Globalization and Germany Essay

Globalization and Germany In this day and age, globalization shines above all. It leads the world into its next level of evolution, forcing its countries’ social and economic developments into full swing with each passing moment. What is globalization? It is the unifying element brought on by the economies and cultures of the world Joining together. There are countries that gain benefits, but others that lose theirs. For Germany, globalization is not beneficial. So what is globalization? It unifies everyone. But it always existed in some way. Whether t was the Egyptians trading camels with the British, or Asians trading with Muslims, globalization is a deep part of our planet’s history. The effects of globalization are seen everywhere. In America, one institution that does this is McDonald’s. McDonald’s exists in other countries like Ecuador and Japan. In terms of the global markets, globalization has helped them gain as much influence as politicians. It truly unifies the world, as money is something everyone needs, and â€Å"any nation with heavy debt, including the US, is vulnerable† (Ganguly 1). Globalization has brought about many kinds of benefits, some which are felt everyday. Thanks to globalization, there is â€Å"a steady cash flow’ (Ganguly 1) going to developing countries. That in turn will allow them to boost their own economies. Also, it means that countries are now a part of the global market, and can begin building their own credibility in the world. With globalization, production of materials has spread to other countries, and that means more options for companies when it comes to cost cuts and labor. As a result, the countries that pend less with sending production overseas get their cheap labor, and the countries themselves are allowed to Jump on the bandwagon in the company’s success. Politics are a part of the developments, as countries are now made to interact with each other and can come up with solutions to each others’ problems. The biggest benefit would be the culture exchange. With globalization comes information exchange, and now people from across the world can share their language, art, religion, and ideas. Globalization has also brought upon the world many disadvantages. One of them is economical. Europeans are now losing Jobs due to outsourcing (sending labor to be done overseas for cheaper costs, a popular action for companies). These same companies are always under threat of being outsourced and other countries now include the US. In return, countries like China, the Sleeping Giant, are gaining a distinct advantage in the global market thanks to the deals that overseas companies make for their labor. With the aforementioned markets gaining more influence than politicians, there is a fear that corporations will take over the world and that government in turn will lose their standing, making decisions ased on economy than people. Another disadvantage stems from an advantage mentioned earlier as well. With cultures now being easily accessible through mediums like the Internet and TV, it’s hard to maintain individuality. People can now not only mix in much faster, but in doing so will lose their own sense of nationalism. For Germany, globalization is definitely a bad element introduced into its existence. One key industry that it dominates is automobile manufacturing. Volkswagen, a symbol of said industry, is sinking along with Ford and two other main automobile industries, three f which are stationed in the US. The Jobs offered at the Volkswagen company were passed onto outsiders from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Most Jobs are suffering the same fate, outsourcing stripping its own people of opportunities to make money and in turn saving themselves from bankruptcy. Since the 1990’s, at least two million people have lost their Jobs, at a rate of 600 per day. This was in 2005. Since then, larger corporations have been moving suit to As a matter of fact, 60 percent of businesses reported wishing to move out while 32 percent actually did. Based on economy, Germany cannot fix itself without some major shift. Its labor laws are limiting, the tax system is poor, and the wages are â€Å"inflexible†. At worst, the decline of Germany will continue itself will instead be sent overseas to China. Socially, Germany has always been an attraction, so its allure to tourists will most likely help the economy. Globalization hasn’t helped Germany much in the global market. According to Frank Jurgen Richter, â€Å"Germanys ranking in the Globalization Index compiled by the Foreign Policy Magazine worsened dramatically during the last few years.

Business Portfolio Presentation and Paper Essay

The business organization of the consulting company is that the leadership group will work hands-on with the consultants to ensure internal customer knowledge and external customer satisfaction. The consultant staff will work with the sales staff for a week to understand the tasks that they have. The sales staff will work with the consultants at the business to better understand the customer’s expectation. The Human Resources Department will work all facets of the business to have an understanding, this will allow them to speak to performance issues if they should arise. The potential legal issues that this business might face are if there are inaccuracies with billing. The consultants will also face challenges with following both policies of the consulting company, and adhering to the policies of our client’s business. Failure to do so on our behalf will result in a breach of contract by our company. The ethical issues that the business will have is to act as if the co nsultant was an employee of the company. The consultant should refrain from the fraternization of employees of our client. Our client needs to know where they can optimize profit and fraternizing with their employees would hinder the consultant’s ability to give a fair assessment if they were looking to cut jobs to save costs. The business culture of the consulting firm will be customer-centric. Every employee with put the customer at the core of everything that we do. The leaders of the company will put the internal customers at their core and employees will put the clients at theirs. The company will build on the foundation of putting people first. The Human Resources Department will be in charge of following-up to ensure that we are executing at the highest level in this area. The company will use anonymous employee surveys and customer surveys to ensure the highest satisfaction to internal and external customers. The motivation that the company will utilize will be a comprehensive benefits  package to include 401K with a 5% match, health insurance, and performance based bonus program. The co mpany will also have a variety of cross-training to all employees to ensure that the employees are well trained to perform their tasks efficiently. The technology that the company will use will be computers, laptops, cell phones, and tablets. The computers will be used to process all the customers’ invoices and will store the customers’ contacts also. The company will store any excess information on an external hard drive. The laptops will be given to the sales, consulting, and to Human Resources Departments. The cell phones will be given to all employees to stay in contact with company personnel and the customers. The tablets will be given to the consultants to document notes while at the client’s location. The Human Resources Department will handle the five components of human resources management in the following manner: 1) Recruitment and Selection – The applicant selection process is based off their experience and education, with an emphasis on experience. Human Resources will also look into job history and background. Once HR screens the potential employee, they will schedule a second interview with operations leadership with the applicant. 2) Training and Development – HR will setup the training schedule for the new employees and will schedule the new employee with a top performer in the department. For the existing employees, HR will also schedule and track all the employees to ensure that they get cross-training in the other departments to understand the business better. 3) Performance Appraisal and Feedback – HR will be in charge of tracking performance appraisals and feedback. However, the leaders of each department will be responsible for executing this and forwarding the information to the HR Department. HR will put this information into the employees’ personnel files. 4) Pay and benefits – The pay structure and benefits will be looked at and setup with collaboration of the owner and the HR Department. HR will keep leadership aware of current pay in this field in order to retain employees. HR will ensure that employees receive the benefits package that the company offers when they become eligible for them. 5) Labor relations – HR will schedule employee commitment and satisfaction surveys and compile the results for the leadership of the company. Pulse surveys will also be used by HR to follow-up on results from the commitment and satisfaction survey opportunities that the employees highlight. The costs of operations  on the business would include the following: lease, payroll, insurance, taxes, legal fees, utilities, cell phone, and office supplies. The business would need all of these items to run the operations effectively. The company is relying on their quality service for their clients business to cover all these costs, and to ensure that the business is profitable.

Analyzing a Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analyzing a Poem - Essay Example Thus, the basic journey of the poem can be considered to be that of coming of age of the adolescent as they move from dependent childhood to independent adulthood. It can also be considered a poem of discovery as the person discovers their own voice. In either case, the speaker of the poem takes on an exterior role, speaking to the actor rather than taking part in the action itself yet still having a knowledge of the events that have occurred. Within the poem, it is suggested that the person must have tried to leave before but couldn’t. This is heard in the voices crying out and the trembling of the house, putting in mind the way that older people tend to live vicariously through their children. The poet also indicates that â€Å"it was already late / enough, and a wild night, / and the road full of fallen / branches and stones† (19-22). The traveler has taken the advice that was shouted out before, gaining them nothing but the ability to recognize bad advice when they hear it. The road is not sunny and promising because of the time wasted, they have missed some of their opportunities. However, this time they were able to break through the boundaries that kept them home before, prompting the speaker to recount what the traveler has overcome and providing a comforting, reassuring voice that the traveler has done the right thing for themselves. The poem is not divided along a simple rhyme scheme pattern or even along structured metrical rhythm. Instead, its first two divisions are indicated by the words â€Å"you knew what you had to do,† appearing in the first lines as well as line 13. In the first of these sections, the poet illustrates the clinging nature of the people of the house. They cling to the traveler through guilt and through pity. The second section talks about the desperate emotional struggle of the traveler in trying to take his leave. While the third section ends with the repetition of the key phrase

Colonial Labor worksheet Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Colonial Labor worksheet - Assignment Example The Spaniards and the Portuguese paid more for slaves and thus, encouraged the rulers and the traders in Africa to acquire more people. At first criminal and those considered sick were sold, but due to the profitability of the trade, people turned to each other to acquire people for sale. The used violence means to hunt and capture people. It let to war between people. (a) Tobacco planting required a huge labor force. At first, the Virginians experimented with a number of labor sources. They started with the Indians but they resisted them. They then resorted to the poor English adults as paupers and vagabonds were many in England. (b) Due to the high availability of contracted labor, slavery of the black people took time before people fully accepted it in Virginia. However, in mid-1660s, the supply of contracted servants failed sharply leading to the acceptance of the use of black people. (c) The short supply of indentured labor led to labor shortage, which consequently led to the introduction and mass use of black slaves. The wealthy whites acquired many blacks through slavery leading to the growth of the population of the black people in America. †¢ The experiences of the contracted English adults differ. In his letter, Richard Frethorne, claims that he was going difficulties yet secondary sources do not mention of difficulties passed by those who signed contracts with the wealthy

Moving Beyond Customer Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Moving Beyond Customer Service - Essay Example 2. The communication techniques used by the staff of the hotel, including those at the front desk and at Ballroom A, were very courteous. Unfortunately, the general manager of the hotel was arrogant and disrespectful to the hotel guests. A potential conflict may be avoided if the general manager did not express his emotions with regards to how frustrated he has become with regards to persons with disabilities. Escalation of conflict from potential to actual may be prevented by considering how the client must feel that he could not attend the wedding because his wheelchair could not pass through the function room. A pleasing tone in communicating to the guests may also prevent the escalation of the conflict. 3. One conflict involved the non-availability of a room for one hotel guest, despite her presentation of a confirmation number for a reservation that was made two weeks earlier. A solution to this problem would involve the immediate provision of a room for this particular guest and possibly an additional feature, such as a free dinner from the hotel’s dining room, free of charge. The other conflict involved the inability of a disabled guest to get into the function room of a wedding. A possible solution to this conflict would involve the movement of tables in the function room and be assisting the guest in getting into the wedding reception. 4. The staff members of the hotel did not take full responsibility for resolving the conflicts because they called on the general manager for solutions to these problems. Conflicts could have been prevented if the front desk clerk provided a room for to the first hotel guest. In the case of the wedding incident, the situation could have been improved if the hotel assistant took the responsibility of assisting the guest in getting through to the wedding reception without the help of the general manager.

