a certain category. These historic greats earned their records off pure talent that was god given and worked hard to mature. The greats of our time such as, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, or Mark McGwire also hold records like men mentioned earlier. The only difference between the past greats and the current greats is that these new all-stars were accused of using Steroids to achieve their records. Not only are the players the ones to blame for the whole â€Å"Steroid Era.† Stricter steps should have been taken from the get go through the league to enforce steroid testing to ensure the safety and fair play in professional play of baseball before the use of steroids spread like wildfire through the MLB. Will records and awards be stripped from players who’ve been tested positive for performing enhancing drugs? We don’t know for now, but who knows what the future holds. This article about dishonoring the awards given to players who have achieved them unfairly will allow me to voice my opinion on the topic of record breakers involving steroids. I personally am against the use of steroids solely because all it does it degrade the great game of baseball. Even though these cheaters didn’t use PEDs their whole career and achieved some of their record off pure talent doesn’t change the fact they broke the rules that is stated in the contract that’s signed by every professional player. It’s not fair that history’s greatest baseball players prior to the steroid era should be passed up in the record books by players that made themselves better by an illegal drug. Not only is it a disgrace to the violators name, but more importantly it’s a disgrace to the game of baseball. Rutecki, Jared. â€Å"A Study of Media Impact on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball.† Open Sports Sciences Journal 3 (2010): SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. A chart in the article, A study of Media Impact on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball shows the percent of the coverage on specific sports and PEDs through 1968 to 2006 in Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Time. Baseball ranks number one in all 3 magazines with 43 percent, 39 percent, and 39 percent. Coming in second was football with a significant lower percent of 19, 14, and 15. Over the year’s magazine articles about PEDs have increased by a huge amount due to the popularity in steroid use among professional athletes. With the widespread use of steroids in sports particularly baseball, it’s apparent that the talk of it in magazines and media in general has shot up too. When something isn’t a public issue the media obviously isn’t interested in it which is why steroids in the earlier years weren’t written and talked about much. When the â€Å"Steroid Era† came into play that’s when the number of articles in magazines skyrocketed year by year and it all of sudden became a huge topic in our society. I will also be touching on the fact that even when people knew that steroids were an issue media didn’t start writing about it like crazy until the 104 MLB players tested positive for PEDs in 2003. From that year on the number of articles per year were above 49. The media writes what sells and in this day and age information and insider news about the world of baseball and steroids will always sell. Solberg, Joe. â€Å"Performance-Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball: The Impact of Culture.† Ethics and Behavior 21 (April 2011): 91-102. Philosopher’s Index. Web. 8 November 2011. Joe Solberg explains that once the steroid era of baseball blew up and became steady that it wasn’t out of the norm anymore, it became part of the culture. Once everyone was doing it the person below them had to use PEDs in order to get to the next level. The use of Steroids is a ladder that started in the pro’s and worked its way down to the minors. Major League Contracts are more than less based off offensive performance rather than defensive performance. To be more specific on offensive performance homeruns are what really can land you a big money contract. Over the years the biggest category that PEDs have helped is homeruns. Of course players want a lot of money, and in order to get that money is to hit homeruns, and in order to increase the amount of homeruns is to take performance enhancing drugs. Players will do what they have to do in order to make the money that they are satisfied with, and as a result for most players it is to partake in using steroids to increase their status as an all-star. The information I gathered in this article will help me explain the player’s motives for wanting to use PEDs. It’s not only used just to break records and be known as an all-star even though that is a plus that comes with it, but it’s the fact that if the person above you is using these substances then in order for you to excel above him and potentially take his spot you almost feel obligated to take PEDs as well. It was once a bad thing to be associated with the group known to take steroids back when it was a rare thing to do. Now days it’s such a common thing to partake in its part of the culture, it’s fairly normal in the MLB now to use PEDs. Sommers, Paul. â€Å"The Changing Hitting Performance Profile in Major League Baseball, 1966-2006.