Reflection Paper on New Testament’s Fulfillment of Some Promises

In fulfillment of prophesies in the Old Testament, Jesus demonstrated the divine execution of some physically expected events. One would need to understand that prophesies were actually not perfectly fulfilled only if a cross examination is done with a normal human scope of reasoning. These things are basically for those who have an in-depth insight into the divinity of supernatural. For example, the search for a home is a placement for dominance of Jesus messages in the heart and thoughts of men to always act and conduct themselves according to the principles of the father.This is further exemplified in the disciples’ behavior in Antioch when their characters were termed Christ-like. In the fulfillment of a search for a physical home, it is expected that the chasing away of the marketers from the temple would precede the establishment of a home. I think the scripture equally emphasized that the son of man has no place to lay his head even while birds do. It is the preparation for a temple devoid of corrupt market practices, theft and other unholy events. The temple is meant for believers to come around and observe the Sabbath routine, to read the books of the law in order to bring men to God the more.Truly Jesus had no home, preaching of gospel from place to place, wandering from town to town, preaching the kingdom of God and the readiness of men for his second coming after crucification and resurrection. Jesus is not of this world, he came on assignment. I think he clamors to recruit men to believe in the Kingdom of God. He finds rest or fulfillment in seeing teaming number of people believe through the demonstration of great miracles and healings of diseases. He stressed that believers are those who keep his words, these ones he called his people. Since one finds home among his people, it means irrespective of physical homelessness, one is secured within a virtual home among his followers.When Jesus said he would reconstruct the works of years in thre e days this raised a lot of troubles in their mind and courageously they asked how this would be possible. Though Jesus believed that only sign and wonder could make them believe, he placed more emphasis on the divine by further preaching the summary resurrection after three days of death from the sinful nature of man. The death signified the purification of believers and the reconciliation to God. I think he eschewed the physical explanation since that was not his focus and also to further enrich them with wonders that initiated deep thirst for more conviction on him being the Son of man. Thus, after his resurrection, the disciples remembered the statement of building the temple within three days.This does not only led to strengthening of their faith, they also go all out preaching the good news of what the strongly believe in, even to the point of death. Concerning the relationship between humanity and God, humans are expected to reason in the divine as only this can make man comp rehend the scripture. There is a need for reconciliation of human’s blemish flesh to God to ease communication flow at every junction of our life when we need God. His death body on the cross has done this but only for the believers that have permitted Jesus to have a place in their hearts.Jesus changed the destiny of the worlds through his rising (resurrection) from death in addition to signs and wonders performed. When the believers confirmed the prophesies that had gone ahead of the event with the actual event taking place at ages interval, believing is no more an insecurity issue for deep thinking ones. The persuasive gospel of eye witnesses who were his disciples and later became the Apostles is sufficient to re-oriented the destiny of the world in preparation for the coming end – the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Generational Poverty Essay

Special populations refers to â€Å"disadvantaged groups† in our society. It examines the effects society has on person or persons. This can consist of generation poverty, the aged or elderly, and women. These populations face complex challenges in their daily lives. Economic instability, lack of resources, lack of education and lack of unity from society keeps special population groups in hardships. Generational poverty involves special population of poor people. It is cycle of poverty wherein two to three generations were born and lived in poverty. Complex factors are involved that hinders them from striving to attain advantages that other groups may enjoy. People in generation poverty focus on survival and live in the now. They do not plan because they live in the present time and do not plan for the future. They live on day to day survival and live in the moment. Any situation that they are exposed to is met with a reactive mentality. This leads to lack of organization and planning their life and their family’s life for proactive living. Further, their money is for entertainment and to entertain others. They sometimes create and accomplish short term outcomes for immediate gratification. People become their possession, on the other hand, in middle and upper class, they focus on material security. The middle class plans for the future and the wealth plans for the future and involved themselves into politics. Due to lack of a good solid education, many people of generational poverty are unable to communicate effectively therefore they become anger. Parents of poverty do not want their children to receive an education, because they might leave home if they are educated. In addition they have a lack of value in education. Poverty learns from poverty whereas they all adopt the poverty norm. Most parents only have an elementary education and cannot read or do math. They raise their kids not empathizing the importance of an education. Many students do not assign value to school work or to their education. School tardiness and absences are excessive due to transportation issues or parents lack of involvement. Parents who did poorly in school do not put a great emphasis on their children to succeed in school. Students have access to poor quality school resources. They are less likely to find out about the world, obtain job skills, and relying heavily on peers and parents for social and emotional support. Investing in good schools, teachers, lunches, exposure to a structure lifestyle, and relationships could help poor students break the cycle of poverty. As for the lack of an education, families of generation poverty rely heavily on body language to communicate with others and the men constantly display a defensive stance when in public. They do not use specific jargon as like educated people who uses specific words and extensive vocabulary to display their intelligence. Emotions are usually openly displayed. Conflict resolution for the poor is usually physical fighting than verbal fighting or going to court. Likewise, parental poverty effects the motivation of the children. Tools are very limited or do not exist in the socio-environment, so the concept of repair and fix it does not carry any priority in the day to day life activities. Also, food becomes a necessity and valued for its quantity rather than is quality. Many people living in poverty consume a lot of cheap junk food which contributes to childhood obesity. The middle and uppers class eats for quality and presentation. Furthermore, there are a lack of low skill jobs for the poor. They work in manual labor jobs with low wages that do not require specific skills. Due to industrialization, mining and the auto line industry are closing down. Economy shifted from manufacturing to a service economy, those who could not shift to the shift were left behind. Due to lack of education they are unable to perform in the mainstream job market to conduct business transactions, count, and resolve complex problems. Also, culture and genes interact with one another to influence people’s learning and the ability to make a living. Many children are third or fourth generation of poverty. Many just settle for the status quo instead of not taking the education opportuni ty. Some become teenage mothers, drop out of school, and/or drink or take street drugs. On the other hand, many rely on welfare to live and take pride on needed assistance. Some want get a job or do not think they need a job. Also they feel that society owes them a living. Many do not have the access to resources to locate or search jobs as the middle class and the upper class. ————————————————- Must be given the opportunity and resources to break the cycle of poverty. One must be motivated, hopeful, and willing to learn for a better future. A good solid education provides the poor the steps necessary for to open doors they would never been able to open before for a successful life. ——————————– Another special population group is the aged or elderly. The aged or elderly population faces an array of challenges when there is lack of access to employment. The aged are faced with ageism. Many employers are looking to hire younger employees to replace the aged or elder employees with cheaper salary. Younger employees are usually hired for their fresh perspective and eagerness to learn. Many aged workers are solicited by their employers for early retirement with sometimes a substantial payout. Many are retiring before the normal Social Security age of 65-67 years old. Once the aged is retired or laid off it is difficult to find work elsewhere due to active age discrimination. Many employers view the old employers especially the baby boomers as too rigid, failing health, lack of enthusiasm, afraid of new technologies, do not want to learn new training (stuck in old ways), and expensive to keep. Many aged people are viewing job advertisements with pictures of younger employees. In addition, the aged are facing high cost of medical insurance and healthcare. With the obstacles in the job market, the aged could possibly experience social isolationism, low self-esteem, and financial hardship. ————————————————- On the same token, women face unique challenges that throughout their different life stages that places them into the Special Population group when compared to men. Women still face challenges today in areas of social, economic, sports, political and cultural despite the fact that there has been success in empowering women and shattering the glass ceiling for employment promotions. They live 7 years longer than men, make up majority of the world’s population but yet they are greatly ignored. Some women are subjected to part time jobs and lower wage position than their male counterparts. Likewise, women face ageism and sexism in the media on the average profile of a woman. —————————————- Singled and divorced women are most likely to have low paying jobs than men. This causes a financial strain on the women to pay for households bills and to pay for childcare. Women still earn less than their male counterparts. A man would be hired most likely to be promoted and/or receive a managerial or executive position than a woman. ————————————————- In regards to young girls they face ageism whereas people may think they are untrustworthy, shifty and unreliable. Girls who want to play sports especially on a boys team may be assessed by the players and coach as incapable of keeping up too weak to play the sport. In school, boys are judged as good in math and girls are not. ————————————————- If a woman is in her child rearing age, she could face pregnancy discrimination. With 12 weeks paid leave, the woman could face repercussions from co-workers or administration. Some women feel that having a baby would be putting their career on hold. Most women have to take on the role of raising and caring for the children. Most single parent household are run by women. ————————————————- Also, women in their 20-30s are subjected to domestic violence. Domestic abuse is on a decline, however, women are still at a high risk for abuse. Women in this age group are usually majority of the time victims or assault and battery and rape. ————————————————- Women married for 30 plus years are unable to provide for themselves if they spouse leaves them. For years that have adopted their husband’s identity as their own. Therefore, these women have difficulty with self-independence. If a women because ill, it is more likely that her spouse will abandon her. Women mostly likely will stay and provide health care and nurturing to their ailing spouse. In addition women over 50 will most likely care for their ailing parent and handle the parent’s finances. Older women are seen as unhealthy and sexless. After age 50, women are seen as invisible. They start to believe that their voice or concern is no longer valuable. However, they are viewed as ineffective and dependent on others during their later years. Women have more chronic illnesses than men; men usually acute illnesses. Medical coverage usually covers health care treatment for acute illnesses that men usually acquire. Therefore if a women requires long term care in a nursing home, medical coverage may run out or does not cover the stay. All in all, Special Populations could be apply to any person; everyone has unique needs and advantages/disadvantages from another person or group. We all have challenges; some people are apparent, whereas others are not. Their challenges affect their life adversely. My perspective is that I am going to be cognizant of everyone’s physical challenges and establish cultural competence. My goal will get them to live a more vigorous, productive, and striving lifestyle. I have to effectively assess the needs of my clients and how they are underserved in their community to utilize the tools necessary to address their needs. I want to relate to my clients that having and education and a productive lifestyle is attainable. Everyone is accorded the same rights and opportunities regardless of your challenges. Some people may requires special services to help them attain those rights.

