Thinking about qualitative data collection & analysis for grounded theory Essay

Communication Strategies Introduction Research Design                   Creswell, John. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd . New York: SAGE Publications, 2011.                   The research will incorporate a well-crafted research design to enhance an effective data collection. The design describes how data collection will be done, the relevant participantsto involvein the study, and the materials or instruments that will be used for data collection. This is done with considerations of the objective of the study. The research main aim is to evaluate The Relationship between Social Media and Effective Publicity in Organizations.                   Due to the nature and the phenomenon of the study, a qualitative research design is selected. This is because the design will employ a multi-method approach which is comprehensive in data collection and it ensures a qualitative data interpretation.                   Festinger, David. Essentials of Research Design and Methodology . New York: SAGE publishers, 2013. Participants                   The study targets a population with the relevant information that will lead to approximately accurate findings. The participants will involve customers, employees, and suppliers of selected organizations. These individualsshould have knowledge of social media, its application in business and they have an experience of the new technology in their daily business and organizational activities. A sample of 10 respondents will be selected randomly from the targeted population. This will involve different people using the social media platforms in their daily lives. The study assumes that all the data collected from the respondents is representative of the prevalentstate to usage of social media in publicity of firms.                   Vogt, Paul. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.                   The study will employ a simple random technique in sampling the population. This is technique is selected because it is easy to use and manageable. It also minimizes bias in sample determination because the sample is selected randomly. The technique will enable the research get information from respondents selected randomly. This is important because sample will cover different people in different organizations at unique situations hence a comprehensive data collected.                   Stephene. Thinking about qualitative data collection & analysis for grounded theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Data Collection                   Validity of data collected defines the success of a conducted research. To achieve this goal, the study intends to utilize both secondary and primary sources of data. The primary sources data will be collected fromthe targeted respondent to the investigation. The secondary sources will include reports published by the selected organization giving the correlation between social media and the publicity of organizations.                   Patton, Michael. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. New York: SAGE Publications, 2011.                   The materials that will be used for data collection are observation, interview schedules, and questionnaires. This instruments of data collection were selected due to the qualitative nature of the research. Well-structured questionnaires with both closed and open ended questions were administered to the targeted participant to the study.                   Maxwel, Joseph. Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (Applied Social Research Methods). New York: SAGE Publications Inc, 2012.                   Open-ended questions will give the respondents an opportunity to give their opinion on the relationship between social media and publicity of organizations. This aims at gathering any other additional information relevant to the study. Furthermore, the closed ended questions in the questionnaires will collect specific data from the respondents. The closed ended questions are important because they give a certain uniformity in responses and makes it easy for analysis. Before sending the questionnaires to the participants, all the vague questions will be eliminated to make the eventual data collected relevant and easy to analyze. The questionnaires will be sent to the respondents through their emails. Interviews will be done on phone where the sample population will be contacted and asked relevant questions that will address the research objectives. Conclusion                   A research design is one of the important elements that makes any study complete and successful. Due to the topic under investigation, a qualitative approach is taken. The study targets a sample of 10 participants from the targeted population and it will use a simple random technique to arrive at the sample. Data will be collected through interview schedules and administering of questionnaires. References Creswell, John. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd . New York: SAGE Publications, 2011. Festinger, David. Essentials of Research Design and Methodology . New York: SAGE publishers, 2013. Maxwel, Joseph. Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (Applied Social Research Methods). New York: SAGE Publications Inc, 2012. Patton, Michael. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. New York: SAGE Publications, 2011. Stephene. Thinking about qualitative data collection & analysis for grounded theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Vogt, Paul. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012. Source document

Fundamentls of Entrepreneurship Essay

Fundamental of entrepreneurship is an individual who takes initiative to bundle resource in innovative ways and is willing to bear the risk or uncertainty to act. The purpose of done this assignment to know and understand that entrepreneurship play role to started new business enterprise. Moreover, entrepreneur for started new enterprise that SPM JATI (cooking oil), need review performance of his business, identify strength and weaknesses, recommend a plan of action that will capitalize on the company’s strengths, and overcome its weaknesses and finally business existing performance could be maintained and strengthened. Without this cannot complete the task to started new business. Before I start my assignment, I had obtained some information from my lecture and I also get information about entrepreneurship from internet. Through internet I know that entrepreneur of review performance to started new enterprise that SPM JATI (cooking oil), strength and weaknesses, recommend a plan of action and business existing performance could be maintained and strengthened. Entrepreneurship must face all kind of problem and know need to solve the problem then only can achieve in business, if the entrepreneur run away from business it show he or she cannot face it the business and don’t know how to solve the problem. Task 1, is mention a bout review the performance of SPM JATI enterprise cooking oil. It’s easy to focus only on the day-to-day running of SPM JATI enterprise. It’s simply include business efficiency, financial position, business goals and conduct a customers and market analysis. Task 2, is indentify about SPM JATI enterprise, strength could be seen in terms of SPM JATI staff extremely polite and helpful and your competitor’s staff has very few customer-friendly attributes, products SPM JATI provides cooking oil, customers loyalty is demand, and location located at. And weakness, an object’s look every aspect of SPM JATI enterprise whether its products and service could be improved. Task 3, is analysis the company strengths and weaknesses. And how to overcome the weaknesses of company. Task 4 is talking about help jerry to investigate ways in which business existing performance could be maintained and strengthened Task 1: 2. 2 How would you review the performance of his business? 2. 1. 1 Introduction task 1 In this task talking about review the performance of business of SPM JATI Company. This task explains about operation management. Product planning, location planning, process planning, supply chain management and quality management. 2. 1. 2 Answer Review the performance of SPM JATI Enterprise cooking oil for financial position, it’s often fail because of poor financial management or a lack of planning. Often the business plan that was used to help raise finance is put on a shelf to gather dust. When it comes to SPM JATI Enterprise cooking oil business’ success, therefore, developing and implementing sound financial and management systems. . Product planning Product planning and product control work hand in hand to ensure that consumers get the products they want, when they want. Product planning involves evaluating the product and placement, price, package and position. SPM JATI cooking oil using product planning. Price must standard and the package look nice and the customer attract to the package. Location planning Location is also very important for service and manufacturing ventures, which have such costs as advertising, promotion and distribution that are a direct result on where they located. SPM JATI company location is very near customer and other shop also. Location has to be convenient for customers and their employees need adequate parking. That means locating near to key suppliers in areas for pick-up and deliveries. JATI company choosing the best location for business that us the first step to target the customers. Process planning A business plan is used when starting a new business or new product into market. SPM JATI cooking oil develops the products and maintains the products. SPM JATI cooking oil planning buys a new machine that is automotive packing machine to improve the business and supply in big scale. Supply chain management Supply chain management is the oversight materials information and finance as move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to consumer. The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer as well as customer returns or service needs. SPM JATI cooking oil supply to wholesaler and the wholesaler supply to consumer this is supply hain management of SPM JATI cooking oil company. Quality management SPM JATI Company maintains the good name and reputation of the company. To gain a competitive advantage, many companies will implement a quality management system to ensure they produce the best products. 2. 1. 3 Conclusion The conclusion is when I do this question I got a lot of idea about the business and also I can understand very well about what is product planning, location planning, process planning, supply chain management and how much important to business. This steps all SPM JATI company follow and maintain the business Task 2: 2. 2 Help Jerry identify his company’s strength and weaknesses. 2. 2. 1 Introduction task 2 In this task discuss about SPM JATI company strengths and weakness. SPM JATI company strengths and weakness. SPM JATI Company strengths is understand consumer needs and provide high level customer service. Weakness is not enough workers in the company and also the labor costs very high. 2. 2. 2 Answer: The impacts of internal strengths and weaknesses on the success of the ‘subject’ of analysis. The internal strengths and weaknesses of you, your staff, your products, and your business. The internal strength that make’s organization more competitive than its marketplace peers. And the internal weaknesses with organization that will keep it from achieving its objectives; it is what an organization does poorly. Strength This involves looking at the strength and weaknesses of SPM JATIenterprise cooking oil. Internal strength of business SPM JATI enterprise cooking oil, could be seen in terms of SPM JATI enterprise staff, products, customers loyalty, processes, or location. SPM JATI enterprise cooking oil,strengthterms staffextremely polite and helpful, very important to be totally honest and realistic. Next products, cooking oil, customer loyalty is when a supplier received the reward of his efforts in interacting with his customer. Customer loyalty tends the customer to voluntarily choose a particular product against another for his needs. Location for SPM JATI enterprise are very good because very near to customer and wholesaler also. So when very near to customer the supply cost become low and can save money also. The name of company very popular everyone knows about JATI cooking oil and the products quality. JATI Company understands the consumer needs. JATI Companyprovides high level customer service. Have a presence in retail markets. And also the customer like and go for JATI cooking oil. Weakness Company weaknesses are a lack of resources or capabilities. SPM JATI Company has higher labor costs. Competitor who can have similar productivity from lower labor costs. SPM JATI also not enough workers and the management are not very good. 2. 2. 3 Conclusion In this task discuss about the company strengths and weakness. Explain about the SPM JATI company strengths and weakness. Task 3: 2. Following the analysis of the company strengths and weaknesses, recommend a plan of action that will capitalize on the company strengths, and overcome its weaknesses. 2. 3. 1 Introduction In this task discuss about the strengths and weakness of Jerry Company SPM JATI enterprise. So need to find out some step to help Jerry Company to improve. And also discuss the overcome company weakness. 2. 3. 2 Answer Company strengths The first strengths for jerry JATI Company are good name in market everyone know about the company and the brand. JATI Company provides high level customer service. Customer also likes to buy JATI products because customer likes the packing and the good service also. JATI Company supply goods time to time. Overcome company weakness After I discuss about strength and weakness of Jerry Company that is SPM JATI enterprise. Jerry can be try to improve the products and packing. Customer service is very important in business, Jerry Company must focus on customer service. First the weakness of SPM JATI Company is higher labor costs. After that SPM JATI company not enough workers in the company so cannot produce more products because very less worker. SPM JATI must take new worker for company and can produce more products. SPM JATI company have 3 lorry but that is not enough for supply goods because a lot of order from customer and wholesaler. So need to buy new lorry, for more supply goods for customer and the business also can develop if supply more goods for customer the company can make high profit. 2. 3. 3 Conclusion As a conclusion, I help to find the steps or ways to help Jerry Company to improve and do much better then now. Next is, found the ways to solve jerry company weakness Task 4 2. Jerry has bought you a one-week return ticket to his holiday home in Penang. He wants you to helpHim investigate ways in which the business existing performance could be maintained and strengthened. 2. 4. 1 Task 4 introduction In this task discuss about to help jerry investigate ways in which the business existing performance could maintained and strengthened. I help jerry how to improve the performance of SPM JATI Company. So for one-wee k I will take care jerry business and help him also to improve the business. 2. 4. 2 Answer The ways to improve the company performance I have help jerry to promote his company name and product. I do which customers buy a lot of JATI product they all get some gifts from company. Next is, I give some donation under JATI company name then only people know about the company and what they are selling or produce. This also one good type of advertising. If company name popular in market then all customer know about the company and the business sales also increase. And I ask jerry to do some offer or discount. When customer purchase JATI product the price be half price for few month, to promote the product. Another idea is make t-shirt for customer, like which shop sell a lot of JATI products give them t-shirt. 2. 4. 3 Conclusion Conclusion is, this is the ways to improve the company performance and steps. When jerry follow the steps above sure jerry company will be improve and success on his overall business performance and also can increase the business sales or monthly turnover can increase. This steps all are very good to business improve and can increase the production of the company so jerry must follow the ways to improve. But now Jerry Companyimproves ready, so for no problem for Jerry Company. I think Jerry Company does better sales and better business management. Because jerry know ready what is steps and ways to improve the company performance. 3. 0 Conclusion As a conclusion when I finish this whole assignment I can understand what is business strength and weaknesses. And how to take care the business and also how to solve the problem. So when jerry follows all the ways or steps of business, sure the business will successes and can make more profit. Every entrepreneur must know the business strength and weakness.

