Best Admissions Essay

0-4 Central Square Redhawks playing the 4-0 Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) on their homecoming. As a captain, you have to always be positive with your team and keep them going. You have to be the one to pick your brothers up when they need it, no matter how tragic something is. Football is a very physical sport as everyone knows, but what most people do not know is that it is actually just as much of a mental game. If a whole team comes together and believes they can do something, the odds are in their favor of succeeding. I knew that CBA was the best team around and had the most talent in the Central New York Area. Unfortunately, not everyone believed that we could succeed. By mid second quarter, we were down a whopping 42 points. We were sitting as a team in our auxiliary gym, feeling very disappointed. 0-5 is not the record we aimed for after working so hard in the weight room and on the practice field all summer. We had to make some important changes. Coach explained how we have a second chance. If we win our last two games (league games) we would go to sectionals. Going out with my parents and seeing all of my senior brothers were pretty emotional; though those emotions went away quickly though, as we knew what we had to do that night. To make sectionals, we had to win out, meaning not lose another game. Right before taking the field, we all came together in the locker room, and from that moment on everyone knew that we were going to make it happen. We all came together and each had the game of our lives. Film the next morning was exceptional, but we still got criticized for our mistakes as usual; to improve and get ready for next week. I was never so ready for a game. There is not a better game than playing our archrival CNS, it was a must-win to get into sectionals. The feeling was unbelievable; as our whole team knew we would go out and win that game. Pumping up my team with a speech that could make a grown man cry was the best way I knew to get us ready. When we first took the field in the second half, the frost on the before damp field felt like the frozen tundra. The breeze made it feel like winter already, with that Central New York arctic air creeping in. It felt like true football weather, as the second half was approaching. The start of the season wasn’t ideal, but leading a determined team to sectionals after starting 0-5 is the greatest feeling. We have made the best of what we could the last two games, as our hard work had paid off in a great way.

Noughts and Crosses Essay

English teachers don’t need to be told the enormous value and pleasure of reading whole texts as class readers. Little compares with that feeling when a class are truly engaged in the reading of a really good book. Those moments stay with you forever – indeed, they fuel the desire to find another such book to repeat the experience, again and again. Fortunately, contemporary writers of fiction for young adults continue to offer us fresh opportunities to enjoy literature with our students. Oxford Rollercoasters is a series that offers teachers the opportunity of studying first-class novels – recently written for teenagers – as whole-class readers with Year 7, 8 and 9 students. Focus on assessment of reading Oxford Rollercoasters includes titles with varied themes, challenging subject matter and engaging plots – for example, Noughts and Crosses takes a very contemporary slant on racism, Firestarter features a modern-day compulsive arsonist, while Fire, Bed and Bone is set during the Peasants’ Revolt. Each novel is accompanied by innovative and engaging teaching materials, specifically designed to help students access the texts and to support learning as required by the National Curriculum. Rollercoasters is firmly based on the reading objectives in the Framework, and draws on approaches to reading fiction recommended by the English strand of the Secondary National Strategy. The series is written by practising teachers and consultants, and, while concentrating on the explicit teaching of reading skills, also draws on approaches to literature through drama and media. Theories behind both assessment for learning and thinking skills are also embedded in the materials. Time-saving resources For each Rollercoasters novel there is a set of Lesson Plans, specifying particular objectives, assessment focuses and learning outcomes. These are accompanied by a compact Overview (see page 4) which summarizes the scheme at a glance, including the necessary resources for each lesson. The Navigator offers a clear plot summary, linked to relevant chapters, to help speedy location of particular parts of the novel. Lesson Plans are accompanied by full, varied and practical Worksheets and OHTs, and drama activities are common within the teaching schemes. The worksheets and OHTs are customizable to meet the needs of a particular teacher and class. For every novel there are suggested guided reading sessions as well as the opportunity to develop further specific group teaching. Class, shared and independent reading are also fully supported in the Lesson Plans. The practice of keeping some form of Reading Journal during the study of the novel is encouraged in many of the schemes, and there are several attractive models for such record-keeping across the teaching materials. Every set of Lesson Plans ends with its own student Reading Assessment Progress Sheet, which the teacher can then use to identify areas for development for each student. Reading Guide Each of the novels has its own student Reading Guide, which contains a rich variety of material to help to engage students in their study of the novel. Each one features unique author’s craft material, giving students a great insight into the writing, editing and publishing process. Ideas for wider reading and for the extension of independent reading are also provided in the Pathways section at the end of the Reading Guide. Website support The Rollercoasters website provides access to the free on-line teacher’s resources, sample chapters of the novels and further author information. Oxford Rollercoasters provides first-class teaching resources for first-class contemporary fiction. The series is designed to engage the widest possible range of students in reading for pleasure, and we feel confident that it will contribute to those memorable experiences of reading together in the secondary classroom.

Components of Fitness Coursework

The health of someone is the state of mental, physical and social well being they are in. Most people think of health as a person who has or hasn't got a disease and illness. There are two main types of fitness that make up the way a person is, these are: physical fitness and motor fitness. Getting your fitness to its maximum and maintaining it is a very important and often difficult as it requires a lot of thought, time and effort. Athletes who over-train their bodies become weaker and are more likely to get diseases and illnesses. The components of physical fitness are reaction time, power, agility, balance, flexibility and co-ordination. The meaning of strength is â€Å"the ability to exert a force against a resistance†. An example of this is the strength needed by a weight lifter to lift a 200kg barbell. Mariusz Pudzianowski , the world's strongest man champion of 2008, has to train himself to lifting extremely heavy things such as cars, people, etc. some body builders also take steroids to improve their performance in many sports. This is considered illegal and the sports person that does this is disqualified from the sport they have taken part in. There are 3 different types of strength. The types of strength are: * Maximum strength – the greatest force that is possible in a single maximum contraction * Elastic strength – the ability to overcome a resistance with a fast contraction * Strength endurance – the ability to express force many times over Flexibility is the ability to perform a joint action through a variety of movement. The objective of flexibility training is to improve the range of movement a person can perform. In any movement there are two groups of muscles at work: * The main muscles which cause the movement to take place * opposing the movement and determining the amount of flexibility are the opposed muscles Alina Kabaeva is one of the world's most famous Russian athletes for being very flexible and is Russia's most successful gymnast. She improves her skills by training with her coach and by increasing the body joints to its full performance. Endurance is a muscle's ability to perform a maximum stamina time after time. An example of this is when somebody runs a race and is able to keep going from the start to the end. The objective of endurance is to develop stamina in a person's body for a long period of time. Speed is the quickness of movement. This is used in all types of sports in tackling and running. Speed is one of the main components of fitness. Sprinting is also included in speed. Sprinting is when a person uses all the energy they have left in them to increase their speed drastically. This is usually used at the end of a race after staying at a steady pace to save energy. Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man since the Olympics 2008 has been able to train himself to run at extreme speeds through various types of training, a healthy lifestyle and body composition In fitness, body composition describes the percentages of fat, bone and muscle in a person's body. Because muscle tissue takes up less space in our body than fat, both our body composition and our weight, determines the body composition. For example, if an obese person was to race an athlete that was in a healthy state, the person with more weight would lose because there is too much fat compared to his or her bone and muscle. Co-ordination is the ability to carry out a group of movements smoothly and efficiently. All sports need the coordination of eyes, hands and feet. Racket sports like tennis involve all coordination's of hands, eyes and feet. There are a few drills which can improve your hand-eye co-ordination like catching tennis balls in none hand for a minute and then changing hands. You can practice them on your own or with someone else but keep concentrating and you'll notice the difference. Tim Henman, Great Britain's number one tennis player has to do drills like this daily to improve his hand-eye co-ordination. Balance is the ability to control the body's position, either stationary or while moving. If this is done correctly, a person will be able to complete a series of moves without falling. Balance is usually used in sports like gymnastics or athletics. Sally Gunnell is an athlete that improves her balance by improving her motor skills. Another way to improve your balance is by improving posture. If this is done well, There could be a great improvement in balance. Agility is the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions. In various fields of sports competition, the body is constantly asked to perform movements from unfamiliar joint angles. If these are done correctly, the body is able to respond quickly to different angles that are needed in sporting events. An example for a sport that involves agility is athletics or on a trampoline. You can improve your agility by practicing the movements in training. An athlete that needs this for their profession is Dame Kelly Holmes Power is the ability to do strength performances quickly using almost all of your energy and normally with heavy things. The main parts of the body used in the process are the arm muscles as well as the legs to help the person balance themselves. Power is mainly used in sports involving lifting things that are heavy such as the hammer throw in the Olympics. An athlete that has done this in the Olympics is Alex Smith. The final component for skill related fitness is reaction time. This is the time taken to respond to a stimulus. An example would be reacting to the starting pistol at the start of a 100m race. It important in many sports and activities and depends on the nervous system mostly. This can be improved through practice or training. Different people have different reaction times because of the nervous system. A person with good reaction time is Usain Bolt. Alcohol, smoking and drugs all affect a sports performer's lifestyle in negative ways. George Best died of liver failure because of his drinking problems and this ruined his life before as well. It earlier stopped him from playing football before he had a transplant. Some people use steroid pills, gels, creams, or injections because they think steroids can improve their sports performance or the way they look. Nathan Allen was banned from the Olympic gamed this year because of the steroid pills she took to enhance her performance. She has been banned for two years. This type of drug abuse can get a person banned from any sport there if it is found out. There have been many top athletes who smoke. Zinedine Zidane, a famous French football player caused a small gossip when he was photographed before an important 2006 World Cup game smoking a cigarette. Smoking can wreck your lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports. They also run slower and can't run as far, affecting overall athletic performance. This affects people's performance in a negative way as it could possibly end their career. Despite all the tobacco use on TV and in different types of media, no athlete does smoke as it could change their lives completely by making them lose all fame and fortune! Many athletes sleep poorly during the night before a major competition or after crossing several time zones to compete, but most athletes aren't sure exactly how this loss of sleep will affect their performances. One problem in figuring out how no sleep influences exercise ability and scientists or doctors don't completely understand sleep itself. Too much sleep is not good for you but neither is no sleep is worse. If a performer doesn't sleep, his performance in a game will be poor and can be removed from the team.