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 2. Open Book

I leaned back against the soft snow bank, letting the dry powder reshape itself around my weight. My skin had cooled to match the air around me, and the tiny pieces of ice felt like velvet under my skin. The sky above me was clear, brilliant with stars, glowing blue in some places, yellow in others. The stars created majestic, swirling shapes against the black universe – an awesome sight. Exquisitely beautiful. Or rather, it should have been exquisite. Would have been, if I'd been able to really see it. It wasn't getting any better. Six days had passed, six days I'd hidden here in the empty Denali wilderness, but I was no closer to freedom than I had been since the first moment that I'd caught her scent. When I stared up at the jeweled sky, it was as if there were an obstruction between my eyes and their beauty. The obstruction was a face, just an unremarkable human face, but I couldn't quite seem to banish it from my mind. I heard the approaching thoughts before I heard the footsteps that accompanied them. The sound of movement was only a faint whisper against the powder. I was not surprised that Tanya had followed me here. I knew she'd been mulling over this coming conversation for the last few days, putting it off until she was sure of exactly what she wanted to say. She sprang into sight about sixty yards away, leaping onto the tip of an outcropping of black rock and balancing there on the balls of her bare feet. Tanya's skin was silver in the starlight, and her long blond curls shone pale, almost pink with their strawberry tint. Her amber eyes glinted as she spied me, halfburied in the snow, and her full lips stretched slowly into a smile. Exquisite. If I'd really been able to see her. I sighed. She crouched down on the point of the stone, her fingertips touching the rock, her body coiled. Cannonball, she thought. She launched herself into the air; her shape became a dark, twisting shadow as she spun gracefully between me and the stars. She curled herself into a ball just as she struck the piled snow bank beside me. A blizzard of snow flew up around me. The stars went black and I was buried deep in the feathery ice crystals. I sighed again, but didn't move to unearth myself. The blackness under the snow neither hurt nor improved the view. I still saw the same face. â€Å"Edward?† Then snow was flying again as Tanya swiftly disinterred me. She brushed the powder from my unmoving face, not quite meeting my eyes. â€Å"Sorry,† she murmured. â€Å"It was a joke.† â€Å"I know. It was funny.† Her mouth twisted down. â€Å"Irina and Kate said I should leave you alone. They think I'm annoying you.† â€Å"Not at all,† I assured her. â€Å"On the contrary, I'm the one who's being rude – abominably rude. I'm very sorry.† You're going home, aren't you? she thought. â€Å"I haven't†¦entirely†¦decided that yet.† But you're not staying here. Her thought was wistful now, sad. â€Å"No. It doesn't seem to be†¦helping.† She grimaced. â€Å"That's my fault, isn't it?† â€Å"Of course not,† I lied smoothly. Don't be a gentleman. I smiled. I make you uncomfortable, she accused. â€Å"No.† She raised one eyebrow, her expression so disbelieving that I had to laugh. One short laugh, followed by another sigh. â€Å"All right,† I admitted. â€Å"A little bit.† She sighed, too, and put her chin in her hands. Her thoughts were chagrined. â€Å"You're a thousand times lovelier than the stars, Tanya. Of course, you're already well aware of that. Don't let my stubbornness undermine your confidence.† I chuckled at the unlikeliness of that. â€Å"I'm not used to rejection,† she grumbled, her lower lip pushing out into an attractive pout. â€Å"Certainly not,† I agreed, trying with little success to block out her thoughts as she fleetingly sifted through memories of her thousands of successful conquests. Mostly Tanya preferred human men – they were much more populous for one thing, with the added advantage of being soft and warm. And always eager, definitely. â€Å"Succubus,† I teased, hoping to interrupt the images flickering in her head. She grinned, flashing her teeth. â€Å"The original.† Unlike Carlisle, Tanya and her sisters had discovered their consciences slowly. In the end, it was their fondness for human men that turned the sisters against the slaughter. Now the men they loved†¦lived. â€Å"When you showed up here,† Tanya said slowly. â€Å"I thought that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd known what she'd thought. And I should have guessed that she would have felt that way. But I hadn't been at my best for analytical thinking in that moment. â€Å"You thought that I'd changed my mind.† â€Å"Yes.† She scowled. â€Å"I feel horrible for toying with your expectations, Tanya. I didn't mean to – I wasn't thinking. It's just that I left in†¦quite a hurry.† â€Å"I don't suppose you'd tell me why†¦?† I sat up and wrapped my arms around my legs, curling defensively. â€Å"I don't want to talk about it.† Tanya, Irina and Kate were very good at this life they'd committed to. Better, in some ways, than even Carlisle. Despite the insanely close proximity they allowed themselves with those who should be – and once were – their prey, they did not make mistakes. I was too ashamed to admit my weakness to Tanya. â€Å"Woman troubles?† she guessed, ignoring my reluctance. I laughed a bleak laugh. â€Å"Not the way you mean it.† She was quiet then. I listened to her thoughts as she ran through different guesses, tried to decipher the meaning of my words. â€Å"You're not even close,† I told her. â€Å"One hint?† she asked. â€Å"Please let it go, Tanya.† She was quiet again, still speculating. I ignored her, trying in vain to appreciate the stars. She gave up after a silent moment, and her thoughts pursued a new direction. Where will you go, Edward, if you leave? Back to Carlisle? â€Å"I don't think so,† I whispered. Where would I go? I could not think of one place on the entire planet that held any interest for me. There was nothing I wanted to see or do. Because, no matter where I went, I would not be going to anywhere – I would only be running from. I hated that. When had I become such a coward? Tanya threw her slender arm around my shoulders. I stiffened, but did not flinch out from under her touch. She meant it as nothing more than friendly comfort. Mostly. â€Å"I think that you will go back,† she said, her voice taking on just a hint of her long lost Russian accent. â€Å"No matter what it is†¦or who it is†¦that is haunting you. You'll face it head on. You're the type.† Her thoughts were as certain as her words. I tried to embrace the vision of myself that she carried in her head. The one who faced things head on. It was pleasant to think of myself that way again. I'd never doubted my courage, my ability to face difficulty, before that horrible hour in a high school biology class such a short time ago. I kissed her cheek, pulling back swiftly when she twisted her face toward mine, her lips already puckered. She smiled ruefully at my quickness. â€Å"Thank you, Tanya. I needed to hear that.† Her thoughts turned petulant. â€Å"You're welcome, I guess. I wish you would be more reasonable about things, Edward.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Tanya. You know you're too good for me. I just†¦haven't found what I'm looking for yet.† â€Å"Well, if you leave before I see you again†¦goodbye, Edward.† â€Å"Goodbye, Tanya.† As I said the words, I could see it. I could see myself leaving. Being strong enough to go back to the one place where I wanted to be. â€Å"Thanks again.† She was on her feet in one nimble move, and then she was running away, ghosting across the snow so quickly that her feet had no time to sink into the snow; she left no prints behind her. She didn't look back. My rejection bothered her more than she'd let on before, even in her thoughts. She wouldn't want to see me again before I left. My mouth twisted with chagrin. I didn't like hurting Tanya, though her feelings were not deep, hardly pure, and, in any case, not something I could return. It still made me feel less than a gentleman. I put my chin on my knees and stared up at the stars again, though I was suddenly anxious to be on my way. I knew that Alice would see me coming home, that she would tell the others. This would make them happy – Carlisle and Esme especially. But I gazed at the stars for one more moment, trying to see past the face in my head. Between me and the brilliant lights in the sky, a pair of bewildered chocolate-brown eyes stared back at me, seeming to ask what this decision would mean for her. Of course, I couldn't be sure if that was really the information her curious eyes sought. Even in my imagination, I couldn't hear her thoughts. Bella Swan's eyes continued to question, and an unobstructed view of the stars continued to elude me. With a heavy sigh, I gave up, and got to my feet. If I ran, I would be back to Carlisle's car in less than an hour†¦ In a hurry to see my family – and wanting very much to be the Edward that faced things head on – I raced across the starlit snowfield, leaving no footprints. â€Å"It's going to be okay,† Alice breathed. Her eyes were unfocused, and Jasper had one hand lightly under her elbow, guiding her forward as we walked into the rundown cafeteria in a close group. Rosalie and Emmett led the way, Emmett looking ridiculously like a bodyguard in the middle of hostile territory. Rose looked wary, too, but much more irritated than protective. â€Å"Of course it is,† I grumbled. Their behavior was ludicrous. If I wasn't positive that I could handle this moment, I would have stayed home. The sudden shift from our normal, even playful morning – it had snowed in the night, and Emmett and Jasper were not above taking advantage of my distraction to bombard me with slushballs; when they got bored with my lack of response, they'd turned on each other – to this overdone vigilance would have been comical if it weren't so irritating. â€Å"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in†¦she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot.† â€Å"Of course we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'll be absolutely fine.† She blinked once as Jasper helped her into her seat, and her eyes finally focused on my face. â€Å"Hmm,† she said, sounding surprised. â€Å"I think you're right.† â€Å"Of course I am,† I muttered. I hated being the focus of their concern. I felt a sudden sympathy for Jasper, remembering all the times we'd hovered protectively over him. He met my glance briefly, and grinned. Annoying, isn't it? I grimaced at him. Was it just last week that this long, drab room had seemed so killingly dull to me? That it had seemed almost like sleep, like a coma, to be here? Today my nerves were stretched tight – piano wires, tensed to sing at the lightest pressure. My senses were hyper-alert; I scanned every sound, every sight, every movement of the air that touched my skin, every thought. Especially the thoughts. There was only one sense that I kept locked down, refused to use. Smell, of course. I didn't breathe. I was expecting to hear more about the Cullens in the thoughts that I sifted through. All day I'd been waiting, searching for whichever new acquaintance Bella Swan might have confided in, trying to see the direction the new gossip would take. But there was nothing. No one noticed the five vampires in the cafeteria, just the same as before the new girl had come. Several of the humans here were still thinking of that girl, still thinking the same thoughts from last week. Instead of finding this unutterably boring, I was now fascinated. Had she said nothing to anyone about me? There was no way that she had not noticed my black, murderous glare. I had seen her react to it. Surely, I'd scared her silly. I had been convinced that she would have mentioned it to someone, maybe even exaggerated the story a bit to make it better. Given me a few menacing lines. And then, she'd also heard me trying to get out of our shared biology class. She must have wondered, after seeing my expression, whether she were the cause. A normal girl would have asked around, compared her experience to others, looked for common ground that would explain my behavior so she didn't feel singled out. Humans were constantly desperate to feel normal, to fit in. To blend in with everyone else around them, like a featureless flock of sheep. The need was particularly strong during the insecure adolescent years. This girl would be no exception to that rule. But no one at all took any notice of us sitting here, at our normal table. Bella must be exceptionally shy, if she'd confided in no one. Perhaps she had spoken to her father, maybe that was the strongest relationship†¦though that seemed unlikely, given the fact that she had spent so little time with him throughout her life. She would be closer to her mother. Still, I would have to pass by Chief Swan sometime soon and listen to what he was thinking. â€Å"Anything new?† Jasper asked. â€Å"Nothing. She†¦must not have said anything.† All of them raised an eyebrow at this news. â€Å"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are,† Emmett said, chuckling. â€Å"I bet I could have frightened her better than that.† I rolled my eyes at him. â€Å"Wonder why†¦?† He puzzled again over my revelation about the girl's unique silence. â€Å"We've been over that. I don't know.† â€Å"She's coming in,† Alice murmured then. I felt my body go rigid. â€Å"Try to look human.† â€Å"Human, you say?† Emmett asked. He held up his right fist, twisting his fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm. Of course it had not melted there. He'd squeezed it into a lumpy block of ice. He had his eyes on Jasper, but I saw the direction of his thoughts. So did Alice, of course. When he abruptly hurled the ice chunk at her, she flicked it away with a casual flutter of her fingers. The ice ricocheted across the length of the cafeteria, too fast to be visible to human eyes, and shattered with a sharp crack against the brick wall. The brick cracked, too. The heads in that corner of the room all turned to stare at the pile of broken ice on the floor, and then swiveled to find the culprit. They didn't look further than a few tables away. No one looked at us. â€Å"Very human, Emmett,† Rosalie said scathingly. â€Å"Why don't you punch through the wall while you're at it?† â€Å"It would look more impressive if you did it, baby.† I tried to pay attention to them, keeping a grin fixed on my face like I was part of their banter. I did not allow myself to look toward the line where I knew she was standing. But that was all that I was listening to. I could hear Jessica's impatience with the new girl, who seemed to be distracted, too, standing motionless in the moving line. I saw, in Jessica's thoughts, that Bella Swan's cheeks were once more colored bright pink with blood. I pulled in short, shallow breaths, ready to quit breathing if any hint of her scent touched the air near me. Mike Newton was with the two girls. I heard both his voices, mental and verbal, when he asked Jessica what was wrong with the Swan girl. I didn't like the way his thoughts wrapped around her, the flicker of already established fantasies that clouded his mind while he watched her start and look up from her reverie like she'd forgotten he was there. â€Å"Nothing,† I heard Bella say in that quiet, clear voice. It seemed to ring like a bell over the babble in the cafeteria, but I knew that was just because I was listening for it so intently. â€Å"I'll just get a soda today,† she continued as she moved to catch up with the line. I couldn't help flickering one glance in her direction. She was staring at the floor, the blood slowly fading from her face. I looked away quickly, to Emmett, who laughed at the now pained-looking smile on my face. You look sick, bro. I rearranged my features so the expression would seem casual and effortless. Jessica was wondering aloud about the girl's lack of appetite. â€Å"Aren't you hungry?† â€Å"Actually, I feel a little sick.