Very old man with enormous wings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Very old man with enormous wings - Essay Example Everyday life details of the story are elements of realism. The events of the story are set in some coastal village sometime. Unusual guest or visitor with the wings in Pelayo’s yard attracts many people who are willing to come and see the real angel. However, no one is quite sure that the old man is really an angel. The neighboring woman â€Å"who knew everything about life and death† claimed that the man was angel. Besides, his strange language and wings on his back were one more prove which lead to conclusion that he is an angel. The man does not wish or is not able to communicate or cooperate with people. Thus, the onlookers lose their interest to the old man with the wings soon. The angle does not meet expectation neither of town’s citizens nor the reader. The very first meeting with the old man and sight of his wings does not have a positive effect neither on Pelayo nor on his wife, Elisenda. Character of the old man of the story can be interpreted as a sym bol of a crippled and ugly old age as some people perceive it. The couple is not really happy with what they find in the mud of their yard: His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked, were forever entangled in the mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soon overcame their surprise and in the end found him familiar (Marquez). They are surprised to see his wings. However, their interest and confusion does not last for too long. They take the man as if some injured animal and put him in hen’s coop. Furthermore, citizens of the town seem to be frustrated by angel’s lack of activity or almost motionless posture in the coop. the people who came to look at real flesh and blood angel feel frustrated and even aggressively because the angel does not meet their expectation. Their behavior towards the old man is cruel, unfair and impolite. The reader is also baffled by angels’ inactivity. Slowly people leave Pelayo’s yard, be cause they lose the interest in a strange old men. Rather, their attention is switched to another interesting creature which is Spider Woman. By that time, Pelayo and his wife Elisenda manage to get some money from the onlookers and get rich. However, after public interest is gone, the couple is not interested in the fallen angel either. Even though Marquez’s second title of this short story is A Tale for Children, issues that are raised by the author is this short story are not childish. The fist theme of the story is writer’s measurement of two opposite human feelings such as cruelty and compassion. Marquez sinfully present the degree of human cruelty towards those who are week and dependent. The negative attitude to the old man is exacerbated by his unusual look and strange language which is known to no one. Heartlessness of people from this story is striking: â€Å"the most merciful threw stones at him trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing†; or â€Å"they burned his side with an iron for branding steers, for he had been motionless for so many hours that they thought he was dead† (Marquez). Elisenda and Pelayo’s first plan was to set the old man on a raft with provisions and let him sail freely. Such an act is not the most merciful one, because leaving the old almost dieing man alone is rather pitiless. However, when the couple understands that they can profit from showcasing the fallen angel to the audience they chance their plan. When their child gets well, Elisenda and Pelay

What role does culture play in the creation of, and attempts to Essay

What role does culture play in the creation of, and attempts to uphold, international principles relating to rights and intervention - Essay Example The word â€Å"popular† was used during the fifteenth century for jurisprudence and government making (Siapera & Hands, 2004). The word â€Å"popular† and â€Å"culture† refers to necessarily disputed ideas. There are several contending explanations of pop culture. Six explanations have been defined by John Storey, in "Cultural Theory and Popular Culture". Pop culture has been altering invariably and appears solely in a specific position and time. It figures out steady flow and swirls, and constitutes and assess the composite views that are reciprocal to each other and that determine the society (Siapera & Hands, 2004). Due to the enormous usage of TV and mass media, gender relations have become a wide area of importance to be studied. Studies on gender depiction have revealed that individuality of male and female authority has been changed due to advertisements, magazines, films, music, TV and news. Most of the studies show that the mass media has mainly affected women. In case of men media including ads, film and literature has affect on them (Hollows, 2000). MacDonald debated on Rosenberg and Whites book Mass Culture by saying that pop culture is mixed with impurities that nullify the strong realness such as gender realities, destruction, loss and disaster. He also debated on elementary self-generated joys. A large number of people have been demoralized by such kind of things. As a result they need small and pleasant ethnic wares. Van den Haag debated that all sort of communication media disaffect people through personal knowledge. While ideas being coming out of the beginning, increase the significance of keeping them apart them from one another. He further said that media decreases the public’s capability to explore the living (Pitts & Pitts-Taylors, 2003). A large number of companies emphasize women in their ads for popularity. These

Analyse the potential of group work to promote mutual aid and Essay

Analyse the potential of group work to promote mutual aid and empowerment - Essay Example Empowerment is a complex process that does not just happen at an individual level but also occurs in a group, organisational or other setting (Woodall, Raine, South & Warwick-Booth, 2010,   p 9). This is based on the fact that members have experiences, opinions and information that can be of benefit to other members in the group, assisting the others helps the helper, some types of intervention such as confrontation are better received when they come from a peer rather than a professional provider. Mutual aid is a factor of social support that helps cushion or provide a buffer for individuals from potentially harmful or unfavourable physiological conditions. Though social support may include professional help from a trained individual, mutual aid is more of a bi-directional support from people who are peers and who are able to relate to each other’s condition and experiences. Mutual aid groups usually have three objectives – as a solution for the problems that the members of the groups are experiencing, as a springboard for action in resolving these issues and as an alternative way of dealing with these social and personal situations (Hammond & Taylor, 1998, p1 5). Mutual aid is empowering to the group members as they not only get involved in the sharing and participating in all the activities, they all learn a lot from each other and thus are all better equipped to deal with their situations. The sometimes spiritual nature of the group makes the members more comfortable with themselves and each other and that is quite empowering and liberating (Mutual aid and self-help programmes, 2012). Unlike in a situation where there is a professional leader of the group the mutual aid group all gets to lead and learn and are thus empowered. The fact that the group are all at the same level and all dealing with similar situations it empowers the group members to be able to discuss in a free and conducive

Islam Is the Way of Life Essay Example for Free

Islam Is the Way of Life Essay Thank yuo Mrs. Chairman. Well, good morning everyone. I would like to utter my very first salam to the honourable judges, respected teachers and fellow friends. My name is Noor Husna Bt. Ahmad Toha and Im from the red team. The reason why am I standing here today is to give a speech entitled Islam is the Way of Life. First and foremost, I believed that each one of us had already heard the phrase Islam is the Way of Life quite often but what does it really means? So today, lets make ourselves clear with it. Teachers and students, Islam guides from the cradle to the grave. It guides us in all aspects of life rather than just prayer and worship. The way of life of Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H is the way of life of Islam. His 24 hours of life is the perfect model for the people to follow until the Dooms Day. His way of speech, dresiing, his dealing with the wives, children and people in general, his sitiing, walking, sleeping, eating and even his way in the lavatory are model to us. His dealing as the ruler of the Islamic nation, as the judge, as the commander in chief of army, as the head of the family are examples to follow. Prophet Muhammad had once said, I have left two things with you which if you hold onto, you shall not misguided; The Book of God and my example. Humans are made to obey The Creator. Following the Sunnah are one of the many ways to show our devotion to Allah, and the most important is surely to be gracious and respectful to Allahs Messenger as stated in the Holy Quran in the first sentence of Surat Al-Hujurat which means, O you who believe, do not put yourselves forward before Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah: for Allahis He Who hears and knows all things. We can see a lot of scams in the business nowadays which is very contrary to what has been taught to us by the Prophet. It is a compulsary to us to be fair and honest in trading. Deceiving is completely forbidden. Cheating in business does not benefits anything but it is more likely to gives bad effect to our own life.

What do visual hallucinations tell us about the nature of consciousness Essay Example for Free

