Candide by Nate Ziefert Essay -- book critique, French satire novella

Candide is a French parody novella originally distributed in 1759 by Gabriel Cramer in Paris, France, and composed by Franã §ois-Marie Arouet, or Voltaire, his nom de plume, a savant of the Age of Enlightenment. This book was picked to show what life resembled in France before the French Revolution and to give a review of the policy centered issues of that period. Perusing the book gave setting to examining different topics, including the significance of reason, the debasement of the congregation, cash and force, disparity, which were all-problems that are begging to be addressed in the timeframe we contemplated. The book was valuable to our course of studies since it itemized what life resembled in France during the center of the eighteenth century and gave setting to what was instructed in class- - for instance debasement by ground-breaking powers in French society, for example, the uncalled for treatment and pay among serfs and their primitive masters. Various recorded occasions lead Voltaire to compose Candide. The first was the distribution of Leibniz's Monadology, an article talking about Leibniz’ reasoning of good faith. Two other authentic occasions, the Seven Years’ War and the 1775 Lisbon seismic tremor, likewise gave motivation to Voltaire. The end of the Leibniz’ piece, Along these lines this is the most ideal all things considered, fills in as the essential reason for Voltaire’s parody. Things were not very great in France, at the ideal opportunity for most of the French individuals and there was very little purpose behind positive thinking. Voltaire dismissed Leibnizian idealism provided that he was in the most ideal all things considered, a deplorable and crushing tremor ought not have happened. Cataclysmic events essentially don't fit into the way of thinking of hopefulness. Voltaire’s perspective is very logicergy goes into the work, and he stops the entirety of his past philosophica l hypothesis. At last, he is content. The content was engaging, yet profoundly doubtful, and gives a decent viewpoint from which to see the way of life and governmental issues of Spain and France in the mid-1700’s. The themesâ€the lip service of religion, the absurdity of good faith, the pointlessness of philosophical theory and the adulterating impact of influence and moneyâ€are communicated in an uncontrollably engaging way. I found the way Voltaire interwove the characters with his topics and utilized parody generally fascinating. He made the characters whose feelings he couldn't help contradicting look like idiots so as to ruin their convictions, and he came to his meaningful conclusions through characters that were affable. Candide was unquestionably worth perusing and pressed in a great deal of history and theory into a quick paced, activity story.

Cleopatra Study Guide - Important Facts and Timeline

Cleopatra Study Guide - Important Facts and Timeline Study Guides Cleopatra OverviewImportant FactsDiscussion QuestionsWhat Did Cleopatra Look Like?PicturesTimelineTerms Cleopatra (January 69 B.C. - August 12, 30 B.C.) was the last pharaoh of Egypt. Following her demise, Rome took over as leader of Egypt. She was not an Egyptian, notwithstanding, regardless of being pharaoh, yet a Macedonian in the Ptolemaic tradition that a Macedonian Ptolemy I Soter began. Ptolemy was a military head under Alexander the Great and potentially a nearby family member. Cleopatra was one of a few offspring of a relative of this first Ptolemy, Ptolemy XII Auletes. Her two more established sisters were Berenice IV and Cleopatra VI who may have kicked the bucket from the get-go throughout everyday life. Berenice organized an overthrow while Ptolemy Auletes was in power. With Roman support, Auletes had the option to recapture the seat and have his little girl Berenice executed. An Egyptian custom that the Macedonian Ptolemies embraced was for pharaohs to wed their kin. In this way, when Ptolemy XII Auletes kicked the bucket, he left the consideration of Egypt in the hand of Cleopatra (matured around 18) and her more youthful sibling Ptolemy XIII (matured around 12). Ptolemy XIII, impacted by his retainers, constrained Cleopatra to escape from Egypt. She recovered control of Egypt through the assistance of Julius Caesar, with whom she took part in an extramarital entanglements and a child named Caesarion. Following the demise of Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra wedded a considerably more youthful sibling, Ptolemy XIV. In time, she managed alongside another Ptolemaic male, her child Caesarion. Cleopatra is known best for her relationships with Caesar and Mark Antony, by whom she had three kids, and her self destruction by snake chomp after her better half Antony ended his own life. The passing of Cleopatra shut down Egyptian pharaohs administering Egypt. After Cleopatras self destruction, Octavian assumed responsibility for Egypt, placing it into Roman hands. OverviewDiscussion QuestionsWhat Did Cleopatra Look Like?PicturesTimelineTerms Outline | Important Facts | Discussion Questions | What Did Cleopatra Look Like? | Pictures | Timeline | Terms OverviewImportant FactsStudy QuestionsWhat Did Cleopatra Look Like?PicturesTimelineTerms Study Guide Portray the connection among Octavian and Cleopatra.Why did Caesar not embrace Caesarion as his heir?What gave Rome the privilege to Egypt?Does Cleopatra merit her notoriety for being a seductress?Was Cleopatra a greater amount of an Egyptian or Greek ruler? Book index , altered by Susan Walker and Peter HiggsShakespearesGeorge Bernard Shaws OverviewImportant FactsStudy QuestionsWhat Did Cleopatra Look Like?PicturesTimelineTerms This is a piece of an arrangement (study manage) on the incredible Egyptian sovereign Cleopatra. On this page youll discover fundamental realities like her birthday and names of individuals from her family. The Cleopatra Study Guide: OverviewImportant FactsStudy QuestionsWhat Did Cleopatra Look Like?PicturesTimelineTerms BirthCleopatra was conceived in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt. She passed on August 12, 30 B.C.Family of OriginShe was a little girl of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes. Her mom is liable to contest. She may have been the little girl of Cleopatra V Tryphaina, in spite of the fact that Strabo 17.1.11 says just one of the little girls of Ptolemy was authentic, and that not Cleopatra.Cleopatra wedded her more youthful sibling Ptolemy XIII and after his demise, wedded her more youthful sibling Ptolemy XIV. Later she wedded the Roman Mark Antony.ChildrenCleopatra had one child by Caesar, named Caesarion. She had twins with Mark Antony, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, and later, a child, Ptolemy Philadelphos.Name/TitleShe was really Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt (in spite of the fact that you could contend that job was her children) since Rome assumed responsibility for Egypt following her death.DeathAfter Mark Antony ended it all did as well, Cleopatra. The story is that she t ook an asp to her bosom and let the toxic snake nibble her.AncestorsAlthough her family had embraced Egyptian traditions, such as having pharaohs wed their kin, Cleopatra and her family were truly Macedonians who had gone to Egypt with Alexander the Great. Diagram | Important Facts | Study Questions | What Did Cleopatra Look Like? | Pictures | Timeline | Terms

One Giant Leap

One Giant Leap Im up early. Im up REALLY early, and its not because I stayed up, its because I woke up . . . to go study. Finals are coming up! You see, theres this little class called 2.006 also known as Thermal Fluids Two and its a wee bit difficult. Difficult in that since Friday morning at 7 Ive been studying pretty much non-stop. The final is on Monday, that gives me 1.5 more days to learn everything. The good part? I think Im almost there. I actually think Ill be ready for Monday *crosses fingers* But, I digress. I walked out of the dorm this morning at 6:20 AM. As I ritually do, I check the dome before I head down dorm row towards campus, just because the dome is so visible and Im more likely to see a hack in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. So, step 1, check dome. Step 2, get really excited and head back inside for my camera. Step 3, photograph dome from afar to share on blog. YAY! They put a BUMP on the dome. Obviously, from this distance, whatever was up there wasnt quite as impressive as I think it was supposed to be, so I detoured from my studying route and headed over to Killian. Now, I dont have some fancy SLR or tripod or anything, Ive got a cybershot throw-in-your-pocket camera. BUT it loves taking pictures outside and the digital zoom is pretty good, so Ive got two more pictures for you, one from farther away and then the same picture zoomed in really close. Ive played with the brightness and contrast in order to make things a bit more visible. Ahhhhhhh, ok, I get it now. Its a lunar lander! Apollo 11 probably, since the 40th anniversary is coming up. Yeah, that looks similar! From the distance I could see that white circle above the ladder blinking, so there are at least some onboard electronics. Im guessing theyre not solar powered but it does add a nice touch. So thats that! Happy soon-to-be 40th Birthday Apollo 11, MIT remembers you!

