Environmental Pollution The Biggest World Problems We...

Environmental pollution is one of the biggest world problems we are facing. There are many different environmental pollution such as, air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution. The main contributors for air pollution are human-made pollutants due to activities like combustion, construction; mining, agriculture and warfare are significant. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Soil pollution is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or improper disposal of waste. Those pollutions cause physical disabilities, psychological, and behavioral disorders in people and animals. Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. It occurs when the air contains a harmful amount of gases, dust, fumes and odor. Air pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution. It occurs due to many reasons. Excessive burning of fuels, driving and other industrial activities, and burning coals cause air pollution. Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal burning. This releases sulfur dioxide into the air making it toxic. Sulfur dioxide and hazardous gases into the air cause global warming and acid rain, which in turn have increased temperatures, erratic rainsShow MoreRelatedEnvironmental Problem in Mongolia Essay875 Words   |  4 Pagesimportant environmental problems in Mongolia today? 2.2 What are the biggest changes in the environment in Mongolia? 2.3 How can we solve some of the environmental problems in UB? 1.1 What are the important environmental problems in Mongolia today? The environment is everything around us. It is the air, water, land, climates and so on. A clean, well balanced environment has far reaching effects over all life forms and mankind. However, Mongolians can’t keep the environmental balanceRead MoreThe Threat Of Greenhouse Gases1456 Words   |  6 PagesEMISSION The world is facing a new kind of threat to environmental security. As humanity continues to neglect and abuse the environment our future generations will be facing severe environmental hardships. Humankind is the biggest danger to environmental security. According to the U.S Census Bureau as of October 2016 the most populated country in the world is China with the population of 1, 373,541,248 people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). It is not a surprise that China is also one of the biggest pollutionRead MoreThe Global Issue Of Population Growth979 Words   |  4 PagesBeyond a doubt we urgently need to address the devastating global issue of population growth in the United States America before we destroy our planet. We are facing many devastating economic problems, such as pollution, global warming, education, but the most critical is overconsumption. Overpopulation is a huge problem in the United States of America, which is causing us to run out of natural resources. The human race is already too large and is destroying the natural systems that support us. ThereRead MoreThe Global Issue Of Population Growth960 Words   |  4 PagesBeyond a doubt we urgently need to address the devastating global issue of population growth in the United States America before we destroy our planet. We are facing many devastating economic problems, such as pollution, global warming, education, but the most critical is overconsumption. Overpopulation is a huge problem in the United States of America, which is causing us to run out of natural resources. The human race is already too large and is destroying the natural systems that support us. ThereRead MoreThe Effects Of Our Lack Of Sustainability Of Earth On Children1251 Words   |  6 Pagesto the future generations of the world. The Earth is in a constant state of change and the inhabitants of Earth are called to make decisions on how to maintain a stable and healthy environment for future generations. The biggest contributor to the negative effect on the Earth is pollution. Pollution has not only put a physical burden on the environment, but it has altered the way that we think about living here. Thousands of years ago the earth controlled who we were, but now the futuristic humanRead MoreImportance Of Environment Essay1395 Words   |  6 Pagessurroundings which help life to grow and nourish on this earth. It helps human beings, animals and other living things to grow and develop naturally. But now days,our everyday actions and decisions are negatively impacting the environment, causing pollution, deforestation, overfishing.We are disturbing our environment in many ways which affecting not only the environment but all living beings. Any type of disturbance in the nature’s balance affects the environment totally which ruins the human livesRead MoreImpact Of Environmental Pollution1382 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Pollution is one of the biggest problems human civilization is facing in todays age. It is one of the many challenges the world is facing today. The impacts of pollution lead many people to illness, death and disabilities annually. Global warming is a result of environmental pollution. Developing countries like Bangladesh suffers the most compare to the developed countries as they dont have enough resources and technologies to combat pollution. They dont have the sustainable economicRead MoreThe Garbage Of Waste Management System1342 Words   |  6 Pagesit whatsoever to the common individual; however, as the collected data supports, garbage poses a significant threat to the global environment, as pollution causes damaging consequences around the globe. I. Garbage Mountains: Throughout the world and especially in the United States man made piles and mountains of garbage are becoming a major environmental issue in our society. Upcoming solutions for these over piling â€Å"garbage mountains† are to transform this garbage into usable materials. The windingRead MoreWater Pollution And The Biggest Environmental Issues Today1732 Words   |  7 PagesWater pollution as we know it is something that we are all the concern about. Not everyone is aware of what is in our environmental waters, not only many people do not know, but they do not know what causes the pollution and what is in it. Why is water pollution one of the biggest environmental issues today? Today many people don’t think twice about how we use the water or how much garbage we put in it. Which take us to our issues today. One, water shortage in many places, as well health risks thatRead MoreThe Economic Development Of Bangladesh1710 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to World Bank’s development indicators, Bangladesh ranked 44th in the world economy. In spite of its economic progress, poverty remains a curse. By looking at the poverty headcount ratio of 43.3% as of 2010, we can still notice that most of the people are living under poverty line. Furthermo re, the economic development of our country comes with an additional cost that is environmental degradation. As the Kuznets’s curve demonstrates developing counties undergo increased environmental degradation