What do visual hallucinations tell us about the nature of consciousness Essay The term ‘hallucination’ is difficult to define. There is a fine line between a ‘hallucination’ and an ‘illusion’. A hallucination differs from an illusion in that illusions are a product of misinterpretations of external stimuli whereas hallucinations need no such requirement making them an entirely internal process. A true hallucination can also be distinguished from a pseudo-hallucination in which the individual can recognise that what they’re seeing or hearing is not real. Hallucinations are also different from voluntary mental imagery, in that the thought has not uncontrollably forced itself onto our minds. Slade and Bentall (1988, cited in Blackmore, 2010) provided a working definition of a hallucination: â€Å"Any percept-like experience which (a) occurs in the absence of an appropriate stimulus, (b) has the full force or impact of the corresponding actual (real) perception, and (c) is not amenable to direct and voluntary control by the experiencer.† Hallucinations are frequently associated with schizophrenia. In result, those who hallucinate hesitate to come forward due to fear of being labeled crazy. The Society for Psychical Research’s ‘Census of Hallucinations’ is one of the first attempts to study hallucinations in the general population. 1684 people from 17,000 said they had previously suffered from a hallucination. It was found that visual hallucinations were more common than auditory hallucinations, and hallucinations where generally more common in females, with the most common type being a vision of a person (Blackmore, 2010). One general model of hallucinations is the ‘neurophysiological dissociation’ theory proposed by Marrazzi (1962, as cited in Slade 1976). He found that LSD produced inhibition of the association areas without affecting the primary visual cortex. He proposed that hallucinogenic drugs have their effect by producing a functional dissociation between the receiving cortex and the association areas. This loss of control of the latter over the former is responsible for the hallucinatory experience. A similar theory to Marrazzi is the ‘perceptual release’ theory, which was first proposed by Hughlings Jackson who believed that hallucinations were a result of loss of control of one area of the brain over the rest. More generally, he argues  that memories and internally generated images are naturally inhibited by information from the senses, and so such information is released when the sensory input is disrupted. Such a process tends to happen to people who indulge in sensory deprivation tanks, or to blind or deaf people. West (1962, as cited in Slade 1976) further developed the perceptual release theory to account for a whole range of percept like experiences, including hallucinations. The central beliefs of West’s theory is first, percept-like experiences are based on neural traces, templates, or engrams which are the permanent record of memories in the brain, secondly these templates/engrams are woven into the basic material of fantasies, dreams and hallucinations, and lastly, this reorganised experience is prevented from emerging into consciousness by the presence of external sensory input. The release of the reorganised experience can occur when there is sufficient arousal to permit awareness, combined with impairment of a sensory input. The perceptual release theory differs from Marrazzi’s theory in two main ways. Firstly, perceptual release theory, in placing arousal level as a central concept, assumes that subcortical structures play an important role, whereas Marrazzi’s t heory limits the area of dysfunction to structures within the cortex itself. Secondly, the perceptual release theory emphasises the disequilibrium between external sensory input and internal input from within, whereas Marrazzi does not (Slade, 1976). The perceptual release theory places strong emphasis on external sensory input, which has been supported through research demonstrating that interruption of the senses induces hallucinatory experiences. The best way to induce hallucinations, or where they occur the most, is through sensory deprivation. Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a common condition among people who have lost their sight in which they suffer visual hallucinations. Many studies have looked at the syndrome in order to provide a better understanding of visual hallucinations. One study exhibited a 64-year-old blind woman suffering from complex visual hallucinations (McNamara, Heros, Boller, 1982). It was found that neurosurgical removal of a large suprasellar meningioma helped remove her hallucinatory experiences. Such a case study provides evidence that hallucinations are related to both a  sensory deprivation and an impairment in CNS functioning. Another study claimed that, through looking at patients suffering f rom CBS, the hallucinations were due to an interruption in the visual association areas of the cerebral cortex. The researchers suggested that hallucinatory experiences could terminate on improving visual function or addressing social isolation (Menon, Rahman, Menon, Dutton, 2003). Deprivation of hearing can also induce hallucinations. Sometimes the deaf hear hallucinated sounds – they may even hear whole orchestras playing. Various case studies have demonstrated such a claim. Miller and Crosby (1979) found an 89-year-old woman experiencing the onset of musical hallucinations with longstanding progressive hearing loss. These hallucinations were well-formed perceptions of religious hymns and were nearly constant. Another study of a 52-year-old man proposed that the cause of musical hallucinations where due to progressive hearing loss and a result of sensory deprivation (Raghuram, Keshacan, Channabsavanna, 1980). Berrios (1990), through looking at a sample of 46 subjects experiencing musical hallucination, concluded that musical hallucinations were more common in females, and age and deafness seemed to play an important role in their development. Studies looking at CBS or hearing loss are consistent with the claim that hallucinations can occur as a result of an interruption in sensory input. However, studies have also addressed possible consistencies between hallucinations. There is no limit to the variety of hallucinations, although some common features have been identified suggesting a consistency that reflects underlying sensory processes. Such common features include spirals, concentric patterns, wavy lines, and bright colours. These similarities were investigated through studying the effects of mescaline, a hallucinogenic drug (Kluver 1926, as cited in Blackmore, 2010). It was found that brightly coloured images occurred, with a tendency to take on four forms. The first was gratings and lattices, the second was tunnels, funnels and cones, the third was spirals, and the fourth was cobwebs. These forms seem to be evident in hallucinations caused by drugs, fever, and more. The reason for such consistency lies within the map ping between patterns of the retina and  the columnar organisation of the primary visual cortex. Concentric circles from the retina are mapped into parallel lines in the visual cortex, with spirals, tunnels, lattices and cobwebs mapping onto lines in different directions. Inhibition is the cause of lines of activation in the visual cortex, and hallucinogenic drugs, lack of oxygen, certain diseases all affect inhibitory cells causing an excess of activity that can spread. In result, such consistent hallucinations occur similar to that of the four forms (Blackmore, 2010). However, there are also complex visual hallucinations in which the individual suffering from CBS/schizophrenia could see more concrete images such as monsters. In conclusion, research into hallucinations has provided a better understanding of the nature of conscious perception. Hallucinations have provided an interesting test case for theories on the mechanisms of conscious perception. In result the conscious experience without a stimulus provides a very useful case for consciousness research. Studying hallucinations is therefore extremely beneficial, as it has helped provide a window into imagery, imagination, and mental representation. References Berrios, G.E. (1990) Musical hallucinations, A historical and clinical study. BJP, 156, 188-194 Blackmore, S. (2010). Consciousness. An Introduction (2nd edition). Hodder Arnold. Hammeke, T.A. McQuillen, M.P. Cohen, B.A. (1983) Musical Hallucinations associated with acquired deafness. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 46, 570-572 McNamara, M.E. Heros, R.C. Boller, F. (1982) Visual hallucinations in blindness: The Charles bonnet syndrome. International Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 13-15 Menon, G.J. Rahman, I. Menon, S.J. Dutton, G.N. (2003) Complex Visual Hallucinations in the Visually Impaired: The Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Survey of Ophthalmology, 48, 58-72 Miller, T.C. Crosby, T.W. (1979) Musical hallucinations in a deaf elderly patient. Annals of Neurology, 5, 301-302 Raghuram, R. Keshavan, M.D. Channabasavanna, S.M. (1980). Musical Hallucinations in a deaf middle-aged patient. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 41, 357. Santhouse, A.M. Howard, R.J. Ffytche, D.H. (2000). Visual hallucinatory syndromes and the visual brain. Brain, 123, 2055-2064 Slade, P. (1976) Hallucinations. Psychological Medicine, 6, 7-13