† Her voice was lower, but still very clear. Why did it bother me, the protective concern that suddenly emanated from Mike Newton's thoughts? What did it matter that there was a possessive edge to them? It wasn't my business if Mike Newton felt unnecessarily anxious for her. Perhaps this was the way everyone responded to her. Hadn't I wanted, instinctively, to protect her, too? Before I'd wanted to kill her, that is†¦ But was the girl ill? It was hard to judge – she looked so delicate with her translucent skin†¦ Then I realized that I was worrying, too, just like that dimwitted boy, and I forced myself not to think about her health. Regardless, I didn't like monitoring her through Mike's thoughts. I switched to Jessica's, watching carefully as the three of them chose which table to sit at. Fortunately, they sat with Jessica's usual companions, at one of the first tables in the room. Not downwind, just as Alice had promised. Alice elbowed me. She's going to look soon, act human. I clenched my teeth behind my grin. â€Å"Ease up, Edward,† Emmett said. â€Å"Honestly. So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world.† â€Å"You would know,† I murmured. Emmett laughed. â€Å"You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt.† Just then, Alice tossed a smaller handful of ice that she'd been hiding into Emmett's unsuspecting face. He blinked, surprised, and then grinned in anticipation. â€Å"You asked for it,† he said as he leaned across the table and shook his iceencrusted hair in her direction. The snow, melting in the warm room, flew out from his hair in a thick shower of half-liquid, half-ice. â€Å"Ew!† Rose complained, as she and Alice recoiled from the deluge. Alice laughed, and we all joined in. I could see in Alice's head how she'd orchestrated this perfect moment, and I knew that the girl – I should stop thinking of her that way, as if she were the only girl in the world – that Bella would be watching us laugh and play, looking as happy and human and unrealistically ideal as a Norman Rockwell painting. Alice kept laughing, and held her tray up as a shield. The girl – Bella must still be staring at us. †¦staring at the Cullens again, someone thought, catching my attention. I looked automatically toward the unintentional call, realizing as my eyes found their destination that I recognized the voice – I'd been listening to it so much today. But my eyes slid right past Jessica, and focused on the girl's penetrating gaze. She looked down quickly, hiding behind her thick hair again. What was she thinking? The frustration seemed to be getting more acute as time went on, rather than dulling. I tried – uncertain in what I was doing for I'd never tried this before – to probe with my mind at the silence around her. My extra hearing had always come to me naturally, without asking; I'd never had to work at it. But I concentrated now, trying to break through whatever shield surrounded her. Nothing but silence. What is it about her? Jessica thought, echoing my own frustration. â€Å"Edward Cullen is staring at you,† she whispered in the Swan girl's ear, adding a giggle. There was no hint of her jealous irritation in her tone. Jessica seemed to be skilled at feigning friendship. I listened, too engrossed, to the girl's response. â€Å"He doesn't look angry, does he?† she whispered back. So she had noticed my wild reaction last week. Of course she had. The question confused Jessica. I saw my own face in her thoughts as she checked my expression, but I did not meet her glance. I was still concentrating on the girl, trying to hear something. My intent focus didn't seem to be helping at all. â€Å"No,† Jess told her, and I knew that she wished she could say yes – how it rankled inside her, my staring – though there was no trace of that in her voice. â€Å"Should he be?† â€Å"I don't think he likes me,† the girl whispered back, laying her head down on her arm as if she were suddenly tired. I tried to understand the motion, but I could only make guesses. Maybe she was tired. â€Å"The Cullens don't like anybody,† Jess reassured her. â€Å"Well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them.† They never used to. Her thought was a grumble of complaint. â€Å"But he's still staring at you.† â€Å"Stop looking at him,† the girl said anxiously, lifting her head from her arm to make sure Jessica obeyed the order. Jessica giggled, but did as she was asked. The girl did not look away from her table for the rest of the hour. I thought – though, of course, I could not be sure – that this was deliberate. It seemed like she wanted to look at me. Her body would shift slightly in my direction, her chin would begin to turn, and then she would catch herself, take a deep breath, and stare fixedly at whoever was speaking. I ignored the other thoughts around the girl for the most part, as they were not, momentarily, about her. Mike Newton was planning a snow fight in the parking lot after school, not seeming to realize that the snow had already shifted to rain. The flutter of soft flakes against the roof had become the more common patter of raindrops. Could he really not hear the change? It seemed loud to me. When the lunch period ended, I stayed in my seat. The humans filed out, and I caught myself trying to distinguish the sound of her footsteps from the sound of the rest, as if there was something important or unusual about them. How stupid. My family made no move to leave, either. They waited to see what I would do. Would I go to class, sit beside the girl where I could smell the absurdly potent scent of her blood and feel the warmth of her pulse in the air on my skin? Was I strong enough for that? Or had I had enough for one day? â€Å"I†¦think it's okay,† Alice said, hesitant. â€Å"Your mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour.† But Alice knew well how quickly a mind could change. â€Å"Why push it, Edward?† Jasper asked. Though he didn't want to feel smug that I was the one who was weak now, I could hear that he did, just a little. â€Å"Go home. Take it slow.† â€Å"What's the big deal?† Emmett disagreed. â€Å"Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way.† â€Å"I don't want to move yet,† Rosalie complained. â€Å"I don't want to start over. We're almost out of high school, Emmett. Finally.† I was evenly torn on the decision. I wanted, wanted badly, to face this head on rather than running away again. But I didn't want to push myself too far, either. It had been a mistake last week for Jasper to go so long without hunting; was this just as pointless a mistake? I didn't want to uproot my family. None of them would thank me for that. But I wanted to go to my biology class. I realized that I wanted to see her face again. That's what decided it for me. That curiosity. I was angry with myself for feeling it. Hadn't I promised myself that I wouldn't let the silence of the girl's mind make me unduly interested in her? And yet, here I was, most unduly interested. I wanted to know what she was thinking. Her mind was closed, but her eyes were very open. Perhaps I could read them instead. â€Å"No, Rose, I think it really will be okay,† Alice said. â€Å"It's†¦firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure that nothing bad will happen if he goes to class.† She looked at me inquisitively, wondering what had changed in my thoughts that made her vision of the future more secure. Would curiosity be enough to keep Bella Swan alive? Emmett was right, though – why not get it over with, either way? I would face the temptation head on. â€Å"Go to class,† I ordered, pushing away from the table. I turned and strode away from them without looking back. I could hear Alice's worry, Jasper's censure, Emmett's approval, and Rosalie's irritation trailing after me. I took one last deep breath at the door of the classroom, and then held it in my lungs as I walked into the small, warm space. I was not late. Mr. Banner was still setting up for today's lab. The girl sat at my – at our table, her face down again, staring at the folder she was doodling on. I examined the sketch as I approached, interested in even this trivial creation of her mind, but it was meaningless. Just a random scribbling of loops within loops. Perhaps she was not concentrating on the pattern, but thinking of something else? I pulled my chair back with unnecessary roughness, letting it scrape across the linoleum; humans always felt more comfortable when noise announced someone's approach. I knew she heard the sound; she did not look up, but her hand missed a loop in the design she was drawing, making it unbalanced. Why didn't she look up? Probably she was frightened. I must be sure to leave her with a different impression this time. Make her think she'd been imagining things before. â€Å"Hello,† I said in the quiet voice I used when I wanted to make humans more comfortable, forming a polite smile with my lips that would not show any teeth. She looked up then, her wide brown eyes startled – almost bewildered – and full of silent questions. It was the same expression that had been obstructing my vision for the last week. As I stared into those oddly deep brown eyes, I realized that the hate – the hate I'd imagined this girl somehow deserved for simply existing – had evaporated. Not breathing now, not tasting her scent, it was hard to believe that anyone so vulnerable could ever justify hatred. Her cheeks began to flush, and she said nothing. I kept my eyes on hers, focusing only on their questioning depths, and tried to ignore the appetizing color of her skin. I had enough breath to speak for a while longer without inhaling. â€Å"My name is Edward Cullen,† I said, though I knew she knew that. It was the polite way to begin. â€Å"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.† She seemed confused – there was that little pucker between her eyes again. It took her half a second longer than it should have for her to respond. â€Å"How do you know my name?† she demanded, and her voice shook just a little. I must have truly terrified her. This made me feel guilty; she was just so defenseless. I laughed gently – it was a sound that I knew made humans more at ease. Again, I was careful about my teeth. â€Å"Oh, I think everyone knows your name.† Surely she must have realized that she'd become the center of attention in this monotonous place. â€Å"The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive.† She frowned as if this information was unpleasant. I supposed, being shy as she seemed to be, attention would seem like a bad thing to her. Most humans felt the opposite. Though they didn't want to stand out from the herd, at the same time they craved a spotlight for their individual uniformity. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"I meant, why did you call me Bella?† â€Å"Do you prefer Isabella?† I asked, perplexed by the fact that I couldn't see where this question was leading. I didn't understand. Surely, she'd made her preference clear many times that first day. Were all humans this incomprehensible without the mental context as a guide? â€Å"No, I like Bella,† she answered, leaning her head slightly to one side. Her expression – if I was reading it correctly – was torn between embarrassment and confusion. â€Å"But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back. That's what everyone here seems to know me as.† Her skin darkened one shade pinker. â€Å"Oh,† I said lamely, and quickly looked away from her face. I'd just realized what her questions meant: I had slipped up – made an error. If I hadn't been eavesdropping on all the others that first day, then I would have addressed her initially by her full name, just like everyone else. She'd noticed the difference. I felt a pang of unease. It was very quick of her to pick up on my slip. Quite astute, especially for someone who was supposed to be terrified by my nearness. But I had bigger problems than whatever suspicions about me she might be keeping locked inside her head. I was out of air. If I were going to speak to her again, I would have to inhale. It would be hard to avoid speaking. Unfortunately for her, sharing this table made her my lab partner, and we would have to work together today. It would seem odd – and incomprehensibly rude – for me to ignore her while we did the lab. It would make her more suspicious, more afraid†¦ I leaned as far away from her as I could without moving my seat, twisting my head out into the aisle. I braced myself, locking my muscles in place, and then sucked in one quick chest-full of air, breathing through my mouth alone. Ahh! It was genuinely painful. Even without smelling her, I could taste her on my tongue. My throat was suddenly in flames again, the craving every bit as strong as that first moment I'd caught her scent last week. I gritted my teeth together and tried to compose myself. â€Å"Get started,† Mr. Banner commanded. It felt like it took every single ounce of self-control that I'd achieved in seventy years of hard work to turn back to the girl, who was staring down at the table, and smile. â€Å"Ladies first, partner?† I offered. She looked up at my expression and her face went blank, her eyes wide. Was there something off in my expression? Was she frightened again? She didn't speak. â€Å"Or, I could start, if you wish,† I said quietly. â€Å"No,† she said, and her face went from white to red again. â€Å"I'll go first.† I stared at the equipment on the table, the battered microscope, the box of slides, rather than watch the blood swirl under her clear skin. I took another quick breath, through my teeth, and winced as the taste made my throat ache. â€Å"Prophase,† she said after a quick examination. She started to remove the slide, though she'd barely examined it. â€Å"Do you mind if I look?† Instinctively – stupidly, as if I were one of her kind – I reached out to stop her hand from removing the slide. For one second, the heat of her skin burned into mine. It was like an electric pulse – surely much hotter than a mere ninety-eight point six degrees. The heat shot through my hand and up my arm. She yanked her hand out from under mine. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I muttered through my clenched teeth. Needing somewhere to look, I grasped the microscope and stared briefly into the eyepiece. She was right. â€Å"Prophase,† I agreed. I was still too unsettled to look at her. Breathing as quietly as I could through my gritted teeth and trying to ignore the fiery thirst, I concentrated on the simple assignment, writing the word on the appropriate line on the lab sheet, and then switching out the first slide for the next. What was she thinking now? What had that felt like to her, when I had touched her hand? My skin must have been ice cold – repulsive. No wonder she was so quiet. I glanced at the slide. â€Å"Anaphase,† I said to myself as I wrote it on the second line. â€Å"May I?† she asked. I looked up at her, surprised to see that she was waiting expectantly, one hand half-stretched toward the microscope. She didn't look afraid. Did she really think I'd gotten the answer wrong? I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on her face as I slid the microscope toward her. She stared into the eyepiece with an eagerness that quickly faded. The corners of her mouth turned down. â€Å"Slide three?† she asked, not looking up from the microscope, but holding out her hand. I dropped the next slide into her hand, not letting my skin come anywhere close to hers this time. Sitting beside her was like sitting next to a heat lamp. I could feel myself warming slightly to the higher temperature. She did not look at the slide for long. â€Å"Interphase,† she said nonchalantly – perhaps trying a little too hard to sound that way – and pushed the microscope to me. She did not touch the paper, but waited for me to write the answer. I checked – she was correct again. We finished this way, speaking one word at a time and never meeting each other's eyes. We were the only ones done – the others in the class were having a harder time with the lab. Mike Newton seemed to be having trouble concentrating – he was trying to watch Bella and me. Wish he'd stayed wherever he went, Mike thought, eyeing me sulfurously. Hmm, interesting. I hadn't realized the boy harbored any ill will towards me. This was a new development, about as recent as the girl's arrival it seemed. Even more interesting, I found – to my surprise – that the feeling was mutual. I looked down at the girl again, bemused by the wide range of havoc and upheaval that, despite her ordinary, unthreatening appearance, she was wreaking on my life. It wasn't that I couldn't see what Mike was going on about. She was actually rather pretty†¦in an unusual way. Better than being beautiful, her face was interesting. Not quite symmetrical – her narrow chin out of balance with her wide cheekbones; extreme in the coloring – the light and dark contrast of her skin and her hair; and then there were the eyes, brimming over with silent secrets†¦ Eyes that were suddenly boring into mine. I stared back at her, trying to guess even one of those secrets. â€Å"Did you get contacts?