† Journal of Sports Economics 9.4 (August 2008) SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. Paul Sommers showed charts over the decades of average years played by an average starter in the pros. It went from 5.2 years in the 60’s to 6 in a half years in 2006. That shows that the use of steroids in the MLB increased a player’s career by almost 2 years. He also explains that the use of PEDs in baseball lets you peak at a higher level of skill. A persons overall skill level will increase by a big number while using steroids. Someone hitting .267 without the use of steroids could jump anywhere from a .324 to .378 average depending on the person. With all the statistics shown throughout the article it’s proven that Performance enhancing drugs increase a player’s batting average, peak, years played, MPH, and overall skill level. Before the 1960’s after a player’s peak their batting average tended to decline steadily due to falling off from their prime, but after the 1960’s a large amount of players started to excel past their peak year and raise their batting averages past their prime which was unusual. As we know now the reason for that was the use of PEDs. After 2004 the statistics seemed to start trending again like the 1960’s due to the random and mandatory drug tests which disabled the players to partake in using Anabolic Steroids of HGH. I will be using this information to show how all PEDs have been proven in many to not only better athletes, but make them more durable and tack on extra years of successful productivity past their prime. PEDs aren’t physically making them younger, but they sure are making them produce younger aged stats in a past prime aged body. Stone, Brad. â€Å"Another Poison Pill† Newsweek 146.7 (August 15 2005): Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 November 2011. The MLB is by far the top sport when it comes to the abuse of Performance Enhancing Drugs, but yet it holds the weakest punishment in the sports world for testing positive. Rafael Palmeiro in 2008 tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs in early August of 2008 just months after he testified before a U.S congressional committee stating that he had never used PEDs in his life. Not only did he test positive for steroids, he failed the test after lying under oath in a court of law, and all he was punished with through the MLB was a 10-day suspension and a $164,000 fine. Due to the particular steroid Palmeiro took, Stanozonol, which travels through your digestive system within 2 weeks, makes it hard for the court to prove that Palmeiro was lying when he testified. Baseball wants to stop the abuse of Steroids, but at the same time it seems like all these players that test positive these substances just get slaps on the wrist and are told not to do it again. If you want a problem to come to a halt you have to go the extra distance in order to get the results you’re looking for. PEDs have been persistent in the MLB for decades now; telling a player to stop will ultimately not stop them. There needs to be an ultimatum put into action to make the abusers consider that these PEDs aren’t worth the loss of their career. Every other sport that has extremely harsh penalties if tested positive for PEDs don’t have a very high percent of positive tests because the players don’t want to take the risk to put their career on the line. In the MLBs case they aren’t putting a severe enough consequence for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. My main point I’ll be using from this article is that if you want the use of PEDs to lower then you have to put consequences that the players don’t want to deal with out there in order to produce more negative resulting drug tests. Quinn, Tom â€Å"BASEBALL’S STEROID ERA.† Men’s Fitness 23. (August 2007): SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011 Throughout the history of baseball testing for either steroids or street drugs really hasn’t been a big part of the games policy. Player’s played the game and what they did off the field was their own business. Once the early 80’s hit, and PEDs came on the scene the use of them among players got out of hand. It became an almost regular regime for a majority of the MLB. Tests were eventually being given, but that didn’t stop the players. When there’s motive to do illegal substances there’s always the backup plan to keep these athletes out of trouble. There were plenty of ways to come up clean on a test, and when the testers would find a way to stop it, Victor Cante and his crew at BALCO