Internet Memes and Political Participation

Internet Memes and Political Participation Internet memes: As a new form of political participation 1. Introduction The term â€Å"meme† has been emerged in various spheres in a few studies, and it has been discussed with some applied research and cultural research (Hofstadter, 1985; Dawkins, 1976; Blackmore, 1999; Chesterman, 1997). As the basic unit of culture, meme plays an extremely important role in the reproduction of culture. Given this orientation, some researchers started to address and explore the relationship between meme and politics, argue that meme has a positive effect on the development of political. (Shifman, 2013, Milner, 2013). In the 21st century, the rise of digital media has changed the information dissemination ecological, as well as the way of thinking of people. With the advance of social media and digital technology, meme theory also need to adapt the new environment and focus on the present convergence for new field. Accordingly, the new branch of meme study has come out, which is internet meme. In this Internet age, a memes ability to reproduce and spread is grad ually expanding, thus highlighted increasingly as the dominant force in transmission media, and playing an increasingly important role in the public domain in terms of the news public opinion and political communication. What’s more, websites like Know Your Meme, 4chan, Reddit and Tumblr are meme manufactures which have helped people produce thousands of memes. The internet meme has raised the pace of social political awareness and community building in cyberspace. Shifman (2013) defines that internet meme has three functions in terms of political participation: as forms of persuasion or political advocacy, as grassroots action and as modes of expression and public discussion. This paper builds on existing knowledge in the fields of internet meme, based on Shifman’s work and combines with other’s studies to demonstrate that internet meme is a new form of political participation. At the same time, this paper will illustrate it from three aspects: as a persuasion way in election, as a resistance of people (collection action) and as a public discourse of political issues. Body What is a meme? The definition of meme in The Oxford English Dictionary is: an element of culture that may be considered to be passed on by non-genetic means, especially imitation. The term â€Å"meme† was created by Dawkins in his book â€Å"The selfish Gene† in 1976, when he tried to explain the culture evolution. He defined it as â€Å"small units of culture that spread from person to person by copying or imitation† (Dawkins, 1989). In addition, he analogized meme with biological gene, considered that meme also evolved through coping(imitating), variating and selecting, like gene transmits its genetic information to the next generation. A clear difference between these two is that genes are the genetic factors of biology, while meme is the derivative of culture. Besides, gene propagates through heredity, a physical process to replicate but meme through imitating, which is a mental process. In his work, he indicated that meme has three characters: 1) Heredity, the process of meme’s diffusion is heredity. For example, when one religion or belief is propagating to others, the religion as a meme is acquired by people and copied to their mind and continuing passed along to believers. 2) Variation, the contents of meme by imitated are not the same, they could be changed. For instance, when people telling a story to others they will add or delete some details, which results in variation. 3) Selection, the ability of diffusion is varying from different memes, some are easy to spread while some are not, they are competing when being propagating, which is like the natural selection in biologic theory (Dawkins, 1989). Despite some researchers criticized that Dawkins has limited the culture in the sphere of biologic and simplified human behavior later, it cannot be ignored that his efforts on the research of meme, which accentuates the realization of cultural gene. Next, Douglas Hofstadter put forwarded a new interdisciplinary subject â€Å"Memetics† in 1985. This subject is based on the perspective of Darwinian evolution to study the content of the mind, aiming to explore the social evolution model of cultural information transmission (Hofstadter, 1985). Since then, the meme concept has been discussed and accepted by various of subject: phycology, physiology, anthropology,  linguistics and so on. For instance, Daniel Dennett, an American philosophy who agreed with the concept of meme, and applied it into his book â€Å"Consciousness Explained† and â€Å"Darwins Dangerous Idea† to interpret the mechanism of spiritual evolution (Vasiliki, 2014). Furthermore, Finland linguists and translation theorists Andrew Chesterman, combined meme with the British philosopher Karl Popper’s idea about the schema of knowledge evolution, established the translation theory framework of the system by a descriptive study on the translation standard and strategies (Chesterman, 1997). In 1999, Susan Blackmore (1999) considered meme as an independent replication factor in her book â€Å"The Meme Machine†, suggested that whatever the form of memetic information is, it could be regarded as meme when it can be copied by imitate.   Based on the previous studies, this paper adopts Shifman’s (2013) idea and apply it to the analyze. She describes the meme constituted with two principles: 1) looking at diffused units as incorporating several memetic dimensions namely, several aspects that people may imitate; 2) understanding memes not as single entities that propagate well, but as groups of content units with common characteristics. 2.2 What is an internet meme? Meme has been widely accepted and applied to several subjects which has mentioned before, but it only gets attentions of mass media researchers until 21 centuries (Davison, 2012). According to Shifman (2013), she defines an Internet meme as: 1) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance; 2) that were created with awareness of each other; and 3) were circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the Internet by many users. Generally, in the digital media era, the advancement of Internet and social networks enable people to acquire more information and accelerate the information exchange. With the advent of web2.0 and platformlization, meme is actively involved in the process of information dissemination, in terms of longevity, fecundity, and copy fidelity have been enhanced through internet, which regard as the three basic properties that help meme to spread successfully. For longevity, it is attributed to numerous archives, which can store data indefinitely not rely on memory. For copy fidelity, it mainly because the digitization allows lossless information transfer compared to traditional media. For fecundity, due to the infrastructure, it can achieve the swift diffusion of any given message to numerous nodes. These facilitates the creation and exchange of user-generate-consent, which emerges participation (Shifman, 2013). Apart from this, easier access to the Internet enables people to receive mounts of information every day, in comparison to the limited information acquiring approaches in the past. Also, the speed of transmission is no longer limited by the movement of individuals. Hence, it is necessary to pay more attention on internet meme, exploring its role on constructing shared values in contemporary digital cultures. As Shifman (2013) claimed, the internet meme has three properties in the web2.0: 1) A gradual propagation from individuals to society. In other words, memes could shape the mindsets, forms of behavior, and actions of social groups. People can easier sharing and communicating in digital era, which facilitates the process of spreading memes from person to society; 2) Reproduction via copying and imitation. In the digital world, people can spread content by forwarding, linking, or copying, they can use some software like Photoshop and application like Snapseed to imitate and remixing instead of reproducing as well; and 3) Diffusion through competition and selection. The internet magnifies the competition and selection of meme. On the one hand, it allows researchers collect data and track the process of meme evolution. On the other hand, it offers users an opportunity to understanding and knowing the preference of choice relating to meme diffusion (Davison, 2012). It is always mentions viral when talks about internet memes, their differences and similarities are the major parts of meme research. This paper does not go in further with details about this, but indicates the mainly difference between viral and internet meme is that viral is consisted of single units while internet meme is a collection of text. In order to better analyzing, this paper focus on the images form of internet memes, takes some images as example to illustrates the idea. Based on the studies of Knobel, Lankshear (2007) and Kuipers (2005), internet memes can be divided into two categories: recycled images and macros images. Recycled images have a template which build by numerous imitations and stable images which include original content and are passed along with transformation or not, as presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Macros images usually constitute with a single image overlaid with a white text written in capitals and express the humorous note, as presented in Figure1.3 and Figure1.4. Figure.1 and Figure.2 Figure.3 and Figure. 4 2.3 Internet memes as a new form of political participation In recent years, internet meme has been constantly evolving into the political participation. This appeared to be attributed to the digital media. First it offers the opportunities for people to become the subject of expression, and then reducing the cost of political participation, especially for the young generation who are less likely to engaged in political activities (Anduiza, 2012). Second, public and political events are more likely to be exaggerated than in the past with rapid spread in the internet. Last, the so-called image politics according to Wilson (2000), image symbols have more vitality and tension than words. Since the visual impact has more strong effects on emotion and could save the time for reading too much words, it is extremely easy to be used to participate in discussing political issues, especially in sensitive areas. For this reason, the exaggerated effects and interesting composition of meme makes its transmission have powerful appeal, which makes the combination of both of them play the role of two-way gain. Therefore, internet meme has built the bridge between citizens and political, as a new way to deconstruct by the form of image with humor to gains serious political, build a unique participate system (Hristova, 2014). This paper classified this political participation into three sub-items in terms of facilitates political participation according to Shifman’s work: 1) As a persuasion way in election; 2) As a resistance of people (collection action); and 3) As a public discourse. Following will combining cases to analyze these three functions (Shifman, 2013). 2.2.1 As a persuasive way in election Social media allows users to publish their opinions or ideas so that their friends, family, and strangers can read these posts and comments back. And it is has been demonstrated that people are more likely to believe in their friends and family, which makes the online ideas become more convincible (Shifman, 2013). As a consequence, internet meme through social media could influence people for their psychological cognition, behavior patterns and guide their recognition (Tay, 2015). As politics move to the Internet where more and more voters get their news and information with the trend of digital technology. The politicians and their companies start to consider taking advantage of internet meme to create great political profile with their personalities and campaign slogans. In this way, enabled mobilizing voters outside of official political discourses. A few studies consider politicians who appear â€Å"cool† in the eyes of ordinary citizens to be rare successes (Tay, 2015) The 2008 American Presidential election is known for being the first modern Internet campaign, Shifman (2013) chooses the â€Å"Obama Girl† video as an example of memes as political persuasion, explains that the video become widely popular due to it just focus on a praise of Obama not talks about specific political issues. Here, this paper uses The Hope Meme in 2008 American election as an example to analyze. This meme is the depiction of Barack Obama by artist Shepard Fairey (Figure 5), it has thousands of replications and then a vast number of users participated in creating their own replications (Figure 6 and Figure 7). This meme portrayed Obama as the ideal candidate and introducing a vision for the country, which triggered peoples approval (Foster, 2014). Subsequently, Obama’s supporters enjoying creating new versions of the Hope Meme itself to show their stance (Seiffert, 2017). With the propagation of the hope meme, a climbing mount of people acknowledge the appearance of Obama even they do not participate in, they can see the images in social media through their friends or families. Moreover, Obama’s campaign posted a LOLcat a few days before the 2012 election (Figure 8) to call on people to vote. This meme combing with the internet culture, the lol culture and cute cat, make people perceived as Obama is proximity to the ordinary people. The fact is, Obama is a popular figure referred to in Internet memes, involved discussions and supportive commentaries (Tay, 2015). Figure.5 and Figure. 6 Figure.7 and Figure. 8 To give another example is the 2012 American election, between Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. On April 4, a meme containing President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted on a Tumblr blog. It imagines an exchange between them, and Obama asking â€Å"whatchu doing?†, she responds, â€Å"Running the world† (Figure 9). In this image, Obama is lying down while reading, and seems relaxed, Clinton has a solemn expression, and is busy with work. The post got a lot of attention and received thousands of notes. Clinton becomes a synonym of respectability, and a representation of female empowerment. Since then, her supporters involving into this internet meme and imitate their own picture by change the text or content. (Figure 10 and Figure 11). The meme became a major part of Hillary Clintons positive cultural revival as a political figure, which was already seen as particularly powerful in the 2016 presidential campaign. This has made her a viable candidate (Tay, 2015). Figures 9, 10 and 111 These examples have illustrated the use of internet memes as a persuasion way referred to political participation. As an active social software, internet memes have a place in the political expression of new media with the linking, forwarding and imitating, which increased the exposure of political figures. In the presidential election, candidates in the media show the image of appearance, and in the narration part is partly deciding the success or failure of his election (Foster, 2014). Politics in the media society is becoming more and more a performance, an act of creating an image. 2.3.2 As a resistance of people (collection action) Indeed, most of political memes are generally resistant to nature, and as weve seen, resistance itself is a critical mass mobilization. Shifman (2013) defines one function of memes is as grass-roots action with the example Occupy Wall Street online movement. The â€Å"Pepper Spray Cop† which shows a police officer spraying protesters with pepper spray. The â€Å"We are the 99%†, becomes one of the main visual markers of the on-the-ground Occupy Movement after it spread quickly online. They serve as a call to action for the protest to continue. Shifman indicates that the power of organization is declining, instead being replaced by massive, mobile social networks, which is collective action (Milnerï ¼Å'2013). The background of the developing collective action cannot be separated from the remarkable rise of internet memes. First, the threshold is low and there is no need for technological skill to express and participate. Besides, image meme helps these protests go deepe r with the visual effects. The most important thing is that internet meme allows the citizens to participate in collective action and at the same time can retain their individuality, since one of the character of meme is alter (Anduiza, 2012). There are several studies has worked on the Occupy Wall Street, this paper will apply the collective action in Facebook between China mainland and Taiwan in 2016 as a case study. This is the first internet meme and political participation refer to collective action have been combined in public view in China. In January, Ziyu Zhou, a member of the south Korean womens group, was accused by the artist An Huang about Taiwans independence on Weibo, leading to a wave of public opinion against Ziyu Zhou. As the incident continued to heat up, then Ziyu Zhou issued a video on Facebook to apologize for the previous uproar. Celebrity Gengxin Lin forwarded the apology to video, and said apologized too suddenly and didnt have time to memorize the manuscript, which caused Taiwanese netizens and Chinese netizens started a debate in Lins Facebook. A few days after, it is said that 20 million Chinese young people have started a collective action to Facebook of Taiwan’s three media homepage. Noncitizens take internet meme as main expression, showed a high degree of organization, to resist the independence of Taiwan (Tang, 2016).   As showed in Figure 12, Figure 13 and Figure 14, these memes are from the China mainland, people try to use the beautiful scenes from China mainland and some ironic words to resist the supportive of independence of Taiwan. The contents of these meme are from traditional Chinese slogans, events with Chinese characteristics and political propaganda themes. On the one hand, it evokes the value recognition of people. On the other hand, they combined with familiar things of public, which will have a greater influence on transmission. The most important thing is, there are millions of people participate in this action, and post millions of images on Facebook, the homepage was full of images which is powerful and spectacular. Figure.12 â€Å"invite Taiwan people to enjoy the beautiful China mainland scene.† Figure.13 â€Å"Follow me: Taiwan has been Chinas territory since ancient times. You dont know its okay. Figure. 14   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dont talk with a picture† These internet memes from the mass production by organizing, and hide the emotional expression in the images, aim to use it to gain the attention occupation and presents people’s political stance of resist. According to sharing and remixing, transfer it into collective action, reflects the ability to participate in narrative construction and civic organization. Therefore, memes can be used as a tool of political participation in terms of turn the public opinion fragmentation into collective action (Tang, 2016). 2.3.3 As a public discourse of political issues Social media is considered to be more effective in terms of information diffusion comparison to traditional media, it expands the source of information and knowledge for people. People not only are the receiver of the political information in network environment, they also are a political message of reproducing and disseminator, which means everyone is likely to be the news publishers, and likely to be receiving information. The advantages of digital media including openness, virtualization, interactivity and timeliness build a great environment for the public discourse, and helping people freely communicate and express their opinions. Therefore, net citizens are keen on discuss politic issues through digital media. The richness, floating and uncertainty of meme allow everyone revolve around the image to construct the legal qualification and compete for their statements, thus it is easy to be used to participate in discuss sensitive political issues (Hristova, 2014). They are now been a part of our internet culture, participating in a larger media and material ecosystem that helps shape the political identity and political union. Meme could be a catalyst for political discussion (Shifman, 2013). Compared to the past people have to talk or write articles to show their political stance while now they just can use an image. Like the Pepe the Frog, it becomes a Nazi Trump supporter and Alt-Right symbol (Figure 15). It attracts not only people’s attention, but also political discussions by its powerful visual impact. Some notable examples are: The 2015 General election of United Kingdom, the image of eating of candidate Miliband, which is different from his appearance on newspapers, evokes a vast number of imitation of people with parody and ridicule (Figure 16). After that, many politicians actively to follow the trend, post out their own eating images to get attention and discussion. This meme is similar to the Sihao Bai in 2014, the mayor of New York city. He used a knife and fork in an undisciplined manner in an image (Figure 17), which made people questioned his ability to govern because he has a more powerful appearance in newspaper than this image. Back to the Occupy Wall Street case, the We are the 99% meme. It is widely popular in Facebook and has numerous replicators. At first, most of them are from the 99% people to support with fixed images, annotation or remix (Figure 18). Gradually, the 1% people participate in and post their own images with the text â€Å"tax me† or â€Å"redistribute† (Figure 19). At the same time, they got mounted of comments along with (Milner, 2013). This meme engages in multiple discussions and arguments on Facebook. Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 With the propagation characteristics of memes, public discourse is totally different than the past. The increasing of complex hotspot issues duration, degree of attention and transformation mechanism, a serial of crisis involved in, the more complex issues appear at the same time including and the increase of average time of the single issue are catalyzing the public discourse with political issues in digital era. In another way, internet memes as a political catharsis, it represents a strong demand of citizens for political participation. Significantly, when people engaged in this discussion rather than sharing or forwarding, it has more powerful since it empowers citizens to share their opinions of political stances (Shifman, 2013). 3. Conclusion In the era of media, the process of political participation can be well deserved to internet meme, which from the bottom to top, allows people to have the chance to get involved in political activities. The three basic characters of meme including heredity, variation and selection have been enhanced in digital media, and that is the major reason why the internet meme could leave a great influence on political participation. From one hand, internet meme as the persuasion way mainly reflected on the political elections, help politicians to build positive image thus get voter’s approval. From another hand, it allows ordinary people to resist through mastery of dominance on the spread of images, not only can modify the content of the meme, also can undertake production and innovation. Besides, it offers a new way for net citizens to seek affirmation and self-expression in political communities. The future study of internet meme could focus on the effects, like how to measure the effects of internet memes on elections or collective action. As a new way to participate in politics, internet meme has its own advantages and it is deserved to study in the future. References Anduiza, E., Jensen, M.J. and Jorba L., eds. (2012). Digital Media and Political Engagement Worldwide: A Comparative Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Blackmore, S. (1999).The Meme Machine, New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Chesterman, A. (1997).  Memes of translation. 1st ed. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins. Davison, P. (2012).  The Language of Internet Memes. Dawkins, R. (1976).  The selfish gene. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., pp.189-202. Foster, B. J. (2014). Its all in a meme: a content analysis of memes posted to 2012 presidential election facebook pages.  Dissertations & Theses Gradworks. Hofstadter, D. (1985).  Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers. Hristova, S. (2014). Visual memes as neutralizers of political dissent.  TripleC (Cognition, Communication, Co-Operation): Open Access Jo,12(1). Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2007). Online memes, affinities, and cultural production. In A new literacies sampler (pp. 199-227). New York: Peter Lang. Kuipers, G. (2005). Where was King Kong when we needed him? Public discourse, digital disaster jokes, and the functions of laughter after 9/11. The Journal of American Culture, 28(1), 70-84. Milner, R. M. (2013). Pop polyvocality: internet memes, public participation, and the occupy wall street movement.  International Journal of Communication,  7(1), 2357-2390. Seiffert-Brockmann, J., Diehl, T., & Dobusch, L. (2017). Memes as games: the evolution of a digital discourse online.  New Media & Society (2), 14614448177Tay.G (2015). Binders full of LOLitics: Political humour, internet memes, and play in the 2012 US Presidential Election (and beyond). European Journal of Humour Research 2 (4) 46-73. Shifman, L. (2013).  Memes in Digital Culture. The MIT Press. Tang,J.T (2016).The political participation and collective action of the online community in the case of Facebook. University of News (3),96-101 Vasiliki, P. (2014).  Satirical User-Generated Memes as an Elective Source of Political Criticism, Extending Debate and Enhancing Civic Engagement. University of Warwick. Wilson, K. (2000). Image politics: the new rhetoric of environmental activism.  Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,  55.