The importance of literacy development in terms of life success Essay

The importance of literacy development in terms of life success - Essay Example Moreover, the notion of literacy is greatly expanded (informational, technical, financial literacy, etc.) and acquires some status of culture’s attribute. Already this issue is not about the availability of key areas of literacy, the question now should be put on the expansion of the general population literacy to the level of culture (information culture, scientific, technical, social, etc.). Thus, we are going to discuss different kinds of literacy and the importance of its development in terms of life success. First of all, it is necessary to mention that ‘literacy’ from a traditional point of view is a definite degree that is mastered by a person in accordance with grammatical rules of native language. Concerning the characteristics of the population – it is one of the basic indicators of its socio-cultural development. The need for literacy and learn reading, writing and arithmetic related to the occurrence of a pictographic writing system, and has its roots in early society. The transition of society to symbolic and graphical ways to store and transfer socially relevant information is a huge leap in the cultural and social development of mankind. According to Cope and Kalantzis, â€Å"literacy is at the heart of education’s promise† (Cope and Kalantzis, 2000). As a result, literacy has become an essential tool of possession of written culture. The specific content of the concept of literacy has changed historically, expanding with increasing public demands for the development of the individual - from basic skills to read, write, count, etc. to the possession of minimum socially necessary knowledge and skills (functional literacy). In addition Cope and Kalantiz emphasized that â€Å"literacy represents a kind of symbolic capital in two senses: as the preeminent form of symbol manipulation that gets things done in modern times and as a symbolic marker of being educated† (Cope and Kalantiz, 2000). Thinking abou t the historical background of the literacy development’s problem it is known that issues regarding the term ‘literacy’ definition, its statistical characteristics were considered at international meetings on statistics and census programs since the end of XIX century. UNESCO General Conference (10th session, Paris, 1958) recommended all countries in conducting censuses â€Å"to consider literate such persons who can read with comprehension and write a brief statement about their everyday lives† (Brandt, 2001). The semi-literate person in that context was a person who was able only to read. A term of functional literacy was proposed at the World Congress of Ministers of Education on literacy (Tehran, Sept. 1965), and a text of recommendations of the International Standardization of Educational Statistics, proposed by UNESCO, was revised in 1978. Street said that â€Å"Initially, functional literacy was used to refer to the needs of employment and economic development† (Street, 2001). Moreover, â€Å"the concept was then broadened to include the print demands of occupational, civic, community and personal functioning† (Street, 2001). According to a new edition of this document, it is necessary to consider a literate person who can be engaged in all activities in

Development of 3D printing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of 3D printing - Essay Example The 3D printing technology is a technology that has undergone quite a series of changes since the period of implementation. It involves the creation of printable 3D models with the use of computer-aided design software (CAD) or through the use of what is called a 3D scanner. The modeling process of 3D geometric data does not have a significant difference from the common plastic applied in different parts of the world today. A process known as 3D scanning is applied before printing, and it involves the collection and analysis of digital data in reference to the shape of a real object. The complexity nature of both the manual and automated 3D printable models to normal consumers is what has caused the emergence of the 3D printing places located in different places. The most interesting part of the concept is the printing part. Before the commencement of the printing, the file that is known as the STL file must under processing that is a task performed using the slicer software. The slicer does the conversion of the model into several systematic thin layers and produces a command or rather instruction known as the G-code that is now sent to the printer. The printer then systematically in accordance to the instructions lays down the layers of the material used t produce the desired object. The major advantage of the technology is that it can produce almost any desired provided the required instruction is well fed to the printer (Lipson & Kurman,  2013). Several changes have taken place in the quest to achieve more efficiency in the application of the technology. The first development is on the provision of low-cost printers. In the past, the 3D printers were extremely expensive, and the majority of the people willing to invest in the same could not be able to afford a printer. The other development is a 3D modeling software. In the past, the software used was complex and tough

President Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

President - Assignment Example The cuts and spending are provided in the succeeding section. There should be a reduction in international affairs by 15%. Spending on general government, natural resources and environment, energy, veterans’ benefits, and general science should also be reduced by 15%, 15%, 10%, 2.5% and 20% respectively. On the other hand, I propose a 20% increase in spending on military operations. Additionally, transportation, education, health, and administration of justice should each have a 5 percent increase in spending. Lastly, community and regional development should have a 2.5% increase in spending. The budget deficit will be $199 billion hence an improvement in the capacity of the country to meet its budgeting demands. An increase in spending on defense will ensure that the country’s security situation is enhanced. Terrorists especially the al Qaeda group have been targeting the country for a very long time. There will also be an improvement in infrastructure, quality of employee skills, health, distribution of national resources, and administration of justice as a result of the increased spending in the respective areas. On the other hand, the hand will experience strained relationships with developing nations as a result of reduced spending on international

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 29

Questions - Assignment Example In addition, the patient-provider barrier arises amongst the health care institution, families, patients, and the healthcare providers. It results in cultural conflicts and contributes to personal enrichment. The inter-professional barriers are solved through developing trust between the nurse and the physician, and open communication. In addition, the inter-professional barrier is resolved through accountability for actions and tasks; cooperation and displayed. The patient- provider barrier is managed through patient and family education. It helps the patient together with their families to comprehend the significance of the care provided competence (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy & OGrady, 2014). In developing a health prevention/promotion teaching plan, education is important in helping the individuals change their behavior. Through the patients are aware of what is needed to manage their health. It may involve a change of diet, medical therapies, lifestyle, and exercise. The objective of education is to motivate individuals to utilize the health services available and to give new knowledge about illnesses (Basavanthappa, 2008). There are different ways of teaching, for instance, demonstrations, group participation, reading and video tapes. Also, incorporation of culturally acceptable materials and information will ensure that the target group participates and adhere to the health promotion program. In addition, storytelling, use of games, interactive experiences and modeling increase the level of knowledge of people. Moreover, counseling and telehealth conferencing are tools used to assist persons to recognize authentic health-linked internet resources (Maurer & Smith, 201 3). For a long-term health behavior change and self-care for a better outcome, individual characteristics, for example, cultural aspects is paramount for effective learning. In addition, the level of education, age, and social status are important factors to consider in

The Existence of God Presented by Anselm and Aquinas Personal Statement

The Existence of God Presented by Anselm and Aquinas - Personal Statement Example The most vital objection to the Aquinas argument is that except people recognize that principle 2 of his argument is factual, the argument falls short. If the cosmos is substantially old, for example, everything could certainly be created by something else prior to it; the succession of causes may possibly go back perpetually. However, perhaps more prominently, one might grasp that the argument does well without considering that God continues living. There could be numerous uncaused causes such as various gods, state; the uncaused source might be an obtuse, uncongenial force. The argument articulates that God is needed to elucidate the subsistence of the cosmos, but presents no enlightenment for why God continues living. If an individual appeals to God to give reasons for there being a universe instead of nothing, another question would be raised giving reasons for there being a God instead of nothing, and the basic question, of reasons for there being something instead of nothing re mains unrequited either way. Therefore, a potentially absent God to elucidate a cosmos that we recognize exists should not be invoked (Melchert 122). It is unreasonable to argue from foundations within the cosmos to that the world itself has a basis, as it is too gigantic a jump. The thought of a primary mover or a cause that is uncaused would be objected because it would suggest having to step on the outer surface the cosmos to view it, which is impracticable. The creation of the cosmos can be faced up by arguing that what reason could there be for the globes’ subsistence goes back to perpetuity. People as human beings do not have adequate comprehension of the globe being created, to bring to a close that it cannot go back to perpetuity (Melchert 136). Furthermore, since people do not have the capacity to experience God subsequently, he does not manifestly continue living. In addition,

Listening the mp3 file Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Listening the mp3 file - Essay Example This formed the basis of civilization of the Indus Valley. 1500 BC marks the last known evidence of this cultural development. The regionalization era is a period in which regional differences can be recognized while the integration era unites all these differences. Uniformity was a very strong feature of the whole of the Indus Valley. Everything was same all across the Valley ranging from pottery to architecture. This indicates a highly centralized administration. The final stage of the Indus Valley civilization developed at a very inconsistent speed. The only evidence we have today to study the Indus Valley is the material evidence. Mohenjodaro and Harappa are two of the most well studied cities in the Indus Valley civilization, and are thus the most important. Food in the Indus Valley was largely produced from barley and wheat. Foods include chicken, fish, chickpeas, sesame, and grapes, juju and dates. Mud-bricks and fire-bricks were used in architecture. Use of mud-brick was gen eral while that of fire-brick was particular. Indus Valley civilization was very strong at water management. Large water-holding tanks can be seen in the settlements. The train systems are particular characteristics of their landscapes. Highly stylized figurines made in soft clay and beadwork is particular skills of the Indus Valley civilization. Soft stone, lattice and turquoise are important in terms of stone work. Markets existed and commerce took place at the entrance to big urban centers of the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley had unique weight standards. Metal, typically copper and bronze became very common in the later stages of the civilization. Very little is known about the religion of people of the Indus Valley civilization. Developments in regional locations started in 4000 BC which was when the regionalization era commenced. Of all the different cities, Mehrgarh was the center of technological advancement in the Indus