The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 19 Free Essays

THE STAIRS WENT UP and up in a long slow spiral, and Aerin followed, turning round and round till it seemed to her she must be climbing the well of the sky and at the end of the staircase she would step onto the moon’s cold surface and look down, far away, upon the green earth. For a little while she could hear her friends, who waited restlessly at the foot of the stair; once she heard the thinnest thread of a whine, but that was all. None tried to follow her. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 19 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Then she could no longer hear anything but the soft sound of her footsteps and the occasional slow stutter of a guttering flame. Her legs ached with climbing, and her back ached with tension, and her neck ached with keeping her head tipped up to look at the endless staircase; and her mind ached with thoughts she dared not think. Daylight had disappeared long since, had gone with the last sounds of her beasts; the light in her eyes was red. In the edges of her vision she saw gaping black doors that led into chambers she would not imagine, let alone turn her gaze to see; and sometimes the soft noise of her footsteps echoed strangely on a stair that opened into such a room. The silence weighed her down; the air grew heavier with every step up. She recognized the weight, though she had never felt it thus before: evil. Maur’s breath had stunk of evil, and its words had set evil tracks in her mind; but she had faced Maur on the earth and under the sky, not in a dark endless airless tower. She struggled on. With each step she felt her ankles and shinbones jar against the floor, and tendons grate across her kneecaps, the heavy thigh muscles twist and curl, her hips grind in their sockets. Her right ankle began to ache. She was still carrying the surka wreath, and as she thought of Maur she remembered the red stone she had taken with her from its ashes, and remembered that she carried the stone even now. She had a moment’s cold dread, wondering if she were carrying her own betrayal into Agsded’s lair; but she put her hand into the breast of her tunic, and drew out the little soft pouch where the stone lay. The stone was hot to the touch when she let it fall into her palm from the pouch, and it seemed to writhe in her fingers; she almost dropped it, but she thought of spiders and surka leaves, and held on; then shook it back into its pouch, and curled her fingers around it._ Still she climbed, but she no longer felt alone. Evil was with her; red evil shone in her eyes, rode on her shoulders, harried her heels; waited in the dark doorways where she would not look, fell like ash and rose like smoke from the torches. Evil was all around her, and it watched her, eyelessly, watched for her first stumble. Still the stairs rose before her, and still her weary legs carried her up; she wondered how many days she had spent climbing stairs, and if her army had disbanded by now, and she worried about Talat, who was wearing his saddle and gear. She should have remembered to strip it off before she entered the dark tower. The red light throbbed in time to her own pulse; she panted in a rhythm begun by its fluctuations; the sweat that ran into her eyes was red, and it burned. And now she had something else to worry about, for where she had touched the tender skin of her throat with her surka-sticky fingers when she pulled at the thong that held the dragon stone’s pouch, it burned too. But its throb had nothing to do with the tower. It throbbed angrily and self-consciously, and her mind was distracted enough to think, This is typical. On my way to gods know what unspeakable doom, and I break out in a rash. But it lightened the evil a little; she did not notice this as such, only that she toiled on in a slightly better spirit. Idly she pulled one end of her collar loose and pressed it against the surka rash, which didn’t help at all. Up. And still up. Everything ached; it was impossible to tell the leg cramps from the headache any more; the only thing about her that still bore any individuality was the surka rash on her chest, which was spreading. Up. She had been climbing forever; she would be climbing forever. She would be a new god: the God That Climbs. It was no more improbable than some of the other gods: the God That Isn’t There, for example (more often known as the God That Follows or the God That Goes Before), which was the shadow-god at midday. The rash had also begun to itch, and she had to curl her surka-stained fingers into fists to stop herself from scratching the too sensitive skin on her neck and chest. And still she climbed. The heat in the red stone now beat at one hand even through the pouch; and the crisp leaves of the surka pinched the fingers of the other hand. When she came to the top she did not believe it. She stood dumbly, looking at the black hallway before her, opening from a black doorway like all the other doorways she had straitly passed on her long spiral ascent; but now the stairs were ended, and she must cross this threshold or turn around and go back. There were no torches lighting this hall; the last of them threw their shadows at her from half a dozen steps below. And suddenly those shadows flickered, though there was no draught, and she knew there was something on the stairs behind her, and she plunged forward into the darkness. She would have said she had no strength left for running, but she did run. Gonturan banging painfully against her ankle, although her feet were numb with climbing. Then she saw that the hall was quite short, for the blackness before her was that of double doors, their frames edged with the thinnest line of red light; and she stopped abruptly a few strides from them, her muscles quivering and her knees threatening to dump her full length on the floor for the thing coming up the stairs to find. She leaned against the outer edge of one door, her back to the narrow wall where it joined the corridor wall; her breath whined in her throat. Thank Luthe for the thoroughness of my cure, she thought as she felt the thick air surging into the bottom of her chest, being hurled out again, and a fresh lungful captured. The rash on her chest throbbed with extra enthusiasm as she panted, and the skin above her ribcage had to heave and subside more quickly. Well, thorough about the important thing, she amended. Luthe. She had not thought of him, had not quite said his name even in the dimmest, most private recesses of her mind, since she had left him. She had said she would come back to him. Her breathing eased; even the evil air seemed to taste less foul. Luthe. She looked down the hallway, but saw nothing coming toward her. Perhaps it is Nothing, she thought. Perhaps that is what follows here. She looked down at her hands. She could not open the doors behind her – supposing they opened in the usual fashion – with both hands full. She knelt down, kicking the tip of Gonturan to one side so she jammed up into a corner and gave Aerin’s armpit a sharp poke with her hilt, and put the hidden stone and the green wreath on the stone floor. Slowly she upended the leather bag, and the hot red stone spilled out, burning in its own light, long red tongues of that light snaking down the corridor and up the walls. It made her dizzy. She prodded the wreath and made a small hollow in the twined stems, hastily picked up the stone as it tried to scorch her fingers, and dropped it in. It sizzled and hissed, but the surka seemed to quench it, and the red light subsided. Aerin pulled the leaves back over it again, shook the wreath to be sure it could not fall out, and stood up. By the wings of the mother of all horses, her rash would drive her mad soon. She rubbed it helplessly, the heel of her hand chafing it against the inside of her shirt, and it responded gleefully by feeling as if it had caught fire; but as she dropped her hand again and then tried to bow her shoulders so that her shirt and tunic would fall away from the infected skin, she stopped thinking about what might be creeping up the stairs behind her. Bowing her shoulders did no good either. Irritably she turned to face the door, her free hand pressed flat against her chest again with shirt and tunic between; and pushed at the doors with the hand that held the surka. The leaves rasped against the inside edge of the doors, and the doors exploded. There was a roar like all the thunder gods came down off their mountain to howl simultaneously in her ears; and winds spun around her like endless spiral staircases, bruising her with their edges. There was torn redness before her eyes, rent with blackness, clawed with white and yellow; she felt that her eyes would be hammered out of their sockets. She staggered forward, still clutching the wreath, the hand that held it outstretched. She could not see floor nor walls nor ceiling, nor anything; only the shards of color, like mad rags of cloth streaming past. Her other hand fell to Gonturan’s hilt, though she knew she hadn’t a chance of drawing her in this vortex of storm; still it gave comfort to clutch at her. The wind lifted her entirely off her feet for a moment and dropped her again and she stumbled and almost fell, and so the wind seized her yet again and threw her to one side, and only luck let her fall feet first the second time. This will not do, she thought, and braced herself as best she could. I’ll probably lose her – and with a wild heave she pulled Gonturan free of her scabbard. Blue fire blazed up and whirled around her, and the winds and thunders backed off. Aerin gave Gonturan an experimental swoop, and she sang, a shrill grim note, and the shards of red and black and claws of yellow and white disappeared into shadows and became a floor and five red walls and a ceiling overhead with things painted on it, fell things of red and black, with fangs and yellow claws. And at the far end of the chamber stood a man dressed in white, with a red sword girt at his side, and she knew him at once, for she had seen his face often enough in her mirror. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. He laughed, her own laugh, but greater, deeper, with terrible echoes that made tangled harmonies, and those harmonies found the places in her own mind that she had never looked into, that by their existence had long frightened her; that she had hoped always to be able to ignore. The air reeled over her in thick waves, and Gonturan’s blue fire dimmed and flickered as her hand trembled. â€Å"Well met, sister’s daughter,† he said. His voice was low and soft and courteous; a thoughtful, philosophical, wise, and kindly voice, a voice anyone might trust; a voice nothing like Aerin’s own. â€Å"Not well met,† Aerin said at last in a strangled voice, which seemed to cut ugly holes in the air currents between them, which destroyed the harmonies that still hummed in her mind; but by the sound of her own voice she felt she had lost something treasured and beautiful that might have forever been hers. â€Å"Not well met. You killed my mother and you would kill my people and my country.† He raised his shoulders, and his white robe rippled and fell in long graceful folds that glinted softly, like the petals of spring flowers. His hazel eyes blinked gently at her; her own eyes, but larger and set more deeply beneath a higher brow. â€Å"And why, my dear, should you care? You never met your mother, so you cannot miss her. I may have done you a favor; many daughters would be glad to have escaped the tender ministrations of their mothers. â€Å"And when has your land ever cared for you?† His voice sank lower yet, purring, and he smiled Aerin’s own smile. â€Å"They call you witch’s daughter – and so you are, and more, for your mother might have been given the mage mark had she not fled too soon – and they should revere you for it. But in their small vicious way they choose to revile you. â€Å"Your father is kind – why should he not be? You have never been any trouble – you have never demanded your rightful place as his daughter and his only child; and lately you have been of some small use, slaying dragons, so that he need not send out his valuable men on so inglorious a task. You have kept to the shadows, and he has let you stay there, and has done nothing to deny his people’s voices when they whisper, witchwoman’s daughter. â€Å"And Tor?† He chuckled. â€Å"Honest Tor. He loves you, you know. You know that. So does everyone. They all say that you are your mother’s daughter – I think even the worthy Arlbeth wonders just a little, sometimes – and your mother was a witch; never forget that. Tor himself is, of course, not in a position to do much thinking about this. And as you are your mother’s daughter, even when you do not remember it †¦ † He smiled her smile at her again, but it seemed very full of teeth. â€Å"No,† said Aerin; it was almost a shriek. Gonturan wavered in her hand. â€Å"But yes. And think of who accompanied you to this fateful meeting. Do you come with your father’s finest cavalry? Do you come at least with a troop of well-meaning if inexperienced men? Why, no – you come without even the lowliest Damarian foot soldier, without even a ragged village brat to shine your boots. You come at all only because you escaped, like a prisoner, from the City which ought to be yours to command. You come draggle-tailed, with wild beasts of the hills, riding an old lame horse who should have been mercifully killed years ago.† He seemed to have some trouble saying the word â€Å"mercifully†: it was as if his teeth got in his way. Aerin shook her head dumbly. His words buzzed in her ears like insects waiting to sting her; and the terrible harmonies of his laugh bit deeper into her each time she moved. If only her chest didn’t itch so; it was hard to concentrate on anything through the itching; it was worse even than the headache. He was talking about Talat, poor patient Talat, waiting for her while his saddle galled him; grey horses often had oversensitive skin. If she had been born a horse she would undoubtedly have been grey. Her chest felt like it no longer had skin on it at all; perhaps it was being torn by those red-and-black creatures with the claws. The low murmuring buzzing voice went on. â€Å"And Luthe.† The voice paused a moment. â€Å"I knew Luthe very well once.† Even through the gentle gracious melody of that voice she heard the malice behind it when it spoke Luthe’s name; she was only too well aware of malice, for it was eating a hole in her breastbone now. Furthermore, it was her own voice she listened to, for all its beauty, and she knew, when it roughened, where the roughness came from. â€Å"Luthe, who doesn’t dare leave his mountain any more. Little Luthe, never one of Goriolo’s favorite pupils, for he was always a little slow – although he sometimes disguised this rather cleverly, I must admit, with his own unique style of obstinacy.† Do you think I like sending a child to a doom like this, one I know I cannot myself face? It was as though she were hearing the words for the first time, so loudly did they crash in her ears; Luthe’s voice was not mellifluous, like her red-haired uncle’s; Luthe’s voice was raw and angry, like the spot on her chest. â€Å"Luthe, and his games with children, for children’s games were as much as he was capable – â€Å" â€Å"Now that,† Aerin said quite clearly and calmly, â€Å"is nonsense. If you can do no better than cheap insults, then the prophecy over-estimates you. I shall tell Luthe that he could have met you himself.† â€Å"The prophecy!† howled Agsded; and he seemed to grow till he towered over her, his robes billowing, his hair red as fire; and dimly Aerin thought. His hair is the color mine used to be before Maur burned most of it off. My hair isn’t that color any more. Agsded reached for his sword, and Aerin raised Gonturan again and shook her, and blue fire ran down her edge and over Aerin’s hand and wrist, and onto the floor; and where it touched, cracks appeared, and ran in tiny rays in all directions. â€Å"You may be right about Tor and my father,† Aerin went on conversationally. â€Å"You may even be right about me. But you are wrong about Luthe.† The red sword whipped out of its scabbard and flew at her, but Gonturan flashed to stop it, and where the blades crashed together more blue fire dripped and splashed, and there was another series of small star-shaped cracks in the floor. â€Å"Fool,† boomed Agsded’s voice, and it was velvety no longer. â€Å"Fool. The prophecy said that only one of my blood may face me, and so you have come this far; but your Damarian blood cannot stand against the one who wears the Hero’s Crown.† Aerin raised her eyes to his forehead, and where she had not seen it before, the dull grey circlet that was Damar’s dearest prize and treasure was bound closely to his brows. She could not help the shudder that ran through her, for what he said was true. Luthe, she thought, you should have come with me; you could have been the un-Damarian half. The red sword bit at her again, and again Gonturan pulled her arm into place in time to deflect it. Yet even as death awaited her so near she could see its red jaws opening, her clearest thought was still a desperate desire to find a way to make her chest stop itching. I wonder if one can still itch if one is dead, she thought; and her arm jerked once more as Gonturan parried another slash. But the red sword almost broke through her guard, and her arm seemed suddenly weak; and she did not know if it was the fact of her opponent’s wearing the Crown, or only her knowledge of the fact; and her eyes were drawn up again to his forehead. But she could not bear to look at that face for long, her own face, with wide mad green eyes, and hair red as fire. †¦ My hair is not that color any more, she told herself, and my eyes are not those eyes, and I am not the man before me. I am not he, she thought; my mother fled him as I now face him, for what he is and we are not. And yet she wa s grateful that she could not look often into the face which was not hers, for she must watch the flicker of the red sword. â€Å"Who taught you swordplay?† thundered Agsded. â€Å"No mortal can best me.† And the red sword looked like seven swords as it swooped down on her again; and yet Gonturan was seven swords in return, and struck them all away. I’m afraid you are no longer quite mortal – mortal, Aerin thought. She laughed, and the red blade wavered when she laughed; perhaps the laugh of his sister’s daughter echoed in Agsded’s brain as horribly as his did in Aerin’s. And as the red blade hesitated, Gonturan struck Agsded’s shoulder. An inhuman scream went up, from the red mage or from the blue sword, Aerin could not tell; and then Agsded’s sword came for her again, more swiftly than before, and Aerin could not even follow with her eyes as the two swords caught at each other, thrust and slammed and were hurled apart. â€Å"My Damarian blood,† she panted, â€Å"uncle, is not so cursed as you think; for I have swum in the Lake of Dre ams, and I – am – no – longer – quite – mortal.† â€Å"It will avail you naught,† he cried, and leaped back, and threw up his hands; and fire leaped up all around him. Fire. Real fire; red and orange, with hot thick smoke, and bright terrible arms that reached out for her. Aerin quailed, and there was no black cat nor white horse to help her. This fire was no mage illusion; she could smell it, and the heat of it beat against her face; and again Gonturan’s blue fire flickered and dulled in her hand. Agsded laughed; and within the ring of fire he thrust his sword back into his belt and crossed his arms. â€Å"Well? Fire may still burn those who are – no – longer – quite – mortal.† He laughed again, and Aerin flinched from his voice even as from the licking flames; and the grey Crown was red in the firelight. Someday, she thought tiredly, I must learn to go forward of my own free will. If only my horrible chest would let me think clearly. She raised Gonturan, and the blue fire cascaded over her; it was cool against her face. She closed her eyes – closing my eyes is stupid, she thought – and jumped into the fire. It hissed and roared around her, but she ran forward and opened her eyes, and her uncle was just a little late pulling his sword free again, and Gonturan rose for a slash at his neck, the cut she had missed the last time. This time the blade ran true, and struck him squarely. And bounced off with a harsh ugly sound, and with a nick in her edge; and the recoil was such that she twisted out of Aerin’s grasp and fell to the fiery floor, and Aerin fell with her. â€Å"I am not precisely mortal either,† said Agsded, and grinned his grin again; and Aerin, looking up at the red sword that was about to sink into her, thought, I imagine I’ll be mortal enough when struck through the heart; I wonder what mage trick it is he uses – or perhaps it’s because he’s wearing the Crown. And because she had nothing else left to do, and because she was still holding the wreath in her other hand, she threw it at him. He screamed. It was a scream that cut across all the senses, sight and touch and taste and smell as well as hearing; it was a scream sharper than any sword and as bitter as hatred, as fierce as a hunting folstza and as implacable as winter. Aerin had only the dimmest recollection, through the scream, of the surka wreath touching his face, falling over his head to ring his shoulders; of the dragon stone shining as brilliantly red as Agsded’s sword had been, but which now turned to the dull rusted color of old blood; of a smaller fire, within the ring of fire, rising around Agsded higher and higher till he disappeared from view, as the fire he had thrown between himself and Aerin sank and darkened and died; and still the scream went on. Aerin staggered to her feet, and found that she was clutching Gonturan with both hands; and that the palm of one was wet with her own blood where she had seized unwarily at Gonturan’s edge; and that her hands and arms glowed blue, and as s he bent her head the hair that fell forward around her face was also blue, and when she looked down, her boots were blue, and there was a pool of blue spreading around them, and as the blue widened so did the tiny hairline cracks in the floor, which spread and crackled and sputtered as she looked, with Agsded’s scream still beating at her. Then the scream and the short sharp sounds the floor was making rose together in a tumultuous roar, and the stones on which Aerin stood gave way, and she fell, and saw the walls toppling in on her. It would be pleasant to faint at this point, she thought, but she didn’t, and she continued to clutch Gonturan, but she shifted the bloody hand to join the other on the hilt. When I land, she thought, I will fall over and cut myself in half on my own sword; but the fall may already have killed me. The sound of the mountain tower falling was so loud she could no longer make room for her thoughts, and so she gave up thinking and blackness hu rtled past her, and heavy fragments of that blackness fell with her but did not touch her, and she wondered if she might fall forever, as she had climbed, and thus perhaps become the God That Falls, or perhaps the God That Climbs and Falls. Then there was a shock, but to her feet or her skull or only her mind she did not know; whatever part of her was struck staggered, and she shook herself, and discovered that it was her head she was shaking, and then she blinked her eyes and looked up, and realized that she saw sunlight leaking through cracks as though through the ruined wails of an ancient building. At the same time that her confused eyes and brain figured out the sunlight she also realized that her feet were standing on something, that she hadn’t chopped herself in two by landing on Gonturan, and that she was no longer falling. She took a hesitant step, for she could see very little, and small pieces of rubble crunched and scattered under her feet. The pile of fragments teetered and threatened to spill her into the bottomless blackness again. There is no sense in taking my luck for granted, she told herself sternly, and resheathed Gonturan, gave an absent rub at her chest, and then stood still, blinking, till her eyes began to readjust to simple things like daylight, and stone walls with cracks in them. How to cite The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 19, Essay examples