Biography of Joseph Patrick Kennedy Essay -- Motion Picture Industry F

Biography of Joseph Patrick Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy was a very successful banker and film executive, born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1888. Considered by many to be America’s version of the â€Å"royal family,† the Kennedy’s of Boston, Massachusetts have enjoyed triumphs and seen tragedy during the 20th century. As the family patriarch, Joseph Patrick Kennedy instilled values of commitment to public service, determination to succeed, and loyalty to family. His father, Patrick Joseph, was a prosperous saloonkeeper. Patrick also was active in Boston politics, as Irish ward boss, a five time state representative, and state senator. Kennedy’s parents were anxious for their son to succeed, however in the Boston social environment of the time, success was difficult to achieve for people of their Irish-Catholic background. It was Kennedy’s mother, Mary Augusta, who decided that her son should be called Joseph Patrick rather than Patrick Joseph, after his father. She feared that â€Å"Patrick Kennedy† sounded â€Å"too Irish.† Mary Augusta believed that in elitist Brahmin Boston, being Irish and Catholic would obstruct entry into â€Å"better† society. Mary arranged for her son to work for a millinery shop, delivering hats to affluent women. She instructed her son that, if asked his name, to reply simply â€Å"Joseph,† so as to avoid drawing attention to his ethnic background. Both parents were aware that entry to the higher levels of Boston society dictated that Kennedy mix with those outside his Irish community. They sent their son to Catholic schools for his early education, but when he was older he attended Boston Latin School and Harvard University, to be educated with Boston’s elite Protestant families. Although Kennedy made a few friends at Harvard, especially among the minority of Irish students there, and was popular with young Irish women, Kennedy never was accepted by a majority of the students---anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment was strong. One friend warned Kennedy to be very careful in his behavior because Boston Brahmins were watching for any sign that would justify their prejudices. Kennedy’s determination to ingratiate himself with the socially prominent Protestants was viewed by some as distasteful and pretentious. He was never invited to join any of Harvard’s â€Å"better† clubs. Friends indicated what they felt was one of Kennedy’s more commendab... ...n its heyday (1930-49) was managed by a number of omnipotent studios, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, RKO, Paramount, Twentieth Century-Fox, and Universal. They produced endless cycles of films in imitation of a few successful original types. The range of themes included the criminal underworld, behind-the-scenes newspaper dramas, westerns, musicals, costume romances, and character series such as the Charlie Chan films, prison stories, mysteries, comedies, and Broadway shows. Because of their enormous investments and gargantuan rewards (the film industry’s gross income for 1946, its best year, was nearly $2 billion); the studios were encouraged to repeat conventionalized formula pictures. Today, the motion picture industry is an always changing, ever thriving business. Media corporations seem to be replacing true media moguls, buying out all aspects of the entertainment industry and forming one large conglomerate operating everything from radio to television to print to motion pictures. This semester I learned that the coming years will demonstrate a transformation of the motion picture and entertainment industry, not seen since its inception over a century ago.

Skin Cancer :: essays research papers

Skin Cancer Cancer is a word used to describe a group of diseases. Each has its own name, its own treatment, and its own chances of being cured. Each is different from the others in many ways, but every cancer, whatever its called or whatever part of the body it is located in, is a disease of the body’s cells. The millions of tiny cells that make up the human body are so small that they can be seen only by looking through a microscope. There are different kinds of cells, but they all make new cells by dividing into two. This is how worn-out, old cells are replaced with strong new ones. When a cell changes and doesn’t do the job it should do for the body, it divides into more cells like itself, then these cells keep dividing into more cells. A group of these cells is a tumor. There are two kinds of tumors. A benign tumor is not cancer. The cells of a benign tumor can crowd out healthy cells, but they cannot spread to other parts of the body. A malignant tumor is cancer. Like a benign tumor, it can take over other healthy cells around it, but it can also spread to other parts of the body. To do this, a cell or group of cells from the tumor breaks away and moves, usually though the blood, to other parts of the body. There they divide and start tumors made of malignant cells like the ones that made up the first tumor. When this happens, it is called metastasis. Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, and it’s increasingly common. About a million Americans will develop skin cancer this year. It is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the outer layers of skin. Skin protects the body against heat, light, infection, and injury. It also stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin has two main layers and several kinds of cells. The top layer of skin is called the epidermis. It contains three kinds of cells: flat, scaly cells on the surface called squamous cells, round cells called basal cells, and cells called melanocytes, which give skin its color. The inner layer of skin is called the dermis. This layer is thicker, and contains blood vessels, nerves, and sweat glands. The hair on skin also grows from tiny pockets in the dermis, called follicles.

Huckleberry Finn Analysis Essay

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been regarded as one of the greatest novels in American regionalism. So many Americans have read it, and many have enjoyed it and many believe that it is worthy of the highest praise, and deserves to be included in the canon of Great American literature. As a piece of regionalist literature, the novel shines out amongst other novels. Twain vividly describes the Mississippi river and surrounding area of Missouri with detail unrivaled. His characters’ dialogue accurately depicts the dialogue of the area, and their attitudes, especially towards African Americans, are also historically accurate. However, as Huck and Jim move farther south down the river, Twain loses touch with his style of writing. The regionalist aspect suddenly crumbles, and his plot line gets outrageously unbelievable. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not deserving of inclusion in the canon of Great American literature. As Jane Smiley said in her essay Say It Ain’t So, Huck, â€Å"There is more to be learned about the American character from its canonization than through its canonization(Smiley 61). If Twain had kept the story line in his territory of familiarity the outcome may be different, but as his setting moves south, his writing moves right along with it. To clearly see how Twain’s writing deteriorates as the novel progresses one must compare quotes from when the novel is set in Missouri to when the novel is set farther south. Here is a quote from the beginning of the novel, describing the area around Jackson Island, â€Å"†¦but mostly it was big trees all about, and gloomy in there amongst them. There was freckled Boyer 2 freckled places on the ground where the light sifted down through the leaves, and the freckled places swapped about a little, showing there was a little breeze up there†(Twain, 51). The way he describes nature in this excerpt shows his true talent. The personification of the ground and the light, giving it the human-like characteristics of freckles gives the passage a personal touch. His diction and prose make the reader feel like they are watching the golden beams of light dance before their eyes. This is why Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are recognized across America. However, in Chapter 31, when Jim ends up on the Phelps’ plantation, and the Phelps end up being Tom Sawyer’s family, and the Phelps mistake Huck for Tom and Tom for Sid, Twain is really pushing the believability of his novel, and from this excerpt we can see that the beauty of his prose is gone, as though he’s lost touch with the regionalist touch that makes his writing great, â€Å"‘Phelps’s was one of these little one-horse cotton plantations, and they all look alike. A rail fence round a two-acre yard; a stile made out of logs sawed off and up-ended in steps, like barrels of different length†¦(Twain, 273)† and on and on about the buildings of the plantation. There is nothing here that even remotely sounds like it came from someone who knows the area. Twain even says, â€Å"†¦and they all look alike† in the passage. He really lost his essence and creativity. He wrote out of his sphere of knowledge, and his novel suffers for it. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a wonderful piece of literature. Twain captures the true essence of being a teenage boy on a big adventure on the lazy Mississippi river. However, the end of his novel switches settings from Missouri, to further south, on a plantation coincidentally owned by Tow Sawyer’s family, and the reader can clearly see that Twain was out of his element, and he lost the wonderful sense of regionalism that made his Boyer 3 his works, and his era, influential in American literature, mainly because he wasn’t writing about the region he knew, grew up in, and loved. This is why Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not deserving of inclusion into the great canon of American literature.

