Otiz v. St. Peter's Case Study Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Otiz v. St. Peter's Case Study - Term Paper Example This will be helpful in warding off turf wars between services providers such as radiologists and cardiologists who may antagonize each other over the specialty that should be reading 64-slice CT angiograms and analyses. The corollary to this is that the partners must be sober when negotiating the contract. This vigilance will help maintain specificity in the scope of services more accurately. The scope should be accurate and broad enough to capture both ongoing and future services that are to be rendered. In this effect, it becomes obvious that Oltz was slighted since he had been delivering all his services. In this above wavelength, it is also important that the parties ensure that necessary resources needed to render the services are available. This will ward off the need to hire the services of a subspecialist, only a short while into the contract. It is also important that at this juncture, the vending company should negotiate with the healthcare institution on the right of first refusal. This will help protect the vendor’s exclusivity in its field of services delivery and specialty. It is most likely that Oltz was enjoying the right of first refusal and had ably been discharging his duties to the hospital until the physician anesthesiologists unfairly elbowed him out of operation. According to Devers (2003), the parties must also seriously moot termination issues. Termination issues are spelt in bond financing 501 (c) (3) and modify the terms, length and limits of an exclusive contract. Though the longest term of an exclusive contract is three years, the partners must ascertain whether the contract can be automatically renewed or not. In the event that this contract is nonrenewable, the partners will have to renegotiate on the contract’s expiry. St. Peter’s Community Hospital is culpable in this case since it neither considered the terms of the contract it had entered with Oltz, nor did it follow the contract termination process. Another important

Object Oriented Mideling through Unified Modeling Language Assignment

Object Oriented Mideling through Unified Modeling Language - Assignment Example The overall objective of preparing this document is to understand user requirement gathering, analysis and design process. The Library Management System would facilitate the employees and librarian in managing and organizing the books in a library through automated catalog system. The system is intended to develop in Java computer language and would be able to execute on UNIX and Windows Operating System having a modern graphical user interface. Keywords: Unified Modern Language (UML), Use Case Diagram, Class Diagram, Sequence Diagram, User Requirements, Object Oriented Modeling Class Diagram Description of Class Diagram In an object oriented application, the class diagram describes the basic structure of the system that is developed to represent the classes within a model having attributes or variables, operations or functions and relationships of one class with other classes (Martin, 2002). The class diagram of Library Management System has been given above, the entity or class nam e â€Å"Employee† illustrated with rectangle divided into three sections, the first section contains the name of the class i-e â€Å"Employee†, the second section contains the attributes or variables of the class, whereas, the third section contains the functions or methods of the class. ... The relationships between classes are represented by a straight line. For example, the relationship between the Borrower class, Library/Employee class and Customer class is determined by a straight line specifying that Borrower is the main class, whereas, Library/Employee and Customer are inherited classes of the Borrower class. Furthermore, same is the case with catalog, book and Magazine classes. This concept is also known as Generalization. Use Case Diagram Description of Use Case Diagram The above diagram shows the Use Case of Library Management System, developed as per requirement specification provided by our Professor. The Use Case Diagram is a methodology that classifies, simplifies and categorizes the users’ requirements by using functions’ (use cases) interaction with actors (Rouse, 2007). In the above diagram, there are two main types of actors are given; the first is â€Å"Employee† that will not only interact with the second actor â€Å"Borrowerâ₠¬  but also with other use cases. Basically, the actor â€Å"Borrower† can be classified into three actors known as Library, Employee (wanted to borrow book/magazine) and Customer as identified in the requirement specification document. In the above Use Case Diagram, I have identified in total fourteen (14) use cases from which ten (10) would be utilized by the Employee actor whereas the other four (4) are the functions of Borrower actor. The Borrower actor can interact with four use cases along with the other actor Employee, the four use cases includes the customer has to be registered member of Library through the employee of Library for borrowing book, returning book, and he has also right of

Is The Role Of Political Parties In Decline Politics Essay

Is The Role Of Political Parties In Decline Politics Essay Before one speaks of a consolidated democracy, one must first ensure that the three minimal, but necessary, conditions are satisfied. Firstly, one can argue that there must be a state for democracy to exist. In other words, there must be the existence of a state which is a modern polity; which holds free elections; protects the peoples rights, and ensures the efficiency of the rule of law. Secondly, democratic transition must be complete before consolidation takes place, and it is deemed to a necessary condition to hold free elections which are rid of authoritarian control at this stage. Thirdly, for a regime to be called democratic the rulers must govern democratically, that is, governments must not infringe the constitution, or violate individual rights, and must rule within the bounds of a state of law. Hence, when one refers to a consolidated democracy one is not referring merely to liberal nondemocratic regimes, or hybrid democracies. Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan  [1]  assert that a consolidated democracy is a political regime in which democracy, as a complex system of institutions, rules, and patterned incentives and disincentives has become the only game in town. Moreover, democracy becomes the only game in town when no significant political group attempts to overthrow the democratic regime or to promote domestic or international violence in order to secede from the state.  [2]   Political Parties and Their Roles in Society Political parties have been deemed necessary since the early societal grouping of man. Men would find a pattern of the state that would subsume societal conflict and which would allow the rule of law to function and apply it to their state. Thus, one can argue that political systems deal with conflicts and the political institutions they create. Giovanni Sartori  [3]  defines a political party as any political group identified by an official label that presents at elections, and is capable of placing through elections candidates for public offices. It has been argued that political parties are necessary and cannot be replaced by civil society or by any other organized structure created to give representation to citizens because political parties have formed the cornerstone of democratic society and serve a function like no other institution. Hence, in a modern society, democracy cannot seem to function properly without political parties. The active support and collaboration of strong, inclusive political parties in partnership with an effective civil society is fast gaining acceptance as the correctly balanced formula to achieve a somewhat more transparent and participatory system of government. In strengthening democratic institutions in consolidated democracies, it is not a matter of having to choose between building a strong civil society or strengthening political parties and political institutions such as parliaments. The real challenge lies in balancing support for democratic institutions and organizations that are more a ccountable and inclusive, while at the same time continuing to foster and nurture the development of a broadly based and active civil society. In recent years, it emerged that the positions of political parties in the politics of consolidated democracies have decreased drastically. Many argue that the reason behind this decline is primarily the change in the roles of the parties, and in fact Hague and Harrop  [4]  argue that the question for the twenty-first century is whether political parties are undergoing a crisis or whether is merely a change in their role. It is important to emphasise that the parties have not declined in the sense that they have ceased to be important in government, but they have changed, and today perform rather different functions or perform traditional functions in a different manner. Declining role of political parties? Hague and Harrop  [5]  question whether parties are facing a crisis or whether they are declining into weak, decentralized organizations. Amongst other reasons, they argue that major parties no longer offer radically different visions of the good society, and electors party loyalties are weakening as traditional social divisions decay. Furthermore, they state that party members are older than the average person and are becoming less active; and party membership is falling at a fast pace and will continue to do so as older members leave the electorate; young people are more likely to join single-issue groups than parties, and parties have become charity cases, relying for funding on state handouts. Moreover, the trust in parties is lower than for other political institutions, and is declining. On the other hand, Crotty argues that the demands of society have changed, and thus parties change to meet them. Too often, models of what parties ought to be like are drawn from the narrow experience of Western Europe in the twentieth century. Today, it is rather unrealistic to expect the rebirth of traditional mass membership parties with thousands of working-class members and their supporting pillars of trade unions. In an era where mass media and electronic communication play an important role such an organisational format is gone for good. Instead, we have a rather new format of parties found in the consolidated democracies which are somewhat lean and flexible, with communication from leaders trough the broadcast media and the internet. Rather than relying on outdated notions of a permanent army of members, new-format parties mobilize volunteers for specific, short-term tasks, such as election campaigns. The form of parties will continue to evolve but their purpose of giving direction to government continues unchanged. According to Hague and Harrop  [6]  , political parties are said to perform four main functions: Directions are given to government by ruling parties and thus some political parties have the vital task of steering the ship of state; Political parties function as agents of political recruitment, and serve as the major mechanism for preparing and recruiting candidates for the legislature and executive; Political parties serve as devices of interest aggregation, filtering a multitude of specific demands into more manageable packages of proposals. Thus, parties select, reduce and combine policies; and Political parties also serve as a brand for their supporters and voters, giving people a lens through which to interpret and participate in a complicated political world. The decline in the role of political parties has been identified mainly in terms of a constant erosion of the above listed functions. In what is already a highly fragmented political system, the decline of these functions has very often led to inefficient government and the wearing away of the legitimacy of institutions. The parties have the task of bridging the link between parliament and the government, sine the party which gets an overall majority in parliament then forms the government. The parties also provide for the scrutiny and control of the government since the party which does not win the election and becomes the Opposition then has the job of constantly attacking and criticizing the government and exposing its failings to the public as well as putting forward alternative ideas of its own. However, in recent years amid the entire furore over the decline of traditional parties, not a single third party has emerged with even the slightest appearance of electoral strength. Third-party candidates have sometimes done very well, but they very often represent more of a protest vote than some distinct social movement. Weaker party identification is producing a more inconsistent electorate prone to sudden shifts in loyalty, to vote splitting and to voting for individual candidates or issues rather than according to traditional party ties. Generally, over the past few years these activists have become more candidate- and issue-oriented, one of their main motivations being to promote a particular candidate or to support just one special issue. Critics argue that these trends have weakened party organization and coherence even further. Parties are the main means through which democratic leaders are recruited and fed into the political system since parties provide us with the personnel who govern that state. There has been a dramatic decline in the membership of the major parties people (especially young people) appear to be less willing to get actively involved in party organisations. Parties are said to provide the most important way in which people become involved in politics. This can be done on a number of levels. However, established political parties have experienced a declining membership that is ageing. Young people are hesitating to join or become associated with political parties. At the same time, support has risen for independent candidates, and interest parties. There has been a dramatic decline in party membership between the 1960s and the 1990s. In Scandinavia, Sundberg  [7]  