You should choose the topic about Hitler Term Paper

You should choose the topic about Hitler - Term Paper Example Adolf Hitler was born on 20th April in the year 1889, in Braunau, a small town in Austria. His father, named Alois, was a strict and short tempered person, brutal by nature. It had been stated that Adolf Hitler, in his young days, was frequently beaten up by his father. He was brought up by his father in a very strict manner. He wanted to be an artist in his early days but due to the disapproval of his father, he could not pursue his dream of being an artist. His mother Kara was an affectionate lady and used to support Adolf Hitler whenever he was depressed. As a student, he was not friendly by nature and had only few friends. He used to be very lazy. As he was not a good student and so he was not much interested to pursue the higher studies. He left his school at the age of 15 (Historylearningsite. â€Å"Adolf Hitler†). Adolf Hitler was a person with no much qualification. He did not even complete his 10th standard. He always wanted to be an artist. But his application was not accepted by the Vienna Academy of Art, as he did not have any ‘school leaving certificate’ or even till 10th educational background. His pieces of work had few human characters in them and the examining board did not entertain a landscape artist. His mother died when he was 18 years old, which was considered to a very miserable period for him. Without any source of earning or any other financial support, he was to lead a miserable life, thereafter. His only means of earning income was then through clearing the pathways of snow and by selling his painting. It was in this stage of his life when he tended to develop hatred for Jewish people which encouraged him to be against them which was in the year 1908. He wrote a book dedicated to his own life named ‘Mein Kampf’ where he mentioned this part of his life in Vienna as ‘five years of hardship and misery’. In this same book he

Dream Vacation Essay Example for Free

Dream Vacation Essay Eighty-five degrees, suns out, sand in your toes, a couple of brews, and you family and friends. That sounds like everyone dream vacation, but who would complain that sounds like a great time. You see during the summer I would love to take a couple of my friends to go see Dave Matthews Band play somewhere in the southwest. Seeing a concert probably isn’t the most exciting thing to do in a dream vacation, but as a group of friends we could do something so simple and have the best time ever. If my friends couldn’t come with I honestly think I would not want to go. My friends and I have all grown up together and have become so close that doing anything without one of them is just weird. We would get to this concert by car or plane, but I think if we took a car we could technically call it a road trip so it would make much more memorable. I wouldn’t bring my family because they would set rules, and on this vacation I just want to let everything go and have the best time of my life.What would be even better than just going to see Dave once, would be if my friends and I followed him on tour all summer! Unfortunately I don’t have that kind of cash, but I will have enough for this dream vacation, road trip when I start working in the summer and I can’t wait.