Analysis of Andre’s Mother by Terrence McNally Essay

The play, Andre’s Mother, by Terrence McNally is a story about accepting death and is based in a story about a young man who died before telling his mother that he was gay; leaving the man’s partner to break the news and to inform the mother about how much he missed seeing her and his fear of being rejected by her, in the time before his death. The theme of this story is to live life everyday with no regrets. Throughout the symbols and references you begin to understand the life of Andre. The white balloon represents letting go and leaving a young man in peace. The silence of his mother shows that she never accepted his sexual preference. While Hamlet references the struggles of his everyday life. The white balloon in the play Andre’s Mother is a symbol of Andre’s soul. Cal speaks about the white balloons saying, â€Å"They represent the soul. When you let go, it means you’re letting his soul ascend to Heaven, that you’re willing to let go. Breaking the last earthly ties†(McNally 737). Andre is saying that the white balloons are Andre’s soul and that when you release them, you’re willing to let go of all the wrong and let him rest in peace. Penny, Cal’s sister, and Arthur, Cal’s dad let go of the balloon without hesitation. After releasing their balloons Cal reluctantly admits, â€Å"I’m not ready yet†(McNally 737). This is because Cal still couldn’t let go and still had regrets. The balloon being white represents purity. Letting go of the white balloon meant that after all that was said, Andre was now clear and pure again. I believe that white balloon represented letting go of Andre and letting his soul rest in peace with no regrets and nothing left unsaid. Andre’s mother’s silence throughout the play proved to us she did not accept her son’s homosexuality. Cal tells Andre’s mother how much Andre missed her and longed for her acceptance. He gets finished with his rant and still no response from Andre’s mother. Cal gets mad and replies, â€Å"It’s bullshit. It’s all bullshit. [Still No response]† Her silence shows that she is not accepting of Andre’s sexual preference. At the end of the play Andre’s mom with her own conflicts releases the balloon. The play write quotes, â€Å"He goes, Andre’s mother stands alone holding her white balloon. Her lips tremble. She looks on the verge of breaking down. She looks at it awhile before she gently kisses it and lets go of the balloon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I believe at that point that Andre’s mother forgave her son and was willing to wipe the slate clean by releasing the white balloon and letting Andre’s soul rest in peace. Andre’s mother’s silence throughout the play shows that she never accepted her son’s sexuality. Even though she wasn’t accepting she let her son rest in peace and let his soul ascend to heaven. Andre’s love of theater and the play Hamlet gave us an insight to his life. At the beginning of the play Cal expresses Andre’s love of theatre. Cal expresses, â€Å"God, how much he wanted to play Hamlet again. He would have gone to Timbuktu to have another go at that part. The summer he did in Boston, he was so happy! †(McNally 736). This reference to Hamlet, I believe showcases the struggles Andre went through. Andre struggled with decision-making and avoiding things, as did Hamlet. Hamlet struggled whether to avenge his father and struggled with the decision that he had been avoiding. This is also apparent when Cal brings up Andre’s great performance saying, â€Å"You should have come up the summer he plated Hamlet. He was magnificent†(McNally 738). I believe the Hamlet reference was to showcase Andre and his internal struggles. McNally uses strong a strong sense of symbolism throughout the story. First by holding a white balloon, the characters were holing a representation of Andre’s life and the memories that they each had of him. By releasing the balloon, they were letting go of the sadness of his death and for some, the secret he’d been keeping from his family. This also represented the crossing over of Andre. In the story, Andre was afraid of being rejected by his mother, whose silence throughout the play proves that she was incapable of offering acceptance to his homosexuality. With Andre’s love of the theater and specifically Hamlet, he is relating himself to one of the most recognized internal struggles of the theater world.

Achieving Morality Essay

The external factors play a huge role in shaping one’s decisions. One may think that his genetic and background history has the most influence on his actions, but in reality, the intensity of a given situation has greater impact in the choices of the individual. The surroundings one lives in ultimately influences his perception, decision, and morality. In his essay, â€Å"The Power of Context,† Malcolm Gladwell states how it is the little things in life that makes the bigger difference and in many aspects this is true. In Daniel Gilbert’s essay, â€Å"Immune to Reality† he talks about how human perception about reality is not always accurate. In Oliver Sacks’s essay, â€Å"The Mind’s Eye† he shows how there are many different perceptions to view the world. So at the same time, is it possible to dictate what is right and wrong in one’s life if all the decisions are a result of his given situation and surroundings? Also the morali ty for each person varies depending on their circumstances and perception of their world. Ultimately, an absolute form of right and wrong does not exist because the context of the situation always changes, but still it is possible to achieve an applicable standard of morality in society. Each individual has his own way of looking at the world that is completely unique when compared to the way another person does. This is perception of reality and this form is always open to discussion because the person generates this viewpoint. Each individual makes his decisions based on his perception of the world. â€Å"The processes by which we generate positive views are many: we pay more attention to favorable information, we surround ourselves with those who provide it, and we accept it uncritically† (Gilbert 134). In many instance one creates his own perception to suit his way of thinking, so the individual could be in the center of his world. â€Å"He seemed to regard this loss of visual imagery as a prerequisite for the full development, the heightening, of his other senses† (Sacks 304). Most people see becoming blind as unfortunate event, but according to this person it helped him to improve his other senses. â€Å"The tabloids dubbed Goetz the subway vigil ante and the death wish shooter† (Gladwell 153). Rather than seeing Goetz as a lunatic the newspapers depicted him as a hero. So this shows the difference in perception between people and how it varies from individuals. Importantly since each person’s perception varies it is hard to claim whose perception is right or wrong because ultimately is there a â€Å"right† perception of the world that everybody should be following? Even when viewing a painting everybody has their own interpretation of the art. No one claims there is only one â€Å"right† perception; rather the different perceptions are simply different approaches towards looking at the world. â€Å"It was simply inconceivable that someone could pull a gun on someone else on the subway and be called a hero for it.† (Gladwell 154) shows how different viewpoints affect the verdicts of a situation. A hero to some people might be a villain to others and it is hard to claim who is the â€Å"right† hero. The difference in subjectivity among people will always create a discrepancy of opinions among people. Since a variety of perception exists, then is it possible to have a perfect set and stone â€Å"right and wrong† rules in life? The context of a given matter plays a huge role in deciding the morality of the event. Morality is very much depended on the background information of the event. It is very hard to dictate the morality of an issue without seeing the bigger picture. Most people might see stealing as a wrong act, but what if someone stole a piece of bread in order to make sure he does not die from starvation, is that still a wrong act? In a situation like that one might feel sympathetic to that poor fellow and probably will see stealing as reasonable in that given situation. â€Å"We do not realize that our views will change† (Gilbert 135), the idea of morality varies on the situation because the context of the event directly affects morality. â€Å"Blindness now becomes for him a dark paradoxical gift. This is not just compensation, but a whole new order, a new mode of human being† (Sacks 305), in many aspects blind people do not see their condition as a curse or burden rather a different approach towards living and for most sighted people it might be hard to understand and accept this approach. â€Å"That there are instances where you can take normal people from good schools and happy families and good neighborhoods and powerfully affect their behavior merely by changing the immediate details of their situation† (Gladwell 162) this shows how the little details of an event plays huge role in the outcomes of an event. Essentially, context of a situation is what dictates morality and it is going to be almost impossible to label morality as set and stone as something like the Ten Commandments because the context always changes. Even though the standards of morality vary according to the situation there are some aspects of morality that one subconsciously accepts. Some ethics are universally considered wrong and one’s mind without even one knowing already knows that some choices are not right. That is why the mind tends to usually question the choices one makes. â€Å"When we cook facts, we are similarly unaware of why we are doing it, and this turns out to be a good thing, because deliberate attempts to generate positive views† (Gilbert 134), subconsciously to some extend individuals are aware of the morality behind an action and this will help individuals to make their decisions wisely. â€Å"To what extent are we our experiences, our reactions shaped, predetermined, by our brains, and to what extend do we shape our own brains† (Sacks 303), There are some emotions and judgments that are simply preinstalled in one’s mind which aids an individual in making choices that are difficult. â€Å"After a while the bad guys wised up and began to leave their weapons home and pay their fares† (Gladwell 157) this shows how there is a consciousness inside individuals that helps in guiding with decision making. When making a choice that might inflict pain to us or others one’s mind will usually try to suggest against that decision. That is why the idea of taking an innocent person’s life is universally seen as a wrongful act in societies. Therefore, there is a sense of unconscious morality that lies within the hearts of most individuals. Achieving a complete form of morality is a very idealistic thought because practically it’s not possible. There are infinitely many ways of perceiving morality and it would be impossible to set a standard that would suit all the time. â€Å"Too often people with sight don’t see anything† (Sacks 310). There are parts that even one’s eye sometimes cannot capture meaning that sometimes it’s simply not possible to account for all the possibilities. â€Å"The benefit of all this unconscious cookery is that it works, but the cost is that it makes us strangers to ourselves† (Gilbert 135). People sometime engage in activities without being aware of the magnitude of the situation. †They are both based on the premise that an epidemic can be reversed, can be tipped, by tinkering with the smallest details of the immediate environment† (Gladwell 157) the intensity of the situation has a huge influence on the decision of the individual. Due to all this, perceiving morality completely would be very difficult. Also having a perfect morality would require infinite knowledge which humans do not possess. As an individual one is limited at what he observes at a given time and there are limitations for each individual in this world. However, through the perceptions of many individuals, people will be able to come up with a better understanding of morality. Even with the limitations each individual has a small understanding of morality in the back of his head. Essentially, when all these understanding that are possessed by individuals are combined then a suitable set of standards will be formed that can accompany most situations. The collective effort of people will help to generate a better set of morality that will help in creating a peaceful environment for people to live in. That is why it is important to have many different perceptions of morality because they all eventually lead to creating appropriate rules that will be suitable for the well-being of a society. Despite not being able to have an absolute morality with infallible accuracy and with infinite knowledge, an applicable method of sensing morality is still practical. Individuals lack the ability to have a perfect morality because for one to acquire it in completion one needs to possess infinite amount of knowledge. Despite this back drop each individual innately has the ability to know morality in small parts and therefore combining the small parts of every individual will help to achieve a suitable set of codes. The differences in perception between people only aids to benefit humans in portraying a better understanding of morality. That is why it is important that there are different types of perceptions because if there was only one view then a very limited and narrow minded principle would be prevalent in the world. The different pathways of thinking done by people finally leads to achieving a suitable mode of morality. An absolute form of morality will never be possible in this imperfect world, however, that does not mean accomplishing a reasonable standard is impossible.