† she asked abruptly. What a strange question. â€Å"No.† I almost smiled at the idea of improving my eyesight. â€Å"Oh,† she mumbled. â€Å"I thought there was something different about your eyes.† I felt suddenly colder again as I realized that I was apparently not the only one attempting to ferret out secrets today. I shrugged, my shoulders stiff, and glared straight ahead to where the teacher was making his rounds. Of course there was something different about my eyes since the last time she'd stared into them. To prepare myself for today's ordeal, today's temptation, I'd spent the entire weekend hunting, satiating my thirst as much as possible, overdoing it really. I'd glutted myself on the blood of animals, not that it made much difference in the face of the outrageous flavor floating on the air around her. When I'd glared at her last, my eyes had been black with thirst. Now, my body swimming with blood, my eyes were a warmer gold. Light amber from my excessive attempt at thirst-quenching. Another slip. If I'd seen what she'd meant with her question, I could have just told her yes. I'd sat beside humans for two years now at this school, and she was the first to examine me closely enough to note the change in my eye color. The others, while admiring the beauty of my family, tended to look down quickly when we returned their stares. They shied away, blocking the details of our appearances in an instinctive endeavor to keep themselves from understanding. Ignorance was bliss to the human mind. Why did it have to be this girl who would see too much? Mr. Banner approached our table. I gratefully inhaled the gush of clean air he brought with him before it could mix with her scent. â€Å"So, Edward,† he said, looking over our answers, â€Å"didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?† â€Å"Bella,† I corrected him reflexively. â€Å"Actually, she identified three of the five.† Mr. Banner's thoughts were skeptical as he turned to look at the girl. â€Å"Have you done this lab before?† I watched, engrossed, as she smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. â€Å"Not with onion root.† â€Å"Whitefish blastula?† Mr. Banner probed. â€Å"Yeah.† This surprised him. Today's lab was something he'd pulled from a more advanced course. He nodded thoughtfully at the girl. â€Å"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?† â€Å"Yes.† She was advanced then, intelligent for a human. This did not surprise me. â€Å"Well,† Mr. Banner said, pursing his lips. â€Å"I guess it's good you two are lab partners.† He turned and walked away mumbling, â€Å"So the other kids can get a chance to learn something for themselves,† under his breath. I doubted the girl could hear that. She began scrawling loops across her folder again. Two slips so far in one half hour. A very poor showing on my part. Though I had no idea at all what the girl thought of me – how much did she fear, how much did she suspect? – I knew I needed to put forth a better effort to leave her with a new impression of me. Something to better drown her memories of our ferocious last encounter. â€Å"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?† I said, repeating the small talk that I'd heard a dozen students discuss already. A boring, standard topic of conversation. The weather – always safe. She stared at me with obvious doubt in her eyes – an abnormal reaction to my very normal words. â€Å"Not really,† she said, surprising me again. I tried to steer the conversation back to trite paths. She was from a much brighter, warmer place – her skin seemed to reflect that somehow, despite its fairness – and the cold must make her uncomfortable. My icy touch certainly had†¦ â€Å"You don't like the cold,† I guessed. â€Å"Or the wet,† she agreed. â€Å"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live.† Perhaps you should not have come here, I wanted to add. Perhaps you should go back where you belong. I wasn't sure I wanted that, though. I would always remember the scent of her blood – was there any guarantee that I wouldn't eventually follow after her? Besides, if she left, her mind would forever remain a mystery. A constant, nagging puzzle. â€Å"You have no idea,† she said in a low voice, glowering past me for a moment. Her answers were never what I expected. They made me want to ask more questions. â€Å"Why did you come here, then?† I demanded, realizing instantly that my tone was too accusatory, not casual enough for the conversation. The question sounded rude, prying. â€Å"It's†¦complicated.† She blinked her wide eyes, leaving it at that, and I nearly imploded out of curiosity – the curiosity burned as hot as the thirst in my throat. Actually, I found that it was getting slightly easier to breathe; the agony was becoming more bearable through familiarity. â€Å"I think I can keep up,† I insisted. Perhaps common courtesy would keep her answering my questions as long as I was rude enough to ask them. She stared down silently at her hands. This made me impatient; I wanted to put my hand under her chin and tilt her head up so that I could read her eyes. But it would be foolish of me – dangerous – to touch her skin again. She looked up suddenly. It was a relief to be able to see the emotions in her eyes again. She spoke in a rush, hurrying through the words. â€Å"My mother got remarried.† Ah, this was human enough, easy to understand. Sadness passed through her clear eyes and brought the pucker back between them. â€Å"That doesn't sound so complex,† I said. My voice was gentle without my working to make it that way. Her sadness left me feeling oddly helpless, wishing there was something I could do to make her feel better. A strange impulse. â€Å"When did that happen?† â€Å"Last September.† She exhaled heavily – not quite a sigh. I held my breath as her warm breath brushed my face. â€Å"And you don't like him,† I guessed, fishing for more information. â€Å"No, Phil is fine,† she said, correcting my assumption. There was a hint of a smile now around the corners of her full lips. â€Å"Too young, maybe, but nice enough.† This didn't fit with the scenario I'd been constructing in my head. â€Å"Why didn't you stay with them?† I asked, my voice a little too curious. It sounded like I was being nosy. Which I was, admittedly. â€Å"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living.† The little smile grew more pronounced; this career choice amused her. I smiled, too, without choosing to. I wasn't trying to make her feel at ease. Her smile just made me want to smile in response – to be in on the secret. â€Å"Have I heard of him?† I ran through the rosters of professional ball players in my head, wondering which Phil was hers†¦ â€Å"Probably not. He doesn't play well.† Another smile. â€Å"Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot.† The rosters in my head shifted instantly, and I'd tabulated a list of possibilities in less than a second. At the same time, I was imagining the new scenario. â€Å"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him,† I said. Making assumptions seemed to get more information out of her than questions did. It worked again. Her chin jutted out, and her expression was suddenly stubborn. â€Å"No, she did not send me here,† she said, and her voice had a new, hard edge to it. My assumption had upset her, though I couldn't quite see how. â€Å"I sent myself.† I could not guess at her meaning, or the source behind her pique. I was entirely lost. So I gave up. There was just no making sense of the girl. She wasn't like other humans. Maybe the silence of her thoughts and the perfume of her scent were not the only unusual things about her. â€Å"I don't understand,† I admitted, hating to concede. She sighed, and stared into my eyes for longer than most normal humans were able to stand. â€Å"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him,† she explained slowly, her tone growing more forlorn with each word. â€Å"It made her unhappy†¦so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.† The tiny pucker between her eyes deepened. â€Å"But now you're unhappy,† I murmured. I couldn't seem to stop speaking my hypotheses aloud, hoping to learn from her reactions. This one, however, did not seem as far off the mark. â€Å"And?† she said, as if this was not even an aspect to be considered. I continued to stare into her eyes, feeling that I'd finally gotten my first real glimpse into her soul. I saw in that one word where she ranked herself among her own priorities. Unlike most humans, her own needs were far down the list. She was selfless. As I saw this, the mystery of the person hiding inside this quiet mind began to thin a little. â€Å"That doesn't seem fair,† I said. I shrugged, trying to seem casual, trying to conceal the intensity of my curiosity. She laughed, but there was no amusement the sound. â€Å"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.† I wanted to laugh at her words, though I, too, felt no real amusement. I knew a little something about the unfairness of life. â€Å"I believe I have heard that somewhere before.† She stared back at me, seeming confused again. Her eyes flickered away, and then came back to mine. â€Å"So that's all,† she told me. But I was not ready to let this conversation end. The little V between her eyes, a remnant of her sorrow, bothered me. I wanted to smooth it away with my fingertip. But, of course, I could not touch her. It was unsafe in so many ways. â€Å"You put on a good show.† I spoke slowly, still considering this next hypothesis. â€Å"But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see.† She made a face, her eyes narrowing and her mouth twisting into a lopsided pout, and she looked back towards the front of the class. She didn't like it when I guessed right. She wasn't the average martyr – she didn't want an audience to her pain. â€Å"Am I wrong?† She flinched slightly, but otherwise pretended not to hear me. That made me smile. â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Why does it matter to you?† she demanded, still staring away. â€Å"That's a very good question,† I admitted, more to myself than to answer her. Her discernment was better than mine – she saw right to the core of things while I floundered around the edges, sifting blindly through clues. The details of her very human life should not matter to me. It was wrong for me to care what she thought. Beyond protecting my family from suspicion, human thoughts were not significant. I was not used to being the less intuitive of any pairing. I relied on my extra hearing too much – I clearly was not as perceptive as I gave myself credit for. The girl sighed and glowered toward the front of the classroom. Something about her frustrated expression was humorous. The whole situation, the whole conversation was humorous. No one had ever been in more danger from me than this little girl – at any moment I might, distracted by my ridiculous absorption in the conversation, inhale through my nose and attack her before I could stop myself – and she was irritated because I hadn't answered her question. â€Å"Am I annoying you?† I asked, smiling at the absurdity of it all. She glanced at me quickly, and then her eyes seemed to get trapped by my gaze. â€Å"Not exactly,† she told me. â€Å"I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read – my mother always calls me her open book.† She frowned, disgruntled. I stared at her in amazement. The reason she was upset was because she thought I saw through her too easily. How bizarre. I'd never expended so much effort to understand someone in all my life – or rather existence, as life was hardly the right word. I did not truly have a life. â€Å"On the contrary,† I disagreed, feeling strangely†¦wary, as if there were some hidden danger here that I was failing to see. I was suddenly on edge, the premonition making me anxious. â€Å"I find you very difficult to read.† â€Å"You must be a good reader then,† she guessed, making her own assumption that was, again, right on target. â€Å"Usually,† I agreed. I smiled at her widely then, letting my lips pull back to expose the rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth behind them. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was abruptly, unexpectedly desperate to get some kind of warning through to the girl. Her body was closer to me than before, having shifted unconsciously in the course of our conversation. All the little markers and signs that were sufficient to scare off the rest of humanity did not seem to be working on her. Why did she not cringe away from me in terror? Surely she had seen enough of my darker side to realize the danger, intuitive as she seemed to be. I didn't get to see if my warning had the intended effect. Mr. Banner called for the class's attention just then, and she turned away from me at once. She seemed a little relieved for the interruption, so maybe she understood unconsciously. I hoped she did. I recognized the fascination growing inside me, even as I tried to root it out. I could not afford to find Bella Swan interesting. Or rather, she could not afford that. Already, I was anxious for another chance to talk to her. I wanted to know more about her mother, her life before she came here, her relationship with her father. All the meaningless details that would flesh out her character further. But every second I spent with her was a mistake, a risk she shouldn't have to take. Absentmindedly, she tossed her thick hair just at the moment that I allowed myself another breath. A particularly concentrated wave of her scent hit the back of my throat. It was like the first day – like the wrecking ball. The pain of the burning dryness made me dizzy. I had to grasp the table again to keep myself in my seat. This time I had slightly more control. I didn't break anything, at least. The monster growled inside me, but took no pleasure in my pain. He was too tightly bound. For the moment. I stopped breathing altogether, and leaned as far from the girl as I could. No, I could not afford to find her fascinating. The more interesting I found her, the more likely it was that I would kill her. I'd already made two minor slips today. Would I make a third, one that was not minor? As soon as the bell sounded, I fled from the classroom – probably destroying whatever impression of politeness I'd halfway constructed in the course of the hour. Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside like it was a healing attar. I hurried to put as much distance between myself and the girl as was possible. Emmett waited for me outside the door of our Spanish class. He read my wild expression for a moment. How did it go? he wondered warily. â€Å"Nobody died,† I mumbled. I guess that's something. When I saw Alice ditching there at the end, I thought†¦ As we walked into the classroom, I saw his memory from just a few moments ago, seen through the open door of his last class: Alice walking briskly and blank-faced across the grounds toward the science building. I felt his remembered urge to get up and join her, and then his decision to stay. If Alice needed his help, she would ask†¦ I closed my eyes in horror and disgust as I slumped into my seat. â€Å"I hadn't realized that it was that close. I didn't think I was going to†¦I didn't see that it was that bad,† I whispered. It wasn't, he reassured me. Nobody died, right? â€Å"Right,† I said through my teeth. â€Å"Not this time.† Maybe it will get easier. â€Å"Sure.† Or, maybe you kill her. He shrugged. You wouldn't be the first one to mess up. No one would judge you too harshly. Sometimes a person just smells too good. I'm impressed you've lasted this long. â€Å"Not helping, Emmett.† I was revolted by his acceptance of the idea that I would kill the girl, that this was somehow inevitable. Was it her fault that she smelled so good? I know when it happened to me†¦, he reminisced, taking me back with him half a century, to a country lane at dusk, where a middle-aged women was taking her dried sheets down from a line strung between apple trees. The scent of apples hung heavy in the air – the harvest was over and the rejected fruits were scattered on the ground, the bruises in their skin leaking their fragrance out in thick clouds. A fresh-mowed field of hay was a background to that scent, a harmony. He walked up the lane, all.