Essay on the Freedom of the Press Essay

The Press, as identified with Newspapers, wields immense power in a democratic society. Dickens has called the Press â€Å"the mighty engine†. So great is its influence that some have called it the Fourth Estate. Napoleon used to say— â€Å"Your hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.† For, the press forms opinions, shapes movements and controls policies through well-informed criti ­cism. The most powerful autocrat is forced to take note of public opinion as reflected in a free press. That is why a regimented press is the instrument of autocracy, and a dictator deprives the press of its freedom. A free press is the symbol of a free people. An independent, well-informed press is a powerful check on arbitrary governments and irresponsible administrators. For newspapers are agents of the public, which bring to the notice of the people acts of injustice or oppression, or mal-administration that would otherwise have remained hidden away fr om public knowledge. They augur misgovernment at a distance and sniff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze’ (Burke). They exercise a constant vigilance on the rulers, which is salutary for all. Nowadays it is difficult for the press to be free. Either a newspaper is controlled by some financial magnates entirely and it has to voice their views or it is the mouthpiece of a party, and it must think as the party might direct; or it is under the thumb of the government and in that case its usefulness is reduced and independence compromised. For whoever controls it, necessarily limits its freedom by his own interests, i.e. calls the tune. In America, the great newspapers are in the bands of powerful financial syndicates; in England, they are in the hands of capitalists; in Russia they are mostly controlled by the government. But freedom of the press in each case depends on the way it reflects the will, the purpose of the people as a whole, in preference to that of any class or community or individual. The illusory or unrealistic character of the freedom of the press was seen during Great War. It is in such times of crisis that the voice of the people should be most clearly heard and not muffled. Yet it is then that newspapers are completely gagged. Most of these abuses might be checked to the advantage of all concerned, if the newspapers have freedom to criticise authorities and ventilate grievances. Indeed, no government can stifle the voice of the people but at  its own peril. The problem, therefore, is—how to ensure freedom of the newspaper. Legislation, of course, should guarantee the press against interference by the government; this goes without saying- But something more is necessary. The press under no circumstances should be forced to disclose the source of information or will be subservient to the government. But enjoins enjoys a corresponding duty on the part of the Press—that it should maintain strictly honest journalism and should not give any garbled report or prejudicial account. Independent-minded editors should have the right to ft free expression of opinions and unhampered publication of news, subject only to the limitation that they do not publish abuse and keep within the bounds of decorum. But real freedom of the press can exist only where a free people can function freely as in true democracy. It may be asked, why do we say there is no freedom of the press in England or America or India. The reason is that in these countries, the common people are in economic bondage. Governments are ruled by th e power of money and the press is controlled by owners in the interests of Big Business. In is, therefore, rightly claimed that in a Socialist country as the people become economically free, the government acquires an increasingly representative character. The journalists then can write freely and fearlessly. The best way to ensure freedom of the press is to publish all news from accredited sources, to allow free ventilation of opinion, to do away with all controls except in the interest of public safety or welfare. Freedom of the press should be a valued privilege and has to be safeguarded. It is a sacred right, which should be zealously promoted. Governments owe it to themselves to guarantee it from all arbitrary interference. Editors owe it to the public to maintain an honest and fearless attitude in favour of the people, against party or class interests. And the people owe it to their country to demand and defend such freedom as a priceless heritage.

Telecommuting, aka Tele-working Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Telecommuting, aka Tele-working - Research Paper Example Telecommuting has significantly altered the traditional offices through the introduction of phones, computers and other telecommunications tools at off-site locations. Golden (2001) stated that the formation of telecommuting has been explored through several terms such as telework, distance work, remote work, flexi work and home based work among others. However, there are no clear definitions that exist regarding the term telecommuting. Several authors have provided varying definitions regarding telecommuting. For instance Olson (1987) denoted telecommuting as an organizational work which is executed outside of the company premises. It is augmented by information technology (IT). Telecommuters are employees who habitually spend about two to four days in a week, performing their tasks at home. Korte & Wynne (1996) recommended that there are three dimensions of telecommuting namely location, implementation of IT and communication network. In the US, telecommuting is referred as telewor king while in Europe telecommuting is denoted as distance working and off-site working. Hamilton (2002) stated telecommuting as a schedule where employees conduct their work at home for a certain percentage of core working time. The place of work can be at home, at a remote office location or some other places which are outside of main office premise. Considering this aspect, it can be stated that telecommuting is an alternative method of work system where employees spend a consistent amount of time at a location other than office, essentially working from home through using computer and telecommunication system. According to Cross (2013), telecommuting means performing work at a location away from workplace and then sending the outcome of the performed work through the electronic medium. The following figure depicts the telecommuting work system: Fig 1: Telecommuting Work System Fig 1: Cross (2013) From the above figure, it can be stated that telecommuting usually supplements diffe rent office based functions. Green, Lopez, Wysocki & Kepner (2003) defined popular terms which cover telecommuting as a remote work, ‘location independent tasks’ and ‘home distributed data processing’ among others. Telecommuting is basically preformed on a terminal which is connected by modem and telephone line to mainframe computer of office. Telecommuting is also performed through personal computer systems where the competed tasks are transmitted over telecommunication media to the organizations’ computer facilities (Green, Lopez, Wysocki & Kepner, 2003). Telecommuting work provisions have a range of procedures depending on the requirements of employees and organizations. For instance, part time telework permits employees to avoid regular travels to the main office, which may or may not be conveniently reachable. Part time telework comprises work of editors or designers who frequently perform as outworkers. On the other hand, full time telework all ows employees to perform as a part of virtual teams who assemble through electronic media from different locations in order to conduct organizational tasks. An example of full time telework comprises medical transcriptionists who perform their tasks at home for an established organization (Green, Lopez, Wysocki & Kepner, 2003). Current telecommuting technologies Successful telecommuting necessitates a number of technologies which permit employees to efficiently communicate with coworkers, supervisors and clienteles. A few of the

Increasing tuition in university of arizona Essay

Increasing tuition in university of arizona - Essay Example In fact, universities across the U.S. were forced to preclude some programs and departments from their educational curriculum (Hendley, â€Å"Arizona Ballot Initiative†). However, the economy is recovering and it is expected that the government should gradually revert its expenditure on education since the taxpayers revenue is pouring back in. It has not been the case since the Arizona State is undertaking further cuts on expenditure on higher education, something which has led to an increase in tuition. In the future, a lot of jobs will require college education; however, with the current inadequate support from the government in regards to higher education, many students, including myself, will not be able to foot the pricey tuition at UA. As a consequence, a crisis of deficiency of qualified and skilled workers is anticipated thence the urgent need to conduct an in-depth research on the issue. There has been a heated debate about whether it is justified to increase tuition for universities or to seek alternative ways of meeting the costs of school administration without compromising the quality of university students. Therefore, the issue at hand is only to be addressed by answering the question: is it warranted to increase tuition fees at the UA? In an article authored by Andrea Smiley in the UA News, the perspective of the student leadership at UA on the issue of increasing tuition is highlighted. Smiley presents the sentiments of Ann Weaver Hart, UA President, in relation to the increase of tuition whereby she suggests that the increase in tuition, with the exception of law school, is justifiable and for a good cause provided that a Guaranteed Tuition Plan follows the increase. Hart says, â€Å"I understand how critical it is to keep education affordable† (par.3). However, she points out that in order to achieve the goals of

Role of genetics in childhood obesity Research Paper

Role of genetics in childhood obesity - Research Paper Example This essay "Role of genetics in childhood obesity" outlines if the children of obese parents are susceptible to obesity. Even in old times, when the science of genetics did not exist, it was a common knowledge that children inherited many things from their parents, families and ancestors like the color of their hair, the color of the eyes, height, physique and many other things. In the light of this common observation, it would not be wrong to conclude that like the color of their eyes, color of their hair, height, children also inherit a strain for obesity from their parents and families. The more recent scientific studies in the field of genetics have further established that like many other health problems and attributes, obesity in children could also be attributed to a genetic or in other words hereditary link (Smith 1). A recent scientific research which happened to be based on a close collaboration between many related studies has found out that obesity also tends to have a ge netic component. Till a few decades ago, it was strongly believed that people or families who had faulty lifestyles and unhealthy dietary preferences were more likely to get obese. However, this study and many other such studies are forcefully pointing towards the fact that childhood obesity may not be the result of defective lifestyles, but rather a defective gene or genes. Even if people with faulty lifestyles are more prone to obesity, it may that a particular gene in their genetic makeup may be pushing them to stick to unhealthy diet and lifestyles.

Research Methods Assessment 2007 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Methods Assessment 2007 - Essay Example The responsibility of the corporate towards maintaining the sustainability of the environment, from which it draws resources, is also well highlighted by this concept. The concept took root when it was considered important to introduce 'ethicism' or ethics into business and business activities, integrating measures for economic and social uplift and environmental sustainability for the benefit of the community and thereby society at large. The concept of corporate social responsibility has attracted much brickbats as well as a great deal of applause since the time it was begun to be introduced as a business policy whereby business houses were to go beyond their legal obligations and take measures with a view to developing the society and sustaining the environment. Advocates of the concept of corporate social responsibility have been of the strong opinion that functioning with the larger vision of the welfare of the community rather than the immediate profits would bring about larger economic benefits for the company in the long run. The critics, however, are of the opinion that the primary essential role of business is to make profits. They opine that social and environmental issues are not the concern of corporations but of the government and other related organizations, and trying to assume these tasks would tend to veer their course away from their ultimate goal of maximum profits, which would, again, unfavourably impact the fundamental functions of the corporation and hence its employees and the community. The concept of corporate social responsibility involves the incorporation of ethical values into the functions and processes of a business, emphasising that economic gains need not necessarily be at the cost of ethics and values, and that non-economic social values can also be nurtured by a business house for the betterment of the community, the society and the environment. Examples are the corporate environmental responsibility measures taken by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Lexmark to minimise environmental pollution caused directly and indirectly by their activities. PricewaterhouseCooper's (2008) efforts towards maintaining environmental sustainability include the reduction of total carbon emissions by buying energy from renewable sources, improving space efficiency so as to consume less amount of power, resorting to energy-saving measures, reducing air miles by upgrading phone and video conferencing facilities, etc. Lexmark (2008) designs its products as well as their packaging so as to cause minimum impact on the environment. They also have a collection program so as to facilitate recycling of the packaging. There are several factors that have evolved over the years and driven the business world to adopt the concept of corporate social responsibility, especially related to environmental issues, as a functional policy. One of the foremost among these is the growing general awareness of the consumers of the serious impact of their increasing consumption on the society and the environment and its depleting resources globally. This has led to their positive lean towards commodities and services that are products of sustainable techniques that least, if at all, impair natural resources.

Growth and Development of Child Abuse Assignment

Growth and Development of Child Abuse - Assignment Example About 1 in 16 children are noted to suffer from sexual abuse and nearly 1 in 10 children are witness to incidences of family violence. A report by the US DOH, points out that the youngest children are found to be most vulnerable to abuse. The report showed that in the period ranging from 2009-2011, children between the ages of 0-5 years experienced the highest rates of maltreatment (DoH, 2013). These findings are supported by those presented by the children’s rights organization Safe Horizon that showed that over 25% of the total number of abused children was essentially under the age of three while an astounding 45% of abused children were under the age of 5 years (Safehorizon, 2014). In 2012, the total number of children who died due to child abuse was recorded at 1,563. Of this number, 70.3% were found to be younger than 3 years and 44% were reported to be younger than one year of age. The report on the 2012 data also showed that children of both genders were similarly likely to be victims of child abuse as indicated by the fact that in 2012, 48.5% of the total number of abused children were boys while 51.2% of the abused children. However at 57.6%, the rate of child fatality was recorded to be much higher for boys. Babies in this age demographic were reported as often being the victims of shaken baby syndrome that causes them to suffer from different forms of trauma such as bone and rib fractures, various degrees of damages to their neck and spinal cord as well as bleeding from the brain or eyes. 1 in 4 shaken baby syndrome victims eventually dies and nearly all victims tend to eventually experience serious health consequences (Safehorizon, 2014). Â  

The Conversation and the 1970s America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Conversation and the 1970s America - Essay Example In this movie, Harry Caul has the ability of recording any private conversation between two or more people, and anywhere they are. However, one of surveillance work resulted into the murder of three individuals. This creates a sense of guilt and regret over the work he did. This guilt is also brought about by his strict religious believes in Catholicism (Welsh, Gene and Rodney, 33). On this note, the consequences of his surveillance work that led to the murder of these three individuals greatly affected another contract he got from Martin Stett. This is because of the perceptions that Caul had, in regard to his work, and the use of the information from him. To him, the intention of Martin Stett was to kill the two couples, that is Ann and Mark. On this basis, Caul refused to hand over the buggled information to Martin Stett. However, the perceptions of Caul were wrong, since the intention of Martin Stett was to use the information for purposes of protecting his boss, the Director. A role played by Robert Duvall. His lack of judgment led to the murder of Robert Duvall. This scene directly relates to the political events of the 1974. During this period, the political environment was filled with information emanating from the Watergate scandal. During this scandal, President Nixon was found with tapes that had recordings of private conversation of various people. The FBI were able to prove that the president had a complex recording system that was able to effectively record any conversation involving two. or more individuals, anywhere they are. It is this type of technology that Harry Caul used in recording and blogging into the private conversations of individuals.In fact, the producer of the movie denotes that the film used the same types of surveillance technology and wiretapping equipment’s that the Nixon administration used during the scandal. However, Coppola is quick to point that this is coincidental since the script of the movie was written in the 1960s, before the disclosure of the Watergate scandal. The blogging took place at the political offices of the democrats situated at their Watergate