The Texas Mission Of Mercy - 876 Words

It was not until participating in the Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) that I became interested in dentistry. It all started when my best friend convinced me to join American Student Dental Alliance (ASDA) with her. Initially I was hesitant, but I wanted to try to open up and experiment with careers in college. Although I was a member, I was not as active in the organization at first. However, this all changed when I decided to attend the most promoted event of the year, TMOM. TMOM is an annual event that provides free dental care to low income residents in Texas. I observed and assisted dentists and dental students for the first time. One lady, in particular, was physically abused by her husband, and she had many missing front teeth. The dentist was able to repair her smile and give her the smile she deserved. It was an incredible experience being able to witness the transformation of a person’s confidence. TMOM was the turning point of my life because the people I encountered inspired me to pursue dentistry as a career. Another reason why I chose dentistry as a profession is because the connection dentists build with their patients. While I was volunteering at Dentistry from the Heart, an annual event providing free dental treatments, the dentist asked me to try to calm down a crying Vietnamese girl, Ha, as he waited to finish her extraction. I wanted to keep her mind off of the pain, so I spoke to her in Vietnamese about various topics ranging from cartoons to herShow MoreRelatedThe Texas Mission Of Mercy843 Words   |  4 Pages It wasn’t until participating in the Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) that I became interested in dentistry. It all started when my best friend convinced me to join American Student Dental Alliance (ASDA) with her. Initially I was hesitant, but I wanted to try to open up and experiment with careers in college. Although I was a member, I was not as active in the organization at first. However, this all changed when I decided to attend the most promoted event of the yea r, TMOM. TMOM is an annual eventRead MoreThe Discovery Of The Alamo1027 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1718 Franciscan built a mission colony that was named New Spain, the missions reason was to convert the neighboring Native to Christianity. The mission was later on abandoned in 1793 and later on was used as a fort by the U.S. army. Stephen F. Austin was born in Virginia in 1793 Stephen was sent to the U.S. to find Volunteers for Texas. In 1821, New Spain gained independence from Spain and later became Mexico. 835, 20,000 people moved to Coahuila and Tejas. The Texans had fought against the MexicansRead MoreAnalysis Of All The Pretty Horses And The Name Of God Is Mercy1430 Words   |  6 PagesMcCarthy, and The Name of God is Mercy, by Pope Francis, explain how fate, freedom, and choice often clash depending on perspective. In All The Pretty Horses, the author shows through two characters, John and the Dueà ±a Alfonsa, that freedom is controllable, but also uncontrollable. In John s jo urney, all he seeks is freedom from the land that confined him, where the Dueà ±a Alfonsa only sees that under the faà §ade of freedom, civilization will collapse. 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This is the story of the Alamo The battle of the Alamo only spanned an approximate 13 days yet it’s a very critical battle in winning the independence of Texas and helping expand the United States to the westRead MoreExploring Data Sources And Gathering Appropriate Information783 Words   |  4 Pagesinstance, 30 case studies with full-implemented LIB are represented in Table 2. Table 2: 30 Case Studies Utilized LIB. 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Not only is Desert Dogs equipped to provide products to any hospital or medicalRead MoreThe Family Birthplace : Implementation Of A Discharge Teaching Class2209 Words   |  9 PagesContents Chapter I: Introduction 3 Chapter II: Description of Mercy Ardmore 3 Chapter III: Mission, Philosophy, Structure 5 Chapter IV: Implementing Change Chapter V: Budgeting Chapter VI: Process of Making Decisions and Evaluation Chapter VII: Conclusion References Appendix Appendix A: Mercy Health Ministry Board of Directors Appendix B: Mercy Hospital Ardmore Organizational Chart Appendix C: Mercy Hospital Nursing Organizational Chart The Family Birthplace: ImplementationRead MorePublic Higher Education Funding Budget Drivers760 Words   |  4 Pagesthey had not capped their enrollment, 29, at public regional universities; while 12 reported they had capped enrollment. Of the 12 states that capped enrollment the majority of them were in the most populous states such as California, New York and Texas. Reviewers noted concern over if the community colleges will be able to handle the influx in high school and adult students with universities capping enrollment. Their concern is that it may not. The survey respondents showed disagreement in this areaRead MoreGangs in Prison Essay1447 Words   |  6 Pagesformed by inmates as a way of protecting themselves from the other inmates. These gangs have turned out to be violent and thus posing a threat to security. This paper will have a look at the different gangs in prisons, their history, beliefs and missions, and the differences and similarities in these gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood started in 1964 was founded by Tyler Bingham and Barry Mills who were white supremacists and Irish American bikers. It started at the San Quentin

What Makes A Society Work Together - 2117 Words

Civilization is what makes a society work together in a stable environment. It takes hard work and different constituents to make civilization happen. The evolution of society does not happen right away but it does happen within ages. The first matter that should happen is systematic agriculture. Society needs to feel food insecure. Once they have found a place that food surplus occurs then they can start the urbanization process. Once urbanization has started and a population is formed then a government will be established. Usually the one who has created the town has the main authority, sometimes not. Because of the government wanting to protect their town, the government will then build up a military and make laws. Society and the government will find trade routes, so that the people can get what they want, whether it is silk or jewelry. To pay for these materialistic items, coinage will need to be made as well. This will made through metallurgy. Society will then find a way to p lace themselves on a social hierarchy. The social hierarchy will establish a balance for civilization. Then there is culture, architecture, and religion. Of course none of these ideas can happen without having a language or writing. More than anything having a government, trade routes, and religion are the key components that really pushes civilization forward onto a much more advance level. Before civilization occur, the world had people roaming around hunting and gathering, also known as theShow MoreRelatedNVQ Business studies1456 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿OCR Business and Administration NVQ (QCF) UNIT 203 Title Work in a business environment Level 2 Credit 2 1.1 Describe what is meant by diversity and why it should be valued? Diversity should be respected and valued, because nobody is completely the same as anyone else. It is everywhere in our lives which makes rich and varied. 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What is Bayesian Thinking Free Essays

It is common knowledge that human beings commit errors in judgment all the time. In areas of uncertainty, most of us go with our gut intuition, and in most cases this intuition turns out to be wrong. Much of this is derived from the fact that humans are poor statistical thinkers, and thus poor Bayesian thinkers. We will write a custom essay sample on What is Bayesian Thinking? or any similar topic only for you Order Now What is Bayesian thinking? Let us start with an illustrative example, called the Monty Hall problem — famously depicted in the Kevin Spacey movie â€Å"21.† There are three doors, and behind each door is either a goat or a car. There will always be two doors with goats and one door with a car. The player first chooses a door without opening, and the game show host whose interests are opposed to the player, proceeds to open a different door. Since the host knows what is behind each door, he always opens a door with a goat. Now that the player is left with the initially chosen door and another closed door, the host offers an opportunity to switch to the other unopened door. Should the player switch? The answer for an intuitive Bayesian, a purely statistical thinker, should be easy. Unfortunately, human beings are not intuitive Bayesians. In fact, most people answer that it doesn’t matter if the player switches or not, since the probability of winning a car is 50% between the two doors anyways. They would be wrong. Now, before we examine the correct way to think about this problem, one might ask, so what? Why does it matter if humans are not intuitive Bayesians, or even more broadly, bad statistical thinkers? Simply, Bayesian reasoning corrects some of the issues with bad statistical thinking. Bad statistical thinking leads to bad judgments and decisions, which have a wide variety of consequences in everyday life as well as in arenas such as politics and science. Thus, everyone should become better Bayesian thinkers, because under uncertainty, accurate probabilistic judgments are useful and important.To give a accurate depiction of how Bayesian reasoning works, let us return to the Monty Hall problem, and examine why not only switching doors matters, but that it is beneficial to switch. When the host first opened the door with the goat, something happened: opening the door gave the player extra information, and thus changed the probability of outcomes. By utilizing this extra information, it is no longer a 50% chance for the player to win the car after switching doors, but a ~67% (2/3) chance. Let us suppose that the player picks the door which contains the car. The host opens either the first goat door or the second (it does not matter), and the player switches to the other goat door and loses. Now, suppose the player picks the first goat door instead, which means the host is forced to open the second goat door. Since the only other door contains the car, the player switches and wins. Lastly, suppose the player picks the second goat door. The host is forced to open the first goat door, which again, means the player will win the car after a switch. These are the only three possible scenarios, and so we see that the probability of winning is two out of three if the player switches. Conversely, what if the player doesn’t switch? In the first scenario, the player wins the car, but in scenarios two and three, the player obviously loses. Thus, to not switch is to have only a 33% (1/3) chance to win the car.The Monty Hall problem is a rather simple illustration of how Bayesian reasoning works, so in order to gain a more complete understanding, we must explore its principles. In 1763, a paper by Reverend Thomas Bayes was published posthumously called â€Å"An Essay towards solving a Problem in the Doctrine of Chances,† and brought about a paradigmatic shift in statistics: by using ever-increasing information and experience, one can gradually approach the unknown or understand the unknown (of course, his main motive was to prove the existence of God). Fundamentally, Bayesian reasoning believes in the correction of probabilities over time, and that all probabilities are merely estimates of the likelihood of events to occur. Through the further efforts of mathematicians like Lagrange in perfecting the Bayesian framework, we now have a modern and complete theory of probability. First, there are what we call priors, which is the strength of our beliefs, or put it another way, the likelihood that we are to change our beliefs. Then, we have our posteriors, which is the empirical aspect, or the influx of new information. The Bayesian framework then takes these two components and mathematically analyzes how posteriors affect priors. If we know nothing about an event, then all we can do is estimate a probability. However, if there is new information, then the probability must be corrected based on this new information. Over time, as experiences grow through more information, these estimates of probabilities will eventually fit â€Å"reality.† In the Monty Hall case, the moment the the host opened the goat door, that influx of new information, or change in posteriors, immediately influences the player’s priors. If the host doesn’t open a door, the player merely has a 33% chance to win the car between the three doors, and switching makes no difference. However, since the host removes a door, and specifically the door that contains a goat, these two new posteriors directly influence the original prior from 33% to 66%. One might think that this method of thinking is mysteriously similar to the scientific method, which is certainly true. However, To put it another way, Bayesian thinking is how to use some known information or experience to judge or predict the unknown. For example, event A is â€Å"rainy tomorrow† and event B is â€Å"cloudy tonight†. If you see cloudy tonight, what is the probability of raining tomorrow? If you use the Bayes theorem directly, you only need to know the probability of raining every day, the probability of cloudy nightly, and if one day it rains, then the probability of the cloudy night of the previous night will be substituted into the formula and done. The question is, where do these probabilities come from, and how do we infer the possibility based on the information we have . In fact, most of the valuable problems are backward problems, for example: the stock market, through those few signs can be judged to be a more or less opportunity; the hospital, through which symptoms can determine what is the disease; science Research, through several experimental data, you can construct what theory to explain the model and so on. In general, mathematicians, physicists, etc. are all about backward problems, or they can not predict or judge the outcome with few signs or phenomena, and there is no value (by the way, do not know the reverse Problem-thinking people can not fight in the financial market or the stock market. At present, the most advanced research in the speculative market is almost a process of backward stochastic process and martingale theory. It is known that the incidence of a disease is 0.001, that is, 1 in 1,000 people is sick. There is a reagent that can test whether a patient is sick or not, and its accuracy is 0.99, which means that 99% of the patients may be positive when the patient really gets sick. Its false positive rate is 5%, which means that 5% of the patients may get positive if they do not get sick. There is a positive test result of a patient, what is the probability that he does get sick?We got a staggering result of about 0.019. In other words, even if the test is positive, the probability of getting sick is only increased from 0.1% to 2%. This is the so-called â€Å"false positive†, that is, the positive result is not enough to show that the patient is sick.Why is this? Why is the accuracy of this test up to 99%, but the credibility is less than 2%? The answer is related to its false positive rate. Here we see the power of the Bayesian theorem, that it allows us to deduce the unknown probability from the known probability and the information at hand.The human brain and quantification vs heuristic thinking. The advantage of Bayesian analysis is that it does not require any objective estimation, just guess a priori casually. This is the key, because most of the events that occur in the real world have no objective probability. This is actually very similar to the scientific method: we did not know anything from the beginning, but we are willing to experiment and gradually find out the laws of nature. Bayesian reasoning operates in the same way, through continually the posterior probability in accordance with existing experimental data. Biggest problem with Bayesian reasoning is that human brains cannot quantify information easily. The most commonly raised example is Malcolm Gladwell’s â€Å"Outliers†, where many people who are trained enough in certain low-chaotic environments make correct decisions and judgments without using the Bayesian framework at all. Firefighters, for example, do not undergo a Bayesian calculus before deciding whether or not it’s safe to pull a child out of a burning building. They just do it because they’ve done it many times before, and have a rough heuristic estimate on the safety of such an action. Similarly, chess players do not use Bayesian analysis to think many turns ahead; what research has found is that through thousands of hours of practice and becoming familiar and experienced with similar setpieces in the past, gives them an ability to predict moves assuming that the opposing player is also rational. Conversely, high chaotic environments, such as the political sphere, is where Bayesian reasoning thrives due to the high amount of uncertainty.The other criticism are from the frequentists. In general, the probability of teaching in school can be called frequencyism. An event, if performed repeatedly multiple times independently, dividing the number of occurrences by the number of executions yields a frequency. For example, throwing coins, throwing 10000 times, 4976 times positive, the frequency is 0.4976. Then if the implementation of many many, the frequency will tend to a fixed value, is the probability of this time. In fact, to prove it involves the central limit theorem, but it does not start. How to cite What is Bayesian Thinking?, Papers