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Final Film Review on Scarface - Essay Example When the duo land the United States they get employed in small time jobs, but are not too successful Soon they get hired by a person named Omar Suarez, who wanted them to pay money to a group of Colombians. However, the deal goes wrong and Tony and Manny escape with the money. Soon after this episode, they catch up with Frank Lopez, the drug kingpin who has a daughter named Elvira. Tony gets employed by Lopez, and climbs the ladder of success quite quickly. However, he soon falls in love with Elvira and faces a lot of hardship. Soon Tony comes to terms with himself when he understands that those who want it all, have to pay the price as well. As Montana builds his drug empire in Miami, his power increases and so does his ego and paranoia which as time goes by threatens to shake the very foundations of his empire. His enemies are a plenty and they begin to come after him without respite as they swear to drag him down from his pedestal. Scarface has all the elements of a good story. The elements contained within the framework of this film sets it apart from things like plays, novels or activities like sculpture or painting. (pg. 32) In the book ‘The Art of watching films’ authors Joseph M. Boggs and W. Petrie shed light on some of the critical aspects of film reviewing. According to them, a film is unique if its premise depends on certain important factors which include – 1) The objective and 2) The subjective. The objective includes the external factors and rests heavily on the laws of probability. A good example of such a situation in the film Scarface would be when the refugees are allowed to visit their relatives in the United States. Another example would be the elements that paved the way for Montana’s rise to becoming a drug kingpin himself. However, the subjective aspect includes the inner nature of human beings that involves both