argues, since the 1970s and the 1980s, membership decline has set in at an unprecedented rate. Denmark is a particularly extreme case, with membership falling from one in every five people in the 1960s to one in twenty by the 1990s. By voting for a party, people are able to express their political opinion and help choose the government. It is parties which give people the choice at elections between alternative views and policies. The parties also provide the voters with a choice in elections by presenting programmes and taking stands on issues parties allow the voters to choose between rival policy packages. Parties produce policies or ideas which they hope will win them power so these ideas have to appeal to a large enough section of the electorate. The parties have to produce policies on a whole range of issues covering all aspects of politics if they are to be taken seriously as a potential government. This gives the voters a genuine choice of alternative packages to choose from. Policy formulation is another role of the parties since they come up with the policy proposals which the voters can choose from and then put those policies into motion if they win the election. Hence, parties initiate the policies / ideas which then govern the nation in a wide variety of areas e.g. foreign policy, environment, health, education etc. In recent years, the parties have become less attached to a fixed set of ideas and are more willing to shape their beliefs and policies to respond to public opinion rather than leading people to follow them, and it can also be argued that parties now also deliberately keep their ideas and policies very vague and refuse to go into detail because this might antagonize voters and also open them to attack about the details. Nowadays, the number of programmatic parties has decreased, and they are in turn becoming catch-all parties. Programmatic parties tend to have definite and fixed set of ideas and beliefs which they firmly believe in and wh ich they can apply in all circumstances. However, parties have now become pragmatic that is they are willing to change ideas to suit changing circumstances. While the former were more interested in transforming society to bring it in line with their ideas over a long period of time, the latters policies are designed to win the next elections and to deal only with current and short term issues. The programmatic parties aim to bring the people around to their way of thinking and to agree with their principles, while the latter seek to find out what the people want and then fit their ideas and policies to match so that they can gain popularity and elect candidates. Catch-all parties tend to change their policies on a regular basis to match changing circumstances and public opinion, while the programmatic parties tend to stick to long held policies and not change them. Representation is also of the main functions of political parties in a democracy. They are to serve the interests of their people as party representatives, and they are also supposed to represent the nation as a whole. Through representation, parties help to link the government to the people because they attempt to match their policies to public opinion as much as possible and then if they win the election they can carry out those policies hence, translating what the public wants into action. However, recently it has been argued that the parties are not representing those who elect them properly because many MPs are elected by a minority of their constituents, for instance, in Britain, the first past the post system means that MPs do not have to be chosen by a majority of the voters in their area. E.g. some Scottish seats the MP were elected with only 1/3 of the vote. Furthermore, the government itself can be elected to rule with minority of the vote. Conclusion Therefore, one can say that the roles of political parties have declined, and this is evident if we compare

Napster :: essays research papers

Napster In 1998 a university dropout, Shawn Fenning, nicknamed napster, spent days without sleep in his uncle's office producing a new music-swapping programme now known as napster. Napster is an MP3 file sharing programme that lets you connect to millions of other users world-wide and swap music with them for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, even Napster itself as a programme is FREE and is available to ANYONE with a PC and the Internet. Napster spreads all types of music ranging from unknown and up and coming bands to famous names like Craig David and Artful Dodger this is all at absolutely NO COST. So as you can imagine as Napster grew more popular than ever its total users topped 50MILLION in November 2000. Nearly 75 percent of college students have downloaded music from the Net, according to a recent study by Greenfield Online, an international research firm. Nearly two-thirds of the 1,135 college students surveyed say they download music as a way to sample music before buying it. So does this prove that the artists are actually benefiting out of Napster as people will hear there songs and possibly go and buy there singles. Many people believe music labels should have been donating money to Napster users, not threatening to sue them. And so the much-libelled Napster users are dedicated music buyers, quick to reach for their wallets. Greenfield research says it found that 45 per cent of online music fans are more likely to have increased their music purchases than online fans who don't use Napster. The study of Napster users found that 71 percent of users say they're willing to pay to download an entire album. A maker of MP3 portable players said "The year 2000 is a fantastic year for digital music,we had this earthquake called Napster who's aftershocks are still happening". Napster gives publicity to unsigned groups and gives people a chance to listen to their music and so possibly they may get a record deal form the record companies. But in the shops people are paying  £3.99 for these singles and to some they simply can't afford it, so why not use Napster and get it fo nothing??? After all would you pay for something you could get for free? Using napster gives everyone a chance to get all their favourite music for nothing, all new bands singles are featured on the programme but not forgetting many, many old songs for the older users of the site.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 29. Defection