labs would just simply find another way to cheat. Even when the few unlucky players’ get caught all they have to do is admit it and simply explain they were told it was something else. For Example, Barry Bonds, when he spoke in front of the BALCO grand jury he came clean about all the PEDs he had taken, but the catch was he stated that he was oblivious to what he was actually using. People of this stature will make their illegal decisions, but don’t think they don’t have all the answers for when the going gets tough. I’ll be using Quinn’s article â€Å"BASEBALL STEROIDS ERA† to inform how little baseball can really do to not only catch these users, but to actually put a stop to the Performance Enhancing Drugs. If not cheating tests to save their own ass’ these professional athletes will just find a perfect window of time to where they know they won’t be tested in the offseason to fit in a couple cycles here and there to maintain the gains through using PEDs. Testing companies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) will never stop trying to improve the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not totally full proof, but as those agencies are working to stop the cheaters don’t think the cheaters at BALCO labs aren’t finding ways to break through and find loop holes in their tests. Verhaeghe, Dan. â€Å"Bud Selig Lays Down the Hammer on Performance Enhancing Drugs†. Bleacher Report. (January 2008): Web. 30 November 2011

Moral Permissibility of Torture

To most, torture is seen as action with a single definition that defines it, but in fact there are different types of torture that Henry Shue discusses in one of his articles. According to Shue there are rare conditions under which torture could be morally justified, but he does not endorse neither the interrogational torture not the terroristic torture. Although Shue agrees with illegality and morally wrongness of torture, he explains how one may go about defending torture and how it could possibly be morally justified. Henry Shue begins his article discussing torture with constraints which allows the victim to â€Å"surrender† and comply with the demands of the torturer. According to the Constraint of Possible Compliance (CPC), â€Å"the victim of torture must have available an act of compliance which, if performed, will end the torture† (Shue 427). With the aim of interrogational torture being to extract information from a person with holding it, this torture appears to satisfy the constraint of possible compliance, since it offers an escape, in the form of providing the information wanted by the torturers, which affords some protection against further assault. In practice there are evidently only a few pure cases of interrogational torture. For the most dominant type of torture that occurs today is considered to be terroristic. Terroristic torture is meant to put fear in not only the victim, but also all those who oppose that government. The victim’s suffering is being used as a means to end over which the victim has no control over. Terroristic torture cannot satisfy the constraint of possible compliance because its purpose, intimidation of persons other than the victim of the torture, cannot be accomplished and may not even be capable of being influenced by the victim of the torture. If terroristic torture were actually to be justified, the conditions would of course have to be met. The first condition Shue defines is the purpose being sought through the torture would need to be not only morally good, but also supremely important. These purposes would then have to be selected by criteria of moral importance which would themselves need to be justified. The second condition described is that the torture would presumably have to be the least harmful means of accomplishing the supreme goal. With the terrible pain and harm that is associated with terroristic torture, this condition could rarely be the case in this type of torture. The last condition Shue defines is it must be absolutely clear for what purpose the erroristic torture was being used, what would constitute achievement of that purpose, and when the torture would end. Henry Shue believes these three conditions will never be met primarily because terroristic torture tends to become a routine procedure in methods of governing and once it is set in motion by that government it would gain enough momentum to become a standard operating procedure within the government. Shue also describes how governments to choose to try and prove themselves to other nations, over eliminating themselves from the fight.

Bloodlines Chapter Eight