An Exploration of Apple's Dominance of the Smartphones Assignment

An Exploration of Apple's Dominance of the Smartphones - Assignment Example In addition to this, the other research questions will be that how the other organisations in the Smartphone industry trying to compete with Apple in UK’s market and what Apple can do to maintain its competitive advantage in the UK’s market. Apple, Inc. is an US based multinational company which was founded in the year 1976. The Smartphone industry in UK has been booming because of the continued increase in demand of Smartphone by the people in UK. Along with Samsung and Nokia, Apple is found to be dominating the UK Smartphone market (The Telegraph, 2012). According to the report of Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the market share of Apple’s Smartphone increased by around 10% from 21% to 31% during the period of 12 weeks that ended on November 2011 (Virki, 2011).It is mainly attributed towards the release of new model of Smartphone in UK by Apple, named iPhone 4S during October 2011. However it has been argued that Apple is ranked second to the Android platform develo ped by Google in terms of market share in the Smartphone industry of UK (Warman, 2011). ... Research Background The proposed topic in this research study and the analysis of the findings based on the research done on the topic would provide an in-depth knowledge about the Smartphone industry in UK at present and the consumer behaviour patterns related to Smartphone products in UK. Smartphone is only a new concept in the field of mobile technology and is different from other standard mobile phones available in the market. As a result of these facts, the existing literature in this field is limited and not much research studies have been conducted till now. Hence, this research study would add to the existing literature and pave way to further research that can be done in this field. Moreover, Apple is a dominant player in the UK’s market of Smartphone products and has had its market dominance for a significant amount of time till now. It is evident from its market share in the Smartphone industry of UK which was around 31% during November 2011 (Virki, 2011). However, lot of other mobile companies are also introducing their Smartphone products in the UK’s market. This can have an effect on Apple’s market share in UK. According to the recent reports published by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple has fallen behind Google in terms of market share in the UK Smartphone industry. Android operating system installed in the Google Smartphone is being preferred by the consumers in UK more than Apple Smartphone (Arthur, 2012a). However, Android is divided amongst various brands like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, etc. Hence Apple iPhones which is the single branded Smartphone is the most used brand by the consumers in UK. Moreover, with respect to customer satisfaction, Apple is found to have the highest level of customer

(business)Minimum Wage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

(business)Minimum Wage - Essay Example Peter Jones in Rights contrasted the difference between natural and human rights1. The concept of natural rights is tied up in the idea where the citizens gave up to the governing body for the good of law and order and in return the governments protected and upheld within the law, i.e., Constitutions. Therefore the argument of natural rights has now become so diluted that it is no longer an effective model. Human Rights as theory admits from the outset they are intangible and not from nature, therefore one cannot empirically observe or measure them, as Margaret MacDonald2 criticized the argument from nature. Human rights, as described by Jones, are prescribed by the fact of being human and part of humanity3. It picks up on the egalitarian theory of equality, whereby human beings are equal and therefore are afforded these basic rights. The arguments for these rights come from arguments, such as self-evidence, human worth and moral worth. The basis of the core rights theorists is the work of Immanuel Kant. ... How does Kant argue that this is an all-encompassing ethic outside of societal conventions, without the aid of a divine being Kant argues that it is the individual's ability to reason and autonomous will that is the basis of his a priori argument. Shestack5 describes the basis of Kant's argument as; 'rights then flow from the autonomy of the individual in choosing his and her ends, consistent with a similar freedom for all... In short, Kant's imperative is that the central focus of morality is 'personhood', namely the capacity to take responsibility as a free and rational agent for one's system of ends'.6 This ethic was one of the most influential arguments for universal human rights, in response to Nazism, eugenics and ethnic cleansing, which can be illustrated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with words such as inherent, inalienable and equality applied to rights and the basis of these rights are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in world. Kant's theory is th e basis of the core theorists and has been very influential in the drafting of the 20th Century human rights treaties and legislation. However how do we measure what should be included in these universal rights The answer to this question is at the heart of this discussion for the international treaties and human rights legislation does not seem to be meeting the needs to fulfil Kant's ethic as Evans argued modern human rights law is too legalistic. This is a core rights theory, which purports these rights transcend statehood therefore automatically requiring the state to extend these rights to all individuals and arguably future generations. Rawl's, on the other hand, in his thesis for engendering human rights states that justice7 is the prime basis of all

Mental Health and Mental Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mental Health and Mental Disorders - Essay Example He worked out Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. This author stated that emotions derive from "an interaction between events in the environment and beliefs and expectations which we have". (qtd in Clark, p. 130) Sometimes these beliefs are so powerful that they affect person's emotional conditional. The purpose of emotive behaviour therapy is to make these emotions less powerful and not badly influence person's emotional condition. (Clark). According to the concepts of cognitive theory, specialists counseling in mental disorders, should focus on mental condition of the client and investigate his identity, rather than treat his physical body with the help of medicines that may have side effects. Another famous author who worked in the field of cognitive therapy was Aaron Beck. He worked out a special methodology and strategies to treat depression and anxiety that were based upon the conceptions of cognitive theory. Clients are to perform a dialogue within his inner world to define the patterns that are to be changed to improve client's condition. Treatment strategies worked by Beck help a client to find out depressive beliefs and change his way of thinking. The commentators describe the essence of Beck's approach as following: "According to Beck and Emery, the way we process information is governed by structures called schemata. These schemata are made up of rules for explaining incoming information, and for retrieving what we have already learned. They are capable of exerting powerful effects on how we experience and relate to the world. For example, the schemata of a person with a social phobia cause them to become anxious and avoidant by explaining incoming information a nd memories in terms of social threat. Treatment consists of correcting faulty or illogical thinking by repeatedly confronting cognitive schemata with discrepant information from role-playing and homework assignments." (Abela, p.117) Modern medicine includes treating depression and anxiety with psychotherapy or medications, or combining both these treatments. The experiments and researches show that a combination of these two methods is mostly effective, especially because antidepressants rarely result in dependence. Companies that produce medicine encourage doctors to prefer medical treatment to psychotherapy, but there are cases in which referring to a specialist in psychotherapy is necessary. In case the person takes antidepressants and this brings no results, a visit to professional in mental health may be more effective. (Clark) Cognitive theory and therapy based upon it provide for a theoretical basis allowing specialists better understand the reasons for anxiety and depression to appear, to treat them effectively. This theory is regarded as effective even in comparison with other popular theories. To better understand the impact of cognitive theory into modern psychotherapy it is necessary to observe its perspective on mental illnesses and anxiety in particular. According to the cognitive theory, the reasons for depression, anxiety and worries appear due to several reasons: Sometimes it is enough just to see a model of behavior to take it over, when a person expresses intense fears or nervous condition. Sensitive people often answer such behaviour the same way. Sometimes a person inadequately estimates the situation and interactions with people

Human Recourse Management Amounts to Little More Than a Simple Essay

Human Recourse Management Amounts to Little More Than a Simple Reworking of the Human Relations School of Management - Essay Example This essay stresses that there are several factors which have there impact on the growth of the HRM as a field. The main factors are economy and society. During the period of agrarian economy the social structure and economy was very simple. It developed into a complex system during industrial revolution. The social set up changed. There was more emphasis on the productivity. Manufacturing industry contribution to economy decreased in subsequent years and Service Industry experienced growth. The importance of human increased due to the fact that human is important factor in the production and consumption of services. Human resources have been an important factor of production from the agrarian economy. This paper makes a conclusion that the scientific methods of management by Taylor and his stress on efficiency improvement gave food of thought to others. Mayo and others focused on the soft components of workers’ life. These were the psychological and social components. This was the starting of the study of human resource management. Various theories of motivation, leadership, loyalty, perceptiuon, behaviour and others have developed. The contributions of Human Relations School of Management encouraged the managers and leaders to understand individuals’ various needs and develop their human resource strategies on the basis of that. This have demanded for an individual department in the organisations. It is Human Rsource Management department which independently handles the needs and requirements of the human resource. Hu

Marriage versus living together Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marriage versus living together - Essay Example 14). There are those who argue that recent research concerning various aspects of interpersonal relations in romantic couples is based on married couples. Individuals who merely cohabitate are not likely to be as effected by the â€Å"increasing emphasis on the role of cognitive factors in marital functioning† (Baucom et al, p. 209) References Barich, Bielby, Rachel R., Denise D. "Rethinking Marriage: Change and Stability in Expectations 1967-1994."  Journal of Family Issues  17.2 (1996): 139-169. Web. 25 May 2011. . Baucom, Epstein, Daiuto, Carels, Rankin, Burnett, Donald H., Norman, Anthony D., Robert A., Lynn A., Charles K. "Cognitions in Marriage: The Relationship Between Standards and Attributions."Journal of Family Psychology. 10.2 (1996): 209-222. Print. Glick, Paul. "Marriage, Divorce, and Living Arragements."  Journal of Family Issues  5.1 (1984): 7-26. Web. 23 May 2011. .