The Golden Lily Chapter 13

THE DAY OF THE DANCE, I seriously considered going back to the costume store and buying the flammable white costume. Lia's dress was†¦ a bit more than I had expected. She had done a fair job copying the chiton style worn in ancient Greece, I'd give her that. The dress was sleeveless, pinned at my shoulders to drape into a neckline lower than I was comfortable with. The dress was floor length, and she'd somehow nailed my height perfectly without measuring me. That was where the historical resemblance ended. The material was some sort of silky, flowing fabric that draped around me and showed my figure better than you'd expect a dress like that to manage. Whatever the material was, it was nothing the Greeks could have produced, and it was†¦ red. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn red. Maybe when I was a child. Sure, the Amberwood uniform variations sometimes had burgundy in them, but it was a subdued shade. This was a brilliant, flaming scarlet. I never wore colors that intense. I didn't like the attention they attracted. Amplifying it was the amount of gold she'd worked into the dress. Gold thread danced along the edge of the red fabric, glittering in the light. The belt was golden too – and not the cheap plastic of the costume's. The pins holding the dress were gold (or at least some high quality metal that appeared gold), as were the accessories she'd provided: a necklace and earrings made of little coins. She'd even given me a gold comb with little red crystals on it. I tried it on in my dorm room and stared at the glittering, red display I made. â€Å"No,† I said aloud. Someone knocked at my door, and I grimaced. It would take forever to change out of the elaborate dress, so I had no choice but to answer in costume. Fortunately, it was Jill. Her mouth opened to speak and then just hung there in silence when she saw me. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"It's ridiculous.† She recovered herself a few seconds later. â€Å"No†¦ no! It's amazing. Oh my God.† I hurried her into the room before our classmates could see me. She was also dressed for the dance, in a fairy confection of pale blue gauzy material that looked perfect on her willowy Moroi frame. â€Å"It's red,† I told her. In case it wasn't obvious, I added: â€Å"I never wear red.† â€Å"I know,† she said, wide-eyed. â€Å"But you should. It looks amazing on you. You should burn all your gray and brown clothes.† I shook my head. â€Å"I can't wear this. If we leave now, there's still time to go by the costume store and get something else.† Jill shook off her awed state and took on an adamant, fierce look that seemed kind of extreme for the situation. â€Å"No. Absolutely not. You are wearing that. It's going to blow your boyfriend away. And you should put on a little more makeup – I know, I know. You don't like anything crazy, but just darken the eyeliner and put on some lipstick. Just a little. You've got to match the dress's intensity.† â€Å"You see? Already this color is causing problems.† She wouldn't back down. â€Å"It'll take like a minute. And that's all we've got. If we don't leave soon, we're going to be late. Your boyfriend's always early, right?† I didn't answer right away. She had me there. Brayden was always early, and as much as the costume pained me, I couldn't stand the thought of making him wait – especially since he wouldn't be able to get into the dance without an Amberwood student. â€Å"Fine,† I said, with a sigh. â€Å"Let's go.† Jill grinned triumphantly. â€Å"But first – the makeup.† I conceded to the makeup and then, at the last minute, added my cross necklace. It didn't go with the theme and was instantly swallowed by the more flamboyant gold jewelry, but it made me feel better. It was a piece of normality. When we finally left, we found Eddie waiting for us in the lobby. He was dressed in normal clothes, his only nod to Halloween being a plain white half-mask that reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera. I was half-tempted to ask if he had a second one so that I could do a quick wardrobe change and just go masked. He jumped up from his chair, his face going dreamy when he saw Jill in her blue, ethereal glory. Honestly, how could no one else see how crazy he was about her? It was so painfully obvious. He drank her in with his eyes, looking as though he might swoon then and there. Then, he flicked his gaze over to me and did a double-take. His expression wasn't lovestruck so much as dumbfounded. â€Å"I know, I know.† I could already see tonight's pattern forming. â€Å"It's red. I never wear red.† â€Å"You should,† he said, echoing Jill. He glanced between her and me then shook his head. â€Å"Too bad we're ‘related.' I'd ask you guys to dance. Seeing as my cousin already wants to go out with me, though, I suppose we shouldn't start any more rumors.† â€Å"Poor Angeline,† said Jill, as we walked out to my car. â€Å"She really wanted to go.† â€Å"Seeing as there'll be speakers there, it's probably best she doesn't,† I said. Eddie paused when we reached Latte. â€Å"Can I drive? I feel like I should be a chauffeur tonight. You guys look like royalty.† He grinned at Jill. â€Å"Well, you're always royalty.† He opened one of the back doors and actually swept her a bow. â€Å"After you, milady. I'm here to serve.† Practical, stoic Eddie was rarely given to such dramatic shows, and I could tell it caught Jill off guard. â€Å"Th-thank you,† she said, getting into the backseat. He helped her tuck her skirt inside, and she regarded him wonderingly, like she'd never noticed him before. After that, I could hardly deny his request and gave him the keys. The Halloween dance was being held at a very pretty hall adjacent to some botanical gardens. Eddie and I had checked it out this week so that he could determine its safety. Micah was meeting Jill there, though for different reasons than Brayden meeting me. Supervised buses were shuttling most students from the school to the dance. Upperclassmen like Eddie and me were allowed to take our own transportation, along with family like Jill. No one would technically know if Micah dropped her off later, but for now, she could only leave campus in the family carpool. â€Å"I hope I'm ready for this,† I muttered, as we pulled into the parking lot. The dress had distracted me so much that I hadn't had time to ruminate over my other concern: going to a dance. All my old social anxieties returned. What did I do? What was normal here? I hadn't had the nerve to ask any of my friends. â€Å"You'll be fine,† said Eddie. â€Å"Your boyfriend and Micah will both be speechless.† I unfastened my seatbelt. â€Å"That's the third time I've heard ‘your boyfriend.' What's going on with that? Why won't anyone say Brayden's name?† Neither of them answered right away. Finally, Jill said sheepishly, â€Å"Because none of us can remember it.† â€Å"Oh, come on! I'd expect that from Adrian but not you guys. It's not that weird of a name.† â€Å"No,† admitted Eddie. â€Å"But there's just something so†¦ I don't know. Unmemorable about him. I'm glad he makes you happy, but I just start to tune out whenever he talks.† â€Å"I can't believe this,† I said. Brayden was waiting out front for us, no doubt having been there for at least ten minutes. My stomach fluttered as he looked me over from head to toe. He didn't comment, though his eyes widened a bit. Was that good or bad? I flashed my student ID to get him in the door, and Jill almost immediately joined Micah. Eddie's brief romantic flare was gone as he shifted into business mode. A brief look of pain crossed his face, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. I touched his arm. â€Å"You going to be okay?† I asked softly. He smiled back. â€Å"I'll be fine. Just have fun.† He walked away, soon melting into the crowd of students. That left me alone with Brayden. Silence fell between us, which wasn't uncommon. It sometimes took us a few minutes to warm up and get the conversation going. â€Å"So,† he said, as we walked further inside. â€Å"You have a DJ. I wondered if it'd be that or a live band.† â€Å"Our school just had a bad experience with a live band,† I said, thinking of Angeline. Brayden didn't press for details and instead gazed around at the decor. Fake cobwebs and twinkling lights were strewn near the ceiling. Paper skeletons and witches hung on the walls. Over on a far table, students were scooping punch out of a giant plastic cauldron. â€Å"Amazing, isn't it?† said Brayden. â€Å"How a pagan Celtic holiday has become such a commercial event.† I nodded. â€Å"And a very secular one. Well, aside from attempts to merge it into All Saints Day.† He smiled at me. I smiled back. We were safely in familiar academic territory. â€Å"You want to check out the punch?† I asked. Some fast, bass-heavy song was on, drawing lots of people to the dance floor. Fast dancing wasn't really my style. I didn't know Brayden's take and was afraid he might want to join in. â€Å"Sure,† he said, looking relieved to have a purpose. Something told me he'd been to as many dances as I had: none. The punch provided us with a reason to discuss sugar vs. artificial sweeteners, but my heart wasn't into it. I was too concerned about something else. Brayden hadn't said one word about my dress, and it was filling me with anxiety. Was he as shocked by it as I had been? Was he politely holding back his true thoughts? I could hardly expect compliments if I wasn't giving them, so I decided to take the plunge. â€Å"Your costume's great,† I said. â€Å"That's from the theatrical company, right?† â€Å"Yes.† He glanced down and smoothed out the folds of his tunic. â€Å"Not entirely accurate, of course, but it'll do.† The tunic was knee-length, pinned on one shoulder, and made of very light, off-white wool. He had a woolen cape over it dyed in a dark brown that was accurate to the time period. Even with the cape, a fair amount of his arms and chest were exposed, showing a runner's body with a lightly muscled build. I'd always thought he was cute, but it wasn't until this moment I realized he might actually be hot. I expected that to trigger a stronger feeling in me, but it didn't. He was waiting for me to say something. â€Å"Mine's not entirely, um, accurate either.† Brayden studied the red dress in a very clinical way. â€Å"No,† he agreed. â€Å"Not at all. Well, the cut's not that far off, I suppose.† He thought for several moments more. â€Å"But I still think it's very pretty on you.† I relaxed a little. Coming from him, â€Å"very pretty† was high praise. While he often had a lot to say about every other topic, he was thrifty with words when it came to emotions. I shouldn't have expected anything more than a simple statement of facts, so this was a big deal. â€Å"Whoa, Melbourne. Where have you been hiding?† Trey strolled over to us and began liberally filling a cup with the fluorescent green punch. â€Å"You look badass. And hot.† He shot Brayden an apologetic look. â€Å"Don't take that the wrong way. Just telling it like it is.† â€Å"Understood,† said Brayden. I couldn't help a smile. Trey had been behaving weirdly around me for the last day or so, and it was nice to see him back to usual form. Trey gave me another admiring look and then turned back to Brayden. â€Å"Hey, check it out. We both went for togas. Romans rule!† He held up a hand to high-five Brayden but didn't receive it. â€Å"This is a Greek chiton,† Brayden explained patiently. He studied Trey's homemade toga, which looked suspiciously like it had been made from a bed sheet. â€Å"That's, um, not.† â€Å"Greek, Roman.† Trey shrugged. â€Å"What's the difference?† Brayden opened his mouth, and I knew he was about to explain exactly what the difference was. I quickly rushed in. â€Å"Yours looks good on you,† I told Trey. â€Å"Looks like all those hours of weight training paid off – and I finally get to see the tattoo.