â€Å"ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT?† asked Eddie. Eddie might not have known about all the shenanigans that went down with Jill on the first day of school, but not seeing her all day had unnerved him. So, when she and I came downstairs for the second day, we found him waiting in our dorm lobby, ready to go with us to breakfast. I pushed my plate and its half a bagel across the table. He'd already polished off a bagel of his own, as well as pancakes and bacon, but was quick to accept my offering. Maybe he was an unnatural hybrid creature, but from what I could tell, his appetite was the same as any human teenage guy. â€Å"How are you feeling?† he asked Jill, once he'd swallowed a mouthful of bagel. Since he'd eventually hear she hadn't been in class, we'd simply told Eddie that Jill had been sick from nerves yesterday. The hangover allegations still infuriated me, but Jill insisted on letting them go. â€Å"Fine,† she said. â€Å"A lot better.† I didn't comment on that but secretly had my doubts. Jill did look better this morning, but she'd hardly had a solid night's sleep. In fact, she'd woken in the middle of the night, screaming. I'd leapt out of my bed, expecting no less than a hundred Strigoi or Moroi assassins to come bursting through our window. But when I'd looked over, there'd only been Jill, thrashing and screaming in her sleep. I'd hurried over and finally woken her up with some difficulty. She'd sat up gasping, drenched in sweat, and clutching her chest. Once she'd calmed down, she'd told me it was only a nightmare, but there'd been something in her eyes†¦ the echo of something real. I knew because it reminded me of the many times I'd woken up thinking the Alchemists were coming to take me to the re-education centers. She'd insisted she was fine, and when morning came, the only acknowledgment she gave of her nightmare was to insist that we not mention it to Eddie. â€Å"It's only going to worry him,† she said. â€Å"And besides, it's not a big deal.† I conceded that point, but when I tried to ask what had happened, she brushed me off and wouldn't talk about it. Now, at breakfast, there was a definite edge to her, but for all I knew, it had more to do with finally facing her first day in a human school. â€Å"I still can't get over how different I am from everyone,† she said in a low voice. â€Å"I mean, for one thing, I'm taller than almost every girl here!† It was true. It wasn't uncommon for Moroi women to push six feet in height. Jill wasn't quite there, but her long, slim build gave the illusion of being taller than she was. â€Å"And I'm really bony.† â€Å"You are not,† I said. â€Å"I'm too skinny – compared to them,† Jill argued. â€Å"Everyone's got something,† countered Eddie. â€Å"That girl over there has a ton of freckles. That guy shaved his head. There's no such thing as ‘normal.'† Jill still looked dubious but doggedly went off to class when the first warning bell rang, promising to meet Eddie for lunch and me in PE. I made it to my history class a few minutes early. Ms. Terwilliger stood at her desk, shuffling some papers around, and I hesitantly approached. â€Å"Ma'am?† She glanced up at me, pushing her glasses up her nose as she did. â€Å"Hmm? Oh, I remember you. Miss Melbourne.† â€Å"Melrose,† I corrected. â€Å"Are you sure? I could've sworn you were named after someplace in Australia.† â€Å"Well, my first name is Sydney,† I said, not sure if I should be encouraging her. â€Å"Ah. Then I'm not crazy. Not yet, at least. What can I do for you, Miss Melrose?† â€Å"I wanted to ask you†¦ well, you see, I have a gap in my schedule because I passed out of the language requirement. I wondered if maybe you needed another teacher aide†¦ like Trey.† The aforementioned Trey was already there, sitting at a desk allotted to him and collating papers. He glanced up at the mention of his name and eyed me warily. â€Å"It's last period, ma'am. So, if there was any extra work you needed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her eyes studied me for several moments before she answered. I'd made sure to cover up my tattoo today, but it felt like she was staring right through to it. â€Å"I don't need another teacher aide,† she said bluntly. Trey smirked. â€Å"Mr. Juarez, despite his many limitations, is more than capable of sorting all my stacks of paper.† His smirk disappeared at the backhanded compliment. I nodded and started to turn away, disappointed. â€Å"Okay. I understand.† â€Å"No, no. I don't think you do. You see, I'm writing a book.† She paused, and I realized she was waiting for me to look impressed. â€Å"On heretical religion and magic in the Greco-Roman world. I've lectured on it at Carlton College before. Fascinating subject.† Trey stifled a cough. â€Å"Now, I could really use a research assistant to help me track down certain information, run errands for me, that sort of thing. Would you be interested in that?† I gaped. â€Å"Yes, ma'am. I would be.† â€Å"For you to get credit for an independent study, you'd have to do some project alongside it†¦ research and a paper of your own. Not nearly the length of my book, of course. Is there anything from that era that interests you?† â€Å"Er, yes.† I could hardly believe it. â€Å"Classical art and architecture. I'd love to study it more.