Family and social policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Family and social policy - Essay Example Throughout the eighties, they retained the plateau reached in divorce rates, and more than one-third of the marriages were likely to end in divorce. Focusing on these factors, Gittings (1993) argues that: 'There is no such thing as the family, and that no single form of the family has ever existed'. The impact of these changes has been perceptible for women at both ends of the childbearing years. In both age groups women have become less prone to be living as part of a married couple with children, and more prone to be either a lone parent, living alone or living as part of a childless couple. There has been a distinct shift for women from the role of spouse to the standing of the household head. Social and economic trends that have seen increased economic activity of women have conveyed these demographic developments. Though, socialists also distinguished eighties for the impact of economic recession and the rise of mass unemployment. These developments had a particular collision on families (mainly lone-parent families) and led to a threefold increase in the numbers of children living in poverty (Martin J, and Roberts C. 1984). In the death of a clear and wide-ranging model of family policy in Britain, response to demographic and social change has been incremental and sometimes contradictory. The family has increasingly become the center of political and public debate and disagreement. Attempts to persuade at times contrary objectives make any involvement in family policy exceedingly intricate.

Glacier Inn Essay Example for Free

Glacier Inn Essay Our strategy map for the Glacier Inn focuses on the four main dimensions of a business: a financial perspective, a customer perspective, an internal process perspective, and a learning and growth perspective. Each dimension plays a critical part in establishing a strong unified culture, and documents the primary objectives within the organization. For 2004, Glacier Inn has two main goals: to increase profitability and cash flow. The map outlined in Appendix A demonstrates how we will use these four dimensions to facilitate and implement different measures to achieve the desired strategies. With regards to the financial perspective, Glacier Inn can focus on a growth of revenue strategy and productivity strategy. In order to increase revenue, your main focus is to increase the capacity and quality of the hotel. We also believe there are other possible sources of revenue that could be implemented in order to further your capacity to generate income. Because Glacier Inn has such a short season and window of opportunity to make a profit, it is crucial that you make the most out of those winter months by enhancing your productivity and efficiency. The Glacier Inn is part of the service industry, and customer satisfaction plays an integral role in the success of your organization. Your vision statement is centered on delivering more than just place to spend the night; you are providing an experience, an experience of unmatched value and satisfaction. To achieve this, we believe that centering your organization around the culture of the First Nations people will be creating memories and providing adventures. Providing your customers with an unrivaled experience will include outdoor activities, traditional meals, quality service, native art work, individualized rooms, etc. Not only will these add value to the business and differentiate Glacier Inn from other Ice Hotels, but they can also serve as another source of revenue to aid in our revenue growth strategy. The internal process perspective is another important role in our strategy mapping. One of your main goals is to increase occupancy at the Glacier Inn, and we feel that it is important to focus the marketing efforts on the adventure campaign. Glacier Inn needs to showcase their unique business offerings inspired by nature, art, and culture. Due to the nature of the business, it is difficult for Glacier Inn to attract skilled and competent employees. With the development of an effective hiring and training process that also supports the culture that Glacier Inn is trying to create, they will be able to better serve their target market by attracting and retaining customers. Innovation is a key part of your internal process controls, and Glacier Inn wants to be working with ice experts for the development of different and unique ice themes. The final dimension of the Glacier Inn Strategy Map deals with a learning and growth perspective. In order to expand and advance within the entertainment industry, we want to mentor employee proficiency by working with and training the first nation’s people; by incorporating and encouraging culture both internally and externally; and by advancing with new technology through partnering with local colleges and universities in order to generate new innovations in ice making and preservation. All of these dimensions feedback and tie in with what Glacier Inn is trying to accomplish and what their vision is for the company. Issues Another issue that you have acknowledged is the restraint of hiring skilled and competent staff. The Glacier Inn is only open during the winter months, which makes it difficult to attract qualified and experienced employees. Glacier Inn is providing an experience of culture and excitement for their customers. Why not provide the same atmosphere for its employees. In the end, it’s not just about the money. Employees will be able to enjoy the same lifestyle and adventure that this environment has to offer. Glacier Inn can also invest in effective industry training programs to help and support the success of their hired personnel. We also want to address your concerns over changing the staff bonus plan. Currently, bonuses are being determined by profits alone. We agree that the implementation of the 2004 scorecard will provide a great method of measuring employee achievement. The balanced scorecard will provide feedback on whether the strategy is working to impact organizational performance. By measuring employees based subjectively on their scorecard execution, staff will be motivated and empowered to work in the best interests for themselves as well as the company. With employees being measured based on the strategy and implementation of Glacier Inn’s critical success factors, you can ensure that those goals become fundamental to their success as well. Employees are able to focus their attention on what matters most to the success of the organization. The Glacier Inn Hotel has another concern without the seasonal revenues. There is only a short window of opportunity to make profits, from January 4th to April 15th, and is primarily determined by the warming of the weather which can shorten this window. To off set the decrease in revenues in the summer, the hotel can offer customers a chance to stay in touch with nature. Two innovations will be needed to accomplish this, hiring of experienced outdoor staff and the building of year round facilities on the property. By offering summer outdoor actives such as fishing, hiking, and canoeing on guided tours the Glacier Inn can attract year round revenues. Also having facilities built on the property will allow customers places to stay in the summer as well as a warm place or customers to stay in the winter if they are not interested in sleeping in the cold rooms. Lastly, Glacier Inn hHotel lacks a specific measures, targets, and personal initiatives that are clear to the employes of the company. These need to be clearly defined to enhance the strategy and culture that needs to be wolves into the company. We have recommended a possible strategy map that can facilitate these initiatives. We have also chosen a proposition on how the Glacier Inn can continually add value and increase customer satisfaction. We included below a detailed plan of additional initiatives of adding customers value. Customer Value proposition Glacier Inn has competitors in more than just the hotel industry; it is competing with other forms of entertainment as well. The direct industry competitors of Glacier Inn Hotel are the hotel chains in the area, such as Super 8 Motel that offer a place to sleep and eat at a low price. However they do not offer an individualized customer experience. Glacier Inn also competes with other forms of entertainment in Northern Ontario. Places such as Moose Cree Outdoor Discoveries Adventures, which offers outdoor activities incorporated with the culture of the area. However, this experience is easily replicated. We believe that if Glacier Inn could combine the value of both of these industries into one unique location. The hotel must be unique. We have chosen product leadership as our way of adding value to customer offerings. Our recommendations for implementing this customer value from the hotel would be: Three Main Concepts For Product Leadership 1. Cree culture could be used to attract many customers foreign and domestic that are looking for a Canadian experience or wish to discover more about the first nations of Canada. Through cultural story telling, traditional foods, also traditional artwork and ices museum in the hotel lobby a broad audience can be drawn to the hotel. This will also allow the area to maintain its cultural identity and uniqueness while informing others. 2. The Glacier Inn could also offer outdoor winter activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and wilderness sight seeing. Acquiring equipment traditional foods (maple syrup). When guests arrive at the hotel, staff could ask two questions: What do you want to experience? What are you not looking for? So that customers do feel pushed or pressured into experiences that’s are out of their fitness level. 3. Lastly, we believe that the individualized rooms will be an excellent way to attract customers to stay in each room. By pre-planning and designing each rooms theme the hotel can attract more customer to stay in the rooms overnight rather than just visiting the hotel for the day. Also ice sculptures will add a unique finishing touch to each room and can be a way of individualizing each room.