Globalisation to Big MNC-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Using an example of an MNC from an emerging Market, present an analysis of the Opportunities and threats that Globalisation creates for Decision-Makers. What are the main lessons International Business Managers can learn about the interplay between home and host Country differences in achieving success? Answer: Introduction In earlier time, when there were no industrialization and no globalization, each and every country was doing business in their own home countries. At that time, the number of industries was so low that most of the sectors were ruled, owned and managed by the government. This was the time when local or the domestic producers earned really good amount of profits for their production of goods or services(lotey, 2010). But as time passed, the need of globalization was felt by everyone. In late 1980s globalization hit almost every other country around the world, and those who were not part of it later accepted globalization in order to boost their drowning economy(Becky, 2000). Globalization is believed to be started from Africa(education, 2013). Earlier it was only limited to people moving from one place (country) to another. When people from different places reached other countries they shared their ideas customs with that new country, this slowly led to the exchange of items between p ersons, then business and then at large between countries. A simple definition for globalization is: Globalization refers to all those processes by which the people of the world are incorporated into a single world society, global society(Albrow, 2000). Importance of globalization What does globalization means? It is the link between, the different countries with each other for the purpose of business, government affairs, or for migrating people from one place to another. Earlier the scope of globalization was only related to the business but when it was clearly and broadly defined by many eminent authors the meaning of globalization changed. The importance of globalization in todays world holds much more space in the room. There is no country left being the participant of globalization. Earlier it was only possible for the big scale industries to operate their businesses in other countries. Globalization made it possible, even for a newly opened business to go globalize. With the introduction of globalization many developed countries has made an enormous growth since then and has registered their name in the list of big players. An example of such a country is INDIA. In early 90s India opted globalization in order to save its drowning economy, and to everyone s surprise with a GDP of as low as 0.5% in 1990-91, India achieved a GDP growth of 9.7% in 2007-08. So globalization has its own importance that cant be ignored while studying about globalization. Globalization Firstly we will discuss the threats of globalization to Big MNCs given by (berth, 2014): Rise in competition: When a new company steps into and becomes a participant of globalization, they faces a tough competition from the existing participants, as the existing firms are already using high standards in their products and services, this force the new entrant to improve their standard in order to compete in the globalized market. Sometimes the scenario is totally opposite, a new entrant comes with such high technology that the existing players have to rework on their standards. Social Obligations: When a firm enters to operate their business in a new country, they are pre-occupied with several social obligations to fulfill. These obligations are kind of compulsory tax on the international firms. If these obligations are not met, then the table can turn out of the favor of the firms. Huge Taxations: Each country has their own taxation systems, few countries provides rebates in taxes to international firms, while few countries charge huge taxes in order to earn good amount as revenue from such business firms. Cost of raw materials: Most of the international businesses have turned to set up their branches in under-developed countries. Sometimes the firms do not get the required raw material in such countries so they bring it from their home countries which cost them really high, ultimately results in high expenses and low incomes. Hesitation of Local Public: If a globalized firm sets up in a really backward country, they do not get much attraction of customers as customers hesitate to buy foreign brands thinking that they must be very expensive. Now we will discuss the opportunities of globalization to Big MNCs given by (ferida, 2013): Location of Choice: Many countries in order to attract a large number of foreign brands to set up their industries in their countries, gave many benefits such as choice of location for the industry. This does not only turn in favor of the firms but also gave them a competitive advantage on others. Standard of Living Increases: In a country, when globalized firms enter the market of under-developed countries, the countrymen of that country positively try the product and services of that firm. This not only favors the firms but also increases the standard of living of the peoples living in these under-developed firms. Skilled Labor: Nowadays companies that go globalize, first study all the aspects of the targeted countries and then selects the most suitable country with skilled labor, resourceful lands and other benefits. Brand Name: Globalization has made it possible for all the firms to make their brand name all over the world by operating their business in all possible countries. It is up to the firms now, how to make that name. High Tech Machinery: One of the most important opportunities that globalization has availed to the companies are the high tech machinery. When a globalized company goes to other countries for their business, they observe the host country and their technology and if find appropriate they opt that technology into their workings. Critical Analysis Here in this part of the assignment we will study about this topic in detail. As every country was entering into the globalization era because of its booming benefits, many were afraid of its unseen threats. It is an old saying every good thing comes with a price to pay. Similar, was in case of globalization it came with numerous benefits yet it didnt managed to fade off its threats(Bellarus, 2010). To explore the topic of globalizations opportunity and its threat, we will take an example of a firm that is currently doing really good at domestic and international level. Zara is a Spanish firm providing, Clothing line products, now all around the world and before globalization their supply was only limited to Spain. Zara is perfect example of a globalized firm that really worked hard and turned every opportunity of globalization into their favor. The owner of Zara is announced the second richest man of the world by (Magazine, 2017). How the owner of Zara clothing company managed to re ach the spot of second richest man of the world, then the answer would be globalization(Buck, 2000). Zara presently owns 2100+ stores in almost 40 countries of the world. In 2015 Zara was listed in global brands list on 15th spot. Zara took every opportunity of globalization to make maximum profits out of it. Zara deals in Men, Women and Kids clothing; there is no doubt about the quality of the clothes you will get under ZARA roof. Below is the picture showing one of the ZARA showrooms in London at the most prominent place. This picture is a proof in itself about the success of ZARA because of globalization. Globalization helped Zara in opting newer, better, safer and economic technologies. In every region or country where they incorporated their work Zara created a large number of jobs, in return they got trained skilled labor (employees). In some regions they also received rebates in taxes from government of developing nations. These were some of the opportunities that are enjoyed by Zara. Now we will talk about the threats that emerged from globalization to this clothing brand. The first very common threat is the competition from the local brands. It is not always about brands but preference, even now there are a large no of peoples in developing nations that hesitates to buy branded clothes because of a their misconceptions that branded clothes means expensive apparels. Another threat to this emerging MNC is the lack of skilled labor in developing countries. When such companies with high technologies set up their branches in countries with outdated technologies and unskilled workers , the profits as well as the name of the company suffers. Another major threat could be cultural rifts between the company and the peoples of the host countries(Jicksy, 2012). An example of such threat is: In India, Coca-Cola Company compared and showed in an advertisement that their product (soft-drink) is better than milk, which affected the sentiments of many Indians, this advertisement created a cultural rift between the peoples and the company and this rift resulted in huge loss for the Coca-Cola Company. Now we will talk about what the managers of these big firms learnt from the process of globalization. A manager is a person who manages every little or big action of his/her related department. A manager is a key person in the success of any business as the higher end only makes the rules, regulations, frame policies and set objectives, but it is a manager who makes sure that every single employee is working towards the achievement of that objective. In the process of globalization, a firm decides to set up their branch or an office into a country other than their home country. The high end authorities come up with this decision and the managers of that particular firm then studies, observe and gathers the information about setting up another branch in another country. If everything goes right, managers report back to the high level officials and finally they incorporate their branch in host countries. In the process of globalization the managers of international firms explore their own field of capabilities and strengths. Globalization has really good and positive effects on the working of the managers. A manager working with a globalized firm not only gets the chance to work in their own country but also enjoys the opportunity of working in a host country(cuepper, 2017). Below are the points a manager working in a globalized firm can learn from the interplay between the host and home country in achieving success: Better technical knowledge: When a manager working in a globalized firm, working between home and host country, they become very known to the technology of both the countries and by comparing and observing they selects the finest of the high tech machinery for the business which ultimately results in the success of the business operations(Kasapidis, 2013). Creativity: A company for example, is doing a business of fast food (fried chicken) in a host country and is not earning a large attraction of the customers, and then it will be its manager to think about creative ideas to gain a large customer base. Managers of globalized firms come up with the most creative ideas as they are already known with the host countries peoples expectations and preferences. So another thing a manager of an international firm will learn from the interplay of host and home country in achieving success is creativity in abundance. Capability of coping up with stressed situations: Another main thing that a manger will learn from globalization is the capability of coping up with the stressed situations in business(harvey, 2009). As the managers of international firms are much more familiar with every business problems so they hardly get affected when any new problem arise. Intuition: When the managers of international firms work in host countries in totally opposite work conditions and with new staff, they not only develop the qualities of better leadership but also they also explore the ability of intuition in them. Conclusion After observing all the facts and information about the globalization, a detailed and a brief conclusion have been written here. Globalization has its own merits and demerits that one cannot ignore. It is now really important for a company as well as for a country to be a participant of globalization. In order to earn worldwide brand recognition, a company needs to operate their businesses in overseas with better or with the same standards that they are providing in their home countries. All this has become possible just because of globalization. It has numerous threats as well, but globalization has helped many economies from drowning and it helped in developing friendly relations between the governments of different countries. Globalization has not only helped the business firms in earning brand name and profits but it has also helped the management in learning new aspects and new things about the dynamic environment of business. Hence Globalization is really important and substant ial part of a business and an economy. Bibliography Albrow, 2000. beerkens. [Online] (1) Available at: https://www.beerkens.info/files/globalisation.pdf [Accessed 2 july 2000]. Becky, H., 2000. Deep understandings of balance sheets. In Deep understandings of balance sheets. London: Becky Publishers. pp.50-86. Bellarus, 2010. Different types of market. 1st ed. belgorold: Miracle Publishers. berth, h., 2014. Globalization. In commerce and industry. mumbai: Berth Publishers. pp.123-85. Buck, H., 2000. Commerce, trade Industries. Effective leaderships, 1, p.1. cuepper, j., 2017. B the Balance. [Online] Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic-growth-1978843 [Accessed 19 june 2017]. education, Y., 2013. Globalization. Yale.edu, 1(2), p.2. ferida, 2013. MD Business. In Asha MD BUusiness. A.J Publishers. pp.42-90. harvey, m., 2009. taylor francis online. [Online] Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13678860903135730?journalCode=rhrd20 [Accessed 08 january 2009]. Jam, J., 2013. Business Management. In M. G, ed. Managerial Activities. Amesterdam : Johana Publishers. Jicksy, 2012. How globalization has shown its effects. In Jemmy, ed. Commercial Activities of globalised firms. bath: G.T Publishers. pp.52-89. Kasapidis, r., 2013. Ampersand. [Online] Available at: https://itech.fgcu.edu//issues/vol2/issue1/global.htm [Accessed 5 july 2011]. lotey, i., 2010. skill in businesses. In garg, g.g. business skills. Garg Publishers. pp.145-66. Magazine, F., 2017. Richest Man of world. Magazine. United States: Forbes Forbes.