Miep Gies Essay Example for Free

Miep Gies Essay Miep Gies (2/15/1909-1/12/2010) opposed the holocaust by aiding the Jews from the Germans. She was one of many Dutch saviors of the Holocaust. For over two years, she administered food, shelter, companionship, and news of the outside world to eight Jewish people. The Frank Family, the van Pels, and a Jewish dentist named Fritz Pfeffer were taken great care of. By virtue of her gratitude, these Jews were fortunate enough to have Miep in their lives. Miep jeopardized her own life when she assisted in hiding the eight innocent people. She brought food for them secretly and knew that there was serious trouble waiting for her if she were to get caught. Her husband, Jan Gies, also cooperated in aiding Jews. He provided ration cards that he attained illegally so Miep could get more food. She also visited various grocery shops each day to refrain from suspicion and prying among other individuals. The employees in Otto Frank’s business were not aware about the Secret Annex. Due to this, Gies attempted to avoid entering the hiding place during office hours. The hiding place is located in an empty part of Opekta’s premises on the Prinsengracht canal. It had an entrance of a regular door and then the door was replaced with a bookcase to make it less questionable. Work went on as usual and normal in the front part of the building. The frightened people were sealed in the Secret Annex near the rear. They stayed as quiet as possible so the workers and Nazis wouldn’t discover them. Gies also provided something especially valuable in their lives, companionship and news of the outside world. Since the Jews could not make any outside commotion, Miep brought them the most recent news of events during World War II. Although the news became increasingly hopeless, her hope never faded. Her and her husband’s presence helped in providing comfort towards the families. Thankfully, their companionship kept everything stable. Despite knowledge of the possible consequences, Miep was determined to keep the Jews safe from the Nazis. She accompanied the Frank family, the van Pels, and Pfeffer with food, shelter, and companionship. Gies was aware of the dangerous risks she had taken upon herself and her husband. She was more than willing to jeopardize her own life to rescue the lives of others. Miep Gies opposed the Holocaust in a way better than any other, by saving lives.

Leadership and Change in Nursing

Leadership and Change in Nursing Leadership and Change Kym Bell I have chosen to use Jersey College in Trenton, New Jersey for my leadership change project. Jersey College is an educational nursing program that provides the combination of Licensed Practical nursing (LPN); Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and bridge programs for Registered Nurses (RN). The college is located in an urban setting with the student body predominantly from lower income families. The college provides, â€Å"education for adults through an open curriculum that accommodates diverse lifestyles† (Jersey College, 2014). The school prides itself on being the conduit to provide diverse opportunities for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), LPN’s, RN’s. The program provides the opportunity for LPN’s and RN’s to acquire a BSN. Jersey College was founded in 2003 and was originally called The Center for Allied Health Nursing Education. In 2004, the LPN program was approved by the New Jersey Board of Nursing. Since opening in 2004, the school has grown to incorporate two New Jersey campuses and two Florida campuses. The school is affiliated with many institutions who provide a variety of other educational opportunities for students (Jersey College, 2014, p. 1). In the past few years, there has been a decrease in the availability of nursing faculties and training sites for nursing students. This has increased the need for nursing instructors to look at alternative clinical sites. A variety of clinical sites are needed to provide students diverse learning and training opportunities. These practice opportunities are needed to prepare students to become independent professional heath care workers. One solution to this problem is to establish a virtual skills laboratory software program. The stakeholders for this project will be the college, instructors, students, parents, and the future communities that these students will be working in. Organizational Structure There is an organizational structure that depicts the framework for running Jersey College (Appendix A). There is a board of directors that hold the governing power. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is included in this group. The budget and financial management of the college is overseen by the CEO. The board hires the president of the college. Presently the president of Jersey College is Steven Litvak. He responsible for organizing, constructing, executing, and assessing the financial aspect of the college. The president is responsible for maintaining and establishing the mission, purpose, and policies of the college. The nursing education department is led by the Dean of Students. The education department is split into the Practical Nursing Program and the Professional Nursing Program. The two combined programs have a budget for educational needs. If a large purchase needs to be approved the department must submit a written request to the Dean of Nursing. The request is then submi tted to the president who then submits the request to the Board of Directors. The school is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE), New Jersey Higher (NJ) Education, and the New Jersey State Board of Nursing (Jersey College, 2014). The department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has supported grants that will sponsor a wide variety of research grants to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care in the use of technology. My plan is to apply for a grant called Faculty development: Integrated technology into nursing education and practice (ITNEP). The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2014) offers a grant that provides support to nursing collaboratives for faculty development in the use of information and other technologies in order to expand the capacity of collegiate schools of nursing to educate students for 21st century health care practice. Nursing collaboratives will use health care information systems to enhance nursing education and practice, optimize patient safety, and drive improvements in health care quality (HHS, 2014, para. 1). Assessment of Readiness Jersey College has a very small simulation lab that has very poor ventilation and very few nursing supplies. There are currently two students in my group that have latex allergies and cannot physically work in the skills lab without having allergic reactions. The students often complain that, even though there are many mannequins, there are no simulators that attach to the mannequins. Many of the other machines and supplies are in disrepair. The mannequins’ teaching capabilities are outdated. Many of them have missing limbs or do not have anatomically correct parts. For example, one of the mannequin’s tracheostomy hole is drilled incorrectly so that the student can only put in the tracheostomy tube upside down. The students do not feel that they are truly getting exposure to best practice in the present skills lab. The cost of replacing the lab has been discussed at many meetings and the concept of implementing a virtual lab has been in committee for the past year. The committee has researched many options and has come up with pros and cons of switching to a virtual lab. With the assistance of community and government funding options, the future of a virtual skills lab appears to be on the horizon. According to the Joint Commission (2014), one of the major causes of a sentinel event in the United States is the lack of communication. This means miscommunication is usually demonstrated in the form of â€Å"wrong patient, wrong site, and wrong procedure†. A sentinel event is a recurring medical issue within a facility that causes patient harm. The Joint Commission has recognized that many of these errors can be avoided by taking a â€Å"time out†. The â€Å"time out† procedure requires a consensus of all healthcare individuals that are involved with the patient. Everyone must stop what they are doing to verify that they have the correct patient; the correct site being assessed; and the correct paperwork/lab results must be verified. Nursing students need to recognize how important it is to verbally and nonverbally communicate with each other to avoid potential medical mistakes. The use of a virtual nursing skills lab can mimic medical situations in a safe and consistent environment. This type of laboratory will provide multiple opportunities for students to interact and communicate with a variety of cyber patients. Nursing students can utilize a virtual environment to learn clinical skills and to practice communication techniques. These skills will be useful when students are interacting with patients, families and other healthcare team members. Currently, the students do not have ample opportunities to access a computer during their class time. Many of the students, over ninety percent, have computers of their own. The nursing program is not currently set up to allow access to class information or other learning materials online. The Dean of Nursing is a very forward thinking person and has petitioned the president to acquire a working virtual laboratory. The Dean and instructors would like to update the school’s equipment and keep the facilities modern and technologically savvy. The new program will keep current students up to date and a new virtual laboratory would be a great way to entice new students into the program. Analysis of Data There are many different types of leadership theories, I chose to use Lippett’s Theory of change. This type of theory decrees that a leader is needed to promote the need for change. Lippitt, Watson, Westley (1958) utilized the basics of Lewin’s Theory of Change which included the concept of freeze, unfreezing and refreezing. Lippitt expanded on Lewin’s theory by adding four more steps. Lippitt et al. (1958) discovered that: Maintaining a favorable balance of forces is a continuous job for the change agent and client system, beginning with the initial decision to undertake a change project or helping relationship and continuing until the project has been completed (p. 73). Lippitt’s Theory of change has seven phases. Phase 1: Recognize there is a problem The problem is that the current hands-on skills laboratory is out of date and in need of a massive facelift. The cost of this renovation would be staggering to the institution. Phase 2: Assess the motivation and capacity for change The students, as well as faculty, have voiced their opinions that either a new skills hands on laboratory or virtual laboratory needs to be added to enhance the teaching/learning capability of the school. Phase 3: Assess the resources and motivation of the change There is a grant and government funding for the school to replace the current lab with a virtual one. Many of the faculty have gone back to school and have been exposed to new technological advances. Virtual software can provide nursing students with a multitude of learning opportunities that cannot always be accessed in the â€Å"real† world. The faculty is eager to learn how to work within an online environment. They have stated that they are willing to be instructed in how to run this type of lab. Upper management is willing to put in the time and energy that is necessary to make this change. Phase 4-Design the progressive stages of change The stages that will take place will be: Have a representative, from the selected virtual laboratory software company to come and speak to those staff members that have volunteered to be â€Å"Super Users†. Implement a training sessions for â€Å"Super Users†. These are fellow colleagues that that are given extensive training to assist others in transitioning to a new product or service. Meet with the nurse managers to provide training using the new laboratory software. Answer all questions and concerns that may affect each individual instructor’s educational needs for each specific laboratory classroom. Provide training sessions for educators to provide each instructor guidelines for the new software. Go â€Å"live† with the virtual laboratory software with students. Phase 5: Ensure the role and responsibility of the change agent is clearly understood Clearly identify as many of the problems as possible to fix prior to going â€Å"live† with the program. Ensure that everyone that works with this change will have technical backup and support. Confirm that there will be a representative from the company to answer any and all questions. Phase 6: Maintain the change through communication, feedback, and group coordination There will be evaluation forms for managers and students to provide feedback. Users will be surveyed to evaluate any changes that may be needed to support their teaching/learning needs. The evaluation will be an ongoing process. As problems arise, there will be a representative available on site or by telephone to assist any users. Phase 7: Gradually remove the change agent At the initial phase of the project, there will be a representative on site to help anyone who is having trouble accessing or understanding how to navigate the new laboratory software. After the first six or eight weeks, the physical presence of the software company will no longer be on site but, there will always be twenty-four hour telephone support (Lippitt, Watson, Westley, 1958). Plan for Change After careful research, by a chosen committee, a specific software program will be bought by the college. The college is currently looking into the software called â€Å"The Digital Clinical Experienceâ„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬  made by Shadow Health. Farmer (2014) states that there are over four hundred colleges and universities that are currently using this type of software in their nursing programs. The article goes on to state that the Shadow Health’s program â€Å"is broken down into ten modules, each of which correlate with a body system students study in class† (Farmer, 2014, para. 10). The acquisition committee has a chairwomen that will contact the software developer and set up a demonstration of the product. The committee members will have the opportunity to talk to one of the four hundred present user sites and observe the software in action. Once the decision has been made to purchase this program, the training will begin. Phase I will be the technical part of installing and updating any computer equipment that the school has. Phase II will be educating and training the instructors and â€Å"Super Users†. Phase III will be educating the students and remaining faculty. Phase IV Take the program â€Å"live† and start assigning lessons within the software website. There will be follow up meetings and suggestion boxes to evaluate the staff and students feedback in using this new system. The staff and students need to feel like their suggestions and feedback will make a difference in promoting advanced learning. The amount of money it will take to update, install, and train faculty and students will be added into the cost of tuition. The research committee has evaluated the cost and have estimated that the increase in semester cost will be two-hundred and fifty dollars per student. There will be opportunities for students to reduce this cost by applying for grants and/or financial aid. Evaluation As with any change, it will take time and dedication for staff and students to get used to the new software and work within an online environment. There will be an initial survey for students and faculty prior to starting the online learning lab project. After the software has been up and running for six months, a follow up survey will be given to evaluate the student’s and staff’s perception of the learning quality provided by the software. The students should be aware that there will always be technical support available to them and that instructors will be reasonable regarding grades and assignment within this initial new setting. The students should be contacted, by the instructor, via email numerous times throughout the semester and asked if they are experiencing any issues or concerns with the new software (O’Neil, Fisher, Rietschel, 2014, p. 134). The continuous evaluation process will allow the college to work with the software developers to custom fit the needs of the college. References Farmer, R. (October, 2014) Virtual patient teaches nursing students lessons in real-life care. Nurse.com. Retrieved from http://news.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014141009007#.VFvjrvnF8mvAssets/ 092014_SpaceCoastBusinessMagazine_FlCTWWinners.pdf Jersey College. (2014). About us: Accreditation and licensing. Retrieved from http://www.jerseycollege.edu/about/accreditation-licensing/ Joint Commission. (2014) Sentinel event data: root causes by event type 1995–2Q2014. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/General_Information_1995-2Q_2014.pdf Lippitt, R., Watson, J. Westley, B. (1958). The dynamics of planned change. New York: Harcourt Brace. O’Neil, C., Fisher, C., Rietschel, M. (2014). Developing online learning environments in nursing education (3rd Ed.). New York: Springer. Shadow Health. (2014). Health assessment software. Retrieved from http://www.shadowhealth.com/health-assessment.html The Center for Allied Health Nursing Education. (January, 2012). Faculty guidelines for practicum experiences. United States Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS). (2014). Faculty development: Integrated technology into nursing education and practice (INTEP). Retrieved from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/itnep.html Appendix A ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF JERSEY COLLEGE Admission Advisors `Education Coordinator Financial Aid Planner Career Services AdvisorProgram Administrator Media Services and LibrarianNursing Faculty Administrative AssistantProgram Administrator Registrar Nursing Faculty Academic Affairs Coordinator The Center for Allied Health Nursing Education. (January, 2012, p. 14)