† Now she looked impressed. â€Å"Really? Then it seems we're a perfect match. Or, well, nearly. Pity you don't know Latin.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I averted my eyes. â€Å"I, um, actually†¦ I can read Latin.† I dared a glance back at her. Rather than impressed, she mostly looked stunned. â€Å"Well, then. How about that.† She gave a rueful head shake. â€Å"I'm afraid to ask about Greek.† The bell rang. â€Å"Go ahead and take your seat, then come find me at the end of the day. Last period is also my planning period, so we'll have plenty of time to talk and fill out the appropriate paperwork.† I returned to my desk and received an approving fist bump from Eddie. â€Å"Nice work. You don't have to take a real class. Of course, if she's got you reading Latin, maybe it'll be worse than a real class.† â€Å"I like Latin,† I said with absolute seriousness. â€Å"It's fun.† Eddie shook his head and said in a very, very low voice: â€Å"I can't believe you think we're the strange ones.† Trey's comments for me in my next class were less complimentary. â€Å"Wow, you sure have Terwilliger wrapped around your finger.† He nodded toward our chemistry instructor. â€Å"Are you going to go tell her that you split atoms in your free time? Do you have a reactor back in your room?† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with – † I cut myself off, unsure what to say. I'd nearly said â€Å"being smart,† but that sounded egotistical. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with knowing things,† I said at last. â€Å"Sure,† he agreed. â€Å"When it's legitimate knowledge.† I remembered the crazy conversation with Kristin and Julia yesterday. Because I'd had to take Jill to Adrian, I'd missed the study session and couldn't follow up on my tattoo questions. Still, I at least now knew where Trey's disdain was coming from – even though it seemed absurd. No one else at school had specifically mentioned my tattoo being special, but a number of people had approached me already, asking where I'd gotten it. They'd been disappointed when I said South Dakota. â€Å"Look, I don't know where this idea's coming from about my tattoo making me smart, but if that's what you think, well†¦ don't. It's just a tattoo.† â€Å"It's gold,† he argued. â€Å"So?† I asked. â€Å"It's just special ink. I don't get why people would believe it has some mystical properties. Who believes in that stuff?† He snorted. â€Å"Half this school does. How are you so smart, then?† Was I really that much of a freak when it came to academics that people had to turn to supernatural explanations? I went with my stock answer. â€Å"I was homeschooled.† â€Å"Oh,† said Trey thoughtfully. â€Å"That would explain it.† I sighed. â€Å"I bet your homeschooling didn't do much in the way of PE, though,† he added. â€Å"What are you going to do about your sport requirement?† â€Å"I don't know; I hadn't thought about it,† I said, feeling a little uneasy. I could handle Amberwood's academics in my sleep. But its athletics? Unclear. â€Å"Well, you better decide soon; the deadline's coming up. Don't look so worried,† he added. â€Å"Maybe they'll let you start a Latin club instead.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† I asked, not liking the tone. â€Å"I've played sports.† He shrugged. â€Å"If you say so. You don't seem like the athletic type. You seem too†¦ neat.† I wasn't entirely sure if that was a compliment or not. â€Å"What's your sport?† Trey held his chin up, looking very pleased with himself. â€Å"Football. A real man's sport.† A guy sitting nearby overheard him and glanced back. â€Å"Too bad you won't make quarterback, Juarez. You came so close last year. Looks like you're going to graduate without fulfilling yet another dream.† I'd thought Trey didn't like me – but as he turned his attention to the other guy, it was like the temperature dropped ten degrees. I realized in that moment that Trey just liked giving me a hard time. But this other guy? Trey completely despised him. â€Å"I don't remember you even being in the running, Slade,† returned Trey, eyes hard. â€Å"What makes you think you're going to take it this year?† Slade – it wasn't clear to me if that was his first or last name – exchanged knowing glances with a couple friends. â€Å"Just a feeling.† They turned away, and Trey scowled. â€Å"Great,† he muttered. â€Å"Slade finally got the money for one. You want to know about tattoos? Go talk to him.† My thirty-second impression told me Slade was no one I wanted to talk to, but Trey provided no additional explanation. Class soon started, but as I tried to focus on the lesson, all I could think about was Amberwood's apparent obsession with tattoos. What did it mean? When PE came, I was relieved to see Jill in the locker room. The Moroi girl gave me a weary smile as we walked outside. â€Å"How's your day been?† I asked. â€Å"Fine,† Jill said. â€Å"Not great. Not terrible. I haven't really gotten to know many people.