We sat there all night long, statues of horror and grief, and Alice never came back. We were all at our limits – frenzied into absolute stillness. Carlisle had barely been able to move his lips to explain it all to Jacob. The retelling seemed to make it worse; even Emmett stood silent and still from then on. It wasn't until the sun rose and I knew that Renesmee would soon be stirring under my hands that I wondered for the first time what could possibly be taking Alice so long. I'd hoped to know more before I was faced with my daughter's curiosity. To have some answers. Some tiny, tiny portion of hope so that I could smile and keep the truth from terrifying her, too. My face felt permanently set into the fixed mask it had worn all night. I wasn't sure I had the ability to smile anymore. Jacob was snoring in the corner, a mountain of fur on the floor, twitching anxiously in his sleep. Sam knew everything – the wolves were readying themselves for what was coming. Not that this preparation would do anything but get them killed with the rest of my family. Thesunlight broke through the back windows, sparkling on Edward's skin. My eyes had not moved from his since Alice's departure. We'd stared at each other all night, staring at what neither of us could live through losing: the other. I saw my reflection glimmer in his agonized eyes as the sun touched my own skin. His eyebrows moved an infinitesimal bit, then his lips. â€Å"Alice,† he said. Thesound of hisvoice was like ice cracking as it melted. All of us fractured a little, softened a little. Moved again. â€Å"She's been gone a long time,†Rosalie murmured, surprised. â€Å"Where could she be?† Emmett wondered, taking a step toward the door. Esme put a hand on her arm. â€Å"We don't want to disturb †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"She's never taken so long before,† Edward said. New worry splintered the mask his face had become. His features were alive again, his eyes suddenly wide with fresh fear, extra panic. â€Å"Carlisle, you don't think – something preemptive? Would Alice have had time to see if they sent someone for her?† Aro's translucent-skinned face filled my head. Aro, who had seen into all the corners of Alice's mind, who knew everything she was capable of – Emmett cussed loud enough that Jacob lurched to his feet with a growl. In the yard, his growl was echoed by his pack. My family was already a blur of action. â€Å"Stay with Renesmee!† I all but shrieked at Jacob as I sprinted through the door. I was still stronger than the rest of them, and I used that strength to push myself forward. I overtook Esme in a few bounds, and Rosalie in just a few strides more. I raced through the thick forest until I was right behind Edward and Carlisle. â€Å"Would they have been able to surprise her?† Carlisle asked, his voice as even as if he were standing motionless rather than running at full speed. â€Å"I don't see how,† Edward answered. â€Å"But Aro knows her better than anyone else. Better than I do.† â€Å"Is this a trap?† Emmett called from behind us. â€Å"Maybe,† Edward said. â€Å"There's no scent but Alice and Jasper. Where were they going?† Alice and Jasper's trail was curling into a wide arc; it stretched first east of the house, but headed north on the other side of the river, and then back west again after a few miles. We recrossed the river, all six jumping within a second of each other. Edward ran in the lead, his concentration total. â€Å"Did you catch that scent?† Esme called ahead a few moments after we'd leaped the river for the second time. She was the farthest back, on the far left edge of our hunting party. She gestured to the southeast. â€Å"Keep to the main trail – we're almost to the Quileute border,† Edward ordered tersely. â€Å"Stay together. See if they turned north or south.† I was not as familiar with the treaty line as the rest of them, but I could smell the hint of wolf in the breeze blowing from the east. Edward and Carlisle slowed a little out of habit, and I could see their heads sweep from side to side, waiting for the trail to turn. Then the wolf smell was suddenly stronger, and Edward's head snapped up. He came to a sudden stop. The rest of us froze, too. â€Å"Sam?† Edward asked in a flat voice. â€Å"What is this?† Sam came through the trees a few hundred yards away, walking quickly toward us in his human form, flanked by two big wolves – Paul and Jared. It took Sam a while to reach us; his human pace made me impatient. I didn't want time to think about what was happening. I wanted to be in motion, to be doing something. I wanted to have my arms around Alice, to know beyond a doubt that she was safe. I watched Edward's face go absolutely white as he read what Sam was thinking. Sam ignored him, looking straight at Carlisle as he stopped walking and began to speak. â€Å"Right after midnight, Alice and Jasper came to this place and asked permission to cross our land to the ocean. I granted them that and escorted them to the coast myself. They went immediately into the water and did not return. As we journeyed, Alice told me it was of the utmost importance that I say nothing to Jacob about seeing her until I spoke to you. I was to wait here for you to come looking for her and then give you this note. She told me to obey her as if all our lives depended on it.† Sam's face was grim as he held out a folded sheet of paper, printed all over with small black text. It was a page out of a book; my sharp eyes read the printed words as Carlisle unfolded it to see the other side. The side facing me was the copyright page from The Merchant of Venice. A hint of my own scent blew off of it as Carlisle shook the paper flat. I realized it was a page torn from one of my books. I'd brought a few things from Charlie's house to the cottage; a few sets of normal clothes, all the letters from my mother, and my favorite books. My tattered collection of Shakespeare paperbacks had been on the bookshelf in the cottage's little living room yesterday morning†¦. â€Å"Alice has decided to leave us,† Carlisle whispered. â€Å"What?† Rosalie cried. Carlisle turned the page around so that we all could read. Don't look for us. There isn't time to waste. Remember; Tanya, Siobhan, Amun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. We'll seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. We're so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. It's the only way for us. We love you. We stood frozen again, the silence total but for the sound of the wolves' heartbeats, their breathing. Their thoughts must have been loud, too. Edward was first to move again, speaking in response to what he heard in Sam's head. â€Å"Yes, things are that dangerous.† â€Å"Enough that you would abandon your family?† Sam asked out loud, censure in his tone. It was clear that he had not read the note before giving it to Carlisle. He was upset now, looking as if he regretted listening to Alice. Edward's expression was stiff – to Sam it probably looked angry or arrogant, but I could see the shape of pain in the hard planes of his face. â€Å"We don't know what she saw,† Edward said. â€Å"Alice is neither unfeeling nor a coward. She just has more information than we do.† â€Å"Wewould not – ,† Sam began. â€Å"You are bound differently than we are,† Edward snapped. â€Å"1/1/e each still have our free will.† Sam's chin jerked up, and his eyes looked suddenly flat black. â€Å"But you should heed the warning,† Edward went on. â€Å"This is not something you want to involve yourselves in. You can still avoid what Alice saw.† Sam smiled grimly. â€Å"We don't run away.† Behind him, Paul snorted. â€Å"Don't get your family slaughtered for pride,† Carlisle interjected quietly. Sam looked at Carlisle with a softer expression. â€Å"As Edward pointed out, we don't have the same kind of freedom that you have. Renesmee is as much as part of our family now as she is yours. Jacob cannot abandon her, and we cannot abandon him.