Malware And Exploit Protection

Malware And Exploit Protection In todays modern world of information technology, malware and malware protection is becoming a large part of computer security. To analyse this problem various Internet and academic articles have been studied in order to grasp the main concepts of malware and its impacts on information technology as well as current security protection available in todays market. Introduction The purpose of this report is to give the reader an understanding on the concepts of malware and what technologies are being implemented to prevent unauthorized access of computers and networks. This report will also look into how cyber criminals are able to use a variety of measures to infect computers and networks and why it is necessary to implement various security applications to stop them from accessing data. A brief history on the exploit protection of computers and information systems is also included to provide the reader with a basic understanding of computer security and protection before the Internet was developed into a global fixture. The function of Malware and virus security PG 1 PG 1If a computer is communicating with other devices on a network it can potentially be at risk. Documents and files that are stored in that computer can be exposed to anyone who wants to access them especially if there is no security implemented on that particular device. In recent years the lack of security on Internet applications and web sites has been responsible for hackers entering computer and stealing files and private information. Because the Internet is so large and complex it is becoming increasingly hard to protect computers from malware and viruses. Cyber criminals are able to set up spam and can potentially enter a network through a backdoor or loop hole in the system. These actions can be hard to track and many hackers are not caught due to the fact they are accessing the content from a different location (often in a different country). The concept of malware security has taken huge steps in recent years to prevent computers being vulnerable to attacks. This report w ill focus on how computer security is breached by malware and what security measures are in place to deal with aspects such as anti-malware/virus and spyware protection, spam filters and other password based securities built around Internet applications. The history of security and birth of Malware and Viruses Computer viruses have been in existence long before the modern Internet came about. One of the outbreaks of virus activity was caused by mistake in the late 1980s. In 1987 the Vienna virus was developed, computer specialist Ralph Burger decided to investigate the virus so he got a copy of it and wrote his findings in a book titled Computer Viruses: a high tech disease. His book however caused major problems. Because his analysis was so in depth he ended up telling people how the virus worked and how to write them. As a result people who previously had no knowledge of what computer viruses or malware were now getting a beginners guide on how the process worked. Ralph Burgers book was effectively a guide on how to create viruses and in the years after publication his concepts and findings were still being put to use by cyber criminals who wrote thousands of malware viruses based on his methodologies. PG 2 PG 2The 1990s saw a huge rise in information technology security breach with the introduction of the modern Internet. Major viruses such as the Michelangelo and Melissa viruses saw a new dawn in virus activity and as a result the information technology industry started to take notice. New virus technology such as bots and botnets were beginning to take shape. The introduction of malware saw a huge rise in security breaches especially in home and business environments. For the first time confidential information such as user credentials and private details were being exposed over the Internet. The ability for hackers to trace cookies and monitor network activity in real time started to become a major issue for all internet users. During the mid to late 1990s there were many attempts to put a stop to cyber criminals and malware activities but overall the fact remained that there was no major force that could deal with the increasing problem of computer security and exploit protection. The problem had begun to take effect on national security. Because government agencies had confidential information on computer networks there became a real need to not only protect information on their networks but to protect national security. The U.S in particular became increasingly paranoid about their government agencies and there were a number of cases were their networks had been compromised. In 1998 the U.S attorney general unveiled a $64 million dollar scheme to try and counter cyber criminals and the effects of both Malware and Viruses. A command center was set up to protect all U.S computer systems; the National Infrastructure Protection Center was another major step in internet security in the 1990s. As the Internet continues to grow Internet security is still an extremely important issue. With more and more people using tools such as internet banking and purchasing online items there are now a lot more procedures being put in place to keep these applications secure fro m malware and viruses. Types of Malware and viruses In todays world there are a number of major malware, viruses and bugs that are commonly used to infiltrate Internet applications and computer networks. This section of the report will look at what they are, how they work and what tools are available to counter this kind of criminal activity. PG 3 Viruses A virus is a computer program that is able to replicate itself and infect computer devices. In order for a virus to replicate itself it must first be granted access to execute its code. To make this possible most viruses will try to attach themselves to executable files that are commonly apart of legitimate programs and applications. Viruses can be made to do a number of things including damaging data files, corrupting applications and lowering system performance. Viruses can also be transferred between devices especially if the user has no knowledge of the viruses presence. Commonly USB drives and other forms of memory units will transfer viruses amongst computer devices. What is Malware? Malware is an abbreviated term that stands for malicious software. The main purpose of malware is to spy or damage a computer device. Malware can also include things like tracking cookies, which will allow someone to monitor Internet activity and usage. In todays modern information technology malware encompasses a lot of different types of viruses and exploitation. Spyware As its name suggests spyware is used to spy on a computer or device. Spyware is a form of Malware that performs predominantly the same kind of tasks. It is often used in advertisements known as adware that can be used to track activity on a computer. In recent times spyware has be known to log keystroke activity which enables criminals to gather bank account details and other sensitive data. Worms PG 4A computer worm is able to replicate its self and uses a network to send copies of its self to other devices on a network. Worms are a kind of Malware that can infect a large number of devices on a network, once the worm has been released on a computer it can quickly cause damage over a network. Unlike a virus worms do not need to attach themselves to an executable file. Bots Bots are programs that are capable of taking over a computer. Bots allow the hacker to control a computer from a remote location often starting out as Malware. Cyber criminals will often hide their remote control software attaching to a legitimate source such as a game or application. When the application or game is running they are able to run their software in the background and gain remote access whenever the device is online. Hackers usually try to go unnoticed while implementing bots. In a lot of cases hackers will create a lot of bots and set up botnets (an army of bots) these can then be used to send out spam and other forms of illegal activity. Trojans Trojans (also known as Trojan horse/s) are programs that disguise themselves by doing a legitimate task on a computer. In actual fact the Trojans main purpose is to spy on computer activity and steal information such as credit card details and pin numbers. Once the information has been captured it is then sent back to the cyber criminal who initially set up the Trojan. Trojans are commonly sent as email attachments and are NOT viruses. A Trojan does not infect files or replicate it self like a virus and its main purpose is to go unnoticed within the system. Spam Spam is a type of advertising that is commonly sent to a large scale of computer users. Most spam is developed in the form of get rich schemes, suspicious messages and other forms of advertising that are aimed at tricking the user into releasing credit card details and other information that can benefit the person who sent the spam. Because spam costs the sender next to nothing to send they are able to send it on a large scale increasing their chance of success. PG 5 Current Malware protection Security breaches can come in all forms of illegal activity. These are simply the mainstream problems that occur on a day-to-day basis. There are many more forms of malware that put Internet security to the test and cyber criminals continue to develop new ways of infiltrating computers and networks. So what are some of the current developments put in place to stop malware and other forms of illegal activity? Firewalls The term firewall was fist established by fire fighters. The firewall was a large barrier put in place to prevent the fire from spreading. In computing terms a firewall performs relatively the same task. Essentially a firewall operates by working with a router-based application to make decision of wether to forward packets to a device or wether to drop the packets all together. An easier way to think of a firewall is to imagine a police check point on a road, the cars coming into the checkpoint represent packets being sent across the internet, the police check point represents the firewall as well as the process that is taken to determine if the packet (car) is able to continue to its destination (a network or computer). In other words a firewall is a scan that can detect infected or illegitimate data files or programs before they reach their intended destination. In organizations and businesses a firewall will often be set up on an elected computer that is separated from the rest of the network so that incoming traffic does not have immediate access to the rest of the network. One of the main methods that a firewall uses is screen requests to insure that domain name and internet protocol addresses are genuine. With devices such as PDAs and cell phones, firewalls will allow remote access to certified networks by using password based security measures. Anti Malware/virus software PG 6Anti Malware/virus software applications are used to scan files and eliminate any Malware or viruses that are found on a particular device. Current anti virus applications have come along way in protecting users from malware viruses. Anti virus applications will typically use two forms of scanning procedures to identify malware. The first is analyzing the computer programs and looking for any suspicious activities that are not normally conducted. The second is done by scanning a computer using a malware and virus dictionary this is one of the most effective ways of identifying a security breach. The malware/virus dictionary works by examining a database of known viruses that has been established by that particular anti virus Software Company; it will then scan the computer and try to match any piece of code in its database to the files on a computer. If a match is found then the user will be prompted with a message that gives the user options to deal with the malware and/or virus . For this process to be successful in the long term the malware/virus dictionary needs to be updated on a regular basis to keep up with newly written viruses being developed by hackers and cyber criminals. This is the main reason that anti malware/virus software applications will prompt users to update on a regular basis. Anti-spyware based applications work with the same method of spyware dictionary scanning. Spam filters PG 7In todays modern Internet spam is always a constant threat to computer security for users worldwide and will often contain malware viruses. Although most people will ignore spam a small amount of users get sucked in to spammers advertising schemes. Because spammers are sending out thousands of spam based messages at a time they can easily profit from a couple of over trusting users and because spam is cheap to develop there is always a market for them. In past years users would receive hundreds of messages a day by spammers and trying to sift through emails to find a legitimate message proved to be a daunting task for users. For this reason spam filters were introduced. Spam filters work by using a number of procedures. The first is a language-based filter; these are the easiest procedures for a spam filter to implement. The filter will simply scan through emails and remove any that are not in the native language of the user. Settings for this can obviously be changed if a user i s working in a foreign country, the user can simply enable the languages that they would like to receive by changing the settings of the filter. Content spam filters use a complex set of rules to evaluate messages that are likely to be spam-based advertising. The spam is redirected into a spam folder that can later be deleted by the user. This is one of the most effective approaches to countering spammers however on occasion it can result in legitimate emails being sent to spam folders due to a user request of an advertising promotions or news letters. User spam filters can be the most effective filters if used properly. They require the user to input a set of rules for the filter to follow, although this can be an effective method it can be time consuming and is not the easiest tool for users to use. Conclusion Overall there are a lot of security measures that can be implemented to protect computers and networks form malware. Most security measures that are available to users are aimed at protecting computers from malware, adware, spam and various types of common viruses. Although there are a lot of companies providing these services cyber criminals are always looking for new ways to get around firewalls and anti virus software and on some occasions they are successful. Because there are so many hackers and spammers around the globe new ways of getting around these barriers are frequently being developed and catching them can be very difficult. However if users take the appropriate steps such as installing firewalls and anti malware/virus software they will be less likely to fall prey to cyber criminals. PG 8

Politics in the Domincan Republic :: Essays on Politics

Politics in the Domincan Republic The Government The government of the Dominican Republic is structured as a representative democracy. The country gained its independence on February 27, 1844 from Haiti and celebrates the national holiday every year. The constitution that it abides by today was not written until over a century after they became independent; it was enacted on November 28, 1966 (Nation Master). There are three branches in the system of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch today is headed by the Dominican chief of state and head of government, President Leonel Fernandez Reyna and his Vice President, Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal. The president is also the Supreme Commander of the country’s police and armed forces. They were sworn into office on August 16, 1996 (Presidency of the DR). The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket, by popular vote, for terms of four years; they can be reelected. The executive branch also includes a cabinet, made up of people nominated by the president. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies form a bicameral Congress in the Dominican Republic’s legislative branch. There are 30 members of the Senate (Senado) who are elected by popular vote, also for four year terms. There is one senator delegated to each of the country’s 29 provinces and one for the national district. Each of these districts also has a governor who is appointed by the President. The Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) consists of 120 members elected in the same manner as senators are (Nation Master). The Supreme Court (Corte Suprema) facilitates the country’s judicial branch. The eleven judges in the Supreme Court are chosen by a council of people from the legislative and executive branches of the government. The President presides over the Supreme Court (Nation Master). Family in Politics Despite the fact that the government structure is much like that of the United States, Dominican politics are very different. Due to the fact that the country is so much smaller than the United States the politics are also on a much smaller scale. The politics are centered in the country’s one large city, Santo Domingo. As a result all of the politicians know each other and are often related by blood or marriage. Unlike American politics, those of the Dominican Republic frequently revolve around friendships, ethnic connections and family ties.