† She didn't say it, but Jill's tone implied, â€Å"See? I told you I would stand out.† Yet as the class started, I realized that the problem was that Jill didn't stand out. She avoided eye contact, letting her nerves get the best of her, and made no effort to talk to people. No one openly shunned her, but with the vibes she gave off, no one went out of their way to talk to her either. I certainly wasn't the most social person in the world, but I still smiled and tried to chat with my classmates as we did more volleyball drills. It was enough to foster the sparks of friendship. I also soon noticed another problem. The class had been divided into four teams, playing two concurrent matches. Jill was in the other game, but I still occasionally caught sight of her. She looked miserable and tired within ten minutes, without even having done much in the game. Her reaction time was bad too. A number of balls went past her, and those she did notice were met with clumsy maneuvers. Some of her teammates exchanged frustrated looks behind her back. I returned to my own game, worried for her, just as the opposing team spiked the ball into a zone that wasn't well guarded by my team. I didn't have the reaction time that, say, a dhampir had, but in that split second, my brain knew I could block the ball if I made a hard and fast move. Doing so went against my natural instincts, the ones that said, Don't do anything that will hurt or get you dirty. I'd always carefully reasoned through my actions, never acting on impulse. Not this time. I was going to stop that ball. I dove for it, hitting it into range of another teammate who was able to then spike it back over the net and out of danger. The volley pushed me to a hard landing on my knees. It was ungraceful and jarred my teeth, but I'd stopped the opposition from scoring. My teammates cheered, and I was surprised to find myself laughing. I'd always been trained that everything I did had to have a greater, practical purpose. Sports were sort of antithetical to the Alchemist way of li fe, because they were just for fun. But maybe fun wasn't so bad once in a while. â€Å"Nice, Melrose,† said Miss Carson, strolling by. â€Å"If you want to defer your sport until winter and be on the volleyball team, come talk to me later.† â€Å"Well done,† said Micah, and offered me his hand. I shook my head and stood up on my own. I was dismayed to see a scrape on one of my legs but was still grinning from ear to ear. If anyone had told me two weeks ago that I'd be so happy about rolling around in the dirt, I wouldn't have believed it. â€Å"She doesn't give out compliments very often.† It was true. Miss Carson had already been on Jill a number of times and was now halting our game to correct a teammate's sloppy form. I took advantage of the break to watch Jill, whose game was still in action. Micah followed my gaze. â€Å"Doesn't run in the family, huh?† he asked sympathetically. â€Å"No,† I murmured. My smile faded. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest over exalting so much in my own triumph when Jill was obviously struggling. It didn't seem fair. Jill still looked exhausted, and her curly hair was drenched in sweat. Pink spots had appeared on her cheeks, giving her a feverish look, and it seemed to take all her effort to remain upright. It was strange that Jill would have so much difficulty. I'd overheard a brief conversation in which she and Eddie had discussed combat and defensive moves, giving me the impression that Jill was fairly athletic. She and Eddie had even talked about practicing later that night and – â€Å"The sun,† I groaned. â€Å"Huh?† asked Micah. I'd mentioned my concerns about the sun to Stanton, but she'd dismissed them. She'd just advised that Jill be careful to stay inside – which Jill did. Except, of course, when school requirements made her take a class that kept her outside. Forcing her to play sports out in the full blaze of the Palm Springs sun was cruel. It was a wonder she was still standing. I sighed, making a mental note to call the Alchemists later. â€Å"We're going to have to get her a doctor's note.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† asked Micah. The game was back on, and he shifted into position beside me. â€Å"Oh. Jill. She's†¦ she's sensitive to the sun. Kind of like an allergic thing.† As though on cue, we heard Miss Carson exclaim from the other court: â€Å"Melrose Junior! Are you blind? Did you not see that coming right toward you?