Psychoanalytic Personality free essay sample

Sigmund Freud is probably the most recognizable name in psychology by both those in the field and those who are not. As the father of psychoanalysis he contributed a great deal to the field and to society as a whole. One of his major contributions would be based on this theory of personality. This theory, outlined in 1923, is based on the principal that the human mind consists of three levels of consciousness: conscious, unconscious, and preconscious. Each of these levels of consciousness takes place in the personality structure divided into three elements called the id, ego, and superego. According to Freud, the disparity and development of the id, ego and the superego, determines an individual’s behavior in a given situation, which in turn results in the development of the personality (Rana, 1997). According to Freud, one’s experiences in childhood form the personality they have as an adult and is broken into five psychosexual years of development. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychoanalytic Personality or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These early years proceed through a number of stages. Each child undergoes the different stages. These stages are the oral stage (first year of life), the anal stage ( second year), phallic stage (third through fifth year), a period of latency (from 6 to 12), and the genital stage (after puberty). Freud believed that as every child passes through these stages there might be a likely possibility that a child may spend more time in a particular stage then they ought to. This condition can lead to a fixation or an incomplete development of the personality. A critical event during the first five years of life is the experience of Oedipus and Electra conflicts. Freud believed that both sexes encounter and must deal with these turmoil’s, which result from boys developing sexual attraction toward their mothers, and girls developing sexual attraction towards their fathers. A boy may have feelings of jealousy towards his father as he is an obstacle between him and his mother. And, they fear retaliation by their fathers if they are caught (fear of castration). Since the boy loves his father, these feelings are repressed and he begins to identify with the father, adopting his values. Similarly girls develop hostility towards their mothers, unconsciously blaming their mothers for not being equal with boys. They assume that something is missing and feels inadequate (penis envy). What are two characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with which you disagree? Describe the stages of Freud’s theory and explain characteristics of personality using these components. Describe uses of at least three Freudian defense mechanisms with real-life examples. Jung What are two characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with which you disagree? Adler What are two characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with which you disagree? One of his major contributions would be based on this theory of personality. This theory, outlined in 1923, is based on the principal that the human mind consists of three levels of consciousness: conscious, unconscious, and preconscious. Each of these levels of consciousness takes place in the personality structure divided into three elements called the id, ego, and superego. According to Freud, the disparity and development of the id, ego and the superego, determines an individual’s behavior in a given situation, which in turn results in the development of the personality (Rana, 1997). According to Freud, one’s experiences in childhood form the personality they have as an adult and is broken into five psychosexual years of development. These early years proceed through a number of stages. Each child undergoes the different stages. These stages are the oral stage (first year of life), the anal stage ( second year), phallic stage (third through fifth year), a period of latency (from 6 to 12), and the genital stage (after puberty). Freud believed that as every child passes through these stages there might be a likely possibility that a child may spend more time in a particular stage then they ought to. This condition can lead to a fixation or an incomplete development of the personality. A critical event during the first five years of life is the experience of Oedipus and Electra conflicts. Freud believed that both sexes encounter and must deal with these turmoil’s, which result from boys developing sexual attraction toward their mothers, and girls developing sexual attraction towards their fathers. A boy may have feelings of jealousy towards his father as he is an obstacle between him and his mother. And, they fear retaliation by their fathers if they are caught (fear of castration). Since the boy loves his father, these feelings are repressed and he begins to identify with the father, adopting his values. Similarly girls develop hostility towards their mothers, unconsciously blaming their mothers for not being equal with boys. They assume that something is missing and feels inadequate (penis envy). What are two characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with which you disagree? Describe the stages of Freud’s theory and explain characteristics of personality using these components. Describe uses of at least three Freudian defense mechanisms with real-life examples.

Dont Waste Decimate

Dont Waste Decimate Don’t Waste â€Å"Decimate† Don’t Waste â€Å"Decimate† By Maeve Maddox A member of the DWT Forum called my attention to a strange use of the verb â€Å"decimate†: . . . today I came across a . . . usage that was new to me: A pundit said that Obamas failure to get his health care bill passed would have led to the decimation of his presidency. Decimate derives from decem, the Latin word for â€Å"ten.† It originated in a Roman military practice. To enforce discipline in the ranks, Roman officers dealt with a breach of duty by one legionary by punishing the soldier’s entire company. The men would be assembled and told to count off. Every tenth man was killed. The company had been decimated. It would be ridiculous in the 21st century to insist on using decimate only with its original meaning. However, it does make sense to confine the word to the sense of eliminating part of a group. H.W. Fowler stated that the meaning of decimate â€Å"is naturally extended to the destruction in any way of a large proportion of anything reckoned by number, e.g. a population is decimated by the plague. I expect that Fowler would classify â€Å"decimate his presidency† as a Slipshod Extension. Here are some more questionable uses from the web: Irrevocable mistakes can decimate an inherited IRA I hope, no I pray that I am wrong, but tonight, that wonderful audacious inspiring Presidential candidate will politically decimate his presidency and legacy. Bushs star-tinged vision decimated by his own budget And sadly, even with his departure, there remains [sic] far too many, who supported his efforts to decimate our democracy and delay efforts to stop those who lay waste to the world’s climate. Here, also from the internet, are some appropriate uses of decimate: We have to make decisions and deal with the economy. We’re not going to cut, cut, cut,† he said. â€Å"Because we cannot afford to decimate programs across the board. The ruling Zanu PF party continues with a covert plan, hatched by the Joint Operations Command (JOC) soon after the March elections, to completely decimate the MDC structures despite winning the June presidential poll run-off, the opposition party has said. Global Warming Will Decimate Arctic Peoples Decimate is a useful word. The indiscriminate use of it to mean merely â€Å"destroy,† chips away at the special sense of eliminating a large proportion of a group of people or things. Suggested alternatives: the ruination of his presidency mistakes can deplete/demolish/eradicate an inherited IRA politically destroy his presidency and legacy. vision shattered by his own budget who supported his efforts to demolish/exterminate our democracy Careful writers will weigh what they mean by decimate before throwing it into a sentence just because it sounds fashionable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?The Difference Between "will" and "shall"A "Diploma" is not a "Degree"

The Best Marketing Operations Strategy to Help Overloaded Managers

The Best Marketing Operations Strategy to Help Overloaded Managers Let’s be honest†¦ Marketing Operations doesn’t sound very sexy. It doesn’t spark the same excitement as say a blog post entitled, â€Å"The Best Times to Post on Social Media†. BUT, if you’re a marketing manager looking to improve ROI, Marketing Operations is a topic you should care about. Marketers are constantly expected to do more with less. You’re expected to show your value at every turn†¦ And we’re not just talking about vanity metrics†¦ You need to show cold, hard numbers about how your strategy is driving real business value. By implementing a Marketing Operations strategy†¦ (or even devoting an entire full-time employee to the task) you can start being more consistent in your processes and reaching your campaign goals on the reg. Better processes, better results, better execution. This #Marketing Operations strategy is theMakes Marketing Operations a Cinch So you don’t have the budget to hire a Marketing Operations pro full-time UGH, you’re thinking†¦ Not *another* task I have to take on myself. Have no fear, is here. For real. Lots of Marketing Operations functions can be solved with . Strategic planning? âÅ"… Project Management? âÅ"… Content Operations? âÅ"… Managing your roadmap? âÅ"… Providing insights to Stakeholders? âÅ"… Schedule a demo today to learn how it can make your work life SO much easier. Download These Marketing Operations Templates Before diving in, these templates will help you implement a Marketing Operations Strategy. You’ll find: A Simple Performance Management Checklist   Setting clear goals makes it easier to evaluate your marketing team and increase productivity. Use this checklist to know exactly what to look for, which questions to ask, and what to do. An Agile Sprint planning template   Use this template to implement an Agile marketing process and make sure every project gets done on time, every time. A Marketing Project Management Plan Template   Managing a marketing project is no joke. There are tons of moving parts. Use this template to help get your projects more organized from the get-go. They’ll make putting a strategy into practice much easier. What Even is Marketing Operations? Here are some analogies to illustrate: Marketing Operations is the Excel Spreadsheet to your Adobe Illustrator. It’s the marketing analytics and logic to your design and creativity. It’s the skills handled by the left side of your brain in comparison to the right side. Not into analogies? No problem. Here’s a quick and dirty explanation: Marketing Operations focuses on behind-the-scenes planning, governance, and optimization to make marketing initiatives more successful. From initial budgeting to end-of-campaign analysis, a Marketing Operations professional is responsible for providing hard data to back-up the marketing strategy. Sounds a lot like most marketing managers, amirite? The Scope of Marketing Operations Marketing Operations can be found in all stages of the marketing process. While marketing is usually thought of as the creative group in an organization, the role of Marketing Operations stemmed from the need for increased transparency, efficiency, and accountability. As new technologies slowly proliferated the marketing scene, it became clear that a role was needed to align a company’s processes, metrics and goals – enter Marketing Operations. But for most small and medium-sized enterprises, all of these tasks fall on the shoulders of the Marketing Manager, Marketing Director, or VP of Marketing. That said, here’s a Marketing Operations Strategy to help make your Marketing Operations tasks easier than ever. A Marketing Manager’s Guide to Marketing Operations Let’s assume that you don’t work for a mega-corporation that has all the resources in the world to devote to an entire Marketing Operations, operation. You can still reap the benefits of Marketing Ops by using this strategy. Let’s start with technology†¦ Marketing Operations Technology Marketing Technology or MarTech – has made our jobs as marketers both easier and more complicated. Finding the right solution can make your day-to-day work life 1000x easier... But finding that solution†¦ coupled with *actually* getting your team to use it, sounds like a task that is not worth tackling. However, the status quo can’t continue. This spreadsheet has. Got. To. Go. Let’s start with your tool stack. Don’t have time to track down every MarTech tool for your stack? Here’s a short list to help: Kissmetrics: Metrics, reporting and tracking your funnel are all basic tasks for Marketing Ops. Kissmetrics allows you to build powerful reports and dashboards to track your marketing funnel,   email subscribers, UTM parameters, website activity, and more. Ahrefs: Benchmarketing, competitor analysis, and strategic content planning also fall within the scope of Marketing Operations. Ahrefs helps you target valuable keywords and figure out what you need to do in order to rank your content on search engines. Salesforce: To manage your campaign operations and customer journey tracking like the best of ‘em, Salesforce is pretty awesome. Track things like interactions, build customer segmentations and re-engage using one of the most powerful CRMs around. There is so much you can do with Salesforce we can’t even scratch the surface – it’s a must have to accomplish a lot of Marketing Operations functions. : A project management platform that is actually made for marketing teams.   With you can collaborate, plan, manage workloads and track campaigns all in one tool. It’s mission control for your entire marketing roadmap. Easily see what your entire team is working on day-to-day; share insights with stakeholders using the read-only view; and maximize your team’s productivity. Autopilot: Lead nurturing is awfully hard without a powerful marketing automation platform. Autopilot take a visual approach to email flows. Use this tool to implement advanced marketing automation functions, nurture your leads and hit each persona with the right message at the right time. Process Development and Optimization Efficient and effective processes are one of the key components of Marketing Operations. A successful marketing team doesn’t just set it and forget it, they are constantly improving and tailoring best practices. Start by planning and documenting your workflows. Documenting your workflows means that everyone knows the correct order of operations, when tasks are due, and where their contributions fit into the project’s timeline. They are essential for completing work on time, every time. A documented workflow also means that you can spend more time doing meaningful work and less time following-up with every person at every stage of a marketing project. Here’s how to do it: Step 1:  Determine each team member’s role for each type of project you execute regularly. Step 2:  Map out each task that needs to be completed. Step 3:  Next, assign the task and determine the length of time needed to complete each task. Step 4: Work back from there to determine the necessary project length and attach task due dates for each step in the workflow. For example, here’s what this might look like for a webinar: Generate ideas: Strategist - due 30 days before launch Recruit guest: Strategist - Due 25 days before launch Create talking points: Strategist - Due 18 days before launch Design slide deck: Designer - Due 17 days before launch Include in drip campaign: Marketing Automation - Due 14 days before launch Approve slide deck: Strategist - Due 12 days before launch Schedule social promotion: Writer/Social Strategist - 10 days before launch Test run-though: Guest Host - 1 day before launch Let’s illustrate how this can be done with : In the top right-hand corner of your project click the task template icon. Then, create a new task template. Name your workflow and add each task associated with the project. Next, you can add a due date for each task and assign it to the relevant team member. Now your webinar workflow is documented and ready to be attached to every webinar project from here on out. Recommended Reading: How to Implement an Effective Marketing Workflow Management Process in 7 Simple Steps How To Boost A Marketing Workflow Process That Will Reduce Work By 30-50% Implement an Agile Approach Agile refers to a flexible marketing approach in which teams identify high-value projects, break those project down into smaller deliverables, measure their impact, and then iterate on the results to incrementally improve. Agile Marketing provides marketing teams a set process for running (most) marketing campaigns. Hence a perfect fit for Marketing Operations.