Cyber Crime Ashley Madison

Question: Discuss about theCyber Crimefor Ashley Madison. Answer: Introduction A crime which is conducted with the help of a computer and a network is defined as a cyber crime. It is basically damage of any kind done to an individual or an organization purposely with a sole motive of causing harm both financially as well as mentally to the victims. As per a report sponsored by McAfee, the damage caused globally due to these cyber attacks are as much as $445 Billion whereas Microsoft claims that the damage is much more than the quoted figures. As per a recent research conducted by Juniper it is expected that the said loss may aggravate to 2.1 Trillion in three years time. The said report talks about the cyber crime that took place at Ashley Madison in the year 2015. The said company provides online dating service and social networking service for those in the crowd who are married or engaged or committed into a relationship. The said companys motto is simple Life is short, Have an affair. It was founded in the year 2002 but came to limelight a year ago when the said companys data got hacked and all the vital information with regards its customers got stolen such as their name, address, sexual fantasies and credit card details. The hackers were known as The Impact Team who circulated 40MB of confidential data that was stolen from Avid Life Media (ALM) a company that owns this website and other such services. They threatened the companys CEO to shut down the said website else they would leak al the confidential data. The report also discusses about how the said crime was dealt with by the company and what steps it took to safeguard its position in publi c[1]. Further to this it also mentions the loss the company had to face, financially, mentally as well as reputational. Argument and Analysis The Impact Team, as is called by the hackers to themselves were the ones who hacked the entire data base of Ashley Madison The leakage of the sensitive information in public had a great and irreversible impact on not only the company but also those whose data were released. As the name suggests, the attackers had a great impact on the personal lives of millions of people associated with the said website. The team had a dual motive to satisfy. Firstly the team had been condemning the very operation of the site to help fix up an extramarital affair between committed and married people. Secondly, is the business practice of Ashley Madison wherein it asks its customers to pay $19 if they want all the sensitive data to be erased from their data bank but as was revealed later all the information was not erased[2]. On July 15, 2015, the team made the attack official and threatened the company that if it did not close down Ashley Madison and Established Men, then it would publicise the data. The website has never verified the emails of those who created their profile and generally the users created fake mail ids Annalee Newitz found that only 12000 of the women accounts out of the 5.5 million registered with AM were used often. Further to this it was also discovered that most of the accounts of women were fake since they were created from the same IP address thus this shows that the companys security system was never too strong[3]. Further to this the hack proved that the company was cheating upon its members. Avid Life Media received $1.7 million every year from its members for deleting their accounts but the said hack revealed that the said was a fake as it ended up leaking data of those also who had paid money for deletion of their accounts. The said hack led to targeting members who were celebrities in various fields by planning to leak their data publicly and embarrass them . The biggest loophole from the companys point of view was the fact that it had extorted huge amounts from its members but did not deliver what it promised. This led to a reputational loss of the company but at the same time had impacted the personal lives of those who had paid to delete their data to the company as well. I feel it a matter of ethics here wherein the company has been performing unethically to rake in money wherein the member has not been granted the right to delete the account. Further to this such sites have led to breakage of trust on the networking business and hence many other companys who are genuine had to face the brunt as well[4]. Impact of The Cyber Crime The said crime had financial as well as psychological implications. Although the attackers had no financial gain intention behind such a big scandal. Ashley Madisons holding company, Avid Life Media ended up losing over a quarter of revenue as customers stopped registering themselves. The actual loss in value terms is yet to be revealed but the same would have been huge since the company has offered a prize money of $500000 (Canadian) to the person who would provide information with regards the hackers and help in their arrest. Apart from that the business firm is strangled into law suits worth $576 million by the users who had suffered due to the said hack[5]. Apart from the above mentioned financial losses, the attackers ruined the lives of many individuals. Trust was broken, relationships were smashed, reputational loss as well as some even lost their jobs due to the same. People who were exposed had to suffer extortion and blackmailing. The worst impact was suicides committed due to the said hack. It was always understood that cyber crimes which led to leakage of information would result in shutting down of the business, remediation as well as restitution but the outcomes of this case was even more devastating. This crime basically was an eye opener for those who had spent their hard earned money in such sites and also for those who would have probably thought of registering oneself in the near future[6]. The Impact Team in a way made the public realise that these sites should not be trusted in totality even if they are being paid a premium for deletion of sensitive information. Red Flags of the Ashley Madison Cyber Crime The said crime has widened the gap between an idealistic society and the reality. The capitalist ideology is all about meeting a person, trusting and falling in love with the person, getting married and planning a family and further nurturing them into a family. However it is all a myth rightly proven by the Impact Team. Secondly the concept of such a business idea and its success is all due to its popularity ad acceptability by the society as a whole, thus the company is alone not to be blamed for the same. Thirdly, this cyber crime has made people aware that their sensitive data should never be shared on trust as the company although had taken money for deletion of the account yet the same got hacked and caused devastating effects, some of which are irreplaceable such as a loss of life[7]. Action Taken By Avid Life Media (Alm) Five days after the first outburst of the crime, ALM had made an official announcement that it was an attempt made by an unauthorised individual who crept into their system illegally. The company is working upon the same with the law enforcement agencies so as to catch the criminals of the said attack. It also has said that the members can now delete their personal data on their own without any charge[8]. But unfortunately when after a months notice from the attackers the company did not shut down the two stated websites, the attackers released the information on the dark web. However ALM immediately gave an official statement that it working upon the said attack so as to counter attack the hackers. Further since there were loads of law suits filed but with hidden names[9], ALM requested the court to dismiss cases where the actual identity of the plaintiffs was hidden. Recommendations On analysing the details of the entire case it is understood that one should be very careful before being lured towards such websites as the business firms are encouraged to launch such business ideas due to the demand of the society. The company is alone not to be blamed and this case is a sheer case of mistrust and unethical move both by the company as well as the members. Respect and trust is what is most desirable in a society so as to nurture in a healthy manner. My recommendations are for both the members as well as such companies both. For the former my suggestion would be that cheating onto a relationship and then loosing on life is no fun and that life is precious and should be led with respect. Even if the same would not have been hacked but leaked through some other source even then the consequences would have to be faced by not only the victim but also the people related to that victim. From the companys point of view, my suggestion would be that launching such dating sit es is not illegal even though unethical but at the same time promising something false to the members is unethical. Further such companies should tighten their computer security and review the same frequently so as to be able to safeguard the members sensitive data[10]. The hackers have not done it for financial gain but they have done it to teach a lesson not only to the company but also the members who have posted a very clean image of the self to the world at large. Conclusion The said cyber attack though seems to be a criminal offence from the view point of Ashley Madison yet the same has ensured revelation of the fact that the companys policies and business practices are unethical in nature and needs a revisit. The Impact Teams leakage of data as affected the married or relationship status of its members so much that it even took many lives and resulted in many divorces as well. The said scandal impacted the lives of millions across the globe and not just a small group of individuals. The said crime is defined as the most expensive one of the decade since it lead to not only monetary losses but also losses of lives, relations and most importantly trust. The company even though proclaim of the fact that the said crime is still a criminal offence conducted by the hackers yet the same cannot be denied that the said attack has disclosed many unethical secrets of the business firm as well. It has made people understand no website is fully secured. The same ca me as a big shock to the society as well as many could see the gap between a capitalist society and the reality of the situation widen. People whose data or name was not leaked were also under the purview of questions since the world is seen loosing on the trust. Because of the same the innocent also got wrapped up in the arena of doubts by their spouses or better halves. References: Basu, E., Cybersecurity Lessons Learned From the Ashley Madison Hack, The Forbes, 26 October 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericbasu/2015/10/26/cybersecurity-lessons-learned-from-the-ashley-madison-hack/2/#68a7509b6890 , (accessed 25th October 2016) Callan, P., Ashley Madison hack: Costly end of the affair, [Website], 2015, https://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/24/opinions/callan-ashley-madison-hack/, (accessed 25th October 2016) Griffiths, J., One year after he Ashley Madison hack, members and their partners reveal the traumatic impact its had on their relationships , The Sun, 01 September 2016, https://fortune.com/2016/04/20/ashley-madison-data-breach-lawsuit-names/, (accessed 25th October 2016) Hackett, R., What to know about the Ashley Madison hack, Fortune, 26 August 2015, https://fortune.com/2015/08/26/ashley-madison-hack/ (accessed 25th October 2016) Lamont, T., Life after the Ashley Madison affair , The Guardian, 28 February 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/28/what-happened-after-ashley-madison-was-hacked, (accessed 25th October 2016) Mason, J and A. Sharp, Hackers Ashley Madison data dump threatens marriages, reputations, [Website], 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ashleymadison-cybersecurity-idUSKCN0QN2BN20150819, (accessed 25th October 2016) Newton, C., The mind-blending messiness of the Ashley Madison data dump, The Verge, 19 August 2015, https://www.theverge.com/2015/8/19/9178855/ashley-madison-data-breach-implications, (accessed 25th October 2016) Rosenthal, B., The Ashley Madison Hack One year Later, [Website], 2016, https://logicaloperations.com/insights/blog/2016/07/20/405/the-ashley-madison-hack-one-year-later/, (accessed 25th October 2016) Ward, M., Ashley Madison : Who are the hackers behind the attack? BBC News, 20 August 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34002053 (accessed 25th October 2016) Yadron, D., Hackers Target Users of Infidelity Website Ashley Madison The Wall Street Journal 2015, https://www.wsj.com/articles/affair-website-ashley-madison-hacked-1437402152, (accessed 25th October 2016)