† His eyes flickered to Alice's note, and his lips pressed into a thinline. â€Å"You don't know her,† Edward said. â€Å"Do you?† Sam asked bluntly. Carlisle put a hand on Edward's shoulder. â€Å"We have much to do, son. Whatever Alice's decision, we would be foolish not to follow her advice now. Let's go home and get to work.† Edward nodded, his face still rigid with pain. Behind me, I could hear Esme's quiet, tearless sobs. I didn't know how to cry in this body; I couldn't do anything but stare. There was no feeling yet. Everything seemed unreal, like I was dreaming again after all these months. Having a nightmare. â€Å"Thank you, Sam,† Carlisle said. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Sam answered. â€Å"We shouldn't have let her through.† â€Å"You did the right thing,† Carlisle told him. â€Å"Alice is free to do what she will. I wouldn't deny her that liberty.† I'd always thought of the Cullens as a whole, an indivisible unit. Suddenly, I remembered that it had not always been so. Carlisle had created Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett; Edward had created me. We were physically linked by blood and venom. I never thought of Alice and Jasper as separate – as adopted into the family. But in truth, Alice had adopted the Cullens. She had shown up with her unconnected past, bringing Jasper with his, and fit herself into the family that was already there. Both she and Jasper had known another life outside the Cullen family. Had she really chosen to lead another new life after she'd seen that life with the Cullens was over? We were doomed, then, weren't we? There was no hope at all. Not one ray, one flicker that might have convinced Alice she had a chance at our side. The bright morning air seemed thicker suddenly, blacker, as if physically darkened by my despair. â€Å"I'mnot going down without a fight,† Emmett snarled low under his breath. â€Å"Alice told us what to do. Let's get it done.† The others nodded with determined expressions, and I realized that they were banking on whatever chance Alice had given us. That they were not going to give in to hopelessness and wait to die. Yes, we all would fight. What else was there? And apparently we would involve others, because Alice had said so before she'd left us. How could we not follow Alice's last warning? The wolves, too, would fight with us for Renesmee. We would fight, they would fight, and we all would die. I didn't feel the same resolve the others seemed to feel. Alice knew the odds. She was giving us the only chance she could see, but the chance was too slim for her to bet on it. I felt already beaten as I turned my back on Sam's critical face and followed Carlisle toward home. We ran automatically now, not the same panicked hurry as before. As we neared the river, Esme's head lifted. â€Å"There was that other trail. It was fresh.† She nodded forward, toward where she had called Edward's attention on the way here. While we were racing to save Alice†¦ â€Å"It has to be from earlier in the day. It was just Alice, without Jasper,† Edward said lifelessly. Esme's face puckered, and she nodded. I drifted to the right, falling a little behind. I was sure Edward was right, but at the same time†¦ After all, how had Alice's note ended up on a page from my book? â€Å"Bella?† Edward asked in an emotionless voice as I hesitated. â€Å"I want to follow the trail,† I told him, smelling the light scent of Alice that led away from her earlier flight path, i was new to this, but it smelled exactly the same to me, just minus the scent of Jasper. Edward's golden eyes were empty. â€Å"It probably just leads back to the house.† â€Å"Then I'll meet you there.† At first I thought he would let me go alone, but then, as I moved a few steps away, his blank eyes flickered to life. â€Å"I'll come with you,† he said quietly. â€Å"Well meet you at home, Carlisle.† Carlisle nodded, and the others left. I waited until they were out of sight, and then I looked at Edward questioningly. â€Å"I couldn't let you walk away from me,† he explained in a low voice. â€Å"It hurt just to imagine it.† I understood without more explanation than that. I thought of being divided from him now and realized I would have felt the same pain, no matter how short the separation. There was so little time left to be together. I held my hand out to him, and he took it. â€Å"Let's hurry,† he said. â€Å"Renesmee will be awake.† I nodded, and we were running again. It was probably a silly thing, to waste the time away from Renesmee just for curiosity's sake. But the note bothered me. Alice could have carved the note into a boulder or tree trunk if she lacked writing utensils. She could have stolen a pad of Post-its from any of the houses by the highway. Why my book? When did she get it? Sure enough, the trail led back to the cottage by a circuitous route that stayed far clear of the Cullens' house and the wolves in the nearby woods. Edward's brows tightened in confusion as it became obvious where the trail led. He tried to reason it out. â€Å"She left Jasper to wait for her and came here?† We were almost to the cottage now, and I felt uneasy. I was glad to have Edward's hand in mine, but I also felt as if I should be here alone. Tearing out the page and carrying it back to Jasper was such an odd thing for Alice to do. It felt like there was a message in her action – one I didn't understand at all. But it was my book, so the message must be for me. If it were something she wanted Edward to know, wouldn't she have pulled a page from one of his books†¦ ? â€Å"Give me just a minute,† I said, pulling my hand free as we got to the door. His forehead creased. â€Å"Bella?† â€Å"Please? Thirty seconds.† I didn't wait for him to answer. I darted through the door, pulling it shut behind me. I went straight to the bookshelf. Alice's scent was fresh – less than a day old. A fire that I had not set burned low but hot in the fireplace. I yanked The Merchant of Venice off the shelf and flipped it open to the title page. There, next to the feathered edge left by the torn page, under the words The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, was a note. Destroy this. Below that was a name and an address in Seattle. When Edward came through the door after only thirteen seconds rather than thirty, I was watching the book burn. â€Å"What's going on, Bella?† â€Å"She was here. She ripped a page out of my book to write her note on.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"I don't know why.† â€Å"Why are you burning it?† â€Å"I – I – † I frowned, letting all my frustration and pain show on my face. I did not know what Alice was trying to tell me, only that she'd gone to great lengths to keep it from anyone but me. The one person whose mind Edward could not read. So she must want to keep him in the dark, and it was probably for a good reason. â€Å"It seemed appropriate.