Rates of Reaction - The concentration of hydrochloric acid and the rate of reaction with sodium theosulphate :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Rate of Reaction After doing my pilot run, i think that my method and apparatus used should be mostly the same: Apparatus - 1 conical flask - 1 lamenated 'x' - 3 test tubes - 1 thermometer - 1 stop watch - 3 pipettes Method: 1. Measure 10ml of 0.2mol/dm3 or 0.2moldm-3 sodium thiosulphate 2. Pour it into the conical flask 3. Add 40ml of distilled water for dillution. 4. Then add 5cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid of concentration 2mol/dm3 at room temperature 5. Record the temperature of the mixture. Stir mixture gently. 6. Stir mixture gently 7. Start time when all is stirred and when the conical flask is over the 'X' paper. 8. Once the cross is completely out of sight due to the reactionof the sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid and then record the time. 9. I willl then repeat this with different measurements of sodium thiosulphate and water. Changes I have made and why - I am not going to be using a burette because after finishing my pilot run, i realised that i was gradually getting more and more behind schedule and I wouldn;t have enough time to complete my obtaining evidence if I were to carry on using it. Fair test To make sure it was a fair test. i had to constantly keep cleaning and washing the equipmentas any remaining substances can cause major differences in the results. And we had to try ansd hope that the room temperature will remain constant during the course of my experiment. Also we always have to keep the volume of concentrstion the same - 55ml. number and range of experiments - If I have enough time, I would like to try around nine different concentrations of sodium thiosulphate with water. I am going to try hte following volumes of sodium thiosulphate: 10ml, 15ml, 20ml, 25ml, 30ml,35ml, 40ml,45ml and 50ml. - I have chosen a range of 40ml as I think this is enough to truly experience the various actions of sodium thiosulphate reacting with hydrochloric acid. - If any of my results seem somewhat innaccurate or faulty, I will try my best to redo them. Safety - Make sure to tie hair back. - Wear a lab coat. - Wear safety glasses or goggles. - Wash hand in between each experimewnt and after anmd before eating. - Open windows so the smell isn't too overwhelming Dillutions To make my experiment a fair test, we must always have the same volume of solutions, 55ml. Rates of Reaction - The concentration of hydrochloric acid and the rate of reaction with sodium theosulphate :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Rate of Reaction After doing my pilot run, i think that my method and apparatus used should be mostly the same: Apparatus - 1 conical flask - 1 lamenated 'x' - 3 test tubes - 1 thermometer - 1 stop watch - 3 pipettes Method: 1. Measure 10ml of 0.2mol/dm3 or 0.2moldm-3 sodium thiosulphate 2. Pour it into the conical flask 3. Add 40ml of distilled water for dillution. 4. Then add 5cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid of concentration 2mol/dm3 at room temperature 5. Record the temperature of the mixture. Stir mixture gently. 6. Stir mixture gently 7. Start time when all is stirred and when the conical flask is over the 'X' paper. 8. Once the cross is completely out of sight due to the reactionof the sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid and then record the time. 9. I willl then repeat this with different measurements of sodium thiosulphate and water. Changes I have made and why - I am not going to be using a burette because after finishing my pilot run, i realised that i was gradually getting more and more behind schedule and I wouldn;t have enough time to complete my obtaining evidence if I were to carry on using it. Fair test To make sure it was a fair test. i had to constantly keep cleaning and washing the equipmentas any remaining substances can cause major differences in the results. And we had to try ansd hope that the room temperature will remain constant during the course of my experiment. Also we always have to keep the volume of concentrstion the same - 55ml. number and range of experiments - If I have enough time, I would like to try around nine different concentrations of sodium thiosulphate with water. I am going to try hte following volumes of sodium thiosulphate: 10ml, 15ml, 20ml, 25ml, 30ml,35ml, 40ml,45ml and 50ml. - I have chosen a range of 40ml as I think this is enough to truly experience the various actions of sodium thiosulphate reacting with hydrochloric acid. - If any of my results seem somewhat innaccurate or faulty, I will try my best to redo them. Safety - Make sure to tie hair back. - Wear a lab coat. - Wear safety glasses or goggles. - Wash hand in between each experimewnt and after anmd before eating. - Open windows so the smell isn't too overwhelming Dillutions To make my experiment a fair test, we must always have the same volume of solutions, 55ml.

Financial Aid Essay

The role of financial aid in college access and success is immense. Lack of adequate financing of education make many students from low income backgrounds fail to realize their educational aspirations (Reindl, 2007). It is from this premise that obstacles which accompany financial aid to low income students come to fore. The influence of aid on the enrollment persistence of students consists of interrelated factors which include timing, amount and type of aid and how they correlate with persistence among other attributes that relate to students (Pascarella & Terenzini 2005) Although it is prudent to consider the positive implications of financial aid to needy students, especially those of the minority groups that have felt sidelined for long, the question of how best to carry out the financing should be looked into. Many a student in higher education fails to achieve high academic performance due to their inability to focus on academics prompted by frustrated efforts to get financing. Financiers of the education of such student need to look into their procedures to be followed by students seeking financing of their education. This is in terms of the conditions to be satisfied by the needy students as well as the length of time the financial assistance will take before the recipient gets his / her college account credited. The reason for this is that not all institutions have provision for late arrival of the aid. The implication therefore if the aid delays is that the student will be forced to be out of the institution for some time, a matter which may make them fail to do their exams, tutorials, researches and vital lessons. In the long run such students will have low aggregate points and consequently failing to achieve their r personal educational and life goals. When the aid delays, or when the procedures to be followed in securing one prove to be too taxing, students get undue stress. This has far reaching implications both in terms of their health and general academic performance. In the long run, assistance will be a problem added to their financial incapacitation (Immerwahr 2003). Literature review Several researches have been undertaken on the problems that students under finance aid scheme face. Most of them point to the fact that financial aid can be an impediment and not a solution to students’ academic issues related to finance especially if the student fraternity is not informed of the availability and procedures In his journal â€Å"With diploma in Hand: Hispanic High School Seniors Talk about Their Future†, Immerwahr, J. (2003) uses interviews to highlight the challenges that these students faced in college as far as financial aid among other things are concerned. He interviewed 50 Hispanic High School seniors in San Antonio, Santa Clara Tucson, Chicago and New York. His findings were that many students on financial aid had difficulties at the end of it all because the aid was unpredictable making the students to be stressed. This is echoed by Stampen and Cabrera, (2007) who used questionnaires and interviews in their quest to know the effects of financial aid packaging on attrition and Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) in their journal How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research who use the same methods to expound on what affects students in college. A variety of issues are raised including the moral and social growth for some and despair for those dependent on finance aid which in most cases is unpredictable. Students may also fail to estimate how much in terms of amount of aid they require. The amount they get can be less than what is sufficient for them to complete their education. The aid that they get can be in the form of loans, work study opportunities or grants and scholarships. In the case of work study opportunities, the students may not get sufficient time for their studies as they are required to work also. This creates a lot of stress on the aid beneficiaries according to Voorhees (2005). Voorhees used on campus surveys in drafting his Student finances and campus? based financial aid: a structural model analysis of the persistence of high? need freshmen. Bias in aid allocation translates into variables exhibited by students in terms of their academic performance (Titus, 2006; Rubin, 2004). Using propensity score matching, it was established that there is a significant difference between financially aided and unaided students. Results based on five thousand freshmen at a public university in the US and retention in second year before and after noting their GPA and math experience showed that there is a relationship between aid influence and enrollment persistence (Adelman, 2004; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) When looking at the issue of aid extension to low-income students, it is imperative that women be also assisted. This is because they are more likely to be affected more than their male counterparts, in most cases being affected by stress when they fail to secure aid in time to enhance their studies. Financial aid influences the retention of students based on their estimated family contribution. The challenge here is that those students whose families’ contribution is less than $4000 have higher chances of getting lower GPA’s (Adelman, 2004; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Methodology and Findings Since there are individual disparities that may affect the performance of the students who may be getting the same financial aid, this study used propensity score matching model which cater for the variables that may be of demography nature, or pre-college experiences. The new freshmen were categorized into those that get aid in form of loans or grants and those that do not get any aid at all. The two groups were then subjected to a comparison, that is, those that get aid package vis-a-vis those without any aid in their first year. The group that did not get any aid was called untreated. The methodology used (estimated propensity score) helps in ridding the bias based on self-selection. The effects of aid bias may not be fully accounted for using this method of study (Titus, 2006; Lunceford & Davidian, 2004) as other unaccounted for reasons may come into interplay. The amount that the students are able to get from their families affect the outcome of the study. It categorized the students in terms of those who could pay for their education and those who could not. In the findings that have been tabulated, the columns that are unmatched show the effect of aid without making a match of students on propensity for aid assistance. The matched average effect column is used as a control for the bias in aid selection. The matched average untreated and matched average treated give the probable retention results if the aided student(s) had not been aided or if the unaided one had received some financial assistance. Matched students with an average possibility of receiving aid are more likely to persist into their second year of studies compared to those with low aid chance. This study furnishes separate estimates by EFC in gauging the influence that financial aid has on student retention. An EFC of 4000 dollars and less encompasses students from low- income background eligible for grants. These students got an aid of between $2000 and $ 3000 in their first year while middle income students with $ 4000-10000 receive between $ 800- 900 aids. Those with Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of more than $ 10000 receive less to no aid at all, only relying on merit-based aid. They however show a greater possibility of remaining in college in their next academic year as compared to their aided counterparts who have higher remaining need after using their aids to pay for schooling. There is no correlation between the net persistence of students with $ 4000-$10000 EFC in their GPA or math experience and the aid they receive. Gift aid for those with high EFC increases their persistence by 18% meaning that the more EFC these students have, the better they work towards their academic endeavors (Dowd, 2004). The following are the tabular summaries of the information obtained from the study. Not all parts of the study have been tabulated but only the seminal ones. From the literature analysis and the results of this study, some issues are apparent: Financial aid to low- income students may greatly hamper their studies if we look at the securing of the finances. If the aid delays, the students get stressed up and may therefore not concentrate in class. Those who do not know the whole procedure get more problems because their studies are hampered. The effect of the Expected Family Contribution on the capability of the learner to proceed to the next year has been shown. The less the EFC a student is capable of raising, the lower their performance and possibility of proceeding to the next year. Those with EFC of more than 10000 dollars show no effect if not given an aid but show considerable possibility of proceeding to the next year and also of passing well. References Adelman, C. (2007). Do we really have a college access problem? Change (July? August): 48? 51. Bodvarsson, O. B. & Walker, R. L. (2004): Do parental cash transfers weaken performance in college? Economics of Education Review 23: 483? 495. Caison, A. L. (2006): Analysis of institutionally specific retention research: A comparison between survey and institutional database methods. Research in Higher Education 48(4): 435? 451. Dowd, A. (2004): Income and financial aid effects on persistence and degree attainment in public colleges; Education Policy Analysis and Archives, 12(21). Herzog, S. (2005): Measuring determinants of student return vs. dropout vs. transfer: a First-to-second year analysis of new freshmen; Research in Higher Education 46 Immerwahr, J (2003): With Diploma in Hand: High School Senior Talk about Their Future. NCPPHE (8): 883? 928. Lunceford, J. K. , and Davidian, M. (2004): Stratification and weighting via the propensity score