Darwins Theory Of Natural Selection Essays - Charles Darwin

Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection Charles Darwin revolutionized biology when he introduced The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. Although Wallace had also came upon this revelation shortly before Origins was published, Darwin had long been in development of this theory. Wallace amicably relinquished the idea to Darwin, allowing him to become the first pioneer of evolution. Darwin was not driven to publish his finding, which he'd been collecting for several years before Wallace struck upon it, because he had ?never come across a single [naturalist] who seemed to doubt to permanence of species? (Ridley, pp. 70). What follows are the key points of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection taken directly from the two chapters concerning it in his book Origins. In chapter III of Origins Darwin sets up his discussion on Natural Selection by establishing the struggle for existence in nature. By this he means not only an individuals need to fend of enemies and survive its environment but also it's ability to create living, healthy, successful offspring. The first factor concerning this struggle is the ratio of increase in any given species. Darwin explains how this struggle must be occurring otherwise a single species would dominate the entire earth because every single one of it's offspring would survive. This is due to the fact that every species reproduces exponentially, a rate that would soon produce astonishing numbers if left unchecked. This does not happen however, because nature has a system of checks and balances. Although we may not be able to detect these checks, we can see their effects by the indisputable fact that one species doesn't completely dominate the planet. These checks consist of enemies eating the young or even adults, the rigors of weather or environment, and countless others. In this way birds, for example, cannot populate beyond their food supply, and the grains they feed on are held in check, because even though they may produce thousands of seeds only a few are able to reach maturity. Darwin goes on to show how all plants and animals compete and relate to each other in this struggle for existence. He does so by relating various personal observations that show the introduction of a different species of plant or animal can have a direct effect on the present survival of the indigenous species and even allow other foreign species to proliferate. This leads to interspecies survival, which Darwin considers the hardest struggle of all, and the one that may have the greatest effect on the evolution of a species through Natural Selection. It springs forth from the similarity in ?habits and constitution?. Plants and animals of the same species must compete for the same food and the same space to live in. Also, the original make-up of a plant or animal may give it an advantage to thrive in an ever-competitive environment. This brings us to Natural Selection and survival of the fittest that Darwin is most known for. Darwin begins chapter IV by comparing human selection to nature's ability to select, dubbing his theory Natural Selection, and explaining how imperceptible it is for us (at least science in his time) to examine the minute changes slowly taking place in nature. Variations in a species now come into play, and how these adaptations concern Natural Selection. Slight differences in an individual of a species will give rise to two situations. One is that it will be an injurious variation, which will definitely lead to the death of the individual because of the aforementioned struggle for existence. The other is a favorable adaptation in the individual's ability to gather nutrients, survive its enemies, survive its environment, etc. The chance of this individual surviving is greater than its less adapted competitors, however slight, which gives it a better chance of leaving progeny. These progeny will also have these abilities, increasing their chances of survival. Changes in the young can also bring about changes in the adult, as the individual approaches maturity, due to the difference in its original constitution. Once again, it will possibly leave new traits to it's progeny (if they are advantageous and this variation doesn't die out), spreading the variation throughout the community and continuing the cycle

Criminology Essays - Criminology, Deviance, Free Essays, Term Papers

Criminology Essays - Criminology, Deviance, Free Essays, Term Papers Criminology Hai Pham 6/16/99 Criminology One child grows up to be somebody who just loves to learn. And the other child grows up to be somebody who just loves to burn (198) An excerpt of this poem paints a picture of two brothers, John and Robert Wideman, leading different lives. Robert Wideman, embraced a path common for black men during that era; a life of crime, glamour, and drugs. Quietly sitting in jail, he reminisces deeply about his troubled past and the consequences of the future that now haunts him. John, on the other hand, chose the path less taken by those living in the same world as he did and in due time become a successful professor at a University. How did two people from the same origin, living in similar environments, and raised by a caring family choose such different paths? Some might explain the cause to be risk factors, learned behavior, or missed opportunities. When explaining criminal behavior, it is inevitable to identify sociological, behavioral, and psychological problems as causes of crime. John and Robert always dreamed about running away from the poverty embracing their community. Even though they shared the same dream, each considered different means of achieving this dream. John determined early on that to get ahead, to make something of myself, college had seemed a logical, necessary step; my exile, my flight from home began with good grades, with good English (27). In order for John to climb the social status, he realized that his only ticket out of poverty and his community is through a good education. Status must be earned through hard work and determination. Robert is just the opposite of John. Early on, Robert acknowledged that school and sports could not satisfy the glamour that Robert so much desired? Unlike John who disliked blackness, Robert got a thing about black. See black was like the forbidden fruit (84). Robert embraced the people living in Homewood, Pittsburgh. He felt connected to them especially when he discovered Garfield cause thats where the ni ggers was. Garfield was black (85). By embracing what other people valued and thought, Robert incorporated the same criminal values as his own. Robert has accepted his fate, a life of glamour through deviant behavior. Delinquency at an early age may have contributed to Roberts behavior. According to Cohen, deviant behavior derives from an inversion of values. Roberts values can be best summed up by the statement [t]he thing was to make your own rules, do your own thing, but make sure its contrary to what society says or is (58) . Inversion of values is practically portraying what society views as socially acceptable, unacceptable. A great example explaining this inversion of values is captured during a school strike. Robert recaptures the greatest moment of his life when he took over the school. Through his eyes, [i]t was the white mans world and wasnt no way round it or over it or under it ... so I kept on cutting classes and *censored*ing up and doing my militant thing every chance I got. (114). It seems that Robert felt frustrated living in such an oppressed environment. He once believed that prosperity can be achievable but somehow his belief in what society has taught him relating to success is wrong. Through this belief, Robert maintains a violent life. Other variables such as family, the community, and opportunities for success play a critical role in shaping the behavior of adolescence according to Cloward and Ohlin. There were lost opportunities when Roberts family decided to move back to Homewood from Shadyside. A good education in a community that cared for the student was stripped from Roberts g

Education is essential for economic growth. Discuss this statement Essay

Education is essential for economic growth. Discuss this statement with reference to school and higher education, as well - Essay Example viii). However, some countries have ignored the importance of their educational systems. Moreover, policy makers are reluctant to learn from the experiences of other nations, with regard to educational policies and practices. Despite these practices, the European nations have made it an important feature of their political agenda to change their systems of higher education. There has been a strident call, in these countries, to render higher education more socially relevant, in addition to modernising, adapting, diversifying, and rendering more efficient and more service oriented (Maassen, 2007). A considerable amount of contention has arisen, in the last 25 years of the 20th century, regarding the central steering role of the nations of Europe, with respect to higher education. This development is one of the aspects of the more general transformation that has occurred in the relationship between the public sector and the state (Maassen, 2007). Higher education has undergone the maxi mum change, on account of this transformation. As such, higher education is now expected to better its products and procedures, improve labour market interaction, and enhance the management of its educational institutions. The success of such transformation is dependent on a drastic alteration in the longstanding relationship betwixt the institutions of higher education and the state authorities. The economic and social development of a nation has become dependent on its ability to involve itself in the present day economy. The extant economy is knowledge based economy that depends to a major extent on science and technology, unlike the erstwhile economy, which had been founded on material production (Sahlberg, 2006). There is a new paradigm that is based on socio – economic globalisation and networked industrial organisations. A certain amount of insularity had been prevalent in the field of education. The latter constitutes a national industry, and many a nation had been pr oud of the inimitability of its educational system. The general thinking among those who formulated national education policy was that there was no necessity to imitate or gain knowledge about the policies and practices of the other nations, in the field of education (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 153). All this has changed, and the forces of communication, economic scarcity, competition, technology and transportation, or in other words the actuators of globalisation are making it necessary to study and practice education as a socio –cultural process. Competition at the global level has compelled the policy makers of the government to accept the importance of education. It has now been realised that education is essential for development and economic competitiveness (Dimmock & Walker, 2005, p. viii). This was glaringly evident, in the Asian crisis of 1997, wherein many Asian economic giants failed, as their social systems had been unable to adapt to the vast changes that had take n place in the global economy. It had been the practice in the UK to provide education free of cost, even at the University level. Thereafter, universities were permitted to charge a fixed amount of ?1,000 per annum, regardless of the subject of study. However, this amount proved to be inadequate, and in order to improve the funding position of the universities, the 2004 Higher Education Act was promulgated (Barr, 2010). This act enabled the universities to charge variable amounts, up