† â€Å"We don't know what she's doing,† he said quietly. I stared into the flames. I was the only person in the world who could lie to Edward. Was that what Alice wanted from me? Her last request? â€Å"When we were on the plane to Italy,† I whispered – this was not a lie, except perhaps in context – â€Å"on our way to rescue you†¦ she lied to Jasper so that he wouldn't come after us. She knew that if he faced the Volturi, he would die. She was willing to die herself rather than put him in danger. Willing for me to die, too. Willing for you to die.† Edward didn't answer. â€Å"She has her priorities,† I said. It made my still heart ache to realize that my explanation did not feel like a lie in any way. â€Å"I don't believe it,† Edward said. He didn't say it like he was arguing with me – he said it like he was arguing with himself. â€Å"Maybe it was just Jasper in danger. Her plan would work for the rest of us, but he'd be lost if he stayed. Maybe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"She could have told us that. Sent him away.† â€Å"But would Jasper have gone? Maybe she's lying to him again.† â€Å"Maybe,† I pretended to agree. â€Å"We should go home. There's no time.† Edward took my hand, and we ran. Alice's note did not make me hopeful. If there were any way to avoid the coming slaughter, Alice would have stayed. I couldn't see another possibility. So it was something else she was giving me. Not a way to escape. But what else would she think that I wanted? Maybe a way to salvage something? Was there anything I could still save? Carlisle and the others had not been idle in our absence. We'd been separated from them for all of five minutes, and they were already prepared to leave. In the corner, Jacob was human again, with Renesmee on his lap, both of them watching us with wide eyes. Rosalie had traded her silk wrap dress for a sturdy-looking pair of jeans, running shoes, and a button-down shirt made of the thick weave that backpackers used for long trips. Esme was dressed similarly. There was a globe on the coffee table, but they were done looking at it, just waiting for us. The atmosphere was more positive now than before; it felt good to them to be in action. Their hopes were pinned on Alice's instructions. I looked at the globe and wondered where we were headed first. â€Å"We're to stay here?† Edward asked, looking at Carlisle. He didn't sound happy. â€Å"Alice said that we would have to show people Renesmee, and we would have to be careful about it,† Carlisle said. â€Å"We'll send whomever we can find back here to you – Edward, you'll be the best at fielding that particular minefield.† Edward gave one sharp nod, still not happy. â€Å"There's a lot of ground to cover.† â€Å"We're splitting up,† Emmett answered. â€Å"Rose and I are hunting for nomads.† â€Å"You'll have your hands full here,† Carlisle said. â€Å"Tanya's family will be here in the morning, and they have no idea why. First, you have to persuade them not to react the way Irina did. Second, you've got to find out what Alice meant about Eleazar. Then, after all that, will they stay to witness for us? It will start again as the others come – if we can persuade anyone to come in the first place.† Carlisle sighed. â€Å"Your job may well be the hardest. We'll be back to help as soon as we can.† Carlisle put his hand on Edward's shoulder for a second and then kissed my forehead. Esme hugged us both, and Emmett punched us both on the arm. Rosalie forced a hard smile for Edward and me, blew a kiss to Renesmee, and then gave Jacob a parting grimace. â€Å"Good luck,† Edward told them. â€Å"And to you,† Carlisle said. â€Å"We'll all need it.† I watched them leave, wishing I could feel whatever hope bolstered them, and wishing I could be alone with the computer for just a few seconds. I had to figure out who this J. Jenks person was and why Alice had gone to such lengths to give his name to only me. Renesmee twisted in Jacob's arms to touch his cheek. â€Å"I don't know if Carlisle's friends will come. I hope so. Sounds like we're a little outnumbered right now,† Jacob murmured to Renesmee. So she knew. Renesmee already understood only too clearly what was going on. The whole imprinted-werewolf-gives-the-object-of-his-imprinting-whatever-she-wants thing was getting old pretty fast. Wasn't shielding her more important than answering her questions? I looked carefully at her face. She did not look frightened, only anxious and very serious as she conversed with Jacob in her silent way. â€Å"No, we can't help; we've got to stay here,† he went on. â€Å"People are coming to see you, not the scenery.† Renesmee frowned at him. â€Å"No, I don't have to go anywhere,† he said to her. Then he looked at Edward, his face stunned by the realization that he might be wrong. â€Å"Do I?† Edward hesitated. â€Å"Spit it out,† Jacob said, his voice raw with tension. He was right at his breaking point, just like the rest of us. â€Å"The vampires who are coming to help us are not the same as we are,† Edward said. â€Å"Tanya's family is the only one besides ours with a reverence for human life, and even they don't think much of werewolves. I think it might be safer – â€Å" â€Å"I can take care of myself,† Jacob interrupted. â€Å"Safer for Renesmee,† Edward continued, â€Å"if the choice to believe our story about her is not tainted by an association with werewolves.† â€Å"Some friends. They'd turn on you just because of who you hang out with now?† â€Å"I think they would mostly be tolerant under normal circumstances. But you need to understand – accepting Nessie will not be a simple thing for any of them. Why make it even the slightest bit harder?† Carlisle had explained the laws about immortal children to Jacob last night. â€Å"The immortal children were really that bad?† he asked. â€Å"You can't imagine the depth of the scars they've left in the collective vampire psyche.† â€Å"Edward †¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was still odd to hear Jacob use Edward's name without bitterness. â€Å"I know, Jake. I know how hard it is to be away from her. We'll play it by ear – see how they react to her. In any case, Nessie is going to have to be incognito off and on in the next few weeks. She'll need to stay at the cottage until the right moment for us to introduce her. As long as you keep a safe distance from the main house †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I can do that. Company in the morning, huh?† â€Å"Yes. The closest of our friends. In this particular case, it's probably better if we get things out in the open as soon as possible. You can stay here. Tanya knows about you. She's even met Seth.† â€Å"You should tell Sam what's going on. There might be strangers in the woods soon.† â€Å"Good point. Though I owe him some silence after last night.† â€Å"Listening to Alice is usually the right thing.