Vulnerability on Internet Essay Example for Free

Vulnerability on Internet Essay

Quality Performance of Streaming Video(s) over Networks

Quality Performance of Streaming Video(s) over Networks   ABSTRACT Video-based sharing services have gained a rapid fluctuation in users over recent years with the help of the ever-growing internet availability, reaching even the most rural of areas, gaining an increasing share in the multimedia market. Online streaming videos should fulfil strict quality of service constraints. Internet streaming relies upon packet transmission; there are varying influences such as delays, packet loss, transmission errors, data loss and bandwidth restrictions that all influence the quality and playability of a video. This causes serious problems for the end user as the producers of videos rely on the end-users. Therefore, the results of this paper can help users determine whether they can view videos in a high quality whilst preserving smooth video transmission. With the use of detailed diagrams, we can see how the network reacts to buffering, low network speeds and congestion in-order to keep sending video data. Keywords: YouTube, streaming, video, video streaming, network measurement, QoS, TCP, RTSP INTRODUCTION During the last 10 years theres been a significate growth of the internet video streaming websites such as YouTube (USA), Vimeo (USA), Twitch (USA), Daily Motion (France), Vevo (USA) have grown exponentially in popularity and by viewing the growth of the internet and more and more gadgets connecting to the internet [6], they will keep growing. YouTube alone have over one billion users [4], which in return equates to billions of video requests every day. Global Consumer Internet Video for 2016 is 29,046PB (petabyte), the year 2017 is estimated at 38,297 with a steady yearly increase of 14,000PB[7]. This therefore causes a strain on the internet service providers (ISPs) to increase bandwidth in order to provide stronger/wider and faster broadband connectivity to accommodate such growth. This in comparison to File sharing such as peer-to-peer which includes the likes of BitTorrent which in 2016 was calculated at 5,938PB and has declined to 5,858PB in 2017 with a slight variance there-on -after. In North America alone, YouTube accounts of 17.9% of bandwidth whereas the likes of BitTorrent only account for 2.7% [8]. The most important part of accumulating a vast growth of users and popularity is the fact that YouTube is free, from viewing videos, upload your own videos, streaming live or following your favourite channels. It can all be done by signing up to a free account, this ensures that the website can be viewed by a wider audience rather than those of that can legally pay and older, there is a small compromise to pay in the form of adverts randomly placed in-between or at the beginning of videos. Coupled with the fact that YouTube has now offered to pay YouTubers real currency for the popularity of their own videos ensures an even higher number of users.   They have recently launched a premium service called YouTube Red, which is their premium service to those willing to pay $10 a month; the benefits include Google Play Music subscription, ad-free videos and premium content not available to free users [9]. YouTube does not have many competitors that can match its popularity but there are some in the likes of Vimeo who have over 100 million visitors per month [10] and a more artistic community where promotional and corporate videos are prohibited, they have four tiers of accounts; Free, Plus, PRO or business each varying is ways from their counterparts. However, a very important difference between the two in the way videos are played. Vimeo uses a constant rate factor (CRF) of 20 whereas YouTube incorporates variable bitrate mode, which allows for lower overall bitrates while maintaining quality. YouTube allows 60fps, 4K 3D, Vimeo does not, and this is a reason why Vimeo is not as large as YouTube. YouTube has a leading edge compared to others in the respect that where others have strictly controlled content, normally professionally produced, YouTube does not; videos can be uploaded by anyone whom has access to the internet. Interne t Connection has high unpredictability rates in the regards of latency and speed reliability, which all depends on location and ISPs with traffic times, network infrastructure and work load. Videos viewed via the internet is more problematic compared to say, television, thus, YouTube infrastructure manages playback using various methods. BODY Transmission from client to server YouTube uses Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is an application-level protocol, which controls delivery of data with real-time properties; it enables controlled, on-demand delivery of real-time data, such as audio and video [11]. The server starts by sending small RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) packets, the data in a bitrate chosen, is sent to the client where their buffer is loaded only slightly before playback occurs. This ensures that not too much bandwidth is used in case the user decides not to continue playing the video, as users dont have a static internet connection, if the user or YouTubes servers recognise inconsistencies in the connection e.g. packet loss, an altered bitrate can be used instead e.g. the server sends the video but in a reduced encoding rate. When it comes to video playback, smooth transmission is key, without it users grow tired of continual pausing, dropped frames etc. and leave, this cannot do. Therefore, the use of TCP ensures pre-fetching and buf fering to ensure smooth playback. As bandwidth is something of an issue when loading videos constantly whilst ensuring smooth continuous playback, TCP guarantees reliable transmission for a no-loss of frames. It also has probing bandwidth and congestion control which will attempt to use all available bandwidth for fetching content as soon as possible. However as YouTube has introduced live streaming in 2015 which opts for UDP (User Datagram Protocol), an application layer protocol, UDP is used because minimum pre-fetching can be done where buffering and pausing is somewhat of a nuisance and should be reduced at all cost as everything is live. It is conjoined with RTSP, another application layer protocol which helps with video streaming. A major drawback of using UDP is that firewalls from ISP or companies are not in favour of allowing the protocol, which cause video traffic and throttling problems. However, with the advantage of lower overhead, the compensation of a few dropped pack et will suffice. In order to deliver videos the use of Content Delivery Networks (CDN), it works by using a globally distributed network of proxy servers, whose job it is to serve content to end-users (the users who are watching the videos) at high performance, where, when a user clicks on a video it is served from the nearest Data Centre from their geolocation. YouTube, before the buyout from Google used LimeLight Networks (LLNW), afterwards Google built their own CDN. Most CDN servers are configured to support web services, therefore streaming over HTTP goes hand in hand, and most firewalls are configured to allow HTTP traffic. The usage of DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming) over HTTP is common practice where the video is split into chunks of various resolutions thus, the player can easily switch into another resolution when the internet bandwidth changes which equates to smooth playback. Video Playback Quality As of January 2015, YouTube migrated to HTML5 for its default web player. YouTube first checks to see if the clients browser supports both, HTML5, H.264 codec or WebM VP8. Many browsers support an in-built flash player, which removes the need for installation of Adobe Flash Player, which has seen a decline in usage, with the amount of resources it requires and security flaws [14]. In addition, as devices such as Apple do not have support for flash there is a large market excluded. The use of HTML5s Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) is key [Figure 1]; it allows the player to switch resolutions based on users network quality. This has reduced buffering by more than 50% globally and as much as 80% on heavily congested networks [15]. YouTube switched from progressive downloads to adaptive bitrate streaming to allow for switching of quality without the need to re-buffer and start from the beginning. YouTube is constantly analysing connection speeds between the client and server, when it detects the bandwidth is deteriorating, a lower bitrate video stream is selected, in order to create a seamless playback experience for the end-user the buffer stream is loaded a few seconds ahead of your current position. From the users perspective, the key trait of a network is Quality of Service (QoS) of the content they are streaming. Whilst using HTTP, video transmission is reliable, HTTP reassures the user that there is no packet loss or video disturbance. Experiments Buffering over various internet speeds With the use of Wireshark, various experiments were done to see how packets are send from YouTube to client whilst watching a video under different network conditions and playback quality. To extract only YouTube video packet data, the filter tcp.port eq 443 was used, all graphs were set to a tick interval of 1 second with a pixel per tick of 10 and the units used in the graph are packets/Tick with a scale of 10000, all data is coming from Wi-Fi only. Buffering Time over Wi-Fi connectivity (No Throttling) using a forced 720p video Figure 2, displayed above shows a YouTube clip, which spans a total of 8:36 minutes. The graph depicts a burst of data thats sent initially on load. After the few second burst, the data rate reduces considerably. YouTube server initially sends the video as soon as possible for the initial buffering before significantly reducing the sending rate. Once the video has buffered fully, the rate of packet sending drops to near zero. Buffering Time over 3G connectivity (1.5mb/s, 750kb/s) using a forced 720p video Figure 3 depicts how a YouTube video is loaded whilst on a 3G connection; the clip used is the same as Figure 2, for comparative reasons. The burst seen in the graph spans for a greater period than on a faster connection. The video instantly plays but YouTubes server loads data for longer before finally reducing the frequency of data being sent. The player buffers for a quarter length from the current position of the playing position before finally stopping for a brief moment to allow catch-up, which can be depicted on the graph where the throttle rate drops to This is mainly due to QoE, which is based on human perception, where the user doesnt care for statistics such as packet loss etc. but rather in the quality of their video, they want to be able to view the video as soon as possible and at the best quality that is available. Buffering Time over GPRS connectivity (50kb/s, 20kb/s) and the effects of having a reduced bandwidth Figure 4 depicts the packets that are received whilst on a GPRS connection, reduction in the transmission rate in-turn has resulted in bandwidth significantly reduced, the impact almost certainly forces re-buffering to occur, which reduces the QoE for the user. This results in a longer queuing delay at network nodes and increases server-to-user delays, as the graph shows, the amount of data stored by the inbuilt players buffer is diminutive, as the initial burst did not store enough on load, the video is constantly buffering and playing leading to an endless need to re-buffer to continue. This can be seen at seconds; 120, 145 165, with seconds; 135, 150, 160 being the periods in which data is being transmitted, which consequently dont last long as periods of re-buffering flow directly afterwards. Video delivery over various video quality Figure 5 shows how a single video is re-loaded and buffered from the users current position. Each time a quality change is introduced, the video stops for a brief moment and the buffer pool is restocked with the new video quality data. The higher the quality of video, the more data is introduced initially to ensure that the video starts immediately, as the graph depicts, the lower the quality, the less of an initial burst is needed, as the size of the video is equitably reduced too, YouTube therefore can send all the data for the video quickly. As the video quality is higher, the size of the video being transmitted will also be higher. Network Speed Download Upload Regular 3G 750 kb/s 250kb/s Good 3G 1.5 Mb/s 750 Kb/s Regular 4G 4 Mb/s 3.0 Mb/s Compare this to a mobile phone when outside using data connection for example, 3G 4G connection, as there are many more collisions and obstructions whilst outside compared to a consistent Wi-Fi signal, the results are very different. With the location of the user a key aspect of reliable data transmission and how close the user is to the radio tower. Quality Duration 1080p 0 100s 720p 101s 200s 480p 210s 300s 360p 301s 400s 240p 401s 500s 144p 501s 600s By using network-measuring tools, figure 6 depicts the measurements taken for a single video to load over various qualities via regular 3G, good 3G and regular 4G connection. The results vary compared to Wi-Fi where the transmission is reliable, there are fluctuations in the transmission and the amount of data being sent, whereas Wi-Fi could send a considerable amount in the initial burst of the loading, 3G and 4G do not. Starting with regular 3g, 1080p, 720 and 480p quality videos spend a considerable amount buffering. There was not an initial burst of data that YouTubes servers transmitted, as network speeds were low, the first few seconds where spent buffering and then the video played, the video soon after paused, as buffering had to recommence to gather more data. The results show that in the initial stages of buffering with 4G connection, the amount of packets being sent are high, this is to ensure the user is able to view the video as soon as possible without interference, as the bandwidth is high, a large amount of packets can be sent, this ensures no pausing. YouTube servers application layer is not greedy where it feeds the TCP stack at a rate given by the private throttling algorithm. The TCP layer manages the buffering, when the transmission rate at TCP layer is reduced, the data that cannot be transmitted begins to be stored in the buffer, which can be seen in the 144p portion from 510 seconds onwards. However, when the buffer is occupied, the TCP layer is blocked from sending more data. This can also be shown via YouTubes stats for nerds feature [Figure 7], where when the video is done buffering to the max size of the video file, the network activity drops to a dead 0. With the more limited bandwidth of 3G connectivity, the video has to buffer for longer as with the capped transmission rate, not as much video data can be sent with more frequent throttling. Conclusion Overall, it is clear that the higher the quality, the more bandwidth is needed in-order to view the content with no interference. Limiting bandwidth had effects on the overall quality where YouTube would automatically decrease or increase the quality accordingly. Looking at the graphs produced, choosing to view content at a high quality on speeds of, for example, 3G will result in a in-viewable experience where the end-user will have to wait considerable amounts of time to even view small portions of content. The results of viewing video show that YouTubes progressive download algorithm starts by transferring an initial burst of data at the end users maximum available bandwidth and then uses a sophisticated throttling algorithm to implement a data rate that is more suited. This is key in making sure the user gets to view the video as soon as possible without tirelessly needed to pause and wait for the buffer pool to fill again. QoE is an important factor that YouTube have taken into consideration to ensure that even if the user has a limited bandwidth, by using DASH, they are always able to view the video even if it is at the lowest quality available. For smooth transmission of high quality video, bandwidth should be atleast >=3mbps. Where enjoyable watching on medium quality should start at least 1Mbps. References Yabe, M., Yokota, S. and Nakajima, T. (2006). A Quality Evaluation of High-Speed Video Streaming on Congested IP Networks. IEEEXplore, [online] p.1. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1593437/ [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017]. Tech-faq.com. (2017). How Television Broadcasting Works. [online] Available at: http://www.tech-faq.com/how-television-broadcasting-works.html [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017]. Thetoptens.com. (2017). Top 10 Best Alternatives To YouTube TheTopTens ®. [online] Available at: https://www.thetoptens.com/best-alternatives-youtube/ [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017]. MakeUseOf. (2017). 21 Amazingly Interesting YouTube Facts in 2016. [online] Available at: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/21-amazingly-interesting-youtube-facts-2016/ [Accessed 14 Mar. 2017]. Youtube.com. (2017). Statistics YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/en-GB/statistics.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017]. Provider, S. and Papers, W. (2017). The Zettabyte Era Trends and Analysis Cisco. [online] Cisco. Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/vni-hyperconnectivity-wp.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017]. Provider, S. and Papers, W. (2017). White paper: Cisco VNI Forecast and Methodology, 2015-2020. [online] Cisco. Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/complete-white-paper-c11-481360.html [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. Rosoff, M. (2017). Netflix and YouTube are Americas biggest bandwidth hogs. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/which-services-use-the-most-bandwidth-2015-12?r=USIR=T [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. Edwards, L. (2017). YouTube Red is now live: What is it and is it worth paying for? Pocket-lint. [online] Pocket-lint.com. Available at: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/135686-youtube-red-is-now-live-what-is-it-and-is-it-worth-paying-for [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. DaCast. (2017). Youtube Competitors: Top 5 Alternatives for Video Hosting DaCast. [online] Available at: https://www.dacast.com/blog/youtube-competitors-top-5-alternatives-video-hosting/ [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. The Internet Society (1998), (1998). Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). [online] Network Working Group, p.1. Available at: https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2326.txt [Accessed 21 Mar. 2017]. Chotaliya, C. (2016). Which streaming protocol does Youtube use?. [online] quora. Available at: https://www.quora.com/Which-streaming-protocol-does-Youtube-use [Accessed 21 Mar. 2017]. Support.google.com. (2017). Recommended upload encoding settings YouTube Help. [online] Available at: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en-GB [Accessed 21 Mar. 2017]. Blueberry Consultants Custom Software. (2016). Why Nobody Uses Flash Anymore. [online] Available at: https://www.bbconsult.co.uk/blog/why-nobody-uses-flash-anymore [Accessed 21 Mar. 2017]. The Verge. (2015). YouTube drops Flash for HTML5 video as default. [online] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/27/7926001/youtube-drops-flash-for-html5-video-default [Accessed 21 Mar. 2017]. Figure 1 Video Used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq2Kum-eG8g Szigeti, T. and Hattingh, C. (2017). QoS Requirements of Video > Quality of Service Design Overview. [online] Ciscopress.com. Available at: http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=357102seqNum=2 [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017].

Knowledge Sharing in a Multi-cultural Setting Essay -- Comparative, Kn

In recent decades, the importance of knowledge management to an organization has been recognized by the society, and leaders are more likely to introduce it into the management systems of their organizations, yet Wang and Noe (2010) claimed that the success of knowledge management initially depended on knowledge sharing, which was the fundamental of communication between employees. Hence, these questions will be aroused that what can influence knowledge sharing and how it can be influenced. This paper will have a comparative review of two published studies, which are Knowledge sharing in a multi-cultural setting: a case study (Ford & Chan, 2003) and Knowledge sharing and team trustworthiness: it’s all about social ties! (Wang et al., 2006), both authors have answered the questions ahead on the basis of their studies. But while both of them give us explicit conclusions and generally support that knowledge sharing has a connection with social relationship, there are clear differences in the approach each takes to the study. Dr. Dianne P. Ford, who has published in the Handbook on Knowledge Management, illustrates a result that cross-cultural difference is an obstacle to share knowledge and there is a slight difference between intra-cultural knowledge sharing and inter-cultural knowledge sharing using case study and data analysis. (Ford & Chan, 2003) Dr. Wang and his colleagues seem to be more interested in the relationship between knowledge sharing and trust. They use the same methodology with Dr. Ford in the course of research to claim that trust plays an important role in knowledge sharing, but it also can be substituted by social tie and network in some specific context. (Wang et al., 2006) This paper is organized as follows.... ...g the view that when people meet a person they are not familiar with, they won’t talk too much, so there is little knowledge sharing. Unless after a while, a belief relationship built between them, they will share more knowledge. A social tie or network, I think, is only a bridge to bring people to meet others, but have not reached the high level of substituting trust. Same with Ford and Chan, Wang et al. also use case study methodology and data analysis. But unlike the previous who choose the best site for the research, they use Wang’s working place, a technology research and development institution in Taiwan as the study site. (Wang et al., 2006) Therefore, all the study is about the knowledge sharing within an innovation team, which is a certain component of the whole organization or the society, greatly limits the scalability and extensibility of the results.