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Water Related and Q&A - Research Paper Example The water is normally collected in wells and springs. Mineral water can also be classified as spackling; this is water that contains natural gases or water that is carbonated artificially with carbon dioxide (Olien 46). Sparkling mineral water usually contains magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium, this are the most common minerals found in the ground. Other mineral; water may contain other minerals such as, copper chromium, selenium and other minerals. All these minerals are important for health. Spring water us water that is harvested from natural springs, unlike the many forms of bottled water in the market today, natural spring water has a considerable amount of minerals is bottled directly at the site. Spring water is water that has moved from an underground water source to the surface. The water is considered free of impurities and contaminants; the water is not subjected to the modern filtration techniques (Olien 45). Running city, municipal tap water, is water that is delivered to the homes of many area residents; the water is supplied through a tap placed inside the workplace or inside the household. This technology in plumbing had enabled the delivery of clean water to homes and businesses. However, this may be mineral water contains impurities such as bacteria, synthetic and organic chemicals. Among the disinfectants used to purify, tap water is chlorine. Chlorine leaves many organic materials like halo acetic acid among many others in the water (Moreaux 78). This water has been removed of any impurities using the modern methods of purification. Water can be purified using many processes, reverse osmosis, microfiltration, ultra filtration, electro dialysis, carbon filtration and ultraviolet oxidation (Moreaux 78). This is an excavation in the ground that is made through digging, boring or drilling in order to access the water in the ground the water can then be drawn using pump or containers

Theory of Competitive Advantage Value Chain Analysis

Theory of Competitive Advantage Value Chain Analysis The initial theory regarding relative advantages was related to comparative advantages of regions or nations. It included land, location, labor, natural resources and local population size. But it is not true always as rise of some the most advanced industrial nations have proved that the above factors have less influence in their course of development. For example, Japan had disadvantage regarding availability of raw materials, abundant space and even access to other lands. But still the Japanese companies have prospered and rose to be among the best in the world. Again Japan also has disadvantage in terms of population size available. But that could not stop Japan from being a leader in business. Also economic hardship can really fuel growth in a nation. It has been seen both in case if both Japan and Germany. Both these nations were under severe economic trouble after World War II, but still they grew to be industry major countries in the world. The reason for such behavior of nations or organizations in particular can be understood from The theory of competitive advantage which says that there are other critical factors that determine the industry leadership. As per Michael Porter, the renowned Harvard business school professor sustainable industrial growth is hardly dependent on the above inherited factors. But it depends on groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in certain locations and termed them as clusters. These clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions in a particular field. They grow on locations where enough resources and competences amass and reach a critical threshold, giving it a key position in a given economic branch of activity, with a decisive sustainable competitive advantage over others places, or even a world supremacy in that field. Porter says clusters can influence competition in three ways: They can increase the productivity of the companies in the cluster. They can drive innovation in the field. They can stimulate new businesses in the field. The competitive advantage of any industry or organization is determined by five forces of Porter. These five forces help the managers to focus on competitive forces that prevail in the industry and the possible threats to their organizations. Diagrammatic view of Porters five forces These are: Existing competitive rivalry among organizations in industry: The more that companies compete against one another for customers, ex- by lowering the prices of their products or by increasing advertising the lower is the level of industry profits. So this is a threat to the companies. Hence in order to sustain the companies may come up with new strategies and innovations in their technologies as well as business processes. Thus competition fuels growth in the industry as well as leads to innovations. Threat of new market entrants: The easier it is for companies to enter the industry, because for ex- barriers to entry, such as brand loyalty are low, more the likely it is for industry prices and hence the industry profits to be low. In the wake of such a situation the companies might go for further innovations or even differentiations in their products or businesses. Thus it helps in the evolution process of the companies. Bargaining power of buyers: It depends on the size of the customers. The bargaining powers of the customers come if they are large in size. So they can bargain to drive down the price of that output. As a result the industry producers might encounter low profits. So the bargaining power of buyers also decides the competitive advantage of the industry. Power of suppliers: The suppliers also have important role in deciding the competitive advantage of firms. If there are only few large suppliers of an important input, then suppliers can drive up the price of that input and expensive inputs result in lower profits for profits for companies in an industry. Threat of substitute products (including technology change): Often the output of one industry is a substitute for the output of another industry. Ex- plastic may be substitute for steel in some industry. When this type of substitutes exists in the industry companies cannot demand very high prices for it or customers will switch to the substitute and this constraint keeps their profits low. Again the above all factors lead the managers to take decisions in four business level strategies to gain competitive advantage. These are: Low cost strategy: It is the strategy where the company focuses all its energies to lower its costs in all the departments. As a result it can sell its products in lower costs than its rivals. Here though the companies are selling the products at low prices but since the production costs are low the company still makes profits. Ex- BIC competes Gillette with this strategy in razor blade industry. Focused low cost strategy: In such a strategy managers focus to serve only a segment of overall market and tries to be lowest cost organization in that segment. Differentiation strategy: It is the strategy where organizations products can be distinguished from the products of other organizations on factors like product design, quality, service, or after sales service. Here the process of differentiation may be unique and expensive. Coca cola, PepsiCo, PG practice such strategies. Focused differentiation strategy: it is the strategy that tries to serve only one segment of the overall market and aims to be the most differentiated organization serving that segment. For ex, BMW focuses on this strategy. The theory of competitive advantage can be also easily extended to the position of various nations. Here four factors have taken into consideration to nalayze the competitive position of the nations. Germany and Japan are most apt examples of such a competitive advantage. These are discussed as follows: Four factors for competitive advantage: The strategy, structure and rivalry of firms: As there is high competition among the firms, this competitive environment leads the firms to work harder for increase in productivity and innovation. The Japanese companies are cooperative at certain levels but they are also fiercely competitive. Thus it is the strategy and structure and rivalry of the firms that gives rise to excellence to the firms in terms of efficiency. Demand conditions: If the firms face challenging and demanding customers then they constantly face pressure to improve their competiveness by innovative products, high quality etc. Related supporting industry: A company prospers when supporting companies are located in the same area. Presence of supporting companies in the vicinity gives the firm added advantage in terms of gaining technological support and expertise. Factor conditions: Specialized factors of production are skilled labor, capital and infrastructure. Non-key factors or general use factors, such as unskilled labor and raw materials, can be obtained by any company and, hence, do not generate sustained competitive advantage. However, specialized factors involve heavy, sustained investment. They are more difficult to duplicate. This creates a competitive advantage, because if other firms cannot easily duplicate these factors, they are valuable. VALUE CHAIN Value Chain is a model that helps to analyze specific activities through which firms can create value and competitive advantage. A value chain is a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry. The business unit is the appropriate level for construction of a value chain, not the divisional level or corporate level. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of the independent activitys value. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities. A diamond cutter, as a profession, can be used to illustrate the difference of cost and the value chain. The cutting activity may have a low cost, but the activity adds much of the value to the end product, since a rough diamond is significantly less valuable than a cut diamond.Value Chain framework model Value Chain Model of Porter THE ACTIVITIES OF THE VALUE CHAIN Primary activities (line functions) Inbound Logistics. Includes receiving, storing, inventory control, transportation planning. Operations. Includes machining, packaging, assembly, equipment maintenance, testing and all other value-creating activities that transform the inputs into the final product. Outbound Logistics. The activities required to get the finished product at the customers: warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation, distribution management. Marketing and Sales. The activities associated with getting buyers to purchase the product, including: channel selection, advertising, promotion, selling, pricing, retail management, etc. Service. The activities that maintain and enhance the products value, including: customer support, repair services, installation, training, spare parts management, upgrading, etc. Support activities (Staff functions, overhead) Procurement. Procurement of raw materials, servicing, spare parts, buildings, machines, etc. Technology Development. Includes technology development to support the value chain activities. Such as: Research and Development, Process automation, design, redesign. Human Resource Management. The activities associated with recruiting, development (education), retention and compensation of employees and managers. Firm Infrastructure. Includes general management, planning management, legal, finance, accounting, public affairs, quality management, etc. A COST ADVANTAGE BASED ON THE VALUE CHAIN A firm may create a cost advantage: by reducing the cost of individual value chain activities, or by reconfiguring the value chain. Note that a cost advantage can be created by reducing the costs of the primary activities, but also by reducing the costs of the support activities. Recently there have been many companies that achieved a cost advantage by the clever use of Information Technology. Once the value chain has been defined, a cost analysis can be performed by assigning costs to the value chain activities. Porter identified 10 cost drivers related to value chain activities: Economies of scale. Learning. Capacity utilization. Linkages among activities. Interrelationships among business units. Degree of vertical integration. Timing of market entry. Firms policy of cost or differentiation. Geographic location. Institutional factors (regulation, union activity, taxes, etc.). A firm develops a cost advantage by controlling these drivers better than its competitors do. A cost advantage also can be pursued by Reconfiguring the value chain. Reconfiguration means structural changes such as: a new production process, new distribution channels, or a different sales approach. DIFFERENTIATION AND VALUE CHAIN A differentiation advantage can arise from any part of the value chain. For example, procurement of inputs that are unique and not widely available to competitors can create differentiation, as can distribution channels that offer high service levels. Differentiation stems from uniqueness. A differentiation advantage may be achieved either by changing individual value chain activities to increase uniqueness in the final product or by reconfiguring the value chain. Porter identified several drivers of uniqueness: Policies and decisions Linkages among activities Timing Location Interrelationships Learning Integration Scale (e.g. better service as a result of large scale) Institutional factors Many of these also serve as cost drivers. Differentiation often results in greater costs, resulting in tradeoffs between cost and differentiation. There are several ways in which a firm can reconfigure its value chain in order to create uniqueness. It can forward integrate in order to perform functions that once were performed by its customers. It can backward integrate in order to have more control over its inputs. It may implement new process technologies or utilize new distribution channels. Ultimately, the firm may need to be creative in order to develop a novel value chain configuration that increases product differentiation. TECHNOLOGY AND VALUE CHAIN Because technology is employed to some degree in every value creating activity, changes in technology can impact competitive advantage by incrementally changing the activities themselves or by making possible new configurations of the value chain. Various technologies are used in both primary value activities and support activities: Inbound Logistics Technologies Transportation Material handling Material storage Communications Testing Information systems Operations Technologies Process Materials Machine tools Material handling Packaging Maintenance Testing Building design operation Information systems Outbound Logistics Technologies Transportation Material handling Packaging Communications Information systems Marketing Sales Technologies Media Audio/video Communications Information systems Service Technologies Testing Communications Information systems Note that many of these technologies are used across the value chain. For example, information systems are seen in every activity. Similar technologies are used in support activities. In addition, technologies related to training, computer-aided design, and software development frequently are employed in support activities. To the extent that these technologies affect cost drivers or uniqueness, they can lead to a competitive advantage. LINKAGES BETWEEN VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES Value chain activities are not isolated from one another. Rather, one value chain activity often affects the cost or performance of other ones. Linkages may exist between primary activities and also between primary and support activities. Consider the case in which the design of a product is changed in order to reduce manufacturing costs. Suppose that inadvertently the new product design results in increased service costs; the cost reduction could be less than anticipated and even worse, there could be a net cost increase. Sometimes however, the firm may be able to reduce cost in one activity and consequently enjoy a cost reduction in another, such as when a design change simultaneously reduces manufacturing costs and improves reliability so that the service costs also are reduced. Through such improvements the firm has the potential to develop a competitive advantage. ANALYZING BUSINESS UNIT INTERRELATIONSHIPS Interrelationships among business units form the basis for a horizontal strategy. Such business unit interrelationships can be identified by a value chain analysis. Tangible interrelationships offer direct opportunities to create a synergy among business units. For example, if multiple business units require a particular raw material, the procurement of that material can be shared among the business units. This sharing of the procurement activity can result in cost reduction. Such interrelationships may exist simultaneously in multiple value chain activities. Unfortunately, attempts to achieve synergy from the interrelationships among different business units often fall short of expectations due to unanticipated drawbacks. The cost of coordination, the cost of reduced flexibility, and organizational practicalities should be analyzed when devising a strategy to reap the benefits of the synergies. OUTSOURCING VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES A firm may specialize in one or more value chain activities and outsource the rest. The extent to which a firm performs upstream and downstream activities is described by its degree of vertical integration. A thorough value chain analysis can illuminate the business system to facilitate outsourcing decisions. To decide which activities to outsource, managers must understand the firms strengths and weaknesses in each activity, both in terms of cost and ability to differentiate. Managers may consider the following when selecting activities to outsource: Whether the activity can be performed cheaper or better by suppliers. Whether the activity is one of the firms core competencies from which stems a cost advantage or product differentiation? The risk of performing the activity in-house. If the activity relies on fast-changing technology or the product is sold in a rapidly-changing market, it may be advantageous to outsource the activity in order to maintain flexibility and avoid the risk of investing in specialized assets. Whether the outsourcing of an activity can result in business process improvements such as reduced lead time, higher flexibility, reduced inventory, etc. Thus we can see that every aspect of an organization can be rightly explained in light of value chain analysis to judge the competitive position of the organization. Normally, the Value Chain of a company is connected to other Value Chains and is part of a larger Value Chain. Hence, developing a competitive advantage depends on how efficiently we can analyze and manage the entire Value Chain.