† Jill swayed on her feet but took the criticism meekly. Micah watched them with a frown, and as soon as Miss Carson was off picking on someone else, he darted out of formation and ran over to Jill's game. I hastily tried to cover both his and my own positions. Micah ran up to a guy beside Jill, whispered something, and pointed back at me. A moment later, the guy ran over to my team and Micah took the spot beside Jill. As class continued, I realized what was happening. Micah was good at volleyball – very good. So much so that he was able to defend his spot and Jill's. Without seeing any blatant blunders, Miss Carson kept her attention elsewhere, and Jill's team grew a little less hostile toward her. When the game ended, Micah caught hold of Jill's arm and quickly walked her over to a shaded spot. From the way she staggered, he seemed to be all that was holding her upright. I was about to join them when I heard loud voices beside me. â€Å"I'm getting it tonight. The guy I talked to swears it's gonna be badass.† It was Slade, the guy who'd sparred with Trey earlier. I hadn't realized it out in the sun in the middle of the game, but he was the player Micah had swapped places with. â€Å"It better be,† continued Slade, â€Å"for how much he's charging me.† Two of Slade's friends joined him as they began heading toward the locker room. â€Å"When are tryouts, Slade?† one of his friends asked. In chemistry, I'd learned Slade's first name was Greg, but everyone seemed to refer to him by his last name, even teachers. â€Å"Friday,† Slade said. â€Å"I'm going to kill. Like totally destroy them. I'm gonna rip Juarez's spine out and make him eat it.† Charming, I thought, watching them go. My initial assessment of Slade had been correct. I turned toward Jill and Micah and saw that he'd gotten ahold of a water bottle for her. They seemed okay for the moment, so I caught Miss Carson's attention as she walked by. â€Å"My sister gets sick in the sun,† I said. â€Å"This is really hard on her.† â€Å"Lots of kids have trouble in the heat at first,† said Miss Carson knowingly. â€Å"They just need to toughen up. You handled yourself okay.† â€Å"Yeah, well, she and I are pretty different,† I said dryly. If only she knew. â€Å"I don't think she's going to ‘toughen up.'† â€Å"Nothing I can do,† said Miss Carson. â€Å"If I let her sit out, do you have any idea how many other kids would suddenly ‘feel tired in the sun'? Unless she's got a doctor's note, she's got to stick it out.† I thanked her and went to join Jill and Micah. As I approached, I heard Micah saying, â€Å"Get cleaned up, and I'll walk you to your next class. We can't have you fainting in the halls.† He paused and considered. â€Å"Of course, I'm totally happy to catch you if you do faint.† Jill was understandably dazed but was with it enough to thank him. She told him she'd meet him soon and walked to the girls' locker room with me. I eyed the grin on Micah's face, and a troubling thought occurred to me. Jill seemed stressed enough so I decided not to say anything, but my concern grew when we left for last period. Micah walked with Jill, as promised, and told her that later, when evening came, he'd tutor her in volleyball if she wanted. As we stood outside the classroom, a girl with long red hair and a haughty attitude walked by, trailed by an entourage of other girls. She paused when she saw Micah and tossed her hair over one shoulder, flashing him a big smile. â€Å"Hey, Micah.† Micah was engrossed with Jill and barely glanced in the other girl's direction. â€Å"Oh, hey, Laurel.† He walked away, and Laurel watched him go, her expression turning dark. She shot a dangerous look at Jill, whipped her long hair over her shoulder, and stormed off. Uh-oh, I thought as I watched her stalk down the hall. Is that going to come back and haunt us? It was one of those moments when I could have used a lesson in social cues. I went to Ms. Terwilliger's classroom afterward and spent most of that initial meeting setting up the semester's goals and outlining what I'd be doing for her. I was in store for a lot of reading and translation, which suited me just fine. It also appeared as though half of my job would be keeping her organized – something else I excelled at. The time flew by, and as soon as I was free, I hurried off to find Eddie. He was waiting with a group of other boys at the shuttle stop to go back to their dorm. When he saw me, his response was the usual: â€Å"Is Jill okay?† â€Å"Fine†¦ well, kind of. Can we talk somewhere?† Eddie's face darkened, no doubt thinking there was a legion of Strigoi on their way to hunt Jill. We stepped back inside one of the academic buildings, finding chairs in a private corner that enjoyed the full force of air conditioning. I gave him a quick update on Jill and her sunny PE misadventures. â€Å"I didn't think it would be this bad,† said Eddie grimly, echoing my thoughts. â€Å"Thank God Micah was there. Is there anything you can do?† â€Å"Yeah, we should be able to get something from our ‘parents' or a doctor.† As much as I hated to, I added, â€Å"Keith might be able to expedite it.† â€Å"Good,† said Eddie fiercely. â€Å"We can't have her getting beat up out there. I'll go talk to that teacher myself, if that's what it takes.