Essay --

Document Analysis Paper Frederick Douglass made the most of his years after escaping from slavery in 1852. Douglass spread his words against slavery through being a well-known writer. Douglass was one of the most prominent reform leaders of his era (Foner, 481). A popular document written by Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852, spread some powerful words among the nation. Douglass’s speech was titled â€Å"What to the slave is the Fourth of July†. When his speech was published, his intended audience was his â€Å"fellow citizens† and those unaware that the Fourth of July was a day of mourning for slaves; unlike white Americans celebrating the day of freedom. The reason Douglass’s speech was published was to bring attention to the separation on the Fourth of July between white and black Americans. Even though Frederick Douglass was free he could not celebrate but mourn the day for horror of the past and presence of slave cruelty. Frederick Douglass’s speech was given to so many of his own people. The fact that Douglass speaks so harshly to them proves that he has passion for what he talks about through-out. â€Å"What to the slave is the Fourth of July†, compares and contrasts the different meanings the Fourth of July shared between Whites and African Americans. Douglass says â€Å"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim†. Frederick Douglass was not striving for the attention, he just wanted to get across that the Fourth of July is not a day of celebration to African Americans and the respect he shared with them, having once being a slave himself. Frederick Douglass was asked by Rochester cit... ...ederick Douglass once said, â€Å"From the time that I can remember having any thoughts about anything, I recall that I had an intense longing to learn to read† (Douglass, 13). He always was determined and came a long way. He took his opportunity to give a speech during the celebration of the Fourth of July. Though to Douglass â€Å"Celebrations are a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages†. (Foner, 481). He made it clear of these crimes to those who wanted a speech to be given. He ends his amazing speech with a statement he has been working to prove all along†¦ The Fourth of July is a dissatisfying reminder to him and his people of the cruelty and pain he has been through and what is going on. Frederick Douglass knows the past cannot be undone, but he will not celebrate, he will mourn for those who have been forced to sacrifice their freedom.

Essay on the Religious Right and The Handmaids Tale :: Handmaids Tale Essays

The Religious Right and The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States. A religious extremist right-wing movement assassinated the president and congress and took complete control of the government. The constitution was suspended and liberties revoked. Women found themselves completely subordinated in the new regime, generally assigned to the legal care of a male "guardian." Offred, the main character of the story, was fortunate in many ways. Because she was still fertile, she was not branded an "Unwoman" and sent to the "Colonies," where thousands of individuals deemed undesirable by the government were sent to toil in toxic plants and agricultural camps. Instead, her fate was to become a "handmaid." Birthrates were declining in the republic, so a fertile female became a prized commodity. Since Offred had been divorced prior to the revolution, the religious leaders controlling the government saw fit to take her from her second husband and child and assign her to a "guardian," a high ranking male. Her sole purpose in life with the guardian was to become pregnant. Once a month an insemination ceremony would take place, during which the guardian would attempt to impregnate Offred while his wife read passages from the bible to them. All three remained clothed and there was no passion involved. In the course of her life as a handmaid, Offred discovers more about Gilead. Her secondary duty (after getting pregnant) was to go into town each day and purchase food. She gradually makes contact with another handmaid, Ofglen, who introduces her to the underground movement against the republic. She eventually becomes involved in a number of illegal activities, and eventually is forced to try and escape. The Handmaid's Tale is really about the role of women in society. If it were possible to eliminate women from Gilead, it seems that the republic would have done so. Instead, they are reduced into doing the one thing for which Gilead can find no substitute -- producing children. They are so reduced that they cannot even feel passion or enjoy sex. Infertile women have it even worse; they are not considered to be women at all, and are deported or killed. The message is that women are needed to continue humanity but that they are to have no other role in the society that they allow to exist. Essay on the Religious Right and The Handmaid's Tale :: Handmaid's Tale Essays The Religious Right and The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States. A religious extremist right-wing movement assassinated the president and congress and took complete control of the government. The constitution was suspended and liberties revoked. Women found themselves completely subordinated in the new regime, generally assigned to the legal care of a male "guardian." Offred, the main character of the story, was fortunate in many ways. Because she was still fertile, she was not branded an "Unwoman" and sent to the "Colonies," where thousands of individuals deemed undesirable by the government were sent to toil in toxic plants and agricultural camps. Instead, her fate was to become a "handmaid." Birthrates were declining in the republic, so a fertile female became a prized commodity. Since Offred had been divorced prior to the revolution, the religious leaders controlling the government saw fit to take her from her second husband and child and assign her to a "guardian," a high ranking male. Her sole purpose in life with the guardian was to become pregnant. Once a month an insemination ceremony would take place, during which the guardian would attempt to impregnate Offred while his wife read passages from the bible to them. All three remained clothed and there was no passion involved. In the course of her life as a handmaid, Offred discovers more about Gilead. Her secondary duty (after getting pregnant) was to go into town each day and purchase food. She gradually makes contact with another handmaid, Ofglen, who introduces her to the underground movement against the republic. She eventually becomes involved in a number of illegal activities, and eventually is forced to try and escape. The Handmaid's Tale is really about the role of women in society. If it were possible to eliminate women from Gilead, it seems that the republic would have done so. Instead, they are reduced into doing the one thing for which Gilead can find no substitute -- producing children. They are so reduced that they cannot even feel passion or enjoy sex. Infertile women have it even worse; they are not considered to be women at all, and are deported or killed. The message is that women are needed to continue humanity but that they are to have no other role in the society that they allow to exist.