Prohibition of Alcohol

Salvatore Norge Tim Walsh English 101-L01 3 November 2010 Arguing Positions: Prohibition of Alcohol Alcohol abuse is an extremely ravaging calamity, and many resolutions have developed as a result of its effects. The eighteenth amendment was ratified in 1920, and eliminating the legal use of alcohol was adopted. Also known as the prohibition of alcohol, it became effective in the United States of America. Its intentions were to prevent the manufacture, import, export, sales, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages.After thirteen years of execution, it was repealed in 1933 due to the ratification of the twenty-first amendment. Alcohol is presently legal throughout the United States, and approximately one-hundred thousand deaths occur each year attributed to alcohol. Is prohibition the answer? Prohibition has delivered a handful of issues to the United States. Crime rates dramatically increased as groups, street gangs, and gangsters were involved in multi-million dollar orga nizations dealing with illegal sales of alcohol.Saloons quickly evolved into areas used for illegal sales and consumption of alcohol, which were later known as speakeasies. Social problems were attributed to the prohibition era, and played a wide role with public opinion. Thing began to heat up as repeal was eagerly anticipated. Alcohol abuse is presently a serious problem in the United States. Risk and health loss is rapidly increasing, and alcohol remains accessible to anyone meeting certain legal requirements. The use of alcohol is persevered throughout America, and it’s held accountable for a large number of problems.In 2005, there were 43,443 alcohol related traffic fatalities in the United States. Sixty percent of all homicides are attributed to alcohol. The abuse of alcohol affects the psychological state as well. There are more than twelve million alcoholics in the United States, and alcoholism is considered the number one drug problem in the country. Hundreds of thou sands of family members and friends are directly affected from this concern. Imagine the number of alcoholics that would seek help if their addictive substance was illegalized.Who would respect the prohibition of alcohol once returned? It’s likely for both the law and alcohol to be abused considering another prohibition. That would cause more chaos for the country. On the other hand, alcohol isn’t always necessarily being abused. Moderate alcohol drinkers tend to live long and healthy lives. A glass of wine a day may increase heart health, and alcohol doesn’t stop its benefits with the heart. A few drinks a day may lower the risk of a variety of illnesses and extend life.It seems that arguments for legalization of alcohol are holding ground against prohibition. The controversy has allocated the country waist deep in obstacles, and who wants to obtain such a conceding way out? The authorities of the United States have appeared to resign against fighting the illeg al use of alcohol, and have resumed all opportunity for legal access to alcohol use. Why haven’t controlled substances been illegalized anticipating future issues with drug wars? Numbers don’t lie, and neither does a positive attitude behind a righteous cause.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 15 PRESSURE