The development and future of the Sukuk in Saudi Arabia financial Essay

The development and future of the Sukuk in Saudi Arabia financial services - Essay Example n the global markets This chapter aims to provide a through insight into the research that has been conducted regarding regulation and securitization involving Sukuk. The chapter aims to elaborate the structure of the Sukuk markets and the processes that go into issuing Sukuk and summarize. The global perspective on Sukuk has been thoroughly-researched in the past few years and this has helped us considerably in conducting the present study. Moreover, previous researchers have provided a convergent viewpoint regarding the growth of Sukuk in Muslim as well as non-Muslim countries. A number of definitions of Sukuk have been proposed by researchers and scholars. Sukuk can be regarded as a product of Islamic banking that allows the creation of a system of investment that results in profits for the investor and at the same time aims to comply with the Islamic ban on usury. According to the definition proposed by the Academy of International Modern Studies (2009), Sukuk are referred to as trust certificates or as participation securities1. Sukuk are considered to be ideal tools for the management of liquidity. In general terms, Sukuk could be defined as a structure of Islamic banking that provides assets to the investor with a cash flow2. The word Sukuk is an Arabic word which is a plural of the word sak which refers to any financial certificate. The word Sak is a cognate of the English word Cheque. Sukuk are implemented by following a process of securitization which aims to meet the standards of Islamic financing required by the Shariah and by the national laws of Islamic financing. Another definition that sheds light on the issue of profit and risk taking in the issuing of Sukuk had been proposed by Tan Wan Yean (2009) in his research on Islamic banking quotes the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) definition of Sukuk: â€Å"†¦ certificates of equal value representing, after closing subscription, receipt of the value of

Reflection paper on movie Life is Beautiful made by Roberto Benigni Essay

Reflection paper on movie Life is Beautiful made by Roberto Benigni - Essay Example That was until Roberto Benigni came along with his movie life is beautiful and attempted to tell the story of genocide and murder through the eyes of a child narrator and the antics of an adorable, funny and somewhat unhinged father. The movie Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni was hailed as a creative and artistic masterpiece by some and criticized by others for trying to trivialize the seriousness, horror and torture that were the engenderment of the holocaust. Nevertheless, it was highly feted and won awards in several categories such as best music, original dramatic score best foreign language and for his role Benigni won the best actor, this is in addition to academy award nominations in directing and best picture. In this movie, Benigni attempts to represent a picture of the holocaust in a comic way, he does this, not by trivializing or even diluting the events as some critics have claimed but by using Guido, who is by nature a comedian who tries to use humor to help his son and himself cope with the evils of the genocide. Plot of the movie is revolved around on Guido a young charismatic and ambitious Jewish Italian who is caught up in the wave of Anti-Semitism that results in him and his wife and son being dragged off to a concentration camp. The main focus of the story is his attempt to shield his son and to some extent himself from the harsh realities of the camp so that he may not suffer psychologically by deceiving him it is a just a game. The movie is divided in two parts, the first is the introduction which sets the background for the plot and introduces the characters in the period before holocaust begun to be felt in Italy, herein; Guido, is as a young man with ambitions of starting a book shop. He is living with his uncle and working as a waiter; he is full of mischief and has an adventurous and comic streak in him that fills that movie with slapstick scenes and jokes that leave the viewer laughing with and at him. He falls in love with a scho ol teacher who is already engaged and manages to steal her form her betrothed by â€Å"rescuing† her in a true quixotic and romantic fashion from her enjoyment party while riding on a horse. They get married and have son and for a period, they lead a peaceful and idyllic life. This is however despite the evidence of segregation and xenophobia that has become more intense with time, shops are covered with signs of â€Å"No Jews Allowed† or Jews and Dogs not allowed†. However even with anti-Semitism all around them, Guido tries to protect his son from the truth by making up all sorts of explanations to show him that the signs meant everything expect what they actually meant. In the second part is when the family comes face to face with

A Contemporary Artist Essay Example for Free

A Contemporary Artist Essay Laurie Anderson was born in Chicago in 1947. She is a conglomerate of talents music, writing, fiction, philosophy, sculpture and film in one human form. The Bernard College in New York and the Columbia University share the fame of being Laurie Anderson’s alma mater. Her piece of work has an artistic flavour and wins applaud for its central quality of mystery, melodrama and humor with contemporary theme. Laurie Anderson’s Theme Andersons goal was ‘dissolving barriers between people. ’ In one of her interview (2007) she said that all her work involves some kind of escapism, ‘imagining a body to be somewhere else. Music reminds you about your body, but it also takes you out of it. All art is a form of escape, but music is in particular. ’ Some of her renowned performances are United States (I-IV), Speed of the Darkness, Moby Dick: Songs and Poems, etc. Homeland – a Master Piece One of Laurie Anderson’s masterpieces ‘Homeland’ in the year 2007 held sway over her audience for its contemporary theme. It is a scintillating 100-minute performance in which she sings, speaks, plays violin and keyboard. Theme of Homeland The theme of Homeland ponders over the modern America, its withered freedom, its war on Iraq, and the issue of global warming. Laurie Anderson’s wit is revealed when she asks, â€Å"Was the constitution written in invisible ink? † Homeland portrays children being treated as crusaders of war – a clear message that their future is at stake. She touches on the country’s mislead path, bad rulers, and the civilians with troubled state of mind. Her song expresses that no real personal relationships are maintained. The consumer culture on the high is understood through her reference to underwear gods. Homeland is a magnificent song with the combination of sweet choruses, soft violin cello duets, and the maestro Peter Scherer’s keyboards. Homeland is gloomy but it has wit in it. It is an expression of fear and disappointment but is full of heart and soul. Homeland is a true reflection of our troubled times. References L. Anderson, personal communication, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2009 from http://www. pbs. org/art21/artists/index. html Retrieved February 7, 2009 from http://www. musicianguide. com/biographies/1608002294/Laurie-Anderson. html

Alexander The Great Essay -- essays research papers

Alexander the Great is said to be one of the greatest conquerors of all time, and yet, his significance in battle showed up late in his life. His early years were spent in poverty, and as the years progressed, his dream of being a war hero grew dimmer and dimmer.Ironically, while he was later known as a war hero, he was still feared by all because of his reputation as a drinker and murderer. But first, his background. He was born in 356 BC. His parents were Philip, the brother of King Perdiccas III of Macedon, in Northern Greece. His mother was Olympias, daughter of King Neoptolemus I of Epirus, in modern Albania. He also had a younger sister, Cleopatra (not the famous Egyptian queen).However, this family was not as ordinary as one might think. In fact, his parents absolutely hated each other. Philip had complied with Macedonian tradition and had a few wives. Soon, one of his wives had a baby which had mysteriously become disabled after birth. It was said that the disability was due to poisoning from Olympias. Olympias sometimes told Alexander that Philip wasn’t his real father, but this probably wasn’t true.After all, Philip certainly did seem to care for Alexander as if he was his real son. He even appointed Aristotle himself as Alexander’s first and only tutor. Yet, there were some things about Alexander that made Philip angry. He hated the fact that his was very skinny and the fact that he had a high-pitched voice. Still, Alexander felt lucky to have this man as his father and mentor. In 359 BC, when Alexander was three, Philip’s Brother, King Peridcaas III, died. It was originally planned that his son, Amyntas, was tosucceed him with Philip as his regent, but Philip usurped his nephew’s throne and made himself King Philip II. In a few decades, he proved to be a stronger king and he eventually conquered most of Greece. When he was in his teens, Alexander’s father came to him one day and told him that he had to leave to fight in a war. Thus Alexander, being his regent, would have to serve for the time being. While his father was away, Alexander led an expedition to a wild region of modern day Bulgaria. Here, he found a race of wild barbarians, whom he later subdued. He, then, established his first city, Alexandropolis, at the site of this defeat. This made his strength apparent to everyone and ... ...y from Roxane for a long period of time. His men refused to go any further, however, and he turned back to go home. On the march home, he fought many cities, and took an arrow in the chest, but lived.On a later visit to Persia, he found that many of his Governors had abused their power. He had them executed and, in an attempt to reunite the two civilizations, he married the old King’s daughter, Barsine, while still married to Roxane. His best friend, Hephaestion, married Barsine’s sister, Drypetis. He even gave some Persians high rankings in his army. But these attempts failed and even the marriages broke up.In the fall of 324 BC, Alexander’s best friend, Hephaestion, died.Alexander was heartbroken and in the following summer, Alexander became ill and died on June 13 in Babylon at the age of 32. Modern historians have long suspected that he died from Malaria, but, recently, it has been suggested that Typhoid Fever was the culprit. Today, we know Alexander as one of the greatest generals, leaders, and conquerors of all time, and we know that this was his main goal in life... To be remembered, not as a villain, but as his childhood dream.....A war hero.