Impact of Special Education in the Society Essay

Filipinos are known to be hospitable in all circumstances, boys or girls, young or old and normal or disabled are alike. In fact, there is a law enacted only for the adjustment of the disabled people to the Philippines society. The Republic Act No. 7277 â€Å"Magna Carta for Disabled Persons† in accordance to it, it is an act providing for the Rehabilitation, Self-Development and Self-Reliance of disabled persons and their integration into the mainstream of society and for other purposes. According to Section 2 of this Law, disabled persons are part of the Philippines society. This proves that there is no gap between disabled and normal people are equal and unbiased. Balance in terms of education, health services,auxiliary social services,telecommunications,accessibility,political and civil rights and employment. If one of the stated laws is violated, there will be a corresponding penalty depending on how the rule is dishonored. This are the notion of the PWD’s in the P hilippine society when it comes to civil liberties. On the other hand, various impolite citizens desert PWD’s in the society. They criticize them by their physical appearances and their handicapped, I have seen many of those scenes in the movies. Nevertheless,today,there are many organizations that are established which aims to help the PWD’s that excels in various sports and arts. Filipinos have strong family ties. Aside from those organizations, the families of the PWD’s that excels in various sports and arts. Filipinos have strong family ties. Aside from those organizations, the families of the PWD’s are also accommodating in supporting their needs. They are the ones who are responsible for the caring and giving of love and affection to the PWD’s so that they will not feel that they are being neglected. Now a days, there are a lot of PWD’s that excels in various sports and arts. This testifies that there are no exceptions in terms of talent identification either normal or disabled. God created man as one, with equal standard of rights. What the normal people can do, PWD ’s are also capable of doing them. I have already seen people with disabilities and abnormalities. When I was in elementary, I have encountered talking to those people or students who were having abnormalities because our school was having a Sped class. I observed how they behave,socialize, work and interact with others. Some students, at  times make fun of them and usually laugh at them. And it got me thinking what would it like to be if I were in their shoe? I realized that it’s not that easy. It needs a lot of understanding and patience. To educate a special child needs a lot of patience but for me if we just understand what they are and be optimistic they will learn thing what normal students can learn, there’s a big possibility that the special kid will be educated. We should also accept them whole heartedly. Love them and care for them so that they will not feel neglected. We should treat them equally with the other normal people. Because special children knows and feel that they are being deserted and that should not happen. I have a classmate in the elementary before who is an autistic child. He was very intelligent in math. And because of that observation, I concluded that special children have special talents and knowledge. I believe that they can do what normal people can do. Special education is the way to educate special children what I have learned and what they should learn, to enhance there hidden talents and skills to excel more in other things to compete with those normal people. It is also the way to train them as good citizens and children of God. And also a way for them to know and learn the values of life so that they will know how to respect each other including the normal ones. Through special education, the parents of special children can also learn and get some ideas on how to educate their child from the sped educators because it doesn’t mean the the obligation of the parents is over and all the responsibility is handed to the educator. And through SPED, parents can apply what they have learned from the educator is their homes. because the obligation of the parents is to educate their children until the end. We are in the world of differences, both mentally and physically. But in the eyes of the Almighty God we are one. So the development of special children should be continuously taught with patience, care and love.

Islamic Management

Definition : Definition management â€Å"The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work. † Characteristic of conventional management : Examinees each resource sector and environment component in isolation Examines each resource sector and/or environmental component in isolation (e. g. , water, air, forests, fish) Focuses on biotic components; limited, if any, consideration of ecological processes (e. g. , hydrological process) Targets only specific resources of interest; typically those of commercial value Conflicting management policiesComparision Islamic management and conventional management 1. 2 CONVENTIONAL AND ISLAMIC UNIT TRUSTS 1. 2. 1 CONVENTIONAL UNIT TRUSTS Based on the Guidelines on Unit Trust Funds issued by the Securities Commission in October 1991, a unit trust fund company can only invest in authorized Malaysian assets, which include listed and unlisted securities of Malaysian companies, Malaysian Government Securities, Cagamas bonds, bankers’ acceptances, Negotiable Certificates of Deposits, Government Investment Certificates and cash (Banker’s Journal Malaysia, 1995).However, in March 1994, the Commission has provided a provision by which trust funds can invest (10% of portfolio) in overseas stock. Hence, conventional unit trust funds can invest in any of the above Malaysian assets without any restriction as long as the funds have not reached its maximum approved size. 3 1. 2. 2 ISLAMIC UNIT TRUSTS The Islamic unit trusts mainly focus on the investments in portfolios of ‘halal’ stocks and bonds complying with the Syariah principles.Such ‘halal’ stocks exclude companies involving in activities, products or services related to conventional banking, insurance and financial services, gambling, alcoholic beverages and non-halal food products and also companies whose products can cause illness, death, disease or even p romote social ills such as tobacco. From an Islamic perspective, the above industries are avoided as they represent elements that are forbidden by Allah and the harmful effects of such products on mankind (Smart Investor, 2002).The returns of Islamic unit trusts also avoid the incidence of ‘riba’ or usury interest through the process of cleaning or purification by the removal of such amounts representing the interest element. In instances where a fund has inadvertently made profits investing in non-permissible sectors, the fund will liquidate the investments. The proceeds of the gain will then be donated to charities. Mohd Nasir (2000) mentioned in his paper that the Syariah principle of ‘musharakah’ acts as a base for Islamic unit trust whereby it is a participatory financing involving agreement between the contributor of capital and the user.Therefore, the providers of funds or partners are the unitholders in an Islamic unit trust. A formal contract betwe en the unitholders, capital or fund, profit, the offer, the acceptance and the investment activities are also available within the practice of the Islamic unit trust. The concept of ‘al-wadiah yad dhamanah’ or guaranteed safe custody is involved in the operation of the Islamic unit trust fund. Prior to the funds existence, the owners of assets are the investors, custodian holder is the fund manager, and asset is the money invested.After the creation of the fund, the owners of assets are the unit holders, the custodian is the trustee and the assets include all assets of the fund. Besides that, the concept of ‘al-bai’bithamin ajil’ is also practiced in the Islamic unit trust whereby there is a transaction of buying and redemption of units of funds. In this case, the purchase or redemption price is the managers forward selling or buying price at the next valuation point when investors decide to buy or unitholders decide to redeem their shares. Moreover, the valuation point is the price at the close of business for the day.Nonetheless, based on ‘al-wakalah principle’, the price must be determined at the time the contract of sale or purchase is executed. As a result, the current practice of Islamic unit trust does not conform to the ‘al-wakalah’ principle. Thus, it has been suggested that daily historical price would be more appropriate in order to observe the Syariah principles (Shariff, 2002). Apart from having the same standard criteria for other conventional unit trusts as explained in the Securities Commission’s Guidelines on Unit Trust Funds (1997), the Islamic unit 4 trust funds must lso meet the criteria as advised by the Securities Commission’s Syariah Advisory Council (SAC) 2 . For example, the Islamic unit trust funds can only invest in securities approved by the SAC. The trust funds are also required to appoint a Syariah committee or syariah consultant who must be approved by the C ommission. As at October 25 th , 2002, the SAC has approved 684 securities [543 approved securities as at January 2 nd , 1999 (Arbi, 1999)] listed on the KLSE and classified them as ‘halal’ stocks thus can be bought by the Islamic trust fund managers