† I hid a smile. â€Å"Well, hopefully it won't come to that. But there is something else†¦ nothing dangerous,† I amended quickly, seeing that warrior look cross his face again. â€Å"Just something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I tried not to say the words that were popping into my mind. Horrifying. Wrong. â€Å"Concerning. I think†¦ I think Micah likes Jill.† Eddie's face went very still. â€Å"Of course he likes her. She's nice. He's nice. He likes everyone.† â€Å"That's not what I mean, and you know it. He likes her. In the more-than-friends way. What are we going to do about that?† Eddie stared off across the hall for a few moments before turning back to me. â€Å"Why do we have to do anything?† â€Å"How can you ask that?† I exclaimed, shocked by the response. â€Å"You know why. Humans and vampires can't be together! It's disgusting and wrong.† The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. â€Å"Even a dhampir like you should know that.† He smiled ruefully. ‘†Even a dhampir like me?'† I supposed I'd been a little insulting, but it couldn't be helped. Alchemists – myself included – never believed dhampirs and Moroi worried enough about the same problems we did. They might acknowledge a taboo like this, but years of training said that only we humans really took it seriously. That was why the Alchemist job was so important. If we didn't look after these matters, who would? â€Å"I mean it,† I told him. â€Å"This is something all of us agree on.† His smile faded. â€Å"Yeah, it is.† Even Rose and Dimitri, who had a high tolerance for craziness, had been shocked at meeting the Keepers, rogue Moroi who intermingled freely with dhampirs and humans. It was a taboo the three of us shared, and we'd worked hard to tolerate the custom while with the Keepers. They lived hidden in the Appalachian Mountains and had provided excellent refuge when Rose was on the run. Ignoring their savage ways had been an acceptable price for the security they'd offered us. â€Å"Can you talk to him?† I asked. â€Å"I don't think Jill has any strong feelings. She's got too many other things going on. She probably knows better anyway†¦ but it'd still be best if you could discourage him. We can stop this before she gets involved.† â€Å"What do you expect me to say?† Eddie asked. He sounded at a loss, which struck me as funny, considering he'd been ready to go make all sorts of demands to Miss Carson on Jill's behalf. â€Å"I don't know. Play the big brother card. Act protective. Say she's too young.† I expected Eddie to agree, but he once more averted his eyes. â€Å"I don't know if we should say anything.† â€Å"What? Are you insane? Do you think it's okay to – â€Å" â€Å"No, no.† He sighed. â€Å"I'm not advocating it. But look at it this way. Jill's stuck in a school full of humans. It's not fair that she be banned from hanging out with any guys.† â€Å"I think Micah wants to do more than hang out.† â€Å"Well, why shouldn't she get to go on a date now and then? Or go to a dance? She should get to do all the normal things a girl her age does. She's already had her life radically changed. We shouldn't make it any harder.† I eyed him in disbelief, trying to figure out why he was so laid back about this. Admittedly, he didn't face the same consequences I did. If my superiors found out I was â€Å"encouraging† human and vampire dating, it'd be more evidence against me and my alleged bias. After all, my reputation wasn't yet restored with the Alchemists. Still, I knew Eddie's people didn't like the idea of dating, either. So what was the problem? A strange answer suddenly came to me. â€Å"I feel like you just don't want to confront Micah.† Eddie looked right at me. â€Å"It's complicated,† he said. Something in his face told me I'd hit the mark. â€Å"Why don't you talk to Jill? She knows the rules. She'll understand that she can be with him without getting serious.† â€Å"I think it's a bad idea,† I said, still unable to believe he was taking this stance. â€Å"We're creating a gray area here that's eventually going to cause confusion. We should keep it black and white and ban her from dating while she's here.† That wry smile returned. â€Å"Everything's black and white with you Alchemists, isn't it? Do you think you can really stop her from doing anything? You should know better. Even your childhood couldn't have been that abnormal.† With that slap in the face, Eddie stalked off, leaving me aghast. What had just happened? How could Eddie – who was so adamant about doing the right thing for Jill – be okay with her casually dating Micah? There was something weird going on here, something connected to Micah, though I couldn't figure out what. Well, I refused to let this matter go. It was too important. I'd talk to Jill and make sure she knew right from wrong. If necessary, I'd also talk to Micah – though I still felt that conversation would be better coming from Eddie. And, I realized, thinking of how I had to go hunt down a doctor's note, there was one more source I could appeal to, one that had a lot of influence over Jill.Adrian. Looked like I'd be paying him another visit.