A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems

Both the United States and Japan are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, an organization composed of industrialized countries) and as such both countries are under the pressure to live up to a certain median when it comes to the quality of health care. Apart from the median created by OECD countries, the US and Japan are also equally pressured by such organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO) that sets up checklists for good health care systems. In a report last 2000 on the health care systems of 191 countries, WHO set some goals for a health care system.These goals are the following: good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing (WHO in Bureau of Labor Education of the University of Maine 2001, 1). By â€Å"good health† WHO refers to the good health status of the entire population although out the human being’s life cycle. â€Å"Responsiveness,† on the other hand, refers to â€Å"the extent to which careg ivers are responsive to the client/patient expectations with regard to non-health areas such as being treated with dignity and respect† (Bureau of Labor and Education o the University of Maine 2001, 6).Fairness in financing generally refers to the progressiveness of the health care system wherein those who have less are also to spend less on medical care. These goals shall be utilized to evaluate and compare the Japanese and the American health care systems. But before an effective evaluation and comparison could be done, it will be important to individually describe the health care systems of these two countries. As such, this paper shall consist o the following parts: a description of the American health care system; a description of the Japanese health care system; an evaluation and the comparison of the two health care systems.The American Health Care System A. The Framework of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System could best be illustrated using figure 1. In figure 1, it could be noted that there are two insurance systems in America, public and private. Public insurance system refers to Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and the Veteran’s Administration (VA). Private insurance system, on the other hand, refers to either employer-sponsored insurance or private non-group insurance. We shall discuss each of these types.Medicare is a federal program that insures seniors aged 65 and above as well as some disabled individuals (Chua 2006, 2). This is a single-payer, government-administered program that covers hospital services, physician services, as well as prescription drug services (Chua 2006, 2). Medicare is financed three ways: federal income taxes, payroll tax (paid both by employers and employees), and individual enrollee premiums (Chua 2006, 2). There are individual enrollee premiums because even if Medicare provides the above-mentioned services, there are still import ant services that are not covered without the premium coverage.These premium services include nursing facilities; preventive care coverage; and coverage for dental, hearing, or vision care. This means that the elderly who are covered by Medicare would many times still need to avail of premium services and as such, they contribute a total of 22% of their income for the cost of health care (Chua 2006, 2). Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program that provides coverage to low income citizens and disabled; specifically, this insurance â€Å"covers very poor pregnant women, children, disabled, and parents† (Chua 2006, 2).As for its administration, Medicaid is paid for by the state and the federal government. At the very least, the federal government pays $1 for every dollar that the state pays for (Chua 2006, 2). Unlike Medicare, Medicaid offers a more comprehensive health benefits. S-CHIP is like Medicaid as regards administration but it is specifically for child ren whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid due to their income but still do not make enough money to provide insurance for their children. VA is a state-sponsored health insurance service for the veterans of the military.This insurance provides comprehensive health benefits that make the veteran spend almost nothing for health care. Employer-sponsored insurance refers to private health insurance services the premium of which are largely paid for by employers. Under this system are the many organizations that offer health maintenance (HMOs). This is where corporations like Aetna and Kaiser Permanente fall. The coverage offered as well as the degree of co-sharing by the different HMOs differ also (Chua 2006, 3).Private non-group health insurance is the sort of insurance availed by those who are self-employed and those that could not avail of employer-sponsored insurance. This sort of insurance allows the insurance company to impose rules regarding pre-existing conditions. Usually, pre-existing conditions are not covered by the insurance. This sort of insurance is fully administered by the HMOs and the benefits vary widely as well. B. Characteristics and Problems of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System is mostly a combination and interaction of public and private entities.This is most exemplified by the two general types of health insurance services: the public and the private. This fact could be demonstrated by a 2003 statistics on Health Insurance Coverage of the nonelderly (in Chua 2006, 1). This statistics shows that 62% of nonelderly Americans receive private employer-sponsored insurance, while 5% purchase their insurance in the market (Chua 2006, 1). 18% of these nonelderly individuals are in public insurance like Medicaid or Medicare, while the remaining 15% are uninsured (Chua 2006, 1).Elderly Americans aged 65 years and above are mostly insured through Medicaid (Chua 2006, 1). Or, better yet, we might as well look at statist ics from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid represented as a pie graph in figure 2(American Hospital Association 2005, 6). In the 2003 statistics on the â€Å"Distribution of US Health Care Expenditures by Payer Source,† of the total $1. 7 trillion expenditures on health care, more than half are paid for by private entities. The lion’s share goes to private insurance. In this statistics, 35.8% are paid for by private insurance (American Hospital Association 2005, 6). Consumer’s out-of-pocket spending on health care account for 13. 7% of the 2003 health care expenditure, while other private expenditure account for 4. 8% of the expenditure. Medicare, a government health insurance system, pays for 17% of health care expenses, while Medicaid, another government health insurance system, shoulders 16% of the expenditure. The remaining 12. 7% of expenditure is paid for by other government systems like the S-CHIP and VA (Centers American Hospital Association 2005, 6; Chua 2006, 2).As such, we could see that the American Health Care System’s expenditure is more than 50% private. In spite of the big percentage in the budget that the federal government allots to health care, probably the biggest budget allotment in the OECD countries, a big percentage of health expenditures is handled by private entities. It is worth mentioning that America is spending on the average 15% of its GDP on health care when the average on OECD countries is only 8. 6% (Chua 2006, 5).This also means that America has the highest per capita spending on health care compared to other OECD Countries. It was documented that almost 10 years ago, the US was already the biggest per capita spender among its OECD colleagues. It spent $4,178 per capita while Switzerland, then second to the US on per capita spending, spent only $2794 per capita on health care. In spite of the big role of private entities and the high percentage in budget that health care system has, a big percen tage of non-elderly adults are uninsured (15% are uninsured as we saw above).This means that millions of adults in the working age have to spend their own money for health services. This also means that probably America is the only developed country that does not provide health services to all its citizens (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 3). Another problem is the fact that the United States has a high infant mortality rate compared to the other OECD counties. In fact, the United States ranked 26th in infant mortality rate among the industrialized countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5).Neither did America rank well in disability-adjusted life expectancy ranking 24th among OECD countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5). This means that a number of Americans expect to live parts of their lives in disability which probably is a consequence of not having access to health care (as a big percentag e of nonelderly are uninsured). Aside from these problems, American health care is also characterized by a deficit in resources as most emergency departments in hospitals report of being â€Å"at† or â€Å"over† capacity (American Hospital Association 2005, 25).In figure 3, we could see a bar graph showing how some hospitals (especially teaching hospitals) could be at 43% beyond capacity. Such a lack could be accounted for largely by the lack of critical care beds, and not necessarily by overcrowding, in these emergency departments (American Hospital Association 2005, 27). This would mean that a number of hospitals, both in their emergency departments and intensive care units, would need to spend time on diversion (American Hospital Association 2005, 26). These are all ironical problems in a country that is supposed to be most advanced in economy and technology.The Japanese Health Care System A. The Framework of the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System, in contrast to the American system, offers coverage for all the citizens. This system offers services that are fairly comprehensive. Currently, the Japanese Health Care System provides â€Å"a basic package of benefits (including medical consultation, drugs, and other materials; medical treatment, surgery, and other services; home care treatment and nursing; and hospitalization and nursing at medical institutions) and they may offer additional benefits (e.g. , funeral benefits, maternity allowances) under the collective scheme† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). This system is best illustrated by figure 4. Health services are paid for in four ways: health insurance contributions, by patient co-payments, by taxes, and by out-of-pocket payments (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 10). Health services are given by providers which could be categorized according to the following: hospitals, doctors’ clinics, health centers, and pharmacies. Most hospitals are categorized as general hospita ls which mean that beds are allocated for long term care.These hospitals are closed to doctors who have clinics, these clinics being capable of minimum bed capacity of 12 (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 11) and may have the latest medical devices needed for diagnosis. Pharmacies may have their own doctors who may dispense their own prognoses and prescriptions. Nursing services are also considered as health providers. The insurance services, though provided by more or less 5,000 HMOs, are largely non-autonomous non-governmental bodies (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). These HMOs are basically in charge of operating the compulsory national health insurance system (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13).These HMOs experience control by the national and local governments. In fact, even doctors’ fees as well as other health services fees are standardized. The Japanese Health Care System may be categorized into two big divisions: the Social Insurance System (SIS) and the National Health Insurance (NHI) (Ward and Piccolo 2004). People are assigned to a health insurance such that those who are working in a company or office are assigned in the SIS, while everyone else who cannot be classified as working in a company or office (including self-employed professionals) should fall under the NHI (Ward and Piccolo 2004).63% of the population is insured under the SIS. Under the SIS, employers pay 50 to 80% of the premium while employees, depending on their income, pay around 8. 5% of their income for health insurance premium. In this system, the insured and their dependents pay 20-30% of in-patient and out-patient costs, at the same time act as co-payers in prescription drugs (Ward and Piccolo 2004). The NIH system, on the other hand, covers the remaining 37% of the population. Premiums paid by the insured depend on incomes and assets. The insured as well as their dependents are required to be co-payers of 30% of the cost.In spite of the requirement for co-payment, Japan offers a co-payment cap: â€Å"The cap is at ? 63,600 (US$600) per month, with the average monthly disposable income being ? 561,000 (US$5,300)† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). In addition, those who are elderly may benefit from long-term insurance which covers 90% of long-term maintenance costs. B. Problems with the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System boasts of having state-of-the-art equipment accessible to its citizens. In fact, Japan has the highest CT and MRI scanners per capita among all countries.Japan also has low infant mortality rate in spite of lower GDP spending (7. 6%) for health care, well within the OECD median (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Japan is also able to provide co-payment cap though like the United States, Japan’s health system is also highly paid for by private entities: â€Å"Japan spent ? 29. 8 trillion (US$280 billion) on healthcare, of which 53% was covered by insurance, 32. 3% by the government, and 14. 8% by patients' co-payments† (Ward and Pi ccolo 2004). Nevertheless, the Japanese Health Care System has its own share of problems.For one, unlike in most Western countries, specialization does not matter as much as in America. What matters is where a doctor is affiliated, thus making the distinction between a general practitioner and a specialist blurred. This makes having a â€Å"family doctor† difficult to have and standardization difficult to come by (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). Also, Japan has 2 to 3 times longer hospitalization time compared to other countries which means that Japan would need more beds to accommodate patients (National Coalition on Health Care, 3).Probably the biggest problem that the system is facing is the increasing number of elderly population which would obviously strain (National Coalition on Health Care, 3). There is also the problem of weak preventive care as well as low public awareness on â€Å"taboo† illnesses such as HIV and AIDS (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Comparison Between th e Two Health Care Systems In the introduction, we spoke of the WHO requirement for good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing. Let us evaluate the two systems based on these WHO goals.The American system, aside from the problems posed above, obviously lacks in its ability to provide â€Å"good health† for the entire population. For one, the American health care system does not cover the entire American population. There is just no mandate for such. The Japanese system is obviously different. Japan has a national mandate for universal coverage. This means that the Japanese system is made in such a way that all Japanese would have to fall into one of the two insurance systems.The fact that all Japanese are insured at the same time Japanese spending on health care against GNP is well within the OECD median is something that Americans would have to learn from. The very concept of a co-payment cap is a very good thing that makes health care more responsive to the call for â€Å"good health for the entire population. † As regards responsiveness, the fact that millions of Americans are uninsured automatically makes them not capable of even evaluating client/patient relations for issues such as dignity, respect, etcetera.Nevertheless, the Japanese system also has room for improvement as the existence of â€Å"taboo† sicknesses would obviously compromise the treatment of patients with dignity and respect. Lastly, as regards the requirement for fairness in financing, the Japanese system is way better than the American system. To a certain extent, the American system would make it difficult for certain parts of the population to be insured as they are not too poor to qualify for Medicaid but they are also not employed nor financially endowed enough to pay for private insurance. This is totally not a problem in the Japanese system.

Detrimental Effects of Teenage in the Philippines

Maderazo, Shelah Abigail S. A42 ORT: Detrimental Effects of Teenage in the Philippines Teenage pregnancy is one of the major problems in the whole world. Like in other countries, Philippines also suffer this kind of problem. According to survey, teenagers from 15-24 years old are suffering teenage pregnancy. Here in the Philippines, 16. 5 million teenagers suffer unwanted pregnancy. Because of this problem according to statistics, every year at least 64,000 teenagers have abortions because of the unwanted pregnancy that they are experiencing.Also according to Statistics, 20 to 25% of mothers are in their teenage years. There are so many factors why teenagers are suffering from early pregnancy. One of them is premarital sex. Premarital sex is an intercourse between young couples or primarily sex before marriage. Secondly, is the effect of mass media in the lives of the youth. Every day they are bombarded with premarital sex through television, movies, billboards with naked models, ind ecent magazines, etc. Thirdly, is wrong concept of â€Å"love†. For them love is the main base for relationship.This is the reason why many teenagers do this to show and prove their love to their mates. Girls are more affected with this practice because they move and act according to their emotion. Many times, girls do this out of pressure of their boyfriends to show and prove their love to them. Another factor according to studies is peer pressure. Friends are very important to teenagers. They value friendship so much. They want to fit in to their group of friends. Teenagers suffer on wrong concept of virginity. You are not in if you have no experience on sex.Virginity for them is thing of the past. Another factor is lack of sex education from parents, from the church and the school. This is the result of our thinking from the past that sex is dirty and immoral. Lastly is curiosity. Because they are curious, they get involved in it without their parents consent and sometimes lead to multiple sex experience. There are many detrimental effects of premarital sex in the lives of teenagers One of them is that teenagers will not finish their studies. Instead of attending schools, they are busy taking care of their babies.Secondly, young experience of pregnancy is dangerous for their health. Young pregnancy will lead to many illness and complications among women. Young women that aborted the baby, according to studies are very harmful to our body. Once you experience abortion, there are chances that you will have a hard time on your pregnancy. The hold of the baby in your womb will be weak this can turn to miscarriage. The worst consequence of premarital sex is you might get harmful and deadly diseases such as AIDS and HIV virus that eventually lead to early death.Thirdly, many lives and families suffer because teenagers who became pregnant at young age usually lack of experience on how to raise their own family. Later, what they did, will also do of their ch ildren. This is the main reason why there are so many broken and dysfunctional families of today. Lastly and the worst of all, teen pregnancy will lead to abortion. I say, it is the worst consequence, because abortion is killing lives. One popular case nowadays that we always see and hear in the news is about fetuses are left in churches, in the street, in the garbage and recently in airplane.Teenagers commit abortion, because, they are ashamed what other people will think of them. Many times, they are afraid to their parents. Seeing all the detrimental effects of teen pregnancy, teenagers should flee from this act. Teenagers should and must avoid premarital sex. Teenagers should think first of their future and the consequence they will face when they will indulge with it. Our government should tackle this sensitive issue with much planning and studying. They should think of ways to prevent teenage pregnancy and even abortion.I do believe sex education should be included in the scho ol curriculum to teach students about premarital sex, teenage pregnancy and its consequences. To conclude, teen pregnancy usually ruins the lives of many teenagers. Most of them become delinquent, involve to crimes, killing, become liabilities to society, and sometimes lead to early death. We know that mostly the end- result of teenage pregnancy is abortion. Abortion is immoral and illegal here in the Philippines. Since we a Christian country, committing premarital sex is committing mortal sin.