† Jacob's teeth ground together, and I could see that he shared Sam's feelings about what Alice and Jasper had done. While they were talking, I wandered toward the back windows, trying to look distracted and anxious. Not a difficult thing to do. I leaned my head against the wall that curved away from the living room toward the dining room, right next to one of the computer desks. I ran my fingers against the keys while staring into the forest, trying to make it look like an absentminded thing. Did vampires ever do things absentmindedly? I didn't think anyone was paying particular attention to me, but I didn't turn to make sure. The monitor glowed to life. I stroked my fingers across the keys again. Then I drummed them very quietly on the wooden desktop, just to make it seem random. Another stroke across the keys. I scanned the screen in my peripheral vision. No J. Jenks, but there was a Jason Jenks. A lawyer. I brushed the keyboard, trying to keep a rhythm, like the preoccupied stroking of a cat you'd all but forgotten on your lap. Jason Jenks had a fancy website for his firm, but the address on the homepage was wrong. In Seattle, but in a different zip code. I noted the phone number and then stroked the keyboard in rhythm. This time I searched the address, but nothing at all came up, as if the address didn't exist. I wanted to look at a map, but I decided I was pushing my luck. One more brush, to delete the history___ I continued staring out the window and brushed the wood a few times. I heard light footsteps crossing the floor to me, and I turned with what I hoped was the same expression as before. Renesmee reached for me, and I held my arms open. She launched herself into them, smelling strongly of werewolf, and nestled her head against my neck. I didn't know if I could stand this. As much as I feared for my life, for Edward's, for the rest of my family's, it was not the same as the gut-wrenching terror I felt for my daughter. There had to be a way to save her, even if that was the only thing I could do. Suddenly, I knew that this was all I wanted anymore. The rest I would bear if I had to, but not her life being forfeited. Not that. She was the one thing I simply had to save. Would Alice have known how I would feel? Renesmee's hand touched my cheek lightly. She showed me my own face, Edward's, Jacob's, Rosalie's, Esme's, Carlisle's, Alice's, Jasper's, flipping through all our family's faces faster and faster. Seth and Leah. Charlie, Sue, and Billy. Over and over again. Worrying, like the rest of us were. She was only worrying, though. Jake had kept the worst from her as far as I could tell. The part about how we had no hope, how we all were going to die in a month's time. She settled on Alice's face, longing and confused. Where was Alice? â€Å"I don't know,† I whispered. â€Å"But she's Alice. She's doing the right thing, like always.† The right thing for Alice, anyway. I hated thinking of her that way, but how else could the situation be understood? Renesmee sighed, and the longing intensified. â€Å"I miss her, too.† I felt my face working, trying to find the expression that went with the grief inside. My eyes felt strange and dry; they blinked against the uncomfortable feeling. I bit my lip. When I took my next breath, the air hitched in my throat, like I was choking on it. Renesmee pulled back to look at me, and I saw my face mirrored in her thoughts and in her eyes. I looked like Esme had this morning. So this was what it felt like to cry. Renesmee's eyes glistened wetly as she watched my face. She stroked my face, showing me nothing, just trying to soothe me. I'd never thought to see the mother-daughter bond reversed between us, the way it had always been for Renee and me. But I hadn't had a very clear view of the future. A tear welled up on the edge of Renesmee's eye. I wiped it away with a kiss. She touched her eye in amazement and then looked at the wetness on her fingertip. â€Å"Don't cry,† I told her. â€Å"It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. I will find you a way through this.† If there was nothing else I could do, I would still save my Renesmee. I was more positive than ever that this was what Alice would give me. She would know. She would have left me a way.

Father-Child Relationships in Hamlet and Fences Essay

In both William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and August Wilson’s Fences, the emphasis placed on parent-child relationship is vital, as family plays an important role in developing a character’s values as well as his or her upbringing does. While Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet show loyalty to their fathers unconditionally, Cory, even though looks up Troy as a figure, eventually exhibits disrespect to him. The relationship that Ophelia shares with her father, Polonius, is rather dogmatic to say the least. Throughout Hamlet, Polonius demonstrates almost absolute control over Ophelia as if she were a tool with the sole purpose of serving Polonius. As a result of a weakness of mind caused by a lack of independent thought, Ophelia does not oppose Polonius; for instance when Polonius challenges Hamlet’s intentions with Ophelia, she can only say â€Å"I do not know, my lord, what I should think. † (I. iii). Ophelia allows herself to be controlled, even rebuffing her love for Hamlet simply because Polonius suggests her not to â€Å"give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet,† (I. v) which illustrates the importance Ophelia place on her familial obligations. The structure and guidance that Polonius provides for Ophelia, leads her to affirm that she â€Å"shall obey† him (I. iv). Ophelia is subservient to her father’s wishes and looks up to his patriarchal position. She listens to Polonius’ counsel. She places her father (and family) above other affairs. Polonius seems to be dominant and almost controlling. However, Ophelia is never rebellious. While Ophelia shows her faithfulness to her father dependently, Laertes consciously respect his father. Though they may not have the best relationship before Polonius is murdered, it was clear that Laertes feels it to be essential that he proves his love for his father after his father has passed. The question is, does Laertes always have a passion for his father, and if not, why does he feel that he has to take revenge for his father’s honor in the second half of the play? Polonius says to King Claudius before Laertes’s departure, â€Å"He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave/ By laboursome petition, and at last/ Upon his will I sealed my hard consent. / I do beseech you give him leave to go. (I. ii). These lines show that Polonius is reluctant to let his son leave. When Laertes finally reaches France, it is discovered by us readers that Polonius still has little faith in his son to take care of himself. However, to keep an eye on his son, Polonius still orders his servant to France to secretly spy on Laertes and to make sure that he is doing alright. Polonius loves his son and daughter in a protective manner. That’s why he gains Laertes and Ophelia’s admiration. Similar to Laertes, Hamlet devotes his later life to an attempt of retribution to his father’s death. Hamlet looks up to his father because he feels that he is a great leader and the bravest man that he has known, as Hamlet mentions, â€Å"so excellent a king† (I. ii). These lines, â€Å"See, what a grace was seated on his brow:/ Hyperions curls, the front of Jove himself;/ An eye like Mars, to threaten or command;/ A station like the herald Mercury,† shows that Hamlet is willing to revenge for his father. His act of taking revenge may not completely come from love, but at least it represents the responsibility from a son to his father. In one of Aichinger’s