IT WAS SPRING BREAK IN FORKS AGAIN. WHEN I WOKE UP on Monday morning, I lay in bed for a few seconds absorbing that. Last spring break, I'd been hunted by a vampire, too. I hoped this wasn't some kind of tradition forming. Already I was falling into the pattern of things in La Push. I'd spent Sunday mostly on the beach, while Charlie hung out with Billy at the Blacks' house. I was supposed to be with Jacob, but Jacob had other things to do, so I wandered alone, keeping the secret from Charlie. When Jacob dropped in to check on me, he apologized for ditching me so much. He told me his schedule wasn't always this crazy, but until Victoria was stopped, the wolves were on red alert. When we walked along the beach now, he always held my hand. This made me brood over what Jared had said, about Jacob involving his â€Å"girlfriend.† I supposed that that was exactly what it looked like from the outside. As long as Jake and I knew how it really was, I shouldn't let those kinds of assumptions bother me. And maybe they wouldn't, if I hadn't known that Jacob would have loved for things to be what they appeared. But his hand felt nice as it warmed mine, and I didn't protest. I worked Tuesday afternoonJacob followed me on his bike to make sure I arrived safelyand Mike noticed. â€Å"Are you dating that kid from La Push? The sophomore?† He asked, poorly disguising the resentment in his tone. I shrugged. â€Å"Not in the technical sense of the word. I do spent most of my time with Jacob, though. He's my best friend.† Mike's eyes narrowed shrewdly. â€Å"Don't kid yourself, Bella. The guy's head over heels for you.† â€Å"I know,† I sighed. â€Å"Life is complicated.† â€Å"And girls are cruel,† Mike said under his breath. I supposed that was an easy assumption to make, too. That night, Sam and Emily joined Charlie and me for dessert at Billy's house. Emily brought a cake that would have won over a harder man than Charlie. I could see, as the conversation flowed naturally through a range of casual subjects, that any worries Charlie might have harbored about gangs in La Push were being dissolved. Jake and I skipped out early, to get some privacy. We went out to his garage and sat in the Rabbit. Jacob leaned his head back, his face drawn with exhaustion. â€Å"You need some sleep, Jake.† â€Å"I'll get around to it.† He reached over and took my hand. His skin was blazing on mine. â€Å"Is that one of those wolf things?† I asked him. â€Å"The heat, I mean.† â€Å"Yeah. We run a little warmer than the normal people. About one-oh-eight, one-oh-nine. I never get cold anymore. I could stand like this†he gestured to his bare torso†in a snowstorm and it wouldn't bother me. The flakes would turn to rain where I stood.† â€Å"And you all heal fastthat's a wolf thing, too?† â€Å"Yeah, wanna see? It's pretty cool.† His eyes flipped open and he grinned. He reached around me to the glove compartment and dug around for a minute. His hand came out with a pocketknife. â€Å"No, I do not want to see!† I shouted as soon as I realized what he was thinking. â€Å"Put that away!† Jacob chuckled, but shoved the knife back where it belonged. â€Å"Fine. It's a good thing we heal, though. You can't go see just any doctor when you're running a temperature that should mean you're dead.† â€Å"No, I guess not.† I thought about that for a minute. â€Å" And being so bigthat's part of it? Is that why you're all worried about Quil?† â€Å"That and the fact that Quil's grandfather says the kid could fry an egg on his forehead.† Jacob's face turned hopeless. â€Å"It won't be long now. There's no exact age it just builds and builds and then suddenly† He broke off, and it was a moment before he could speak again. â€Å"Sometimes, if you get really upset or something, that can trigger it early. But I wasn't upset about anythingI was happy.† He laughed bitterly. â€Å"Because of you, mostly. That's why it didn't happen to me sooner. Instead it just kept on building up inside meI was like a time bomb. You know what set me off? I got back from that movie and Billy said I looked weird. That was all, but I just snapped. And then II exploded. I almost ripped his face offmy own father!† He shuddered, and his face paled. â€Å"Is it really bad, Jake?† I asked anxiously, wishing I had some way to help him. â€Å"Are you miserable?† â€Å"No, I'm not miserable,† he told me. â€Å"Not anymore. Not now that you know. That was hard, before.† He leaned over so that his cheek was resting on top of my head. He was quiet for a moment, and I wondered what he was thinking about. Maybe I didn't want to know. â€Å"What's the hardest part?† I whispered, still wishing I could help. â€Å"The hardest part is feeling out of control,† he said slowly. â€Å"Feeling like I can't be sure of myselflike maybe you shouldn't be around me, like maybe nobody should. Like I'm a monster who might hurt somebody. You've seen Emily. Sam lost control of his temper for just one second and she was standing too close. And now there's nothing he can ever do to put it right again. I hear his thoughtsI know what that feels like â€Å"Who wants to be a nightmare, a monster? â€Å"And then, the way it comes so easily to me, the way I'm better at it than the rest of themdoes that make me even less human than Enbry or Sam? Sometimes I'm afraid that I'm losing myself.† â€Å"Is it hard? To find yourself again?† â€Å"At first,† he said. â€Å"It takes some practice to phase back and forth. But it's easier tor me.† â€Å"Why?† I wondered. â€Å"Because Ephraim Black was my father's grandfather, and Quil Ateara was my mother's grandfather.† â€Å"Quil?† I asked in confusion. â€Å"His great-grandfather,† Jacob clarified. â€Å"The Quil you know is my second cousin.† â€Å"But why does it matter who your great-grandfathers are?† â€Å"Because Ephraim and Quil were in the last pack. Levi Uley was the third. It's in my blood on both sides. I never had a chance. Like Quil doesn't have a chance.† His expression was bleak. â€Å"What's the very best part?† I asked, hoping to cheer him up. â€Å"The best part,† he said, suddenly smiling again, â€Å"is the speed.† â€Å"Better than the motorcycles?† He nodded, enthusiastic. â€Å"There's no comparison.† â€Å"How fast can you ?† â€Å"Run?† he finished my question. â€Å"Fast enough. What can I measure it by? We caught what was his name? Laurent? I imagine that means more to you than it would to someone else.† It did mean something to me. I couldn't imagine thatthe wolves running faster than a vampire. When the Cullens ran, they all but turned invisible with speed. â€Å"So, tell me something I don't know,† he said. â€Å"Something about vampires. How did you stand it, being around them? Didn't it creep you out?† â€Å"No,† I said curtly. My tone made him thoughtful for a moment. â€Å"Say, why'd your bloodsucker kill that James, anyway?† he asked suddenly. â€Å"James was trying to kill meit was like a game for him. He lost. Do you remember last spring when I was in the hospital down in Phoenix?† Jacob sucked in a breath. â€Å"He got that close?† â€Å"He got very, very close.† I stroked my scar. Jacob noticed, because he held the hand I moved. â€Å"What's that?† He traded hands, examining my right. â€Å"This is your funny scar, the cold one.† He looked at it closer, with new eyes, and gasped. â€Å"Yes, it's what you think it is,† I said. â€Å"James bit me.† His eyes bulged, and his face turned a strange, sallow color under the russet surface. He looked like he was about to be sick. â€Å"But if he bit you ? Shouldn't you be ?† He choked. â€Å"Edward saved me twice,† I whispered. â€Å"He sucked the venom outyou know, like with a rattlesnake.† I twitched as the pain lashed around the edges of the hole. But I wasn't the only one twitching. I could feel Jacob's whole body trembling next to mine. Even the car shook. â€Å"Careful, Jake. Easy. Ca in down.† â€Å"Yeah,† he panted. â€Å"Calm.† He shook his head back and forth quickly. After a moment, only his hands were shaking. â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"Yeah, almost. Tell me something else. Give me something else to think about.† â€Å"What do you want to know?† â€Å"I don't know.† He had his eyes closed, concentrating. â€Å"The extra stuff I guess. Did any of the other Cullens have extra talents? Like the mind reading?† I hesitated a second. This felt like a question he would ask of his spy, not his friend. But what was the point of hiding what I knew? It didn't matter now, and it would help him control himself. So I spoke quickly, the image of Emily's ruined face in my mind, and the hair rising on my arms. I couldn't imagine how the russet wolf would fit inside the RabbitJacob would tear the whole garage apart if he changed now. â€Å"Jasper could sort of control the emotions of the people around him. Not in a bad way, just to calm someone down, that kind of thing. It would probably help Paul a lot,† I added, teasing weakly. â€Å"And then Alice could see things that were going to happen. The future, you know, but not absolutely. The things she saw would change when someone changed the path they were on† Like how she'd seen me dying and she'd seen me becoming one of them. Two things that had not happened. And one that never would. My head started to spinI couldn't seem to pull in enough oxygen from the air. No lungs. Jacob was entirely in control now, very still beside me. â€Å"Why do you do that?† he asked. He tugged lightly at one of my arms, which was bound around my chest, and then gave up when it wouldn't come loose easily. I hadn't even realized I'd moved them. â€Å"You do that when you're upset. Why?† â€Å"It hurts to think about them,† I whispered. â€Å"It's like I can't breathe like I'm breaking into pieces†It was bizarre how much I could tell Jacob now. We had no more secrets. He smoothed my hair. â€Å"It's okay, Bella, it's okay. I won't bring it up again. I'm sorry.† â€Å"I'm fine.† I gasped. â€Å"Happens all the time. Not your fault.† â€Å"We're a pretty messed-up pair, aren't we?† Jacob said. â€Å"Neither one of us can hold our shape together right.† â€Å"Pathetic,† I agreed, still breathless. â€Å"At least we have each other,† he said, clearly comforted by the thought. I was comforted, too. â€Å"At least there's that,† I agreed. And when we were together, it was fine. But Jacob had a horrible, dangerous job he felt compelled to do, and so I was often alone, stuck in La Push for safety, with nothing to do to keep my mind off any of my worries. I felt awkward, always taking up space at Billy's. I did some studying for another Calculus test that was coming up next week, but I could only look at math for so long. When I didn't have something obvious to do in my hands, I felt like I ought to be making conversation with Billythe pressure of normal societal rules. But Billy wasn't one for filling up the long silences, and so the awkwardness continued. I tried hanging out at Emily's place Wednesday afternoon, for a change. At first it was kind of nice. Emily was a cheerful person who never sat still. I drifted behind her while she flitted around her little house and yard, scrubbing at the spotless floor, pulling a tiny weed, fixing a broken hinge, tugging a string of wool through an ancient loom, and always cooking, too. She complained lightly about the increase in the boys' appetites from all their extra running, but it was easy to see she didn't mind taking care of them. It wasn't hard to be with herafter all, we were both wolf girls now. But Sam checked in after I'd been there for a few hours. I only stayed long enough to ascertain that Jacob was fine and there was no news, and then I had to escape. The aura of love and contentment that surrounded them was harder to take in concentrated doses, with no one else around to dilute it. So that left me wandering the beach, pacing the length of the rocky crescent back and forth, again and again. Alone time wasn't good for me. Thanks to the new honesty with Jacob, I'd been talking and thinking about the Cullens way too much. No matter how I tried to distract myselfand I had plenty to think of: I was honestly and desperately worried about Jacob and his wolf-brothers, I was terrified for Charlie and the others who thought they were hunting animals, I was getting in deeper and deeper with Jacob without ever having consciously decided to progress in that direction and I didn't know what to do about itnone of these very real, very deserving of thought, very pressing concerns could take my mind off the pain in my chest for long. Eventually, I couldn't even walk anymore, because I couldn't breathe. I sat down on a patch of semidry rocks and curled up in a ball. Jacob found me like that, and I could tell from his expression that he understood. â€Å"Sorry,† he said right away. He pulled me up from the ground and wrapped both arms around my shoulders. I hadn't realized that I was cold until then. His warmth made me shudder, but at least I could breathe with him there. â€Å"I'm ruining your spring break,† Jacob accused himself as we walked back up the beach. â€Å"No, you're not. I didn't have any plans. I don't think I like spring breaks, anyway.† â€Å"I'll take tomorrow morning off. The others can run without me. We'll do something fun.† The word seemed out of place in my life right now, barely comprehensible, bizarre. â€Å"Fun?† â€Å"Fun is exactly what you need. Hmm† he gazed out across the heaving gray waves, deliberating. As his eyes scanned the horizon, he had a flash of inspiration. â€Å"Got it!† he crowed. â€Å"Another promise to keep.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† He let go of my hand and pointed toward the southern edge of the beach, where the flat, rocky half-moon dead-ended against the sheer sea cliffs. I stared, uncomprehending. â€Å"Didn't I promise to take you cliff diving?† I shivered. â€Å"Yeah, it'll be pretty coldnot as cold as it is today. Can you feel the weather changing? The pressure? It will be warmer tomorrow. You up for it?† The dark water did not look inviting, and, from this angle, the cliffs looked even higher than before. But it had been days since I'd heard Edward's voice. That was probably part of the problem. I was addicted to the sound of my delusions. It made things worse if I went too long without them. Jumping off a cliff was certain to remedy that situation. â€Å"Sure, I'm up for it. Fun.