Primate Behavior: Chimpanzees Essay

Million years ago, it is believed that the chimpanzees, unable to construct technology that makes migration possible, have remained marooned for more than five million years in a small corner of Africa. The popular assumption of a closeness between human and chimpanzee intelligence is that the fact that the brain of the chimpanzee has remained at about 500 cc while that of the human has advanced to about 1300 cc. Chimpanzee as believed is our closest relative, yet the human brain is more than two and a half time larger than that of a chimpanzee, a human intelligence is a thing part. The wild chimpanzee teaches it’s young very little. But does the young chimpanzee suffer? No. For everything the parent does the young chimpanzee learns to do itself, without parental training. Even the most complex acts of the adult chimpanzee –nut cracking, termite fishing, water sponging – do not depend on parental assistance. A chimpanzee mother allows her infant to eat the nuts she has cracked; she tolerates her infant as it leans heavily on her while she is busy doing her task; but she never turns away from her own successful nut cracking to watch the efforts of her infant. Although the chimpanzee mother does not assist her infant by acting as a watchful pedagogue, the manner of motivation is taken place by the repeating observation of her infant. In other words, by watching its mother, the infant â€Å"get hooked† on the problem and thus, as a result solving problem made easy. While these acts do not occur in all chimpanzees, they are nevertheless species-specific acts which all chimpanzees have a potential. With respect to temperament and sex behavior, bonobo and chimpanzee have no serious comparison in their cognitive performances. Copulation in bonobo acts in various positions whereas chimpanzee copulation is dorso-ventral position. This difference sometimes taken to indicate a lack of imagination on the part of the male chimpanzee is due to an anatomical difference . The sex skin of the female chimpanzee makes ventral-ventral copulation impossible, whereas the sex skin of the bonobo can accommodate all sexual connections. Bonobos are easier to work with and far less aggressive than chimpanzees. Sexual activity in the bonobo is not confined to adult heterosexual pairs but is commonly engaged in between adult and child, female and female etc. Bonobos are far less aggressive than chimpanzees, and thus are easier to work with. In conclusion, primate behavior can be compared with human behavior, a close one. Evolution as some books say, chimpanzees are our early relatives. Footprints show that they left evidence of closeness, a study wherein we have common ancestors.