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Seventeen

The four of us moved as silently as we could into the forest, from the place where Gretchen had seen Magdy, Enzo and their two friends go into the tree line. We listened for their sounds; none of them had been trained to move quietly. It wasn't a good thing for them, especially if the creatures decided to hunt them. It was better for us, because we wanted to track them. We listened for our friends on the ground, we watched and listened for movement in the trees. We already knew whatever they were could track us. We hoped we might be able to track them, too. In the distance, we heard rustling, as if of quick, hurried movement. We headed that direction, Gretchen and I taking point, Hickory and Dickory fast behind. Gretchen and I had been training for months, learning how to move, how to defend ourselves, how to fight and how to kill, if it was necessary. Tonight, any part of what we learned might have to be used. We might have to fight. We might even have to kill. I was so scared that if I stopped running, I think I would have collapsed into a ball and never gotten up. I didn't stop running. I kept going. Trying to find Enzo and Magdy before something else did. Trying to find them, and to save them. â€Å"After Gutierrez left, Magdy didn't see any point in keeping our story quiet anymore, so he started blabbing to his friends,† Gretchen had told me. â€Å"He was giving people the idea that he'd actually faced these things and had managed to keep them off while the rest of us were getting away.† â€Å"Idiot,† I said. â€Å"When you parents came back without the hunting party, a group of his friends came to him about organizing a search,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Which was actually just an excuse for a bunch of them to stalk through the forest with guns. My dad caught wind of this and tried to step on its head. He reminded them that five adults just went into the forest and didn't come out. I thought that was the end of it, but now I hear that Magdy just waited until my dad went to go visit yours before gathering up some like-minded idiots to head off into the woods.† â€Å"Didn't anyone notice them heading off?† I asked. â€Å"They told people they were going to do a little target practice on Magdy's parents' homestead,† Gretchen said. â€Å"No one's going to complain about them doing that right about now. Once they got there they just took off. The rest of Magdy's family is here in town like everyone else. No one knows they're missing.† â€Å"How'd you find out about this?† I asked. â€Å"It's not like Magdy would tell you this right now.† â€Å"His little group left someone behind,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Isaiah Miller was going to go with him, but his dad wouldn't let him have the rifle for ‘target practice.' I heard him complaining about that and then basically intimidated the rest of it out of him.† â€Å"Has he told anybody else?† I asked. â€Å"I don't think so,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Now that he's had time to think about it I don't think he wants to get in trouble. But we should tell someone.† â€Å"We'll cause a panic if we do,† I said. â€Å"Six people have already died. If we tell people four more people – four kids – have gone off into the woods, people will go insane. Then we'll have more people heading off with guns and more people dying, either by these things or by accidentally shooting each other because they're so wired up.† â€Å"What do you want to do, then?† Gretchen asked. â€Å"We've been training for this, Gretchen,† I said. Gretchen's eyes got very wide. â€Å"Oh, no,† she said. â€Å"Zoe, I love you, but that's loopy. There's no way you're getting me out there to be a target for these things again, and there's no way I'm going to let you go out there.† â€Å"It wouldn't just be us,† I said. â€Å"Hickory and Dickory – â€Å" â€Å"Hickory and Dickory are going to tell you you're nuts, too,† Gretchen said. â€Å"They just spent months teaching you how to defend yourself, and you think they're going to be at all happy with you putting yourself out there for something to use as spear practice. I don't think so.† â€Å"Let's ask them,† I said. â€Å"Miss Gretchen is correct,† Hickory said to me, once I called for it and Dickory. â€Å"This is a very bad idea. Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan are the ones who should deal with this matter.† â€Å"My dad's got the whole rest of the colony to worry about at the moment,† I said. â€Å"And Mom's in the medical bay, getting fixed from when she dealt with this the last time.† â€Å"You don't think that tells you something?† Gretchen said. I turned on her, a little angry, and she held up a hand. â€Å"Sorry, Zoe. That came out wrong. But think about it. Your mom was a Special Forces soldier. She fought things for a living. And if she came out of this with a wound bad enough for her to spend her night in the medical bay, it means that whatever is out there is serious business.† â€Å"Who else can do this?† I asked. â€Å"Mom and Dad went after that hunting party on their own for a reason – they had been trained to fight and deal with experiences like that. Anyone else would have gotten themselves killed. They can't go after Magdy and Enzo right now. If anyone else goes after them, they're going to be in just as much danger as those two and their other friends. We're the only ones who can do this.† â€Å"Don't get angry at me for saying this,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But it sounds like you're excited to do this. Like you want to go out there and fight something.† â€Å"I want to find Enzo and Magdy,† I said. â€Å"That's all I want to do.† â€Å"We should inform your father,† Hickory said. â€Å"If we inform my father he'll tell us no,† I said. â€Å"And the longer we talk about this the longer it's going to take to find our friends.† Hickory and Dickory put their heads together and clacked quietly for a minute. â€Å"This is not a good idea,† Hickory said, finally. â€Å"But we will help you.† â€Å"Gretchen?† I asked. â€Å"I'm trying to decide if Magdy is worth it,† she said. â€Å"Gretchen,† I said. â€Å"It's a joke,† she said. â€Å"The sort you make when you're about to wet your pants.† â€Å"If we are to do this,† Hickory said. â€Å"We must do it on the assumption that we will engage in combat. You have been trained with firearms and hand weapons. You must be prepared to use them if necessary.† â€Å"I understand,† I said. Gretchen nodded. â€Å"Then let us get ready,† Hickory said. â€Å"And let us do so quietly.† Any confidence that I had any idea what I was doing left me the moment we entered the forest, when the running through the trees brought me back to the last time I raced through them at night, some unknown thing or things pacing us invisibly. The difference between now and then was that I had been trained and prepared to fight. I thought it would make a difference in how I felt. It didn't. I was scared. And not just a little. The rustling, rushing sound we had heard was getting closer to us and heading right for us, on the ground and moving fast. The four of us halted and hid and prepared ourselves to deal with whatever was coming at us. Two human forms burst out of the brush and ran in a straight line past where Gretchen and I were hiding. Hickory and Dickory grabbed them as they passed by them; the boys screamed in terror as Hickory and Dickory took them down. Their rifles went skidding across the ground. Gretchen and I rushed over to them and tried to calm them down. Being human helped. Neither was Enzo or Magdy. â€Å"Hey,† I said, as soothingly as I could, to the one closest to me. â€Å"Hey. Relax. You're safe. Relax.† Gretchen was doing the same to the other one. Eventually I recognized who they were: Albert Yoo and Michel Gruber. Both Albert and Michel were people I had long filed away under the â€Å"kind of a twit† category, so I didn't spend any more time with them than I had to. They had returned the favor. â€Å"Albert,† I said, to the one closest to me. â€Å"Where are Enzo and Magdy?† â€Å"Get your thing off of me!† Albert said. Dickory was still restraining him. â€Å"Dickory,† I said. It let Albert go. â€Å"Where are Enzo and Magdy?† I repeated. â€Å"I don't know,† Albert said. â€Å"We got separated. Those things in the trees started chanting at us and Michel and I got spooked and took off.† â€Å"Chanting?† I asked. â€Å"Or singing or clicking or whatever,† Albert said. â€Å"We were walking along, looking for these things when all these noises started coming out of the trees. Like they were trying to show us that they had snuck up on us without us even knowing.† This worried me. â€Å"Hickory?† I asked. â€Å"There is nothing significant in the trees,† it said. I relaxed a little. â€Å"They surrounded us,† Albert said. â€Å"And then Magdy took a shot at them. And then things really got loud. Michel and I got out of there. We just ran. We didn't see where Magdy and Enzo went.† â€Å"How long ago was this?† I asked. â€Å"I don't know,† Albert said. â€Å"Ten minutes, fifteen. Something like that.† â€Å"Show us where you came from,† I said. Albert pointed. I nodded. â€Å"Get up,† I said. â€Å"Dickory will take you and Michel back to the tree line. You can get back from there.† â€Å"I'm not going anywhere with that thing,† Michel said, his first contribution to the evening. â€Å"Okay, then you have two choices,† I said. â€Å"Stay here and hope we come back for you before these things do, or hope that you make it to the tree line before they catch up with you. Or you can let Dickory help you and maybe survive. Your choice.† I said it a little more forcefully than I had to, but I was annoyed that this idiot didn't want help staying alive. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Good,† I said. I picked up their rifles and handed them to Dickory, and took his. â€Å"Take them to the tree line near Magdy's homestead. Don't give them back their rifles until you get there. Come back and find us as soon as you can.† Dickory nodded, intimidated Albert and Michel into movement, and headed off. â€Å"I never liked them,† Gretchen said as they left. â€Å"I can see why,† I said, and gave Dickory's rifle to Hickory. â€Å"Come on. Let's keep going.† We heard them before we saw them. Actually, Hickory, whose hearing goes above human range, heard them – trilling and chirping and chanting. â€Å"They are singing,† Hickory said quietly, and led Gretchen and me to them. Dickory arrived, silently, just before we found them. Hickory handed over its rifle. In the small clearing were six figures. Enzo and Magdy were the first I recognized. They knelt on the ground, heads down, waiting for whatever was going to happen to them. The light was not good enough for me to see any expression on either of their faces, but I didn't have to see their faces to know that they were scared. Whatever had happened to the two of them had gone badly, and now they were just waiting for it to end. However it would end. I took in Enzo's kneeling form and remembered in a rush why I loved him. He was there because he was trying to be a good friend for Magdy. Trying to keep him out of trouble, or at the very least to share his trouble if he could. He was a decent human being, which is rare enough but is something of a miracle in a teenage boy. I came out here for him because I still loved him. It had been weeks since we'd said anything more than a simple â€Å"hello† at school – when you break up in a small community you have to make some space – but it didn't matter. I was still connected to him. Some part of him stayed in my heart, and I imagined would for as long as I lived. Yes, it was a really inconvenient place and time to realize all of this, but these things happen when they happen. And it didn't make any noise, so it was all right. I looked over at Magdy, and this is the thought I had: When all of this is through, I am seriously going to kick his ass. The four other figures†¦ Werewolves. It was the only way to describe them. They looked feral, and strong, and carnivorous and nightmarish, and with all of that was movement and sound that made it clear that there were brains in there to go along with everything else. They shared the four eyes of all the Roanoke animals we had seen so far, but other than that they could have been lifted right out of folklore. These were werewolves. Three of the werewolves were busy taunting and poking Magdy and Enzo, clearly toying with them and threatening them. One of them held a rifle that it had taken off of Magdy, and was jabbing him with it. I wondered if was still loaded, and what would happen to Magdy or the werewolf if it went off. Another held a spear and occasionally poked Enzo with it. The three of them were chirping and clicking at each other; I don't doubt they were discussing what to do with Magdy and Enzo, and how to do it. The fourth werewolf stood apart from the other three and acted differently. When one of the other werewolves went to poke Enzo or Magdy, it would step in and try to keep them from doing it, standing between the humans and the rest of the werewolves. Occasionally it would step in and try to talk to one of the other werewolves, gesturing back to Enzo and Magdy for emphasis. It was trying to convince the other werewolves of something. To let the humans go? Maybe. Whatever it was, the other werewolves weren't having any of it. The fourth werewolf kept at it anyway. It suddenly reminded me of Enzo, the first time I saw him, trying to keep Magdy from getting into an idiotic fight for no reason at all. It didn't work that time; Gretchen and I had to step in and do something. It wasn't working now, either. I glanced over and saw that Hickory and Dickory had both taken up positions where they could get clean shots at the werewolves. Gretchen had moved off from me and was setting up her own shot. Between the four of us we could take all of the werewolves before they even knew what had happened to them. It would be quick and clean and easy, and we'd get Enzo and Magdy out of there and back home before anyone knew anything had happened. It was the smart thing to do. I quietly moved and readied my weapon, and took a minute or two to stop shaking and steady up. I knew we'd take them in sequence, Hickory on the far left taking the first of the three group werewolves, Dickory taking the second, Gretchen the third, and I the last one, standing away from the rest. I knew the rest of them were waiting for me to make the shot. One of the werewolves moved to poke Enzo again. My werewolf hurried, too late, to stop the assault. And I knew. I didn't want to. I just didn't. Didn't want to kill it. Because it was trying to save my friends, not kill them. It didn't deserve to die just because that was the easiest way to get back Enzo and Magdy. But I didn't know what else to do. The three werewolves started chittering again, first in what seemed like a random way, but then together, and to a beat. The one with a spear began thumping it into the ground in time, and the three of them started working off the beat, playing against each other's voices for what was clearly a victory chant of some sort or another. The fourth werewolf started gesturing more frantically. I had a terrible fear of what was going to happen at the end of the chant. They kept singing, getting closer to the end of that chant. So I did what I had to do. I sang back. I opened my mouth and the first line of â€Å"Delhi Morning† came out of it. Not well, and not on key. Actually, it was really bad – all those months of practicing it and playing it at hootenannies were not paying off. It didn't matter. It was doing what I needed it to do. The werewolves immediately fell silent. I kept singing. I glanced over to Gretchen, who was not so far away that I couldn't read the Are you completely insane? look that she had on her face. I gave her a look that said, Help me out please. Her face tightened up into something unreadable and she sighted down her rifle to keep one of the werewolves squarely in target – and started to sing the counterpoint of the song, dipping above and below my part, like we had practiced so many times. With her help I found the right key to sing and homed in. And now the werewolves knew there was more than one of us. To the left of Gretchen, Dickory chimed in, mimicking the sitar of the song as he did so well. It was funny to watch, but when you closed your eyes it was hard to tell the difference between it and the real thing. I drank in the twang of his voice and kept singing. And to the left of Dickory, Hickory finally came in, using its long neck to sound off like a drum, finding the beat and keeping it from then on. And now the werewolves knew there were as many of us as them. And that we could have killed them anytime. But we didn't. My stupid plan was working. Now all I had to do was figure what I had planned to do next. Because I really didn't know what I was doing here. All I knew was that I didn't want to shoot my werewolf. The one, in fact, who had now stepped off entirely away from the rest of his pack and was walking toward where he thought my voice was coming from. I decided to meet him halfway. I set down my rifle and stepped into the clearing, still singing. The werewolf with the spear began to raise it, and suddenly my mouth was very dry. I think my werewolf noticed something on my face, because it turned and chattered madly at the spear carrier. The spear went down; my werewolf didn't know it, but he'd just saved his friend a bullet in the head from Gretchen. My werewolf turned back to me and started walking toward me again. I kept singing until the song was through. By that time, my werewolf was standing right next to me. Our song was finished. I stood there, waiting to see what my werewolf would do next. What he did next was point to my neck, to the jade elephant pendant Jane had given me. I touched it. â€Å"Elephant,† I said. â€Å"Like your fanties.