essays about Hamlet, he points out that â€Å"Hamlet’s rejection of the moral standards of his society is crystallized by the events which follow his father’s death. † Hamlet is even obsessed to the idea of vengeance that remarkably transforms him from an average, responsible, young prince to an apparently mad, raging son intent upon avenging his father’s death. We see responsibility, obedience, and devotion in father-child relationships in Hamlet. But Troy-Cory relationship in Fences is not the case. Whether the cause is generational gap or Troy’s selfishness or Cory’s noncompliance, Troy never completely gains the love from his own son even after his death. Their relationship never blooms. Initially, Cory may innocently display his admiration to Troy because of his athletic ability and because of a simple reason: a love from a normal son to his father. Through Rose’s word, we know that Cory tries to do as best as he can to earn one compliment from his father, â€Å"Everything that boy do†¦ he do for you. He wants you to say â€Å"Good job, son. † That’s all. (I. iii). Unfortunately, there’s always a conflict in that relation. Cory asks his father, â€Å"How come you ain’t never liked me? † and Troy answers, â€Å"Liked you? Who the hell say I got to like you?†¦ / You eat everyday†¦ / Got a roof over your head†¦ / Got clothes on your back†¦ / What you think that is?†¦ / It’s my job. / It’s my responsibility! â€Å"(I. iii). This conversation between Cory and Troy clarifies everything. Troy doesn’t â€Å"like† his son. Troy takes care of his family including Cory because of his duty. Troy thinks he â€Å"owe† Cory. Of course, there must be some love from Troy to Cory, from a father to his son, but the bitter experiences Troy has in the past soon fence himself in to be a selfish, hostile man. In Wade Bradford’s analytical essay, he claims that † These set pieces will provide the literal and metaphoric activity of the play: building a fence around Troy’s property. † So, Cory is not Troy’s â€Å"property? † His selfishness seems large enough to overwhelm his love to the family, especially, to Cory. Troy subconsciously doesn’t want to see Cory’s success in sport which also means Troy is a failure. If there’s no whole-hearted love, duty becomes tiresome to Troy. The last fight between Troy and Cory is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Cory says â€Å"I’m not going to Papa’s funeral,†(II. v). His refusal to participate in Troy’s funeral shows that the wound in their relationship would never be healed. Cory just cannot forgive his father. Their relationship is always bitter and tense. Cory never fulfils his obligation as a son to Troy. Father-child relationship dominates both Hamlet and Fences. It is the scaffold that constructs the storyline in Fences. While Hamlet also deals with other issues, the parental relationship is the cause influencing most of the characters’ actions and behaviors. The contrast in father-child relationship in both plays is obvious. In the theme of post-medieval time in Hamlet, those connections are more rightfully dogmatic and include the devotion of one’s life to another. In the near-modern setting, the relationship among people may contain barriers of egocentric that separate them from one to another even that is the relationship between a father and his child.

Absolute Beginner English Telling Time

Absolute Beginner English Telling Time Telling the time is a basic skill that most students will eagerly acquire. You will need to take some sort of clock into the room. The best clock is one that has been designed for teaching purposes, however, you can also just draw a clock face on the board and add various times as you go through the lesson. Many students might be used to a 24-hour clock in their native culture. To begin telling time, its a good idea to just go through the hours and make students aware of the fact that we use a twelve-hour clock in English. Write the numbers 1 - 24 on the board and the equivalent time in English, i.e. 1 - 12, 1 - 12. It is also best to leave out. a.m. and p.m. at this point. Teacher: (Take the clock and set it to a time on the hour, i.e. seven oclock) What time is it? Its seven oclock. (Model what time and oclock by emphasizing what time and oclock in the question and response. This use of accenting differing words with your intonation helps students learn that what time is used in the question form and oclock in the answer.) Teacher: What time is it? Its eight oclock. (Go through a number of different hours. Make sure to demonstrate that we use a 12-hour clock by pointing to a number above 12 such as 18 and saying Its six oclock.) Teacher: (Change the hour on the clock) Paolo, what time is it? Student(s): Its three oclock. Teacher: (Change the hour on the clock) Paolo, ask Susan a question. Student(s): What time is it? Student(s): Its four oclock. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said. Part II: Learning a Quarter to, Quarter Past and Half Past Teacher: (Set the clock to a quarter to an hour, i.e. quarter to three) What time is it? Its a quarter to three. (Model to by accenting to in the response. This use of accenting differing words with your intonation helps students learn that to is used to express time before the hour.) Teacher: (Repeat setting the clock to a number of different quarters to an hour, i.e. quarter to four, five, etc.) Teacher: (Set the clock to a quarter past an hour, i.e. a quarter past three) What time is it? Its a quarter past three. (Model past by accenting past in the response. This use of accenting differing words with your intonation helps students learn that past is used to express time past the hour.) Teacher: (Repeat setting the clock to a number of different quarters past an hour, i.e. quarter past four, five, etc.) Teacher: (Set the clock to half past an hour, i.e. half past three) What time is it? Its half past three. (Model past by accenting past in the response. This use of accenting differing words with your intonation helps students learn that past is used to express time past the hour, specifically that we say half past an hour rather than half to an hour as in some other languages.) Teacher: (Repeat setting the clock to a number of different halves past an hour, i.e. half past four, five, etc.) Teacher: (Change the hour on the clock) Paolo, what time is it? Student(s): Its half past three. Teacher: (Change the hour on the clock) Paolo, ask Susan a question. Student(s): What time is it? Student(s): Its a quarter to five. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Watch out for students using oclock improperly. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said. Part III: Including the Minutes Teacher: (Set the clock to a minutes to or minutes past the hour) What time is it? Its seventeen (minutes) past three. Teacher: (Change the hour on the clock) Paolo, ask Susan a question. Student(s): What time is it? Student(s): Its ten (minutes) to five. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Watch out for students using oclock improperly. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer emphasizing what the student should have said.