† â€Å"It's a date,† he said, and draped his arm around my shoulders. â€Å"Okaynow let's go get you some sleep.† I didn't like the way the circles under his eyes were beginning to look permanently etched onto his skin. I woke early the next morning and snuck a change of clothes out to the truck. I had a feeling that Charlie would approve of today's plan just about as much as he would approve of the motorcycle. The idea of a distraction from all my worries had me almost excited. Maybe it would be fun. A date with Jacob, a date with Edward I laughed darkly to myself. Jake could say what he wanted about us being a messed-up pairI was the one who was truly messed up. I made the werewolf seem downright normal. I expected Jacob to meet me out front, the way he usually did when my noisy truck announced my arrival. When he didn't, I guessed that he might still be sleeping. I would waitlet him get as much rest as he could. He needed his sleep, and that would give the day time to warm a bit more. Jake had been right about the weather, though; it had changed in the night. A thick layer of clouds pressed heavily on the atmosphere now, making it almost sultry; it was warm and close under the gray blanket. I left my sweater in the truck. I knocked quietly on the door. â€Å"C'mon in, Bella,† Billy said. He was at the kitchen table, eating cold cereal. â€Å"Jake sleeping?† â€Å"Er, no.† He set his spoon down, and his eyebrows pulled together. â€Å"What happened?† I demanded. I could tell from his expression that something had. â€Å"Embry, Jared, and Paul crossed a fresh trail early this morning. Sam and Jake took off to help. Sam was hopefulshe's hedged herself in beside the mountains. He thinks they have a good chance to finish this.† â€Å"Oh, no, Billy,† I whispered. â€Å"Oh, no.† He chuckled, deep and low. â€Å"Do you really like La Push so well that you want to extend your sentence here?† â€Å"Don't make jokes, Billy. This is too scary for that.† â€Å"You're right,† he agreed, still complacent. His ancient eyes were impossible to read. â€Å"This one's tricky.† I bit my lip. â€Å"It's not as dangerous for them as you think it is. Sam knows what he's doing. You're the one that you should worry about. The vampire doesn't want to fight them. She's just trying to find a way around them to you.† â€Å"How does Sam know what he's doing?† I demanded, brushing aside his concern for me. â€Å"They've only killed just the one vampirethat could have been luck.† â€Å"We take what we do very seriously, Bella. Nothing's been forgotten. Everything they need to know has been passed down from father to son for generations.† That didn't comfort me the way he probably intended it to. The memory of Victoria, wild, catlike, lethal, was too strong in my head. If she couldn't get around the wolves, she would eventually try to go through them. Billy went back to his breakfast; I sat down on the sofa and flipped aimlessly though the TV channels. That didn't last long. I started to feel closed in by the small room, claustrophobic, upset by the fact that I couldn't see out the curtained windows. â€Å"I'll be at the beach,† I told Billy abruptly, and hurried out the door. Being outside didn't help as much as I'd hoped. The clouds pushed down with an invisible weight that kept the claustrophobia from easing. The forest seemed strangely vacant as I walked toward the beach. I didn't see any animalsno birds, no squirrels. I couldn't hear any birds, either. The silence was eerie; there wasn't even the sound of wind in the trees. I knew it was all just a product of the weather, but it still made me edgy. The heavy, warm pressure of the atmosphere was perceptible even to my weak human senses, and it hinted at something major in the storm department. A glance at the sky backed this up; the clouds were churning sluggishly despite the lack of breeze on the ground. The closest clouds were a smoky gray, but between the cracks I could see another layer that was a gruesome purple color. The skies had a ferocious plan in store for today. The animals must be bunkering down. As soon as I reached the beach, I wished I hadn't comeI'd already had enough of this place. I'd been here almost every day, wandering alone. Was it so much different from my nightmares? But where else to go? I trudged down to the driftwood tree, and sat at the end so that I could lean against the tangled roots. I stared up at the angry sky broodingly, waiting for the first drops to break the stillness. I tried not to think about the danger Jacob and his friends were in. Because nothing could happen to Jacob. The thought was unendurable. I'd lost too much alreadywould fate take the last few shreds of peace left behind? That seemed unfair, out of balance. But maybe I'd violated some unknown rule, crossed some line that had condemned me. Maybe it was wrong to be so involved with myths and legends, to turn my back on the human world. Maybe No. Nothing would happen to Jacob. I had to believe that or I wouldn't be able to function. â€Å"Argh!† I groaned, and jumped off the log. I couldn't sit still; it was worse than pacing. I'd really been counting on hearing Edward this morning. It seemed like that was the one thing that might make it bearable to live through this day. The hole had been festering lately, like it was getting revenge for the times that Jacob's presence had tamed it. The edges burned. The waves picked up as I paced, beginning to crash against the rocks, but there was still no wind. I felt pinned down by the pressure of the storm. Everything swirled around me, but it was perfectly still where I stood. The air had a faint electric chargeI could feel the static in my hair. Farther out, the waves were angrier than they were along the shore. I could see them battering against the line of the cliffs, spraying big white clouds of sea foam into the sky. There was still no movement in the air, though the clouds roiled more quickly now. It was eerie lookinglike the clouds were moving by their own will. I shivered, though I knew it was just a trick of the pressure. The cliffs were a black knife edge against the livid sky. Staring at them, I remembered the day Jacob had told me about Sam and his â€Å"gang.† I thought of the boysthe werewolvesthrowing themselves into the empty air. The image of the falling, spiraling figures was still vivid in my mind. I imagined the utter freedom of the fall I imagined the way Edward's voice would have sounded in my headfurious, velvet, perfect The burning in my chest flared agonizingly. There had to be some way to quench it. The pain was growing more and more intolerable by the second. I glared at the cliffs and the crashing waves. Well, why not? Why not quench it right now? Jacob had promised me cliff diving, hadn't he? Just because he was unavailable, should I have to give up the distraction I needed so badlyneeded even worse because Jacob was out risking his life? Risking it, in essence, for me. If it weren't for me, Victoria would not be killing people here just somewhere else, far away. If anything happened to Jacob, it would be my fault. That realization stabbed deep and had me jogging back up to the road toward Billy's house, where my truck waited. I knew my way to the lane that passed closest to the cliffs, but I had to hunt for the little path that would take me out to the ledge. As I followed it, I looked for turns or forks, knowing that Jake had planned to take me off the lower outcropping rather than the top, but the path wound in a thin single line toward the brink with no options. I didn't have time to find another way downthe storm was moving in quickly now. The wind was finally beginning to touch me, the clouds pressing closer to the ground. Just as I reached the place where the dirt path fanned out into the stone precipice, the first drops broke through and splattered on my face. It was not hard to convince myself that I didn't have time to search for another wayI wanted to jump from the top. This was the image that had lingered in my head. I wanted the long fall that would feel like flying. I knew that this was the stupidest, most reckless thing I had done yet. The thought made me smile. The pain was already easing, as if my body knew that Edward's voice was just seconds away The ocean sounded very far away, somehow farther than before, when I was on the path in the trees. I grimaced when I thought of the probable temperature of the water. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. The wind blew stronger now, whipping the rain into eddies around me. I stepped out to the edge, keeping my eyes on the empty space in front of me. My toes felt ahead blindly, caressing the edge of the rock when they encountered it. I drew in a deep breath and held it . . waiting. â€Å"Bella.† I smiled and exhaled. Yes? I didn't answer out loud, for fear that the sound of my voice would shatter the beautiful illusion. He sounded so real, so close. It was only when lie was disapproving like this that I could hear the true memory of his voicethe velvet texture and the musical intonation that made up the most perfect of all voices. â€Å"Don't do this,† he pleaded. You wanted me to be human, I reminded him. Well, watch me. â€Å"Please. For me.† But you won't stay with me any other way. â€Å"Please.† It was just a whisper in the blowing rain that tossed my hair and drenched my clothesmaking me as wet as if this were my second jump of the day. I rolled up onto the balls of my feet. â€Å"No, Bella!† He was angry now, and the anger was so lovely. I smiled and raised my arms straight out, as if I were going to dive, lifting my face into the rain. But it was too ingrained from years of swimming at the public poolfeet first, first time. I leaned forward, crouching to get more spring And I flung myself off the cliff. I screamed as I dropped through the open air like a meteor, but it was a scream of exhilaration and not fear. The wind resisted, trying vainly to fight the unconquerable gravity, pushing against me and twirling me in spirals like a rocket crashing to the earth. Yes! The word echoed through my head as I sliced through the surface of the water. It was icy, colder than I'd feared, and yet the chill only added to the high. I was proud of myself as I plunged deeper into the freezing black water. I hadn't had one moment of terrorjust pure adrenaline. Really, the fall wasn't scary at all. Where was the challenge? That was when the current caught me. I'd been so preoccupied by the size of the cliffs, by the obvious danger of their high, sheer faces, that I hadn't worried at all about the dark water waiting. I never dreamed that the true menace was lurking far below me, under the heaving surf. It felt like the waves were fighting over me, jerking me back and forth between them as if determined to share by pulling me into halves. I knew the right way to avoid a riptide: swim parallel to the beach rather than struggling for the shore. But the knowledge did me little good when I didn't know which way the shore was. I couldn't even tell which way the surface was. The angry water was black in every direction; there was no brightness to direct me upward. Gravity was all-powerful when it competed with the air, but it had nothing on the wavesI couldn't feel a downward pull, a sinking in any direction. Just the battering of the current that flung me round and round like a rag doll. I fought to keep my breath in, to keep my lips locked around my last store of oxygen. It didn't surprise me that my delusion of Edward was there. He owed me that much, considering that I was dying. I was surprised by how sure that knowledge was. I was going to drown. I was drowning. â€Å"Keep swimming!† Edward begged urgently in my head. Where? There was nothing but the darkness. There was no place to swim to. â€Å"Stop that!† he ordered. â€Å"Don't you dare give up!† The cold of the water was numbing my arms and legs. I didn't feel the buffeting so much as before. It was more of just a dizziness now, a helpless spinning in the water. But I listened to him. I forced my arms to continue reaching, my legs to kick harder, though every second I was facing a new direction. It couldn't be doing any good. What was the point? â€Å"Fight!† he yelled. â€Å"Damn it, Bella, keep fighting.† Why? I didn't want to fight anymore. And it wasn't the light-headedness, or the cold, or the failure of my arms as the muscles gave out in exhaustion, that made me content to stay where I was. I was almost happy that it was over. This was an easier death than others I'd faced. Oddly peaceful. I thought briefly of the clichs, about how you were suppose to see your life flash before your eyes. I was so much luckier. Who wanted to see a rerun, anyway? I saw him, and I had no will to fight. It was so clear, so much more defined than any memory. My subconscious had stored Edward away in flawless detail, saving him for this final moment. I could see his perfect face as if he were really there; the exact shade of his icy skin, the shape of his lips, the line of his jaw, the gold glinting in his furious eyes. He was angry, naturally, that I was giving up. His teeth were clenched and his nostrils flared with rage. â€Å"No! Bella, no!† My ears were flooded with the freezing water, but his voice was clearer than ever. I ignored his words and concentrated on the sound of his voice. Why would I fight when I was so happy where I was? Even as my lungs burned for more air and my legs cramped in the icy cold, I was content. I'd forgotten what real happiness felt like. Happiness. It made the whole dying thing pretty bearable. The current won at that moment, shoving me abruptly against something hard, a rock invisible in the gloom. It hit me solidly across the chest, slamming into me like an iron bar, and the breath whooshed out of my lungs, escaping in a thick cloud of silver bubbles. Water flooded down my throat, choking and burning. The iron bar seemed to be dragging me, pulling me away from Edward, deeper into the dark, to the ocean floor. Goodbye, I love you, was my last thought.