Personal Statement Example

I was born and raised in a third-world country: Ethiopia. Even though Ethiopia is mainly known for her poverty and destitution, my life there was not that bad. Since my dad has lived in the USA since long before I arrived, I was able to go to private school in Ethiopia and get a good education. I came to the USA when I was fourteen years old. Nothing was as easy as I thought it would be. New country, new language, new home, new school, new friends: everything was new for me. Being a high school student made it even harder.It is obvious that all teens face typical problems during their high school life, like bullying, peer pressure, teen pregnancy, and boyfriend/girlfriend problems. Well, imagine how hard it is for foreign students to get used to a new country and new school on top of all those problems. It was not easy for me to make new friends, to get used to the new school, and, most importantly, to develop my English. However, those obstacles didn’t stop me from getting ou tstanding grades in my classes, even the ones that seemed like they might be beyond my level. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to go to college in Boston. When I was in Ethiopia, I always used to tell my friends that I was going to graduate from Boston University one day. After I came here, I realized that it is extremely competitive to go to college in the United States, especially top-tier colleges like Boston University. But that didn’t stop me from dreaming and working hard to accomplish my lifelong goal. As Gail Devers once said, â€Å"Keep your dreams alive, understand that to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard-work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. So, I believe in myself and I know I can fulfill my dreams as long as I work hard. I believe Success is the son of Hard Work, so even if I have to suffer a lot to reach the top of the success ladder, I am willing to face any challenges. Without suffering, and without obstacles, life wouldn’t make any sense. The main reason I wanted to attend the summer high school honors program at Boston University is, as I mentioned above, that Boston University is my dream college. Attending the summer program at one of the world’s top universities would be an extraordinary experience for me. Also, taking ourses that are not available at my high school and earning up to eight college credits is a great opportunity for me to open the door into success. Since I am a junior right now, next year would be my last year in a high school. I wanted to take Precalculus and Calculus during my high school years. Because I want to major in pre-med paired with math, since i have passion for both science and math. But the problem is that I can only take precalculus next year. But if I attend the summer high school program, I would be able to take precalculus which it will allow me to take calculus during my senior year. My dream is to be a doctor, and I believe Boston University will help me to become a well-rounded, generally educated, and most importantly, the best doctor. I am very thrilled and excited to attend the summer high school program at BU, because BU fits my kind of personality which is, capacious, conscientious, agile and orthodox. so for an imaginative girl like me, Boston University is the perfect place, and I am eager to meet like-minded students from different parts of the country. to broaden my experience of American Academic landscape beyond Orange,NJ. Personal Statement Example Photography is law-breaking. The possibilities are endless. Why should we stick with fashion existing notions when we can challenge them? Our world is our oyster and is there for us to use it. I find amazing how fashion is an ever-changing issue. Fashion analyzes the history of our world and re-invents it in a contemporary way (e. g the Dior Spring 2004 collection inspired in the Ancient Egypt). Fashion is not just what we wear; it changes attitudes, personalities, manners, the effects it has are unbelievable (e. g James Dean teenage look and making denim fashionable) this is why my passion for it is dazzling.My aim is to produce an original response to fashion photography which is edge-cutting & convey something more than a standard image. Since I was 4, I started to admire beauty; I drew portraits of my mother & started developing an awareness of what beauty & fashion is. During my childhood, I was attached to a pencil; my arising curiosity & admiration for the female form grew as I kept developing my art skills; specially drawing women. These activities started to hook me to fashion, photography & make-up. I have been lucky to have a close group of 7 girls. My amusement with photography started when I began to shoot them.Suddenly, photography started to fascinate me & I became really devoted & dedicated; always eager to learn a& keep doing photo shoots frequently. In my photography, I try to unearth the raw beauty with make-up, angles, lightning & directing model properly. I cherish observing at people; how the light reflects on them, their face, eyes and I imagine poses; my mind is a non-stop rollercoaster of ideas. My ambition & determination made me start working with clients when I was 15. These clients were other girls who saw photographs on social networks & started to want me to shoot them & I began to gain money.I prepared a portfolio and went to Carmen Duran (model agency) and they offered me a job as a photographer. I realized this is what I wanted to do with my life & to further develop myself I decided to study in London which is a global hub that will definitely give me creativity & inspiration. I then applied to fashion photography courses & LCF rejected me so I got a place in the SSU studying Fashion with Photography which I really enjoy but I think LCF is where I want to get taught this is why I decided to take the â€Å"Fashion Photography 1† course starting this February to keep broaden my knowledge and be more repared if I received the opportunity to study in this prestigious university. In the fashion industry, I worked for Marta Stella which designed hats for the â€Å"The Skin I Live† directed by Almodovar. Julian Mateo Atelier, Vicente Gracia, etc. I shoot the accessories campaign of Amparo Chorda, a designer who appeared on the NY Fashion Week & my work has appeared in press and TV. I photographed an event in London Cuckoo Club. This work experiences enable me to develop professional skills, meet d eadlines & work as a team.In my free time, I enjoy viewing contemporary magazines & sites: 125 magazine, Love, Tank, Let them Eat Cake, Lula, Self Service, Purple, and V Mag. Furthermore, blogs like Alice Point & websties like fashiongonerogue are a source of ideas for me. Furthermore, I enjoy researching & watching documentaries about photographers e. g: Bailey & the movement of the swinging London, I admire his tightly cropped high-contrast images. However, I appreciate fashion photography from Corinne Day style to Vadukul.Demarchelier is probably my favorite photographer; I adore the Pirelli Calendar 2008, is awesome: the Asian influence, styling, cold tones, etc. This is a clear e. g of what I want to do. Styling & make-up are others of my passions. I admire Babeth because of her minimalism & masculinity, C. Roitfeld and K. Grand. Finally, I know I am not the best applicant but I just feel sparkling emotions when I am doing a shoot, when I am styling & when I direct models which completely fulfills me. Personal Statement Example I was born and raised in a third-world country: Ethiopia. Even though Ethiopia is mainly known for her poverty and destitution, my life there was not that bad. Since my dad has lived in the USA since long before I arrived, I was able to go to private school in Ethiopia and get a good education. I came to the USA when I was fourteen years old. Nothing was as easy as I thought it would be. New country, new language, new home, new school, new friends: everything was new for me. Being a high school student made it even harder.It is obvious that all teens face typical problems during their high school life, like bullying, peer pressure, teen pregnancy, and boyfriend/girlfriend problems. Well, imagine how hard it is for foreign students to get used to a new country and new school on top of all those problems. It was not easy for me to make new friends, to get used to the new school, and, most importantly, to develop my English. However, those obstacles didn’t stop me from getting ou tstanding grades in my classes, even the ones that seemed like they might be beyond my level. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to go to college in Boston. When I was in Ethiopia, I always used to tell my friends that I was going to graduate from Boston University one day. After I came here, I realized that it is extremely competitive to go to college in the United States, especially top-tier colleges like Boston University. But that didn’t stop me from dreaming and working hard to accomplish my lifelong goal. As Gail Devers once said, â€Å"Keep your dreams alive, understand that to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard-work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. So, I believe in myself and I know I can fulfill my dreams as long as I work hard. I believe Success is the son of Hard Work, so even if I have to suffer a lot to reach the top of the success ladder, I am willing to face any challenges. Without suffering, and without obstacles, life wouldn’t make any sense. The main reason I wanted to attend the summer high school honors program at Boston University is, as I mentioned above, that Boston University is my dream college. Attending the summer program at one of the world’s top universities would be an extraordinary experience for me. Also, taking ourses that are not available at my high school and earning up to eight college credits is a great opportunity for me to open the door into success. Since I am a junior right now, next year would be my last year in a high school. I wanted to take Precalculus and Calculus during my high school years. Because I want to major in pre-med paired with math, since i have passion for both science and math. But the problem is that I can only take precalculus next year. But if I attend the summer high school program, I would be able to take precalculus which it will allow me to take calculus during my senior year. My dream is to be a doctor, and I believe Boston University will help me to become a well-rounded, generally educated, and most importantly, the best doctor. I am very thrilled and excited to attend the summer high school program at BU, because BU fits my kind of personality which is, capacious, conscientious, agile and orthodox. so for an imaginative girl like me, Boston University is the perfect place, and I am eager to meet like-minded students from different parts of the country. to broaden my experience of American Academic landscape beyond Orange,NJ.