† Like Brayden's, Trey's tunic was draped over one shoulder, giving a glimpse of his lower back. Trey, like half the school, had a tattoo. But unlike the rest, his hadn't been part of the high-inducing, sinister vampire blood ones that had swept the student body. Trey's was a sun with highly stylized rays. It had been done in normal, dark blue tattoo ink. Eddie had told me about it, but I'd never gotten a look at it before, seeing as Trey didn't really go shirtless around me. Some of Trey's enthusiasm dimmed, and he turned slightly, keeping his back away from us. â€Å"Well, it's pretty softcore compared to yours. Nice to see it out again, by the way.† I absentmindedly touched my cheek. I usually covered the golden lily with makeup at school, but I figured here at the dance, I could claim it as part of the costume if any teachers grilled me about the dress code. Another fast song came on, and Trey brightened again. â€Å"Time to show off my moves. You guys coming? Or are you going to supervise the punch all night?† â€Å"I don't really do fast dancing,† said Brayden. I nearly sagged in relief. â€Å"Me either,† I said. Trey gave us a rueful smile before heading out. â€Å"Color me surprised.† Brayden and I spent a good deal of that evening by the punch, actually, continuing our discussion of Halloween's origins and the larger subjugation of pagan holidays. Friends of mine came by occasionally, and Kristin and Julia in particular couldn't stop gushing about my dress. Every so often, I'd also catch a glimpse of Eddie patrolling the crowds, silently and covertly. Maybe he should've been a ghost. He was almost always within sight of Jill and Micah but focusing on guardian mode seemed to have saved him from pining over her too much. Both Brayden and I stopped talking when a slow song finally came on. We tensed and then exchanged glances, knowing what was coming. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"We can only avoid this for so long.† I nearly burst out laughing, and he answered with a small smile. He too was fully aware of our social ineptitude. Somehow, that was comforting. â€Å"Now or never,† I agreed. We walked over to the dance floor, joining other couples locked in embraces. Calling what most of them were doing â€Å"dancing† was kind of a stretch. Most were just kind of stiffly rocking and rotating around. A few were simply using the opportunity to plaster themselves all over each other and make out. They were quickly pulled apart by chaperones. I took hold of one of Brayden's hands, and he rested his other on my hip. Aside from the kiss, this was probably the most intimate contact we'd had so far. There were still a few inches between us, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the change to my normal personal space boundaries. I reminded myself that I liked and trusted Brayden and that there was nothing weird about this. As usual, I didn't feel surrounded in hearts or rainbows, but I didn't feel threatened either. Attempting to shift my thoughts from our closeness, I listened to the song and immediately got a feel for its count. About a minute into the song, Brayden realized what I was doing. â€Å"You†¦ you can dance,† he said in amazement. I looked up at him in surprise. â€Å"Of course.† I was hardly sweeping across the floor in some grand ballroom waltz, but all of my movements were timed to the song's beats. I couldn't really imagine how else you would dance. Brayden, meanwhile, was only one step removed from the rigid movements of most of the other couples. â€Å"It's not hard,† I added. â€Å"It's just kind of mathematical.† Once I put it into those terms, Brayden got on board. He was a quick study and counted off the beats with me. Before long, we looked as though we'd been taking dance lessons forever. Even more surprising, I glanced up at him once, expecting to see him concentrating and counting. Instead, he was regarding me with a soft expression†¦ an affectionate one, even. Flushing, I looked away. Amazingly, the smell of coffee still clung to him, even though he hadn't worked today. Maybe no amount of showering could get rid of that scent. Yet, as much as I loved eau de coffee, I found myself thinking of the way Adrian's cologne had smelled at Wolfe's. When the next fast song came on, Brayden and I took a break, and he excused himself to go talk to the DJ. When he returned, he refused to explain his mysterious errand, but he seemed supremely pleased with himself. Another slow song soon followed, and we headed back to the dance floor. And for once, conversation between us stilled. It was enough to just dance for a while. This is what it's like to lead a simple life, I thought. This is what people my age do. No grand machinations or fights between good and – â€Å"Sydney?† Jill was standing beside us – a worried expression on her face. My inner alarms immediately went off, wondering what had caused such a sudden change from her happy, carefree attitude earlier. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. My first fear was for Adrian, that she'd sensed something through the bond. I shook the thought. I needed to be worrying about Moroi assassins, not his well-being. Jill said nothing but simply nodded toward the punch table, almost exactly where Brayden and I had been earlier. Trey was back, talking animatedly to a girl in a Venetian mask. The mask was beautiful – an icy blue, decorated with silver leaves and flowers. The mask was also familiar. Jill had worn it in Lia's runway show and had been allowed to keep it. Equally familiar was this masked girl's outfit, a threadbare shirt and ragged jean shorts – â€Å"No,† I said, recognizing the long, strawberry blonde hair. â€Å"Angeline. How did she get here? Never mind.† There were any number of people she could have sneaked here with. The chaperones probably wouldn't have noticed her on a shuttle bus. â€Å"We have to get her out of here. If she's caught, she'll be expelled for sure.† â€Å"The mask does hide her features,† Jill pointed out. â€Å"Maybe no one will notice.† â€Å"Mrs. Weathers will,† I said, sighing. â€Å"That woman's got a sixth sense for – oh. Too late.† Mrs. Weathers was chaperoning on the other side of the room, but her eagle eyes missed nothing. Peering over the crowded dance floor, I saw her begin making her way toward the punch. I didn't think she'd made a positive ID on Angeline yet, but her suspicions were definitely raised. â€Å"What's wrong?† asked Brayden, glancing between Jill and me. No doubt we wore mirrored expressions of dismay. â€Å"Our cousin's about to get in some serious trouble,† I said. â€Å"We have to do something.† Jill's eyes were wide and anxious. â€Å"We have to get her out of here.† â€Å"How?† I exclaimed. Mrs. Weathers had reached the refreshments table, just as Trey and Angeline began walking toward the dance floor. I saw her start to go after them, but Mrs. Weathers didn't get very far – because the punch bowl suddenly exploded. Well, not the bowl itself. The punch inside exploded, spraying out in a spectacular shower of bright green liquid. There were shrieks as several nearby people got splashed, but it was Mrs. Weathers who took the brunt of it. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Brayden. â€Å"How in the world did that happen? That must have – Sydney? I'd cried out and jerked a few feet away, knowing exactly what had caused that bowl to explode. Brayden assumed my reaction was fear of injury. â€Å"It's okay,† he said. â€Å"We're too far away for any glass to be over here.† Immediately, I looked at Jill. She gave me a small, helpless shrug that said, Well, what else was I supposed to do? My usual reaction to Moroi magic was disgust and fear. Tonight, shock and dismay were there too. We didn't need attention drawn to us. True, no one knew or would even guess that Jill had used vampire water magic to create the punch distraction, but it didn't matter. I didn't want any word of weird, unexplainable phenomena leaking out of Amberwood. We needed to stay under the radar. â€Å"Are you okay?† Eddie had suddenly appeared by our side – or rather, Jill's side. â€Å"What happened?† He wasn't even looking at the punch. His focus was all on Jill, and just like earlier, she actually seemed to notice it. Brayden was the one who answered, his eyes alight with intellectual curiosity as he watched teachers scurry and try to clean up the mess. â€Å"Some sort of chemical reaction, if I had to guess. Could be as simple as using baking soda. Or maybe some kind of mechanical device?† I gave Eddie a pointed look. â€Å"It was a prank,† I said. â€Å"Anyone could've done it.† Eddie looked at me, then looked back at Jill. He gave a slow nod. â€Å"I see. We should get you out of here,† he told her. â€Å"You never know what – â€Å" â€Å"No, no,† I said. â€Å"Get Angeline out of here.† â€Å"Angeline?† Eddie's face registered disbelief. â€Å"But how†¦?† I directed him toward where she stood with Trey on the dance floor. They, like many others, were staring at the aftermath of the punch explosion with wonder. â€Å"I don't know how she got here,† I said. â€Å"It's irrelevant. She needs to leave. Mrs. Weathers nearly caught her.† A knowing glint flashed in Eddie's eyes. â€Å"But the punch distracted her?† â€Å"Yes.† His attention fell back on Jill, and he smiled. â€Å"Convenient timing.† She smiled back. â€Å"I guess we got lucky this time.† Their gazes locked, and it was almost a shame to interrupt. â€Å"Go,† I told Eddie. â€Å"Get Angeline.† He cast one last look at Jill and then jumped into action. I couldn't hear the conversation as he spoke with Angeline and Trey, but the look on his face would accept no arguments. I could see Trey yielding to family authority, and after a few more arguments, Angeline gave in as well. Eddie quickly escorted her out, and to my relief, neither Mrs. Weathers nor anyone else seemed to notice. â€Å"Jill,† I said. â€Å"It might be best if you and Micah leave early. You don't have to go right this second†¦ but soon.† Jill nodded, face sad. â€Å"I understand.† Even if no one would connect her to this, it was best if she wasn't around. Already, I could see people gathering at the table and, like Brayden, trying to figure out what could have caused such a phenomenon. She vanished into the crowd. Brayden finally looked away from the spectacle. He started to say something to me and then suddenly jerked his head toward the DJ. â€Å"Oh no,† he said, face crestfallen. â€Å"What?† I asked, half-expecting the DJ's table to collapse or a speaker to catch on fire. â€Å"This song. I requested it for you†¦ but it's almost over.† I tilted my head to listen. I didn't know the song, but it was slow and romantic and made me feel†¦ well, kind of guilty. Here it was, a sentimental gesture from Brayden, ruined by my â€Å"family's† wacky hijinks. I caught hold of his hand. â€Å"Well, it's not over yet. Come on.† We were able to dance to the last minute of it, but it was clear that Brayden was disappointed. I wanted to make it up to him somehow and, in spite of everything that had happened, still have the normal high school dance experience I'd wanted. â€Å"The night's young,† I teased. â€Å"I'll go request one for you, and then you can try to guess when it comes on.† Considering I didn't listen to the radio, it probably wouldn't be that hard to guess. I made the request and then joined Brayden for another slow song. I was still a little anxious about what had happened earlier but told myself all was well now. Jill had left. Eddie had taken care of Angeline. All I had to do was relax and – A vibration startled me as I danced. I was wearing a tiny, red dress purse over my shoulder. It was lost in the folds of my gown, but the buzz of my cell phone was unmistakable. Apologizing to Brayden, I stopped dancing to check the message. It was from Adrian: We need 2 talk. Great, I thought as my heart sank. Could this night be any more of a disaster? I texted back: I'm busy. His response: I'll be fast. I'm close by. A feeling of dread crept over me: How close? The response was about as bad as I could expect: The parking lot.