Ethernet system Essay Example for Free

Ethernet system Essay Robert Metcalfe with his colleagues at the Xerox Palo Alto research Center (PARC) developed the experimental Ethernet system. According to O’Reilly and associates (2000) the main purpose of developing the Ethernet system is to interconnect a personal workstation with graphical user interface called Xerox Alto. The experimental system was used in order to connect Altos and also printers and servers. The systems interface‘s signal clock was patterned in the Alto’s system clock. This resulted to 2. 94 Mbps. data transmission rate on the experimental Ethernet. Ethernet was originally known as Alto Aloha Network. Alto Aloha Network was changed its name to Ethernet by Metcalfe to indicate that the system not only support Alto’s but also other computers. And Metcalfe also point out that the Ethernet has progressed way beyond the Aloha system. He chose the name ether as to describe the essential feature of the system which is the physical medium carries bits to all stations the same way as the aluminiferous ether was once believe to proliferate There are two ways which can be used to allocate the capacity of transmission media: baseband and broadband transmissions. Baseband transmission allocates the entire capacity of the medium to one communication channel. It uses distinct values by measuring the voltage in wire which only carried one signal at a time. In broadband transmission, the system allows two or more communication channels to share the bandwidth of the communication medium. The system uses the technique of dividing the bandwidth into frequency bands which is called frequency division multiplexing (FDM) which works only with analog signals. There is also another technique called time-division multiplexing (TDM) that supports digital signals. Figure 1, show the difference between baseband and broadband transmission mode of operation: Figure 1. Difference in the mode of operation between baseband and broadband Broadband transmission is used in the web hosting companies. This is because of the higher speeds of the broadband. With the use of broadband, people can enjoy the full range of internet services like downloading videos, music, watching movies and plying online games. Transceivers have different speeds which are measured in MHz and also specified in wavelengths. The larger the value of the fiber core of the transceivers, measured in microns, there will be more bandwidth possible but also the distance will be shorter. The 1000 Base-LX is the long wavelength with a signaling speed of 1. 25 ±100 ppm GBd. This transceiver can use both 62. 5 and 50 micron multimode fiber and it also uses single-mode fiber optic cables with distances of 440m, 550m and 5 km. Another transreceiver is the 100 Base-TX which uses 4B5B binary encoding to encode 100 Mbps data stream in a signal of 125 MHz. One pair is used for transmitting data while the other pair is used for receiving the data. Given this, one user can setup a system for full duplex communication given that there are only interfaces in the same collision domain. It is either the two computers are directly connected to each other by crossover cable or a computer directly connected to a switch. Full duplex communication result to doubling the potential throughput but not often reached more than the modest improvement. Based on Sheldon and Big Sur Multimedia (2001), link aggregation is the process of connecting together two or more data channels in order to become a single channel which appears as a single, higher-bandwidth logical link. Also this aggregated links can provide redundancy and fault tolerance if the links follow different physical path. By linking the digital lines, the link aggregation improves the access to public networks. The aggregation is also use in enterprise network to build multigigabit backbone links. It also allows the network’s backbone speed to grow increasingly when the demands on the network increases without replacing everything and buy new and expensive hardware. Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol was intended for local area network (LAN) environments where in all the nodes are positioned few hundred feet from each other. The importance of the protocol is to listen up each node to the channels in a short period of time before it transmits. The main assumption of the protocol is that each node should be able to hear the transmission from every other station. But this assumption is violated in access network and this resulted to several problems. One of the serious problems encountered is the hidden transmitter problem. This occurs when the CSMA/CA cannot function properly due to a wireless node cannot hear one or more of the other nodes. And when this happen, multiple nodes attempt to transmit their data simultaneously over the shared data thus resulting to interference with each other. To address the hidden transmitter problem, the 802. 11 standard uses the protocol request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS). Before transmitting each packet, each node transmit an RTS packet to other nodes to warn them that it is about to transmit data and after each transmission, it broadcasts CTS packet. This process is time and bandwidth consuming process and it is required for each and every transmission by each and every wireless node. But this process sill does not address the hidden transmitter problem fully because RTS/CTS packets are subjected to repeated collisions. In most applications, the wireless standard 802. 11b operating at 2. 4 ghz is ample enough. This wireless standard is the mostly widely accepted standard among the three wireless standards and also the price of the equipment is the cheapest because of the rising demand for the 802. 11g. Its distance will rely mostly on the communicating devices whether it have line of site or not. And with fewer obstacles among the transmitting and receiving devices, there will be better wireless connection and therefore much better web surfing. The 802. 11b wireless standard is good enough if using wireless route or access point only for internet usage because the connection to internet via broadband modem operates about 2mbps which is very fast. The 802. 11b transfer data at the rate of 11mbps which is sufficient for internet usage. This device saves money on equipment and gives great web surfing services. Another wireless standard being used is the 802. 11g standard. It is replacing the widely accepted standard which is the 802. 11b because both operate on the same frequency and the price drastically goes down on products. This standard is much very similar to 802. 11b because it also usually needs a line of site to achieve optical performance. Both standards, 802. 11b and 802. 11g operate at the same frequency range of 2. 4ghz and are inter-operable with each other. All the devices of 802. 11g can communicate with 802. 11 devices and the main advantage of the 802. 11g devices is that when transferring files betweens computers or networks, it is usually at a greater speed. It is recommended to use 802. 11g when using wireless connection to transfer files (data files, voice, music, and videos) around the home and office. 802. 11g standard also allows manufacturers to developed devices which work at speed of up to 108mbps because it recommended when transferring large data or audio files within LAN. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a security technology that is used in wireless network. This was created by an industry trade group called the Wi-Fi Alliance which owns the trademark for the name Wi-Fi and certifies products that bear the name. WPA was created in order to response on the serious weaknesses of the previous system, the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and also to improve the authentication and encryption features of the WEP. It implements majority of the IEEE 802. 11i and intended to take place the place of WEP. It was designed in order to work with all wireless network interface cards but not with first generation wireless access point. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) is one of the key technologies behind WPA which deals with the encryption weaknesses of the WEP. Also the WAP have built-in authentication which is a key component. The WAP uses the RC4 stream cipher which has a 128-bit key and a 49-bit initialization vector (IV). With the combination of the TKIP and the RC4 stream cipher; this solves the problem of key recovery attacks which was found in WEP. In addition, the WPA provides much improved payload integrity. WPA uses a more secured message authentication code (MAC) but also termed as MIC which stand for message integrity code which is an algorithm â€Å"Michael†. MIC includes a frame counter preventing replay attacks. With the features of the WPA like having increased size of the keys and IV’s, reduced number of packets sent with related keys and adding up of a secured message verification system, it is far more difficult to break in within the system. There is one variation in WPA which is called the WPA pre shared key (WPA-PSK), which is also known as personal mode. This was designed for home and small office usage and networks which can’t afford the cost and complexity of the 802. 1X authentication server. To access the network, the user must enter a pass phrase, with 8 to 63 printable ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal digits. This can be stored in the user’s computer with discretion under most operating system in order to avoid re-entry and must remain in the Wi-Fi access point. Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) securely transmits authentication information which includes password, over wired and wireless network. It is also an 802. 1x authentication type for wireless LAN’s. The PEAP is created by the Cisco Systems, Microsoft and RSA Security which is base on the Internet Draft submitted to the IETF. (Cisco Systems, 2007) The system uses only server side public key certificates which authenticate clients by creating encrypted SSL/TLS tunnel in between client and authentic server. This protects from casual inspection the resulting exchange of authentication. According to the Cisco Systems Inc. , the following are important benefits of the PEAP web security system: †¢ It relies on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) which allow non-encrypted authentication types (EAP-Generic Token Card and One Time Password (OTP)) support †¢ It uses the server-side Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) based digital certification authentication †¢ It allows for the authentication to an extended suite of directories which include Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Novell NDS and OTPA databases †¢ It uses the TLS in order to encrypt all the user-sensitive authentication information †¢ It supports the password change at expiration †¢ It does not display the logon username in the EAP identity response †¢ The system is not susceptible to dictionary attacks †¢ It offer dynamic privacy protection while using in combination with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) or the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Also the PEAP have enterprise benefit. Based on the Cisco System Inc. , PEAP is based upon the server-side EAP-TLS. This means that organization can avoid the issue associated in the installing of digital certificates on every client machine which is required by the EAP-TLS. This provides the enterprise to choose what method of client authentication depending on their needs. PEAP authentication work in two phases: ? In phase 1, performing the server-side TLS authentication will result to creation of an encrypted tunnel and will achieve server-side authentication. One the process is done the data are encrypted with all the user-sensitive information ? For phase 2 according to the Cisco System Inc. , the client is authenticated by using methods like the EAP-GTC and the Microsoft Challenge Authentication Protocol (MS-CHAP) Public switched telephone network (PSTN) is referred as the public communication providing local, extended and long distance call telephone service. It is composed of telephone exchanges arranged in order to have nationwide telephone communication system. The system is open for those who can afford the service. Packets, pieces of the caller’s conversation are switched and then sent simultaneously to many connections to reach a receiver in the other end. All the phones in PSTN are connected in a way that any phone can call to any other phone due to all the local phone systems are connected to each other. Mitchell (2007) cited that PSTN provides the traditional Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) to establishments and residences and also some parts of the PSTN are being utilized for DSL, VoIP and other internet-based network. In much relation to internet, this provides much of the internet’s long-distance infrastructure. Internet service providers (ISP) pay the long distance provider for the access to their infrastructure and they share the circuits among users in the process called packet switching. PSTN network link supports 64 kbps and in residences the PSTN phone lines carrying the bandwidth is made up of copper cable. Dial-up modems utilize 56kbps of the bandwidth when they are connected to a phone line. Also the PSTN utilizes the SS7 signaling protocol. SS7 signaling protocol support the exchange of special-purpose messages on public telephone networks. SS7 messages pass over separate channel different from the channel used for voice communication and it is referred as out of band signaling. Wireless local loop is sometimes called radio in the loop (RITL) or fixed –radio access (FRA). It is a system that connects users and subscribers to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) by the use of radio signals as substitute for copper for all part of the connection between subscriber and the switch. This includes cordless access systems; propriety fixed radio access and fixed cellular systems. One of the advantages of the wireless local loop is that it can be deployed in just weeks or months in comparison with copper wire systems which took months and years for the deployments. The instillation of the wireless local loop considerately has much lower construction cost than laying copper lines. The maintenance and operations of the wireless local loop are that easy and the average maintenance time per subscriber is shorter by 3 to 4 times. Signaling is the exchange between information which concerns about the establishment and in the control of a connection and the management of the network. There are many types of signaling: †¢ In-band signaling pertains to the exchange of signaling information within the same channel of the telephone call †¢ Out-of-band signaling is telecommunication signaling meaning exchange of information to control telephone call. It is done over a channel and it separates from channels which is use for telephone call. This signaling is used by Signaling system #7, the signaling standard controlling the world’s phone calls †¢ Line signaling is much concerned in transmitting information on the state of line or channel †¢ Register signaling is focused on the transmittance of information in the calling/ called telephone number †¢ Channels-associated signaling utilizes signaling channels dedicating to a specific bearer channel †¢ Common-channels signaling, utilizes signaling channels which transmit signaling information to multiple bearer channels. †¢ Compelled signaling pertains to the need of the receive signal to be fully acknowledged before the next signal is sent. †¢ Subscriber signaling pertains to the telephone and the telephone exchanges †¢ Trunk signaling pertains to the exchange. References Buis, Paul. (1996, September). Common 100 Mbps Hardware Variations. Ethernet Technology:Underlying Technologies. (Chapter 4). 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