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 7 REPETITION

I WASN'T SURE WHAT THE HELL I WAS DOING HERE Was I trying to push myself back into the zombie stupor? Had I turned masochisticdeveloped a taste for torture? I should have gone straight down to La Push I felt much, much healthier around Jacob This was not a healthy thing to do. But I continued to drive slowly down the overgrown lane, twisting through the trees that arched over me like a green, living tunnel My hands were shaking, so I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I knew that part of the reason I did this was the nightmare, now that I was really awake, the nothingness of the dream gnawed on my nerves, a dog worrying a bone. There was something to search for. Unattainable and impossible, uncaring and distracted but he was out there, somewhere. I had to believe that. The other part was the strange sense of repetition I'd felt at school today, the coincidence of the date. The feeling that I was starting overperhaps the way my first day would have gone if I'd really been the most unusual person in the cafeteria that afternoon. The words ran through my head, tonelessly, like I was reading them rather than hearing them spoken: It will be as if I'd never existed. I was lying to myself by splitting my reason for coming here into just two parts. I didn't want to admit the strongest motivation. Because it was mentally unsound. The truth was that I wanted to hear his voice again, like I had in the strange delusion Friday night. For that brief moment, when his voice came from some other part of me than my conscious memory, when his voice was perfect and honey smooth rather than the pale echo my memories usually produced, I was able to remember without pain. It hadn't lasted; the pain had caught up with me, as I was sure it would for this fool's errand. But those precious moments when I could hear him again were an irresistible lure. I had to find some way to repeat the experience or maybe the better word was episode. I was hoping that dj vu was the key. So I was going to his home, a place I hadn't been since my ill-fated birthday party, so many months ago. The thick, almost jungle-like growth crawled slowly past my windows. The drive wound on and on. I started to go faster, getting edgy. How long had I been driving? Shouldn't I have reached the house yet? The lane was so overgrown that it did not look familiar. What if I couldn't find it? I shivered. What if there was no tangible proof at all? Then there was the break in the trees that I was looking for, only it was not so pronounced as before. The flora here did not wait long to reclaim any land that was left unguarded. The tall ferns had infiltrated the meadow around the house, crowding against the trunks of the cedars, even the wide porch. It was like the lawn had been floodedwaist-highwith green, feathery waves. And the house was there, but it was not the same. Though nothing had changed on the outside, the emptiness screamed from the blank windows. It was creepy. For the first time since I'd seen the beautiful house, it looked like a fitting haunt for vampires. I hit the brakes, looking away. I was afraid to go farther. But nothing happened. No voice in my head. So I left the engine running and jumped out into the fern sea. Maybe, like Friday night, if I walked forward I approached the barren, vacant face slowly, my truck rumbling out a comforting roar behind me. I stopped when I got to the porch stairs, because there was nothing here. No lingering sense of their presence of his presence. The house was solidly here, but it meant little. Its concrete reality would not counteract the nothingness of the nightmares. I didn't go any closer. I didn't want to look in the windows. I wasn't sure which would be harder to see. If the rooms were bare, echoing empty from floor to ceiling, that would certainly hurt. Like my grandmother's funeral, when my mother had insisted that I stay outside during the viewing. She had said that I didn't need to see Gran that way, to remember her that way, rather than alive. But wouldn't it be worse if there were no change? If the couches sat just as I'd last seen them, the paintings on the wallsworse still, the piano on its low platform? It would be second only to the house disappearing all together, to see that there was no physical possession that tied them in anyway. That everything remained, untouched and forgotten, behind them. Just like me. I turned my back on the gaping emptiness and hurried to my truck. I nearly ran. I was anxious to be gone, to get back to the human world. I felt hideously empty, and I wanted to see Jacob. Maybe I was developing a new kind of sickness, another addiction, like the numbness before. I didn't care. I pushed my truck as fast as it would go as I barreled toward my fix. Jacob was waiting for me. My chest seemed to relax as soon as I saw him, making it easier to breathe. â€Å"Hey, Bella,† he called. I smiled in relief. â€Å"Hey, Jacob,† I waved at Billy, who was looking out the window. â€Å"Let's get to work,† Jacob said in a low but eager voice. I was somehow able to laugh. â€Å"You seriously aren't sick of me yet?† I wondered. He must be starting to ask himself how desperate I was for company. Jacob led the way around the house to his garage. â€Å"Nope. Not yet.† â€Å"Please let me know when I start getting on your nerves. I don't want to be a pain.† â€Å"Okay.† He laughed, a throaty sound. â€Å"I wouldn't hold your breath for that, though.† When I walked into the garage, I was shocked to see the red bike standing up, looking like a motorcycle rather than a pile of jagged metal. â€Å"Jake, you're amazing,† I breathed. He laughed again. â€Å"I get obsessive when I have a project.† He shrugged. â€Å"If I had any brains I'd drag it out a little bit.† â€Å"Why?† He looked down, pausing for so long that I wondered if he hadn't heard my question. Finally, he asked me, â€Å"Bella, if I told you that I couldn't fix these bikes, what would you say?† I didn't answer right away, either, and he glanced up to check my expression. â€Å"I would say that's too bad, but I'll bet we could figure out something else to do. If we got really desperate, we could even do homework.† Jacob smiled, and his shoulders relaxed. He sat down next to the bike and picked up a wrench. â€Å"So you think you'll still come over when I'm done, then?† â€Å"Is that what you meant?† I shook my head. â€Å"I guess I am taking advantage of your very underpriced mechanical skills. But as long as you let me come over, I'll be here.† â€Å"Hoping to see Quil again?† he teased. â€Å"You caught me.† He chuckled. â€Å"You really like spending time with me?† he asked, marveling. â€Å"Very, very much. And I'll prove it. I have to work tomorrow, but Wednesday we'll do something nonmechanical.† â€Å"Like what?† â€Å"I have no idea. We can go to my place so you won't be tempted to be obsessive. You could bring your schoolworkyou have to be getting behind, because I know I am.† â€Å"Homework might be a good idea.† He made a face, and I wondered how much he was leaving undone to be with me. â€Å"Yes,† I agreed. â€Å"We'll have to start being responsible occasionally, or Billy and Charlie aren't going to be so easygoing about this.† I made a gesture indicating the two of us as a single entity. He liked thathe beamed. â€Å"Homework once a week?† he proposed. â€Å"Maybe we'd better go with twice,† I suggested, thinking of the pile I'd just been assigned today. He sighed a heavy sigh. Then he reached over his toolbox to a paper grocery sack. He pulled out two cans of soda, cracking one open and handing it to me. He opened the second, and held it up ceremoniously. â€Å"Here's to responsibility,† he toasted. â€Å"Twice a week.† â€Å"And recklessness every day in between,† I emphasized. He grinned and touched his can to mine. I got home later than I'd planned and found Charlie had ordered a pizza rather than wait for me. He wouldn't let me apologize. â€Å"I don't mind,† he assured me. â€Å"You deserve a break from all the cooking, anyway.† I knew he was just relieved that I was still acting like a normal person, and he was not about to rock the boat. I checked my e-mail before I started on my homework, and there was a long one from Renee. She gushed over every detail I'd provided her with, so I sent back another exhaustive description of my day. Everything but the motorcycles. Even happy-go-lucky Renee was likely to be alarmed by that. School Tuesday had its ups and downs. Angela and Mike seemed ready to welcome me back with open armsto kindly overlook my few months of aberrant behavior. Jess was more resistant. I wondered if she needed a formal written apology for the Port Angeles incident. Mike was animated and chatty at work. It was like he'd stored up the semester's worth of talk, and it was all spilling out now. I found that I was able to smile and laugh with him, though it wasn't as effortless as it was with Jacob. It seemed harmless enough, until quitting time. Mike put the closed sign in the window while I folded my vest and shoved it under the counter. â€Å"This was fun tonight,† Mike said happily. â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed, though I'd much rather have spent the afternoon in the garage. â€Å"It's too bad that you had to leave the movie early last week.† I was a little confused by his train of thought. I shrugged. â€Å"I'm just a wimp, I guess.† â€Å"What I mean is, you should go to a better movie, something you'd enjoy,† he explained. â€Å"Oh,† I muttered, still confused. â€Å"Like maybe this Friday. With me. We could go see something that isn't scary at all.† I bit my lip. I didn't want to screw things up with Mike, not when he was one of the only people ready to forgive me for being crazy. But this, again, felt far too familiar. Like the last year had never happened. I wished I had Jess as an excuse this time. â€Å"Like a date?† I asked. Honesty was probably the best policy at this point. Get it over with. He processed the tone of my voice â€Å"If you want. But it doesn't have to be like that.† â€Å"I don't date,† I said slowly, realizing how true that was. That whole world seemed impossibly distant. â€Å"Just as friends?† he suggested. His clear blue eyes were not as eager now. I hoped he really meant that we could be friends anyway. â€Å"That would be fun. But I actually have plans already this Friday, so maybe next week?† â€Å"What are you doing?† he asked, less casually than I think he wanted to sound. â€Å"Homework. I have a study session planned with a friend.† â€Å"Oh. Okay. Maybe next week.† He walked me to my car, less exuberant than before. It reminded me so clearly of my first months in Forks. I'd come full circle, and now everything felt like an echoan empty echo, devoid of the interest it used to have. The next night, Charlie didn't seem the smallest bit surprised to find Jacob and me sprawled across the living room floor with our books scattered around us, so I guessed that he and Billy were talking behind our backs. â€Å"Hey, kids,† he said, his eyes straying to the kitchen. The smell of the lasagna I'd spent the afternoon makingwhile Jacob watched and occasionally sampledwafted down the hall; I was being good, trying to atone for all the pizza. Jacob stayed for dinner, and took a plate home for Billy. He grudgingly added another year to my negotiable age for being a good cook. Friday was the garage, and Saturday, after my shift at Newton's, was homework again. Charlie felt secure enough in my sanity to spend the day fishing with Harry. When he got back, we were all donefeeling very sensible and mature about it, tooand watching Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel. â€Å"I probably ought to go.† Jacob sighed. â€Å"It's later than I thought.† â€Å"Okay, fine,† I grumbled. â€Å"I'll take you home.† He laughed at my unwilling expressionit seemed to please him. â€Å"Tomorrow, back to work,† I said as soon as we were safe in the truck. â€Å"What time do you want me to come up?† There was an unexplained excitement in his answering smile. â€Å"I'll call you first, okay?† â€Å"Sure.† I frowned to myself, wondering what was up. His smile widened. I cleaned the house the next morningwaiting for Jacob to call and trying to shake off the Litest nightmare. The scenery had changed. Last night I'd wandered in a wide sea of ferns interspersed with huge hemlock trees. There was nothing else there, and I was lost, wandering aimless and alone, searching for nothing. I wanted to kick myself for the stupid field trip last week. I shoved the dream out of my conscious mind, hoping it would stay locked up somewhere and not escape again. Charlie was outside washing the cruiser, so when the phone rang, I dropped the toilet brush and ran downstairs to answer it. â€Å"Hello?† I asked breathlessly. â€Å"Bella,† Jacob said, a strange, formal tone to his voice. â€Å"Hey, Jake.† â€Å"I believe that we have a date† he said, his tone thick with implications. It took me a second before I got it. â€Å"They're done? I can't believe it!† What perfect timing. I needed something to distract me from nightmares and nothingness. â€Å"Yeah, they run and everything.† â€Å"Jacob, you are absolutely, without a doubt, the most talented and wonderful person I know. You get ten years for this one.† â€Å"Cool! I'm middle-aged now.† I laughed. â€Å"I'm on my way up!† I threw the cleaning supplies under the bathroom counter and grabbed my jacket. â€Å"Headed to see Jake,† Charlie said when I ran past him. It wasn't really a question. â€Å"Yep,† I replied as I jumped in my truck. â€Å"I'll be at the station later,† Charlie called after me. â€Å"Okay,† I yelled back, turning the key. Charlie said something else, but I couldn't hear him clearly over the roar of the engine. It sounded sort of like, â€Å"Where's the fire?† I parked my truck off to the side of the Blacks' house, close to the trees, to make it easier for us to sneak the bikes out. When I got out, a splash of color caught my eyetwo shiny motorcycles, one red, one black, were hidden under a spruce, invisible from the house. Jacob was prepared. There was a piece of blue ribbon tied in a small bow around each of the handlebars. I was laughing at that when Jacob ran out of the house. â€Å"Ready?† he asked in a low voice, his eyes sparkling. I glanced over his shoulder, and there was no sign of Billy. â€Å"Yeah,† I said, but I didn't feel quite as excited as before; I was trying to imagine myself actually on the motorcycle. Jacob loaded the bikes into the bed of the truck with ease, laying them carefully on their sides so they didn't show. â€Å"Let's go,† he said, his voice higher than usual with excitement. â€Å"I know the perfect spotno one will catch us there.