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty

Tim surfaced the next morning after some liaison or another, and I decided not to mention that our wards had been broken. He handled my array of paranormal activities fairly good-naturedly, but that was largely because they usually didn't follow me home. So, I called the witch who'd originally laid the wards and asked her to come back and discreetly redo them, scheduling a time when I knew Tim would be out. After that it was off to the first shamanic job I'd had in a while, fighting a nixie who'd taken up residence in some poor family's swimming pool. The ease with which I dispatched her was a bit alarming. Earlier in the year, Dorian and I had fought off a group of them that Jasmine had sent. Dorian had done the fighting, and at the time, they'd seemed overwhelming. Now, with my magic becoming more and more instinctual, fighting a water creature like this was ridiculously simple. Admittedly, I still banished her the old-fashioned way, not wanting to rely on magic more than I had to. I didn't agree with Roland about its use-though my fight with him still stung-but it was exhilarating recalling how easily I'd fought the water elemental. If I could only summon water creatures like Jasmine could, my life would be easier still. And speaking of Jasmine, I summoned Volusian away from her later that evening. I was going to the Thorn Land shortly and felt confident that she wouldn't get knocked up before then. Well, I hoped so, at least. Volusian appeared in the darkest corner of my bedroom, scaring off one of the cats that had been sleeping on my bed. â€Å"My mistress calls,† he said in his monotone. â€Å"I have a job for you.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"I need you to go to Yellow River and check out the house of a shaman there. Do not let him see you-or sense you, if you can help it.† My vibe from Art was that while he could fight Otherworldly creatures, he didn't possess the same sensitivity I did. â€Å"And what would my mistress like me to do once I am there?† â€Å"Look around. Tell me if there's anything suspicious going on-particularly in regard to any gentry girls. Make sense?† Volusian's look was scathing. â€Å"Certainly it makes sense. Do not confuse me with the other underlings who serve you.† Once he had the address, he disappeared in that way of his, and I sighed. It might be worth enslaving another minion destined for the Underworld. It was easy enough for me, particularly if I got one who wasn't too strong. I didn't have a huge amount of respect for Volusian, but he'd been right about one thing. He was so powerful that his skills were better suited to protection and battle. A lesser spirit would suffice for all these errands I seemed to be sending him on lately. That was a thought for another day. For now, it was back to the Thorn Land. I planned on spending the night there since I wanted to get an early start on our demon hunting. Kiyo had said he'd come at sunrise, and I didn't want to miss a moment of being with him. When I arrived at my castle, I was a bit surprised to see a party going on. Well, not a true party, but Shaya, Rurik, and a few of the other head servants were hanging out in one of the parlors, drinking wine and laughing. Girard was still around and had joined them. Even Ysabel was there, looking happy for a change. None of them seemed to have expected me that night and most leapt up like naughty children. Shaya started to stammer something like an apology, but I silenced her with a gesture. â€Å"No, no. Keep having fun.† I somehow always thought of them as utilitarian fixtures around here, but of course, they were only human-well, figuratively speaking-and entitled to their downtime. After a few uneasy moments, they settled back down, and Rurik offered me a glass of wine. I shook my head. â€Å"You know,† he said, â€Å"that your minion disappeared.† â€Å"Yeah, I know. I sent him on a task.† â€Å"I doubled the guards on her when I heard.† â€Å"Good. Let's hope she's managed to keep her clothes on in this short of time.† â€Å"You should have killed her,† Ysabel noted darkly. I ignored that and turned away, leaving them to their party. â€Å"I'm going to check on her myself.† The bedroom Shaya had assigned Jasmine was one floor up and very cleverly chosen-not that I'd expect any less from Shaya. It was spacious and furnished but not so large that the guards within couldn't see her most of the time-the bathroom excluded. The room's one window was only a tiny slit, too small for anyone to get out of. Four guards stood on duty outside and four within. To my relief, Jasmine simply lay on her bed, reading one of the books I'd sent. Girard's new cuffs had a longer, thinner chain that gave her much more range of motion but was packed with iron. Those blue-gray eyes looked up at my approach, but the rest of her didn't move. â€Å"Oh. You.† I sat down on a narrow wicker bench and sent the guards outside with a curt nod. â€Å"I came to check on you.† â€Å"Right. Because you care so much.† â€Å"I do. Well, kind of.† â€Å"The only things you care about are having the heir yourself and forcing me to get rid of your monsters.† â€Å"Demons,† I corrected. â€Å"And believe me, the last thing I want is to have the heir.† â€Å"I heard the guards talking. They said you've been hanging out with Dorian a lot. Why else would you do that? No one else would rather have our father's grandson. Well, except Aeson.† A grimace fell over her face at the mention of her old lover. â€Å"Dorian's just my friend, something you'll understand when you're older.† Oh, Eugenie, you are such a hypocrite. â€Å"And you're better off without Aeson.† Her eyes returned to her book. â€Å"I loved Aeson. You have no idea what love is.† â€Å"Oh, I do. I know that it's the best high and the worst hurt all at the same time-not to mention confusing as hell.† Jasmine looked back at me, still sullen but with a new sort of consideration. â€Å"What do you want? Are you just here to babysit me until that fucking imp comes back? God, I hate him.† I started to tell her to watch her language and then decided there was no point. â€Å"I came to tell you we're going to take out those demons tomorrow.† â€Å"At gunpoint.† â€Å"I don't have a choice. They're terrorizing people. How can you not understand how serious that is?† She shrugged with her typical apathy and pushed some of that long blond hair out of her face. â€Å"Your problem. Not mine.† Self-centered brat. She frowned for a moment, though. â€Å"Are they still taking girls?† She sounded almost concerned. Almost. â€Å"I don't know,† I admitted. â€Å"I don't know if this group's connected or not. I actually think there are humans involved.† The book slipped to her lap, forgotten. â€Å"Why would they do that? That doesn't make any sense.† â€Å"I'll tell you when you're older,† I said dryly, which was silly considering all that she'd been through. â€Å"And you're certain†¦you're certain the group chasing you wasn't human?† â€Å"Yes, for like the hundredth time. They were shining ones.† â€Å"You said they were soldiers†¦.† A startling thought came to me. â€Å"Leather armor? Red shirts?† â€Å"That's how soldiers dress, isn't it? Well, maybe not the red shirt. Depends on who they work for, I guess. I don't remember the color.† â€Å"Does it happen a lot?† I asked, recalling past thoughts about the similarities between the two of us. â€Å"Are guys coming after you a lot to†¦you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Get me pregnant? Yeah, sometimes.† There was a sad look in her eyes, a very vulnerable one. â€Å"But†¦you don't always give in†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Jesus Christ, Eugenie. I won't sleep with anyone. What kind of a slut do you think I am?† A considerable one, actually. But I didn't say so, and I wondered if she'd ever been raped. â€Å"Sorry. You just seem so anxious to have that baby.† â€Å"Yeah, well, not with just anyone. And certainly not through rape.† She held her head up, a fierce look in her eyes. â€Å"No one does that to Storm King's daughter. It's an insult to our father's awesomeness.† Try as she might to deny her heritage, only the human part of her could have pulled up â€Å"awesomeness† to refer to a tyrannical fairy warlord. â€Å"You know I don't quite share the same regard for him that you do.† â€Å"I know,† she said. â€Å"Which is why you have such bad taste in men. You wouldn't catch me sleeping with a kitsune. I need someone worthy†¦like Aeson.† I started to argue again that Aeson had been a despotic asshole but knew logic and love rarely worked together-particularly if my own life was any indication. I was saved from further commentary when a coldness settled into the room and Volusian appeared. â€Å"Fuck,† said Jasmine. Man, did she have a mouth on her. I stood up, crossing my arms and trying to look imposing. It was a common attitude I kept around Volusian so there would be no question of my control. â€Å"Did you go to Art's house?† â€Å"Yes, mistress.† â€Å"And? Did you find anything?† â€Å"No, mistress. I could not enter.† â€Å"What do you mean? Did he invite you out back for beer too?† Volusian didn't blink. â€Å"The house was warded.† â€Å"The house was warded,† I repeatedly flatly. â€Å"And you couldn't cross it?† â€Å"They'd have to be some serious wards if he couldn't,† said Jasmine. â€Å"Thanks, Little Miss Stating the Obvious.† I racked my brain, thinking of the local witch network. I didn't know them well enough, not like I knew the shamans. â€Å"Where the hell would he find someone that strong?† â€Å"The wards were not the usual type found in the human world. They were laced with magic from this world as well,† continued Volusian. â€Å"What? How would Art get gentry help to lay wards-especially if he's abducting them?† â€Å"Maybe he put a gun to their head,† said Jasmine, in a fair imitation of my own dry tone. Another family trait, perhaps. â€Å"I've got to get into that house,† I muttered. â€Å"I guess that's gotta wait like everything else, though. Well, thanks for trying, Volusian.† â€Å"I neither require nor desire your gratitude, mistress. I want nothing in these worlds save your death.† Jasmine laughed. â€Å"Well, I'm sure you guys'll have a great time together.† I opened the door and beckoned the guards back in. With Volusian back, only two needed to be inside. â€Å"I'll see you both in the morning for demon hunting.† After that, I considered joining the others for their impromptu party but decided that would be the same as a boss crashing her employees' happy hour. Instead, I made my way to my own room but was intercepted by Girard. â€Å"Your majesty.† He swept me a bow in that flourish-filled way of his, making his cloak flare out dramatically. â€Å"I've made considerable progress on the project you requested.† â€Å"Already?† I knew he had magic for this kind of thing, but still. He smiled. â€Å"The queen asks, and I obey.† From within the folds of his cloak, he produced a rolled-up piece of parchment, which he opened up for me. On it was a detailed diagram of a sword, and scrawled all around it were assorted technical notes about weight and composition. Those meant little to me. Mostly I noticed the sword's beauty, particularly its hilt. â€Å"This is lovely,† I said. â€Å"I should hope so. Fit for a king.† In spite of myself, I smiled back. Dorian had left me in a miasma of emotions, but I'd been trying hard not to let that interfere with the honest favors he'd done me. And when he'd mentioned needing a new sword, I'd gotten the idea yesterday to have Girard make one. By all accounts, there were few more skilled, and his ability to touch iron made him particularly gifted. Girard traced the line of the sword's blade and tapped the end. â€Å"I can work iron into the tip here, and it shouldn't harm the Oak King so long as he's holding the hilt. It also shouldn't affect his ability to control the rest of the blade.† As a master of the earth and its contents, Dorian could infuse copper and sometimes bronze blades with magical heat. â€Å"But the tip will be deadly to his enemies,† I said. The idea to work iron into it had been mine. â€Å"Considerably. I can begin production right away, but I'll need to get an understanding of his current sword's balance before I can finalize this one.† â€Å"He'll be here tomorrow. You can talk to him then.† Dorian too had offered to help oust my demons. â€Å"Excellent. And Mistress Shaya tells me you have the materials here that I could use, if I have your permission to do so. Otherwise, I can return to my workshop in the Rowan Land.† I shook my head. â€Å"No, no. Use whatever you need here.† His lips twitched in a wry smile. â€Å"That's probably just as well. Were I to return home†¦well, I suspect my lord prince would spend days asking me about you.† I sighed. â€Å"Is he still upset about that?† â€Å"He was, forgive me, quite heartbroken over your rejection of the gift and of him.† â€Å"I didn't want that. I liked him-still do. I just wanted us to be friends.† â€Å"In my experience, your majesty, men and women often have difficulty with that. It's not impossible-but not always easy.† I thought about Dorian. â€Å"That's for damned sure. Well, thank you for this, and let me know if there's anything I can do to help with it. But seriously-don't go work on it now. Go back to that party. Drink up. Flirt with Shaya. She could use a good guy.† Girard erupted into laughter. It was a rich, honey-filled sound. â€Å"I treasure my neck too much to risk the captain of your guards wringing it.† It took me a moment to catch on. â€Å"Who, Rurik? He doesn't like Shaya†¦not that way, at least. She's too, I don't know, refined. He only goes after trashy kitchen girls.† Girard merely shrugged. â€Å"I'm serious!† I wasn't sure why this astounded me so much. â€Å"They might seem close, but it's because they work together. They're just friends.† Girard flashed another grin. â€Å"Didn't you just hear what I said about men and women being friends?† He dared a wink and bowed again. â€Å"Until tomorrow, your majesty.† I watched him go, that flamboyant red cape swirling around him. I was still in disbelief. Shaya and Rurik? No, it was ridiculous. I was certain she had no interest in him, and if he did want her, it was only for the same cheap reasons he wanted any woman. She was too smart for that. â€Å"You give my lord gifts yet still claim no interest.† I turned and saw Ysabel standing near a corner in the hall. She'd apparently overheard my conversation with Girard. Did this woman have nothing to do except lurk in halls and wait for me? â€Å"He's done a lot of favors for me lately. It's the only way I can really repay him.† â€Å"No doubt there are other ways you could repay him,† she said snidely. I started to give the â€Å"friends† line but had already had enough of that with Girard. â€Å"Please, I don't want to go through this same old song and dance. And you know, we both fulfilled our side of the deal with Dorian. I let you teach me. You're free. He's coming here tomorrow to help with the demon problem. Go home with him afterward.† Those big blue eyes widened in surprise. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Why what?† â€Å"Why would you let me go?† â€Å"Because you don't want to be here. You gave me the foundation of what I need to know, and I've been building on it pretty quickly.† With a shiver, I recalled how I'd nearly suffocated that gentry in my yard. That had been intentional. I had no accident excuses as I'd had with her. It was probably something I shouldn't mention to her quite yet. As it was, she looked troubled enough. â€Å"Yes†¦you have learned quickly. The magic burns so strongly in you, I don't think it needs much of an excuse to burst out. You really are like Storm King.† â€Å"Did you know him?† I asked curiously. I was always conflicted on hearing about him. Part of me wanted nothing to do with him, yet the other part longed to know more. â€Å"I wouldn't say ‘know,'† she mused. â€Å"My father was one of his bodyguards, so I saw Storm King a few times. He was†¦terrifying. Terrifying and awe-inspiring.† She tried to hide her fear but shuddered anyway. â€Å"From what I hear, that's the reaction most people have.† Kiyo too had seen Storm King in his youth, and I'd once had a flashback of my own brief meeting with my father. â€Å"The power you try to summon†¦he was able to bring it about in a heartbeat. He had only to think about a storm and the world would tremble with its force.† â€Å"Well, I guess everyone can rest easy. I'm a long ways from that.† â€Å"Do you know why?† she asked. â€Å"Practice?† She shook her head and pursed her lips. â€Å"Because for all your titles and regard and impressive use of magic so far†¦you are still human in your heart.† Human, by her tone, was a very ugly thing to be. â€Å"Not according to my stepfather.† It didn't seem like I'd ever fit anyone's expectations. â€Å"You think like one. You want to divide everything up logically. The way you approach magic, it's very†¦scientific.† Not a word gentry used very often. â€Å"You treat it coldly. You parcel up each fragment of air and categorize it. Magic requires control, yes, but at its heart, it is tied to your emotions. You said you'd summoned lightning accidentally. What was going on?† â€Å"I was scared.† It had also happened, I realized, when I was aroused. â€Å"And, um, excited.† â€Å"You were lost in your emotions, and the power seized you. But you'll never be able to do that regularly, never by choice. You repress your emotions. You don't give in to them.† Her smile turned triumphant. â€Å"And that is why my lord will never love you like he does me.† Of course. I should have known there was a barb waiting at the end of this lesson. I wondered what she'd think if she knew her lord had been pretty willing to love me up yesterday. â€Å"Well, thanks for the pep talk, but I'm going to my room now. I meant what I said. Go with Dorian tomorrow and love him as much as you want. I'll carry on without you somehow.† No point in hiding the sarcasm I felt. Ysabel gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. â€Å"You're presuming you'll come back.† I jerked around and gave her a sharp look. â€Å"Are you threatening me?† â€Å"Certainly not. I have nothing to do with your adventure tomorrow. But you're going to face demons. Anything can happen. And if you don't return, I won't weep.† Great. Nothing like a good omen to go into battle with.