† He stared at it again and then stared at me again. Finally it chirped out something. â€Å"Hello,† I said back. What else was I going to say? We had a couple more minutes of sizing each other up. Then one of the three other werewolves chirped something. He chirped something back, and then tilted his head at me, as if to say, It would really help me if you actually did something here. So I pointed to Enzo and Magdy. â€Å"Those two belong to me,† I said, making what I hoped were appropriate hand signals, so my werewolf would get the idea. â€Å"I want to take them back with me.† I motioned back in the direction of the colony. â€Å"Then we'll leave you alone.† The werewolf watched all my hand signals; I'm not sure how many of them he actually got. But when I was done, he pointed to Enzo and Magdy, then to me, and then in the direction of the colony, as if to say, Let me make sure I've got this right. I nodded, said â€Å"yes,† and then repeated all the hand signals again. We were actually having a conversation. Or maybe we weren't, because what followed was an explosion of chittering from my werewolf, along with some wild gesticulating. I tried to follow it but I had no idea what was going on. I looked at him helplessly, trying to get what he was saying. Finally he figured out I had no clue what he was doing. So he pointed at Magdy, and then pointed at the rifle one of the other werewolves was holding. And then he pointed at his side, and then motioned at me as if to take a closer look. Against my better judgment, I did, and noticed something I missed before: My werewolf was injured. An ugly furrow was carved into his side, surrounded by raw welts on either side. That idiot Magdy had shot my werewolf. Barely, sure. Magdy was lucky that his aim continued to be bad, otherwise he'd probably already be dead. But even grazing it was bad enough. I backed up from the werewolf and let him know I'd seen enough. He pointed at Enzo, pointed at me, and pointed back to the colony. Then he pointed at Magdy and pointed at his werewolf friends. This was clear enough: He was saying Enzo was free to go with me, but his friends wanted to keep Magdy. I didn't doubt that would end badly for Magdy. I shook my head and made it clear I needed the both of them. My werewolf made it equally clear they wanted Magdy. Our negotiations had just hit a really big snag. I looked my werewolf up and down. He was stocky, barely taller than me, and covered only in a sort of short skirt cinched up with a belt. A simple stone knife hung from the belt. I'd seen pictures of knives like it from history books detailing the Cro-Magnon days back on Earth. The funny thing about the Cro-Magnons was that despite the fact that they were barely above banging rocks together, their brains were actually larger than our brains are now. They were cavemen, but they weren't stupid. They had the ability to think about serious stuff. â€Å"I sure hope you have a Cro-Magnon brain,† I said to my werewolf. â€Å"Otherwise I'm about to get in trouble.† He tilted his head again, trying to figure out what I was trying to say to him. I motioned again, trying to make it clear I wanted to talk to Magdy. My werewolf didn't seem happy about this, and chattered something to his friends. They chattered back, and got pretty agitated. But in the end, my werewolf reached out to me. I let him take my wrist and he dragged me over to Magdy. His three friends fanned themselves out behind me, ready if I should try anything stupid. I knew outside the clearing Hickory and Dickory, at least, would be moving to get better sight lines. There were still lots of ways this could go very very wrong. Magdy was still kneeling, not looking at me or anything else but a spot on the ground. â€Å"Magdy,† I said. â€Å"Kill these stupid things and get us out of here already,† he said, quietly and fast, still not looking at me. â€Å"I know you know how. I know you have enough people out there to do it.† â€Å"Magdy,† I said again. â€Å"Listen to me carefully and don't interrupt me. These things want to kill you. They're willing to let Enzo go, but they want to keep you because you shot one of them. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?† â€Å"Just kill them,† Magdy said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"You went after these guys, Magdy. You were hunting them. You shot at them. I'm going to try to keep you from getting killed. But I'm not going to kill them because you put yourself in their way. Not unless I have to. Do you understand me?† â€Å"They're going to kill us,† Magdy said. â€Å"You and me and Enzo.† â€Å"I don't think so,† I said. â€Å"But if you don't shut up and actually listen to what I'm trying to say to you, you're going to make that more likely.† â€Å"Just shoot – † Magdy began. â€Å"For God's sake, Magdy,† Enzo said suddenly, from Magdy's side. â€Å"One person on the entire planet is risking her own neck for you and all you can do is argue with her. You really are an ungrateful piece of crap. Now would you please shut up and listen to her. I'd like to get out of this alive.† I don't know who was more surprised by that outburst, me or Magdy. â€Å"Fine,† Magdy said, after a minute. â€Å"These things want to kill you because you shot one of them,† I said. â€Å"I'm going to try to convince them to let you go. But you're going to have to trust me and follow my lead and not argue and not fight back. For the last time: Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† Magdy said. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"They think I'm your leader. So I need to give them the idea I'm angry with you for what you did. I'm going to have to punish you in front of them. And just so you know, this is going to hurt. A lot.† â€Å"Just – † Magdy began. â€Å"Magdy,† I said. â€Å"Yeah, all right, whatever,† Magdy said. â€Å"Let's just do this.† â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Sorry about this.† Then I kicked him in the ribs. Hard. He collapsed with a whoosh and fell flat to the ground. Whatever he was expecting, he wasn't expecting that. After he had gasped on the ground for a minute I grabbed him by the hair. He clutched at my hand and tried to get away. â€Å"Don't fight me,† I said, and gave him a quick punch in the ribs to make the point. He got it and stopped. I pulled his head back and yelled at him for shooting the werewolf, pointing at his rifle and then the wounded werewolf and back and forth several times to make the point. The werewolves seemed to make the connection and chittered among themselves about it. â€Å"Apologize,† I told Magdy, still holding his head. Magdy reached out to the wounded werewolf. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"If I had known that shooting would mean Zoe got to beat the crap out of me, I would never have done it.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said, and then let go of his hair and smacked him hard across the face. Magdy went down again. I looked over to the werewolf to see if this was sufficient. He didn't look like he was quite there yet. I loomed over Magdy. â€Å"How are you doing?† I asked. â€Å"I think I'm going to throw up,† he said. â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"I think that would work. Need any help?† â€Å"I got it,† he said, and retched all over the ground. This got impressed chirps from the werewolves. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Last part, Magdy. You really have to trust me on this one.† â€Å"Please stop hurting me now,† Magdy said. â€Å"Almost done,† I said. â€Å"Stand up, please.† â€Å"I don't think I can,† he said. â€Å"Sure you can,† I said, and wrenched his arm to give him motivation. Magdy inhaled and stood up. I marched him over to my werewolf, who eyed the both of us, curiously. I pointed at Magdy, and then to the werewolf's wound. Then I pointed to the werewolf, and made a slashing motion on Magdy's side, and then pointed at the werewolf's knife. The werewolf gave me yet another head tilt, as if to say, I want to be sure we understand each other, here. â€Å"Fair's fair,† I said. â€Å"You're going to let him stab me?† Magdy said, his voice rising dramatically at the end of that sentence. â€Å"You shot him,† I said. â€Å"He could kill me,† Magdy said. â€Å"You could have killed him,† I said. â€Å"I hate you,† Magdy said. â€Å"I really really really hate you now.† â€Å"Shut up,† I said, and then nodded to the werewolf. â€Å"Trust me,† I said to Magdy. The werewolf drew his knife, and then looked back at his companions, who were all chattering loudly and beginning to chant what they were chanting earlier. I was all right with that. The difference now was that it was my werewolf who would do whatever violence would be done. My werewolf stood there for a minute, soaking in the chant of his fellow werewolves. Then without warning he sliced at Magdy so quickly that I only got him moving back, not forward. Magdy hissed in pain. I let him go and he fell to the ground, clutching his side. I moved in front of him and grabbed his hands. â€Å"Let me see,† I said. Magdy moved his hands and winced preemptively, expecting a gush of blood. There was only the thinnest red line on his side. The werewolf had cut Magdy just enough to let him know he could have cut him a lot worse. â€Å"I knew it,† I said. â€Å"You knew what?† Magdy said. â€Å"That I was dealing with a Cro-Magnon,† I said. â€Å"I really don't understand you,† Magdy said. â€Å"Stay down,† I said. â€Å"Don't get up until I tell you.† â€Å"I'm not moving,† he said. â€Å"Really.† I stood up and faced the werewolf, who had put his knife back on his belt. He pointed to Magdy, and then pointed to me, and then pointed back toward the colony. â€Å"Thank you,† I said, and gave the werewolf a little nod of my head, which I hoped would convey the idea. When I looked up again, I saw him staring at my jade elephant again. I wondered if he'd ever seen jewelry before, or if it was simply because an elephant looks like a fantie. These werewolves followed the fantie herds; they would be a main source of food for them. They were their lives. I took off my necklace and handed it to my werewolf. He took it and gently touched the pendant, making it twirl and glitter in the dim light of the night. He cooed at it appreciatively. Then he handed it back to me. â€Å"No,† I said. I held up a hand, and then pointed to the pendant, and to him. â€Å"It's for you. I'm giving it to you.† The werewolf stood there for a moment, and then uttered a trill, which caused his friends to crowd around him. He held up the pendant for them to admire. â€Å"Here,† I said, after a minute, and motioned to him to hand me the necklace. He did, and I – very slowly, so I wouldn't surprise him – put it around his neck and fastened it. The pendant touched his chest. He touched it again. â€Å"There,† I said. â€Å"That was given to me by someone very important, so I would remember the people who loved me. I'm giving it to you, so you'll remember that I'm thanking you for giving me back people I love. Thank you.† The werewolf gave me another of his head tilts. â€Å"I know you don't have any idea what I'm saying,† I said. â€Å"Thank you anyway.† The werewolf reached to his side, pulled his knife. Then he laid it flat on his hand and offered it to me. I took it. â€Å"Wow,† I said, and admired it. I was careful not to touch the actual blade; I'd already seen how sharp it was. I tried to return it but he held up his hand or claw or whatever you want to call it, in a mirror of what I did for him. He was giving it to me. â€Å"Thank you,† I said again. He chirped, and with that he returned to his friends. The one holding Magdy's rifle dropped it, and then without looking back they walked to the nearest trees, scaled them at an unbelievable speed and were gone almost instantly. â€Å"Holy crap,† I said, after a minute. â€Å"I can't believe that actually worked.† â€Å"You can't believe it,† Gretchen said. She came out of hiding and stalked right up to me. â€Å"What the hell is wrong with you? We come out all this way and you sing at them. Sing. Like you're at a hootenanny. We are not doing this again. Ever.† â€Å"Thank you for following my lead,† I said. â€Å"And for trusting me. I love you.† â€Å"I love you too,† Gretchen said. â€Å"It still doesn't mean this is ever going to happen again.† â€Å"Fair enough,† I said. â€Å"It was almost worth it to see you beat the crap out of Magdy, though,† Gretchen said. â€Å"God, I feel horrible about that,† I said. â€Å"Really?† Gretchen said. â€Å"It wasn't just a little bit of fun?† â€Å"Oh, all right,† I said. â€Å"Maybe a little.† â€Å"I'm right here,† Magdy said, from the ground. â€Å"And you need to thank Zoe you are,† Gretchen said, and bent down to kiss him. â€Å"You stupid, exasperating person. I am so happy you are still alive. And if you ever do anything like this again, I will kill you myself. And you know I can.† â€Å"I know,† he said, and pointed to me. â€Å"And if you can't, she will. I get it.† â€Å"Good,† Gretchen said. She stood up and then held out her hand to Magdy. â€Å"Now get up. We've got a long way to go to get home, and I think we just blew all our dumb luck for the year.† â€Å"What are you going to tell your parents?† Enzo asked me, as we walked home. â€Å"Tonight? Not a thing,† I said. â€Å"Both of them have enough to worry about tonight. They don't need me coming in and saying that while they were out I faced down four werewolves who were about to kill two more colonists, and defeated them using only the power of song. I think I might wait a day or two to drop that one. That's a hint, by the way.† â€Å"Hint taken,† Enzo said. â€Å"Although you are going to tell them something.† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"We have to. If these werewolves are following the fantie herds then we're going to have problems like this every year, and every time they come back. I think we need to let people know they're not actually murdering savages, but we're all still better off if we just leave them alone.† â€Å"How did you know?† Enzo asked me, a minute later. â€Å"Know what?† I said. â€Å"That those werewolf thingies weren't just murdering savages,† Enzo said. â€Å"You held Magdy and let that werewolf take a shot at him. You thought he wouldn't stab Magdy to death. I heard you, you know. After it did it, you said ‘I knew it.' So how did you know?† â€Å"I didn't,† I said. â€Å"But I hoped. He had just spent God knows how long keeping his friends from killing the two of you. I don't think he was just doing it because he was a nice guy.† â€Å"Nice werewolf,† Enzo said. â€Å"Nice whatever he is,† I said. â€Å"Thing is, the werewolves have killed some of us. I know John and Jane killed some of them trying to get our people back. Both of us – the colonists and the werewolves – showed we were perfectly able to kill each other. I think we needed to show that we were capable of not killing each other, too. We let them know that when we sang at them instead of shooting them. I think my werewolf got that. So when I offered him a chance to get back at Magdy, I guessed he wouldn't really hurt him. Because I think he wanted us to know he was smart enough to know what would happen if he did.† â€Å"You still took a big risk,† Enzo said. â€Å"Yeah, I did,† I said. â€Å"But the only other alternative was to kill him and his friends, or have them kill all of us. Or all of us kill each other. I guess I hoped I could do something better. Besides, I didn't think it was too big a risk. What he was doing when he was keeping the others away from you two reminded me of someone I knew.† â€Å"Who?† Enzo asked. â€Å"You,† I said. â€Å"Yes, well,† Enzo said. â€Å"I think tonight marks the official last time I tag along with Magdy to keep him out of trouble. After this he's on his own.† â€Å"I have nothing bad to say about this idea,† I said. â€Å"I didn't think you would,† Enzo said. â€Å"I know Magdy gets on your last nerve sometimes.† â€Å"He does,† I said. â€Å"He really, really does. But what can I do? He's my friend.† â€Å"He belongs to you,† Enzo said. â€Å"And so do I.† I looked over at him. â€Å"You heard that part, too,† I said. â€Å"Trust me, Zoe,† Enzo said. â€Å"Once you showed up, I never stopped listening to you. I'll be able to recite everything you said for the rest of my life. Which I now have, thanks to you.† â€Å"And Gretchen and Hickory and Dickory,† I said. â€Å"And I will thank them all, too,† Enzo said. â€Å"But right now I want to focus on you. Thank you, Zoe Boutin-Perry. Thank you for saving my life.† â€Å"You're welcome,† I said. â€Å"And stop it. You're making me blush.† â€Å"I don't believe it,† Enzo said. â€Å"And now it's too dark to see.† â€Å"Feel my cheeks,† I said. He did. â€Å"You don't feel especially blushy,† he said. â€Å"You're not doing it right,† I said. â€Å"I'm out of practice,† he said. â€Å"Well, fix that,† I said. â€Å"All right,† Enzo said, and kissed me. â€Å"That was supposed to make you blush, not cry,† he said, after we stopped. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, and tried to get myself back together. â€Å"I've just really missed it. That. Us.† â€Å"It's my fault,† Enzo started. I put a hand up to his lips. â€Å"I don't care about any of that,† I said. â€Å"I really don't, Enzo. None of that matters to me. I just don't want to miss you anymore.† â€Å"Zoe,† Enzo said. He took my hands. â€Å"You saved me. You have me. You own me. I belong to you. You said it yourself.† â€Å"I did,† I admitted. â€Å"So that's settled,† Enzo said. â€Å"Okay,† I said, and smiled. We kissed some more, in the night, outside Enzo's front gate.