† We drove south out of town. The dirt road wove in and out of the forestsometimes there was nothing but trees, and then there would suddenly be a breathtaking glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, reaching to the horizon, dark gray under the clouds. We were above the shore, on top of the cliffs that bordered the beach here and the view seemed to stretch on forever. I was driving slowly, so that I could safely stare out across the ocean now and then, as the road wound closer to the sea cliffs. Jacob was talking about finishing the bikes, but his descriptions were getting technical, so I wasn't paying close attention. That was when I noticed four figures standing on a rocky ledge, much too close to the precipice. I couldn't tell from the distance how old they were, but I assumed they were men. Despite the chill in the air today, they seemed to be wearing only shorts. As I watched, the tallest person stepped closer to the brink. I slowed automatically, my foot hesitating over the brake pedal. And then he threw himself off the edge. â€Å"No!† I shouted, stomping down on the brake. â€Å"What's wrong?† Jacob shouted back, alarmed. â€Å"That guyhe just jumped off the cliff! Why didn't they stop him? We've got to call an ambulance!† I threw open my door and started to get out, which made no sense at all. The fastest way to a phone was to drive back to Billy's. But I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. Maybe, subconsciously, I hoped I would see something different without the glass of the windshield in the way. Jacob laughed, and I spun to stare at him wildly. How could he be so calloused, so cold-blooded? â€Å"They're just cliff diving, Bella. Recreation. La Push doesn't have a mall, you know.† He was teasing, but there was a strange note of irritation in his voice. â€Å"Cliff diving?† I repeated, dazed. I stared in disbelief as a second figure stepped to the edge, paused, and then very gracefully leaped into space. He fell for what seemed like an eternity to me, finally cutting smoothly into the dark gray waves below. â€Å"Wow. It's so high.† I slid back into my seat, still staring wide-eyed at the two remaining divers. â€Å"It must be a hundred feet.† â€Å"Well, yeah, most of us jump from lower down, that rock that juts out from the cliff about halfway.† He pointed out his window. The place he indicated did seem much more reasonable. â€Å"Those guys are insane. Probably showing off how tough they are. I mean, really, it's freezing today. That water can't feel good.† He made a disgruntled face, as if the stunt personally offended him. It surprised me a little. I would have thought Jacob was nearly impossible to upset. â€Å"You jump off the cliff?† I hadn't missed the â€Å"us.† â€Å"Sure, sure.† He shrugged and grinned. â€Å"It's fun. A little scary, kind of a rush.† I looked back at the cliffs, where the third figure was pacing the edge. I'd never witnessed anything so reckless in all my life. My eyes widened, and I smiled. â€Å"Jake, you have to take me cliff diving.† He frowned back at me, his face disapproving. â€Å"Bella, you just wanted to call an ambulance for Sam,† he reminded me. I was surprised that he could tell who it was from this distance. â€Å"I want to try,† I insisted, start ing to get out of the car again. Jacob grabbed my wrist. â€Å"Not today, all right? Can we at least wait for a warmer day?† â€Å"Okay, fine,† I agreed. With the door open, the glacial breeze was raising goose bumps on my arm. â€Å"But I want to go soon.† â€Å"Soon.† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Sometimes you're a little strange, Bella. Do you know that?† I sighed. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And we're not jumping off the top.† I watched, fascinated, as the third boy made a running start and flung himself farther into the empty air than the other two. He twisted and cartwheeled through space as he fell, like he was skydiving. He looked absolutely freeunthinking and utterly irresponsible. â€Å"Fine,† I agreed. â€Å"Not the first time, anyway.† Now Jacob sighed. â€Å"Are we going to try out the bikes or not?† he demanded. â€Å"Okay, okay,† I said, tearing my eyes away from the last person waiting on the cliff. I put my seat belt back on and closed the door. The engine was still running, roaring as it idled. We started down the road again. â€Å"So who were those guysthe crazy ones?† I wondered. He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. â€Å"The La Push gang.† â€Å"You have a gang?† I asked. I realized that I sounded impressed. He laughed once at my reaction. â€Å"Not like that. I swear, they're like hall monitors gone bad. They don't start fights, they keep the peace.† He snorted. â€Å"There was this guy from up somewhere by the Makah rez, big guy too, scary-looking. Well, word got around that he was selling meth to kids, and Sam Uley and his disciples ran him off our land. They're all about our land, and tribe pride it's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that the council takes them seriously. Embry said that the council actually meets with Sam.† He shook his head, face full of resentment. â€Å"Embry also heard from Leah Clearwater that they call themselves ‘protectors' or something like that.† Jacob's hands were clenched into fists, as if he'd like to hit something. I'd never seen this side of him. I was surprised to hear Sam Uley's name. I didn't want it to bring back the images from my nightmare, so I made a quick observation to distract myself. â€Å"You don't like them very much.† â€Å"Does it show?† he asked sarcastically. â€Å"Well It doesn't sound like they're doing anything bad.† I tried to soothe him, to make him cheerful again. â€Å"Just sort of annoyingly goody-two-shoes for a gang.† â€Å"Yeah. Annoying is a good word. They're always showing offlike the cliff thing. They act like like, I don't know. Like tough guys. I was hanging out at the store with Embry and Quil once, last semester, and Sam came by with his followers, Jared and Paul. Quil said something, you know how he's got a big mouth, and it pissed Paul off. His eyes got all dark, and he sort of smiledno, he showed his teeth but he didn't smileand it was like he was so mad he was shaking or something. But Sam put his hand against Paul's chest and shook his head. Paul looked at him for a minute and calmed down. Honestly, it was like Sam was holding him backlike Paul was going to tear us up if Sam didn't stop him.† He groaned. â€Å"Like a bad western. You know, Sam's a pretty big guy, he's twenty. But Paul's just sixteen, too, shorter than me and not as beefy as Quil. I think any one of us could take him.† â€Å"Tough guys,† I agreed. I could see it in my head as he described it, and it reminded me of something a trio of tall, dark men standing very still and close together in my father's living room. The picture was sideways, because my head was lying against the couch while Dr. Gerandy and Charlie leaned over me Had that been Sam's gang? I spoke quickly again to divert myself from the bleak memories. â€Å"Isn't Sam a little too old for this kind of thing?† â€Å"Yeah. He was supposed to go to college, but he stayed. And no one gave him any crap about it, either. The whole council pitched a fit when my sister turned down a partial scholarship and got married. But, oh no, Sam Uley can do no wrong.† His face was set in unfamiliar lines of outrageoutrage and something else I didn't recognize at first. â€Å"It all sounds really annoying and strange. But I don't get why you're taking it so personally.† I peeked over at his face, hoping I hadn't offended him. He was suddenly calm, staring out the side window. â€Å"You just missed the turn,† he said in an even voice. I executed a very wide U-turn, nearly hitting a tree as my circle ran the truck halfway off the road. â€Å"Thanks for the heads-up,† I muttered as I started up the side road. â€Å"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.† It was quiet for a brief minute. â€Å"You can stop anywhere along here,† he said softly. I pulled over and cut the engine. My ears rang in the silence that followed. We both got out, and Jacob headed around to the back to get the bikes. I tried to read his expression. Something more was bothering him. I'd hit a nerve. He smiled halfheartedly as he pushed the red bike to my side. â€Å"Happy late birthday. Are you ready for this?† â€Å"I think so.† The bike suddenly looked intimidating, frightening, as I realized I would soon be astride it. â€Å"We'll take it slow,† he promised. I gingerly leaned the motorcycle against the truck's fender while he went to get his. â€Å"Jake†I hesitated as he came back around the truck. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"What's really bothering you? About the Sam thing, I mean? Is there something else?† I watched his face. He grimaced, but he didn't seem angry. He looked at the dirt and kicked his shoe against the front tire of his bike again and again, like he was keeping time. He sighed. â€Å"It's just the way they treat me. It creeps me out.† The words started to rush out now. â€Å"You know, the council is supposed to be made up of equals, but if there was a leader, it would be my dad. I've never been able to figure out why people treat him the way they do. Why his opinion counts the most. It's got something to do with his father and his father's father. My great-grandpa, Ephraim Black, was sort of the last chief we had, and they still listen to Billy, maybe because of that. â€Å"But I'm just like everyone else. Nobody treats me special until now.† That caught me off guard. â€Å"Sam treats you special?† â€Å"Yeah,† he agreed, looking up at me with troubled eyes. â€Å"He looks at me like he's waiting for something like I'm going to join his stupid gang someday. He pays more attention to me than any of the other guys. I hate it.† â€Å"You don't have to join anything.† My voice was angry. This was really upsetting Jacob, and that infuriated me. Who did these â€Å"protectors† think they were? â€Å"Yeah.† His foot kept up its rhythm against the tire. â€Å"What?† I could tell there was more. He frowned, his eyebrows pulling up in a way that looked sad and worried rather than angry. â€Å"It's Embry. He's been avoiding me lately.† The thoughts didn't seem connected, but I wondered if I was to blame for the problems with his friend. â€Å"You've been hanging out with me a lot,† I reminded him, feeling selfish. I'd been monopolizing him. â€Å"No, that's not it. It's not just meit's Quil, too, and everyone. Embry missed a week of school, but he was never home when we tried to see him. And when he came back, he looked he looked freaked out. Terrified. Quil and I both tried to get him to tell us what was wrong, but he wouldn't talk to either one of us.† I stared at Jacob, biting my lip anxiouslyhe was really frightened. But he didn't look at me. He watched his own foot kicking the rubber as if it belonged to someone else. The tempo increased. â€Å"Then this week, out of nowhere, Embry's hanging out with Sam and the rest of them. He was out on the cliffs today.† His voice was low and tense. He finally looked at me. â€Å"Bella, they bugged him even more than they bother me. He didn't want anything to do with them. And now Embry's following Sam around like he's joined a cult. â€Å"And that's the way it was with Paul. Just exactly the same. He wasn't friends with Sam at all. Then he stopped coming to school for a few weeks, and, when he came back, suddenly Sam owned him. I don't know what it means. I can't figure it out, and I feel like I have to, because Embry's my friend and Sam's looking at me funny . . and† He trailed off. â€Å"Have you talked to Billy about this?† I asked. His horror was spreading to me. I had chills running on the back of my neck. Now there was anger on his face. â€Å"Yes,† he snorted. â€Å"That was helpful.† â€Å"What did he say?† Jacob's expression was sarcastic, and when he spoke, his voice mocked the deep tones of his father's voice. â€Å"It's nothing you need to worry about now, Jacob. In a few years, if you don't well, I'll explain later.† And then his voice was his own. â€Å"What am I supposed to get from that? Is he trying to say it's some stupid puberty, coming-of-age thing? This is something else. Something wrong.† He was biting his lower lip and clenching his hands. He looked like he was about to cry. I threw my arms around him instinctively, wrapping them around his waist and pressing my face against his chest. He was so big, I felt like I was a child hugging a grown-up. â€Å"Oh, Jake, it'll be okay!† I promised. â€Å"If it gets worse you can come live with me and Charlie. Don't be scared, we'll think of something!† He was frozen for a second, and then his long arms wrapped hesitantly around me. â€Å"Thanks, Bella.† His voice was huskier than usual. We stood like that for a moment, and it didn't upset me; in fact, I felt comforted by the contact. This didn't feel anything like the last time someone had embraced me this way. This was friendship. And Jacob was very warm. It was strange for me, being this closeemotionally rather than physically, though the physical was strange for me, tooto another human being. It wasn't my usual style. I didn't normally relate to people so easily, on such a basic level. Not human beings. â€Å"If this is how you're going to react, I'll freak out more often.† Jacob's voice was light, normal again, and his laughter rumbled against my ear. His fingers touched my hair, soft and tentative. Well, it was friendship for me. I pulled away quickly, laughing with him, but determined to put things back in perspective at once. â€Å"It's hard to believe I'm two years older than you,† I said, emphasizing the word older. â€Å"You make me feel like a dwarf.† Standing this close to him, I really had to crane my neck to see his face. â€Å"You're forgetting I'm in my forties, of course.† â€Å"Oh, that's right.† He patted my head. â€Å"You're like a little doll,† he teased. â€Å"A porcelain doll.† I rolled my eyes, taking another step away. â€Å"Let's not start with the albino cracks.† â€Å"Seriously, Bella, are you sure you're not?† He stretched his russet arm out next to mine. The difference wasn't flattering. â€Å"I've never seen anyone paler than you well, except for† He broke off, and I looked away, trying to not understand what he had been about to say. â€Å"So are we going to ride or what?† â€Å"Let's do it,† I agreed, more enthusiastic than I would have been half a minute ago. His unfinished sentence reminded me of why I was here.